Dungeons & Dragons

What year is this?

2011-04-01T13:15:00.004-06:00

I moved to Germany last week and today made a trip to the Ramstein Base Exchange... inside was a bookstore called the "Bookmark". I strolled over the Dungeons & Dragons section and was very surprised to find several rows of 3rd edition Forgotten Realms books, all in new condition, sitting on a shelf with only a few 4th edition products next to it (in fact, there were no 4th edition hardcovers to be found with the exception of a single copy of the Draconomicon book).

There were several Pathfinder books to choose from and a section with some of the new Gamma World material but that was it. At first, I thought I had traveled back in time since the 3rd edition realms books haven't been in print for five years or so. I immediately grabbed a copy of Champions of Valor and rushed to the register to pay for it... it will almost certainly be the last D&D hardcover book that I purchase... ever. I find that particularly fitting since it was here at Ramstein that I rediscovered Dungeons & Dragons back in 1998 and 1999 through online stores.

I'm still not sure how the store came to carry these books. Perhaps they were shipped here from nearby military warehouses (recently discovered) because it's one of the biggest base exchange stores in Europe. I don't know... but I'm glad I stumbled onto them nonetheless.

Ability Checks

2011-03-09T09:21:00.003-07:00

Ability checks appeared both in 1st and 2nd Edition AD&D. Standard ability checks work by trying to roll less than or equal to the characters relevant ability score with a d20. Since AD&D doesn't have a built in skill system, ability checks can be a handy way to determine the outcome of some actions.

For example, say a PC wants to haggle with a blacksmith over the price of a sword, the DM can have the player roleplay the scene and then roll dice to see if he's successful at the attempt (perhaps add a -2 modifier if the DM thinks the player was especially persuasive). Likewise, if a character is trying to balance on a slippery surface, a dexterity check might be in order to see if he can remain standing without falling down.

I do ability checks in my game slightly differently. I have the player roll a number of six sided dice based on the difficulty of the task that their character is attempting. For easy tasks, I have them roll 2d6, 3d6 for average tasks, 4d6 for hard tasks and 5d6 for challenging tasks. If they roll equal to or less than their characters relevant ability score, they succeed at whatever they're trying to do.

I don't roll dice for everything... if what the player is attempting is relatively easy, I just allow for immediate success (I adjudicate this on a case by case basis). I also allow for higher level characters to have slightly better chances of success at whatever they're attempting by factoring in their level divided by 2, rounded down. So, a 4th level character would gain a -2 bonus after all dice have been rolled.

Charisma becomes more important when using ability checks because it comes into play whenever characters attempt negociations with NPCs or when they try to persuade them to do something. This prevents charisma from becomming a dump stat and really makes players think about where they want to assign numbers when creating 1st level characters.

In the game I just started with my daughter, she tried to get the blacksmith in the city to lower the cost of the armor she wanted to buy at the beginning of the game. We roleplayed this out (briefly, since I was anxious to get the game underway) and then I let the dice decide the outcome of the haggling by letting her roll four six sided dice (I determined that what she was attempting was a hard task). She rolled under her charisma, which I think was 13, and the deal was struck.

Of course, all the ability scores become more important if you use ability checks to help determine the outcome of the players actions. Some DMs may think this places too much emphasis on them since the game wasn't really designed with ability checks in mind. Personally, I think they're a great addition to the game and plan to keep using them for the forseeable future.

A New Campaign Begins

2011-03-08T05:59:00.009-07:00

My daughter and I began a new game today and the first session, which ran about 3 - 4 hours, was one of our best games yet. She created four 1st level characters... a Fighter, a Magic-User, a Cleric and a Thief. When we first started our games, she was initallly against running more than one character but she's definitely got used to playing this way and does an excellent of job of managing all of her PCs at the same time (unfortunately, it's kind of a necessity since it's just me and her at the game table).

I've learned through previous game sessions that dungeons really aren't her thing. She much prefers social interaction with NPCs with some danger and combats thrown in to keep things exciting. While the occasional small dungeon is ok (as long as there's a clear reason to delve into it), she's definitely not into repeated forays into some multi-level megadungeon. Knowing your audience as a DM is key to having a good campaign so I planned on running something more city based this time around with her characters having a lot more interaction with the NPCs in the game world and actually starting play in a medium-sized city (our previous games always began in small villages) that her characters grew up in.

For source material, I based our beginning session on the Pathfinder adventure path module Edge of Anarchy.

The first session was broken up into three parts... rescue a bunch of orphans from a local crime lord, gather information from charismatic thug who lives on a ship down by the docks and recover the dead body of a barbarian chief's son.

One of the highlights of the game was the information gathering mission where the Captain of the Royal Guard hired her PCs to dig up some dirt on a visiting diplomat named Carl Star. Her PCs visited a mob boss named Brad Fletcher who lives on a ship down by the docks and tried to pursuade him to spill the beans on Carl, which he did but only after a hefty bribe was placed before him. I used ability checks and role playing for this encounter... for each bribe attempt, I had her roll four six sided dice with the goal being to roll equal to or less than her charisma. Also, part of what helped get Fletcher into a talkative mood was my daughters willingness to have one of her PCs participate in a game of "knives".

Knives works like this... two unarmed people stand on each end of a large rectangular table. A dagger is placed in the middle of the table an equal distance from each opponent. The goal of the game is to get your opponent off the table by any means... the person left standing wins.

My daughter had her Fighter take up the challenge and ended up facing off against a rather large, strong, overweight, unwashed man named Flynn who taunted her by saying "come on girl, you think you can win against me? Well, if you insist... I'll try not to leave a scar". I'd never seen my daughter more excited to play out an encounter and it almost killed her that she lost the initiative to Flynn who managed to grab the dagger first and then turn to face her PC. She tried to body slam him off the table with her weight but she rolled bad and went right past him, Flynn used the dagger on her and scored a hit for 3hp of damage. She retaliated by punching him hard in the face (her fighter has a 18/78 strength) which nearly did him in but Flynn was still on his feet and took another swing with the dagger... and missed (much to my daughters relief). She then punched him again with a solid hit and brought him down.

I tried to play the mob boss Fletcher as kind of swave and worldly and even dropped a few hints that he might be interested in having her characters work for him in the future. I'm not sure she'll visit him again though.

Back at the palace, her characters tell the captain of the guard that Carl Star is supposedly a high ranking member of a demonic cult known as the Order of the Silver Serpent. Shortly afterwards, the king dies and the streets of the city are plunged into chaos... "poison" and "assassination" are on everyone's lips.

Next session, a plague will begin in the city (secretly masterminded by the queen herself) and sweep through it like wildfire. Can anything be done to stop it from destroying the city? My daughters characters will also be hired to bring the kings assassin to justice... only, will she be capturing a scapegoat or the real killer?

Pickpocketing

2011-03-07T13:17:00.009-07:00

What's a DM to do when a thief makes a successful pickpocket attempt on some random person in the game world? Since there are no charts or guidance to cover this in the Dungeon Masters Guide, DMs are often forced to adjudicate this on the spot... I've done this in the past myself with some success but afterwards I've always wished I could have had something more concrete to consult in order to help with my decision. To that end, I finally got off my butt and came up with a chart that I can use in conjunction with random pickpocketing attempts. My daughter and I are planning a new game in the near future (we may even play later today) and I have a feeling that this will come in quite handy since one of her characters is a Rogue.

Regular Items, Roll 1d20

1. 1d6 copper pieces
2. 1d4 silver pieces
3. 1d8 buttons
4. wooden pipe with tobacco
5. silver necklace worth 15sp
6. 50/50 chance of 1d3 carrots or one small turnip
7. smooth black rock that looks interesting but is valueless
8. small piece of cloth (1-5 sweaty and gritty, 6 fancy and made of silk)
9. 1d4 marbles
10. 1d8+2 copper pieces
11. 1d6+2 silver pieces
12. 50/50 chance of 1d4 gold pieces or a small candle
13. wooden spoon
14. roll 1d8 (1-6 metal fork, 7-8 piece of dung)
15. crumpled piece of paper w/ directions to nearby tavern
16. piece of bone with string wrapped around it at one end
17. 1d8 nails of various sizes
18. small cloth bag full of herbs and spices
19 - 20. Special (see special chart below)

Special Chart, Roll 1d12

1. 1d10 gold pieces
2. silver bracelet worth 1d6gp
3. miniature ivory animal worth 5gp
4. 1d4 jewels worth 1d20+4gp total
5. small leather pouch containing a glass eye
6. 1d3 wooden sticks
7. 1d6+1gp and 1d6+2sp
8. pair of mittens worth 3sp
9. handful of raisins
10. piece of chalk
11. vial of perfume worth 3d10gp
12. extra special item (see really special chart below)

Extra special items, Roll 1d6

1. gold ring worth 20-60gp
2. small silver broach inlaid w/ rubies worth 140gp
3. 50/50 chance of 1d12+2 platinum pieces or 1 potion bottle (DMs choice)
4. scroll w/ one spell (DMs choice)
5. plain gold necklace worth 2d20+12gp
6. Roll 1d10 (1-8 tiny metal box containing 1d4 teeth, 9-10 human finger)

Zero Level Spells

2011-03-05T08:42:00.015-07:00

I always thought 0-level spells were a cool idea but the ones that appeared in Dragon Magazine in the early 1980s and then later in Unearthed Arcana were unfortunately a bit on the lame side. None of them seemed particularly useful, especially to the adventuring magic-user, and what low level magic-user in their right mind would opt to memorize a handful of almost useless 0-level spells when he could memorize one potentially life-saving 1st level spell instead?

To remedy this, I decided to come up with my own 0-level spells, not so much to supplement those that have already been published but more to replace them... I tried to keep the power level relatively low (below that of 1st level spells) while still making them interesting and useful. I would allow 1st level magic-users three zero level spell slots at first level (they can pick which ones they want from the below list) in addition to the usual 1st level spell that they receive at the beginning of their careers.

