[The Stronghold 'Zine] Another Shipment Ready!

In case you had forgotten, payday has come around again.

And just in time! Another shipment has gone out, with another stack being prepped and readied for mailing.

Mailing to YOU. Yes, YOU. Right there. I'm talking to you. All you have to do is ask me.

As ever, you can see a preview of the contents here. You can still pick up copies of Issues #1 and #2 as well here. --OR-- click on the link below to go ahead and buy #3 and get your copy (or copies) in the mail ASAP.
When you do pick up a copy, please drop me a line, especially if you use anything from Issue #3—or any issue—in your game.

Rates:

USA $5.00 USD Canada $5.50 USD Europe & Australia $6.00 USD

[Inktober 2016] Day 15—The Waystation

Gah. This post means I'm all caught up for the mid-point of Inktober.

This also represents my attempts at drawing flagstones a la +Dyson Logos-style. I don't think it worked. I think I'll need to bribe him or +matt jackson for some tips.

The Waystation

(Key word: relax)

Located on the edge of the brown sands of the Sanktar Plains, the Waystation is the last safe place of rest for many miles. Manned by a human ranger named Mal, strangers will find three cots and a couple of coal stoves for warmth. A few supplies are also available for a charge.

Under the flagstones, however, are accommodations for friends. Several more cots, a secured secret room for valuables; the cavern is heated by a magical rune, which also provides light to those rooming here.

The river feeding the Waystation's well also provides a means for secret shipments to the small pier as well as an escape route if needed.

[Inktober 2016] Day 14—Kyro Timesong's Forest Home

The Forest Home of Kyro Timesong

(Key word: tree)

The Elven princess Kyro Timesong established her own tree-home following an argument with her mother, the Queen.

Kyro took with her several of the royal servants, her personal guard, and even a few of the lesser nobles. Her little sister, Evthi, went with her in an effort to establish her own independence.

The many-layered system of platforms are joined by ladders, bridges, and stairways, weaving among the massive splayed limbs of the ancient ironoak tree. Kyro's guard are well-skilled with both the bow and the sword.

[Inktober 2016] Day 13—Shrine of Banael

Shrine of Banael, Undergod of Fear

(Key word: scared)

In the middle of the Sanktar Plains stands a tall, solitary knob of rock. As one enters the cavern and follows the steep, curving slope, the actual shrine is reached.

Legend says that Banael himself was last seen within this shrine and that it was his touch that released the flow of dark viscous ooze in the fountain.

The ooze and the altar radiate fear—crippling to most mortal creatures. Dread builds as a creature climbs the sloping passage. A hideous statue of Banael stands in the shrine.

[Inktober 2016] Day 12—The Worried Goat

The Worried Goat

(Key word: worried)

The Worried Goat is a tavern in Northeast Coldtreath. There is no inn; no rooms are available—this is an eating, drinking, and entertainment establishment only. Information, of course, costs extra.

A good-sized stage plays host to medium- to high-level entertainers of all types. Daan Steele tends bar and doles out information from behind a large ironwood bar that wraps around the kitchen.

Outside, a wooden outbuilding shelters the stairway into the small storage cellar.

[Inktober 2016] Day 11—Portal of Mystery

Portal of Mystery

(Key word: transport)

There are three entrances to the cave complex. Two come in from the South, from the mountainside. The West entrance joins to a secret door from the lean-to belonging to Rog, the crazy Hermit of the Hill.

The complex is guarded by two massive iron golems.

The portal itself is burined far into the complex, behind a well-hidden secret door that is securely locked and thrice-trapped.

No one knows where the portal leads. Occasionally a gold bar or a bag of silver ore will appear on the steps in front of the shimmering doorway. Not a single adventurer who has ventured through the portal has ever returned.

[Inktober 2016] Day 10—Joari's Step

Joari's Step

(Key word: jump)

Fifty years ago, Prince Tetaros fell in love with a peasant woman named Joari Pinlean. They carried on a romance in secret for over a year; when Tetaros told his parents, the King and Queen reacted predictably. They put their feet down. Hard. 

Unfortunately for the couple, their love was real. They ignored the Royal edict and married in secret. After two months, a royal heir was conceived. Despite their efforts, the King and Queen learned of the marriage.

