Charles asked about the list of Averoigne tales: the list of 11 stories is complete. "A Night in Malneant" is similar in style and theme, but does not directly mention Averoigne. There is also the poem titled "Averoigne" as well as others with a similar super-romantic mediaval theme. The problem with this series is that tales are scattered here and there throughout CAS' many books. If you can assemble all the books, I suggest the following order which is based on the internal chronology of the tales (as far as this is possible)

A Night in Malneant (a sort of prologue to the series)
The Maker of Gargoyles
The Holiness of Azedarac
The Colossus of Ylourgne
The Enchantress of Sylaire
The Beast of Averoigne
Mother of Toads
A Rendezvous in Averoigne
The Mandrakes
The Satyr
The Disinterment of Venus
The End of the Story

-Ron

While I had never herd of the game system before today I looked at the http://www.arduin.com/ site.

I found no reference to or similarity with Zothique

I agree with Ron that "A Night in Malnéant" reads like an Averoigne tale and should be used as a prologue or pendant to the series. I would favor the latter, because it gives the impression of being set in the late 19th century, as if set amid the post-Poe Romanticisim of Charles Baudelaire or Paul Valéry.

Jim

Incidently, I would point out that Ron has more than earned his bones as an expert on the Averoigne series, having edited the long-delated THE AVEROIGNE CHRONICLES that Donald M. Grant has been listing as "forthcoming" since 1993, and which we may someday see. I've seen the proofs for this, with its introduction by Gahan Wilson and afterword by Donald Sidney-Fryer, and it contains all of the Averoigne stories plus "A Night in Malneant", along with the poem "Averoigne" and some additional poems that seemed related thematically. Now, if Bob Wiener at Grant would just step back from his goal of issuing a deluxe limited edition of Stephen King's next-door neighbor's physical therapist's grocery list, we might actually see this book appear. I think the plan is for it to be a companion to their edition of Lovecraft's AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, which was one of the top contenders for the "Most Stupid Idea for a Book" contest in 1990, meaning it will probably retail at $100; however, perhaps he'll see the light and issue it as a $40 trade edition.
Best,
Scott

As Scott writes, Ron is the resident expert on Averoigne. I have written the publisher repeatedly and checked the web-site every month hoping for more news on this volume. After nine years, of reading, "Moving forward weekly", I am beginning to think that Scott might be right: we might have to wait till every cell on King's body has been analyzed before Grant sends this project to the printer. Ron must have the patience of a saint.

Jim

I would suggest that the Dying Earth RPG (from Pelgrane Press) might be a suitable system for Zothique gaming, modified to be less glib and more pessimistic.

Keith

Is that based on Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories? I loved those books when I read them almost 20 years ago. Like an idiot, I gave them away to a friend that I thought would enjoy them. I'm hoping they ended up in a used book store rather than in the garbage.

There is definitely enough similarity between the worlds to cross over, but I imagine any game mechanics that one is familiar and pleased with could be modified. The creator should read the entire Zothique cycle before attempting such a task, and it would be better to not taint the inspiration process with tales of Hyperboria or Averoigne.

The magics should all deal with necromancy, legerdemain, forgotten sciences, or demonic and extraterrestrial entities. Nature/elemental/Elvin-new-age-unicorns-and-crystal "magiks" should be be wiped and flushed down the toilet.

If anyone would like to contribute to an open-source Zothique roleplaying guide, I would be willing to assume the role as editor. My role as bad guy would be to edit the spelling and grammar, marry any almost-duplicate but slightly-conflicting contributions into something cohesive, and to alter or reject anything that conflicts with the CAS vision of Zothique.

Existing open-source d20 material can be pared down and used, as long as we follow the d20 licensing guidelines.

Some ideas for contributions:

Beastiary (The d20 monsters are not yet public domain, but a list of what is [or is not] found in the scenario would be kosher. Also, Zothique versions of creatures such as the lamia or salamander could be created.)

