Greyscale map (about 1mb)
Colour map (about 1.8mb)
If the links don't work, please let me know.
Showing posts with label maps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maps. Show all posts
Monday, March 25, 2024
Lost in Paris
Oooooooooooooooooops.
It has come to my attention that the pdf versions of Terror in the Streets -- both the DriveThru version and the one you get with a physical purchase from LotFP in Europe or North America -- are missing the player map. I'll see if I can get the pdf updated, but in the mean time here are some download links:
Greyscale map (about 1mb)
Colour map (about 1.8mb)
If the links don't work, please let me know.
Greyscale map (about 1mb)
Colour map (about 1.8mb)
If the links don't work, please let me know.
Monday, May 15, 2023
Dungeon23: 104-134
On to level three of #Dungeon23 ! And almost on time!
104. - Nothing but a wooden stool carved in the shape of a cobra.
105. A single ARISEN PRIEST sits, dejected, on a wooden stool carved in the shape of a cobra. The ARISEN PRIEST has lost his faith in the serpent cult and is quite depressed; if the player-characters find some way to fill the emptiness in his soul, he will reward them with his jewelled necklace, worth 800sp. The stool is heavier than it should be and has a hidden compartment containing 500sp; the ARISEN PRIEST has no idea it is there.
106. This appears to have been some sort of library, but all the shelves are empty.
107. A huge statue of a coiled serpent, made of a polished white stone. Offerings of flowers are laid at the foot of the statue. Not its literal foot. Because it's a snake.
108. A pair of HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS sit, meditating. These are not as chatty as the one in 113 and attack interlopers on sight.
109. An UNDYING HOLY PYTHON lounges -- if a giant snake can do such a thing -- on a vast pile of fancy cushions.
UNDYING HOLY PYTHON, grumpy and hungry: Armour 12, Move 90', 5 Hit Dice, 18hp, bite 1d4 + constriction, Morale 8.
If the bite hits, the slithering saint wraps around the target and squeezes for 2d4 automatic damage that Round and every Round thereafter.
110. The doors are reinforced and locked, and each has a little mechanical keypad -- advanced serpent-person engineering! -- instead of a traditional lock. The keypad has 12 buttons, each a character from the script of the ancient serpent-person empire, and while something like Comprehend Languages will make the characters legible, the code remains obscure. The correct sequence is 11, 2, 9, 9, 3; all of the HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS know the code, as does the HUGE UNDYING HOLY PYTHON in room 130.
Inside is the treasure of the serpents™, 11 elaborate carved chests. Ten contain 1000sp each, while the last contains four gems worth 10sp each, three worth 50sp each, two worth 100sp each, and four worth 500sp each. All of the treasure chests are trapped to spray cobra venom when opened; save versus Poison or die in 1d6 Rounds. The HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS are immune, of course.
111. An empty but tidy room. A faint moaning can be heard from the top-right door.
112. A pair of ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS -- 8 in total -- flank each exit from this room, waiting in silence. They attack anyone that steps off the stairs into the chamber, returning to their positions as soon as intruders are defeated or otherwise leave the room.
113. A single HOLY SERPENT WARRIOR sits, cross-legged, meditating, in the centre of the room. It will engage intruders in conversation, asking where the explorers have come from, what their plans are, and so on. If the player-characters say anything along the lines of looting the complex, the HOLY SERPENT WARRIOR will attack at the close of the conversation; otherwise it will attack on a 1d6 roll of 4+.
114. A mural on the wall shows a world map that is somewhat similar to the campaign world, although some of the features are "new", different, or missing. In the location of this very dungeon there is a hidden button that opens the secret door.
115. A single HOLY SERPENT WARRIOR lurks here.
116. A fist-sized amethyst worth 410sp is set in the floor. Any attempt to remove it triggers the ceiling to drop, causing 2d6 damage to anyone in the room that fails a save versus Paralysation. The ceiling then takes 30 seconds to retract and reset, during which time it may be possible to prise the gem from its socket. Maybe.
117. Another pair of belligerent HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS contemplate the mysteries of the cosmos/attack [delete as appropriate].
118. Yet another pair of HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS wait for enlightenment or murder, whichever comes first.
119. Ancient serpent-person graffiti says "Hiss woz 'ere".
120. Four statues, recognisable from 02 and 71, except these are much more snake than human, and only C, E, T, and X are present. The statues are also enchanted and spring to attack any non-serpent that enters the room, just like GARGOYLES would. C carries a halberd and E wields a spear. T is carrying a +1 khopesh, while X carries a bow and 10 +1 arrows. Player characters using the arrows or the sword must save versus Magical Device before they can attack any reptilian creature.
121. This stained glass window shows a city of towers, each topped with a serpent head, under a red sky.
122. A creature like an enormous python but with arms like those of a human woman is suspended, unconscious, in a shaft of pale green light. The light is solid and keeps the snake-woman in stasis until the Stars Are Right or something like that. The HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS on this level will be quite vigorous in their resistance to any attempts to dispel or otherwise interfere with the shaft or the snake-woman inside.
123. An UNDYING HOLY PYTHON nests here. It has gone a bit senile and can't tell the difference between serpent-people and ape-people.
124. A decorative pool about 5' deep and filled, not with water, but a writhing mass of snakes (11 PIT VIPERS, plus a tangle of harmless wiggly fellows). Once every two Turns, roll 1d6; on a 1, an ARISEN PRIEST enters to bless the pool or, once per day, with a copper bucket from which chunks of meat are tossed into the pit. The floor of the pit is laid with gold leaf, which is worth 370sp if recovered.
125. 9 ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS kneel in this room, with a single ARISEN PRIEST standing before them in silent contemplation. It takes the GUARDIANS one Round to stand -- they have ancient, creaky knees -- and prepare themselves for battle.
126. The corpse of a DIMENSIONAL FISHER pokes through the ceiling here. DIMENSIONAL FISHERS are so still when alive that it's difficult to tell that this one is dead.
127. A glowing blue circle is a two-way teleport to a secret room in the cellar of a waterfront tavern -- the Dog and Bastard -- in a human settlement somewhere in the campaign world. This is where the ARISEN PRIEST in 124 gets the meat to feed the snakes.
128. This stained glass window shows a HOLY SERPENT WARRIOR standing atop a pile of dead ape-like humanoids.
129. An exact copy of the chapel at location 6, except in much better repair, with intact pews and a complete mosaic, this one worth 1000sp if removed. The carving on the south wall is almost identical too, except the figure's head and arms are snakes. The secret door operates in the same way, except that it sprays everyone within 5' with snake venom as it turns; save versus Breath Weapon to avoid the spray, and save versus Poison if splashed. A failed Poison save results in a horrible death in 1d6 Turns as the body is paralysed bit by bit, ending with the heart.
130. Murals depict a forest with snakes of many colours and sizes entwined in the tree branches. The pillars are carved and decorated to look like tree trunks. Curled around the pillars in the centre of the room is an EVEN MORE HUGE UNDYING HOLY PYTHON; it is hundreds of years old and never stopped growing. A gem sparkles in its forehead.
EVEN MORE HUGE UNDYING HOLY PYTHON, grumpy and hungry: Armour 16, Move 180', 8 Hit Dice, 56hp, bite 1d4 + constriction, Morale 8.
If the bite hits, the slithering saint wraps around the target and squeezes for 2d4 automatic damage that Round and every Round thereafter. The EMHUHP casts spells as a 5th level cleric. Zap!
The gem is a huge fire opal, worth 2902sp.
131. Each of the doorways is a large carved serpent head. There is a faint hissing in the room, but no source can be found.
132. Stained glass windows -- similar in design to the one in 128 -- let in natural daylight, which is a bit odd as we are deep underground at this point. The windows are enchanted and are teleporting actual light from the surface; each is worth 800sp, is an Oversized item, and is difficult to remove intact, requiring a successful Tinkering roll. On a failure, the window breaks, everyone in the room is blasted with direct sunlight -- save versus Breath Weapon or be blinded for a Turn -- and the character closest to the window is teleported to a random, sunlit, location in the game world, also taking 1d6 damage from broken glass.
133. On an altar is a 2' statue of a coiled serpent, worth 80sp, but priceless to the worshippers of the serpent cult. It counts as a holy symbol.
134. The mechanism from 43 passes through here on the way to XX. This seems to be some sort of maintenance room for the gubbins. A small box contains tools and vials of oil, all dusty with age and disuse.
104. - Nothing but a wooden stool carved in the shape of a cobra.
105. A single ARISEN PRIEST sits, dejected, on a wooden stool carved in the shape of a cobra. The ARISEN PRIEST has lost his faith in the serpent cult and is quite depressed; if the player-characters find some way to fill the emptiness in his soul, he will reward them with his jewelled necklace, worth 800sp. The stool is heavier than it should be and has a hidden compartment containing 500sp; the ARISEN PRIEST has no idea it is there.
106. This appears to have been some sort of library, but all the shelves are empty.
108. A pair of HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS sit, meditating. These are not as chatty as the one in 113 and attack interlopers on sight.
109. An UNDYING HOLY PYTHON lounges -- if a giant snake can do such a thing -- on a vast pile of fancy cushions.
UNDYING HOLY PYTHON, grumpy and hungry: Armour 12, Move 90', 5 Hit Dice, 18hp, bite 1d4 + constriction, Morale 8.
If the bite hits, the slithering saint wraps around the target and squeezes for 2d4 automatic damage that Round and every Round thereafter.
110. The doors are reinforced and locked, and each has a little mechanical keypad -- advanced serpent-person engineering! -- instead of a traditional lock. The keypad has 12 buttons, each a character from the script of the ancient serpent-person empire, and while something like Comprehend Languages will make the characters legible, the code remains obscure. The correct sequence is 11, 2, 9, 9, 3; all of the HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS know the code, as does the HUGE UNDYING HOLY PYTHON in room 130.
Inside is the treasure of the serpents™, 11 elaborate carved chests. Ten contain 1000sp each, while the last contains four gems worth 10sp each, three worth 50sp each, two worth 100sp each, and four worth 500sp each. All of the treasure chests are trapped to spray cobra venom when opened; save versus Poison or die in 1d6 Rounds. The HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS are immune, of course.
