The Survivor’s Journal: Day 42
The grit is in everything. It’s in my teeth, my wounds, and my very soul. They call it the Desert Forgotten by Time, but the sand has a long memory. We found the city—or what’s left of it. The Anhurak weren’t just builders; they were dreamers who tried to cage the sky. Now, their homes are just jagged teeth poking out of the dunes. We saw the Tower. It doesn’t stand so much as it haunts the horizon. “Hollow,” the legends say. I pray they’re right, because the alternative—that something still breathes in that spiral of stone—is a thought I can’t bear. But the gold nuggets the ants dragged from the deep… that’s a siren song even a dying man follows.
The Land of the Eternal Storm
The Hollow Tower introduces players to a desolate region gripped by a localized curse. The centerpiece of this issue is a hex-crawl through a desert where the environment is as lethal as the inhabitants.
- The Eternal Sandstorm: This isn’t just weather; it’s a moving hazard that can halve movement and batter the party with flying debris.
- The Sunken City: A residential and market district buried by Mahrun’s dying curse. Scavenging here is a gamble—you might find silver swords or nothing but a dead camel and more sand.
- The Giant Ant Lair: To the west lies a massive hive stitched together with larval silk. It is a high-risk, high-reward zone where a cautious party might find thousands of gold pieces in nuggets.
Explore the Desert Forgotten by Time – Get Issue #0 Here
The Bastard King: Mahrun Tal’Zahir
At the heart of the mystery is Mahrun Tal’Zahir, the “Star Devourer.” A man who learned the forbidden art of eating stars to achieve godhood, only to be entombed by his own people.
“He uses sophisticated words just to sound intelligent—which he isn’t. His ego is fragile… choose the right words during battle, and you might unsettle him.”
Mahrun isn’t just a monster to be slain; he is a complex social encounter. He will plead his case, claiming “injustice,” but his touch still usurps life, and his gaze can charm the strongest warrior.
Inside the Tower: A 13-Room Descent
Though only three floors remain above the sand, the Tower is a concentrated dose of OSR “weird fantasy.”
- Anhurak’s Peculiar Library: A d66 table of strange titles, from A Beginner’s Manual of Cursing to The Shadow Atlas. These aren’t just fluff; they have gold values and can be used to teach new spells.
- The Alchemy Lab: Vials of purple poison and red healing elixirs await the bold.
- The Classroom: A petrified professor stands before a blackboard of equations. Touch him, and you share his final, terrifying vision.
Referee’s Briefing
The Hollow Tower is designed for Levels 1–3 and is fully compatible with Old School Essentials. It serves as the perfect “Issue #0” to kick off a campaign or as a drop-in location for any desert-based adventure.
- Format: Serialized zine-style adventure.
- Key Features: Hex-map exploration, a 13-room dungeon, and a unique “boss” creature.
- Compatibility: OSE / B/X systems.
