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Blog of Forlorn Encystment

@forlornencystment.blogspot.com.web.brid.gy

A TTRPG blog constricted in a pore some 45 miles below the surface of the earth. [bridged from https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/ on the web: https://fed.brid.gy/web/forlornencystment.blogspot.com ]

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Play Report (AD&D 2e): In Search of the Unknown (Session 1) We played the first real session of our In Search of the Unknown AD&D 2e campaign last night. My session 0 report is here. For this session, we were missing Matt (Bathalo-gnome), so the roster was as follows: * Llombaerth, CG elf thief 1 (Adam) * Millisant, LE human mage 1 (Aidan) * Pommernar, CE elf mage 1 (Nael) * Rory the Small, LN human fighter 1 (David) I started the session with a bit of housekeeping. First, I explained that we'll be using gold for XP. I'm not sure when exactly XP is meant to be awarded in AD&D, but I really like B1's suggestion that it's not awarded until the treasure is actually safely returned to town, not just in the character's possession. This incentivizes the players to leave the dungeon and return to town to collect XP and level up, which allows me to do all sorts of nasty tricks with the dungeon while they're away. I'm also intending to use 2e's individual XP awards based on class: Thus, in addition to getting XP based on monsters overcome, Rory the Small, being a fighter, will get an extra 10 XP per HD of monster defeated in battle. Millisant and Pommernar will get an extra 50 XP per spell level when they use their spells to overcome problems (or, much later on, when/if they create magic items). Llombaerth gets 200 XP whenever he uses a thief ability successfully. Since I'm already awarding XP for gold and rogues get 2 XP for each gold piece of treasure obtained, Llombaerth will get instead get double XP for treasure. In our session 0, I also had the players roll to determine what additional languages their characters knew. This was amusing, as the characters started out speaking water naga and white dragon, but I decided to roll it back. It's not so much the silliness I object to, but more so the fact that these languages won't be useful in the sandbox I've prepared. Instead, the additional languages granted by the character's Intelligence score represent languages the characters have the capacity to learn. This is informed by AD&D's suggestion that characters spend downtime with any speaking creature to learn that creature's language: Naturally, characters have the option of capturing a monster and forcing it to teach them its language: With all that out of the way, we got to playing. I explained to the players that they had come into possession of a map pinpointing the location of Quasqueton (the ruin to the south), the former stronghold of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown, who had disappeared while on campaign in the barbarian lands to the north. The stronghold was reclaimed by the wilderness and lost to time, and the characters had reason to believe that the treasures of its mazelike dungeons had yet to be plundered. I had determined that the town or city nearest to the play area was 150 miles away. The characters had been on the road for six days. I actually rolled up the weather for those six days so I could provide a brief synopsis of their journey to that point. It is Spring (I always start my campaigns during the Spring, because it seems like a natural time to embark on an adventure). The rivers are engorged with rainwater and snowmelt. It had been blustery and had rained for a miserable two days, but had cleared up for the final day of the characters' journey. As they broke camp for the final time, the town of Timbershore was in sight, just over the horizon. Timbershore is a large walled town of about 5,500 people. It had once been a humble village within Rogahn and Zelligar's domain, and paid homage to Quasqueton in exchange for nominal protection. When the valley was threatened by barbarian hordes, it was Rogahn and Zelligar who turned the barbarians to flight. Many decades had passed since, and the village had grown into a bustling town. Rumor is that the town is now ruled by a powerful wizard. Inspired by AD&D's section on **ESTABLISHING THE CHARACTER**, I decided to roleplay the party's approach to the town's gate. The guards hailed the characters and demanded they state their business, informed them of the fee to enter (5 copper pieces per head, including the mule), and opened the gates. Keeping in mind AD&D's robust system of taxes and fees, the guards looked over the characters' possessions and asked if they had any goods for sale to declare. Since the party is just beginning adventuring, they have very little. Normally I would also point them towards the money changer, but since they were traveling from a city which is presumably part of the same domain, I assumed they are using the local coinage. The party asked the guard where they might find a tavern to gather some information. The guard gave them rough directions. They had entered town in the High Ward. To the northeast was the Chapel Ward, to the southeast the Timber Ward, and to the south the River Ward. All have taverns. The High Ward is home to town officials and wealthy merchants. The Chapel Ward is mostly clergy. The Timber Ward is home to hunters, loggers, and trappers. The River Ward is traders, dockworkers, and others just entering town from upriver. The party decided to head to the River Ward in case they could secure passage on a vessel to carry them downriver. As they moved through the High Ward, they wandered through courtyards and gardens and passed courthouses, administrative offices, shops, and guard barracks. They noted a high hill with many rich villas along its slope. At the very top, they could see a large castle overlooking the town. The party passed through the River Ward en route to the Mooring Post, a tavern and inn which had been recommended to them. The River Ward is noisy and bustling, with many keelboats and barges docked along the wharf. Dockworkers unload the boats' cargo and mercenary guards escort caravans of goods to warehouses for storage. The party passed merchant guildhouses, sawmills, caravan yards, and flop houses before arriving at the Mooring Post. The tavern was loud and rowdy, but not out of control or dangerous. It was crowded with traders, dockworkers, fishermen, ferrymen, and caravan guards, all drinking dark ale. It smelled strongly of fish stew. Pommernar focused on inquiring about passage downriver while the rest of the party gathered information. They bought a round of ale for the house. Llombaerth, Millisant, and Rory the Small gathered a few rumors: * A fearsome spirit haunts the ruins of Quasqueton. It is the ghost of Zelligar, demanding intruders surrender his stolen treasure! * Quasqueton's stronghold houses a trophy room full of unimaginable valuables. * A beast or beasts has been stalking the Timber Ward at night. Hunters believe a pack of wolves from the forest to be responsible. Pommernar met a river boat captain, Colton, who offered to take the party downriver to the southeast lake for 18 silver pieces per head (including the mule, of course), plus 2 gold pieces per day for him. Here I used the 5e rule of thumb. In 5e, passage aboard a ship costs 1 silver per mile, and skilled hirelings (like a ship's captain) cost 2 gold pieces per day. I had not especially prepared for this, so I neglected to use the AD&D rule: Thus, the smallest river barge or raft would have a crew of 20, plus a captain, a lieutenant, and two mates. It's not clear if the crew is meant to be sailors, oarsmen, or marines, but in this case I would assume simple oarsmen. That's 100 gold pieces per month for the oarsmen, 60 gold pieces per month for the mates, and 100 gold pieces per month each for the lieutenant and captain (360 gold pieces total). I imagine the intention is that these crews are only hirable on a per-month basis, much like other expert hirelings in AD&D, but in this case I would allow them to be hired for just the two days, which would be about 24 gold pieces total. This would be more costly if the party expected the crew to wait for them while