111. An empty but tidy room. A faint moaning can be heard from the top-right door.
112. A pair of ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS -- 8 in total -- flank each exit from this room, waiting in silence. They attack anyone that steps off the stairs into the chamber, returning to their positions as soon as intruders are defeated or otherwise leave the room.
113. A single HOLY SERPENT WARRIOR sits, cross-legged, meditating, in the centre of the room. It will engage intruders in conversation, asking where the explorers have come from, what their plans are, and so on. If the player-characters say anything along the lines of looting the complex, the HOLY SERPENT WARRIOR will attack at the close of the conversation; otherwise it will attack on a 1d6 roll of 4+.
114. A mural on the wall shows a world map that is somewhat similar to the campaign world, although some of the features are "new", different, or missing. In the location of this very dungeon there is a hidden button that opens the secret door.
115. A single HOLY SERPENT WARRIOR lurks here.
116. A fist-sized amethyst worth 410sp is set in the floor. Any attempt to remove it triggers the ceiling to drop, causing 2d6 damage to anyone in the room that fails a save versus Paralysation. The ceiling then takes 30 seconds to retract and reset, during which time it may be possible to prise the gem from its socket. Maybe.
117. Another pair of belligerent HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS contemplate the mysteries of the cosmos/attack [delete as appropriate].
118. Yet another pair of HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS wait for enlightenment or murder, whichever comes first.
119. Ancient serpent-person graffiti says "Hiss woz 'ere".
120. Four statues, recognisable from 02 and 71, except these are much more snake than human, and only C, E, T, and X are present. The statues are also enchanted and spring to attack any non-serpent that enters the room, just like GARGOYLES would. C carries a halberd and E wields a spear. T is carrying a +1 khopesh, while X carries a bow and 10 +1 arrows. Player characters using the arrows or the sword must save versus Magical Device before they can attack any reptilian creature.
121. This stained glass window shows a city of towers, each topped with a serpent head, under a red sky.
122. A creature like an enormous python but with arms like those of a human woman is suspended, unconscious, in a shaft of pale green light. The light is solid and keeps the snake-woman in stasis until the Stars Are Right or something like that. The HOLY SERPENT WARRIORS on this level will be quite vigorous in their resistance to any attempts to dispel or otherwise interfere with the shaft or the snake-woman inside.
123. An UNDYING HOLY PYTHON nests here. It has gone a bit senile and can't tell the difference between serpent-people and ape-people.
124. A decorative pool about 5' deep and filled, not with water, but a writhing mass of snakes (11 PIT VIPERS, plus a tangle of harmless wiggly fellows). Once every two Turns, roll 1d6; on a 1, an ARISEN PRIEST enters to bless the pool or, once per day, with a copper bucket from which chunks of meat are tossed into the pit. The floor of the pit is laid with gold leaf, which is worth 370sp if recovered.
125. 9 ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS kneel in this room, with a single ARISEN PRIEST standing before them in silent contemplation. It takes the GUARDIANS one Round to stand -- they have ancient, creaky knees -- and prepare themselves for battle.
126. The corpse of a DIMENSIONAL FISHER pokes through the ceiling here. DIMENSIONAL FISHERS are so still when alive that it's difficult to tell that this one is dead.
127. A glowing blue circle is a two-way teleport to a secret room in the cellar of a waterfront tavern -- the Dog and Bastard -- in a human settlement somewhere in the campaign world. This is where the ARISEN PRIEST in 124 gets the meat to feed the snakes.
128. This stained glass window shows a HOLY SERPENT WARRIOR standing atop a pile of dead ape-like humanoids.
129. An exact copy of the chapel at location 6, except in much better repair, with intact pews and a complete mosaic, this one worth 1000sp if removed. The carving on the south wall is almost identical too, except the figure's head and arms are snakes. The secret door operates in the same way, except that it sprays everyone within 5' with snake venom as it turns; save versus Breath Weapon to avoid the spray, and save versus Poison if splashed. A failed Poison save results in a horrible death in 1d6 Turns as the body is paralysed bit by bit, ending with the heart.
130. Murals depict a forest with snakes of many colours and sizes entwined in the tree branches. The pillars are carved and decorated to look like tree trunks. Curled around the pillars in the centre of the room is an EVEN MORE HUGE UNDYING HOLY PYTHON; it is hundreds of years old and never stopped growing. A gem sparkles in its forehead.
EVEN MORE HUGE UNDYING HOLY PYTHON, grumpy and hungry: Armour 16, Move 180', 8 Hit Dice, 56hp, bite 1d4 + constriction, Morale 8.
If the bite hits, the slithering saint wraps around the target and squeezes for 2d4 automatic damage that Round and every Round thereafter. The EMHUHP casts spells as a 5th level cleric. Zap!
The gem is a huge fire opal, worth 2902sp.
131. Each of the doorways is a large carved serpent head. There is a faint hissing in the room, but no source can be found.
132. Stained glass windows -- similar in design to the one in 128 -- let in natural daylight, which is a bit odd as we are deep underground at this point. The windows are enchanted and are teleporting actual light from the surface; each is worth 800sp, is an Oversized item, and is difficult to remove intact, requiring a successful Tinkering roll. On a failure, the window breaks, everyone in the room is blasted with direct sunlight -- save versus Breath Weapon or be blinded for a Turn -- and the character closest to the window is teleported to a random, sunlit, location in the game world, also taking 1d6 damage from broken glass.
133. On an altar is a 2' statue of a coiled serpent, worth 80sp, but priceless to the worshippers of the serpent cult. It counts as a holy symbol.
134. The mechanism from 43 passes through here on the way to XX. This seems to be some sort of maintenance room for the gubbins. A small box contains tools and vials of oil, all dusty with age and disuse.
Friday, April 14, 2023
Dungeon23: 083-103
#Dungeon23 rumbles on!
This part of the complex is the home of a clan of FERAL DWARFS. These are your standard fantasy dwarfs, except each carries a pair of serrated daggers instead of the traditional battle axe or warhammer, and they look and smell like they've been sleeping in a bin. Feral they may be but they retain their cousins' aptitude for architecture and are aware of all the secret doors in their area.
The FERAL DWARFS hate the *ROBES because the *ROBES keep abducting them and feeding them to the creature in location 13.
If your campaign has traditional fantasy dwarfs then they may know about their feral cousins, or the existence of the wretches may come as a complete surprise. Either way, your dwarfs are disgusted by them.
WURRLAN, the FERAL DWARF BOSS, roams between locations 87, 88, 92, and 95. He has a 25% chance of appearing in any one of those locations. Any FERAL DWARFS in the same location use his Morale score instead of their own.
WURRLAN, keeping the troops in order: Armour 14 (as leather), Move 60', 3 Hit Dice, 11hp, double daggers 1d4/1d4, Morale 10.
WURRLAN carries a glowing green potion; if he drinks it, he turns into a huge glowing muscular brute for 1d12 Turns. Use the statistics for a hill giant.
83. The entire north wall is taken up with elaborate abstract carvings, decorated with precious metals. The gilding is worth 500sp in raw materials but it is difficult to remove and the task is lengthy. Each 5' wall section takes 2d6 hours and provides a maximum of 100sp of foil; roll 1d100 to see how much is recovered.
84. Carvings similar to those in 83 once existed here, but not only has the gilding been removed but the carvings have been damaged by some sort of blade.
85. This was once a grand hall but the floor is uneven where a mosaic has been torn up and destroyed, and gruesome mobiles made out of bones hang from cords criss-crossing the room at a height of about 6'. The bones clack and tinkle gently in the breeze. Characters larger than a dwarf or halfling moving through the room at more than half speed disturb the mobiles, and the FERAL DWARFS in location 88 come to investigate.
86. It seems that the FERAL DWARFS have been using this room as a toilet.
87. Six FERAL DWARFS hang around in here, being disgusting. There are also a couple of empty chests; these are intended for the trap in 90.
88. A vaguely organised unit of eight FERAL DWARF warriors lives in this room, watching over both the Bluestone Door to the south, and the entrance hall to the north.
89. An altar, about 8' by 4' by 4', made of black stone, struck through with veins of some unknown mineral; the veins shift along the spectrum from red to violet and back again, taking about a minute for each pass. Playing music in the room causes the colours to shift in time with the tune, but the effect does not seem to be magical.
90. A chest sits against the eastern wall. There are faint brownish stains across the floor and a few splinters of wood scattered about. If the chest is opened, the ceiling falls, crushing the chest and anyone in the room that fails a save versus Breath Weapon. The ceiling then takes about a minute to retract, making a terrible grinding noise as it goes, then the FERAL DWARFS from room 88 come to replace the chest and reset the trigger mechanism.
Beneath the chest is a hidden floor panel concealing a genuine chest containing 1000sp. The FERAL DWARFS have no idea it is there.
91. The secret door is locked and the key is held by the FERAL DWARF LEADER in 100. Inside the room is an enormoous python, painted with strange symbols and with a blue gem set in its forehead. It is immortal and has been locked in the room for decades; the FERAL DWARFS have forgotten where it came from but do remember that it's dangerous.
UNDYING HOLY PYTHON, grumpy and hungry: Armour 12, Move 90', 5 Hit Dice, 18hp, bite 1d4 + constriction, Morale 8.
If the bite hits, the slithering saint wraps around the target and squeezes for 2d4 automatic damage that Round and every Round thereafter.
The gem is an aquamarine worth 50sp, and the snake has a Bluestone Key in its belly, if anyone cares to look.
92. Eight FERAL DWARFS occupy this stone landing, spitting -- and worse -- over the edge. The wooden stairs down to XX look flimsy and rickety but are in fact quite firm. The FERAL DWARFS from room 95 respond to any disturbances here.
93. The floor and walls are blotched with sooty marks as if a sequence of fireballs have gone off in here. Which is probably what happened.
94. Rough images of skulls have been daubed across the floor and walls -- although no higher than 5' -- in what seems to be a mixture of bodily excretions and fluids. Anyone looking for logic or a pattern will see none, but will notice that there is a greater concentration of skulls in the north-east corner.
95. Seven FERAL DWARFS marinade in their own stench here, ready to respond to disturbances in 92 or 100.
96. A fortified room with arrow slits looking out over the chasm.
97. Also a fortified room with arrow slits looking out over the chasm.
98. The spiral staircase down to XX is enclosed in a steel cage; the door is unlocked. The third step is trapped, turning the staircase into a slide; characters on the stairs should save versus Paralysation or tumble into location XX in a discombobulated state, automatically surprised by the denizens there. Anyone rolling a 1 also takes 1d6 damage.
99. ROBES stand guard here, watching the Bluestone Door to the north, although nothing has ever come from that direction in all their time guarding it.
100. The corpulent, pale, and worst of all, naked, FERAL DWARF LEADER lounges on a pile of coins -- 500sp and 600gp -- in the centre of the room, attended by 11 FERAL DWARFS. A faded tapestry conceals the secret door to 101.
YURK BLORG, the biggest beard, and the dirtiest: Armour 16 (thick folds of flab, as chain), Move 60', 7 Hit Dice, 25hp, double daggers 1d4+1/1d4+1, Morale 9.
If necessary, BLORG can call on more FERAL DWARFS from location 95.
101. The FERAL DWARF treasury. 4000pp and a locked metal box containing nine gems:
Heamatite, worth 500sp.
Shaped coral, worth 10sp.
A blue diamond, worth 500sp.
An emerald, worth 100sp.
A spectacular agate geode, worth 500sp.
A bloodstone, worth 10sp.
A black diamond, worth 500sp.
Shaped feldspar, worth 10sp.
A carnelian, worth 500sp.
This last is one of the jewels from the CROWN OF ETLUZ PEQZUS.
102. Also also a fortified room with arrow slits looking out over the chasm.
103. Also also also a fortified room, but with no arrow slits looking out over the chasm. A flagstone in the south-east corner conceals a bag containing 600sp; the FERAL DWARF BOSS hid it there and didn't tell anyone.
This part of the complex is the home of a clan of FERAL DWARFS. These are your standard fantasy dwarfs, except each carries a pair of serrated daggers instead of the traditional battle axe or warhammer, and they look and smell like they've been sleeping in a bin. Feral they may be but they retain their cousins' aptitude for architecture and are aware of all the secret doors in their area.
The FERAL DWARFS hate the *ROBES because the *ROBES keep abducting them and feeding them to the creature in location 13.
If your campaign has traditional fantasy dwarfs then they may know about their feral cousins, or the existence of the wretches may come as a complete surprise. Either way, your dwarfs are disgusted by them.
WURRLAN, the FERAL DWARF BOSS, roams between locations 87, 88, 92, and 95. He has a 25% chance of appearing in any one of those locations. Any FERAL DWARFS in the same location use his Morale score instead of their own.
WURRLAN, keeping the troops in order: Armour 14 (as leather), Move 60', 3 Hit Dice, 11hp, double daggers 1d4/1d4, Morale 10.
WURRLAN carries a glowing green potion; if he drinks it, he turns into a huge glowing muscular brute for 1d12 Turns. Use the statistics for a hill giant.
84. Carvings similar to those in 83 once existed here, but not only has the gilding been removed but the carvings have been damaged by some sort of blade.
85. This was once a grand hall but the floor is uneven where a mosaic has been torn up and destroyed, and gruesome mobiles made out of bones hang from cords criss-crossing the room at a height of about 6'. The bones clack and tinkle gently in the breeze. Characters larger than a dwarf or halfling moving through the room at more than half speed disturb the mobiles, and the FERAL DWARFS in location 88 come to investigate.
86. It seems that the FERAL DWARFS have been using this room as a toilet.
87. Six FERAL DWARFS hang around in here, being disgusting. There are also a couple of empty chests; these are intended for the trap in 90.
88. A vaguely organised unit of eight FERAL DWARF warriors lives in this room, watching over both the Bluestone Door to the south, and the entrance hall to the north.
89. An altar, about 8' by 4' by 4', made of black stone, struck through with veins of some unknown mineral; the veins shift along the spectrum from red to violet and back again, taking about a minute for each pass. Playing music in the room causes the colours to shift in time with the tune, but the effect does not seem to be magical.
90. A chest sits against the eastern wall. There are faint brownish stains across the floor and a few splinters of wood scattered about. If the chest is opened, the ceiling falls, crushing the chest and anyone in the room that fails a save versus Breath Weapon. The ceiling then takes about a minute to retract, making a terrible grinding noise as it goes, then the FERAL DWARFS from room 88 come to replace the chest and reset the trigger mechanism.
Beneath the chest is a hidden floor panel concealing a genuine chest containing 1000sp. The FERAL DWARFS have no idea it is there.
91. The secret door is locked and the key is held by the FERAL DWARF LEADER in 100. Inside the room is an enormoous python, painted with strange symbols and with a blue gem set in its forehead. It is immortal and has been locked in the room for decades; the FERAL DWARFS have forgotten where it came from but do remember that it's dangerous.
UNDYING HOLY PYTHON, grumpy and hungry: Armour 12, Move 90', 5 Hit Dice, 18hp, bite 1d4 + constriction, Morale 8.
If the bite hits, the slithering saint wraps around the target and squeezes for 2d4 automatic damage that Round and every Round thereafter.
The gem is an aquamarine worth 50sp, and the snake has a Bluestone Key in its belly, if anyone cares to look.
92. Eight FERAL DWARFS occupy this stone landing, spitting -- and worse -- over the edge. The wooden stairs down to XX look flimsy and rickety but are in fact quite firm. The FERAL DWARFS from room 95 respond to any disturbances here.
93. The floor and walls are blotched with sooty marks as if a sequence of fireballs have gone off in here. Which is probably what happened.
94. Rough images of skulls have been daubed across the floor and walls -- although no higher than 5' -- in what seems to be a mixture of bodily excretions and fluids. Anyone looking for logic or a pattern will see none, but will notice that there is a greater concentration of skulls in the north-east corner.
95. Seven FERAL DWARFS marinade in their own stench here, ready to respond to disturbances in 92 or 100.
96. A fortified room with arrow slits looking out over the chasm.
97. Also a fortified room with arrow slits looking out over the chasm.
98. The spiral staircase down to XX is enclosed in a steel cage; the door is unlocked. The third step is trapped, turning the staircase into a slide; characters on the stairs should save versus Paralysation or tumble into location XX in a discombobulated state, automatically surprised by the denizens there. Anyone rolling a 1 also takes 1d6 damage.
99. ROBES stand guard here, watching the Bluestone Door to the north, although nothing has ever come from that direction in all their time guarding it.
100. The corpulent, pale, and worst of all, naked, FERAL DWARF LEADER lounges on a pile of coins -- 500sp and 600gp -- in the centre of the room, attended by 11 FERAL DWARFS. A faded tapestry conceals the secret door to 101.
YURK BLORG, the biggest beard, and the dirtiest: Armour 16 (thick folds of flab, as chain), Move 60', 7 Hit Dice, 25hp, double daggers 1d4+1/1d4+1, Morale 9.
If necessary, BLORG can call on more FERAL DWARFS from location 95.
101. The FERAL DWARF treasury. 4000pp and a locked metal box containing nine gems:
Heamatite, worth 500sp.
Shaped coral, worth 10sp.
A blue diamond, worth 500sp.
An emerald, worth 100sp.
A spectacular agate geode, worth 500sp.
A bloodstone, worth 10sp.
A black diamond, worth 500sp.
Shaped feldspar, worth 10sp.
A carnelian, worth 500sp.
This last is one of the jewels from the CROWN OF ETLUZ PEQZUS.
102. Also also a fortified room with arrow slits looking out over the chasm.
103. Also also also a fortified room, but with no arrow slits looking out over the chasm. A flagstone in the south-east corner conceals a bag containing 600sp; the FERAL DWARF BOSS hid it there and didn't tell anyone.
Monday, March 20, 2023
Dungeon23: 052-082
I'm trying something different with this #Dungeon23 update, fewer but more meaty entries, so I'm not spamming you with a handful of rooms. I'm not sure if it's better.
Anyway, here's the first half(ish) of Level Two!
52. This was some sort of dressing room for cult priests. A pair of BLUEROBES noodle around in here and may try to hide among the rags if they hear the characters approaching, getting their full 1-3 surprise chance. Three of the cultist outfits are in much better repair than the rest, made of some sort of special material that resists decay; each is worth 300sp.
53. Cultists would wash here before donning their sacred robes. Stone basins contain nothing but cobwebs and dust.
54. One GREENROBE and two YELLOWROBES pootle around between here and 63.
55. The door is locked and fortified with metal bars, so it takes two very noisy Turns to bash down. Inside are two chests, one containing 408sp and one containing 40gp.
56. Three chests contain the cult's real treasures, and four ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS that attempt to prevent any entry to the room. One chest contains 676sp, one contains 304gp, and the last contains five gems of varying size and value; a ruby worth 500sp, a pearl worth 100sp, and an amber, amethyst, and opal, each worth 50sp.
The thumb-sized ruby has a vague hint of magic about it, although it seems to have no specific enchanted properties. It is one of the missing gems from the CROWN OF ETLUZ PEQZUS.
57. What looks like a ball of multicoloured cloth, about 3' in diameter, spins and wobbles in the centre of the room, about 4' from the ground. Every sunset, it spurts out a random *ROBE, complete with weapon.
The sphere has the equivalent of 126 Hit Points, takes half damage from bludgeoning or crushing weapons and double damage from fire, and saves as a Level 14 Fighter. If destroyed, no more *ROBES will appear in the dungeon.
Interfering with the ball draws the attention of the *ROBES from 52, 58, and 74.
58. Four REDROBES and two BROWNROBES pay zero attention to the faded murals of serpents and trees that decorate the walls.
59. Three ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS stand here, motionless. They attack if an attempt is made to open the door to 55.
60. A very confused ARISEN PRIEST shambles about in here, bumping off the walls and muttering in its extinct language about "whippersnappers". It is easily surprised on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6. The wretched old thing is naked aside from a bejewelled silver holy symbol -- a tree with a serpent entwined in its branches -- worth 510sp.
61. This room is empty and featureless. Searching always reveals the southern secret door first, unless a deliberate effort is made to search the north wall.
