Dwarven Greathalls

I found a small stack of index cards recently detailing the various dwarven greathalls. I think they're circa 1990-1992, but could be a little earlier or later. I'll fully transcribe them later, but here's a fast rundown. This is straight off the cards; I'm going to move some around eventually, and smooth out the names. The full shadowend map has two great mountain ranges, the Kamuerhorns and the Southern Peaks, and dwarves were slowly driven north by dragons. Ariendrellur was the cradle-hall of the dwarves; Dolnare, Fadreisil, and Nobrildain its successors.

Edit: Ah, I'll bet this is circa the release of the Dwarves Handbook for 2e from TSR. I think there was a dwarven settlement generator in there that I used to flesh out entries.

Ariendrellur (Hearthhome) - Southern Peaks - Dragon-held by Dranakedbenur
Arthringlaur (Diamondsdelve) - Kameurhorn Peaks - Mountain dwarves
Baidruck (Dragonsden) - Kameurhorn Peaks - Originally hill dwarves, now duergar
Bersinagul (Silverdeep) - Shadow Peaks - Originally mountain dwarves, now goblin-held
Dolnare (no translation) - Dolnare - Hill dwarf nation; renamed Dolnaur
Breodoghin (Starsdeep) - Enchanted Hills - Originally mountain dwarves, now a gnomehold
Dansreldane (Goldendelve) - Southern Peaks - Originally hill dwarves, now mind flayers
Fadreisil (Sorrowshome) - Southern Peaks - Dragon-held by Velgrenidbenur; also goblin-held
Kadrinamur (Dimmersdelve )- Southern Range - Destroyed by sidhe fighting svartalfar(?)
Nobrildain (Hall of the King) - Shadow Peaks - Mountain dwarves
Rogunsur (Gemsdeep) - Seer Mtns - Hill dwarves
Sammisthur (Ironsheart) - Banrigh Mtns - Originally mountain dwarves, now duergar/dragon-held by Nendremor.
Shordrugin (Summersfall) - Shadow Peaks - Moulder dwarves
Taeghamor (Hammersfell) - Tyger Peaks - Hill dwarves
Tarandrellur (Hollowhome) - Grey Peaks - Mountain dwarves
Tamathedra (Darkinghalls) - Kameurhorn Peaks - Originally mountain dwarves, now duergar
Tundacendran (Fallenstar) - Southern Peaks - Mountain dwarves

Other Halls/Later creations/Alternate names
Mathedrellur (?-home) - unknown
Rimenghur (Gemsdeep?) -unknown
Svorndriel (Whitemine) - Smallhall of Arthringlaur - mountain dwarves
Tamathdrellur (Darkhome) (initially/originally Tamathedra) - duergar
Ordinglaur (Trollsdelve) - Smallhall of Arthringlaur - mountain dwarves
Zelazghur (Silverdeep?) - unknown

Dolnaur
 - Den Aejarndril (Citadel of Broken Swords)
 - Den Nedandjor (Citadel of Cloven Shields)
 - Den Tiadis (Citadel of Sundered Axes)

Named Dragons

Dranakedbenur the Wyrm - Attacked & took Ariendrellur, driven out; attacked & took Dansreldane;  later abandons it for reasons unknown; retakes Ariendrellur

Kadisrothirin (deceased) - Attacked & slain at the city of Olph

Kadrisbenur (offspring of Dranakedbenur; deceased) - Attacked & took Fadreisil; later killed

Kalavandremor (deceased) - Attacked & slain at Sammisthur

Mawligraxbenur - (Black dragon in the Shadowend; see Shadowend Folio)

Nendremor - Attacked & took Sammisthur

Pagrixlur Svar'xilyed, aka Painsdeath (deceased) - Attacked & slain at Rogunsur

Tesardremor (deceased) - Attacked & slain at Sammisthur

Velgrenidbenur (offspring of Dranakedbenur) - Attacked & took Fadreisil

Yegsoderim (deceased) - Attacked; lair transformed in Baidruck

Maps and Mapping Stuff, aka the hexcrawl writing game

I've finally done the thing I've been meaning to do for decades, which is assign a functional scale to the Shadowend map. I did this to break it into a hex map of 25-mile hexes, and break those into 5-mile hexes (the 5-mile hexes can be broken again to 1-mile hexes, and then to 1056 ft hexes (352 yards if you want to be really granular).

