Planet Algol 1 : The Iridium Plateau - Update & RPG PDF Vendor Inquiry

I've been hashing out the Planet Algol 1 manuscript and working out the publishing matters and some plans have changed, so here is an update.

Planet Algol 1 : The Iridium Plateau will most likely be published via Comixpress. I went with Comixpress as they seemed far more flexible than Lulu and that they also can produce the booklets at a better price than local services. It will be a 52-page saddle stitch booklet, digest-sized at 5.5" wide and 8.5" tall.

I would like to make the PDF available for those who prefer the format but I don't have much experience with RPG PDF vendors, do any of you have recommendations in that regard?

Planet Algol 1 will be around 52 pages long. I was planning on including a detailed city (Kharhem) but with the 52-page limit imposed by Comixpress there is insufficient room and so it will be part of the next Planet Algol booklet.

As well I believe that you will pleased with both the quantity and the quality of the illustrations gracing the booklet's pages.

Here is a brief overview of it's contents:

The Players Section
- Introduction
- Planet Algol and it's Solar System, History and Inhabitants
- Earth Men and the alternate Planet Algol Earth History
- Map & Gazetteer of the Geography, Settlements and Ruins of the Iridium Plateau Region
- Suggested Houserules for Planet Algol Campaigns
- New Races: Cactoid & mutant
- New Classes: Cactoid, Mind Wizard and Sage
- Mounts & Equipment
- "Appendix N"

The Referees Section
- Referees Introduction & Other Books/Rules Suggested for Use With Planet Algol
- Hexmap & Hex Locations of the Iridium Plateau Region
- Encounter Tables for the Iridium Plateau Region
- Monsters
- Sorcerous and Technological Items
- Intoxicants
- Airships/Skyvessels

I don't have a firm deadline for publication, although it should be sometime in the next month or so. I've been working with some very talented artists and I don't want to rush them and also I certainly don't want to rush this product to the press without taking the time and attention to detail that a "labour of love" warrants.

It will be available soon and it should be beautiful!

Settlements of the Iridium Plateau Region - Adomaz

Adomaz is a small caravan town located on the western edge of the Red Sands beneath the escarpment of the Iridium Plateau. A circular rim of a smooth, curved dark red glassy stone with jagged, irregular tooth-like crenelations serves as the town walls and is the remains of a destroyed dome of the Ancients.

Inside the wall Adomoz is mostly large manor-complexes with several floors and wings with a distinct baroque, flowing, organic style. The building are constructed of a smooth, hard marble like matter in pale sea-green tones; this substance is excreted by a slave-caste of small blue termite like nonhumans who build and maintain these buildings.

Adomoz is located on the Caravan routes between Agog City, the Red Sands, and Kharhem and the South, and much of its economy is based on this. Some miner gangs harvest the mineral wealth exposed by the canyon west of town.

Adomaz's population is most Lhovhami Red Men, with a distinct minority of Kherulhi Blue Men followed by a mix of all races. Many Cactoids travel through the regions around Adomaz in their nomadic wanderings and it is said that they have a secret shrine located in the desert nearby. Often Cactoids take work as guides or scouts for caravans going eastwards into the Red Sands.

Adomaz is ruled by Baron Azdhar Aizdt Alzadhar of House Alzadhar (A Lhovhami House), who is strikingly tall and handsome, obsessed with the art of swordplay, and always wears a severe black military uniform. Several fencing-masters live in Adomaz, training House Alzadhar and its fighting-men. Although Adomaz pays tribute to the Controller and acknowledges it as its liege, the Baron prefers to stay out of the affairs of Agog City and Kharhem.

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.

5 Miserable Pilgrims

Over on Referees' Resources is a post detailing more hexes of the Iridium Plateau Map.

"xxxx: In a dismal salt-slab hut cower 5 miserable Pilgrims. They are waiting for their master, who went on a mystic journey into the Prismatic Salt Wastes and has not returned."

3 Encounter Tables & a New Sub-Blog

I have started a new sub-blog of Planet Algol, "Referees' Resources," the reason for this being that although I encourage the players of the Planet Algol Campaign to both consult and contribute to this blog (as it serves as a guide to Planet Algol, a houserules document and a campaign journal), I also intend it's use as a resource for other referees. Spoiler tags are ugly, clumsy and easy to miss, ergo the creation of the Referees' Resources blog.

So if you are player in the Planet Algol campaign, or you believe that your referee may be using Planet Algol material, please do not read the Referees' Reference blog.

The posts on Referees' Resources will also include links to documents containing the same information. These documents will be edited and updated as work on Planet Algol progresses.

For the unveiling and initial post on Referees' Resources we have Three Encounter Tables for the Iridium Plateau Region, the Bornite Mountains, the Forbidden Mist Valley and the Glow Stain.

Hex 1408: Jakay

Ruler: Zodhar the Inexorable, a blue Kerulian Assassin of the Beaded Lizard Clan; Governor of Jakay for Agog City and The Controller.

Population: Several hundred inhabitants, roughly broken down as follows:

• 35% Kerulian (Blue) Men. Half are of the Beaded Lizard clan, the other half are of the Banded Viper clan.
  
• 15% Agogi (Pink) Men
• 15% Lhovanni (Red) Men
• 10% Gresh (Yellow) Men
• 10% Zermish (Green) Men
• 5% other races of Men
• 5% Cactoids
• 5% Phraints

The Spire of Turquoise and Copper: Jakay's sole tower; inhabited by Tazar the Interlocutor (elderly brown Angallan Sorcerer) and Botrubt the Obese (eyeless, sweaty white Hyperborean Sage).

Samdahr the Precise: a fussy, pink Agogi sage-physician; his practice is located in the town bazaar.

Jakay:
The town of Jakay is composed primarily of squat, single-storied drab clay buildings. It is located on an "elbow" of the Agog-Eastern Cities trade route, where it detours to avoid the raiders and monsters that lurk in the heart of the Rust Desert. Scavengers and artifact hunters use Jakay as a base for their expeditions into the Rust Desert. A ancient throbbing atomic pump provides water for the region.

On top of the town's fortifications several platforms of rusted girders serve as look-outs. Composed of half-buried bunkers, the walled structure surrounds the buildings of Jakay. Rumours persist of concealed laser cannons within these rusting watch platforms.

The town guard is mostly Kerulian and Lhovanni troops, with Cactoid and Phraint elite infantry. Their commands come from both Agogi and Kerulian Beaded Lizard Clan officers. The Cactoids are a clan of mercenary warriors that, at one time, had a temporary contract with The Controller, Immortal Demigod of Agog City.

The Controller, however, twisted the terms of the contract, binding the honorable Cactoids to terms they feel bound to fulfill. This leaves the ordinarily nomadic Cactoids serving as elite infantry for The Controller's interests in the Rust Desert region.

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.