62. A DIMENSIONAL FISHER lurks in the ceiling here, waiting to pounce. It ignores *ROBES because they are not meaty enough to eat.
63. This room is empty aside from dust and debris. Tiny whirlwinds of dust form now and then from the breeze coming via locations 66 and 73.
64. The first time a character steps off the spiral staircase from 18 a deep voice booms "BEWARE!" Characters feel the voice in their minds, rather than hear it, and each understands it in their mother tongue. Henchmen and retainers should make a Morale test to avoid fleeing.
65. The north wall is decorated with a life-size carving of a humanoid with a serpent head. Searching reveals a lever inside the serpent's mouth; the lever opens the secret door, but also triggers the jaws to clamp shut and trap the hand of the, er, manipulator? Releasing the lever releases the hand, but also closes the door. There is no way to open the door from the other side.
66. A YELLOWROBE, a GREENROBE, a BROWNROBE, and a BLUEROBE stand guard here, watching the bridge. Five small decorative alcoves line the top of the north wall, about 8' up. In the fourth alcove, concealed by centuries of spider webs, is a metal box containing 1000sp.
67. Two BROWNROBES lurk here, ready to chuck fireballs across the chasm.
68. A 3' statue of a six-armed holy warrior is propped in the south-east corner; the base and three of the arms are broken and the statue seems to have been dragged here from elsewhere. It is super heavy, counting as two Oversized items. This is because it is made of silver and is studded with gems, all of which is covered with a layer of plaster. Anyone with Architecture 2+ recognises that there's something fishy about the statue. It is worth 470gp.
69. An old meditation room, with small wooden benches, the dusty remains of pillows, and fragile, ragged strips that once were curtains.
70. Another old meditation room, in similar condition to 69. A hidden space under a flagstone contains a jewelled collar worth 10000sp. Another space under another flagstone conceals a pendant worth 12000sp. Wow!
71. A dusty but grand secondary temple, with statues of figures recognisable as versions of those in location 02, except their features have a hint of the... reptilian to them. A stone altar at the western end of the room has been split in two by some great force.
72. Three small -- about 2' square -- windows look out over the dark chasm. The wall around the central window has become weak with age, clear to anyone searching for a Turn or succeeding on an Architecture roll. Anyone peering out should save versus Paralysation to avoid the structure collapsing; on an even failure they are pummelled by falling blocks, taking 1d10 damage; on an odd failure they fall into the chasm, for which see XX.
73. This stone bridge has collapsed. Lit torches can be seen at the other end.
74. The remains of some sort of office or study. A BLACKROBE chills out in here, accompanied by a GREENROBE. Scattered amongst the wreckage are eight fancy scroll cases; the contents are long gone, but the cases are worth 100sp each. The BLACKROBE has a +2 two-handed sword callled EYEKILLER.
75. A 2' deep depression in the floor may have been some sort of baptismal pool at some point, but is now full of dust and spiders.
76. Underneath a small pile of rubble, worryingly close to the edge, is a Bluestone Key.
77. A glowing blue circle carved into the floor radiates teleportation magic. A character entering the circle is zapped to room 78.
78. A glowing blue circle carved into the floor radiates teleportation magic. A character entering the circle is zapped to room 77 and perhaps develops a feeling of deja vu.
79. The lower level of the library (location 35). The books and scrolls here are all rotten and useless, and there is a thick layer of damp moss over the floor and what's left of the furniture.
80. The secret library, accessed from locations 36 and 38. The door is locked, the key long missing. Four ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS stand motionless around a stack of seven stone tablets; they attack only if an attempt is made to take the tablets, and are relentless in pursuit of thieves.
The tablets are the original texts of the cult that built the temple and although the content is more or less identical to that written in their holy books, the tablets are in the original language of the cult, and the entire text has survived the centuries, unlike the paper copies. Each tablet is worth 100sp to a historian, surviving member of the cult, or other weirdo with niche interests. The language is not spoken by anyone alive today.
81-82. A PINKROBE, two GREENROBES, and four REDROBES patrol between these two old and ruined store rooms.
Anyway, here's the first half(ish) of Level Two!
53. Cultists would wash here before donning their sacred robes. Stone basins contain nothing but cobwebs and dust.
54. One GREENROBE and two YELLOWROBES pootle around between here and 63.
55. The door is locked and fortified with metal bars, so it takes two very noisy Turns to bash down. Inside are two chests, one containing 408sp and one containing 40gp.
56. Three chests contain the cult's real treasures, and four ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS that attempt to prevent any entry to the room. One chest contains 676sp, one contains 304gp, and the last contains five gems of varying size and value; a ruby worth 500sp, a pearl worth 100sp, and an amber, amethyst, and opal, each worth 50sp.
The thumb-sized ruby has a vague hint of magic about it, although it seems to have no specific enchanted properties. It is one of the missing gems from the CROWN OF ETLUZ PEQZUS.
57. What looks like a ball of multicoloured cloth, about 3' in diameter, spins and wobbles in the centre of the room, about 4' from the ground. Every sunset, it spurts out a random *ROBE, complete with weapon.
The sphere has the equivalent of 126 Hit Points, takes half damage from bludgeoning or crushing weapons and double damage from fire, and saves as a Level 14 Fighter. If destroyed, no more *ROBES will appear in the dungeon.
Interfering with the ball draws the attention of the *ROBES from 52, 58, and 74.
58. Four REDROBES and two BROWNROBES pay zero attention to the faded murals of serpents and trees that decorate the walls.
59. Three ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS stand here, motionless. They attack if an attempt is made to open the door to 55.
60. A very confused ARISEN PRIEST shambles about in here, bumping off the walls and muttering in its extinct language about "whippersnappers". It is easily surprised on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6. The wretched old thing is naked aside from a bejewelled silver holy symbol -- a tree with a serpent entwined in its branches -- worth 510sp.
61. This room is empty and featureless. Searching always reveals the southern secret door first, unless a deliberate effort is made to search the north wall.
62. A DIMENSIONAL FISHER lurks in the ceiling here, waiting to pounce. It ignores *ROBES because they are not meaty enough to eat.
63. This room is empty aside from dust and debris. Tiny whirlwinds of dust form now and then from the breeze coming via locations 66 and 73.
64. The first time a character steps off the spiral staircase from 18 a deep voice booms "BEWARE!" Characters feel the voice in their minds, rather than hear it, and each understands it in their mother tongue. Henchmen and retainers should make a Morale test to avoid fleeing.
65. The north wall is decorated with a life-size carving of a humanoid with a serpent head. Searching reveals a lever inside the serpent's mouth; the lever opens the secret door, but also triggers the jaws to clamp shut and trap the hand of the, er, manipulator? Releasing the lever releases the hand, but also closes the door. There is no way to open the door from the other side.
66. A YELLOWROBE, a GREENROBE, a BROWNROBE, and a BLUEROBE stand guard here, watching the bridge. Five small decorative alcoves line the top of the north wall, about 8' up. In the fourth alcove, concealed by centuries of spider webs, is a metal box containing 1000sp.
67. Two BROWNROBES lurk here, ready to chuck fireballs across the chasm.
68. A 3' statue of a six-armed holy warrior is propped in the south-east corner; the base and three of the arms are broken and the statue seems to have been dragged here from elsewhere. It is super heavy, counting as two Oversized items. This is because it is made of silver and is studded with gems, all of which is covered with a layer of plaster. Anyone with Architecture 2+ recognises that there's something fishy about the statue. It is worth 470gp.
69. An old meditation room, with small wooden benches, the dusty remains of pillows, and fragile, ragged strips that once were curtains.
70. Another old meditation room, in similar condition to 69. A hidden space under a flagstone contains a jewelled collar worth 10000sp. Another space under another flagstone conceals a pendant worth 12000sp. Wow!
71. A dusty but grand secondary temple, with statues of figures recognisable as versions of those in location 02, except their features have a hint of the... reptilian to them. A stone altar at the western end of the room has been split in two by some great force.
72. Three small -- about 2' square -- windows look out over the dark chasm. The wall around the central window has become weak with age, clear to anyone searching for a Turn or succeeding on an Architecture roll. Anyone peering out should save versus Paralysation to avoid the structure collapsing; on an even failure they are pummelled by falling blocks, taking 1d10 damage; on an odd failure they fall into the chasm, for which see XX.
73. This stone bridge has collapsed. Lit torches can be seen at the other end.
74. The remains of some sort of office or study. A BLACKROBE chills out in here, accompanied by a GREENROBE. Scattered amongst the wreckage are eight fancy scroll cases; the contents are long gone, but the cases are worth 100sp each. The BLACKROBE has a +2 two-handed sword callled EYEKILLER.
75. A 2' deep depression in the floor may have been some sort of baptismal pool at some point, but is now full of dust and spiders.
76. Underneath a small pile of rubble, worryingly close to the edge, is a Bluestone Key.
77. A glowing blue circle carved into the floor radiates teleportation magic. A character entering the circle is zapped to room 78.
78. A glowing blue circle carved into the floor radiates teleportation magic. A character entering the circle is zapped to room 77 and perhaps develops a feeling of deja vu.
79. The lower level of the library (location 35). The books and scrolls here are all rotten and useless, and there is a thick layer of damp moss over the floor and what's left of the furniture.
80. The secret library, accessed from locations 36 and 38. The door is locked, the key long missing. Four ARISEN TEMPLE GUARDIANS stand motionless around a stack of seven stone tablets; they attack only if an attempt is made to take the tablets, and are relentless in pursuit of thieves.
The tablets are the original texts of the cult that built the temple and although the content is more or less identical to that written in their holy books, the tablets are in the original language of the cult, and the entire text has survived the centuries, unlike the paper copies. Each tablet is worth 100sp to a historian, surviving member of the cult, or other weirdo with niche interests. The language is not spoken by anyone alive today.
81-82. A PINKROBE, two GREENROBES, and four REDROBES patrol between these two old and ruined store rooms.
Monday, February 20, 2023
Dungeon23: 039-051
I started a new day job last week. That's my excuse for missing Megadungeon Monday. I'm not sure I'm convinced.
Still, here's some #dungeon23 content bringing us up to date, and (gasp) completing Level 1!
