TinyZine

TinyZine Issue 38
Written by Colin Chapman, Darren W. Pearce, & Steffie de Vaan
Editor: Alan Bahr
Interior Art: Anthony Cournoyer, Nicolás R. Giacondino, & Rick Hershey
Some art copyright Rick Hershey/Fat Goblin Games.
Graphic Design & Layout: Robert Denton III
TinyD6 Line Manager : Alan Bahr
Based on the game Tiny Dungeon by Brandon McFadden
Second Edition

Published by Gallant Knight Games, 2021

Tiny Dungeon 2e and TinyD6 are trademarks of Gallant Knight Games.

©2021 by Gallant Knight Games. All rights reserved. Reproduction without
the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for
the purposes of reviews, and for the blank character sheets, which may be
reproduced for personal use only.

Gallant Knight Games, Ogden UT 84404

2
 Letter from
the Editor
Hail Loyal Gallants!
Welcome to the thirty-eighth issue of TinyZine, and the sixth
issue of 2021. We’ve worked on increasing the amount of content
in TinyZine, so we’ve got quite the issue for you!
Our longest running columnist Steffie de Vaan continues her
ongoing work in TinyZine with a new Tiny Cthulhu adventure:
The Devil’s Cave!
The impressively knowledgeable Colin Chapman continues
Beasts Beyond Bounds, this time adding more creatures from
around the world to TinyD6!
From Darren Pearce comes the City of Vilhofen, a techno-
industrial fantasy setting to explore! (This is pulled deep from
the GKG archives of unpublished and commissioned work!)
- Alan Bahr
PS: As always, we’d also be remiss if we didn’t inform you of
our Gallant Knight Games Patreon, where you can get access
to previews, TinyZines, special Patron only dice, and free GKG
RPGs! Please, feel free to check it out.
www.patreon.com/gallantknightgames

The art in this TinyZine is graciously funded by our Patrons.

3
 The Devil’s Cave
The Devil’s Cave

A modern Tiny Cthulhu adventure

Steffie de Vaan
The Devil’s Cave, or Teufelshöhle, is a massive cave system in
Pottenstein (Bavaria, Germany). The cave earned its name
thanks to the propensity of livestock to go missing nearby. An
expedition in 1922 revealed countless sheep, cows, and even bear
corpses riddling the cave.
A small section of cave floor recently collapsed to reveal an
unexplored cave beneath. Sonar reveals the passages — those
the sonar picks up — to be nice and wide, so exploring them
should be easy.

What’s Going On
Aeons ago the Yith used
the cave to imprison their
enemies, the Polyps. Unable
to escape, and refusing to
die, the Polyps summoned
the Colour Out of Space
to grow in a special pattern
that creates a portal back
to Yith. The Polyps then
spun themselves into
hibernating cocoons and
waited. The portal is nearing
completion — just another
decade or so — and this
caused Teufelshöhle’s recent
instability.

4
 Meet the Gang
The Devil’s Cave

Let players create relationships between their Investigators —

some of them work in the same field, and most of them have
been to Teufelshöhle before so it makes sense they’d know each
other. You can find character prompts below.
• Dilettante: You’re an avid hobby spelunker intimately
familiar with the Teufelshöhle. Between that and your social
media presence, the Pottenstein municipality invited you to
document (and stream where possible) the expedition.
• Explorer: You work as a guide for several caves in Franconian
Switzerland. Honestly the Teufelshöhle is a little tame for
you, but exploring new caves is always fun. Pottenstein made
you team leader of this expedition.
• Writer: You’re a member of the local press. You’d rather be
an investigative reporter, but your boss keeps sending you on
local interest stories. Maybe if you prove yourself with this
one, you can move to bigger news.
• Mystic and Spiritualist: It’s not called the Teufelshöhle for
nothing. Rumors persist that the cave holds an entrance to
hell. You called in a lot of favors to be on this expedition
under the guise of “research for a novel.”
• Inventor: You work for the Pottenstein tourism board.
Most days are uneventful — you make sure all lights and
communication boxes are working — but your boss asked
you to get an early estimate of how to hook up the new cave.
• Soldier: You too are an avid spelunker, and trained in
subterranean combat. A friend in the municipality added
you to the team, though the army is not involved in this
expedition.
• Veteran: You’re retired and work as a volunteer tour guide
for the municipality. You only occasionally work the cave (it’s
hell on your hips) but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity
so you asked to be included.

