Let’s Make a Hexcrawl Setting

[Daztur]

The map and compilation do not include this post and Sanglorian's previous one. It's my birthday today so I've been a bit busy

Sanglorian: most impressive I've added the map to the OP, the hexmapper program makes it a bit annoying to add text that is visible without it also taking up too much of the map. I'll be springing for the pay version soon, we'll see if that's any better but your work is an excellent alternative. What font did you use?

Other stuff:
-The phantom hexes are just from me hitting the wrong texture to erase something, I'll replace them with proper blank hexes.
-Will fix the Fernbank error.
-For the Welt Road, the City is the biggest customer of pretty much anything, but it's expensive to dig a tunnel road so the Welt Road goes out of the Kingswood via the shortest possible route and then people can go along normal roads once they're out of range of the elves and eventually link up to the White Road. It makes the trip take longer than if the road went in a straight line from the night men to the City, but nobody's put up the money to build a more direct underground road.
-For Severard having seven chins, you've convinced me, I'll add that back in as it makes him more, erm, well-rounded...
-For the Smiling Men I assumed that they'd be assassins (the name is influenced by the Faceless Men and the Sorrowful Men from George R. R. Martin) but I didn't have any ideas as to how to make them interesting assassins so I left it vague, good to have something specific that works. Having assassins that have had all emotions but happiness removed from their minds is wonderfully creepy.

Well, finally, he's my contribution for today, in the next few days I'm going to try to fill in more of the area around Shuttered (since it feels weird if the city has so much detail while the area around it is still mostly blank) as well as some stuff inspired by The White People by Arthur Machen (one of Lovecraft's favorite short stories, which isn't surprising as it is incredibly good).

The Estate of Count Seutorian
Hex 30.12

Note: the Count is mine, the orc is drek’s (but edited a bit)

The patriarch of one of the richest of the Great Families of the City of Shuttered Windows (29.14), Count Seutorian spends little time in the city and refuses to set foot on ground, feeling that it would be demean one of his blood. When travelling, forty oxen pull the cart that draws his balloon through the sky. The balloon itself is one of Yilbar the Illustrious' masterpieces and is emblazoned with a startlingly-lifelike image of Baron Harenghast’s mother.

However, the Count’s balloon usually remains at its mooring on the highest tower of his manse, which lies atop the first hill north of the City of Shuttered Windows to rise high enough to be free of the malarial air that lurks on the north bank of the Keening Sea and it is a splendid building indeed. The walls are paneled with ebonized wood with gilt trim and carvings of strange beasts from across the Shrouded Lands and beyond and his collection of furniture and objects d’art is as eclectic as his guests. His week-long parties, in which dwarf lords rub elbows with transplanted dryads, are famous far beyond his estate.

One of the Count’s current guests is the orc Brigadier Kalas Montra-brey, who Seutorian provides with assistance in his hunts in return for a promise of an elf slave of his very own, if Kalas can find one that meets his specifications.

Brigadier Kalas Montra-brey, the Elfcatcher

Brigadier Kalas is officially an attache assigned to the Grumluda embassy at Shuttered. He spends little time there and his actual occupation is slave-catching, specifically Kingswood elves. For this, despite being an orc, he is a celebrated hero by the common man of the City of Shuttered Windows (29.14). The higher-ups tend to turn a blind eye to his activities, even though outright slave catching is technically illegal.

Armed with unseelie charms that protect against elven magics and an enchanted cold-iron mancatcher, Kalas and his battialon of half-orcs (plus hired mercenaries) brazenly makes assaults into Kingswood to capture elves for use in the fighting pits of Shuttered. The locals very much enjoy the spectacle of a haughty elf of the Court being thrown to the beasts of the pits, although they are saddened that they are not allowed to fight in the Wedding Band itself (30.15) but only in those fighting pits around the Grumlada embassy that enjoy extraterritoriality.

Occasionally, Kalas will accept contracts from the Night People to chase down a particular elven bandit, but more often than not, he goes in to catch whoever he can.

Naturally, Kalas (and all those associated with the embassy) are subject an Unending Elf-Hunt. But the orc's luck hasn't run out yet, and those that have seen him in battle suspect that he'll always be one step ahead of the elves. Tehaar the Huntress (29.10) has had him nearly cornered on a couple different occasions, only for Kalas to manage yet another escape. On Kalas part, he enjoys being the hunted just as much as he does being the hunter, and on his expeditions into the forest, is eager to draw attention to himself.

