#dungeon23 prologue part 2!

#dungeon23, D&D, megadungeon, RPG

This prologue post is going to focus on me recording how I plan to approach the challenge that #dungeon23 is.

Each month I plan to use a different method to randomly generate the rooms for that level.

Currently sources for generating the random levels are:

  • DMG – Appendix A: Random Dungeons
  • Tome of Adventure Design
  • Axebank’s Deck of Many Dungeons
  • Map & Dice Playing Cards
  • D&D Dungeon Geomorphs
  • A random map generator that uses a rubrics cube! (Forget source of this at mo)

So just basic maths dictates that each of the above will be used twice through out the duration of the hashtag.

I also plan to do a similar thing when it comes to populating the megadungeon, swapping between the sources I have (I’m not going to list them all here when they are already listed in a previous post, plus I’ve ordered the kobold press Creature Codex), I’m also going to use the monster generator rules by the Lazy DM.

When I do use the Lazy DM stuff I’m not sure what I’ll come up with. What I do know is that some of the creatures will be unique, some will be dire versions of existing monsters, or even undead/elemental versions. I intend to explore all the Lazy DM ways of creating “new” creatures.

D&D 5e has tiers of play (see below) which I think will impact the creation of the megadungeon.

  • Tier 1 (Levels 1-4): Local Heroes.
  • Tier 2 (Levels 5-10): Heroes of the Realm.
  • Tier 3 (Levels 11-16): Masters of the Realm.
  • Tier 4 (Levels 17-20): Masters of the World.

Four tiers, 12 months. Every three months will cover a tier of play.

Logic dictates that the first three levels will take a party of heroes from level one to level four. And so on.

I’m going to try and stick to tier appropriate creatures to populate the current megadungeon level. But if a more powerful creature makes more sense then I will use it.

When I refer to creatures in the notes for the dungeon I’m going to use creatures name, then in brackets source. I.e. Goblin(PHB) or Fire Ant (CC).

When it comes to the Lazy DM generated monsters I’m not sure how I’ll record the stat blocks. I might use the Arcane Library templates for that. Has the advantage I can easily use them elsewhere, and share them easily with others.

I’m not going to use dates to label rooms to their descriptions. Instead I’m going to use a week/day format. 1/3 would be week one, day three.

In the previous post I said I liked the idea of using supernatural environments from Tasha’s. But the section on Magical Phenomena also inspires me. Particularly the Magic Mushroom, Enchanted springs, and Emotional Echoes sections. Although the Mimic Colony sounds pretty cool to throw in there somewhere.

I think the Tasha’s bits will help tell a story in the dungeon. To impart some of its history.

These are some of the thoughts I have at the moment that I needed to record before I forgot them. As usual none of the above is binding, things change. Or as the Jack Reacher goes “Plans go to hell as soon as the first shot is fired.”

I’m sure there will be a new post pretty soon.

#dungeon23 prologue part 1!

#dungeon23, D&D, megadungeon, RPG

This prologue and it’s follow up parts will look at my prep, thoughts, research, for getting ready to jump in and start creating my contribution to the dungeon23 hashtag.

In this opening post I’m going to look at the Dungeons chapter starting on page 50 of Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches (IEWM). I should point out this will not even be close to the sort of in-depth discussion The Tome Show did on the chapter as part of their look at the book. The focus here is totally different.

Oh and before I start a small disclaimer. Later posts may contradict what I’ve written here. None of what I’m writing is set in stone. These are ideas, and things will change as I read more, and even as the dungeon develops.

In IEWM they say creating dungeons revolves around the following three essential questions, “what’s the hook? Second, how is difficulty telegraphed? And third, what do they learn?” (Page 50)

The Hook

This is probably going to be my hardest bit to come up with.

I want to produce a megadungeon that is setting independent. That could be dropped into any D&D 5e setting.

IEWM defines the hook as “…that which draws the player in; the obvious, noteworthy, easily-visible thing that captures the players’ attention.” (Page 50)

It then goes on to say that the hook should be “… intriguing, noticeable, and mysterious. The hook is to lure players to the dungeon, to tempt them with dangers and riches within, and to keep it on their minds when planning missions.” (Page 50)

It’s a lot of pressure to come up with a hook that lives up to those criteria.

