Dungeon 23: Month 6

 (NB: because of various circumstances, I was unable to upload the past few months on the scheduled day. I will try to digitalize my notes (that's what takes the most time, of which I have preciously little at the moment) and retroactively post them over the course of November whenever real life gives me a moment of rest.)

 

1. Inscriptions - Misleading graffiti
2. Flickerden - 7 Blink Dogs
3. Ambush - 12 Ghouls
4. Surreal Bedroom - 4'000gp
5. Melting Room - 1 Ochre Jelly
6. Warrior Chamber - 8 Saltwater Termites
7. Worker Chamber - 7 Driver Ants, 7 Nuggets (7*1'000gp)
8. Queen Chamber - 13 Saltwater Termites + 14 Driver Ants
9. Infinite Staircase - Save vs Spell or be confused for 1 turn
10. Egg Chamber - 14 Driver Ants in coccoons
11. Burned Room - molten lump of gold (4'000gp)
12. Firey Lair - 4 Hellhounds
13. Bugbear Outpost - 14 Bugbears
14. Storage - 500 gp, 3 gems (2*100gp, 1*1'000gp) in locked & trapped chest
15. Lava Pit - 1d4 damage/turn while in room, 2d6 damage/round in pit
16. Mural - Blade trap (2d8 damage)
17. Altar - Ghost of Priest (C2)
18. Ancient Battle - Long dead corpses
19. Withered Bodies - 1 Mummy
20. Lost Relic - Ghost Priest's holy tome
21. Desiccated Bodies - 4 Mummies
22. Bone Temple - 1 Bone Golem
23. Torture Chamber - 10'000gp, Dagger+1
24. Mangled Bodies - 15 Zombies
25. Cells
    
    • a) Empty
    • b) 1 Skeleton
    • c) gem (1'000gp)
    • d) Empty
26. Sleeping Wardens - 5 Ogres, 7'000gp, 3 gems (2*100gp, 1*1'000gp)
27. Researchers - MU7, MU4, F5, F4, 12'000gp, Potion of Control Animal, Scroll of Charm Monster, Ring of Protection +1 5'
28. Kennel - 5 Blink Dogs
29. Art Gallery - Save vs Spell or be mesmerized for 1d4 turns
30. Misplaced Room - 1 Displacer Beast, 2'000gp, silver mirror (1'000gp), Sword +1, Scroll of Protection from Undead, Potion of Polymorph Self

Dungeon23: Month 5

 This month was hectic, a lot happened. My group (temporarily) stopped playing and we went hiking together, and daily life has been frenetic the last few weeks. I didn't manage to finish digitalizing my map the last few days so an ugly unfinished unlabelled work-in-progress and an unrefined key will have to do until the weekend, when I'll have time.
Despite that, this month's floor was really fun to build, even if I wasn't as constant as I wished.

1. Tradepost - 3 Wererats + 2 Bugbears, 2'000gp
   
2. Crude statues - 20 gems (20*10gp)
3. Cocoons - 5 Driver Ants inside Silky Husks (5'000gp)
   
4. Arena - 12 Bugbears + 1 Cave Bear, gold collar (300gp)
   
5. Elevator - 2 levels up one hour after arriving to level 5
6. Gladiator Quarters - 3 Bugbears, Axe +1
7. Food Storage - 6 Driver Ants, 7 gold nuggets (7*1'000gp)
8. Egg Chamber - 12 Freshwater Termites
9. Intruder - 1 Giant Toad, 2 gold nuggets (2*1'000gp)
10. Bizarre Bazaar - 1 Minotaur
    
    • a) 1 Bugbear, Potion of Healing
    • b) Adventuring Party (D5, D4, D3)
    • c) 1 Ogre, 1'000gp
      
    • d) 1 Djinn
11. Waste Disposal - 1 Gray Ooze, 3 gems (3*500gp)
    
12. Food Chamber - Tubers and Roots
13. Hive Guard - 4 Saltwater Termites + 4 Driver Ants
14. Wax Museum - 1 Living Statue, 10 gems (10*100gp)
    
15. Dressroom - 1 Doppelganger, Leather Armor (cursed), Elven Cloak, 2 silver mirrors (2*200gp)
    
16. Rentable Rooms - 1 Gelatinous Cube
    
    • a) cheep
    • b) comfortable
    • c) fancy
17. Warping Mirrors - 1 Doppelganger, 3 silver mirrors (3*200gp), save vs Spell or disoriented, -2 to hit/saves
18. Pens
    
    • a) 1 Troll
    • b) 1 Giant Crab
    • c) empty
    • d) 1 Hellhound
    • e) Silver chain (2'000gp)
      