Kalas is massive, even by orc standards, nearly as large and as strong as an ogre. When hunting, he dons the soot-blackened plate mail typical of Grumludi officers. He is never seen in public without his minotaur-horn helmet and black sash displaying various military decorations. Non-elves find him extremely personable -- charming (for an orc) and even-tempered, proud to tell stories of his various exploits. Elves, on the other hand, can only expect the most dedicated and savagely hateful of enemies.

Hooks:
-Why does the Count want an elf slave? What are his "specifications?"
-Who does the Count buy his art from? Adventurers? Does he treat them fairly?
-What interesting things happened at the Count’s last party? Who was there?
-Why did he have Baron Harenghast’s mother painted on his balloon?
-Why is Kalas so unrelenting in his hunt for elves?
-Has Kalas caught any especially notable elves?

 

[chutup]

The Wood of Suicides (43.27)

Deep in the hot deserts of the Burning Lands, there lies a black oasis surrounded by dunes. The trees that grow here never have leaves, and their roots all hang down into the stagnant water. If the corpse of a suicide is taken to this oasis and hung from one of the trees, then at midnight the dead one will wake again. Known as the Grey Revenants, these undead creatures are pitiless, tireless and durable beyond all mortal constraints. However, if the tree from which they were hung is ever cut down, then the Grey Revenant will die.

The Smiling Men of Shuttered know this place. When they can get their hands on a fresh suicide, they will pickle the body in a barrel and have it shipped across the Keening Sea. From there, the barrel will be carried down the caravan route through the fire plains, though only the elite agents of the Smiling Men know the precise location of the oasis. It is worth all the trouble in the end, for a Grey Revenant's utter lack of remorse makes them perfect for the role of assassin.

Hooks:
- What's in the oasis and why is it black?
- That's a pretty specific ritual. How did the Smiling Men find out about it? Did somebody tell them?
- Where does the caravan route lead to? Who travels the route, and what dangers are there?
- Any notable Grey Revenants among the Smiling Men? Are there any other Revenants who aren't Smiling Men?

re: the introductory paragraph. I thought about it for a few minutes and I agree that it's difficult. There isn't any overarching theme that you can point to and say 'this is what the Shrouded Lands are about', but nevertheless there is a certain tone that's hard to describe. Maybe you could try something like quoting a bunch of lines from the best/most typical entries to give a snapshot of the setting.

If you're wanting to encourage people to contribute more, you could also emphasize that you don't need to know every little detail of the setting before you can add your own ideas to it.

 

[Daztur]

chutup: yay! another chutup post!

Good points about encouraging people to post more, right now with the hexes listed by number it's hard to get a sense of how much you have to read before you know enough to contribute. What I was thinking of doing when hacking up the regions is to organize it with the regions with the fewest words dedicated to them first and basically say "hey, if you don't want to read the whole damn document, just read one of the small regions and you can know everything you need to contribute in a few minutes."

For the intro-blurb, like you say there is a unifying tone but it's hard to convey. The best I can do to describe it is "shiny-dark." The setting is quite a dark place, but in a weird and wondrous way rather than in a Warhammer or Lamentation of the Flame Princess RPG kind of way. Basically take generic D&D, distill the weird and filter it through the trippier half of Swords & Sorcery (Dream Quest of the Unknown Kadath, Vance, etc. not pseudo-historical stuff like Howard so much, as much as I love Conan and Solomon Kane). But when I try to explain that it comes across all clunky...

 

[Sanglorian]

I've created one more variation on the hex map: a map of where I think the mountains, seas/oceans and the Kingswood start and end (Imageshack - shroudedlandsborders.jpg). Obviously, it's not canonical: people can fill in hexes however they like. But I was getting pretty confused trying to imagine the Keening Sea and this has helped me out there.

There are two shades of green - that's because I'm not sure if the Kingswood is meant to extend to the very top of the map.

I think it's good we're talking about introductions and getting more people involved and stuff. I think quoting bits from some entries is a good idea - I think a great candidate is "The ostrlich does not have the ageless cunning of a true lich. It is still an ostrich, after all.

I think the sheer amount of content is definitely a deterrent to others contributing. I have a big idea about how we could change that, but it'll have to wait until I finish my essay. Other than that, I think having the shortest region as a target for entries is a good idea, as well as emphasising that you only need to link to one or two existing hexes.

