[Map Monday] Havershum and Galith Karn

Dungeon Stocking 2

FrDave over at "Blood of Prokopius" has given me a lot to think about with regard to organizing a dungeon's key.  His original post is here.  My follow up post is here.

Thanks to FrDave and Brendan for the comments.

My first thought upon reading FrDave's post was that "elements" of a key should be organized in a predictable way by section.  That means that monsters should always be in this box.  Stuff that affects characters (like traps or tricks or slippery floors) should be in this box.  Treasure in another box, and so on...

FrDave further added that his dream is a map beside the key in his binder.  I don't know if I can meet this goal myself.  I see the elegance here and I know that the great Gary Gygax had this kind of setup in his game:

I think this CAN BE DONE if you are comfortable improvising A LOT and/or the dungeon has been internalized in large part.  If you are trying to put the ideas down, I think making the map "removable" so that it can sit atop the pages you are referring to is the best bet.

This is my binder for CotMA.  I printed all the maps on 11x17 paper and folded them over.  When I'm on a given level, I pull the map and flip where I need to go in the key.

When I started putting my idea together, the concept of "white space" also jumped out at me.  OK, it's a bit meta-gamey, but if there are "empty rooms" on a map that might inspire a GM to "fill them in", maybe "white space" in the key might also be evocative to a GM.  Maybe that would inspire additional details.

Brendan suggested that obvious features should be separate from hidden features.

That led me to think of a flow:

Start --->  Middle --->  End

The "boxes" should suggest an order to how the room is interacted with.

Top and/or left = things that happen FIRST (typically)

Middle = Monster/Trap/Trick

Right and/or bottom = treasure.

So, here's iteration two.  Still a work in progress.

TITLE: WhatTheCharactersCanReadilySee
LessObviousRoomDetails	Monsters	CombatConditions/Tricks/Traps
Treasure

OVERVIEW: ROOMS 1-5 are covered in bat guano. When running or while in combat a save must be made every round to avoid falling down.

1. ENTRY HALL: There are some bats on the ceiling.
		If disturbed (a Light spell, for example), they will panic and a wandering monster check will be triggered. They are otherwise harmless.

2. TEMPLE: The ceiling is covered by a swarm of bats.
		Saves are at -2 to fall If disturbed (a Light spell, for example), they will panic. Visibility will be reduced to 5’ and a wandering monster check will be triggered.

3. ALCOVE: The ceiling is covered by a swarm of bats. In addition, there is a broken statue of an Atenist priest. There trails in the guano that lead to both Rooms 4&5.
		Saves are at -2 to fall If disturbed (a Light spell, for example), they will panic. Visibility will be reduced to 5’ and a wandering monster check will be triggered.

4. CHAPEL: Rubble of a statue and several dead centipedes litter the floor.  Guano in this room is mostly dry.
The door to this room is jammed shut (-1 on opening). Within the rubble of a winged statue are Giant Centipedes.	8 Giant Centipedes (small, non-lethal): AC9; HD 1d2; HP 2,2,2,2,1,1,1,1; ATT 1 Bite (Poison, save at +4 or be at -4 on all rolls for 2d4 days).	Saves are at +4 to fall down.
60gp, 2000sp, and a gold & silver Atenist holy symbol worth 65gp.

5. CHAPEL: The door to this room is ajar. There is rubble from several statues that have been broken beyond recognition.
If the rubble is removed, they will reveal a discoloration in the wall where the secret door is.	14 Kobolds AC6; HD 1d4; HP [4],[3],[3],[3],[3],[3],3,3,2,2,2,2,2,1; ATT 1d6.	The Kobolds are recovering from a battle with the centipedes in Room 4. Numbers in brackets indicate poisoned kobolds — they are at -4 on all rolls.
Each kobold carries 3gp. The leader (4hp) has a gem worth 25gp.

Dungeon Stocking

Over at "Blood of Prokopius", FrDave is musing upon what should dungeon room write-ups contain to make them easier to use.

He has highlighted some key text in a few descriptions from Caverns of Thracia as a way of organizing the room key.

It occurred to me that diving the room key up into predictable sections would make things easier for me.  I could focus on specific sections at specific times during play.  Areas that had no information would be whitespace in the document.  Much like empty rooms on a map, these "blank areas" could be filled in as the mood strikes you.

