Still moving ahead with Western Venatia and NOD #6.

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0518. A large village occupies the southern shore of Lake Krusk. The village is collection of longhouses constructed of stone taken from the surrounding cliffs, which happen to be made of travertine. Despite the simplicity of the occupants, each house is worth a good sum if one were able to carry the stone away through the winding, evil valleys of the Klarkash Mts to a lowland market.

The people of the village, Zamat-on-Krusk, are humans, but with more than a little hobgoblin blood flowing through their veins. They have orange-red skin, protruding jaws and stiff, black hair with the consistency of straw. Born mostly of slave-stock, they are fiercely independent folk and prone to react violently to provocation.

While the main industry of Zamat-on-Krusk is fishing and the production of fish oil (the Zamati know a process of distilling the fish oil to produce a pungent sort of naphtha), it is also a trading town, receiving goods from amoral merchants that with to trade with the goblin-folk of the mountains and serving armies of orcs, goblins and human bandits on the march.

Zamat-on-Krusk has a 30-ft tall wall and a standing army of 50 men-at-arms, half armed with crossbows and axes and the other half with pole arms. The villagers do most of their fishing with a legendary breed of giant fishing eagles. Some of these eagles are trained as war beasts – they do not carry warriors, but instead harry besiegers from the air. The village supports three large road houses located outside the village walls. These roadhouses cater to travelers – mostly bandits, hobgoblins, goblins and orcs.

Zamat-on-Krusk is governed by a council of chiefs, the population being divided into multiple close-knit clans headed by hereditary chieftains. The chieftains rarely convene – usually only in times of war or other severe crises, and when they do their first order of business is usually a series of violent challenges to determine who shall serve as head of the council and de facto ruler.

0609. Atop a hillock there is a lone pine tree that sings melancholy dirges heard up to 9 miles away. Anyone foolish enough to harm the tree is immediately set upon by a pack of four hounds of Yith.

| Hound of Yith: HD 3; AC 1 [18]; Atl 1 bite (1d6+1); Move 18 (F25); Save 14; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Baying (cause fear 100-ft), harmed only by magic/silver weapons, fly, magic resistance 10%,

If the vandals survive, they are attacked for twelve more nights by more hounds, with the pack expanding by one hound each night. On the thirteenth night, they will face Arawn, a death god.

| Arawn: HD 20 (137 hp); AC -5 [24]; Atk 2 club strokes (1d6+5); Move 15 (F15); Save 2; CL/XP 28/6800; Special: Cast spells as 20th level druid, death spell 1/rd (as black ray from eyes), immune to damage dealing spells and magic weapons, magic resistance 50%. Looks like a pale man in a black cloak and sable tunic wielding a large +3 club.

The ground around the tree is littered with copper coins, some several centuries old. Adventurers can take the coins without fear of reprisal, finding 20-80 with each hour of searching until a total of 4,000 have been recovered.

[Because hey – what kind of jerk beats up a tree suffering from depression?]

0613. The White Wolves are a small hobgoblin tribe that dwells in a cave lair. They keep six carnivorous apes and 50 goblin slaves. The White Wolf clan consists of 200 warriors. The warriors wear chainmail and wield short swords and throwing axes, with half of the tribe also carrying pole arms and the other half short bows. The goblin slaves can be equipped with spears and clubs in a pinch.

Each platoon of ten hobgoblins is commanded by a sergeant-at-arms (2 HD) with chainmail, polearm and longsword. The White Wolves are led by Grishna the Flayer. He is an old, large, gnarled hobgoblin covered in decades of scar tissue. Grishna is a canny tactician who has held his own in many campaigns against the knights of Pfeife, Blackpoort and Guelph.

Grishna is assisted by a wizened old female hobgoblin shaman called Fruze. Fruze has been around even longer than Grishnak and bears a special hatred for the Pfeifers that wiped out her old clan, the Dragon’s Tongue hobgoblins.

