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Pictures of Balazar


Stephen L

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My Balazaring campaign might be shortly winding up at Elkoi, and I wondered about good images for both the citadel and also for personalities.

I’ve the original Griffin Mountain (with generally rather good artwork, but very sparse) and the Gloranthan Classics reprint (which has more art, but the additions are of varying quality).

Elkoi is obviously based on the ancient Mycenaean citadel of Tiryns, so good images on the web. So far I’ve found these:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/396387204699687861/

image.png.6997c5ab0c5e17a0265925a013330d2d.png

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/1050675788052494226/

image.png.644a1919d4578bda439a96e886f149aa.png

And for the Magaron (which might fit Elkoi, with it pretence at civilisation, Trilus and Dykene would be more rustic):

https://blog.stephens.edu/arh101glossary/?glossary=megaron

Megaron2.png.356cb8d6a2c2159e501199e76617dcbd.png

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/611715561859426457/

image.png.1f5879e86d3ef58bc0c6302ef32f9f5d.png

For characters, there are the excellent one of Hacyon Var Encorth in the original, and a not bad Queen Jocestis in the reprint.

If the party opt for the grand entrance, there might be a feast with the royals, in which case I imagined Hecis might be persuaded by her father to dance, a la 7 veils:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/523613894170933848/

image.png.127de54a0b0d3b0c0eea42fbc8a1cfdf.png

If anyone has any links for any other characters, or an ancient feast with the royals, that would be amazing!

Perhaps for Euryptus the bold:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/aR1APL

Euryptus-small.png.1bde63d4f42bcb1dc8caf91f110f33e3.png 

As an aside, as a kid, when Griffin Mountain first came out (yes I’m that old), I had a fascination with floor plans of historical sites, so I realised that Elkoi was Tiryns. I had assumed that Dykene was one of the Troys (which isn’t such a good match, now plans are easier to come by, with the invention of the web: squinting and not looking too closely it’s a tiny bit like Troy IV). The young me was convinced Trilus was Mycenae, but now, looking at it, the plan of Trilus bears no resemblance to Mycenae. Was the young me just fooled by the similarity of the Lion gate? Or had I found a real-world source and I have just forgotten with the passage of so much time. After all, it’s not so many years now before it will be the 50th anniversary of its first publication.

And wouldn’t some fan generated art be a fantastic way of celebrating such an anniversary…

 

Edited by Stephen L
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I know some people have created and are working on Balazar supplements for the Jonstown Compendium. Hopefully they’ll have some neat new art and cartography.

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18 hours ago, Stephen L said:

I had a fascination with floor plans of historical sites, so I realised that Elkoi was Tiryns. I had assumed that Dykene was one of the Troys (which isn’t such a good match, now plans are easier to come by, with the invention of the web: squinting and not looking too closely it’s a tiny bit like Troy IV). The young me was convinced Trilus was Mycenae, but now, looking at it, the plan of Trilus bears no resemblance to Mycenae. Was the young me just fooled by the similarity of the Lion gate? Or had I found a real-world source and I have just forgotten with the passage of so much time.

It was my belief or understanding that all three citadel plans came from ancient Greek sites, but I don't recall which.

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21 hours ago, Stephen L said:

As an aside, as a kid, when Griffin Mountain first came out (yes I’m that old), I had a fascination with floor plans of historical sites, so I realised that Elkoi was Tiryns. I had assumed that Dykene was one of the Troys (which isn’t such a good match, now plans are easier to come by, with the invention of the web: squinting and not looking too closely it’s a tiny bit like Troy IV). The young me was convinced Trilus was Mycenae, but now, looking at it, the plan of Trilus bears no resemblance to Mycenae. Was the young me just fooled by the similarity of the Lion gate? Or had I found a real-world source and I have just forgotten with the passage of so much time. After all, it’s not so many years now before it will be the 50th anniversary of its first publication.

It might be worth reaching out to Jennell Jaquays to see if she remembers her influences. She's pretty responsive on her official Facebook page.

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ROLAND VOLZ

Running: 1870s Mashup Hero System | Playing: nothing | Planning: D&D 5E/OSE/Fantasy Hero Home Game

D&D is an elf from Tolkien, a barbarian from Howard, and a mage from Vance fighting monsters from Lovecraft in a room that looks like it might have been designed by Wells and Giger. - TiaNadiezja

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On 12/27/2023 at 1:35 PM, Stephen L said:

Balazaring Campaign

I looked at your Namara NPC on line and like her being linked to Blueface. I'll use her as part of the Nochet episodes with Valka Runewolf and Gerard de Montanmpein trying to spoil Halcyon's nefarious plots there. She'd be just falling in love with Blueface at this time coser to 1600... I'll need to set all this up using the Nochet Queen of Cities book for reference.

