Six-Point Interesting Locations in the UVG

     I've been trying to get myself to do more writing and worldbuilding, just for its own sake. You can't improve if you don't practice, after all. And I hope that some of the things that I write will be of interest to anyone who happens upon this blog.

    Part of the challenge of writing bite-sized chunks of worldbuilding content is that there needs to be a larger coherent setting to hang them on. I could make my own, but that's a lot of work that may never be useful or interesting to anyone. I am, however, running a campaign in Ultraviolet Grasslands, a setting with an extremely open-ended and inspirational science fantasy setting. You are encouraged, even compelled, to add to the locations detailed on the map. It even names some topographical features not directly detailed in the various points of interest.

    I figured that describing some of these named locations might be a good starting point for some interesting writing.

    Furthermore, Tsojcanth of the Lost Pages blog recently made a post detailing a template for writing about interesting locations. I find it to be a simple and elegant template that I wanted to try out. In brief, the template is as follows:

1. The Core; the defining aspect of the location
2. Not an adventuring locale, but colorful
3. Not an adventuring locale, but colorful and potentially dangerous
4. Possible Danger
5. Danger
6. Resource; something precious but not easy to access

    For my first attempt, I looked at the UVG Grand Long Map and chose the "Best-Forgotten Massif."

Doghead Necromancer Olek

The Best-Forgotten Massif

1. The Memory Hole. A huge hole in the peak of one of these mountains. The closer you get, the more of your memories vanish. No one can remember where it is.
2. Sobaka Village. A peaceful anarchistic village of dogheaded dissidents from the Violet Lands. Practice strict mental exercises and mainline dog’s tail to avoid memory loss.
3. The Necromancer’s Garden. The home of the doghead necromancer Olek, a burly, tough, black-furred doghead man with a prominent gold fang, clad in dirty and ill-maintained black robes. Has an orchard full of trees whose fruits contain fragments of the souls of dead people, whose bones and blood fertilize the garden. A very proud man, he hints darkly at revenge against someone in the Redlands who once wronged him.
4. Crystal Nymph. Enigmatic forest-women whose biology melds crystal, metal, plant, and animal matter. Capricious and vain, with an insatiable hunger for gossip, stories, and news.

5. 

   The Celestial Wolf

   Celestial Wolf. Big badass wolf-taur monster. Extra eyes, purple spines, blue-gray fur. Appears only when the stars are in the right alignment. The dogheads of Sobaka fear him, and believe he is a demon of some kind. 
6. Memory Crystals. Can be found embedded in the soil, or growing from plants like fruit. Come
   in a variety of different colors. When ground into a powder and combined in a precisely measured proportion, can create a potion that erases memories. Different mixtures of different colors can erase memories from a specific time period. It can erase memories of the past night, or the past week, or from a specific time years ago, or someone’s whole childhood, etc.

             I have realized that writing, formatting and posting play reports from my campaign is not nearly as fun or interesting as running them. I’m still writing them up for the benefit of my players, so I’ll probably post them all eventually. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to think of ways to write more regularly.

            Spark tables are neat. I’ve been collecting a few off the internet, here and there. Somehow, all of this came from the prompt “germinating gorge.”

The Gorge of Akatum

            Between the Mountains of Melanaster and the Plangent Plains lies a great fissure in the earth. The nomads of the plains call it “Akatum,” the name of an ancient monster spawned by Maug, Lord of the Abyss.

            The gorge is several miles in length and runs north-northwest along the foothills of the mountains. It gradually slopes downward from its southernmost point to an eventual depth of roughly 3000 feet, and it varies in width from 500 to 2000 feet, with the widest section being in the center and narrowing at either end.

            The gorge is home to a unique, hybrid ecosystem of underworld flora and fauna. The terrain is often wet and marshy from the rainwater that flows into the gorge, and the ground is covered in pale blue moss. In some sections the moss sends up long stalks with spore pods on the end, visually similar to tall grass. There are also stands of primordial spore trees with segmented trunks and fan-like leaves in varying shades of purple and green.