Spark; creates a purple spark that can be used to start a campfire, light a torch, etc...

Slumber; puts to sleep one zero level person or humanoid, range is touch, save negates

Kilgore's Apple; turns an ordinary apple into a projectile weapon that will cause metal armor to be degraded by one category if it strikes true (magic-user must make normal attack roll to score a hit), range is 30 feet plus 10 feet per level of the caster

Darts of Fury; allows caster to randomly enchant 1d3 darts for one round. Darts will be at +1 to hit

Trick Voice; allows caster to impersonate the voice of anyone he has heard with 90% accuracy for one round

Reveal; this spells helps the caster discover the location of secret doors, although it does not assist with determining how they are opened (If the chance to discover a secret door is 1 in 6, this spell increases the chances of discovery to 3 in 6)

Flash; creates a brief, bright, flash of light in a 40ft radius, one person or creature of the casters choice is significantly affected (-1 to hit for one round), save negates

Scribble; caster can write on surfaces with his or her finger for one round. The writing will remain visible for one day per level of the caster

Candlelight; sheds light in a five foot radius for one round per level of the caster, range is 5 feet

Unearthed Arcana

2011-02-06T21:58:00.014-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I only use the "core" AD&D books along with the Fiend Folio and Monster Manual II but that was a lie. What I didn't mention was the Unearthed Arcana book. There's a lot to like about it but a lot to be wary of as well. I think the trick to using the book is to clearly define exactly which parts of it you'll allow in your game. I don't care much for the new classes... I thought the version of the Barbarian that appeared in Dragon Magazine #63 was a lot better than what was published in Unearthed Arcana but even that version needs a little work to make it totally playable. Even without the classes, there's still a lot to like, namely the spells and magic items. I also like the slightly expanded weapon list along with the rules for spellbooks, warhorses and barding, etc... Anyway, I sat down this afternoon and decided to type up a list of exactly what I think is usable in this book (with page number references) so I could officially add it to my house rules. Below is what I came up with... btw, the picture is from my own copy of the book, 12th printing, October 1991.

Character Classes Table II: Armor and Weapons
Permitted, page 13

Thieves Table II (Effects of Armor on Thief Functions),
page 22

New Spells, pages 28-71

Warhorses and Barding, page 76

New Weapons, pages 77-78

Character Spells and Spell books, pages 79-80

Spell Explanations, page 81

The Adventure (Underwater Adventures), pages 81-82

Combat (Effects of Darkness), page 82

Treasure and Magic Items, pages 84-106

Unarmed Combat (System I), page106

Non-Human Deities, pages 109-122

The Nomenclature of Pole Arms, pages 123-128

Cursed Items

2011-02-06T00:30:00.004-07:00

I don't normally use cursed items in my game but I came up with two of them that I may try to incorporate in the future. Each one has a bit of a plot hook embedded in its description.

+1 Luckblade - This blade is a standard +1 luckblade during daylight hours but late at night its true nature is revealed and it becomes "the drinker". The drinker has an intelligence of 15 and an ego of 18. Once per week, it will mentally contact its current owner during the night, attempt to dominate him or her and then go forth into the night with its owner in search of a victim. The sword is pure evil and usually prefers to kill innocent, young women, although anyone can be a potential target. The blade is only satisfied after a life has been taken and it has tasted hot, fresh blood. The next day, the sword's owner will have no memory of the previous night's events and will believe he or she slept soundly throughout the night.

Kipler's Coin - As legend has it... long ago, the old wizard Kipler fell victim to a series of seemingly endless pick pocketing attempts. His irritation at being constantly bothered by petty thieves caused him to create this unique item. The object appears as a normal, slightly worn, gold coin in all respects but anyone stealing the coin immediately becomes ensnared by its curse. Once stolen, the coin causes any further items pilfered by the owner to be teleported to Kipler's old treasure vault. The coin also has a side effect of causing the owner to suffer from a mild form of kleptomania. The only way to get rid of the coin is to have it stolen from its current owner (a remove curse or wish spell will also do the trick). Alas, the coin has been in circulation for many hundreds of years and the wizard Kipler, and his coin, has become something of an old wives tale among the common folk... many have pondered just how much treasure must still be accumulating in Kipler's old vault (or the ruins of it, wherever it may be) over the many long years after his death. If the tale is to be believed, there may be riches there beyond belief...

The Northern Lands

2011-02-04T22:38:00.013-07:00

I drew this map a few weeks ago and at the top I wrote, "The Northern Lands"... the name just kind of popped into my head. I imagine this area of the game world as being a sub-region of something even larger, a kind of wild, untamed place a bit out of the way of regular civilization. I was going to identify two or three political regions as well but I never got around to that. Colored pencils are awesome.

I also took another stab at a a city map which I titled at the top, "Renton, City of Fools". It's just a draft really but I think it's probably usable even now as long as I take the time to identify a few shops and taverns and such. I kind of drew it to go along with the map above although I never decided exactly where Renton was specifically located.

Last but not least is a small, simple dungeon. I figure I could use it to kick off a campaign... maybe locate it in the wilderness as part of what's under some ruins (perhaps an old, abandoned fort). I left the contents empty, in fact, I didn't even number the rooms yet but I imagine a group of bandits in there or maybe some pesky kobolds... who knows what else? Maybe a mostly abandoned evil temple on the second level. Also, this was the first time I've ever drawn a dungeon map on anything other than graph paper. I'd heard that graph paper can limit your imagination so I wanted to try something on blank paper just to see what would happen. Below is what I ended up with...

House Rules & Clarifications

2011-02-04T20:32:00.011-07:00

Hello all! I've been thinking about what to include in my 1st Edition AD&D house rules (below is what I decided upon... for now). I'm always tempted to change a lot of stuff but then I usually manage to rein myself back in because I don't want to diverge too much from the base of the game. The rules below assume use of the core books only plus the Fiend Folio and the Monster Manual II, that's why I include all the extra stuff on thieves as well as the weapon specialization for fighters from the Unearthed Arcana book. I've always thought initiative was a convoluted mess so I opted for something much simpler. I also included a much more useful version of the poorly written "Identify" spell (taken from 3rd Edition). I don't spell it out in the house rules but I probably wouldn't bother with encumbrance either unless the PCs kept insisting on hauling around unrealistic amounts of gear and loot. Weapon speed factors are out too...

Ability Score Generation

Roll 4d6 for each ability while ignoring the lowest die roll. Arrange scores as desired and apply racial modifiers (if any).

Hit Points

All PCs start at 1st level with maximum hit points

Classes

PCs may choose to be Clerics, Druids, Wizards, Thieves, Fighters, Rangers or Paladins (Bards, Monks, Illusionists and Assassins are NPC only classes)

Detecting Traps

All PCs have a base 1 in 6 chance to discover traps when searching for them

Thieves

Thieves may also use short bows in addition to the weapons listed on page 19 of the Players Handbook. Thieves may also wear padded or leather armor (penalties for wearing these kinds of armor as well as bonuses for wearing no armor are listed below)

No Armor: +5% pick pockets, +5% hide in shadows, +10% move silently, +10% climb walls

Studded Leather or Padded Armor: Pick Pockets -30%, Open Locks -10%, Find/Remove Traps -10%, Move Silently -20%, Hide in Shadows -20%, Hear Noise -10%, Climb Walls -30%

Elfin Chain: Pick Pockets -20%, Open Locks -5%, Find/Remove traps -5%, Move Silently -10%, Hide in shadows -10%, Hear Noise -5%, Climb Walls -20%

No dexterity bonuses apply to thief functions (though penalties do) when wearing armor other than simple leather. Magical devices such as Bracers of Defense and/or rings and cloaks of protection are not considered armor and still entitle the thief to the "No Armor" bonuses listed above.

Fighters

Single classed fighters only can spend an extra weapon proficiency slot on a weapon he or she is already familiar with to be a specialist with the chosen weapon. He or she gains a +1 to hit and +2 to damage with such a weapon.

Races

Level Limits

Demihumans who stay in a single class may exceed their level limits by +2

Movement Rates

Humans, Elves, Half-Elves and Half-Orcs have base movement rates of 12 (Movement rates affected by weight /encumbrance are reduced accordingly: 12/9/6/3)

Dwarves, Halflings and Gnomes have base movement rates of 9 (Movement rates affected by weight /encumbrance are reduced accordingly: 9/6/3/1)

E.g. A dwarf wearing plate mail armor has his movement rate reduced from 9 to 3 due to the bulk and weight of the armor) A human wearing plate armor has his movement rate reduced from 12 to 6 for the same reasons. This example assumes individuals of average strength. Magical armors are considered weightless and do not effect base movement rates.

Spells

Modified Spells

Identify (Divination)

Level: 1 Components: V, S, M

Range: 0 Casting Time: 6 turns

Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: None

Area of Effect: One touched object

Explanation/Description: The spell determines all magic properties of a single magic item, including how to activate those functions (if appropriate), and how many charges are left (if any). Identify does not function on an artifact. The material components of this spell are a pearl of at least 100gp value, crushed and stirred into wine with an owl feather with the infusion drunk prior to spellcasting.

Spell Components

Spellcasters are assumed to have all required spell components for their spells except for those that are considered rare and/or cost 1gp or more

Combat

Roll 1d6 for surprise, a 1 or 2 on the die indicates surprise. Surprised PCs or monsters may make one round of attacks

1. Players declare actions (DM decides on actions of monsters)

2. Roll 1d10 for initiative, low roll wins initiative

3. The winner of initiative acts first (DM may decide to check morale of monsters)

4. Movements can be made (A PC can move up to half of his or her movement rate and still make an attack).

5. Missile attack rolls are made, accounting for DEX adjustments, cover, and range.

6. Magic. Spells are cast and applicable saving throws are made (Spellcasters may not move and cast spells). Magic items being used (wand of fire, scroll of sleep being read, a rod being activated, etc...) also come into play at this time as well.

