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OD&D Mini Setting: Lake Oxos South Shore and its Surrounds

My hex-a-day practice got a bit out of hand. This mini-setting was designed using the Wolves Upon the Coast hexfill procedures and the procedures as communicated via Delving Deeper. It's part of my ongoing exercise of putting my own spin on the OD&D material. Hoping to become more fluent in the rules in general and make it stick in my head a little better.

I strove to use the book above all else, and stick with simple substitutions or additions for what was needed instead of reaching for an external resource. Of course, I could not resist adding a few things of my own, such as the android class. Also a shout-out to Trilemma Adventures' orcs.

The mini-setting is missing a tentpole dungeon or two. In the near term, I will probably use this as a framework for running Caverns of Thracia or the Lost City; would place them in 00.02 and just off map in the desert near 01.05, respectively. Both meet the fallen-Hellenistic-kingdom vibe I'm going for.

The swamp probably needs a sunken necropolis; it's a little bereft of undead, and it might be nice to have another hint toward the vampire on the island. In general though, I erred on the side of understocking; there are 25 land hexes and nine keys. There are also two virtual keys, where a hex might change due to something happening in another hex.

I had a lot of fun working on it; it's been great for getting my reps in for OD&D and building out a new setting. If you end up using it any way, I would love to hear how it goes.

Lake Oxos South Shore and its Surrounds

Though the land of Oxia is far from the ocean, it takes its name from a mighty salt lake in its northeast. Rivers snake down from the Oxian mountains and feed it, bringing life to the desert. Oxia's only rainforests line the southwestern banks of the lake.

Map: Lake Oxos South Shore

Land encounter table:

  1. 1d10 Treants
  2. 1d4 Tigers
  3. Snakes (2d8 large if odds; 1d4 giant if even)
  4. 1d12 boars
  5. 2d8 dissidents against Sira's cult, as brigands
  6. 2d20 locals engaging in industry appropriate for terrain, as bandits (ex. draining wetlands, logging, seal hunting)
  7. 2d8 fanatics of Sira's cult of Ahriman, as zealots
  8. Ramasp and 4d6 orcs, hunting dissidents
  9. One or both of the gorgon sisters, if within a hex of 01.02
  10. Sira with bodyguard of 2d6 orcs, preaching to 3d10 zealots
  11. The Tiger King and 1d4 tigers, if within 2 hexes of 04.01

Water encounters

  1. 2d6 Crocodiles plus 1 giant croc for every 6
  2. 10d8 Terns (as bats, with -1 to hit and 1 damage; can shriek as giant bat)
  3. 2d6 Giant Leeches
  4. 2d8 Cadosian or Fenspiker fishermen casting their nets
  5. 2d20 Seals (as dogs with 5' speed on land, regular in water)
  6. 1d6 Merchants, 5d4+4 sailors and 2d6+4 marines aboard Cados-bound small merchant ship, carrying 50d100 in trade goods

05.02 Fenspike

A declining village of 120 in the riverside wetlands. Many more mouldering houses on stilts than households. They make a living through fishing and gathering the feathers of exotic wetland birds, though the collapse of the kingdom at large has made business very difficult. Despite Cados's problems, about half or so intend to pack up and move there once the fishing and birding season concludes. Another half the next, and so on. Eventually, the only one who will remain is Isidore (3rd level fighter, spear, bow, leather), an old hunter, who saw the Tiger King in his youth and longs to see His Majesty once more.

Dissidents occasionally hide out in the abandoned housesβ€”2-in-6 chance such a house will have 1d6 dissidents within.

All 37 villagers are willing to take up arms should the need arise, fighting with spears, nets, and shortbows.

02.02 Cados

The town of Cados sits on a river delta and numbers some 2000 souls. In recent times, it has grown rich from logging the nearby hardwoods, the seal trade, and river commerce between the interior and the Great Lake. Its population doubled over the last five years, and is on track to double again before the New Year. More and more of the marshes are drained for land to build.

Nevertheless, all is not well in Cados; they have been under the thumb of Sira's nearby stronghold for a few years now. Though the anti-cleric cuts the town in on the tolls, most of the coin stays in the pockets of the wealthy. Petrified statues of dissidents are displayed on street corners, and orcs claim the cremated remains of the dead for their rites.

When determining the disposition of any given inhabitant, roll 1d6 on the table below. This chart also reflects the demographics of the position, e.g. 33% will go with whoever seems likeliest to win. 1. Adherent of Sira's cult 2. Terrified, will not fight for any side 3. Will side with majority 4. Will side with majority 5. Discontent, can be convinced to fight 6. Active dissident

Darius (2HD, chain; axe) serves as the headman of the town, but at this point the office is largely ceremonial. He has grave reservations about Sira's cadre, but he is too comfortable to do much but shake his head at the situation.