My current thinking is about a mysterious evil force gathering forces into their service, subjugating nearby towns and villages.

How Is Difficulty Telegraphed?

“…it is important that a dungeon telegraph its difficulty, and do it early.”

My early ideas since learning of this hashtag and deciding to participate was to start off with the Prismatic Owl puzzle. Which would effectively lock any party of adventurers in the dungeon until they solve it.

However IEWM says the following about locking players in. “While locking players in dungeons might seem an exciting challenge, it is arguably the most dangerous trap of all, as it means that if they misjudged the dungeon’s overall danger, they are more than likely doomed.”

So although I really want to use this puzzle I think the plans of when to use it need to be reconsidered.

Which leaves me with the question “just what level am I pitching this megadungeon?”

What Do They Learn?

“…dungeons should not only pose challenge and reward loot, but also illuminate secrets”.

This bit is all about using the dungeon to not only tell the story of the dungeon itself, but also to foreshadow or telegraphing using the authors words, threats.

In the book they ask us to “…consider what information is implicit in its physical creation” or that “…many dungeons can provide other, more direct sources of information. Scrolls and writings, reliefs and carvings, prophecies and decrees—all can be found in dungeons, and thus all can provide insight into the world.”

This post about “Megadungeon Lessons from the Pyramids” gives some great ideas.

All the above adds up to making “empty” rooms more interesting and useful.

Types of Dungeon

Next IEWM has us consider the type of dungeon, and provides a table of suggestions,

“Often, the best starting place in designing a dungeon is to consider the dungeon’s original purpose, which may still be its current purpose. This in turn informs how the dungeon itself should be designed.”

“…which your players will be able to narratively access the history and legacy of your setting.”

Obviously the type of dungeon plays a big part in telling the story of the dungeon.

I like the idea starting off with one dungeon type then transitioning into one of the other types. Each new type adding to the narrative that the dungeon itself is telling.

The dungeon type I’m thinking of starting with is a temple or similar that is being used to recruit followers.

The rest of the chapter expands on various elements such as difficulty, tier levels, etc.

Obviously being a megadungeon it will have tiered levels, each being tougher more challenging than the previous.

IEWM sees the dungeon as something a party of adventurers will return to on multiple occasions. Each time getting deeper into it.Having to “deal with the dungeon in chunks.” It also discusses Persistent Dungeons. An idea I like a lot.

Another idea that I’m keen to explore in this hashtag and discussed in IEWM is Treasure Rooms as Narrative. “The best-designed treasure rooms are oddities, exceptions, and anomalies to the normal story of the dungeon. They should be strange, intriguing, unusual, and, above all, tempting.”

The questions IEWM gets you to consider are most definitely ones I need to think about not only before I start but during as well.

In the next post I’ll revisit the hook but in the light of one of my other references.

#dungeon23 Stuff I’m A Usin’

#dungeon23, D&D, megadungeon, RPG

Thought I’d put in one place the stuff I’m planning on using/referring to through out this year long challenge.

  • DMG – Appendix A: Random Dungeons
  • The Dungeon Alphabet by Michael Curtis
  • Tricks, Empty Rooms, & Basic Trap Design by Courtney C. Campbell
  • Wally DM’s Journal of Puzzle Encounters by Dominic L. Wallace – a source of puzzles to inspire and use.
  • Tome of Beasts 2
  • Monster Manual
  • Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse – saves me having to look through two other source books, Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.
  • Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches
  • Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything – I like the idea of using the Supernatural Regions and Magical Phenomena from Chapter 4 for parts of the dungeon.
  • Tome of Adventure Design by Matthew J. Finch
  • Lazy DM’s Workbook by Mike Shae
  • Axebank’s Deck of Many Dungeons
  • Map & Dice Playing Cards by Inked Adventures
  • D&D Dungeon Geomorphs from DM Dungeon Kit

The above list isn’t exhaustive because it does not include stuff ordered Friday that has not arrived that just might be useful in this challenge.