This is what I came up with in class yesterday, if you'd like to use it:

CONTRIBUTING TO THE SHROUDED LANDS
The Shrouded Lands are a strange and varied fantasy setting. They have silly monsters like an ostrich lich (the ostrlich) and creepy cults like the Creche of a Million Young. They have twisted romances like the wereshark storm giant who mourns his dead lover and unsolved mysteries like that of the contract between the Prince of Man and the Bloodied King.

In short, any contribution will fit into these Lands.

The one special feature of these hex entries is that they are connected to one another. But they don’t need to be connected to more than one hex. My suggestion is to find a hex that interests you, and write another hex entry linked to that one. You don’t need to read tens of thousands of words to join in!

Also, don’t worry about your entry making too much sense! If there’s a seeming inconsistency, just add a hook: ‘Why does X happen?’ Someone else can come along with an entry which clears up the inconsistency.


TOUR OF THE SHROUDED LANDS
You’ve heard of the incredible firebirds, but this is the first one you’ve ever seen. It shimmers like the hearth in your home, like the hair of a beautiful woman, like the sun itself, and the sky and the water and the distant mountains seem to brighten in its presence.

A flying viper latches on to its head and tries to swallow it whole. The two plummet to the ground, where an ibis pecks at them and defecates freely.

There is a weird and sometimes funny melancholy to the Shrouded Lands, an island that overlooks the edge of the world. The gods – for all the praise of priests – are strange and inhuman. The animals – like mongrel dogs birthed in whole packs by a giant bitch – are twisted reflections of what you might expect to find. The people – and note, I do not say ‘the humans’ … well, one quivers in a lonely hut, one sits motionless prophesying for her chimerical goddess and one fuses the heads of those he kills to his body, making a screaming, arguing, genius mess.

Let me be your guide to the Shrouded Lands. We shall start at the Pool of the Firebirds. To the west, the endless Ocean of Bitter Regrets. Winging east over the Draugmere Peaks, passing the relentless Grey Mountains to the north, we come to the Kingswood. Jealously guarded by the elves, it is death to walk among its trees but humans have cut a path beneath it – the Welt Road.

The Welt Road surfaces at the Lands of the Night Cattle, where they graze their cattle under the moon so as to keep their hide pure white and untouched by sun. The Welt Road continues north to Titan’s Skull, the great fastness of the dwarves. If we continue our passage east, we pass through the Withered Moors and come to the World’s Edge: a great cliff which stretches north and south for many miles.

We return now to the Lands of the Night Cattle and take the Welt Road back, this time heading south along the White Road to the City of Shuttered Windows. Its walls stand tall and unmoving, but the city itself is sinking into the ground. The Shuttered City is on the shore of the Keening Sea, and as we head south-east we come to the gnoll-ridden Burning Lands. Of these lands we will say little, except that beyond them still are the Twelve Nations, or what remains of them.

These are the great sites of the Shrouded Lands – unless you have others that you wish to tell me of?

---

And another hex:

Laughing Sam (01.05)

A rocky peninsula juts into the Ocean of Bitter Regrets. At its very end is a small and twisted willow leaning well over the Ocean. At its base rests a boy with a battered straw hat tugged over his eyes.

Laughing Sam – when he is awake – is a cheerful dryad who invites other to sport with him along the peninsula. If a brave soul follows him all the way out to the willows, Sam showers them with ‘trifles’: pearls, fish that shed their scales and cough out their bones when asked politely and the courie-shell currency of Naros. He does not yet know of that nation’s fall.

Sam cannot move beyond the peninsula, and his selkie friends will ask him to pass on requests for brave surface dwellers. Recent problems include the King of Salt and Brine swallowing a selkie shield maiden’s helm and the Pirate Kings making underwater raids.

Hooks
What connection does Laughing Sam have to fallen Naros?

The map and compilation do not include this post and Sanglorian's previous one. It's my birthday today so I've been a bit busy

Happy birthday!

Sanglorian: most impressive I've added the map to the OP, the hexmapper program makes it a bit annoying to add text that is visible without it also taking up too much of the map. I'll be springing for the pay version soon, we'll see if that's any better but your work is an excellent alternative. What font did you use?