The point of this is to, hopefully, get back into the groove of writing by detailing hexes. First a general overview of the 25-mile hexes (909: The North Coast hex), then each 5 mile hex within it.  The specificity appeals to me, and a 5-mile hex is still a lot of territory. You can put a mountain in it, or several villages, or a city, or a bunch of things. There are 21 of those in each large hex, plus 12 half-hexes.

No schedule on this, no strict guidelines or word count. I'm going to be as detailed as I want. It's an exercise in writing what I want to read. I'm enjoying it. A deep dive into the Shadowend.

Persons of Power: The Shadara

I am digging through old notes and files, and came across this little tidbit. Seriously, The Shadara is OLD. Not just in-game old, but her creation came early on in the whole development of the Shadowend. (That said, I also know she owes a clear debt to the Simbul of the Forgotten Realms, so...post-grey box).

---

The Shadara

More myth than person, the Shadara is the embodiment of magic among the faerilven. Rumors say she has never Retreated, and that she is the only living ilvenkin with living memories of the Arrival, when the dansí led their great host into the Wyrld. The Shadara’s name is sometimes invoked by ilven and ha’ilvenkin when dealing with powerful and mysterious magic. She is reputed to be aware of such invocations, but takes action in only the most powerful and dangerous of circumstances.

Names

I moved out of my house about 8 months ago, first into a sublet and then into an actual apartment with a roommate. Ironically, my roommate and I now seem to have -less- time to do things than we did when we lived separately. I consider her an on-the-go sort of person, but during one conversation she said she was amazed at how busy I was, bouncing between two households and my job and helping out other friends.

One of the things I'm working on is getting books out of boxes and onto shelves. It's a long process, because I don't want to fill every wall with books (at least not yet), but it's nice. I'm rereading a lot of material, including the First Law trilogy.

In the world of the First Law books, the Northmen have a concept of Named Men. Named Men are, literally, well-known fighters with established reputations. They don't have titles, but people follow them, and they in turn strike up alliances with other Named Men, or serve under them as de facto warchiefs.

Black Dow, Dogman, Caul Shivers, Glam Golden, Rattleneck, Crummock-i-Phail, and Harding Grim are all prominent Named Men. The Bloody-Nine is prominent enough to have a band of Named Men - those he's defeated in combat, but spared - as his followers.

It's essentially a literal, and more evocative, reading of reaching Name Level in D&D. Characters become famous, or infamous, enough to become a Name and attract followers. Most Named Men are fighters, but Dogman and Harding Grim are probably rangers, and Forley the Weakest could be a thief. (Forley was sent against the Bloody Nine by a village that wanted to send a champion, but knew it was hopeless - so they sent their weakest.)

I enjoy the First Law books a lot, but the appeal is really in the characters, not the world. Fading magic, burgeoning science, and weird-Earth history mashup cultures don't do much for me unless they're really well played. Top-notch writing, though.

The Warding Hills & the White Hills

Last night I started off cleaning & organizing papers, and ended up reading through a bunch of my old Shadowend information. This seems to happen every few years, and helps remind me of the parts of this hobby I really enjoy. So hopefully there'll be some new material soon, possibly including a redraw of the map - I feel like some things need to move around a bit. ;)

In the meantime, have some hills.
(Edit: I just realize I'd posted the White Hills about five years ago. In my defense, it was five years ago. Still, Toadstone Hall is new.)

Warding Hills

These hills define the boundary between the Woodmarch and the Glittering Plain. Many of the hills are bald or partially so, the granite crowns exposed after many centuries of grazing and erosion. Numerous human thorps and gnomish warrens are tucked away in secluded valleys, along with goblin and kobold redoubts. The highlands are thick with the ruins of keeps, holds, castles, and dungeons; despite the fall of Asavar the Warding Hills are close enough to Roen and the Greenvale to foster settlement by those seeking seclusion but not exile.

Ierisstone Tower: Lodged deep in the hills, Ierisstone Tower is the lair of a very old, and very cunning, feathered manticore known as Truest. The tower is little more than a hollow shaft leading into a stone-roofed crevasse where Truest dens along with a small band of indigo-skinned goblins and several lascivious harpies. The harpies are a recent addition with a fondness for stealing children, a trait that Truest is trying to curb before it brings unwanted attention.