39. A small room full of old candles, a single rotting wooden desk and an even more rotten stool. A bone scroll case has rolled under the desk, and contains a beautiful -- and well preserved -- illuminated text that finally resolves a centuries-long academic dispute between rival schools of historians. One group will pay 300sp for the scroll, but their rivals will offer 400sp to "lose" the scroll instead.
40. Single occupancy monastic cells.
41. This cell is packed floor to ceiling with TERROR MOULD. Somewhere in the middle of the fungal blooms is the corpse of a dwarf; good luck getting to it!
The unfortunate fellow was carrying a pair of rusty daggers, and a sack containing 456sp and a magical potion of healing. The problem is that the potion originated in the Opposite Universe and in fact does 1d6+1 points of damage to anyone drinking it, unless they also come from the Opposite Universe.
42. A locked brass gate -- itself an Oversized item worth around 150sp -- blocks access to the outside world. Or the inside world if you're coming the other way. Two 8' statues of generic holy warriors guard the room and pierce visitors with their stony gaze... but are just statues. One's shield features a tree motif, while the other's features a coiled serpent.
43. Through the bars of a heavy -- and locked -- iron gate can be seen a large metal wheel set into the floor. The mechanism is ancient and stiff and turning the wheel requires an Open Doors test, with a +1 bonus if anyone thinks to apply oil. The mechanism activates the watchemacallit in XX.
44. A large but simple dining hall, with huge tables for swashbuckling atop.
45. An old kitchen with all manner of improvised weaponry, and also a nest of seven SKULLBUGS, munching happily on the Terror Mould, to which they are immune.
46. The secret door is small, about 2' by 2', and at ground level. It is concealed from both sides.
47. Four very old wooden chests sit empty and in a state of rotten near-collapse.
48. A weird orange goo drips from the ceiling in this area; save versus Breath every 10' to avoid the drips. The goo is quite sticky and difficult to remove, but is otherwise harmless. It tastes both sweet and sour.
49. A pair of GREENROBES lurk, paying most attention to the corridor to 50.
50. A very fancy spiral staircase, decorated with an elaborate carving of a serpent, leads down to XX. If the carving could be somehow removed -- it is part of the staircase so good luck with that -- it would be worth 10000sp.
51. One YELLOWROBE and three REDROBES loiter here, looking for something interesting to do/kill. A secret panel in the north wall hides a rusted iron box containing 470sp.
Still, here's some #dungeon23 content bringing us up to date, and (gasp) completing Level 1!
40. Single occupancy monastic cells.
41. This cell is packed floor to ceiling with TERROR MOULD. Somewhere in the middle of the fungal blooms is the corpse of a dwarf; good luck getting to it!
The unfortunate fellow was carrying a pair of rusty daggers, and a sack containing 456sp and a magical potion of healing. The problem is that the potion originated in the Opposite Universe and in fact does 1d6+1 points of damage to anyone drinking it, unless they also come from the Opposite Universe.
42. A locked brass gate -- itself an Oversized item worth around 150sp -- blocks access to the outside world. Or the inside world if you're coming the other way. Two 8' statues of generic holy warriors guard the room and pierce visitors with their stony gaze... but are just statues. One's shield features a tree motif, while the other's features a coiled serpent.
43. Through the bars of a heavy -- and locked -- iron gate can be seen a large metal wheel set into the floor. The mechanism is ancient and stiff and turning the wheel requires an Open Doors test, with a +1 bonus if anyone thinks to apply oil. The mechanism activates the watchemacallit in XX.
44. A large but simple dining hall, with huge tables for swashbuckling atop.
45. An old kitchen with all manner of improvised weaponry, and also a nest of seven SKULLBUGS, munching happily on the Terror Mould, to which they are immune.
46. The secret door is small, about 2' by 2', and at ground level. It is concealed from both sides.
47. Four very old wooden chests sit empty and in a state of rotten near-collapse.
48. A weird orange goo drips from the ceiling in this area; save versus Breath every 10' to avoid the drips. The goo is quite sticky and difficult to remove, but is otherwise harmless. It tastes both sweet and sour.
49. A pair of GREENROBES lurk, paying most attention to the corridor to 50.
50. A very fancy spiral staircase, decorated with an elaborate carving of a serpent, leads down to XX. If the carving could be somehow removed -- it is part of the staircase so good luck with that -- it would be worth 10000sp.
51. One YELLOWROBE and three REDROBES loiter here, looking for something interesting to do/kill. A secret panel in the north wall hides a rusted iron box containing 470sp.
Monday, February 06, 2023
Dungeon23: 034-038
My gosh, Megadungeon Monday is on time this week! Sort of! Ish! It's a #dungeon23 miracle!
34. A single statue of "T" -- see room 02 -- with arms crossed and a stern expression on their literally stony face.
35. The upper level of a library, shelves lined with scroll tubes. The wooden walkways -- marked with RW -- are rotten and weak. Two REDROBES patrol the room.
Roll 1d6 each time a character uses a platform; on a 6+ it collapses, dropping the character 20' to the floor below -- room 79 -- taking at least 2d6 damage. Add +1 to the roll for every additional character on the same walkway; *ROBES are sort-of-but-not-really weightless so do not add to the roll.
Most of the scrolls on this upper level have rotted away, but six documents remain; they are mundane accounts of everyday occurrences from centuries before, but are worth 10sp each to a historian.
36. Stairs down to the secret library in 80. Searching reveals a loose stone in the eastern wall, behind which is a sack containing 480sp.
37. An old scriptorium. Wonky wooden desks collapse and half-finished scrolls crumble at the slightest touch. A Turn spent sorting through the debris will turn -- ho ho -- up an intact and quite beautiful scroll, which appears to be some sort of epic poem. Any character with an Intelligence of 12 or higher discerns a hidden meaning in the text; spending 1d4 days studying the poem uncovers directions to a buried treasure somewhere else in the campaign. The treasure consists of 600sp.
38. Spiral stairs down to the secret library in 80.
35. The upper level of a library, shelves lined with scroll tubes. The wooden walkways -- marked with RW -- are rotten and weak. Two REDROBES patrol the room.
Roll 1d6 each time a character uses a platform; on a 6+ it collapses, dropping the character 20' to the floor below -- room 79 -- taking at least 2d6 damage. Add +1 to the roll for every additional character on the same walkway; *ROBES are sort-of-but-not-really weightless so do not add to the roll.
Most of the scrolls on this upper level have rotted away, but six documents remain; they are mundane accounts of everyday occurrences from centuries before, but are worth 10sp each to a historian.
36. Stairs down to the secret library in 80. Searching reveals a loose stone in the eastern wall, behind which is a sack containing 480sp.
37. An old scriptorium. Wonky wooden desks collapse and half-finished scrolls crumble at the slightest touch. A Turn spent sorting through the debris will turn -- ho ho -- up an intact and quite beautiful scroll, which appears to be some sort of epic poem. Any character with an Intelligence of 12 or higher discerns a hidden meaning in the text; spending 1d4 days studying the poem uncovers directions to a buried treasure somewhere else in the campaign. The treasure consists of 600sp.
38. Spiral stairs down to the secret library in 80.
Thursday, February 02, 2023
Dungeon23: 028-033
Oh dear, the #Dungeon23 schedule has gone utterly; I think I'm supposed to have moved on to Level 2 by now, but I still have some ideas for Level 1 that I want to explore. Onward!
(But not downward, apparently. Not yet.)
28. A breeze flows into this room from 29, as well as the sound of birds fussing.
29. The room is dominated by a pool of dirty water, and statues identical to those in room 2. Oh, and big piles of guano from a flock of weird, striped, big-headed birds that have nested in here, having gained access through a 2' hole in the ceiling.
The birds are harmless but the *ROBES find them intimidating and try not to stay in this room if they can avoid it; any *ROBE on its own will need a Morale roll to resist a backwards furtive shuffle out of the room.
The pool is about 1' deep and the water is opaque with filth; in the south-east corner, covered in centuries of grime, is a silver crown, with four empty sockets where thumb-sized gems should be. This is the CROWN OF ETLUZ PEQZUS, a powerful magic item, but without the gems - found in locations XX, XX, XX, and XX -- is just a draughty metal hat, albeit one worth a handsome 900sp.
The statues do nothing.
30. The passage here has collapsed. It can be cleared, but will take tools and probably days. Beneath the rubble is the skeleton of an unfortunate adventurer, who almost made it to the surface with 58sp and 4gp.
31. Four REDROBES are on high alert and twitchy -- surprised only on a 1 -- guarding a circle carved into the stone floor. The circle has a faint blue glow, and appropriate investigation reveals that it is enchanted with teleportation magic. It is a one-way teleport circle, from location XX, but there's probably no way for the players to work that out from here.
32. Some sort of meditation room, from the large but now quite rotten cushions scattered across the floor, and the numerous bells and chimes hanging from chains of various lengths. Sneaking through the room without disturbing a chime requires a Stealth roll, or a save versus Paralysation, if your game doesn't have Stealth rolls. You'll work it out.
In the smaller room beyond is a large and tarnished bronze gong, and a BLUEROBE, just chilling out. The BLUEROBE tries to alert its allies by hitting the gong, then rushes to attack. The gong is decorated with serpent and tree symbols, is Oversized, and is worth about 500sp.
33. A sturdy and relatively new wooden table holds a large leather-bound book containing lists of numbers. This is an accounting of the creatures the *ROBES have killed and fed to the grub-thing in 13. There is a 50% chance that there will be a REDROBE in here, adding to the ledger.
(But not downward, apparently. Not yet.)
29. The room is dominated by a pool of dirty water, and statues identical to those in room 2. Oh, and big piles of guano from a flock of weird, striped, big-headed birds that have nested in here, having gained access through a 2' hole in the ceiling.
The birds are harmless but the *ROBES find them intimidating and try not to stay in this room if they can avoid it; any *ROBE on its own will need a Morale roll to resist a backwards furtive shuffle out of the room.
The pool is about 1' deep and the water is opaque with filth; in the south-east corner, covered in centuries of grime, is a silver crown, with four empty sockets where thumb-sized gems should be. This is the CROWN OF ETLUZ PEQZUS, a powerful magic item, but without the gems - found in locations XX, XX, XX, and XX -- is just a draughty metal hat, albeit one worth a handsome 900sp.
