The Lost Lake of Eagles Peak

While Tweeting about my travels this week, the esteemed Daniel Perez, of The Gamer Traveler fame, threw a challenge my way:

Your mission: find one thing from your travel and blog about it as inspiration for a game.

So I heartily took up this challenge. Travel is a great way to get inspiration for any of a variety of endeavors, including gaming. A recent family trip to Hawaii helped me formulate the Black and Burning Wastes of the Beast Men for Icosa (no, faithful readers, you didn't miss anything, I haven't gotten that far in the setting to blog about it yet). But here is what I came up with from this current trip: The Lost Lake of Eagles Peak. First the fact, and then the fiction.

I settled on Lost Lake, Park Range, Eagle County, Colorado. It is near where I'm staying, although work prohibits me from visiting it. I took the information from the linked page and let my mind wander...

"Old miners tell of the Lost Lake hidden somewhere in the lofty summits of Eagles Peak. Legend tells of the a dried up lake that once in a great while - in the dead of winter when the stars and planets are in proper alignment - will house an expansive frozen lake and the abode of Isrisator, the Ice Titan. When the time is right, his towering ice castle, Islinna, can be seen reflecting the scintillating colors of the Aurora Borealis.

"Finding the Lost Lake will not be an easy escapade. Even if an intrepid band of adventurers is able to gain passage through the foothills of the ram-headed Beast Men of Vorland, they must also contend with the Stone Giants that roam the mountains. And if they are lucky enough to get by the dim witted giants there are always the Giant Eagles for which the peaks are named.

"Monstrous obstacles are not the only things that adventurers must contend with, oh no. They must battle the bitter cold and the thinning air as they climb higher and higher. If they have an expert guide they mayhap avoid bringing down a thundering avalanche of snow that will surely doom their party. And finally, they must deal with Isrisator himself.

"Isrisator is touted as a wizard mastering all forms of magic dealing with snow and ice. If the adventurers are lucky, they will only be transformed to ice statues and put on display in the vast sculpture garden that surrounds Islinna. If unlucky, they will be flayed alive by Isrisator's ice hounds for sport...or worse.

"But, if they are well prepared and press any advantages they can muster, there is untold wealth to be had in the depths of Islinna. Greatest of all the treasure is the fabled Mirror of Zoorziet with the ability to gaze upon any where and any when. But be quick, or be transported away to whatever plane Isrisator calls home when not among the Eagle Peaks."

*****

The planar conjunction which causes the Lost Lake of Isrisator appear is caused by a merging of the Negative, Air and Water planes - actual frequency of this event is left up the game master. As such, it is easier to summon elementals of those planes or of the para-elemental plane of Ice. In addition, all spells whose effects deal with cold or ice are maximized (maximum duration and damage as appropriate).

Isrisator is indeed a Titan sorcerer specializing in snow, ice and illusionary magic. His motivations and concerns are left up to the game master to determine to suit their campaign. If he is benign, Isrisator can be a great font of information; if not, he can be a terrible foe.

The Mirror of Zoorziet is a frozen pool in the lowest dungeon of Islinna. As such it cannot be removed from the castle without destroying it. However, the castle dungeons can contain great treasures from many planes and worlds as suits each individual campaign.

Other hooks for seeking the Lost Lake can include:

• Seeking the spell Ice to Flesh to restore a party member to health
• Seeking an ancestor that was believed to be made an ice statue in Isrisator's frozen sculpture garden
• Seeking the perfect snowflake as a material component for spell, ritual or enchantment
• Summoning a Lord from the planes of Water, Air or Ice
• Gaining access to same said planes
• Creating uniquely powerful undead
• Learning the secret of immortality
• Destroying a cursed magic item by shattering it against the diamond-hard frozen lake

I'm pleased with the outcome of this little mind exercise and look forward to placing it in Icosa.

Daniel, this one's for you. I hope your day gets better soon.

Follow Your Bliss,
JJ