IRL Gaming: OSE (Advanced) Stonehell - Preamble + Session 1; "You failed the tutorial level."

 As mentioned previously, I'm currently in a Discord-based OSE game. I've been attempting to join or run an OSR game in real life for a few months, and thanks to a DCC session that highlighted an MTG friend's player skill (despite being a 3e baby he showed the kind of cleverness and caution you'd expect from OSR play), I got him interested in OSR play. And of course, this enabled me to reach out to another friend (also an MTG player and 3e baby) and get him to agree tentatively to "try out" this weird old D&D.

Prep was somewhat of a trainwreck, as the transition from digital to physical so often is. I let Friend 2 (hereafter J) use the OSE Advanced Fantasy to roll up a character: An elf assassin. All well and good but then I realized I had Advanced Labyrinth Lord, which is a system I greatly prefer and didn't need to print anything for (I greatly enjoy physical prints of my legally-acquired PDFs). The elf assassin was legal in OSE but illegal in ALL due to her low stats (an important note to keep in mind for those debating over which system to choose), so I was forced to stick with OSE as the source for my rules booklet. There was much heming and hawing over which module to use: Stonehell was chosen but then I realized that several (!) years ago I had printed out the entirety of B1. As I reviewed B1 Sunday in slow periods during my work, I realized that I had forgotten B1 was unstocked; and so we pivoted to Stonehell once again.

Session 1

From the town or hamlet of Fouquett, three souls strode forth to brave Stonehell: Alpha (Neutral female elf assassin, 2 hp, played by J); Mil the Ominous (Neutral male human fighter, 1 hp, played by C, the aforementioned DCC enjoyer), and Zortkygar the Hooded (Chaotic male dwarf thief, 2 hp, used as a retainer). The Holmesian Random Name Generator from Zenopus provided the names and Ye Olde Fast Pack from B4 sped up equipment selection. The town has no banks, only credit unions (the excuse is it's a libertarian town) and apparently a surplus of brothels, which may require use of AD&D disease and prostitute tables in the near future.

Alpha and Zort explored the gatehouse from the exterior-facing side, while Mil calmly yelled out the location of the rubble-passage to the south. After fumbling around the canyon and admiring the ruins, the party bumbled into a small area carved into the canyon wall. The elf's sharp ears picked up the sound of something getting eaten (a fire beetle having goat for lunch), and the party wisely decided to explore another part of this 4-room area; worth noting that J said his elf would not tell the others about it, but I informed him that player knowledge and character knowledge are generally not separate in Old D&D. Past a door was a room full of mildewed and rotten crates, barrels, and sundries. Mil decided to investigate and a green slime enveloped his arm! Fortunately player knowledge saved him as they battered it with torches 1 round before it would be fatal. Unbeknownst to the party, the fire beetle had decided to scurry away while combat happened. Further exploration of the area turned up magic chalk, a secret message indicating treasure on level 2 of Stonehell, and a goat corpse.

Mil advanced further into the canyon, seeking water to cleanse his arm (I had described it as notably pale and unhealthy after the green slime encounter), and found the mystical pool and waterfall/stream. The party debating looting the metal sphere 30' down at the bottom of the pool but didn't see the logistics working: Instead they climbed to investigate the source of the water up in the canyon wall. Enticed by the silver hemisphere in the 5'deep pool/spring, the dwarf tied a rope around his waist and jumped in, taking 2 damage on a 1d2 from the magically superheated water and dying! (Room 5 of Level 0B). There was debate about whether to loot and leave the body or take it, until I pointed out it would significantly encumber them.

The now-reduced party stumbled on, entering another canyon wall dugout. The description of leaves on the floor induced some mild paranoia about traps (which goes to show that sometimes dungeon dressing is more than just dressing!) but then Alpha grabbed some rusted arrows lying around and Mil tossed a shield full of ashes around (which managed not to attract nearby monsters). They advanced farther and encountered their first real combat: A rabid racoon! They won initiative and the 1 hp critter was dispatched with the flick of a shortsword. 9' of old rope was scrounged up in the former racoon lair. Exploring to the east they discovered several empty rooms, one with a trap! A bag of sand swung down and almost struck Mil, which would have been lethal if it had struck him. Alpha grabbed the bag of sand for later use.