they explored the dungeon, and in that case the crew would be entitled to shares of any treasure recovered - 25% for the captain, 5% for the lieutenant, 1% for each of the mates, and 5% for the crew. Considering all of this, my lack of preparation allowed the party to get away with a pretty good deal! In the end, they decided not to take the boat for their first trip. Instead, they would hoof it on foot to Quasqueton, and reconsider the river passage once they had more gold to their names. While they were there they hired Bronson, a strapping young dockworker, to be their torchbearer and porter. They had only traveled for two hours that morning to reach Timbershore, so they had 6 hours left of travel in them. It was 10 am. They decided to set out immediately, exiting Timbershore through the River Ward's south gate. The first day of travel passed without incident. The party crossed the bridge an hour south of town and traveled through the southern farmlands for two hours before coming upon the southern river bordering the forest. This river had no bridge, so they spent another hour searching for a crossing, which they found in the form of a fallen tree. This left them just enough time to plunge into the forest before making camp. It was 4 pm and they had plenty of daylight. They had just begun to make camp when they heard the sound of stomping boots, rustling armor, clattering weapons, and harsh voices in a language they did not understand. Pommernar correctly identified it as hobgoblin. There was dense growth in the area which would grant the party 75% concealment (I rolled d100 and got 75 exactly, otherwise I would round up or down in increments of 25). Most of the party scrambled to hide, but Pommernar had another idea. He cast _dancing lights_. Here's the description of the spell in 2e: Pommernar decided to create the "faintly glowing, vaguely manlike shape...similar to that of a creature from the Elemental Plane of Fire", then sent it flying towards the hobgoblins (they were 70 feet away, so well within range of the spell). To the hobgoblins, I imagine it looked like a flaming ghost or fire elemental coming towards them. They loosed their arrows at it, which of course had no effect. I called for a morale check, referencing the table below: With a -8 penalty to their morale check (2d10, roll under) and a morale of "Steady (11-12)", they had a very slim chance of succeeding. The "fire elemental" terrified them, and they fled in the opposite direction, sparing the party from a potentially dangerous encounter. I really liked the way this played out. It didn't even register with me that the spell was capable of this, and Nael came up with a very ingenious application of it which saved the day - exactly the kind of thing a 1st level wizard should be doing with that one precious spell slot. On the other hand, I can't help but mull over some failed considerations. For one, the hobgoblins were only 70 feet away - well within earshot of a spell being cast. Also, while the lights took the shape of a creature from the Plane of Fire, they were in the forest, and it wasn't setting fire to anything. It also didn't radiate heat. They probably should have suspected something was up. Perhaps I could have made an Intelligence check to determine if the hobgoblins were able to put two and two together, then a saving throw versus spell to determine if they could disbelieve the "illusion". Things to consider for next time, but no harm done. The whole party got experience for "defeating" the hobgoblins, and Pommernar got a little bonus for using his spell in a useful situation. The rest of the day and night passed without incident. The next day, the party continued on through the forest for two hours, then spent three hours hiking through the forested hills where they hoped to find Quasqueton. They found an overgrown, ruined tower atop a black crag, tall enough to see over the tops of trees, but mostly collapsed, its stone blocks tumbled down the hillside in all directions. It did not look like a proper fortification, but more like a simple watchtower. A treacherous path wound up the crag to a cave opening beneath the tower, choked with roots and vines. The party wanted to scout around the crag for secret entrances, but the other faces of the hill were too sheer from where they were. It would require perilous scrambling around narrow rock ledges and along knotted roots for handholds. I suggested that they could try approaching the ruin from a different side of the hex on a return visit. It wouldn't be feasible right now because it would require another three hours to hike back down the hill. The party had Bronson hack away the overgrowth which closed off the cave mouth, allowing them enough room to head inside. They found a wooden door that looked like it had been forced. Carefully proceeding inside, they found a long hallway which stretched into the darkness, lined with alcoves. As they lit a torch, they heard something about 100 feet down the corridor scamper off in the opposite direction. They called out to it, but got no response. Inspecting the first set of alcoves, they found a pair of stone busts which seemed to depict Rogahn and Zelligar. Upon further inspection, they seemed totally ordinary. At the second set of alcoves, they found muddy footprints leading to and from the alcove on the right. The floor in front of the alcove's rear wall worn down. Nael asked if it was worn in a half circle or quarter circle shape, which I thought was a a very good question (it was a quarter circle). The floor of the alcove to the left was also worn, but less so, and there were no footprints near it. The party spent some time trying to figure out if there were secret doors here and how to open them, but found nothing. Rory grabbed the bust of Rogahn and tried to use it as a battering ram on the rear wall of the alcove to the right, but only succeeded in damaging the bust and making a lot of noise. They continued down to the third set of alcoves, whereupon a pair of _magic mouth_ s appeared. They yelled: “WHO DARES ENTER THIS PLACE AND INTRUDE UPON THE SANCTUARY OF ITS INHABITANTS? ONLY A GROUP OF FOOLHARDY EXPLORERS DOOMED TO CERTAIN DEATH. WOE TO ANY WHO PASS THIS PLACE - THE WRATH OF ZELLIGAR AND ROGAHN WILL BE UPON THEM!” The mouths cackled madly in unison and then gradually faded from view. This again made a lot of noise, and rattled Bronson, who suggested that maybe they should listen to the mouths. The party attempted to assuage his fears, but didn't seem to help. At the end of the corridor, they found the site of an old battle. Three adventurers and two barbarian warriors laid in disarray on the floor (except for the wizard, who was impaled to the wall by a sword). The party began searching the bodies, when suddenly two goblins burst emerged just ahead, with weapons drawn. --- The players' map of the dungeon Pommernar spoke to the goblins in the language of Evil. The goblins warned the party to leave, as this was goblin territory. Pommernar warned them that one of his companions was a powerful sorcerer, at which point the goblins called their boss, Grilk. Grilk was more congenial, and spoke the common tongue. He told the party that he wanted no quarrel with them, and agreed to let them plunder these corpses in exchange for their services. Some of Grilk's companions had fallen under the sway of a tyrannical orc priest to the southeast, who turned the goblins into fanatical slaves. If the party would help Grilk's companions, then things could be copacetic between the party and the goblins. The party collected some minor treasure from the corpses (7 gold pieces and a ring worth 10 gp). Grilk invited them to share the goblins' ale and stew ("mostly rat meat and moldy cheese"). We had played for 30 minutes longer than we had agreed to, so we ended the session there. Overall, I think we had a good time. I've never played with any of these people before, so I'm simultaneously learning the players' names, the characters' names, and also learning to recognize the players' voices so that I know which character is doing what. Honestly, that has probably been the biggest hurdle so far! We're on a roughly every other week schedule it seems, so hopefully I will be back with another play report in two weeks!