Warding Guard: This sprawling fortress lies in the southern hills, at the very edge of the Glittering Plain. Roenish soldiers stationed here patrol the southern verge of the hills and protect the hillthorps that seek their aid. Adventurers of every ilk are actively recruited here for missions into the Plain, to gather information or subvert, delay, or destroy any possible threats.

White Hills

These chalky hills are threaded with gnomish warrens, and the White Hills form the center of gnomish power in the Woodmarches. Travel here is swift and pleasant if the little folk are pleased with you, and nearly impossible if you have offended them or worse. A number of giant owls nest in the hills, and the gnomes have alliances with them, granting them the ability to fly swiftly and safely over the terrain to warn other gnomes or seek reinforcements if necessary. Gnomish control is not complete here, however, and a number of warrens and dungeons have been abandoned or lost over the years, primarily to magical or underground forces.

Toadstool Hall: An old but stately manor in the gnomish tradition (ie, mostly underground) located on the edge of the White Hills near Asavar, the lord of Toadstool is an elderly gnomish werebear, and a staunch defender of the region. Toadstool functions as a meeting place for a number of local factions allied against Asavar, including druids, the rangers of Eoghin, Roenish soldiers and patrols from Everglass, and the gnomes themselves.

Volgabaern Warren: The goblins and their allies hold this vast warren (once the gnomish winterhall Cynwualf) in a strategic location in the center of the hills. Attempts by the gnomes to regain the winterhall have met with defeat as the goblins have called upon powerful allies from deep beneath the earth.

The Notable Warriors of King Arthur's Court

The notable warriors of King Arthur's court, as listed in Culhwch and Olwen. Roll 1d20 to randomly choose a notable. (Other warriors: Warriors I; Sons of Kaw; Sons of Erbin, Ermid, Iaen, Erim, and Nmyvre)

1. Gwynnhyvar mayor of Cornwall and Devon (the ninth man that rallied the battle of Camlan).
2. Gilla Coes Hydd (he would clear three hundred acres at one bound: the chief leaper of Ireland was he). 
3. Sol (He could stand all day upon one foot .)
4. Gwadyn Ossol (If he stood upon the top of the highest mountain in the world, it would become a level plain under his feet.)
5. Gawdyn Odyeith (The soles of his feet emitted sparks of fire when they struck upon things hard, like the heated mass when drawn out of the forge. He cleared the way for Arthur when he came to any stoppage.)
6. Hirerwm & Hiratrwm. (The day they went on a visit three Cantrevs provided for their entertainment, and they feasted until noon and drank until night, when they went to sleep. And then they devoured the heads of the vermin through hunger, as if they had never eaten anything. When they made a visit they left neither the fat nor the lean, neither the hot nor the cold, the sour nor the sweet, the fresh nor the salt, the boiled nor the raw.)
7. Huarwar the son of Aflawn (who asked Arthur such a boon as would satisfy him. It was the third great plague of Cornwall when he received it. None could get a smile from him but when he was satisfied.)
8. Sugyn the son of Sugnedydd (who would suck up the sea on which were three hundred ships, so as to leave nothing but a dry strand. He was broad-chested).
9. Rhacymwri, the attendant of Arthur (whatever barn he was shown, were there the produce of thirty ploughs within it, he would strike it with an iron flail until the rafters, the beams, and the boards were no better than the small oats in the mow upon the floor of the barn). 
10. Hir Eiddyl (attendant of Arthur).
11. Hir Amreu (attendant of Arthur).
12. Gwevyl the son of Gwestad (on the day that he was sad, he would let one of his lips drop below his waist, while he turned upon the other like a cap upon his head). 
13. Uchtryd Varyf Draws (who spread his red untrimmed beard over the eight-and-forty rafters which were in Arthur's Hall)
14. Yskyrdav and the Yscudydd (two attendants of Gwenhywyvar were they. Their feet were swift as their thoughts when bearing a message).
15. Bwlch, and Kyfwlch, and Sefwlch the (son of Cleddyf Kyfwlch, the grandsons of Cleddyf Difwlch. Their three shields were three gleaming glitterers; their three spears were three pointed piercers; their three swords were three girding gashers; Glas, Glessic, and Gleisad. Their three dogs, Call, Cuall, and Cavall. Their three horses, Hwyrdyddwd, and Drwgdyddwd, and Llwyrdyddwg. Their three wives, Och, and Garym, and Diaspad. Their three grandchildren, Lluched, and Neved, and Eissiwed. Their three daughters, Drwg, and Gwaeth, and Gwaethav Oll. Their three handmaids, Eheubryd the daughter of Kyfwlch, Gorascwrn the daughter of Nerth, Ewaedan the daughter of Kynvelyn Keudawd Pwyll the half-man).
16. Clust the son of Clustveinad (though he were buried seven cubits beneath the earth, he would hear the ant fifty miles off rise from her nest in the morning)
17. Medyr the son of Methredydd (from Gelli Wic he could, in a twinkling, shoot the wren through the two legs upon Esgeir Oervel in Ireland)
18. Gwiawn Llygad Cath (who could cut a haw from the eye of the gnat without hurting him)
19. Ol the son of Olwydd (seven years before he was born his father's swine were carried off, and when he grew up a man he tracked the swine, and brought them back in seven herds)
20. Roll twice

