Time Ooze

Time Ooze

Hit Dice: 3+3

Armor Class: 12

Attacks: Strike (2d6)

Saving Throw: 14

Special: Time bending

Move: 1

Alignment: Alien

Challenge Level/XP: 5/ 240

Time Ooze is almost identical in appearance to wet rock, but it is a slimy, formless substance that devours prey. In the interior of this ooze times flows in a different manner than outside of the it, to determine the time effect roll on the table below. 

Roll 1d8	Time effect
1	Time is stopped
2	Time in the ooze 1d6 day= 1 second in reality
3	Time in ooze 1 second= 1d6 day in reality
4	Prey ages 2d6 years
5	Prey get younger 2d6 years
6	Prey dies of old age
7	Prey dies because it got to young(reduced to 1 cell)
8	Time in ooze 1 second= d100 years in reality (1d6:1-3 backward; 4-6 forward)

Barbaric Frontier Campaign Compendium 2011

Since the end of the year is quite soon I think it's the best time to announce publishing my Barbaric Frontier Campaign Compendium 2011. It will have approximately 20-30 pages and will be free. It will contain:

- variants of fighting-man, magic-user,dwarf, elf and halfling class

- new classes: witch-hunter, shaman and barbarian

- new monsters tailored to the Barbaric Frontier

- new spells

- new magic item rules

- magic items

- sanity rules

- hex descriptions of the Barbaric Frontier

- description of Barbaric Frontier ethnic groups

- updated map of the Barbaric Frontier and Neuburg

Alignment in the Barbaric Frontier

The main theme of Barbaric Frontier is the struggle between barbarism, civilisation and cosmic horror. To make it even more visible I've changed the typical dndish alignment system so that it will even more emphesize that theme. 

Civilised

People with civilised alignment are more or less law-abiding, with internalised values and schemes of  social roles, code of conduct and hierarchies. They operate within their societal niches well and are quite adaptative to their changes. The example of person with extreme attachment to this alignment could be considered conformist.

Barbaric

People with barbaric alignment are value freedom the most. In civilised areas they feel uncomfortable, constrained by societal code of conduct. They are considered "free spirits". The most attached to this alignment are considered total nonconformists.

Alien

Entities with alien alignment are incalculable in their deeds and behavior. Their goals and cultivated values seem so otherworldly and alien that they cannot be compared to any human or demihuman morality or ethics.

None of these alignments is good or evil, naming them I've wanted to avoid this since Barbaric Frontier is all about shades of grey in terms of morality

Neuvolk

Neuvolk are converted to the Faith of the One northern barbarians. Most of them are of old elk and eagle tribes and some exiles from other tribes. Despite their conversion most of them retained their cultural heritage although enhanced by new ideas from their new southern brothers in faith. This could be seen especially in their dress and arms and armor selection. Former tribe elders became new nobility and the regular tribesmen became freeholders with few feudal responsibilities for former tribe elders. As for their conversion, they rever three aspects of the One - Warrior, Mother and Wise-Man. This heresy is not accepted by church patriarchs but their militatry value as "shield" against tides of pagan barbarians is priceless. Their biggest enemies are their old brothers, who treat them as the betrayers of the old ways, this makes them even more loyal towards their new masters.

Perfect landscape of the Barbaric Frontier

City of Neuburg

Neuburg

Ruler: margrave Johann von Goethe

Population: 2138 people(90% humans; 7% halflings; 3% dwarves)

Military Potential: 293 able-bodied men (including imperial contingent and dwarves of Black Company)

Trade: furs, charcoal, fishes, iron ore, gold, cattle

Brief description

Neuburg is a frontier town, capital of Nordmark south-east from the Misty Lake. It's the biggest settlement in Nordmark. Built around 150 years ago by Horst von Goethe, great-grandfather of  the current margrave, as a castle protecting new settlers from Groe Reich. Now thanks to rich local resources the town trade flourishes, buing and selling iron ore, gold, charcoal from local settlers and cattle from halflings of  Halfling Hills. Despite its economical prosperity it's a place for all kinds of outlaws, thieves and other scoundrels, who more or less co-rule the town with the legitimate authorities.

Districts

Castle Ring District

It's the wealthiest district in all Neuburg. Here lives nobility, the wealthiest burghers and tradesmen. All buildings are made of stone and brick and have at least two floors, but mostly three of them.

Trade District

It's second in wealth district. Full of small shops, warehouses and craftemens' workshops. It's architecture is very mixed, some buildings are three floor brick-made, some are merely piles of raw wooden logs. It's always loud around here since its market is hold all the time and tradesmen advertise their goods well into the late afternoon.

Lowburg District
The town slums are called Lowburg since it's palced outside main ring of city walls. Its buidlings are mere piles of wooden logs. Its strees are covered in piles of trash and excrements, so terrible stench is all over the place. Here lives the lumpen-proletaryat of Neuburg, beggars, thevies and all kinds of criminals. Here exist most of the most  taverns and bordellos of Nordmark where everything can be acquired but for a certain price.

