Planet Algol 2.0 - The Wilderness Shall Be Howling

Lately the design and writing for the Planet Algol material has taken a turn and I find myself in the position of radically revising the material. This has been the result of a combination of factors: the sessions that I've been DMing; rereading and analyzing the literature that strongly influences the material; the continuing Geoffrey McKinney influence; getting my hands on a copy of the Dictionary of Mu; and the design goal of being usable "out of the box" with minimal prep by the DM while still allowing for a wide variety of interpretations.

This particular post is regards increasing the scale of the adventure area. The original campaign map  is 24-by-16 5-mile hexes; the current map I'm working on ("Red Sands") is 50-by-30 24-mile hexes, and will be re-rendered as four 50-by-30 6-mile hexes.

The original campaign map came out as way too small in playtest; once the PCs got mounts they could zip-around. And as I had several settlements strung out along trade routes, the party could jump from fortress to town to city; swamps and mountains would take the wind out of their sails, but the wastelands were definitely not "vast."

Although my idea was to depict the center of known civilization remaining on Algol, it was too civilized; no weeks long journeys between ancient, crumbling cities. On this new map the routes between settlements ranges from being 144 miles to 480 miles of shifting dunes, aside from a mountain route of 48 miles that will take 6 days at the least.

With a much larger wilderness scale the resource management of food, water and pack animals/bearers should become a bigger part of the game. With Dune being one of my influences I certainly want water management to be an important part of many expeditions. 

A Note About the Iridium Plateau Hexagon Matrix

So I have finally posted the complete Iridium Plateau Region Hexagon Matrix, and I wanted to make a couple of notes regarding the subject.

Firstly, this is only the first draft of the Hexagon Matrix. I plan to release an expanded version in the future featuring:

Better detailed monster statistics

Expanded NPC descriptions

Maps of certain locations

A handful of "One Page Dungeons"

More locations and monsters, including some Empire of the Petal Throne monsters; more Fiend Folio encounters; monsters from other contemporary old-school sources and settings; and so forth.

One thing I want to do with the next version of the Hexmap Matrix is to include content from other members of the community, hopefully including those who have inspired me to create Planet Algol.

So if you have a location, a monster, a NPC, a dungeon, an magical or technological item, what-have-you, that you think would be a good inclusion, or if you have an idea regarding an existing hex, I would love to hear about it and welcome your input, either here or at planetalgolATgmailDOTcom.

In the same spirit, please feel free to use any Planet Algol material for your own setting, campiagn, dungeon, project, whatever.

As well I would like to thank all of those who have inspired and encouraged this project, especially Gabor Lux, Geoffrey McKinney, James Mishler and Scott of the sorely missed "World of Thool."

Hexes of the Iridium Plateau Completed

Viewable here on Referees' resources, for the eyes of DMs only, is the description of the contents of the Iridium Plateau Hexmap, detailing the monsters, lairs, ruins and so forth of the region.

XXXX: The jungle is full of flowers, which swarm with bees. Closer examination reveals that the bees are actually minute insect-humanoids. Their hives are full of narcotic honey and are guarded by strange Plant-Nymphs.

XXXX: A shabby hut on tall stilts, much larger on the inside, is home to Xulgzquoqil, a 10th-level Sorcerer always clad in filthy gray hooded robes that conceal a hideous alien worm-being.

XXXX: The Holy One, a lawful good 8th-level Agogi (Pink Man) Fighting-Man/Sorcerer with psychic abilities, has a simple camp here. He is on a quest to destroy an ancient evil in The Temple-City of Klovoyga in hex XXXX.

XXXX: A slender tower of blue metal is the abode of The Sky Masters, 2 7th-level Zhaxxi (Silver Men) Fighting-Men and their 2 Giant Pterosaur mounts (Monster Manual II).

XXXX: This foul spire is rotten throughout it's mass with massive slimy tunnels bored by uncounted legions of blotchy, albino Purple Worms that thrive on the unique sentient ores and crystals that permeate this mountain. These living minerals are an important component for constructing certain positronic thinking-engines.

XXXX: A sprawling complex of massive rusted engines is home to 32 Fighting-Men (of a mixed racial composition) with a 3rd-level Barshi (Black Man) leader, who are the psychically-enslaved servants of the 70 fossilized crystalline brains of an extinct race of insect-sorcerers located in a crypt deep beneath the ruin.

