Hot Springs Island Theme Tweaking

 

I’ve become interested, once again, in Hot Springs Island (which remains one of the greatest published products I own). Who knows when I’ll get to run any form of D&D again, so I’ll just have some lonely fun for now.

There’s a lot I love about the game; the generators, the simulated simulation of an island with a life of its own. In a way, it uses random tables to create the illusion of planned events, especially in dungeons. It sort of solves the calendar problem for players who don’t know they should be using calendars yet.

What I don’t like is the prevalence of elementals; there are a lot of them. Plus Svarku is an Efrit. I dislike this level of magic and the implication of the greater multiverse. I'm a low-magic, low-fantasy guy, dammit. I could replace the imps with any other group of thugs or adventuring parties, with similar personalities. This gives it more of an Arkham City vibe, where the various gang members have certain outlooks that generally fall along a predictable axis.

The problem is that elementals, ogres and lizard men are closely integrated into the random tables. So I've decided to change that.

**SPOILERS FOR THE DARK OF HOT SPRINGS ISLAND BOOK**

FUEGONAUTS

• • Svarku is now a powerful human warlord named Linhardt Svarku who has seized power of the red crystal mines from the previous controlling government. He is untouchable due to his access to many powerful magic items, including ones that give him full control of the Obsidian Giants. He also has several gangs protecting him. There is a magic bubble around the island that prevents scrying and teleportation, as it is written in the book.
    
  • • He runs an elaborate mining and shipping operation, and owns a large fleet of commercial ships, which are closely guarded by the Salamander gang (who operate mostly in the water, but also near the docks).
  • The Salamanders are a human pirate gang who ensure Svarku’s operations continue safely. Biker gang vibes. Gruesome tattoos.
  • Combustarinos are another gang of young men, like Peter Pan's lost boys crossed with Keifer Sutherland's. These fanatic loyalists are mostly insane and driven by violence. They operate on the island (not on the sea). Think: Mad Max War Boys.
  • Obsidian Giants are powerful automatons who are driven to protect Svarku. They terrify everyone.
    
    

NEREIDS (so-called Blue Witches or Water Witches)

• • This is a faction of magic-using females. Their enemies call them witches, their friends call them enchantresses. They're all beautiful and feared for their charms and power. They are hidden on the island, and seek to free their captured sisters. They're probably, but not necessarily bad news.
    
    

NIGHT AXE

• • A tribe of humans who escaped Svarku’s slavery. They were island locals (on another island in the chain, not HSI) who were brought here. They are generally larger and stronger than most humans. Samoan vibes. All of them are traumatized by the death of their wives and children.
  • • The Edgesworn from this faction remain the same, but now they are obviously human. Many of the men have taken the oath after the massacre. They ritually remove their own lips to give themselves a skull-like visage.
      
    • Some have innate magical abilities, usable once per day.
      
      
      
      
      

 

ELEMENTALS (now roving tribespeople)

• • All of the “elemental men” are island locals with personalities matching the ones described for each elemental. Perhaps they are small, peaceful tribes who are totally neutral (and yet caught up) in the conflict. Otherwise they were also slaves, or small pockets of locals. They travel between the other islands in large canoes, always with their own objectives (rescue someone, steal something, etc).
  • • Earth Imps: Earth tribals “Kayapo." Enneagrams 3 and 7.
    • Fire Imps: Fire tribals “Juma." Enneagram 8.
    • Water Imps: Water tribals "Wayana.” Enneagram 9.
    • Ooze Imps, Steam and Magma imps: Removed because their abilities are so closely tied to magic. You can always add them back as something like fire- or water-benders. I'm not going to.
      
      

LIZARDMEN

• • Goa, Arva and Kiru remain the same; lizard men who range from peaceful to violent. However, these are more primal and bestial. Primitive, tribal societies.
    
  • Damodar Deodan: No long a Rakshasha, but a powerful spellcaster-King and trade prince; Svarku's foil. Might just remove him altogether.
    
    

ANCIENTS (this is hyper-specific to my world, which is taken from Dwimmermount, so skip or modify this part to your tastes)

• • No longer lizard men, but a tribe of Great Ancients who split from the Dwimmermount crowd early on in their history. They believed remoteness and magic would protect them from the Eld, and they were correct for a few hundred years.
  • The Eld invasion meant a takeover of almost the whole planet; they discovered the island, and quickly subjugated it to their will. Their foul decadence is seen all over the island: They ruled for a long period of time (thousands of years). The depictions of eroticism and pregnancy make sense in the context of a species that is unable to reproduce sexually; it’s the ultimate taboo. Perhaps this is a sub-culture of the Eld, who care less about secession and long life, and instead celebrate a quick and eventful one.
  • When Thule regained control of the world, there was little reason to settle on a remote island, and the Eld had mostly destroyed themselves through their abuse of the Sipopa drug. Thule settlers reclaimed the island, but its remoteness led to an eventual loss of contact. The people who stayed reverted to tribalism after a few dozen generations.

MAP CHANGES

• Svarku’s lair is built inside an active volcano in in HS-06. A volcano lair seems a little too “high fantasy" and "super villain" so let’s just make that crazy lair into a very nice compound build a little inland. The rest of his shipping operation can be nearby, so he can keep an eye on his interests.
• • The things mentioned in this lair can be present in his mansion, including his subterranean alcohol vault. 
• His new lair is located at HS-09. There is a small shipping port, warehouses, sleeping quarters, and Svarku’s opulent mansion built high on a hill. Roads have been cut through the jungle, and patrols are everywhere. Huge obsidian guards stand motionless at major intersections and outside every entrance of the mansion.
• The Volcano lair is now a dangerous dungeon, the ruin of an old temple, with plenty of loot and danger. As it should be.
  

MECHANICAL CHANGES

• ACKS dynamic lairs are used to create interesting lairs as players travel. Mostly this is to establish the location of small camps for the modified elemental tribesmen. Encounters with Tribesmen are in lair 10% of the time. Because the wildlife on the island is quite different from standard D&D fare, the lairs would need to be modified.