The party then proceeded to the unexplored western portions: They discovered a large room with an uneven ceiling, rubble-strewn floor, and rather unsafe tone. Alpha tied her 9' of rope around the bag of sand and threw it into the room, disturbing a spitting cobra that dwelt among the rubble! What proceeded was a strange waltz of failures as for 3 rounds everyone rolled misses; Alpha switched from bow to dagger once I informed J that he needed an 18 to hit due to the nature of THAC0 and Descending AC. The cobra won initiative and struck a deadly blow to Mil even without venom: J chose not to retreat but to continue fighting. Simultaneous initiative! The elf struck out at the cobra, but it was too swift and rolled a 3 on a 1d3, slaying her as well! (Room 15 of Level 0B).

Despite many missteps it proved to be enjoyable and another session is planned for next week.

The High Price of Arcane Magic in The Implied AD&D Setting (and other thoughts)

It would be quite cringe of me to not make at least one blogpost this year, so here it is. Skip down past the images for the AD&D discussion.

I'm currently playing in a 1.5+ year-old, rotating DM (not by design) OSE campaign. It's fun, but I've noticed that whenever I DM sessions the players are as paranoid as level 1s despite being the majority of the party being level 7-9 and having access to Raise Dead from two PC clerics. While I've been known to throw some meta-fucking curveballs (a lich that was a pseudo-lich; a white dragon that was an albino red dragon), the group sometimes looks for twists were there are none: Perhaps I'm too good at being unexpected.

In real life, I had an opportunity to run a DCC funnel for two MTG friends, and now sure that I have at least one potential player, I've been contemplating setting up a real life OSR table. My brain says OSE Advanced but my heart says AD&D 1e. We shall see.

Excerpted and slightly edited from the 1e DMG (Premium Edition), p. 13 & 15

Wish, the ur-spell of AD&D, ages the caster 3 years per cast. Humans can die as early as age 62, and the starting age for Human Magic-Users is 26-40. 12 Wishes (or Golems to put it in perspective), places the 26-year old human m-u in the "death by old age" zone.  Meanwhile, Elf Magic-Users with 18 Int are limited to level 11, barring some of the Dragon Magazine and/or Unearthed Arcana additions (which are not universally accepted despite how kickass an elf ranger/druid/magic-user sounds). As an aside this also resolves the "why don't clerics just revive everybody?" question: A powerful mortal servant of a god shaving 3 years off his lifespan to cast a spell that requires a system shock roll is reserved for heroes (as seen in the 1e Dragon Magazine write-up of Wee Jas).

How then, do human magic-users get around such a huge hurdle? The simplest way is to either never cast Wish or save it for emergencies. Potions of Longevity can stretch your life, but a cumulative 1% chance per potion drunk to immediately re-age is very risky. Direct divine intervention is possible but hard to get. Ultimately the best two options are lichdom or forcing monsters and items to do the work for you. 

Lichdom technically removes the downside of aging, although I would argue that the skeletal/decaying form of the Lich and later Demilich actually betrays that it does take a toll on the undead body. It's easy to see a "fresh" Lich being relatively corpse-like but not rotting until the pedal hits the floor and 10, 50, 100 Wishes put the stress of 30, 150, 300 years on the body. Maybe ol' Acererak got cozy in his Tomb of Horrors and then spammed so many Wishes that the weight of 3000+ years turned his body to dust except his skull.

The other way is by hunting down magic items, sites, substances, and artifacts that can grant Wishes, or enslaving, tricking, or forcing creatures that grant Wishes to give them to you. That means a lot of traffic with demons and devils, particularly their higher-ups. This opens up a whole other can of worms, as there's definitely an indistinct but existent line where continued dealings with Evil spirits is definitely not morally Neutral and is clearly Evil, which may draw the attention of Good to an overly ambitious magic-user.

But what does this matter for THE GAME? Well, if you establish patterns early on, you show players how they can use those patterns, in addition to creating logic for dungeons. Dozens of Golems in a dungeon means Lich or Extraplanar, likely Evil involvement somewhere, which will be borne out by more Undead or Extraplanars, respectively. It also makes things like methods of golem construction without Wish use (as it was OD&D via The Strategic Review) both a hook and something valuable in its own right.

The OGL is saved! (Or is it?)

Wizards of the Coast tapped out.

The OGL 1.0a is here to stay . . . for now, with no explicit mention of irrevocability. A minor victory for the OSR, a major victory for communities like the one around Cepheus.

The biggest winners are the 5e players and publishers with the release of the SRD 5.1 under Creative Commons. There's a bit of silliness there though, like Pelor's name and position as a sun god being freely usable, but nothing else about him (or her or it). And unfortunately, I think a lot of the good steam that had gathered around the ORC (Open RPG Compatibility License) is dissipating, to say nothing of the OpenDND movement.

But the people who signed off on the replacement of the OGL because the brand was undermonetized are still there and still in power. They still want to do all that even if they can't at the moment. Why did they fail? From a purely cutthroat perspective, because their propaganda about anyone who opposed the OGL 1.1/2.0/1.2 being a horrible *ist and *phobic CHUD didn't have enough evidence to trick customers into believing their bullshit. Clearly, they need to build up that boogieman.

You will see more of the anti-OSR pieces like PBS did. You will see "problematic" content highlighted by "random" twitter accounts. You will see people saying "dang if only we hadn't forced WOTC to remove the morality clause/release the rules under CC." You will see people talking about the "*ist problem in the D&D community." And you will see WOTC pull this again, with a sigh and a nod, saying  "well we knew this would happen but the community was so vocal, we had no choice."

Or maybe I'm just being overly pessimistic.

dungeon23: March goal

Level 3

This one felt like a slog, mostly due to individual humanoid treasure.

1 square = 10 feet

Doors are presumed to be 5 feet wide, made of wood banded with metal, and opened according to normal rules

Ceilings are 10 feet high

No light sources unless otherwise stated 

Passages with an arrow or "to parts unknown" may lead to dead ends, lairs, secret entrances/exits, or sub-levels as the referee desires. 

After being encountered the first time, "high traffic areas" have a 50% chance of a randomly determined monster(s) being present

 

3.1 West spiral staircase room

Connects to 1.21 and 2.1

There's a 1-in-6 chance every turn spent here that loud deep, croaking from the toads in 3.25 may be heard.

3.2 Strange staircase room

Connects to 2.25 and 4.2  

3.3 Gas room

This room is filled with a cloud of sweet-smelling purple gas. It has no immediate effect and does nothing while within it, but after exiting it blinds those who passed through for 1d6 turns.

 

3.4 Former bedroom

Dusty. Empty save for a make shift cot of blankets and sacks.

 

3.5  Spiked pit trap

10' deep, 3-in-6 chance to fail unless actively looking, 1d6 spike damage

 

3.6 North junction room

A strange cloud of gray smoke surrounds 3000 cp in the southeast corner. The cloud is actually 3 tweens (HD 1, 4 hp each, MV 12 or as host, AC 10, Al N; Att: by "weapon" against ethereal only; Special: can only be hit on ethereal plane, symbiosis). They will attempt to bond with the highest-hp members of the party.

Note: Fiend Folio doesn't specify the effects of multiple tweens in proximity, so I would rule that the tween-bonded cancel each other out and roll normally, while others roll two dice and take the worst result.
 

3.7 West dead end room

Empty, but engraved on the east wall is a message in huge letters: 

POWER MUST BE USED

 

3.8  West spiral staircase room

Connects to 4.3 and 5.1

3.9 Saint's room

In the west corner is a cleric clad in chainmail sitting on the floor, his head bowed and hands interlocked in prayer. Some bits of moldy food are on the ground before him. He is dead, although it is not immediately obvious and is remarkably preserved. As long as his body is left undisturbed/unlooted, chaotic creatures (including PCs) cannot enter nor attack into this room for any reason, and neutral characters may enter but can only attack inward if struck by those inside. The saint also has a iron ankh hanging from a chain around his neck (holy symbol), a mace, and a vial of holy water.

3.10 Lonely treasure room

3000 sp sit in a 6' long lead bath(?)tub that requires at least three people to lift and four to carry.

 

3.11 Lonely north rectangle room

Empty  

 

3.12 Large square room

A thoroughly rotted backpack and equally rusted dagger are at the position of "12"; there are a scattering of bones in front of the east door 

 

3.13 The Ghast-Knight's Room

In this room are many piles of bones and a ghast wielding black metal full plate and shield, both with a silver lion passant prominently displayed (HD 4, 15 hp, MV 9, AC 2, Al C; Att: 1d4 plus paralysis + 1d8 plus paralysis; Special: stench in 10' save or -2 to attacks, undead). It only wants one victim to eat, but if attack en masse it's smart enough to paralyze multiple opponents.
 