Treasure: 270 cp, 270 sp and 250 gp locked in an iron chest that is kept beneath a boulder in Grishna’s chamber.

| Grishna, Hobgoblin Fighter Lvl 6: HP 27; AC 0 [19]; Save 9 (7 vs. disease); CL/XP 6/400. Heavy flail, dagger, +1 platemail.

| Fruze, Hobgoblin Adept Lvl 2: HP 7; AC 8 [11]; Save 14; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Adept spells (1st), guide. Staff, fetishes.

0711. The Goblin Tower abuts the Klarkash Mountains. Built ages ago by a dwarf lord, it has since fallen to a strange cult of goblins that worship the Gnawer at the Root. The cultists’ leader is Grinkle, an exceptional goblin shaman who uses his powers to snatch away children from all over the world, putting them to work mining beneath the tower to eventually open the tomb of the Gnawer, a creature said to combine the powers of an ancient black dragon and type IV demon.

| Grinkle, Goblin Adept Lvl 10: HP 38; AC 8 [11]; Save 6; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: Adept spells (3rd), sage. Owns a crystal ball through which he snatches disobedient children.

0804. This wide plateau is littered with the remains of a terrible battle. One can pick out dozens of skulls and skeletons of humans and hobgoblins and rusty weapons and armor that look to be a hundred years old. One side of the field contains a ruined catapult, its arm splintered. At the other there is a massive boulder from under which stick to legs still encased in armor.

The armor is +2 platemail that remains in perfect condition (if it can extracted from the boulder). The old inhabitant of the armor, a Sir Goresby, now possesses the armor. Those who wear the armor must succeed at a saving throw to avoid charging goblins and hobgoblins on sight and to avoid feeling animosity towards elves and half-elves.

At night, the skeletal warriors rise and engage in mock battle. Intruders find themselves attacked by twenty skeletons for every adventurer present. Unlike normal skeletons, they age those they hit by 1 year.

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Art from Otherworld Miniatures hobgoblins boxed set.

Ah – the unlucky post. Five more encounters for Western Venatia. If all goes well, I’ll publish PARS FORTUNA this weekend. I’m still waiting for one last piece of art – if it comes through I’ll publish the complete rules on Lulu.com – should go for $15 in book form, $7 in e-book format – and the basic rules in the free download section on this blog. If the picture doesn’t come through, I’ll still probably publish the free version. Cross your fingers.

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1636. All that remains of an ancient elf hunting lodge is a support column carved to look like three thin beeches braided together. A stone foundation traces a large footprint – the lodge must have been quite a sight in its day. There is little rubble left from the thing, and the forest is slowly but surely reclaiming the site. Should one rap three times on the surviving column, a trapdoor will open nearby to reveal a set of stone stairs descending into a cellar. The cellar is divided into two sections. The first is a fairly common root cellar loaded with urns, amphorae and barrels of spoiled or dried foodstuffs and sour wine. In one wall of the root cellar there is a sturdy, steel door that is quite cold to the touch – cold enough that prolonged contact begins causing frostbite (1d4 damage).

Behind the frozen door there is a small chamber with steel walls that was magicked long ago into a sort of freezer. Freezer-burned sides of venison and fowls hang from hooks in the ceiling, and in one corner there is the preserved remains of two elves, a woman and man. The woman was quite old (young looking, but with long ears) and is sitting in the corner cradling the man, who was much younger than her and died of terrible wounds taken in battle. The woman wears a gown of woolen scarlet, embroidered velvet slippers worth 50 gp and a silver tiara worth 100 gp. The man wears the costume of a wealthy forester and holds in his right hand a broken long sword (once a magical +2 weapon). Upon entering the freezer, a groaning spirit will emerge from the walls of the root cellar and attempt to destroy the intruders.

| Groaning Spirit: HD 7; AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 touch (1d8 + Str); Move 12; Save 9; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Chilling touch, keening, only harmed by magic weapons and spells.

1705. Amidst the overarching oaks and fecund ferns of the forest, a small mound of earth has been raised and topped by a small wooden idol. The idol looks very old and weathered, the wood cracked and only a few particles of paint still adhering. The idol depicts a woman of earthy beauty, its breasts swollen, belly full, hips round and face regal. Druids, even neophyte druids, will recognize this as a depiction of the one true Goddess behind all mortal conceptions of feminine divinity, and their prayers and offerings (and those of their comrades) will result in each receiving the effects of the Bless spell for one week. Offensive actions directed at the simple idol curse the druid and her friends increase the chance of wandering monster encounters by +2 (i.e. usually to 1-4 on 1d6).

