Dark Sun: The Lion of Urik

Supreme over other kings, lordly in appearance,
he is the hero, born of Uruk...

- The Epic of Gilgamesh

I am Hamanu, King of the World, King of the

Mountains and the Plains, King of Urik, for whom

the roaring winds and the all-mighty sun have decreed

a destiny of heroism...

- Dark Sun Campaign Setting (1991)

Urik's name was no doubt inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian city-state of Uruk. It's Sorcerer-King Hamanu likely got his name and love of law and order from the Babylonian king Hammurabi, but I think his character is a bit more analogous to the Sumerian, mythic hero Gilgamesh. 

Hamanu is the most heroic of the Sorcerer-Kings. Not in the modern sense of being a noble or a fighter for good, though. He is neither. Rather, he is a hero more ancient sense: a doer of mighty deeds. While the Dark Sun campaign setting perhaps intended Hamanu more as a brilliant tactician and military strategist rather than a man of arms, I feel likely he's much more interesting (and differentiated from the other Sorcerer-Kings) if he is a mighty-thewed warrior, imbued with magical might. I envision him something like the titular Exalted of the any edition of the Exalted rpg, or perhaps Solomon David from Kill Six Billion Demons:

A side issue (but an important worldbuilding one, I think): Hamanu's banner. We are told in multiple places that Hamanu's (i.e. Urik's) troops care a "lion banner." The novel The Crimson Legion once describes it as a "lion that walks like a man," but nowhere where else gets this specific. The novel later has Hamanu assuming or projecting a monstrous, leonine form. 

This would suggest Athas, a world with beetle-like draft animals and reptile-bird mounts, has mundane lions. To be fair, Athas has mundane humans, so it's not impossible. It's also possible lions died out back before the cataclysmic times that changed the world from some more typical fantasy setting to its current state and exist now only as semi-mythical heraldic beasts. That's not a bad explanation, but I prefer my Athas to never have been a standard fantasy world, favoring a more Planetary Romance environment. I assume "lion" is a translation--like "Barsoomian lion" is sometimes used for "banth" in Burroughs's Mars series. In fact, I say just choose your favorite depiction of a banth and that's your Athasian lion.

Dark Sun: Tumult in Tyr

In the Dark Sun campaign setting, the city-state of Tyr is presented as on the brink of some drastic change. The Sorcerer-King Kalak has confiscated the slaves of the nobles to build his ziggurat, is taxing the people unmercifully to pay for it, and is neglecting his trade obligations to neighboring states. Kalak's reasons for doing this and the results of his actions for for his city play out in the novel The Verdant Passage and in the module Freedom.

In canon, revolution comes to Tyr as Kalak tries to bootstrap himself into dragonhood, and he's thwarted and killed. These events are reflected in the descriptions of Tyr in the revised campaign setting and the 4e Dark Sun setting book.

There are a few other interesting tidbits regarding Tyr. It has the only iron mines in the region. It has a Senate made up of the city nobles that are marginalized and at odds with Kalak's templar bureaucracy. Kalak keeps the still-living, severed heads of former allies Sacha and Wyan around to advise him, and they live on blood. (There is some discrepancy about who Sacha and Wyan are/were. Verdant Passage has Kalak claim they were chieftains that helped him conquered Tyr, and Sacha is presented as the progenitor of the Mericles noble house. In both later novels and rpg material, they are fellow "champions of Rajaat" killed by the dragon.)

Metaplot aside, resolving "Tyr as powder keg" too quickly in the line feels like a misstep to me. I would drag this out, let PCs get involved with the interplay of the factions. Even if they have no desire to become revolutionaries, there's a lot of interesting gameplay that could be wrung from this, whether the players approach it like Yojimbo or just work to avoid it.

I would ditch the name "the Senate" (too much Roman association) but keep the oligarchy as a faction, maybe remaining it the Council or Supreme Council (which the chief governmental body of Carthage was called) or even "The Mighty Ones" (the literal translation of the council advising Phoenician kings).

I love Kalak's plan to jumpstart himself into a dragon, so that has to stay. I also think the severed head advisors are a great touch. I would borrow a bit from Clark Ashton Smith's "The Empire of the Necromancers" and say that Sacha and Wyan (I would change those names, too) were sorcerers and colleagues of Kalak who all came together to the village of Tyr, which at that time was in a small, marshy, wetland amid the ruins of a more ancient city. The three built the city, perhaps with undead labor, but eventually Kalak betrayed and killed the other two.

Star Trek Endeavour: To Free the Ranger

A continuing campaign in Star Trek Adventures...

