The Heart of Darkness

It's being reviewed by DriveThruRpg right now for sale. If you've written a review of any other 10th Age product, you can get it for free! Just make sure you email me with your account information and a link to your review.

Alboraen syn Aglovar

Steve has a new image up of one of the NPCs in Heart of Darkness: Alboraen syn Aglovar, an unpleasant man if ever there was one.

Yes, Heart of Darkness is really coming!

D&D and Writing

I think I may have discussed it before, but there are things that differ, fundamentally, from playing D&D and writing, and I think the reason I have such a hard time when writing novel-length endeavors is because I'm stuck in some kind of D&D mode. I finally finished my second manuscript (a clockpunk piece set in 1486 that follows the PoV of a Florentine spy and a Roman nun) and only now have I begun to break out of my DMing chains in writing long-form work. For some reason short stories and I don't have that problem -- maybe because I've written so many of them over the years that my style has been allowed to diverge from the way I run a D&D game.

The precise problem is easy to trace: an overabundance of descriptive words which hangs up the action. In D&D, every time you see something new you have to have it described in detail. Those details matter! They allow your players to make complex decisions (usually decisions that you never even considered) at a moment's notice. Is it important that the stones of the tower are unevenly spaced? Surely, in case someone wants to knock it over. Does it matter that the man you're talking to has a beard? It does if you want to set his face on fire.

The Sunday Sneak: History of Pinehall

More of the Heart of Darkness module to look at? You got it!

Pinehall (section header)

The dwarven settlement known as Pinehall (Granarholl in Orthr, but dwarves are notorious for not wanting to speak their own language around outsiders) was founded in the 8th century of the 9th Age and eventually destroyed in the late 4th century of the 10th Age.

It’s rise was responsible for bringing a great number of dwarves from their mountainous holds in the Arinnfal to the north; nearly all of the dwarven settlers in Culcomb were survivors from the destruction of the old hall or their descendants.

While the conflicts that beset Pinehall early in its history were generally between dwarves and elves, it is the Dorls who the Pinehall dwarves are truly wary of: Alphonsar and Tiriodar, the two men most directly responsible for the fall of the old halls were both Dorls and so was the army that followed them.

Having long memories and longer lives, those who survived the siege and slaughter of their kin are unlikely to look kindly upon Dorls again. Their natural distrust has been compounded, and even menfolk of non-Dorlish descent can expect a cold greeting in Culcomb.

The First Test

So, we went through about 4 hours (online time, that's probably 1/2 hour of in-person playing) of the Heart of Darkness (we call it Heart of Dorkness) module last night. Here are my thoughts:


* Need a longer time before the players enter the valley and the "fun" starts, otherwise they don't even know what's happening when they start getting slammed with foes.

* Probably gonna need an "on horror" section to help DMs describe things in a horrible (do ho) way. I'm not a fan of boxed text, so unless someone comments that they MUST HAVE IT, I am not going to include it.

* Some of the actual text of the adventure that I thought was pretty done turns out to not be pretty done after all. I gotta work on that.

* The pregens, after tooth-pulling discussions about how other people were going to have to play them too, actually turned out being pretty awesome.

* Steve's artwork is great and I can't wait to start laying out Heart of Darkness.

Some maps, some hints, some things to come

Today I have for you some maps from the upcoming October module, The Heart of Darkness. These are depictions of the valley of Strathwait and its one town, Culcomb. Just north of the region known a the Valelands, Strathwait is a narrow valley nestled in the high Black Mountains that looks down on the great and trackless forest of Pinefall.

Several hundred years ago it is said that the Dorls (particularly the half-elvish Dorls in Tyrolin) began eying the Pinefall with angry eyes and muttering that the dwarves of Pinehall should not be its masters. In particular, the elf Tiriodar Baldannus and his nephew Alphonsar agitated for war between the great Protectorate of Dorlan and the tiny dwarven hold that clung to the feet of the mountains.

It's been so long ago in mannish terms; generations have passed. For the dwarves that survived the Siege of Pinehall and the slaughters which followed it seems like only yesteryear. Now Pinehall stands empty and abandoned, its surviving sons and daughters having retreated to the village of Culcomb. The valley's history is dark and full of bloodshed, but Culcomb itself has always been peaceful.

That is, until now...

Dwarves and their Tombs

I had to go to a job interview this morning, which is why the hasty blogpost. As a reward for sticking through thick and thin and over 100 posts, here's a look at the Dwarven Catacombs of the ruined folkhall known as Pinehall that will be featured in the Halloween module Heart of Darkness: