Points of Light Borderlands and the Scourge of the Demon Wolf

Recently I was asked this question about combine two things I written, the Borderland setting from Points of Light and Scourge of the Demon Wolf.

Hey Robert, I've been reading Scourge of the Demon Wolf and it occurs to me I might want to attach it to a side of the Borderland setting from your Points of Light book. Do you have a quick thought about how you would staple the two together?

The Borderlands
For those you don't know Borderlands is one of four hexcrawl formatted setting in Points of Light. It depicts a time period when the Bright Empire was torn apart in a religious and political civil war. A conflict between factions supporting Sarrath the God of Order (Lawful Evil) and Delaquain the Goddess of Honor and Justice (Lawful Good).

In the setting the civil war has been going on for a few years. Parts of the region are divided between the faction, parts are devastated, and parts are neutral just trying to hang on.

The Scourge of the Demon Wolf
The Scourge of the Demon Wolf centers on a manor village terrorized by a pack of wolves. To adapt it for Borderlands I drew a map and recommended the following.

1416 is the Beggar Camp
1615 is the sacrifice site
1617 is the Bandit Cave in a bluff overlooking Cailly River and the swamp.

Instead of the Baron of Westtower as giving the mission I recommended that role be given to Count Travlin of Darcion. Instead of the baron's huntsmen in the stocks, it's Sheriff Melan of Saurton in the stocks

The Church of Mitra in Kensla would now be a Ecumenical Imperial Church of the four Gods with the statue of Delaquain removed. The personality of the priest remains the same. The bailiff that was killed was an agent of Divolic and an adherent of Sarrath and there is little love for him in the village.

As an added wrinkle Count Travlin is looking for leverage against the Mages of Order of Thoth in the Golden House in order to enlist their aid for Duke Divolic in the civil war. However would be more of a bonus as Count Travlin is not aware of the supernatural nature of the Demon Wolf or even the Demon Wolf exists. If made aware of the full circumstance Count Travlin would provide a handsome reward as the information would provide considerable leverage over the mages.

An alternative start is that a cleric or paladin gets a call from Veritas, Thoth or Delaquain. From the call the party starts with knowing that it has something to do with the Sheriff Melan of Saurton being thrown in the stocks in Darcion. Since the stocks are in the public square the party could question the sheriff which will lead them to Kensla and the adventure.

Once again the party will have to decide what to do with the information about how mage are connected to the Demon Wolf. Except this time they are nominally the "good" guys.

Finally a start I didn't mention earlier was that the characters were sent by the Duke of Stoneburg to Darcion to investigate why Sheriff Melan was thrown in the stocks. It would be similar to the above but without the religious overtones. Since the Duke has the support of the remnants of the old imperial church and the still loyal priests of Thoth and Veritas. The resolution of the adventure could be the foundation for an alliance between the Duke and the mage of the Golden House.

Click to Expand

Wrapping it up.
As a general note, all the Points of Light setting and Blackmarsh are part of the same loose background. Although set in different time period. Borderlands is the earliest time period depicted set during the civil war that ripped the Bright Empire apart. Wildland represents the aftermath after the collapse of the empire. While Southland and Blackmarsh are set in later centuries during the rise of the Grand Kingdom.

The settings of Points of Light II are also set during the Grand Kingdom period. They focuses on the expansion overseas to the New World of the setting and the colonial rivalry between the Grand Kingdom and the Ochre Empire.

That vague setting behind Points of Light and Blackmarsh

For those of you with both Points of Lights, and Blackmarsh know that there are common elements like the Grand Kingdom, the Ochre Empire, Delaquain, etc throughout the different setting. While never spelled out in detail they are all could be considered part of the same setting. In the first Points of Light each of the three lands (Southland, Wildland, and Borderland) are also separated in time that when put together open a window into the larger history.

+Ethan Gundry asks whether has anybody had any success merging all the Points of Light settings, along with Blackmarsh? A while ago I combined the Blackmarsh and Southland map along with the work I done with the Wild North merge with Blackmarsh. The result was this.

But do I have a "master" map that combines everything? Do I have a master document like the old Greyhawk Folio? Yes I now have a master map, no I don't have a Greyhawk Folio style master document. Keep in mind the focus on the Points of Light/and Blackmarsh is usability. That each individual setting stands on it own as a useful backdrop for a campaign. Making them into the equivalent of region supplement defeat that purpose. But still I want the option to exist to combine them so I keep the few background elements I write about consistent.

