FRIDAY NIGHT DUNGEON DRAFT: Editing Six Doors of the Forgotten Lord Rooms 01 to 06

 

CONTEXT & GOALS

I have a slight fascination with understanding how much creative mileage one can get out of the Basic D&D and a couple of sheets of graph paper. I hold this idea that a DM of minimal experience should be able to hammer out a dungeon with the creative energy of Monday bored-in-class and have a good time running it Friday night. But I might be putting too much faith in random stocking and shooting-from-the-hip ideas. There is a reason both Moldvey and the Designing Dungeons Course councils are brainstorming key items, monsters, and locations as anchors when building a dungeon. Those central idea provide thematic & aesthetic guidance for the dungeon.

So to test, I grabbed a Dyson map, the Dolmenwood campaign for flavor, and started stocking with an eye toward speed-to-play, not quality-for-publication. I also took each set of rooms, six at a time, to hopefully create unified micro-areas.

But what would be interesting would be to blog an editing pass at this dungeon. What works and doesn't? What happens when you lean on a random stocking? And what are 3 things I can do to improve each section without a full re-write? I don't think I've seen this done before. And I want your comments below too!

CRYPT of the MERMAID'S ANCHOR (Pg 3)

Link to the Draft Document: Six Doors of the Forgotten Lord

Key Detail: Room 01 is a key dungeon entrance, so I rolled a on the heraldry table and got a mermaid motif- sea theme it is!

Inital Treasure Total: 900gp, no magic items

Initial Problems: 

1. Too Hostile: The six rooms have a total of 9 hostile skeletons, which feels too intense for 1st-level characters right in the first set of rooms. It promotes as sorta look-and-leave stance with little exploration. We want to draw players in.

2. Boring Treasure: The secret door is not too hard to find, and yields a helpful MU NPC, but not really an exciting treasure. They discovered a secret, so let’s get the fantastical rolling

3. Door to Nowhere: There is also a frozen fountain, 3 skeletons trapped in the ice, and a visible staircase which leads to a “level 2”- however, I don’t have that planned.

Edits to Punch It Up:

1. Unexpected Hostilities: How about behind the north door are zombie mermaids that spit freezing salt water? The skeletons around the frozen fountain will be inert, but those in the west coffins will only attack if the south door is kicked in. Honestly, maybe we should have more zombie mermaids in lieu of skeletons, which were rolled on the random encounter table

2. Thematic Treasure: Okay, so they fight off 4-6 enemies, so let's give something cool. I made a list of treasures that is under 600 gp- on of these is a wizard pipe. This wizard accidentally fell asleep so maybe a spilled bag of sleeping sand (as sleep; 1 dose left). And since we have a sorta pirate theme, how about a treasure map- which is not often seen any modern modules. Because these treasures aesthetically match other elements in this area, I think players will be triggered to spin off conclusions about how the items all connect. Maybe those musings can be DM fodder.

3. One-Way Portal Fountain: Hmm, since I don’t have a 2nd level here, perhaps we can turn this into a one-way portal. One-way doors were also a feature of older dungeons, but I don’t see often now. So let’s pick an interesting place that maybe has a mirror or have them just fall through the ceiling somewhere else. Or maybe a ship moored somewhere else- a micro-dungeon?

Final Thoughts

Undead mermaids are just plain more exciting. A one-way portal feels "WTF!" from the player side, but surprising. But the treasure needs better work. I still like the idea of releasing a PC who becomes a part of the base town.

FRIDAY NIGHT DUNGEON DRAFT: Editing Six Doors of the Forgotten Lord Rooms 07 to 12

 

Continuation of my series to edit a quick "Friday Night Dungeon" using Dolmenwood.

Tomb of the Twin-Headed Hawk (Pg 4)

Link to the Draft Document: Six Doors of the Forgotten Lord

Key Detail: Room 07 is a door, so another roll on the heraldry table yielded "hawk" and for a room type I rolled "weird" so, I went with an animate door- a squawking two-headed baf relief. Its odd, will prompt discussion, and is an alarm obstacle

Initial Treasure Total (silver standard): 120sp with the opportunity to gain a large talking jug.

Three Initial Problems: 

1. More Description of Important Things: The animated door and describe the jar heads of the barrowbogeys (peak Dolmenwood monster) with a little more flavor
2. Empty Crypt (#10 & 11a) Is Too Bland: I should know better since I wrote a post on it. Something needs to go here to punch it up.
3. More Treasure: Not enough for sure at 120sp. On average, level 1 treasure is about 600sp (or gp...whatever standard you use). Treasure shouldn't be evenly parcelled because that is boring, but it should still be there.