Impressions

1. A thicket of purple and green spore trees, their spores falling like a gentle rain.
2. A makeshift altar of scorched human and animal bones, the remnants of an impromptu void-worshippers’ ritual.
3. An acrid stench and slithering sound emanates from a nearby talus, indicating the presence of CRABSNAKES.
4. The air is thick with long, cylindrical insects with a dozen pairs of wings.
5. The moss here is about to sporulate, the pale blue sporophytes taller than a man and as thick as tall grass.
6. A pack of SAWTUSKS feasts on the corpses of mutant outlaws.
7. A shallow creek trickling down the rocks, the mossy ground saturated with water all around.
8. A herd of mutant deer with white fur, spindly limbs, extra limbs and extra eyes.
9. Giant shards of bone-white chitin, the remains of a long-dead monstrous arthropod.
10. Dismembered corpses of a failed expedition, arranged into a trophy display by an ARMORED CORRUPTER

Questions

1. What do you hope to find within the gorge?
2. What eventually became of the monster Akatum?
3. What legends have you heard of the people who first encountered the gorge?
4. What do you think lives in this gorge that scares you the most?
5. Have you had any disturbing dreams concerning this place? What did you see?

Akatum’s Curse

The remains of an ancient monster spawned from the Abyss lines the depths of the gorge. These remains are still potent with foul, corrupting magic. It is hazardous to one’s health to remain in the gorge for a long period of time, causing you to become increasingly warped in mind and body.

Possible sources of exposure to the curse include, but are not limited to:

• When you Make Camp within the gorge.
• When you roll your Last Breath within the gorge.
• When you take damage from a gorge lion or an armored corrupter.
• When you eat the flesh of a creature of the gorge.
• When you first see the Plunge.

Any time you are exposed to the curse, roll+CON. On a 10+, nothing happens. On a 7-9, mark one corruption point. On a -6, mark two.

            When your corruption increases, and your new corruption score equals or exceeds your Wisdom score, roll+WIS. On a 10+, reduce your corruption score by 1. On a 7-9, nothing happens. On a -6, you are driven mad, and become an NPC under the GM’s control.

When your corruption increases, roll on the table below. If you roll a corruption effect you already have, roll again.

d12	Effect	d12	Effect
1	Your eyes become milk white, though you can still see.	7	Your internal organs are riddled with eyes and teeth. Reduce your Constitution score by 1d4.
2	Your hair becomes pure white.	8	Your head swells with murky fluid. Reduce your Intelligence score by 1d4.
3	Your skin becomes pure white.	9	You become unnaturally gaunt and thin. Reduce your Constitution score by 1d4, but you only need to eat and drink half as much.
4	Your fingers become abnormally long, and your nails sharp.	10	You are haunted by horrible nightmares every night. You even see horrible things when you close your eyes, or are in the dark. Reduce your Wisdom score by 1d4.
5	Your teeth grow sharp, and you gain the ability to unhinge your jaw like a snake.	11	You gain 1d4 extra arms. They are thinner and weaker than your usual arms, and cannot wield weapons, but they may be an asset for climbing, grappling, or other such tasks.
6	Your skin hardens into an exoskeleton, and your joints are segmented like an arthropod. You gain 1 natural armor.	12	You gain 2d6 extra eyes, not all of which may be on your head. You take +1 forward to Discern Realities, and can see in the dark.

Removing the Curse

            Even if the effects are purely cosmetic, players will likely want a way to remove the curse. Here are a few ideas:

Shamanic Purification Ritual – 15 coins

            Pay a shaman of the plains nomads to perform a folk-magic purification ritual. Takes one hour, and can remove 1 point of corruption per day.

Clerical Purification Ritual – 50 coins

            Travel to a cathedral with a proper font and altar, and pay an ordained priest to perform a purification ritual. Takes one hour, can remove 1d6+1 points of corruption. Can be repeated multiple times in one day.

Bath of Expurgatory Salts – 100 coins

            A skilled wizard or alchemist can concoct a particular kind of purifying salts which the afflicted may add to a hot water bath. As they scrub themselves clean, the curse will flow from them like common dirt. However, the wizard may wish to keep the bathwater to distill the curse-essence for “study.” Takes one hour, and sets a players’ corruption score to zero.

Divine Bounty

            If you harvest an intact Claw of Corruption from an Armored Corruptor, you can sacrifice it in a holy place ordained by any god inimical to Maug (which is most of them), and reduce your corruption score by 2d4 points.

    When your corruption score is reduced by any amount, by any means, select one of your corruption effects at random. If it resulted in a change to your ability scores, your ability scores return to normal after your next rest. Any cosmetic effects slowly fade over 1d6 days.

    When your corruption score is reduced to zero, all remaining corruption effects fade slowly over 1d6 days. If any resulted in a change to your ability scores, they return to normal after your next rest.

Points of Interests

Madman’s Rappel – A charted route down the side of the gorge with marked footholds and hazards, pitons driven into the rock, and fortified rest areas. A few run-down cabins at the bottom are all that is left of a long-abandoned base camp.

