Twenty Questions About My Campaign - World of Georic - Burning Trogs Redux Edition

Years ago, I completed Twenty Questions About Wargaming. While that one evolves slowly, I did discover a great post by JRients covering the basic questions that a player/character can bring up at the start of a campaign. A while ago I did his "20 Questions" about the World of Georic.   With a sudden interest in Blue Book gaming, I felt it was right and proper to revisit and revise the 20 Questions for each of my "ongoing" campaigns.  While we haven't played with the original NPCs in nearly 20 years, The original Burning Trogs Rule! Hackmaster campaign still had a few significant loose ends certain PCs would go mental over.  

Everything is based on the world of Georic, the area of the vast Mer Kasp.  Not the biggest sea in most library's geograhica, but of most import to the story.

1. So, what's the deal?

The Year is 1150. It is fourteen years since the First War with the Master ended, almost 100 years since the exploits of Echellon, Talis, and Company, eight years since the short lived Hackmaster campaign, and let's not talk about the 

Zorin Redrock was a Gnome-Titan hero of the Southern Orc wars, an Ambasador-General of the Empire of Barthey, and a two-time savior of the Kingdom of Marakeikos.  His exploits and accolades would earn a normal man an early retirement in perpetual luxury. 

But Zorin was no normal man.  He was a Gnome Titan. 

His former adventuring company, the Burning Trogs had befallen a tragic bit of bad luck at the hands of the Slavers of Roark.  The slavers had managed to capture and enslave a number of notable members.  About half of them made it back alive.  His greatest regret was that Trogs could never exact vengeance onto the slavers. 

Two years after his The War with the Master war ended,  he left his estate for the final time and travelled back to the Gnomish City States.  He convinced the City-States military to sponsor a pirate and slaver-hunting expedition throughout the Mer Kasp.   Unfortunately, Zorin wasn't much of a sailor, as are most other types of gnomes, and the slavers secret bases remained hidden.   

Six years on the sea taught Zorin a lot about sailing, and an utter disgust for human and gnome sailors.  Despite the finest armament on the Mer Kasp, his lack of naval tactics resulted in more than a few crews nearly getting wiped out from pirates.    The City-States decided to recall the ship and its crew from the mission. 

Zorin sank his small fortune into three new ships and tried to outfit them with proper crews, but his reputation for confusing independent merchants, and sometimes naval frigates, for pirate ships preceded him. After a few disasters, a few sunken ships, and a couple of replacements along the way, his two remaining ships are crewed by a swarthy, gung-ho band of halflings. 

This year, the twelfth since he "retired," his haphazard networks of contacts, spies, and informants have uncovered a tiny cove that's almost impossible to navigate.    Only the skilled, or the well-organized could get through, so that means only a treacherous overland march is required to reach it, and possibly even rappel down some cliff faces.  Even worse,  this information could be time-sensitive, and Zorin's flagship, is far, far away.  His second ship is nearby, and it's up to its scrappy halfling crew to do the recon, and possibly assault the pirates there.  

2. What is the deal with my cleric's religion? If you're a human from the western end of of the Mer Kasp, you tend to worship Akana, God of Light and Order. A few offshoot cults have given your god a bad name. Most of the faithful are helping the poor (as well as maintaining a huge bureaucracy and keeping allied kings on the throne).

Of course, one while one major deity dominates, the pantheon it is part of is full of other gods. Guya, goddess of nature, Farmesk, god of war, and even Challon, God of Piegons are part of an acceptable Ferasean Pantheon.  

Around the Mer Kasps, there are other regional, racial, and ethnic pantheons. Halfling and Gnomish civilization prosper, elemental cults and shamans abound out in the east, and the southern coast near  Parthia is a collection of Ancient Summerian and Babylonian gods, as well as the living worship of a powerful man only known as The Master.

3. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?   Most major ports along the Mer Kasp will have standard supplies at reasonable (book) cost.  For any more specialized equipment, the major cities on the western coast (Barthey City, Mirros, and Stronghome) would be your best choice.  

4.Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended? Around the Mer Kasp?  Possibly Barthey, although costs may be double.  Less skilled craftsmen and armorers are in Mirros,   Otherwise, one would need to go inland to the Dwarven or Gnomish communities.

5. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?  Wizard towers dot the countryside, although to fit the stereotype, most wizards do not interact with the public.  The greatest concentration of great wizards is the confederation known as Hermetus, which is essentially a kingdom made up of wizard towers and the lands they protect.  The most powerful spell-caster is Terari, a former Emron Ambassador to Marakeikos, who renounced their loyalty, and became head of the Marakeikan Magic School in Mirros.  Second may be whatever mage is working with the Slavers of Roark to permanently hide their lair, a "Shadowmage."  And somewhere, the aptly-titled "Bargle the Infamous" is hiding.  Any information that we've had on that wizard has either under-represented his powers, or vastly exaggerated, so no one knows the truth. 

6. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?  Despite baronial knights, and adventurers using the village as a home base, Torm Touchberry (12th level thief), is regarded as the greatest warrior. He has survived too many wars, trained too many men in the militia, and is rumored to have fought alongside the Red Mage on that fateful day when the Baronial wedding was interrupted. Part of the legend says that whatever tried to stop the wedding was defeated, but not entirely vanquished , and hides in the Nightwood Forest across the Pathfinder River from town.

7.  Who is the richest person in the land?  Royalty and nobility control the most.  While much of his political and military power has been taken, the greatest treasures in the Mer Kasp region belong to Arsaces XXII of the Parthian Empire.

8.  Where can we go to get some magical healing?  The Churches of Akana and Guya offer magical healing for a sizable donation.  Just make sure you're gnome-kind if asking a cleric of Pangrus for a spell.

9. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?  The three churches above cover most of those. Barthey, Mirros, Stronghome, and Shelley Harbor should have the capabilities to handle lycanthropy.   Only the Church of Akana has powerful enough clerics  to ressurect, and Challon does not deal well with undead.

10. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?  Mirros in Marakeikos hosts both a notable Magic Unviersity, and a thriving Magic-Users guild.  

11. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?  Every sizable port city will have a host of experts, although many would suggest the libraries of Parthia are where to find true experts in their fields.

12. Where can I hire mercenaries?   Barthey has been a staging ground for human mercenaries the moment the Ferasean Empire fell centuries ago.  Both Halfling and Gnome marines and infantry are available in Stronghome and all of Gnomish City States. 

13. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?  Until the slaver city can be discovered, there are no noted criminal hotspots on the western half of the Mer Kasp.  Further east, into Hyrkania, Khwarizm, and Khaziria, there are fewer laws, and anything that is not culturally apropos if considered a crime, with varying penalties.   

14. Which way to the nearest tavern?  Plenty of fine establishments in every known port.  The halfling crew of Zorin Redrock prefer to take their leaves in the halfling port of Santello in Stronghome.  There, all races frequent the Dusty, Heaving Keg.

15. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?   Rumors of sea monsters are as thick as the further lies told about them.  Each nation sharing a coastline with the Mer Kasp has a host of problems inland.  

16 Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?   The western coasts have established political and trade agreements, some of which could be interpreted as alliances.  Parthia has machinations around the eastern coats, and the various Galmar tribes could invade the northern countries, with very little true resistance.  

17. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?  Legal fighting pits are around the Mer Kasp, although none are as glamourous as central and western Talaishia.   True fighters would either venture down into Khemmet and Parthia.

Akorros, Treibezond, Barthey Empire

18. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?

The Academy of the Flaming Sword - Mercenary and Battle Mages

The Plague Lords of Mangrus - Actively seek to spread disease through the region.

Arcana Vehm - Actively seeking out damage, to record for their own dastardly plots, and destroy all other shreds of evidence. 

19. What is there to eat around here?  Western Mer Kasp is known for it's variety of fishes and grains for loves.  Eastern regions have less of a meat portion, supplemented by more nuts and dates, and even fish eggs!

20. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for? This region borders on some of the oldest civilizations in recorded history of man.   Treasures abound just under the surface and in any abandoned ruins, although centuries of searching have unearthed many of them.   The one relic that has been rumored to be around, but never confirmed, is the horrific Death Wand of Kan'neer.