Linux Biolinium O, which you can get from the Open Fonts Project: LinuxLibertine.org | Public domain Fonts: Biolinum and Libertine

Other stuff:
-For the Welt Road, the City is the biggest customer of pretty much anything, but it's expensive to dig a tunnel road so the Welt Road goes out of the Kingswood via the shortest possible route and then people can go along normal roads once they're out of range of the elves and eventually link up to the White Road. It makes the trip take longer than if the road went in a straight line from the night men to the City, but nobody's put up the money to build a more direct underground road.

That makes sense.

-For Severard having seven chins, you've convinced me, I'll add that back in as it makes him more, erm, well-rounded...

Hurrah!

-For the Smiling Men I assumed that they'd be assassins (the name is influenced by the Faceless Men and the Sorrowful Men from George R. R. Martin) but I didn't have any ideas as to how to make them interesting assassins so I left it vague, good to have something specific that works. Having assassins that have had all emotions but happiness removed from their minds is wonderfully creepy.

Thanks! I had the Sorrowful Men in mind as well; I haven't heard of the Faceless Men.

Monster update:

Dopplegangers (43.27)
Dryads (01.05, 30.12)
Dwarves (30.12)
Grey Revenants (43.27)
Hags (46.15)
Heget, see Hags
Orcs (30.12)
Selkies (01.05)

Minor corrections:

The Ziggurat refers to ‘greenschis’. Should read ‘greenschist’.
The Ocean of Bitter Regrets says ‘their their mothers’. Should read ‘their mothers’.

 

[Daztur]

I'm a bit behind on the compilation and map now, I'll get caught up eventually...

Sanglorian:
-Keening Sea borders, yeah that's pretty much how I imagine it as well. Good to have an idea of roughly where the borders are.
-As for the light green area, the orcs that raid into the freeholds have to be coming from SOMEWHERE but they've never been fleshed out. Presumably they're up in the mountains somewhere between the dwarves and the bears and provide the main reason why the dwarves export stuff via the Welt Road instead of going around the Kingswood to the west. Also note that the very first mention of the Grey Mountains was Pillsy's write-up of Crossbow Henry in which it's mentioned that he lives near the foothills of them. My conception of them is that the Grey Mountains is the whole big west to east mountain range across the top of the map and the Draugmere Peaks is a spur of the range that pokes south.
-I like the write-ups, very concise and clear, I'll add them in and I'll fix the errors that you've noted.
-Not sure how far you've read in ASoIaF but the Faceless Men get mentioned in the first book, when Robert is talking about having Dany assassinated, the council considers the Faceless Men but decides against it due to their cost and decides to do it Littlefinger's way instead. They get mentioned in later books as well. Now that I'm thinking of Martin, I might have to steal some his stuff from Essos (the eastern continent) since that seems more in line with this setting than Westeros (pygmy elephants pulling carts and just about everything from Braavos fits well in Shuttered since they're both somewhat inspired by Venice).
-By my count, we have just 10 more rpg.net entries to convert over. We're on the some stretch with that then.

The Spawning Grounds of the Stirges
Hex 31.15

With the fishermen of Shuttered (29.14) growing ever more numerous and thorough, the larval stirges that the fish of the Keening Sea feast on are growing to maturity in ever-growing numbers. At the end of spring, they rise from the coastal waters of the freshwater sea and the females plague both man and beast for several weeks until they have either drank their fill, died of starvation or been killed. Luckily, the stirges can be driven off by strong sunlight, rain, wind or smoke but when the weather is mild it is dangerous to be out of doors for stirges drink deeply and the great red welts that they leave burn for weeks.

There is a saying that a stirge never takes only blood and some who are bitten by stirges survive to find themselves mysteriously cured of the effects of disease and poison and stirge bites often seem to induce miscarriage, forgetfulness and madness. Claims that the victims of stirges sometimes receive the diseases, memories and unborn children of those previously bitten have been dismissed as illogical, for how could such things be transmitted by a beast?

Hooks:
-What do the male stirges eat?
-How do people respond to stirge season?
-Why do stirge bites have so many side effects?
-Who has claimed to have had someone else's pregnancy transfered to them via stirge bite? What happened?

The Steading of the Minotaurs
Hex: 18.02

Note: this one is also from the ever-awesome drek.

Only couple generations of men in the past, the minotaurs numbered amoung the Twelve great nations (see the write-up about embassies in 29.14). Now, all that left is an empty and bricked up Embassy in the City of Shuttered Windows and an outpost in the furthest north of Freehold lands.