Scattered throughout the room under bone piles are 2000 ep, one large golden yellow gem (500 gp topaz), 6000 pp, a clerical scroll with Hold Person (caster level 6) and Exorcise (caster level 8) , and a wizardly scroll with Invisible Stalker (caster level 13).

 

3.14 Northeast square room

Empty   

3.15 Odd room

6 orcs (HD 1, one leader with 5 hp, others 4 hp each, MV 9, AC 6, Al C; Att: varies/see below) are camping in the northeast section, part of the the group that's also in 3.16 and 3.17 and bear the symbol of silver lion on a red field prominently. They will simply observe unless battle is joined. The leader has a whistle that only orcs and elves can hear and will use it to signal intruders to 3.16. Noise of a battle will bring 1d6 orcs from 3.16 every round. 

Treasure/Equipment:

Leader: Orcish whistle, sword, spear, 4 ep

Others: axe, polearm, 9 ep; spear, 9 ep; axe, 8 ep; sword, flail, 12 ep; and sword, spear, 8 ep

 

3.16 Far east rectangle room

17 orcs (HD 1, one leader with 8 hp, others 4 hp each, MV 9, AC 6, Al C; Att: varies/see below) are camped here, part of the the group that's also in 3.15 and 3.17 and bear the symbol of silver lion on a red field prominently. They were ordered to secure an area by "The Red Lady"on levell ??. They know of the elevator room (3.20) and will permit a party to pass through to it. They will seemingly allow a part to pass through to 3.17, but this is a feint: They are the "hammer" in a shakedown/attack plan.

Treasure/Equipment: 

Leader: Axe, crossbow, 10 bolts, 10 ep

Others: polearm, 6 ep; polearm, 3 ep; axe, polearm, 3 ep; spear, 7 ep; axe, 8 ep; sword, flail, 7 ep; sword, spear, 7 ep; axe, crossbow, 10 bolts, 10 ep; axe, bow, 10 arrows, 7 ep; sword, battleaxe, 5 ep; axe, spear, 8 ep; axe, spear, 7 ep; axe, 5 ep; and axe, polearm, 8 ep

 

3.17 Southeast square room

4 orcs (HD 1, 4 hp each, MV 9, AC 6, Al C; Att: varies/see below) are guarding this passage, part of the the group that's also in 3.15 and 3.16 and bear the symbol of silver lion on a red field prominently. Two are south of the east door and two are north of the west door. They are the "anvil" in the orcs' organization and after the party enters, the orcs in 3.16 will encircle: They desire treasure but are not averse to slaughter.

Treasure/Equipment: 

North pair: axe, polearm, 11 ep; axe, bow, 10 arrows, 10 ep

South pair: sword, flail, 9 ep; axe, polearm, 9 ep

 

3.18 Southeast rectangle room

Empty, but if the orcs of the silver-lion-on-red group allowed the party to pass they will move 4 orcs (HD 1, others 4 hp each, MV 9, AC 6, Al C; Att: varies/pick from 3.17 roster) from 3.17 to here. Equipment and treasure will be unchanged in the move.   

Space to note Treasure/Equipment: 

 

 

 

3.19 North rectangle room

3000 cp lies scattered on the floor; it will take one full turn to gather up 1000 coins. There are random teeth of man, beast, and others intermixed with the coins.

 

3.20 ELEVATOR TO HELL

The south wall of this room has a large iron panel with two copper buttons: An arrow pointing down and an arrow pointing up. Up here, the up arrow does nothing. If the down arrow is pressed, roll 1d6: 1-5 it descends that many floors without stopping at a rate of 5 ft/round; on a 6 in remains stationary. See connections, below.

On levels 4-7: If down/up are pressed, roll 1d6 and descend/ascend that many floors, if the result is greater than the number left below/above it goes the opposite direction instead.

On level 8: If the up arrow is pressed, roll 1d6: 1-5 it ascends that many floors without stopping at a rate of 5 ft/round; on a 6 in remains stationary. Down here, the down arrow does nothing.

The elevator will ascend 1 floor/day until it returns to level 3.

A number of parameters can be adjusted via 3.21

Treat those who fall from a higher floor onto the platform or into the shaft as having fallen 20 ft/floor. 

Technically this room only has one wall (the south panel wall) and no ceiling

 

Connections:

Level 4: Rooms 4.17 and 4.22

Level 5: Secret door that opens to a passage

Level 6: Secret door that opens to 6.13, room 6.38

Level 7: ???