Bagadates (2HD; sword; plate) was the wealthiest man in town, and has only grown wealthier during the boom; he is preoccupied now with building. He doesn't necessarily believe Sira's preachings. He offers a bounty of 4000gp for the destruction of the dissidents, and another 4000gp to anyone who can stop the treants from attacking the loggers.

Amytis (3HD; dagger), the elderly proprietress of Cados's hookah bar, secretly leads the dissidents. They meet in a room behind a false panel in the bar's wine cellar. Her kindly demeanor is not an act, but she is utterly merciless to the cult. She will set those who join the dissidents on the following tasks:

Timaeus, a visiting merchant from across the lake, has a selection of interesting Imperial goods for sale. He mostly caters to the sudden demand for luxury textiles, tea, and more. He discreetly peddles gunpowder, such as bombs and a hand cannon (500gp, 1d6 HD damage, when fired forces morale checks against those who have never heard one).

Cados has a force of 40 regular soldiers (1+1HD; shield and chain; swords, javelins) who serve as guards, and call up an additional 150 spearmen and 50 crossbowmen. In dire times, another 200 levies are willing to take up arms.

If the town is sacked, a total of 40000gp in coin, goods, and other sundries can be looted. Much of it is locked away in Bagadates's fine manor overlooking the delta. Most of Cados's factions will put aside their differences to repel a raid from without.

Small boats may be chartered or purchased here.

It is a capital offense to own a mirror in Cados. Visitors are searched and relieved of them at the gate.

Every month, 2d100 people move here to stay.

01.02 Sira's Preceptory

Sira, a calculating 9th level anti-cleric, controls the ford leading to Cados and exacts a toll upon all trade by land or river. She makes her stronghold in an abandoned Oxian border fort, spared from the Crisis due to its marshy surrounds.

Most the gold goes to sate the appetites of her stronghold's forces and the Cadosians who have joined her cult. She rarely eats or sleeps, and lives in a bare room in the fort's tower. Sira reveres Chaos as personified by Ahriman, the Adversary. She seeks to fulfill a vision she had of the Great Lake drying up so that a scion of Ahriman may emerge from its salty bed and walk to the shore. She nurtures the explosive growth of Cados to accomplish this, preaching at them to devour the land and drink up the lake with industry. She wears chain and carries a flail and shield.

If she quests visitors, she will send her unwilling servants to the island rock from her dreams.

Ramasp, a 5th level fighter, serves as Sira's right-hand man. He is churlish and sullen in the way that the sons of rich men can be. Once a valiant knight, he was sent to retrieve Sira from the cult of Ahriman and became besotted with her. She occasionally permits him to have her, but always withholds her love. Though he is a dutiful follower of Ahriman, his love for Sira is stronger than his faith. He wears plate and carries a sword and shield with a rose on it.

The gorgon sisters Roxana and Eudokia are gleeful enforcers of the regime and turn any enemies of Sira and Ahriman to stone. Eudokia is older. The sisters often go carousing in town in veils, delighting in the fear of the townsfolk. They are utterly confident that no one would dare stand up to them. They carry daggers, but rarely draw them.

109 orcs round out Sira's entourage. They were once men, transformed by a blasphemous ritual into ashen-skinned brutes with glowing eyes. They largely wear chain and carry axes or hammers, hurling javelins before advancing.

Among Sira's meager personal effects in her cell, if she is not bearing them for war:

The gorgon sisters' statue-strewn tower lair contains their riches:

The orc garrison has the following treasure:

02.03 Smashed Logging Camp

Sira's prosperity gospel has been rejected by the treants, who have been moved to belligerence. The squashed corpses of a half dozen Cadosians are strewn about the remains of a ruined lumber operation.

They managed to kill one of their assailants, howeverβ€”a young oak some 10 feet tall was hewn with axe-blows and set ablaze. Its parent has returned to where it fell and seems to weep over the dead; acorns drop from its boughs like tears.

Eventually, the treant will depart for deeper into the woods to convene with its fellows, whistling a distinctive tune of summons with an acorn cap. Later, it can be found in 04.04, still grieving. It will do so for many years.

Imitating the tune in the forest will call 1d10 treants. A dozen or so man-types playing acorn caps in unison should suffice for volume.

00.01 Seal Waltz

The flat and rocky eastern shore of this inland sea gives way to high grasses. Seals cavort and gallivant as if in a ballroom. On the first visit, they are quite friendly and unafraid of humans. On subsequent visits, they will be fearful. If accompanied by anyone from Cados, they will be absent altogether.

