Music of the Barbaric Frontier

Barbaric Frontier FANZINE!

A the FightingFantasist blog Coopdevil proposed to make a faked fanzine out of our osr blogs, so here's mine.

Graphic Inspiration XVII

Jeff's 20 Campaign Questions

1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion? For the civilised people we have the One, a monotheistic religion similar to Christianity, barbarians and skraelings have their shamanistic religion as do the elves. Dwarves revere their ancestors.
2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment? You can buy most of the adventuring equipment in the town of Neuburg.
3. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?  You can do this in the Iron Gate Keep if your nice enough to it's dwarven inhabitants.
4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land? The Nameless One of the Obsidian Citadel.
5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land? Warlord Gnaar, barbarian and leader of mercenary barbarians.
6. Who is the richest person in the land? Horst von Goethe the margrave of the Nordmark.
7. Where can we go to get some magical healing? Not in the civilised places since it's illegal to use magic, maybe ask an elven shaman or barbaric shaman if you dare to.
8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath? None of them can be cured except for curses with which witchhunters are dealing.
9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells? There's the Mystic Cabal, however you'll probably get killed before, either by it's members or the Ordo Malleus(the witchunters).
10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC? In the town of  Neuburg.
11. Where can I hire mercenaries? As above.
12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law? For the first - no, as for magic it's illegal in the civilised realms and you would end up burning on the stake for dealing with deamons and magic.
13. Which way to the nearest tavern?  In the town of  Neuburg.
14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous? The beastmen.
15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight? Wars no, but skirmishes between barbarians, skraelings, beastmen and nordmarkians.
16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes? Nowhere around, only in the southern city-states of Verezzo.
17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight? Yes, the Mystic Cabal, an occult assembly of sorcerors, cultists etc.
18. What is there to eat around here? All the common stuff.
19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for? Yes in the lost parts of the Iron Gate Keep there are many of them as in the Obsidian Citadel.
20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure? In the Sharp Peaks and Dragon Mountains, also in the Lake of Mist. 

Verezzian League of Republics

Precis: fantasy version of feuding medieval italian city-states of Dante Aligheri and Petrarca with an admixture of Marquise de Sade.

Conspectus: League of republics ruled by council of Doges of each of the verezzian city-states. City-state of Verezzo the most prominent, built on a lagoon, thriving place of trade with the most exotic realms of the South and East. Lots of the demonic ruins. Great artists live everywhere with generous patrons. Spring of progress and knowledge, many universities and academies. Decadent aristocracy and merchant families. Libertine customs, orgies, incest etc. Assasinations, intrigues and skullduggery.

Taste, Sound, Image: Haendel La Folia; Prelude in C-moll by J.S Bach, dry wine, van Eyck art

Dwarven tokens part one

Groβe Reich

Groβe Reich

Precis: Power struggle between kurfirsts in fantasy version of the Holy Roman Empire

Conspectus: Ruled by the emperor Udo the second of the Blitzling dynasty. Great cities built on multiple layers of the demonic ruins. Petty conflicts between local dukes. Religious turmoil in vain of the Hussites' Wars. Occult organizations plotting to take over the Groβe Reich, discrimination of demi-human  races, black death. Free Zone - tax-free domain of drug dealers, greedy traders, sorcerors and other scoundrels.

Taste, Sound, Image: Heineken beer, Black Sabbath with Ozzy,Wfrp 1st ed. Empire, Pieter Bruegel art, Hieronymous Bosch art

Iron Gate Keep

Iron Gate Keep is a vast complex of mines, craftsmen's workshops and first and foremost - last orginal dwelling of dwarves in the Known World. It's orgins fades into the darkness of millenia before human calendars. It's been a thriving community at the dawn of Aquila Empire and a gradually fading one at the onset of the Groβe Reich. Still after so many millenias it's the biggest and the most populous dwarven settlement in the Known World, while only about 1/3rd is inhabited, the population is approximately 35,000 dwarves. The uninhabited part is a lair of many monsters and horrors, but also a place of great treasures and long forgotten secrets of past glory of the dwarven race.

The head of the Iron Gate Keep is titled the High King under the Mountain. currently the title is held by Sigvald Ivarsson 999th High King of Iron Gate Keep. He has many advisors such as leaders of the great houses and guild masters. Only halls near entrance of the Iron Gate Keep is open to the strangers, however, still treated with a sure dose of suspicion. Those who want to delve deeper into the lost halls and seek gold and glory must pay 90% tax from the treasure they acquire - still it's a very profitable endavour yet very dangerous and only the most witty and fit will survive such a venture into the depths of the Dragon Mountains.