19. Handler Closet - Silver collar (2'000gp)
20. Betting office - 1 Minotaur, locked trapped chess (10'000gp)
21. Communal Hall - 7 Bugbears, silverware (4'000gp)
22. Bugbear Tribe
    
    • a) 2 Bugbears
    • b) Idol (3'000gp)
    • c) 1 Giant Scorpion, golden chain (5'000gp)
    • d) 10 Arrows +1
    • e) 5 Bugbears
    • f) 3 Bugbears
      
23. Wet Room - 2 Green Slimes
24. Looted Room - 4 gems (4*500gp) under loose tile
25. Smeared Wall - Nonsensical Graffiti
26. Gurdpost - 7 Bugbears
27. It's not slime, it's mucus! - Save vs Dragonbreath or immobile for 1d3 turns
28. Pantry - 3 Potions of Health, Scroll of Stone to Flesh, Scroll of Cloudkill
29. Antechamber - Locked Door
30. Jail
    
    • a) 1 Giant Weasle
    • b) 1 Bugbear
    • c) empty
    • d) 1 Rhagodessa
31. Treasure Room - 10'000gp, Sword +1, flames on command, Chainmail +2, Ring of waterwalking 

Random Encounters

1. 2d4 Bugbears
2. 1 Minotaur
3. 2d6 Driver Ants
4. 1 Giant Toad
5. 1d6 Doppelgangers
6. 1d3 Living  Statues
7. Adventurers (F6, T7, F4, C6, E3)
8. 1d2 Mummies
   

 

Hex Map

1. Dungeon Entrance
2. Forest - Gem (1000gp) in pond
3. Town of Podunk
   
4. Plains - Inscribed Dolmen (random MU1 spell, 1d6 chance to find)
5. Plains - 15% chance of encountering Travelling Merchants (T3 + 2 F1)
   
6. Forest - Hunting Lodge: 10 Arrows +1
7. Plains - 200gp under tombstone
8. Forest - Enchanted tree
9. Fields - Working peasants (12 NM)
   
10. Lake - 4-in-6 chance to catch fish
    
11. Forest - 10% chance to run into an angry Boar and its 1d6 Piglets
    
12. Forest - Decrepit Hut
    
13. Plains - Giant Weasel Den
14. Forest - Phoenix Nest
15. Forest - Elf hunters (5 E1)
    
16. Forest - Lumberjacks at work (3 NM)
    
17. Plains - 20 Antelopes 
18. Gnome Village (25 Gnomes)
19. Forest - 20 Deer
20. Plains - 5% chance of encountering Brigants (6 T1)
    
21. Plains - Militia Patrol (8 F1)
    

 

Dungeon23: Month 4

 Again, we are here. This month went really well, and I was constant and inspired.
Not much else to add, so here's this month's dungeon level.

1. Prank Room - Cursed writing on wall: save vs poison or puke and cramps for 1d3 turns
2. Crossroad - Footprints going north
3. One-way Room - Door to 2 disappears
4. Fossils - Petrified Eggshells
5. Sculpture Garden - Statues in dramatic poses (D3, T4, F5, C4, E3, M3, Wererat, Doppleganger)
6. Outpost - 4 Wererats, 5 copper mirrors (5*200cp), 1 silver mirror (4000sp), 1 gem (50gp)
7. Spyholes - 3 Wererats
8. Snake Nest - 7 Spitting Cobras
9. Burst Tomb - Empty Sarcophagus
10. Medusa Lair - 1 Medusa, 1 Pit Viper, 1000gp, 2 Potions (Diminution, Poison), Scroll of Protection from Undead, Scroll of Protection from Lycantropes, Snake Staff
11. Scorpion Pen - 1 Giant Scorpion
12. Storage Room - Provisions (2d4 Rations)
13. Bugbear Hive - 13 Bugbears, 1000sp, 2 gems (500gp, 50gp), 4 jewels (Crown 1200gp, Cup 1100gp, Decorated Dagger 900gp, Necklace 700gp)
14. Slumbering Guardians - 3 Ogres, 1000gp
15. Striped Nest - 2 Tiger Beetles
16. Improvised Latrines - Save vs poison or nauseous for 1d3 turns
17. End of the Fall - Detritus and corpses, Dagger +1
18. Uncanny Imitations - 6 Doppelgangers, Sword +1, casts light ond command (30' radius), Chainmail +1, Magic-User Scroll (Magic Missile, Phantasmal Force), Magic-User Scroll (Knock)
19. Labyrinth - 6 Drider Ants, Magic Duelling Sword (HD2, beat it to control it)
20. Waterfall Cave - 2 Giant Crabs, 5000gp in a chest
21. Sealed Tomb - 14 Zombies
22. Mirror Room - Save vs spell or be blinded 1d4 turns
23. Supplies Room - Tools and instruments
24. Checkpoint - 7 Wererats
25. Armory - 3 Wererats, Spear +1
26. Common Room - 3 Wererats, 3 Giant Rats
    a) 1 Wererat, 2 NM
    b) 2 NM, 1 Giant Rat
    c) 1 Wererat, 1000sp
27. Sleeping Area - 3 Wererats, 3 NM
28. Treasure Room - 7000gp, Cleric Scroll of Cure Light Wounds, Potion of Healing
29. Control Room - Lever activating sliding wall trap
30. Council Room - 3 Wererats, Priest (C2), Acolyte (C1), Staff +1

