Week of Encounters Day 1: The King's Highway

This encounter takes place in the Shattered Plains region of the valley, far to the west.  It occurs along the King's Highway, not too far to the west of the Durwash River crossing, where the Highway passes over that mighty river.  Like all of the river crossings, the mound the Highway is built on has a vast opening through it for the river to pass underneath.

The King's Highway is an interesting feature in the Valley of the Old Ones. It was built by the last King of the Old Ones, and in spite of their absence for a long, long time the highway remains intact, and still in use. It is, however, a magnet for danger, because of the associated rumors about periodic structures full of the treasures of the Old Ones.

The encounter in question here concerns the efforts of the player party to cross past the highway for some reason.

Physically, the obstacle is the Highway itself. The section the players come up against is over 150 feet tall. Much of the side is covered with patches of exposed rock face and boulders. Climbing the nearly sheer face of the highway is bad enough (requires 1 hand at all times to hang on, and dexterity and strength checks as the DM warrants), but the rocks are teaming with all manner of small predators, like rock snails.


Rock Snails
Num Appearing: 2-8
Alignment: neutral (evil)
Movement: 5'
Armor Class: 4 vs. One foe in contact. 1 vs. All others
Hit Dice: 1d-1
Attacks: 1 (bite), possible poison
Damage: 1d4
Save: F2
Morale: 8


Special Attack: poison (save or as sleep spell); corrosive slime (after successful attack, or against incapacitated foe, snail slime causes automatic 1d3 points per round. Save for half)

The top of the mound is approximately 500 feet across in the area the players are attempting to cross (although this varies from place to place). The most striking feature is that the entire surface is covered in smooth marble blocks.

The top of the mound is indeed a highway, and it stretches as far as one can see to the east and west.  The center 150 feet of the top is the highway itself, with approximately 150 feet on either side dedicated to structures that were once standing, and in some spots are still present in a ruined state.  The remainder of the top is just a grassy surface that gives way to the rocky escarpment on either side.

Once the party comes up to the top, the DM should show them the map of the apparent buildings in the area, and let them look around for a few minutes.  Suddenly, the rubbled doors are thrown open on the "Great Stone House" on the map, and out rush a band (16) of Star Marauders.  These particular Marauders have the tattoo'd Sign of K'nar visible on their foreheads.

Star Marauders (sign of K'nar)

Num Appearing: 4-24
Alignment: chaotic-evil
Movement: 60'
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2d (9 h.p.)
Attacks: 1 (shortsword)
Damage: 1d6
Save: F2
Morale: 9


Special Attack: Heat generation.  This band of Star Marauders has been branded with the "Sign of K'nar" tattoo, which means that they have the capability to generate extreme heat for a short amount of time.  Once per day, for a period up to 10 consecutive melee rounds, these Star Marauders generate heat that will cause 1d4 H.P. damage per round to anyone in melee contact with them (save v. spells for half).


These are led by a 3HD leader (14 h.p.), who is an expert with a longsword.

Once the Marauders are dealt with, it is revealed that there is a set of stairs in the great stone house, leading down into a series of dungeon chambers (detailed separately).

Seven Encounters Challenge

From the staff at Gaming with Chuck - "Have a Week of Encounters - Seven encounters that make define your setting"

The idea is to come up with seven encounters that are unique to the setting you are using for your RPG, and use those to expose some things that make your setting unique.  Valley of the Old Ones is going to take up the challenge, and respond by having a Week of Encounters.  Given that the upcoming week is a holiday week, and I won't get too much done on my dissertation, I will use this week to do the Valley of the Old Ones.

Starting tomorrow (Monday) I will do seven different encounters.  These will be for AD&D2E.

The Nine Rivers

Within the Valley, which is some 3200 miles long from east to west, the most common way to distinguish regions is to consider the segments that are roughly split up by the Nine rivers that flow into the Great River.  These divide the Valley up into eleven different regions. 