The statues do nothing.
30. The passage here has collapsed. It can be cleared, but will take tools and probably days. Beneath the rubble is the skeleton of an unfortunate adventurer, who almost made it to the surface with 58sp and 4gp.
31. Four REDROBES are on high alert and twitchy -- surprised only on a 1 -- guarding a circle carved into the stone floor. The circle has a faint blue glow, and appropriate investigation reveals that it is enchanted with teleportation magic. It is a one-way teleport circle, from location XX, but there's probably no way for the players to work that out from here.
32. Some sort of meditation room, from the large but now quite rotten cushions scattered across the floor, and the numerous bells and chimes hanging from chains of various lengths. Sneaking through the room without disturbing a chime requires a Stealth roll, or a save versus Paralysation, if your game doesn't have Stealth rolls. You'll work it out.
In the smaller room beyond is a large and tarnished bronze gong, and a BLUEROBE, just chilling out. The BLUEROBE tries to alert its allies by hitting the gong, then rushes to attack. The gong is decorated with serpent and tree symbols, is Oversized, and is worth about 500sp.
33. A sturdy and relatively new wooden table holds a large leather-bound book containing lists of numbers. This is an accounting of the creatures the *ROBES have killed and fed to the grub-thing in 13. There is a 50% chance that there will be a REDROBE in here, adding to the ledger.
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Dungeon23: 017-027
Sorry for the delay; my computer decided that it wasn't having any of this "internet" business yesterday. To make up for it, I've done a couple of extra #Dungeon23 rooms.
17. A locked Bluestone Door, carved with tree designs. Don't worry, I will explain Bluestone Doors in a follow-up post.
18. A spiral staircase down to 64. Carvings of serpents line the walls all the way down.
19. The walls are covered with faded, but just about legible, graffiti in an ancient language, spoken by no one in centuries. If deciphered, the text mostly concerns an individual called Emlaan and the various sordid activities they are alleged to conduct with livestock.
20. A dusty but empty room. After a few moments, a frail, croaky voice whispers for help. It seems to be coming from the south-west corner but beyond that there is no evident source. The "voice" -- characters will hear it even if they somehow block their hearing -- is a mystical projection from Haaker in room XX and it is too weak to hold a conversation at this distance, but can at least instruct adventurers to go "below".
21. The *ROBES have no idea that this secret door exists.
22. The tunnel goes on for about 800 metres before emerging from a hidden panel in the floor of a ruined hut. A mouldy sack at the hut end contains 20sp.
23. The alcoves contain the mummified remains of priests and other personalities important to the temple in ancient days, standing upright as if to attention. Loose coins totalling 60sp and 10gp can be found between the three rooms.
24. The floor, walls, and -- most worrying of all -- the ceiling are gouged with great scratches, very similar to those of the shaft at 5.
25. A couple of dwarven skeletons can be seen, overgrown with black Terror Mould; see below. Tiny spores dance in the air. One of the ex-dwarfs has a purse containing 40sp, but digging around to find it will cause spores to fill the room, not just the dotted spaces. The purse itself is made of some sort of strange rubbery material that is watertight and impervious to decay -- which is why it survived the Terror Mould -- and is worth 30gp to a sage or other dubious old geezer. The purse has a capacity of 87 coins.
26. This hidden chamber contains the preserved body of a high priest or other noble figure. Wrapped around its shoulders is the pelt of some fabulous creature, shining in a rainbow of colours that have not faded over the centuries. The mantle is worth 60gp.
27. This hidden chamber contains nothing of interest but looks like it probably should.
A creature roans between rooms 23, 24, and 25; the *ROBES were not able to deal with it so built barricades at 15 to at least keep it away. Let's call it the CLAWED BASTARD, and we'll do statistics and a nice picture in a day or so.
M: The dotted squares indicate Terror Mould. It covers every surface in a thick carpet of fuzzy death, and spurts deadly spores into the air; characters that breathe must succeed on a save versus Poison if they enter a Terror Mould square, or die in 1d8 Rounds of asphyxiation -- as their airways melt -- accompanied by horrible hallucinations.
18. A spiral staircase down to 64. Carvings of serpents line the walls all the way down.
19. The walls are covered with faded, but just about legible, graffiti in an ancient language, spoken by no one in centuries. If deciphered, the text mostly concerns an individual called Emlaan and the various sordid activities they are alleged to conduct with livestock.
20. A dusty but empty room. After a few moments, a frail, croaky voice whispers for help. It seems to be coming from the south-west corner but beyond that there is no evident source. The "voice" -- characters will hear it even if they somehow block their hearing -- is a mystical projection from Haaker in room XX and it is too weak to hold a conversation at this distance, but can at least instruct adventurers to go "below".
21. The *ROBES have no idea that this secret door exists.
22. The tunnel goes on for about 800 metres before emerging from a hidden panel in the floor of a ruined hut. A mouldy sack at the hut end contains 20sp.
23. The alcoves contain the mummified remains of priests and other personalities important to the temple in ancient days, standing upright as if to attention. Loose coins totalling 60sp and 10gp can be found between the three rooms.
24. The floor, walls, and -- most worrying of all -- the ceiling are gouged with great scratches, very similar to those of the shaft at 5.
25. A couple of dwarven skeletons can be seen, overgrown with black Terror Mould; see below. Tiny spores dance in the air. One of the ex-dwarfs has a purse containing 40sp, but digging around to find it will cause spores to fill the room, not just the dotted spaces. The purse itself is made of some sort of strange rubbery material that is watertight and impervious to decay -- which is why it survived the Terror Mould -- and is worth 30gp to a sage or other dubious old geezer. The purse has a capacity of 87 coins.
26. This hidden chamber contains the preserved body of a high priest or other noble figure. Wrapped around its shoulders is the pelt of some fabulous creature, shining in a rainbow of colours that have not faded over the centuries. The mantle is worth 60gp.
27. This hidden chamber contains nothing of interest but looks like it probably should.
A creature roans between rooms 23, 24, and 25; the *ROBES were not able to deal with it so built barricades at 15 to at least keep it away. Let's call it the CLAWED BASTARD, and we'll do statistics and a nice picture in a day or so.
M: The dotted squares indicate Terror Mould. It covers every surface in a thick carpet of fuzzy death, and spurts deadly spores into the air; characters that breathe must succeed on a save versus Poison if they enter a Terror Mould square, or die in 1d8 Rounds of asphyxiation -- as their airways melt -- accompanied by horrible hallucinations.
Monday, January 16, 2023
Dungeon23: 010-016
Week two of #Dungeon23! Crikey.
10. The ceiling in the shaded area is sagging. Poking, prodding, loud noises, and other dramatic activity will cause it to collapse, burying unfortunate spelunkers in debris causing 3d6 damge, or half on a successful save versus Breath Weapon.
11. Six 10' deep pits, each covered with a heavy stone slabs that require two average strength characters -- or *ROBES -- to move. Two REDROBES stand guard over the pits, which contain any prisoners of your choice, or the unlucky GEOFF:
GEOFF, stuck in a hole: Armour 12 (none), Move 120’, 1st Level Fighter, 4hp, no weapons, Morale 9. Geoff is an average bloke with a strong sense of right and wrong.
Discarded in one corner of the room is a muddy cape. Close examination reveals it to be of very fine make indeed and worth 500sp if cleaned and repaired. It was owned by a foreign prince who may still be alive, and may reward its return.
12. A huge pile of skulls, picked clean. One REDROBE noodles around, sweeping up any skulls that have rolled away from the main pile. A single YELLOWROBE stands nearby, "supervising"; if it's possible for a faceless bunch of cloth to look bored, it does.
The pile contains a high proportion of dwarf skulls, should anyone bother to catalogue them. Underneath the pile is a trapdoor leading to room XX; the *ROBES have no idea it is there.
The LotFP rules on excavations are weird, so let's say it would take one person 12 hours to clear enough skulls to access the trapdoor, and a full day to clear the entire room, plus the time taken to transport the skulls elsewhere. Playing around with the skulls invites haunting by disgruntled dwarven ghosts. Thanks to Calvin for the suggestions!
13. A huge grub thing slips and slides around in its own slime. Two REDROBES are feeding bits of prisoner -- from room 11 -- to it; the grub doesn't like skulls so spits those out, and they are taken to room 12. While huge, the grub is quite weak and more or less mindless. Treat it as being unarmoured -- Armour 12 -- and having only a single Hit Point.
14. This room seems to have been an office long ago, although it is now ruined.
15. These corridors have been blocked by barricades made of junk. Two REDROBES stand guard at each barricade, watching for... something.
16. A faded mural depicts the deities/heroes/saints from room 2, with the faces scratched away. The -- literal -- defacement seems to be recent.
11. Six 10' deep pits, each covered with a heavy stone slabs that require two average strength characters -- or *ROBES -- to move. Two REDROBES stand guard over the pits, which contain any prisoners of your choice, or the unlucky GEOFF:
GEOFF, stuck in a hole: Armour 12 (none), Move 120’, 1st Level Fighter, 4hp, no weapons, Morale 9. Geoff is an average bloke with a strong sense of right and wrong.
Discarded in one corner of the room is a muddy cape. Close examination reveals it to be of very fine make indeed and worth 500sp if cleaned and repaired. It was owned by a foreign prince who may still be alive, and may reward its return.
12. A huge pile of skulls, picked clean. One REDROBE noodles around, sweeping up any skulls that have rolled away from the main pile. A single YELLOWROBE stands nearby, "supervising"; if it's possible for a faceless bunch of cloth to look bored, it does.
The pile contains a high proportion of dwarf skulls, should anyone bother to catalogue them. Underneath the pile is a trapdoor leading to room XX; the *ROBES have no idea it is there.
The LotFP rules on excavations are weird, so let's say it would take one person 12 hours to clear enough skulls to access the trapdoor, and a full day to clear the entire room, plus the time taken to transport the skulls elsewhere. Playing around with the skulls invites haunting by disgruntled dwarven ghosts. Thanks to Calvin for the suggestions!