7. Melee combat occurs; attack and damage rolls are made, accounting for STR and magic adjustments.

8. Other side acts in same order

9. When all sides of a conflict have acted and the combat will continue into the next round, the sequence begins again at step 1.

The Mad Demigod's Castle Now at Dragonsfoot

2010-08-22T07:16:00.013-06:00

I'm proud to write that the good folks at the Dragonsfoot website http://www.dragonsfoot.org/ have agreed to host the file for the Mad Demigod's Castle. It's nice to know that it will remain accessible to everyone in the future even if this blog were to go down at some point and/or I wasn't around to get the file out there again. I still spend a fair amount of time at Dragonsfoot (I stop by for a visit at least a few times a week) although I don't post there as often as I used to, it's truly the best old school Dungeons & Dragons website that exists (and probably ever will exist) and it's literally brimming over with fascinating ideas and interesting people who are almost always friendly and eager to share their knowledge with others. If you've never been to the site and you're interested in early versions of the D&D game, it's worth your while to take a trip over there and look around.

We'll, it's another lonely Sunday night here (the worst part of the weekend) so that means it's almost time for me to put on my poker face again... another bleak Monday morning looms on the horizon.

Cheers,
Richard

THAC0 Just Isn't That Hard

2010-08-07T21:16:00.013-06:00

As all veteran gamers know, in 1st Edition AD&D we had the charts for determining combat resolution (located on page 74 and 75 of the Dungeon Masters Guide... yes, I'm still proud to say I have that memorized). I liked them a lot and because I used them so much during games, I came to depend on them, not just on the charts themselves but on the whole look and feel of the process that involved me cross referencing an armor class with a monsters hit dice (or a players class and level). I think these charts setup a way of doing things in people minds that was hard to get away from when 2nd Edition AD&D first came out.

I remember browsing through my new 2nd Edition books in the early 1990's and specifically looking for the combat charts in the DMG, I looked several times because I knew they had to be in there somewhere and then I came across the new THAC0 combat resolution system. Ok, I'll admit that, at first, I didn't like it at all. I had been so used to looking things up on the 1st Edition charts that the new THAC0 system seemed weird and alien to me. It was a psychological barrier more than anything else because, let's face it, THAC0 is just simple math when you get right down to it. Even so, THAC0 did confuse me a little in the very beginning... but, after sitting down and thinking about the whole process, understanding slowly crept into my mind and I suddenly realized just how simple the system really is.

What came to me was this... in most 2nd Edition AD&D games, players will begin the game at low levels so their THAC0 will be 20.

Most monsters that these new players will be coming up against will not have armor classes below 0. So, let's say I'm fighting a goblin with an AC of 8. To figure out the THAC0 for the player, you just have to realize that the "8" from the AC of the goblin is a bonus that goes toward the players THAC0.

So, if my 1st level fighter has a THAC0 of 20, then 20 - 8 = 12. So, he needs a 12 to hit the goblin, before strength bonuses (if any) are calculated too.

Pretty simple huh?

I still laugh these days when I hear someone complaining about how hard and confusing THAC0 was back during the 2nd Edition AD&D days. People act like they were forced to do trigonometry every time a players wanted to take a swing at an evil baddie and that's just not how it was. I think if people just sat down and thought about the system, the way I did when I was a kid, it would have seemed really easy after a little while.

What seems complex to me are the combat systems for 3rd and 4th edition dungeons and dragons. There are tons and tons of modifiers and special circumstances to keep track of during these kinds of combats (at least if you're trying to play the game by the book) from different kinds of movement to attacks of opportunity to who knows what else... to me, all that seems overly complicated, which is why I stick to AD&D (whether it be 1st Edition or 2nd Edition; I like them both equally for different reasons).

On an unrelated note, I've fixed all of the download links on this blog including the one to the Dungeon of Bartak. All files have been moved to Megaupload so hopefully everything will remain accessible for the foreseeable future. I've also looked into having the Mad Demigod's Castle hosted at the Dragonsfoot website so hopefully it will also be available there before too long.

Gygax Games Dead?

2010-07-27T05:13:00.012-06:00

I took a stroll over to the Gygax Games website today and was greeted with "NOTICE: This domain name expired on 07/25/2010 and is pending renewal or deletion"

Gygax Games

Back in December 2009, the old forums at the Gygax Games website suddenly vanished and were replaced by a message that said something along the lines of "Hang tight guys, there's something good in the works!" I had hoped that those words meant that Gygax Games was on the verge of a big announcement of some sort but that was 8 months ago and we haven't heard a peep ever since. It's clear now that the message meant nothing and that even the Gygax Games domain name will probably soon disappear back into the nothingness from whence it came.

And so, the mysterious Castle Greyhawk will, for the foreseeable future, remain mysterious along with other unpublished works from the master of the game. It's sad to see Gail Gygax just sit on the intellectual property rights of her late husband and do the one thing that really burns me up... namely, "nothing". If she had let Troll Lord Games continue to publish Castle Zagyg, it would most probably have been published in its entirety by now, or least nearly so.

At this point, I officially abandon all hope of ever seeing the real version of Castle Greyhawk. It was a nice dream but, as my wife is fond of saying, "You can wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which hand gets full first".

The Dungeon of Bartak

2010-07-20T05:16:00.032-06:00

I created a short little intro dungeon for low level play, specifically for 1st or 2nd level PCs that can be easily inserted into any campaign... either as a side quest or as a way to kick off a campaign. It 's short and sweet but I think sometimes that's best. I use 2nd Edition AD&D stat blocks in the text (in case you were curious) and I am also deliberately vague about how many creatures appear in each room since I feel the DM should tailor such things to suit how many players he has in his game anyway. At any rate, without further ado, I give you the Dungeon of Bartak.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=75HPXDZL

Old School Art

2010-07-16T15:01:00.003-06:00

There's so much this image suggests... it's one of my personal favorites.

A Woman For Each Edition

2010-07-16T04:43:00.016-06:00

If I were to compare the different editions of D&D to women, they would break down like this...

1st Edition is a sultry brunette with a silky smooth voice about 30 years old (I imagine a cigarette smoking woman dressed in sexy black clothes and stockings... like a heroine from a 1950's film noir movie). She's got style in spades and even if she doesn't completely make sense all the time, you're willing to go along with her because she's hot in a kind of fatalistic, dark sort of way. And, of course, she's got a body to die for. If I had to give a name to 1st Edition, I'd name it Margaret.

2nd Edition is a young blonde haired woman in her early 20's who's slender, sexy and fun to be around. She's playful and not concerned with what people think of her. I'd name 2nd Edition Cindy. Cindy has clear skin, blue eyes, likes to smile a lot and is from California. She's not stuck up at all even though she's hot and she comes across as being down to earth and easy to understand. Cindy has a perfect smile with straight, white teeth and a great complexion.

3rd Edition looks a little bit nerdy and wears glasses. She's very smart but she also bothers you all the time about how things have to be a certain way (you know the type) For better or worse, she's got incredible depth, in fact, she's one of the most complex persons that you've ever met. If I had to name 3rd Edition, I'd name it Lynette. Lynette pisses you off once in awhile but she's pretty interesting so you keep coming back for more. However, after you've slept with Lynette a few times, you find yourself mulling over fond memories of Cindy and Margaret and you wonder if maybe you should give them a call to get reacquainted...

4th Edition is way too full of herself to be liked. She's kind of sexy in a strange sort of way that you can't put your finger on but you know right way that it's not going to work with this girl because she's plastic inside and out and basically has no soul. This redhead, let's call her Susan, cares only about herself and how much she can use you to get what she wants. In many ways, she seems like a weird, less sophisticated version of Lynette. It's probably best not to bother with her to begin with...

Cheers!
Richard

Session #4

2010-07-10T20:48:00.006-06:00

Just to recap a little, my PCs now consist of four 1st level fighters, two 2nd level Clerics, one 1st level Magic User and one 2nd level Thief

After resting, they travel back to the moathouse to hopefully stamp out the remaining evil core that still lingers there.

As a DM, you could do a little role playing with the 1st guard that's encountered in the hallway (the one just on the other side of the door) but I decided to skip that for the purposes of this solo game and just go with the inevitable battle... the encounter will end in fighting one way or another (unless maybe the PCs are evil and looking to get recruited, that would be weird)

So, here's what I'm up against...

Lareth, now a 3rd level Cleric
Lieutenant, now a 3rd level fighter
Sergeant, 2nd level fighter
6 1st level fighters

The guards are described as being "fearless" so there will be no retreating for them.

A lot of the initial fighting is going to take place in a corridor so it's important to remember that only two PCs can fight effectively while standing next to each other in such a confined space.

I've decided to put Raymond and Randall in the front rank, followed by the others behind them.

Also, I decided that the gnolls of the previous session had decided to take off for greener pastures... they were described in the module as being dissatisfied with their current situation anyway and I figured that after three more of them had been killed, they would leave the moathouse dungeons. So, no gnolls to encounter. The ghouls are still lurking around somewhere but at this point, I think it would be anti-climatic to present them again.

Initiative goes to the guards, oh well.

First guard closest to Raymond swings his longsword at Raymond and misses. The first guard behind the first guard rushes up to Randall who is standing next to Raymond and swings his sword at him and misses (I was going to add in the bonuses for charging and all that until I saw that this guard rolled a "9" for his to hit roll so no need to bother with that). The guard behind the first two moves up slightly and fires his light crossbow at Raymond (I realized that under strict 1E AD&D rules, movement like this is prohibited but I'm going to allow it)... now, also in this case the guard is trying to hit a target blocked by two of his own people so I'm imposing a penalty of -2 to hit due to partial cover. Guard rolls a 13 and misses...

Richard casts his sleep spell at the first two guards facing Raymond and Randall and they are out cold... Raymond charges the guard who fired the crossbow, rolls a 5 and misses. Randall also charges the same guy, rolls a 9 and misses too. Nigel and James spend the round killing the sleeping guards while Susan, Shelia and Simon move up behind Raymond and Randall.

First round of combat is over.

