#the dailybestiary

[dailybestiary]

Books of Magic: The Voyage of the “Princess Ark”

(Images by Jim Holloway and Thomas Baxa come from PDF scans of Dragon Magazine, are © Wizards of the Coast or their respective copyright holders, and are used for review purposes.)

Previous installments in my “Books of Magic” series were, weirdly enough, about books.

This time, I want to tell you about a series: Bruce A. Heard’s “The Voyage of the Princess Ark,” which turns 30 years old this very month.

TVotPA ran in the pages of TSR’s Dragon Magazine nearly every month from January 1990 (Dragon #153) through December 1992 (Dragon #188). A serialized travelogue and adventure story told in 35 installments over three years, TVotPA was part Master and Commander, part Star Trek, and part The Adventures of Asterix (the last two of which Heard explicitly cited as inspiration in his letters columns). It follows the saga of Prince Haldemar of Haaken, an Alphatian wizard who recommissions an old skyskip and sets out to explore the lesser known regions of the Dungeons & Dragons game’s Known World, which would soon come to be known as Mystara.

Some background might be necessary for those of you who aren’t familiar with the chaos that was D&D at the time. In the 1980s and 1990s, Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons were two different games. I’m simplifying the chronology here, but basically in the late ’70s D&D was meant to serve as a simplified gateway to introduce fans to fantasy role-playing before guiding them on to AD&D. But in the 1980s, thanks to the release of the Moldvay/Cook Basic and Expert Sets, and then the five Mentzer box sets (the ones with Larry Elmore dragons on the cover, now referred to as BECMI D&D—for the Basic, Expert, Companion, Master, and Immortals Rules box sets), D&D had become a viable game in its own right, with its own world, referred to only as the Known World.

The Known World—particularly as it was showcased in the Expert Rules—was a mess: more than a dozen nations slammed together in the corner of a continent to illustrate for young DMs the various forms of government you might find in D&D beyond kings and queens. Along the way, these nations also served as analogues for real-world societies ranging from Western European countries to Native American nations to the Mongolian khanate. But it was a glorious mess, thanks to a series of excellent Gazetteer supplements that had rounded out and mapped these nations in great detail, capped off by a box set, Dawn of the Emperors, that described the Known World’s pseudo-Rome, Thyatis, and its rival empire Alphatia, a nation of wizards across the sea.

By the end of 1989, then, D&D was at a crossroads. It was clearly the unloved child, seen as “basic,” best for beginners. Its setting did not have the novel support of Dragonlance or the energy of the surging and more thoughtfully conceived Forgotten Realms, then only two years old. The Gazetteer series had covered nearly all the known nations (two more would come later thanks to popular demand). And even Dragon Magazine rarely carried D&D material—a fact that was excruciating to me when I started picking up issues in late 1988 as a 5th grader.

Into this void stepped Bruce Heard. He’d been the architect of the Gazetteer series, had written some of its best installments, and was the overmind behind the D&D line at the time. If I’m remembering my history correctly, he approached the editor of Dragon, the amazing Roger Moore, about supplying a column that would provide regular D&D content for that starved segment of Dragon’s audience. In his editorials and answers to reader letters, Moore had made several mentions of needing more D&D content for the magazine, so he was a receptive audience. Heard got the green light, and “The Voyage of the Princess Ark” was born.

I still remember where I was when I realized this was happening. I missed the series launch—with my tiny allowance, I could only justify buying Dragon issues that really interested me, and Dragon #153 hadn’t leapt of the shelf at me. (Not having the Masters Rules box at the time, I didn’t realize the illustration of a continental map plastered with “WRONG WRONG WRONG” was referring to the D&D world.) I did have Dragon #155 (still one of my favorite issues of all time), but somehow I skipped past TVotPA Part 3—I wasn’t reading issues cover to cover yet and somehow didn’t grasp what was going on.

Then came issue #158. I was away for a week at Boy Scout summer camp, and I’d brought the June issue of Dragon with me. Having torn through the articles about dragons (June’s theme was always dragons), I turned to an article illustrated with a wizard and an ogre/elf cross riding pelicans. Better yet, they article had stats for playing these ogre-elves as PCs.

D&D stats.

THIS WAS A D&D ARTICLE!

And it was part of a SERIES!!!

With some effort, I tracked down the issues I’d missed—no easy task for a just-finished-6th-grader—and soon was buying Dragon every month. Moore and Heard’s plan had worked. I was hooked on both TVotPA and Dragon from then on. (The next time I missed an issue, I’d be a college freshman and the industry was on the verge of collapse.)

Most installments of TVotPA followed a simple template: The Princess Ark would fly to some new spot on the map, the crew would get into some trouble (usually brought down on them by the actions of Captain Haldemar himself), and then more or less get out again, either due to a last-minute save by Haldemar or some surprising turn of events. All this played out in the form of log entries—originally by Haldemar, then supplemented by other crewmembers as the cast expanded—that allowed Heard to deliver both in-world descriptions and rollicking action at the same time. The article would then offer back matter containing rules content or setting write-ups, and sometimes conclude with a letters column of readers reacting to the setting or seeking clarification on some arcane point of D&D rules and lore.

While this template was simple, it was never boring. The episodic nature of the series let Heard play in a variety of tones and genres: lost-world pulp, courtly drama, horror, farce, even a Western—heck, he slipped in an homage to the Dark Crystal (which at the time I didn’t get, not having seen it) as early as Part 5 (Dragon #157). As well (without getting into too spoilery territory), various overarching antagonists and plot threads—including a threatening order of knights, a devious dragon, two major status quo changes, and divine machinations—kept things simmering in the background from episode to episode. The characters likewise became more developed as Heard’s writing grew in confidence and ambition, and reader affection grew for side characters like Talasar, Xerdon, Myojo, and the rest. Once the series was up and running at full speed, it was a sure bet that if you didn’t like that month’s story, you’d dig the rules write-up, or vice versa. And when the story, setting, characters, and rules all came together, such as in Dragon #177, an episode would just sing.

Once again, I can’t tell you how thrilling this series was to 6th–9th-grade me. First of all, it came along at the perfect time. Heard’s writing literally matured just as my reading did, so the series and I literally grew up together. 6th grade was also the year I discovered comics, so this was also the era of my life when I was falling in love with serialized storytelling. Similarly, it was my first time really embracing the epistolary form.

