The Mythosan Grimoire

In a previous post I discussed the details of settlements in Mythosa. This is a follow-up to that post, summarizing the availability of businesses and services in each of the settlements. They are shown in the table below (businesses are in brown ). Most services that produce physical goods are not listed as their presence is implied based on the equipment lists in the PHB (i.e.; if the PCs can buy a sword in a settlement, you can assume that there are smiths; if they can buy arrows, assume fletchers are present, etc.). If a percentage is shown, that is the chance that one individual of that type is found in the settlement. Service/Business Hamlet Village Town City Metropolis Alchemist None None 50% 3 (2 to 5) 5+ Artist None 50% 3 (1 to 5) 10 (5 to 15) 15+ Astrologer None None 50% 3 (2 to 5) 5+ Bank None None None 2 (1 to 3) 4+ Boatwright* None 50% 3 (1 to 5) 10 (5 to 15) 15+ Book Dealer None None 50% 3 (2 to 5) 5+ Bounty Hunter None None 3 (1 to 5) 10 (5 to 15) 15+ Bre...

The Nine Infernal Kingdoms are regions of the plane of Maledicium where powerful archdevils have established their domains, pockets of stability and order surrounded by demon-infested chaos. Brief descriptions of these "kings of Hell" and their dominions are listed below (in order of relative power, weakest to strongest). Note: Each archdevil is listed with aliases as it is ill-advised to say their names aloud, outside the context of a ritual or invocation. To do so is said to invite misfortune upon oneself. ⁜ ⁜ ⁜ ⁜ ⁜ Ilsidris, King of Avernus The Hawk, the Whisperer Ilsidris is the ruler of Avernus , and is the third ruler of this kingdom in recent history. He has the form of a human male with a hawk's head, bird wings, and taloned feet. Ilsidris speaks in a sinister whisper, causing feelings of dread and uneasiness to those who hear his voice. The avian archdevil is the weakest of the infernal kings, but he is able to ally and manipulate the others in...

The Mythosan world map and PDF show and document a number of towns, many cities, three metropolises, and one hamlet. Hopefully it is obvious that this is not the entirety of settlements in the known world; to show every village and town on the map would be major overkill and a lot of unnecessary work (and to be honest, I have no idea where every village or hamlet is; I add them as I need them). That said, there's nothing that documents the specifics of settlements in the context of Mythosa other than the general terms listed in the world guide. This post is intended to clarify that. There are five types of settlement in Mythosa: hamlet, village, town, city, and metropolis*. On the world map, settlements are shown based on their size (relative to the scale of the map) or their significance. Given that, all the cities and metropolises of the known world are on the map. Regarding towns, the ones that appear on the world map have some particular importance (like Irongate due to its ...

Yes, you read that right - a new version of TableSmith has been released! I realize it's long  overdue, and it's not a huge release, but it is something (and finally addresses the folder access problem that's plagued 5.1 since Windows Vista was released). There are some new features, but this is primarily a technical update to address two things. First, the standard installation puts the program and other "read-only" files into the "Program Files" folder of Windows, while the tables, config file, and other mutable files go into a TableSmith folder in the user's Documents folder. This is the expected installation that Microsoft encourages, and fixes the issue where everything was installed into "Program Files", which then created issues when TableSmith tried to save it's configuration information. "Back in the day" (i.e.; Windows XP and earlier), you could do that, but Vista and later didn't allow for that. Ironically, ...

I've uploaded a small (one-page) PDF for the town of Irongate (found in the Ruinlands  region) that I put together for one of my current Mythosa campaigns. It can be found on the Downloads page.

I finally updated the Mythosa PDF (available on the Downloads  page). When I switched from a static HTML site to Blogger, I obviously wanted to preserve the Mythosa pages. Originally, I just printed the pages to PDF and stitched them together into a single file. This was good enough for a start, but not for the long term. I took the contents of the PDF, cleaned it up, reformatted it, and reposted it. It still could use some more artwork, but that will come later.

While reviewing my backlog of PDFs, I was looking through a small campaign settings book (what and by who is irrelevant). As I'm looking through the Table of Contents, I see the same standard chapter - Races, History, Organizations, Religion, etc. On the one hand, this is a good, boilerplate approach to a setting and organized in such a way as to be easily digested by the reader. But on the other hand, I was thinking, is this the only way? We've been following the same basic template for presenting setting information since the late 70's. It's not bad (I certainly have done and am doing the same thing), but is there a better way?