Merchants in Cados will buy seals for processing at 100gp each. They're used for eating, pelts, oil; an enterprising outdoorsman can break one down in the field. A live specimen will fetch ten times the sale price to a scholar or aficionado.

01.05 In the desert, you can remember your name

The green surrounding the lake and its rivers quickly gives way to an arid badland. Few venture far from the rivers when traveling by land, for the going is rough and parched. Only those with a grave purpose dare to traverse the desert.

In one such place, Iona, a 4th level android with a hoplite heart and a zeusian hand, sits "sleeping"in the harsh elements next to a dead horse. She almost made it through. A cursory inspection will note that the horse has been dead much longer than Iona seems to have been in the direct sunlight. She is conserving her energy for the rest of her journey, and can survive for 60 days without nourishment. If she is forced to fight before receiving aid, each round of combat counts as a day without nourishment.

Iona speaks tersely but cordially to anyone disturbing her, eager to converse in ancient or modern Oxian. She will ask for assistance, and to be escorted to an [as of yet undecided Oxian historical location]. Once her aim there is complete, she will join the party if asked and they treated her with kindness. For payment, she requests the right of first refusal over any pre-Crisis Oxian artifacts.

Iona the android wears chain and wields a sword with a silvery-white blade. Its paper-thin edge attacks against an unamored AC against man-types; on max damage it dismembers a limb. A hole in the center of her palm can project a deadly ray at range for 3d6 damage.

She has a cheerful attitude and a great sense of humor.

04.04 Elder Oak Stand

This portion of the lowland woods is lush and difficult to traverse, taking twice as long to travel through as normal. It gradually fades into the nearby rainforestβ€”great clawmarks on trees indicate the extent of the Tiger King's range.

The hardwoods here include a peculiar breed of oak that would make a fine staff for the right magic-user. Those with the skill to do so (Black or Green if using Supplement Aleph) may craft a staff from the wood and imbue a spell in it, to be cast once daily. The cost to create is 1000gp per spell level and takes 1 week per spell level.

The treants will know if a tree was felled to make craft such a staff, but will give their blessing if it was respectfully harvested.

The oak treant retires here after grieving its child in 02.03.

05.05 Tiger King

To the south of the Great Lake, a gentle rise of hills captures its mists and gives life to a rainforest. A great many wild animals live here, including the Tiger King, a proud and lonely lord. His holds a court amid a grove of wild lime trees. There is 3-in-6 chance of a visit by 1d4 of his vassals, who are embers cast by his bright burning. They rarely stay for long, for fences makes for better neighbors among tigerkind.

Loggers from Cados fell trees closer to his palace with each passing day. He is already known there as a man-eater. His heart is heavy, for his fate is regicide.

The Tiger King only fights to the death if cornered. When he makes a kill in combat, he will try to escape with it.

Whoever kills him and wears his pelt assumes his royal powers of ambush, fear, and flame.

Tiger King 10 HD; AC as leather; claws 1d6+4 (2d6+4 on 20 or beating AC by 4 or more); surprises on a 5-in-6 in forests or grasslands; attack can set target on fire; enemies check morale each round engaged in melee.

04.01 Nameless Island with a Stone Hut

This bare and rocky island in the Great Lake seems to be home to only terns, who flock to it in vast numbers. They are unusually aggressive for birds of their kind, dive-bombing visitors and killing seals that try to sunbathe on the rocks. All folk in the Lake region regard the place as cursed and steer clear.

A small drystone structure perches on the upper reaches of the cliffs. Scaling the slippery rocks is arduous and difficult, taking an hour with adequate gear and two without. The ascent is further complicated by the 2-in-6 chance every 10 minutes of birds harassing the climbers, increasing to 3-in-6 in the second half of the climb.

Within the stone hut, torches falter, only reaching a 5ft radius. In the darkness lurks an ancient vampire. It has been denied its home soil and so mad with hunger it has forgotten its name. Despite its abjection, its words still drip with poisoned honey as it cajoles visitors to transport it back to shore. It has the power to bestow true vampirism, but will only do so if its coaxing fails; it prefers slaves.

If attacked, it will call a flock of terns into the hut and defend itself. If its wishes are granted, it will devour its saviors first, then subject the nearest settlement to orgy of slaughter. Its ultimate goal is to make Oxia its estate and its inhabitants its cattle. It will gain 1HD for each life it devours, eventually reaching a full strength of 20HD. At 12HD, it goes a second time at the bottom of the round in combat; at 15HD, it may create an 8 HD copy of itself that lasts until destroyed; at 20HD, it no longer fears the sun.

It is a proud child of Ahriman, and is the giver of Sira's visions. There is no treasure in its cloister.

#hex crawl #od&d #settings #tigers upon the steppe