Webcomics

Just making a list of ones I have liked

https://questionablecontent.net/ – been going for 20 years – many sentient robots

https://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v1ch1-page-1 – What if Hellboy was a robot designed by famous inventors?

Spacetrawler – Half a dozen humans shanghaied by aliens to help try and free a race of technogenius inventors with no willpower – silliness ensues – the second one has a BOXING KANGAROO as a main character! This is brilliant!

https://ohumanstar.com/ – Robot inventor gets revived as a digital version

https://www.goblinscomic.org/ – A bunch of goblins discover they can be PCs too, meta-adventuring hilarity and pathos ensues

Freakangels – Mutant postapocalypse meets the Midwick Cuckoos

The Order of the Stick – Dungeon adventuring with very skinny limbs

Drugs and Wires

Steeple – A Satanist and a Vicar switch jobs, in the same town. With fish people and midsomer murders.

Digger – A wombat has fantasy adventures – not read enough to know ore

Stand Still, Say Silent – A Fennoscandian postapocalypse https://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=3

The Subsitutes – https://www.thesubstitutescomic.com/comic/prologue-page-12

Spindrift – https://spindrift-comic.com/comic/01/16

Battleplug – Barbarian on dog

Kamikaze

Insufferable – Batman style manipulator and narcissistic sidekick

Athena Voltaire

Lady Sabre & the Pirates of the Ineffable Aether

The Million Dungeon Project

In January I adapted the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition Random Dungeon Generator to code, which is available here:-

https://github.com/bluetyson/ADnD1e-Random-Dungeon-Generator

This launches a container that you can run the code in via the simple instructions and make whatever sorts of dungeons you like.

https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/bluetyson/ADnD1e-Random-Dungeon-Generator/HEAD

Using this random dungeon generator I have made a million dungeons – all with 10 as the Periodic Check number.

So they will be quite small in general.

Here you can randomly choose one of those:-

https://cosmicheroes.space/cgi-bin/dungeoncount5.pl

and here you can pick your own from 0 to 999999

https://cosmicheroes.space/cgi-bin/dungeoncount4.pl

The Eruptive Quest for the Sky Castle

The Eruptive Qeust for the Sky Castle – large Magma Golem sorcerer leader

Llama 2 version Title: The Eruptive Quest for the Sky Castle

Adventure Summary:
A powerful sorcerer has conjured a smoke castle in the sky, which only appears during volcanic eruptions. The castle is guarded by magma golems, fierce creatures made from molten rock. Brave adventurers must navigate through treacherous terrain, overcome obstacles, and defeat the golems to reach the castle and claim their reward.

Introduction:
The land is plagued by frequent volcanic eruptions, causing widespread destruction and chaos. Amidst this turmoil, a mysterious sorcerer has appeared, seeking brave adventurers to undertake a perilous quest. The sorcerer has conjured a smoke castle in the sky, rumored to contain valuable treasures and ancient knowledge. However, the castle only materializes during volcanic eruptions, and its entrance is guarded by formidable magma golems.

Act I – Journey Through the Volcanic Landscape

1. Adventurers begin their journey in a nearby village, where they gather information about the sorcerer’s castle and the surrounding terrain.
2. They set out towards the volcano, navigating through ash-covered plains, lava flows, and steaming fissures. Along the way, they encounter hazards such as falling rocks, pyroclastic clouds, and poisonous gases.
3. As they approach the volcano, the ground shakes violently, and the air fills with the sound of explosions and rumbling. The party must find shelter before the eruption intensifies.
4. Safe within a temporary refuge, the adventurers witness the spectacular display of lava bombs, lightning storms, and pyroclastic surges. When the intensity of the eruption subsides, they continue their ascent up the mountain.
5. Nearing the summit, the party encounters the first wave of magma golems. These fearsome creatures are constructed from molten rock and can hurl fireballs at their enemies. The adventurers must use strategy and teamwork to defeat them.
6. After overcoming the initial wave of golems, the party reaches the base of the smoke castle. Its walls are shrouded in swirling vapors, making it difficult to discern any entry points.

Act II – The Smoke Castle

1. The adventurers search for an opening into the castle, avoiding illusory walls and hidden traps set by the cunning sorcerer.
2. Once inside, they face a maze of twisting corridors filled with noxious fumes, blinding fog, and eerie whispers. The walls are adorned with cryptic murals depicting the history of the castle and its former inhabitants.
3. In the heart of the castle, the party discovers a grand chamber containing a series of pressure plates. Each plate corresponds to a different element (earth, air, water, fire) and must be activated simultaneously to unlock the next area. The challenge lies in coordinating the activation of all four plates without triggering the deadly trap linked to each one.
4. Beyond the pressure plate room, the adventurers encounter more magma golems, this time accompanied by their master, a powerful magma elemental. The elemental can manipulate the lava flowing through the castle, creating pools of molten rock and waves of flames that threaten to engulf the party.
5. Upon defeating the elemental, the party claims their prize: a chest containing enchanted items, rare minerals, and ancient scrolls detailing the secrets of magic and alchemy.

