Thursday 21 September 2017

Lan Lo - City of the Vanishing Lake


So my old city post of Lan-Lo was best received of my maps.

The ancient city sits in a central asia type trade route. It is very ancient and has traders and nomads from most civilizations. It also has prehuman ruins dating back further especially lizard men whos mummies and ghosts are sometimes found. The city is built on a lake that is cursed to move. Is it moves back and forth civilization moves with it and the huge basi area is surrounded by ruins aound the former location. As it moves back and forth the ruins are inevitably re-ocupied.

I will recreate it digitally next month in higher res. I will do versions with lake position past and present and with seasonal lake volume varients that show surrounding marshes, perhaps a version entirely ruined with the lake gone. A local hex map with content generators will also be handy. I also had idea of making one of my A-Z dungeon keys for ruins 24xd12 tables or something. Some caravan and tribe generators too. It will be very loose and sandboxy and might have a few tomb and ruin maps too.

As I have been sitting on 4 unfinished 100 page manuscripts for 5 years I am a failure as a game publisher despite years of practice in all the skills and experience. So I want to do something simple and short to get for sale that is less ambitious and I can edit myself. Ive also done stuff on stupas and nomad graphics in the past so I can re use them too. Size of a old TSR module seems a better goal than my huge incomplete setting books.

Stupas and steppe nomads with encounter tables

Some new tables

d12 Steppe Hex Location
1 Stupa - monastic burial location and shrine
2 Nomad village or camp

3 Abandoned village or camp
4 Burial site (tomb, eroded graves, standing mumified horsemen)
5 Water hole d4 1=wild herd animals 2=travellers 3=preditors 4=bandits
6 Grazing area often with wild herds or nomad herd
7 Sacred spirit mound - where shamen cont
8 Caves - often tombs, bandit hiding places or haunted
9 Ruins - lonely, eroded and sand blasted
10  Corpses from a battle or massacre from last d4 days
11 Ancient monument d4 1=statue 2=border stone 3=shrine 4=temple
12 Old road or trail mostly heading to Lan Lo

Encounter Tables

Steppes by day
Steppes by Night
Lake and marsh
1
Nomad families in wagons
Lycanthrope
Fisherman or marsh folk
2
Nomad warriors or hunters
Peryton or Leucrotta
Giant Otters
3
Nomad Herders with animals
Beastmen Tribe
Beastmen hunters
4
Holy Pilgrims
Orcish or ogre tribe
Giant Carp
5
Merchants of the east
Doom Bat
Flock of wetland birds
6
Merchants of the west
Giant Lizard or snake
Deer or buffalo or swine
7
Orcish tribe
Giant beetle or ants
Crocodile
8
Bandit gang
Terror birds
Giant Snapping Turtle
9
Beastmen tribes
Giant owl
Giant Crayfish
10
Demihuman tribes
Wild animal herds
Giant marsh Rats
11
Wild animal herd
Hyenas or jackals or fox
Giant frogs
12
Lions or wolves or dogs
Lions or wolves or dogs
Water Weirds


Encounter Tables

Ruins by Day
Ruins by Night
Occupied City
1
Nomad warriors
Shadows or wight
Nomad traders
2
City Adventurers
Zombie mummified nomads
Merchants of the east
3
Bandit gang
Lilliltu Demoness or Succubi
Merchants of the west
4
Orc tribe
Peryton or Leucrotta
Local merchants
5
Beastmen tribes
Sphynx or Shedu
Holy Pilgrims
6
Giant Lizard or snake
Lamia or Naga
Local militia
7
Giant beetle or ants
Orcish or ogre tribe
Mercenaries
8
Terror birds
Cultists
Adventurers
9
Centaurs
Beastmen Tribes
Slavers
10
Giant eagles or vultures
Were owls or harpies
Gangs
11
Stymphalion Birds
Hyenas or jackals or fox
Cultists
12
Lions or wild dogs
Lions or wolves or dogs
Farmers or slaves

Encounter Tables

Steppe Beastmen
Ruin Beastmen
Wetland Beastmen
1
Lion
Dog
Fish
2
Dog
Lynx
Frog
3
Wolf
Vulture
Crayfish
4
Fox
Centipede
Ibis
5
Jackal
Bull
Duck
6
Rabbit
Rat
Slug
7
Yak
Mole
Squid
8
Deer
Crow
Eel
9
Lynx
Peacock
Lizard
10
Badger
Jackal
Turtle
11
Goat
Snake
Beaver
12
Eagle
Monkey
Otter

2 comments:

  1. The moving lake is an amazing idea. How did you come upon such an idea?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i didnt - based on real silk rd city - after i saw doco as a teen in 80s i did the map - used as gateway to link west campaign with karatur before the tsr box set

      Delete

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