Three Potential Solutions

1. Colorful Descriptions: Let's see...
• Door: The bas relief of a twin-headed hawk strains to grab the green grasshoppers that float past it; occasionally, the heads nip at each other in frustration
• Barrowbogey heads: "...its clay head is a squat double handled jar with a black and white checkered glaze" or "...both heads are rustic wine decanters shaped like crowing roosters..."
2. Empty but Not Nothing: Well, let's roll on the table for rooms #10 and #11a...to get... "a clue or password" and an "encounter clue"
• Okay, #10 leads to a weird room where there is a toast to summer, so how about we put a banner hanging from the beaks of two very large taxidermied twin-headed hawks, that says "TO SUMMER".
  
• For #11a, since the northern passage leads to the crypt with the zombie mermaids, let's put 4 frozen bodies in this room and an unnatural chill. They'll all have gold coins frozen in their eyes. Does it completely make sense? No. But it will make the PCs pause.
3. More Treasure: One easy thing to do is to increase the value of the holy symbol in #12 from 100 to 300. And if there is a pile of frozen bodies in #11a well, how about if you move them (2 turns) then it will reveal a bronze, fur-trimmed diadem worth 300. Now our new total treasure is 600 plus the magical jug. Not bad.

Final Thoughts

I've actually started to play this dungeon a little bit and so far I'm happy with it. I think 07-12 set of rooms is one with a strong Dolmenwood flavor because it involves the barrowbogey who I've connected to a rumor of stolen pottery locally. Whimsy that could get you killed!

HOLE IN THE OAK PLAYTHROUGH: A Fairy Tale of Murderous Whimsy

Once Upon A Time...

There were four brave adventurers Desmano the Cleric, Grom the Fighter, Rodu the Illusionist, and Tadu the Thief, who descended into the shimmering depth of the Incandescent Grottoes. 

But this story will not be about them-- because they all electrocuted themselves mucking about with some levers and an electrified portcullis. Instead, this story will be about eight brave adventurers...

The Dwarf brothers Abo and Bo, Carl the Thief, Don and Rex the Clerics of the Seven Sisters of Sorrow, Changar the Fighter, Melf the Magic-User, and Plexa the Elf,

...descending into the mysterious Hole In The Oak.

(DM NOTE: Basically the party TPK'd so I grabbed the next closest book to me which was Hole in the Oak. The fantastic formatting allowed us to just jump right in.)

~SESSION 1~

01. BOTTOM of the SHAFT: The party's first problem was how to get all eight of their members down. Since they randomly rolled for equipment, the magic-user's rope was tied off on some rocks at the top and Carl the Thief secured the other end. After dropping a torch down to the bottom and confirming nothing was amiss, the party descended.

02. JUNCTION & 3. GRABBING ROOTS: Their first choice was turning east and running into a snarl of roots. A spear was the first item quickly lost to the grasping things. That won't do. The party attempt to cut through the roots losing a few more pieces of gear. After that, they decide to head west because it was the least amount of trouble.

10. TRIGGERED ILLUSION: The party is brought up short by the illusion of a wizard with a white-whiskered beard. The pause proves unfortunate as it allows a crab-spider to creep up from behind. Father Rex in the back holds the line as the dwarves and Changar the Fighter push back in rank to slay the beast!

11. TELEPORT CIRCLE: After a few spider-crab claws are taken for later roasting, the party pushes north into a room dominated by a wide round rug. The players, themselves being vets of old-school play, are immediately are suspicious. The probe again with their trusty 10' pole which- poof- vanishes! They also watched as a group of frogs hopped over the rug and turned north- many disappeared in the process. The group formed-up tight and moved to the west door. Theif picked it and they were inside. 

12. TINY PEOPLE: The party finds themselves perplexed by the jars of tiny dead people. A few a crushed in the investigation process and ultimately some tiny burials are performed by the clerics (DM NOTE: Gave them +1 on any next roll in response). They grabbed the spell scroll, left, and continued north.

15. TREASURE & PIT: Piles of gold and silver chalices spur Carl the Theif to leap the pit. Precious minutes are spent eyeing the treasure pile in an attempt to see if there are any traps. Players decide to go for it only see the illusion vanish leaving being a single foot-high wooden chess piece. They take it. Could be useful later. It's also at this juncture the players come across the phantasmal form of Bozurah who curses them all with mustaches!

(DM NOTE: Ended session 1 right here. For non-megadungeon adventures, I generally don't require exit from the dungeon. However, maybe that is an overall good rule for all dungeon adventures because it allows the players to take stock of what they've experienced and adjust.)

~SESSION 2~ 

18. DROWNED CORPSES: The party makes its way north and falls into the waiting ghouls' trap. At first, the party attempts to offer some of the tiny bottled humans they collected from Room #12. However, too dry and crunchy, but the ghouls offer them the option to fetch them fauns for dinner or become the dinner.

(DM NOTE: To better simulate this following, I just replaced "spoor" or "clue" on my Overloaded Encounter Die table with "Ghouls following PCs". Made it easy to remember and its a way to ratch up tension with the PCs).