Royal assassins were sent to resolve the issue. Tetaros helped Joari elude the assassins; she fled to a small mountain overlook, nearly 1100 feet above the royal preserves. The assassins raced after her; Tetaros followed after. He caught up with them in time to see her jump to her death rather than face the assassins. He pushed his way through the assassins and followed his true love over the edge.

Their ghosts still reenact the chase and the jump to this day.

[Inktober 2016] Day 9—The Bridge to Farth

The Bridge to Farth

(Key word: broken)

The mystical sky-island of Farth is the homeland of the Sky Elves. One majestic stone span anchors and connects Farth with the Swifthalm Mountains: the Bridge of Mists. A century ago, a massive army made up of ogres, orcs, and goblins—led by General Thawn Orcheart himself—laid siege to Farth, catapults launching massive stones into Farth. Many struck the Bridge of Mists, dislodging and pulverizing the 20-cubic-foot stones that make up the span, sending defenders and citizens plunging into the Mists, never to be seen again.

Eventually the siege failed and the army was driven off, but at a great cost. The Sky Elves no longer possess the arcane knowledge to successfully repair the bridge, at least sufficiently to make it safe. They evacuated Farth to found a new home in the Swifthalm Mountains, leaving behind priceless works of art and treasure—ready for the picking by anyone brave foolish enough to attempt to cross the broken span.

[Inktober 2016] Day 8—Birdmarch's Fall

Birdmarch's Fall

(Key word: rock)

No one is quite sure what it was—exactly—that the town of Birdmarch did to upset the giant. Perhaps it was nothing. Maybe it was indigestion. Or something worse.

Whatever it was, most of the small town escaped before the rock fell, dead center, on the town square. Most of the buildings, however, were not so lucky.

Five large pits are at the edge of town, five more some distance away—part of the giant's footprints deep set as he lifted the rock....

[Inktober 2016] Day 7—The Lost Caravel of One-Eyed Wilhelm

The Lost Caravel of One-Eyed Wilhelm

(Key word: lost)

The notorious One-Eyed Wilhelm established a hideout for his pirate crew inside a seaside cave. Several living quarters, a mess, and an animal pen comprise this vile settlement, nestled against a cliff.

The cave is deep, and just large enough to navigate the caravel.

One-Eyed Wilhelm and his crew returned to port, the ship heavily laden with treasure of all types, both mundane and magical. No sooner had they anchored, an earthquake struck. The quake brought down enough of the cliffside to completely seal this cavern. Fifty years have since passed; if anything yet moves on the boat or shore, it is undead.

[Inktober 2016] Day 6: Tomb of the Forest Kings

Another day, another headache, another day behind on posting. I've got the pain to subside enough to upload this one.

As you may know, I usually do black & white maps, with only a little bit of color for accents such as shadow or water. Also, the tradition is to show lower level walls with dashed lines. Because so much of this map is "under" the tree, the surface, and other details, I thought that dashed line walls would get confusing. Instead, I used colors to mean something on this map. The main trunk is colored brown, with the green hashing showing the foliage. the blue lines take the place of the dashed lines on the sub-surface walls.

I dunno...maybe it's too busy. Let me know what you think. I also probably would have outlined the leaf-line in green rather than black. I thought about that too late...

Tomb of the Forest Kings

(Key word: hidden)

The three great Elf-lords—Thoae, Wyn'Anor, and Sellinah were interred in an underground tomb after they fell at the Battle of Arveia. Their grateful people planted above the tomb's entrance a majestic Sehhalhel tree. Over the eons the entrance to the tomb was hidden by the growth of the massive iron-hard trunk.

The Elf-lords' sarcophagi and the treasures buried with them have long passed into legend and rumor, scarcely believed to exist. Forgotten completely are the four tomb guardians.: golems crafted from living Sehhalhal wood, who are eternally vigilant against intruders. Also forgotten are the myriad deadly traps within.

[Inktober 2016] Day 5—The Temple of the Weeping Goddess

I'm a little embarrassed and quite frustrated tonight.

It's amazing what impact a migraine can have on mapping and creativity. But my more-than-two-day-long migraine is starting to fade; this was a bad one, as I usually don't have significant visual impairment. It hit before I could post this map.