The Minotaur nation was brought low by the combination of Grumluda's military might, the necromancers of Naros, and merfolk of the Southside Ocean. (Not coincidentally, the arch-lich of Naros was destroyed shortly thereafter, ending that nation as well). Minotaurs were decreed to be as they were when the world was young -- slaves to the orcish Eternal-King in life and fodder to be reanimated in death. What were once minotaur lands were absorbed by the conquerors.

Gumlunda coerced the Doge of Shuttered into signing the Horn Treaty, decreeing any minotaur to be property of the orcish nation. The minotaurs of the Embassy were forced to flee into the savage northern lands, but given the time and cover to do so in exchange for turning over the arch-lich's spellbooks. Even considering the value of the objects offered, it was a difficult deal to push through, as the bull-like shape of the minotaurs has always marked them as something semi-heretical to the church of the City.

The outpost Lastmaze is populated by the descendants of the ambassadors and staff of the minotaur embassy, as well as few groups of refugees that managed to escape across Keening Sea. They have a decent sized ostrich herd, shared communally, but it isn't enough to sustain the population. And so, they raid -- mugging travelers and traders throughout the freeholds.

While there has been talk of freeholders banding together (and/or hiring mercs) to oust the minotaurs from Lastmaze, the effort has thus far fizzled in the face of other concerns. The few times mercenary companies have been paid for and sent to Lastmaze, they've been routed. Brigadier Kalas of the Grumlunda has made an expedition to Lastmaze as well. His failure is testament to desperation-fueled defiance of the minotaur's last outpost.

In the wake of these failures, the many of the freeholders tell each other that rooting out the minotaurs would not be worth the bother as they provide a buffer against orc raids from the north. Although the savage northern orcs had nothing to do with the conquest of their homeland, several orc raiding parties that otherwise would've reached the freeholds have been hacked to pieces by minotaur axes.

Lastmaze is a roughly hewed rock structure, burrowed over the past two generations into a system of twisting, natural caves. The entrance and surroundings are always well defended and well patrolled. At the very center is a shrine to Chimalia, around which all daily activity within the freehold centers.

The Prime Bull of the Herd is a one-horned paladin of Chimalia named Ja of the Red. Ja of the Red usually suffers no outsiders in the lands around Lastmaze. Travelers that first prove their martial might can barter for safe passage (or other trades. In particular, Ja seeks information on the severed heads of Tiamat, which he believes can be located past World's Edge. He is also interested seeing Brigadier Kalas Montra-brey defeated. Gifts of live ostriches or other useful supplies can purchase some goodwill as well.

 

[chutup]

Now I'm seeing Severard as a sort of parody of Elminster. He's super powerful, but he's also kind of an uptight dick. And he's dead now, so at least he can't cause trouble in the setting with his overpowered-ness.

 

[Daztur]

Oh, also now that I've edited through that last post about the minotaurs, it seems pretty damn clear that Chimalia is in fact the goddess of the labyrinth. While adapting all of the old rpg.net posts over I'm continually amazed about how many little nuggets for canon I'd gotten mixed up until having to collate them all forces me to look at the details.

Now I'm seeing Severard as a sort of parody of Elminster. He's super powerful, but he's also kind of an uptight dick. And he's dead now, so at least he can't cause trouble in the setting with his overpowered-ness.

Yup, I think that's what my subconscious was doing with him Pretty much all of the mega-casters are either safely dead (Severus) or not really in a position to do all that much (the Lady, Pandelar/the Weeper and Amelar/the Hierophant).

 

[Sanglorian]

Titan's Rest (33.01)
The valley that the Welt Road follows into Titan’s Skull is called Titan’s Rest. According to legend, the brother-sister of the Drinker of Iron – the Speaker to Bronze, who taught artifice to the dwarves – fell here and his-her bones turned to silver as they sunk into the earth. His-her head, hacked off by the Drinker of Iron, rolled to rest upon the mountain where the dwarves now make their settlement.

Bands of dwarves patrol the Titan’s Rest in numbers greater than necessary to ward off wolves or bandits. Some merchants report the strange sounds echoing from the earth beneath the Welt Road, sounds like battle or sport.

So much of the old lore has been forgotten that the Burghers of Titan’s Skull are ordering vast quantities of arms and armour from emigré dwarves and even human blacksmiths.

Hooks
Why have the dwarves forgotten the old ways?
Why are the dwarves mobilising?
What makes the strange sounds beneath the earth?
Why did the Drinker of Iron cut off the head of his-her sibling?