 

Random Encounters

1. 1d3 Doppelgangers
2. 1d4 Spitting Cobras
3. 1d6 Tiger Beatles
4. 1 Medusa
5. 2d4 Bugears
6. 2d3 Wererats + 1 Giant Rat
7. 2d6 Zombies
8. 1d6 Drider Ants

 
 Hex Map

1. Dungeon Entrance
2. Forest - Gem (1000gp) in pond
3. Town of Podunk
   
4. Plains - Inscribed Dolmen (random MU1 spell, 1d6 chance to find)
5. Plains - 15% chance of encountering Travelling Merchants
6. Forest - Hunting Lodge: 10 Arrows +1
7. Plains - 200gp under tombstone
8. Forest - Enchanted tree
9. Fields - Working peasants
   
10. Lake - 4-in-6 chance to catch fish
    
11. Forest - 10% chance to run into an angry Boar and its 1d6 Piglets
    
12. Forest - Decrepit Hut
    
13. Plains - Giant Weasel Den
14. Forest - Phoenix Nest
15. Forest - Elf hunters
16. Forest - Lumberjacks at work
17. Plains - 20 Antelopes
    

Dungeon23: Month 3

 It's that time of the month again.
I feel like this month could have been better, halfway through I started getting uninspired and lazy. I won't let that happen again.

1. 
   Mining Hub
   
   • a) scattered tools
   • b) exhausted silver vein
   • c) 20 silver nugget (20x10sp)
     
   • d) empty crates
2. Bass relief - 20 small gems ( 20x10gp )
3. Dead-end - 2 empty sacks
4. Ore deposit - 3 Dwarves (D3, D2, D2), 400gp
5. Historical mural - Footprints leading to 22
6. Guarded Tomb - 6 Zombies
7. Spider Nest - 1 Giant Black Widow
8. Offerings chamber - 3 golden idols (3x2000gp) Trap: room collapses if the idols are removed
9. Collapsed hallway - Down 1 level
10. Ancient Library - Old tomes: 20x10gp, 4x200gp, 3x1000gp, Cleric Scroll of Bless, Cursed Scroll
11. Macabre Leftovers - Freshly gnawed bones
12. Macabre Banquet - 6 Ghouls
13. Haunted Tomb - 2 Wights
14. Enchanted Doors - Locked; Dwarves and Elves feel nauseous
15. Living Art Gallery - 3 Living Statues, 3 gems (3x50gp) behind painting
16. Connecting Room - 3 Wererats flee as soon as a door is opened
17. Insect Nest - 12 Fire Beatles, Potion of Giant Strength
18. Moist Room - Dripping water
19. Waste Disposal - 1 Jelly Cube, 200gp, sword
20. Dusty Room - Traces of recent passage
21. Gnawed remains - Skull with 2 gold teeth (20gp)
22. Elevator - Down 2 levels, then inactive for an hour
23. Cave - 3 Giant Crabs, natural hole down 1 level
24. Sealed tombs
    
    • a) empty
    • b) 1 Shadow
    • c) 8000gp
    • d) 1 Gargoyle
25. Scavenger Lair - 2 Carrion Crawlers, 1000cp, 1000sp, Sword +1, +3 vs Dragons
26. Sleeping Guardians - 3 Ogres, 8000cp, 2000gp
27. Necrophage Cult - Conjuror (MU3) and 4 Ghouls
28. Death Shrine - Trap: save vs Death or faint for 1d5 turns, 7000cp, tiara (1200gp)
29. Looted Room - Empty Shelves, blade trap (2d6 damage) in front of door
    
30. Old Jail - Fresh corpse chained to wall
31. Ore Storage - Crate with silver figurines (20x100sp)

 

