THE TROPICS OF CANCER: A Gygax 75 Minute Challenge Part 2

 

Recently, I wanted to create a low-prep, dungeon-focused, easy-to-grok campaign to run online with my friends and family who've been asking to play some D&D. The first post is here explains how I ran the Gygax 75 Challenge, 75 minutes each day instead of using a whole week each time. Below is the completed effort with each "minutes" section.

150 Minutes: The Surrounding Area

The goal here was to create an overworld map and then an associated random encounter table for overworld.

Galleon City (D13): The giant ship that first brought the Citrinic Queen to the shores of the island was quickly broken down to make up the various quarters of the city. Metal armaments can be bought there at high prices. While in the streets the priesthood of the All-Family speak against the children of AZLN. Justice is handled by the Queen's honor guard and provides fuel for the game in the Arena (E12).

The First Ruins (E12): This site is often mined for the pearlecent rock that comprises most of Galleon's structures. Through this clearing, several entrances to various Atlanean domeciles were discovered and the secrets within brought to light. This is often the first place people go to strike it rich in the world- which was easy at one time. Its gotten more dangerous since.

The Coral Woods (B11, C10-12): More a reef than a forest and contains many of the same hazards, but the substance the trees are made of can be quite durable. There is also a type of giant crab that live in these woods whose shell can be fashioned into a type of plate armor. Difficult to acquire and hard to shape but formidable. And if the crabs don't kill you, the walking waves will drown you.

Pearl Keep (G10): A protective settlement of established pearl diving families that affords them great wealth, pearls being a major currency, and semi-autonomy from Galleon. They are constantly stalked by a particularly loathsome benthic beast and haunted by rumors of consorting with The Deep. The law is provided by minor gladiator house whose mercenary contract seems to have stretched indefinitely.

225 Minutes: The (Starting) Dungeon

The goal here was to outline three levels of a dungeon, identify monsters, traps, treasures, and wonderous items.

Level 1- Surface Ruins: Atlantean architecture, overtaken by Circe’s influence or repurposed ruled over by bandits, press-gangs, sun-mad zealots, and various amphibious creatures, as well as those that ride the wind. If the ruins are formerly Circe’s then they often have a singular powerful guardian. If the ruins are repurposed, they are usually attempting to be claimed by a faction. Special Feature: Circe’s scrying mirror

• Monsters: Slumber Harpies, Gorget Humminbirds, Pearl Sand Statues, Walking Lionfish, Sun-mad Zealots, Press-gang Pirates, Escaped Pirates, Scholar from Zien
• Traps: Pit, empty, Pit, urchin-lined (+1d6 dmg), Pit, churning sea (drowning), Fish Net with bells (alert), Fish Net with rocks, Hell's fire anemone, Spear, improvised, Magic rune, polymorph
• Treasure (common): Buried treasure chest, Scraps of Circe’s notes, Potions, Marble bust, Sack of pearls, Mosaic gemstone tiles, Equipment 1-4 weapons 5-6

Level 2- Atlanean Ruins: These structures were true Atlantean buildings. Environment is damp, dark, and deep, allowing more sea-based creatures to inhabit the location. Rooms are devoted to seemingly labs, research, experimentation, summoning, and astrology and currents; strong emphasis on sea and moon here. Cultists of the Black Pearl are attempting to figure out the secrets of the Atlantean people to strengthen their position on the island; Special Feature: Cuneiform Wall of Wave-calling, Distillation Sponges

• Monsters: Cerulean crab, Cloud jellyfish, Howling sea lice, Green Slime, Living Statue, Cystal, Black Pearl Cultist, Lapis mummy, Iychthos Wailer
• Traps: Pit, churning sea (drowning), Living Wave, trapped, Gas Spore Jellies, Magic rune, gaseous form, Magic rune, sleep, Pike Worm
• Treasures: Scrolls, Potions, Amphorea 1-4 wine, 5-6 coin, Clames containing pearls, Ornate silverware & instruments, Coral jewelry