5
 The Devil’s Den
The Devil’s Cave

Now it’s time for the Investigators’ trek into the known
Teufelshöhle. Make sure to point out the reconstructed bear
skeleton on display, salvaged from an animal that died in the cave.
Teufelshöhle is an impressive cave with massive stalactites, but as
a tourist attraction it’s ultimately an easy walk. The cave-in is easily
found, dropping the Investigators down into the Devil’s Den.
Neither time nor space hold sway in the unexplored cave. If
the players ask what time it is in-game, just call something (and
randomly call something different next time). If players want
to keep a map, let them — but what was left before might be
something wholly different now. A passage is wide and easily
navigated on the Investigators’ first traverse, then narrow and
steep if they double back.
The Dungeoneer Trait only works if the Investigator tries to
track back to their last encounter. However, the first time an
Investigator can’t use it they immediately realize space in the
cave is warped.
Teufelshöhle holds 6 encounters, which you can roll randomly or
present in the order below. The cave is wet and slick with patches
of pale violet fungus, which seems almost luminescent in places.
Occasionally, only from the corner of their eye, Investigators
think the fungus grows in deliberate patterns. Sounds echo too
far or not at all to disorient the Investigators.
The new cave is Remote Terrain (Tiny Cthulhu page 71).

The Face
The narrow passage before you suddenly yawns open, stone twisting
into the insectoid face of an alien god. It sees you from beyond the dark
of space.
Seeing the face triggers a Standard Corruption Test. Investigators
can Test to identify the face as a Yith.

6
The Devil’s Cave

Rat Nest
You hear the scuttling of vermin and see a nest of writhing rats. They
look diseased — purple lichen infecting their skin, blooming into
mushrooms that release spores into the air.
Seeing the rats requires a Standard Corruption Test. 1d3 Rat
Things (Tiny Cthulhu page 83) attack the Investigators.

7
 Crystals
The Devil’s Cave

The cave opens into a far expanse and you can barely see the other
end. Crystal growths come up from floor and ceiling, some touching
in the middle. Their crystalline depths hold strange symbols and
mathematical equations.
Investigators can Test to read the equations as if they were a
lesser tome (requires Tome Reader and a Standard Corruption
Test). If they succeed, they learn the Summon Colour Out of
Space Spell (Tiny Cthulhu page 61).

Bear Skeleton
For a moment you think you’ve gotten so lost this is the bear skeleton
from the upper cave — and maybe it is, though its bones are overgrown
with bright purple lichen. Then it rears its head and charges you.
Seeing the undead bear requires a Standard Corruption Test.
Investigators can flee, or try to fight it. The bear uses Zombie
stats (Tiny Cthulhu page 86) with 6 HP.

Cocoons
White ovals hang from the ceiling of this cave. You hear a faint
buzzing in the air, worming its way into your ear and brain.
The cocoons are dormant, and Investigators can retreat or tiptoe
past them. Bumping into a cocoon, or deliberately poking one,
releases a Flying Polyp (Tiny Cthulhu page 76). The creature
doesn’t pursue the Investigators beyond this room.

Colour Out of Space

This sprawling cave is alight with the purple glow of lichen and
mushrooms. They bulge and ooze like cancerous growths. At their
center, deeper into the cave, the glow is so bright it’s painful to behold
in the darkness of the cave. The far distance holds a shimmer of water
— like a lake or underground river.

8
 The Investigators can Test to identify the growth as Colour
The Devil’s Cave

Out of Space (Tiny Cthulhu page 73). The sheen in the distance
is indeed water, likely carrying the spores into irrigation and
drinking water for generations.
The bright light is the center of the emerging portal to Yith.
Investigators can Test to see a pattern to the growth like a complex
equation given shape — and recognize that its purpose (still
incomplete) is to traverse the stars. This moment of realization
comes with a Standard Corruption Test.

What’s Next
The Investigators can (try to) slay the Polyps and burn the
Colour Out of Space. Even if they succeed, it’s impossible to
fully destroy the Colour’s spores — it will grow back eventually
to create a portal to Yith. That should haunt them for the rest of
their lives.

9
 Beasts Beyond Bounds
Colin Chapman
Beasts Beyond Bounds is inspired by creatures from mythology
and folklore around the world. In this outing we look to the
multitudinous islands of the Pacific and a variety of creatures
from New Zealand’s/Aotearoa’s Māori myths.

Kāhui Tipua
HP: 4 (Medium)
Kāhui tipua - loosely “supernatural group (of people)” - are shape-
shifting, cave-dwelling ogres. They look like large, powerfully-built
ugly humans though they have little love for their normal cousins.
Known to attack outsiders, their greatest weaknesses are their
comparatively slow wit and their overwhelming love of kūmara
Beasts Beyond Bounds

(sweet potato).
Traits:
• Shape-Shifter: Kāhui tipua can assume the form of any
natural local animal once per day
• Strong

Kurī Tipua
HP: 4 (Medium)
The kurī tipua are large, vicious, two-headed dogs that hunt
deep in isolated forests, sometimes alone, others in packs, their
eerie howls echoing through the trees. Cord made from their
skin is said to be almost impossible to cut and they are said to be
impossible to tame.
Traits:
• Fleet of Foot
• Tracker
• Two Headed-Bite (Melee Attack): A kurī tipua does 2
damage with Melee Attacks, instead of 1