Perhaps most significantly for this blog and my freelance career, the column was also an early primer for me on game design. Watching Heard tweak D&D’s simple rules to evoke a more complex world, especially when looked at in concert with D&D’s Gazetteer and Hollow Word supplements, gave me the courage to think about tweaking/inventing lore and systems myself. Heard also made a habit of pilfering monsters from the Creature Catalogue, seeing potential in them no one else had, and then suggesting entire cultures for them. (If that doesn’t sound like someone you know…what blog have you been reading?) He made creating a world seem easy, because he did it month after month after month.

Finally, TVotPA was thrilling because it was clear proof that someone took “basic” BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia-era D&D seriously. And that meant someone took us, the fanbase, seriously too. Back then, I couldn’t afford AD&D. Even if I could, I didn’t want to mess with all the complexity. Plus, I loved the Known World. I loved the Gazetteer books and the Aaron Allston box sets. By writing and publishing TVotPA, Bruce Heard and Roger Moore made me feel like they cared about and for fans like me. I didn’t have Raistlin, I didn’t have Elminster…but I didn’t need them, because I had Prince Haldemar of Haaken and his magical Princess Ark.

In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that falling under the spell of Dragon and TVotPA were some of the most magical and mind expanding moments of my middle school years.

But what does this mean for you, the current Pathfinder or D&D fan? Should you read “The Voyage of the Princess Ark”?

Obviously I’m going to say yes, for all the reasons I’ve listed above. If you like maritime adventures, steampunk, or pulp adventures, this is obviously the series for you. If you like Pathfinder/D&D where a wizard is as likely to throw a punch as he is to go for his wand, this is the series for you. If you like on-the-fly worldbuilding, this is the series for you. If you like setting, story, and rules expansion all mixed together every month, this is the series for you.

TVotPA has never been collected in its entirely (more on that later), but there are PDF scans of all that era’s Dragon issues online. Start at Dragon #153 and keep reading. I’ll warn you that the first installments are a little slow, but I’d be surprised if you aren’t pulled in by the end of Part 8 (Dragon #161). If you’re the sort of reader who wants to sample a series running on all four cylinders before committing, I recommend Part 18 (Dragon #171), set in the pseudo-Balkan nation of Slagovich, or Part 24 (Dragon #177), when the crew encounters the Celtic-influenced druidic knights of Robrenn, as great places to get a strong first impression.

To my eye, “The Voyage of the Princess Ark” consists of four major arcs, plus a smattering of follow-up material that owes a debt to the series. If you do decide to dive in, here’s a quick reading guide:

Arc 1 / Parts 1–10 / Dragon #153–163 / This arc launches the series and introduces us to several major antagonists. The first few installments are slow going, but by Part 6 (Dragon #158) or 7 (Dragon #160) we see signs of the series as it will be in its prime.

(Dragon #158 also looks at D&D’s immortal dragon rulers; some of this info will later get superseded by a more canonical article in Dragon #170 a year later. Don’t sleep on Dragon #159—though it doesn’t have an installment of TVotPA, there is some fun Spelljammer content in that issue. Speaking of Spelljammer, Dragon #160 also has a companion article entitled “Up, Away & Beyond,” that serves up rudimentary rules for space travel in D&D in tandem with the action in that month’s TVotPA.)

As you have probably just gleaned, this arc also takes the Princess Ark briefly into space and introduces D&D’s second, secret setting, the Hollow World, which was being launched at that time .

Arc 2 / Parts 11–15 / Dragon #164–168 / This short arc deals with the ramifications of a major status quo-altering event at the end of the previous arc. As the crew comes to terms with their new circumstances, Haldemar learns more about the ship itself and the magics behind her. The arc ends with yet another status quo shakeup and detailed maps of the Princess Ark.

Arc 3 / Parts 16–28 / Dragon #169–181 / Hex maps! One of the calling cards of the D&D Gazetteer series was its gloriously detailed full-color hex maps, so it was kind of a disappointment when TVotPA served up only rough sketches of coastlines and mountain ranges. Part 16 gave us what we’d wanted all along: glorious hex maps (detailing the India-inspired nation of Sind no less!). They weren’t always perfect—several issues in the #170s had the wrong colors for mountain ranges, or even seemed crudely painted with watercolors—but by Part 24 (Dragon #177) we got the crisp, expertly designed nations we expected in our Known World.

Early in this arc, we also get a passing of the torch between artists. Parts 1–17 were illustrated by Jim Holloway, who I like for his action scenes, his expressive faces, and the classic stern captain’s look (complete with mustache) he gives Haldemar. (Holloway also does the best dwarves, gnomes, and halflings in the fantasy business.) Starting with Part 18 (Dragon #171), we are treated to the more angular, stylized look of Thomas Baxa, with Haldemar losing his mustache and gaining a silver-streaked ponytail. Terry Dykstra takes over in Part 25 (Dragon #178); his style is more cartoony (his Myojo really suffers from this), but he keeps Baxa’s character designs till the end of the series.

Now that I’ve totally buried the lede, let’s unearth it: This arc is, for my money, the series at its absolute prime. Action-packed stories. More characters in the spotlight. Meaty setting descriptions and rules content. New PC races and classes. Even heraldry for each nation! Heard also continued his habit of dredging up D&D creatures from the Creature Catalogue and loosely tying them to real-world cultures for great effect. I suspect many of you will love the French dogfolk of Renardy or the English catfolk of Bellayne, not to mention the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference he sneaks in there.

(By the way, it should be noted that today in 2020 we’re more hesitant to do such A+B design. But remember, 1) 1990–1992 was a different time—by ’90s standards, Heard is engaged in pretty solid, multiculturalist worldbuilding, and 2) Heard grew up in Europe (France originally, I believe), so while some of the characterizations and comedy is broad, the settings are grounded in both on-the-ground familiarity and good research, and the humor is affectionate and of a piece with works like Asterix that any European reader would be familiar with. In other words, don’t stress it and just enjoy that the dog-dudes are shouting “Sacrebleu!” The one exception might be the depiction of Hule, an evil D&D nation that has always been hung with vaguely Persian or Arabian trappings…but again 1) Heard was working within the established canon, and 2) the Known World setting more than balances that out with the Emirates of Ylaruam, an Arabian/Persian-inspired nation that was depicted with lots of sensitivity and care by Ken Rolston and others, to be followed by the amazing Al-Qadim setting for AD&D. So I don’t think there’s much in here that should raise alarms from a cultural sensitivity perspective, but if something does strike you discordantly, remember we’re talking about works that are 30 years old and make allowances as you feel you can.)