The northern regions, west to east, are

• The Shattered Plains
• The Enchanted Forests
• The Darkearth Plains
• The Sildur Reaches
• The Suuviz Region

The southern regions, from west to east are:

• The region of Gateway
• The region of Bartaloo
• The Rising Land
• The Wychwood region
• The Nightside region
• The Shale March

Four of these rivers flow from the Destriel mountains in the north, and each of them passes underneath the King's Highway.  Five of the rivers flow from the Holabria mountains in the south.  All nine empty their contents into the Great River, which continues to flow from the east to the west.

Listing the rivers, in order, from west to east we see that we have:

1. Durwash River - which flows out of the Destriel Mountains, near the famous Groben Cave sites, down past one of the Altars of the Old Ones (the great stone amphitheater, near the King's Highway), flowing south into the Great River.  While the Durwash southwest from the Groben sites, there is a tributary that joins it from the north west, called the Stormwash. The region to the west of the Durwash is the Shattered Plains, and the region to the east is the Enchanted Forests.
2. Pellet Water Run - This swift flowing body of water begins in the Holabria Mountains, with the glacial lake Sunshield as its point of origin.  It flows down, through the Burning hills, and finally north between the Falcon Woods and the Deeper Forest. The region to the west of the Pellet Water Run is the Gateway region, and to the east is the Bartaloo Region.
3. The Two-Moon river is an amazing body of water.  First there is the magical property that the third moon of the world never reflects on the water, only the first and second moons (which is where the name comes from).  Second, the headwaters of the Two-Moon are high in the Holabria Mountains, and they are in fact a waterfall descending from a cloudy realm high over the Fircarran Peaks.  The waterfall splashes down and forms a lake called the Skybowl, and then begins the long journey down out of the mountains, north towards the Jazzan and into the Great River.  The Two-Moon river is joined also by the Tandalorn River, which originates to the east of the Skybowl, as a series of  springs.  The site of the Tandalorn Springs is where the Parn Tandalorn Monastary is located.  To the west of the Two-Moon river is the Bartaloo Region, and to the right is the Rising Land.
4. The Lost Mare River is the next of the Nine.  It flows, at first mad and fast, south out of the Destriel Mountains towards Sorrad Forest, and then turning east, begins to lose a lot of its speed and anger, making its way lazily towards the King's Highway, and then on to the Great River.  Once it turns east away from the Sorrad Forest, one of the reasons for the great slowdown of the Lost Mare is because a lot of the river is diverted underground, feeding the mighty Underdark Sea, which is home to the Dark Elves and their so-called  "buccaneer kingdoms".  The Lost Mare is also joined by the Night Wash, a mountain stream fed tributary river.  The Lost Mare river divides the Enchanted Forests region to the west from the Darkearth Plains region to the east.
5. The Fernrush River is next.  It empties out of Ancalhenn Lake, which is fed itself by four mountain rivers coming out of the Holabrian Mountains.  Several ruined Old One sites are along the Fernrush River, which for some forgotten reason was a focal point of Old One trade activity.  The Fernrush River divides the Rising Land to the west from the region of Wychwood to the east.
6. The Greywater flows south out of the Destriel Mountains, joined by the Terrapin River.  There is a lot of river traffic along the Greywater from the many different Storm King tribes in the northern Shadow Woods.  Many different Storm King Jarls have holdings along the Greywater river.  The Greywater serves to divide the Darkearth Plains to the west from the Sildur Reaches to the east.
7. The Tiazarr River is next.  Its source is in the south, in the Caves of Night.   The Tiazarr is joined by the Ceduria River, flowing out of Ceduria Lake, which is also home to Panakus River, one of the four feeding Ancalhenn Lake.  The Tiazarr River divides the Wychwood region to the west, from the Nightside region to the east.
8. The Fa'Ars River flows past the great city of Narn, as it makes its way south from the Destriel mountains to feed the Great River.  The Fa'Ars has its source high in the Destriels, at a series of connected lakes known as the Tears of Heaven.  The region is widely avoided, as Giant country.  The Fa'Ars River divides the Sildur Reaches to the west of the river, from the Suuviz region to the east of the river.
9. The Moa Thola is the last of the Nine.  It is a river that comes out of the Shale hills.  It is home to a large amount of Sun King tribal traffic.  The river itself is joined by the Errando River originating not too far from the Caves of Night.  Perhaps there is a connection to the Tiazarr River.  The Moa Thola river divides the Nightside region, to the west, from the Shale March region to the east.