10
 A Rough Guide to
Pronunciation
The following brief guide will help
with pronouncing Māori.
Vowels
Vowels without a macron (line
above them) are short. Those with
a macron are long.
- Short Vowels
A as in about, E as in enter, I as in
eat, O as in ordinary, U as in put
- Long vowels
A as in car, E as in led, I as in
sheep, O as in pork, U as in root
Consonants
Beasts Beyond Bounds
Maraki-Hau
HP: 9 (Heroic)
The size of large male
orcas, maraki-hau are giant
mermen with a scaled fish
tail instead of legs and
ugly human-like faces with
wide mouths. Stranger still
are their long and hollow
tongues, for they use these
to snare swimmers, prey
animals, and even waka
(canoes) to drag down
into the watery depths and
consume.

R is slightly rolled Traits:

Digraphs • Fast Swimmer: Fleet
ng is like the ng in singer
of Foot, but applies to
swimming.
wh is like the f in fish
• Grabbing Tongue: Test
2d6 against a nearby enemy
or small vessel. On a successful hit, the enemy must make
a Save Test to avoid being grappled. On its turn a grappled
foe is unable to perform most physical actions but can
make a Save Test (or Evade Test) to escape.
• Sneaky
• Strong

Maero
HP: 2 (Low - small Maero) or 6 (High - large Maero)
Wild and aggressive, maero fey men covered in black hair, with
long bony fingers and clawed hands, and vary in size from half
human size to fifty percent larger than a normal human. Living
in the trees of the mountain forests, they wield stone clubs and

11
 eat birds and fish that they catch with long claws though they
will readily attack and eat sapient humanoids also. They are
tough and hard to kill, recovering from damage swiftly, though
they are afraid of fire and will not touch cooked food.
Traits:
• Berserker
• Diehard
• Fear of Fire: Maero must make a Save Test to approach
any source of fire larger than a torch
• Hatred of Cooked Food: Maero must make a Save Test to
approach cooked food and will vomit it up immediately if
forced to consume it
• Regeneration: At the start of its turn a maero recovers one
Hit Point.
Beasts Beyond Bounds

• Strong (Large Maero only)

Patupaiarehe
HP: 4 (Medium)
Mysterious forest and mountain fey, the
patupaiarehe are tall, slender, and resemble
attractive, pale- or reddish-skinned humans
with light blonde or red hair, black or blue
eyes, and no tattoos. Normally peaceful,
they are mostly nocturnal entities. They
play bone flutes, love music and singing,
and male and female alike are known
to enchant outsiders with their music.
Like the maero, they fear fire, cannot
eat cooked food, and actually find it
repellent.

12
 Traits:
• Beguiling Music: Anyone hearing a patupaierehe’s song
must make a Save Test or be beguiled, willingly moving
towards the patupaiarehe and following them. They may
make a Save Test each round to throw off this influence.
• Charismatic
• Dark Vision: Patupaierehe are able to see in total darkness.
However, if they are exposed to sudden bursts of light (spells,
alchemist’s flash bombs), they suffer Disadvantage on their
next turn.
• Fear of Fire: Patupaiarehe must make a Save Test to
approach any source of fire larger than a torch
• Hatred of Cooked Food: Patupaiarehe must make a
Save Test to approach cooked food and will vomit it up
immediately if forced to consume it
Beasts Beyond Bounds

Ponaturi
HP: 2 (Low)
Humanoids that spontaneously coalesce from sea foam, ponaturi
live within the ocean by day but emerge to wander ashore at night.
They look like small, slender, silver-skinned and blonde-haired
humans and they use nets and lines of amazing craftsmanship to
catch the fish that they eat. Should they be touched by the rays of
the sun, they will dissolve into nothingness. Ponaturi are wary of
outsiders but not necessarily hostile.
Traits:
• Amphibious: Ponaturi can move and breathe just as
quickly and easily on land or in the water
• Quartermaster
• Vulnerable to Sunlight: Even the slightest touch of
sunlight destroys a ponaturi instantly

13
 Ruahine Tipua
HP: 6 (High)
Ruahine tipua are fey hags, monsters that have the outwards
appearance of old women, but hunched, ugly, and with knotted
- often hairy - hands with long curved claws. They are wicked,
cunning, supernaturally strong, and are often tohunga (sorceresses)
who wield magic. Many can communicate with birds.
The hags are each unique and inhabit carved huts surrounded
by bones, deep within forbidding forests. They are flesh-eating
fiends who think nothing of dining on outsiders, and frequently
display inhuman traits such as bird-like feet and vestigial wings,
huge mouths filled with sharp teeth, or skin that bristles with
bones that act like spines.
Like other Māori fey, they can not eat cooked food and find it
repellent. They are susceptible to flattery and enjoy being treated
Beasts Beyond Bounds

with respect and deference but disrespect angers them.

