The Black Cauldron

What Is The Black Cauldron?

The Black Cauldron is a troubled film - a dark animation aimed at both children and adults - based on a series of novels published in the 1960s. 

Released in 1985, it was the product of five years' production: animated, but then re-edited, scenes cut after screen test, for being too intense or too dark for children. It would fail at the box office - earning just less than half its budget - suffering from the fate of many films attempting a multi-generational appeal: differences in artistic direction from the direction and the studio (allegedly, Jeffrey Katzenberg, then the studio chairman at Disney, personally had the film brought into an editing booth to cut it up himself: compromising only when restrained by CEO Michael Eisner at the entreaty of producer Joe Hale). It would be Disney's first PG-rated film - securing its point in history, at least, without regard to the impact this rating potentially had on its reception.

Since then, it has developed a cult following - many of whom are among those who enjoy fantasy adventure gaming - but remains in contention as to its quality: hovering at about 50% on Rotten Tomatoes' combined metrics.

What's to Like?

First and foremost - I enjoyed tremendously the quality of the animation on the film. It is the first Disney animated film to leverage CGI - most notably for the cauldron, itself, in addition to other less notable effects - but the process, itself, leveraged for the film was more traditional: first, with a novel process invented by David Spencer known as the "animation photo transfer". Spencer would win an award, the Academy Award for Technical Achievement, in 1985 following the release of the film for this process - and well earned: the film makes beautiful contrast between warm and cool - light and dark - to set a tone and visually draw in the viewer. The color green - simply - a single color - is put to use in both positive and negative contexts. When still on the farm, vibrant, bright greens are used to convey life, growth, and instill comfort; when in proximity to the Horned King or the magic of the Cauldron, on the other hand, semi-transparent, darker greens convey a sense of sickness, of decay and death - the tunic of the primary protagonist, Taran, is green: which, depending on light and shadow, ties him directly to the mood of the scene. 

Movements are fluid, production value is apparent (that is, you rarely if ever can predict, "Oh, this door is going to open" due to an inconsistency in color - as is common for budgetary reasons in many hand-animated films) - the natural feels natural; the fey feels fey. The Black Cauldron is a thrill to watch, if only for the esthetics it presents.

There are obvious gaming elements. One - overland travel: we see the protagonist, Taran, and his companions adventure across several different biomes overland, each matching the purpose of the location being sought in said overland wilderness; two - dungeon delving: there are several "adventure sites" which the characters have to navigate (one of which being a literal dungeon) - including tricks, traps, monsters (both friendly and unfriendly - reaction roll, baby!) and shifting maps in one case, resulting from falling masonry; but where the movie truly shines - from my perspective - as a gaming resource is in its villains. The villains of the film are a step above most media.

The Horned King.

He is an undead wizard - a lich no doubt - who lives in a tower, commands an army of bandits and brigands, as well as monsters - dragon-like Cliff Racer things to spy and steal for him, then a goblin lieutenant - and then in realizing his goals (spoiler alert) he commands an army of the dead, itself, with aims of conquest and power. He poses a threat at all level ranges: brigands at the low level, undead and dragons at mid level, and himself as a "final boss" at a high level. An entire campaign can be based around this guy.

-- Edit --

Apparently the dragon-cliff-racer monsters are called "Gwythaint"s.

Learned something new today.

Further, the witches. 

Again - spoiler alert - the party, in seeking the Cauldron, finds it guarded by a set of hags. While this could have been resolved with more sneaking or thievery - instead, the witches offer to bargain. Taran being young and naive, they are seeking to manipulate him into giving up something pure and valuable in exchange for something that will curse him, that he won't be able to use or affect: in perfect character of a coven hidden out in the woods! 

The source material draws deeply on Welsh mythology - which, knowing that the original experience designed for TSR Dungeons & Dragons was highly inspired by western Medieval Europe - the mythos and vibe from The Black Cauldron aligns very smoothly with concepts and direction for the default assumed setting.

To Be Aware Of

I personally did not find the film dark or disturbing. 

I watched it with a 2 year old. 

The two year old did not find the film dark or disturbing.

Said two year old, now almost four, has a strange, inexplicable fascination with skeletons now: which may have something to do with having watched this movie with me... but let's not dwell on that too deeply.

The point I would like to leave with the reader - for anyone considering watching this film - be aware: it is a children's movie. It is not a Conan, it is not even a Pirates of Dark Water: this film was clearly and intentionally aimed at a younger demographic, something that is evident in several elements of both the cast of characters and the story itself. For example - the Fair Folk, a very Medieval interpretation of elves, D&D pixies: their interactions are comic relief, even if their magic and contribution is marked. Further, a character - Gurgi - is introduced: an energetic creature that looks like a sloth on fast forward. He annoys me - but he goes through a redemption arc: both as a friend to the party and as an individual struggling with self-doubt - speaking in a funny voice which will appeal to children.

So if these don't bother you - you'll be fine; if you walk into the film knowing about them - you'll be fine. The other aspects of the movie, as pertaining to inspiring your OSR tabletop game, are abundantly manifest. But it is something that I would, as a reviewer, be failing in my responsibility were I not to mention.

Where to Watch

If you are interested in streaming The Black Cauldron it is available on Disney+ with the standard subscription. Alternatively, if you are avoiding subscription services, it is available for rental on most major streaming rental services - Apple TV, Amazon Video, and so on - for a fee that appears consistent between them.

For Further Interest

The film being based on the first two books in the series, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, it might be worthwhile to - for those who enjoyed the world and characters, to pursue the boxed set - which includes five novels:

1. The Book of Three
2. The Black Cauldron
3. The Castle of Llyr
4. Taran Wanderer
5. The High King

Alternatively, one might pursue one at a time to control costs, but as of this writing, the entire collection of five is available together for $20 or less, the book still being in print to date - which puts the risk of cost escalation a bit into the "moot point" category.

