OSR, the wilderness, and The Ultraviolet Grasslands

Riding a bus, some years back, I read Rose Estes’ 1987 Greyhawk Adventures novel, “The Gray Wolf.” I remember the wilderness, a caravan, and action. Wilderness adventures are also the focus of recent OSR October podcasts on Redcaps and the Bandit’s Keep. Check them out.

For players and DMs, great ideas for wilderness adventures can be found in Old School Essentials  on “Merchants” (p176) and The Ultraviolet Grasslands – UVG – on caravans (pp156-158). The section on Merchants helps stat-out who you might need. The notes in UVG help imagine finances, assets, back roads traveling in caravans. And traveling overland, if 1d2 wyverns happened to appear, strength might be in numbers.

Here's a set of “Sample Caravans” in UVG:

  •    “Simple Prospector”
  •    “Solo Scout”
  •    “Plunderer”
  •    “Small Trader”
  •    “Dungeon Exploration Expedition.”

Just these words get me thinking of a way forward, even out near TenKeep, moving further and further from home.

 

 Picture is from UVG, painted by Luka Rejec

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