Time to get the disclaimer out of the way. I've been following James Mishler since his early days as a licensee of Judges Guild Wilderlands setting. Although that project overwhelmed James (and understandably so) it showed that James truly has a handle on the sandbox/hex crawl style of setting. James and Rob Conley (Bat in the Attic James) are cut from similar cloth.
Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer is one of James' more recent releases, and James was kind enough to send me a comp copy of the PDF. I did not request it, and James did not offer it to me. It simply arrived in my email earlier today. I'll follow this post up with a review at some point in the next few weeks.
At first glance, this is an impressive campaign. It claims to support years of gameplay, and that certainly looks to be the case.
The one thing that sticks out prominently to me is that there are FOUR versions of the setting map - "One map with all the names, location symbols, and mountain passes with hex numbers (identical to the PWYW map available separately), and one such map without hex numbers. One map without all the names, location symbols, and mountain passes with hex numbers, and one such map without hex numbers."
I really love this touch. I can hand out a map to my players without giving away all of the secrets this way ;)
How much is the Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer? 15 bucks for the PDF and PNG maps.
The Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer is a 76-page campaign guide describing the Southlands of the Isle of Eldisor.
Jordvann was once a land dedicated to Law and Good, until the rise of Eldisor, the Devil’s-Son, who together with his hordes of giants, dragons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins conquered the land, reduced the people to slavery, and brought down Fimbul Winter, which caused empires to fall world-wide. Eldisor ruled for 400 years, until he was slain or brought low during a rebellion of his captains, the Old Evils. Fimbul Winter ended, and civilization rose again elsewhere, while the survivors on the Isle of Eldisor sought to stay alive between the warring Old Evils.
Now, descendants (or claimed descendants) of exiled Jordvanner have settled the southern verge of the southern portion of the island, building colonies and rebuilding civilization among the monstrous and savage peoples of the isle. Little is known of the Isle of Eldisor, and what little is known is merely myth, legend, and rumor. The adventurers can partake of the return to the Isle of Eldisor in many ways – find and recover the lost treasures of the ancient civilization; discover, ally, and trade with the savage descendants of the Jordvanner; battle the remaining hordes of evil giants, dragons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins; or seek to re-establish the lost realm of Jordvann and protect the native peoples from the inroads of the colonial factors.
The setting is presented as a Hexcrawl sandbox, and includes the following details:
- History of the Isle of Eldisor.
- Details on the Colonial Powers.
- Geographical information, including specific regional encounter options.
- The Jordvanner (including the four descendant peoples – the wild Cavemen, the sorcerous Gray Folk, the monstrous Morlocks, and the savage Tribesmen, as well as their cousins, the barbaric Kruski berserkers and vikings).
- 13 Gods, Demi-Gods, and Demons of the Isle of Eldisor and the Continent.
- 36 Myths, Legends, and Rumors.
- Complete Campaign Notes on making the Isle of Eldisor experience more immersive and unique.
- Details on the Weather on the Isle of Eldisor, still recovering from Fimbul Winter.
- A complete Hexcrawl Exploration Procedure to determine encounters and the discovery of minor ruins and settlements.
- A gazetteer detailing 156 major settlements, strongholds, ruins, and lairs.
- New monsters, including the Mammoth, Northern Titan, Giant Troll, and Multi-Headed Troll.
- An Appendix N detailing literature inspirational to the campaign.
- There are four separate maps included in PNG format:
- One map with all the names, location symbols, and mountian passes with hex numbers (identical to the PWYW map available separately), and one such map without hex numbers.
- One map without all the names, location symbols, and mountain passes with hex numbers, and one such map without hex numbers.
- The map is 52 hexes east-west by 34 hexes north-south; each hex is 6 miles across, providing more than 50,000 square miles of adventure!
- The map is also provided in the book, divided into eight sections for easy reading.
The Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign can provide a Judge and their players with years of adventure!
Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily adaptable to any Old-School RPG or even Fifth Edition!
or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.
This looks cool! I like how the hex map mimics the style of the old Mystara/Known World maps provided with their Gazetteers. I reproduced several of their maps twenty years ago using MS Paint, they're up on a Mystara atlas site somewhere.
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