Of the movie, the author had the following to say in an interview with Scholastic in 1999:

First, I have to say, there is no resemblance between the movie and the book. Having said that, the movie in itself, purely as a movie, I found to be very enjoyable. I had fun watching it. What I would hope is that anyone who sees the movie would certainly enjoy it, but I'd also hope that they'd actually read the book. The book is quite different. It's a very powerful, very moving story, and I think people would find a lot more depth in the book.

...which, suffice to say, may be sufficient to pique curiosity, if nothing else. I have not read the books - and thereby I cannot pass judgement on them.

Conclusion

The Black Cauldron belongs among the Appendix N suggestions of the Basic / Expert set. It is perfectly suited for adventure, well versed in mythology found in OSR / TSR modular product and the collective consciousness, it contains multiple elements of the game as experienced and played, and it is age appropriate for the target demographic of the original B/X. That is not to say B/X can't be loved by adults - but that had Appendix N been expanding to include film at the time when the Red Box came out, it would have benefitted by including The Black Cauldron in its suggestions - as the movie is great to spur the imagination of an aspiring 10 year old Dungeon Master.

For that reason, I rate The Black Cauldron 1: Definitively OSR.

While its target audience is young, yet the game, itself, can be appreciated by young and old, this does not disqualify it as inspirational material: nor does it take away from the fundamental fantasy adventure that makes up the foundation of The Black Cauldron's screenplay. With a runtime of 80 minutes, honestly, you don't have much to lose - even though, if my own viewer's senses are to be trusted, you have a fair bit to gain.

Thanks for reading - delve on!

The Black Cauldron was released in 1985, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution, Burbank, California, and produced by the Walt Disney Company, now Walt Disney Animation Studios, Burbank, California. All stills taken from the film are copyrighted property of Walt Disney Studios. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, all imagery, references, or trademarked terminology - e.g. "Dungeon Master" - thereto related are property of Wizards of the Coast.

Clerics Wear Ringmail makes no claim of ownership of any sort to any of the aforementioned media, text, or images and includes references to or facsimiles of them for review purposes under US Code Title 17, Chapter 107: Fair Use.

The slide-in of Gary... I got from a meme.

Secluded Cloister

For a PDF version of this adventure, click HERE

Regarding doors:

•		A door marked with the letter S is Secret.
•		A door marked with the letter L is Locked.
•		A door marked with the letter J is Jammed (stuck) and must be forced open.

Suitable for inclusion as a side-level in dungeons of 1st level.

A – Entrance

The ceiling is high in this room – vaulted, such that the contour matches the odd pointedness of the space’s North and South extent. The floor is stone and has a stickiness to it – odorless.

The door to the South-East corner is trapped. It opens inwards, towards a character, and when opened, a grey, viscous material burbles out – bubbling and popping – prompting a Save vs Dragon’s Breath for any character within 20 feet. If the save fails – the failing character must then make item saves for any metallic articles they carry – excluding coins or precious metals – lest it rapidly oxidize and fall to the floor, useless.

A generous referee may allow items lost in such a manner to be repaired in town – costing half the value of a replacement.

B – Chapel

Four Acolytes (B30) chant in the company of an evil Village Priest (Cleric Lvl 3). Against the north wall, there is an angular shrine, in which can be found a dead bird. The priest is reading its entrails.

Along the East and West walls are engraved alcoves in a similar pattern to the shrine, albeit apparently for ornamentation rather than function – and against the South wall can be found a table with reagents and incense. The incense is worth 30 gold pieces, if collected, 500 silver pieces is contained in a lockbox under the table, and 1 ruby gemstone (valued at 100 gold pieces), is set atop the table beside.

C – Mosaic

An ornamental mosaic floor depicting a circle inlaid by many angular shapes is laid in the floor. In torchlight, the floor has an odd green-ish glow to it: harmless, and also of no particular use.

At interval are four alcoves, in which four skeletons stand at attention, spear in hand. The skeletons are long dead – not animate – and behind one of them, hidden with a false brick, is a pouch containing 100 silver pieces and an emerald worth 50 gold.

D – Pit and Bypass

A pit trap – which will always open if one or more characters is at least halfway across its 20’ length – is flanked by two secret doors. The pit is 30’ deep, causing 3d6 in falling damage to any character caught on it when it opens.

There is a 3-in-10 chance of a Crab Spider (B43) having taken residence at the base of the pit.

The hallway hidden by the secret doors has a deep burgundy rug along its length and smells vaguely pleasant. From within the non-trapped hall, the secret doors are obvious and easy to open.

E – Skull Shrine

A deep groove is cut in the floor at an angle, such that it is difficult to stand in the space. This comes to a T near the East edge of the room, where a human skull sits in the center. Along the walls are abstractly painted shapes depicting irregular, sharp edges.

If the skull is disturbed, a choking and burning gas emits from a nozzle underneath it: any characters caught in the room must Save vs Poison or die – although a generous referee may allow a bonus to the roll for characters closer to the door than to the trap. 

F – Bunk

Bunk beds capable of sleeping six are crammed into the Southern part of the room. On the Northern side is a desk – no chair – and supplies for writing. Three spell scrolls can be found: between which the Cleric spells Detect Magic, Protection from Evil (x2), and Cause Light Wounds can be read.

G – One Way Stair

A set of stairs leads upwards – atop which is a trapdoor. The trapdoor will, if climbed through, deposit the climber into the pit in section D, but will not re-open once the character is on the other side: the seam of the door being supernaturally flush and undetectable if viewed from section D.

H – Unfortunate Traveler

The body of a less fortunate adventurer is slumped in the corner – stinking with decay: unrecognizable. On its person, the corpse has some rudimentary equipment – a sword, leather armor, a helmet – and a backpack containing 1 potion of Water Breathing and 50 gold pieces.

Within 20 feet of the corpse – due to the smell – the chance of wandering monsters is doubled at each check. Whether this is twice as often or twice as likely when checked is at the discretion of the referee. 

I – Pendulum Trap

Hidden in the ceiling at this junction is a bladed pendulum which may trigger as characters walk beneath it. If triggered, the blade swings down, automatically resetting itself if not prevented from recessing into an opposite groove: rolling to hit with a THAC0 of 17 for 1d8 points of damage on hit. 