Poisoned Hut – This simple wooden hut was once the home of Wicked Reza, a heretical, void-worshipping witch. The hut now lies in the middle of a bog of unnatural, poisonous sludge, the residue of a failed experiment. Moans and screams echo from the hut at night, leading some to think that Reza’s ghost still haunts the area. The poison keeps would-be looters at bay, so there may yet be valuables within.

Sir Gilroy’s Grave – A renowned paladin once led an expedition into the gorge to route the Maug-worshipping cultists who lived within. They failed, and Sir Gilroy was slain along with most of his retinue. The retreating survivors barely had time to give Sir Gilroy a shallow grave, now marked with his sword and rusting armor.

Brynstan’s Hideout – Brynstan the Bandit was an infamous outlaw and highwayman who terrorized merchants and nomads on the plains for years. When the law caught up with him, he and his gang took refuge in the Gorge of Akatum, believing that their pilfered folk-magic talismans would protect them from the curse long enough for the heat to die down. This fortified camp built within a natural alcove in the wall is their hideout, now inhabited by crazed, curse-warped degenerates. Brynstan’s gang is mostly dead, but the hideout has become a haven for desperate outlaws who replenish their numbers.

The Plunge – The lowest point of the gorge is covered with a roof of stone, becoming a cave. At the very back of this cave is a smooth, straight shaft, perfectly circular and fifty feet across. The Dark Diver Cultists claim it goes all the way down past the Underworld, past Hell, and straight into the Abyss. The pit exudes a sinister magnetism, beckoning the subconscious minds of men to throw themselves in. Many of the Dark Diver Cultists do just that, as a sacrament to Maug.

Purifier’s Ruins – Ancient fort made of stone quarried straight from the gorge, very near the bottom. Once served as a home to an ancient sect of holy knights who fought the abyssal monsters that emerged from the Plunge. The stones are covered with deep gouges, as if assailed with pickaxes. Now a hideout of void-worshipping cultists.

Creatures of the Gorge

Crabsnake     3 HP    0 Armor
Horde, Small, Stealthy
Damage: Acid Spit (1d6, close, near, ignores armor)
            This loathsome creature has a thick, serpentine body longer than a man is tall, with a multi-legged crab-like structure for a head. It moves itself around with its thick tail, and clings to rocks and prey with its jointed legs. They lurk in the cracks in the walls of the gorge, and are fiercely territorial ambush predators. They spit acid both to defend themselves and to bore holes in the rocks to make their nests.
Instinct: To defend its nest
Special Qualities: Wall-climber
Moves:

• Attack without warning from a hiding spot.
• Slither into a crack in the rocks.
• Spit acid in the eyes, causing temporary blindness.

Dark Diver Cultists   6 HP    1 Armor
Group, Magical, Intelligent, Organized
Damage: Dagger (1d8, hand), Shadow Orb (1d6, close, ignores armor)
            The gorge is a sacred place to Maug, Lord of the Abyss, and Akatum is one of his most cherished offspring. These men and women have heard the siren song that tempts them to sweet annihilation, and embrace Akatum’s blessing. They seek to convert new followers to their cause, and new sacrifices to offer to the yawning maw of the Plunge. And failing that, they offer themselves, diving headlong into the Abyss in holy sacrament.
Instinct: To honor and worship Maug
Moves:

• Weave the gorge’s corruption into a spell
• Rally their fellow cultists to face a common threat
• Preach about the glory of Maug, and tempt others to annihilation

Sawtusk          6 HP    1 Armor
Group, Organized
Damage: Bite (1d8+2, close, messy)
            A pack-hunting organism originating in the strange, primordial environment of the Underworld. It looks like a strange arthropod with a long body of wide, curved segments and six spindly legs. It has multi-faceted black eyes on the end of eyestalks, and a pair of curved, tusk-like palps lined with serrated teeth. Despite their appearance, they neither spread the curse of Akatum, nor are they affected by it.
Instinct: To hunt
Special Qualities: Blindsight
Moves:

• Track prey by scent
• Summon the rest of its pack for aid with a shrill, rattling cry
• Gang up on the strongest foe

 
Gorge Lion    8 HP    0 Armor
Solitary, Small, Stealthy, Devious
Damage: Bite (1d8, close)
            These creatures are the descendants of curse-warped mountain lions, and are a common ambush predator of the gorge. They resemble a hairless mountain lion with bluish-gray skin, covered in a crazed web of bulging dark varicose veins. The contrast between the dark veins and lighter skin serves as natural camouflage, like a tiger’s stripes. These predators are particularly feared, not just because of the physical danger, but because their fangs bear the curse.
Instinct: To stalk its prey
Moves:

