28. Is there anything else we should know before we head home?*
Spend your Luck wisely. [Edit: I really ought to post something more substantial here. Perhaps someday I will.]
* Or get started?
[For more information about RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026, read this.]
I miss writing session reports for the games I run. The last time I posted a session report was on 14 October 2014 for the Some Dread Land campaign (or the Daedriin's Heroes campaign, if you will). We had one session beyond that, but I never wrote it down (or the blink dog ate it), and that's a shame because it had some genuinely funny moments.
Why haven't I been posting session reports since then? I've been running games; I could have written session reports. The problem is that—except for Ghostbusters—I've only been running published adventures. Ordinarily, I write and run my own adventures or I heavily modify and expand published one-page adventures. I feel more comfortable sharing such experiences. Full-length published adventures, however, are widely available, and those session reports would inevitably be little more than spoiler saturated cheat sheets. That isn't fun.
Over the last few years, I've mostly been running and playing published adventures and playtests for Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG and Mutant Crawl Classics RPG. Starting soon, however, I will resume posting session reports for adventures I have written. I am also thinking about resurrecting the Some Dread Land campaign, perhaps shifting it to Shadowdark RPG rules (after previously using Basic/Expert D&D and Swords & Wizardry White Box). I think my players will be receptive to it, and I'm eager to try out the system. (And as much I enjoy DCC RPG and MCC RPG, I find it easier to create new adventures, monsters, spells, and magic items for systems that are closer to early Dungeons & Dragons as it affords more "wiggle room.")
So, if you like session reports, stay tuned.
27. Do you have any amusing anecdotes from the campaign?
Since the campaign hasn't started yet, the answer is no. Knowing my gaming groups, though, I am sure there will be many. I look forward to the shenanigans.
[For more information about RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026, read this.]
26. Are there any dramatic events from the campaign you can share?
Alas, no, because the campaign hasn't started yet. Hopefully, it will begin in a few months. Complications in the real world conspire to prevent it, but we will prevail.
[For more information about RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026, read this.]
25. Where can I do some shopping?
Between some villages within Zem territory there are trading posts.
Within most Zem villages there are village markets.
Within certain Zem villages at certain times of the year there are festival markets where goods from near and far can be traded.
Null has a typical village market with locally made goods and locally sourced foodstuffs. For souvenirs, most travellers trade for locally made art or jewelry, some of which is made from unusual items obtained from aggregators.
[Again, real life is preventing me from making some of these posts as detailed as I would like. Thank you for your patience.]
[For more information about RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026, read this.]
24. What are the major imports to the area?
"Major imports to the Zem, in order of volume, include rice, coconuts, pynaps, shrimm, and ocean fish.
"The most valuable import to our tribe in terms of rarity would be xocolat, an edible substance used to brew xocofi, a sacred drink. It is also used as a flavoring in certain sauces and baked foods."
—Fernettica, Chief of the Zem in Null
[Some of these posts are not as exciting as others, but real life circumstances are making it harder to keep up with blogging at the moment. Best wishes to anyone who reads this.]
[For more information about RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026, read this.]
23. What are the major exports of the region?
"Of all our agricultural exports, one of the most unusual is zeleri. A single stalk can purify a jug of water and chewing it can neutralize poison. Mashing it and applying it as a poultice to a wound can extract any venom. It is also used as an ingredient in certain dishes such as xozuwi and xomayin.
"The Zem are also famous (or infamous) for being the sole source of naphtha peppers in Ridia. The naphtha pepper is one of the hottest peppers and the only one with a highly flammable liquid core within its pith. It has a variety of uses, some of which are questionable, but they are as valuable as rare spices.
"We have many other exports, too, as I have mentioned before."
—Fernettica, Chief of the Zem in Null
[For more information about RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026, read this.]
22. Tell us about notable flora and fauna!
"It would be impossible to name all the plantlife and beastlife in Ridia, although there are some holy seers who are attempting it through search and research. I will name just a few examples.
"There are two kinds of vines that can be mistaken for one another by foreigners and those who are not paying attention: ku'udu'uzu and wrestvine. The leaves and vines of the ku'udu'uzu is poisonous to most beastfolk, but the roots are nutritious and are used in numerous medicines. The wrestvine, while not poisonous, has a tendency to constrict and immobilize prey until it suffocates, starves, or is killed by other predators. The bones or chitin are then slowly dissolved and absorbed by the wrestvine.
"The aggregator is a medium-size crocodilian with a broad flat tail and long narrow jaw that builds dams in the rivers and streams. In addition to the sticks and mud that aggregators gather to construct their dams, they also collect odd objects they find in riverbeds, streambeds, and the bottom of ponds. Although they do not seem to communicate in any known language, they are sometimes willing to engage in trade for items of similar size and novelty.
"The aggrogator is a large crocodilian with six legs. A fair number of them have two heads, one at either end. Those that have one head usually have two or even three tails. All aggrogators are extremely aggressive.
"The napalmgator is a small to medium-size crocodilian of neutral temperament that belches liquid fire when it is frightened, angered, or suffering from indigestion.
"The crox is a large, lumbering crocodilian the size of a rhinoceros. Tame croxen are commonly used as beasts of burden on land or water; wild croxen are best avoided."
—Fernettica, Chief of the Zem in Null
[For more information about RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026, read this.]
21. What are the major organizations of the campaign? How do they deal with visitors?
The tribe and the village are the most fundamental components of society in Ridia and probably throughout the world. Tribes periodically form an alliance against common foes.
The Longhouse of Trade is a guild of merchants and traders located in every Zem village.
The League of Messengers is a tribal guild of messengers. There are typically several messengers per Zem village.
The Society of Seers is a tribal network of holy seers (shamans and clerics) throughout Zem territory.
The Undeath Cult (if that is their real name) is the evil cult of the Z'Nee, which is hostile and extremely dangerous to non-Z'Nee.
The Council of Wor is a fraternal/sororal organization of war mages who periodically leave their domains to gather for terrifying competitions and twisted conviviality. They are usually hostile and always dangerous.
20. Are there any mysteries as yet unsolved?
"Is Jee-Oh flat like a drum, round like an orange, or at the bottom of a celestial well? Is it hollow like a gourd or filled with crystals like a geode?
"Are the sun and moon places or gods (or both)?
"What is older, magi-knowledge or teki-knowledge?
"Who is the real power behind the Undeath Cult of the Smiling Killers?
"Why are the creatures of the Blue Abyss not found anywhere else in Jee-Oh (as far as we know)?
"Where does the leviathan of the war wizard Dreadnauticus go after raids on the coast?
"When will the rules of mob zoccer be revised to clarify the circumstances of offsides?
"Which of the Great Calamities ended the civilizations of the Ancients and which were merely harbingers of their ultimate destruction? (There are more mysteries surrounding lost civilizations—Ancient and otherwise—than can be summarized here. The world is unfathomably, incomprehensibly old.)"
—Fernettica, Chief of the Zem in Null
[For more information about RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026, read this.]