Now for the “practical” bits.

  • Ed Ember let’s Drawing Book Make A World
  • Nicpro 2.0 mm Mechanical Pencil Set
  • APOGO Fineliners Black Pens
  • A5 Moleskine Classic Dotted Paper Notebook, Soft Cover
  • Jakar Metric Templates – Radius Master – basically a stencil for drawing circles!

#dungeon23 – A dungeon room a day for all of 2023

#dungeon23, D&D, megadungeon, RPG

So yesterday on Twitter I saw a new hashtag that caught my interest. Just what was #dungeon23? Was it what I thought it’d be?

Obviously my thoughts were towards the more innocent geeky interpretation that it was to do with D&D somehow, and not some sexual fetish.

I was relieved to find that it was indeed to do with ttrpg (not specifically D&D).

Apparently #dungeon23 came about from a tweet by the designer of the ttrpg Mothership, Sean McCoy (see below).

This tweet was followed by a couple of tweets of advice/information.

This caught the imagination of like minded folks, and “Sala-gadoola-menchicka-boo-la Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo” all of a sudden there is a trending hashtag.

With the growing interest in #dungeon23 Sean wrote a blog post expanding on the idea and giving more pointers.

Luckily I’ve come across this early enough to jump on the bandwagon.

Obviously and luckily for you I’m not going to do a daily post on here.

However I might share a daily photo of my journal on Instagram, with maybe a weekly summary post on here.

I’m not going to use the “fancy” Japanese journal that Sean is using (even if Amazon had one at time of writing).

Instead I’ve ordered a Moleskine Classic Dotted Paper Notebook, Soft Cover and Elastic Closure Journal (it’s just a tad cheaper) and some Black Fineliner Art Pens (to make my art look even crappier).

But I still need to fill it.

Luckily there is plenty of great advice on sources of inspiration.

Then I remembered Kelsey of Arcane Library and one or two of her posts/videos on generating ideas for an adventure.

She used the Tome of Adventure Design. Which I own a copy of.

Plus I wrote a post embedding Kelsey’s videos a while back now. Which you can bet I’m going to go back and rewatch.

Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches has some great advice about dungeon design/creation.

There are definitely tables in the Lazy DM Workbook and Companion that will be of use.

I have the official D&D geomorph tiles that came with the Dungeon DM kit. Plus the two decks of cards for generating random dungeons. So I could use these as the dungeon layout to use, and each day populate a room.

On the way to me are more decks of cards that allow the random generation of bits and pieces that players come across in dungeons. Which can be used to populate the dungeon.

Unlike I think most doing this hashtag I will be aiming to create my megadungeon for D&D 5e. Which means I can also use the recent addition to my DM library Wally DM’s Journal of Puzzle Encounters. Which will most definitely influence some of the design. In fact I suspect my entrance will use the first puzzle from it!

I know some online have started this already but I’m going to start in the New Year, however that may come forward.

But starting in the New Year does allow me time to read a bit, get familiar with Appendix A again, and stuff arrive.

Until the next post…

Through space and time

Game day

Yesterday morning on what was meant to be a day off but saw me doing a four hour shift in the afternoon, did see me playing some games with Diego and Ben in the morning.

Our first game of the morning was a brand new game that very few people have played called Rock Hunters.

For the record, and so you can make an informed opinion about my words on Rock Hunters. I know and am friends with Rock Hunters designer and creator Byron. He also sent me a copy of the game for free.

The first thing you need to appreciate about Rock Hunters is that it’s a hand made game by Byron. He makes each copy himself. This is not a game from an big publisher.

Given that the production values are very high.

Just look at the photos above. You get a laser cut box using the same sort of wood material that other companies use for game inserts.

I don’t even have to sleeve the objective cards, which is a good job as there is no room for sleeved cards. The cards are laminated.

One change I’d make to the components is to colour code the space ships so it’s easier for players to identify and remember which is their ship.

Before I’d opened up Rock Hunters I had no idea what sort of game it was, or really the theme.