Level 3- Benthic Zone: A dark landscape that renders its Atlanean base unrecognizable. Statues, columns, and stonework afflicted with barnacles. The floor is covered in undulating sand. Roaring tides can be heard. Each room can be something like a tide pool. The damp environment extinguishes torches more quickly and attracts other creatures more quickly. Creatures are an amalgam of mollusk, arthropod, insect, and fish, including the icythian faction that resides here. Special Feature: Restoration Sarcophagous of Nimo, The Bloody Oracle of Arguments, Bubble Helm Forge

• Monsters: Cerulean crab, Iychthos Hunting Party (as bugbear), Iychthos Monstrocity (Fighter 3), Iychthos Wave Caller (MU 2), Lost Atlantean souls (as Shadows), Lost Atlantean noble (as Wight), Atlantean drowned (as Lemure), Iycthian Embro (as Imp)
• Traps: Pit, vent (+1d6 heat dmg), Pit, whirlpool, Fisher-of-Men, Pit, anemone-lined, Entrapping bubble, Ray, freezing, Ray, salt rime, Hex, polymorph appendage
• Treasures: Weapons +1, Pearlized objects, Spell book, Scrolls, Potions, Gold objects, Lost gold, Wreaked ship hulls

Wonderous items:

• Swallowtail (+1 battleaxe): 3/day can transform into a reptillian bird, lifting the welder to any place in a 50’ radius.
• The Locks of Lydia (Rope of Climbing): A famous thief who never failed to scale the highest towers was finally chased out by their 7 spurred lovers, all named Lydia, whose hair was stolen by said thief to make this rope; it must be brushed in downtime to function properly
• Pandarous’ Psalms for a Peaceful Place: Hold Portal, Protection from Chaos, Sleep; as long as the scroll is intact (non-transcribed), the bearer gains protection against Fear, Curse, takes one slot

300 Minutes: The Town Galleon

The goal in this section was a city map, notable locations, inns, and religious centers and then 5 NPCs. The town is a formerly large wrecked ship inspired by the Syracusia “which was designed by Archimedes and built around 240 BC by Archias of Corinth on the orders of Hieron II of Syracuse. The historian Moschion of Phaselis said that Syracusia could carry a cargo of some 1600 to 1800 tons and capacity of 1,942 passengers. She reputedly bore more than 200 soldiers, as well as a catapult.” If we use the dimensions of the Nemia ship from Caligula, those were about 1.3 times larger, netting us, 2524 people and 260 soldiers.

LOCATIONS IN THE CITY OF GALLEON

Political Factions: The monastery of AZLN is at odds with the Abbetess of CERICE in the Silent City. The current, Cetrinic Queen, a follower of ALL-FAMILY is trying to keep the peace between the two.

The Arena a place to lose money: A colosseum to the north of the city of GALLEON. It hosts several gladitorial games for which the city is currently famous for and it also a location to dispute differences.

• Almost everyone knows how to play Ship, Captain, Crew
• There are four major stables and four minor stables that makes the gladiatoral training grounds

The Titan Heads are a place to speak your mind: In the palace square are two large stone heads laying on their sides. It is an invitation by royalty for citizens to speak their mind on a variety of issues so it is to be heard by the Queen herself

• Rumor is that both heads are statues of the sorcerer Circe and if you whisper your desires on a moonless night, the witch-queen will hear your wishes…and grant them

Secret Societies: There are four known “secret” societies operating in the city: The Pearl Divers guild, the Society of Foreign Scholars (collection of Atlantean enthusiasts), the Sun-Lion Brotherhood, & The Philosopher’s Club (a press gang guild)

Best/Worst Place to Drink: The Golden Fleece is the best place for food and drink, while the Silver Eel is the worst but best place for true rumors about the city; The Amphorea is where most of the religious and scholor types drink recovered wine

Religious centers: The temple to Ishtar was a part of the original vessel that shipwrecked here and is concerned with required tithe and omage as it was Ishtar that brought prosperity to the town. A smaller temple to Azln has been constructed from island ruins, but notably, two intact winged lions are the center of its alter, since it was a priest of AZLN who slew the Scallya that threatened the ship.

