The Temple of the Pass - A beneficial shortcut...

During the last open table session. the party traversed two "shortcuts" through the labyrinthine Badlands, with the hopes of cutting time off their journey. I'm still writing complete sentences for the first complex, but the second is ready for a quick share.

The first one, of course, was full of hazards - territorial water sprites - that did not want explorers in their caverns. The party was able to respectfully negotiate passage, thus avoiding a running battle and fusillades of ice shards. Color the GM disappointed, but a good solution is always to be respected.

And, since not every location should be filled with danger, even out in the uncharted lands, the second cavern network and shortcut was populated by a few interesting, and potentially beneficial, inhabitants. 

via Dyson

So welcome to the Temple of the Pass, a small complex that grants the party access to lands beyond, as well as gives them a respite, some small boons, and a bit of a augury for the journey ahead. 

Home to an imprisoned and de-powered genie, it still resonates with magical power. The genie is accompanied by a hermit capable of divining the future through the tellings of the standing stones. And the weird guards? Well, I'm not sure how insect-god guardians got crossed up with a forgotten fire god. Perhaps it was a divine work exchange program. 

 Anyway, sharing it as a location to drop into a hexcrawl or point crawl if a shortcut through barrier geography might be needed. Enjoy.

Logging another Dyson joint - the Sunken Ruins

More slow progress transcribing and prettifying various maps and notes. In this case, a small stronghold ruins that the party discovered while tracking some stolen horses.

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Just another case of some unclaimed real estate becoming occupied. Although the party successfully assaulted the crumbling fortifications, the leader of the defenders sensed that they were in pursuit of the horses, and released them in exchange for no more deaths.

Many of the occupants and items were lined out in my rough table notes, and I expanded their story a bit for the final document.

This usable space was scribbled on...

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...and occupied by an extended family of zealous serpent-folk, with a leader convinced that he is a new prophet to their god. 

I AM YOUR PROPHET

Anyhow, the leader chose discretion over valor, allowing the PCs to retrieve their horses before more blood was shed. I'll post a full session writeup soon.

So check out who's squatting in Grimlil's Sunken Hold... (all ShadowDarked up).

Note: A couple of new spells were cribbed from “Forbidden Priest Spells for ShadowDark RPG” by C. Sella. Of course, now I can't find the original link to attribute the writer. I'm sharing the document here, but if anyone can point me to the original source, I'll update. 

Foxtail Grotto, revised

After last week's shenanigans, I gave Foxtail Grotto a revision to (hopefully) improve usability and play. I revised descriptions to clarify placement of encounters, and added a small introduction on playing out the discovery of the pirate cove. Monster stats have been updated and consolidated at the end of the scenario, more consistent with my current format. I also bumped the format to two column, which I've been using and seems to read better. 

New and Improved!

And apropos of nothing, found this while image searching:

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Finally, some validation! I always knew that princess was up to something sketchy.... We knew all along the dragon was unfairly incriminated!

"Why is it Always the Spiders?" - The Map

Well, a couple of months ago, the party nearly met their match with a belligerent phase spider. So I figured I'd take the time to clean up and present the session notes for general consumption. I plan to do this with more of my locations and encounters from the campaign, since they might have some utility for folks, or at least a peek behind the curtains...

Anyway...

Original session prep notes

I had scattered treasure and magic items throughout the original, but the party only made it to the irregular room in the center of the map (essentially the 2nd room encountered) before being set upon by undead and the phase spider. In this writing, I came up with a justification and mechanic for the random magical treasure. And yes, the list of magical items includes a few items “donated” by the party. 

Our party was generally sixth level OSE PCs, although they were hampered by bad initiative rolls, as well as bad saves against the undead, allowing the spider to take advantage of her magic.

So here it is, all prettied up and given a cutesy name.

Download Me Here!

I can see a critter like this becoming an ongoing foil for a party, or perhaps a resource to negotiate for magical goods with, based on her propensity to collect sparkly sorcerous baubles...

Encounter Area - Lost and Found in the Woods

Well, as I do sometimes when we go out to one of our local watering holes, I take my notebook, and perhaps a couple of blank maps to scribble ideas on. After all, sometimes the muse is right beneath the surface...

Anyway, printed this out and thought it might make a good spot for a small encounter, maybe a rescue, maybe a fight...

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Let's see. Maybe gnolls? They could be keeping watch, take cover in the ruins and tower, fight smart. They'll have captives in the north room. And they haven't found the secret room, but there will be a scary undead there.