16. TROGLODYTES: Reversing south our 8 heroes examine two locked doors to the east. Carl the Thief is able to pick the second door. Noting the foul stench and seeing the 3 reptilian figures hunched in the dark, both clerics call for an attack. Bursting through the door the party gains surprise! Carl's first swing is a miss, but Plexa the Elf follows up with a brutal sword through the heart of the smallest monster! A melee ensues, with the foul stench (of innocence perhaps because these monsters were just eating fish) choking the PCs, the monsters (maybe defending their home) were able to land some solid blows. But the melee prowess of cleric, dwarf, elf and thief proved too much!

The party made a thorough search of the room, discovering the three faces on the walls and the secret room therein. Avoiding the poison-trapped chest, the party made a nice discovery of a treasure worth 2000 GP + a 400 GP bracelet. Melf took the bracelet, but the party thought it too much to carry and vowed to return.

(DM NOTE: I've been trying this game the whole 2-in-6 for all thief skills and I like it. I think the X-in-6 matches a lot of BX adjudication and helps provide a bump in the starting skills. The X-in-6 thief class variant is also used in the Nightwick Abbey game I play with similar satisfaction. I also got a lot of good laughs out of the players' "guilt" over this fight. I really hammed up how these trogs had their dinner interrupted by some murderous band of burglars led by zealots.)

19. GHOUL BAY: Hauling the trog bodies back to the ghouls, the party hopes to make a deal that this fulfills their obligation. And with some luck, it does! (DM NOTE: Good RxN roll). The PCs quickly deal with the half-torso ghoul here and make a search of the driftwood and bones pile-- finding yet more treasure:  They discover a sack full of gems worth ~2000 GP total and a crystal dagger (+1).

20. FISHING BAY: Back south again as the ghouls were finishing their meal. After eyeing the party up, the ghouls repeated their want of faun flesh before slinking away. The party scurried back to Room #16 and locked the doors behind them. They then went through the east door in the room and up to Room #20- the fishing spot of the trogs. Finding nothing they turned south again to an unexplored hallway.

22. THE HALL OF KINGS: The party enters this hall of six statues of past kings. And are presented with quite a few options here: south archway, west archway, and to the east- four doors. Of the eastern doors, they find two locked but behind one is a loud rumbling snore-- they don't want to mess with that one. After some deliberation, they travel south to the archway.

(DM NOTE: I just had the players make up a few names and one notable deed.)

14. THE BLADE TRAP: The players knew something was up the minute I described an archway with skulls carved in it. That got a big chuckle. The dwarven brothers and thief kicked into find the trap mode and worked out the pressure plate. They spiked it to not depress and looted the skeletal body there. Then continued south then to the west to Room #4.

04. FACES OF THE DEEP: The party arrived at this early archway and were struck by the faces formed out of roots. In a gravelly unison, the root-face collective outlined how to receive information. The party laid out 10 GP for information and was told the location of a lost tomb and about the remains of an underground temple.

~SESSION 3~

33, 34, 35. BATS, PILLAR, & FACE DOOR: With new information in hand, the party turns east toward the cave complex. They take note of the two entrances to the north as they march east through the cave complex to arrive at three doors with faces on them: bull, jester, lion. 

And to their delight, they find the 10-foot pole (1-2 frogs as well) lost to the rug that was teleported here! They listen to each but decide the snorting bull is the way forward.

42. DRIPPING GROTTO: The players carefully navigate this room but continue north.

43. HOLES AND CREVICES: Surounded by holes in the natural rock that would just comfortably fit a human hand, the players decide to not risk going after anything they see sparkling. North they go!

44. LIZARD'S DEN: On their walk north, they players do take note of the hallway to the west which opens into a chamber containing a nest with several large eggs.

46. LIZARD SHIRNE: The players find out what laid those eggs. And unfortunately these giant lizards did not like the intrusion and took an immediate and aggressive stance ((DM NOTE: Bad RxN roll)! As the party took up their fighting formation and locked eyes with the lizards, strange visions of erotic lizardfolk rituals overtook most of the party's vision... which was really unfortunate as the fighter was quickly bitten in half! The three other "pets" of an era long past, launched into the remaining members. Each beast in turn obtained a mouthful of hero! 

With this new vision of blood shed replacing the lizard-induced one, the remaining party members turned and fled. But first they took eggs from the lizard's nest in Room #44 and made their way out of the oak (suprisingly forgetting to go back for their hidden treasure).

...the end!

In a sorta epilogue Carl the Thief, Father Don, and Melf the Magic-User (and his man-servent) returned to Cliff's End to sell the lizard eggs to two different nobel factions. 

(DM NOTE: For the selling of the eggs I just used the Retainer Negotiation table and we role-played out the deal. It was a lot of fun watching the players come up with reasons why selling potentially giant erotic-vision-inducing lizards was a good idea. There was often mention of a "giant-lizard gap" in the nobel's army they wouldn't want to fall back on.

I also had the players come up with defining features of the nobel houses. And if the game had continued I would have just used the Encounter Reaction table to determine the relationship of the nobel houses to each other. 