So reading the rulebook (more on that in a moment) it turned out to not be what I was expecting. I was not expecting a game about mining asteroids in space. Or one that had elements in common with war gaming, X-Wing, etc.

When I was reading the rulebook (which doesn’t take long) there were one or two questions about the game that came to mind about playing it. Such as rolling a die to determine the number of actions you take on a turn. Would the game benefit from a movement ruler? Plus there was player elimination.

I did think the rulebook needed it’s layout changing so that setup was at the start, then a summary of a turn, followed by more detailed explanations of the actions that could be taken during a turn.

As you can see in the photos I took during our games I used my starfield playmat. Yeah the one I got to use with my space themed games like Xia, Outer Rim, etc. I think it added to the theme of the game.

Setup sees players taking turns placing asteroids on the play area, followed by placing an opponents space ship. Apart from the placing an opponents ship, placing the asteroids is similar to in war games where the players are placing terrain.

I love the karma rule here, where if an opponent positions your ship in a really nasty position then you get to return the favour to their ship.

So on your turn you can either move your ship, turn your ship 45 degrees, or fire your ships laser. The number of times you can do these is determined by the number of actions you get from that die roll. But the thing you have to remember is you have to spend at least one action on doing a move.

So if you only have a single action all you can do is move your ship. Which was one of the concerns I had from reading the rulebook. Just how would this feel, especially if you kept rolling low, or worse ones? With turns being fairly quick this doesn’t last long, and didn’t present an issue. Maybe I was over worrying.

A movement ruler would have been real handy. However we found that the provided dice were approximately a ship length (just under) and handy for judging a single move. We also found that the objective cards were also approximately three ship lengths. Which was super handy for checking if a ship was in range of an asteroid or opponent for shooting/mining.

We did think that the odd contract (see below for an example) were too difficult in comparison to the majority and should have been a collect or destroy. It’d allow players to pivot during a game if they hit a streak of die rolls that give them a result opposite to the one they are going for.

At the moment these two examples would require a player to mine and destroy ten or twelve asteroids compared to six of other objective cards. Unless you house ruled the above suggestion.

We also came upon the situation of what happens when ships collide? After a brief discussion we house ruled both ships took one damage.

Which reminds me, we did have player elimination when Diego rolled a five (he had already taken damage from me) and destroyed his ship when he was too close to an asteroid when mining it.

This was less of an issue than I thought it’d be as games were pretty quick.

The game was much quicker than I thought it’d be. We played two games in an hour. Each taking roughly thirty minutes.

We really liked Rock Hunters. I really liked it.

It looks fabulous on the table. It’s quick to learn and play. And it’s fun.

I love the war game/X-Wing light feel this game has.

I can’t wait to play this some of my other friends who I know will love this game.

Our second game of the morning and my last before heading off to work was Trekking Through History.

This was also a new game for me.

It too has mechanisms that I’d seen in other games, especially the player at the back on the action tracker takes a turn until they are no longer at the back. Think Tokaido, Glen More, for this.

I liked this a lot.

I love the art style, it has a great insert, high component quality. I mean other games would use lots of cardboard tokens. Not Trekking Through History. This games gives you pimped out plastic tokens.

There are some great decisions to make when choosing a card from the trade row. Do you go for a card to fill up spaces on your player board for the score, or to continue your trip through history (the longer the trip the more points), or does it’s time cost mean you have to take something cheaper.

This might have ended up in my Amazon basket. Yep I liked it that much.

An Artisan Game Arrives Along With Some D&D Books

D&D, new arrivals

Yesterday I got mail.

Today I get to share with you what that mail was.

I bet you are dying to know.

First up my friend Byron designed and created a boardgame called Rock Hunters.

Byron very generously sent my a copy of the game to play.

I will be writing about that experience in a future post. But in the meantime look at the amazing job Byron did producing the game.

The other thing to arrive yesterday was the new D&D adventure by WotC Dragonlance Shadow of the Dragon Queen.

At the weekend a copy of the Dragonlance Campaign Setting for D&D 3.5 arrived. But I was waiting until now to mention it.

