The Foot of Blue Mountain

Welcome!

Here's the landing page for Adventures in the Spokelands, an open table campaign which began in Spring of 2026. New players are encouraged to read the "What are the Spokelands?", "The Southern Isles", and "Playing At My Table" sections (they're brief, don't worry).

Particularly dedicated players might read the "What are the Spokelands? Pretentious Version" and Whitebox: Fantasy Medieval Adventure Gaming either to make a character or understand the rules that we're using better (tho I want to emphasize this is not required).

Playing at My Table

There are a few things that I like to mention before I game with a new group that make the whole thing go that much smoother.

  1. The rules are a start, not an end. As a referee, I'm trying to play the world. If the rules don't make sense for what's in the fiction, we'll toss them and make a ruling that makes us all happy. In the same way I trust you all to take the game earnestly, you should trust me to make rulings and calls that come up as impartially as I can to uphold the ficiton.
  2. The game is what happens at the table. Ultimately, the game is about playing with other people in conversation at the table. Be flexible and accomodating
  3. Play to Find Out! The nature of a sandbox game is (sometimes) one of unsatisfying narratives. Your chosen one hero might die in the first combat. We're playing to see what happens, not to Win.
  4. High-Trust Gaming I will never lie to you about what you see or hear in the game world. If we're talking out of character, I'm going to be honest about the situation you're in without any kayfabe. You can trust me! I'm another player at the table.

There are also some general table manners stuff that I like to include here, in no particular order:

What are the Spokelands?

The Spokelands are a metaphysical archipelago set in the ruins of what was. The islands are connected by a daisy chain of portals and gateways and stretch across dozens of islands, ranging in size from the ground of an abandoned sanitarium to a vast ocean dotted with islands and bordered by a single coastal city-state. All of these islands are bounded by black mist. None who enter return.

Due to the unique nature of how land is connected and traversed, (and the fragmented nature of humanity as a whole) government in the Spokelands is sporadic. When it does exist, it is often despotic, cruel, or unjust, especially if it extends much further beyond the bounds of a portal. Justice was slain along with Gaia.

Portals, when they work, are heavily guarded; uneasy locks on the door to your home.

Magic in the Spokelands is based on something called The Weave, which is this big metaphysical tapestry that stretches across existence. To do magic is to take loose strands of the fabric and pluck or cut them to bend the world to your will. There are a few people and places that teach you how to see these loose ends, but they are rare. Once you can grab style strands, you must physically interact with the objects they're attached to in order to "learn spells". Wizards, must travel extensively to learn new spells and techniques. Beware an old wizard with mud-caked boots.

Currently, most play in the Spokelands takes place somewhere in the Southern Reaches, a borderland/frontier space between the Coastal City-State of Blip, ruled in part by a cult of hiveminded Gnolls and a vicious corporation, and the greater unexplored wilderness through one of the many publicly-maintained portals in the city of Blip.

The Southern Isles

One of the many portals in the great city of Blip leads to the Southern Isles, a region of small interconnected islands in the seas of black mist which are functionally a large archipelago.

Most of the sandbox is set in these isles. Specifically, there's a single relatively large island ruled by the enigmatic Lord Tau. Lord Tau is mysterious and rarely-seen, but in recent years has opened up his lands for exploration and plundering from adventurers. His town-fort Barrownymph has served as a landing pad for people exploring the rest of the island for quite some time. This is where we'll begin play.

Some of you may also know of a place called the Rainy Region, a small part of the world a few portals from Lord Tau's domain, that is rumored to have a strange town and a dungeon that has been absolutely vomiting treasure as a result of some experienced delvers bringing it out.

What are the Spokelands, Pretentious Version

Here's another perspective on what the Spokelands are like; you DO NOT have to read this if you don't want to; this is just extra background, closer to how the people in the world see themselves than how the world works as a game we all play together.

The Spokelands would not exist without Axle, the heart of the universe, the seat of God, and the Nail That Holds The World. Sprawling out from Axle in every direction are the Spokelands, small clusters of land and water in a sea of black mist that steals the life from those who breathe it. There is no way to spin the Spokelands that would make sense to a mapmaker. The stars are different every night and the mists are great black walls that obstruct the horizon. Living reminders of God's disgust.

Each island mass is referred to as a Splinter, and a chain of Splinters originating from Axle is called a Spoke. Usually, traveling along Splinters in the same spoke is safe. Portals remain from a kinder, brighter age in places of great importance, and traveling through those is mostly safe. You might walk through a long, dark hallway for a few hours, or through long gravel fields of crushed buildings older even than the portals themselves, but eventually you'll make it through.

It is the rare portals that go between different Spokes that are the deadly ones. People speak of doorways drawn with chalk on a moss-covered wall, or a long hallway beneath a dried up well that lead to horrible endless libraries and decaying gardens of resplendent color and life. Those who return from travel between Spokes are either wealthy and powerful or missing something. There is no middle ground.

With God largely silent and Those Who Came From Axle dead or martyrs, the people of the Spokes are in disarray and have been for as long as ink can stay on paper. There are still some small empires stretching a dozen Splinters led by a few mad sorcerer kings or the odd republic amidst a Splinter covered in city ruins, but for the most part there is very little law and even less order. The world is adrift in black mist. It is unlikely to right itself soon.

Shop Talk

Houserules and Homebrew

Languages

We will be using quantum languages. Extra language slots do not need to be committed to on character creation - they can instead be permanently "spent" when the need arises.

Combat

Target-20 combat, with the following bonuses:

Level Fighter Combat Bonus Cleric/Thief Combat Bonus MU Combat Bonus
1 +2 +1 +1
2 +3 +1 +1
3 +4 +2 +1
4 +5 +2 +2
5 +6 +3 +2
6 +7 +3 +2

Appendix N

Here are some works that inspired the setting; if you've read or heard of these, they'd serve as good tonal touchstones for what I'm interested in exploring!

Books and Other Words on Paper

Videogames

Movies