Traits:
• Beastspeaker (Birds only)
• Diehard
• Opportunist
• Spell-Touched
• Strong

14
 Taniwha
HP: 12 (Heroic)
Monsters of deep pools, rivers and the ocean, taniwha are
varied, some being benevolent protectors of their habitats and
the people who live near them, others pitiless predators. Even
the benign taniwha can be dangerous and easily angered if
not treated with respect and deference, and are swift to punish
transgressions.
Those of the ocean somewhat resemble giant sharks or orca,
while those of pools and rivers resemble giant lizards such as
tuatara or geckos with a row of spines down their backs.
For all their power, taniwha are not known for their great
wisdom or intellect however, and although sapient have often
been outwitted by the quick thinking and clever tongues of
outsiders.
Beasts Beyond Bounds

Traits:
• Aquatic (Ocean Taniwha only): An oceanic taniwha can
only survive in water, and is an excellent swimmer.
• Bite (Melee Attack): Test 2d6 against an enemy within 5
feet.
• Diehard
• Perceptive
• Strong
• Tail Swipe: Test 2d6. On a success, all adjacent enemies are
knocked back 15 feet (one area).
• Tough

15
 The City of
Vilhofen
aka: City of the Iron Queen
Darren W. Pearce
City of Vilhofen

“A City built for peace, but prepared for war.” ~ Queen Isolde IV

The Origin of the Iron City

There has never been a male monarch in the Geld Region, the
daughters of the Shining River have always been in control of
the kingdom. It was centuries ago when the first settlers came
here, and established their tiny hamlet. A hamlet that grew daily,
attracted those who were tired of their old lives. Greta the Great
founded the town of Mill Brook and brought her considerable
wealth to the fore in shaping it over the years, and whilst the
queens bore children to ensure their line was unbroken – their
babes have always been female, with male children foisted off to
anyone who would care for the child.
This has always been their way.
Mill Brook was sacked in a great battle, which
encompassed the whole of the Geld and
saw smaller towns burned and buried.
Mill Brook barely survived and the
capital town of Korst was wiped
from the face of the map. Yet
the queen’s line, Greta’s line did
not break or falter. Her progeny
thrived and the region rebuilt time
and time again.
No matter what was thrown at it, Mill
Brook rose from the ashes.

16
 A hamlet, became a town, became a city and rose like a phoenix
to crest the sky and devour both north and south banks of the
Shining River. It was here that the queen’s true line began and
shook the earth with the tumble and rumble of industry. Over
time, the Iron City was born and it was called Vilhofen.
The City stands as a testament to the current ruler’s vision.
Queen Isolde IV who rules with a velvet glove, and an iron fist.
Her tenure has shaken the foundations of the city in more ways
City of Vilhofen

than one. Whilst many of her peers elsewhere are content with
court matters, learning to dance, being able to select a powerful
husband. Isolde wants none of this, she built a war machine,
fortified her city and learnt the arts of strategy from all the
best generals her fortune could afford – then not being satisfied
demanded to be taught how to pilot the battle mecha her science
created. She became an impressive pilot and led her forces to
victory over many campaigns against her foes.
She rules, with her wife Elda, from the heart of an industrial-
powered factory-city, huge chimneys adorn mighty factories that
work day in, day out, to provide the queen with iron – iron she
uses to create walking tanks and more.
Simply put, as the queen likes to say: Vilhofen was a city built
for peace, but prepared for war.

The Once-Shining River

One of the greatest elemental forces in the world is that of water,
water is unrelenting and unyielding. Given enough time, it turns
the bolts from a ship wreck into sharp shark-like teeth and carves
away the very mountains to allow it passage. So too, the queen
has used the river to her advantage. Massive hydro-electric steam
generators line the banks to the north, the oil gushing directly
into the once pristine waters.
Her royal navy churn the river to black foam as they pass, iron-
hulled ships that boast many large funnels and belch smoke into
the sky above.

17
 Her city perches crow-like on the bank of the river to the
south, with industry to the north. A city split into two halves,
spanned by a giant iron and steel bridge that has foundations
well beneath the once-calm water. Great aether-lights mounted
in circular housings sweep the river back and forth, and fix upon
certain places in the city.
The Grand Iron Bridge is both a testament to Isolde’s singular
vision, and also a statement of her power over nature. For built
City of Vilhofen

into the lower sections of this bridge are huge turbines that turn
the motive power of the river to her advantage.