The Jalance Castle in Spain might be a good setting for Dykene as it seems to be in a hilly area. The Wartburg Castle, in plan may have influenced that of Trilus though the actual castle is way to Medieval for Trilus... 

image.png.91d01d6261961d8c0e6aca83cf0f3eb2.png  image.png.d407d6ad51ec5e08a61ef0e1b6ff430d.png image.png.25226e6970d0e6cf6ae6533a18e00b04.png image.png.449e71a9b6d630c6f88044e07a681e1c.png

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6 hours ago, Stephen L said:

Jalance Castle in Spain

Sorry, my mistake, I've not been there but would like to go, to both, just looking at old castles. Both are somewhat coastal... 

Good catch Stephan.

Was looking at Jalance (hopefully below is correct) must have been mislabeled and or included as "castle". Similar but the outer wall of Xivert seems closer to Dykene (in the earlier photo)?

Thanks! 

image.png.e11d96b8f82110fbc002560c68d59e8b.png image.png.c298a778ea3385a9e060768b4bf31b1f.png image.png.f1cdd4dc7ab5a4113f7a1f481750fe83.png

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1 hour ago, Darius West said:

Great pictures, but you seem to have ignored the fact that the streets of Dykene, Trilus and Elkoi run thick with pig poop.

Not of Trilus - no pigs allowed in the citadel proper (any more). But there is a reason why these citadels were built on rocks overlooking the surrounding lands, allowing flow-off to leave the citadels, agreed.

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Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

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On 1/3/2024 at 2:01 PM, Joerg said:
On 1/3/2024 at 12:23 PM, Darius West said:

Great pictures, but you seem to have ignored the fact that the streets of Dykene, Trilus and Elkoi run thick with pig poop.

Not of Trilus - no pigs allowed in the citadel proper (any more). But there is a reason why these citadels were built on rocks overlooking the surrounding lands, allowing flow-off to leave the citadels, agreed.

A friend of ours used to go backpacking around the world every winter in the 80s and 90s. He went to rural Thailand and Vietnam, and spent a couple of nights in a mud hut village on stilts. The local pigs used to root around the houses, looking for goodies. The toilets were just holes in a small room in the hut, with the waste falling on the ground below the huts. Sometimes, the pigs got a bit eager. "What is the weirdest sexual experience you have ever had?" "Well, I was having a crap and this big, long tongue comes through the hole and ..."

After hearing that story, the Player of the King of Balazar banned all pigs from Dykene, Elkoi and Trilus.

 

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Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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57 minutes ago, soltakss said:

The local pigs used to root around the houses, looking for goodies. The toilets were just holes in a small room in the hut, with the waste falling on the ground below the huts. Sometimes, the pigs got a bit eager. "What is the weirdest sexual experience you have ever had?" "Well, I was having a crap and this big, long tongue comes through the hole and ..."

My parents were missionaries back in the 60s in Myanmar.  He described one missionary who was sent back to the UK because he couldn't cope with fighting off wild pigs eager for food while his trousers were round his ankles.🤣

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On 1/6/2024 at 4:03 AM, soltakss said:

A friend of ours used to go backpacking around the world every winter in the 80s and 90s. He went to rural Thailand and Vietnam, and spent a couple of nights in a mud hut village on stilts. The local pigs used to root around the houses, looking for goodies. The toilets were just holes in a small room in the hut, with the waste falling on the ground below the huts. Sometimes, the pigs got a bit eager. "What is the weirdest sexual experience you have ever had?" "Well, I was having a crap and this big, long tongue comes through the hole and ..."

After hearing that story, the Player of the King of Balazar banned all pigs from Dykene, Elkoi and Trilus.

 

I have a similar story about a family friend who went to a toilet in Calcutta on a hill.  Huge squealing and excited pigs slammed into the cyclone wire fence as he passed.  When he got to the top, he realized it was a long drop, and the pigs were down there leaping and snapping below him for the "prize".  Suffice to say, he "feared for his sporrin".  Not quite the same as your friend's "glory hole" experience.  Some say that the Aldryami have a similar outlook...  But those who speak such are tricksters, surely?

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