So, we return with the next part of the Gygax 75 Challenge - making a campaign setting from scratch over 5 weeks.
The third section is the "main event" - The Dungeon! The first big challenge for a new group of players to tackle. It's got to take planning, logistics, and most importantly luck to truly conquer.
Remember, you can play along at home - visit Ray Otus' itch.io store and download the workbook (for free!) to get started!
This section is a bit more involved than the others; it requires a great deal of detail, thought and planning. And, it gives me a chance to talk about one of my big problems with Skulls & Shackles!
So, part of the overall vibe of the AP is that, while there is a lot of plot going on, the books provide side quests which can increase the player's Infamy (a stat that has some minor effects at various points). One of these side quests involves a mysterious isle, a cyclopean black tower that has been mentioned as a mystery a few times previously in the AP... and it's a 6-room dungeon with a spoopy Lovecraft-lite monster at the end. There's a magic sword that is a Minor Artifact... that also isn't an important part of the story, nor are its powers particularly game-breaking for this AP. It's a weird little diversion, to say the least.
Disappointing to say the least! It definitely felt like a rush job, to fill out a few pages of the AP. Well, I wanted my Black Towers to be a little more interesting, so now they are spread throughout the map. They are the only possible sign of a previous civilization from before The Storm that cut this area off from the world for thousands of years. With no known match to any other ancient civilization, these Towers are mysterious to a fault. Those who enter them tend not to come back, though the few who have are changed by their experiences - tales of strange Undead, odd monstrosities, of maps that cannot make sense.
Gives me a way to include some proper Dungeons, with background reasons for them to exist, as well as Big Background Plot to create!
The Northern Tower
The Northern Tower is a cylinder, 200ft tall and 50ft wide. The area around the tower is devoid of life; even the thick jungle seems unable to encroach within a few metres of the Tower.
Seemingly made of a single black stone, the walls are smooth; almost obsidian in colour and texture. Close inspection of the Tower reveals delicate etched swirls, some of which resemble some unknown script.
Roughly halfway up its height, there is an entrance - a large, fully circular doorway. The door itself is made of the same black stone, and would be invisible if the door was not slightly ajar.
At the base of the Tower lies two skeletons - fairly recent (within the last decade), foolhardy explorers who slid from the Tower whilst attempting to climb.
Those who attempt to decipher the language on the surface of the Tower will not be able to do so without the books inside. Those who do must make a Will saving throw for each hour studying, or take 1 point of Wisdom damage.
Those who attempt to climb the surface without tools may find the shallow engravings to be impossibly sharp - make a Reflex saving throw for every 10ft climbed or take 1d3 damage and fall.
Describe the entrance to The Dungeon in 7-10 words
A circular hole, eerily dark, halfway up the structure.
Make a point-to-point map
For each level, include d6+6 rooms/areas and connect them
This I am tweaking - each "level" consist of three levels of the Tower. The rooms are larger than the outside of the Tower, some only slightly, but others (like the Monster Mash) are much larger than they should be.
Also, for extra confusion, you enter the Monster Mash from the Trapped Room. Trying to go back down those stairs instead leads you to The Builder's Tomb, and going upstairs from there take you back to the Trapped Room.
The Builders had some strange space-folding magics, which makes exploring their ruins a dicey proposition. It also means I can make rooms vary in size, to prevent them becoming standard-sized circular rooms.
Include d3+1 ways up/down per level
Again, gonna tweak this - as it's a tower, there is one way up and down - although, those are not always the same up and down as you expect.
Come up with three themes (1 per level)
Here, we roll for a "budget" to use when stocking the dungeon. Level 1 gets 5, Level 2 gets 3, and Level 3 gets 5. We spend these points to make references to each theme throughout the dungeon, as set dressing, creatures, sensory details etc.
So, Undead are already a big theme of the island, so that's an obvious one. A mix of recent explorers and a more ancient culture/type, perhaps. This will be the theme of Level 1.
The second will be Cyclopean Ruination - elements of the original builders, bizarre architecture, strange magical traps. This will be Level 2.
The third will be Monstrosity - there's gonna be some Real Weird Shit deeper down into the tower. This will be Level 3.
Make a list of 11 different monsters and place them
So, as players will be 1st-3rd level when tackling this dungeon, I want a mix of simple fights, and more powerful single monsters.