The Iron City Itself

A gigantic sprawl of a city. The Iron City, walled, surrounded
by gun batteries and patrolled on the north and south wall by
legions of the queen’s battle mechs. This is a far cry from the
gentle fields, the sun-kissed water, and the flower meadows of
Mill Brook. Isolde’s line has seen to this, every queen brought
more and more industry to the region. Isolde IV is the first to
truly realise the power she wields, both in a monetary sense and
a military sense. She’s also the first to truly invest in the city itself
and the revolution that industry has brought.
Her city is of two halves. A statelier and less polluted sector
in the south, on the southern bank of the Once-Shining River.
Twinned with an industrial nightmare of maze-like alleys,
factories, military stockades and shipyards in the north sector.
The northern bank of the river is home to every working man
and woman in Vilhofen. The Great Wheel is also in the north
sector, which is another marvel of the queen’s science – a giant
wheel that dips into the river and can be submerged to provide
extra power to the city defences should it ever come under attack.
Giant iron-clad walls serve to keep invaders out and the
populace in, they provide a comforting presence to some, and
for others serve as a reminder that the queen is their protector
and jailer both. Upon these walls are several cannon, powered by
steam and aetheric energies.

18
 The South Sector
Class and bloodline play a big role in Isolde’s city. She would
have it no other way, her family line is powerful and prestigious.
If you wish to live in the south, you too, must prove you have
something to offer – otherwise you will be invited (by armed
guards) to live in the north and provide services in whatever
capacity you can to her growing work force.
This is not slavery, per se, but it could be considered the price
City of Vilhofen

of being one of her subjects. The rich get richer, the poor get
poorer, the revolution is calling and Isolde keeps a tight grip on
commoner and noble alike. It is her Vilhofen, and no others. The
South Sector with its rich architecture, relatively clean streets,
and constant armed patrols of the Queen’s Guard ensure that life
for those who are rewarded, or who can afford it, is as sweet as
the most delicious of Battenburg Cakes.

Theatre Walk
Isolde has spared no expense in providing numerous play-houses,
theatres, and upper-class establishments here for the population
to enjoy. It distracts them from the growing war-machine as well.
They strut about with a sense of self-importance and feigned
nobility, all the while not realising that they do so because the
queen allows it.
Notable Places:
Seven Curtain Theatre: Master Orwald is the bard and playwright
in this place of pure theatrical heaven. His cast and crew are
impeccable and he only puts on the best plays.
The Smile and Frown: There is room in theatre for comedy, and this
small playhouse whilst tiny in comparison to some, is mighty when
it comes to mirth. Brother and sister duo, Clarissa and Nathaniel
Nordon provide the giggles and guffaws for a gawking gentry.
The Muse: The twin-faced goddess known as Muse presides
over this themed tavern. One of the most delightful places for
the gentry and well-to-do to sit and talk over the day’s tiresome
chores. The Muse herself is an elegantly robed woman who wears

19
 a dual mask she can twist up or down, depending on her mood.
Happy or Sad, she will still provide that which the aspiring
playwright needs – for a price. It is likely that the Muse is not
a goddess, but a clever actor who knows how to play her crowd.
The Royal Globe: Wilhelm Gunter has taken years to perfect his
theatre. This is the place where Queen Isolde loves to come and
watch her favourite plays. He knows he is by royal appointment,
and he makes sure everyone within the city knows it as well. His
City of Vilhofen

building is spared no expense and the shows are accompanied by

a full orchestra, and exquisite food and drink for all.

River Row
A small collection of elegant buildings lies on the south side of
the south bank. Here you can find all sorts of shops and sundries.
The queen’s own private barge is docked at the royal dock here,
and guarded by a pair of impressive battle-mechs piloted by the
best of her army.
Notable Places:
The Trim Tailor: For all your
clothing in the city, you simply
must shop at the Tailor. A raft
of excellent staff awaits you, all
hand-picked by Lady Griselda
Blume who earned her needle
skills at the feet of some of the
best tailors and dress-makers in
the queen’s entourage.
The Silver Catfish: Fish, and lots
of it. Here’s the Silver Catfish,
specialising in wine, fish and a
generous selection of both. Owned
and operated by Master Chef Julian
Drago who has served some of the
finest cuisine to the best monarchs
across the continent. It is but one of several of his named restaurants.