But now I can try and get caught up with Inktober. Bear with me for the next couple days?

The Temple of the Weeping Goddess

(Key word: sorrow)

A thousand years ago, Isaidai—the favored one of Loarier, the Goddess of Dreams—defended her temple against an attack by Scoak—the champion of Scir, the goblin war-god. Mortally wounded, Scoak threw his sword, skewering Isaidai, whose killing spell went awry, striking the enormous bust of her god and carving holes in the eyes of the statue. As both champions died, a trickle of water inexplicably began to flow from the statue's eyes, the water pooling around Isaidai. The water's flow steadily increased to a briskly moving fountain. The fountain has flowed steadily ever since, inexplicably, as no source has ever been found for the water..

Loarier's adherents have since modified the temple to channel the god's tears into a stream leading to a pool of holy water. Loarier has since become known as the "Goddess of Sorrows" or "The Weeping Goddess."

[Inktober 2016] Day 4—The Unlucky Stableboy

For today's inking, I turned to the recently released Stronghold 'Zine Issue #3 for inspiration. When crafting this issue, I was intrigued by one of the shops mentioned in the map section: a little roadside food stand called The Unlucky Stableboy. I envisioned this as a D&D-era food truck, essentially.

Unfortunately, space issues restricted how much I could delve into the shop and how detailed I could make the map. When I saw today's Inktober key word, I saw the chance to revisit The Unlucky Stableboy. Of course, such a small structure looks a little silly with all that white space around it, but there you have it.

 

 The Unlucky Stableboy Food Stand

(Key word: hungry)

The Unlucky Stableboy is a food stand owned by Horgan Skulison, a wretched-looking dwarf, with thin gray hair and one hazel eye. He wears dirty, ragged leather armor (pieces of which occasionally find their way into customers' food) and serves bad food, fast. Horgan may also know a few odd rumors, which may be of interest to some of his customers. (For sample rumors, see Issue #3 of The Stronghold 'Zine.)

A typical menu: 

• Boiled shredded flounder stew  (7 cp)
• Dog roast hash  (9 cp)
• Hot pepper bread  (4 cp)
• Rice bread and filleted bass  (12 cp)
• Diced octopus  (9 cp)
• Rat testicles on a stick  (5 cp)
• Heavily watered-down ale is available at 2 cp per cup. (The ale is watered down with the wash water.)

The back of the booth is dominated by crates and a large keg of ale. A grill/oven and large stewpot takes up the east side of the space. A wash-vat is on the west. Stacks of bowls and cups litter the ground around the wash-vat. Stools sit outside the front counter.

[Inktober 2016] Day 3—The Warrens of Smux

Day Three of Inktober: a quick offering:

The "Warrens" of Smux, the Lonely Kobold
(Key word: collect)

   Smux, the one-armed Kobold, was exiled from his pack-clan for his deformity. He found this small cave "complex" and has claimed it as his own. He is a veritable pack rat.
   The entrance is flanked by large shrubs and a majestic oak. A small stream runs nearby, its source a waterfall.
   Inside, a natural chimney funnels the smoke from Smux's fire ring. A sloping ramp leads to the shelf where he has his nest. A small cache of his "treasures" is hidden under his soiled bedding.
Cache: silver spoons (2); silver fork (1); a marble statue missing an arm; 5 gp, 10 sp, 5 cp.

[The Stronghold 'Zine] Hey, Look! It's Payday!

If you happened to be away from the internet this weekend, you may have missed the launch announcement for Issue #3 of the Stronghold 'Zine.

Fortunately, it's the first of the month—it's payday! A copy of The Stronghold 'Zine will only take a few of your paycheck's entertainment dollars.

The first shipment of Issue #3 has already hit the post office; they are racing out to their new owners. Your copy could be in the next shipment. You can see a preview of the contents here. You can still pick up copies of Issues #1 and #2 as well here. --OR-- click on the link below to go ahead and buy #3 and get your copy (or copies) in the mail ASAP.

When you do pick up a copy, please drop me a line, especially if you use anything from Issue #3—or any issue—in your game.

Rates:

USA $5.00 USD Canada $5.50 USD Europe & Australia $6.00 USD