Planes of Terror and Madness: Dark Shadows of the Wheel

Some mad scholars and greybeards speak of the Demiplane of Dread in hushed whispers. But, this is not the only accursed place to float within the Wheel. No. Other planes have been covered, including rather lightly from Ramon the Planes Chronicler. But, his information is too sparse to be helpful to many. I, a humble scribe assisting “The Narrator” shall regale you with wonders and horrors alike. Know that the planes isn’t just dangerous at times, it’s an unending nightmare.  Prepare to never wake up again and let us continue our journey.

Author’s Note: Happy Halloween from The Planes!  I figure it’s time to mix things up.  So, RavenScape madness continues as I also look at nightmares of the Great Wheel both canonical and fanon.

Return to a Realm of the Strange and Gothic

I love gothic fiction, gaslamp fantasy and weird westerns, as has been known through various posts throughout the blog.  Plus, pages like Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque remain both awesome to visit and truly inspiring!

So, for the next month or so at least, I’m going to try to keep a wide variety of gaslamp, pulpy and gothic flair.  This can be anything from more expansion of Tomb of Annihilation or Curse of Strahd to more content inspired by Eberron to more Victorian and Wild West inspired fantasy and horror content.  And while I’m at it?  Good old Ravenloft, as in the Demiplane of Dread (instead of the module)!  I’ve been pondering making a small adventure in one of the domains… possibly Dementlieu, Richemulot, Nosos or Lamordia.  I might put it up on DM’s Guild while I’m at it!  Of course, this is all pondering based on whether or not I’ll get around to it.

 

IMAGE SOURCE: Vampire Victorian Age: London by Night – White Wolf Games

Time Marches On: Blog Carnival Wrap-Up

Thanks for marching along with me, as we traverse the endless streams of time!  While I was hoping for a few more, I’m glad all of you took the time to see how time marched on in your games.

Here is the list of contributors:

• Brynvalk – Racial Feats: Faith of Brynvalk ponders making racial feats for D&D 5th Edition revolving around time and age.
• Cannibal Halfling Gaming – So You Want To Write An Alternate History: Aaron of CHG looks at alternate history, which is not so much time marching on as it is marching to the beat of its own drum.
• Codex Anathema – Analects of War: Gonzalo analyzes the effects of the Last War on his campaign world and the 100 years that leads up to it.
• Daemons & Deathrays – A Timeline in Richardsport: Looking at the advancing time frames in a home setting over the course of many small campaigns… albeit, through my usual desire to ramble.
• Daemons & Deathrays – Bizarre Bazaar – The Spark of Innovation: Zam’dul the Traveler is currently unavailable, his sentient robotic friend is more than happy to help!  Part 2 can be found here!
• Knights of the North – Cillamar City, Then and Now: Ari-Matti of Knights of the North looks back at the city of Cillamar as time from it’s beginnings till now.
• Loot the Room – Chronomancy: Chris from Loot the Room discusses Chronomancy, the AD&D Chronomancer sourcebook and a look at adding elements from it into D&D 5th Edition.
• Nuketown – Of Prequels and Legacies: Kenneth from Nuketown looks at two campaigns based off of a previous Greyhawk game.  In this case, one set 70 years before the events of the Obsidian Bay, while the other one is 50 years after the main game.

Stay tuned for next month’s theme “Gamemaster’s Cut” from Codex Anathema!  If you wish to know more about the RPG Blog Carnival, please go here!

Image Credit: RPG Blog Carnival Logo

Doomsdays & Dystopias Wrap-Up

While I got a fair bit more last year, I still enjoyed this theme quite a bit!  The GRIMDARK theme might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, perhaps less than science-fantasy.  But, oh well, this was a theme I wanted to do for a long time.  None the less, this has been a learning experience.  All the same, some of the bloggers who participated last year weren’t able to join in for this year.  But, to those who were able to join in?  You have my thanks!  Thanks for making this celebration of the dark and dreadful a truly fun one!   That said, onward to other things.  But in the meantime, here are this month’s contributors for my theme!  Please, check out what they have to offer!  And as always, give the RPG Carnival a try yourself!  It’s tons of fun and well worth the effort!

Anyway, enough babbling out of me!  Here are the contributors for “Doomsdays & Dystopias”:

• Daemons and Deathrays
  • Doomsdays & Dystopias RPG Blog Carnival – The post to kick things off, in which I discuss why GRIMDARK stuff is cool!
  • Conflict in Dark Worlds and Genres – I take a look at the role of conflict in dark settings and themes, plus supply some anecdotes on games I’ve been in.
  • Post-Apocalyptic Rules Revised – I update some rules for corroded equipment, radiation, decrepit buildings and anomalies.
  • Mutant Monsters – Here’s an assortment of all sorts of hellish and horrifying things spawned by toxic chemical, radiation, strange powers and more!
  • Murder Machines and Killer Cars! – A Brutal Game Show from the GRIMDARK Future!
• Pitfalls and Pixies – The Iaraan Faur – Faith of Pitfalls creates a sylvan race blighted and mutated by pollutants and radiation, turning them into grim and hateful creatures.
• Bound-Incubus – All the spooky worlds – Tony talks about what the World of Darkness universe means to him in terms of gaming, sub-culture and more.
• Sea of Stars – Doomsdays and Dystopias of Sea of Stars – Sean of Sea of Stars tells us about the darker side of his setting, examining catastrophes and harsh societies within his world.
• The Wandering Alchemist – Angels and Demons – John of Wandering Alchemist discusses how a proxy war between fiends and celestials have left his world battered and scarred, especially against the forces fo chaos!
• Tales of a GM – Grimdark Interludes – Phil from Tales of a GM takes a look at games with elements of “GRIMDARK” and his own experiences with it.
• Teylen’s RPG Corner – [Actual Play] The Last Night – 1st V5 Pre-Alpha Playtest – Teylen gives a run down of a Vampire the Masquerade V5 playtest, set in the ever stark World of Darkness universe.
• Stories and Other Such Distractions – How I create characters for Cyberpunk 2020 – Phillip of Stories and Other Distractions gives the run down on character building for one of the most famous cyberpunk games out there, 2020!

Stay tuned for Kobold Press and their theme of “Magic” for August 2017!  You can find out more here!  Again, a big thanks for everyone who was interested in the darker side of gaming fiction!  Till next time, gamers!

IMAGE CREDIT: Wasteland 2 Promotional Image – Obsidian Entertainment