Hey. Waitaminute....

https://leicestersramble.blogspot.com/2023/05/returning-to-campaign.html

Damnit...

'Course, I never wrote it down, and couldn't find the particulars in my original notes, so ginned up a reasonable facsimile. 

FINE.

That's what a few years of one-shots and campaign gets you, I guess. 

A Manor, Lost and Found...

The D66 Table Test Dungeon: The Bowl of Gunnfried for Shadowdark

So I have written a number of D66 tables as a creative exercise. A few were themed on dungeon contents, and the final of these included, “things to get, things stopping you, and dungeon decorations.” So, since a couple of friends had put these tables to use, I figured that I should roll the dice and put it to the test, myself. 

"Bowl, roper, incense burners/braziers."

OK then. Let's do this. 

Grab a Dyson map. This one will do...

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Hmm. Ok, why not put a boss monster in the first room? ...

So here it is - The Bowl of Gunnfried - crafted up for Shadowdarky delvings. Estimated in the 3rd+ level of challenge, as long as there are a few magic weapons in the mix. Knowing PCs, they'll just dogpile every challenge....

This is the first time I've written specifically for the Shadowdark format - critter stats, etc. so critique is welcome.

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The Village of Caershire

Another populating of a small Dyson settlement, with its cast of characters and local open secret as to the land's productivity and protections...

original

My words here:

It took a lot longer to craft this simple writing exercise than it should have. It's been that way for a while - distracted, not able to complete these little projects. The brain is as cluttered as my desk, I suppose. A lot going on that makes it difficult to compartmentalize and get into some sort of zone. Oh well. Several other half-finished scribblings await - sentence fragments and placeholders awaiting inspiration.

Owen's Mine: A Wayback Revision

I recently got a request to update a broken Drive link on a post from way back when - January 2015, to be precise: Owen's Mine - Four visions.

One of my earlier efforts at coming up with multiple scenarios for a single dungeon-space.

Original here

Anyway, with the passage of time, most of the embedded links were broken due to an SRD site going dark, and the scenarios had been presented as separate documents. 

So I found most of the originals on a hard drive and combined/cleaned up the format a bit. Don't worry, the content is generally unchanged from the originals, and still my usual bog-standard, barely literate dungeon-stocking. 

Download: Owen's Mine, 4½ Variations

The Stonewill Estate: Another Quick-and-Dirty Encounter

I feel like I've just been recounting and documenting my various campaign moments, and owe the world some creativity that's more than a grumpy goblin mage ranting...

So returning again to my campaign to provide a bit of content that someone may find useful for their sessions. Another Breaking and Entering, as happens in cities now and then. This one is the space developed for my "Repossessing the Possessed" session, where the party dealt with a horde of creepy dolls, but especially the one they were sent to retrieve.

I filled out the rooms with brief descriptions, and distributed the treasure that I had originally rolled up for the session. I added a few details to make the location more generic and flexible (hopefully) and fixed a couple of inconsistencies from play.

Additionally, I provided info for multiple avenues of access, whether street-level or subterranean.

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So find your way into Stonewill Estate here...

Hope you all are having an enjoyable Labor Day weekend. I was planning on running a Shadowdark one-shot, but had to cancel due to a sick dog. Family priorities.

Saint Sephaton's Wine Garden (a quick-and-dirty encounter)

As I mentioned in the prior entry, Slick and Orzu took care of a little bit of necromantic housekeeping on behalf of the local temple. but not until after enjoying a bit of wine and cheese. 

The encounter was built on the fly, using a spare map in hand, as well as a necromancer's spell list and a few lightly modified undead. It's pretty bone-simple, but perhaps a useful side hook for a few adventurers trolling about in a city. So I'm sharing a lightly edited encounter for anyone's table. Enjoy.

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Download Saint Sephaton's Wine Garden

(Edit: added sewer access option for PCs who don't mind getting their feet dirty)

Five Visits to the Temperance Stone

Another "four scenario" project that became five scenarios... Dyson threw out this five-room dungeon some time ago, and it lived in my map repository until I needed a fun project. 

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Again, it was meant to be a "four scenario" exercise, but I had a few spare area descriptions that made it an even five (not the first time this has happened). The rooms are described in a brief, tabular format without much elaboration. This is meant to be a location to be stumbled upon, or as a couple of the scenarios imply, perhaps a location where the party can visit to be granted healing or other gifts. And, of course, a couple are just nasty. Enjoy:) 

Download Me Here

A note on the art. The standing stone drawings in the document are by Scottish archeologist and naturalist Frederick Coles. As part of his position at the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, Coles received support to survey and measure standing stone locations throughout Scotland. Through his career in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, he created one of the first catalogues of standing stone circles in the country. 

