It's called The Procedural Wastelands. Here's how it works:
- It's played out over Discord in 1-for-1 time (so 1 day of in-game time = 1 day of realtime).
- Randomly generate a 30x40 hex map in Worldographer Pro (6-mile hexes)
- Players roll up random OSE characters and start as survivors of a shipwrecked prison ship in the settlement (made from the remains of the ship) of Shantytown
- Players set out from Shantytown looking for provisions, supplies, settlements, and treasure
- The contents of each hex (other than terrain type) are unknown to both players and Referee. The Referee procedurally generates them using the D30 Sandbox Companion when the players enter a hex
- Use the overland travel rules from OSE rules-as-written to handle travel, getting lost, random encounters, and so forth. Players get XP for any random encounter they survive, even if they survived by fleeing or evading
- All names are created by a random name generator
Current Party:
- Sir Bruno Fae-cursed the Knight Bachelor - Level 7 Knight
- Freia, Episcopa of Hesper - Level 6 Cleric
- Yorri the Myrmidon - Level 6 Fighter
- Tuesday Erelong the Enchantress - Level 5 Magic-user
- Lasairian Bronach Tahg the Defender - Level 4 Paladin of St Fiona
- Ainnileas Autumn the Courser, 13th Son and Only Bastard of King Lathandril of the Woods of the Neverending Sunset - Level 4 Wood-elf
- Ariana, a Level 4 Magic-User (stuck in magical jail for 1000 years)
- Lambop Gruewater, Level 2 Fighter
- Ginger Philifent, Level 2 Cleric
- Sven, Level 1 Ranger
- Mannog Crumpling, Level 1 Dwarf
- Giles Villin, Level 1 Magic-User
- Gilford, Level 1 Fighter
- Finn Midnighter, Level 1 Elf
- Brath Hazecaller, Level 3 Magic-User
- Thranmorlun Flaskhelm, Level 1 Dwarf
- Jheded Dala, Level 1 Bard
- Numius Jizud, Normal Human
- Garved Hedako, Normal Human
- Fezem Zama, Normal Human
- Nurstolm Summeroak, Normal Human
- Nurazzin Steelbuster, a Level 1 Dwarf
- Asto the Magnificent - Level 3 Acrobat
- Domlock - Level 1 Fighter
- Slepnekert, a Level 1 Gnome
- Webley, a Level 1 Ranger
- Furdar, a Level 0 Dwarf
- Gulm, a Level 0 Man-at-arms
- Johace Wildglide, a Level 4 Halfling
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1/4 - Your prison ship, carrying ~30 prisoners and guards, has run aground at Hex 32.02, on Marshy Grasslands. Over the course of the next 48 hours, you set aside your differences as you struggle to construct a makeshift shanty-town out of the wreckage of your ship, salvage equipment, and prepare to explore this strange island, hoping to find signs of a friendly civilization. If not, you will surely all die before winter. Finn Midnighter the Elf, Lambop the Fighter, Freia the Cleric, and Giles Villin the Magic-User set out from Shantytown. They come to a chaos-blighted area of the wood and find a small abandoned shrine to the chaotic god Nora-To.
1/5 - The party is joined by Ginger Philliphent, a cleric and cook. The party continues to move through the wood and is spotted by a group of 7 trolls returning from a raid. The party manages to evade them, briefly becoming lost in the woods as a result. They manage to make their way to the small village of Hambley.
1/6 - At the behest of the men of Hambley, the players set out to find the temple of the cult of Nora-To and bring an end to it. They are joined by Sven the Ranger.
1/7 - Travel. The party arrives at the underground temple of Nora-To and explore it. After fighting some giant toads, they ally themselves with some gnomes who had a grudge against the cult of Nora-To. With the gnomes' help, they use a secret passageway to surprise the High Priest and half of the cultists, slaughtering them and looting their temple. The party rests for the night in the temple.
1/8 - The party waits outside the temple for the rest of the cultists to return. They try to lay an ambush, but it goes badly, and Giles, Sven, and Lambop are killed before the rest of the cultists are slain. They take their loot back to Hambley.
1/9 - The party begins the journey back to Hambley, much slower now since they are laden with loot and wearing heavy armor.