 

 

 

Public domain images retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com and the National Gallery of Art and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.

A Redder Sonja: Jirel of Joiry

Jirel of Joiry is riding down with the score of men at her hack,
For none is safe in the outer lands from Jirel's outlaw pack;
The vaults of the wizard are over-full, and locked with golden key,
And Jirel says, 'If he hath so much, then he shall share with me!'

- Quest of the Starstone

N-Spiration: Jirel of Joiry

Who is Jirel?

The Lady of Joiry - unconquered - hair crimson like flame; eyes yellow and vibrant! Taking no husband, as no man can yet best her - Joiry needs no lord so long as it has its queen!

Jirel - our protagonist - is the sword half of a sword and sorcery yarn: a ruler by day, warlord and baroness over a middle ages fiefdom, but far-traveled afield among the strange places that wait in parallel to the Earth - for body and for spirit. She is a master of the blade - wielding a two handed sword in battle, wearing heavy mail armor: but is no stranger to dirks and daggers. Inspired by - or at least influenced by - the days of struggle and adventure in Aquilonia or in Pellucidar, Jirel is brash and brave - as strong of arm as she is strong of will - her loves deep, but her enmities without restraint.

A product of the golden age of pulp, Jirel also represents among the earliest of protagonists in the fantasy adventure genre and within the newsstand medium hailing from the fairer sex: something that - in particular - is of note, in that she is also among the first (or, at least, the foundational) to have been written by a likewise female author: C. L. Moore.

Of C. L. Moore

C. L. - or, Catherine Lucille - Moore was a native of Indianapolis, born into the first World War (technically just before in 1911), grown in the Roaring '20s, and then broke onto the professional and literary scene during the Great Depression. Her first publications for a student magazine at Indiana University, at which she matriculated, went to print between 1930 and 1931 - only two short years before her first appearance in pulp magazines in 1933: at which point she adopted her initials as a pseudo-pen name. Curiously - in a world dominated by men, that is: the world of pulp fantasy and really literature in general in the 1930s - one might think that she adopted her initials rather than continue to publish as Catherine as a marketing ploy, concealing her gender: however, on all accounts, it was more so that writing was her passion, not her livelihood - she perceived it better to separate her writing persona from her real name to conceal it from her then employer, Fletcher Trust Company, for which she was employed as a secretary.

Early in life, C. L. Moore experienced chronic illness that prevented her from engaging in many typical girlhood pursuits. Instead, she spent a great deal of time reading - developing during that time a taste and fondness for fantasy: a taste and fondness which would turn into a knack - and eventually then into a vocation.

Her pulp fiction career would run until 1958 with the death of her husband, fellow author Henry Kuttner - with whom she collaborated under various pen names. Thereafter, she would teach writing at the University of Southern California and work occasionally as a screenwriter - but following her remarriage to Thomas Reggie, her writing ceased and her creative career was at an end.

C. L. Moore would pass in 1987 at the age of 76 after a battle against Alzheimer's: but not without having received the Fritz Leiber Award in 1978, the Gandalf Grand Master Award in 1981, and a posthumous honor: induction into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

And fires flame high on the altar fane in the lair of the wizard folk,
And magic crackles and Jirel's name goes whispering through the smoke. 

- Quest of the Starstone

Why should I read Jirel of Joiry?

First and foremost, a red-headed swords-woman, capable as any man, free of spirit and fiery of temper, is a staple of sword and sorcery - having been popularized tremendously by the cultural phenomenon around Red Sonja. Thus - as I'm sure the reader has already inferred - it becomes important to make a parallel, showing the influences that Jirel would have had on Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith's brainchild.

• In her original 1975 incarnation, Sonja wore a mail shirt and fought with a longsword.
  In 1935, Jirel Meets Magic, Jirel wears full armor, wielding a longsword.
• In 1975, Sonja is favored by Scáthach, but must never lie with a man who doesn't defeat her in combat.
• In 1934, Black God's Shadow, Jirel - though shriven of her sins by Gervase, the priest, she finds she has only ever loved the man who was able to best her.
• In 1977, Sonja is cast into a maze of illusions and mirrors for rescuing a waif from brigands.
  In 1935, again Jirel Meets Magic, Jirel is cast into a tower of illusions and mirrors to seek an evil sorcerous pair.
• In 1985... well... we won't talk about what happened in 1985.

The inspiration is obvious - and it is not the intent of this article to denigrate the Marvel series: but instead to illustrate the progression, the evolution of the independent and fierce heroine, as it pertains to the storytelling of modern sword and sorcery. While Sonja has moved on and changed with the times - new authors, new artists moving her arc forward, much the same as Conan (whose author, Robert E. Howard, penned the tale from which Sonja draws her name, The Shadow of the Vulture: interestingly in 1934... in a similar timetable as when Jirel appeared...) has been moved forward as his legacy moves from IP-holder to IP-holder in the wake of the author's passing - Jirel is unchanged: frozen in the brickwork, its legacy providing the giants' shoulders on which the Isaac Newtons of pulp adventure may stand. 

So in short - if you enjoy or are inspired by Red Sonja, you are likely to find common enjoyment and inspiration in Jirel of Joiry.

To branch away from the comparison - and to tie into another key element that permeates Appendix N: Jirel is set in the real world... with the exception that the protagonist regularly finds herself involved - voluntarily or not - with the supernatural. Spirit realms, alternate realities, and worlds beyond our own are consistent themes in Jirel's adventures - a form of portal fantasy where Joiry, her home base, is - if Quest of the Starstone is to be believed - is in France at the turnover of the 15th century into the 16th: but then the demon prince who has abducted her for his bride - not France at all! The hidden hell beneath the flagstones of the castle: again, France disappears - Earth with it - into a whole new planet. Which is another thing - The Black God's Kiss: the first story in the Jirel of Joiry collection: the entire premise is going deeply under an ancient castle and into an alternative reality: a mythic underworld too horrifying, to alien to remain in for long - where darkness itself becomes a commodity: groping through the unseen, far from the sun, and skirmishing with (or hiding from) the strange creatures found underneath. Have you ever run a mythic underworld? So has C. L. Moore.