And guess what I’ll be writing about these also in another post!

So what’s the point of this post? Well it’s a “hey look what I got” type post, and a nice change I thought from my occasional “look I’m still alive” type post after I haven’t posted for a day or two.

See you in the next post on here.

D&D Grp 2 Session 11 Planning #7

con DM/GM, D&D, D&D Grp2, DM/GM Tips, flgs DM/GM, one shot, RPG, session planning, taster

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one. REMEMBER you have been warned.

Ok technically this isn’t for session 11, but then again the Bagman stuff isn’t possibly either. But these are notes for me to look back on when planning future sessions in the campaign so I don’t forget.

So there I was watching a YouTube about what other DM’s have in their DM kit and I came across the this one by Wally DM.

In it he mentioned that along with the Monster Manual he also includes a copy of his book Wally DM’s Journal of Puzzle Encounters.

“That sounds interesting”, I thought to myself.

So I googled it.

Which lead me to DriveThruRPG (which did not like me trying to log in using my Facebook details, which is how I normally do it!)

After watching the review embedded on the books page I purchased the pdf of the book (I’ll get a printed copy payday).

What sold me was the very first puzzle mentioned in the review using a stone statue of an owl and gems. It reminded me very much of puzzles from an early fps. I wanted to use this.

The Prismatic Owl puzzle (depicted on the cover) as it’s called in the book is one I will be printing out and adding to my folder for new players! It won’t work with Matt Colville’s The Lost Tomb of the Delian Order. But it could work with Frank Mentzer’s Dungeon, or some other maps I have in my DM folder ready to be called upon (you might like this Sly Flourish article on the subject), even maps generated on the fly using the cards/geomorphs I have would work with it.

It’s also something you could use when running a one shot at a con or FLGS.

I will definitely be using it at the first opportunity with my current campaign.

As I work my way through the book I’m pretty sure there will be more than a few puzzles I’ll want to use in the campaign.

Games Played Last Couple of Days

Fenland Gamers, Game day, game night, Scythe

Friday evening was once again a club night. Attendance was more pre-pandemic numbers than post. Whether that’s due to illness, time of year (it is the busy run up to Christmas) who knows?

Our first game of the evening was the classic, destroyer of relationships, Survive Escape from Atlantis.

This is such a fun game, and a members favourite.

Despite being victimised by the others (it’s so easy to make that claim in this game) I didn’t come last. I only got one survivor to safety but it was enough to put Marcin into last place with his lower scoring two survivors. At the other end of the survivor safety spectrum (more than three getting to safety) Ben managed to pip Colin to the winning line by a single point.

Our second and final game of the evening was Last Will.

Ben was declared the winner of this game. We still had a round to play. However with our hosts wishing to close up we had to finish the game.

The deciding factor in declaring Ben the winner was he needed one more action to trigger the end of the game, whilst the rest of us required more than that.

A fun evening, lots of banter.

Saturday afternoon saw me playing a two player game of Scythe with Charlene.

It was meant to be a three player game but illness meant the third player had to drop out at the last moment.

I was going to use the Automata as a third player. But I need to read the rules on running the Automata first before doing this.

We did use the modular board and that was the best idea of the afternoon.

Additional rules used

After randomly placing the faction markers round the board (all but one go out if using the Fenris factions as well, I removed that remaining faction from those that can be chosen), Charlene and I randomly chose player boards. Despite having the higher board I let Charlene chose first.

This will amaze folks but I did not go with my one of my favourite factions. Instead I gave Vesna a try.

Factions played

After choosing our factions we removed two of the modular boards. That was why using the modular boards was a great decision.

I had previously played Scythe two player with Jeff but that was with the “regular” board. Which isn’t best for a two player game. You can be on opposite sides of the map, never bump into each other.

With the modular board removing two of the boards shrinks the map so you are closer together, and you are more likely going to have to battle it out with the other player for spaces.

The way the map tiles were the Vesna river walk was useless and an early mistake for me. I should have built the tunnel first not the mech. Charlene had an easier time and was able to access more of the map without having to do either!

