Uzrak, Where Gods Walk

All of the examples in this book will focus on the world of Uzrak, a campaign world I’m making up for the Oe D&D “retro-clone” Delving Deeper by Simon J. Bull. You can pick it up in softcover for $4.95 (currently) at LuLu.com or download it for free at ImmersiveInk.com. Having said that, the setting is pretty much rules agnostic.

The Pitch

• Player characters are human. Creatures that are either more or less than human come from interactions between gods and mortals or from a more ancient time. These creatures are feared and mistrusted, even if some have become human (e.g. the centaurs).
• Iron tools are relatively new and are antithetical to magic. Most arms, armor, tools, etc. are made of bronze. Those who practice magic – and creatures infused with magic – react badly to contact with iron (blisters and burns or worse). Wearing it interferes with magic powers. Iron weapons are +1 to hit and damage vs. magical creatures, but cannot be enchanted. Characters who do not practice magic may utilize magic items, but risk backlash if they also wear or carry much iron.
• There are only two classes: mages and fighters. Characters may dual-class, but even one level of mage means gaining the weakness to iron. Mages are playing with powers not meant for use by human mortals. At first most mages tap lesser powers for their sorcery, but to gain real power many mages devote themselves to, or are simply enslaved by a patron deity. (Cleric spells are open to mages.)
• Powers of Chaos and Law war over the fate of humanity. Humans are seen as a threat because of their proliferation, innovations, and innate self-reliance. The gods struggle to subvert, recruit, or destroy humans, treating them like pawns in some complicated and deadly game. Alignment matters!

Sources of Inspiration

• Book covers by Jack Gaughan. Used to inspire characters, creatures, races, and general weirdness/style. Also the use of bright colors, badges of office, etc. will be important for showing allegiances. My mood board.
• A Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East by Michael Roaf. Early iron age Mesopotamia is where I’m primarily going to get my technology, architecture, and mythology. Pretty much any picture-heavy book on the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Akkadians, etc. would work. For other cultures, I’ll look to ancient India and Egypt, with incidental Norse stuff. However, the setting is not historical. File off serial numbers!
• A List of Mesopotamian Dieties from Wikipedia (https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mesopotamian_deities). Why make it hard on myself? This rabbit hole provides more gods and myths than I could read in a lifetime, especially when following the links into the pantheons of nearby cultures.
• The Pastel City by M. John Harrison. I like how this book treats the landscape as character. The world is steeped in an almost-fecund kind of decay, and is littered with the holdovers of an earlier civilization. This review captures the mood. See also C. A. Smith’s Zothique.
• Necroscope III: The Source by Brian Lumley. The vampire lords, their creatures of shaped flesh, and their eyries are ripped off from this series. They get developed even more in Deadspawn.
• The Arabian Nights Entertainments, by Louis Rhead, narrated by Charlton Grifin. I wanted an audiobook in my list of inspirations to accumulate ideas while walking the dog or driving to work.
• Dungeon Crawl Classics by Joseph Goodman. I’m pulling ideas about chaotic winds of magic, magical taint, and patron deities from here.