Saturday, November 27, 2021

Primeval Mountains & Hills for OSR Games

 New weekend, new table from Lands of Legends!

Mighty bad weather today here, with nature reminding us whose world this is, so I offer a d10 table with ten primeval-themed mountain & hill areas for your OSR sandbox campaign with simple stat references for your classic game of choice, wether is Old-School Essentials, Labyrinth Lord, Sword & Wizardry, or any other clone of OE, B/X, or BECMI Dungeons and Dragons.

Use them to spice up your sandbox!


These are straight from the Areas section of Lands of Legends Primeval. Check it out for hundreds more!




So here's the table:


Mountains and Hills - Primeval Areas


    1. The First Peak. Dragons this place the Last Flight. This peak is nearly impossible to reach without flying, because of its extremely steep cliffs. Even if flying, explorers will have to face the seven Greater Storm Elementals (Air Elementals with lightning bolts), bound to guard the way to the peak. At the top lies the cemetery of the First Dragons, who came here to die when their time had come. Their bones have turned to gold, but are guarded by a Wight Dragon: one of the oldest, wisest and most dangerous creatures of the world (ancient undead Black Dragon with Wight abilities, plus almost all the knowledge one can have, and a very bad temper). If the Black Dragon is slain, the golden skeletal dragons will rise to fight!

    2. The Chained Titan. Legends say that a titan is chained to the side of a mountain of this impressive range, punished by the gods for giving mortals the secret of fire and metal. Actually, the titan is a giant sculpture carved on the side of the mountain. In the caves of his eyes, the last immortal blacksmiths of the people who carved the sculpture have their ever-burning forge, creating weapons in black iron, adamant and other special metals.

    3. Rock Giants. The huge boulders that lie scattered on the flanks of this mountain are actually giants made of rock, at their larval stage. While the group travels across this area and passes near the boulders, there is 1 in 6 chance that their proximity makes a rock “hatch” and let a giant arise, attacking immediately.

    4. The Machine in the World. Throughout these mountains travelers hear a ticking noise coming from underground. Under the mountains there are ancient mechanisms and stone wheels and mills powered by lava falls. The machine moves continents, causes earthquakes and pushes tectonic plates according to the will of mysterious engineers. Gates to the machine are hidden and protected and inside there are stone golem guards. Tampering with the gears might cause enormous, violent changes in the world.

    5. Veins of Gold. A vein of wild alchemical gold runs in the heart of the mountain, occasionally emerging here and there. Those who do not realize the danger and touch or step on these outcrops must pass a Save vs Petrification or their blood will be turned into solid gold. At worst, their friends will have about 10lbs of gold as a consolation (if they manage to retrieve it).

    6. The Heavy Mountain. This mountain’s heart of molten metal increases the gravity of the surrounding environment. Anyone and anything in this area becomes gradually heavier, weighting up to twice.

    7. The First Dwarves. The roots of this mountain are inhabited by the first dwarves, stocky and uncouth beings, deformed and primitive. They are not evil, but misshapen, idiotic and violent. They have no language, but worship a grotesque boulder-god. Their skin is leathery and their bones are as hard as stone.

    8. Grey Bearhounds. A race of strong hounds lives in these mountains, used to hunting wolves and bears. These animals behave like common wild dogs, but are quite larger (the size of a dire wolf). Heroes might tame them as pets, animal companions or even mounts.

    9. The Crystal Peak. This mountain is a colossal meteorite made of crystal, partially covered by debris and rocks. At night it emanates a sick purple luminescence and during the day a disturbing buzzing can be heard from the surrounding mountains. The peak and the valleys around it are inhabited by all sorts of chimeric beasts, lured here by the crystal or possibly generated from it. Fragments of the crystal might be used to propel or channel chaotic energies in magic rituals, but for each day spent around the peak there is a cumulative 1% chance of developing some chimeric mutation.

    10. Shadowridge. The wild predators of this mountain range live a double life: during the night (whether they fall asleep or not), their bodies become ethereal and they hunt with the special abilities of shadow creatures while maintaining their shape, HD and attacks.



If you enjoy this type of content, check my other random tables posts, and my OSR stuff on DrivethruRPG: the Land of Legends series and my pwyw e-zines for Old-School Essentials: Wondrous Weavings Warped and Weird and Mysteriously Missing & Merrily Met!


My next pwyw Old-School Essentials e-zine will be released next month! To find out what it'll be about, and grab it as soon as it's out, follow me on FacebookTwitter or Telegram!



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