• Blend into its environment
• Move silently to stalk its prey
• Expose its prey to the Curse of Akatum with its bite

 
Corrupted Outlaws   3 HP    2 Armor
Horde, Intelligent, Organized, Hoarder
Damage: Spear (1d6, reach)
            Fear of the curse keeps all sensible people well away from the gorge. Desperate outlaws have long used this to their advantage, hiding where the law dares not follow. The curse has warped their minds and bodies. The new ones accept it as the cost of doing business. The older ones have long lost any sense of anything wrong, along with their humanity and desire to return to society.
Instinct: To steal
Moves:

• Demand tribute
• Perform a suicidal charge
• Flee, then return in greater numbers

 

Armored Corrupter  14 HP  4 Armor
Solitary, Divine, Hoarder
Damage: Claws (b[2d10]+2, close, messy), Tar Spit (1d6, ignores armor, near)
            The terrifying spawn of Akatum disgorged from the bowels of the abyss, the armored corrupter resembles a benthic isopod if were larger than a man and walked upright. It has a thick gray exoskeleton, tiny black eyes glittering with malice, and an ostensibly random assortment of barbed, segmented limbs, some of which are tipped with vicious, hooked claws. It doesn’t even need to eat; it kills prey for sheer pleasure and arranges their corpses in grotesque displays. It cements shiny trinkets from its prey to its exoskeleton with the thick black tar it spits, and it spreads the corruption to all it touches.
Instinct: To kill and corrupt
Moves:

• Inflict the curse through its attacks
• Rip its prey limb from limb
• Immobilize its prey with its many grasping limbs

Treasures of the Gorge

      

      Shamanic Anti-Curse
(50 coins, 1 weight)
            This crude clay pot is adorned with polished stones, feathers, and animal bones. It is consecrated with the shamanic magic of the nomads of the Plangent Plains to absorb the power of Akatum’s curse. Whenever your corruption score would increase, roll 1d6. On a 1-5, you take no corruption. On a 6, you take no corruption, but the vessel shatters, spilling black sludge.
 
Gorge Lion Fangs
            These are the fangs of the mutated mountain lions that live in the gorge. They can be attached to an arrowhead, manually inserted into a targets flesh, or ground into a powder and ingested. This exposes the victim to Akatum’s Curse.
 
God-Chitin Armor
(3 armor, worn, clumsy, 3 weight)
            This suit of armor is made from the pale chitin of some monstrous arthropod. Whenever you put it on, you are exposed to the curse. However, you are immune to the curse as long as you wear it, and no subsequent exposure can increase your corruption score.
 
Darkdream Spores
            A bag of spores collected from a certain underworld moss. When you inhale the darkdream spores and then go to sleep, roll+WIS. On a 10+, ask one question from the list below. On a 7-9, ask a question, but also increase your corruption score by 1. On a -6, increase your corruption score by 1, and you gain no useful information.

• What is the most likely thing to kill me in the near future?
• What is the worst thing that is likely to happen to me in the near future?
• What is my enemy’s darkest secret?
• Where is the nearest holy place/worshipper of Maug?

 
Blood Magic Ring
            This ring is carved from chitin, and has a tiny barb on the inside which pierces the skin. Whenever you cast a spell while wearing this ring (or spell-like ability, per the GM’s discretion), you may choose to sacrifice 1d4 hit points. You may re-roll the relevant check, or re-roll the damage dealt/healed, and take the better result. You can choose to use this before or after making the roll.
 
Claw of Corruption
(hand, +2 piercing, 1 weight)
            A chitinous, hooked claw harvested from an armored corruptor, suitably intact to use as a weapon. Alternatively, it can be sacrificed on a consecrated altar to show your deity that you have vanquished a beast of Maug. The claw is lost, but you reduce your corruption score by 2d4.

Gods in Fantasy - Less is More

    I have an issue with how deities are often depicted in TTRPGs. Playing video games, namely Lords of the Fallen and Fear and Hunger, have brought this into clear relief.

Gods in D&D

    In the Forgotten Realms, there are gods for everything. There are gods for every alignment. Gods for paladins, gods for fighters, gods for druids, gods for wizards. The elves have their gods. The dwarves have their gods. So do the gnomes, halflings, and orcs.

    The goblins have a god. The trolls have a god. The sahuagin, the bullywugs, the derro, the lizardfolk, the centaur: all these and more have their own gods. That's not even close to half.