Guard who fired his crossbow drops it, and pulls his longsword out and readies his shield. Two of the three guards behind him fire their crossbows and both miss (one almost hits with a "15" but he needs a 16 against Raymonds AC4). The crossbow firing guards also make their hooting sounds which alerts the sergeant and the lieutenant (I rule Lareth does not hear this initially because he's in his room and has to be warned of the intruders by the lieutenant so the sergeant will come on the scene a little bit prior to Lareth and the lieutenant). Last guard charges Russell with this longsword and misses.

Russell swings against one of the guards and hits for 6hp, killing him. Russell also hits with a "19" and does 5hp of damage which drops the guard opposite him down to 1hp. Susan fires two arrows, hits with one and drops the guard opposite Russell. All other PCs move up behind Raymond and Russell.

Two remaining 1st level fighters fire crossbows at Raymond and Russell and both miss (they rolled and "8" and a "3"). Sergeant arrives on the scene and realizes all is not well (he can act in the next round).

Raymond charges one of the crossbow firing guards, rolls a "2" and misses, Raymond also rolls a "2" and misses. Susan fires two arrows and hits with one (a natural "20") and does 5hp of damage, killing another guard (this leaves one guard and the sergeant in the area). Shelia fires two arrows at the remaining 1st level guard and hits with one for 6hp (dropping him down to 1hp). Nigel fires his swing and misses with a "2", Richard throws three darts, hits with one and drops the remaining 1st level fighter leaving only the sergeant standing.

Sergeant charges, swings his morning star at Raymond and misses with a "6". At this point, Lareth and his lieutenant arrive on the scene and can act in the next round.

Raymond swings his longsword at the sergeant and hits with a "17" doing 14hp of damage (so the sarge is still standing with 1hp). Russell charges the lieutenant, rolls a "10" and misses. Susan fires two arrows at the sarge but misses with both, Shelia also fires two arrows and misses, Nigel fires his sling, gets a 19 and does 4hp of damage to the sarge which kills him. Richard thows all three darts at the lieutenant and misses (and AC2 is hard to hit for a MU).

Lareth and the lieutenant are up...

The lieutenant swings his longsword at Russell, rolls an "11" and misses. Lareth attacks Russell, swings, rolls a "3" and misses.

Russell swings his longsword at the lieutenant, rolls a "2" and misses, Raymond attacks the lieutenant with his longsword, rolls a "19" and hits for 15hp of damage. Susan fires two arrows at the lieutenant, hits with one for 2hp, Shelia also fires arrows at the lieutenant and hits with one (a natural 20, I should add) for 3hp. Richard throws darts and misses with all three.

Lieutenant swings his sword at Raymond, hits with a "17" and does 6hp of damage. Lareth swins at Raymond too but rolls a "1".

Raymond and Raymond both swing at the lieutenant and both miss, Susan hits the lieutenant with an arrow for 5hp (so he's down to 5hp now), Shelia fires two arrows and misses, Nigel misses with his sling, Richard misses with his darts, James casts cure light wounds on Raymond and heals him for 5hp (so he's only down 1hp now).

Lieutenant swings and hits Raymond for another 3hp, Lareth also hits Raymond for 5hp (Raymond now at 4hp)

Raymond and Russell both swing and miss the lieutenant. Shelia and Susan miss with arrows, Richard misses with darts, Nigel misses with sling. James heals Raymond 6hp so he's back up to 10hp.

The lieutenant his Raymond for 6hp, Lareth hits Raymond for 5hp too (Raymond is unconcious and down to -1hp).

Russell swings at the lieutenant, gets a 19 and hits for 8hp so the lieutenant is dead. Shelia and Susan fire arrows at Lareth and miss, Nigel uses sling on Lareth and gets first blood on him for 4hp (so, Lareth is down to 22hp). Richard misses with all darts, James charges Lareth, swings his mace but misses, Simon casts cure light wounds on Raymond and heals him back up to 4hp.

Lareth swings at James, rolls an "11" and misses.

Raymond swings at Lareth, rolls a "13" and misses, Russell swings at Lareth, rolls an "18" and misses, Shelia and Susan put away their bows and ready longswords and shields, Nigel misses with sling, Richard misses with darts, James misses with mace, Simon casts cure light wounds on Raymond and heals him back up to max hit points.

Lareth swings at James and hits for 6hp of damage.

Raymond and Russell both swing at Lareth and miss, Susan and Shelia swing longswords at Lareth and both miss, Nigel misses with sling, Richard misses with darts, both Clerics miss with maces.

Lareth swings at James and misses.

Raymond and Russell swing at Lareth and both miss, Susan and Shelia swing at Lareth and both miss, Nigel hits Lareth with sling (finally!) for a whole 2hp (wow), Simon casts cure light wounds on James which brings him back up to max hit points, James swings at Lareth and misses (his AC1 is almost impossible to hit).

Lareth swings at Raymond and misses.

Raymond and Richard both miss, Shelia misses, Susan hits with a natural 20 doing 9hp of damage to Lareth, Nigel misses with his sling, Richard misses with all darts, James and Simon both miss. Lareth is down to 11hp.

Lareth casts cure light wounds on himself and he's healed for 2hp so he's back up to 13hp.

Raymond swings at Lareth and hits him for 6hp (so he's down to 7hp now), Russell swings longsword and misses, Nigel misses with sling, Shelia swings longsword and misses, Susan swings longsword and misses, Richard throws darts and misses, James misses with his mace, Simon hits with his mace for 2hp (Lareth down to 5hp).

Lareth casts cure light wounds on himself and heals himself 3hp (he's back up to 8hp and has no further healing magic).

Raymond and Russell swing longswords against Lareth and miss, Shelia swings longsword at Lareth and misses, Susan swings longsword at Lareth and hits him for 5hp (he's down to 3hp), Nigel swings his sling and misses, Richard thows darts and misses, James swings mace and misses, Simon swings mace and misses.

At this point, with Lareth down to 3hp, alone and with no more healing magic, I have him surrender unconditionally to my PCs.

The battle is over... PCs make Lareth talk and he spills the beans about the nearby evil temple as well as his role in it.

Lareth and his lieutenants high armor class made the end part of the battle drag on a bit... I think the reason their armor classes are so high to begin with is because of the modules assumption that Elmo and/or Rufus are going to be doing the fighting against them. If 1st level PCs are going to be doing the fighting, it might better to raise Lareths AC a little (maybe replace his +1 plate mail with +1 chain mail).

Anyway, I give everyone 1,000xp which advances them all one level with the exception of the clerics. Everyone is 2nd level now except for Nigel the thief who is now 3rd level.

Next up, the PCs will travel to Verbobonc to upgrade their armor, spend some money and perhaps get involved in an adventure in the city (I'm thinking of maybe running a solo version of "Skulking Below" from Dungeon Magazine #81). Perhaps afterwards, they will journey to the Temple of Elemental Evil to take it on directly or maybe I'll replace the temple with something different like The Tomb of Abysthor?

Session #3

2010-07-09T21:43:00.058-06:00

Last session I forgot to give the PCs experience points for the kegs of brandy and assorted weapons that they brought back to hommlet, so they all got another 27xp for that (meager to be sure but they need all they can get at this point).

As one commenter on the blog noticed, I have omitted having evil NPCs like Turuko the monk and his hulking friend or Zert the Fighter accompany the PCs. This makes running a solo game a lot simpler plus I didn't want my PCs stabbed in the back (literally). Of course, not all the NPCs in Hommlet are evil, I could have had Spugnoir the MU accompany them but I thought it was unnecessary since the party already has a magic user with a sleep spell. However, his help would definitely be invaluable to a party without a magic user already in it (and all he wants for treasure are any scrolls the party finds... that's not something your PCs are going to be overly interested in anyway if they lack a magic user).

Just to clarify, I rolled up my characters using 1st edition rules. They started with random money and were initially able to purchase anything out of the players handbook. I do not do strict 1E combat, I roll 1d10 for initiative (and only once at the start of combat). Strangely, I haven't gotten any ties for initiative so far but if and when I do, I will reroll the initiative dice (I don't like dealing with ties).

The remaining parts of the dungeon that are unexplored by my PCs constitute the 2nd level of the dungeon. I say that because there is a noticeable and distinct power level increase in the monsters that are encounterd (ghouls, gnolls, bugbear and, of course, Lareth...). And, this "2nd" level of the dungeon is also set apart from the rest of the encounter areas by secret doors (in going beyond the secret doors we move from the easily knowable to serious hostile territory, both literally and figuratively). This is, of course, above and beyond the fact that the PCs are physically moving down lower into the dungeon depths (this occurs no matter which secret entrance they find and use).

Just one more thing before I begin to recount my 3rd session... I'm very impressed with the quality of the writing in this module, everything encountered makes sense and has a purpose. It may be a little short but it presents a nice slice of a believable fantasy world that fortunately lacks the illogic and silliness of other TSR modules. But enough of that... the PCs have rested up again and are itching to meet their destiny in the ruins of the moathouse. Eight 1st level PCs against the combined might of the evil temples outpost...

So, back at the moathouse...

I have the PCs discover the blood stains in the torture chamber and the secret door in the pillar that leads down... so down the shaft they go into area 31 where they encounter the ghouls. The ghouls ability to paralyze had me a little nervous.

Ghouls win the initiative... oh, boy.

All of them except one misses... the one that does hit strikes James the cleric for 6hp of damage so he's down to 3hp. James makes his save vs. paralyzation... he needed a 10 and rolled a 15!

Raymond swings his longsword at the first ghoul, hits and brings it down to 1hp. Richard throws darts but misses and then simon attempts to turn the ghouls...

He needs a 16 or better to turn and rolls an 18... the dice seem to be with the PCs, for now...

He turns every single one of the ghouls so they all take off at full speed (perhaps to be encountered again later).

Simon uses two cure light wounds spells on James and brings him back up to full hit points.

PCs search around and discover the ghouls treasure of 800sp, seven vials of holy water, a potion of undead control (might be useful, methinks...) and a handful of gold coins (we'll say eight of them).