Level 8: ??? 

3.21 Elevator control room

Within this room are a cot, chair, table, and a large brass console with three marked levers. A <> indicates the levers' current positions when first encountered. From left (farthest from the door) to right (closest), they are: 

SPD                  MOV            RST

MIN   <>          MIN              DAY <>

MED                MAX             WK

MAX                RND <>        NO

SPD is speed. MIN makes the elevator travel 5 ft/round. MED makes the elevator travel 10/ft per round and knocks passengers prone. MAX makes the elevator travel 20/ft per round. and if descending passengers are treated as though they fell 10 ft per floor, while if ascending each passenger is merely knocked prone for the duration of the movement.

MOV is movement, i.e. how the elevator moves between levels. MIN makes the elevator only descend/ascend 1 level at a time. MAX makes the elevator descend level 8 and ascend to level 1, without any stops between. RND makes the elevator's movement randomized: Roll 1d6 and descend/ascend that many floors, if the result is greater than the number left below/above it goes the opposite direction instead.

RST is for reset. DAY means the elevator will automatically ascend one floor/day until it returns to level 3. WK means the elevator will automatically ascend one floor/week until it returns to level 3. NO means the elevator will not ascend automatically at all.

 

3.22 Grand oval room

Empty  

 

3.23 Horizontal southern rectangle room

Empty 

 

3.24 Dragon's square lair

Here be an unusually large very young white dragon (HD 7, 7 hp, MV 12/30, AC 3, Al C; Att: 2 claws 1d4 each + bite  2d8; Special: breath weapon 3 times a day, damage = hp in cold damage, save for half) This dragon cannot speak or cast spells. It is 60% likely to be sleeping.

Its hoard is guarded by its pet(?) toads in 3.25. Combat with them is 25% likely to awaken it.

 

3.25 Toad abode

8 giant toads (HD 2+4, 11 hp each, MV 6+6 hop, AC 6, Al N; Att: bite 2d4; Special: can attack mid-hop) are lairing here. They are pets/snacks of the white dragon in 3.24 and combat with them is 25% likely to awaken it. Otherwise, they are vicious, hungry, and fight to the death, even chasing.

Beneath assorted toad detritus is 3000 sp in a semi-orderly stack.

 

3.26 Lonely west square room

Empty, but engraved on the west wall is a message in huge letters: 

CHANCE MUST BE SEIZED

3.27 Vertical southern rectangle room

Empty.

3.28 Drow camp

13 drow (Leader HD 3, 10 hp; rest HD 2, 9 hp each, MV 12, AC 4, Al C; Att: adamantine sword 1d8+1; 50% magic resistance, +2 to saves; leader has Nystul's Magic Aura prepared)

Their leader is a fighter/mage named Kelbyr; he and his band have been tasked by a superior to bring tribute to The Master on level ??? but they were unsure if they could tackle the white dragon in 3.24. They are not obviously hostile but won't hesitate to kill or capture a weakened or small party if the opportunity presents itself. 

Each drow has a skull-shaped buckler +1, a wickedly barbed sword +1, and red chainmail +1.  Their treasure is on their persons underneath their armor: Kelbyr has 25 pp and 3 average yellow-green gems (100 gp chrysoberyls). The rest have: 15 pp and 4 small pure black gems (50 gp onyxes); 15 pp and 4 average pearls (100 gp ea) ; 15 pp and 1 tiny mottled blue gem (10 gp azurite); 15 pp and 4 tiny pink gems with "moss" patterns (10 gp moss agates); 15 pp and 2 small orange gems (50 gp carnelians); 15 pp; 15 pp; 15 pp; 15 pp; 15 pp; 15 pp; 15 pp; and 15 pp

300 pp in an iron chest is half of the tribute, with the other stored in 3.29

3.29 Fire beetle chamber

6 fire beetles (HD 1+2, 6 hp each, MV 12, AC 4, Al N; Att: bite 2d4; Special: 3 light glands, each illuminates 10' and lasts six days after removal) lair here, and using their weird ways the drow have "tamed" them so that they will attack them. Otherwise they are territorial.

300 pp in an iron chest is hidden beneath carefully placed scraps of bone and chitin, the other half of the 3.28 drows' tribute

 

3.30 Southwest rectangle room

Empty. 

 

3.31 Hallway room

Empty. 