    This is excessive. The vaults of heaven are full to bursting.

Design by Checklist

    Why give a god to every single alignment, class, race, monster and concept? I think the designers were thinking, "What if some player, somewhere, wants a god of X? We better add one." This is what I call "design by checklist." Rather than introducing a god because they have a cool idea for one, or because it adds something to the story or world, they add it out of sheer obligation.

    The result is a profusion of bland, uninspired, forgettable gods. "Forgettable" is an important point. With dozens and dozens of gods, there's no way your players will ever remember or appreciate them. You probably won't remember them, either. Imagine trying to portray a world where the gods are active in the world, with their own conflicting agendas. The more there are, the more unmanageable they are.

The Better Way - Gods in Lords of the Fallen

    In Lords of the Fallen (2023), there are four gods. Orius, the god of light and order, Adyr, the god of fire and chaos, the Pale Mother, the goddess of death and decay, the First of the Beasts, a primordial nature god.

    That's it. Really, only the first three are important to the story. The game Fear and Hunger does something similar with its four-ish "Old Gods," but there are a handful of other ones. Lords of the Fallen illustrates this concept better.

    So what are the benefits of having so much fewer gods? In my opinion:

1. Easy to remember, for both the players and the GM. If you can't remember them, they might as well not exist.
2. Potential for greater depth. With only a handful, it's easy for the GM to give them more detail and show that to the players. And if you try to give rich, deep detail on several gods, one, that's a lot of work, and two, it will mostly go to waste. You can't give the spotlight to several dozen gods.
3. Greater impact on the world. The same gods will be influential wherever the players go. When one god acts, the entire world knows it, as opposed to just the one tiny region of the world where they are known and relevant.
4. Stronger association with magic. In real life, religion and magic are closely intertwined, whereas much of modern fantasy tends to arbitrarily separate them. In Lords of the Fallen, fire magic is the specialty of Adyr, the god of chaos. In Fear and Hunger, it's strongly associated with Gro-goroth, the god of destruction. When you see an enemy cast a fireball, it says something meaningful about them and their background or allegiances.

Conclusion

    Creativity is just as much about what you exclude as what you include. When you world build, I recommend erring on the side of fewer gods, rather than more. It's easier to make, easier to remember, and keeps them from feeling disposable.

The Inquisition - Using them as a faction in TTRPGs

 The Inquisition

It had to be done. Let's just get it over with.

    Lately, I've been intrigued by the concept of an "inquisition" as a faction in a fantasy setting. It allows the possibility for nuanced roleplay and moral ambiguity.

The Inquisition in Real Life

    I should note, however, that there was no moral ambiguity to the real life Inquisition. They were agents of the tyrannical farce that is the Catholic Church, tasked with hunting down and punishing those Catholics who stepped out of line in terms of theology or practice. The very idea of a religious inquisition in real life is an atrocity.

    For a detailed coverage of the Inquisition, I recommend ESOTERICA, the YouTube channel of Dr. Justin Sledge. He has a couple of excellent videos on the subject here and here.

    Given that gods, demons, witchcraft, etc. don't exist in real life, their very mission was a crime against humanity. Any one of them was woefully misguided at best. Even so, there are a few common misconceptions about them which open the possibility for interesting narratives in fiction.

• Muslims and Jews were usually not subject to the Inquisition. The purpose was to keep other Catholics in line. Religious minorities typically had some kind of legal protection, given that they were necessary for the economy.

• Torture and execution were not the default methods for inquisitors. Many of their victims were merely interrogated, tried, and forced to perform an act of penance, such as wearing a mark distinguishing them as heretics for the rest of their lives.

• The Inquisition didn't have free reign to just torture and execute anyone they wanted. There were strict rules and regulations. Accusations of heresy were often taken to trial, similar to any other crime.

• Inquisitors didn't just rationalize what they were doing as saving souls. Some of them viewed themselves like a sort of doctor, specializing in treating ailments of the soul.

The Inquisition in Fantasy

Now we're talking!

    Fantasy introduces the unique possibility that the Inquisition has a legitimate point. In fantasy, gods, demons, witches, etc. are both real and dangerous. When a fantasy inquisitor burns a witch or tortures a heretic, they might actually be helping someone and not just rationalizing.

    At best, the Inquisition could be considered something like the police: often overzealous in their use of force, but undeniably necessary. Alternatively, they could be compelling anti-villains: a faction that started with laudable intentions but whose image has been tarnished with irredeemable methods.