If I were to pick this adventure up again, I might just have the new players pick up from where the old player left off. A nobel house wants their own giant lizard eggs ["There is a strategic gap in our military."] and has hired the party to retrieve them. I would use some standard restock methods and maybe a new treasure to re-balance the total amount.)

 

Shaded areas are those the party explored in
Session 1 (yellow), Session 2 (pink), & Session 3 (blue)

 

 

PRACTICAL MAGIC: Or what to do now that your 1st level Magic-User has cast their one spell

Erol Otus

(Edit: Please see the "Practical Magic" collection here)

Currently playing in Miranda Van Elkin's Nightwick Abbey It has been great so far to be on the player side of the BX system and see how it feels to be on the receiving end of a BX DM in a megadungeon. 

In BX fashion my 1st level Frogling met a bifurcated end in the first session, but the Magic-User I rolled up, Mayfly, so far as survived 3 sessions. Here he is below:

MAYFLY 1st level MU

Spells: Light, Protection from Evil, Read Magic

STR 07 (-1) INT 15 (+1) WIS 08 (-1) DEX 16 (+2) CON 16 (+2) CHA 08 (-1)

A pretty great spread of stats for a Magic-User. The 15 INT gets me a 5% XP bonus. And the 16 DEX makes throwing daggers +2 to hit as well as the adjusted unarmored AC a 12. The biggest boon might be the 16 CON which effectively makes my Magic-User HD on par with Fighter HD. But the question I am faced with is a perennial one: 

What to do when I've cast my 1 spell (or even 2nd spell if I am higher level)? 
While not insanely novel, I think below are six suggestions that can put you on the right track:

1 | Use Hirelings: Far from being a dump stat, CHA represents a solid force multiplier in D&D. Even if your MU's CHA incurs a -1 bonus, still consider hirelings. Two or three hirelings armed with spears (3 people are allowed in a 10' space), can create a formidable 2nd rank behind Clerics, Dwarves, & Fighters.  Another variation would be to arm them with short bows. If the DM is a stickler for space, then try crossbows firing alternately to keep up the pressure.

And if your CHA is low, well, speak with a silver tongue, and by that I mean, pay cash upfront for loyalty.

2 | Daggers are a ranged weapon: While 1d4 damage might not seem exciting, there is still a 50% chance you will roll a 3 or 4 which is enough to down a 1 HD opponent with an average HP (~4). Or shave off enough to ensure follow-up hits kill them. It's also worth noting that ranged weapons get a +1 to-hit at short range. 

So Mayfly there gets a +3 to-hit with throwing daggers and I've made sure to equip him with 5 to last most combats.

3 | Oil flasks are ranged weapons: This requires a 1-2 combination, but opponents or a square can be covered in oil. Then when flame is applied, its 1d8 damage for 2 rounds to things covered in that oil. So a total potential 2d8 damage, which is pretty hefty. 

Also worth noting that torches can be used as weapons (1d4 dmg).

4 | Scrolls are paper spell slots: Yes, this might be a little obvious, but I think it is under-discussed how scrolls can help enhance party success. The 100 gp/level seems expensive, but if an extra Hold Portal prevents the lizardfolk patrol from getting through a door after you've absconded with two 500 gp ruby eyes then it was worth it. Knowing that Protection from Evil allows you to walk into a room with an iron golem and walk out unmolested, gold chalice in hand is amazing value at 100 gp.

5 | Bring equipment: Most Magic-Users are really not carrying much except a spell books, scroll, and 5 daggers. This leaves plenty of room for useful dungeon equipment like torches, oil, and 50' rope. But also less obvious stuff like a:

• stinky wheel of cheese to pay off the goblins
• water skin of wine to pay off the orcs
• bag of rats to test strange liquids on or throw to giant spiders or toads
• chalk to mark or crush and throw in an opponents eyes or mark the invisible beast with no eyes
• shovel to fetch coins from weird pools you forgot to bring rats for
• crowbar for stuck doors or heavy crypts
• candles for light or to stick in your ears (harpies)
• paper for rubbings of important information
• sacks for anything of interest you can turn into a spell component
• pitchfork so you can pin things you don't want to touch
• spikes to foul traps or wedge doors

Seems like a silly list, but these items are the fuel for crazy OSR high jinks and safe dungeon exploration!

6 | Be a thoughtful player: Just because you don't have an immediately useful spell or any spell to cast doesn't mean you are out of the game or can provide nothing. Your Magic-User is still can perform an action or undertake observations in a dungeon turn. Meaning that a more thorough exploration of the space is performed in a shorter amount of time.

Only on the third session of Nightwick Abbey did Mayfly actually cast a spell from a scroll. Prior to that he participated in no combat (only as an observer), but did marshal his hirelings in the 2nd rank. He wedges doors open/shut. Got eight 1/2 HD creatures to fight to the death over rations. Paid off goblins and made a rope ladder for a quick exit.

Interested in Nightwick? Join the fun and death here!