12.03.2026 15:39 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Play Report (AD&D 2e): In Search of the Unknown Session 0 I've had a hankering to test out my sandbox for Dungeon Module B1: In Search of the Unknown. I enjoy coming up with these sandboxes for their own sake, but the intention has always been to actually _run_ them. Since the beginning of 2025, I've aspired to play more games more often with more players and to run these games with less effort. Specifically, I wanted to run games other than D&D, run more modules instead of original content, and run the same modules with multiple groups of players. Work smarter, not harder, more bang for my buck, and all that. I've sort of done that. Instead of D&D, I've run Mörk Borg, but only Mörk Borg. I've only run published adventures in Mörk Borg, which is less work. But I've run only a few of those modules for multiple groups. I've _played_  a lot more systems since making my resolution, and have played in those games with a wider variety of referees and players. So I have been running _a_ game other than D&D and have been playing lots of games other than D&D. I've been spending less time prepping for the games I have run. For the most part, any effort I might normally put towards preparing for and running games has instead gone towards the blog D&D always calls me back sooner or later, and with how much time I've spent writing about AD&D this past year plus my newfound interest in classic TSR modules, it only felt natural to try running one of these modules in the system that has always appealed to me as a nostalgic and quaint artifact of the hobby's history. So, I'm going to run a B/X module in a 1e sandbox using 2e rules. It should be fun. Why 2e? Well, I explained myself a bit here. This time, I'll be bringing along all my newfound knowledge of AD&D's intended vibe from my obsessive analysis of 1e. The upside to running B1 is that the dungeon is done for me. The downside is that I can never make anything easy for myself, so of course I had to embed the dungeon within a sandbox filled with high level NPCs, strongholds, and monster lairs which all take a ton of additional work to detail. Fortunately, I'm almost done. Once it's finished, I can run this sandbox with as many different groups as I like. I'm definitely patting myself on the back for making this sandbox very small. Even at just 25 hexes and nine keyed locations (one of which is already done for me, more or less - real B1-heads know), this has taken me weeks to prepare. It would be significantly more effort to do the same with my sandboxes for B2 or (especially) B3, which are two and three times as large, respectively. If this one goes well, though, we'll see... I've recruited five players from the Prismatic Wasteland Discord server, and we'll play for about two hours any Wednesday on which we have a quorum of at least three players. I want this to be a casual drop in/drop out kind of game, so I wouldn't mind recruiting a few more just so players can skip sessions as needed without worrying that their absence will mean the game is cancelled for everyone else. Maybe as the campaign picks up speed, we'll draw in a few more by word of mouth. I'm hoping to publish regular play reports as a way of not only recording the experience (which in hindsight I've found extremely beneficial for my last 2e campaign, short-lived though it was), but also as a means of boosting the campaign's signal. If I can make it sound fun, maybe more people will want to check it out. Our cast of characters so far includes: * Adam (playing Llombaerth, CG elf thief) * Aidan (playing Millisant, LE human mage) * David (playing Rory the Small, LN human fighter) * Matt (playing Bathalo-gnome, CG gnome fighter/thief) * Nael (playing Pommernar, CE elf mage) What's this? No clerics? Evil characters? This seems like a disaster. How did this come to pass? Well, my players are _exceptionally_ game for discovering their characters via random character generation. We rolled randomly for ability scores (3d6 in order), race, height and weight, starting age and maximum age, alignment, starting spells for mages, and even handedness! We don't have any clerics because only two players rolled a Wisdom of 9 or higher, and they wound up with 14 and 15 Strength respectively, so understandably they wanted to be fighters instead. No one has an ability score higher than 15, and one character's highest score is 13. No one has any to hit or damage adjustments from Strength or hit point adjustments from Constitution, only one character has an AC adjustment from Dexterity, the most intelligent mage can only cast up to 7th level spells, and two characters receive penalties to saving throws versus mind-altering magic due to low Wisdom scores. No one rolled good enough scores to be a paladin, ranger, specialist mage, druid, or bard - apt because these are meant to be exceedingly rare. Regarding Evil characters, I explained that I don't mind if player characters are Evil, so long as they're not disruptive. AD&D strongly implies that characters have free reign to slaughter villages of peaceable elves, raid merchant caravans, and enslave intelligent giant beaver children. That's all solid gameable material rife with complications, and I wouldn't mind exploring it. There will be tension between the characters, and that's fine - alignment changes and lost levels are at stake, after all! As long as the Evil characters have goals which drive play and the players aren't Evil to one another, I'm comfortable with it. Being Evil is fun sometimes. The players really enjoyed rolling for their starting and maximum ages. They learned that new human fighters are 16 to 19 years old, whereas mages are 26 to 40. It takes time to study to become a magic-user, and they're adventuring with people who are essentially children (every other human class besides illusionists start at 18 to 25 years old). They also learned that humans can live to be 130, whereas elves can live to be 750 years old. It's hard to imagine this ever coming up in play, especially in the course of exploring just a small sandbox, but it's fascinating nonetheless. Lastly, spells. We have two mages in the group, Millisant and Pommernar. Both know _read magic_  (they must, to be mages). In addition, Millisant knows _charm person_ , _detect magic_ , and _protection from evil_ , while Pommernar knows _burning hands_ , _dancing lights_ , and _erase_ , a spell that allows you to...erase two pages of writing! Okay it can also erase glyphs and explosive runes and the like, which could come in handy, but wow. Each of them can prepare and cast just _one_ of these spells each day, then they are reduced to feebly wielding their daggers, darts, and slings. One benefit of having two thieves in the party is that they can specialize. Llombaerth leans more towards sneaky stuff and skullduggery whereas Bartholo-gnome is specializing in finding and removing traps and opening locks. Since AD&D's thieves are relatively inept at their skills at early levels, this is beneficial to the party overall. In the next few weeks I'm hoping to publish not just play reports with details regarding my behind the screen process, but also more general posts describing how to develop a sandbox beyond its initial conception. I've done some considerable work to bring this one to life since originally posting about it and am excited to describe what that's been like. I'm also hoping to eventually run this same sandbox with the group that played in my past 2e game, so hopefully there will eventually be two different series of play reports detailing two different groups' approaches to the same content. I'm excited to play this game and see where it takes us.