The Titan Oceana: A large statue, not built by Galleon peoples, collects rain water in a large basin in its hand, feeding into aquiducts repurposed to extend to the city. These dot the island in other places with similar aqueducts but learned people are divided on their purpose. “Oceana,” as it's known, feeds several monster-headed fountains in the city

FIVE LOCAL NPCS (Distinguishing Trait, Need Most, Agenda)

• Alkiphron (Owner of the Golden Fleece) 
• Theomestor (Head priest of temple of AZLN)
• Philoxenos (Local orator & storyteller)
• Antheia (Representative of the Silent City)
• Pythias (Pretend Scholar but Black Pearl member)
• Lyra (Owner of a minor gladiator school inherited from her dead husband)

HIRELING TABLE (roll 1d6)

1. Gardener, Borus, has killed the Queen’s favorite tide pool; 0-level human; singing voice, silver coin
2. Crane worker, Phanes, wants quick money to pay off a gambling debt; 0-level; muscular; silver
3. Pirate, Crisa, killed a first mate, laying low for a while; 1-level thief; scout/lock pick; missing ear; paid in pearls
4. Youth, Alcandre, long white braid, skilless but eye hold promis; 0-level, each delve end 1:6 class gain
5. “Sorceror”, Doto, claims to know several mysteries; slight of hand, knows 1 spell; demands pearl
6. Gladiator, Electra,Fighter level 1, paid in pearls; seek domination

375 Minutes: The World

The goal with this final section was to provide more world areas, a pantheon, a calendar, more NPCs, more wonderous items, and maybe a band of adventuring NPCs as rivals. All too much to do in an hour, but I expanded the world and provided sketches for a few things.

THE WORLD

Additional places to add to those above:

Silent City (D06): The Muse, a crystal statue of Circe, rules this city and claims to be the real woman. Here, the Sisters teach arcane arts to those who want to rule. Its Bizarre hosts many strange stalls selling magic components, scrolls, and talismans. It is also said that a person can learn their fate in the Silent City. But a man who visits must be careful as they are forbidden to speak outside the walls of tea houses, which is harder to do when the cutpurses, The School of Clownfish, are all children who poke strangers with sharp coral prods in the public square.

Far Keep (B03): Or "The Golden City" was a once miles-long Atlanean capital that collapsed into the sea. The Society of Foreign Scholars has attempted to penetrate its areas with little success due to the wildlife around the Keep and reports of a winged, lion-bodied being with the face of a human that refers to itself as "the last angel of God". Its lion shape and monotheistic leanings has threatened the followers of AZLN with schism.

The Children of Circe (F17): The stronghold of humanoid swine who claim to be men turned to monsters by the former sorceress. They view themselves as the true heirs of the island and resent all others. Galleon gladiators try to capture them for the arena and often let them keep their leather armor of human skin studded with lionfish quills.

The Golden Grove (E04): Rumors say the barrier between this world and the afterlife has merged here, giving way to a vast grove of white trees with gold leaves. At the center is said to be a fruit tree that grants immortality, guarded by a large serpent. The few that make the trip here often want to speak with lost loves and missed family. It is said most then join them.

Note: I most likely should create a submap of the hex that Galleon is currently in as each hex represents, I think, about 2 miles, which allows enough land for food production and keeps the island on the smaller side. I might increase each hex to 3 miles.

THE PANTHEON

While  Clash of the Titans is an inspiration, I've always wanted to try and use the Titans as the god of the world. I dunno if that will really change things up, but maybe it will make the gods a bit more primal and distant versus the Greeks gods who were close and personal. We'll see.

• Cronus – The ruler of the Titans and god of time and fate.
• Rhea – The Titaness of motherhood and fertility, she protected her children from Cronus
• Oceanus – The god of the great, encircling river that was believed to surround the world
• Hyperion – The Titan of light and celestial cycles, associated with the movement of the sun
• Mnemosyne – The Titaness of memory and the mother of the Muses
• Prometheus – A cunning Titan who defied the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity
• Atlas – Endurance and strength, punished to bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders
• Themis – The Titaness of divine law, justice, and order.
• Iapetus – A Titan associated with mortality and human suffering. He is the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Atlas, and Menoetius, who all played roles in shaping mankind’s fate
• Tethys – The Titaness of fresh water and the nourishing rivers of the world
• Theia – The Titaness of sight and divine radiance, associated with precious metals and gems
• Phoebe – A Titaness of intellect and prophecy, closely linked to Delphi and oracular wisdom
• Crius – The Titan of constellations and celestial navigation; stars as guideing fate

HIGH-LEVEL PCs & VILLIANS

For these NPCs, I used the Cairn 2e NPC generator and a fantasy Greek name generator.