4 Mutant Hyaenodons...

Viewable on Referees' Resources, are the DM-eyes-only details of half of the hexes of the Iridium Plateau Hexmap. A couple of short excerpts:

XXXX: The hunting grounds of 4 Mutant Hyaenodons (HP:27, 15, 25, 24) with writhing worms-like tentacles (2 additional attacks for 1-4 damage) growing out of their backs.

XXXX: This foul spire is rotten throughout it's mass with massive slimy tunnels bored by uncounted legions of blotchy, albino Purple Worms that thrive on the unique sentient ores and crystals that permeate this mountain. These living minerals are an important component for constructing certain positronic thinking-engines.

Settlements, Strongholds and Ruins of the Iridium Plateau

The following references the Iridium Plateau hexmap visible here.

0308, 0407,0508: THE MELTED CITY

A vast sprawl of the melted stumps of massive ancient buildings surrounded by a lumpy yet flattish plain of cracked glass. The city that once stood here appears to have been build of vividly colored glass as the melted remnants are brightly colored violet, red, indigo, dark green and other shades, although some sages say the terrible weapons that created the Prismatic Wastes also colored the ruins of the people they destroyed. Over the eons many of the ruins have shattered leaving jagged blades, and piles of colorful fragmented glass sand lie in corners and dunes about the city. Some say that the subterranean regions of the Melted City survived the devastation that destroyed it, and that there are many tunnels and chambers beneath it where Ancient relics could be salvaged.

0412: DUST

Also known as Gully Town, this town serves as a last stop for caravans heading into the Western Badlands. Prospectors go into the Prismatic Salt Wastes looking deposits of valuable mineral salts, and hunters seek Zorses and Orniths in the Lands of Purple Grasses to capture, tame and sell.

0613: FORTRESS COBALT

A towering edifice of dark indigo glassy plasticrete blocks, Fortress Cobalt controls access to the western pass leading up to Iridium Plateau.

1009: PIT

A rambling shambles of rusted shack, foundries, workshops and warehouses, all suffused with rust, surrounding a vast bottomless shaft. The bottomless shaft that the town is named after serves as access to many veins of minerals, making the town a prosperous, but excessively rough, mining community. The local miners are a vile lot, fond of gin, inhalants, and tormenting Mnors from the surrounding foothills with torches and tridents as a callous entertainment.

1013: CANYX

Another mining town, founded to exploit the mineral wealth exposed by the canyon that gashes through the plateau southwards.

1111: AGOG CITY

One of the oldest continually inhabited cities on Algol, Agog is also one of the most technologically advanced, being built upon and within massive constructions from the Aeon of the Ancients. Although most of the technology has long since broken down, or the knowledge to operate has been lost, the Technocrats of Agog have great stockpiles of Ancient artifacts and know much in the arts of science, engineering and medicine. A being known as The Controller, an immortal demigod, is the absolute ruler of Agog. The native people of Agog, called Agogites or Pink Men, have pale pink skin, ranging in tone from that of an infant to a rosy nacre. The latter tone is much more common among those of a pampered disposition. They are generally bald, in both sexes, the hair of the few that possess it being lank, fine and like that of a albino in pigmentation. The upper class Agogites dress in simple metallic or iridescent togas and robes, ornate helmets made of transparent crystal or precious metal, and high-strapped metallic sandals. Those of the middle class wear overalls, usually in neutral gray or metallic tones, simple brass helmets, and sock-like footwear. Lower class Agogites are clad in overalls, usually in drab colors such a lead, dun or khaki (and usually patched and stained as well), battered lead helmets, and lead clogs. Agog is divided in several districts.
See also the Tenement Canyon of Agog City.

1210-1410: THE GREAT SPAN

A massive bridge of solid white plasticrete, 10 miles in length, that spans the Rift Canyon providing a route from Agog City to the regions eastwards.

1405: THE BRONZE DOME OF THE DESERT

A huge, tarnished bronze dome, it's rim graven with massive glyphs, the home of powerful, reclusive wizard who is centuries old. Some say that the glyphs are encoded with the incantations and formulae for a terrible ritual from the time of the Elder Races.

