An Old Campaign
published
While cleaning out my bookshelf this morning, I found notes for a D&D campaign I designed many years ago. There is no date on the papers, but I suspect this was written while I was trying to game during college - probably 1994 or 1995. Although, reflecting upon the influences below, this timeline seems implausible, so perhaps this was written in the early 2000s.
Reading through this, I can see several clear connections to influential pieces of fiction I had read at the time. “Sons of the Autarch” was clearly influenced by the Autarch from Clive Barker’s Imajica. “Harmonious Repose” was a name quite literally ripped from Vernor Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep. And the location that I described as “Harmonious Repose” was clearly The Raft from Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash. None of my friends with whom I would have played this campaign were
familiar with these works, so I felt pretty comfortable lifting material from them.
Here it is, for your enjoyment!
Old Bom, the Dwarven King Under the Mountain, wants goblin blood! His only son, Boromor , was kidnapped by a goblin raiding party while he was supervising mining in the South Tunnel.
Goblin activity has been on the rise for the past few months. The goblins have encroached upon Dwarf mining operations, apparently looking for slaves.
Old Bom wants to free his son above all else. He has organized and dispatched several recon missions. All have sustained heavy losses. The goblins are more numerous and better equipped than anyone had guessed.
Thron, son of Thrail, thinks Old Bom is being too focused on his son, and is neglecting his people. Thron wants to pursue peaceful cohabitation. He also wants the throne.
To that end, Thron has conducted clandestine meetings with Berak, the goblin king. Berak has promised Thron that the goblins are only trying to eek out a meager subsistence living and all the Dwarven losses (and slaves) are the result of terrible misunderstandings.
Thron will persuade the party to be non-confrontational, and to offer peace treaties to the goblins in exchange for prisoner release.
Old Bom will reward the party with fine jewelry and his Wand of Metal and Mineral Detection (34 charges; command phrase “All that glitters”)
The goblins are acquiring slaves to expand their underground tunnels. Their elaborate tunnel system connects (secretly) to the Dwarven tunnels and mines at several locations. The goblins want to exterminate the Dwarves, and enjoy the mountain themselves.
Berak, the goblin king, is a strong leader. He has organized the goblins into efficient raiding parties. This has attracted the attention of the Sons of the Autarch, a religious cult operating in the area.
Seeking to influence events in their own favor, the Sons of the Autarch have arranged weapons and slave trade with the inhabitants of Harmonious Repose, the floating base of The Hand of God mercenary group.
The Sons of the Autarch want to ensure that the goblins don’t get too powerful, and have been slowly (and secretly) supporting a local tribe of hobgoblins. The hobgoblins raided a druidic retreat, and have taken up residence there. The Sons of the Autarch smuggle them weapons and give them information on trading routes and nearby caravans.
If the goblins ever get too powerful or aggressive, the Sons of the Autarch will encourage the hobgoblins to attack.