But not every encounter is a combat.

Jirel has to use her discernment to identify which battles she can win and which battles are best fought in the mind - and further, which battles can be won if a weakness, a hidden mystery or flaw is determined and exploited. In 1936's The Dark Land - for example - Jirel manages to turn a reaction roll in her favor: learning from a banshee about how to defeat a demon king, otherwise invincible to mortal means. Jirel doesn't shy away from a fight - and isn't afraid to take knocks where they come - but she knows that a fight isn't always in her favor: and if that means negotiating with a hidden spirit for unknown malevolent magic? So be it.

Lastly - as might have been inferred from the examples, but that can't be overstated: recall, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy was published between 1954 and 1955. While The Hobbit had been published earlier, it was The Lord of the Rings which sealed his place as the father of modern epic fantasy. Jirel of Joiry - the stories therein - were all written before even that: the latest among them, Quest of the Starstone, being published in November if 1937 - easily half a year before Houton-Mifflin brought The Hobbit across the Atlantic the following spring. And again - this is not to denigrate Tolkien - but instead to praise Moore: her work was done in a Tolkien vacuum. Fantasy before The Lord of the Rings is its own bear - its own tone - its own entity: uncorrupted by comparisons made to the ever-popular Middle Earth.

For that reason - Jirel is refreshing, even to one whose tastes are different to those of the reviewer, as it is a breath of fresh air. It cannot be compared to Tolkien, reacting against or conforming to, because Moore would not have been aware of it. For this reason - if no other - like the work of Burroughs, like the work of Dunsany, like the work of L. Sprague de Camp... it is written from a place where fantasy was at greater liberty, executed without the need for license to deviate from elves and dwarves: and if for nothing else, it's a brilliant read - seeing into the world of sword and sorcery, of adventure fantasy, as it was - before the genre was turned over to epics. 

Jirel technically does not go to space. But the space man is a C. L. Moore character.

Of Note

As mentioned, the author - Catherine Moore - is female and did not make any effort, nor showed any intention, to hide the fact. This is evident in the writing - I think - in that it feels different than action-fantasy written in a parallel timeframe by her male contemporaries. There is greater introspection - more character emotion - and as frequently as not, those same emotions, that same cognition and intuition, make prominent features across the story.

This is not uniquely because she is female - the stories are action packed and do not shy away from traditional elements of sword and sorcery: black magic, red blades, ... - and I've met plenty of women very capable of appreciating and enjoying male authors like Anderson or C. A. Smith - but there is a distinct tone, a different-ness to the stories which make Jirel of Joiry stand out among Appendix N stories. I am reminded - when I was younger - reading the works of C. J. Cherryh - Hugo Award winner and author of works like the Fortress series and Heroes in Hell: I will not speak poorly of the works, but as you read, you can tell a female author penned them.

There is a bit of antiquated language, a bit of "old feel" - you can tell it was written in the 1930s - but that's the case for most of Appendix N. Thus, it wouldn't be fair to hold it against the book nor the stories therein. Over all - there is very little that I would criticize this series over.

Further Reading

For those fond of C. L. Moore and her style - during her career, she authored dozens of other books and stories - cataloged quite conveniently on the Science Fiction Encyclopedia: convenient because many of these works were written under a pen name, or in collaboration with other authors - frequently her husband, Henry Kuttner.

Some are of a fantastic or portal-fantasy vibe - others venturing into science fiction or other genres. While I intend to dig deeper into the list over time, as of this article, I will be at the mercy of you, the reader, to tell me which ones you like - as opposed to Jirel, for which I can make my own recommendation.

But magic fails in the stronger spell that the Joiry outlaws own:
The splintering crash of a broad sword blade that shivers against the bone,
And blood that bursts through a warlock's teeth can strangle a half-voiced spell,
Though it rises hot from the blistering holes on the red hot floor of Hell!

- Quest of the Starstone

In Conclusion

Jirel of Joiry is quintessential Appendix N. Containing open battle against evil sorceries, ranging through portals into strange underworlds, and indulging in deep dungeon delves: confined or otherwise in search of power or for the sake of exploration, itself - Jirel of Joiry works very well to inspire an OSR game table and deserves a place in our cherished appendix.

It would be unfair and dishonest to rate Jirel of Joiry anything other than 1: Full-Armor OSR.

Several reprints and republications of the Jirel stories exist - and there being only a handful of them, they will make a quick read and small addition to your personal gaming library. I am glad to have found this book, and I hope you too might give it a chance - as it will improve, or at a minimum compliment, your OSR game.

Thank you for reading - and delve on!

Golden Age Masterworks: Jirel of Joiry was published in 2019 by Gollancz, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group Ltd., Carmelite House, London, UK - a Hachette UK company. Cover art for Jirel of Joiry, 1969 printing, is not credited - however the collection was published by Paperback Library. Cover for The Complete Jirel of Joiry illustrated by Arnold Tsang is copyright 2016 to Jerry eBooks. Cover for French edition Jirel de Joiry / Les adventures de Northwest Smith, painted by Hervé Leblan and retrieved from PulpCovers.com in December 2024. 

Stories contained within Jirel of Joiry - Black God's Kiss, Black God's Shadow, Jirel Meets Magic, The Dark Land, Quest of the Starstone, and Hellsgarde - are copyright C. L. Moore, jointly with Henry Kuttner in the case of Quest of the Starstone, and originally published in Weird Tales magazine. 

Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, and all imagery or references thereto related are property of Wizards of the Coast. Red Sonja, 1973, illustration is by Barry Windsow-Smith, published and owned by Marvel Comics - as of 2005, the Red Sonja intellectual property is owned and copyrighted by Dynamite Comics.

Clerics Wear Ringmail makes no claim of ownership of any sort to any of the aforementioned media, text, or images and includes references to or facsimiles of them for review purposes under US Code Title 17, Chapter 107: Fair Use.