04.03.2026 18:38 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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A Treasure Map Could Be Your Next Adventure Hook Let's do some quick dungeon math. According to the AD&D DMG, 4 in 20 (or 1 in 5) dungeon rooms contain treasure (three guarded by monsters and one unguarded): When determining exactly what treasure is in a room, you roll on this table once for unguarded treasure and twice for treasure guarded by monsters, adding 10% to the roll in the latter case: There is a 3% chance of an unguarded treasure room containing magic items and a 26% chance of a treasure room guarded by monsters containing magic items (13% chance because of the +10% to the roll, times two because we're rolling twice). Again, 1 in 20 (5%) of rooms will contain unguarded treasure, and 3 in 20 (15%) of rooms will contain treasure guarded by monsters. Thus, 0.15% of all rooms will contain unguarded magic items and 3.9% of all rooms will contain guarded magic items. 4.05% of total rooms will have treasure containing magic items - roughly 4 in 100 or 1 in 25. Interestingly, while all other treasure types scale with dungeon level, number of magic items does not. Here's what I'm interested in - 10% of magic items are actually _maps_. What kind of maps? Treasure maps, of course: "But wait!" you might say, "This excerpt says 'This system can be used for monsters you place on the _outdoor_ map as well as for monsters randomly encountered by a party exploring the _wilderness_.' It doesn't say anything about dungeons. And **TABLE V.G.**  above even says to 'Roll once on Magic Items Table' - nothing about maps!" And you would be right. The **MAP OR MAGIC DETERMINATION** table likely refers to the rightmost column on the treasure table in the Monster Manual: These treasure types are typically found only in wilderness monster lairs. Some are found as "individual treasure" (i.e. coinage carried in the pockets of goblins and such), but none of those types have a chance to contain maps. So there you have it - no treasure maps in dungeons. Except: This seems to indicate that treasures maps _can_  be found in dungeons. Presumably, when the term "monster's lair" is used in the previous excerpt, it is meant not only to apply to wilderness lairs but also dungeon rooms in which monsters are guarding treasure. Note that "A map should **never**  list its treasure, only show its location." There will be some guidance later as to where and what kind of treasure the map leads to, but no guidance is provided as to how to actually create a treasure map for your game, "for how can it be possible to direct each DM properly considering the infinite possibilities under which the map will be located?" If you want gameable examples, Phlox has some good ones. Taking a step back, we know that 3% of unguarded treasure rooms and 26% of guarded treasure rooms contain magic items. Of the guarded treasure rooms containing magic items, 98.31% will contain one magic item and 1.69% will contain _two_ magic items. Considering that 10% of magic items will actually be treasure maps, 0.3% of unguarded treasure rooms containing magic items and 10.169% of guarded treasure rooms containing magic items will contain maps (10% of guarded treasure rooms containing one magic item = 9.831% + 20% of guarded treasure rooms containing two magic items = .338%). Again, 5% of total rooms contain unguarded treasure and 15% of total rooms contain guarded treasure. 0.015% of total rooms contain unguarded treasure maps and 1.52535% of total rooms contain guarded treasure maps - 1.5255% of total dungeon rooms contain treasure maps. That's 1 in every 66 rooms. If your dungeon is big enough (and particularly if you're aspiring for anything of the "megadungeon" classification), there will probably be a treasure map in there somewhere. I hope I did my math right! I am happy to be corrected. Note that tricks found in dungeons might also release maps, as found in **APPENDIX H: TRICKS** : Treasure maps found in dungeons usually point the way to treasure inside that very dungeon, but might point to "another lost dungeon" or somewhere "along the course of a long underground river." Let's dig into those wilderness lair treasure types (associated monster types are sourced from here): * Type A and F hoards (e.g. humans, centaurs, vampires, basilisks, medusae, shadows, rakshasa, rhemoraz, salamanders, leprechauns, and chimeras) have a 9% chance of containing a map * Type C hoards (e.g. minotaurs, gargoyles, lycanthropes, gnomes, and pixies) have a 2% chance * Type D hoards (e.g. orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, mummies, dryads, griffins, chimeras, manticores, and purple worms) have a 3% chance * Type E hoards (e.g. giants, wraiths, gorgons, and wyverns) have a 7.5% chance * Type G hoards (e.g. dwarves) have a 14% chance * Type H hoards (e.g. dragons) have a 6% chance * Type I hoards (e.g. rocs) have a 1.5% chance * Type W hoards (e.g. buccaneers) have a flat 55% chance of having a map * Type Z hoards (e.g. demigods and demon lords) have a 15% chance Buccaneers, of course, have the greatest chance of possessing a treasure map. There are plenty of genre tropes to draw upon in this case. Demigods and demon lords are next in line. Do the maps in their possession point towards their own secreted away hoards? Dwarves are next, and it's easy enough to imagine why if you're familiar with _The Hobbit_. But what of the others? Whose treasure maps do these monsters possess, and how did they come to acquire them? Here's what the DMG says about maps found in wilderness lairs: Treasure maps found in wilderness lairs can themselves lead elsewhere within the lair (an underground "labyrinth of caves") or to some other location 5 to 500 miles away, which may be buried and unguarded (in the classic way that pirates bury treasure), hidden in water, guarded in another monster's lair, in ruins or a crypt (presumably themselves dungeons), or even "secreted in a town". In rare cases, the player character might also obtain a treasure map by drawing the Key card from a _deck of many things_ : Note that treasure maps are written in a cypher. Like a spell scroll, a _read magic_  spell must be employed to decipher one: This means that treasure maps are also subject to all kinds of trickery on the part of the DM, like curses and traps triggered by reading their contents - explosive runes and magic symbols the like. The text states that "a map will _appear_  magical until the proper spell is used" (emphasis mine), suggesting that the map itself is not necessarily magical. You can also get your highly-intelligent sword to read the map for you: Treasure maps come in four types: false maps (which presumably lead to nothing at all), those leading to monetary treasure, those leading to magic treasure, and those leading to "combined hoards" of both money and magic items. Note again that a treasure map should **never** indicate _what_  it leads to. **MONETARY TREASURE** "is weighted towards large quantities of coins which will require a train to remove - or must be left entirely if foreplanning is not observed": If not carried away immediately, the DM is encouraged to set a percentage chance that the treasure will be stolen by someone or something else. This is more likely if the treasure was guarded by some other monster, not unlike the Five Armies showing up to claim Smaug's treasure after he was slain. This meshes nicely with my post about treasure as a source of challenge in AD&D, in which the comparison to _The Hobbit_ is made explicit. Less of an inconvenience will be **MAGIC TREASURE** , which can be easily carried away: This table is weighted towards potions, scrolls, armor, and weapons, "so as to prevent imbalance in the game" and to "Keep potent magic items rare." The DM is encouraged to "Increase scarcity by destroying or stealing what is found!" One might wonder whether the "Any [X amount of magic] items" results might in turn yield another treasure map. I don't think this is intended to be the case, as this possibility is made explicit in the **COMBINED HOARD**  table: With a result of 81 or higher, you will find the best possible monetary or magic treasure plus a map to either a separate magic treasure or a separate monetary treasure, respectively. Since these are the most valuable hoards, the DM is encouraged to hide them far away and to guard them with traps and monsters. There's something very funny about completing a long and arduous adventure following one of these maps only to immediately come into possession of another. So what's the point of treasure maps? Well, they're built in adventure hooks! When found in dungeons, they point the players towards some destination within the dungeon or to another dungeon entirely. When found in the wilderness, they can point the players towards some other location in your sandbox or somewhere beyond the current area of play entirely. Want the players to go deeper into the dungeon? Give them a treasure map. Want them to visit a different dungeon? Give them a treasure map. Want them to trek out into the wilderness, venture underwater, track down a monster's wilderness lair, or get mixed up in the deadly social fabric of urban gameplay? Give them a treasure map. If you're flying by the seat of your pants, rolling for treasure as the players find it, a treasure map gives you the chance to detail a new location in which to house the hoard - a fun little surprise for you. It's _quantum treasure_ - even you don't know it exists until it comes into play. Unfortunately, you can't do much with something you don't know about. If on the other hand you're prepping everything ahead of the campaign's start - including rolling for treasure in dungeons and lairs - then rolling up a treasure map somewhere gives you the chance to hide the hoard from the very beginning. _You_  know there's a massive hoard of treasure buried in an inconspicuous location right beneath the starting town, but the _players_  don't, and they _won't_ know unless they find that map. Maybe the treasure hoard is the stuff of legend, and your setting's factions and NPCs are all after it, but no one knows where the map is. Rumor has it that it was lost deep within the dungeon, or that the ancient red dragon counts it among its hoard. The legendary Dread Pirate is rumored to have hidden his plundered goods on one of those steamy jungle isles off the southern coast, but the map was lost when his flagship sunk a decade ago. Another possibility is that whoever or whatever possesses the map is actively trying to find the treasure. Maybe the evil wizard who rules the town has the map already, but is seeking the means to acquire the hoard their self. A clan of dwarves seeks a burglar to help them reclaim their lost gold. The buccaneers are scouring the coast for something, plundering as they go. What are they looking for? Perhaps the orcs, hobgoblins, or gnolls are harassing human civilization because they know there's treasure buried beneath one of those towns. Perhaps a dragon with a treasure map is responsible for martialing that host to acquire the treasure on its behalf. Once the player characters have the map, the adventure is only just beginning. They have to plan an expedition into the dungeon, the wilderness, or out to sea. They might have to recruit a caravan of drovers and porters to help them haul the hoard away when they find it. They have to contend with all the usual dangers of the environment its found in, any monsters that guard it, and any traps laid upon it. They have to do all of this while somehow keeping it a secret from those same factions and NPCs who are after it, even as the logistics may require recruiting dozens of hirelings or hauling the treasure out in the middle of town _right under those same NPCs' noses_. Hopefully it isn't a false map. That would be most unfortunate. Please excuse the pun, but that is a veritable treasure trove of juicy gameplay implications. Go on. What are you waiting for? Put a treasure map in your game _right now_.