Timelapse of game of Scythe

I liked the resolution tile Deja Vu. It was fun. And how our end game was triggered. If Charlene hadn’t triggered the end of the game this way I would have triggered it on my next go by placing out my sixth objective star.

After the dust settled and money counted, I won.

If I play Scythe two player again it will only be with the modular board.

We finished off the afternoons gaming with a game of Splendor Duel.

I hadn’t played Splendor Duel before, nor had Charlene.

This is a two player only version of Splendor. Yes Splendor can be played two player. But sometimes like 7 Wonders Duel, the two player version gives you the same experience as the original but just takes it to another level.

I really like this as a two player game. Like it’s bigger brother it appears I’m not very good at it. I haven’t won a game of Splendor in a long time. And this two player experience was no exception and continued my losing streak.

I can see this being added to the collection to play with Nathan. Or on the rare occasion I get to play a two player game with Jonathan.

That was my gaming over the last couple of days.

It’s back to work for me now, and gaming when it can be fitted in.

D&D Grp 2 Session 11 Planning #6

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one. REMEMBER you have been warned.

Didn’t think I’d be posting about this so soon. But my friend Colin did a blinder.

I thought I’d get the model of the Bagman at the next Fenland Gamers club night in two weeks time. There was no way I thought I’d gave it last night. The same day I asked if Colin could print it. He DID!

Bagman

Looks like the party will be receiving a bag of holding sooner than later.

I am leaning towards the troll stat block. The art of the two looks so similar.

However I could take that stat block and use the Lazy DM Companion to adjust it to something more “challenging” for the party and fitting the Bagman. Could the Bagman be a dire troll?

Or I could use the Monster Generator from the Uncovered Secrets Volume 2 (aka Lazy DM Companion Volume 2) to generate a quick and dirty stat block.

There is a bit of advice that does need baring in mind when coming up with the stat block from a Dragon+ interview with the creator of the Bagman.

“Stephen felt that bagman should be an entity with high Stealth,
because nothing’s more disturbing in a horror movie than when something horrible is in the background and the main characters don’t see it.”Dragon+ issue 37, https://dnd.dragonmag.com/2021/04/21/in-the-works-van-richtens-guide-to-ravenloft-2/content.html[8/19/2022 7:05:37 AM]

That same interview gave an interesting plot hook to explore as well.

“And like an evil parasite, it was committing atrocities while you and the party were asleep in the towns you were visiting? The party might think they’re following a murderer but in reality they’re bringing this killer with them and they’re the problem!
And what if the party becomes paranoid that it’s one of their number who is doing this? Maybe this sneaky, evil being realizes that one of the party members is figuring it out so it decides to try and take them into the bag one night.” Dragon+ issue 37, https://dnd.dragonmag.com/2021/04/21/in-the-works-van-richtens-guide-to-ravenloft-2/content.html[8/19/2022 7:05:37 AM]

In the meantime I feel inspired to paint a mini!

D&D Grp 2 Session 11 Planning #5

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one. REMEMBER you have been warned.

YouTube threw up a video or two of the Dungeon Dad into my feed and I’m glad it did.

Dungeon Dad does this monster of the week thing looking at monsters in previous versions not in 5e. The one that first caught my attention was his video on the mageripper swarm. A swarm of creatures that attack magic users.

Half the group are magic users.

Now the hard part is where do the party encounter this swarm?

Another video he did was on The Bagman from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. This really did capture my imagination.

Once or twice the party have mentioned a bag of holding. So having a twist that comes with having one is awesome.

I love the idea of showing the players the sequence of art depicting the Bagman coming out of the bag of holding, along with some suitable creepy description of it emerging from the bag.

This might be something I could use to interrupt that long rest in the future.

There is also a 3D stl file that can be downloaded and printed using a 3D printer. Naturally I have messaged Colin with a link asking if he san print one for me.

I’m not sure if I’ll use the stat block the Dungeon Dad came up with or just run with the stats of a troll (one of the suggestions) possibly adjusted.

But still two cool monsters to add to the menagerie to call upon during a session.