Another Old-school mail call this week and this one is quite timely. I finally got my Hyperborea leatherette Players and Referee's Guides.
If you have been here for any amount of time you know of my love for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, now just called HYPERBOREA.
This new set, 3rd Edition, does not disappoint.
Now I have all three editions of this game. I don't need all three, but I can't find myself parting with any of them.
AS&SH and to a degree HYPERBOREA was where I started my ideas for the War of the Witch Queens, but I have moved it on to Old-School Essentials now. I would still LOVE to do something with HYPERBOREA, something special really.
HYPERBOREA is firmly in the AD&D rules camp of the OSR clones, though it does only go to level 12.
Part of me wants to run the Dark Wizard Games modules from Mark Taormino. There is some overlap in themes to be sure. I just wonder if some of the Eldritch Weirdness of HYPERBOREA would be lost in the Gonzo weirdness found in the Dark Wizard adventures.
I have talked before about how great these would be for B/X or OSE, but maybe this is where I need to go.
Another option is this.
Now, this would work and The Lost City and Castle Amber both have solid Clark Ashton Smith vibes. Into the Borderlands and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks also fit the tone of HYPERBOREA well. Same with Isle of Dread which is very sandboxey. The Temple of Elemental Evil is the odd one out unless I do a little massaging.
Level wise I think it all might work. Into the Borderlands covers levels 1-3. Isle of Dread covers 3-7. Barrier Peaks covers 8-12. The Lost City 1-3 (though I argue more like 2-4), Castle Amber 3-6, and Temple of Elemental Evil 1-8 (or more). I can already see how I could do this, to be honest. The trouble is I have run most of these with my kids already.
Still might be fun as an intellectual experiment.
They look great. I was tempted to go for the leatherettes myself.
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