This is a modified version of Jeff Reints “Twenty quick questions for your campaign setting.”
What races & classes are available to play?
While many intelligent races inhabit the sphere, the only race available to play at present is humans. However, if you wish to play an elf, dwarf, or halfling, you may play those races as though they are a class. If you wish to play an elf for example, then your character will be a human with a “Spellsword,” or “Warlock” class. Racial options can be expanded beyond humans if the party is able to make alliances with other races.
Currently, classes are restricted to those present in the Lamentations of the Flame Princess core book. Though, if you have a different class you’d wish to play, I am willing to consider it.
What is the deal with my cleric’s religion?
The gods are not celestial beings, reposing in an unreachable heavenly place. Those gods are too far away to help you here. The gods of Dungeon Moon inhabit the Dungeon Moon. They may be difficult to find, and may exist in forms barely comprehensible to their human worshipers. But they are not so well hidden, nor so incomprehensible that they cannot be met. Nor are they so mighty that they cannot be killed.
To become a cleric, one must find a god and make an offering which pleases it. After the cleric is blessed by divine favor, they may begin to advance as a cleric according to the standard rules. Clerics which begin at first level may be assumed to have done this already.
How did my Magic User learn his craft?
The Dungeon Moon is rife with magic books and other arcane paraphernalia. Your character found some of these materials, and spent arduous years training themselves as a practitioner.
Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
At present, the starting town of Stockton can be used to purchase any standard equipment the player desires. At some point in the future, however, players will need to roll on an “equipment” table at character creation, and from there will be forced to quest in order to find even simple items such as swords or daggers.
That element of the game, however, remains unfinished.
Does this campaign include firearms?
Yes, as presented in the firearms section of the LotFP Rules & Magic hardcover. They may currently be purchased as standard equipment as described above, but will eventually be made quite scarce. (Players wishing to use firearms are encouraged to check out Brendan’s Quick Reference sheet).
Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?
The citizens of the starting town, Stockton, have a healthy array of skills between them. After decades of isolation and nothing but gray mush to eat, however, a culture of hopelessness and apathy has taken hold of the town, and few people have bothered keeping up their skills. None the less, it will not be hard to find a skilled blacksmith who is capable and willing of modifying plate armor–for a price.
Does the Dungeon Moon have weather?
The sky is always black, and the air is always cold. Any weather beyond this is unusual, and probably both magical, and dangerous.
Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?
It is without question that The Motherless Warlock, who created the Dungeon Moon in the first place, is the mightiest wizard ever known to exist. Since his disappearance, however, the answer to this question has become more more nuanced. A cabal known as “The Eight Sisters” once ruled the section of the Dungeon Moon where play begins, but they disappeared about a decade after the Motherless Warlock himself did. Then there’s Laif Arkturus, a relatively harmless scholar of necromancy who has created a hectare safe from wild monsters to the South West, but most fear to travel there for fear of ending up as part of the wizard’s “experiments.”
The most powerful wizard in the immediate area is probably Bluescale. She claims a magical experiment gone awry turned her into an abominable lizard-woman, but many believe she’s just a lizardfolk. Regardless of her origins, though, she has become a welcome sight in many villages. She is generous with magical aid, and always willing to accept young apprentices from parents hoping to earn their children a better life. Her only stipulation is that her apprentices must be secluded from the lives they knew, to focus entirely on their studies.
Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
The greatest warrior is the one who walks furthest outside the town’s circle of protection, and returns to tell the tale. At present, no warrior has made any great name for themselves doing this.
Who is the richest person in the land?
People have grown somewhat cynical about the value of currency in a place where even a million silver pieces can’t buy a decent meal. But one of the old timers, a woman named Belena, who immigrated to Stockton when her own village was overrun, has taken advantage of that cynicism to amass a great stockpile of wealth for herself. She was careful not to collect all of the silver for herself, since the others would likely abandon the currency altogether if they didn’t have any to barter with. But fully half of the silver in Stockton lines her pockets. This clever manipulator also managed to position herself as the town’s Elder.
Where can we go to get some magical healing?
The only magical healing available at the start of the game would be that provided by a cleric PC. Any additional sources must be discovered through play. Though, it should be noted, if the players end the session in a safe location, then they may begin the next session with full health. (A safe location is defined as one where the players do not need to keep watch to be safe from attack, and where they have easy access to comforts & necessities).
Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?
As play begins, there is no place for players to go where they can cure these conditions reliably. Any such place must be discovered through play.
Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?
While organizations of magic users were once quite common on Dungeon Moon, the departure of most of the more powerful wizards has caused these organizations to collapse. Magic users now are free agents, and any confederations among them are tenuous.
Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?
None of these are readily available in Stockton at present.
Where can I hire mercenaries?
At the start of play, no one but the players themselves is crazy enough to leave town. If the players survive on their own, they may embolden others to travel with them in exchange for coin.
The Kobolds of “The Villa Chamber” are willing to hire on as mercenaries for any action on the 1st and 2nd levels of the dungeon. They will not travel deeper than that without exceptional reasons to do so.
Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?
Dungeon Moon is a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Dungeon Moon has no law.
Which way to the nearest tavern?
Nobody would really call it a “tavern,” but of all the people who have managed to ferment the Grey Paste into an intoxicant, Ol’ Gursh has by far done the best job. He shares it every evening in the center of Stockton to anyone who will listen to his stories.
What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
A herd of Wilish has claimed the area to the West of Stockton as their breeding ground. This would be so bad, if not for the pools of pungent acid they leave behind them everywhere they go. Not only does the smell carry into Stockton, but their presence blocked off one of the last remaining “safe” routes between Stockton and another town.
Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
Territorial blustering sometimes lead to violent scuffles. But Stockton’s populace is too small and too generally apathetic for any conflict to be termed a ‘war.’
How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
Once a week, people gather in the center of Stockton. Those who wish to fight throw their name into a hat, from which two random opponents are drawn until the hat is empty. The fights are grisly, and to the victor goes only one spoil: the meat from the loser’s bones.
Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
Not far to the North East of Stockton is an oddly overgrown patch of thorny briars, perhaps half as large as Stockton itself. Such bizarre scenery is not uncommon on Dungeon Moon, but light and smoke have been seen emanating from the briar. And some of the citizens with spyglasses swear they’ve spotted humans moving about it. It’s unclear whether their purpose is sinister or not, but many of those in Stockton certainly assume that it is.
What is there to eat around here?
Each day, a disgustingly pasty grey goop congeals in a massive dish. It has all of the nutrients you need to survive, and there’s more than enough for everyone. But that’s all there is, and all there ever will be as far as anyone knows. The lack of variety has led to cannibalism becoming common practice in Stockton. Murder, however, is still considered a grievous crime. (Though, this is perhaps only true because after a murderer has been put to death, their meat can be divided amongst the townsfolk). The old timers say that once upon a time, the dish created marvelous feasts for everyone. But without proper maintenance, the dish fell into disrepair and began producing this goop instead.
On the Dungeon Moon, real food is one of the greatest treasures that can be found.
Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
A way to escape the Dungeon Moon is what everyone hopes you’ll find. According to rumor, there is a portal at the center of dungeon moon.
A far more realistic goal would be finding a spell to repair the food replicator. Anyone who found that would be a hero.
Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?
It’s nothing more than a rumor, but when Ulfric The Blasphemer left the sphere, it is said he left his gold and many of his magical devices behind. It is also said that he left four Undead Hekatonkheires to guard his citadel in case he ever chose to return for his things. Regardless of whether the legends of his treasure are true, his citadel can be found 4 dungeon levels down from the surface of Dungeon Moon.