13. A huge grub thing slips and slides around in its own slime. Two REDROBES are feeding bits of prisoner -- from room 11 -- to it; the grub doesn't like skulls so spits those out, and they are taken to room 12. While huge, the grub is quite weak and more or less mindless. Treat it as being unarmoured -- Armour 12 -- and having only a single Hit Point.
14. This room seems to have been an office long ago, although it is now ruined.
15. These corridors have been blocked by barricades made of junk. Two REDROBES stand guard at each barricade, watching for... something.
16. A faded mural depicts the deities/heroes/saints from room 2, with the faces scratched away. The -- literal -- defacement seems to be recent.
Monday, January 09, 2023
The Dungeon23 With No Name
The idea behind the #Dungeon23 thing is explained here, but in short it's to build a 365-room dungeon, one day/room at a time. I can probably do that, or something like that, anyway. It may not be a full 365-room dungeon; I may make a bunch of dungeons, and I see at least a couple of people are doing hex crawls. There are lots of options, but at least for now I'm keen to try the basic BIG DUNGEON concept, so we'll see how that goes.
One thing I will not be doing is posting a room a day. I don't want to clog the feeds of what few readers I have with such noise, so instead I'm going to try to post a week's worth of content every "Megadungeon Monday".
Rules and statistics will be in Lamentations of the Flame Princess format, just because that's what I'm most used to. You can find a free copy of the rules here, but it's basically -- ho ho -- B/X D&D.
In the words of Mario, here we go!
1. Stone doors, covered in moss and, underneath the moss, ancient carvings of serpents and trees. The doors are too heavy to move or open by normal means, but the left door has a crack large enough through which an unarmoured character can squeeze.
2. Six statues, each holding a stone dish. They are recognisable as local but ancient deities/heroes/saints, and each has a name carved into their plinth. The names begin with the letters A, C, E, H, T, and X; allocate names according to your own setting. A, E, and T each have a single silver coin in their bowl.
If a character places a coin -- a silver at least -- in each of the bowls of C, H, E, A, and T -- in that order -- they glow for a few moments then immediately gain a level -- set their xp to the appropriate number -- and all associated benefits. This works only once. If the players try anything dodgy like putting a single coin in C, taking it out and putting it in H, and so on -- also known as the Top Cat Manoeuvre -- or taking their money after receiving the reward, then it either doesn't work, they lose the reward, or perhaps something worse happens, like 1d6 BLUEROBES appear from nowhere and attack.
3. A toppled statue of E (see room 2), in a different pose and not holding a bowl.
4. Broken furniture and 3 REDROBES. One tries to flee to room 6 to raise the alarm. They are unaware of the secret door.
A small wooden box is lost amongst the broken furniture; it contains 88sp.
5. A smooth shaft leading down to room XX. Marks indicate that something with very large claws climbed its way up in recent times.
6. 6 REDROBES noodle around a vast hall full of rotten and smashed wooden pews, with a damaged mosaic in the floor, depicting a great serpent. A carving in the south wall depicts a god/hero/saint associated with gateways; the eyes are holes, indicating a space behind the carving. There is a hidden mechanism that spins the entire carving, allowing access to the space beyond.
The mosaic is worth 800sp if removed and counts as three Oversized items (Rules & Magic, p38; or about 800 coins in Old-School Essentials; it could of course be broken up and carried in more, smaller, chunks, but I leave the exact details to you); it will take at least three skilled artisans a week of work to recover the mosaic intact.
There are 30sp and 3gp scattered amongst the wreckage.
7. A spiral staircase, smoothed with use, leads down to room XX. Save versus Breath Weapon to avoid slipping and taking 1d6 damage.
8. Shelves hold ancient scrolls that crumble at the touch. In the corner huddles a humanoid skeleton wearing faded orange robes -- but not ORANGEROBES -- holding an enchanted staff. The skeleton is not human; the skull is elongated and the limbs are disproportionate.
The staff is either a Staff of Snakes, or whatever you like. If the scrolls are somehow preserved, they are ancient records worth about 92sp to historians.
9. Piles of tattered and torn robes in various colours. Feel free to have them shift a little in the breeze, but they are quite inactive as they are ROBES that have either been killed or are yet to be.
And yes, I know I haven't described the ROBES yet. Bear with!
One thing I will not be doing is posting a room a day. I don't want to clog the feeds of what few readers I have with such noise, so instead I'm going to try to post a week's worth of content every "Megadungeon Monday".
Rules and statistics will be in Lamentations of the Flame Princess format, just because that's what I'm most used to. You can find a free copy of the rules here, but it's basically -- ho ho -- B/X D&D.
In the words of Mario, here we go!
2. Six statues, each holding a stone dish. They are recognisable as local but ancient deities/heroes/saints, and each has a name carved into their plinth. The names begin with the letters A, C, E, H, T, and X; allocate names according to your own setting. A, E, and T each have a single silver coin in their bowl.
If a character places a coin -- a silver at least -- in each of the bowls of C, H, E, A, and T -- in that order -- they glow for a few moments then immediately gain a level -- set their xp to the appropriate number -- and all associated benefits. This works only once. If the players try anything dodgy like putting a single coin in C, taking it out and putting it in H, and so on -- also known as the Top Cat Manoeuvre -- or taking their money after receiving the reward, then it either doesn't work, they lose the reward, or perhaps something worse happens, like 1d6 BLUEROBES appear from nowhere and attack.
3. A toppled statue of E (see room 2), in a different pose and not holding a bowl.
4. Broken furniture and 3 REDROBES. One tries to flee to room 6 to raise the alarm. They are unaware of the secret door.
A small wooden box is lost amongst the broken furniture; it contains 88sp.
5. A smooth shaft leading down to room XX. Marks indicate that something with very large claws climbed its way up in recent times.
6. 6 REDROBES noodle around a vast hall full of rotten and smashed wooden pews, with a damaged mosaic in the floor, depicting a great serpent. A carving in the south wall depicts a god/hero/saint associated with gateways; the eyes are holes, indicating a space behind the carving. There is a hidden mechanism that spins the entire carving, allowing access to the space beyond.
The mosaic is worth 800sp if removed and counts as three Oversized items (Rules & Magic, p38; or about 800 coins in Old-School Essentials; it could of course be broken up and carried in more, smaller, chunks, but I leave the exact details to you); it will take at least three skilled artisans a week of work to recover the mosaic intact.
There are 30sp and 3gp scattered amongst the wreckage.
7. A spiral staircase, smoothed with use, leads down to room XX. Save versus Breath Weapon to avoid slipping and taking 1d6 damage.
8. Shelves hold ancient scrolls that crumble at the touch. In the corner huddles a humanoid skeleton wearing faded orange robes -- but not ORANGEROBES -- holding an enchanted staff. The skeleton is not human; the skull is elongated and the limbs are disproportionate.
The staff is either a Staff of Snakes, or whatever you like. If the scrolls are somehow preserved, they are ancient records worth about 92sp to historians.
9. Piles of tattered and torn robes in various colours. Feel free to have them shift a little in the breeze, but they are quite inactive as they are ROBES that have either been killed or are yet to be.
And yes, I know I haven't described the ROBES yet. Bear with!
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
It's Hip to Be Square
Back in January I posted the player map for a proposed old-school hexsquare-crawl rpg campaign. I haven't been able to spare the time to work on it and it doesn't look like I'm going to get it to the table anyway, so here's the GM map for you to have a squiz at and use, if you like.
If I somehow find more hours in the day I may go back to this. Perhaps at least I can polish up the bits I did start and share those. Maybe.
If I somehow find more hours in the day I may go back to this. Perhaps at least I can polish up the bits I did start and share those. Maybe.
Monday, January 17, 2022
"Hex" Is Latin for "Four"
I spent a couple of hours in the evenings last week putting together an old-school "hex" crawl setting. Here's the player map:
The starting town -- New Dezoris -- is at B05 and there's a six by six area in which to roam around in the first few sessions. After that, the players will have to explore and fill in the map for themselves. Old-school!
I won't post the complete map, just in case I get it to the table some time, but you can always email me -- look to the top-right -- if you want the whole thing.
Why is it not a proper hex map? I've never liked hexes. Don't know why!
The starting town -- New Dezoris -- is at B05 and there's a six by six area in which to roam around in the first few sessions. After that, the players will have to explore and fill in the map for themselves. Old-school!
I won't post the complete map, just in case I get it to the table some time, but you can always email me -- look to the top-right -- if you want the whole thing.
Why is it not a proper hex map? I've never liked hexes. Don't know why!
Thursday, May 06, 2021
The Inner Temple of the Golden Skeleton
Over at the resurrected Grognardia, James has shared an early Dungeons & Dragons map from Steve Jackson, co-founder of Games Workshop. This reminded me that the other co-founder, Ian Livingstone, now and then shares an image of one of his early dungeons.
I can't be certain, but I think I remember Sir Ian saying that this was the first dungeon he ever designed for the game. I haven't been able to find a better quality image, and I'm too intimidated by Sir Ian's awesomeness to ask him for one.
(Not that I have any influence over such a giant! I don't mean to suggest that he and I are pals or anything.)
Update! Joe at Explore: Beneath & Beyond has done some heavy squinting and has deciphered much of Sir Ian's dungeon key.
I can't be certain, but I think I remember Sir Ian saying that this was the first dungeon he ever designed for the game. I haven't been able to find a better quality image, and I'm too intimidated by Sir Ian's awesomeness to ask him for one.
(Not that I have any influence over such a giant! I don't mean to suggest that he and I are pals or anything.)
Update! Joe at Explore: Beneath & Beyond has done some heavy squinting and has deciphered much of Sir Ian's dungeon key.
Friday, September 13, 2019
The Laboratories of Joseph Cullen
I'm not sure if this is a spoiler or not. I think this -- along with some details of what is in all these rooms -- will be published somewhere at some point but I shall leave the details undefined for now.
Friday, April 19, 2019
Homage to Barovia
My GM didn't like the player handout map in Curse of Strahd so asked me to draw a different one.
(click here for a high resolution version for printing)
I think it's probably a bit too fancy to be an in-universe map drawn by feckless peasants, but maybe it's the equivalent of those gaudy tourist maps you get when you go on holiday.
