Here's a piece that I did for the Basalt Keep of Wilven the Yellow for Swords and Wizardry (old school Dungeons and Dragons clone). Cassilda is a character that briefly appears in Robert W. Chamber's seminal collection of short tales of weird fiction, The King in Yellow. There is not much detail about Cassilda in Chamber's work, other than the famous poem known as Cassilda's song and a few lines of dialogue. Cassilda has appeared in other works of fiction that touch on the King in Yellow universe (often called the Yellow Mythos). Sometimes she is said to be a queen of a forlorn city of Yhtill (which is also said to be absorbed by Carcosa and is the dwelling place of the King in Yellow). Because of the nature of weird fiction, this sparse lattice of detail serve as an enticement for us, the readers to fill in the blanks.
So of course, I can't pass up the opportunity to have a play in the world of the Yellow Mythos. In my adventure, Wilven, a sorcerer of great power, has retired to a demi-plane of his own creation upon an astral sea. Wilven, a desciple of the King in Yellow has created a large keep on his island in this astral sea where he practices his magic and strange sciences. He has built a tower to Cassilda, who he is infatuated with and seeks to woo, though so far, she has rebuffed his advances. He has spirited her from her throne in the city of Yhtill and kept her as an "honoured guest" in the tower outside his keep. Of course, this attracts the attentions of the King in Yellow who seeks Cassilda's return. Thus far Wilven has been able to hide his island from the powerful king, but for how long? He has also bound any visitors to his island to be cursed participants in a continually running performance of the play, The King in Yellow. The play itself has a warped mystic connection to the King in Yellow and Carcosa and by the second act, all players and viewers go insane. Wilven believes the continued performance of the play will keep the king at bay, and therefore Wilven seeks to trick or otherwise attract visitors to his island to ensure he has a continual supply of players. And this of course gives the hook for the Dungeon Master to bring the players into the story. At any rate, yeah, I am slowly piecing this together but hope to have a playable adventure out this year. I will leave you with the poem *Cassilda's Song * by Robert W. Chambers and links to the Yellow Site (info about the Yellow Mythos) and a link to the Swords and Wizardry System Reference Document (a full, freely available to use version of original edition of Dungeons and Dragons) Cheers and happy gaming:
Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.
Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa.
Song of my soul, my voice is dead;
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa.
For more information about the King in Yellow and the Yellow Mythos, check out the Yellow Site: https://kinginyellow.fandom.com/wiki/Have_You_Seen_The_Yellow_Sign%3F
For the free Swords and Wizardry SRD check out: https://sites.google.com/site/swordsandwizardry/