20
 The River Gourmet: Not to be outdone by her rival, the experimental
cook and artist known as Flavia Grun ensures that the River
Gourmet keeps up with the Catfish. Only she doesn’t just offer fish-
based menus, she runs the gamut for the hungry and wealthy (of
course) clientele that love her fresh take on the food they eat day in
and day out.
Dagmar’s Inn: Dagmar would love her inn to be more popular, but
honestly, something is ruining her business. The inn is a beautiful
City of Vilhofen

place, a gorgeous and comfortable place to spend a night or even

a few days in. The staff are lovely, the food is wonderful, and the
drink is often called sublime. The poltergeist on the other hand, is
none of those things and has been known to tip folk out of their
beds on a whim. Dagmar has even thought of hiring a priest or
someone to deal with it, but she hasn’t plucked up the courage yet.
Tabitha’s Tableware’s: One of many places in the South Sector, but
certainly one of the best. A small elfin-featured woman runs this
place. Tabitha Twist and she produces the finest tableware’s that
money can buy. Unlike the other shops though, Tabitha’s service and
exquisite designs have ensured her the coveted: by royal appointment
to her Majesty Queen Isolde IV plaque that she proudly displays on
the wall inside her establishment. If the royals knew her secret of
course, she would be out on her ear. She does not come from noble
birth; she conned her way into the South Sector years ago when she
stole from a now-deceased noblewoman.

Royal Way
If you want the best dressed, the most exclusive houses and
the most impressive area of the city then look no further than
here. Royal Row is the site of the city hall, the queen’s incredible
palace, and the barracks of her royal army including the mech
bay where rests Isolde’s own mech known as the Gallant Knight.
Notable Places:
City Hall: It is here that the mayor of the city resides, they are
a clever and shrewd person. Their clothes are unisex and they
wear their wit on their sleeve. Mayor Franklyn is one of the few

21
 people who can safely counsel the queen, for they know just
what to say to assuage Isolde’s anger and put her at ease. The
City Hall is an impressive building, and the queen ensures that
a small garrison of her finest troops and one Iron Knight mech
guard the building day and night.
Law Square: You can find the guard house, the courts, and the
judicial buildings here in the Law Square. All of it dominated by
an iron statue of Isolde IV in the centre of the square.
City of Vilhofen

Royal Apartments: By royal decree you can live here if you’re part
of the court, and you have enough clout and money to ensure you
remain in Isolde’s good graces. Some of her chief advisors and best
mech pilots are found here. Including Captain Yvonne Kard, pilot
of the Red Lady and favourite of the queen’s honour guard.
The Palace: Queen Isolde’s Palace is an impressive monument and
fortress. A mix of iron and steel, with a dash of artful flair. The
most impressive feature is the Hall of the Defeated. Here, through
alchemy or perhaps magic, you will find the rather life-like statues
cast in iron of those who have fallen before the queen’s might or
simply displeased her. The Palace is a maze of corridors and rooms,
with enough secret passages to ensure that many architects ended
up forfeiting their lives to guard secrets from the eyes of those
unworthy to learn them.
Royal Army Barracks: When not in her mech, or at her post, or
dozens of other places in the city you can find Captain Yvonne
and the rest of the army here in the fortress-like Royal Barracks.
Hundreds of troops of all stripes make their home here and the
arsenal within is truly impressive indeed.
The Mech Bays: Here behind big doors of iron and steel, you can
find the mechs that make up the queen’s fighting force, as well
as those who patrol the city. The biggest of them all are the Red
Lady, and the Queen’s Gallant Knight – a giant war machine
that has never known defeat in the hands of Isolde IV and chews
fuel like a hungry giant.

22
 The Academy: Here you’ll find
all sorts of establishments for
learning, from the mundane
to the less-mundane. It would
take a whole book to detail the
lot, but suffice it to say, there’s
a guild and university for as
City of Vilhofen

many things as the city requires.

Especially scientific study, the
queen is very much into tech and
science across numerous disciplines.

The Gold Row

If you want the best place to stay in the city, then you need the
money to support that lifestyle. Gold Row is the crème de la
crème of locations, the perfect spot for a manor, mansion or even
a small keep as long as it fits the aesthetic of the row. There are
politicians galore, movers and shakers, and more in the row and
they enjoy the best housing their fortunes can buy.

The North Sector

The polar opposite of the gentle and cultured South Sector. Here
the only roar you hear is that of the Big Machine. Water wheels,
turbines, steam engines and furnaces thunder night and day.
Smoke billows into the sky from hundreds of chimneys and the
noise is nigh-on deafening. The streets are not paved with gold,
but the cobbles are covered in the oil and muck of an industry
moving at full-force toward one goal: more iron, more steel,
more weapons for the queen. Here the lives of the working folk
are dedicated to industry, and if you cannot contribute, then you
are not truly a member of the working class of the city.

23
 The Warrens
The Warrens are a collection of maze-like alleys, dead-ends, and
dangerous pathways that become even more so after dark. Many
a foolish traveller has been caught out in these places, and their
bodies become grist for the mill. Those who live here are the
hard-nosed working class of the city, labourers and crafters all.
The foundry women, the people who grind the ore to make the
iron, and more. These houses are built on a template, functional
City of Vilhofen

domicile first and foremost, no lap of luxury wanted or allowed.