Valley of the Old Ones - updated with Nine Rivers information - click for more detail

History of the Valley - since Ba'a Zarn

The Archivists of Parn Tandalorn tend to view the history of the Valley of the Old Ones as, enigmatically, beginning with the departure of the Old Ones themselves.  At some point, in the distant past, the King of the Old Ones Ba'a Zarn disappeared from the world.  After this time, the many creatures and creations of the gods of the Old Ones began to spread and to rule over the world.  The chief creations amongst all of these are Men, Elves and Dwarves.  The Men seem to have been a companion gift to the Old Ones, constructed by the Elemental Gods.  The Elves were first created by the forest goddess Earnissa.  The Dwarves were created by The Krung, lord of the mountains.

As the power of the Old Ones began waning, many of the Men who were living with them in their fabulous cities began to flee, and to already spread across the world.  At this time they began worshiping the gods and goddesses of nature, especially Bronc the Storm King, and Photoss the Sun King.  The Three Goddesses were not unknown at this time, but the complicated nuance of the modern churches did not exist - they were simply worshiped as Fertility, Magic and Agriculture.

The tribes of the Storm King grew in power and strength, until they threatened both the Dwarves and the Elves.  This brought about the first Elf war, which pitted the ancient tribes of the Storm King against the original forest tribes of Earnissa's people.  The Dwarves were pledged to help the Elves, but due to unknown reasons they never appeared at any of the battles.  The barbaric humans were losing in the war against the elves, but in the end the Elves capitulated and settled an uneasy peace with the humans.

There are still groups of humans that worship the Storm King, however (and this is true within the Valley) much of human civilization is now built around the worship of the Three Goddesses.  These three, and a complicated hierarchy of saints and scions, are the object of much of the modern Church that is key to human civilization.

Within the Valley, the human city of Narn is home to the feudal kingdom of Neill family.  Duke Alasdair IV is the current head of the family, and he rules with the blessings of the Arch-Cleric Neveross, of the Cathedral of St. Narn.  Across the valley there are many small baronies and other realms that all, in theory, owe feudal loyalty to the Neill family, however the distance and the politics involved mean that at any time any number of these can be at war with each other, or against the Neills themselves.  Complicated church politics don't make matters any simpler.

Within the valley, there are several forests where Elven domains are evident.  These are largely Wood Elves.  There are, in the mountains surrounding the valley, several hidden cities of High Elves as well.  During the war with the Storm King barbarians, the High Elves felt betrayed by their brothers who surrendered to the Humans, and so went, mostly, into seclusion.  Other than their hidden mountain cities, the High Elves also have a floating city that travels up and down the Great River.

Several underground colonies of Grey Dwarves exist in the mountains surrounding the valley.  These are the types of dwarves who feel compelled to pursue their traditional role as miners and craftsmen, working with stones and gems, and digger deeper and deeper into the mountains.  Offshoots of these 'traditionalists' often move down out of the mountain, and build towns and villages where they trade with the feudal human cities, and others.  These Dwarves who leave the mountains are often referred to as Brown Dwarves.

Countless other races of beings (magical and natural) occupy the areas within and around the Valley.  Among the more numerous are the Halflings, Gnomes and of course all the Goblin races, from the goblins themselves, up through the trolls.  Many variants of beastmen exist as well.  In addition to the underground empires of the goblins and dwarves, there is another race of elves that have taken up life under the mountains - the Dark Elves.

Since the departure of the Old Ones, and the war between the Barbarians and the Elves, the rise of Human civilization has dominated the valley.  Today they are the most numerous people within the valley, although the strength of Narn has faded in recent decades.

History of the World - Valley of the Old Ones

The Valley, of course, is part of a much larger world.  This is a short version of the history of that world, according to the Archivists of Parn Tandalorn.

