1-10: Southern Bank of the Great Plateau
The three southern tunnels from 1-3 exit here along a long smooth slope. A faint road or path crossing this territory seems to get more use on the eastern side of the territory (the route most goblins take to get to their town and their Boss. Another path leads due south, but it seems less used as well.
This area accesses 1-3 via the tunnels, or areas 1-9, 1-11 and 1-17 via roads.
1-9: More Open Ground
Much like area 1-7, the only features here of note are the roads which cross the territory in each cardinal direction. Random encounters!
The road extends north to 1-2, east to 1-10, south to 1-16 and west to 1-8.
Note that the northern and easter routes take you back to areas that can access the goblin hunting den and/or the vast plateau, area 1-3, depending on whether one takes toe overland or underground route.
1-8: The Crossroads
Much like 1-7 and 1-9, there is little of note in this broad expanse of glass dunes besides a road that runs East-West. Another road extends from the north to the south. Where the two meet is a shrine; a three headed goddess whose faces point in each cardinal direction except north.
This statue represents the Threefold Goddess Hecate, goddess of magic, travelers, the Moon, and the crossroads. Since most travelers here are either devotees of Janus or insensate creatures, there's very little need for Hecate to have an active presence here, but given that *some* travelers are like you, the party, and may have incomplete personas, it is possible to gain some small boon here. It may be a point in the right direction, a cryptic clue, or possibly even a shard, but it will be granted only once.
Random encounters do not occur near the shrine; it is a safe place to camp... assuming you have the time.
The roads extend north to 1-1, south to 1-15, west to 1-7 and east to 1-9.
1-7: The Open Road
A worn path snakes its way across this expanse of glass dunes, extending from relative east to west. Towards the middle of this stretch there is a fork in the path leading south (to 1-14).
Other than random encounters, there is nothing of interest in this area.
Note: Things got busy this week, and I did not get terribly far with this project beyond a few doodles and workshopping encounter lists and creature abilities. I confess to a bit of writer's block, but I need to give myself a break, because every single "room" can't be an entire adventure unto itself. In keeping with this truth, I will ad some more "open road" areas.
1-6: The Quicksilver Lake
As the party descends into this area, the glass ground takes on a sodden feel, implying the presence of liquid. But the center of this area, a low point for this region of the map, is filled not with water but quicksilver. Or something like it. Over the ages, weird magical energies rendered from shards have coalesced into a thick, inert liquid, like mercury but without the, you know, brain damage and death and stuff.
The good news is that this liquid is very dense, so it is quite easy to float or swim across it. The bad news is that it is occupied by oozes, who have no problem disguising themselves against the silvery backdrop. Among these one will find crystal oozes, oblexes, gray ooze, metallic ooze and slithering trackers. These creatures typically lurk near the shore, waiting for the approach of a living creature such as an amalgam, striking out and dragging them into the lake where they have the advantage. And if a large meal attempts to wade in or cross, well! So much the better.
Even creatures made entirely of glass will float, so it's feasible that even a large amalgam would chase a tasty morsel out onto the lake. Note that all lake movement is difficult terrain, unless you somehow managed to rig up an oared vehicle of some kind.
Area 1-6 borders on 1-5, 1-7, and 1-13.
During my group's last session, I wanted to reward some exceptional playing with something special, but not game-breakingly good. On the fly, I came up with the idea of a "Deck of Many Other Things", much like the legendary Deck of Many Things but mostly loaded up with plot fuel. It follows the same model as the standard deck, but the cards are more phenomenon based than mechanical.
But how, you ask, did you generate a list of novel cards like this on the fly? This is where the dreaded, all-consuming behemoth that is AI comes into play. I simply a prompt (much like what I wrote above) into ChatGPT, and out came this card list. Well, mostly. I changed a few things. I don't know where the seed material was sourced from, but whomever it may be, if not the bot itself, I thank you.
If you like it, feel free to use it.
A long arc completes. You gain closure and a new beginning at the same time.
A chapter ends cleanly. No tragedy—just finality. You cannot go back.
A past action—good or bad—comes back balanced. Not punished. Not rewarded. Balanced.
When you put all these together, it kind of looks a bit like a career change, dunnit? Maybe Archie is a hot ticket in the lands of the Fey now that he's leveled up a bit and other members of the Summer Court desire him? Or maybe even members of the Unseelie Court? or the Nag Lord himself, Atanuwe?
I could imagine a fairy conclave of some sort, with various members of the Courts rubbing elbows and (predictably) gambling with the lives of mortals. I can imagine a card game in which Archie's patron wagers their contract. That's exciting! In fact, I'm thinking of having the players act out a card game of some sort, with several different factions present, and to the victor belongs the spoils!
In any event Archie may come away with a new patron and new powers, bestowed by a patron now glowing with joy over their victory. Of course, the fey are notorious for losing interest quickly...
The rest of the party received similar results, and I've had a blast trying to interpret what their new "dooms" might mean in the current setting.
NOTE: I'm really on the fence about AI in general, and I try not to rely on AI art at all. If I was to ever publish something, I would only use it as a mock-up to share with any potential illustrator. And it's pants at many things, such as maps. And I've tried using it as a "virtual DM" but it's not so good at that either. So while I may use it as a crutch at the table, I don't intend to go full cyborg.
1-5 The Glass Dunes
An expanse of gently rolling glass dunes. Not much to look at, but this area will have a few hazards and a random encounter table. This area provides access to 1-6, 1-12 and, of course 1-5.
While not exactly "trackless" this area is dull, inhabited by the meekest fauna of the mirrorverse - the lesser amalgams. Whether this is because they tend to originate here or because viable shards are few and far between, no one knows. Or cares. Basically a desert here.
Encounters, while rare, are possible. And given that this is an area where glassfalls tend to occur, you can find some weird stuff. I'll figure out the chance of encounters later. Whatever the average is, it's lower here. When they do occur, roll a d8:
Not every area was going to be exciting!