1726. The banks of the river here are coated with run-off from the surrounding farms and villas. Encounters with effluvial grubs, nasty worm-like creatures who burrow and feed on human and animal waste, occur here on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6.

| Effluvial Grub: HD 2; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 bite (1d4 + infection); Move 9 (B6); Save 16; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: Infection, effluvial gases.

1808. The remnants of a Nomoan road can be spied here, forming a small ridge among the trees and underbrush. The road is mostly overgrown, but still allows fast passage through the woods. It once extended all the way to the mineral springs in [1816]. A particularly large oak alongside the road is home to a flirtatious hamadryad who will appear to benevolent looking adventurers and invite them to dine with her. They will find that a wide stump behind the oak has been set with a fresh linen cloth, plates of silver and a meal of venison steaks and berry wine. The dryad, Salena by name, will quiz the adventurers on the goings on of the wider world, and is a fine hostess. Should the adventurers return her kindness, she will send them on thair way with a sack of goodies (treat as one week of iron rations). Should they prove violent, they will be set upon by a gang of buckawn robbers hidden nearby and poised to strike.

| Buckawn: HD 1d6; AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 dart or dagger (1d3); Move 15; Save 18; CL/XP 1/15; Special: Spells, magic resistance 10%.

| Salena: HD 2 (13 hp); AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 wooden dagger (1d4); Move 12; Save 16; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Charm person (-2 save).

1821. A tribe of skunk goblins has built a large stilt village here. The tribe numbers 125 warriors, 150 females and 200 children. The skunk goblin king is Glickwick, who is advised by Wullug the vizier. The tribe’s warriors go into battle mounted on giant killer frogs, making them a force to be reckoned with.

| Skunk Goblin: HD 1d6; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12; Save 18; CL/XP 1/15; Special: Pungent.

| Glickwick: HD 4 (22 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12; Save 13; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Pungent. Chainmail, flail.

| Wullug, Goblin Adept Lvl 3: HP 12; AC 6 [13]; Save 13; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Pungent, spells (1st), guide. Warhammer.

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Art by Dragos Stanculescu from his gallery at Elfwood.

Six more delightful things to see and/or do in Western Venatia.

Also, since I have your attention, a few bits of NOD news:

– PARS FORTUNA is set to be published in one week. There will be a basic version of the game as a free PDF and a complete version for sale via Lulu.com. I’m waiting on one piece of art, right now, and have a few bits of formatting to finish up. PARS FORTUNA will contain 12 new races/race-classes, a new way to handle weapons and armor (nothing earth shattering), simplified encumbrance, new initiative rules, new magic system with 126 different spells, guides on designing campaigns and dungeons – both for sandbox/exploration type games and plot driven games, 147 new monsters, a sample level 1 dungeon, a sample sandbox and 120 new magic items. Whew! The basic version will have 4 of the races, the spells level 1 to 3, about 48 of the magic items and a bunch of the lower level monsters. Can’t wait to get this one off my plate.

Oh – and what do you think about STAR FORTUNA as a sci-fi version?

– NOD #6 is in the works – probably will be published early December. This will be a free download to celebrate the holidays. I plan on going free downloads next year and then selling hard copies on Lulu. I think I can make up the lost revenue with advertising – rates will be affordable and the circulation on #1 stands at close to 700 units.

– My first Hexcrawl Classic will soon be available via Frog God Games. I’m writing the second one now and should do about 8 or 10 of the things in all. Exciting stuff for me, and hopefully people will find them useful. I’m especially excited that they will eventually be converted into the Pathfinder format, opening a new audience for sandbox-style play.

– Mystery Men! was funded and I’m now working with Joel Carroll to get our illustrations completed. I’m going to put scads of time into the MM! rules once PARS FORTUNA and NOD #6 are put to bed.