Along the way, you’ll also get a sneak peek at what would become AD&D’s Red Steel setting and the Savage Baronies box set—including some of the first Spanish and Moorish-inspired nations you’ll find in fantasy RPGs of this era—learn a bit about the Known World’s afterlife and undead, and even get an honest-to-Ixion cowboy shootout, as well as lots of PC options and deck plans for the evil knights’ flying warbirds, which put the Klingons’ warbirds to shame. (Oh, and while you’re reading, don’t skip the two articles about the Known World’s dragons in #170 and #171!)

Arc 4 / Parts 29–35 / Dragon #182–188 / Dragon #158–181 is among the best two-year-runs Dragon Magazine ever had, and TVotPA is a large part of the reason. But a lackluster issue #182 was a first quiet sign of a long slow downturn to come. The fact that that issue’s TVotPA entry was only a letter column portended even more dire things. In fact, three of the seven installments in this arc were purely letters columns, which was a huge disappointment at the time: We’d waited a whole month and got…just letters?!?

By this point, I think we knew the Wrath of the Immortals box set was coming—one of those world-shattering setting updates that was being pitched as a relaunch of the setting, but which could also serve as its climax. My hope at the time was that Wrath of the Immortals would kick things into a new, higher gear for both the Known World (which by then we knew as Mystara) and TVotPA, especially since the D&D Rules Cyclopedia had only come out the year before. But alas, it wasn’t to be.

Thanks to the three letters-only entries, the writing was on the wall. In Part 35 (Dragon #188), TVotPA wound its way to a close that felt appropriate but not properly climactic. God, what I wouldn’t have given to have traded those three letters columns for one last showdown with a certain dragon, those dastardly knights, or any other more suspenseful end! The end we got was nice and tidy enough (and took us to fantasy Louisiana, Australia, and Endor), but it wasn’t the end we wanted…in part because we didn’t want it to end, ever.

Arc 5 / Coda & Part 36 / Select issues of Dragon #189–200, Champions of Mystara, Dragon #237, #247 & #344 / In 1993, TVotPA was replaced with “The Known World Grimoire.” This was a grab bag of announcements, letters columns, nitty-gritty details on running dominions (Companion and Master-level D&D players got to have their own lands, castles, and even kingdoms if they so wished), and other sundries. Most of these are skippable. Four exceptions are four “Grimoire” entries which could practically be TVotPA installments: Dragon #192, which covers the manscorpions of Nimmur, Dragon #196, featuring the orcs of the Dark Jungle, an article on D&D heraldry in Dragon #199 (which is an edge case, but I’m including it here because the rules could be applied to the coats of arms of the various Savage Coast nations), and Dragon #200, which looked at the winged elves and winged minotaurs of the Arm of the Immortals. Coming out as it did in the giant-sized issue #200, this last article felt like what it was—a last goodbye to D&D’s Known World/Mystara as we knew it before Mystara’s relaunch as an AD&D line.

(Dragon #200 also had a nice article on making magic-users in D&D more distinctive. There was also “The Ecology of the Actaeon” in Dragon #190, one of the only D&D ecologies to be published in Dragon’s 2e AD&D era. Somewhere in this time we also got the news that the Known World would be relaunched as AD&D’s Mystara setting, whose products were famous for coming with audio CDs and not much else.)

Around this time TSR also published its TVotPA-inspired—and utterly maddening—Champions of Mystara box set. I say “maddening” because, at least to me, it clearly felt like a “Sure, here fine, have your dang box set” product, a too-pricey production made because fans demanded it, but not out of real love from anyone at TSR but Bruce Heard himself and co-designer Ann Dupuis.

(Let me be clear: This is all speculation; I can’t confirm any of that; I’m just saying what it felt like.)

Among the reasons for my disappointment: There was no new content featuring Haldemar and his crew. One of the booklets reprinted most of TVotPA…but not the first 10 or so entries (so it wasn’t even the complete epic! *headdesk*) and none of the ancillary material, just the story logs. Another booklet was deep in the weeds of skyship construction—hell yeah, you could build your own skyship!—but gave little content to, say, inspire lots of fun skyship-to-skyship adventures in the vein of Spelljammer, such as tons of skyships from other nations. The box did contain eight standalone cards with other ship designs, but most of these were one-off constructions by solitary wizards and rajahs, not enough to really launch a campaign. My favorite booklet was the “Explorer’s Manual,” which gave us some new setting details we hadn’t seen before, including an amazing subterranean nation of elves and gnolls that I still think about to this day…but again, it was all too little, too late—for this fan, at least.

In other words, don’t try to buy the Champions of Mystara box set—at time of writing it’s crazy expensive and not worth it for anyone not actively playing BECMI D&D right this minute. If, after reading the entire series, you’ve fallen in love with TVotPA (which admittedly was my goal in writing this) and absolutely must have Champions for that nation of elves and gnolls, get the PDF on DriveThruRPG.com.

Years later, as Dragon was limping through the late ’90s before its rejuvenation in 2000, Heard provided 2e AD&D rules for Mystara’s lupins and rakastas in Dragon #237 and #247, including writing up tons of subraces inspired by actual pet breeds. If you’ve ever wanted to play an anthropomorphic St. Bernard or Siamese, these are the articles for you.

Finally in 2006, when Paizo had taken over publishing Dragon, they invited Heard to deliver one last TVotPA entry in Dragon #344…giving us, if not a climax, definitely one last burst of palace intrigue and action to bridge the gap between the series proper and the events of Wrath of the Immortals. Over and above all the other coda material I’ve mentioned, this actually fits in the saga—it’s even labeled Part 36. If you want to ship out one last time with Haldemar and his crew, track it down.