 Random Encounter Table d8

1.  1d4 Ghouls
2. 1 Jelly Cube
3. 3d4 Fire Beatles
4. 1 Doppelganger
5. Swarm of Rats + 1 Giant Rat
6. Echoing Laughter and Screams
7. 1d4+2 Zombies
8. 1 Ogre
   

 

 Hexmap

1. Dungeon Entrance
2. Forest - Gem (1000gp) in pond
3. Town of Podunk
   
4. Plains - Inscribed Dolmen (random MU1 spell, 1d6 chance to find)
5. Plains - 15% chance of encountering Traveling Merchants
6. Forest - Hunting Lodge: 10 Arrows +1
7. Plains - 200gp under tombstone
8. Forest - Enchanted tree
9. Fields - Working peasants
   
10. Lake - 4-in-6 chance to catch fish
    
11. Forest - 10% chance to run into an angry Boar and its 1d6 Piglets
    
12. Forest - Decrepit Hut
    
13. Plains - Giant Weasel Den
    

 

Dungeon23: Month 2

First off, let's start with some thoughts on last month's D23 post. As soon as I started working on this month's level, I came to realize that the previous one was way less organized, coherent and polished than I liked: there were too many ideas, disjointed potential plotlines and random things jumbled together. So, from now on I will constrain myself to a maximum of 4 consistent "themes" each month, with the occasional oddity or continuity nods to keep it interesting without becoming chaotic. I plan on reworking the first month in the near future to make it more cohesive, too.

That said, back to the dungeon!

1. Ominous graffiti - Writing on the wall
2. Decapitated Idols - Scorch marks
   
3. Excavation site - Crates of ore, 1 gem (100gp), drilled hole down 1 level
4. Lizardfolk outpost - 8 Lizardfolk
5. Kobold Barracks - 12 Kobolds
6. Rubble - Broken marble heads
7. Disturbed crypt - 5 Zombies
8. Shrine - 1 Shadow, 400sp
9. Priestly dwelling - Crumbling robes, Ring of Protection +1
10. Grandiose tomb - 6 Skeletons, 2 Zombies, Chain +1, Treasure Map to room 26
    
11. Insect pen - 2 Insect Swarms
12. Collapsed Room - Dead Lizardfolk under rubble
13. Guarded room - 1 Living Crystal Statue
14. Hatchery - 3 Lizardfolk
15. Warren - 8 Lizardfolk, 5 Kobolds
16. Matriarch Chamber - 4 Lizardfolk, 12 Kobolds, 6000gp
17. Burial Chamber - 6 Zombies
18. Intact Idols - 10 gems (8x100gp, 2x1000gp), flammable gas trap
19. Looted Chamber - Empty smashed sarcophagus
20. Treasury - 1 Zombie, 3000sp, Dagger +1
21. Bandit Hideout - 5 Bandits (T3, T2, T2, T1, T1), 4000cp, 2000gp, Potion of Invisibility, Scroll of Protection from Lycantropes
22. Store room - 2 Bandits (T1, T1)
23. Sparring Room - Staff +1
24. Ransacked Temple - Painted silver idol (3000gp)
25. Dank Room - 1 Yellow Mold
26. Hidden Chamber - Ring of Fire Resistance
27. Collapsed Floor Room - Hole in the floor down 2 levels
28. Treasure Room - 2000gp, Sword +1, +3 against undead

 

 Random Encounter Table d8

1.  2d4+2 Skeletons
2. 1d4 Zombies
3. 1d6+4 Kobolds and 2 Lizardfolk
4. Excavation Team: D3, D2, D1
5. 1 Swarm of insects
6. 1d4+2 Bandits (T1)
7. 1 Doppelganger
8. 1 Green Slime

 

Hexmap

1. Dungeon Entrance
2. Forest - Gem (1000gp) in pond
3. Town
4. Plains - Inscribed Dolmen (random MU1 spell, 1d6 chance to find)
5. Plains - 15% Traveling Merchants
6. Forest - Hunting Lodge: 10 Arrows +1
7. Plains - 200gp under tombstone
8. Forest - Enchanted tree
   

Dungeon23: Month 1

I've really neglected this blog. I don't have that many new zany ideas, revolutionary content, or engaging opinions, and over the last 12 months or so I've been more player than referee in a bunch of games, both OSR and not, so there wasn't much to post. However, I submitted an entry to the NoArtpunkII contest last year, and I plan on releasing it here too, in slightly more polished form, as soon as the NAP2 anthology gets published.

In the meantime, there's this neat #Dungeon23 thing I'm taking part to.
The basic idea is to draw and key a dungeon room for every day of 2023 to stay creative and active, ideally collecting it all in a journal. I'm also doing a hex a week, so at the end of the year, I'll have 12 dungeon levels of about 30 rooms each and a hexmap of roughly 50 cells of land.