The slide-in of Gary... I got from a meme.

Domicile Beyond the Caves

For a PDF version of this adventure, click HERE.

Regarding doors:

•		A door marked with the letter S is Secret.
•		A door marked with the likeness of a keyhole is Locked.
•		A door marked with the letter J is Jammed (stuck) and must be forced open.

Grid scale is 10 feet. Suitable for 1st or 2nd Level. 

A - Ground Level

A1 – Cave Entrance

Hidden away just beyond the light in a natural cavern, two oak doors hang firmly against a hewn section of cavern wall. One side of the door has a huge bee hive attached to it – holding it closed. Inside the hive can be found 1 Killer Bee Queen and 12 normal Killer Bees (B37).

A2 – Antechamber

Central to the following chamber is a circular pool of water beneath a vaulted ceiling – ten feet at the walls, 14 feet in the center of the vault – the pool, long stagnant, being suspiciously clear. About the walls are sculpted arches, ringing the room. Any item dipped in the water will emit a mysterious glow – half as effective as a torch for the purposes of illumination, but lasting twice as long.

In addition, on the four corners of the southern section of the space are four columns. The columns reach the top of the wall, but are flat on the tops – meaning they jut out a bit from the wall as it rises. A character checking the north-east column-top will find a hidden sack containing 200 silver and 10 gold pieces.

A3 – Guard Chamber

The walls of this room are ringed by sculpted decorative arches akin to those in A2 – Antechamber. Standing at attention in a circle are five Skeletons (B42) – as if themselves the vertices on a pentagram.

A4 – Smoking Amphora

Filling the room are a number of tall amphora – three to four feet, positioned along the floor at random. From these pour a strange smelling smoke – partial opacity, but made worse by torchlight – which seems to hover in a layer, two feet from the floor on the bottom up to seven feet (or, three feet from the ceiling) at the top. The smoke is harmless.

To the west is a stairwell leading down to C1 – Grand Foyer – trapped. The fourth step down is on a spring-plate: chancing to trigger a scythe-like blade coming on the triggering stepper: THAC0 17, 1d10 damage. The trap resets itself after 1d3 turns.

A5 – Ceiling Mirror

Mounted at this point in the corridor is a large mirror – easily three feet by six – embedded in the ceiling. It reflects the ground below it, but is slightly dim: as though the backing has lost its luster. In reality, the mirror is a magical surface which can be climbed through as though diving into viscous liquid, exiting in C2 – Treasure Chamber.

A6 – Forgotten Store

To the north and south, heavy stone shelving – wide, as though to hold great volume or heavy cargo – sit empty of anything but dust. Two Giant Shrew (B42) rummage about the far side of the room; a skeleton wearing tattered but once colorful clothing sits on the far side of the north shelf as if dead in hiding from the door. On its person can be found 200 silver pieces.

A7 – Going Up

A spiral stair leads upward to B1 – Lookouts in the north-west portion of the space. On the east wall can be seen stone pegs, now empty, but once used to hold up weapons, armor, curtains or other hangings, hats – who knows? The room is otherwise empty.

A8 – Unknown Lair

Straw litters the floor – stale – but a strange, mildly unpleasant odor emanates from it, as though used for bedding for a wild thing. But whatever the thing is (or was), the room is empty.

A9 – Snake Den

Along the north portion of the room are lacquered wicker crates – atop which can be found dried flowers, slowly graying. Three barrels are stowed in the south-east corner. Among the foliage are repining four Spitting Cobra (B42): fat and happy from a recent meal.

B - Upper Rooms

B1 – Lookouts

Two Kobolds (B37) are keeping watch here. If they detect a party coming up the stairs from A7 – Going Up, they will alert the other Kobolds in B3 – Kobold Warren.

B2 – Dressing Room

Aging armoires can be found in the room, a rack for shoes and hats, as well as a mannequin of surprising longevity. While any of the clothing or adornments in the room have fallen into disrepair – the mannequin is semi-sentient: and while it cannot walk or otherwise depart the room, it will give fashion advice and feedback in a high, but slow and grinding voice emanating from nowhere: its face a blank, featureless oval.

B3 – Kobold Warren

Nesting material and other domestic folderol litter the room, a group of Kobolds (B37) having taken refuge here. One Chieftain is accompanied by 4 Bodyguards, alongside 6 standard Kobolds. They are on the run from somewhere else – their destination not yet determined – having been ousted by Hobgoblins from their normal home.

Among them, they have 600 silver, 40 gold, and two gemstones that the Chieftain uses as ear ornamentation – worth 15 gold pieces each.

C - Lower Chambers

C1 – Grand Foyer

About the north and south walls is a belt of mosaic tiles, depicting a city of many buildings. On the floor, a thick carpet – moth eaten, but still functional and appealing – stretches towards the door on the east wall from the foot of a stairwell leading to A4 – Smoking Amphora.

Before the door float two glowing, floating scimitars – behind them, two glowing floating spears. The scimitars fight as HD2 constructs creatures, AC 6; the spears: HD1, AC 8 – they will not engage unless the party attempts to press past them to the door, signaling their intention by the spears crossing, blocking the door, if the party approaches within 15 feet.

C2 – Treasure Chamber

A horde has been placed in this room – in the north, a locked chest contains 700 silver, 200 gold, 3 fine-cut diamonds worth 100 gold pieces each, and five emeralds, 50 gold pieces each. In the south, several rugs and carpets (worth 20 to 80 gold pieces each, but weighting 120 coin weight) are bound and stacked beside a bowl brimming with incense (25 gold piece value). 

On the east wall, a large mirror – six feet by three – hangs: the reflection strangely dim: not tarnished, but not entirely right. The mirror is magical in nature and can be stepped through, as if diving into pudding: it will deposit the passer-through out the matching mirror in the ceiling of A5 – Ceiling Mirror.

Public domain images retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com and the National Gallery of Art and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.