• The Citrine Queen: 9-level fighter, queen of Galleon, concerned with defense & purification, judicious but greedy

• Mother Kassandra: 9-level magic-user, matron of Silent City, concerned with expansion & preservation, discreet but cynical

• Hippias: 6-level cleric, head of the pearl divers guild, concerned with defense & wealth, intelligent, but selfish

• Zenodoros: 6 HD Lacedon (ghoul), concerned with justice & wealth (former Galleon king), intelligent but mercruial (in the golden palace)

OTHER PLANES

I'm not really anticipating too many extra-planer locations, but perhaps its always good to have a few so I came up with these in the last ~10min of this effort:

• Throne room of Oceanus

• The Moon (Theiamos)

• Dagon (as a place)

Closing

So that’s it! I liked doing everything in 75-minute bursts of activity instead of stretching it out over weeks. Continuing on a theme of “just-good-enough-to-run”, I think its easy to overexhaust oneself on new campaigns before PCs are even rolled, and it shouldn’t be like that. Especially when I am aiming for an OD&D-fueled, “lo-fi” adventure game. I’m confident in my abilities to just pull a dungeon together that will be fun enough for a 2-3 hour friends & family game. No need to overthink it and instead pour energy into the running, not the design, of it.

RANDOM ENCOUNTER TABLES AS ADVENTURE RAM: Adding “Memory” To Encounter Checks

artist: Stefan Poag

What if we design the random encounter table to function as computer RAM- to store short-term information/change without having to dig into the module or track on another sheet? This is a space for innovation given that the random encounter table is one of the three most DM-referenced tables in an adventure outside of the dungeon map and the room keys. 

Now let me back up a minute to explain how this arose. A dungeon I am working is a wizard’s home in a barrow that was subjected to a magical explosion. Some areas of the dungeon are cracked and falling, especially the entrance, which is cracked, slumped and in danger of collapse. Traditional ways of handling this might be:

1. The entrance is a trap. Rocks fall, hireling (or PC) dies- too cheap, too sudden

2. The entrance can collapse right when PCs enter the first room of the dungeon- eh, too haunted house

3. The entrance collapses after the first exit from the dungeon- too delayed requires remembering

Then I thought, “What if the entrance collapse is an event on the random encounter table?” That seems to have potential because it permanently changes the dungeon, but I don’t know it will occur. But this could also still invoke #2. Okay, so let’s put a countdown clock on the random encounter table. I can just check off circles until the entrance collapses until then its a free breather for the PCs. Again, the dungeon changes which is interesting, but I’m not having to track it or review it in the next session prep outside of what I’m already looking at at during play. Here’s a basic example:

BASIC (RAM)DOM ENCOUNTER TABLE: Crypt of the Orc Hole Level 1

1. 1d6+2 Skeleton Orcs

2. 1d6 Zombie Grave Makers

3. 1d6 Hobgoblin Desecrators

4. 2d8 Stirge Throat Lovers

5. 2d4 Robber Fly Defilers

6. Unstable Entrance in Rm #1 (_)(_)(collapse!)

But then I started to wonder if there was a place for factional activity, patrols, and/or other permanent states that operate in a local area (the dungeon). Or permanent events that impact during the shorter time frame the dungeon is played that are natural extensions of play and player choice? 

