Friday 2 December 2016

Review RPG Module - Land of the Silver Lotus



"Land of the Silver Lotus" - alone this title rolls smoothly from your tongue, mysterious, promising, wondering, longing, awaking a thirst for adventure. And all this "Land of the Silver Lotus" fulfills in  a true Sword&Sorcery Style.
The fourth adventure published by Xoth Publishing keeps up the high standard that already started when http://hyboria.xoth.net/ was "only" a webpage and a standard I got used to and admire. This review is based on the PDF-version of the adventure.

What do you get?

48 pages, 1 cover page with illustration and introductory text, 1 page table of contents and credits & claimers, 3 pages full-page illustrations, 2 pages full-page maps, 2 pages license, 1 page add hopefully for the next adventure "Secrets of Zadj". This leaves us with 38 pages.
On this 38 pages you find the description of a tropic isle group, its inhabitants including monsters and the current situation. Furthermore you also get a wonderful tied in adventure seed which I will not discuss any further to not spoil your pleasure to discover it for yourself.
Where necessary rules have already been added for this special environment and there are helpful notes where to find the necessary stats or rules in already published or disposable Pathfinder publications.

What use is it to me?

Depending on your preferred style of play you can pluck it for your own world and use it sandbox style or you can play the adventure in the amazing setting of Xoth, an astonishing and awe inspiring world in the sense of Sword & Sorcery Conan style.
As already mentioned the rules are Pathfinder. Is this is not your favorite rules set it can be easily adapted to your preferred one be it Beasts&Barbarians, Mythras (aka RuneQuest 6), Elric (a BRP based setting), Hârn, GURPS, Hero Fantasy, and all the others floating around or even to your own home rules, as I have done.

Final note

This is an outstanding product on a professional level and I prefer that Xoth Publishing keeps his slow publication rhythm with the high standard than to rush into a publication frenzy. I collect for 29 years by now roleplaying publications in English, French and German and Xoth Publishing ranks about my top 5. Hence my thanks for your great work and keep it up.

And don't forget to get the free Player's Guide to the World of Xoth - 60 pages long! 

Thursday 1 December 2016

Generators - Ruins



Falaises by Yvan Villeneuve

Allright folks. It is the first again - and even the last one of this year already. Despite having still some bugs (still getting some "missing" feedbacks) I decided to publish the latest generator - the most demanding by now. If anyone can solve the bugs, please let me know so that I can fix it for all others too.

This time to make it work you need to download all the generators listed below and place them in the same folder to make it work as the Ruin-Generator uses the other ones for details. E.g.
D:\Generator\Ruins\...

Once more written for Inspiration Pad Pro but works only with InspirationPadPro3.

The generators you need this time are

  1. Generator_Ruins.ipt
  2. Generator_Scriptures_v2.ipt
  3. Generator_Jewelry_v4.ipt
  4. Generator_Statues_v2.ipt
Good luck and have fun!
Seasons greetings to you all!

Examples

At first glance:
Due to erosion and environment the ruins are now a site of medium size in gray hues.

At closer inspection:
Many buildings show with complete walls, sometimes even a roof, and the floors are still intact. If they were multistoried, only one floor is left intact. The ruins could be inhabited. Because of an earthquake, the ruins show more disintegration towards the epicenter, and they even lean towards or against it.
When exploring the ruins, movement is slightly restricted, even more so by terrain and vegetation. There is the danger of falling debris, collapsing buildings, walls, or other structures.

Remarkable features are:
  • an arch of triumph, medium sized (max 9m), located outside: city scene
When rummaging and searching through the site, the following artifacts can be found:
  • a biofact, in a worse condition than the rest of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt: goods for storage
  • a music instrument, in a worse condition than the rest of the site, located plainly visible inside a building: a tambourine
  • a crosier (stylized staff carried by high-ranking priests), in a condition according to the age of the site, located hidden inside a building
  • a magic wand, in a worse condition than the rest of the site, located under rubble inside a building
  • a gift for a grave, in a better condition than the rest of the site, located well hidden outside: parting gifts from friends and relatives
  • a button, in a condition according to the age of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt: made out of steel
Background:
A couple of decades ago, this site of rather small size, no bigger than a few buildings, around 203m in diameter, and of circular shape was in the period of descent (there was just a creation of a an arch of triumph due to the discovery of an unknown culture). It stood here because of production reasons. Then it fell into ruins due to an earthquake

At first glance:
Due to erosion and environment the ruins are now a site of medium size in dark green hues.