Episode 5: "Agents of Influence [part 3]"

Player Characters: 

The Crew of the USS Endeavour, NCC-1895, Constitution Class Starship (refit):
Andrea as Lt. Ona Greer, Engineer 

Bob as Capt. Robert Locke
Gina as Cmdr. Isabella Hale, Helm Chief

Eric As Lt.Cmdr. Tavek, Science Officer

Jason as Lt. Francisco Otomo, Chief Security Officer

and guest starring the crew of  USS Ranger: 

Aaron as Lt.(jg.) Cayson Randolph, Operations

Andrea as Capt. Ada Greer

Dennis, as Lt. Osvaldo Marquez, Medical Officer

Synposis: Continued from last session! The Klingon agent in the Ranger crew has revealed himself by killing Chief Engineer Galv and Ona Greer is next. Thinking fast, Greer charges the spy and knocks the phaser pistol out of his hand. After a short battle, she stuns him with her own phaser.

The combined crews continue their preparations for an impending Orion assault. Tavek gets the idea to modify a sensor buoy to create a sensor shadow that would give the impression of a larger vessel to lure the Orion's away. The engineers manage to get the damaged impulse engine working enough to power the phasers.

Locke and Hale take the shuttle with Starfleet spies and the data for Nogura to make a run for Endeavor. Hale again manages some hotshot piloting to get them away from the Orions. Locke sends a coded message to Endeavour and it seems to be received. The cavalry is hopefully coming.

As the Orions arrive, Captain Greer chooses to share that information with the Orions, warning them that they may soon face two fully armed starships. The Orions decide discretion is the better part of valor and beat a retreat.

Endeavour arrives to rescue the remaining Ranger crew.

Commentary: As mentioned before the kernel of this adventure is the novel Agents of Influence by Dayton Ward. Here the player's deviated to the greatest degree from what the characters in the novel did, which is for the best as it brought it to a close this session. This was a crossover of the two Star Trek Adventure groups, and I think it worked reasonably well, but there are probably limits to how long I was going to be able to keep that many players showing up.

Wednesday Comics: DC, September 1980 (wk 2, pt 1)

My goal: read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at the comics at newsstands around June 26, 1980.

DC Special Series #22 - G.I. Combat: Just what I wanted, extra Haunted Tank! In the first story Kanigher and Glanzman would have us believe they put tanks on pneumatic skis in the War. I can find no internet verification of this. The ever-resourceful tank crew uses a big snowball to take out a German gun. In the "P.O.W" story, "Monster of the Wehrmacht" German soldiers are just as eager to get revenge on a sadistic prison camp commandant as the prisoners. Jose Montales Matucenio's art here has a Alex Nino sort of looseness I like.

In "Live -- or Die -- by the Cross" a medic breaks his vow to do no harm to fight off the Japanese attacking a hospital in Bataan. His inspiration is his latest patient--a chaplain that broke his own vow. The O.S.S. story by Kanigher and Cruz is a typical tale of double agents and double-crosses. Arnold Drake and Ernesto Patricio deliver the cleverest story of the issue, with the lucky survival of a group of U.S. soldiers in the Pacific Theater predicted by their respective fortune cookies. Kanigher and Glanzman bring it to a close with a somewhat better Haunted Tank yarn than the one we started with.

Action Comics #511: Luthor does what any criminal who has seen the error of his ways would do: he hijacks the TV signal and makes a broadcast declaring his newfound respect for the law and his desire to help Superman. He also provides a cure for the mysterious disorder effecting his new love interest to the world. Luthor wants Superman to take him to the Fortress of Solitude and subject him to all sorts of mental scrutiny to prove he's on the level. Superman obliges, and the tests say Luthor is legit, but when Terra-Man and his alien goons attack, Luthor leaps to Superman's aid, proving he wasn't as neutralized as he was supposed to be. But then Superman knew that, and it was all part of the test! Two parts in and Bates and Swan are sticking to the reformed Luthor. I'm interested to see how it plays out. 

Adventure Comics #475: Aquaman returns to the book courtesy of DeMatteis and Giordano. In this story, Aquaman is seeking an Atlantean doctor for a sick Mera, but has to tangle with the Scavenger. It's pretty good, but it's most interesting because of a scene whether Aquaman, rallying in his fight with the Scavenger, speaks to the (mis)perception that he is some sort of "third rate hero." He says he was saving the world when the likes of Firestorm and Black Lightning "where still in diapers" (which is odd, unless DeMatteis believes Aquaman was the first Silver Age hero, or maybe he's the same guy as the Golden Age version?) and goes on to list his powers and titles. In the 00s, we saw these sort of defenses of Aquaman mounted. It's surprising to see there was felt to be a need for them back in 1980. 