Bonus content from Strange Races

This is a small set of races that wound up on stickers on the backs of some of the copies of Strange Races. I'm rather fond of them, and will probably expand the setting a little bit in the future. It's north and a bit west of the Feathered Realm.

Akephaloi: The akephaloi are a humanoid race with their faces on their chests. They are broad of build, and live in underground caverns excavated from the earth. They are a friendly and hospitable people that prefer peace, but strong warriors, and even stronger earth-mages well able to defend themselves against anyone that favors war.

Aten: An elegant race with silver-hued skin, violet hair, and golden eyes. They were once ruled an empire, but were overthrown and now live surrounded by the crumbling remnants of their glory. They have minor psychic abilities and are gifted mimics. They have fallen far, and now do whatever they have to to survive.

Jouri: A pale skinned race, with red hair and yellow, cat-like eyes. They are tall and lean, with grim expressions and an indomitable nature. They claim to have been the aristocracy of an great kingdom, but no trace of this land remains. They are rare in this age, and live only in the ancient city of Imre, in the desolate northern mountains. Their natural craft is war, from martial combat to poison, and they work as mercenaries.

Ordali: They are short and slight of build, with serpentine hair. They have organized, logical minds, and are proficient engineers and musicians. They were once servants of another race, but rebelled and escaped en masse. They worship the god that led the revolt and brought them to freedom, and clerics have great power among them.

Tumae: A tall, sturdy race of humanoids with golden skin, dark hair, and blue eyes. They live in small underground city-states, but travel frequently and have established many hostels, inns, and waystations where they meet and trade information. They have an affinity for magic, and their rulers are powerful but corrupt magicians.

Verex: A large, ogre-like race with spines in their scalp and arms. They are violent raiders that inhabit the western plains beyond the mountains. Although verex raiding is frequent, the various tribes are scattered and disunified, so they rarely form hordes large enough to pose a serious threat. They worship an eclectic and bloodthirsty pantheon headed by a thunder god. The jouri of Imre are the only people to have defeated the verex on every occasion, and the verex fear them accordingly.

Musings

My job is two different aspects. In the build season, I travel. In the off-season, we stay put. This is my first off-season, so it's a whole new set of tasks. Up until now my bosses have worked out of their homes (or coffee shops, as boss #1 has 3 young kids at home AND his wife runs a daycare), but two weeks ago we moved into real offices. Now I've got a nice, warm (everyone else bitches about it; I don't understand what's so terrible about having circulation in my fingers and getting to wear a t-shirt in February) office that I share with one other person. I've never had an office. It's all very exciting.

This is an amazing time. Specifically, the internet is amazing. Last week I was using Google Street View to "drive" through a small town in Romania. This place is small enough and remote enough that horse-drawn carts are still a regular thing (the google van passed at least two), and I can sit here and see it as my leisure. You want to lay out a realistic village? Everything you need is at your fingertips.

I'm happy about the 5e SRD and the fact that it uses the OGL. I can honestly say WotC exceeded my expectations in a good way. The DMs Guild setup is excellent as well. There's a good chance I'll dip my toes into some of it, but as a casual exercise and (to be honest) to make a little scratch. Convert some stuff from 2e; something along those lines.

I'm not feeling a super-strong urge to tinker with 5e, just to kind of poke at it a bit. I do feel that a lot of my strength in RPG design is in riffing off of existing material; I don't feel I get the epiphany idea very often that lets me draw something out of nothing. I like making lists and seeing what clicks, and crossing different ideas. I need a starting point.