25.02.2026 15:07 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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The Player-Drawn Dungeon Map is a Fast Travel Hack This post is part of the Prismatic Wasteland blog bandwagon on the topic of maps. The first mention of mapping by players in the AD&D PHB is on page 101, in the section titled **THE ADVENTURE** , specifically **Dungeon Expeditions** : Here it is explicitly stated that the purpose of the player-drawn dungeon map is to help the party "find [their] way out [of the dungeon] and return for yet more adventuring." There is a tradeoff for mapping the dungeon, which is that movement through the dungeon will be slow. Presumably, this will result in more torches burned, more rations eaten, and more wandering monsters encountered during mapping expeditions. Just after this, on page 102, we are told that movement through the dungeon is faster when following a map: Dungeon movement is _five times faster_  when following a previously mapped route. Mapping the dungeon not only allows the players to discern the route back to the surface, but also allows them to move expeditiously along that route (thus reducing the chance of encountering wandering monsters and the use of torches and rations as they retreat). Page 102 also tells us that mapping is not possible while moving quickly, "such as when pursued or pursuing." Additionally, "light must be available to make or read a map" (infravision doesn't cut it). Marking the walls of the dungeon (as with chalk) or leaving a trail of dropped items or string is "typically useless...as they will be obliterated, moved, or destroyed by passing creatures." The monsters are onto your dirty tricks, and they're here to ensure you end up trapped in the dungeon with them. The section on **MAPPING**(page 106) recommends that _two_  players make maps to improve the success of the expedition. It also warns players to "Never become concerned if your map is not exact...As long as it gives your party an idea as to where they are and how to get back, it is serving its purpose." This coincides neatly with A Knight at the Opera's post on Navigation Games, in which the author argues that an abstracted flowchart-style map which foregoes precise spatial dimensions in favor of relativistic relationships between rooms is the ideal form of mapping in dungeon exploration games. The most comprehensive remarks on mapping are found in this paragraph under **SUCCESSFUL ADVENTURES**  (page 109): Here is the crux of the issue: a map ensures that the party will be able to return to the surface. Again it is stated that "Minor mistakes are not very important...so long as the chart allows the group to find its way out!" I will note that the use of the word "chart" calls to mind not a meticulously drafted schematic on graph paper, but something like the flowchart-style map advocated for in A Knight at the Opera's post. Again it is recommended that _two_  maps be kept in case one is "destroyed by mishap or monster." This is offered alongside sound advice like "In mazes always follow one wall or the other" and things I would never even consider like "[when pursued], always go in a set escape pattern if possible" so your steps can be easily retraced, and "If transported or otherwise lost, begin mapping on a fresh sheet of paper." That last point brings to mind a room in Dungeon Module B1: In Search of the Unknown in which the party steps into a room and is teleported to another identical room without any indication that they've been transported. I can only imagine the frustration of the hyper-precise graph paper cartographer encountering this room and making a mess of their meticulously measured and sketched map. With a less precise flowchart-style map, the mapper could instead simply add a bubble labeled "teleporting rooms" and connect it to the rest of their chart as they would any other. In the next paragraph, the value of the map in avoiding encounters with wandering monsters is made explicit: The map serves another purpose, which is detailed in the following paragraph: The party is assumed to have an objective, and should not stray from it. "A good referee" will try to distract them from this objective. While it is the party's job to ignore these diversions as much as possible, it is the mapper's job to record their locations so that future expeditions can investigate them. The mapper is in many ways the party's memory - they record the dungeon's layout not just so that the party knows where they are and how to quickly escape, but so they know _what to come back to_. The information they record is instrumental in setting future expedition goals. And, since the party can travel faster through the dungeon along mapped routes, they will be able to quickly make their way back to those diversions on future delves. Of course, not every one of the DM's nefarious tools can be thwarted by simply ignoring them. The section on **TRAPS, TRICKS, AND ENCOUNTERS**(page 103) describes traps which confine, channel, injure, or kill characters. Most important to this subject are channeling traps, which include shifting walls and one-way doors. Mapping is suggested as a solution to these traps, as a good map allows the party to find their way back after ending up on the wrong end of one: The following section on tricks also describes dungeon features which specifically "foul maps", similar to the teleporting rooms in B1: Let's jump over to the DMG, where the first mention of player mapping is in the section on **EXPERT HIRELINGS**  (page 33): Specialist scribes (or cartographers) can be hired on a monthly basis to make or copy maps. They demand ten times the fee of a normal scribe, which is 15 gold pieces per month (150 gold pieces per month for a cartographer). Gygax tends to recommend that NPCs charge more to travel somewhere or to provide their services in a dangerous environment, so I imagine that this would be even more expensive if the cartographer is meant to join the party in the dungeon (perhaps five to ten times the usual cost, so 750 to 1,500 gold pieces per month). Still, this is well worth the cost if the party can afford it, as they are essentially relieved of the burden of mapping themselves. Instead, I imagine the DM would provide them with a map as they go which, since a well-paid specialist is making it by way of the DM, is probably quite accurate. Of course, a particularly cruel DM is at liberty to take advantage of this by making the cartographer unreliable in some way or by using monsters to target the party's expensive civilian escort. Note that charmed creatures will not draw maps, per page 43: If the party wants a dungeon map, they will either have to make it themselves or pay an expensive hireling to do it (and protect said hireling in the process). If they cannot or choose not to circumvent the challenge by paying an NPC, they will themselves have to deal with threats such as traps which channel them into unintended areas and tricks which meddle in their attempts to map. We have also been dancing around the issue of time, which imposes the threat of wandering monsters and resource expenditure. So how long does it take to map? The section on **THE FIRST DUNGEON ADVENTURE**(page 96) gives us some details. This first paragraph suggests that mapping a room or chamber takes 10 minutes: The next paragraph suggests that each turn, the party can map a length of corridor equal to the party's base movement rate times ten: Simple enough. However, the first paragraph is contradicted by this next one, which suggests that it takes one turn to map only a 20' x 20' area: Or perhaps the correct way to read this is that mapping any room or chamber takes one turn, which is the same amount of time it takes to casually examine a 20' x 20' area. I'm not entirely sure. I tend to let players map one room or chamber per turn. Obviously, this requires stopping in the room or chamber for one turn, so the mapper might update the map while the rest of the party searches the room, checks for secret doors and traps, picks a lock on a door, or whatever. I do kind of like the rule for mapping hallways as I'm never quite sure how to handle those, so maybe I'll keep that one. There's actually a third way for the players to obtain a map of the dungeon, and that's if they find one. The sample dungeon included in this section of the DMG provides the opportunity for the player characters to find an incomplete map of the dungeon in just the second room: The importance of this incomplete map is made apparent in the example of play which follows: The partial map indicates to the players where there might be areas to explore (in this case, they go to Area 3). Since they know that there is an area south of this room, yet there are no exits, they suspect that there must be secret door leading south, and indeed there is. This, of course, allows the DM to set up an evil trap involving some ghouls: So maybe if the DM gives you a map of the dungeon in only the second room, be a little wary of where that map might lead! While there are many benefits and perils when it comes to mapping the dungeon, ultimately the one we must come back to is this: the map helps the party move expeditiously throughout the dungeon. It not only aids the players in remembering the way out of the dungeon, but it hastens them in their egress. The map doesn't just help the players remember things to come back to later, but allows them to return to those side passages more quickly. Regarding the