Callastor: The World of Haxos

Worldbuilding using ODND and Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival Board

Nothing like a little Frazetta worship to set the vibe for a session of brainstorming…I took a lot of inspiration from his work and that of Massimiliano Haematinon for the world of Callastor.

In between my solo sessions with Haxos, I’ve been putting some thinking into the bones of this world that is emerging through play sessions.

The world of ODND is one of mighty champions of Law and Chaos, dazzling cities, savage foes, and dangerous wilderness - I am in the process of editing (or at least reflavoring) the overland encounter tables, but a lot of the setting implications are remaining “as is.”

I have a group of players that are going to be starting in this same world the week after next at a physical table - they love the total freedom of sandbox play, but they also want a well-textured and coherent world to interact with and explore.

I consider this the true High Art of Dungeon Mastering: total freedom, but the ability to interface with a rich and enjoyable world when desired - the real art is making the world feel flavorful and rich without dumping unwanted lore or spending a million years having to “explain.”

The old adage of “show, don’t tell” works well here, as players will begin to grasp plenty about the setting simply through “how stuff works,” and are generally much more interested in that when their is a tangible benefit to their character.

Here’s a look at a few opening paragraphs about the world Haxos is adventuring in…with a little bit, one can imply a great deal, and then I’ll explain a couple concepts I’ll be using in the campaign moving forward.

The world of Callastor lies now upon the crumbling remnants of an empire that once wielded terrible power: the old dominion of Algol, named after that baleful star which still glowers red in the heavens.

A realm of eldritch sorcery and ruin, of bone-clad hierophants performing baleful rites to gods of darkness and shadow. Its tale is a woeful one. 

The empire fell, shattered beneath the star-steel blades and spears of those who called themselves the Belenos. Heroes of law marched under banners of wolf and hawk - their armor emblazoned with the likenesses and sigils of ancestors risen to godhood in the old days of their people.

Now, centuries later, the war between law and chaos still smolders, though the face of the world is much changed. 

Algol’s priests and grim knighthoods, long thought vanquished, stir in the shadows of shattered cities and mouldering fortresses.

Beneath the forsaken spires of Durakh-Hathas, the faithful of fallen Algol once again offer sacrifice and worship to the Dread Powers, seeking to re-establish the foundations of a new and bloody rule.

South, in high reaches of the Vyr Peaks, the Order of Alniat, who once rode in gleaming columns to break the legions of Algol, now hold the mighty fortress of Wyvern Gate as brigand knights and mercenaries, tabards stained with blood, oaths forgotten. 

These knights who swore fealty in days gone by to the hero Regulus, whom it was said weilded the blade that cut the first tyrant’s throat, now sell their swords to the highest bidder. 

Their steeds are no longer the noble destriers of olden time, but fell wyverns, leathery-winged monstrosities bred in the shadow of Mount Deneb, whose breath is sickness and whose venomous tail is poison.

From beyond the eastern woodlands of shadowed Sylvannar came the Belenos in early days, a savage yet chivalrous people, wearing the skins of wolves and helmets fashioned as fierce hawks and eagles. 

They were led by Hunoros, called The Skyborn, a warlord who claimed descent from the Ur-people of the Wolf-Star. 

It was said the Ur, those forgotten progenitors of his race, guided his hand in battle against the armies and champions of the Algol. 

The Belenos rulers and warriors of the new kingdoms of Thalin and Eldor still maintain the traditional code of Graffias - the way of honor and cruelty.

Their champions’ and lords' star-steel blades still run red with the blood of enemies whose heads they claim as trophies for their great halls of stone…


With these few short paragraphs, I’m just sketching out the bare bones of the setting - but also trying to provide myself with reasons that make sense for the type of gameplay my players enjoy (and I enjoy running).

A fallen empire of chaos - immediately sets the stage that there is an ancient, likely evil, faction at war with more recent conquerors, and gives a good in-game reason for dungeons, ruins and so on to explore.

It also sets the tone for the ODND game of alignment - the Belenos people are lawful, but perhaps not “good,” as the line about their warrior code implies.

There’s a few things that players might want: star-steel is obviously some kind of meteor-metal that makes for powerful weapons and so on, but it sounds like magic users may be more interested in delving into the secrets of the old dominion.

There’s fallen knighthoods, wyverns being bred to ride, and a distinct sword and sorcery/sword and planet feel (pretty much all names and flavor are taken directly from constellations and stars - the world name Callastor is from Callisto - Jupiter’s second largest moon.)

A few other ideas I’m messing with for the setting:

Stars and alignment: The influence of Algol wars with that of the Wolf-Star - the month is broken up into which star is brighter in the heavens, with lawfully aligned characters and NPCs gaining benefit from the Wolf-Star, and chaotics from Algol.

Star-steel: Meteorite metal that the Belenos once fashioned into spectacular weapons forged with enchantments. They have forgotten the art, so a limited number of these exist in the game world, the property of champions or lost in graves or adventure sites.

Spent gold as XP: Using a combination of ideas from various editions, I’m planning to combine training rules with gold for XP, allowing PCs a variety of in-game things to spend money on, so that money spent will provide them with XP, not simply GP obtained.

Due to this I am greatly expanding equipment lists, multiplying some prices, including training, and encouraging players to interact and engage with the world by building and pouring capital into a variety of interesting things - but may scrap if players don’t enjoy it.

Piecemeal armor: Giving a lot more options and a ragtag feel to the game by using piecemeal armor rules edited together from Dark Sun 2E and some of my own ideas, as well as giving armor various qualities that affect weight and AC points provided. Another one that if it gets too complex I may scrap but long term campaigns often thrive on stuff like this rather than PCs simply being able to buy all the best stuff off the bat.

I am still toying with lots of other ideas, like having only “Warrior” and “Magic User” classes, combining the priest and magic user spell lists, making Turn Undead a spell, adding in a d6 improvable skill system…

But this is just how my mind often times over-obsesses with many things often best left alone. Once you add in too much, you’re playing a totally different game and sometimes its easier to give players a few Delving Deeper booklets and say, “ok this is it.”

On the other hand, house rules are encouraged in those early systems, and good house rule systems really add a ton of flavor and specificity to a campaign, so we will just see what gets used.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little peek behind the curtain of my campaign prep (I know this has become a dirty word in some circles!) with the world of Callastor!

The next two posts will be on the excellent and useful nature of the humble random encounter table (since I’ve seen lots of debate about random encounters lately on the old interwebs), and another play report from that evil bastard Haxos.

Until then, and as always - keep your blades sharp!

- CG