PCs then head out of the crypts and down the corridor where they come to an intersection. At this point, I let the dice determine if they would go left or right and the dice said that they turned right (toward the giant crayfish).

So, off they go to room 30 and the crayfish wins initiative.

The monster attacks Raymond with two claws but only one hits him for 4hp (not too bad considering the claws each do 2-12hp of damage).

Raymond swings his sword at the monster but misses. Richard (who has not entered the room) decides to use his sleep spell against the giant crayfish (I think it worth noting that under 2E rules, the spell would not have the ability to effect a 4+4 HD monster). Richard gets lucky (there is a 50% chance that the crayfish will be effected) and the monster is put to sleep. Richard centered the spell in the back half of the room so Raymond was unaffected by it.

PCs search the area and find a platinum pin worth 2,000gp, 17cp, 30sp and 19gp and a bone tube containing a scroll with the magic user spells push, stinking cloud and fly. Not a bad haul.

PCs leave the room and head out of the room and up the corridor which ends in a door. PCs open the door and find themselves in a room with two exists and two doors. Raymond tries one of the doors (the false one) which activates the gate at area 26. The other door is also opened which leads to an empty 10 x 10 room. At this point, I roll randomly again to determine which corridor the PCs will take and they end up heading into gnoll territory...

I finally win initiative for once...

Raymond attacks nearest gnoll with longsword and misses, Richard throws three darts and hits with two for 3hp of damage total. Simon swings his mace but misses, Randall rolls a 17 and scores a hit on the strongest gnoll for 13hp (too bad it's not enough to kill him, he's still got 1hp left... I hate it when that happens), Susan rolls a hit with a 19 and scores 10hp of damage, killing her opponent, Nigel misses with his sling, Shelia swings and misses, James swings his mace and misses.

Gnolls up...

Two gnolls attack raymond and both miss, two attack Simon and one hits him with a battleaxe for 4hp (so he's down to 4hp). Another gnoll hits Randall for 4hp, another gnoll attacks susan and misses, one gnoll swings at Nigel and hits him for 7hp (ouch) so he's down to 1hp and another gnoll swings at Shelia and thankfully misses.

My turn...

Raymond swings and hits the biggest gnoll for 14hp (gotta love longswords against large sized opponents), Richard throws his darts and hits with one for 1hp. Simon casts cure light wound on Nigel which heals him back up to full strength (good on Simon), Randall swings and misses again, Susan swings her longsword and does 12hp of damage (killing another gnoll), Nigel gets a hit on one of the gnolls with his sling for 3hp, Shelia swings her longsword and misses, James swings and tags one with his mace for 6hp. Nice dice rolling by the PCs but the gnolls are up again (there are still six of them left).

Two of them attack Raymond, both hit and do a combined total of 12hp (Raymond is down to 1hp!), one gnoll swings at simon and misses, one swings at Randall and misses, one swings at Susan and misses and finally one swings at Shelia and misses.

My turn again...

Injured Raymond swings his longsword and misses, Richard throws three darts and one hits for 2hp, Shelia hits one for 4hp, James casts cure light wounds on Raymond which brings him back up to 9hp, all others miss.

Gnolls up again...

Two gnolls swing at Raymond and one hits him for 4hp, one gnolls swings at simon and misses, one swings at Randall and hits him for 6hp (Randall is now unconcious and at 0hp), one gnoll hits susan for 6hp and the last one swings at Nigel and hits him for 2hp.

Retreat!!!

My turn is up and with one fighter unconscious, and several PCs injured, I decide its time to retreat... if I wanted to be strict, I could have allowed the gnolls a final attack on the retreating PCs but I didn't. Raymond grabs the body of Randall and they all haul ass out the way they came. On the surface, James quickly casts two cure light wounds spells on Randall (the last of the healing magic) which brings him back up to full hit points. They journey back to Hommlet to rest...

After dividing up the xp, everyone now has 1,537xp (So, the clerics and the thief are all 2nd level). In addition to experience points from monsters and treasure, I also gave a 300xp bonus to each PC (I believe this is necessary prior to the final confrontation with Lareth and his cronies... specifically I mean my watered down version of Lareth and his Lieutenant - see below for details on that)

So, the PCs rest up and prepare to make what should be their last excursion to the moathouse dungeons.

End of Session #3

Afterthoughts...

Parts of this module are definitely too hard for a group of beginning 1st level PCs (too hard without help from the NPCs in Hommlet). This flaw keeps the module from being an A (it's still an A- in my book... we'll, maybe a B+... at any rate, it's very well done even though it's not perfect).

If I were going to run this module again for a group of 1st level PCs, I would almost certainly replace the bugbears with ordinary skeletons (how many skeletons would depend on the size of the PC party) and I would also replace the gnolls with a slightly reduced number of orcs (maybe 6 or so).

As a DM, I would also cut the number of zombies encountered from 12 to 6. Four ghouls is also too many for a low level party (I got lucky and turned them but there's too much potential for a total party kill due to their paralysis ability which is further compounded by their three attacks per round). I'd still definitely keep the ghoul encounter because they fit so well as monsters in the crypt area but I'd reduce the number of ghouls to just 2... maybe even one depending on the PCs.

Likewise, Lareth would probably need to be toned down a bit as well... I'd make him a 3rd level Cleric instead of a 5th level one and I'd also reduce his number of troops by half as well. With those changes, I think a group of 6 - 8 1st level PCs would have a reasonable chance of completing the module (as a DM, I think you would need to make sure that at least some of the 1st level PCs have attained 2nd level prior to the big confrontation with Lareth).

In fact, here's a 3rd level version of Lareth that's a bit more manageable (I removed his Staff of Striking, which I thought was too powerful but I gave him a +1 mace to make up for it)... I love AD&D, you can whip up an NPC in just a few minutes...

Lareth, 3rd level cleric, Hp 26, #AT 1, D 1d6+1 w/+1 mace, AC 1 w/+1 Plate mail and 15 Dex, SQ Bonus Spells, MV 12

Str 17, Int 15, Wis 18, Dex 15, Con 16, Cha 18

Available Spells, (4/3): 1st - Cure Light Wounds x2, Protection from Good, Sanctuary; 2nd - Know Alignment, Resist Fire, Silence 15' Radius

And I dropped Lareth's lieutenant a level too... since I don't think he should be higher in level than Lareth. He's still a level higher than the one sergeant I let stay in the area, which is the way it should be.

Lieutenant, 3rd level fighter, Hp 30, #AT 1 or 2, D 1d8+1 w/ longsword or 1d6x2 w/longbow, MV 6

Str 16, Int 12, Wis 10, Dex 14, Con 17, Cha 7

After that, I would highly recommend that a DM throw in some kind of short transition adventure prior to the PCs going anywhere near the Temple of Elemental Evil.

In fact, a short little transition adventure prior to running T1 The Village of Hommlet just might be the ticket too... would help the PCs gain some loot and xp. Perhaps have the PCs find a small hidden tomb on the way to Hommlet?

Lastly, I found this really cool map of the village of Nulb on the internet and wanted to share it with you guys in case you haven't already ran across it during your travels through cyberspace... I'm not sure who drew it but I think it's quite well done.

My Solo T1 Village of Hommlet Game

2010-07-09T05:14:00.042-06:00

I always wanted to try a solo game with a bunch of PCs all created by yours truly so I figured I'd finally go ahead and do it... my module of choice is T1, The Village of Hommlet. I created eight PCs for this adventure, all starting at first level. I've studied this module a lot as a DM and always came to the conclusion that it was too hard for a bunch of 1st level PCs to actually survive to the end. So, that's a hypothesis I'll be testing out in this game as well.

Before I list the PCs, please be aware that I created them using the 4d6 drop the lowest die method (I didn't cheat when I rolled for the fighters exceptional strength, I swear). All started with max hit points too. There are 4 fighters, 2 clerics, 1 magic user and 1 thief. So, without further ado...

Name: Raymond Nash

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: Fighter

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: 18/81 (+2, +4)

Intelligence 12

Wisdom: 10

Dexterity: 13

Constitution: 17 (+3hp)

Charisma: 6

Hit Points: 10 +3 = 13

Treasure: 184gp

Weapon Proficiencies: Longsword, Shortsword, Dagger, Short bow

Armor Class: 4

Movement: 9

Equipment: Longsword & Scabbord (15gp), Chain Mail (75gp), Small Shield (10gp), 50'ft rope, 4 large sacks, backpack (2gp), 4 torches, 2 dozen arrows (2gp), Short bow (15gp), 1 week iron rations (5gp)

Attacks per round: 1 or 2

Damage Per Attack: 1d8 + 4 w/ longsword or 1d6x2 with shortbow

Experience Points: 712

Name: Richard Kerns

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: Magic User

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: 10

Intelligence: 17

Wisdom: 9

Dexterity: 15 (-1 to AC)

Constitution: 15 (+1hp)

Charisma: 11

Hit Points: 4+1 = 5

Treasure: 198gp

Weapon Proficiencies: Dart

Armor Class: 9

Movement: 12

Equipment: Dagger & scabbord (-5 to hit) (2gp), 12 Darts (3gp), Backpack (2gp), Spellbook, Bullseye Lantern (12gp), 6 flasks of oil (6gp), 4 large sacks, 1 week iron rations (5gp), Leather belt with pouches

Attacks per round: 3 w/ darts

Damage Per attack: 1d3 w/dart

Spells Known: Read Magic, Sleep, Detect Magic, Magic Missile

Spells Memorized: Sleep

Experience Points: 712

Name: Simon Jones

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: Cleric

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: 14

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 16

Dexterity: 12

Constitution: 14

Charisma: 8

Hit Points: 8

Treasure: 127gp

Weapon Proficiencies: Mace, horseman's (1d6), Quarter Staff

Armor Class: 4

Movement: 9

Equipment: Chain mail (80gp), small shield (10gp), Horseman's Mace (4gp), holy symbol, 3 large sacks, 2 week iron rations (10gp)

Attacks Per round: 1

Damage per attack: 1d6 w/horseman's mace

Spells Available: Cure Light Wounds, Cure Light Wounds, Cure Light Wounds

Deity Worshipped: Pelor

Experience Points: 712

Name: Randall Flag (I like Stephen King, ok?)