The Starman and Plastic Man stories are more of the same. Starman feels like it might be drawing to its conclusion with Prince Gavyn confronting the villain who usurped his sister's throne. Plastic Man is in Vegas dealing with another Gouldian villain, Even Steven.

Brave & the Bold #166: A Batman/Black Canary team-up by Fleisher and Giordano. The Penguin breaks out of jail (where is was put by Robin in the last issue of Detective Comics), and goes after the former henchmen that rolled over on him who all have fled to Star City. Penguin is sticking with his bird motif and trying to kill them all in a canary-themed manner (because they sang, I suppose). It's a clever enough set-up to get Black Canary involved, and the Penguin is suitably malevolent and as crazy as the Joker (though in a different, less flamboyant way). The Penguin ultimately captures Canary and puts a decoy in her costume to lure Batman into a cyanide-laced kiss. It's interesting that Penguin thinks Batman might be susceptible to that. Is her relationship with Green Arrow not known publicly? Of course, they are on the outs following last month's JLA. Once Batman rescues Black Canary, she does in fact give him a kiss, so Fleisher may have been trying to stir something up here.

The backup story is the first appearance of Nemesis, created by Burkett and Spiegle, who will go on to be a member of the Ostrander Suicide Squad. There is a real "men's adventure" genre feel to this story; it's different from the Punisher, but in the same genre. 

Detective Comics #494: The first story here is a near classic: "The Crime Doctor Calls at Midnight!" by Fleisher and Don Newton/Bob Smith. The Crime Doctor makes "house calls" diagnosing problems and helping criminals with their crimes. He's respected physician Bradford Thorne, but he's become bored with his regular life and turned to crime for excitement. Thorne renders medical care to Bruce Wayne, which leads to him to realizing Batman's identity when he meets him later. A group of criminals who don't want to give the Crime Doctor his take lure both the doctor and Batman into a trap. To be continued.

"Tales of Gotham" by Harris and Spiegle has a pinball wizard runner for organized crime develop a conscience and give up his own life to save a a kid who idealizes him, in one of the better stories in this series. Batgirl encounters organized crime entwinned with civic corruption in a forgettable tale by Burkett, Delbo and Chiaramonte. Back at Hudson University, Robin cracks the case of a murder posing as a hazing incident in a story by Harris and Nicholas/Colletta. DeMatteis and Forton win the prize for best title of the issue in "Explosion of the Soul," where Black Lightning takes down a vigilante killer ("The Slime Killer") who wears a purple costume with a very familiar, skull motif.

Green Lantern #132: Kupperberg and Staton present a more "street level" and more humorous Green Lantern adventure than what we usually get. Thieves have hidden some stolen diamonds in an aircraft seat and are stealing a new fighter to get it back. They briefly stymie Jordan with a yellow tarp, but ultimately he wins the day. Toomey and Saviuk conclude "The Trial of Arkkis Chummuck" which I enjoyed thoroughly. It ends with the prosecutor forced to "put up or shut up" and become the tutor for the fledging Green Lantern he recently tried to get booted out.

The second backup is an Adam Strange story by Harris and Rodriguez. A giant is attacking cities of Rann. It turns out to have been created by the Akalonians and directed by psychic energy. Strange appeals to the desire for peace among the dissident scientists powering the creature and they rebel, destroying it.

House of Mystery #284: "Ruby" by DeMatteis and Zamora is really the only decent story in this issue. A couple (the Paulsons) in a "small mid-Western town" decide to adopt a small girl that comes stumbling out of the darkness and passes out on their porch. The sheriff can't find any reports of a missing girl so he declares the kid theirs (lax laws they have in the Midwest!). Soon the family dog is dead. Then an elderly woman in town seems to recognize Ruby, and is found dead the next day. Linda Paulson awakens at 2 am to see Ruby crawling down the outside of the house. Shefollows Ruby to town where the girl reveals herself to be a vampire and meets with her undead victims. Rick Paulson happens to be out in the middle of the night doing research at the library where he uncovers that Ruby is really a young girl who disappeared 70 years ago after a European traveling circus came to town. Ruby attacks her adoptive parents, but sheriff appears in the nick of time with a handy stake. As the shocked Paulsons head home--twist!--the sheriff reveals himself to be a vampire. He didn't want Ruby's actions blowing his cover!

