XAXA RIVER VALLEY 0: BRONZE AGE SCIENCE-FANTASY

I haven't played DND in awhile.

Yesterday, an idea came to me of an antediluvian world of bronze age science fantasy.

Biblical garb, swords and sandals, desert camels to carry water, magi & merchants, wasteland ogres, gnoll demon-bands, ancient machines..

This world is dying.

The sun is old, feeble, bloated and red.

Nucleos, She of Radiant Fire, is the prime deity of Xaxan Valley. Long ago, nuclear magi and solar priests sucked the sun dry, dooming the world. Any day now, it will flicker out, leaving all to crawl in the dark.

The village Pern lies west along Xaxa River. They farm barley and flax and produce papyrus from river reeds.

Two weeks east along a weathered desert road lies Glifga, a salt mining town. Camelback traders bring their silks and salt to Pern and beyond.

South down Xaxa River, 9 days by boat, the city Torance sits where river meets sea. The people of Torance are sea-traders and sailors.

A rumbling quake in the foothills north of Pern has revealed some machine buried in the earth. Scouts are saying an ancient war titan. The party are sent by the village elders to investigate what the quake unearthed…

Something compelled me to invite a bunch of reddit strangers to play a game of homebrew B/X. This world spawned in the past two days as a spark of imagination.

I decided to invite an old friend to play, too. We haven't gamed together in some time.

He is playing Redhawk, a 1st LVL Fighter, and ranger of the river wastes.

Redhawk wears a headdress of blood-stained hawk feathers. He has no name, only that given to him by travelers he's encountered.

Second player, a stranger from reddit, playing Murazir the Alchemist, a 1st LVL Magi. He prepares tonics and brews in Pern to aid the sick and ease suffering.

In secret, Murazir practices arcane ritual and has a pact with an extradimensional entity in the form of a hairless sphynx cat possessed of demon eyes.

This third player will be joining in our second session. He is another reddit stranger, playing Argus Nerva, Solar Priest of Nucleos, She of Radiant Fire and a 1st LVL Cleric.

Argus Nerva has been dispatched by the solar church for the very same titan which was unearthed in the hills north of Pern. It is a two week journey from Pern to the Shrine To Saint Clavinth.

These are the characters thusfar.

I will be running Xaxan Valley in this form as a 3-session sandbox, then go from there.

I've committed 2 hours, twice a month to sustain my hobby. It's very important to make it as easy as possible to succeed when you set a goal.

We aim to play session 1 on November 9th (Thu) from 7p-9 EST.

I will post updates as they occur!