So here's the first month worth of rooms, and hexes:

1. Empty Alcoves - Trampled bones to the east
2. Dead Adventurer - 20sp on corpse
   behind hidden door: 25gp, 50sp
3. Cells
   a) Sack, silver dagger
   b) 1 Zombie
   c) Imprisoned Wererat, wants to get out
4. Spying Outpost - Hidden door and spy-holes to the west
5. Old Armory - Broken weapon rack, spear
6. Shrine - 4 Skeletons, Scroll of Protection from Evil
7. Rat nest - 6 Giant Rats and 1 Swarm of Rats; gold belt buckle (40gp)
8. Lizard Lair - 8 Kobolds
   a) behind locked door: 400sp
   b) 3 Lizardfolk
9. Unclean Lair - 1 Ogre, 1000gp, 8 gems (2x1000gp, 3x500gp, 2x50, 10)
10. Hermitage - Ascetic (Cleric2) in meditation, Scroll of Detect Evil
11. Looted Tomb - Empty sarcophagus
12. Trapped Tomb - Sleep gas trap; 10 gold ingots (30gp each)
13. Damaged Room - 500cp hidden under loose tiles
14. Spider Nest - 1 Crab Spider
15. Trapped Stone Idol - Flammable Gas Trap
16. Crypt - 8 Skeletons
17. Bear Lair - 1 Black Bear, silver necklace (10gp) (wanted by NPC party)
18. Temple - 6 Acolytes and 1 Priest (Cleric3) performing rites, Jade Idol (1000gp)
    
19. Storage Room - Crates of moldy supplies
20. Kitchens - 5 Orcs
21. Hideout - 11 Orcs
22. Dank Room - 1 Yellow Mold
23. Cursed Tomb - 3 Zombies, Scroll of Hold Portal, 200gp
24. Dusty Tomb - Shattered bones
25. Shrew Nest - 7 Giant Shrews
26. Mining Warehouse - Excavation Tools, Hand axe
27. Archeological Expedition - 5 Dwarfs
28. Insect Nest - 12 Cave Locusts
29. Replicant Nest - 1 Doppelganger (shaped like the dead adventurer in Room 2)
30. Abandoned Nest - Empty cocoons
31. Tomb with Fresco - 500gp, Sword +1, Scroll of Knock

 

Random Encounter Table d8

1. 1d4 Cave Locusts
2. 2d4 Skeletons
3. Green Slime
4. Panicked Swarm of Rats
   
5. NPC party (Fighter2, Fighter 1, Thief1, Thief1) looking for silver necklace
   
6. Doppelganger (from room 29)
7. 1d4 Kobolds and 1 Lizardfolk
8. 1d4+1 Orcs

  

Hexmap

1. Dungeon Entrance
2. Forest - Gem (1000gp) in pond
3. Town
4. Plains - Inscribed Dolmen (random MU1 spell, 1d6 chance to find)
   

d8: Race-as-Class! Orc

Here's something I cooked up an posted elsewhere a long time ago, but forgot to post here.

Orc

Dragon Quest

Orcs are boar-like, warmongering humanoids. At times they get employed by villainous overlords as ruthless mercenaries, other times they create their own matriarchal societies.
HD: d6
To-hit, Saves: as Thief
EXP, Prime Requirement: as Dwarf
Restrictions: Weapons, Armor and Shields as fighter
Orcs are Omnivorous and have Fine Noses, and are Accustomed to Darkness. Their society is divided in casts based on their Sexual Dimorphism.
Omnivorous: as they are used to eat almost everything, Orcs gain a +3 bonus to saves against poison.
Fine Nose: Orcs gain a +1 bonus to tracking.
Accustomed to Darkness: Orcs have Infravision, but get a -1 malus to their to-hit rolls when in daylight.
Sexual Dimorphism:

• Male Orcs have the restrictions of a Thief, but also the abilities of a Thief of half their level, rounded up.
• Female Orcs may either have no additional restrictions/abilities, or choose to have the restrictions of a Cleric, but also the spellcasting of a Cleric of half their level, rounded up (but no turning).

Female Orcs may advance up to level 9, male Orcs to level 8. At level 9 a female Orc becomes a Queen Matriarch and may start her own Sounder, attracting other Orcs, both male and female, under her command. A male Orc of level 8 becomes a Boarlord and may organize a Raiding Party, attracting other male orcs; an Orc Raiding Party may act as an independent mercenary company for hire, or swear fealty to a Queen Matriarch, paying a tithe but gaining reproduction rights.