KNOCK! KNOCK!-IN' ON TONISBORG'S DOOR: Using KNOCK! Vol 2 to Individualize a Megadungeon

KNOCK! Vol 2

PREAMBLE RAMBLE

A recent review of KNOCK! Vol. 2 notes that:

However, there is an issue with Knock! #2. There is just too much of it, too much of it to review, too much of it to read, too much of it to use. 

There IS always a lot in each issue, but it is far from being too much to use. Instead, I think it just requires thought on how articles can be used in prep. Here is my "utility review" for Vol. 1, where I look at how it will help you build a dungeon. 

Let's dive into KNOCK! Vol. 2 and how it will help you livin' up a bare-bones or more vanilla dungeon.

I recently received the Lost Dungeon of Tonisborg which is a megadungeon created and run by one of the original Blackmoore bunch in 1973-- one year before the publication of D&D. Its a very interesting beast that is utilitarianly keyed on purpose, I think, in part to get it to the table quicker. Since the creator understands what they want and is more focused on reacting to the players, less attention is paid to writing keys. In one instance there is: "Balrog. 10,000 GP". 

KNOCK! Vol. 2 seems to have a lot of good tables and articles for spicing up the familiar and fleshing out the bare bones. So, here is how I turned it toward Level 2 of Tonisborg.

TONISBORG LEVEL 2

#2:0 LEVEL OPENING: Order Draconae has incomplete control of the dungeon; Portions of the level have collapsed or lead to natural caverns

#2:1 WYVERN (powerful 8000 sp type E): Not much to help to change the monster, but we do have "Combat Objectives" (pg 90); roll under the "instinctual" creature collum and get "Attack the nearest NPC or pack animal- drag them into the underbrush". We could also use "30 Tomes of Magic on pg 130. And after rolling get a half shredded tome containing Levitate and Reverse Gravity.

#2:2 BEDROOM; 6x GIANT WEASELS: Again, let us give them a combat objective, and let's also use "What Are The Spiders Doing?" (pg 140) to not just have them sitting around. Sure these are weasels, but the premise is the same. So 3x weasels are (roll 18)... munching on the body of an orc but will... (rolls 2 on Combat Objectives) attack the smallest PC. 3x other weasels are...(rolls 13) grooming bristly faces with shining eyes staring back, but will... (rolls 1 on Combat Objectives) attack nearest NPC and drag them off.

#2:3 STOREROOM w/ 3 FIGHTERS lead by a LEVEL 5 SWASHBUCKLER with TREASURE: One of the fighters is level 1 so could be a squire. Simple enough. And we can use the "Knight Errant" generator (pg 16) to flesh out the others.

So for both the level 4 & 5 Fighters, we have a colored field of ermine depicting a crane; Brunor the Mirthful fights with a crossbow; Palomedes the Bully employs two axes. Their squire is named Ector who fights with a sword.

#2:4: JUMBO BACON: There are 12x giant hogs in this room. Let's give them some sort of malevolent intelligence so their "Combat Objective" is "hold position until reinforcements arrive" and so they will make a lot of noise. 

How else can we make this interesting? I once saw tattooed pigs so what if these things have some weird 12 part scripture on them? Also a reason for their malevolence? Rolling on "d44 Cursed Scriptures of Petty Gods" we get (2,4)...

...so if all 12 pigs scriptures are read you will transcribe Klakyon- Geode Avatar of Incomprehensible Geometries and the reader's flesh will become pristine crystal (AC 18, STR 18, CON 18), but quickly become tumorous as dust crystalizes as well causing them to lose -1 DEX every hour; DEX = 0 is immobile. Maybe pigs have some crystal taint as well.

That's a pretty fun room and sorta gives a reason there might be rival MU factions or clerics here. Also why the Order Draconae might give a lot of guff to MU/clerics.

#2:5 BEDROOM & LABORATORY: So here we have sorcerors and followers also a magic sword made of kill fighting-men. Hmm, I think this has a good connection to #2:4 and the pigs are some ongoing, failed, or incomplete experiment. Certainly, since we have our first MUs, we have to use "12 Sorceror-Corpse Hazards" (pg 33).

...(rolling) So for the 9th Level MU, the weapon used to kill them will stick to the body magically and the body will explode after a few rounds. The 1st & 2nd level MUs do not have any curses on their bodies.

The three Fighters located here are given some character with the "Knight Errant Generator" which we used above; colored field-green, 2 ordinaries, cross, cross, like to duel and all these folks are mirthful and named deBors. They are trying to resist some form of temptation (?).

Since the magic sword "Fregsallo" kills fighting-men, maybe the knights are trying to free one of their number from the curse of the sword (?) or the temptation to use it?

#2:6 6x WEREBEARS: Okay, it's entries like this that make stocking difficult. By Tonisborg standards, because there is a monster section, werebears are lawful, 7HD, and AC 18. Also, this 10 X 20 ft room is far too small. But some of Tonisborg is supposed to be cavernous, so how about these werebears have just dug into this room. There is actually a sublevel that holds their lair. KNOCK! Vol. 2 has some great maps, so let's use "Tomb of Horrors" (pg 165).

