The weather in Tarsyn is generally dry with short rainfall. Because Tarsyn is not in a plane, determining relies more on astrology and divination than on usual methods. After all... if you can't see beyond the Mists, how can you guess what weather comes?
During Session Zero, I told the PCs that they were a fledgling band of would-be knights. (Knights being part of an order of knighthood).
They took their first job escorting supplies to a small border village. While on the road, they were attacked by troglodytes. After several challenges, they claimed the abandoned Tower of St Edras and took the name Knights of St Edras.
Fifty years ago, the Truskan Empire conquered Tarsyn and settled it.
Ten years ago, the Crusaders, a group of people from the edge of the former empire mounted a religious expedition against the Holy City. After years of travel and conquest, they captured the city and established a kingdom for themselves in the city.
Five years ago, Tarsyn and its surrounding area was wretched from its location and pulled... somewhere within the Mists. Since then, the Crown Table (the king's ruling council) has been corrupted and became First Ones.
Locally, the Tower of St Edras was created by a religious order dedicated to the Vaspianic Church (main church of Tarsyn).
It was taken by the Crusaders and left as a ruin as their army moved on the city itself. Since its importance waned, no one bothered with it anymore.
In time, the tower was taken over by a band of troglodytes.
This is where the campaign starts...
There is, but I have not shared it with the players. They have to make one themselves! :D
However, there are two maps of the area and of the city itself:
The Campaign takes place on the western edge of Tarsyn near the village of Darveshnagar. The party took over the Tower of St Edras after taking it over from a clan of troglodytes that occupied it.
Nearby locations are:
- Zapel Lake which is home to Ysoria la Voilé, a powerful fey spirit.
- Skotadion is a hilltop fort always covered by a dark cloud.
- The Badlands is a rocky area full of canyons and ruins.
- Zapel Lake which is home to Ysoria la Voilé, a powerful fey spirit.
Tarsyn is an "island" floating somewhere in the Multiverse that encompasses the Holy City and roughly thirty miles around. The area has a climate similar to the Levant: mostly dry.
Tarsyn: Lost Holy City is a campaign setting I co-wrote for First Ones Entertainment (FOE) that is inspired by mixing Arthurian Legends with the Crusades, with the city itself taking inspiration from Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Ctesiphon.
The "Island" floats in the Mists, which is a device that links all of FOE's settings. Similar to the Mists of Ravenloft, anyone who enters them, disappears. However, the Mists around Tarsyn sometimes "open" and allows passage to other planes simply by walking across.
So the campaign has some trips to other planes, local politics, and adventure!
My current campaign is set in the world of Tarsyn by First Ones Entertainment. It is called the Crown of Tears and is the subject of several posts with pictures of the game.
I am mixing elements of the campaign setting (Arthurian Legends and the Crusade) with elements of kingdom building, downtime, and Westmarch.
The Setting Tarsyn is highly cosmopolitan with people from all over the Multiverse making their way here. The party has/had characters from: Olympia, Ozaka, Tarsyn, and a pair of First Ones.
Kingdom Building Early in the campaign, the PCs found and abandonned tower they renovated and made themselves lords of the area, which includes the village of Darveshnagar.
Downtime: Every week, the players can call upon or do research themselves on a topic they want: NPCs, items, or locations and I send them information about that. They get some basic information about it, but sometimes, they get a "This is something you'll have to adventure for."
Westmarch: The PCs discuss what they found during downtime and most times, they get to decide what to do/ where to go. One key I found with this type of campaign is to make sure the party always has MORE hooks for adventure than they have time to do.
I first read this compilation back in 2019 (you can check out some of my thoughts in this classic post). However, in those days, I did not provide a more in-depth review.
The re-creation of X-Factor and the return of Jean Grey always fascinated me. I loved Phoenix as a character and her return prompted several questions. This tome answered them. It brought back the five original X-men: Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Marvel Girl under the guise of a group of mutant hunters.
Let's be honest, the idea sounded stupid to me as a child, and it still sounds dumb to me today...
Cyclops has a great storyline, with him leaving his wife and son for Jean. But for most of the issues, Angel, Beast, and Iceman are background characters who don't do much.
The highlight of this, beyond the return of Jean Grey, is the Mutant Massacre (of which I raved in this post). However, when I re-read the X-Factor-specific parts... I found it lacking and not as interesting as the X-Men. (X-Men vol 6 provided full context and was more exciting).
I liked it, but I think after going through an X-Men marathon... It wasn't as good. I waffled between a 3 and 4/5. I'll settle on a 3/5 mostly because I don't think it's as good as several other 4s out there.
It's Gencon Season already. Today, I finalized the Gencon program for FOE and submitted everything to Gencon.
At this time, I have two adventures ready to roll already and am moving on to the next ones.