The bio notes that Coles would take his children along on these trips after his wife's death and would utilize them as field assistants. I'd just like to highlight this photograph of Coles and four of his children on one of his survey trips:

Based on the posture and expression of the young lady in the forefront, it's comforting to know that teen boredom and disdain has endured throughout the ages. "Daaaaddd! We go measure your stupid rocks every summer! Can't we go somewhere fun for a change?"

Anyway, have an enjoyable Easter weekend, for those celebrating the holiday. Looks to be a pleasant weekend here - hope to move around outside in one manner or another.

Also will be running a Deathbringer one-shot through Meetup this week, so printing out copies of the rules and figuring out which hole to send the erstwhile adventurers down. The usual campaign game will fire up again after the holiday. I'm sure that it will be a peaceful, uneventful session... ;)

Welcome to the Temple of Dynss, plus some lamentations on creativity

My "Village of Longtooth" post got a little traffic in the last couple of weeks, mostly because Shane mentioned on his blog that he was cribbing it for his new campaign. Much appreciated...

Anyway, I got a comment lamenting that people didn't seem to post up '5-minute maps' and similar creative bits as much anymore, especially since the G+ diaspora. I thought on this, as well. At the time, my mind was much more attuned to creating, so I could see a map like Shane's, or a piece of art that someone posted, save it, and immediately draft up a few notes of description for that piece. Then I'd toss it out into the world, and maybe someone would find it and use it. Who knows. But it was more about creating and sharing for me than any other impetus. 

Now, I have a folder full of maps and ephemera covered in notes that never seem to get transcribed, or some inspiring piece gets lost in the feed and never found again. Gotta fix that.

Which brings us to the Temple of Dynss. Grab a small encounter space, set the timer for an hour, and fill it. Then make sure it gets written up.

Dyson themed it as a lost temple now occupied by a giant lizard, so I took the lizard theme, but gave it the lizardfolk treatment. Old lost temple? They must be returning to it to cause some mischief of their own agenda. Somewhere, I wrote down the random phrases 'smoking ruin' and 'spirit snake' as spells for our main character, a shaman. Wasn't sure, but they sounded like spells that he'd have. I roughed out a plot, pulled some images from Wikimedia, and created some hows and whys. 

Check out this dapper guy
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(Although I didn't incorporate the image into the adventure, he's the inspiration for the shaman's guards)

So, an hour plus a few days later, we have our finished work. 

Welcome to the Temple of Dynss

An old temple/mausoleum, complete with a few modified monsters and undead, two new spells, and one new magic item.

Now to figure out how to grab the creative moments more often...

That said, as best as I can tell from my disorganized blog tags, I've written over a hundred adventures. Everything from a single-location encounter to large dungeons requiring multiple sessions (nothing in the mega-dungeon category, yet...). Several include four to five scenarios for a single map, so that adds a few more. Most are probably pretty bog-standard by most criteria, although I do let the mind out to play a bit more now and then... Anyway, they are all free, or at the most PWYW. I'm sure something will be suitable to drop into your table, or perhaps seed an idea of its own.

The Necromuseum of Tutmus-Ra-Hotep-Pthah III

Among my piles of files of downloaded maps from various cartographers, I had a map by Dyson, drawn as a bit of an homage to the passages and rooms of Quasqueton.

It has been another project completed in small fits and starts. What came of it is a desert tomb occupied by a vain and somewhat bored mummy, Tutmus-Ra-Hotep-Pthah III (or just Tutmus to his friends...).

This became a tomb adventure complete with various tropes of tomb-raiding and mummy-cursing. Although I did have a bit of fun with it, and ended up providing some options for different approaches to play. The adventure can be played straight tomb-raiding, or players can encounter a bored mummy invisibly stalking them, offering a tour of his abode, charming a couple away to dust the fixtures, or even acting as a sage source of knowledge. And please don't miss the gift shop... 

Download Me Here

Spent a three day weekend at Norwescon science fiction and fantasy writing convention. I had volunteered to run some games, but had no takers, so hung out with writers attending panels and readings. It has been a long time since I've gone to a writing conference or similar event, so was a fresh experience. Not a bad long weekend. 

Ok, better prep a bit for this weekend's brewery game. 