Finally x2, there is the world of Calidar. After being thwarted for several years trying to get permission to write new TVotPA content, Bruce Heard has created his own game world filled with skyships and adventures. I own the books (which are rules-light so fans of any system can use them), but haven’t had time to read them yet; hopefully you will be a more determined fan. Keep an eye out for his various Kickstarters and definitely show your support.

Finally x3, if you think I am the only diehard Known World/Mystara fan out there…wow, no, not by a long shot. The Mystara fan community is one of the most dedicated in gaming. In addition to holding a torch for BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia-era D&D, they’ve taken it upon themselves to continue mapping and describing the remainder of Mystara as part of the fan community based out of the Vaults of Pandius website and the stunning fanzine Threshold. I’ve only skimmed Threshold a little, but it is stunning work on par with the Pathfinder fanzine Wayfinder for the amount of effort the fans put in and the quality that comes out. Kudos to everyone involved!

“The Voyage of the Princess Ark” is a testament to the creative heights one writer could achieve in a fantasy world.

“The Voyage of the Princess Ark” deserves to be spoken of in the terms we use for Pathfinder’s Golarion; AD&D’s Dark Sun, Planescape, and Al-Qadim; and Vampire the Masquerade’s World of Darkness. And Bruce Heard deserves pride of place in the company of Greenwood, Grubb, Weis, Hickman, and others of his era.

Heard showed us that simple rules didn’t mean a less complex world. Heard showed us that a few lines of monster description could be blown out to fill entire nations. Heard showed us that the cultural diversity of our own world could inspire our fictional ones. Most importantly, he showed that if you put in the work month after month, you could achieve amazing things. And he did it for a neglected fanbase of underdogs and windmill-tilters. He championed an audience and a world when no one else would.

“The Voyage of the Princess Ark” is also why I spent nearly seven years serving up monster ideas for another underdog fanbase. And the inspiration and work ethic I took from it is a big part of why I’m lucky enough to occasionally be freelancing on a professional basis today.

Three years isn’t a long time in fantasy fandom. If Elminster and Drizzt are Star Trek, perennially chugging along, and Harry Potter is Star Wars, a brilliant core surrounded by progressively less compelling follow-ups, then “The Voyage of the Princess Ark” is Firefly, a ragged crew whose sojourn was cut short, but whose legacy far outstrips its impact at the time.

Or at least, that’s the way its legacy ought to be.

Give “The Voyage of the Princess Ark” a try. Maybe I’m overselling it. Maybe years of nostalgia have painted a picture rosier than the original could ever live up to. Maybe, in an era where outstanding fantasy worlds and strong writing are almost commonplace, current readers can’t perceive the lightning-in-a-bottle magic that was this series.

Maybe. But I think there’s something more there, something perennial, something of value even when placed side by side with the embarrassment of riches that is Pathfinder 1e/2e and D&D 5e.

The only way you’ll know is if you book a berth on the Princess Ark and see for yourself.

Happy flying.

[wanderingmoonsword]

Zombie Horde

We’re coming to the end of the road here, monster fans. I’ve got one more post after this one, then the Tome of Horrors is complete, or at least the parts I’m planning to cover. It’s been a long ride and honestly, I need a break.  I might come back and take a run at the Creature Collection sometime but for now, I’m going dark for a bit, maybe resurfacing to follow a couple of other excellent Tumblrs like @dailycharacteroption and @dailybestiary.

But onto our monster! This entry is a staple of horror films, the zombie horde, because let’s be honest. One zombie? Your average level 1 party will deal with that problem just fine. A pack of zombies? That’s a different story, at least until the barbarian assembles a Great Cleave combo and starts singing “I’m A Lumberjack” in the key of rage. Or the cleric turns them. Or the wizard remembers the scroll of fireball the party

No, you need a bunch of zombies to make parties take notice. A horde of zombies.

Mechanically, the horde leverages much of the same mechanics as the swarm, although the implementation is different from the troop mechanic Paizo rolled out. The upshot is that they hit more or less automatically, battering and hammering away at foes, but take normal damage from most weapons and 50% more from area effect spells. What makes the hordes threatening isn’t just their damage. Zombie hordes are tough, requiring a fair bit of effort to bring them down, and even once they go down, there’s a few zombies left over. The zombies aren’t much of a threat but they’ll slow down the party, meaning that if anything else shows up – and that many zombies groans “Braaaaain!” is going to make plenty of noise – the party has enemies in their way.

Narratively, the zombie horde emphasizes the unstoppable tide of undeath and the sheer power of whatever animated these beings, hurling the dead at the living in such a number and sheer density. Zombie hordes don’t arise normally. Someone or something is very wrong, interfering with the natural order of life and death, and these hordes are such a threat that they demand heroes respond.

Hoping to destroy the besieging armies gathered around the walled city of Maran, the circle of necromancers comprising the highest ranks of the Solomonarie wrought an eldritch ritual of terrible power. Although its cost was high in lives and arcane power alike, to say nothing of the monsters left where once there were men, many of the soldiers were dead by the end of the ghastly night that followed. Still bearing their rusted weapons and wearing parodies of their armor, hordes of the soldiers still roam outside the walls of Maran, barely controllable by the handful of master necromancers that remain bound to the Magister’s Tower, and one legion is eternally aflame after a master evoker attempted to burn away the walking dead.

Hoping to displace the umbral dragon known to the world as the Shadowfury Ravager, a duke sent several companies of armed soldiers to confront the creature. After slaughtering them, raising some of their officers as greater shadows, the dragon took a perverse joy in stitching the wailing souls of the dead back into rotting corpses with an occult ritual. Still disciplined, the rotting remains prowl the dragon’s territory, the maddened shades hurling blasphemies as they urge the groaning dead toward their foe in the hope that this murderous rampage will finally earn them some respite from their torment.

After the end of a long quest to retrieve the stolen bones of a hero of the War of Seven Oaths, a group of xia undertake a pilgrimage to restore them to the sprawling tomb erected for the faithful dead by a grateful emperor. But when they arrive, they find many of the dead have risen, aggrieved by the dishonor – or worse, the corpses coerced by foul sorceries, suggesting that the plot goes much farther than animating the corpse of one venerated warrior-saint.