While there is an "About" page on this blog (link over to the right), I figured I'd post some explanations of what is going on with this blog as well as the old Mythosa site. Currently, the old website is gone (even after I spent a bunch of time revising it…sigh), and this blog is the Internet home for Mythosa, TableSmith, my iOS apps, and whatever other projects I may be working on. I got rid of the old site for a couple reasons. First, I realized that "fantasy campaign setting" sites really aren't a thing any longer. Most of them are gone, and the handful that remain haven't been updated in years (some have been sitting idle for over a decade). Farland is still going, but it's an exception (and has always been at a higher level of quality than most every other world site, mine included). Other than that, most people have moved their content to blogs rather than static HTML sites. Now, just conforming to the current fashion isn't a rea...

Compiled by Andrew Roy The table below provides density figures for many common (and some not-so-common) substances. This information is useful for determining the weight (or volume) of objects and cargo. This table was pieced together from a wide variety of sources, listed in full at the bottom of the page. The inspiration for this comes from the old Dragon magazine article, "How Heavy is My Giant". These figures have not been rigorously checked. Do not rely on this as a scientific reference! Note on measures: Specific gravity is a measure of an object's density. A cubic centimeter of water at 4°C weighs 1 gram, and has a specific gravity of 1. The specific gravity numbers below can be read as "grams per cubic centimeter" (or kg/liter). A solid object with a specific gravity greater than 1 will sink in water. Weight in pounds per cubic inch and foot is also provided to save non-metric users some time on the calculator. Material Specific Gravity Pound...

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material. Rating Test Rock Other Tests 1 Talc Can be scratched by fingernail 2 Gypsum Scratched by copper/bronze coin 3 Calcite Scratched by copper/bronze coin 4 Fluorite Scratched by steel; scratches coin 5 Apatite Scratched by steel; scratches coin 6 Feldspar Scratches glass 7 Quartz Not scratched by steel 8 Topaz Not scratched by steel 9 Corundum Not scratched by steel 10 Diamond No mineral harder The table below shows the hardness for various gemstones. Gemstone Hardness Serpentine 1.5 Amber 2-2.5 Chrysocolla 2-2.5 Tortoise shell 2.5 Pearl 2.5-3.5 Jet 2.5-4 Coral 3.5 Rhodochrosite 3.5-4.5 Rock crystal 3.5-5 Lapis Lazuli 5.5 Moonstone 5.5-6 Turquoise 5.5-6 Opal 5.5-6.5 Tanzanite 6 Chalcedony 6.5-7 Jade 6.5-7 Peridot 6.5-7 Garnet 6.5-7.5 Kunzite 7 Quartz 7 Tourmaline 7-7.5 Zircon 7.5 ...

Temperatures are approximate. Metal °K °C °F aluminum 942° 669° 1236° copper 1357° 1083° 1982° gold 1338° 1064° 1948° iron/steel 1808° 1535° 2795° lead 601° 328° 622° nickel 1726° 1453° 2647° platinum 2045° 1772° 3222° silver 1235° 962° 1764° tin 505° 232° 450° titanium 1933° 1660° 3020° zinc 693° 420° 787° Note that the following metals are alloys of the above: brass - copper/zinc bronze - copper/tin; usually, 90%+ copper (common is 95%) 1 electrum - silver/gold Also note that although aluminum and titanium are quite common in the Earth's crust, they do not occur naturally in a metallic state. Their manufacture was not mastered until the 20th century. (Aluminum was first easily produced by Charles Martin Hall in the town of Oberlin, OH.) 1. Sometimes metals other than tin are used, although tin is the most common. Source: Tesarta

A lot of gamers use hex paper for maps, battle schematics, etc. Hexes are usually defined by how far across they are from one flat side to another. This is great for most purposes. Occasionally, however, you want to know the area of a set of hexagons. The formula, unfortunately, is a bit daunting for the non-mathematically inclined. Here's a simple table showing the area of various hex sizes: Distance across hex Area of hex (rounded) 1 1 2 3 3 8 4 14 5 22 6 31 7 42 8 55 9 70 10 87 15 195 20 346 25 541 30 779 35 1061 40 1386 42 1528 45 1754 50 2165 75 4871 100 8660 125 13532 150 19486 175 26522 200 34641 250 54127 500 216506 1000 866025 The formula, in case you want to insert values that aren't on the table or want exact values, is: (6tan30*Distance^2) / 4 .