Ideas for Using the Inquisition in Your Game

1. A village is locked down by the Inquisition. Someone in the village is allegedly a powerful sorcerer, dealing in forbidden magic. The Inquisition won't let anyone leave until they're found.

• What if there actually isn't a sorcerer there?
• What if the sorcerer is an important NPC the PCs need?
• What if the PCs urgently need to leave, but the Inquisitors are stopping them?
• What if the sorcerer is a heretic, but a cherished member of the community?

2. The PCs have heard rumors of an evil cult that has set up shop in a nearby dungeon. The problem is, the Inquisition has heard of it, too. The PCs have to hurry to defeat the cult themselves. If they don't, the Inquisition will, and confiscate all the sick magic loot!

3. A noble patron has an embarrassing problem. Their court wizard has been dabbling in forbidden magic and it has all gone horribly wrong. Their tower is now cursed/overrun by monsters/a portal to Hell, and the noble desperately needs someone to sort this out before the Inquisition finds out.

4. One of the PCs has been accused of heretical magic (which might actually be true), and now the Inquisition is after them. If they're caught now, they'll be unceremoniously hauled off to the jailhouse and dragged before an unsympathetic magistrate. Their only hope is to find a way to prove their innocence before the Inquisition catches them. Or, failing that, find a powerful ally who's willing to stick their neck out to advocate for them.

5. Despite having caused trouble for them in the past, the Inquisition finds themselves dealing with an existential threat to the kingdom that they can't handle on their own. They reach out to the PCs for help. The PCs and the Inquisition need to find a way to put aside their grievances for the greater good, at least for now.

6. An NPC mage possesses crucial information/magical resources that the players desperately need, but they find out that the mage is languishing in the Inquisition's dungeon awaiting trial. They need to get him out or otherwise secure his release, and do so clandestinely so as not to call the full wrath of the Inquisition down on them and/or cause a political scandal.

The Inquisition in Dungeon World

    This blog is allegedly about Dungeon World, after all.

The Inquisition as a Danger in your Campaign Front

The Inquisition

Type: Religious Organization

Impulse: To seek out and destroy heresy, no matter the cost

    The recent troubles in the kingdom bear the signs of unclean magic. In particular, there are rumors of a gang of heavily armed "adventurers" whose activities seem to correlate with recent disturbing events. The Church Elders have convened, and decided to dispatch the Inquisition to investigate. Whoever is behind the recent troubles, the Inquisition will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

Grim Portents: 

• Rumors swirl of the Inquisition taking an interest in the recent troubles, particularly the PCs' activities.
• An Inquisitor approaches the PCs to ask them a number of pointed questions.
• Upon entering a dungeon/adventure site, the PCs find clear evidence of the Inquisition already having been there.
• A friendly NPC known to the party is arrested for "questioning."
• Inquisition forces lock down a local settlement and establish security checkpoints.
• An Inquisitor approaches the PCs, accusing them of consorting with witches/demons, demanding that they submit proof of their innocence.

Impending Doom: A warrant is issued for the party's arrest, on suspicion of heretical activities. Patrols of Inquisitors will be looking for them, and in any civilized place with a church, they risk being recognized, reported, and shunned.

Inquisitor    6 HP    1 Armor

Group, Intelligent, Organized, Devious

Damage: Sword (d8, close), Crossbow (d8, +1 piercing, near, far, reload)

    Hard-eyed, pitiless enforcers of the Church. In the cities they may wear the vestments of priests, but in the countryside they can be recognized by their dark leathers, wide-brimmed hats, and badges of office. They have sworn an oath to uncover the Church's enemies, be they witches, diabolists, necromancers, or mere heterodoxy. They will stop at nothing to bring heretics back into the fold and make them atone for their sins. Or, failing that, kill them outright.

Instinct: To root out heresy

Moves:

• Find evidence of heresy
• Interrogate and/or intimidate the locals
• Petition the religious authorities for support

Holy Bulwark    14 HP    4 Armor

Solitary, Intelligent, Divine

Damage: Great Mace (d10+4, close, forceful)

    These heavily armored warriors provide much-needed martial support to Inquisitor forces working in the field. While they lack the tact and subtlety of their Inquisitor brethren, they more than make up for it in sheer might. Their weapons and armor are consecrated, and every one of them is ready to die for the cause.