- Tome of Horrors 4 131

[dailycharacteroption]

i love your blog, and was wondering if you knew of any other good pathfinder tumblrs out there. also i wanted to say that even though you were hesitant to write out all your ideas of different cultural influences for different races, i'd enjoy it. i love the idea of expanding the influence of different cultures, maybe even different historical periods from different cultures, on high fantasy. i'm currently playing basically a half-orc roman centurion whose human father was an olive farmer

Now that DOES sound like a fun character! And I do appreciate that. As for other pathfinder blogs, I could recommend @dailybestiary , (They were the first to use the content+three adventure hooks format to my knowledge, and were my inspiration to start blogging in the first place!) @dailyplanescape @thecreaturecodex

Also, while not specifically pathfinder, I also enjoy @tabletopresources and the various blogs of @weareadventurers and their collective

[enddaysengine]

Although I'd have to think that order, systematic devils would be *annoyed as shit* by Psychopomp's laissez-faire attitude toward regulations, frequent bureaucratic oversights, fluid leadership leadership, constant bickering, an general disorganization (from an infernal perspective).

I kinda imagine it being like being forced to watch a picture that's *just* out of alignment and being unable to correct it. Or the world's worst micromanager being forced to just sit on their hands and watch.

Actually, better idea, go Read Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series (and thank @dailybestiary for recommending it to me). Then imagine how devils would react them to them. I don't think that psychopomps are as corrupt as the Denizens of the House, but they are just as "I could do this my the book, but I'd much rather to it my way."

Food for thought.

So your last comment about how there are three portals in the Boneyard for the lower planes made me think that the Boneyard is just a giant job fair and the demon and devil representatives are just desperately trying to get people to sign up for their shitty jobs and the daemon booth is just left empty with a signup sheet and a sign that says "we all hate it here" That joke aside, I am new to Pathfinder's lore and I am curious just how the process a soul takes in the afterlife works. Any recommendations for where to see it written out?

I think demons would despise having to work as Boneyard representatives, but devils would appreciate the order and procession. Boneyard shift is basically a vacation for a devil; the Courts of Purgatory are probably WAY less stressful than the infernal courts. Half your job is already done for you by the time a soul's dossier reaches your desk and their court date is set!

Anyway, let's see... Most of it you can find in The Great Beyond: A Guide to the Multiverse. That gives you the big skeleton and most of the details on the cycle of souls! But! There's also even more details on the process of the afterlife in Planar Adventures, which goes into the entire process of a soul dying, being judged, moving on, and evolving into an Outsider or merging into the plane. Since Planar Adventures is the more recent book, its information is more up-to-date and thus more canon relevant. I'd recommend that one, personally!

[dr-archeville]

Holy crap, I think I’ve managed to reblog everything from @dailybestiary  O_O

[titleknown]

Welp, I’m too busy with another SUPER SECRET POSSIBLY COOL PROJECT to do a drabble this week, but I thought I might as well ask y’all something.

When/if my Patreon gets up to 50 Dollars, I have a special sideblog planned, to produce things like @dailybestiary or @mortasheen-reviews but for Open Source Characters.

But, given I’m very clearly not getting there anytime soon, I gotta ask: What do y’all think of the idea of me doing a special “sneak preview” of that, this month, as many entries as I can do, as my gift to you all?

Krampus Christmas Creature Cavalcade entries to resume tomorrow folks, so be tuned for that too!

[enddaysengine]

2013. Started blogging RPG plothooks inspired by @dailybestiary. Never left, but did slow down a lot when it led to actually writing RPG books.

since we’re all talking abt newcomers and stuff, when did you guys first join tumblr

for me it was back in like 2014 (i think) when i was in my twenty one pilots phase and didnt know how tumblr worked but i saw funny memes of it on facebook

i then tried to make a #inspirational quotes from animes and cartoons account where i just yoinked stuff from google images lmfao

[enddaysengine]

Hivemind Swarm (Template, Planescape)

Cranium rats are back! Well, sort of... 

The Hivemind Swarm is the coolest template I’ve seen in a long time. It basically acts as a class level for swarms, adding hit die and spell casting abilities as a psychic. The example monster, as is proper and correct, is a rat swarm. They may not be missing the tops of their heads, but don’t fool yourself. These are cranium rats, through and through. 

The interesting thing about making this a template is that it can apply to any swarm. Snakes? Check. Hellwasps? Check. Grey Goo, Vescavors, and Mandragoras? Check, check, and check. Even for swarms that were already fairly intelligent, they get smarter, their swarm attack hits harder, and they boost their AC. Also keep in mind that nothing keeps you from using other spellcasting classes with this template if you want to, especially the psion from Dreamscarred Press.  

Yanni the Unformed hides in the dark wilds of Carceri. Unknown to most is that Yanni is the offspring of the mythic Hivemind Spider Swarm known as Ygramul The Many. How one swarm can be born from another is a question many scholars would like to know, but Yanni isn’t talking, content to hunt yugoloths, daemons, demodands, and mortals trekking through the mountains. 

Ilsensine’s cranium rats are surely the most famous of the hivemind swarms that serve deities, but they are far from the only ones. Ghlaunder has also created his own hiveminds, but they are not mosquito hiveminds as one would expect. Rather, Ghlaunder’s hiveminds are tick swarms that hide in tall grasses and spread disease with their clerical magic. 

 When it comes to understanding digestion, biology, and the chemistry of acids, the best sage on the Paraelemental Plane of Ooze is Pesapin. Finding Pesapin is difficult though, as she is a Dustman who long ago became so detached from her physical body that she disintegrated into a hivemind swarm of undigested. Now, her undead mass roams the planes, studying digestive processes in hopes of breaking her body down even further so that only her mental faculties remain, allowing her to pass into True Death. 

Note: I’ve got my subscriber copy of Seige of Stone. Let me tell you this, @dailybestiary ‘s article on the Nagas is awesome. It has unified Nagas with personality and history in a way that I have not seen before, and it will definitely play a big role in my future games (and this blog)! Massive congratulations and accolades are in order, as this that article is a home run and a one-hit KO!

[exaltea]

Campaign in a Bottle: Themes & Brainstorming

Okay, so we’ve chosen our books.  In addition to the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook and the Bestiary, we’re going to work with the Advanced Player’s Guide, Bestiary 4, the Alchemy Manual, and the Harrow Handbook.