What Happened to Brother Eustice, the Scenario

Per my prior recap, the party managed to rescue the wayward acolyte, as well as slay the lurking beast with some stupid good rolls and cheaty use of an envenomed blade. Don't worry, Frederick, there will be more bitey, venomous things in your future, too....

Ahem. 

So here is a quick writeup of the scenario itself, useful for a quick drop-in as needed for low-level characters. Based on the session's play, I've revised it a bit to increase the challenge and better round out the cavern space. Also, I noted that the entrance cavern that I had interpreted to be a pool is actually depicted as a ledge area, so the critters have been swapped appropriately. 

Original map here

All of the monsters, excepting the chitin drake, are familiar central casting foes. The chitin drake's stats and abilities are included at the end. 

Enjoy!

What Happened to Brother Eustice?

Well, better figure out what I'm going to put them through this week...

10/16/22 pick-up game - Investigating Thoring Keep

I scheduled a last-minute game on Sunday night, as I was in the need to get out of the house and be sociable. I'd talked to an acquaintance who nerds out with me occasionally at the brewery, and he didn't have other game conflicts. Mike's a player since 2e and currently in a couple of 5e campaigns. I also posted up on Meetup and messaged a couple of my other attendees to let them know that a game was afoot. Ross, who's played before (relative novice) signed up, as did a new player at the table (Carmela).

We gathered, and the three picked through the pre-gens. Mike picked an elf, Ross a dwarf, and Carmela a halfling. Here we go – PCs, with Random Headgear:

• Elf: Rondel Kiebler – Ornate skull helm
• Dwarf: Pepto VonBismol – Yellow ziggurat hat (think Devo)
• Halfling: Jaynie – Seafoam green turban (I forgot to write down last name. It was amusing, as well)

Artist's depiction of Pepto's dwarven clan

Scenario spoilers, of course:

I dropped them at the gate of Thoring Keep, with the keep's background and rumors of activity and disturbing sightings. The party decided to hide in the treeline and wait until dusk to investigate. A random critter roll spotted a “Broken Thing” (very weak summoned demon) scrambling around the walls. Jaynie crept up on it and one-shotted it with her crossbow. The party looked it over, determined it to be unnatural and Pepto set it on fire as an abomination. Finding stashed gear and a pair of fire rings, they determined that a number of individuals had been camping in the ruins and possibly disturbing the place. The party did a quick reconnoiter of the keep's yard, observing the evidence of subsurface collapse, and finding the remains of a long-dead bandit.

OPD 2022, Just a little randomness...

The 2022 One Page Dungeon Contest closes today, with almost 70 entries at the time of this writing. I've thrown in an entry every year since 2013, so didn't want to break my streak.

Creatively, I still feel I'm in a lull, with little to stand out in the last year(s). The Muse, she does not speak so clearly these days.

The contest always gets a wide swath of content, although I do feel that it leans more towards a competition of design, rather than content. Probably me just bein' grumpy since my design skills are 'gorilla with a crayon' level. 

My objective is to create something hopefully fun and playable as an entry, so I scrolled through my map files and found a five-room cavern that have been languishing, tucked into my notebook pages. The 5-room dungeon is an easy trope, with many variations of the entrance/guardian/trap/fight/reward model available. So I tabled out four tersely-described scenarios, using more of the classic "dungeon stocking" approach - empty, trap, special, monster, big-bad/reward model. The first four components were mixed about, with the final fight and reward in "Room 5." And since random tables are always good, why not offer the option of selecting a room from any of the four in that particular table row? Makes for 20 little adventures, or more, if other elements are considered. And while the "straight down the column" scenes might have some internal consistency, throwing dice at each room definitely lends itself to a certain level of chaos...

and you get to use this deceitful little caltrop

Welcome to a little cavern down on the coast, with its host of potential challenges and foes. 

Download me here

Anyway, I have a full table for the brewery game tonight, so I need to read up a bit and get my psyche on. At least one new-to-RPGs in the group, so hope to make it a fun intro.

Five Variations to Yet Another Ruined Tower (#3 in an ongoing(?) series)

Like many of us, I can't resist the mystery of an abandoned tower out in the hinterlands. The “deed to a ruined tower” inspiration came from an occasional result in the Donjon RPG tools “Random Pickpocket Loot” generator. I've used the concept of the “deed” as a potential seed or impetus a couple of times before: here, and here. 

And really, any “free” thing should be a bit of a white elephant, especially when we are talking about a piece of real estate.