So what the deal with the master maps. Well I drew a lot of maps over the years and I have a bunch that not part of the Majestic Wilderlands or any other setting. For example this giant map I made for what I call the Eastgate region.

At the heart of which is the City State of Eastgate

Both originated in 2008 before I got my license from Judges Guild. I took all the content I made for the Majestic Wilderlands and stripped out the Judges Guild IP which included drawing new maps. I started writing the initial draft of the Majestic Wilderlands when a fortuitous set of circumstances led to me to securing a license to use enough of the Judges Guild IP to publish the Majestic Wilderlands supplement. Having that license meant I could use my original notes as is saving me a lot of work.

But the above work didn't go to waste as I used some of what I created for Blackmarsh.

So back to Ethan's question about combining the maps. A year ago I was sketching out some map on paper to get a feel for how mountainous and hilly regions really looked like based on Earth's geography. I decided to draw a outline map as an experiment to see how real I can make it look. The result was this.

And I figured if I am spending the time doing this I might as well incorporate the Points of Light/Blackmarsh maps use the above as a future reference.

Here is the annotated version of the above.

At this time I am not going to flesh out all the blank spots as I want to leave the possibilities open for further Blackmarsh style projects. The thing I am currently working is the circle marked Beyond the Borderlands basically my answer to the question of what lies beyond the Cave of Chaos in B2 Keep on the Borderlands.

I am also working on the tweaks to the Wild North to make it fit along the north edge of Blackmarsh. This is the map for that. Basically everything below Row xx26 has been tweaked while everythiing above is pretty much the same as the version from Fight On #3.

Hope this answers your question Ethan. Appreciate asking it as it gave me the idea for this blog post.

Blackmarsh, Southland, and Wild North combined!

It took me a while but I finished up the combined map of Southland (from Points of Light), Blackmarsh, and Wild North (from Fight On #3). While the Wild North was originally designed to dovetail with Map 5 (Valon) of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, the southern edge will be redesigned for version 2 and overlap with Blackmarsh instead.

The map shows the relationship between all three maps plus added territory. I know there no hex numbers but I decided to leave the Blackmarsh and Southland numbers untouched. The rest is left blank. If you decided to detail it yourself just give each entry a code on a copy of the map and in your notes.

Eventually I will expand the sides out to Blackmarsh letter sized maps and those maps will have proper hex numbers.

Like Blackmarsh this map is open content and dual licensed under the Open Game License and Creative Commons (Sharelike, Attribution).

Click you will see the full size map.

Some brief notes.
Province of Vasa
The province of Vasa was recently conquered by the Grand Kingdom about 50 or so years ago. It is the strip of land between the Westwall and the Grey Sea. It is the home of a Viking culture now under the heels of late medieval western european style kingdom.

The Ring Islands
Perhaps the Mountain that Fell left debris scattered around the Grey Sea. Perhaps it something else. Maybe you need to ask the denizens of the Ring Tower about it.

The Great Glacier
Once it covered the Wild North but now is in retreat. Or perhaps the malign power that sleep underneath has awaken and is beginning to stretch it's cold claws across the world once again.

The West
Blackmarsh lies on the extreme northwest edge of civilization. What lies beyond the Pendar and White Mountains? Is there an end to the orc infested Blood Forest?

Have Fun!

Blackmarsh, a sandbox fantasy setting for Delving Deeper

I am pleased to announce that the Blackmarsh sandbox fantasy setting will be included in the Delving Deeper boxed set by Brave Halfling Publishing. It will be a 20 to 24 page supplement detailing the region of Blackmarsh and its locale. It will include a 8.5 by 11 map of Blackmarsh, a half page map of the town of Castle Blackmarsh, an essay on managing sandbox fantasy campaigns, a short history, and a fleshed out list of locales, The locales are described in one or two paragraphs with only the level, class, or HD noted for the NPCs and creatures.

The text and maps of Blackmarsh will be released under the Open Game License allowing anybody to freely publish supplemental material for the setting. The setting shares the same loose background with the other Points of Light setting. It is designed to adjoin the Southland setting. Blackmarsh is to the north of Southland. For those with the Points of Light books, it is set in the same "time period" as Southland.

I consider my work on sandbox setting my most original contribution to the hobby. Until the Necromancer team and myself worked on the Wilderlands boxed set it received little attention or interest. Since then I been able to write a number of well received projects, Points of Light, How to Make a Fantasy Sandbox, etc.

since then, I am always looking for opportunities to get more sandbox fantasy material out there. When John Adam announced his boxed set I sent him an email and we quickly came to an agreement to include Blackmarsh in the boxed set. I really excited about this as I think it will help people get up and running with Delving Deeper quickly. Of course since Delving Deeper is built on the original 1974 roleplaying game, Blackmarsh will work with Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, OSRIC, and many other retro-clones.