1/10 - Party returns to Hambley.
1/11 - Party rests at Hambley, holds funeral, donates funds to Hambley to turn it into a fort.
1/12 - Party travels south. Meet Sir Bruno, a high-level Knight, on the road. They "join him" and his quest to hopefully regain his ancestral lands and his lady love.
1/13 - Party travels south. They see the ruins of an ancient elven city rising up out of the mist. The party decide to explore, and find the Lost City of Annalysorian.
1/14 - Exploring the ruins of Annalysorian. The party fights an Ankheg (which almost kills Sir Bruno) in the gatehouse. They sleep in the gatehouse that night.
1/15 - Party continues to explore the ruins, coming to the forum of the ancient elven city. The party happens upon a group of Lizardfolk, and Finn attacks. The fight goes poorly, and only Sir Bruno and Freia make it back to the gatehouse, where they barricade themselves in for the night, as Lizardfolk gather around.
1/16 - Sir Bruno and Freia find a secret exit, and escape from the ruined city under cover of darkness. They continue their journey south.
1/17 - Sir Bruno and Freia meet Mannog Crumpling the Dwarf and Gilford the Fighter (both from Shanytown) on the road. Party rests at a lonely cottage. Cottars don't trust the PC's, but let them stay in the barn for the night.
1/18 - Party arrives at the Abbey of Igolb, a Lawful abbey dedicated to the veneration of a Bronze Golem known as Igolb, which was built by an ancient dwarven craftsman to be an avatar of the Eye of Law. They are well-received by the abbess. They learn the Abbey is having problems with a nearby lair of goblin slavers.
1/19 - Party leaves the Abbey, having picked up several other travelers at the abbey (Jheded Dala, Level 1 Bard; Numius Jizud, Normal Human; Garved Hedako, Normal Human; Fezem Zama, Normal Human; Nurstolm Summeroak, Normal Human) to help in their quest, and begin their journey into the mountains. They encounter high-level clerics of Hesper (Neutral God of Death) coming down out through the pass from the west on a missionary expedition. The clerics are haughty, but the party avoids a battle.
1/20 - Party arrives in the known vicinity of the goblin lair, and begins searching the mountains. Searches all day and finds nothing. Attempt to set a trap for the goblins, but then realize that goblins probably don't attack during daylight. Turns out they were right -- the party is attacked in the middle of the night by a large band of goblins, but manages to fight them off with losses: Only Gilford, Freia, and Sir Bruno remain alive.
1/21 - The party is joined the next morning by Tuesday Erelong, a Level 1 Magic-User, who managed to escape from the goblin slavers after they attacked and killed the caravan she was travelling with. The party finds the entrance to the goblin lair and explores it, freeing several slaves (Brath Hazecaller, Level 3 Magic-User; Thranmorlun Flaskhelm, Level 1 Dwarf; Johace Wildglide, a Level 3 Halfling, Sister Adilene, a Level 3 Cleric; Ariana, a Level 2 Magic-User; Nurazzin Steelbuster, a Level 1 Dwarf). They engage the king of the goblin slavers and his bodyguard in battle, and kill him, though Brath, Gilford, and Thranmorlun are slain as a result. Having finished exploring the first level of the lair and being low on health and magic, the party decide to find their way out again and camp outside the lair for the night.
1/22 - Weary and wounded, the party decide to head back to the abbey with their loot, including a cursed dwarf-skin cloak Freia is now wearing. They encounter a thunderstorm and a Storm Giant, but luckily the Storm Giant doesn't think they're worth the trouble to step on, and leaves them alone. They make it back to the abbey late that night.
1/23 - The party rests at the Abbey.
1/24 - The party rests at the Abbey.
1/25 - The party rests at the Abbey. The abbess is able to remove the curse on Freia's dwarf-skin cloak, which destroys it.
1/26 - The party continues on their way south, trying to get to the City of Oraving. They come across a camp of elven settlers being attacked by a herd of rampaging elephants. After helping the elves fight off the elephants, they are given magical gifts of great worth as a reward. They learn that these elves were on their way to attempt to settle the Lost City of Annalysorian again, and that the elephants were induced to attack them by the spies of the Lady Immianthe, the Medusa who rules the lizardfolk tribes that inhabit the ruins, as the party (or at least some of them) know all too well.
