The Cairo Confidential
April 29, 2011
Von Kentucky – Explorer
Ambrosius Ezzi – Ethnologist
Higgins Cloppington – Geologist
Jean-Paul LeBeau – Zoologist
Leski Osmonov – Botonist
Jose Miguel Harpua – Missionary
Dr. Roger Smalley – Doctor
Kit Sharp – Journalist
Sometime in the middle of the 19th century, this diverse collection of men (and a woman) gathered in a makeshift brandy shack in the shadow of the Giza pyramids near Cairo, Egypt. They were there either as members of new expeditions heading up the Nile River or hoping to join such an expedition. The brandy flowed freely that night, until finally Von Kentucky said what was on everybody’s mind:
“Shit. I’m tired of the desert already.”
Everybody grumbled in agreement.
“What the hell are we doing here? I figure the best way to discover where the source of the Nile IS is to discover where it IS NOT!”
There was a mixture of nodding, applause, and “hear hear”. Then Leski said:
“They say southern Africa is a bountiful garden of breezy veldt, wet forests, and misty mountains dissected by gentle rivers!”
After some discussion and drawing of straws, the Cairo Confidential was formed. They would pool their resources, each set out for different ports along the east and west coasts of the southern half of Africa, and follow the rivers inland. Then, combining their discoveries and the profits gained from publishing these discoveries, they would form the ultimate expedition to finally discover the…
Source of the Nile.
(A high resolution version of the above map can be downloaded here.)
Revenge in the Dark Jungle: Pink-Eyed Ghost
April 28, 2011
You call out a challenge to the Bat leader in a bastardized dialect. The native warriors frantically look for you in all directions, but the echo of your voice deceives them.
You swing down from the canopy on vines, stealthily in the shadows around the camp. Silently you touch down in the middle of the camp. Only the leader saw you coming and he chuckles. The two body guards flee into the jungle as if they’d seen a ghost. With your sickly pale skin and wild pink eyes that have barely seen sleep for the past week, you look like a ghost indeed.
The leader tosses his bow aside and charges you with a war cry and bone hatchet poised. Which maneuver do you attempt?
Grab the wrist of his hatchet arm and chop it with your machete.
…or…
Duck and launch.
…or…
Kick him in the crotch.
All are welcome to participate in this adventure. Just indicate in the comments which course of action you’d like to see followed. Optionally, you can provide a semi-relevant movie quote and a bonus will be granted to the character’s rolls. Check out the previous posts about Revenge in the Dark Jungle.
Catherwood’s Jungle-Covered Ruins
April 27, 2011
Visit “jungle ruins” these days and you’ll likely stroll along nicely manicured lawns and gaze upon rebuilt stone structures. What an experience it must have been for 19th century explorers to stumble upon actual jungle-COVERED ruins. Compare:
Chichen Itza, 2011
Chichen Itza, 1839
Unfortunately, there aren’t many images like this, showing how these ruins appeared when first seen by Westerners. Fortunately, there are the works of Frederick Catherwood, creator of the above lithograph of Chichen Itza. I’ve included some of my favorites in the slideshow below, but visit the CASA FREDERICK CATHERWOOD site for a more complete collection.
I just linked to Trey’s blog last week, but he’s on a jungle roll. Check out this map he posted today.
…
And…I’ll take this opportunity to link this image from the Chris Wahl Illustration Blog:
Revenge in the Dark Jungle: The Dummy
April 26, 2011
You devise a diversion involving those curious monkeys seen earlier and dummy version of yourself built out of log, vine, and foliage. You set the trap a distance away from the camp and wait the monkeys to trip it.
(Successful Luck saving roll)
The monkeys set off the trap and it operates properly. Several monkeys are impaled by sharpened sticks and fill the jungle with screeching cries. Then, the log dummy is released from the canopy, its legs and arms of foliage flailing as it falls with a thud on the jungle floor.
(Successful Luck saving roll, Level 1)
The diversion works, but only partially. The leader dispatches three warriors to investigate the area where your dummy fell to the jungle floor. There are still two warriors guarding the leader, plus the sentry archer.
Try to silently eliminate the sentry first.
…or…
Call out the leader for a duel.
…or…
Swing on a vine through the camp, chopping heads.
All are welcome to participate in this adventure. Just indicate in the comments which course of action you’d like to see followed. Optionally, you can provide a semi-relevant movie quote and a bonus will be granted to the character’s rolls. Check out the previous posts about Revenge in the Dark Jungle.
The monkey-eaters, a monkey, and a monk
April 25, 2011
Stragglers
Sometimes called Lost Soldiers, these poor fellows were left behind in the jungle during the Wizard Wars of long ago. Perhaps they were prisoners of war, left for dead with injuries and no provisions, deserters, or conscientious objectors. Maybe their commanders never released them of their duties, and they’ve stayed at their post for centuries. Whatever the case may be, the jungle has welcomed and recruited them as her own soldiers…damning them to bound duty for all of their remaining un-life. Stragglers may be found patrolling the jungle with blank expression or fiercely defending their post with suicidal determination. They often set traps and seldom attack unless as an ambush, but they will fight to the death if cornered. Their final breath is always one of great relief.
Some Stragglers have a taste for human flesh, which they blithely call “monkey meat”. Others lead a more docile existence, tending gardens of purple potatoes and other jungle vegetables. They often communicate in delusional gibberish and non sequitur. For example:
• “It is with much embarrassment that I am still alive.”
• (With an arrow protruding from chest.) “That is not an arrow. We just imagine the arrows because we fear them.”
• “Come on! Kill me! I’m here! Come on! Do it now! Kill me!”