So what’s our campaign going to be about?  What’s going to make it special?

(A quick note before we go any farther.  I normally keep my blog setting-neutral and avoid any Pathfinder intellectual property, both to spur my creativity and keep any legal types from getting cranky with me.  With these Campaign in a Bottle entries, I’m still going to try to stick to that policy for the most part—I won’t be using the names of any Golarion deities, for instance. But some of the classes and concepts I talk about, especially the harrow deck, will be drawn from Pathfinder’s IP quiver.  My use of them in this and subsequent posts should be considered a good-faith work of fan art and not construed as a challenge to their status.)

Right off the bat, our two Player Companion titles suggest one option.  A campaign with harrowing can’t help but be about the harrow deck, superstition, and the influence of fate.  Meanwhile alchemy is as close as Pathfinder gets to science.  So a campaign that plays up science vs. superstition and alchemy vs. harrowing could be really fun.  In game terms, that means alchemists vs. witches (and/or summoners). As X vs. Y setups go, that’s not a bad one—I would watch that movie.

Obviously alchemists and harrowers aren’t going to be fighting each other like armies of elves and orcs.  But I can easily imagine a border town or city right on the edge of “civilization” where the local culture of druidism, card reading, and nomadism or farming is being challenged and transformed by the wealth, industry, military, and alchemy of a colonizing nation.  Add some threats, both internal—sneaky alchemists conducting unlicensed experiments, witches slinging curses, maybe some gremlins or derros under the city—and external—a distant but always threatening nation of orcs, a forest full of nasty fey and hags, the usual dragons and such, and we’ve got some fertile ground.  A really big landmark such as a giant wall doesn’t hurt either.  (It doesn’t hurt that lately in the car I’ve been listening to Medicus and Terra Incognita, two novels by Ruth Downie about a doctor stationed with the Roman army in Britain during Hadrian’s reign.)  

So that’s one option. We’ll call it the Wall of Cards campaign.

The other option, instead of putting the Alchemy Manual and Harrow Handbook in opposition to each other, is to have them coöperate—or at least coexist.  So if science (even pseudoscience) and superstition are united, what’s on the other side of the equation?  

Well, looking at the Advanced Player’s Guide, we’ve got cavaliers, inquisitors, and oracles, not to mention the Core Rulebook’s clerics and paladins…so why not the church?

Imagine, then, a city founded around a holy site, an oracle, or some other heavenly visitation.  Over time, what was a shrine becomes settled and fortified until it is a decent-sized temple district or even an entire holy city—a place where faith and the law intersect, hence the presence of so many knights, paladins, and inquisitors.  Given that Bestiary 4 has a fair number of aquatic creatures, making this a coastal or canal city wouldn’t be a bad move either.  But with that growth comes challenges.  Temples tend to lead to universities…but when those universities start churning out wizards and alchemists, they become a power center on their own.  Wealthy nobles and merchants need guards and bear idle sons and daughters, leading to swashbucklers dueling in the streets.  Meanwhile, despite the church’s best efforts, the indigenous locals or travelers are going to have their own beliefs—including a healthy respect for the harrow deck—that they’re not going to surrender just because someone threw up a temple in their path.  So you’ve got a church hierarchy trying to keep the peace—or keep the citizens under its thumb, depending on the slant of your campaign—as upstart harrow-reading commoners and iconoclastic alchemists challenge their authority.  Now drop in some dark folk, a skum invasion or two, some giants, and whatever else lurks below the waves or comes crawling up from the cemeteries—not to mention a heresy or two—and you’ve got plenty to keep PCs busy.

We’ll call our second option the Oracle at Jenev.

While we’re at it, it’s also interesting to see how little tweaks to our starting books could make for a totally different campaign.  The Harrow Handbook would also work really well for a campaign with an Eastern feel as well—particularly if we chose Bestiary 3 instead of 4, opening us up to the world of kami and oni, and swapped out the Alchemy Manual for Ultimate Combat, which unlocks the ninja and samurai as class options.  (The thought of a ninja and a spellcaster hurling shuriken and harrow cards back and forth at each other is highly appealing.)

Also, you need a reasonably high level of civilization to be mass-producing cards, which automatically lends itself to certain eras and historical precedents.  But if you drop the Harrow Handbook…?  Bestiary 4 has all the ingredients for a truly off-the-wall jungle or coastal tropics campaign.  Add in the Animal Archive or Familiar Folio books and you could have dinosaur-riding druids fighting off wyrwood pygmies and wyvaran raiders while trying to uncover a lost city of psychopomps and drive off invaders from beyond the stars.

As tempting as those other tangents are though, we have an assignment to fulfill based on the books we were given.  I’m good with either, and that means the decision is up to you.  Which campaign do you all want to see?  Shall we explore the edge of civilization along the Wall of Cards or keep/defy the faith with the Oracle of Jenev?

[monstersdownthepath]

Hey there. I'm thrilled you're so into Pathfinder monsters and I'm really happy to see your writing out there. That said, it might be nice if you thought of another name to call your bestiary entries. The Daily Bestiary is something I've been working *very* hard on since 2011. So to see another blog out there putting "Daily Bestiary" right at the top of similar articles (and tagging them that as well) is a bit of a punch in the gut. Just something to think about as you keep writing. Thanks!

100% honesty, I had no idea your blog existed until I started searching for better pics for some of my entries around early August, and I never imagined actually being contacted by it. The thought of overlap/the possible confusion between the two never occurred to me.

I’ll try to think of a better naming system/tag while at work today. Just “Bestiary Entry” sounds good to me for now, but I’ll also take suggestions from followers.