The next story by Simons, Giffen and Celardo (giving us a bit of a Hal Foster vibe on art) has a knight teaming up with a dragon to bring a comeuppance to a greedy king. "Friend to the End" by Kelley and Lofamia is a dumb story about jealousy that ends with the murderer getting killed by a pitching machine. Jodloman's and Wessler's "Deadly Peril at 20,000" is even dumber. A man dies of "pneumonic plague" (no, Jess Jodloman, that isn't the black death) on board a transatlantic flight. A doctor realizes his body needs to be disposed of, but his grief maddened wife won't allow it. A quick thinking (and ruthless) stewardess throws a hammer through their window, and the couple is sucked out by the pressure. 

Westwind Garden

If you do Roll20, you should check out Westwind Garden, a whimsical 5e one shot for all ages written by two of my friends and gamers in my group, Gina and Jim Shelley. It's kind of anthropomorphic animal adventure (in the vein, say, of something like Redwall), but provides a rationale for why this is occurring in a human-centric campaign. It's got great art with a70-80s Disney or Don Bluth sort of vibe. Our regular group really enjoyed the playtest.

It's Roll20 features include:

• 22 Colorful Maps - Temples, Greenhouses, Observatories, and Gardens, all in bright and inviting colors
• Helpful Macros - Initiative Macros and Location Macros to help speed up gameplay
• Side Quests - A huge cast of characters with different goals allows your players to explore the setting in different ways
• A Magical Scavenger Hunt - The party must collect several objects to break the curse, but there are multiple ways to find what they need.
• Dynamic Lighting - All maps come with prebuilt dynamic lighting
• Custom Tokens - 23 custom tokens sure to bring a smile to all your players
• Printable DM Guide - All handout materials have been collected into an easy-to-read Downloadable PDF DM Guide so you can easily review game details on your favorite electronic device, or print it out and read wherever you like.
• Printable Player Character Sheets - All eight Player Characters sheets are included in the DM Guide to help them pick the character they like best, and provide easy reference during the game.

Operation Unfathomable Covers

 Jason Sholtis tells me that the work on the remaining Operational Unfathomable Kickstarter items is drawing to close, which is good news to a lot of people. Jason requested I send him all of the cover designs I had brainstormed for the various products. I had not looked at any of these in 4 or 5 years, but once I dug them up and thought they were worth sharing, though none of them may get used on the actually products.

This was my first design for the Completely Unfathomable omnibus. I mainly just wanted to give it an omnibus sort of feel.

This is for the same book, but thinking a bit more out of the box. It's meant to look like an old bubblegum card wax pack wrapper. 

This is the is the second design I did for Odious Uplands. It's meant the reference the sort of WPA national park posters. 

This was my proposal for the DCC version of Completely Unfathomable. It references the Skywald Publishing horror magazine style (even with a riff on it's "horror mood" tagline). It's my least favorite of these.

Dark Sun: The Templars

 

We're told in the original Dark Sun campaign setting that the Templars are "clergymen devoted to the sorcerer king of their city. Like other priests, they are granted spells in return for their worship." Also, they "dominate the king's bureaucracy." The revised box set expands on this slightly saying they serve as city guards and in the army, they oversee the city's administration, and they "maintain the illusion that the sorcerer king is a god by using their absolute power to enforce worship and homage to their ruler."

The problem with these portrayals is it seems at odds with what we are told about individual city-states and their sorcerer-kings. Some sorcerer-kings are viewed as gods, it's true, but some (we are explicitly told) just style themselves as rulers or whatever. Also, despite their name implying the existence of temples, we are not, across all the city-states, given any indication of temples' existence or what the practices within them might be. The first Dark Sun novel, Denning's The Verdant Passage supports the view of the setting material, with Kalak of Tyr viewed as a king and little evidence he is worshipped by anyone (though there is a mention of the templar's leading his "veneration.").

Without providing a unified "origin" for the templars and their role, I feel like not only should their exact nature vary from city-state to city-state, but also their name. I suppose for ease of discussing them as a class, templar serves as  well as anything, though. For most city-states I like the approach of the setting material and the novel: sorcerer-kings are venerated but not worshipped. (The distinction, may admittedly, be a fine one, but it exists.) The sorcerer-king forms the core of the city-state's civic religion: it's holidays, festivals, and foundational myths. There are no gods on Athas, but there is an afterlife, so perhaps fidelity to the sorcerer-king is tied in dogma to reward in the hereafter. The templars officiate at public observances (except when the sorcerer-king is present) and punish those who don't appear sufficiently devoted. As bureaucrats they also have a role in legal preceding that interact with the civic religion. 

Many of the city-states are probably a bit more fascistic than ancient world cities in the popular imagination. I feel like scarcity of resources would tend to push them the direction of Immortan Joe's Citadel in Mad Max: Fury Road. I could see some smaller ones having a cult (used in the modern sense) kind of character.