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Here is a short one shot dungeon crawl that I wrote a while ago as a first step towards writing some longer adventures. I adapted it from a dungeon I used some time ago in a PbP game. It is intended for 1st and 2nd level parties.
If anyone uses it in whole or in part, don't forget to post how you like it and how it went.
Enjoy. Tell me what you think.
This is very cool! How did you make the maps? Also how did you intend this to continue into greater adventures?
I've got a ruin in a forest I'm working on. APL is 4 but I want the threats here to reflect a wide range of villains. Right now I've got 2 levels: surface ruins and crypts below.
The concept is that this place was a lord's manor. The lord fell in love with a witch but that witch was the apprentice of a hag. The hag impersonated her apprentice, seduced the young lord, and bore a child.
Decades later the changeling grew up and formed the 3rd member of a weird coven: the hag, her apprentice and her daughter. They used the lord once more, dominating him and taking over the manor for their base. In the end the coven was defeated and the place was ruined.
Now the broken shell of the place, overtaken by the forest and undergrowth, is tainted by the darkness of the coven. There is an element of the Plane of Shadow in my game so fetchlings, dark stalkers/creepers/slayers, etc. The crypts below are bound to the will of the lord, animated as an undead and thoroughly mad. The ruin is also haunted by the witch that loved him - she can't rest until things here are put right.
This is very cool! How did you make the maps? Also how did you intend this to continue into greater adventures?
I basically made the maps in maptool, and then prettied them up a bit in photoshop.
This was the ”intro” portion of the game leading into a really sandboxy setting. The basic premise of the world was that a thousand years ago there were no gods, but then the Dragon God entered the world and since then an empire of dragons has ruled, having destroyed the ancient human civilization. But in the last century more gods have come, gods claiming to be human gods. The theme of the campaign was going to be exploring the nature of he beings claiming to be divine.
I am going to write up many parts of this world peicemeal, maybe even up to a full setting. My next chunk I have an idea for is about the size of an AP volume, so it will take a while.
One of these days I'm going to get my campaign world documented like this.
Right after I finish my novel.
Then complete my full 3D dungeon construction.
Then organize and complete my mini collection.
Then wrap up the story started in my first novel.
Then get my kid through college.
Then get my house re-organized and decorated.
Then have my lawn sculpted
...
Oh AD...you know you've already sculpted your lawn ;)
Seriously though I know the feeling. Pharoah's Tomb looks so danged easy and it's so nicely put together, but at the same time when I sit and try to actually ACHEIVE something similar w/one of my own adventures it ends up looking more like a child's school project.
I sit down to get the thing organized, one of the kids needs something. Then there's the other one. Then they're fighting. Then we're out the door for errands, and back but more housework to do. Then finally I'm back at my desk again...and then I need to make dinner. Le sigh...
Anyway, thanks for another source of envy Saint C. Maptool then photoshop you say? I wonder if there's a simple stamp/grid type mapper I might use instead. I don't need anything pretty, but being able to make gif battlemaps quickly/easily is a nice fantasy to hold onto.
Mark, I completely understand.
I actually put together highly complex and professional looking presentations for my job. I spend hours tweaking powerpoint presentations, spend days editing and proofing Word documents and package them all up into a final product that is presented to our SVPs and, on occasion, EVPs.
But I get paid for that. :)
Kind of like a gynecologist who has little intimacy w/their spouse: "sorry honey, but if I have to look at one more..." umm...you get the idea.
Funny that you mention the 3d dungeon though. I have bits and pieces glued up, half of them are painted and half not, for a Hirst Arts gothic dungeon. A few halls, a single big open floor, and some modular walls; enough for a couple nice big set pieces. I keep MEANING to get back down there and finish it up but I just never seem to make it all the way to finished product.
Funny enough a buddy of mine was saying if only there was more competition in the pre-built terrain market. Maybe there's a gamer niche out there for one of us to fill eh?
Mark, tonight I am hauling about 20 pounds of Hirst Arts blocks to our game session including a Dwarven guard room I just created last week and my entire dungeon module set.
I'm hoping that will get me through a couple of encounters before I have to start creating my custom underdark components for our next session.
Love Hirst Arts blocks. But man they are a lot of work.
And HEAVY!
i am just curious.. what Maptool do you use? I am looking quite a while for a good one. Is this Freeware?
Maptool is a freeware program which does a lot of things, including being a great drag and drop map creator.
And dotted. Looks great SC. Very professional . (Ever consider doing maps, layout, editing, design for a 3pp?)
And dotted. Looks great SC. Very professional . (Ever consider doing maps, layout, editing, design for a 3pp?)
Thank you. I would strongly consider doing some work for a 3pp if anyone wants to let me.
I also just noticed that google drive seems to have wonked up my formatting and design. If anyone wants a properly formatted copy, pm me your email and I can send you one as soon as I get back from vacation in about a month.
Anyone who liked this should take a look at my plans for writing up more of my setting formally.
This adventure is set in the Old World, and the next stage of the planned campaign was going to take the party to the city of Ashalar.