• “They’re all gone, sir…I’m the last one, sir.”
• (Extending own arm.) “When I’m dead, you can eat this.”
The Ancient Orangutan is an immortal and knows practically everything. He can speak all languages but prefers to stay quiet. Anything he does say is always deep and thoughtful, but he occasionally tells a subtle joke laden with knowledge, followed by a wide toothy grin.
The Wandering Monk roams the jungle in search of Stragglers. He grants their wish for death and then gives them a proper burial. He carries a saung-gauk harp, the music of which pacifies Stragglers. The monk never says a word, but communicates with others through the parrot that always sits on his shoulder. The parrot can speak any language.
Revenge in the Dark Jungle: Prelude to Revenge
April 21, 2011
You grab hold of a slack vine and chop a nearby taut vine with your machete. There is a groaning of tree limbs and, like a pulley system, the vine in your grip begins to tighten and then rise up into the jungle canopy, taking you with it. There in the canopy you see bizarre plants and animals. Strange varieties of monkeys, having never seen a beast such as you, curiously approach with wide eyes and poking sticks. You growl and scare them away.
It’s been months since you’ve seen the sun, so you climb high enough in the canopy to absorb some unfiltered rays as you climb, swing, and jump your way to above the camp of the Bat war party. The brightness of the sun stings your eyes, but it also invigorates you and aids in healing your wounds.
They are on high alert, having heard your earlier warning. But they aren’t looking up. Examining the six warriors, you notice that one of them wears the necklace of blue beads that you had given to your slain wife. He seems to be the leader, the largest of build and wielding a black bow and bone hatchet. The rest of the warriors carry shields and spears.
(Successful Luck saving roll)
You are lucky to spot a sentry with a bow, perched half way up a tree trunk directly below you.
Try to eliminate the sentry first.
…or…
Create a diversion, in hopes of isolating the leader.
…or…
Swing on a vine through the camp, chopping heads.
All are welcome to participate in this adventure. Just indicate in the comments which course of action you’d like to see followed. Optionally, you can provide a semi-relevant movie quote and a bonus will be granted to the character’s rolls. Check out the previous posts about Revenge in the Dark Jungle.
Revenge in the Dark Jungle: The Spider-Chopper!
April 19, 2011
You enter the territory of the Giant Daddy Longlegs. The flashing lights of the will-o-the-wisp cast thin shadows at the edge of your visions…the shadows of the many Longlegs. You know they are out there, excited by the scent of your bloody wounds, but they are deathly patient and won’t reveal themselves until you’ve entered their trap.
You, of course, are vigilant of the danger and aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the Longlegs cannot resist the smell of your sweet blood any longer…
You let the Longlegs grab and pin you like a birdcage, but as the spherical body descends to prick you with its poison (the most deadly poison in the jungle, it is said), you attempt to free your arm from its grip…
(Successful Strength saving roll)
You unsheathe your machete and chop its body open like a ripe watermelon. You roll away as it screeches and twitches in ear-splitting agony.
With reluctant fear, the other Longlegs let the Spider-Chopper pass through their territory. Once through, you search for the Bat marauders.
(Successful Luck saving roll)
You have found their trail, and determine they are within earshot. You scream:
“I am the Monkey-Impaler! Mud-Sleeper! Water-Rider! Cat-Flyer! Cliff-Tickler! Spider-Chopper!
“NOW I WILL BECOME THE BAT KILLER!”
Judging from the fresh sign, you determine there are six warriors in the Bat war party. Choose:
Walk right into their camp and kick some ass.
or
Climb up into the canopy and silently ambush them from above.
All are welcome to participate in this adventure. Just indicate in the comments which course of action you’d like to see followed. Optionally, you can provide a semi-relevant movie quote and a bonus will be granted to the character’s rolls. Check out the previous posts about Revenge in the Dark Jungle.
Jungle Alert! Using Your Head @ From the Sorcerer’s Skull
April 19, 2011
I’ve enjoyed From the Sorcerer’s Skull for awhile now and have seen some jungle-related stuff there in the past. Glad to see Trey write about the jungle again: Using Your Head. A nice collection of magical shrunken heads. Check it out.
Labyrinthine Mountain Maps: For Fun and Profit and TPK
April 18, 2011
A memorable part of the Lewis & Clark journals is their tribulations while crossing the Rocky Mountains. Namely, choosing the correct valley or pass. A wrong choice can set the expedition back several weeks time, and in a race against changing seasons it becomes a life or death decision. Experienced guides were hired when possible. This snippet of the L&C maps illustrates the labyrinthine nature of the valleys and passes of the Rockies.
(View the complete L&C map here, in high resolution)
In RPGs, the arduous nature of mountain travel is usually abstracted into the slow movement rate given to PCs traveling in mountains. That technique works well for most games, but what if you want to make mountain travel into an adventure itself, with added decision making and resource management considerations for the PCs?
One way to do this is to include paths of clear hexes within mountain hex groups to represent valleys or passes, like on the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth wilderness map:
Or the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun wilderness map:
Or in non-hex map situations, like in Griffin Mountain:
A drawback of the above methods is that it can be difficult to make the map sufficiently complex so as to create meaningful decision points. Plus, on some maps, the scale or type of map doesn’t lend itself well to indicating valleys and passes in the above ways.
Here is the technique I used on the FitJ wilderness map:
Movement from one mountain hex to another is only possible if that hex side is not “blocked”, as indicated by a thick black hex-side on the map. Not exactly a revolutionary technique, but simple and effective.
This post is part of the RPG Blog Carnival: RPG Cartography.
Fire in the Jungle 