[corillion]

@monstersdownthepath @dailybestiary

Have you seen the Faerie Fire anthology? I think it really aligns with your aesthetic. It's on kickstarter right now and is like a supplemental bestiary where everything is bright 80s and 90s aesthetic. it looks so so cool and theyre about $8000 away from a stretch goal that will include player races (including giant grasshoper people). The kickstarter ends on February 7th though.

googles…

This is one of the samples they’ve got on their Kickstarter

Holy shit I am so sold

I really hope they get to the player races stretch goal! That would be so, so ideal ♥

[wanderingmoonsword]

Wood Golem

Sturdy and capable constructs, wood golems are a sometimes-overlooked member of the golem family. Though they’re fashioned from wood (typically exotic varieties) rather than more durable materials, these constructs are still hardy, with immunity to many spells, and are difficult to break. The Tome of Horrors Complete differs somewhat from Paizo’s interpretation, opting for immunity to cold and electricity instead of the broader magic immunity golems have, and has the ability to let out a powerful alarm effect instead of the deadly shower of splinters.  @dailybestiary suggested they might be journeyman’s work thanks to their often crude, unfinished appearance. He has a point but you shouldn’t limit yourself. The Tome of Horrors Complete posits a different idea, with the wood golems as creations meant to be cheaper than other golems but still durable enough to serve as capable defenders. It’s an interesting idea, one worth exploring!

Though druids typically eschew constructs, preferring the primal power of elementals or charmed plants for their purses, wood golems are sometimes an exception when a more durable – or less intelligent – guardian than an elemental is needed, created using secret rituals and woods from primal forests.

Signature creations of the master artisans known only as the Maestri, a series of wood golems crafted as resonant musical instruments are the defining trait of the music of Hai Gali. Each golem is tuned to specific notes, either using magic and hydraulics to draw in air or strung with various types of strings, and the masked wizards left few notes to guide anyone on reproducing their unique creations. Only a handful have ever performed at one place, their control amulets jealously guarded by feuding nobles, but over time their signature songs have given each a reputation and personality, one that suggests a troubling independence might be growing…

Rather than dominating the local tribes of the Tariak Forest, the green dragon Ketige prefers to craft her closest servants from the rare woods and exotic plants she cultivates with the aid of carefully recruited wyrwoods. These golems are the most common outward sign of Ketige’s power, attracting much ire, but so far demolishing them has been so difficult that few have dared the green dragon’s ire to make the attempt.

- Tome of Horrors Complete 344 and Bestiary 164

[wanderingmoonsword]

Yeti

Making their homes at the top of the world, the yeti are some of the most mysterious and reclusive creatures, not least because most adventurers spend their time trying to go down, not climbing mountains. Drawing from the real world myths and legends of ape-men in the Himalayas and other high mountains, yeti are depicted as strange and reclusive, with little contact with the outside world. But that’s how they like it. The stories of rapine and slaughter have more to do with outcasts from their society or the influence of strange places accessible where air and the boundaries of reality both grow thin, though, and most yeti simply prefer to drive off lowlanders with trickery rather than kill them. These are some of the best cryptids – mysterious and possibly savage but also shy and reclusive, a combination that’s landed them in many editions all the way from the very first Monster Manual. Whether you’re doing horror, survival, or just alpine adventurers, yeti fit in well from low levels to high ones, either as villains, possible allies, or bystanders to the plots of others.

Though dwarves mine the lower depths, few dare the brave the peaks of the mountains known as the Frost Dragon’s Maw.  The frost giants rarely ascend past the mid-level of the highest mountains, preferring to avoid the haunting nightmares that plague their dreams. Only the yeti and the eldest white dragons dare the heights, and many attribute the dragons’ rage and cryptic obsessions to the bizarre things that lurk on “the other side” of the mountains… and wonder what secrets the yeti hold that drive them to their mad rages.

Making camp on the northern slope of the mountain known as the Hungry Ogre, adventurers are startled when a yeti comes out of the woods. Even as they go for their weapons, the monstrous-looking figure staggers into the circle of light cast by the campfire, toppling at their feet. Bleeding from many swollen wounds, the yeti can explain the problem if treated and coaxed – urhags have descended on the mountain, and if they’re not checked, they may boil down into the valley below.

Alternately dealing with and shunning outsiders, the yeti of the Yorakata Mountains are as enigmatic as most of their kin for all that they’re far more accessible. Anyone seeking to contact them is well advised to consult the handful of vanara mystics who maintain high monasteries and have dealt with the yeti for centuries. They conduct their affairs according to a strange, esoteric spirit calendar, worshiping a reclusive mountain kami and protecting her sacred peak, though they offer up little about their faith to lowlanders, even their distant cousins the orang-pendek. At certain times, when the spirits demand it, they refuse all contact, leaving nothing but blood-stained snow and mysteries behind.

- Tome of Horrors Complete 657 and Bestiary 1 287

@dailybestiary had a fun article on these guys.

[wanderingmoonsword]

Thorny (Template)

To understand the thorny, first you must understand the vegepygmy. As usual, I’m going to refer you over to @dailybestiary for this one, specifically his writeup on those moldy little guys. Thornies are the companion creatures of vegepygmies as far back as the first trip into the Barrier Peaks in 1980, as intelligent and trainable (by their masters, anyway) as hounds, and about as affectionate. They don’t share the vegepygmy’s reproductive strategy, though they do share a related origin in Into the Darklands. Instead, thornies are hatched by laying egg-like seeds from a female thorny that grow into a small tree-like bush, budding off new baby thornies before the bush withers away. Although the wolf-like thorny is the most common, a template in the back of the book is provided to make other types of thronies from different animals and the author, Erica Balsley, didn’t mess around. She reached straight for an advanced tyrannosaur, creating a truly massive fungal creature to turn loose on your party.

In Paizo’s Darklands Revisted, the offspring of fleshwarped troglodytes turned against the vegepygmies by their erstwhile masters in an attempt to put down their rebellion, given a new life by the same russet mold the drow had cultivated and springing up to fight alongside the fungal pygmies they’d been sent to kill. These thornies are smarter, tougher, and generally nastier, with poison and a tough hide that makes them difficult to bring down without the right weapons. Fortunately, bludgeoning and slashing weapons are generally more effective against the thornies’ vegepygmy masters, so packing swords and hammers isn’t much of a reach when you’re dealing with these guys. Either way, thornies are a great way to add depth to an encounter with vegepygmies, another part of their ecosystem that brings some badly-needed muscle.

Scattered and driven out of the Hillsdon Hollows after the vegepygmy tribe they laired with was burned out by knights and sellswords in the employ of House Gilkes, a large pack of thornies have taken root in the fungus-draped thickets of the Surrior Woods. Guided mainly by hunger and the occasional pang for their master, they’re a dangerous menace to local woodsfolk used to avoiding the native cougars and the occasional small pack of wolves. Few realize the true nature of the “beasts” they’ve barely escaped from, meaning that House Gilkes has little idea of the fact another offshoot of the problem is taking root in their lands, although the thornies are also unintentionally protecting several entry points down into the Lands Below by driving away those who might stumble over them and deterring the occasional scout from the underground races from trying to explore further.