Let me explore this idea first before considering this “RAM” idea in light of the overloaded encounter die (i.e. “dungeon weather”) and faction turns which are two other popular ways of tracking change for dungeon campaigns. I will revamp the table above by adding another change in the dungeon (black) and adding a factional event in two places (gold):

EXPERT (RAM)DOM ENCOUNTER TABLE: Crypt of the Orc Hole Level 1

1. 1d6+2 Skeleton Orcs

2. 1d6 Zombie Grave Makers

3. 4 Hobgoblin Desecrators continue to loot crypts, increase #, & gain treasure:
   (_)+1, +150gp (_)+2, +300gp (_) +3, +600gp (_) leave Crypt

4. 2d8 Stirge Throat Lovers

5. 2d4 Robber Fly Defilers

6. Unstable Entrance in Rm #1 (_)(_)(collapse!)

7. Leaning Statue of Ishtar Rm #15 (_)(_)(falls! Bridge to Room #23)

8. 2d4 Kobold Sappers, mercenaries (_)(_)(_) creates additional hallways trap

Alright, so we have a more dynamic encounter table, but entries are a little ambiguous. Is the intent that a check-mark occurs AND an encounter in the case of factions (#3 & #8)? And does nothing happen on a roll of a dungeon event (#6 & #7)? Let’s move these events into the “Random Encounter Check” procedure in lieu of the precise “Random Encounter Table”. I don’t think you are really creating any more work for yourself and it is simple enough to have a column or sheet listing both. Rarely are random encounter tables so extensive they might preclude a modified check procedure. Here is our example reformatted a third time:

COMPANION (RAM)DOM ENCOUNTER TABLE: Crypt of the Orc Hole Level 1

Encounter Check

1. Encounter!

2. Spoor…

3. Hobgoblin Desecrators loot crypts: (_)+1, +150gp (_)+2, +300gp (_) +3, +600gp (_) leave Crypt

4. Kobold Sappers place additional hallway trap: (_)(_)(_)(_)Eat 3rd Breakfast in Room #7

5. Unstable Entrance in Rm #1 (_)(_)(collapse!)

6. Leaning Statue of Ishtar Rm #15 (_)(_)(falls! Bridge to Room #23)

Random Encounter Table

1. 1d6+2 Skeleton Orcs

2. 1d6 Zombie Grave Makers

3. 1d6 Hobgoblin Desecrators

4. 2d8 Stirge Throat Lovers

5. 2d4 Robber Fly Defilers

6. 1d6 Kobold Sappers

So how does this fit in the scene alongside of the overloaded encounter die, underclock, and overclock? In terms of the overloaded encounter die, the “COMPANION” table above quite similar, but the entries are endowed with “memory”. For instance, I could easily put “weather” events in there too: “SLIME BLOOMS: Green slime appears in the hallway outside the current room (_)(_)(_)”. For the overclock, there is a 6 x 6 grid that James uses to denote when a random encounter occurs, so one could easily place a mark for each faction or event in unused squares. Finally, in terms of the underclock, a “3” in this method causes a spoor or clue, similarly another number could be keyed to events so that when rolled or passed, a check is made on some event and the underclock ticks down.

What if I’m already using faction turns? Isn’t this the same thing? Faction turns are mostly an in-between session activity that is used to track campaign factions' operations on a world level. I view the mechanism here as more “faction actions”. Its a way to have different factions, here I mean relative to the dungeon and irrespective of the world, do things as the players are moving about. Returning to the central premise, it requires a memory of what the players are doing to employ effectively or generate real-time feed back. A more explicit example that could be added to the “COMPANION” table above could be: “* Special: Replace +2 with +4 to Skeleton Orcs if PC break 3 crypts open (_)(_)(_)”

In summary, I am not advocating here that designing the encounter tables with memory is superior to other methods of encounter table design, but more as an interesting alternative strategy. By endowing a table with memory I believe it can help increase the dynamism in a dungeon as well as provide feedback to players resulting from their actions inside the dungeon. This inturn helps create opportunity for more meaningful choices- the fuel for old-school play. As a reviewer pointed out, the method here provides an opportunity for story while other methods focus more on the “right now, in front of you”.

THE TROPICS OF CANCER: A Gygax 75 Minute Challenge

Preamble

Recently, I wanted to create a low-prep, dungeon-focused, easy-to-grok campaign to run online with my friends and family who've been asking to play some D&D. This is because my local Nightwick Abbey campaign, Where Hell Comes to Prey, is on hold due to one of the players having a new baby. But also because I've got an itch to play some OD&D versus my normal BX tendencies.

