Masters of Carcosa
By Ramanan Sivaranjan

Introduction

The terrible world of Carcosa is peopled by the 13 races of men and the Great Old Ones they fight, fear, or worship. Primitive tribes fight amongst one another and amongst themselves. Strange technology, magnificent architecture, and horrific sorcery tell the tale of ancient civilizations now long extinct. The men and women of Carcosa try and eke out a quiet existence against this backdrop.

To the South of the Thaggasoth peaks lays the Bone Men village of Invak. Those who have escaped the Jale slavers to the East have been given sanctuary here, forming a small refugee community. This unlikely situation—men and women of all the races living and working together—is made possible due to the town’s wise and powerful leader, “the Swift and Silent Beginning”. Invak has been spared from the common xenophobia of Carcosa.

Those who feel adventurous hunt the vile Spawn of Shub-Niggurath and the Jale Slavers, venture out in search of strange Space Alien technology, avoid mutant dinosaurs, and explore the wilds of this world.

Cue the theme song for Masters of the Universe film, which sounds vaguely like the theme song for Super Man crossed with music from Star Wars.

Rules

This game is currently being run using Original Dungeons and Dragons, with a “few” house rules because OD&D is often lacking in a thoroughly charming way. I am using a slightly modified version of Brendan’s Hazard System to run parts of the game: Adventuring in Carcosa. Games are played online using Google+ Hangouts, organized in the Masters of Carcosa community on Google+. (I’ll add you to the community if I know who you are on G+: it’s meant for people interested in playing.)

The Story So Far

You can find “session recaps” from this D&D campaign here. Each recap is presented in the style of new hex descriptions for Carcosa, which is where my game takes place. (The last entry in the re-stocking tables is how the session actually concluded. The other entries are alternate ways things might have gone.)

Blog Posts

You can learn more about this campaign by reading my blog posts tagged #mastersofcarcosa