---

And since you mentioned dwarf elephants ...

THE GRAVEYARD OF THE PAINTED ELEPHANTS (43.27)
(Inspired by the elephants described by Charles Ferguson and Ryan St in The Great Hundred project.)

When the Painted Elephants of the Burning Lands feel their steps faltering and their eyesight blurring, they travel to the Elephant Graveyard where they gracefully die.

Painted elephants are small – about five feet high at the shoulder – and have four tusks. Their name comes from the brilliantly-coloured fur and feathers that cover their hide. They are known to decorate their skin with ochres and clays; the elves report that they are forbidden by ancient pact from approaching an elephant with a white dot on its forehead and white circles around each eye.

The gnolls of the Burning Lands hold the elephants in high esteem. It is taught that if the elephants bury someone beneath moss and dirt as if he or she were an elephant, that person will enjoy great prosperity in the afterlife – even if they have undergone the heart ritual.

The Mother has great ambition to eat an elephant heart.

Hooks
Why does she want to eat the heart of an elephant?
Who wants their afterlife ensured?
Who will pay for painted ivory?

---

-As for the light green area, the orcs that raid into the freeholds have to be coming from SOMEWHERE but they've never been fleshed out. Presumably they're up in the mountains somewhere between the dwarves and the bears and provide the main reason why the dwarves export stuff via the Welt Road instead of going around the Kingswood to the west. Also note that the very first mention of the Grey Mountains was Pillsy's write-up of Crossbow Henry in which it's mentioned that he lives near the foothills of them. My conception of them is that the Grey Mountains is the whole big west to east mountain range across the top of the map and the Draugmere Peaks is a spur of the range that pokes south.

Ah yep, those points both make sense. So the Grey Mountains should extend at least to 39.01 and 40.02, and may also fill the light green area.

-Not sure how far you've read in ASoIaF but the Faceless Men get mentioned in the first book, when Robert is talking about having Dany assassinated, the council considers the Faceless Men but decides against it due to their cost and decides to do it Littlefinger's way instead. They get mentioned in later books as well. Now that I'm thinking of Martin, I might have to steal some his stuff from Essos (the eastern continent) since that seems more in line with this setting than Westeros (pygmy elephants pulling carts and just about everything from Braavos fits well in Shuttered since they're both somewhat inspired by Venice).

Ah, I do remember them discussing a few options for assassins. I've just finished the second book.

And he's dead now, so at least he can't cause trouble in the setting with his overpowered-ness.

Oh, we think he's dead ...

---

UPDATES
Is this the best way for me to let you know what needs to be added? I'm also happy to edit the Google Doc directly. Or we could set up a wiki and store the appendices there.

Monster updates:
Stirges (31.15)
Minotaurs (18.02)
Orcs (18.02)
Wolves (33.01)
Dwarves (33.01)
Elephants, painted (43.27)
Elves (43.27)
Gnolls (43.27)

Deity updates:
-Delete 'Goddess of the Labyrinth'.
-Add '/Goddess of the Labyrinth' to Chimalia.
-Add 'Paladin of Chimalia' to the list of priests of Chimalia.

Twelve Nations updates:
-Add '[minotaur nation]'

 

[Daztur]

Editing permission sent. I can send it to anyone else who wants it as well.

I just got off Skype with my dad in New Mexico (hence no time for the hexcrawl tonight ). It turns out that one of his colleagues is one of Martin's old friends, so I'll be getting me some Martin swag for my birthday

For the series, the fan consensus is that the third book is the best off the lot, so keep on reading. After I first got into his writing I read a bunch of his old science fiction stuff from the 70's (there's a big hiatus in the middle of his writing career from when he did TV work) and that's very very good as well, possibly better than his fantasy stuff (more melancholic and whimsical with a lot of lovelorn characters which you don't see much off in his modern books, less bitter and gritty, but still quite dark). He didn't write much fantasy in the old days, but "The Lost Lands" is good stuff...

 

[Sanglorian]

Editing permission received - and the updates have been made.

That's great news with the swag!

I have enjoyed the first two novels. When I get access to a library, I'll definitely check out the third. I didn't find the second nearly as compelling as the first - which I raced through - so it's good to hear that the third is well-liked.

As for the earlier stuff ... there's just so much to read and so little time! But I'll keep an eye out for it.