The Iron District

The Iron District is replete with factories of all kinds, full of the
scariest folk that you’d never want to meet in a dark alley. There’s
no room here for mercy, or for any kind of weakness. Those who
are weak are either kicked out of the city, or they vanish in the
mighty fires that burn in the belly of the Beast – the biggest
furnace ever created on the continent.
Notable Places:
The Mech Factory: Factory head Jack Driver ensures the mech
factory churns out the parts, the power and the bits to make
certain the queen’s army never runs out of mech or munition. Her
appetite for the workings of the new age is astounding, but he
shares her vision and dreams of being a pilot one day and leaving
all this behind him to move south to the best part of the city.
The Iron Works: The black smoke of iron production and the heat
of the furnaces covers this area of the city. Here you can find
all the factories dedicated to taking the iron ore and forming it
into the material needed for both iron and steel work. The Iron
Works is watched over by Sherra Danar, who once served as a
queen’s guard until she lost her arm in a mech battle and had a
new clockwork one made. Now she works iron, hammering her
frustration into pure art.

24
 Steel Mile: Like the Iron Works the Steel Mile is a mile of
factories dedicated to making steel from the iron ore that they
are given. The workload is impressive, as is the transport network
of rails and carts that bring fresh loads of material to the factories
for processing.
The Beast: For the most gruelling of jobs, for the re-processing
of defeated and broken mechs there is but one hungry creature
in the city. The Beast, a massive furnace that requires a complex
City of Vilhofen

clockwork and steam powered series of mechanisms to ensure it

reaches temperatures that can melt down the most suborn of gear,
cog, or hull metal. Rumour has it that those who cross the city end
up here, reduced to screaming as they burn to ash in an instant.

Worker’s Yard
Where do the hard-working folk of the city go when they are not
toiling for the queen, and by extension, their country. They get to
explore the delights of the cobbled streets of the Worker’s Yard.
The area of the city which caters for their every whim, and just
like the Warren’s, can be just as dangerous to anyone who hasn’t
kept their guard up. Food, drink, wine, company, entertainment
of all kinds can be yours for but a handful of hard-earned wages.
Notable Places:
The Market House: Not so much a house as a whole block of
buildings dedicated to providing the basic services and sundries
the workers need. There’s no craft shops here, but there are plenty
of general shops and the like to be found. If you need a loaf of
bread, or a cut of good meat, you’re in luck. If you want to buy
some soap, or a new rope, same. If you need a sword or pistol, go
look in the Craft Den.
Entertainment Block: A loose collection of buildings provide the
low-key dives, brothels, cat-houses, bordellos, and vice-dens of
the North Sector. The area is loosely patrolled by the guard, but
they allow the workers room to blow off steam when it’s non-
lethal. Want to see a bawdy show, or experience a fight club,
welcome to the Entertainment Block.

25
 Gambler’s Den: The Gambler’s Den is a well-known place in
the North Sector. The wily Jess Dill runs the criminal side of
the sector from here, her fingers are in all the pies, and even
the pie maker has to pay her protection. Want a game of cards,
dice, throwing knives or mumbly-peg? Look no further than the
Gambler’s Den. Keep an eye on your purse though.
Craft Den: Now here is a collection of the finest blade, sword,
hammer, and general crafters in the north of the city. Usefully
City of Vilhofen

grouped into one large mish-mash of crafters all under one big
roof. It’s a superb place to get a new pistol, or a bit of armour
repaired, or anything else that requires someone to make it.

The Thirsty Mile

Rows of public houses, drinking establishments and places to get
simple but filling food are found here in the Thirsty Mile. Not
quite a mile of buildings, but not far off.
Notable Places:
The Iron Mill: A good workers tavern, full of the
rough and tumble folk of the north.
The bartender Ava, punches as hard
as any man in there and she has
broken many a bone of those
who treated her staff badly.
Good drink, OK food, and
a bit of a naughty night can
be had upstairs for the right
price just don’t tell the local
brothel owners.
Black Bill’s Tavern: Black
Bill was a sea captain
once, rumour has it that
he might even have spent
time at a certain Outpost.
Now though, he runs a little
tavern and caters for a quieter

26
 night out where fist-fights are rare and those who causes trouble
are tossed out on their ear by the Devlin Sisters – a pair of fight
club champions.
The Little Wheel Inn: Pick Rawlin operates this little inn and
provides a good night’s sleep. He only asks for one extra coin
when you take a room, because he ensures a restful night via
the complimentary sleeping draught in your nightly drink. He
would never rob you, not at all, unless you don’t pay that single
City of Vilhofen

coin. Folk who don’t, who fall asleep, find they are several coins
lighter and he blames a capricious ghost he calls Polly Nickalot.
Gregor’s Bite: A non-native of the city, Gregor Rasuman settled
here a few years ago and he decided to bring some of his home
cooking to the city. Now he runs Gregor’s Bite and provides the
tastes of his home country, along with the tastes of the continent.
He is an incredible chef, and honestly, folk believe he could give
the South Sector chefs a run for their money. Gregor though, he
is content with his life to feed the common folk and makes sure
his prices are affordable.