Once, a long time before there was time, the world had no music.  Without music, there was no magic.  Without magic, there were no numbers.  But one by one, through the strength of their will, the elemental gods of the Old Ones awoke.  Their names are now long forgotten, but in the course of things, each of them had a number.  The first, the lord of fire, helped to bring the rest into being.  They came in order, the Lord of Fire, the Lady of Air, Earth Weaver and the One beneath the Waves.  From them the rest of the gods of the Old Ones came, each after its own element.  Now their numbers were many, and  from this they could wring out all manner of magic.

The magic allowed the gods to create, each after his or her own fashion, the things that would live on the earth.  Plants, Animals, Fish, Birds.  Even the Old Ones.  They were created by the Lord of Fire and the Lady of Air directly, and held sway over all other things.  Through their ordering, the magic gave way to music, and now the world was complete.

After a time, a king arose amongst the Old Ones named Ba'a Zarn the Builder.  Ba'a Zarn and his people built all manner of fantastic cities and wonders.  Some still stand - the Sky Lake of Cittar and the Great Block.  Some are long gone.  Many were deep under the earth, still more were among the clouds.  One of the amazing feats of Ba'a Zarn was the construction of the Great River, which completely crosses the face of the world from one end to the other.  Along with the Great River is the King's Highway.  Much of the King's Highway is still in existence, and these two wonders - the River and the Highway - run through the middle of the Valley of the Old Ones.

It is said that the Valley itself was once a garden of the Old Ones, where they would come to take their ease and talk with all of the creatures of the gods.  Certainly they left behind some fantastic structures in the mountains and on the plains of the valley.  Many these days shun such spots, as they are the home of amazing creatures and inscrutable magic, but others seek them out as spots of adventure and fantastic treasures.

Forest Abbey of the Hedgehog People (part 2)

Here is the basic area map for the countryside surrounding Finch Abbey. I am planning a more detailed version, but the details are not meant for the eyes of the scenario players, so it will remain safe and secure in my GM notebook.

The key to the map is as follows:

1.Finch Abbey – former abbey of St. Brigid – Hedgehog people monastery
2.Trevor Landing – Out of use boat landing
3.Kliban Tower – Tower of a dead wizard
4.Village of Nosh – Western most village of Gorrem Castle
5.Tozen Quarry – flooded stone quarry
6.Raifhome Keep – Home to the retired mercenary, Raif the Spear.
7.The Red House – Very old marble villa, now a nest to a clan of ogres.
8.Haunt of the Spider – Tower of a dead wizard
9.Ruins of Fernrush – Once a wealthy trading town, now ruins.

Although the scenario of the game centers around the player-characters starting out at the Village of Nosh (in a tavern called "The Happy Lute" no less...) and then traveling to Finch Abbey, I wanted to populate the map with other interesting locations that could be of use later on for other gaming sessions.

Forest Abbey of the Hedgehog People (part 1)

(this is another posting that was originally on Gaming with Chuck - moved here)

One of the keys to the old school adventure I am dreaming up for MarsCon is the peaceful fantasy race known as the Hedgehog People. Their own name for themselves is the Roikkitikki, but everyone else just calls them the Hedgehog People, or just the Hedgehogs.

For visual inspiration, I take my cues from the marvelous artwork done for the Ironclaw rpg, especially the hedgehogs.

In my setting of "The Valley of the Old Ones" the hedgehogs usually inhabit relatively peaceful forests,near (but not too close) to the civilized lands of peaceful people. When encountered outside of their forests, they are usually in small groups consisting of monks and clerics of St. Brigid. They don't usually deal in magic, get along well with halflings and gnomes, admire humans of the better sort, but distrust the elves. Hedgehogs are excessively fond of feasting, and usually tend towards the pacifistic.

One of the very sad aspects of the Hedgehog folk is that they, like all of the Forest Folk, are a created race - dreamt of and given life by some long forgotten mad magician. Because of this, although they move through the world as other sentient beings, they have no soul.

For my scenario, the group in question is a community associated with the Abbey of Finch, in the Redsmoke Woods. This small forest lies along the Fernrush River, which is a southern tributary to the Great River. Nearest the Abbey, the Fernrush is about a mile wide, and is home to sporadic trade and fishing.

