Final Campaign Prep

At left is the final page of pre-campaign writing. Dated 7/14/02, evidence suggests that it was written the day before the first campaign session. Many totally awesome creative and story tidbits come from this document. It contains the first specific written references to Bahar Dar, Zazamanc, and Makdazadok.

A loose description of Bahar Dar is given, mentioning a "bizarre consortium of powerful interests." The paragraph gives prominence to the clergy of Wee Jas. Also, Bahar Dar "sits atop the hill-like ruins of an ancient Dwarven arcology." This phrase is key for two reasons. First, it references another of Hancock's books (The Mars Mystery), which discusses the possibility of Martian arcologies at Cydonia. Second, it alludes to the tantalizing prospect of Narudian ruins beneath Bahar Dar, which have still never been explored by the Wildlanders.

The Zazamanc paragraph is quite striking. It refers to the previous sketches, and it mentions that derro in service to "the Vampire Lord" are holding dwarvish slaves in the mines below the stronghold. This is the first written reference to Malkizedek (the vampire lord). Prior to this, "the Blackguard," who evolved into Dafoe Kiln, was the primary villain. Zazamanc is called "a low level module." The highest-level NPCs at the site were 8th level when I created it.

The Makdazadok paragraph begins by stating, "we see the spectacular sketch of the stone tower of the vampire lord." Only one such sketch existed at this time (found on the opposite page in the Big Red Book:

The caption states that the view is of the "west plateau," that is the homeland of Krebb which sits to the south of Stoneborough. The pinnacle of Makdazadok is in view here. The writing calls the vampire lord the "prime evil influence in the locality," and the "loyal vassal of the true necromancer across the desert." This is at least the second mention in the writing of the necromancer villain who would later become Yared Mengistu.

The drawing is an adaptation of Tolkien's Tarn Aeluin, which is an important location in The Silmarillion. The wide lake, located in the highlands adjacent to the forest of Dorthonion, was the hidden fastness to which Barahir, the father of Beren, fled following the Battle of the Sudden Flame (the Dagor Bragollach). It was by the lake of Tarn Aeluin that Barahir was slain by the forces of Sauron, and where Beren later buried his father.

Another paragraph discusses the character quirk of Lavender Weatherworth. If memory serves, Malkizedek was created after Lavender acquired the quirk. At this stage, it was not known how a half-vampire/half-halfling would be received by the PCs, and so it is left unclear whether she would become friend or foe.

This page is critically important in the development of the overarching story of The Wildlanders.