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...

The Long Hall, redux

So a bit ago I entered the Prince of Nothing's No Artpunk Contest with a cobbled-together adventure using Jackson's "The Long Hall" map.

And, well, it sucked. No two ways about it. That said, I got some valuable constructive criticism in the judging. 

So nothing to do but take it home and rework.

(insert stock footage of typing away in the garret) 

Added some more story to the place, a few more NPCs, tweaked the baddies. Shifted a few things around to help the flow of the adventure. And dumped in more treasure (although the Bag of Holding hit the cutting room floor). So perhaps it sucks less now...

And now it's live, again, on itch.io. So have a look, see if it's improved, and enjoy your visit to the shrine... Where is that weird droning noise coming from? 

Some bad related news: Matt Jackson took a serious fall last week, ending him up in a trauma unit with numerous d6 in falling damage. Been receiving updates from his family, and now, thankfully, Matt himself. He has a healthy shopping list of injuries, but nothing that won't mend. That said, he's at the beginning of a long road of recovery and rehab, but I suspect it's hard to keep an old soldier down. So if you know him, feel free to drop a line of support, prayers to an appropriate deity, and/or good thoughts. 

Oh, and I received an Honorable Mention in the One Page Dungeon Contest, (again, with a "Matt Map") so there's that. 

A Pilgrimage to Aldo's Call

Not much to report - writing is off, been reworking a prior project to re-introduction into the outside world. Been getting outside and moving around...

So, this is Aldo's Call, named for a martyred priest whose death is memorialized beneath the dome of the local temple/shrine. Folks come from all around to visit the site, and the surrounding village is purposed to serve the temple and its many pilgrims. 

Visit the town! (download)

Crafted from another fine Jackson illustrated product. 

The Deck of Several Things, a revisitation of the Deck of Many Things

www.deviantart.com/karla_chan

I'm not sure how the DoMT came to my mind. I've never encountered or used it in play, but I suppose that the idea of a pack of random boons/banes floated into my head, and I needed to expand on that.

But when my favorite thrash-bluegrass outfit has a song about The Deck, I'm compelled to write something...

Serendipitously, Prismatic Wasteland posted this review of the original Deck cards, rating each card for its effect and game-breaking abilities.  So it was, again, A Sign.

Anyway, below are three Decks of Not-Quite-Many Things... 

The Deck of Several Things: A less-wondrous collection of cards, de-powered to break the world less. Several of the effects are more reversible, as compared to the very limited reversible effects of the original DoMT. I've kept the 50/50 proportions of beneficial and detrimental cards, and renamed some of the cards to better fit the effects of the drawn card. Starred cards are included in the 22-card deck:

1. Ace of diamonds — Vizier*: Gain the ability to cast Augury 1d4 times
2. King of diamonds — Sun: Random non-weapon magic item usable by your class (Selected by GM).
3. Queen of diamonds — Moon: Gain the ability to cast True Seeing 1d3 times
4. Jack of diamonds — Star: +1 to prime requisite attribute.
5. Two of diamonds — Favored Enemy: If you single-handedly slay the next enemy, gain it as a favored enemy (+1 to-hit/damage).
6. Ace of hearts — The Fates*: Reverse the effects of a negative/tragic event. Applies to either the past or may be held for a future event.
7. King of hearts — Throne: +1 charisma, and a deed to a ruined tower...
8. Queen of hearts — Key: One random magic weapon usable by your class (Selected by GM).
9. Jack of hearts — Mook: 1st-level man-at-arms appears (6hp, chainmail, spear, short sword). Loyal unto death. Gains experience as a retainer.
10. Two of hearts — Gem*: A 1000gp gem appears.
11. Ace of clubs — Talons*: One magic item held by the character loses its ability (weapon becomes mundane, potion inert, etc.).
12. King of clubs — Mindless: As Feeblemind, may be dispelled with Remove Curse.
13. Queen of clubs — The Imp: Attacked by a most disagreeable imp. Anyone supporting you summons their own imp to defeat.
14. Jack of clubs — Haunt: Haunted by a ghost of a slain enemy for one month. Prevents natural hp recovery and spellcasters must save vs spells (or equivalent) to gain daily spells due to fatigue and distraction. May be dispelled with Exorcise or similar.
15. Two of clubs — Hampered: -1 to prime requisite attribute.
16. Ace of spades — Kidnapped: Dragged to the fey realm for 24 hours. Returned bereft of gear and no memory of what happened. Permanent haunted look and random paranoia.
17. King of spades — Gone Broke: All carried wealth (coin, gem, jewelry) disappears.
18. Queen of spades — Bane: -1 to all rolls for one month, or until Remove Curse.
19. Jack of spades — Rumors: The PC has gained the ire of the local law enforcement, realm leadership, or inquisition.
20. Two of spades — Re-balance: Rearranged attributes, new PC class.
21. Joker (with TM) — Fool*: Lose one level, draw again.
22. Joker (without TM) — Jester: Sufficient XP to level up, or two draws.

www.deviantart.com/McHughstudios

Moar Minotaur. And the Shaman class!

Well, figured I should give my minotaur the Advanced Version of ye olde game treatment, and give them a little class, or classes, as well. So here's our bovine friend kitted out for 1e/OSRIC/OSE Advanced Fantasy/etc. 

Download Me

Gave them the fighter and thief, of course, because apparently anyone can do that. And barbarian, because uncivilized. But felt like I needed a bit of a spellcaster too. Not being satisfied to just toss them the cleric/druid class, I wanted to perhaps give them something a bit hybrid. So the shaman class came to be. Now I know that there are likely plenty of shaman/witch/druid/nature-priest classes out there, but why not one more? 

Besides, I had this guy for inspiration:

www.deviantart.com/eoghankerrigan