former - for a player-made dungeon map to yield its true value, _getting out_  of the dungeon without one needs to be every bit as hazardous as making progress _into_  it. This danger is essential to D&D's resource attrition game, which must work as intended in order for the game to remain challenging without relying too heavily on cheap tricks like traps and monsters which can instantly kill the player character. One of the most common complaints about D&D's gameplay loop (particularly in post-TSR editions of the game in which all resources are recovered on a single night's sleep) is that the game's attrition-based challenges are too easily circumvented by abusing rests - i.e., the 15-minute adventuring day. This effect is worsened when the DM provides the players with perfect information about the areas of the dungeon they've already explored, such as if the DM draws the map for them as they go, or uses a VTT and leaves previously explored areas of the dungeon displayed on screen after the characters have left them. To rest and recover all their resources, players need only go back the way they came, which is plainly laid out for them by the DM. If the players have to actually make the map themselves, there's a chance of them doing a poor job. Those who map poorly (or foolishly choose not to map at all) run the risk of getting lost. If they're lost, they can't leave whenever they want to recover lost resources. They may find themselves low on hit points and spells, wandering aimlessly, and easy marks for the dungeons depredations. The players are rewarded for their efforts not only with hastened escape from the dungeon, but also with expedited travel back _into_  it to tie up those many diversions seeded by the DM on prior expeditions. This allows them to avoid needless encounters with wandering monsters on subsequent delves, making it more likely that returns to the dungeon will be successful and ensuring that the party maintains its momentum throughout the campaign. This doesn't mesh well with modern D&D's dungeons which are seemingly designed to be cleared out in one go, but is essential for making progress in old school D&D's more megalithic underworlds. The point of the players making the map is to make movement through the dungeon faster, but _they_ _have to make it themselves_. As argued in A Knight at the Opera's post, mastering the layout of an environment like the dungeon is a perfect example of a challenge of player skill. The map is a powerful tool that must be earned. Don't give it away for free. Or, if you do, be sure to use it to lure the party into an ambush by some ghouls. That'll teach 'em.
18.02.2026 15:35 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Underwater Adventures: D&D's Forgotten Realm Underwater adventures are grossly underutilized in D&D. Even simple nautical or seafaring adventures (where the main mode of wilderness travel is via boat rather than on foot) are relatively rare. There might be the occasional partly flooded dungeon or passage on a ship to the Isle of Dread or Chult, but little of the adventure in D&D seems to take place beneath the waves themselves. This makes plenty of sense, as players are likely controlling land-dwelling characters like humans, dwarves, elves, or halflings. "Water levels" in video games like Donkey Kong Country, Legend of Zelda, or Metroid (to name but a few) are iconic, but often for the wrong reasons - that is, they're annoying as Hell. Presumably, underwater adventures in D&D would be likewise. The AD&D DMG devotes two full pages to play in these environments (which at once seems like a significant amount while also being unfathomably scant). There's a lot to consider in those two pages. There's also a lot to consider beyond them. But look at this introduction: Ancient submarine civilizations? Creatures half-man and half-fish? Mountains of sunken loot? Pearls as big as a man's head? Beautiful mermaids? I _need_  to go there. Why don't we go there more? For starters, there are issues like breathing, movement, vision, combat, and spell use to consider.  Underwater breathing can be achieved by spells, potions, magic items, or other contrivances invented by the DM for the occasion: Since the ability to breathe underwater is time-limited, underwater adventures are assumed to be akin in scope to dungeon adventures, rather than wilderness adventures. What I'm imagining is the characters piloting a boat above some sunken ruin, casting all their spells or chugging their potions, and diving in for a short expedition. While all dungeons have time pressure in the form of random encounters and available light sources and provisions, underwater adventures take this to the extreme. If you can't get out in time, you die. (Add "comestible" to the list of words I learned from reading D&D.) Just as underwater expeditions are similar to dungeon adventures in terms of duration, they are also similar in terms of movement: When adventuring underwater, characters use their dungeon movement rate. A character with a movement rate of 12" can move 120 yards per turn outdoors on dry land or 120 feet per turn in a dungeon on dry land. Underwater, they likewise move 120 feet per turn. This assumes that underwater adventures are basically "outdoors". How quickly then does the character move in an underwater _dungeon_? It isn't clear. Since your "outdoors" underwater movement rate is equal to your dry land dungeon movement rate (itself one-third of your dry land outdoor movement rate), I would personally rule that your movement rate in an underwater dungeon is likewise one-third your dry land dungeon movement rate. So, a character with a movement rate of 12" would move 40 feet per turn in an underwater dungeon. Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Swimming is only possible when the character is wearing leather armor or lighter and is carrying fewer than 20 pounds. That's not a lot of equipment! Then again, you probably don't want to get most of that equipment wet anyway. Even magic equipment like a _ring of swimming_  does not permit swimming if these conditions are not met. Swimming introduces another unique element of underwater adventures - swimming characters are vulnerable to attack from every direction. Underwater adventures are _more_ three-dimensional than land adventures because, outside of flight or levitation, characters don't usually have such unfettered access to that third dimension. This section also gives us a hint at what sorts of environments or terrain are found underwater - hills, coral outcroppings, shipwrecks, seaweed forests, and the like. Note that swimming without the aid of _free action_  magic does not allow you to move faster than someone forced to walk along the ocean floor, but it does allow you to swim over or around these obstacles. Next is vision: There are basically "simple" rules for vision (you can see X' until you reach a depth of Y', at which point the environment is treated basically as darkness) and "complex" ones. (you can see X' when 10' below the surface, but X decreases by 10' for every 10' you descend). Underwater environments complicate infravision because the temperature of the water is varied by shifting currents. Seaweed, schools of fish, and mud can obscure vision. Sea grass can be up to 30' tall and clouds of mud can persist for up to 12 rounds! Then we have combat considerations: Without _free action  _magic, only the use of thrusting weapons is possible, and natural swimmers will always strike the first blow against landlubbers unless a weapon with reach is employed. This is where nets (themselves the unsung heroes of the D&D weapons list) will shine. Characters can throw a net only a number of feet equal to their Strength score, and suffer -4 to hit with them unless they've trained extensively (underwater!) with the use of such a weapon. Specially-made crossbows costing ten times the normal amount can also function underwater. If an underwater adventure is to transition to one in an airy environment ("like the great air-filled domes of Atlantis"), bows, missiles, scrolls, and other items must somehow be kept dry. We also get a taste of what creatures might be encountered in the water - aquatic elves, locathah, mermen, and the true terrors of the deep, sahuagin. The latter employ clever and dastardly net traps in their ambushes. Finally, spell use: Like most everything else, spells function as they do in dungeons, with a few caveats. Some material components will not function underwater. Fire-based spells will only function in _airy water_ , and electrical spells will affect the entire area. I imagine it would also be difficult to make the precise gestures required by somatic components (unless magically capable of moving freely) and to speak verbal components (unless in _airy water_ or maybe if magically capable of breathing water), but this isn't stated. There is a sizeable list of spells that won't function underwater or will only function in _airy water_(marked by an asterisk): Many of these are fire spells, but there are other notables - spells which summon insects, and spells dealing with air, wind, or the weather. _Animal summoning_  is curious - could the caster not just summon aquatic animals instead? I imagine this is because the spells and their tables assume that adventures will be happening on land. Still it would be nice if alternative underwater tables were provided. You can't summon a cacodemon or woodland beings, but you can apparently cast _monster