Lore of the Giant Kings – Including The Lamassu of Zul by Cliff Dunn is a role playing game supplement published by ZealZaddy for use with the Cypher System. This is a new version of the original one for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, converted for use with Cypher System and with more material.
The supplement is available as a 24-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $2.99 but was received for free thanks to a special offer. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one the front matter and one the Contents.
There is also a zip of 12 pngs, which are tokens for the various NPCs in three different sizes.
Welcome to the Free City of Vadashar gives some details on the city, its history from before the Giant Kings onwards and its present and future.
Lore of the Giant Kings explains that Zul was ruled by the Ancient Ones in the distant past, whose reign ended when the megacontinent was enveloped in sheets of ice. Some of their servitors, such as a species of reptilian humanoids called the Nagari, survived, using primitive apemen as servants and building an empire that spanned the continent. The Nagari empire was finally overthrown when the mighty, godlike beings known as the Giant Kings arrived.
The Giant Kings sped up the evolution of the semi-intelligent apes and were said to have come from the heavens. They ruled the continent and bred with humans, creating the Children of Anak, who ruled after the fall of the Giant Kings and fought amongst themselves until they too fell.
There are some tips for using the Giant Kings in both a Vadashar and a non-Vadashar campaign.
Real World Historical Notes on Lamassu covers these protective divinities from ancient Mesopotamia.
“There Must Have Been Some Magic in His Mane…” covers the Lamassu in the World of Zul. Though powerful advisors to the Giant Kings and perceived as demigods, they have mostly withdrawn from the world these days and, despite being goodly in nature, will need convincing to aid others. Their stats are also given.
Adventure Hooks has six different adventure hooks. The first is to head to an outpost of the Giant Kings, now protected by an enormous ape. The second is to assist Lord Trimalkes in an attempt to create a tour of the sites associated with the Giant Kings around the Khalif Valley. The third involves what appears to be a star chart, but one displaying unfamiliar stars. The next is to examine the statue of a Lamassu. Another involves an encounter with one of the few remaining Lamassu. Finally, there is an expedition to a lost city of the Nagari.
Artifacts has two new artefacts.
Lore of the Giant Kings – Including The Lamassu of Zul in Review
The PDF is well bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. The Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. Navigation is good. The text is either single column with sidebar, two columns or two columns with sidebar and appeared to be free of errors; the sidebars are used for GM intrusions, cyphers, stats and other references. There are a variety of colour and black and white illustrations. Presentation is good.
Though this is a new version of an older supplement, there is quite a bit of new information in it, specifically relating to the Lamassu, and some of the lore isn’t quite the same as it was in the original; some being changes made for the Cypher System. Much of the lore itself is lacking in stats, making it usable in other settings, though how usable is open to question, given that the Giant Kings may change the prehistory of a setting to a large degree. The main stats are for some of the adventure hooks and artefacts; the hooks will be easy to convert. Lore of the Giant Kings – Including The Lamassu of Zul provides a fair bit of information on the Vadashar setting background and it can be found by clicking here.
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