Dwarven District

It's Small district, distinctive for its only dwarven inhabitants, and buildings of masterclass dwarven stonemasonry. Most of the buildings have one floor overground and two or more underground. Most of the buildings are connected by underground tunnels and cellars.

Halfling District

Halfling District is the smallest district of Neuburg. It's roughtly dozen of buildings. Most of them are build of stone and have three or even four floors. 

Notable Places 
Church of the One
This big temple was founded by father of the current margrave. Many people come there for holidays' masses. In the church crypt lie members of von Goethe family.

von Goethe's Castle
This catle was built to protect surrounding settlements. Slowly around the castle city was built. It home of von Goethe family and garrison of imperial infantry.

Black Company

Name: Black Company

Sign: Black Color

Leader: Ulfi the Swift(dwarf level 4)

Members: 150 dwarves(70 crossbowmen, 50 axemen and spearmen, 20 scouts)

Place of residence: Neuburg and belonging settlements

Black Company is a mercenary company of  exiled dwarfs from Iron Gate Keep. Nowadays most of members of the company reside within the walls of Neuburg and belonging settlements. When they are not hired they earn their living by their superior craftmanship especially weaponsmith and armorsmith as well as stonemasonry. Currently they are hired by the margrave von Goethe to serve as a roadwardens, private guard and guards of the tax-collectors. Because of this they are not very popular among nordmarkians. 

Brief history of the world of Barbaric Frontier

Uncounted ages ago - elves(Päähenkilö Lapsi - elv. Star Children) came to the Known World from stars and got enslaved and barbarised by Demons, some time later came dwarves from cavern realms on high gravity world, and then humans were brought to the world by alien-demonic entities as slaves.

8,000 years ago - the golden age of Demonic Realms

3,000 years ago - the Prophet's incursion against demons' reign, the first human empire established - the Aquila Empire, Church of the One is established, Halfling first noted appearance

1,000 years ago - collapse of the Aquila Empire, the Sorcerors' Incursion, southern parts of the empire became the Verezzian League of City-States 

800 years ago - barbaric invasion

600 years ago - Grosse Reich established,

Present time - the League Wars of Verezzian City-States 

Realms of Crawling Chaos

I've finally got my copy of Realms of Crawling Chaos. Since I wanted to include some cthulhu mythos in my campaign this sourcebook will be a great resource fot that. After fast skim through the book I'll defninitely include sea bloods, subhumans, magic and a sanity rules. I also have to say that the illustrations are brilliant! Each and every is full of weirdness and horror. Maybe later I'll do a full review of this great book.

Finished map of Neuburg

More music inspiration for the Barbaric Frontier

New map of Neuburg

Here's a w.i.p version of the new map of Neuburg, the capital city of Nordmark.

Dungeons of the Barbaric Frontier

Well since my campaign will not only be about exploring wilderness and city intrigues I was lately thinking about dungeons of the Barbaric Frontier, and the explanation why are there where they are and what they are/were.

List of typical dungeon-style complexes

- lost dwarven undergroundcities/strongholds
- lost dwarven mines
- chains of caves
- abandoned underground/intree strongholds/settlements of the elves
- dungeons of the mad archmage
- catacombs of evil cult
- city sewers/cellar complexes
- burrowed lairs of monsters

Graphic inspiration vol. V

Concerning the atmosphere of the Barbaric Frontier.

Well, when I've first thought about a sandbox campaign which would later become Barbaric Frontier, I wanted a  game combining the feel of first edition WFRP, all it's intertextuality, grittyness, dark humor and moorcockian weirdness. All this pitched to its extremity. All because my big disappointment caused by the following editions of WFRP. Also being a huge Conan fan I couldn't resist to place some bits from Howard's Hyborian Age, that is the aquilonian/cimmerian border with pictland, hence the Barbaric Frontier and Skraelings. This was a straight way to incorporate some cthulhu mythos. This part of inspiration was to satisfy me as a GM. However my players do not share my literary/rpg tastes, so I had to familiarize the whole thing up. Hence the vanilla fantasy bits like fantasy races(but with their own twists),  barbarian/norse-like people, and some typical dndish menagerie.

When it comes up to the visual representation of Barbaric Frontier, I see it through the lenses of Frank Franzetta's Conan and other sword & sorcery art, brilliant Fighting Fantasy art of Russ Nicholson, and polish illustrator Jarosław Musiał(check my inspiration posts for his brilliant line art, very old-schoolish).

The main theme of this campaign is struggle between civilisation and barbarism. Decadence of civilised institutions, superstitions of common folk, evil cults' plots are nontheless strongly emphesized. etc

PCs in this camapign should be scoundrels of some sort, people from the outside of conventional social structures. Peasants, who fled from their masters' manor, thieves, mercenaries, non-firstborn sons of knights and nobility, barbarians, disgraced clergyman, wandering monks, self-righteous witchhunters, whom have questioned the authority of the Chuch of the One, all kinds of sorcerers, alchemists, thaumaturgists and other heretics.

So to categorize the Barbaric Frontier I'd say that's a cosmic-horror-sword-&-sorcery-dark-humor-dung-age-weird-european-fantasy game :p. Sorry for my poor english and for the length of this post.