Oerthblood -- any info?

[Tatterdemalion]

The (very nice) 2/e adventure Return of the Eight introduced a material called oerthblood. No rules were suggested for the material in Rot8; rumor has it that Dragon 294 mentioned it -- which I sadly don't own.

Is anyone familiar with the info in Dragon 294, or is there any semi-canon writeup out there? This has some impact on my Age of Worms campaign when the group arrives at Magepoint.

Thanks,

Jack

[ericthecleric]

Apparently, Underdark (an FR book) has something on Earth Nodes.
Champions of Ruin (another FR book) has rules on Evil Nodes and Shadow Weave Nodes, which were based on the Earth Nodes.
I haven't seen Underdark, but the rules on Evil Nodes are interesting, and you could adapt them to oerthblood.
If you've been into RPGs for a long time, Rolemaster Companion I also has oerthblood-type spells which might interest you.

[Luz]

Tatterdemalion wrote:

Is anyone familiar with the info in Dragon 294, or is there any semi-canon writeup out there?

Okay Jack, I got Dragon #294 in front of me. It says: "Oerthblood seeps into The Endless Well from beneath The Fortress of Unknpown Depths, the abode of Tenser (Manzorian). His ancient keep was built by migrating Oeridians to gaurd and harvest this rich and magical ore. Few know Oerthblood exists - Tenser has been studying it in seclusion for decades - and no one knows exactly what it is. Tenser recently reactivated the keep's mining operations (which had been shut down after his death during the Greyhawk Wars), and minor earthquakes and strange grinding vibrations occasionally rumble into the surrounding area from deep beneath the citadel, hinting at the immense golems currently at work harvesting the world's magical essence."

Basically, it's the raw material used in forging artifacts and powerful magics, left for the DM to develop. Similar substances can be found in the Horned Lands (dweornite), beneath Castle Greyhawk (Oerthstone) and the obsidian rock found in the Cauldron of Night in The Sea Barons.

By the way, Dragon #294 is great issue. If you can find it, buy it!

Good luck!

[Tatterdemalion]

Thanks so much :)

[Jason Bulmahn]

Hmm.. there might be a little something on Oerthblood items in Dragon 351, the Campaign Classics issue. Maybe.. you know, like a complete write up on it as a material to make weapons and armor out of.

Jason Bulmahn
Managing Editor of Dragon

[Tatterdemalion]

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

Hmm.. there might be a little something on Oerthblood items in Dragon 351, the Campaign Classics issue. Maybe.. you know, like a complete write up on it as a material to make weapons and armor out of.

Jason Bulmahn
Managing Editor of Dragon

Wow, what amazing timing! Thanks for the information :)

Fact is I haven't been a Dragon fan for a while, but that's been rapidly changing of late. I'll definitely pick up the issue, and likely a whole lot more.

Jack

[grodog]

I haven't had a chance to read the new Oerthblood article yet, but it's on my short list :D

I'm glad to hear that folks found the LGJ artifacts materials from Dragon 294 to be worthwhile; if you're interested in some content that had to be cut from the original article due to space reasons, see the post on Canonfire! @ http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=News&file=article& sid=268

Allan.