(click here for a high resolution version for printing)
I think it's probably a bit too fancy to be an in-universe map drawn by feckless peasants, but maybe it's the equivalent of those gaudy tourist maps you get when you go on holiday.
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Knows How to Party
I drew this pointcrawl map for Mike Evans' Barbarians of the Ruined Earth role-playing game project.
I am trying not to hate it, as I tend to hate everything I create about five seconds after I finish it. I don't work in colour often, but I don't think this turned out too bad.
I am trying not to hate it, as I tend to hate everything I create about five seconds after I finish it. I don't work in colour often, but I don't think this turned out too bad.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Die Drop Campaign Maps at the Whistle Stop Cafe
In 13th Age, the icons are the setting's powerful non-player characters. They are not the Drizzt types who go off and have adventures at the expense of the player-characters, rather they are the rulers and wizards that send the player-characters on quests, or that send agents of their own to thwart them. An icon could be an end-of-campaign boss, or an ally against one.
Each player-character gets a number of relationship points to allocate to the various icons, so Alice of Zengis could have a two point relationship with the Dwarf King, for example. Each relationship is also defined as positive, ambiguous, or negative; if Alice's relationship with the Dwarf King is negative, it suggests that she hates dwarves, or he has betrayed her, or umpteen other potential disagreements.
For each relationship point a character has they get a six-sided relationship die; these are used in a number of ways but one of the more common is to determine which icons are going to be involved in that session's adventure. Everyone rolls their dice and each die that comes up as a 5 or 6 means that the relevant icon has taken an interest in events; a 6 means that the player-character will receive some sort of benefit from their relationship, while a 5 means that the benefit has some sort of cost.
The benefit could be something as prosaic as a bag of cash, or it could be something more narrative based; perhaps the wraith recognises the player-character as an agent of the Lich King and so lets him pass untouched and unleveldrained. Negative relationships tend to suggest that the benefit comes at a cost to the icon; Alice may use her Dwarf King 6 to recall that she knows a secret entrance into a dwarven fort, for example, allowing the party to bypass the guards. Ambiguous relationships could go either way, depending on context.
When I run 13th Age I tend to ask for these rolls at the end of a session so that I have some time to tie them into next week's adventuring, but the other day I wondered about using them at the start of a campaign; I was also thinking about die drop tables and the combination of the two trains of thought has resulted in this hideous chimera.
First of all grab a map from somewhere. You don't want too much detail, as the dice will be telling you where to put things.
Then each player -- or the GM on the player's behalf, but I think it would be more fun to involve the players -- takes it in turns to roll their relationship dice on the map. You want to know which dice are associated with each icon; roll them in separate chunks or use different colours, or something like that. Each die's final position determines a location associated with the relevant icon.
A 6 indicates that the location is some sort of stronghold of the icon. It could be a literal stronghold, or it could just be a town where everyone thinks the Crusader is a swell guy. A 5 suggests that while the place is associated with an icon, there's something else going on; perhaps the location is a new fortress and the local area has not yet been tamed. A roll of 1 to 4 indicates that the location is associated with the icon, but that there is little of campaign-level interest there, although something may come up in an individual adventure.
A negative die probably indicates that the location has been abandoned, or is in fact associated with one of that icon's enemies, or something like that. An ambiguous die suggests that the icon's control and influence over that location is not absolute; perhaps it's been conquered and the locals aren't too happy with the new regime.
Then you do the same again for the next icon.
If dice from two -- or more! -- separate icons share the same space then things get even more interesting. Perhaps that location is held in an alliance between two icons, or perhaps it's the site of a conflict between them. Maybe their forces are fighting a guerilla war in the streets of a ruined city, or the location is a dungeon into which both icons are sending adventurers to look for a great treasure.
Carry on until all the player-characters have rolled all their icon dice and you have something like this.
Bosh! There's your campaign map. You know where the major points of interest are, now it's time to tidy it up and expand as desired. If you started with a blank map, you could put forests wherever Druid or Elf Queen dice landed, or mountain ranges wherever the Dwarf King or Orc Lord dice fell.
Like the relationship dice themselves, this should be easy enough to use outside 13th Age; all you need to do is define your important factions and then give your players a number of points to spend on positive, negative, and ambiguous relationships with those factions. I suggest using at least seven icons so that there's plenty of potential for complexity.
As ever, if you do give this a try, let me know how you get on!
Each player-character gets a number of relationship points to allocate to the various icons, so Alice of Zengis could have a two point relationship with the Dwarf King, for example. Each relationship is also defined as positive, ambiguous, or negative; if Alice's relationship with the Dwarf King is negative, it suggests that she hates dwarves, or he has betrayed her, or umpteen other potential disagreements.
For each relationship point a character has they get a six-sided relationship die; these are used in a number of ways but one of the more common is to determine which icons are going to be involved in that session's adventure. Everyone rolls their dice and each die that comes up as a 5 or 6 means that the relevant icon has taken an interest in events; a 6 means that the player-character will receive some sort of benefit from their relationship, while a 5 means that the benefit has some sort of cost.
The benefit could be something as prosaic as a bag of cash, or it could be something more narrative based; perhaps the wraith recognises the player-character as an agent of the Lich King and so lets him pass untouched and unleveldrained. Negative relationships tend to suggest that the benefit comes at a cost to the icon; Alice may use her Dwarf King 6 to recall that she knows a secret entrance into a dwarven fort, for example, allowing the party to bypass the guards. Ambiguous relationships could go either way, depending on context.
When I run 13th Age I tend to ask for these rolls at the end of a session so that I have some time to tie them into next week's adventuring, but the other day I wondered about using them at the start of a campaign; I was also thinking about die drop tables and the combination of the two trains of thought has resulted in this hideous chimera.
First of all grab a map from somewhere. You don't want too much detail, as the dice will be telling you where to put things.
Then each player -- or the GM on the player's behalf, but I think it would be more fun to involve the players -- takes it in turns to roll their relationship dice on the map. You want to know which dice are associated with each icon; roll them in separate chunks or use different colours, or something like that. Each die's final position determines a location associated with the relevant icon.
A 6 indicates that the location is some sort of stronghold of the icon. It could be a literal stronghold, or it could just be a town where everyone thinks the Crusader is a swell guy. A 5 suggests that while the place is associated with an icon, there's something else going on; perhaps the location is a new fortress and the local area has not yet been tamed. A roll of 1 to 4 indicates that the location is associated with the icon, but that there is little of campaign-level interest there, although something may come up in an individual adventure.
A negative die probably indicates that the location has been abandoned, or is in fact associated with one of that icon's enemies, or something like that. An ambiguous die suggests that the icon's control and influence over that location is not absolute; perhaps it's been conquered and the locals aren't too happy with the new regime.
Then you do the same again for the next icon.
If dice from two -- or more! -- separate icons share the same space then things get even more interesting. Perhaps that location is held in an alliance between two icons, or perhaps it's the site of a conflict between them. Maybe their forces are fighting a guerilla war in the streets of a ruined city, or the location is a dungeon into which both icons are sending adventurers to look for a great treasure.
Carry on until all the player-characters have rolled all their icon dice and you have something like this.
Bosh! There's your campaign map. You know where the major points of interest are, now it's time to tidy it up and expand as desired. If you started with a blank map, you could put forests wherever Druid or Elf Queen dice landed, or mountain ranges wherever the Dwarf King or Orc Lord dice fell.
Like the relationship dice themselves, this should be easy enough to use outside 13th Age; all you need to do is define your important factions and then give your players a number of points to spend on positive, negative, and ambiguous relationships with those factions. I suggest using at least seven icons so that there's plenty of potential for complexity.
As ever, if you do give this a try, let me know how you get on!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
More Craggy
We're almost to the end of our Lost Mine of Phandelver Trolltooth Pass campaign now, with perhaps two or three sessions to go. A few weeks ago the party stormed Cragmaw Castle but I wasn't happy with the map given in the adventure; it's pretty but it doesn't make much sense and doesn't seem much like a castle, so I drew a new one.
The main changes are that room 11 is gone -- it didn't do anything interesting -- and I've stacked a couple of rooms on top of others -- 9 is above 8 and 14 is above 12 -- so that the castle has actual towers now. Oh, and the castle is now built on rock spires -- crags, if you will -- above a pool of lava, because castles nestled atop lava pits are cool. Or, er, hot.
As such the almost-fatal rock trap at 2 is now an almost-fatal lava pit trap, and it did indeed claim the life of one of the player-characters as he ran across the false floor in a barbarian rage, only to plop into the bubbling hot stuff.
I've hinted at the edges of the crater but not defined them, because I ran out of space; I'd say that they are about three or four squares away from the tower walls, far enough away that jumping is impossible but close enough that clever plans could find a way across.
Feel free to use as you see fit, or indeed not. I have a couple of other maps from the campaign to upload so look out for them in the next couple of weeks.
The main changes are that room 11 is gone -- it didn't do anything interesting -- and I've stacked a couple of rooms on top of others -- 9 is above 8 and 14 is above 12 -- so that the castle has actual towers now. Oh, and the castle is now built on rock spires -- crags, if you will -- above a pool of lava, because castles nestled atop lava pits are cool. Or, er, hot.
As such the almost-fatal rock trap at 2 is now an almost-fatal lava pit trap, and it did indeed claim the life of one of the player-characters as he ran across the false floor in a barbarian rage, only to plop into the bubbling hot stuff.
I've hinted at the edges of the crater but not defined them, because I ran out of space; I'd say that they are about three or four squares away from the tower walls, far enough away that jumping is impossible but close enough that clever plans could find a way across.
Feel free to use as you see fit, or indeed not. I have a couple of other maps from the campaign to upload so look out for them in the next couple of weeks.
Saturday, November 01, 2014
Forgotten Phandelver
Undeterred by our previous experience with the game, tomorrow my gaming group will have another go at Dungeons and Dragons 5, this time using the mini campaign from the boxed set, Lost Mine of Phandelver.
There's no way I'm going anywhere near the Forgotten Realms though, so we're going to be adventuring somewhere else instead.
That's better.
There's no way I'm going anywhere near the Forgotten Realms though, so we're going to be adventuring somewhere else instead.
That's better.
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