N-Spiration: Gandahar

We speak of Time and Mind, which do not easily yield to categories. We separate past and future and find that Time is an amalgam of both. We separate good and evil and find that Mind is an amalgam of both. To understand, we must grasp the whole.

- Isaac Asimov

N-Spiration:
Gandahar

About Gandahar

Imported to the US in 1989 as "The Light Years," this originally French flop grossed a mere $370,000 on an over $5 million budget: despite assistance from the legendary Isaac Asimov assisting on the translated script. This performance is somewhat of a shame - however - as in it, we are presented with a truly masterful time capsule in science fantasy.

Basing itself out of the 1969 novel Les Hommes-Machines contre Gandahar, or - in English - The Machine-Men versus Gandahar, the film has seen a bouncy ride from its release: having been originally released in 1987, two years before the Miramax English dub, having been re-released on DVD exclusive to Europe in 2007, a second release to Korea, and then brought to new life by a small but dedicated cadre of fans at the Gandahar Restoration Project. Gandahar was the brain child of Parisian cinematographer René Laloux - the director behind animated adventure pieces Fantastic Planet and Time Masters - who served as both director and writer for the original adaptation. While adventure animation may not be the central focus of his career, it is without question a hallmark of his legacy - among which Gandahar stands a nearly lost testament.

Qualities of Note

Seriously - even the mountain their city is on has tits.

First and foremost... tits. 

Tits... everywhere.

While that's not something that would make a movie OSR or not - I am compelled to notify (or warn?) the potential viewer: perhaps as a byproduct of a more permissive time, perhaps having been animated in a more liberated place, but the Gandaharians - the people populating the title nation - are minimalists on clothing. Perhaps this may conform it to the "loincloth barbarian" esthetic that I had done podcast and video about earlier this year, a trend that waxed in the 1980s, but by and large - the Gandaharians, emblematic of liberty and peace, are particularly licentious regarding their attire. I could likely continue to wax about the implications: but in particular, it serves to forewarn about the contrast between Gandahar and the Men of Metal: who are uniform, jet black, and consider themselves a collective rather than individuals.

To continue on the topic of the Gandaharians - they are master bio-engineers: having manipulated living things to such an extent as to service their needs in a fantastic equivalent of the Flintstones vacuum cleaner: pets grown from pods in vines; docile herd animals - but also transportation: flying creatures capable of distance travel with rider, or also grand guardians: stone crabs, the purpose of which is to defend its creators, allowing them to soften. Further, they have mastered the use of plants, a mix of science fantasy perfectly fitting of Appendix N. The primary weapons of the Gandaharians are biological in nature: seed guns, for example, which - when embedded in flesh - grow rapidly into thorn bushes: killing and suspending the target; dancing shrimp creatures that likewise seed ground - creating barriers akin to hedgerows of the same material to control movement on the field of battle. This is in contrast to the Men of Metal - who are by nature industrial, technological; serving as the baseline for several philosophical contrasts in the film - which I will touch more on later.

The primary benefit to these technologies - they are ripe to steal for your OSR campaign: the purview of strange future druids or eldritch, alien beings - and also, the interplay between the steel-encased Men of Metal and these technologies. Because of their makeup - the men are immune to some weapons, but vulnerable to others. A war is waged between them - as the title of the original book may imply - and the tactics and technology of both sides of the conflict changes over time. The machines adapt and send different technologies - for example, turning the briars and brambles used to control their movements to stone so as to make them brittle: allowing hover-tanks to crush through them. Further, as the machines grow more advanced as the film progresses and Gandahar, itself, becomes more pressed: the Gandaharians become less advanced - reliant first on technology, then on ingenuity, and finally pressing their enemies with sticks and clubs: all other avenues being exhausted.

Interestingly - the Gandaharian military seems to prefer practical plate over more sensual or typical bikini armor (except once exhausted to sticks and loincloths, see above) but that's another conversation.

L'Oeil Du Dragon, La Sirène
Philippe Caza (1996)

The animation for the movie is Heavy Metal tier - and although it is plagued by random slow motion elements (perhaps intended to show dynamism), the art direction is fabulous: an extension of the creativity in the weapons, creatures, armor, and design for characters and their equipment. Presumptively, this is the result of the collaboration of the director Laloux, with Philippe Cazaumayou - professionally and publicly more widely known as Caza - an artist made famous for his contributions to Métal Hurlant, a French parallel to Heavy Metal magazine and one which appears to be available in digital form for those who can read it, beginning in 1975. His style is evocative and alien, borderline surreal in its use of color and contrast - which without doubt contributed to the stunning visuals that permeate Gandahar. The world is wildly imaginative - on par with Morrowind for its presentation of the unfamiliar as familiar to the audience and to the characters - making it ripe for picking inspirational material.

To Be Aware Of

As I mentioned before - the Men of Metal are presented in contrast to the Gandaharians: overtly in a "industry versus agrarian" contest, man and nature, and likewise freedom and tyranny - the individual and the collective: something that would have been pressing debate on the minds of an 1980s Europe. However, the film suffers from what I call "art house philosophy" - when an artist, caliber unmatched in the presentation of the visual, the musical, or what have you - presumes their right brain is a mirror to their left in cognition... erroneously. Lines like, "Can a god... be a murderer?" pepper the film - and concepts like kinship and loyalty are explored, but have little relevance to each other as the characters exploring them grow.

Some plot elements move forward for no reason apart from it makes sense in the narrative, moving the story along: for example, the Gandaharians - having genetically perfected themselves - produce an underclass of mutants - "The Deformed" - one which the protagonist, Sylvain, comes into contact with. He initially thinks them the enemy, but finds that they are loyal and friends. There is no reason presented for this - apart from their organic element (they are Gandaharian!) compared to the Men of Metal, who are not. Internal monologues, speculation on the nature of life and discerning our own role in the movement of fate, are somewhat haphazardly injected into the film: at times, advancing the plot, at times - not. Some strange decisions are made - like trying to reason with the Metamorphis before planning to kill it: something which doesn't make sense, as it can read minds and thus would know of the plot once conversation was engaged. This can detract from the movie for a discerning ear - but if you approach the film like an acid trip (which it would admittedly do well for) you will likely not be disturbed.