Legacies: Heart of Decisions
By Bill Church
The heart of a colossus has been found. Mytenian forces must rush to obtain it before the Titans. A 3rd-level 5e 2014 adventure set in the Greece-inspired Olympia. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Outline
Legacies: Fiends of Dreams
By JP Chapleau
Not All Men Seek War/ It Looms Over Sazame/ Som' Have dark designs A 3rd-level 5e 2014 adventure set in the Japan-inspired Ozaka. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Ready for Playtest
Legacies: The Mirror of Basat
By Brandon Alspach
A prophetic vision leads where desire shapes reality–but some secrets were never meant to be seen. A 3rd-level 5e 2014 adventure set in the Egypt-inspired Akhamet. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Outline
Legacies: What the Titans leave Behind
By Brandon Alspach and JP Chapleau
Appease a few gods, steal war riches from the Titans–what could go wrong? A 3rd-level 5e 2014 adventure set in the Greece-inspired Olympia. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Expanding Outline
Legacies: Bleeding Hearts
By JP Chapleau
The trees bleed when cut. Blood-soaked knights vs desperate loggers. Is the forest crying for help? A 3rd-level 5e 2014 adventure set in the byzantine world of Tarsyn. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Ready for Playtest
Legacies: A Stolen Daisho
By Chris Ketchum
A stolen daisho/ A vital chess piece taken/ Sails away slowly A 3rd-level 5e 2014 adventure set in the Japan-inspired Ozaka. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Outline
Legacies: Sifting the Sands of Obscurity
By Matt Adams
You wake to find that you have been buried alive with little to no memory of how you got there save for some scribbled notes torn out of a journal that resembles your own party's handwriting. You must use these clues to solve your own attempted murder. A 3rd-level 5e 2014 adventure set in the Egypt-inspired Akhamet. Part of the Legacies Campaign.
Status: Outline
Legacies Epic: Friends We Make
By JP Chapleau
Invitations sent
All Smiles and Diplomacy
Sharp Tongues and Swift Blades
A 5e 2014 multi-table epic adventure. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Outline
Legacies Epic: To Find an Enchantress
By JP Chapleau
Mytenian forces won a great victory at Emessos, but the Titans are not beaten. A 5e 2014 multi-table epic adventure. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Outline
Legacies Epic: Battle of Shiro Azaki
By JP Chapleau
First diplomats speak
Then the armies assemble
And the blades come out
A 5e 2014 multi-table epic adventure. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Outline
Legacies Epic: River Run
By JP Chapleau
At the start of the Rainy Season, the rivers swell and the Church of Khem organizes a friendly competition. Friendly but deadly A 5e 2014 multi-table epic adventure. Part of the Legacies Campaign
Status: Outline
Ed Greenwood is a giant in the world of D&D. as the creator of the massively-successful Forgotten Realms. His slate of adventures for TSR are a mixed bag, but most are good enough. I had never been exposed to his fiction before (I am not a big fan of D&D litterature).
This book did not endear me to either.
Things happen randomly and the plot armor reaches deific level. Litterally. Most of the book is complete, boring filler as he goes around from one random event to another, meeting random NPCs. And their events are best described as "the GM rolls random shit and you see it."
- The names.... the long, unpronounceable name
- The many, many, many characters whose importance is dubious
- Exactly what happens in parts is difficult
- Elminster changes sex (and back) for no reason
- NPCs get major introduction then get kill off then come back to life only to die(?) again.
- The Epilogue is where the important and interesting event happens, even if what is happening is not fully clear.
- But then we are introduced to NPCs we never heard from before (or after).
Now... I would have dropped this book one third of the way in. BUT it did something that I found I could apply to my own current novel, the sequel to One Hundred Daughters. The characters introduced to be disposed of later. In my own book, I use this to expand and present elements the main characters would not know, yet provide the reader with the information to better understand the situation.
The funniest part of this was that my wife kept telling me to "Stop reading it if you don't like it" every night when I picked it up to read a few pages.
For Xmas, I printed and painted a Stitch for my daughter. I had fun with it.
After my wife completed her Xmas village this year, I took the liberty to add some of His angels to her colorful display.
BLOOD ANGELS THAT IS!!!
Then every couple of days, I would add one of two more until she discovered them.
She only found the terminators, and forced me to remove them. The rest snuck through the Holidays. The Emperor Protects! Not pictured, but I even have an old dreadnaught, yes, the metal ones that weigh about 15 pounds...
As I write this, they are still protecting the good villagers from the eight-pointed star...
In this post dating back to Halloweend 2010, my daughter found herself a model that I painted for her. This model survived no less than 15 years, four and a half moves. By then, it was pretty chipped and worn.
She asked me for a refresher job on it, which I was quite pleased to do. The new paint job is darker and more atmospheric. I also added much more depth to it.
BTW, Shout-out to the Gang from Gamers' Haven in CO. I haven't forgotten about you guys.
The heroes had many things to do that took them to the city itself. There, they conducted several short tasks: bought some magic items, met with a mentor, and, best of all, discover information about the Hidden Foundry, said to be somewhere deep below the city.
The session ended as the heroes went to look for a lead about the location of the foundry when they encountered a group of Knights of the Whip involved with a citizen accused of draft evasion. Terrificus plunged the area in darkness and the knights immediately took action, killing the poor man and looking for the culprit. A potential culprit showed herself: Brindle. She was promptly arrested and when offered a mark to be set free, she refused and was promptly taken to jail...
Our heroes traveled to the Badlands to the northeast of the Tower. As they travel, they came upon a bandit camp and charged in.
Another fight that came really close and challenged our heroes. This time, they put the mage to flight despite almost losing one of their own. They managed to find some information about happenings in the Badlands.