And that’s the news from NOD. Now on to our regularly scheduled geekery …

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0913. A tattered cloak hangs on the branch of a tree. The face of a grimacing ogre is embroidered into the back of the cloak. In the presence of ogres or giants, the wearer of the cloak must pass a saving throw or fight alongside them against his comrades or risk the cloak making a choking attack each round as a 4 HD monster dealing 1d8 points of damage.

1616. A female owlbear and her three cubs live here in a dank cave. The cave opens out on a small gully that turns into quite a large pond when it has rained. The gully is surrounded by scrub oak and blueberry bushes. The owlbears look like a combination of great horned owls and black bears. When the female is in season, encounters with males occur on the roll of 1-4 on 1d6.

| Owlbear: HD 5+1 (27 hp); AC 5 [14]; Atk 2 claws (1d6), bite (2d6); Move 12; Save 12; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Hug (2d8) if attack roll is 18 or higher..

1631. There is a geyser here in a large, stony clearing surrounded by a “fence” of massive boulders. Most dwarfs can identify the work as coming from hill giants. Within this compound there is a shallow pool of hot water and mineral salts and the geyser, which erupts every 1d4+3 turns. Folk caught in the gout of super hot water suffer 3d6 points of scalding damage (half that with a successful saving throw) and more-over have their movement rate cut in half from the burns that cover their body for 2d4 days.

A cursory examination will reveal spikes hammered into the walls of the cavity from which the water springs. The cavity is safe, though very steamy, if the water is not exploding, and grants access to a complex of limestone caves filled with slippery, sucking mud to a depth of 1 to 3 feet. Movement through the mud caverns is at a rate of 3, and fighting in the mud forces folk to pass a save every time they miss an attack or fall into the sticky stuff.

Lurking in the system of muddy caves is a thessalhydra that the region’s giants, goblins and kobolds call Yiquartho, which roughly translates as the “Daughter of Heaven’s Whore”. Yiquartho receives sacrifices of gnomes and adventurers on an irregular basis from the evil folk of the woods, and will quickly pick up the scent of new arrivals. The creature’s treasure is scattered through the cavern system beneath the thick layer of mud.

Treasure: 3,240 gp and a gold nose stud worth 165 gp.

| Yiquartho: HD 12 (57 hp); AC -1 [20]; Atk 8 bites (1d6) and 1 bite (3d6) and 1 tail (2d6); Move 12; Save 3; CL/XP 17/3500; Special: Acid, poison, immune to acid.

1642. Giant manta rays, silvery blue in color, choke the sea lanes here by day, and at night leave the water to soar through the skies. By day or night, encounters with the beasts occur on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6 in this hex, with 1d6 appearing.

| Giant Manta Ray: HD 8; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 bite (2d6), tail sting (2d10); Move S18; Save 8; CL/XP 10/1400.; Special: Swallow whole, tail stuns

1707. The River Dubglas in this hex plunges down a waterfall. Stretched across the falls are the remnants of a rope bridge. The bridge now consists of a single length of thick rope with the remaining ropes now suspended from it over the maelstrom. The river is not fordable further up river, for it is astoundingly deep, being a primordial gorge that once supported a dark civilization of ophidians. The river is 40 feet wide at this point, and crossing using the rope requires four strength checks (use whatever method you favor, or use saving throws) to avoid falling. A fall plunges one 10 feet down into the river and then over the 30-ft high falls for 6d6 points of damage.

1817. A tall hill of gray stone dominates the landscape. It is topped with several menhirs that jut out at odd angles. An ancient vampiric chief of the Magog is interred within this hill along with a bodyguard of wights. The tomb is accessible from the top of the hill via a small opening near the base of a menhir. One must wriggle through the opening to reach an ante-chamber ringed with menhirs carved with undulating, swirling patterns that cause nausea when stared at for too long. Secret doors from this chamber give access to the deeper recesses of the tomb. Wandering monsters in the barrow include mites, molds, wights and zombies. At the heart of the complex is the tomb of the vampiric chief, kept in a deep slumber in a coffin of silver in the middle of a pool of holy water.

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Illustration by Jon Kaufman.