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: Fighter

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Strength: 18/92 (+2, +5)

Intelligence: 13

Wisdom: 10

Dexterity: 12

Constitution: 14

Charisma: 14

Hit Points: 10

Treasure: 103gp

Weapon Proficiencies: Longsword, Shortsword, Dagger, Short bow

Armor Class: 3

Movement: 9

Equipment: Longsword & Scabbord (15gp), Banded Mail (100gp), Small Shield (10gp), 50'ft rope, 4 large sacks, backpack (2gp), 4 torches, 2 dozen arrows (2gp), Short bow (15gp), 1 week iron rations (5gp)

Attacks per round: 1 or 2

Damage Per Attack: 1d8 + 5 or 1d6x2 w/shortbow

Experience Points: 712

Name: Susan Smith

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: Fighter

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: 16 (+1 damage)

Intelligence: 13

Wisdom: 11

Dexterity: 12

Constitution: 15 (+1hp)

Charisma: 13

Hit Points: 10 +1 = 11

Treasure: 184gp

Weapon Proficiencies: Longsword, Shortsword, Dagger, Short bow

Armor Class: 4

Movement: 9

Equipment: Longsword & Scabbord (15gp), Chain Mail (75gp), Small Shield (10gp), 50'ft rope, 4 large sacks, backpack (2gp), 4 torches, 2 dozen arrows (2gp), Short bow (15gp), 1 week iron rations (5gp)

Attacks per round: 1 or 2

Damage Per Attack: 1d8 + 4 w/ longsword or 1d6x2 with shortbow

Experience Points: 712

Name: Nigel Beets

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: Thief

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Strength: 12

Intelligence: 11

Wisdom: 8

Dexterity: 17 (-3 to AC, +3 to reaction/attack adjustment)

Constitution: 17 (+2hp)

Charisma: 8

Hit Points: 8

Treasure: 149gp

Weapon Proficiencies: Sling, Dagger

Armor Class: 5

Movement: 12

Equipment: Leather Armor (5gp), Dagger and scabbord (2gp), Sling w/ 2 dozen bullets (1gp), backpack (2gp), Small silver mirror (20gp), 3 large sacks, 3 weeks iron rations (15gp), Thieves Tools, Elven Cloak

Attacks per round: 1

Damage Per Attack: 1d4+1 w/sling (+2 to hit due to 17 Dexterity) or 1d4 w/dagger

Thieving Skills: PP 35%, OL 35%, F/RT 25%, MS 25%, HS 20%, HN 10%, CW 85%, RL 0%

Experience Points: 712

Name: Sheila Winters

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: Fighter

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: 16 (+1 damage)

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 9

Dexterity: 15 (-1 to AC)

Constitution: 16 (+2hp)

Charisma: 10

Hit Points: 10 +1 = 11

Treasure: 194gp

Weapon Proficiencies: Longsword, Shortsword, Dagger, Short bow

Armor Class: 2

Movement: 9

Equipment: Longsword & Scabbord (15gp), Banded Mail (90gp), Small Shield (10gp), 50'ft rope, 4 large sacks, backpack (2gp), 4 torches, 2 dozen arrows (2gp), Short bow (15gp), 3 week iron rations (15gp)

Attacks per round: 1 or 2

Damage Per Attack: 1d8 + 1 w/ longsword or 1d6x2 with shortbow

Experience Points: 712

Name: James Myers

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: Cleric

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: 14

Intelligence: 12

Wisdom: 16

Dexterity: 15 (-1 to AC)

Constitution: 15 (+1hp)

Charisma: 14

Hit Points: 9

Treasure: 190gp

Weapon Proficiencies: Mace, horseman's (1d6), Flail

Armor Class: 4

Movement: 6

Equipment: Scale Mail armor (45gp), small shield (10gp), Horseman's Mace (4gp), holy symbol, 3 large sacks, 2 week iron rations (10gp)

Attacks Per round: 1

Damage per attack: 1d6 w/horseman's mace

Spells Available: Cure Light Wounds, Cure Light Wounds, Cure Light Wounds

Deity Worshipped: Heironeous

Experience Points: 712

And, here's the campaign journal of their adventures so far...

Session #1

Background: The PCs have been hired to look into some bandit activity that has been occurring near an old ruined moathouse near the Village of Hommlet.

The PCs are attacked by frogs on the approach to the moathouse, 1 huge one and 4 smaller ones.

Frogs achieve surprise and after a surprisingly long combat due to bad dice rolls on both sides, the PCs prevail with one fighter and one cleric injured. Simon uses cure light wounds to heal himself back up to full strength. Susan only received minor injuries and is down to 9hp so it was decided not to waste a healing spell on her at this time. The PCs did not find the gem inside the big frog.
XP: 179

Spider in the tower gains surprise but fails to make a hit upon the thief who first enters. Fighters fire a hail of arrows at the spider which damages it greatly but it's finished off by a blow from James' mace.
Loot: 71cp, 38gp, ivory box worth 50gp
XP: 187

PCs entered the moathouse and decided to try the door to the bandit HQ. PCs entered the room and were surprised by the bandits although they took minimal damage during the surprise round. 1st regular round of combat went to the bandits and they scored several hits on the PCs (Raymond the fighter was reduced to 3hp and Richard the MU to 2hp). Richard used his sleep spell to take out the bandit leader as well as two other bandits. The other fighters brought down two more bandits which only left four of them standing. All of them tried one more attack against the PCs but did no damage to them. When the PCs attacked again, they wiped out all but one bandit who was reduced to 1hp. He told them about the buried chest under the rubble in the hopes that they would let him go (they didn't). Three more healing spells were used to patch up Raymond to full hit points and one was used on Richard although he only gained 2hp (he was back up to 4/5 which wasn't too bad).
Loot: Four +1 arrows, 2000cp, assorted things worth 495gp, 80sp, 7ep, 4gp, 12pp
XP: 117 for the bandits

I have the PCs decide that they should return back to Hommlet with their prisoner to ask some questions and to communicate that they have apparently ended the bandit threat.
Total XP Gained: 1,158, split eight ways comes to 145 each.
End of Session #1

Session #2
PCs rest and recuperate at Hommlet. Their prisoner (lets call him Lewis) tells the PCs that there are no more bandits at the moathouse, although they are not sure whether or not to believe him. Lewis is turned over to Rufus for further questioning. Rufus then tells the PCs about the rise of evil in the land and about a possibly resurgent Temple of Elemental Evil. PCs sleep at the Welcome Wench, meet Elmo but do not decide to have him accompany them even though he offers.

Simon and Randall upgrade their armor with their newfound loot and then it's back to the moathouse...

PCs make their way back into the upper level and head south where they encounter a giant snake...
Snake wins initiative, gets a hit on Flagg for 1hp of damage, makes his poison save and only loses another 1hp (lucky guy!)
Flagg hits the snake for 8hp of damage (he's got that 18/92 strength backing him up... I rolled that fair and square too by the way), Richard tries a sleep spell on the snake but it's unaffected due to its 5HD, Nigel takes a shot at it with his sling and rolls a 15 so he damages it for 3hp, Raymond shoots two arrows and misses with both, both clerics swing maces and miss... Susan takes a swing at it with her longsword and hits with a 19, she does 9points of damage to the snake. First round of combat is over... the snake is down to 3hp.
Snake takes a swipe at Richard and rolls a 1... goodbye Mr. Snake!
Flagg rolls a 4 and misses, Raymond shoots two arrows and misses with both, again! Magic User shoots three darts and hits with two of them! Damage from the darts is a total of 5hp so the snake is toast with the final blows coming from an unlikely source.
XP: 505
Jeweled Dagger: 850gp

PCs then move to the other part of the moathouse and find the stairs and a bunch of hungry rats. Rats win initiative. Rats score a hit on James (he is also diseased... very unlucky) for 2hp, Flagg for 1hp and Raymond for 1hp.
PCs turn... Raymond gets a hit on a rat and scores 12hp of damage, wow! Richard misses with all three darts, Simon misses, Flagg misses, Susan misses, Nigel misses, Sheila misses and James gets a hit with his mace for 6hp (splat!)
Next round with the rats up to bat... two rats score hits against the Richard the MU for 3hp so he's down to 2hp, all others miss.
Simon gets a hit with his mace but for only 1hp, still good enough to kill one of them. Randall gets a hit for 12hp of damage, all others miss.
Rats are up again... Simon is hit for 3hp, Nigel takes a hit for 3hp too...
PCs are up again... Raymond kills a rat doing 11hp of damage to it, Nigel kills a rat with his sling, James gets a hit on a big rat with his mace and reduces it to 1hp but does not kill it.
Rats up yet again... Raymond gets hit twice for 4hp total and also contracts a disease
PCs up again... Richard scores two hits with darts and kills one of the bigger rats, Randall also kills a rat doing 9hp of damage to it, James also kills one with his mace for 6hp
Rats up again but only four of them left this time, Raymond hit again for another 2hp, James takes a hit for 3hp so he's down to 3hp.
PCs up again and it might be the final round, Simon kills one with a 6hp blow from his mace, Randall kills a rat with a 12hp blow from his longsword, all other PCs unfortunately miss... so, rats up yet again but both miss.
PCs up, Raymond kills one of the rats with 10hp blow from his longsword (only 1 rat left now), Randall kills the last one with a natural 20 (how poetic) and does a whopping 13hp of damage to it (just a little overkill for a rat). Combat is finally over...
XP: 114

PCs use up all cure light wounds spells which bring the party almost up to full strength again. They decide not to go down the stairs yet, they want to finish exploring the rest of the 1st level.
Loot: 30gp room 15, silver baton
Tick encounter... the tick does not gain surprise although it does gain initiative. It attacks Simon and scores a hit for 2hp of damage and is now latched on to him.
Simon gets a hit for 4hp of damage, Shelia does 2hp of damage
Tick does automatic 1hp of damage to Simon so he's down to 5hp
Raymond gets a hit for 6hp, Richard hits with a dart for 2hp, Nigel hits with his sling for 4hp (tick is still alive by 1hp)
Tick does an automatic 5hp of blood drain to Simon so he's unconscious and at 0hp.
Raymond kills the tick with this long sword with a blow for 5hp... splatters Simon's blood all over the room... James performs first aid on Simon and he stabilizes. Tick is worth 141xp.
PCs decide to return to Hommlet to rest again. Each PC gets 225xp each w/10% exp bonus due to high primary ability scores.
PCs visit Terjon the Cleric in the town and he agrees to cure their diseases in exchange for the jeweled dagger and baton. So, a few days later the PCs are all healed up and ready for another expedition to the moathouse.
Back at the moathouse, the PCs decide to descend the stairs down into the dungeon...none of them noticed the ring on the stairs as they made their descent.