summoning_. Unlike _animal summoning_ , the _monster summoning_ spells _do_  get their own underwater tables: Also of interest is that spells that require speaking (_speak with dead_ , _speak with plants_) function only in _airy water_ , which seems to suggest that unless air is present, speaking is not possible. So then wouldn't any spell with verbal components not function without air as well? That's like, _most spells_. Curiously, _speak with animals_  is omitted. I would probably say that if you can breathe underwater, you can speak (and utter verbal components) underwater. If you are capable of swimming (either due to being unencumbered by armor and equipment or by way of magic), you can perform somatic components. Easy peasy. Then there are a handful of spells which are specially altered when cast underwater: My favorites have got to be _wall of ice_  (the entire wall simply floats to the surface) and _Otiluke's freezing sphere_(the caster entombs their self in a sphere of ice, which floats to the surface, and they suffocate unless freed). This all sounds like a bit of a headache for the DM and players alike, and that's because it is. Underwater environments are alien - more alien even than the dungeon. The deep ocean is probably the most alien place on our own planet Earth. It makes sense why so few adventures take place underwater. Adventuring there should be hard, because the characters aren't from there. But what if they were? The allure of underwater adventures, in my opinion, is not brief expeditions to sunken dungeons (although that is certainly one of the lures), it's the ancient civilizations and the creatures half-man and half-fish - the aquatic elves, locathah, mermen, sahuagin, and the like. There are vast empires (or probably more accurately in most cases, pretty large isolated ethnic enclaves) beneath the waves, and they are inhabited by all sorts of aquatic people. Can't the players play as one of those people? Let's start by looking at the underwater encounter tables. These are broken into shallow water (where vision is relatively easy) and deep water (where light from above does not penetrate), and into fresh water and salt water. Who says your underwater adventures have to take place in the ocean? Interestingly, the paragraph before the tables suggests that the "Number of creatures encountered should be appropriate to the strength of the encountering party": Hmm...Here I thought old school D&D was supposed to eschew balance (which is maybe true - some true believers don't consider AD&D "old school"). While this same sentiment isn't reiterated prior to the land-based wilderness encounter tables, I can't imagine why it would apply only to underwater encounters. File this under "Important rules mentioned once in passing in a random section of the DMG". Anyway, I will admit that the fresh water encounter tables do not suggest some larger civilization of which the player characters might be a part or might engage with. It's mostly animals and unintelligent monsters: Hobgoblins and lizard men are certainly playable races in later editions of D&D. There are some other intelligent monsters in here like giant beavers, gargoyles, ghouls, naga, nixies, and nymphs, but none of those exactly read as playable races (though a giant beaver campaign would be _sick_). Interestingly, dinosaurs are on the list, despite being found on land only in "Pleistocene Settings". Even if your AD&D world overall is not populated by dinosaurs, they will still dwell in your rivers, lakes, and oceans! The deep water table is more of the same, though it eschews a few monsters (regular crocodiles, giant frogs of all kinds, green slime, hippopotami, regular lampreys, giant leeches, and nymphs) in favor of others (giant water beetles, dragon turtles, storm giants, giant lampreys, and purple worms). It's cool that the deep lake next to town might have a dragon turtle, a purple worm, or a storm giant's castle at its bottom. The salt water tables are a bit more interesting: Here are the aquatic elves, locathah, mermen, and sahuagin. They are joined by ixitxachitl, sea hags, triton, and more nasty sea creatures, plus many of the same interesting creatures from the fresh water tables like storm giants, hobgoblins, gargoyles, ghouls, and nymphs. The deep water table adds the eye of the deep (a deep sea beholder) and one of my favorite weirdos, the morkoth. Underwater environments in AD&D are full of nasty monsters that leap out of hiding to eat you, swallow you whole, capsize or sink your ship, poison you, paralyze you to be eaten, stun you with light or trick you with illusions to tear you apart with their crab claws, torture you, melt you, suck your blood, enslave you (but only for one year!), and blind you or kill you by looking at you or by getting nude in front of you. Like many of AD&D's environments, underwater is not a nice place. But these environments are also home to intelligent beings with their own societies. 10% of dolphins form underwater communities of 4 to 100 dolphins with swordfish and narwhals as trained guards. Storm giants live in spacious castles beneath the waves and keep sea lions as pets (for whatever reason, all of their magical abilities are those select spells which explicitly _do not work_  underwater). Koalinth (aquatic hobgoblins) fulfill much the same function as their land-dwelling counterparts. Ixitxachitl lair in secret coral reef caves and can be clerics of as high as 8th level. Some of them are vampires. Locathah live in hollowed out castle-like undersea rocks, ride eels into battle, and use Portuguese men o' war as traps (implying the existence of Portugal in the default AD&D setting). Water naga are curious creatures capable of casting spells as 5th level magic-users. Aquatic elves are much like land-dwelling elves (with whom they engage in trade), but they are allies of dolphins and mortal enemies of sharks and sahuagin. There are wars being waged beneath the waves! They dislike fishermen because the elves get caught in the fishermen's nets, are mistaken for sahuagin, and killed. Mermen live in undersea communities among the reefs and cliffs, sometimes constructing villages of shells, rocks, and coral. They herd fish, have their own workshops, and keep barracuda as pets. Oh, they also form raiding parties to grapple surface ships en masse and slowly drag them down to the bottom of the sea to be looted, killing everyone aboard in the process. Huh. Sahuagin get more than a full page all to themselves. They are devil-worshippers and dwell "in a vast undersea city" ruled by a king. The city is built in an undersea canyon lined with palaces and dwellings. 5,000 sahuagin dwell there with 1,000 queens, concubines, nobles, and guards in the king's retinue. The king rules nine provinces (mirroring the levels of Hell), each ruled by a prince. The princes live in strongholds, while most other lairs are "actual villages or towns, constructed of stone" and hidden among the seaweed. They align themselves with sharks, venture onto land to raid, and hate even the evil ixitxachitl. They have a matriarchal religious structure with clerics of up to 8th level. 1 in 216 (2+1+6=9?) - including the nine princes and the king - is a mutant with four fully functioning arms. Those they capture are either tortured and eaten or made to compete in blood sport, dying either way. They are either distant relatives of the sea elves created by the drow, or some Lawful Evil god created them from humans "when the deluge came upon the earth." I'm sorry - I wasn't aware of The Deluge! This is rich stuff. Triton live in undersea castles and sculpted caverns, can become 6th level magic-users, and keep hippocampi, giant sea horses, and sea lions as pets. They can use their conch shell horns to summon these creatures to their aid and panic unintelligent sea creatures. Some have psionic ability. They are from the Elemental Plane of Water and "have been planted on the Material Plane for some purpose presently unknown to man", engaging in wars with sahuagin, ixitxachitl, koalinths, and lacedons. There's a lot going on underwater! It's dangerous and comes with a great many complications, so I can see why humans, land elves, dwarves, and halflings aren't exactly eager to board a ship and risk getting sunk by a dragon turtle, giant squid, or raiding party of murderous mermen, let alone actually go diving down there to contend with these horrible creatures in such an alien environment. That doesn't mean we can't have adventures there. I could see a campaign where the player characters are aquatic elves, locathah, mermen, tritons - hell, even koalinth or sahuagin - plundering the ruins of their own ancient civilizations as well as the sunken remains of the civilization above, building undersea strongholds among the coral and cliffs, and getting mixed up in factional politics and aquatic warfare. There are still dungeons there, and dragons, too (in turtle form, at least) - the only two things you really need for a D&D campaign. A campaign in such a drastically different environment would need to have many considerations. Being able to swim freely underwater is akin to every creature having unlimited flight. I imagine no one is wearing armor. How do potions and scrolls and spellbooks work? Have the magic-users of the undersea realms developed an underwater version of fireball that cooks you alive in a blast of boiling water? That sounds pretty neat. I need to go there. Why don't we go there more? Why aren't we there right now?