1/27 - Funeral for the fallen elves, followed by travel. Party travels south and spots a flock of griffons high in the air, but the griffons do not notice them, and the party is able to hide in the long grass while the griffons continue on their way.
1/28 - Travel. No encounters.
1/29 - Travel. The party spots an overgrown necropolis, but decides not to investigate it.
1/30 - Travel. Party arrives at the Citadel of the Eye of Law, a massive temple complex. They stay here for a day. Tuesday finds a bazaar outside and purchases some sketchy magical items, including a cursed helmet. Sir Bruno shows Ariana a shrine there dedicated to his patron, St. Fiona of the Flowering Tree.
1/31 - Party encounters the Company of the Merry Sparrow, an adventuring party headed north towards the Abbey of Igolb. From them they learn that the Abbey may be under siege, as war has broken out in the Autumndim Vale following the looting of the goblin slave pits (by the party). The party briefly debate turning around, but decide it would be worth pressing on to Oraving to buy mounts and supplies first.
2/1 - Party arrives in Oraving. They hear rumors of old catacombs near the city being cleaned out as well. It seems that the beastmen tribes are mustering in the mountains, and the Overlord Atheldard intends to be ready. The city's crack troops -- the Red Legion -- are seen marching out of the city gates and heading north. The party purchase mounts and then Johace and Freia go to the Street of Thirteen Sins in search of debauchery. Johace is drugged and taken back to a lair of Satyrs led by Dymius "the Fourteenth Sin." Freia goes for help.
2/2 - The party return next morning to find Johace, naked but unharmed. Thankfully, the Satyrs were cleared out by the Red Legion during the night, and Johace and their other prisoners were left unharmed. Johace re-equips, and the party decide to ride north to the abbey. They ride as far as the Necropolis, where they meet a force of Crusader Militia from the Citadel of the Eye of Law, preparing to attack the Beastmen at the Necropolis the next day. The party joins them, with Sir Bruno taking charge of the militia, and they prepare for battle.
2/3 - The Battle of the Necropolis. Party fights bravely, but they learn too late that the Beastmen have raised the dead, and the crusading army is almost completely destroyed by Spectres. The party barely manage to escape.
2/4 - The party rides north all day, making a necessary detour around the Necropolis to do so. They end the day on 028,015, having avoided the fleeing bands of beastmen running from the horrors of the Necropolis. On the way, they hear rumors of the sack of the village of Sundamar by beastmen, its women and children put to the sword, as well as a great battle fought under the mountains.
2/5 - The party rests on the road.
2/6 - Heavy rains slow their ride today, and they make it as far as the site of their battle with the elephants some days earlier. Despite the war in the area, they manage to avoid any encounters today, although they hear of a terrible slaughter in the woods near Fort Arbelving. It would seem that there are forces of Lizardfolk on the move. Tuesday suggests that Freia put on the helm she bought at the Citadel, secretly hoping it will change her alignment for good. Instead, it intensifies her ties to Ramalaz, and she briefly increases in power, becoming his avatar. A fight breaks out among the party, though Freia manages to blind Sir Bruno and Tuesday puts the rest of the party to sleep to avoid their hurting each other. Freia manages at the last moment to remove the helm, rejecting Ramalaz. He departs her, and she loses her cleric abilities, at least for the moment.
2/7 - The party arrive at the Abbey of Igolb and find the remaining nuns preparing for a siege. The party take on five new Adventurers at the Abbey (Gaelin Presra - Level 1 Elf; Cade - Level 2 Ranger; Asto the Magnificent - Level 3 Acrobat; Domlock - Level 1 Fighter; Yorri - Level 3 Fighter) and decide they will return to Annalysorian and attempt to assassinate the Lady Immianthe before her armies overwhelm the northern end of the Vale.
2/8 - The party make their preparations and prepare to ride all night.