 

3.32 Lonely south square room

Empty.

dungeon23: February goal

Level 2

1 square = 10 feet

Doors are presumed to be 5 feet wide, made of wood banded with metal, and opened according to normal rules

Ceilings are 10 feet high

No light sources unless otherwise stated 

Passages with an arrow or "to parts unknown" may lead to dead ends, lairs, secret entrances/exits, or sub-levels as the referee desires. 

After being encountered the first time, "high traffic areas" have a 50% chance of a randomly determined monster(s) being present

 

2.1 South spiral staircase room

Connects to 1.21 and 3.1

The jermlaine in 2.4 have a 90% chance of hearing movement in/through here.

 

2.2 Fountain chamber

The faintly glowing water (no useful illumination) circulating through the central stone fountain will permanently reduce a drinker's Wis by 1d3 while giving him a permanent +1 hp. Only the first drink has an effect for any given entity.

 

2.3 3-way chamber

Empty. The jermlaine in 2.4 have a 70% chance of hearing movement in/through here.

 

2.4 Jermlaine warrens

This angled chamber is the lair of 22 foot-tall jermlaines (HD 1/2, 2 hp each, MV 15, AC 7, Al C; Att: 1d3; Special: 5-in-6 chance to surprise, 75% to remain undetected while attempting to be stealthy). Through extremely narrow crawlways (no chance for even a halfling to squeeze in), they have two warrens, a small eastern area and a larger western area (not mapped because it should be impossible for a party to enter). They are 75% likely to remain hidden and then attempt to set up woven hair triplines (4-in-6 chance to fall) once intruders have exited the chamber.

They will attempt to attack obviously weakened and wounded parties: If a battle goes south they will plead and beg for mercy, offering their "entire treasury" of 1000 cp.

In addition to the 1000 cp they may offer as a bribe, they have another 1000 cp, an apple-green gem (50 gp chrysprose) and a blue-green gem (50 gp zircon) in their eastern warrens and 500 gp, 2000 cp, a large olive-green gem (500 gp peridot), and a large violet gem (500 gp garnet) in the western warrens. 

 

2.5 North rectangle chamber

Empty 

 

2.6 Pit trap

10' deep, 3-in-6 chance to fail unless actively looking

 

2.7 Treasure chamber

A locked oaken chest contains 200 pp.

 

2.8  High traffic area

6 Orgillons (HD 2, 9 hp each, MV 12, AC 6, Al C; Att: punch 1d6+1 or by weapon +1; Special: Only speak ogre and alignment) are following the albino fire beetle at 2.9 as part of a totemic quest. They will not permit any to pass them but they have no problem with a party following them. Their treasure is: 6 gp; 4 gp; 8 gp; 8 gp; 4 gp; and 3 gp.

2.9 High traffic area

8 fire beetles (HD 1+2, 6 hp each, MV 12, AC 4, Al N; Att: bite 2d4; Special: 3 light glands, each illuminates 10' and lasts six days after removal) are currently resting here. One is an albino. If left undisturbed they will eventually pass through 2.10 and 2.11, before nesting in 2.12.

 

2.10  South strange chamber

Empty, but engraved on the south wall is a message in huge letters: 

DESIRE SETS US INTO MOTION

2.11  North strange chamber

Empty, but engraved on the north wall is a message in huge letters: 

WILL IS THE FINAL FORCE

 

2.12 Dead end chamber

Empty. 2-in-6 chance to hear activity from the mites in 2.14 

 

2.13 Hallway room

Empty.  4-in-6 chance to hear activity from the mites in 2.14 and the mites have a 5-in-6 chance to hear entry into this room

 

2.14 Former refectory

22 mites (HD 1-1, two leaders with 7 hp, rest 3 hp each, MV 9, AC 8, Al C; Att: 1d3; Special: can't [?] speak) lair amid tables, chairs, and clay pots in varying states of disrepair. They are always ready to set up an ambush using the awkward corners and furniture of the room, but can't get into perfect position if they don't hear movement in 2.13. They eat captives and prisoners. They have a hoard of 2000 sp, scattered in amongst detritus and in random pots.

 

2.15 South rectangle chamber

Empty  

2.16 Four-door Room

4 zombies (HD 2, 8 hp each, MV 6, AC 8, Al N; Att: 1d8; Special: always strike last, undead) each stand in a corner of this room, all wearing rotted leather armor and bearing rusted weapons. They will not attack those entering or exiting from the north or south doors. They will attack any who enter or exit the west or east doors. If one is attacked, they all respond in kind.