At closer inspection:
Many buildings show with complete walls, sometimes even a roof, and the floors are still intact. If they were multistoried, only one floor is left intact. The ruins could be inhabited.
When exploring the ruins, movement is slightly restricted, even more so by terrain and vegetation. There is the danger of falling debris, collapsing buildings, walls, or other structures. Eerily, when exploring the ruin you hear the sound of sliding.

Remarkable features are:
  • an obelisk, large (6-10m3), weighs between 2 and 16 tons, located outside: inclined
  • a wall, big (2-6m3), weighs between 400kg and 2 tons, located outside: the wall was constructed from petrified creatures and beings whose expressions are disturbing lifelike
  • an altar, medium sized (max 2m3), weighs between 30 and 300 kg, located outside: it's a slab of stone
  • a street, large (max 21-50m), located outside
When rummaging and searching through the site, the following artifacts can be found:
  • a scripture, located under rubble inside a building: (missing)
  • a chair, in a better condition than the rest of the site, located under rubble inside a building
  • a weapon, located plainly visible inside a building: a parazonium (roman dagger)
  • a gift for a grave, in a condition according to the age of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt: parting gifts from friends and relatives
  • some clothing, located plainly visible inside a building: a vest
  • a metering device, in a condition according to the age of the site, located well hidden outside
Background:
Over 500 years ago, this site of large size, like a city, around 798m in diameter, and of oval shape with winding roads was in the period of descent (there was just a creation of a an obelisk due to the defeat in a war). It stood here because of commerce reasons. Then it fell into ruins due to a religious war

At first glance:
Due to erosion and environment the ruins are now a site of very large size in dark green hues.

At closer inspection:
Many buildings show with complete walls, sometimes even a roof, and the floors are still intact. If they were multistoried, only one floor is left intact. The ruins could be inhabited.
When exploring the ruins, movement is slightly restricted, even more so by terrain and vegetation. There is the danger of falling debris, collapsing buildings, walls, or other structures.

Remarkable features are:
  • an arch of triumph, big (max 9-20m), located outside, but not at its original place: city scene
  • an altar, small (max 1m3), a small but heavy object, located inside a building, but not at its original place: it's a slab of stone
  • a path, medium sized (max 9m), located inside a building
  • a gate, medium sized (max 2m3), weighs between 30 and 300 kg, located inside a building
  • a street, big (max 9-20m), located outside
  • a bell, big (2-6m3), weighs between 400kg and 2 tons, located outside: it's made of bronze with a low-relief and half burried in the floor
  • a hearth, medium sized (max 2m3), weighs between 30 and 300 kg, located outside
  • a cemetary, big (max 9-20m), located inside a building
  • an oven, small (max 1m3), a small but heavy object, located outside
  • a canal, big (max 9-20m), located outside
  • the remains of a building, colossal (more than 20m in one dimension), weighs more than 125 tons, located outside
  • an obelisk, big (2-6m3), weighs between 400kg and 2 tons, located outside: inclined
When rummaging and searching through the site, the following artifacts can be found:
  • a magic wand, in a condition according to the age of the site, located under rubble inside a building
  • a button, in a better condition than the rest of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt: made out of horn
  • some pottery, in a condition according to the age of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt: a plate
  • some clothing, located plainly visible outside: a vest
  • a locker, in a condition according to the age of the site, located well hidden outside
  • a weapon, located plainly visible outside: a bodkin (short knife with a thin blade)
  • a music instrument, in a better condition than the rest of the site, located plainly visible outside: a tambourine
  • a chess board, in a condition according to the age of the site, located plainly visible outside
  • a biofact, in a condition according to the age of the site, located plainly visible outside: horn of a cow
  • an armor, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt: a helm with neckguard
  • a gift for a grave, in a better condition than the rest of the site, located well hidden outside: statues
  • a pectoral symbol (a rather big holy symbol worn on the chest), in a better condition than the rest of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt
  • a couple of arrow heads, in a condition according to the age of the site, located plainly visible outside: made out of silver
Background:
Over 500 years ago, this site of enormous size, like a metropolis, around 5995m in diameter, and of oval shape with straight roads was in the period of descent (there was just a creation of a an arch of triumph due to the victory in a war). It stood here because of military reasons. Then it fell into ruins due to water pollution

