19 May 2010

Hyperborea & Fomalhaut

I'm a fan of what sometimes is called 'weird fantasy': tales of the eldritch and eerie written by folks like Lovecraft, Howard, Leiber, Vance, CAS, et al.

Perhaps you are as well?

If so, you might want to check out the adventure 'Charnel Crypt of the Sightless Serpent'. Although designed for North Wind Adventures' game 'Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea' (which has yet to be released), it should be easy to use with any 'old school' version of A/D&D (OD&D, Basic D&D, 1e AD&D) and their respective retro-clones (S&W, LL, OSRIC), as well as 'near-clones' like C&C and BFRP.

I very much liked the earlier version of this adventure, which was published in the premier issue of Knockspell, and look forward to receiving my copy of the 'full version' in the near future. Also, I really dig the art displayed at their website.

Also in the 'weird fantasy' genre is the world of Fomalhaut. A website devoted to this wonderfully unconventional and idiosyncratic setting created by Gabor Lux (a.k.a. 'Melan') now exists .

I've been a fan of Fomalhaut ever since an overview of the setting was published in the third issue of Fight On! And my fondness for it has absolutely nothing to do with its inclusion of the following fine city:

Akrasia (pop. 1600) is otherwise, possessed of a gentle melancholy that many find charming. Its inhabitants like decorative gardens, orchards and the pleasant feeling of a gentle decline. The autumn mysteries attract a throng of pilgrims. During the festivities, youths and maidens raised for this specific purpose enter an enchanted gateway leading to a blissful land without trouble or toil, and are seen no more. The warrior sect in charge of guarding the gate are careful to warn off unlawful attempts at entry, but in spite of warnings, prowling beasts and vigilant guardsmen, there are always brave trespassers who are usually apprehended and summarily cut down before attaining their purpose.
Gabor Lux's adventures and setting material are second to none. I always enjoy reading them, even if I do have rather unnerving dreams afterwards.

6 comments:

  1. Ah, the city of Akrasia, charming and melancholic.

    :D

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  2. I got the chance to play Charnel Crypt at GaryCon, with the designer, Jeff Talanian, as the DM. It was an awesome session, and a very fine module!

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  3. Am I the only one who can't get to Formalhaut's Website?

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  4. The link to Fomalhaut works fine for me, Path.

    Here is the address: http://fomalhaut.rpg4.me/

    ReplyDelete
  5. A review of 'Charnel Crypt of the Sightless Serpent' can be found here: http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=17320

    Based on the review, it sounds like the original adventure (in KS#1) was not expanded much, if at all, for the module, which is mildly disappointing. Nonetheless, it should be worth it for the art alone.

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  6. This is weird. Seems like I can't get there. That's dissapointing, as I'm very curious about Gabor Lux's material.

    ReplyDelete

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I'm a Canadian political philosopher who lives primarily in Toronto but teaches in Milwaukee (sometimes in person, sometimes online).