 

2.17 Gas Pocket

A cloud of opaque but harmless gas seeps up from the floor, blocking all vision through and in the indicated area

 

2.18 Trap door

Leads down to level 4

 

2.19 High traffic area

When the party first arrives there will be a party of 16 orcs (HD 1, one leader with 8 hp, others 4 hp each, MV 9, AC 6, Al N; Att: varies/see below) here. The leader is notably larger; He is Uthak, a princeling of the Gray-Eye tribe. His father, King Gray-Eye, ordered him and his brother to find an albino creature and bring it back dead or alive, with the one who brings a prize back first securing succession to the throne. Uthak has 7 gp and is armed with an axe and a polearm. He is open to alliances and will remember any good or ill done to him. The rest of the orcs' armaments and treasures are: 

3 gp, axe, polearm; 4 gp, axe, crossbow, 10 bolts; 4 gp, spear; 5 gp, axe, crossbow, 10 bolts;

6 gp, axe; 5 gp, spear; 6 gp, sword, spear; 4 gp, sword, spear;

1 gp, battleaxe, sword; 4 gp, sword, spear; and 6 gp, axe, polearm.

The orcs will eventually head south and toward 2.12 in their search.

 

2.20 Columned intersection

The black stone columns have vertical script on each of them:

D                               P                         C                          W  

E faces south            O faces east        H faces west        I faces north

S                               W                         A                          L

I                                E                          N                          L

R                              R                          C

E                                                           E

The pillars detect as evil but have no other special features.

 

2.21 Gas Pocket
A cloud of opaque but harmless gas seeps up from the floor, blocking all vision through and in the indicated area

 

2.22 The awkward room

3 Bullywug outcasts (HD 1, see below for hp, MV 3//15, two AC 6 and one AC 7 [see below], Al C; Att: varies/see below; Special: +1 to hit after hopping) are lairing here. They are Gort (5 hp, armed with a glowing sword +1 and a beautiful golden shield -1 with a lion's face), Nurk (4 hp, armed with an axe +1 of dwarven make), and the albino Hee (8 hp). They are generally unfriendly but may be recruited as hangers-on for food and 10 gp each. They are very likely to betray the party, especially if their lives are at risk. They have no other treasure.

 

2.23 The Chapel

The pillars bear the same engravings as 1.1:

D                               P                         C                          W  

E faces south            O faces east        H faces west        I faces north

S                               W                         A                          L

I                                E                          N                          L

R                              R                          C

E                                                           E

There is an empty altar here. On the north wall are four almost life-size figures carved of red stone; they are on tiered pedestals. First tier: A monkey-headed woman, centered; Second tier (1' above the first): A rabbit-head woman on the left and a bull-headed man on the right; Third tier (1' above the first): a tiger(?)-headed man, centered.

The statues, altar, and pillars all detect as evil but are otherwise inert.

 

2.24 North square room

Empty 

 

2.25 North spiral stair case room

Connects to 3.2 and 4.2

 

2.26 Dead-end rectangle

Empty   

2.27 Huge square room

Empty   

2.28 Southwest square room

Empty   

2.29 High traffic area

A generally indifferent train of 22 foot-tall jermlaines (HD 1/2, leader with 4 hp, rest 2 hp each, MV 15, AC 7, Al N; Att: 1d3; Special: 5-in-6 chance to surprise, 75% to remain undetected while attempting to be stealthy) are on their way to 2.4. Their leader, Eyes-of-gray, is a grandson of an ousted chieftain and seeks to reclaim the warrens; he is mounted on a loyal giant rat named Orc-Eater (HD 1/2, 4 hp, MV 12//6, AC 7, Al N; Att: bite 1d3+ 5% chance of disease). He is honest and is willing to part with most of the treasure in the warrens (although he will agree in ballpark figures) and/or his train's carried treasure in exchange for aid. Their treasure is 2 gems, one small and glassy blue-white (50 gp chalcedony), the other very small and striated green with dark green (10 gp malachite).