Spoiler alert - the main twist of the movie is that the Men of Metal are from the future: a time portal has been constructed and sent them from the future into the present to achieve the ends of the villain, Metamorphis, a millenium distant. The movie - thus - engages in a time paradox: where the protagonist attacks the enemy in the future so as to prevent the war in the present: and upon succeeding, the evidence of the conflict in the present slowly sinks into the earth. The war, itself, is not averted - damage is still done, lives still lost - but the future to the present is preserved by the destruction of the future-present to end its aggression. Confused yet?

Gandahar treats time not like a line, but more like - perhaps - fly tape: where different points in time interact, they get tangled - sticking to one another in a wad before allowing it to move forward, ever onwards into the future. It's interesting - the Deformed, mentioned earlier - their culture has no use for the present: instead, when referring to a present event or state, they refer to it sequentially in the past and future - I am not Clerics Wear Ringmail, I was will be Clerics Wear Ringmail. This rejection of the present and the treating of the past and future as interlinked, joining in our perspective, is unique to Gandahar - at least in my cinematic and literary experience - and I respect its assertion as to how time, interwoven with space, is implicitly paradoxical. It was one of the few elements of the movie that made me think - though, admittedly, not in a sophist sense, but in an, "I don't feel bad doing this in my campaign" sense.

How a proper casting of Call Lightning looks

The last note I would make on Gandahar - when it was translated for an English-speaking audience, the soundtrack was totally redone. In the original, Lebanese-French orchestral composer Gabirel Yared - known better for the Grammy he was awarded resultant from his work on The English Patient - was chosen to handle the score of the film. However - Miramax, under the supervision of the Weinstein brothers, re-scored the film, choosing progressive rock style music in an attempt to appeal to then-modern audiences. Thus, the music in the English version is very dated - with the classic synthesizers lending the film a distinct 80s vibe.

This may be a selling point to some - if you enjoy that vibe, then this will move into the "What I Like" heading for your own review! However I am a bit curious to see if I can acquire the French version - even if I don't understand the words - to compare the impact of one composer versus the other. It's a shame - still - that the notably timeless appeal of the orchestra was replaced by the guarantee of dating that comes with any contemporary style: as Laloux's intended experience and Andrevon's intended message will be irrevocably diluted for a great many of those who yet find it in this future to it.

Where to Find Gandahar

As of this writing, you can stream Gandahar on Roku or with ads on Prime Video.

There was a fan-dub version on YouTube - one which allegedly kept the French original material left out of the English official release - but this appears to have been taken down due to copyright complaint.

In Conclusion

While without question a product of its time - and without doubt shackled in some ways by editorializing and reaching for intellectual pursuits to which the authorship was not quite prepared - Gandahar would be a great addition to Appendix N. The imaginative monsters, the strange and innovative technology, and the curious interweaving of time with itself into a cohesive yet paradoxical whole is, at its core, on par with the science fantasy of Gary's time - and I would not be surprised if this film, having come out some years after the ever-classic B/X was published, was not influenced by it.

For these reasons - I recommend Gandahar - and rate it 2: Essentially OSR.

There are some sequences where the characters move about underground - including an intriguing concept where the underground dwellers can use a series of small cracks and crevices like a listening network: hearing but not seeing the movements and conversations of those who travel the crust of their domain. However there is nothing significantly dungeon-crawly about these sequences: and the movie falls prey to the typical adventure story necessity of having an overarching plot!

But that in mind - the story is intended to be epic in its scope - heroic rather than picaresque - which is really the only thing separating it from a perfect score.

Thank you for reading - delve on!

Gandahar written and directed by René Laloux and based on the novelizations by Jean-Pierre Andrevon, is the property of its respective owners and distributors, Miramax LLC and Acteurs Auteurs Associès. All images, quotes, and media therefrom presented in this article is likewise property of the aforementioned owners. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, and all imagery or references thereto related are property of Wizards of the Coast. L'Oeil Du Dragon, La Sirène by Caza is property of the artist and was retrieved from MutualArt.com in December, 2024.

Clerics Wear Ringmail makes no claim of ownership of any sort to any of the aforementioned media, text, or images and includes references to or facsimiles of them for review purposes under US Code Title 17, Chapter 107: Fair Use.

The slide-in of Gary... I got from a meme.

The Night Land

 N-Spiration: The Night Land

"[I]t is yet one of the most potent pieces of macabre imagination ever written. The picture of a night-black, dead planet, with the remains of the human race concentrated in a stupendously vast metal pyramid and besieged by monstrous, hybrid, and altogether unknown forces of the darkness, is something that no reader can ever forget [...]"

- H. P. Lovecraft on The Night Land

About The Night Land

Published in 1912 by Eveleigh Nash, The Night Land is the most influential of the works left to us by William Hope Hodgson - soldier, sailor, personal trainer, and author native to Essex, England. More frequently authoring nautical yarns, Hodgson received critical acclaim for short stories such as Out of the Storm and The Ghost Pirates - both published in 1909. The Night Land - unlike those fantasies - is set in the far future, based on a theory of the time that the sun - powered by the gravitational collapse of the gasses that comprised it - has winked out: leaving all below in darkness. 

This theme, shared with Jack Vance and some others of Appendix N fame, sets it in an apocalyptic "dying earth" genre - and also similar to Vance, where lost technology and science mingle with the arcane and occult, The Night Land is a land where esoteric energies are observed and leveraged by what fraction of humanity remains after the onset of the long dark. The primary hero of the tale is an athletic and academically-minded 18th century gentleman (to whom the author bears a striking resemblance in several ways: in dedication and appearance, but not in fiscal success - an unfortunate theme shared by Conan the Cimmerian creator Robert E. Howard): one who, in his dreams, sees visions cast backwards through time from the far reaches of this dark far future.

