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Post by vladtolenkov on Jan 5, 2014 13:44:00 GMT -6
Been thinking about how AS&S might be applied to other dark fantasy locales. It occurs to me that with very little tweaking CAS's Averoigne might make a great alternative setting. Castle Amber might be one place to start, but I think digging into the stories themselves might be the best suggestion. The combination of Knights, Romance, Dark Sorceries, and (perhaps) a cult dedicated to Tsathaggua waiting in the wings just works for me. What are your thoughts about how Averoigne might work in AS&S.
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Post by Ghul on Jan 5, 2014 17:46:17 GMT -6
I think it could work very well. I've read all of CAS's Averoigne tales, and they provided a fine influence as I created the Hyperborea setting; also, Zothique was influential, of course. I'm sure you're already aware that Moldvay's Castle Amber was inspired by Averoigne. I look forward to hearing what you come up with! Keep this thread alive with your developments, please.  |
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Post by vladtolenkov on Jan 5, 2014 20:04:24 GMT -6
Will do. I've got all Nightshade reprints of Smith's work and I'm thinking of going through and just reading all the Averoigne stories in the order Smith wanted them read. There's an article at Black Gate magazine about the Averoigne cycle that lists the order. I'll post the link when I get a chance if folks are interested.
More thoughts to come.
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Post by rabindranath72 on Jan 6, 2014 10:14:14 GMT -6
Worlds of Cthulhu (the magazine) published a series of articles on Averoigne for use with Cthulhu Dark Ages. I used them for a B/X+X2+Realms of Crawling Chaos campaign, and it worked like a charm. I guess it will work even better with AS&SH  |
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joseph
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 142 
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Post by joseph on Jan 6, 2014 13:37:05 GMT -6
This sounds fantastic! I have been reading through CAS material in conjunction with listening to the Double Shadow Podcast, which I highly recommend. Averoigne was the first cycle they covered.
One of the differences between Hyperborea and Averoigne that I noticed is that the stories in Averoigne rely much more on the concept of an "Otherworld" connected to the physical plane, though at the same time the world of men is nevertheless full of necromancers, witches and the like, so those sorts of adventures are not remotely out of the question. Some stories certainly seem to suggest that the protagonist actually enters a faerie realm of sorts. This type of story in-game may take some buy in from your players, but can be very rewarding and add depth to your world.
Really looking forward to hearing what you do with this!
Edit... actually Azedarac would make an excellent villain, he's just the sort to be pulling strings from the shadows!
Another point that should be made is that Hyperborea and Averoigne exist in the same literary universe, as Eibon and his book are mentioned in the Averoigne tales repeatedly. This might allow an enterprising referee to create some interesting connected stories between the two settings, at the least it offers solid background to pull some of the Hyperborea material into Averoigne.
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Post by vladtolenkov on Jan 8, 2014 18:20:32 GMT -6
Just noticed that the Lamia in AS&S is very much like the Lamia is Smith's "End of the Story"--the Lamia in the 1e Monster Manual and the Lamia Noble in the FF are pretty close, but they aren't as close to Nycea as the one in AS&S. Was she the model?
Averoigne also seems full of old ruins--lots of places to explore!
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Post by scalydemon on Jan 8, 2014 19:13:26 GMT -6
In reading The Colossus of Ylourgne the other night it dawned on me that this was likely the scene depicted on the cover of Castle Amber (art by Erol Otus).
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Post by Ghul on Jan 8, 2014 20:23:54 GMT -6
Just noticed that the Lamia in AS&S is very much like the Lamia is Smith's "End of the Story"--the Lamia in the 1e Monster Manual and the Lamia Noble in the FF are pretty close, but they aren't as close to Nycea as the one in AS&S. Was she the model? Yes. Also, this: www.eldritchdark.com/writings/poetry/279/lamia |
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Post by vladtolenkov on Jan 14, 2014 16:22:46 GMT -6
I've got a copy of Smith's poetry and I've read a bit of it, but I missed that one for some reason. Great poem!
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Post by grodog on Jan 15, 2014 0:11:45 GMT -6
Will do. I've got all Nightshade reprints of Smith's work and I'm thinking of going through and just reading all the Averoigne stories in the order Smith wanted them read. There's an article at Black Gate magazine about the Averoigne cycle that lists the order. I'll post the link when I get a chance if folks are interested. That sounds good, please do share the link. Worlds of Cthulhu (the magazine) published a series of articles on Averoigne for use with Cthulhu Dark Ages. I used them for a B/X+X2+Realms of Crawling Chaos campaign, and it worked like a charm. I guess it will work even better with AS&SH Which issue?: I have a few of them, but not all, and don't remember that article. |
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