When the three volume softcover series is released, I will release the PDF of Blackmarsh for free. Also I will release a plain word document of Blackmarsh. Along with this I will offer for sale a standalone print copy of Blackmarsh.

Currently the project is the midst of being edited and proofed, see the series of editing post by Tim of Gothridge Manor. I will post more on Blackmarsh itself tomorrow.

A Review of Points of Light

Carnifex gives an informative review of Points of Light.

Appreciate the review and comments. I am glad people are still discovering this even two years after it's release.

Points of Light Ad

My newer readers may not know that I am the co-author of Points of Light I and Points of Light II: The Sunrise Sea. Dwayne of Gamer's Closet, myself, and with more than a little help from Tim of Gothridge Manor produced two supplements for any edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game.

The both consist of four mini-settings. Regions roughly 125 by 95 miles. They are presented as hex maps with a list of locales keyed by hex number. The idea that the regions are small enough to be dropped into just about any fantasy campaign. Also a light background is provided so that those who want to can tie them together into a larger campaign setting.

Points of Light
Wildland: The fall of the Bright Empire left warring factions in its wake. As savage barbarians and wicked humanoids roam the land, the last bastions of civilization cower behind their crumbling city walls. A dark age has come, and none may live to tell the tale.

Southland: On the frontiers of the Great Kingdom, the nations of men, elves and dwarves join together against the wicked elves of Nighportal Keep and the Orcs of the Bloody Fist. A realm is yours for the taking, if you can carve it from the wilderness.

Borderland: Two factions clash over war-torn fields, battling for dominance in a civil war that that has torn a once-mighty empire in two. When brother strives against brother, and blood runs in the streets, who will emerge to unify the broken land -- and at what cost, peace?

The Swamps of Acheron: In the Outer Planes, amid fetid swamplands and ice-choked mountains, the fell god Sarrath holds court. In a realm where gods stalk the earth, will you dare to take a stand, or will you succumb to evil's siren song and take up the Serpent Banner?

Points of Light II: The Sunrise Sea
The Golden Shores: A land in the midst of being colonized, where adventurers can encounter unknown cultures, old enemies, and battle a darkness that has haunted the land for millennia.

Amacui: A frontier land with only a single trading post representing the civilized world, but there are many ruins to explore and new civilizations to discover.

The Misty Isle: The greatest threat to exploration is not the natives or ‘things man is not meant to know,’ but enemies from the old world. Here in the Misty Isles, enemies from different realms and factions fight amid the jungles and islands.

Mazatl, the Realm of the Bat God: Rising from the vast Jungles of Zaracar is a massive shield volcano. Here the blood god, Azartac, lives in the city of Mazatl in the volcano’s caldera.

---

As for a Points of Light III, IV, etc? I can't really get into details but the good news is that the settings are still owned by me. So I will be able to continue the series under a different name in the future. But there is a bunch of other stuff in the queue first.

Points of Lights and Majestic Wilderlands

A year ago I wasn't actively pursuing a license from Judges Guild. Then came a series of opportunities to work with Bob Bledsaw Junior and other Judges Guild folks. Out of that came the license agreement that allowed me to create the Majestic Wilderlands.

Prior to this I was working on a Plan B setting that took all the original material I created for the Majestic Wilderlands and used a new geography and new names for everything. Somethings like the City-State would have been recreated as a totally new locale. I started this 3 years ago after the necromancer boxed set was finished. But it kept getting derailed, first by Badabaskor and then by Points of Light. Then came the license which saved a lot of time for me by allowing me to use my notes directly as well as the original maps.

The reason for telling you this is because Points of Light and the Majestic Wilderlands are connected loosely. I plundered the Plan B notes to create the loose background that underlies the settings of Points of Light.

Sarrath is analogous to Set
Delaquain is analogous to Mitra
Veritas and Thoth are likewise drawn from my Majestic Wilderlands although the relationship between the above four gods is original to Points of Light.
The Blood God of Wildlands and Azartac of PoL II are analogous to Kalis.

Of the eights settings in the two PoL books; the Swamps of Acheron is directly taken from my Majestic Wilderlands. The Paladin Artos that is imprisoned in a tomb in the midst of the swamp is the lost Ruling Prince of Nomar. William Enderil (Dwayne of Gamer's Closest) and Draco-lindus (Tim of Gothridge Manor) were responsible for Artos' rescue in one of my campaigns. William Enderil also personally saw that the Boglings were able to escape Acheron and found them a place to live in the Majestic Wilderlands.

The Blood Forest/Twilight Forest/Queen Saravell plot of Southland are taken from the Dearthwood/Loshain plot in the Main Campaign Area of the Majestic Wilderlands.

The Grand Kingdom, Bright Empire, and Ochre Empire are all original to Points of Light.
So for those of you that own both Points of Light and the Majestic Wilderlands hopefully this information is useful in combining the two for use in your own campaign.

As for the fate of the Points of Lights I don't plan on abandoning support in favor of the Majestic Wilderlands. I think there is still much to explore in creating small easy to use settings.

Boglings

In Points of Light I introduced the Boglings a race of amphibious humanoids. Here their full stat for Swords & Wizardry.

---

Boglings
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Hit Dice: 2+1
Attacks: 2 claws (1d3)
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Underwater, Jumping, Extensible Tongue
Move: 6/12 (when swimming)
Challenge Level/XP: 2/35

• May breathe underwater indefinitely
• Can Jump over 60 feet and up to 20 feet in height.
• Has an extensible tongue can immobilize a target if it fails it’s saving throw.

These are amphibious humanoids with bulbous eyes. Boglings are noted for their ability to jump long distances and for their extensible tongues. They are found in tribes in tropical swamps and rainforests as well as on several of the outer planes most notably the Swamps of Acheron home to the god Set.

---

The Boglings originated in one of the rare planar adventures I ran. Two PCs were adventuring in the Swamps of Acheron searching for the Artos the lost King of Nome. One of the players was a bit cocky, Tim of Gothridge Manor, and convinced the other, Dwayne of Gamer's Closet, they could directly assault one of Set's outposts that were scattered along the swamp. They had their asses handed to them but luckily were able to escape. Severely injured, they found the Boglings who gave them healing and aid. In their gratitude the PCs swore that they would find a way out for the Boglings after they rescued Artos. An oath they eventually fulfilled.

That adventure also proved that the Codex of Infinite Planes can be useful in the right hands. The way I was calling it the Codex transferred a 10 foot globe and everything in it from one plane to another. Well as it happened one of Set's guardians was a Turtle Dragon. The two decided to rest on an island when it started moving. The Turtle Dragon's head emerged from the much and calmly informed them that he was taking to see his master Set. Both of their character were not tough enough to take on a Turtle Dragon.

A few minutes into the trip, Dwayne calmly asks me if he could sit on the Dragon Turtle's head. I told him the Dragon Turtle doesn't care. Then Dwayne pulls out the Codex and start reading. Before the Dragon Turtle could figure what going on both Dwayne and the Dragon Turtle's head were transported back to City-State.

Earlier in the campaign the two bought the Red Pearl Inn in the waterfront quarter. After the adventure they razed and now the Turtle Dragon is now part of the structure of a new establishment; the House of the Dragon.

Background Notes for Points of Light

Released under the Open Gaming License

Note there is no overall map nor I got around to defining the major demi-human realms

-----------------------------------
Geography
The main continent is located in the southern hemisphere. Thus the climate gets colder the further south you go.

Bright Empire
The Bright Empire was formed a thousand years ago. Originating in the City-State of Ramos it covered the nearly the entire eastern half of the main continent. A series of religious and political civil wars weakened the empire frontiers. A series of barbarian invasion wracked the empire culminating in a battle known as the Shattering. After this the various provinces of the empire split apart to find their own way. Various barbarian tribes settled in the ruins of the empire and became nations in their own right.

The United Church
Driving the rise of the Bright Empire were the four faiths of the United Church. The four gods venerated by the United Church were Sarrath, the God of War and Discipline; Delaquain, the Goddess of Honor and Justice; Veritas, the God of Truth and Law; and Thoth, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. Supported by the followers of this quartet of gods, the Bright Empire became the greatest force the world had seen. The United Church collapsed in the wake of the Shattering with the four faiths becoming dominant in different lands.

Other Gods and the Multiverse.
Azeel/Azartec is the blood god of revenge. Demons are enemies of all gods and are imprisoned in the Abyss.

The Grand Kingdom
In the heartland of the old Bright Empire the City-State of Eastgate formed the nucleus around which five kingdoms united into a single kingdom. The Grand Kingdom venerates Veritas as the High Lord of the Gods. Delaquain is a minor faith followed by fanatical sects. Thoth is a minor faith confined to scattered monasteries. The worship of Sarrath is outlawed.

