The Mythosan Grimoire

Wow, over a year since I posted last. I should do more posting. Which is generally what I say every time I post... Anyway, the Mythosa Codex has been updated . Added a bunch of material, changed up the art, etc. Development will continue.

For a variety of reasons, I've switched from 5E to Old School Essentials . To that end, I've created a PDF for using Mythosa with OSE, including house rules, what optional rules are used, and similar things. The PDF is available from the Downloads page.

Very minor edit; the label for the Vhallosean Sea  had somehow disappeared. This is pretty common, actually. Almost always when I edit something on the map in Wonderdraft somehow a label disappears on the map. Not sure if this is user error or a bug in the program. This had been sitting out there for awhile, but it should be fixed now. Still a program I highly recommend. Knocking around ideas for future development, though the only thing on the horizon at the moment is a new Mythosa  Player's Companion  for  Old School Essentials .

Not much been going on lately (I should post more), but I did update the Codex with a table of contents now. Should be easier to navigate. You can find it on the  Downloads  page.

A few updates this time around: MYTHOSA CODEX The Codex continues to be a "living document", which was always the intention. Though I do need to find a different application for the layout; right now, I just use Pages which means that when I change the entries it screws up the entire format. I'll have to take a look for some open source solution. Anyway, this time around I've tweaked the chronology - the months and the days of the week. Calendar:  My old design was one of those "this works out great" ideas and then turned out to be a little too pat (i.e.; contrived). Kind of like the "one deity per alignment" I originally liked and stole from Scarred Lands  and then soured on years ago. I was also inspired by Glorantha's use of "seasons" rather than "months", though for my design I have something in-between. Days of the Week:  Changed to fit a more religious origin, though the DoW are pretty much just a common point of refe...

(This is related to this post from a few years ago). Before I wrote the latest version of the Mythosa PDF (well, version 1.0 at least), I was trying to determine a new format that was both useful and practical. Generally, campaign books follow a fairly standard design that we’re all pretty familiar with by now: some sort of summary introduction (sometimes with a bit of fiction that is usually terrible), then an extensive chapter on the world’s history that will mostly be ignored, a chapter that goes into way more detail than necessary on the political entities of the world, another one fleshing out the religions, and then others that vary but cover things like why these elves are different, and what the various organizations and factions are, possibly a bunch of new mechanical elements (for games like D&D or Pathfinder this would include new monsters, new magic items, new spells, new feats, etc.). Now, let me make it clear that I’m a fan of campaign setttings; I love reading up o...

Just parking this here until I can update the Codex (this will make up Appendix B). I've decided to change things up and go with the traditional route of clerics serving individual gods (more akin to historical faiths like those of Greece and Egypt). Symbols and domains are listed below. A cleric’s (or paladin's) alignment must be within one step of his deity’s (that is, it may be one step away on either the lawful-chaotic axis or the good-evil axis, but not both). A cleric or paladin may not be neutral unless his deity’s. No domains are listed for the Old Faith since this is the religion of druids and rangers. Druids and rangers can be of any alignment, though they tend towards neutrality in some manner. Covenant of the Light Orthodox Symbol: TBD Alignment: LN Domains: Life, Light, Knowledge, War Venorites Symbol: TBD Alignment: NG Domains: Life, Light, Knowledge, War Divine Host Aeristus Symbol: Crossed hammer and pick Alignment: LN Domains: Forg...

When it comes to dungeon maps, I favor utility over artistry. Maps with rendered furniture and torchlight shadows are nice, but if they’re only seen by the GM, they’re not very practical. I want maps that are clear and make layout with dungeon tiles easy. If they can convey additional information without being too busy, all the better. Given the above, I really like this map of the venerable “Caves of Chaos” I found on The RPG Cartography blog . Not only is it practical but it contains a lot of useful information without being overdone. The only thing it’s really lacking is a square grid, though that might have clashed too much with the other elements (maybe tick marks on the outside of the walls could have been substituted...?). I’m not sure how much use I’ll get out of this map, but it’ll definitely be a model for ones I make myself in the future. (Note: The first link is to a JPG of the map, but the PDF you can download from the second link is much higher quality).

There's been plenty of discussion over the years about the impracticality of the armor female characters are often portrayed wearing, but can we take a moment to discuss this travesty? This is from Dragon #52 , for a D&D ad. It's kind of a chainmail half-shirt but slashed diagonally up the side for...reasons? Maybe he gets a Charisma bonus to distract female orcs with his partially-exposed pecs...