2/9 - At dawn, the party arrive at Annalysorian. The secret tunnel they used to escape the city a month earlier seems to have remained undiscovered by the Lizardmen, and the party is able to use it to traverse most of the city undetected. They have a brief encounter with Lizardmen deserters and a nest of giant centipedes (the latter rendering several members of the party too sick to continue) before locating the tunnel entrance that brings them out onto the Acropolis. They find Immianthe in the Great Hall, and she turns several of them (Freia, Adilene, Gaelin, Ariana, Yorri) to stone before Johace uses a mirror to cause her to turn herself to stone by gazing upon her own face. Then the party search her chambers, find vast amounts of treasure (the wealth of the Elves), and must decide what to do next. They were told by one of the deserters they met that Immianthe had a pet Basilisk, and they decide to try to find the Basilisk in the hopes of using a gland in its jaws to un-petrify their friends. They barricade their sick companions in Immianthe's treasure room, along with the coins they could not carry and enough rations for a few days, and use the tunnels to traverse back to the south side of town. After a brief encounter with Immianthe's Rock Baboons (who they manage to avoid by giving them food), they head to the Basilisk's nest. Tuesday uses Immianthe's staff to control the Basilisk, but briefly loses control of it (resulting in its biting and petrifying Sir Bruno) when she tries to also control a band of looting Lizardmen. In the fight with the Lizardmen, Nurazzim and Atos are killed. Getting control of the Basilisk again, they take Sir Bruno's statue back to the acropolis, which they find has been completely looted by the Lizardmen during their 10-hour absence. The coins are gone, and their sick companions (Cade and Domlock) murdered. Weary and down to just two living party members (Tuesday and Johace), the companions rest for the night in the ruins of the acropolis.
2/10 - Tuesday and Johace go to bargain with the Lizard Chieftain at their camp on the east side of the ruined city. Thanks to some good bargaining and the Chieftain's good mood, they're able to buy the statues of their friends (as well as the ancient elves which Immianthe had petrified) back, and even get help carrying them back to the Acropolis. Using the staff of Immianthe, Tuesday commands the Basilisk to begin licking their petrified companions, freeing them from the stone. Four companions are freed this way.
2/11 - The Basilisk (who we've now named "Jojo") is able to finish freeing the last of the companions, as well as the one elven statue that was sufficient undamaged. This turns out to be an elven scout named Qindithas the Far-Gazer, who fought at the fall of the city.
2/12 - The party rests in the ruins.
2/13 - Heavy rains make travel impossible. The party burns the bodies of their dead companions and raises a cairn of stones over their ashes. The party is running low on food.
2/14 - Despite bad travelling conditions, the party decides to set out in hopes of getting back to the Abbey before their food runs out. They use the Basilisk to haul back the statues of two of the elves, pointed out by Qindithas as a great loremaster and a great general, respectively, and head off. No random encounters. The party is only able to travel 12 miles before being forced to rest for the night, and it proves to be more difficult to get out of the hills than they had expected.
2/15 - The party makes it back to the Abbey and levels up. Qindithas and Gaelin leave the party to go join the forces of the Elves in the war. That night, Freia is contacted by Hesper (the Neutral-aligned god of death) and becomes his servant. Enraged by her apostasy, Sister Adilene attacks Freia and Yorri in the middle of the night, almost killing Freia before Freia is able to finish her off.
2/16 - Trazynel, the Vampire Lord, has risen. The Abbess asks the party to travel west on behalf of the Overlord Atheldard, to find the tomb of Trazynel's former lover, the Lady Aemelia, where it is believed there are relics which will allow Trazynel to be defeated. The party sets out, making it as far as the village of Hilfar before weather prevents them from travelling.
2/17 - Heavy rain prevents travel.
2/18 - The party decides to press forward despite the rain, after recruiting Webley (a Level 1 Ranger) and Slepnekert (a Level 1 Gnome) from a tavern in Hilfar.
2/19 - Party rests on the road.
2/20 - Travelling through the mountain pass, the party has a random encounter with a Cloud Giant, who is out hunting with his pack of 27 Dire Wolves. The party flees, but is cornered, and turn and fight. Thanks to good tactics, luck, and magic, the party manages to turn the giant to stone (although Jojo the Basilisk is killed), and defeat the pack of Dire Wolves. The party rests at the site of the battle.
2/21 - The party follows the Cloud Giant's tracks back to his castle. Ariana and Tuesday levitate up to the castle and explore it, taking the giant's spellbook (and witnessing the aftermath of what must have been some kind of cloud giant dynastic struggle) before accidentally opening the Chamber of the Winds, radically changing the weather on the island (for the better, as it happens).
2/22 - The party encounter a trio of dwarven "root farmers" on the road, but the Dwarves are suspicious of the party, and vanish into the hills.
2/23 - The party arrive in the village of Fawold, where they find a neglected shrine to Hesper. According to the villagers, Hesper is a "dead god," and his worshippers road away east over the mountains and have not returned. The party level up after the Cloud Giant encounter.
2/24 - The party continue riding, passing several small villages, but decide to camp on the road.
2/25 - The party arrive at the great City of Benara, a large city that has fallen into decline. The party do some shopping, and some of them fall afoul of a local street gang (the Amazing Zaco and His Motley Crew), before resting for the night at a local tavern (the Bloody Shield).
2/26 - The party rests at the tavern.
2/27 - The party prepares to set out, but Ariana is arrested by the local Red Order of wizards for operating as a "Grey Mage" -- a mage not affiliated with any of the City's thirteen orders.
2/28 - The party spends the day trying to prepare for the trial by studying the Laws of Magic, gaining powerful spells which they are unfortunately able to use to help Ariana.
3/1 - The trial goes poorly, and Ariana is narrowly convicted, and imprisoned for 1001 years in the Ruby Pillar in the Unicorn's Oubliette in the City of Benara.
3/2 - Your mood is still somber as you ride out, early the next morning, your company one person smaller as a result of your time in Benara. You head south before turning southwest into the hills, and thanks to Webley, manage to find a small track which runs on the outskirts of a low line of mountains in that direction. The day passes in solitude, and you meet neither man nor beast, finally arriving at 014,023.
3/3 - Party continues to travel, finally arriving in Bogtown, near the alleged location of Lady Aemelia's tomb.
3/4-4/18 - Party rests after the dangerous journey, gathers rumors, and recruits two new members: Furdar, a level 0 Dwarf, and Gulm, a Level 0 Man-at-arms. During this time, they learn more about the Tomb of Lady Aemelia, and also finally hear news from the Vale: the Vampire Lord has been defeated, and has retreated back to the Necropolis, making their errand less urgent, at least for the moment.
4/19 - The party heads from Bogtown into the marsh, travelling half a day into it to reach the Barrowfields, where the grave of Lady Aemelia is believe to be located. After exploring a bit, they set upon one of the barrows, and find that its entrance has collapsed or been blocked up long, long ago, by some enormous beast. The party decides to begin clearing it, but it takes them more than a day to do so. During the night, they are attacked by a couple of shambling corpses (2 Coffer Corpses) roaming the battlefield, and manage to destroy them.
4/20 - The party works through the next day, and finally manages to clear the entrance. They decide not to enter the barrow until the next morning. During the night, they are attacked by a Will-O-the-Wisp. It kills Webley, but they defeat it, and it offers its treasure to them in ransom for its life. They follow it to its barrow, take its treasure, and leave Webley buried there with his magical shield.
4/21 - The party heads into the barrow, and find a vast tunnel leading to an ancient ruined underground temple of Hesper. It is now the lair of a great Dracolich, Ossithrax Pejorative, and after a short interaction in which they learn that in fact, the Lady Aemelia is somewhere in this underground complex, things go poorly and the dragon attacks the party. Johace, Slepnekert, Webley, Furday, and Gulm are all killed by the dragon's necrotic breath, and Freia, Tuesday, and Yorri barely survive, but flee the dragon's presence, terrified. Tuesday uses a scroll of fireball found in the Will-o-wisp's barrow to injure the dragon, and Sir Bruno remains to give it battle and cover his friends' retreat. After a quick and nearly fatal battle, Sir Bruno manages to slay the dracolich. The remaining companions carry away as much of his hoard as possible, cover his ashes in holy water and spread them in the sunlight, and head back to Bogtown. On the way back to Bogtown, they are attacked by another Coffer Corpse, which they kill. They are aided in the battle by two new companions, a Paladin of St. Fiona named Lasairian, and a Wood-elf named Ainnileas. With the two new companions they make it back to Bogtown, donate some of their loot, and rest for the night.
4/22 -
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