The Ochre Empire
North of the Grand Kingdom is the Ochre Empire. It controls much of the old lands of the Bright Empire around the Middle Sea. Much of the terrain it controls is desert or arid with a few breadbaskets like Goshen and Iconis. It is dominated by the Ochre Emperor and the Church of Sarrath. It is known for its repressive laws and considered aggressive and a tyranny by surrounding nations.

The Duchy of Aqualis
Just north of the Grand Kingdom is the semi-independent Duchy of Aqualis. It long been a fanatical stronghold of the Church of Delaquain and opposes the Ochre Empire in nearly every quarter. Only it’s small size prevents it from being more of a threat. The Ochre Empire has been thwarted from conquering the Duchy by the threat of war from the Grand Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Gwynedd
The Bright Empire managed only to conquer half of this large peninsula that lies to the east of the Grand Kingdom. Having broken away early in the collapse of the Bright Empire, the Kingdom of Gwynedd has long charted its own course. During the rise of the Grand Kingdom, Gwynedd managed to retain its independence, but it land was relativity poor and lay outside of the main trade routes. The discovery of new lands across the Sunrise Sea has given hope to Gwynedd’s future.

Iconis and Ramos
Iconis is a large peninsula jutting northwards into the Middle Sea This was the original heartland of the Bright Empire and the great city of Ramos was its capital. The Ochre Empire controls the middle and foot of the Peninsula including the city of Ramos. The base of the peninsula is split among various city-states which have allied themselves with one of the surrounding major realms.

The Kingdom of Tharvengis
This kingdom has been created out of alliance of barbarian tribes formed to vanquish the humanoid menace. The Kingdom is still largely unsettled dominated by the Tharvengian Forest. The King is merely a first among equals. He often has to negotiate with his Dukes to get the men and money he needs. The last three Kings of Tharvengis have gained a small measure of independence by exacting payments from the Iconis city-states for protecting them against the Ochre Empire.

The Altus Mountains
This is one of the greatest mountain range of the main continent. It forms the spine of the eastern half with many sub ranges splitting off like the Westwall. The Grand Duchy of Stonedale is located in the valleys of its eastern terminus.

The Grey Sea
Off of the northern coast of the Grand Kingdom and the Kingdom of Tharvengis. South of the Grey Sea is Jarlheim, home of Viking pirates. Beyond Jarlheim is the land of permanent ice.

The Sunrise Sea
Lies to the east of the Grand Kingdom and the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Recently new lands were discovered east of this oceans.

The Time Periods

Classical
The Kingdom of Goshen, the City States of Achea, the Empire of the Two Kings, and City-States of Iconis including Ramos lies around the Middle Sea.

The Bright Empire
The Bright Empire dominates the entire eastern half of the main continent

The Civil Wars
The Bright Empire is wrecked by religious and political strife and ends with Barbarians Invasion culminating in the Shattering.

The Dark Age
The surviving pieces of the Empire and the new barbarian nations attempt to rebuild civilization while resisting the advance of the Ochre Empire and the followers of Sarrath

The Grand Kingdom
Civilization has been rebuilt and expanded beyond the limits of the Bright Empire. But war between rival powers threatens to undo progress.

Points of Light banner

Normally Banners and Ads are a dime a dozen. But every so often there is one that just catches the eye. I know I am totally biased because I am the one of the authors of these two books but there is just something about this banner created by Goodman Games. I think it because both images (from the covers) have a heavy blue background. This allows them to be combined in a striking way.

So thanks Joseph and the rest of the Goodman team.

More Points of Light #2

I got some questions and comments in the last few days on Points of Light #2.

First Player Maps are NOW available here

Amacui has been drawn so that only the shore line is showing. Only the high peaks of the interior mountains are drawn.

Mazatl shows the surrounding jungles, the lake, river, and the lava. The contours were a tough call so I decided to show the top contour and draw a new line showing where the Volcano's base contour is. The players are going to simply have to explore to figure out where the breaks are or start climbing.

The Misty Isle was fairly easy to do. I just erase all the unknown Islands off the map. Leaving a empty area on the eastern half.

Unlike Amacui and the Misty Isle; the Golden shores is a little better known. A bunch of the interior villages and terrain has been omitted.

Hope this helps everbody.

I got a bunch of "Where the PDF" queries. Now they are up in the various PDF store like here.