Here's a link to FrDave's post.

Here's my take on the same information.  This is a rough idea only.  It requires testing and refinement.

Generic Box:

Room Title	Combat Info	Monsters
Description	Tricks	Treasure

Example:

OVERVIEW: ROOMS 1-5 are covered in bat guano. When running or while in combat a save must be made every round to avoid falling down.

1. ENTRY HALL
There are some bats on the ceiling.	If disturbed (a Light spell, for example), they will panic and a wandering monster check will be triggered. They are otherwise harmless.

2. TEMPLE	Saves are at -2 to fall
The ceiling is covered by a swarm of bats.	If disturbed (a Light spell, for example), they will panic. Visibility will be reduced to 5’ and a wandering monster check will be triggered.

3. ALCOVE	Saves are at -2 to fall
Same as Room 2. In addition, there is a broken statue of an Atenist priest. There trails in the guano that lead to both Rooms 4&5.	If disturbed (a Light spell, for example), they will panic. Visibility will be reduced to 5’ and a wandering monster check will be triggered.

4. CHAPEL	Saves are at +4 to fall down.	8 Giant Centipedes (small, non-lethal): AC9; HD 1d2; HP 2,2,2,2,1,1,1,1; ATT 1 Bite (Poison, save at +4 or be at -4 on all rolls for 2d4 days).
The door to this room is jammed shut (-1 on opening). Within the rubble of a winged statue are Giant Centipedes. Several dead centipedes litter the floor.		60gp, 2000sp, and a gold & silver Atenist holy symbol worth 65gp.

5. CHAPEL	They are recovering from a battle with the centipedes in Room 4. Numbers in brackets indicate poisoned kobolds — they are at -4 on all rolls.	14 Kobolds AC6; HD 1d4; HP [4],[3],[3],[3],[3],[3],3,3,2,2,2,2,2,1; ATT 1d6.
The door to this room is ajar. There is rubble from several statues that have been broken beyond recognition. If the rubble is removed, they will reveal a discoloration in the wall where the secret door is.		Each kobold carries 3gp. The leader (4hp) has a gem worth 25gp.

Nystul's Infinite Dungeon Kickstarter

LOOK at that thing!  Great pic!

Mike Nystul (of Magic Aura fame) is doing a Kickstarter.  There are about 38 hours to go.  I'm a backer and so can you!  (paraphrasing Stephen Colbert)

Go take a look.  I think this is going to be an epic project!

The Trogs are in Trouble!

Matt Schmeer over at Rended Press has a cool community project going called the "Trouble with Troglodytes."  I keyed up a few rooms.  I invite you to do the same.

Go ahead.  Click this link.  Do it!

:)

RIP Knand

DnD is a funny game.  I know, I know, I'm currently playing Labyrinth Lord, but this game will always be DnD to me.

Anyway, it's a funny game.

If you allow the dice to be "oracles," you never know what will happen and that's the beauty of it all.  The game can still surprise you.

The randomness of the dice allow for an "emergent narrative" that just happens.  It's not a railroad.  It's not a fixed plot-line.  Events transpire and the dice help determine what takes place.

Well, last night, a loyal henchman died.  Sometimes those surprises can be bittersweet.

Trouble is, he didn't die at the hands of a vicious enemy.  He wasn't incinerated by a dragon.  He wasn't killed by fell magic.

He died at the hands of a trusted ally; victim to a fumble.  A random accident.  A one in 2400 chance.

Knand was an NPC that entered our game as the result of a draw from a Deck of Many Things.  You can read a bit about that episode here.   Hanuman was lost to the Donjon and ended up in a cage, suspended above a cavern, with his loyal 4th level fighter Knand.

They adventured together and escaped back into the world and were inseparable.  Knand owed Hanuman his life.

Hanuman grumbled a bit about how fat Knand was, but they relied on each other.

Today, Hanuman, in the heat of battle, accidentally snapped Knand's neck.  He died.

RIP Knand.  You will be missed.

UPDATE:  Here's a link to a remembrance of Knand.  

Anklebiter Art

My grandson and granddaughter drew these up a week or so ago.  We started on the displacer beasts when mom and dad arrived.  :(

Enjoy!

He's an ORANGE dragon.  Get it?