And from the "Knight Errant Generator", their quest is to "protect a child from an affair"-- maybe one of the Order Draconae.

#2:7 HALL WITH 4x GARGOYLES: Hmm, the stairwell leads up to Level 1 which is under more complete control of Order Draconae and is near two secret doors of the Sorceror of #2:5. The sorcerer put these creatures in place mainly to keep the Order Draconae out and they have the password on their person. There is a table, "Monster Modifiers" (pg 60), that can help livin' up standard monsters...(rolls a 14)...these gargoyles are 'brutal'.

#2:8 CRYPT WITH 3 ZOMBIES: A lot of text here but not a lot to work with in my opinion, just zombies and a hallway. What if these zombies are victims of the Fighters in #2:5- the folks with the cursed sword? Maybe the sword has enhanced one of the knight's lust for battle and killing? And there is a pretty cool monster, The Dreamcrawler, in KNOCK! Vol 2 (pg 180). The Dreamcrawler is a fallen warrior so seeks battle in a character's dreams. Kinda half curse/half-monster. But fits the theme of untimely death due to betrayal.

#2:9 ARMORY WITH 10 KOBOLDS DIGGING FOR WEAPONS: Big question here for me is why, by the map, are they so close to the Order Draconae? Maybe they have been tasked with clearing out the wyverns in #2:11? Maybe they are gonna "milk" their poison? Are they after the swine? Will agree to PC aid if the bargain is good? To give 'em a little extra, I lean on the "Monster Modifier" table again and get a result saying they are "naturally corrosive", immune to acid, and corrode armor on a Nat 20 and weapons on a Nat 1.

#2:10 FOUR GIANT SNAKES: Hmm... (roll 7 on Crab Spider Table of "What Are The Spiders Doing", pg 142) and get "dashing to perceived safety underneath a defaced alter" and (roll 3 on "Combat Objectives) "will hold this spot". Okay, these are results I can work with- so maybe the alter is to the petty god that helped create the swine in #2:4.

#2:11 STOREROOM WITH 5 WYVERNS: Like the bears and zombies, this feels like too much fidelity to a random encounter/stocking table. The first thing I think is what could be in this storeroom worth digging for? Maybe another spellbook from "30 Tomes Of Magic" (pg 130). But there is also a very handy "D60 Pointless Items" (pg 65)

#2:12 TWO ELVEN MAGIC-USERS: The two magic items in this room are interesting- Potion of Dragon Control and Potion of Lycanthropy Control. Maybe the two elves want to control the wyverns in #2:11 or bears in #2:6. Maybe they want to remove the Order Draconae use these two factions to do it. How about they want to locate "Fregsallo" the magic sword stolen from them?

#2:13 SIX GNOLLS: Where did these come from? Maybe time for a setting and luckily KNOCK! Vol 2 also provides for that. There are two hexcrawls in fact: the first is on the inside dust cover, and the second is on page 210. With megadungeons, I think it best to keep play focused toward the dungeon. The small surrounding area can just help provide NPC wants, factions plots, quests, materials, and hook-- but not keep folks gone too long. With that in mind, I think "Fort Levant" is a good choice and it also has a hex containing a gnoll army!

#2:14 GUARDS! Specifically, the 27x Order Draconae guards that collect "taxes", keep the lower dungeon creatures out and are in control of a cannon (!) in the center of the room. Of the 27 guards, 3 of them are officers. Again I used the "Errant Knight Generator" to find that the 3 officers are ambitious, but want to recover a magic veil.

I also drew a map of the circular room and have barricades erected on the western double doors leading up to the surface/down to level 2 and on the southern door which leads up to level 1/down to level 2. The cannon is between the northern and north-western doors to cover the two barricades. I also think there might be tents built in the room to allow guards to rotate and provide some comfort.

THERE YOU GO! Level 2 of Tonisborg is more fleshed out. We have emerging stronger factions like the Sorceror who summoned demonic scripture hogs, but currently is helping cursed fighters who have sinned against their bannermen. And there are werebear and elven infiltrators and a group of kobolds who are going to sort out some wyverns. I also just have a better handled on how I want to run my version of Tonisborg.

But KNOCK! Vol 2 doesn't just stop there. Several of the articles are about running such a dungeon above. The importance of choice, warning, description, and the goals of DMing are all discussed. I think I will certainly review the articles on "Cheap Tricks" and how not to create a "Screw You" scenario given the asymmetry with some of the rooms.

And KNOCK! is still is a must-have. It really is what I wanted Dragon & Dungeon to be.

OD&D: Opium, Dunsany & Dreamlands Part I

PURPOSE: As a sorta follow-up to my reskinning of Lair of the Lamb, I was encouraged to try reskinning OD&D monsters for various genre settings. Or at least give the Underworld Level 1 random encounter a shot since it's shortlist. Here are my initial efforts with a sorta opium-dreamlands-art-deco-Lord-Dunsley vibe. I don’t think I’ve quite nailed it, but I like the monsters I came up with. And I at least liked them enough to take a crack at Level 2.