Instinct: To destroy enemies of the church

Moves:

• Take the blow meant for an ally
• Smite an enemy of the faith
• Pray to their god for strength

Knight Hospitaller    8 HP    2 Armor

Group, Intelligent, Organized, Magical, Divine

Damage: Mace (d8+2, close)

    This is the side of the Church they prefer you to see. These holy knights were charged with the noble task of providing healing, aid and protection to the faithful. Sometimes that means establishing charitable hospitals in impoverished lands, and other times that means accompanying heroes into the lightless vaults of evil and getting them all out alive.

Instinct: To aid those in need

Moves:

• Provide healing to the wounded
• Remove a curse or illness
• Call on grateful followers for support

Exorcist    6 HP    0 Armor

Group, Intelligent, Magical, Divine

Damage: Mace (d8, close)

    The Inquisitors are generalists where the Exorcists are specialists. There is an invisible world around us, where lurk horrors beyond mortal comprehension. Wherever there are restless ghosts, shambling undead, or rapacious demons to threaten the common people, the Exorcists will soon follow to send them back where they belong.

Instinct: To protect others from foul spirits

Special Qualities: Can sense evil

Moves:

• Drive out undead or demons
• Perform an exorcism
• Pray to their god for protection

Theurge    12 HP    1 Armor

Solitary, Intelligent, Organized, Magical

Damage: White Lightning (d10, close, far, ignores armor), Dagger (d8, hand)

    Clerics aren't the only spell casters who work for the Church. With all the evil wizards and witches afoot, it pays to have a few on the side of the angels. And after all, what are the gods if not the wisest and most powerful magic users of all? Many a wizard has deliberately sought out service in the Church to try and get closer to this font of primordial knowledge. For some, this is just better than prison.

Instinct: To seek knowledge of the divine

Special Qualities: Educated

Moves:

• Cast just the right spell
• Counter unclean magic
• Summon an angel (or demon) for aid or guidance

Shanjin, part 1

So, since the session reports for my Skycrawl campaign have moved on from the land of Shanjin, I figured now is a good time to share some of my prep notes for that area. Part of this is to showcase the power of Skycrawl as an inspirational tool, and part of it is to provide some potentially interesting ideas for others to use in their games.

And also part of it is to rationalize my neurotic drive to over-prepare for sessions. I probably have enough material to run several adventures in this place.

Shanjin

"Getting major North Korea vibes, here." -One of my players, I forget who.

Idea: Strip mine, second chance
Shape: Delve. Like a Mountain, but folk live deep inside, not on the surface
Size: IV (explorable in a few weeks, 1k-9k pop., 10-mile dia.)
Gravity: Heavy gravity
Atmosphere: ruins of a shattered land; picturesque clouds
Inhabitants: Phon
Sol: deep rose, indifferent, large
Orbit: Wild
Abundant Resources: Patience, Tack
Scarce Resources: Ships, Trade

(Note: The above entries are mostly what I generated using the random tables in Skycrawl. What follows is my interpretation of it, and the inclusion of hooks and points of interest)

Description

The homeland of the phon, Shanjin is a giant, rotating chunk of rock like a mountain. The outer surface is covered in fields where giant monocultures of grains are grown. The atmosphere around the Sol is filled with smaller floating rocks, many of which have been turned into more small farmsteads. The phon live in mining tunnels that run through the interior.

A typical phon stands between 3’6”-4’6” with a stout build, gray skin, black hair, and a pair of curved horns upon their foreheads. They are intelligent and industrious, but somewhat lacking in culture. They mostly wear uniform gray coveralls with web-belts for tools, with fairly little individual differentiation.

The phon live lives of long toil, constantly running through cramped tunnels at the orders of their handlers. They sleep in overcrowded barracks and own very little personal property. They are a technologically advanced society, and make use of rocketry and complex mechanics in their inventions. They are infamous for getting around with dangerous rocket-propelled jetpacks.

Several hundred years ago, the phon lived in a miraculous floating city on another world until they were displaced by a mysterious magical cataclysm. They found themselves hurtling through the Azure Aetern, until they collided with the mountain that they named Shanjin.

The ruler of the phon is called Governor Jeshun San-O, a cold, calculating and rigidly inflexible ruler. Beneath the governor are several ministers, who manage various districts of Shanjin. The governor nominates the successors to the ministers, and the ministers nominate the governor. The citizenry have no input.

The state religion of Shanjin is a cult of ancestor worship. In fact, the Priesthood of the Cult of the Revered Ancestors has access to a miraculous device called a thanophone that allows them to speak to the dead and guide them towards reincarnation. The phon have bent their every resource to reincarnating their ancestors through breeding programs.