New Player Classes (or restrictions on common existing ones)

Campaigns

Spells (also not yet public domain in d20, but a list of d20 spell names would be acceptable, as would original spells)

Guides to the deities or empires of Zothique

Artwork

Almost anything that adds detail to Zothique without conflicting pre-existing material, without violating copyrights, and without straying into other genres (eg., I would have to reject material featuring superheroes, twenty-first century time travelers, or samurai gunslingers in space).

=======

There wouldn't be much personal gain from this project, except for extensive credit given. Hopefully, the side effects will be:

A new group of people introduced to CAS.

A new group of people introduced to this website when they come to download the guide.

Increased interest in reprints of work by CAS.

A common resource for both gamers and authors.

I received no submissions for the guide, so I wrote and illustrated it myself. Any editorial input would be helpful, since I'm not good at editing my own stuff, and don't really consider myself a writer. Spelling, grammar, sentence structure, content, interpretation and technical errors are all open targets. I will credit those that help. Thanks for hosting it, Boyd.


http://www.eldritchdark.com/misc/zothique-d20v1.pdf

So that I won't have to keep harrassing Boyd, I've moved the work-in-progress to http://members.aol.com/geocorona/zothique-d20-v1.pdf

The final version (1.1), when complete, will be hosted here at the address posted previously.

Hey cool. I suggested something like this on the EnWorld board a long time ago, since Zothique is all in the public domain. I started reading through the stories (the somewhat recent Arkham Press softcover compilation version) and taking notes to fill out the world details. I think I got about half way through. I'll send you what I've got since I think I've got some stuff that you haven't covered yet. The goal was to make a kind of encyclopedic reference to people, places, and deities of the world. I've also got some ideas about magic, and I'll send that along as well The basic idea is that magic follows hermetic traditions, and different orders, all of which have access to different types of spells -- as opposed to standard D&D where everyone can cast every type of spell. Thus sorcerers, priests of Mordiggan, necromancers, demon summoners, etc. are all much more distinct. It's a bit shaky in current incarnation but might inspire some interesting ideas or be workable with some alterations.

I'll email you tonight and see what you think. Perhaps I can continue with the "encyclopedia" entries. I'll just need to remember where I left off.

If you can rewrite the magic system for Zothique without breaking the D20 balance, then it might work for a future version of the guide. I think such a major reworking of mechanics would require playtesting before it could be released, though.

Spells and spell casting have always seemed more prevalent in fantasy gaming than in any of the fantasy literature that I have read.

I think it should be harder for characters to be sorcerers in Zothique. Perhaps increase the experience points needed to advance in levels and reduce the number of spells to choose from. Yet, if a character wanted to follow the 'dark path', becoming a necromancer would allow him or her to advance more quickly (similar to Defilers in the AD&D Dark Sun world)and give them more spells to choose from. Of course, there would be a price to pay for learning the black arts, perhaps some form of deformity or curse (similar to Ravenloft) or an advanced rate of aging or perhaps Thasaidon could make sinister demands upon the necromancer.
Similarly, I think magic items should also be limited and hard won. But I suppose such things could be left up to the DM's discretion.

Sorry. I forgot to mention how impressed I am with the work G. R. Hager has done so far. Excellent job. It is exactly the kind of supplement I had in mind.

Thanks. The guys over at http://www.necromancergames.com have been giving the rules a thorough thrashing, and I think I'm approaching the final 1.1 version.

The latest (today's) version is at http://members.aol.com/geocorona/zothique-d20-v1.pdf

DM's will have to be familiar enough with Thasaidon to know he doesn't give away power for free, and think of their own crafty way of receiving payback.

Perhaps an answer to the arcane vs. divine spell issue would be to have certain arcane spells ALWAYS granted by the grace of a certain god, with no regard for the alignment of the caster, but always with a cost. This would make all spellcasters at least somewhat clerics, and help fuzz the border between the two as CAS did.