I removed the green slime from the area at the bottom of the stairs because I thought it unnecessary plus I never liked the instant kill features of the slime. I thought about modifying the creature a little and then keeping it but in the end I decided to just axe it completely.
The PCs discovered the concealed doors, both of which are locked. Nigel is able to pick the lock to one of the doors (good boy Nigel) and the PCs chop the 2nd one down. They make a note of all the equipment therein but take none of it at this time. PCs then make their way through the first door they come across on the other side of the room and then, boom, they're toe to toe with Lubash the ogre.
The PCs attempt to surprise the ogre but fail. However, they do win the initiative...
Raymond gets a hit for 12hp of damage, Richard gets a hit with a dart for 1hp, Randall scores a good hit with his longsword 9hp... so Lubash is out of commission in the first round due to some nice dice rolling and the fact that longswords do 1d12 against large sized opponents. Very cool. I was a little worried about this encounter since one hit with Lubash's bardiche might incapacitate a PC. Thankfully, I did not have to cross that bridge.
Treasure taken: Elven Cloak, 823cp, 46sp and 3gp. The Elven Cloak was given to Nigel (1,000xp).
Ogre: 195xp

PCs find and release the ogre's prisoners, worth 48xp. Gnomish iron ring given to Susan.
PCs move into area 21... and are attacked by two zombies!
PCs gain automatic initiative against the zombies, Raymond scores a hit against the strongest one and does 11hp of damage to it. Richard misses with all darts, Simon turns the zombies for seven rounds.
PCs are immediately attacked in the rear by two more zombies, Raymond drops one with his longsword, Richard throws darts but misses, Simon does 3hp to the other one with his mace, Nigel does another 4hp to the still standing zombie with his sling (it's down to 7hp now), Sheila scores a hit for 6hp and James finishes it off with a blow from his mace for 3hp. Wow, high rollers this round!
Two more zombies come out of one of the cells...
Raymond gets a hit again for 7hp, Richard hits with two darts for 2hp, Randall gets a hit and finishes off the first zombie. James attempts to turn the last one but fails.
Zombie attacks Nigel but misses, two more zombies then make their appearance...
Raymond gets yet another hit and does 9hp of damage so the zombie is down to 1hp, Nigel finishes it off with a dart (man, he's dangerous with those things), still two zombies standing right now... Sheila gets a hit for 6hp, all others miss...
Zombies attack and both miss... however, two more zombies come on the scene
Raymond gets a hit which brings the strongest left standing down to 2hp, dart boy (I mean Richard) does awesome with the darts again and gets 2hp of damage on the zombie that Raymond just attacked, dropping it, Simon tries to turn, succeeds, but only turns one zombie (for 11 rounds), Nigel gets a hit with his sling but for only 2hp, all others miss...
Zombies attack, one hits Raymond for 2hp, the other hits susan for 2hp... the last two zombies come on the scene
Simon gets a hit for 1hp, Nigel hits with his sling for 5hp, James also hits with his mace for 2hp
Zombies attack again... Raymond is hit for 7hp, James is hit for 6hp, Nigel is hit for 4hp... zombies are on fire this round
Simon casts cure light wounds on Raymond bringing him back up to 9hp, Randall scores a hit and so does Susan which drops another zombie (still three left), Nigel hits with his sling for 3hp, Shelia hits for 4hp, James hits for 6hp and kills one.
Zombie turn, Simon is hit for 7hp dropping him down to 1hp
Richard hits the last one with a dart for 1hp, Nigel finishes it off with his sling...
Then, the first two zombies that were turned come back to attack (its been seven rounds!)
Randall drops one with a chop for 12hp of damage, Nigel gets a hit on the last one for 2hp, Shelia rolls a natural 20 and does 8hp of damage, killing the last zombie.
PCs track down the remaining zombie and engage it... and manage to kill it without it gaining an attack on them.
Wow, that was a really long combat...
XP Gained: 472 from zombies, plus the 500gp peridot

PCs decide to go back, get the kegs of brandy in room 19 along all the weapons they could carry and head back to Hommlet. PCs split the treasure after getting back to the village and divide it equally, although Nigel gets none since he got the magical cloak.

End of Session #2

Just a Big Dungeon

2010-05-31T19:32:00.014-06:00

If you look back at the history of the Dungeons & Dragons game, you'll notice that, in the beginning, game play centered around exploring one big dungeon. This was especially true for those who played the original white box set from 1974... that's not to say you couldn't have a game that didn't center around a dungeon but the rules were geared specifically towards that end. You'd make up some PCs with your buddies and then delve into a huge megadungeon with traps and lots of weird, interesting stuff that the creative DM would throw in there for the players amusement. Sure, you'd go to town to buy supplies and heal up once in awhile but that part of the game was often glossed over. And, why not? The dungeon is where all the action is and more importantly, where the treasure is... after all, you're not going to level up by talking to NPCs in the local village (at least, not in my game, you're not).

What I think is really interesting though, is that, despite all the modules TSR produced, they never came out with a big ready to play 10 or 15 level dungeon that you could buy off the shelve complete with wandering monster encounters, weird areas, traps, etc... Admittedly, there wouldn't have been room in a module like that for detailed area and room descriptions (like the excessively detailed village in T1 Village of Hommlet). Even so, I think this kind of product could have been done in the standard 32 page module format as long as the room descriptions were kept minimal. It seems really odd to me that the creators of the game never published just a big, vanilla, multi-level dungeon. They could have even broken it up into two 32 page modules or three of them... the first module might have covered levels 1-4, the 2nd module 5-8 and the third, 9-12. Gygax, being the creative genius that he was, probably figured it would be fairly easy for DMs to create something like this on their own anyway or maybe he thought that a big, generic, dungeon module by itself wouldn't be profitable.

What TSR did do was publish a couple of products to help the DM design his own megadungeon. Namely, Dungeon Geomorphs and Monster & Treasure Assortment. I own both of these items and, while their not bad, I never really cared for the geomorphs or wanted to build a dungeon with them. I've considered doing it a few times, but I know that it would just feel too generic (which is exactly what the product is, a bunch of generic corridors and rooms). Monster & Treasure is better, I think, because it gives you a ton of monsters and treasure tailored for each dungeon level. Again though, the treasure tables start to feel a little tired after reading through them for awhile and I don't care for all the monsters they used in the product either which means I'd have to tweak it to get the most use out of it. And, if I have to tweak it, I might as well make something up on my own anyway.

The Temple of Elemental Evil might come the closest to being the never published megadungeon for 1st Edition AD&D and I guess you could use it that way if you wanted to but I feel it's way too themed as an evil temple to be used as a dungeon where you repeatedly make forays into it in search of treasure. It just wouldn't come off right. And, then you have the 2E Ruins of Undermountain... man, I had such high hopes for this product, I think a lot of people did but ultimately, it just wasn't what I was hoping for. People opened up the box and were pissed at all the empty rooms on the map, this is understandable but realistically, there just wasn't enough room in the box to provide room descriptions for every area. The rooms that are there are well done but I also feel that many of them are just too detailed for their own good. It's like with the Village of Hommlet, I don't really need huge amounts of information on weather beaten barns, cottages and farmhouses... the same goes for undermountain too, I think just a couple of lines of text goes a long way to flesh out a room in a dungeon. In my opinion, it would have been better to provide more, less detailed, room descriptions in the undermountain boxed set. Even so, I seriously doubt there would have been space to cover every room because the dungeon was just too big.

And so, ultimately, DMs in the 70's, 80's and 90's were left with only graph paper, some pencils and their wits. None of it really matters though, since the game these days is more about opposed skill challenges and miniature combat. Hope you all had a great weekend.

Revising the Labyrinth of Nelaric

2010-05-27T06:07:00.007-06:00

Over the last few weeks, I've been working on the big revision to the Labyrinth of Nelaric. This final version will feature almost all new maps and will be completely hand written into my notebook with my trusty mechanical pencil... levels one and two are about done. I'm also moving a few things around so that the dungeon is more balanced... looking back at my original version with wiser eyes, it becomes readily apparent to me that some of the monster power levels on the upper levels were a bit over the top (for example, I had a Vrock demon on level 2 along with a room full of steeder spiders... lets just say the mortality rates were, occasionally, on the high side). I'm not sure how big this version of the dungeon will end up being since I'm looking at putting in only the best parts of the original labyrinth. The first two levels are very detailed (relatively speaking) but I think the levels that follow may only contain "core" areas that I judge most likely to be explored by PCs (wandering monster checks and some imagination can be used to fill in the blanks if anyone wanders into some empty areas). So, I don't know... if I use that method, I may keep going until I get to level 9. However, I may decide that after three levels, the dungeon already contains all the "good stuff" and just end it there... I'll have to play it by ear and see what happens. The work is painfully slow, although very rewarding. I don't know how many of you have ever written a book by hand but its a bit like that.