 

2.30 Norker toll route

A group of 12 Norkers (HD 1+2, 7 hp each, MV 9, AC 3, Al C; Att: bite 1d3 or club 1d6) have set up a small shakedown operation here, although there are usually (75%) 4 in this room at a time, with the other 8 in 2.33, which is also where they keep their treasure. The toll is 1 gp per person, adjusted based on if they think they can wring more out, and they will ask which door the party wishes to go through. If the eastern door is indicated, one will whistle then guffaw, a signal to the norkers in 2.33 to prepare an ambush; the others will brush off his actions as a joke.

 

2.31 Yellow-carpeted room

The "yellow carpet" that covers the floor is in fact yellow mold (on contact releases a cubic foot of deadly gas for 1d8 damage, save vs poison or die, destroyed by fire but otherwise immune to most damage).

 

2.32 Dead-end room

A humanoid skeleton with a a caved in skull is sprawled on the floor. Next to it is a message scrawled in chalk: 

I'M SORRY

HE ATTACKED ME

☥ HAVE MERCY

 

2.33 Norker lair

The norkers in 2.30 keep their treasure here: 2000 sp separated into two small sacks of 200 sp each, one large sack of 800 sp, and two average sacks of 400 sp. There are usually 8 norkers (HD 1+2, 7 hp each, MV 9, AC 3, Al C; Att: bite 1d3 or club 1d6) here at any given time. There are many more empty sacks, some used as bedding.

dungeon23 supplemental: The town(?) of Silverlion

Originally I was going to make multiple posts about the town of Silverlion as opposed to the Castle Silverlion above the dungeons, but that was far too much effort. I think that if I were to run what I have right now, I'd use a combination of Hommlet and The B2 Keep. 

The Castellan would either be Lord Silverlion himself or a subordinate. 

The chaotic (evil) ne'er-do-wells of the village would just be part of a specific demon cult rather than ToEE employees.

I like the religious tension in Hommlet but I think I'd try to work in something more reflective of the Scottish/English religious tensions - the Old Church with its rustic presbyterian structure vs the Royal or Proper Church with an appointed episcopacy. One would be in the village (probably the newcomers) and the other in the keep (the old guard). The druidics would be the major third wheel. 

I imagine tension between Lord Silverlion and village leaders, as well as with the wizard/fighter duo of T1.

Lots of potential for political intrigue.

dungeon23: "weeks" 3-4

 I have completed January's goal for my dishonest subversion of this dungeon23 thing.

A number of sprawling passages are optionally choked with rubble as avenues for future expansion.

 

15. Hint room

In the middle of the floor (where the "15" is) is an a message in chalk: An arrow pointing to the northeast corner and "THIS WAY"

 

16. Dusty room

This room has a thick layer of dust upon the floor.

 

17. Chamber of passages

Empty, but see 20

 

18. The rat nest

13 very angry giant rats (HD 1/2, 2 hp each, MV 12//6, AC 7, Al N; Att: bite 1d3+ 5% chance of disease )have made a nest here using bits fur, cloth, wood, and dead adventurers. They are territorial and attack on sight.

 

19. Room of Ruses

A magic mouth on the ceiling activates when the door is opened: "WELCOME ADVENTURERS! TWO DOORS LIE BEFORE YOU, ONE GUARDS WEALTH AND THE OTHER GUARDS DEATH! CHOOSE WISELY!"

The two "doors" are immobile, solid iron facsimiles with thin wooden paneling

Has a thick layer of dust upon the floor.

 

20. High traffic area

Due to its proximity to the only accessible passage from level 1 to level 3, there's a 50% of wandering monsters at this location.

 

21. Spiral Staircase Room

The spiral staircase here descends to room 2.1 and from there to 3.1

 

22. Trap door and stairs

Beneath this wooden trap door are 5-ft wide stairs that descend to level 2

 

23. Rats' hoard?

1000 sp lay in a neat pile at the location of the "23," covered in rat droppings and corpses

 

24. Rats' neighbor

Empty save for some old blood stains

 

25. Octagonal chamber

Empty

 

26. Horizontal Rectangle Room

Empty, has a thick layer of dust upon the floor.

 

27. Vertical Rectangle Room

Empty, has a thick layer of dust upon the floor.

 

28. Pit Trap!

Most of this corridor is dominated by a 10' deep pit, 3-in-6 chance to fail unless actively looking

 

29. Gas Pocket

A cloud of opaque but harmless gas blocks all vision through and in the area of the  "29"

 

30. Hexagonal Chamber

Empty

 

31. Secret Room

Empty with a thick layer of dust upon the floor., but because of its remoteness acts as a safe place to rest in the dungeon.