I have a few lists of 3rd-part OGC character races that I might toy with converting, and I'm seriously considering digging out my 2e material to sort through the kits. Basically make a list of all the 2e kits from the various books, and probably all the 3e class variants from Mongoose's Quintessential books, and look for stuff that sparks ideas (the mongoose books aren't great mechanically, but they usually got a lot of ideas packed into a small space and are good places to start if you want a lot of concepts fast).

Winter Tidings

The winter and early spring months are my primary writing time. December through April, more or less. Sometimes it stretches into May or June. A big chunk of that is due to weather. I more or less grew up out-of-doors. My family is big into hiking, camping, canoeing, skiing, and other outdoorsy things. I don't play computer games, and tv-watching is just about nil (I do watch Netflix, but binge-watching for me is two movies or 4 episodes in a week).

This year, I also started a new job that requires intensive travel in the fall and spring, which means I've been away for much of the past 4 months. I put in 13-14 hour days on the job, which means I get back to the hotel room, read a book for a bit, and fall asleep.

I just finished the last build of the season yesterday. I'm home. It's getting cold out. And my "game-brain" has started waking up. I've got old business to take care of (reprint Secrets 1 & 2), stuff that's been intended but not finished (Secrets 3; something for NOD; revise The Basic Illusionist for print sale; the Complete Illusionist), and new things I want to work on. I make no promises about any of it, but I'm not dead yet.  :)

Stuff For Sale

I'm cleaning house, and have put a few things up for sale on Amazon. Feel free to  email me at nellisir at gmail.com with questions. I'd love to get rid of these ASAP; they are literally sitting in padded envelopes ready to go out right now. (Edit: I might cut you a bit of a deal if you contact me directly, but I'm not going to give them to you.)

The Scarlet Brotherhood
Thunder Rift
Tome of Horrors II
Way of the Thief
Way of the Daimyo
The Hidden Emperor
Complete Exotic Arms Guide

I have a few other books that I'll post about later. I don't put items on Amazon that aren't hopefully going to get me at least $12-$15, so it's mostly lesser-valued books.

NOD (and other news)

John Stater's Land of Nod blog, and specifically his self-published, one-author, vanity fanzine NOD, were what really got me into the OSR fold and self-publishing. I don't know if he doesn't sleep, or has a really boring job, but his output, month after month and year after year, has been amazing and inspiring.

Mini-games, hex crawls, variant OSR-games (Pars Fortuna being the direct inspiration for issue #2 of Secrets and the Feathered Realm), full-on OSR/3e hybrid rulesets (Blood & Treasure), random tables, and more. PLUS 26 issues and counting of NOD.

But.

(There's always a but.)

Sales, apparently, are slumping.

The bad news. If sales don't improve, NOD is done and he'll retool to focus on discrete supplements.  (I still get my fix, but...differently.)

The good news. For the time being, he's accepting submissions for NOD.

Am I interested?

That's a really stupid question.

So. If you like NOD, buy it, contribute, or tell your friends. If you haven't read NOD, issues #1 and #6 are free. If you want something different, I recommend Pars Fortuna and Bloody Basic/Mother Goose Edition. (I'd recommend all of them, but I haven't gotten all of them yet - there's also the basic Bloody Basic; the Sinew & Steel Edition; and the Modern Edition. I think the Weird Fantasy Edition is upcoming - I'm REALLY looking forward to that.)

http://matt-landofnod.blogspot.com/


In other news...

I've got a job. A real job, that pays real money, and consumes a lot of time. Also, it's summer, and I don't write much in the summer. So that's that.

I am going to reprint Secrets 1 & Secrets 2 shortly. I've been paying off bills and buying necessaries (shoes, people), but reprints are on the agenda. I've got material for Secrets 3, but it needs additional work. The date for that is "someday".

I bought 5e. It's very nice. It's gathering dust on my shelf because I couldn't sustain the energy of running a campaign, and WotC's release plan & schedule hasn't excited me. Big adventures aren't my thing. I did write up a number of monsters (possibly for Secrets 3) in a 5e-compatible format, but I'm unsure of how to include it. Eats up page space.

Strange Races sells approximately 1 issue/month on RPG Now. Omens & Artifacts has sold 1 issue in the last 6 months, I think. Basic Illusionist sells 25-30 per month pretty steadily. I'm OK with it, considering I released them all simultaneously last November.

That's it. Go buy NOD.