PRINCIPLES: I think I have outlined a few general qualities of monsters in the “Twilight Realms” that might separate it from the standard D&D arrangement above. Examples are given with the Level 1 monsters, but I’ve tried to maintain these core ideas throughout.

First, the “peoples” (Cultist of Yg, The Nameless Legion, & Sailors from Leng) of these dreamlands often bear curses and/or traditions originating from somewhere else not connected to the dungeon now. And although not explicit (but I might make it so later), they have an agenda separate from “sitting around” in the dungeon– they are searching for something. This is much like the PCs.

Second, the vermin (Walking Rust, Scintilipedes, & False Door Spider) arise not from organic decay, but more from inorganic decay– spoilt art not meat. Disease comes not from decaying bodies- those tend to lie inert, but instead from dilapidated buildings, monuments, and other edifices. That resultant disease is one that kills aesthetics not really hearts-- transmogrify over termination.

Third, the “undead” (Walking Rust, The Nameless Legion), like vermin, are less about organic decay and more about the decay of the spirit or the perversion of a single emotion into a free-standing spirit that can inhabit things. The horror of dreamland undead is possession and supplanting of will with another force instead of death per se.

OD&D UNDERWORLD LEVEL 1

1. Kobolds 1/2 HD AC 12 Weapons, Trap makers, Reptile pets
2. Goblins 1-1 HD AC 12 Weapons, Hate Light
3. Skeletons 1/2 HD AC 11 Weapons, Undead
4. Orcs 1 HD AC 12 Weapons, Hate Light
5. Giant Rats 1/2 HD AC 12 Bite, Poison
6. Centipedes 1/2 to 3 HD AC 11-12, Armored Head AC 16, Bite, Poison
7. Bandits 1 HD AC 12 Weapons
8. Spiders 1/2 to 4+1 HD AC 12-15, Web/Ambush, Bite, Poison

You might not recognize it, but this too is a re-skin
of a section of the map for Outdoor Survival
the"overworld" map for OD&D,
but now our Twilight Realms

THE TWILIGHT REALMS: North of Sleep, South of the Setting Sun, LEVEL 1

1. CULTIST OF Yg: Milky-eyed servants of the Night Serpent Yg. They typically reside in the line of old forts along the Orchid Swamps and often run steam houses in the cities- both guarded by prayer-painted crocodiles.
2. LAMP EATERS: Whole discussions are had as to if Lamp Eaters are advanced Zoogs or people lost to the dark, but they fear and hate light; small brave groups will try and extinguish them, then their numbers quickly double in the dark
3. WALKING RUST: A curious fungal spoor or the restless ambition of warlords that survives death, stains, pits, corrodes, and then animates armor; care must be taken or any contact will spread this curse to any iron or steel on the person; even gold, silver, or copper isn't safe from prolonged exposure (on a successful attack AC drops by 1; if AC 10 begins to animate hindering wearer)
4. THE NAMELESS LEGION: Soldiers robbed of their names and now forever walking for conquest as restless shades who know no end; when they march, they carry a disorienting fog with them and when defeated weapons, armor, at body turn to an hour-glass fine black sand; summoned it is said by building two doors of polished onyx with silver hinges (building gates establishes the area as a Nameless Legion "lair") 
   
   

   

   art: Stephen Fabian

   
   
5. ZOOGS: An array of eyes like a spider, body like a large rat, human-like hands, and a mouth surrounded by finger-like feelers; a thing more "like a" than "is a"; speaks any human tongue and prise them as a delicacy willfully given or not
6. SCINTILIPEDES: Common wisdom says that these bothersome insects form spontaneously from patinaed metals in the dining room, toned coins in the vault, and ruined wallpaper of smoking rooms which is why polishing by the Filigree Guild is employed by any respectable house least these pests emerge in large numbers. Quit the embarrassment if one's social gathering was to be completely paralyzed and drained by their flashing a rhythmic light draining all color (-1 CHA if a save vs. Paralysis is failed)
7. SAILORS FROM LENG: Manning the Black Galleys that visit Dylath-Leen, these people are rumored to have cloven feet, too many teeth, and horns- though this is hidden by their ruby-adorned dress; those press-ganged are driven to join their number by the droning beat of the galley drums
8. FALSE DOOR SPIDERS: These arachnids take advantage of the shifting architecture of the underworld to mimic the subtle outline of secret doors; a bite convinces the victim there are other secrets around, but their friends don't want them to find them