Rather than submit to the encroaching duergar, the vegepygmies who make their homes beneath the Middle Kingdom have pooled the resources of many tribes. By appeasing and invoking their strange gods, the vegepygmies have managed to create several massive thornies, lumbering behemoths of fungal flesh that resemble nothing so much as the greatest beasts of old. Large enough and tough enough to break duergar lines, survive their siege weapons, and even devour conjured horrors unleashed against them these fungal terrors have large howdahs on their backs, with vegepygmy warriors and spellcasters inside, mobile fortresses to repel the dark dwarves. Although the vegepygmies have come to show a special revulsion for the gray dwarves’ flesh, unwilling to share “perfection” with these creatures, they drag them back to their camps anyway, sacrificing their lives to feed and nurture the next brood of their terrible fungal giants.

Driven up into the sunlit savannah, a tribe of vegepygmies have adapted to their new nomadic existence by beginning to ride their thorny companions instead of hunting alongside them. Deliberate breeding has created larger varieties used as beasts of burden, hauling patches of russet mold and the “future generation” in great leather pounces slung alongside, as well as lean, swift thronies more suitable as mounts than predators. Unlike their predecessors, savannah vegepygmies do not keep their birth corpses. Instead, to save room, they fashion bones into strange fetishes of tremendous cultural importance and keep a few personally meaningful artifacts. The bodies are buried at small thorny groves in sheltered, well-watered spots, defended by a handful of thornies and vegepygmy sentinels to protect them from herbivores – or just elephants seeking water.

- Tome of Horrors Complete 599 (monster) and 747 (template); Darklands Revisted 63

[enddaysengine]

People! It just got my subscription copy and I don't know what I was expecting, but I can tell you that this is a million times better! Nice job @dailybestiary! Get ready for the Galluvix to invade Sigil!

I Made a Monster!

I write about monsters. A lot about monsters.  (A lot, a lot about monsters, actually.)  But always from the perspective of a fan and an idea generator, not a designer.

Welp, looks like the boots of elvenkind are on the other foot (feet?) today, because…

PAIZO’S PUBLISHING A PATHFINDER MONSTER I CREATED!!!

And you can order the book it’s appearing in here!  

This happened totally by accident, and I’ll tell you more about it when it comes out.  But yes, the “spell-retrieving galluvix” is my baby, and I hope you dig having it in your games.

[wanderingmoonsword]

Thundershrike

To understand the background of the thundershrike, you need to read about the thunderbird. There’s a lot of things called “thunderbird” out there. They mostly go back to the mythological creature and there’s a lot to mine there, although I need to remind you to be polite – the line between inspiration and appropriation is a thin and perilous one. As bringers of storms, thundershrikes probably play a similar role to their legendary forebears, either saviors or destroyers depending on the weather. One of the common themes is the opposition of the thunderbird to underground spirits or creatures, especially serpents. That’s a great dichotomy to toy with, and let’s face it, in owlbear country, there really are monstrous, evil serpents (or just worms) underground. There are serpentfolk and more kinds of dragons than you can wield a breath weapon at, not to mention all the various other reptilian races, purple worms, remorhaz, and just possibly a behir or two getting lumped in with the dragons, much to their vehement protest. Thundershrikes maintain broad territories, flying on the thermals – that could be why those they fly over associate them with the sun, or possibly there is some deeper tie.

One thing to keep in mind is that when you’re dealing with thudnershrikes, you’re talking about a monster that stands on the threshold of the mythic world, and those who pursue them may never be the same afterward. These are beasts that sail upon the winds, far from humanity, and can alter the weather to bring weal or woe down upon those beneath them and keep the company of giants. Sometimes seen and rarely interacted with, the thundershrike is a reminder to the people below that there are great and terrible things in the world. Pursuing the thundershrike means leaving home far behind, whether climbing forbidding mountains to approach the thundershrike’s aerie or finding some way to take flight.

What the serpentfolk cannot claim, they will destroy, either openly or by deception. After months confronting intrigues with purposes above and below the earth, the champions of the League of Free Cities find the thundershrike known as the Silver-Beaked Prince flying before one of the most terrible stormfronts in living memory. His perceptions twisted by illusions and enchantments that bedevil his mind, the thundershrike is strengthening what would be a massive thundercloud into an epic storm, one set to unleash horrific violence upon two of the Free Cities and the farmlands that feed them. If they can’t break the thundershrike free of his curse, the adventurers may be forced to bring down the mighty avian before his storm sparks a famine. Of course, legends say the thundershrikes will suffer none who walk upon the land to slay their kin, and the vengeance unleashed may be the true weapon the serpentfolk intend to wield.

From parent to child, the sacred rituals to placate the thundershrikes have been passed down from generation to generation. Both the words to the clan at large and the secret phrases, the ones spoken in the privacy of the inner shrine, are taught this way, to summon one of the great birds of the mountains when drought threatens and to placate their wrath when the floods rise. But with the last priest missing, his daughter and successor – not yet initiated – is thrust into a perilous position, with heavy rains already fallen; anymore and the fields will flood, and the outlying villages with them.

In times of strife, famine, or drought, the Seven Tribes gather together to choose a group of their best to petition the thundershrikes who make their homes in the Great Mountains to intervene. Both honored and damned by their selection, these Chosen are never seen again. Many die along the way, to monsters and misfortune alike. Others are whisked away, for those who have spoken to the sky’s own children can never again walk in the lands of mortals. This year, as one of the worst droughts anyone can remember stalks the land, each of the Chosen has some tie to another who took this journey before – a relative, a friend, or even a rival – making their selection not just a moment of somber hope but an opportunity to seek closure with the past.

- Tome of Horrors Complete 601 and Bestiary 2 264 (thunderbird)

Although there’s some mechanical differences (for one thing, they’re a lot scarier to fight), a lot of what I said here is just as true for the thunderbird. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out just how fun the adventure seeds over at @dailybestiary‘s article on the thunrderbirds are.