1. Zombie - 3 in The Last Expedition, 1 pinned to a wall in the Entrance.
2. Skeleton - 3 in The Last Expedition, 4 in the Stellarium.
3. Ghoul - 1 in the Long Stairs Down.
4. Darkmantle - 2 in The Long Stairs Down, dead one in The Monster Mash.
5. Giant Centipede - 3 in the Monster Mash.
6. Grick - 1 in the Monster Mash.
7. Starlings (Monster Tome) - a clutch of 2d6 in an aquarium in the Monster Mash.
8. Metal Monsters (Monster Tome) - eight Small monsters in the Monster Mash, which may combine into a single Medium Metal Monster if allowed to meet up.
9. Stirges - 2d6 in a nest in the Trapped Room.
10. Iron Cobra - one as part of the Trapped Room.
11. A new monster! Kinda. The Builders have been converted from the Sons/Spawn of Kyuss from Greyhawk; as a weird, unusual undead creature, they make for a great "boss monster" for the Tower. Obviously, these will be in the Builder's Tomb.
Undead Builders
What remains of the presumed builders of the Black Towers, these creatures are much taller and thinner than a man, with stretched, canid faces and oddly curved bones. These specimens sit on thrones, and wear scraps of rotted armour and clothing. Most strange is the masses of vivid blue worms that infest their corpses, somehow still alive even after seeming centuries of being locked in this room.
Large Undead; Chaotic (CN); Low Intelligence; Clew (1d3)
HD 4 AC 12
ATK Slam (1d8 + disease)
MV 50 Saves F13, R13, W12
XP CL 6 (1000xp)
Special Qualities: The Builder exudes a sense of palpable dread and confusion (30ft radius as Cause Fear), can regenerate 1d4 points of damage per round (fire, lightning, acid and holy magic cancels), and is infested with vibrant blue worms (each round, a worm will try to attach itself to anyone within 5ft; +3 melee attack to successfully land. Once landed, will wriggle into position on the back of the neck for one round, during which it can be removed; after which it enters the skin and burrows into the brain in 1d4 rounds. Remove Curse or Cure Disease can kill the worm at this stage. If it succeeds, the victim dies and resurrects with the same stats as the Builder Zombie in 1d10 turns).
Spread d6 features throughout the dungeon
I rolled 3.
The Stellarium contains a large orrery, which projects an illusory image of the world's place in the Planes and among the stars. It can be used for more than just viewing, but it would require researching the materials in this room and The Library to figure it out.
The Long Stairs Down is a large, circular stairway with no guardrails. It seems to stretch on endlessly down, though a determined group may find an entrance to the top floor of the Southern Black Tower after two day's worth of travelling down.
The Trapped Room contains a statue of the Dark Lord Dagon in the centre; while it is trapped (naturally), anyone who offers prayers and sacrifices to the statue may be able to catch the Demon Lord of the Sea's ear, however briefly.
For each room/area, note whether there is treasure
The Entrance has no treasure. The Last Expedition has a magic weapon and some supplies and loot, The Library contains a few scrolls (or equivalents), the Monster Mash contains a few harvested monster parts, the Builder's Tomb has the usual D&D tomb loots, and the Stellarium contains ancient star charts, high-quality goods and other things which can be sold to the right buyer.
Name three wonderous items and locate them in the dungeon
Aiger's Kiss is a unique +1 cutlass of fish command, originally owned by Captain Tevenida Aiger - the leader of the last expedition to the Tower. Aiger's Kiss is currently buried up to the hilt in the chest of the zombie of the former Captain Aiger in The Last Expedition.
Currently, her son, Valerande "Barracuda" Aiger is gathering the bravery to try and reclaim the sword - should the PCs come out on top, Barracuda will eagerly hunt them down to reclaim it.
A Ring of Protection +1 sits on the finger of one of the Builder zombies in The Builder's Tomb.
The strange magical orrery in The Stellarium runs on Dust of Illusion - there are two doses on a nearby bookshelf.
Spend any remaining theme budget adding detail
I don't have any budget left! In fact, I might have overdone a few bits in places, but I quite like the feel of the place, so I am happy to bend those rules.
Extra Credit
Unfortunately, I did not have time to create a proper map this week; however, I hope to get it done over this coming week. And, the Wandering Monster table doesn't really fit the feel of The Tower; I may make decisions to have monsters move from level to level as needed, but it feels like overstuffing the Tower to have any extra monsters.
Well, this turned out to be quite an involved step. Well worth it - it lays out the basics you need, while sparking ideas about what else you can include, and sometimes forcing you to add new stuff. It's a very interesting take on stocking a dungeon; one I will definitely use in the future.
I will post individual descriptions of each room over the coming week, so be sure to check them out!
No comments:
Post a Comment