1408: JAKAY

A squat desert town, the home base of scavengers that search the Rust Desert for artifacts of the Ancients. The eastward trade route from Agog detours here to avoid the monsters and raiders that lurk in the wilds of the Rust Desert.

1410: FORTRESS ADAMANT

Formed from a massive, solid, single mass of black metal, Fortress Adamant guards access to the Great Span.

1807: FORTRESS SCARLET

This red, glassy stone fortress is home to The Red Lady, an immortal sorceress and demigoddess renowned for her beauty and infamous for her vanity and jealousy. The officers of her guard are her lovers, and fanatically serve their mistress.

2209: ADOMAZ

A small caravan town, some miners exploit the mineral wealth of the canyon west of town that provides accesss to the Iridium Plateau. A population of Cactoids dwell in the lands around Adomaz, coming into town to trade.

2314: KHARHEM

Built on the cyclopean ruins of a city of the Ancients, Kharhem is a thriving market city that serves the trade routes to Agog, the Red Sands, the Southern Gash and Sangkalla in the Jungles of Venom in the south.

Geographic Features of the Iridium Plateau

THE BORNITE MOUNTAINS

A heap of rugged stone slabs and peaks, of an iridescent coppery blueish-purple due to it's high bornite content. This range is rich in mineral wealth but most mining in restricted to the tunneling into the foothills in order to avoid attracting the attention of the inhabitants of the Forbidden Mist Valleys.

THE FORBIDDEN MIST VALLEYS

Choked with dense, cold, wet white mist, these verdant hilly valleys are avoided by sane explorers as they are reputed to be home to horrific beings of hostile intent and great potency.

THE GLOW STAIN

A charred wasteland of ash and cinders interrupted by twisted, blackened, half-melted formations and pools of softly burbling green ooze. This region is permeated with radiation and at night ghastly displays of shifting green, blue and violet hues glow in the sky above as a result.

THE IRIDIUM PLATEAU

A massive plateau of steely gray rock, rich in metallic ores.

THE LAKE OF IRIDESCENT SALTS

A large lake of hot, oily, salty, iridescent water. Lacy spires of colorful salt formations thrust out of the water and the shores are caked with crusts of prismatic salts. Located where the Primatic Salt Wastes meet the western escarpment of the Iridium Plateau.

THE LANDS OF PURPLE GRASS

A tough, sharp purple grass, partially metallic in composition, grows out of the steely gray soil of these lands, as well as twisted black briers bearing coppery thorns. This grassland extends up onto the southwestern Iridium Plateau, were it becomes a scrubland with twisted black thorn trees and baroque branching cacti at the southern edge.

THE MOSS STEPPES

Gently rolling misty steppes covered with a thick cushion of rich green moss. Occasional groves of moss-trees spot the land.

THE PRISMATIC SALT WASTES

A desert composed of dunes of brightly-pigmented salts.

THE PRISMATIC WASTES

A rocky region of bizarre colorful stone formations, some areas are permeated with radiations similar to the ones of the Glow Wastes.

THE RED SANDS

A massive sea of scarlet sand stretching to the east.

THE RIFT CANYON

A massive gorge, miles deep, filled with white fog pouring down from the Forbidden Mist Valley. The land at the bottom is a morass of mud, vegetation, hot springs and tar pits, and is very hot due to geographical activity.

THE RUST DESERT

The eastern portion of the Iridium Plateau, it appears to be a desert of red sand, but the dunes are actually a thick layer of dust. In ages long past this area was said to be a region of massive iron engines that decayed into a desert of rust over the eons. Huge ruined structures, rust-decayed stumps of the ancient machinery, dot the landscape.

THE SLIME LANDS

The mud and ooze of the rift canyon, as well as the clouds of wet mist, pour out into this region. The borders of this area seem to be normal swampy jungle, but it soon becomes a vast expanse of slimy mud, filled with algae, vegetation, mud-dwelling predators, and gigantic protozoa. Further south the land becomes the slightly drier Jungles of Venom.

THE SOUTHERN GASH

A long, jagged inlet from the oceans to the south. An important trade route to the lands southwards.

Iridium Plateau Hexmap

The Iridium Plateau, at 5 miles per hex.