East of the forest, the rolling hills in the demesne of Gorrem Castle. The lands have been lawless for several years, and most of the villages and holdings have started looking to their own defense, without the castle to protect them. During this period, a number of bands of goblins have worked their way north into the Redsmoke and have been raiding out, threatening outlying settlements that were once under the protection of Gorrem. Finch Abbey has recently fallen to one of those bands, but there must be something more sinister at play, because of the degree of evil coming out of the former peaceful sanctuary. A band of raiding goblins couldn't possibly be responsible for the atrocities committed.

Maps and write-ups coming soon, subject to real life demands, of course!

Introduction - Valley of the Old Ones

This is a setting for fantasy games (wargames, roleplaying games, etc) developed by Me. It draws on a lot of different sources and ideas, but is primarily designed as a fun place to run games.

The Valley exists in a much larger world (much) although I will write about that later on.

For now, here is the original opening description (originally posted on Gaming with Chuck):

Once, ages ago, before even the dragons remember, the Old Ones held court on the sunny face of the world. At that time, Ba'a Zarn, the king of the Old Ones, ruled a mighty empire. His craftsmen were the source of many things - the stars, music, time - but one of the the strongest things they built was the King's Highway.

This highway is a massive stone lane, large enough for the King's chariots to ride over, built on top of a mound that varies between 100 and 200 feet above the surrounding plains. Periodically, there are ancient guard towers that still stand, and massive stone lined tunnels that go through the mound. There are even tunnels under the mound for the tributaries of the Great River to run through.

The Great River circles the entire world, and the King's Highway generally follows its course.

The Valley of the Old Ones is one spot along the Great River, home to the ancient human city of Narn. The valley measures 3200 miles from end to end. The city is old and crumbling, but was once mighty enough to withstand attacks from the warlords out of the mountains surrounding the valley. Now it is mostly bereft of riches, so is not the subject of attack nearly so much.

In the plains throughout the valley, countless small unknown villages dot the countryside. With the collapse of Narn some generations back, local nobles began the construction of many of their own castles and keeps, to keep safe from the mountain raiders.

Today, Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Halflings dwell in the valley, trying to make a peaceful life. The surrounding ancient ruins and wonderous sites remind them that the Old Ones once roamed here. Those same sites can be the home of adventure and exploration, but can also be the source of great, unnatural danger.

This will be the setting of a number of old school adventures that I am brewing up. I hope to reveal the first at MarsCon (January 2011).

Classic Fantasy Gaming Monsters

There are some classic monsters that exist almost exclusively because of gaming. You know the sort I am thinking of - the Beholder, the Carrion Crawler, the Shrieker. What is your favorite, and why? Please comment...

Valley of the Old Ones

A setting for some Old School roleplaying. Drawn using Autorealm.

Once, ages ago, before even the dragons remember, the Old Ones held court on the sunny face of the world.  At that time, Ba'a Zarn, the king of the Old Ones, ruled a mighty empire.  His craftsmen were the source of many things - the stars, music, time - but one of the the strongest things they built was the King's Highway.

This highway is a massive stone lane, large enough for the King's chariots to ride over, built on top of a mound that varies between 100 and 200 feet above the surrounding plains.  Periodically, there are ancient guard towers that still stand, and massive stone lined tunnels that go through the mound.  There are even tunnels under the mound for the tributaries of the Great River to run through.

The Great River circles the entire world, and the King's Highway generally follows its course.

The Valley of the Old Ones is one spot along the Great River, home to the ancient human city of Narn.  The valley measures 3200 miles from end to end. The city is old and crumbling, but was once mighty enough to withstand attacks from the warlords out of the mountains surrounding the valley.  Now it is mostly bereft of riches, so is not the subject of attack nearly so much.

In the plains throughout the valley, countless small unknown villages dot the countryside.  With the collapse of Narn some generations back, local nobles began the construction of many of their own castles and keeps, to keep safe from the mountain raiders.

Today, Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Halflings dwell in the valley, trying to make a peaceful life.  The surrounding ancient ruins and wonderous sites remind them that the Old Ones once roamed here.  Those same sites can be the home of adventure and exploration, but can also be the source of great, unnatural danger.

This will be the setting of a number of old school adventures that I am brewing up.  I hope to reveal the first at MarsCon (January 2011).

Tags: fantasy role playing