I appreciate the feedback and hope you enjoy exploring the four new lands Beyond the Sunrise Sea.

Points of Light 2 Byeond the Sunrise Sea is OUT!

You should now be able to order it through your FLGS and other fine retailers.

Like the first Points of Light it is four settings with an area of 135 miles by 95 miles. The theme of this edition is "Exploration beyond your campaign's frontier". Three of the lands depict regions suited for exploration and discovery. Like the first Points of Light the fourth land is set in the outer planes and loosely ties the three together.

The lands are:

Amacui, Empire of Blood. Set in a region where where old evils and bloody empires await.

The Golden Shore, a region in the midst of being colonized from the old world.

The Misty Isles, largely unexplored the riches of the spice lures adventurers of all stripes.

The last is Mazatl the Realm of the Bat God where an evil god of blood dwells in the caldera of a ancient shield volcano.

The same loose background that was used through the first Points of Light is used here. Unlike the first points of Light all the lands are set at the same "time". However they are diverse in geography and locales. It is set during the Grand Kingdom period as depicted in Southlands. For those of you who are interested you will read about what happened to the followers of Sarrath following the civil war that ripped apart the Bright Empire.

The focus is still on being able to just "drop" in a referee's campaign. The map sizes has been expanded by two more columns, all four lands have full maps, and the page count has been increased. All of it dedicated to giving you more locales to throw in the way of your players. Another change is the two word stat block has changed to a 4th edition D&D style. Instead of Orc (1 HD) it is now Orc (Level 1, Minion).

Here are a couple of previews of what you will be getting.

From Amacui


From Mazatl


From Misty Isles

1d4 Destination or Settlement

1. Kingsport (Grand Kingdom)
2. Fairwind (Grand Kingdom)
3. Altimar Castle (Ochre Empire)
4. Port Harren (Ochre Empire)
   

1d6 Sea Encounter

1. A pod of 1d12 dolphins swims to investigate the ship. They aid any character in need of rescue in the water.
2. A ship with broken masts is drifting on the horizon. When investigated, its hold is filled with supplies and tools for the settlements (roll destination), but the crew is missing.
3. A ship flying the skull and crossbones flag appears on the horizon heading towards the characters’ ship (roll settlement for origin).
4. A castle ship on patrol approaches the characters’ ship (roll settlement for origin).
5. 1d6 coracles of the Lurcon are fishing with their nets.
6. A squall line heralding a storm appears on the horizon (roll a d8 for compass direction with 1 being north).
   

1d6 Land Encounter

1. 1d6 jungle cats (level 2 lurker) stalk the players.
2. A patch of rare plants or herbs is found. The patch is worth 2d6 x 100 gp in component cost.
3. A red tiger (level 6 lurker) attacks the party. Its pelt is worth 100 gp.
4. A rival scouting expedition consisting of 2d6 individuals encounters the party (roll settlement for origin).
5. A rival scouting expedition is found surrounded by jungle cats (level 2 lurker). Only a handful of men (2d4, roll settlement for origin) remain.
6. A pack of monkeys follow the characters, howling at them at irregular intervals. This continues into the night, causing the characters to get no rest.
   

From the Golden Shore

1607 Arent Trading Post
Alec Arent founded Arent Trading Post nearly ten years ago. A minor trading family of the Grand Kingdom, the Arents have labored under the shadow of the great trading houses for decades. With the opening of the Golden Shore, the family saw an opportunity to rival
the greatest trading houses. The Arents invested much of their wealth to outfit an expedition to the Golden Shore. Bypassing Castle Williams and Porttown, they entered into Brachan Bay.
They landed on a light wooded island at the mouth of the Aldarius River, and there they built a wooden keep to act as a trading post and warehouse. The trading post is home to 150 people, all living under the watchful eye of Captain Alec Arent (Ftr5), the Lord Proprietor.

In the past decades, the Arents have built up several trading relationships with both the Ouimos and the Merkaios clans. Alec Arent has sent his sons (Alec II. and Marcus) to live among the clans to learn their culture and language. While the quantities of goods passing between the Akhaioi clans and the Arents are small, trade is growing. In the next decade, Alec plans to send
his eldest, Alec II, into the foothills of the Greyhorn Mountains to make contacts with the eastern clans.

Thanks Dane and all my other customers.

Over here at Jeff's Gameblog he is trying to help his friend Dane with getting started with 2nd edition AD&D. In particular a good string of modules to use from 1st level onwards. Dane replies later thanking everyone for their suggestions and out of the blue, at least for me, mentions that he will be using Points of Light with the modules.