I was bouncing an idea off Gus L. of a strange island with weird dungeon entrances that has an active port ruled by an island lord sending out adventurers (I think in part because I rewatching Duneon Meshi).  I comment that perhaps it would be best for me to build this out by doing a 2025 Gygax 75 Challenge which I did back in 2022 yielding V'COSA. But Gus suggested a good twist: Instead of doing a section in a week, do a section in 1 hour, then revise later.

Why spend weeks doing something when you can do it in minutes? I find this especially attractive because often I've had RPG ideas grind to a halt because too much energy is poured in worrying about details the players might not (ever) see. 

The Gygax 75 (Minute) Challenge: The First 75 Minutes

Obtain a Notebook & Pick a System

I decided to use Google Docs because that would be easiest to share with people. In terms of system, I started to go with Delving Deeper or use some straight OD&D. But I settled for White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game. The simple reason being that if the campaign really got going it would be simple to send to everyone.

Bullet-point Pitch

• Selenia is an island that appeared ages ago on all the maps across the Atlantean Archipelago, regardless of age. This new land caused a rush of settlement from the low ranks of Atlantean nobility and higher ranks of the Atlantean guild class. For 100 years, the island was powerful, but calamity struck and the island was wiped clean by typhoons and earthquakes.

• Galleon is a city built by the descendants of gladiators, oarsmen, artisans, pirates, foreign dignitaries, and slaves who arrived on deserted Selenia not by choice but via a wrecked pleasure ship commissioned for Hecuba, the last citrinic queen. From its battered hull, ruined by a scylla which was defeated, the city of Galleon has arisen. The city has established itself as a distant, but resourceful and lucrative port in the Saphhire Sea through trading, privateering, and fishing

The palace ship of Hecuba

• Galleon is not alone, for another city was founded in the island’s interior from those who sought to escape their lot in life by the freedom the wreck brought- This is the Silent City. They are guided by the Amber Muse, a self-described voice of the island’s former queen Circe who studied the Atlantean ruins that dot the island. While smaller than Galleon, the city is made strong by the sorcery taught to the founders by the Muse. And like Galleon, the Silent City also has its share of distant travelers: lotus-nectared dreamers, traders from Leng, and a colony of cats from Ulthur.

• However, the sea has not remained neutral, and despite Galleon’s fleet and the Silent City’s sorcery, something is slipping forth from the dark waves and oceans of dream to wreak havoc. Bodies are left in displays of public augury, nightmares of a dark, cold, crushing benthic hell roll into Galleon in waves, and rumors speak of strange heirs born to the noble families

• This is an OD&D campaign set in a swords & sorcery realm where player classes are reinterpreted through a Greek-inspired lens in a low-metal, benthic-encoded world: gladiators (fighters), pirates (thieves), sorcerers (magic-users), augurites (clerics) of either the foreign, terrestrial god AZLN (sun, harvest, order, growth) or the cult of Circe (moon, sea, sky, chaos), or washed shore as sea-born (as elf)

 Sources of Inspiration

• In Brief: Clash of the Titans + Tortuga + Dagon
• TV/Film: Clash of the Titans & a little bit of Dungeon Meshi (and a bit of Black Flag)
• Writing: The essay The Putrescent Principle by Jonathan Newell & the Appendix N The Eldritch Roots of Dungeons and Dragons by Peter Bebergel
• Art: Nicole Duennebier & of the many famous paintings of myth
• Other OD&D Games: Hagfish Hall from Alice of Dungeon Dolls, Through Ultan’s Door by Ben L., Tomb Robbers of The Crystal Frontier by Gus L., "Classic" Nightwick by Miranda Elkins
• Misc: Curiosity Cabinets

Mood Board

Nicole Duennebier

‪

The prophet of Azln the Lion of Light defeats the scylla

Various Arenarii (as Fighter)

Circe, the first after the fall of the Atlaneans

I have completed all 5 parts in the past week so I'll be posting each 75 minute effort in the coming days.