27
 Adventure in the Iron City
If you pick through the locations in the city, you’ll see there’s a
bunch of little hooks peppered about here and there. The hooks
are tiny in some cases, designed to get your creative mind whirling
and we can’t wait to see what you do with them. However, there’s
also a smattering of bigger hooks we’re calling Calls to Adventure
for both the North and the South Sectors of the city.

North Sector Calls to Adventure

City of Vilhofen

• Tainted Iron: Sherra Danar has a problem, a big problem. Her

last iron supply was rough, it barely made any steel and after
she sent it to the alchemist, she found out it had been tainted.
It’s up to the PCs to find out what’s going on and stop the iron
from being reduced in effectiveness. Who is behind this whole
thing? Perhaps an enemy saboteur, a disgruntled worker, or some
magical creature who laired in the iron and corrupted it somehow.
• The Warren’s Strangler: The PCs find several dead bodies
and the guard investigating a crime. This works well if the
PCs are established in the city, work for the queen, or at
least some of her agents. They’ll be asked to find out who
is murdering the workers in the Warren’s and bring them
to justice – depending on how many murders, depends on
the severity of the justice they can mete out. Who or what
the murderer is? well, we suggest letting the PCs pick up
leads and then pick someone who you can transform into
the murderer – it gives them agency, and it’s a lot of fun too.
• By Hook or by Crook: Someone is upsetting the natural order
of things. Someone who has started to organise the criminal
elements of the north. Jess Dill wants this usurper found
and she’ll pay some good coin to the right PCs to do it.
The culprit, a criminal who has the alias: Bluebell. They’re
ruthless, dangerous, and murderous too. The PCs are going
to contend with a criminal war, and a gang of assassins who
answer to this new player in the city. If they help Jess they’ll
have a powerful ally in the north.

28
 South Sector Calls to Adventure
• The Queen and I: When the PCs are well in (if they are) with the
royal court. They are summoned to the queen’s private study.
She sets them a troublesome task, one that requires the utmost
discretion. She wants a gift for her wife, and she’s fascinated
with the PCs because of their adventurous lifestyle. They are
asked to come up with a suitable adventurous gift for her good
lady on her birthday. They have two weeks to bring something
City of Vilhofen

to Queen Isolde IV that is truly fitting for her beloved.

• Flambéed at the Wedding: The PCs are invited to a noble’s
wedding. They want some fine folks and some interesting
folks there, and the PCs fit the bill. However, they also walk
into cake wars. Two rival cake makers have been chosen to
provide two cakes and the best one will win a coveted prize.
A whole year’s worth of catering to the noble’s family. A lot
of money is riding on this one. But one of the cake bakers has
rigged their opponent’s cake to explode in a fire-laden mess.
The PCs need to work it out, potentially before it kicks off at
the wedding or at least bring the culprit to justice … if they
put together the clues of this delicious and dangerous mess.
• Lady Catelyn’s Pistol: Debonair adventurer, heiress, dashing
swashbuckler and all-round mini-scoundrel. These words
can easily describe the Lady Catelyn Bonner and her
flamboyant ways. The PCs are introduced to her when her
coach is robbed on the streets of the South Sector in broad
daylight and her chest with her ivory handled pistol is stolen.
Whilst the heiress wants to go after the thieves herself, she
is actually badly injured in the confrontation and asks the
PCs to intervene in her stead. Punish the guilty, and get her
heirloom back which was earned at a famous battle in service
to the queen. Who stole the pistol and why? well, perhaps
they’re planning an assassination and the best weapon would
be to use the heroic woman’s pistol – frame her – and kill two
birds with one shot.

29
New From Gallant Knight Games:

• Minimalist
Corruption rules
focused on aiding
Can You Withstand the Onslaught of storytelling.

COSMIC HORROR? • New enemies,

new Environment
Traits to aid the
The classic minimalist ruleset delves into the otherworldly
unknowable and horrible mysteries of classic storytelling, and
Mythos stories inspired by the works of Chambers, new rules for magic
Lovecraft and more! and tomes!
Using the rules in this book, you’ll be able to play • Support for Pulp-
investigators, doomed heroes, and classic cosmic style storytelling!
horror characters of all types, from scientists • Support for Noir-
and librarians, to WWI veterans, to mysterious style storytelling!
guardians defending the world from the dark
• Gadgets,
powers of chthonic entities!
steampunk themes
Tiny Cthulhu features a myriad of settings set and more!
throughout the world and history, ranging from
prehistory to the Bronze Age, Age of Sail, World Get it at
War 1, modern day, as well as fantasy and the
science fiction future! You can survive cosmic
horror in any time or place! (Lucky you!)