At first glance:
Due to erosion and environment the ruins are now a site of small size in brown hues.

At closer inspection:
Almost all buildings have broken walls, partially collapsed roofs, floors, ceilings. The ruins are too harsh to be inhabitable. With lots of effort and work, the ruins could be enhanced to live in.
When exploring the ruins, movement is restricted, even more so by terrain and vegetation. There is the danger of falling debris, collapsing buildings, walls, or other structures. After a while you realize, that this site is weirdly attracted by bugs.

Remarkable features are:
  • a fountain, medium sized (max 9m), located inside a building: The fountain depicts a eagle and is now dry.
  • an obelisk, big (2-6m3), weighs between 400kg and 2 tons, located outside: made from a strange prorose green substance nearly indestructible faintly glowing in the dark
  • a dock, very large (max 50-200m), located outside, but not at its original place: the crumbled rests made from marmor of a once immence dock can be found here, from the 13 piers 3 are still intact
When rummaging and searching through the site, the following artifacts can be found:
  • some pottery, in a condition according to the age of the site, located plainly visible inside a building: a crock
  • a biofact, in a better condition than the rest of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt: goods for storage
  • a ring of office (like bishop- or cardinalring), in a better condition than the rest of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt
  • a checker figurines, in a condition according to the age of the site, located plainly visible outside
  • a gift for a grave, in a condition according to the age of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt: tableware (made from glass, bronze, tin, silver, gold)
Background:
A couple of decades ago, this site of medium size, like a small town, around 312m in diameter, and of octagonal shape with winding and straight roads was in the period of founding (there was just a creation of a a fountain due to the victory in a war). It stood here because of religious reasons. Then it fell into ruins due to an invasion

At first glance:
Due to erosion and environment the ruins are now a site of medium size in brown hues.

At closer inspection:
Many buildings show with complete walls, sometimes even a roof, and the floors are still intact. If they were multistoried, only one floor is left intact. The ruins could be inhabited.
When exploring the ruins, movement is slightly restricted, even more so by terrain and vegetation. There is the danger of falling debris, collapsing buildings, walls, or other structures.

Remarkable features are:
  • a fountain, medium sized (max 9m), located inside a building: The fountain depicts a (missing) and is now dry and cracked.
When rummaging and searching through the site, the following artifacts can be found:
  • a button, in a condition according to the age of the site, located well hidden outside: made out of steel
  • a relics of saints (true or false ones; body parts; items that the saint owned or frequently used, for example, a tool, a weapon, book, etc.), in a condition according to the age of the site, located outside but covered by rubble and dirt
  • a staff, in a condition according to the age of the site, located plainly visible inside a building
  • a couple of arrow heads, in a worse condition than the rest of the site, located well hidden outside: made out of silver
  • a gift for a grave, in a condition according to the age of the site, located plainly visible inside a building: models
  • a lectern, in a condition according to the age of the site, located well hidden outside
Background:
Over 500 years ago, this site of small size, like a single building, around 40m in diameter, and of rectangular shape was in the period of peace (there was just a creation of a a fountain due to the defeat in a war). It stood here because of military reasons. Then it fell into ruins due to a racial war