OD&D UNDERWORLD LEVEL 2

1. (humanoid) Berserkers 1+1 HD AC 12, weapons, morale 11; +2 to-hit humanoids
2. (humanoid) Conjurers 2 HD AC 10, Spells 3, 1
3.  (undead) Ghouls 2 HD AC 13, claws, bite, paralysis, kill by a ghoul raised as one (They are already such classic)
4. (beastman) Gnolls 2 HD AC 14, XXX, +2 morale, fight with claw x2, bite
5. (humanoid) Hobgoblins 1+1 HD, AC 14, +1 morale
6. (animal) Lizards ?? HD AC ??, bite
7. (humanoid) Theurgists 2+1 HD AC 10, Spells 4, 2
8. (animal) Toads ?? HD AC ??, bite
9. (humanoid) Warriors 2 HD AC 14, weapons
10. (undead) Zombies 1 HD AC 11, fist

THE TWILIGHT REALMS: North of Sleep, South of the Setting Sun, LEVEL 2

1. THE WINE-STAINED REVELERS OF PAN: Wine-addled, carefree, and looking for any excitement. Wine-stained fingers and feet carry a lascivious and fragile ego, they demand outrageous things from those who cross their path. Refusal or acquiescence leads to the same end- a murderous frenzy. As this frenzy builds a horned figure can be seen just out of the corner of one’s eye playing a shrill pipe.
2. ARCANE BRAVOS: These are disciples of Saffory who’ve adopted the peacock patterns of Tyr bravos (much to the city’s collective irritation).  Generally hired to rid a home of incorporeal threats, but in hire times they are not above taking care of corporal existences. Often have Magic-Missle x2, Sheild, and Web prepared, 25% chance of a scroll on them can be hired for 100 GP/delve (hat-tip to Ben L. for the spellbook Saffory’s Arcane Dueling)
3. CITIZENS OF THE ONLY EMPIRE: There are innumerable city-states in The Twilight Realms, however, there is only one empire that touches everywhere the dead are laid and only one empire that can transcend even death. Applications for citizenship are freely offered by gaunt, horse-skull-headed “representatives” clad in once-rich, twice-tattered livery. And even if initially refused, most come around. One bite of flesh at a time.
4. NULLS: A lizard mouth attached to a crow's head, eagle talons for hands, and a shaggy mane of perpetually falling butterfly wings. These beings were created by the Corpse Dragons of LOMAR as playing pieces for a 999-year game. The game is done. The dragons were bored. And the NULLS are left on their own– but they only know the game.
5. MOONMEN: The biggest secret of LAMP EATERS is they are part of a large organization. Their masters wear large full-moon-faced masks to hide a hideous cratered visage with a tumorous topography and small green eyes. They have no quarrel with dwarves or other light-shunners but have paranoid assumptions that all interlopers are spies to their machinations to creature eternal darkness.
6. MONDATH ADDER-HOUNDS: Head like an eye-less eel extending from a six-legged lizard body describes this creature with a keen sense of smell and taste. A successful strike allows the creature to lock down on the target by pinning a sword arm (even hit) or leg (odd hit);  will answer to commands in old Mondathic– if anyone could remember to how to speak it.
7. THE WANDERING LECTURES OF ZEIN: Taking “experience is the best teacher” to the extreme, ZEIN magic schools require students to roam all over the lands listening to their appointed professor lecture extensively on a variety of topics. And since dungeons are on the syllabus,  it is not surprising that occasionally at the semester’s end, there is no graduating class. The professors themselves are seasoned theurgists who demand silence and attention. And have no problem casting Sleep on PCs to aid in “resupplying the classroom”, nor drinking a potion of Gaseous Form should it become obvious this will be a class with low graduation.
8. PROCESSION TOADS:  These squat, clawed planter-sized toads are known for their venomous bit that induces a confused stupor in prey. The toads will then follow at a distance until their prey drops due to exhaustion all the while emitting a low cry that attracts other toads. When standing still these toads are hard to spot looking like rocks and, almost sympathetically, empty garden planters if around ruins (3-6 surprise).
9. THE FIVE MEN JUSTINIAN: Often a topic of idle conversation in coffee houses among scholars, mages, and diviners is the nature of the appearances of THE FIVE. Adventurers describe a group of five men (2-8), exactly identical, clad in silver mail, a winged helm, white cloak, and carrying a spear. They speak in unison and demand aid from those they encounter on a singular task. Scholars can find no record of the person described. Mages believe it is an echo of a miscast Mirror Image. Diviners believe their number and appearance signify something much like a doppelganger portents doom. If defeated, THE FIVE, shatter into a single spear, mail, and helm set (when the entire set + weapon is worn it has the following: AC Chain +1, Spear +1, & roll separate initiative) however wearing such causes the bearer to begin to believe they are THE JUSTINIAN.
10. SANDSTONE STATUES: It is known that things in the shape of human likenesses eventually develop human desires. Time erodes the boundaries of living/not-living as rivers can carve the landscape. But it is a cruel fate when a thing has human desires, yet cannot feel as a human does. This longing to feel quickly turns to jealousy and that jealousy festers to hate. Hate fuels destruction which does register to even stone-dulled senses.

A zoog kindly rendered from
the mind of Colin Sproule; be on the lookout
for their OSE KS Fresh Meat!