Re-Assessment

I didn't get much work done on the campaign this week – I've started a new job late this August and have been training for it. I've been too tired most days to do anything afterward. So to make up for this lack of activity I decided to spend most of today working on the game – in particular on the two sub-levels, the Ssu spy post and the Tunnels of Lukdrinnektu's Spawn, that I mentioned in my last post.

When I arrived at Battleground I set up my books and papers and mapped out the spy post and tunnels, but when I started to stock the Ssu lair my efforts felt forced and weak. I was completely uninspired, and gave up after only filling half of the keyed locations. I was a bit ticked at myself for this, since I hoped to get a lot done today.

Driving home, I thought about this bout of writer's block. At first I thought maybe I was dry because I was simply tired. I stayed up late last night and was woken up this morning by men cutting down trees in my neighbor's yard. Thinking on it a bit more, I ultimately decided I wasn't so much tired but that I was tired of working on the Pits of Foreign Daring. I've all ready invested a week's worth of effort on this particular Underworld, and I simply want to work on something different. So I'm going to but these two sub-levels aside for now. I plan on returning to them, but only after I finish up some more plot-oriented scenarios and actually run a session or two of the game. I'm also considering folding these two areas into Level 2 of the Pits when I start prep that area in the future, instead of having them as separate and isolated sub-levels. This may make it easier to construct and stock them. At the very least I hope working on something different may reinvigorate my enthusiasm for these two areas when I return to them.

Hopefully this decision will speed things up and allow me to start recruitment for actual play within the next two weeks.

Campaign Progress

Happy Labor Day.

Today I finished up the first level of the Pits of Foreign Daring. The final total of keyed areas is around one-hundred and twenty-five, ranging from simple one line descriptions to one page write-ups concerning certain traps, complexes or shrines. Probably the most interesting encounters I constructed today are the chamber holding a Yeleth and an active shrine to Qon that may become a sanctuary and an ally.

I plan on next mapping out and writing up the Ssu spy post and the shadow-infested tunnels of Lukdrinnektu's spawn. These will be much smaller environments than the Pits proper, taking up only one page of graph paper each and having anywhere between 10 to 25 keyed encounters, with Lukdrinnektu's tunnels probably being the larger of the two sub-levels. In comparison, the first level of the Pits consists of six maps, ranging anywhere from 11 to 28 encounter areas per map.

After finishing the sub-levels, I'll next work on preparing two scenarios involving Tsolyani needing to hire adventurers. These will also concern exploring Underworlds, though these will be areas separate from the Pits, and one will be something of a nasty surprise.

Finally, I'll be stating up some opponents for the Hirilakte Arena, along with some Foreign Quarter NPCs the players could possibly interact with there. I figure it'll take maybe two weeks more prep time, then I'll be ready to advertise the campaign and start seriously recruiting players.

Speaking of which, while working on the game at Battleground I talked with two more patrons about the game, one of whom recognized and knew about Tekumel. I issued invitations, but while they seemed interested they were not certain if they would play, either due to work schedule or just lack of enthusiasm for gaming in general. Still, some interest is better than a flat out dismissal any day.

Reading what I've written for this post so far, I can't help but wonder if perhaps I'm over-preparing. Maybe just having that first level written up would be enough to start with. In general, I prefer having at least some notes and stats available over just winging it. It is something I'll have to think about.

The Pits of Foreign Daring

In the Foreign Quarter of Jakalla, several streets east of the Armory of Bushetra, there is an entrance to a section of the city's famed tsuru'um. Located in the ruins of an abandoned tenement, this crumbling stone stairwell descends some one hundred feet below the earth, leading anyone bold enough to traverse it into a maze of winding corridors and dark chambers. This portion of the Jakallan underworld is called The Pits of Foreign Daring, though some refer to it instead as the Obsidian Skein That Strangles Fools. It has acquired these two names due to the large numbers of brave or desperate foreigners who, over the years, have challenged its dangers for a chance at winning great wealth or power.

The existence of the Pits are well-known, and Foreign Quarter guard patrols make a habit of checking the stairs regularly to make sure that no monstrosities emerge to bring horror to the surface. Guardsmen will not stop anyone from descending the stairs, but on occasion will stop returning adventuring parties and make an on-the-spot 'tax' collection, if they think such a group has had an successful expedition. Bands of thugs and bravos have also been known to waylay explorers exiting the Pits, taking advantage of their weakened condition to reap the rewards of their bloody labors.

On the lintel of the archway the stairs pass beneath, someone carved a warning to those entering the Pits. The graffiti (written in Tsoylani) reads as follows:

Oh ye desperate and foolish, know this to be true – in these noisome pits, an outlier of Hell, gold is scarce and of scant comfort, while death waits close at hand and wears a thousand forms.