I've written multiple adventures from a single map as a creative exercise before. In previous cases, it was four scenarios. In this case, y'all get an bonus scenario. No extra charge. So enjoy, and I hope one of these little adventures finds its way to your table.

Download your Real Estate Here

The Blind Lamia's Cave-

So, I've had notes for the concept and stocking of Dyson's Blind Lamia's Cave in my WIP file for a bit...

One of the few DeviantArt lamia illustrations
sticking to the original myth Source

 I was slowly adding a room descriptor or note, when, dammit, Dan and Paul used the same map for their latest "Dungeon Design Dash" one-hour dungeon stocking exercise... 

They chose to use a random dungeon name generated from one of the myriad tables from the Tome of Adventure Design as inspiration for their environment and foes. (By the way, for folks interested in a fresh copy of that most excellent resource, author Matt Finch is gearing up for a Kickstarter of a revised and expanded version.)

So I'd better post up my interpretation of the map, in turn...

I chose to take my cue from the original map title. Who is this lamia, why is she blind, and why are there so many statues in this cave?

I'd originally pulled this map from Dyson's commercial map files as a contender for use in a contest or similar project, but had let it go fallow after selecting another map for the purpose. I liked the naturalistic, eroded characteristic of the map, and it felt like it created a space to tell a bit of a story. And like many adventures, the titular character is no longer present in a living form, but her memory has been honored by followers, leaving potential boons and banes behind for the curious. Liberal use of illusionist spells or effects are present to create both atmosphere and hazards.

Get yer cave here!

Rats!

 Hidely-ho, neighbors!

It's been another quiet month on the blog-front. Had a couple things in the works, then JB over at B/X Blackrazor had to go and post up an offering of a contest.

The theme, "Out of the Sewer," as in rats... Everyone's favorite ubiquitous dungeon denizen... 

So off to scrounge a map that will fit a rodent-inspired adventure and see what my boring brain can come up with.

Idea #1: Of course, rats have many connotations besides just our favorite plague-wielding rodents. Definition#2 in old Miriam-Webster is a deserter, or informer.

"Viktor Pacovi has deserted Wringcaster Keep and fled with the Castellan's sword..."

Wherein our heroes are called to judiciously, or extra-judiciously, take out a deserter before he has a chance to spill the beans on the Keep's defenses to the highest bidder. Of course I've got him holed up in a very well-defended compound. One where walking in the front door is a good opportunity for Many Bad Things to happen to a careless party. But don't worry, there's another rat, er, informer who is happy to share intel with you. How good it is, is up for debate...

Dastardly!

Don't worry, there are a couple of back ways in, and depending on how generous, or honest, the informer was feeling, the PCs may actually learn of which one is the better option. In the end, it's a tactical dungeon crawl.

But with muskrats!

Download 'Clearing the Warren' here

Then, 25 days into the month and after futzing around with margins and single words for entirely too long, I woke up to more ideas. Of course. Because rats propagate. 

Another Itch Jam entry - The Tomb of Spear and Smoke.

Been quiet but not unproductive (I hope). Besides reworking The Long Hall (see yesterday's post), I took a whack at itch.io's recent Dyson Logos Jam.  After all, a theme and a deadline is always good for the creativity. Perhaps. 

Per the jam requirements, I scrounged through the maps made available for commercial use. I downloaded several, and of course there are now multiple notated maps scattered about. But this one came through in the end:

It's an interesting complex - certainly not linear, and with multiple zones to work with. At first glance, it doesn't have a clear 'goal' location. The adventurers enter into the center of the maze, with four doors to choose from - which way to go?

Some process notes:

The entry room with three columns and an apparent broken fourth column implied an incomplete story. 

The five-chambered room looked to hold five small sarcophagi - were they small individuals, or other remains? Who were they?

And why is there a separate larger sarcophagus in the upper center? Obviously an honored dead - what was their relationship to the other remains, and why were the two sets separate??

And what's with that capstan-looking thing in the hall adjacent?

Subterranean water is always a good feature to hide threats... Besides, I'd just watched this video.

The number of small alters, statues, shrines, implied a temple or center built in stages, or maybe repurposed to fit a need.

There will be traps - some telegraphed, some not.

In the end - we have the tomb of a hero, interred to watch over those he defeated. And because the hero is here - so is his favored weapon, a magic spear... But of course it's not in his tomb. That would be silly.

And those he defeated? Like many evils, they do not rest easily...

So welcome to the Tomb of Spear and Smoke.

Where's the smoke? Well, the adventurers will just have to discover that themselves...