The table below contains the approximate population of various parts of Europe during the Middle Ages. Numbers are in millions. Region 1000 1300 1500 1700 Balkans - - 7 8 Low Countries - - 2 3 British Isles 2 5 5 9 Danubian Countries - - 6 9 France 5 15 16 19 Germany 3 12 13 15 Italy 5 10 11 13 Poland - - 4 6 Russia - - 10 18 Scandanavia - - - 3 Spain and Portugal - - 9 10 Source: The Medieval Technology Pages

The following information is compiled from a number of sources. Additional lifespans may be found at Dr. Bob's All Creature Site . These represent estimates of the life expectancies of the population as a whole. In many instances life expectancy varied considerably according to class and gender. Life expectancy rises sharply in all cases for those who reach puberty. All statistics include infant mortality, but not miscarriage or abortion. Humans by Era Average Lifespan at Birth (years) Upper Paleolithic 33* Neolithic 20 Bronze Age 18 Classical Greece 20-30 Classical Rome 20-30 Pre-Columbian North America 25-35 Medieval Islamic Caliphate 35+** Medieval Britain 20-30 Early 20th Century 30-40 Current world average 66.12 (2008 est.) *: At age 15: 39 (to age 54) **: The average lifespans of the scholarly class were 59–84.3 years in the Middle East and 69–75 in Islamic Spain.

Animal Name albatross rookery alligators congregation angels* host antelope herd ants army, colony, nest, swarm apes shrewdness, troop apparitions* academy asses drove, herd, pace auks colony, flock, raft baboons flange, troop bacteria culture badgers cete, colony, company, set banshees* racket barracudas battery basilisks* tackle bass shoal bats cloud, colony bears (adult) sleuth, sloth beavers colony, family bees grist, hive, nest, swarm behemoths* spectacle birds brace, congregation, dissimulation, flock, volary bison herd bitterns sedge, siege bloodhounds sute boars sounder, singular bobolinks chain bucks brace, clash buffalo gang, herd, obstinacy, troop bullfinches bellowing bullocks drove butterflies flight, flutter buzzards wake camels caravan, flock, train capons mews caribou herd caterpillars army cats (general) clowder, clutter, glare, nuisance, pounce cattle drove, herd, team centaurs* eminence cheetahs coalition cherubim* compas...

15,000-22,000 23,000-49,000 50,000-125,000 528 AD Hamadan Carthage Alexandria Istakhr Ctesiphon Antioch Milan Ephesus Constantinople Miletus Salonica Rome Ravenna Rayy Sardia Smyrna 737 AD Ctesiphon Alexandria Constantinople Fustat Antioch Hamadan Basra Kuta Damascus Mosul Nishapur Rayy Salonika Shiraz Toledo Wasit 1000 AD Damascus Alexandria Baghdad Fez Antioch Constantinople Hamadan Basra Isfahan Cairo Kalrouan Cordoba Mecca Mosul Nishapur Palermo Rayy Seville 1212 AD Aleppo Alexandria Baghdad Brescia Antioch Cairo Bruges Basra Constantinople Bukhara Damascus Cordoba Milan Florence Samarkand Ghent Shiraz Hamadan Tunis Herat Venice Isfahan Kairouan Konya London Mahalia Marrakesh Mecca Mosul Naples Nishapur Novgorod Padua Palermo Paris Pisa Qua Rabat-Salé Rayy Rome Sana Seville Tabriz Toledo Verona Wasit 1346 AD Antwerp Alexandria Cairo Avignon Baghdad Constantinople Basra Barcelona Florence Bergamo Bologna Genoa ...

Greek City-States Populations were generally around 20k-30k. When they got larger they'd break away to form a new city (exceptions: Athens, 100k). Renaissance 100K+ in many, 50K+ in others

Roman Empire Duration of the Republic: ~500 years Duration of the Empire: ~400 years

Colors and Metals Argent (white or silver): Peace and sincerity. Azure (blue): Loyalty and truth. Gules (red): Military fortitude and magnanimity. Murray (sanguine): Not hasty in battle, and yet a victor. Or (yellow or gold): Generosity. Purpure (purple): Royal majesty, sovereignty and justice. Sable (black): Constancy, sometimes grief. Tenne (tawney): Worthy ambition. Vert (green): Hope, joy and sometimes loyalty in love. Heraldic Lines Dancette: Water. Embattled: Fire or the walls of a fortress or town. Engrailed and Invected: Earth or land. Indented: Fire. Nebulee or Nebuly: The sea or water. Ragulee or Raguly: Difficulties which have been encountered. Ordinaries Bar: For "one who sets the bar of conscience, religion and honor against angry passions. Battune Sinister: Marks a royal descent that is barred by illegitimacy from succession to the throne. Bend: Defense or protection. Bordure or Border: Frequently adopted as a "diff...

Syd Field, author of "Screenplay" and "The Screen Writer's Workbook", has outlined a paradigm that most screenplays follow. A paradigm is a conceptual scheme. This paradigm is the structure that holds screenplays together. According to Field, screenplays follow a three-act structure, meaning the standard screenplay can be divided into three parts: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution.