Hey all…here it comes, and soon. In about two weeks, Frog
God Games will begin its new Kickstarter on the next installment of the temple
of elemental….I mean the Lost Lands.
Yours truly has made arrangements to take some time off of
my day job to….you won’t believe it…finish Sword of Air. After 14 years of
waiting, this multi-phase adventure and sourcebook of the Necromancer Games
(meaning me) home game world will come to light. This adventure and setting
have been referenced in every book I have ever written, all the way back to Crucible of Freya.
I have resurrected all my old notebooks and (literally)
typewritten manuscripts. Found all my old drawings and maps, playtested several
sections of the adventure at the last few conventions, and am ready to finally
bang this thing out. This adventure series links strongly to Rappan Athuk, Slumbering Tsar, Stoneheart Valley and many other old
Necromancer Games books as well. Those links will be expanded here as well.
The underlying quest is to recover the lost fragments of a
mythical artifact known as the Sword of Air, an icon of Law and Good, and
perhaps the only thing that can stop the foul minions of Tsathogga from
overrunning the earth. This adventure itself is geared for 1st-20th
level players (truly a sandbox), with the main storyline being set for levels
5-15 (really 3-12 for Swords and Wizardry). The book will be produced in both
Pathfinder and Swords and Wizardry formats.
SIGNIFICANT deluxe editions will be available for you
collectors. Two premium editions are planned; one leather embossed, and one,
well, you will have to wait and see, but my printer is referring to it as the “nuclear”
edition. I am estimating page count at 500 (may vary), and all versions will
contain a large fold out map of the region as a stretch goal. Premium editions
may have a few extra features related to the map itself. Additional stretch goals
will include full color printing, additional material (for all!), and possibly
an exclusive, Kickstarter only, module.
Currently, this book consists of several parts.
1.
The Hel’s Temple Dungeon—kind of like Tomb of
Horrors on crack. This six level trap and puzzle infested dungeon formed the
basis of my game through my high school and college years. Clark Peterson’s
very own Bannor the Paladin spent several real life months in the place, and
sadly, finished the objective. This is where the fragments of the fabled Sword
of Air can be found…perhaps.
2.
The wilderness area to the west of Rappan Athuk
and extending into the goblin filled Cragnook Mountains, providing detail about
the Wizards Wall (created like the Great Wall of China to keep the goblins at
bay by the great wizards Margon and Alickthron (actual player characters from
the early 1980’s). Over 70 unique encounter areas are detailed, each one an
mini-adventure in itself.
3.
The Ruined City of Tsen. Sister City to Tsar,
and destroyed at nearly the same time by what many believe was a falling meteor.
This place forms and aboveground dungeon area the size of a city, with over 100
detailed encounter areas. It’s a very dark place…even at noon.
4.
The Wizard’s Feud—This campaign style adventure
pits the players in a long-running series of intrigues and battles between two
archmages. Which side will they take? Their actions all play into the overall
quest, and could well determine which side wins. Law and Chaos are not always
what they seem, and if the wrong decisions are made, the entire ordeal could
fail. Remember, one of the wizards WANTS Tsathogga to win.
5.
New Gods and Demons of the world, new spells,
and new rules for various aspects of play.