While Hodgson, himself, would perish in 1918 in service of the British artillery, fighting in Belgium: his ambitious, titular keystone work - The Night Land - would survive in publication time and again in his estate, lending macabre inspiration to countless authors - Lovecraft, Gene Wolfe, Clark Ashton Smith, and Tim Lebbon to name only several.

What's to Like

Why is it that this story - the places, the figures in The Night Land - find so frequent a fixture in reference in modern media? I have personally lost count of the number of times "The Last Redoubt" - which is the name of humanity's greatest and last city in The Night Land - has made an appearance as a place (pyramidal or not) in various RPG media. Simply put - the answer becomes obvious even to the shallow read: Hodgson has a remarkable gift for imagination. Giant living stone beings - unknown to immobile, patient so long that their animation might yet be called to question: history, or academic histrionic? - or shrouded, silent figures standing, guarding a flat plain, walking a long road, with no rational motive evident to the human reader: malevolent? Indifferent? 

The work is totally full of the sort of creature, the sort of image, that sticks in the mind: almost like, in reading it, we enter into the dream of the author - whose experience we share in the same surreal grounds as one might recall in nightmares. The foremost element of the book the reader will note is the phenomenal imagination with which the whole exercise is rendered: an element that persists throughout the work: with the watchers of the early manuscript, the hounds or silent walkers of the middle, or the abhuman horrors of the later.

Further, in providing these memorable creatures, environments, flora, and science - the author introduces plot elements, descriptions and explanations, and terminology almost in passing: with a casual demeanor that ingrains a sense of verisimilitude. In modern vintage, when we talk about - say - a car problem or locking our keys out of the house, small details that will be evident to someone living the experience - a reference perhaps to a spider on the windshield at the time or perhaps popping the screens off windows to check for alternative ingress: in the same way, Hodgson references casually curious differences between the Night Lands and present Earth. Speaking to a generic assumption of the psychic listenings of the gifted - on a more fantastic perspective - or to the difference in air pressure at the top versus at the bottom of the Last Redoubt, something that in context makes total scientific sense but in execution introduces a parallel reminder of the great pyramid's indicated scale. This serves to draw the reader in - to bring the story to life in a way that less prosaic diction might never hope to accomplish.

What's to Be Aware Of

My copy of this book is entitled The Night Lands and Other Perilous Romances. Which makes total sense... when diving in to the first chapter. It begs the question: what was Hodgson thinking?

While we've established that the perspective of the book is an 18th century gentleman "remembering" the far future in the form of dreams projected from his distant reincarnation, the book takes thousands of words to set up this premise: one which could more concisely be illustrated even in the form of a single paragraph.

And that's not just a 21st century internet brain, addled by the immediacy of digital feedback - this is demonstrably the case...

...in that the author does indeed set this premise in a single paragraph at the start of the second chapter.

The first chapter of the book introduces our protagonist - but not as he appears for the rest of the story. 

The first chapter introduces our forever love interest - but not as she appears for the rest of the story.

While the characters become referenced, over and over, as a driving force for the narrative over the duration, the events and build-up that occurs through the first fifteen pages or so is immaterial to the story in its wider scope. My advice for any who read this book - seeking inspiration for a fantastic or sci fi adventure campaign or alternatively for pleasure - start on chapter 2.

Unfortunately, to continue with this trend, the author persistently over-states, over-includes, over-qualifies: the book, by all accounts, is in the vicinity of 200,000 words - for comparison, The Fellowship of the Ring, the longest of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is only 178,000 words. When compared to other works in Appendix N, one will notice quickly that The Night Land is quite verbose and thick: both in its verbiage (crafted by Hodgson to emulate a pseudo-archaic evolution of language) and in its page count. Though Unlike more pulp-y sources, however, The Night Land does not pack those pages with action.

A great deal of the book is a detailed travelogue - hour by hour, step by step, detailing the amount of time the protagonist is able to sleep, how much he eats or drinks, when he forgets to drink for some reason or other, inspiring him to drink a little extra at the next stop, and so forth. So heavily mired, it is, with this kind of excess prose - the genius elements of the work, the pieces that will make it into your home campaign or stick in the far recesses of your dreams in photogenerative recollection, are frequently eclipsed: the reader's mind becoming bored and wandering, missing the wheat for the endless chaff.

For light at the end of the tunnel - the beginning is better than the middle and end: which drag far more - so perhaps one might read the first half, skip the travelogue, and pick up Cliff's Notes for the ending.

In Conclusion

The Night Land is a phenomenal exposé of imagination and cosmic horror. It is weighed down, however, by heavy diction and superfluous recapitulation of elements trivial to the progression of the narrative. It follows the traditional arc of a romantic hero - one who sees the call to adventure, braves danger on a specific quest, and fulfills it. For that arc, it does not conform to the traditional understanding of OSR adventure - and so falls into a strange medium: where the inventive biology, evocative descriptions, and alien geography is highly inspirational, without doubt having influenced and inspired countless campaigns. 

It is not OSR - but it might be taken into an OSR setting, with little or no problem in contributing to its ambiance. For that reason, I've ranked it 4: Potentially OSR? - its wild excesses beautiful, its cultural implications intriguing: but its purple prose and its over-verbosity miring it like a gold vein: requiring its miners to produce a pool of acid in distilling the valuable ore.

The Night Land is worth skimming - and its contents worth mining - but it is not for the faint of heart. You have to enjoy Hodgson in order to enjoy Hodgson - and it may be a few hundred pages before you figure it out.

Delve on, readers!

The Night Land and Other Perilous Romances by William Hope Hodgson, as shown, is published by Night Shade Books, New York, and edited by Jeremy Lassen, and is copyright Night Shade Books, 2005. Portrait of the author, William Hope Hodgson, is sourced from WeirdLetter.blogspot.com and believed to be in the public domain. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, and all imagery or references thereto related are property of Wizards of the Coast. 

Clerics Wear Ringmail makes no claim of ownership of any sort to any of the aforementioned media, texts, or images and includes references to or facsimiles of them for review purposes under US Code Title 17, Chapter 107: Fair Use. 

The slide-in of Gary... I got from a meme.