Module Suggestions

Anyone whose read my blog for any length of time probably knows that the Dark Country isn't exactly your standard D&D.  It's 2 parts hammer horror, 1 part 50s atomic b movie, one part the Hobbit, and 1 part Doom Metal.

Anyway, my players are starting to explore the wider world, and I need some modules to plunk down on my map.  I'm having a bit of a hard time finding them.  Any suggestions for thematically appropriate ones?

Note: I'm already have a considerable number of James Raggi's modules.

Another Inspirational Picture

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Remember, if medieval buildings didn't have to be drab neither do your dungeons.

New Poll

I have one character who seems to have a lust for purchasable magic items.  I wanted to see how other referees/dungeon masters/labyrinth lords/maze controllers handled this.


Vote early. Vote often.

Something Every Character Sheet Needs

I've noticed that a lot of custom made sheets don't include the "Character Sketch or Symbol" portion from the original sheets.  This makes me immeasurably sad.  I wouldn't call myself an artist, but I'm pretty good at doodling people from the chest up, which is perfect for those little boxes.

So do your old pal Evan a favor: if you make a custom character sheet put a little doodle box on it.

Nightwick Abbey Session 8

In which I learn a valuable lesson: don't roll on the magic item tables.

Last session, the players stumbled on quite a bit of money.  They were eager to spend it, but since the winter had essentially shut down all non-subsistence based economic transactions in Nightwick village, they decided to brave the roads and strike out towards Lichgate.

Before leaving they recruited a few hirelings and one henchman (an apprentice for Professor H'oak).  They set out on their merry way, and soon found an overturned wagon blocking the road amidst a wooden copse.  They suspected an ambush, and quickly surmised that bandits had set up this little road block.  Ma'ongo decided that it would be best to negotiate with them and join up with the band of robbers.  Confused by this, the robbers only agreed to let the heavily armed group of characters pass.  Negotiations quickly broke down, and Ffraid used the spell command to cause a bandit hiding in a tree to fall into a deep coma.  The fall from the tree caused the bandit to break his neck on impact, and the other bandits scattered.

They managed to make it to a crossroads before needing to camp.  The party then set about gathering the necessary materials to build a temporary shelter and prepare some food.  They did this quickly and mostly effortlessly (though Barley Brownbeard brought a bunch of rocks back instead of firewood).  They assigned watch shifts and then settled down to sleep.  During Ma'ongo's watch, he spied a number of torches lit on a nearby hill.  He awoke his party members and they quickly discovered a very large patrol of orcs was bearing down upon them.  They decided to flee, and easily slipped by the dim-witted creatures.

A small rules note:  I used the evasion rules from the RC for this.  It's one of my favorite parts of that book.

In the morning they continued on, but while passing near a small bog they were attacked by 15 hobgoblins.  The party and the hobgoblins traded bow shots, both taking heavy casualties.  Eventually the party was victorious, slaying every single hobgoblin (they made great morale rolls), but Ma'ongo was a bit disappointed by the battle.  He had elected to charge the three rounds it would take to get to them, after shooting off a few arrows, but arrived the instant the last one bit the dust.

Nearby the found a small, stone barracks.  Investigating it, they found that it was the home of the hobgoblins they had so recently slain.  In a chest in that shelter they found two swords, of dwarvish make, and two potions.  The two swords were, as Barley surmised, named Dragonfang and Trollcleaver.  I decided to adopt Gygax's method of forcing the party to pay gold for immediate identification of items.  They did this for the two swords, discovering they were a +1/+3 v. Dragons and +1/+3 v. Regenerating creatures respectively.  They also decided to pay for a staff they had not yet identified.

It turns out this was a Staff of Power, capable of creating 8d6 damage fireballs.  The party seems to have a new plan now: loot the cathedral in Lichgate.  We'll see how that goes.

This was the first session that occurred entirely outside of Nightwick Abbey.  My wife was a bit disappointed with the lack of dungeoneering, but the other players seemed to enjoy themselves.  The end of the session reminded me of a Knights of the Dinner Table comic, with the players planning mayhem that may or may not burn down a considerable amount of the world I've made so far.  It'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

Edit: I forgot to mention that all of the hirelings and Professor H'oak perished in the battle with the hobgoblins.    Also, Slimey got knocked down to 0hp, but the house rule from the RC saved him.

Alignment and the Underworld take 2

art stolen from the awesome Chris Huth

I've discussed before my problems with incorporating D&D's alignment system into the Underworld setting. Yesterday, rather serendipitously, I believe I stumbled upon an answer.

There is no real "metaphysics" in the Underworld.  It exists in the science fantasy world of pulp fiction.  It is, in some sense, akin to the "Cthulhu mythos" with its super powerful aliens masquerading as deities.  These beings exist on Earth before the dawn of human civilization, and therefore exist in the land of things that were but are no longer.  Now they slumber in the mountains and seas of the Underworld, waiting for the unwary to awaken them.

But some have already been awakened.  There are those among these alien beings who see mankind as a boon, and when humans came to the shores of Atlantis they made themselves known in their own peculiar ways.  For these entities, mankind is a source of food.  However, they utilize humans like a farmer utilizes his crop.  In exchange for sacrifices, the "gods" give humans the ability to maintain civilization.  The Underworld is a metric shit-ton more dangerous than the ancient world of Earth, and the help is appreciated, regardless of the price.

Other such entities exist that are not so fond of mankind.  Unlike their brothers and sisters, they are not content for the occasional meal.  Why provide services for humans when they could just devour them.  These god-like powers, which men call demons, seek to pull the whole universe into their slavering maws.  They can think in the long term, however.  Many form small cults to undermine the power of deities so that mankind will be more vulnerable.

In game terms, these two groups are lawful and chaotic respectively.  Most other creatures, including most people, are neutral.  This means they're more or less out for themselves rather than the furthering of civilization or the feeding of demons.  Players may still pick which alignment they are.

Quick Map Related Thought Experiment

I've been working on some conceptual maps for the Underworld, and I think I've hit on a way to represent farmland on a Mystara style map.  Here is a small map centered on the city of Akham (formerly Khemia) in the Underworld.

click to embiggen

Here we have a desert region that is made fertile by the presence of a river system.  In this case, the area within a day's walk of the city of Akham is utilized regularly for agriculture.  This is represented by the solid green hexes.  Other areas are fertile (grasslands hexes) but are not utilized in this manner.

Here is my campaign map after I've given it the same treatment:

click to embiggen

It this case, the region near the two trade towns -- the southernmost one being Lichgate (whose spelling I really need to codify) -- is settled rather heavily with small farmsteads.  Villages only utilize the immediate surrounding area for farming, but due to their size and lack of armed men they are unable to claim the other hexes from the wilderness.  In general these settled areas are peaceful, but a cursory glance at the map will reveal that a few monster lairs are quite close to some farmland.  I imagine those poor souls are rather used to raids.

While obviously not as detailed as Rob Conley's method, I do think it adds something to the maps.  Now, do I want what it adds?  I'm not sure yet.  Theres something to be said about the phantasmagoric unreality of a D&D world consisting of nothing but huddled villages and terrifying wilderness.  I've been thinking about maps a lot recently, so expect some more posts on the subject too.

As a last note, heres a shout out to Jim of Carjacked Seraphim who happens to share my birthday.  Happy birthday Jim!