Thanks Dane for being a customer.

And thanks to all of you who have bought Points of Light .

Points of Light II will be out in stores any time now. Plus I am working on some independent project that should see the light of day by summer.

Are you ready to go beyond the Sunrise Sea?

Goodman Games has announced the release date of Points of Light II: The Sunrise Sea here. It will be released in May.

The four lands presented in this edition of Points of Light are

• The Golden Shores: A land in the midst of being colonized, where adventurers can encounter unknown cultures, old enemies, and battle a darkness that has haunted the land for millennia.
• Amacui: A frontier land with only a single trading post representing the civilized world, but there are many ruins to explore and new civilizations to discover.
• The Misty Isle: The greatest threat to exploration is not the natives or ‘things man is not meant to know,’ but enemies from the old world. Here in the Misty Isles, enemies from different realms and factions fight amid the jungles and islands.
  
• Mazatl, the Realm of the Bat God: Rising from the vast Jungles of Zaracar is a massive shield volcano. Here the blood god, Azartac, lives in the city of Mazatl in the volcano’s caldera.
  

The theme of Points of Light I was about saving or expanding civilization. The theme of Points of Light II is exploration beyond the frontier of your campaign. I plundered history and myth to come up with four lands that are meant to be explored. This is not a rehash of Forgotten Realm's Maztica or an historical recreation. For example the culture of the natives of the Golden Shore are more like Mycanae Greek (Bronze Age) than Native Americans. The empire of Amacui is inspired by Ancient Assyria. Fans of pulp Swords & Sorcery will like the Misty Isles a lot. I think you find the volcano setting of Mazatl unique.

For those who followed the backstory of the first Points of Light, the Sunrise Sea gives you more information about the Grand Kingdom period. You will find out what happened to the Sarrath Faction from Borderland and Wildland and be introduced to a new human kingdom. Mazatl gives more details on blood god, Azeel, introduced in Wildland. Unlike the first Points of Light the four lands are set in the same "time" but are more diverse in their geography.

Again the background is an option, designed to allow people to combine the lands into a grand campaign if that their wish. The focus is still on writing lands that can just "drop" into your existing campaign.

The map sizes are slightly larger and have 27 columns and instead of 25. All the maps are full size unlike PoL I where Acheron was a half map. There are twice as many mini-maps. The monster stat block have been changed; instead of 5 HD it is now 5th Level, striker. With striker being the role/personality of the monster. This was done to broaden the appeal of the series to all editions of world's most popular RPG not just the older ones. The design, the writing, and feel of the lands are the same as PoL I.

What I intend to do about D&D's Endgame

Here Grognardia talks about the loss of D&D's Endgame. One of the reasons that made my Majestic Wilderlands so long lasting is because I never lost the endgame Grognardia talks about. My campaigns were always about the players making a mark on my world. About building that stronghold.

Over the years the concept expanded from literal stronghold building. I had a few do what it took to enter divine service to one of the Gods, some established whole realms after becomeing a ruler, guilds, even something as mundane as opening a potion shop was a big deal to one of my players. The past decade the trend has been to climb the ladder in one of the big organizations (temple, guild, royal court, etc) and achieve a position of power rather then build a castle in the wilderness.

Regardless of what the player choose in the end they were deeply satisfied because they made a difference. I continue to reward them by using the result of past characters action as the background for the next campaign

When I got into writing professionally and drawing maps professional. I was really focused on doing what it took to get the Majestic Wilderlands. More than just to see my personal campaign I knew that I could do something with the Majestic Wilderland that the other settings were missing and that was to offer a fun endgame.

However in 2003 I didn't have all of this expressed coherently. So much was wrapped in the idea of publishing the Majestic Wilderlands. It wasn't until I pitched Points of Light to Goodman Games that it all started to come together. Forced to look beyond both Bob's Wilderlands and mine I really had to think about what made a sandbox fun.

Aside from freedom to roam, easier prep, a well designed sandbox will have opportunities to for players to make my mark. So when Dwayne and I wrote up Wildlands, Borderlands, Southlands, and Acheron we made sure there were plenty of things players could do to alter the landscape.

Now having done that (and again with the upcoming Points of Light 2) I have to consider what is the next step. To me the answer is to get into the rules business. Give referees the support needed to run the endgame whether it is building a stronghold, estabilshing a dynasty, or just opening a potion shop. Then return to the sandbox of Points of Light, Wild North or Wilderlands to give things that the referees can use to drop in their games.

