Secret Santicorn 2019 - The Last City

With the downfall of G+ and other distractions, I didn't track down last year's Secret Santicorn RPG "gift exchange." Fortunately, I stumbled upon its current manifestation within the Discord OSR group. Approximately one day before this year's entry deadline.

Whew.

And what request did the Santicorn have for me?

"It's time for the best part of Santicorn - making things!
Valker requests the following gift:
A summoning gone wrong has caused the sea level to rise significantly and almost destroyed civilization in the known world. Which being was responsible for such cataclysm, how are the standard cultures and/or races of your stereotypical fantasy setting dealing with the change and which factions are emerging in the wake of the disaster? Alternatively: there's only one island, and one city, left in the world. Tell me more about the city, who's inhabiting it and what prevents others to seize it."

I took on the second alternative - so Welcome to Bytlav, the Last City...

flickr.com/photos/seaharris

Thanks again to James Young for shepherding this thing through!

Come on in, the lava's fine!

Hi!

Damn, I've been unproductive/uncreative for over a month. Blame the seasonal change, family, general malaise, something.

So I needed to hammer out something to get back on the writing horse. Thankfully, and as I've mentions before, Daniel Walthall creates some compact, yet evocative maps of adventure spaces.  And his "Lava Caves of Tarko" popped up on my feed at an opportune time. Again, a good six-room dungeon, with pre-established environmental hazards and a bit of a maze to negotiate...

So I stuck a goal at the end of a maze, and threw in a few incendiary dudes from one of my favorite AD&D modules. The setup is pretty system-neutral, but I did toss in the usage die mechanic from the Black Hack for one item, to perhaps add a bit of tension in its use in a tight spot...

Have at it, and remember to stay hydrated!

Download this hot mess here