Another Piece of Nelaric's Dungeon

2010-04-25T01:57:00.018-06:00

The first three levels of this dungeon consisted of lots and lots of ordinary rooms along with some cavern areas thrown in for good measure. By the time I got around to drawing level 4, the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted the level to be very different from the previous three. And so, I came up with the idea of an underground lake. At first, traversing the dark waters of the lake was the only way to get to level 5 until I added in another small network of caves (level 4A) which allowed PCs to get to level 5 without ever getting their feet wet. But, those that took that route never got a chance to meet the tattoo maker...

I wanted level 4 to be both different in shape as well as content so I came up the idea of an old guy living on a small island (area 27 on the map) who could make magical tattoos for the PCs.

Here's the area description...

Tattoo Maker - A thin, short, rather handsome old man with salt and pepper hair and piercing brown eyes can be found here. He wears a raggedy black robe with the hood pulled back and is likely to be found holding a dirty old quill in his right hand. The expression on his face is often solemn and reserved.

The man’s name is Ames Talbot and he lives in self-imposed exile in and under the ruins on this small piece of land here on the black lake. He has lived alone for many years and has the unique ability to create magical tattoos. If treated well, he may offer to create a single tattoo for each PC. The tattoos have various powers (+1 to an ability score, +1 to certain saving throws, immunity to poison, immunity to sleep & charm spells, disease, infravision or 15% magic resistance). Under no circumstances will he ever create more than one tattoo per person. The tattoos take 1d4+1 turns to create and will last for 2d6 days, after which time they will begin to fade, completely disappearing along with whatever benefit they happened to bestow 1d4 days thereafter. Ames wears a ring of water walking on his right hand and possesses a crystal ball.

Ames Tolbert, HD 1-1, Hp 4, THAC0 20, #AT 1, D By weapon type, SQ Tattoo Making & Magic Use, D By weapon type, AL Lawful Good, AC 10, MV 12

The tattoo's were kind of a reward for PCs who made it that far into the dungeon without being killed and who had the balls to explore the place.

I also put a floating magic door on this level that could be used as a way to quickly travel back to the surface. Players needed a crystal key (found in a chest in one of the caves on this level) to be able to open the door and use it, otherwise it was just an oddity.

So, that's another glimpse at the Dungeon of Nelaric. Hope you all had a good weekend, Monday is coming soon and the horrors of the week will soon follow...

Even More Maps...

2010-04-08T02:27:00.136-06:00

Thinking back, this map is probably the first one I should have drawn when I decided to sketch out an outline of my fantasy world. It might be a bit cliche to have your players begin in a small farming village but I still think it works well as a setup, especially for a bunch of new players. The village is about a days journey from the City of Melk and many farmers make the journey to the "big city" every now and then to trade and sell their crops. I named my village "Haywen" (I'm originally from a city in California called Hayward so it's just a twist off of that name... I like names that mean something to me personally) and it has a population of about 350.

The priest who runs the temple of Shalera (an agricultural, fertility goddess) will be loosely based on the Air Force chaplain I knew when I was stationed in Greenland... for example, the priest will be a weapons collector, mainly knives and swords and will be rather opinionated). In real life, he was an ex-marine who collected rifles and handguns (not exactly what you expect from a priest, huh?) I guess to each his own though.

New players can start off exploring the Caves of Doom or the Tomb of Dugal and we'll see where things go from there. You don't want to plan too much unless you're prepared to do some significant railroading in your games. It's better to just have a general idea of where your game will go while letting the players stay in the drivers seat. It's sometimes hard to do that as a DM because you never know what the players are going to do (and they're notorious for doing the unexpected).

I drew another world map that I might use as an alternative to the others that I've already made... nothings labeled on it but Haywen and Melk would most likely exist in the south central portion of the map with Melk being the city on the coast and Haywen a little bit north of it.

On a completely unrelated note, I was very happy to read a comment on the blog from my old friend Jeremiah Abelgore, see my March post on "Secrets of the Mad Demigods Castle", who found his way to this piece of ether-space a few days ago. His comment suggested he sent me an email but, if he did, I unfortunately never got it (if you're reading this Miah, please send me another email or maybe post your email address in the comments section so I can send you one... I'd love to hear how you're doing after all this time).

Cheers all...

More Maps

2010-03-28T02:37:00.006-06:00

I drew this map today with the intention that it would be a small dungeon I could use in a beginning game but it turned out a little bigger than I originally intended. Even so, I think I could probably still use it. I'm envisioning the 2nd level as a sort of forgotten evil temple with maybe a few undead and possibly a couple of evil priests. The upper cave areas might have some bandits and creepy crawlers in them (I'm envisioning this dungeon as a low level kind of thing for 1st and 2nd level PCs) like stirges and/or giant centipedes, maybe a puzzle too and a trap as well.

Thankfully, you can't ever have enough maps... especially generic ones that you can drop into a campaign at a moments notice. I'm hoping that after awhile, my notebook might end up being a little bit like the 1st Edition AD&D Book of Lairs. I have a long way to go before I get there though so I better get busy. Cheers!

The Labyrinth of Nelaric

2010-03-27T21:55:00.014-06:00

I've come to realize that I'll probably never finish updating my old dungeon to the point where it can be a publishable download but at the same time I don't want to give up on the idea of sharing at least some of it with you guys. Below is a portion of the map from level 2... like I said before, most of the action for this dungeon took place on the upper three levels. Several ordinary stairways connected levels 2 and 3 but there's one special stairwell in room 26 that stands out as the most memorable for me. Basically, there's a time/space distortion in the area of the stairwell that has the effect of making travel between levels 2 and 3 a very lengthy process. The stairway seems ordinary enough when you first examine it, but its literally possible to travel down the stairs for many miles before finally reaching a room on level 3. In my games, I assumed that PCs could travel down the staircase at a rate of about five miles an hour. Assuming they traveled down the stairs for 8 continuous hours, they would finally end up in a room on level 3.

Shortly after thinking up this bizarre stairwell, I got the idea of making it more interesting for the players by putting one small room about halfway down the stairs that contained a very interesting object... namely, a slot machine. Now, keep in mind that this dungeon was sort of a catchall for just about anything creative I could come up with at the time; it was definitely not an experiment in dungeon ecology, something that too many people seem to get hung up on these days in my honest opinion. The slot machine gave the players a specific reason to use the stairs (otherwise, what would have been the point after finding quicker ways to get to level 3 via normal stairways?). Some of them would return to it every once in awhile to mess with it and see the results. Below is a description.

Slot Machine – A large machine approximately 7 feet tall, 4 feet wide and 4 feet thick can be found pushed up against the east wall of this room. Numerous buttons, dials, knobs and strange symbols cover its surface. A small slot just big enough to insert a coin exists on the right side of the machine, as does a metal lever. Near the bottom of the machine is a small recessed area about 2 feet wide, 1 foot high and 1 foot deep. Anyone approaching within 10 feet of the machine will trigger a magic mouth that will say “Insert five gold coins to try your luck”. If at least five gold coins are placed in the slot and the lever is pulled, some of the dials on the machine will spin and move for one round. There is also a 20% chance that something unusual will happen (if an unusual result is called for, roll 3d8 and consult the table below), otherwise, after the dials are done spinning the magic mouth will say, “sorry, please try again”.

3) A loud rumbling can be heard inside the

machine, after which nothing happens.

4) Machine dispenses 1d8 rotten eggs

5) Entire machine glows with a bright blue light

and then dispenses 100gp

6) Machine dispenses one dead mouse

7) Machine dispenses 1d6+1 live white mice

8) Machine dispenses 6d6+8 fresh clamshells

9) Machine dispenses 1d10x4 gallons of goat

urine

10) Machine rumbles and dispenses 5d12 seagull

feathers

11) Machine dispenses 1d4pp and 3d8gp and

8d8cp

12) Machine dispenses 1d10x2 gallons of muddy

water

13) Acid spray out of dozens of tiny holes that

Magically appear all over the machines

surface (everyone in the room takes 2d12

damage)

14) Machine changes color to yellow, red or white

for 1d4+3 rounds

15) Machine shoots lightening at everyone in the

room except the person who pulled the lever

(lightening causes 1d10+1 damage)

16) Machine dispenses 10d10 ordinary red

marbles

17) Loud screeching sound is heard within the

machine, it then begins to smoke for 1d6

rounds, then explodes for 5d10 damage

(machine magically reappears after 1d6 days)

18) Loud screeching sound is heard within the

machine, it then begins to smoke for 1d10

rounds after which nothing happens

19) Machine dispenses 10d8x3 silver pieces

20) Machine lights up and blinks several different

bright colors while emitting loud beeping

noises for one entire round as all the dials and

knobs spin and whirl. The machine then

dispenses 2d20 gems worth 1d100x10 gp

each

21) Machine dispenses a rusty spoon

22) Machine dispenses 5d10+6 nails

23) Machine seems to suddenly disappear

(becomes invisible for 1d12 turns)

24) Machine becomes incredibly cold and then

dispenses 1d6 pounds of crushed ice

So, as you can imagine, it was great fun for the players to screw around with the slot machine (at least until they got bored or injured by it, whichever came first). Most of the stuff it dispensed was garbage but it was possible with some luck to get it to pay off big (see result #20). I would also leave special coins around in the dungeon for the players to find that, if placed in the slot machine, were guaranteed to cause a special result. These coins were made of black metal and featured the face of a jester on both sides.

In the future, I'll share more of the history of this dungeon with you. I had so much fun running it over the years that I always get nostalgic when I talk about it. Stupid, huh? At any rate, hope you've had a good weekend, too bad it's almost over.

Alternate Covers for the Original D&D Books

2010-03-27T08:12:00.010-06:00

So, I was messing around with paintbrush, word and some fonts that I have and I came up with some alternate covers for the original three little brown books. They're basically the same as the old ones just with different pieces of artwork on the covers.

Men & Magic

Monsters & Treasure

Underworld & Wilderness Adventures