The phon ships are ethanol powered rockets with machine gun turrets, and given their ever-growing population and the conflict between using grain for food and for fuel, they have only 12 operational ships.

Places

• The Temple of the Revered Ancestors – a gilt and gemstone-studded cathedral emblazoned with colorful paintings. Extremely gaudy. Self-important priests in elaborate robes perform mandatory services involving the use of the thanophone to interview revered ancestors.
• The Foreign Quarter – A “hotel” and a few small shops where foreign visitors are required to stay.
• The Nadir Port – A wide open tunnel mouth with several jutting piers extending from the “lowest” point on the mountain.
• The Mines – Where most of the phon work, extracting Heavy Elements and other, baser metals.
• The Unknown Depths – The darkest, least explored tunnels near the core of the mountain.

People

• Governor Jeshun San-O – Male phon, 58. Wears an immaculately pressed gray and black uniform with epaulettes. Cold, calculating, rigidly inflexible. Handsome, if sarcastic. Prone to pompous speeches.
• Captain Washu Cha-Jai – Male phon, 50. A muscular, brutish-looking phon with a face crossed with battle scars. Suspicious of everyone and talks fast.
• Foreign Liaison Tara El-Jo – Female phon, 31. Designated guide for the players
• High Priest Gi Sha-Wan – Male phon, 78. High Priest of the Cult of the Revered Ancestors. Short, even for a phon, and very thin. Has an oiled handlebar mustache and an elaborate priestly robe. Cowardly and sycophantic.
• Olvau Leingythni – Male Ice-Lord, 41. Merchant who peddles weapons and other military equipment. Covered in burn scars and wears a tasteless, obviously fake military-like uniform. Always grumpy and talks too loud.
• Kand Resto – Male Damyana, 33. Big game hunter on his way to somewhere else. Openly hates phons and phon culture. Unusually thin for a damyana, but still loves to eat and drink. Has oiled hair and well maintained hunting clothes. Friendly and outgoing to non-phon and loves to tell stories.
• Karasa Ganilla – Female Ornivir, 44. Merchant who peddles jewelry. Lean and muscular, with many fine examples of jewelry on her person. Affects noble speech, but actually not that successful. Bitter about the phon’s disdain for foreign jewelry.
• Romz deZemler – Male Lirovan, 36. Tall and athletic, with a mane of golden hair. Missing one ear. Wears a fine yet functional vest embroidered with battle scenes. Friendly, if sarcastic and cynical. Actually a smuggler, here to smuggle dissidents out of Shanjin.
• Shem Ong-Ya – Male phon, 25. Leader of the resistance. Muscular, brutish appearance and extremely thick eyebrows over wild-eyes. Wears a fraying and poorly maintained work uniform. Hates the Cult and the Governor, and leads a band of other disaffected youth from their hideout in the tunnels. Actually pretty lazy.
• Li Ing-Shu – Female phon, 20. Resistance messenger. Young, naïve, idealistic. Idolizes Shem. Intelligent, if naïve. Very thin, wiry build. Wears fashionable clothing fit for leisure, and favors wide-brimmed hats.

Seeds

• Dissidents have stolen a ship somehow and taken it somewhere. The phon value their ships, and the dissidents taking them is a horrible embarrassment.
• The resistance contacts the players and asks for their help.
• The lirovan smuggler Romz deZemmler asks the players to help him smuggle out some dissidents.
• Mysterious raiders have been attacking the outskirts of phon airspace. They belong to a yet unknown-race and seem to a part of some bizarre millenarian cult that worships Obscenities.

Design Notes and Closing Thoughts

Shanjin was the first land the players encountered, and as such it set the tone for the campaign and illustrates my approach to designing interesting civilizations. Shanjin is a place where you can resupply and repair your ship, yes, BUT...! I tend to give these civilizations an eyebrow-raising cultural quirk that forms the basis of conflict in the setting and tells the players to be wary.

"Shanjin" is Chinese for "Gold Mountain," according to Google Translate. I subscribe to the George R. R. Martin school of "don't overthink it" when it comes to names. There's a general Chinese/Korean Communist vibe here.

The concept of the "thanophone" was inspired by the time that Thomas Edison actually attempted to build a device to contact the afterlife. That's pretty whack. The whole idea of the cult of ancestor worship, and a whole society dedicated to serving dead people is sort of reminiscent of our own society, where older generations got while the getting was good, and pulled up the ladder after them. That's a Millennial mood, right there.

There's going to be a part 2 where I detail some of the crunchier session prep I did for this area, including a cave crawl, monsters and treasure.