I am glad James talked about this at Grognardia as it reinforces the ideas I already have. I intend to restore the old endgame. In style.

Hopefully I will get a shot at publishing the Majestic Wilderlands as well. We will see.

Why Points of Light?

The RPG Pundit reviews Points of Light here

More than the other reviews of Points of Light he goes into the connection between the title, the product and the 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

And there is a story behind that.

Points of Light had it's genesis in the work I did for the Wilderlands of High Fantasy (by Necromancer Games and Judges Guild). Many of my motivations was due to being a fan of City-State, the Wilderlands, and Bob Bledsaw. However one thing really got me interested was being involved with ressurecting an older format. A product having maps with numbered hexes and detailing locations keyed to the hexes. Something that I always found useful in the 30+ years I been DMing. As grand and great the boxed set of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy was, it is too expensive for somebody new to the format to buy.

After Dark Tower by Goodman Games was released I was searching for something new to do when I ran across an image of the Outdoor Survival Map. So on a lark I transferred the image to my computer and made a Wilderland Style hex map for it. I was starting to get involved with the Original D&D forum and thought it would be a great submission for Fight On! or even a product in it's own right. Not only with a map but with a series of entries keyed to the hexes like the Wilderlands. It would be cheap and serve as a great intro to the format. Also appeal to a segment of gamers because of it's associatation with the history of D&D.

A helpful Wizard employee PMed me and directed me to the person to ask for permission.

They said no. It was a polite and nice email but still no.

For some reason this irked me. "Fine!" I thought. "I will make a new map, use my original notes for the entries and find somebody to publish it."

Since I had a good experience working with Goodman Games. I pitched to Joesph Goodman via email.

I didn't explain it well enough. He thought I wanted to publish a book of maps only. Tried again, I still didn't make it clear enough. So I wrote up half of what was to become Southland and pitched it again. That did the trick and he accepted it.

The original pitch was for a nostalgia project. However Joseph Goodman wanted to tie it somehow to the upcoming release of 4th edition. Somewhere in the conversation the Rich Baker article on Points of Light came up. Southland somewhat fit the idea of "Points of Light" and I could easily make the remaining three lands revolve around that theme. After a trademark search turned up nothing for Points of Light in reference to gaming. We had a title.

I understood the risks in this. I pitched this as a similar product to the Castle & Crusade, and 1st Edition modules that Goodman already offers. By tying this to fourth edition I could alienate the old school market. But you can't just ignore the world largest market of roleplayers either. Goodman Games has to make sure that their main line of products reach the largest audience possible. This especially true for something new and untested like my proposal.

I figured I would stick with the original list of monsters. What stats there are would be HD and Class/Level. These items would be almost surely be in the new edition and help with selling the product to the old school market. I was also active on various Old School Forums. Since the Old School market had it first resurgance on the Internet in the first place as long I made myself avaliable I could correct any misconceptions about the product.

Two my oldest friends and gaming buddies, Tim and Dwayne agreed to be onboard with this project. A lot of the "bit and pieces" I drew on in my writings had come from the games the three of us were involved with. Tim became my editor, while Dwayne handled the writing of Acheron and Wildland. I completed Southlands, the maps, and Borderland.

Despite Acheron being the only land directly from my campaign of 25 years, Dwayne's memory is way better than mine. He remembered more of the details of Sarrath, Artos, the Boglings, and the rest of Acheron that I ever did.

So in the end, with the help of my friends and Goodman Games, I was able to do what I wanted. Have a product that introduced people to a forgotten format. A format that not just some theory or abstract notion but one that proven to work over the years for many GMs.

Finally when 4th edition was released the first thing I did was opened the DM Guide to the setting of Fallcrest and Nentir Vale. After all the talk of Encounte4zation I was surprised to see how much of the entries echoed the work I did on Points of Light. The actual dungeon of course was very much the reported fourth edition style. But the town and setting could have been ripped out and be a chapter of my product with some minor touch up.

This was a big relief to me as now all I have to contend with is the bias against third party products by many gamers. I didn't have to waste time justify the lack of stats because "Hey! It the standard set by Wizards for their products." I don't have to worry about the mess of the GSL either as I am not copying anything from 4th edition.

While I can't release the actual figures, I got one quarter's result in and sales seems to be ok for this type of product. Enough so that there will be another Points of Light in the Spring. The reviews by Grognardia, Jeff Rients, and others certainly helped making people aware. I appreciate the RPG Pundit taking the time to tell it how it is.