Conclusion:
As the eruption subsides, the adventurers escape the crumbling smoke castle, carrying their spoils back down the mountain. News of their success spreads throughout the region, attracting new challenges and opportunities for these seasoned heroes. Though the smoke castle may vanish until the next eruption, its legacy endures, inspiring future generations to explore the mysteries of the arcane and the power of the elements.

The Veil of the Molten Sky

Trying to make an ultramafic man – and a colleague has some fancy Stable Diffusion.

Veil of the Molten Sky castle in a volcano smoke cloud – dark grey.

So I asked a robot to make a high level adventure to match – very good!

Title: Veil of the Molten Sky

Introduction:
In a world where magic and mystery intertwine, a new quest awaits a high-level party of adventurers. Rumors have spread like wildfire about the emergence of a majestic smoke castle that materializes high above the land, shrouded in clouds and mystery. This enigmatic fortress is said to only manifest itself during the rare eruptions of the Volcanea, a dormant volcano that has awoken once again.

Plot:
The party receives an urgent message from a renowned mage named Seraphina who resides in the city of Emberforge. She explains that the Veil of the Molten Sky, a fortress of legend, is about to appear with the eruption of Volcanea. Seraphina believes that the castle holds ancient secrets and artifacts of immense power, capable of tipping the balance between good and evil.

Act 1: The Prophecy of the Molten Sky
Upon reaching Emberforge, the party learns from Seraphina that they must harness the energy of the erupting volcano to reach the smoke castle. She gives them an ancient scroll that contains a cryptic prophecy revealing the exact moment the castle will be accessible. The party must decipher the riddles and uncover the precise timing to ascend to the castle’s location.

Act 2: The Eruption’s Fury
As Volcanea roars to life, the adventurers experience the ground shaking beneath them as lava and ash spew from the volcano’s summit. The skies darken, and they glimpse the ethereal silhouette of the smoke castle above the clouds. They must quickly journey towards the summit while navigating treacherous terrain and facing fiery obstacles.

Act 3: Ascending the Molten Labyrinth
Upon reaching the volcano’s peak, the party discovers a hidden entrance leading to the molten heart of the mountain. Inside, they encounter a perilous labyrinth infused with magma magic. Along their path, they face challenges and puzzles, such as cooling streams of molten rock and shifting platforms over rivers of lava. Amidst these trials, they must defeat magma golems that guard the path to the Veil of the Molten Sky.

Act 4: The Castle in the Clouds
Emerging from the labyrinth, the party reaches the heights where the smoke castle materializes. A grand bridge of solidified lava connects the land to the majestic fortress. As they cross the bridge, they face formidable magma golem guardians who test their strength and strategy. Eventually, they breach the castle’s walls and explore its opulent interior.

Act 5: Secrets of the Molten Sky
Within the castle’s chambers, the adventurers uncover ancient tomes and artifacts that hold knowledge and power beyond their imagination. They learn that the castle was once the refuge of a long-forgotten mage order that harnessed the energy of the volcano to shape the world. However, the power became corrupted, leading to the order’s downfall. The party must decide whether to harness the secrets for good or seal them away to prevent further devastation.

Conclusion:
With their adventure drawing to a close, the party descends from the smoke castle, carrying newfound knowledge and relics. As they leave the castle behind, the skies clear, and Volcanea settles once more. The world is forever changed by their actions, and they have made their mark in the annals of history.

In the end, the Veil of the Molten Sky may vanish from the world, but the legends surrounding it will live on, inspiring generations to come.

RPGs with text versions – finding them.

A project I have been meaning to do for ages is extract all games that are digital for searchability reasons. Can then do lots of fun NLP things with them of course.

This is a terrible job because of the planet’s love for that presentation format, the PDF. So some things are scans, some are a hack combo, some are a 4th generation format transfer. So lots of those will not work very well, so will have to do some sort of classification.

For example, the 1st edition AD&D DMG extracted fine first past but the Player’s Handbook did not. That sort of problem, then the OCR problem and others.

So an interest place to start going back the other way will be games that have actual text versions whether html [eg epub and websites], mobipocket, text files because of their age like FUDGE and others.

Some that spring to mind – Sine Nomine – Stars Without Number et al., Eclipse Phase, Dungeon World.

There are also on the web SRDs of various games so that would also be interesting.

On the NLP front you could end up with a multi-game version of ‘what is the general advice for a GM doing X’ answer capability.

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