The Country of Kildermilsh and The Monarchy of Claudius Gildenmark

Below is a story I am creating for a D&D Dungeon Master's contest. Here is the link: Expert Dungeon Master Competition! ...check it out.

The Country of Kildermilsh
and
The Monarchy of Claudius Gildenmark

The country of Kildermilsh is a landlocked kingdom ruled by the Monarch, Claudius Gildenmark. Claudius was the Prince of the Gildenmark Monarchy to the North. In his youth he took half of his father's army and waged war upon the original Monarchy of Kildermilsh; the Kron Monarchy. This Monarchy was ruled by a Fomorian named Helderpin who ruled over an army of faithful Cyclops. The beginning of the war was truly harsh, as Claudius wasted no time with his invasion and began his attack with a full-frontal assault, in an attempt to overwhelm Kron. The recklessness of his frontal attack placed his troops in a compromising position, leaving him wide open for an unexpected assault from the Western Marshes by the Cyclops 'Slayers Guild'. In a matter of minutes, Claudius lost a third of his troops. He was forced to retreat, himself enduring an injury that lost him his hand.

A 'magical hand' that ended up serving as Claudius' replacement, turned out to be the hand of an old Lich (though no one seemed aware of this fact). In an odd twist of fate, the cursed hand guided him to power that allowed him to usurp the Kron monarchy. In whispered mutters heard now and then throughout the taverns and dark alleys of the modern Kildermilsh countryside, the people now refer to Claudius endearingly as, 'old Bone Fist', though it is not common knowledge that his hand is that of a Lich's.

Shortly after taking the kingdom, a strange influence from the Lich hand began to take hold of Claudius' mind and some nights he was seen wailing from his balcony to the night sky to some unknown god. No one dared ask questions about Claudius, fearing the punishments of meddling with royal business. In the mean time, the Cyclops prisoners were being tortured for pleasure in more hideous ways than anyone could have expected, even for Claudius and his men. It was during this time that Claudius became known for ripping the tongues out of the Cyclops' mouths with his new bone hand. The Cyclops were rowdy and fearless even in captivity and Claudius thought they talked too much. He thought his punishment was a fitting one for those who took his original hand. The Cyclops were labeled the anti-thesis of the empire and most of them were brutally killed; only a few managed to escape - they swore revenge! The symbol for the new Gildenmark Monarchy was a bone fist squeezing a squirming tongue tightly, as if to strangle its words. This symbol became the banner that heralded the new monarchy in Kildermilsh.

The soldiers and followers of Claudius were paid handsomely with the riches they procured from successfully sacking Kildermilsh. The riches that the soldiers were paid were far greater than any payment they had ever seen serving under the North Gildenmark territory. An unnatural greed took over the soldiers that provoked them to stay with Claudius, who of course promised many more riches for their allegiance. All ties to the North were cut by Claudius, who had now stolen half his father's army.

Citizens in the North Gildenmark territory learned of the happenings in Kildermilsh and also of the generosity that Claudius bestowed upon his followers. Many citizens began leaving the North territory for Kildermilsh in hopes to rid themselves of their current troubles in the North Gildenmark Monarchy. Turmoil ensued when the soldiers of North Gildenmark were ordered to stop citizens from leaving and a peasant's revolt erupted soon afterwards.

... this is only what I have so far, more will be written before I finally submit this to the contest ...

The Most Important Thing About D&D

My RPG buddies and I were in Cayucos last weekend and we got into a discussion about the placement of Dungeons & Dragons in modern society. We talked a bit about how RPG players are considered nerds and such and we pondered if it would ever change. I started comparing D&D players to Scientists, in that Scientists used to be ridiculed and labeled heathens kind of how RPGers have in the past couple of decades, and all for exploring something that is considered different. Though Scientists were on to something a lot more practical for modern society than D&D players are, I sensed a similarity in the experience of being an outcast.

It should go without saying that Science and D&D are very different, but the line of thinking above lead me to conclude that RPG haters might be missing out on something important that could be coming out of the creation of D&D and other RPGs that followed.

My own conclusion was this: the most important thing about D&D is that it created a structured way of telling a story that was/is interactive, in a way that was not present before it came about.


People could start relating this type of interactivity to the internet I suppose. Table top gaming retains an analogue performance that I feel the internet lacks.

If anyone stumbling upon this blog is interested, feel free to leave comment! :)

(below is a picture from my friend's beach house we were at where we had this discussion)

Tiles and Miniatures - prep for the neighbor's final game

Below are some images of dungeon tiles and miniatures I have readied for my neighbor's kid's last game (I'm moving to LA so our 2 year D&D campaign is coming to an end). I made the tiles by printing out sheets from the back of the 4th Edition D&D DMG and pasting them on top of foam core.

Draft 1: Maker's Conundrum

How will it begin...

Well, the difficulty is that the beginning is always forgotten. Or perhaps the beginning isn't ever perceived, since in the beginning there is nothing to relate to. No one ever remembers the moment when they were born, they just gradually begin to perceive that they exist - after much accordance with their surroundings and much agreement upon the terms of existence. It is a peculiar way to become a part of things.

For Robert J. Pelgreen existence here began on hilltop. He was staring at planes contemplating choices, then slowly he became aware of where he was. In remembrance, he assumes there was a sky, green grassy hills and some birds flying above the farm fields of a nearby village, but it was honestly a blur and it didn't feel like the very beginning - just where he began to remember some things. He thought of the memory as the feeling you might have if you and your mirror image had just traded places, only to stare at each other again once you did. He remembers heaving and puking. He remembers looking out at the planes and viewing the world as if existence was in duet with his personal desires, where neither source could usurp the other, but instead just became something all its own.

He didn't remember traveling to the nearby village, he always assumed he just walked there from the hill, he remembered feeling like he had walked too. He couldn't figure out which hill in the valley it was, where he began. The first thing he came upon in the village was his own reflection in a glass window. All too clearly he could see his own brown eyes, his short brown hair and some stubble on his face. He was in his mid twenties.

The Shambles

The Shambles, an area found in the Barony of Salkbrow....

Walking down the roads at night, in the Shambles, you hear strange noises. Elves and men who live in the district are still up in the late night. Coughing from a lit window is heard. You look to see a man peering out of his window suspiciously as you walk by on the road. Further down the road in an alleyway you spot two elves ganging up on another elf who is getting jumped by them in the shadows.

While most of the buildings throughout the Barony are made of twisted pine that was controlled as it grew, to make the building look intricate, the buildings here lack the same attention. Much of the same pine tree growth system is used, however a lot of stones have been thrown in to fill out areas of structures, to fill out the building. Growing trees either took too long or could not be afforded here. Lots of weeds are overgrown into the buildings and road sides, the weeds being what gave the area its name. The area's property is more affordable for lower income patrons because it is closer to the grave yard in town.

Tonight's Drawings: Experiments

Dog Morphing into Horse Inside Collapsing Stone Portal