11.02.2026 14:43 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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AD&D's Domain Game: What to Learn, What to Leave, and What to Love <p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5EXjQo63i2OlT-3fRuEHp4Fj3ri68Q6VQRd-U7AX-RYHcdsDiQfevEfC5HS5H-4M9H84zkYDJNJhVK6R4tUeepDBCZUHYWr_GAsHU6gYTwHw9GD9s8QohZ9kEg05zL_2M44nyha0jusx5R-P66khZTB-Jj61naRsWh7Ab8DyV_Di3oBqi_YeAVAEJY5X3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="652" data-original-width="516" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5EXjQo63i2OlT-3fRuEHp4Fj3ri68Q6VQRd-U7AX-RYHcdsDiQfevEfC5HS5H-4M9H84zkYDJNJhVK6R4tUeepDBCZUHYWr_GAsHU6gYTwHw9GD9s8QohZ9kEg05zL_2M44nyha0jusx5R-P66khZTB-Jj61naRsWh7Ab8DyV_Di3oBqi_YeAVAEJY5X3=w317-h400" width="317" /></a></p><p></p><p>I'm currently in the process of trying to puzzle out how exactly "territory development" (what we would now probably call the "domain game") works in AD&amp;D, as described on page 93 of the DMG, <b>TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT BY PLAYER CHARACTERS</b>:</p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibDC9O7k1SnBhAE8y9oi17CCKau9B-9QYVHSjap2DJWqMdUElitw4u5Cn2vn9YwE8qj_TjlY9NrF0HKelJVcUpMwX5_ONuVqIkYIDhcOUkF1teCP3-hT-c0lCaV0tvnoe2ZsdONImmrBLmHfaNAR1lcRTxQmaBD9WuHC4PtwO3eejit4s59y6o3_pPBOIH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="234" data-original-width="530" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibDC9O7k1SnBhAE8y9oi17CCKau9B-9QYVHSjap2DJWqMdUElitw4u5Cn2vn9YwE8qj_TjlY9NrF0HKelJVcUpMwX5_ONuVqIkYIDhcOUkF1teCP3-hT-c0lCaV0tvnoe2ZsdONImmrBLmHfaNAR1lcRTxQmaBD9WuHC4PtwO3eejit4s59y6o3_pPBOIH=w400-h176" width="400" /></a></p>The process begins when the player decides to establish their character's stronghold. They pick a spot, the DM provides a map of the hex and the six surrounding hexes, and the player character and their henchmen and retainers go to the place to explore it and begin construction:<p></p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzR_AAkOHfqxI9kIySdYdnfzTPjNo-XI8TaVNu56PE1AmcsfOPt5FVCFKA4SZTD_3Elk9kQ29iLBNurYuzhe_ticwTL7w9eO3lbRrpYkkD0Mzkxt8aGs4zZ8TeVslOnKj2UCanZnzt0Qdzrhwc3tyejk_X64_VieVAk2dp8b9ewtylmvPET-Unw2bmZXlM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="159" data-original-width="532" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzR_AAkOHfqxI9kIySdYdnfzTPjNo-XI8TaVNu56PE1AmcsfOPt5FVCFKA4SZTD_3Elk9kQ29iLBNurYuzhe_ticwTL7w9eO3lbRrpYkkD0Mzkxt8aGs4zZ8TeVslOnKj2UCanZnzt0Qdzrhwc3tyejk_X64_VieVAk2dp8b9ewtylmvPET-Unw2bmZXlM=w400-h120" width="400" /></a></p><p>In the example, the player character wishes to construct a stronghold 100 miles from a border town, although there's no indication at this time that there's any required distance (I'll get back to that).&nbsp;</p>The DM must prepare a small scale map of the terrain in the area, 200 yards per hex. An area which is nine such hexes in width then makes up a larger one-mile hex. It and the surrounding six hexes are the area to be explored and mapped. Once they are all mapped, workers can be brought in to begin construction. A garrison has to be present to protect the workers, as each day there's a 1-in-20 chance of a monster wandering in from the area beyond these seven hexes, unless the area beyond is being patrolled:<p></p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4f4u2O8Gjf-T7J_a0vqAdxfXa-iUZDyciTDriPEiIn0UnCvpfBnHmb7bnfYs-orVX7UokYZLidjCgwPWqAq3gsZsIzdcJp-oDfONDPzFnKsRLcb2unooeYnWIHfkhpp28AMK59wcQpDIywD5g2kvCOsJf7xMSI-9CeDmf4ClIeWFWvHW6zq7RXcOZE6Ej" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="308" data-original-width="529" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4f4u2O8Gjf-T7J_a0vqAdxfXa-iUZDyciTDriPEiIn0UnCvpfBnHmb7bnfYs-orVX7UokYZLidjCgwPWqAq3gsZsIzdcJp-oDfONDPzFnKsRLcb2unooeYnWIHfkhpp28AMK59wcQpDIywD5g2kvCOsJf7xMSI-9CeDmf4ClIeWFWvHW6zq7RXcOZE6Ej=w400-h233" width="400" /></a></p><p></p><p>I tried to visualize what this area would look like in Hexographer and came up with the following:</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2vBqBIbSfa-r5W1dY_eV65oW1GDrt_GL0Pza2OlcAGWrEQdHZUflqiryLNymcgtND5kif2VtpNvRgQcJux-D4rbPqI_WD8vYo0DJmxuzPdiWfeL_z_YS_kLIR6WSN7gh5qCVsM8UCHMiv2oEWc_KEwj2tbzXTSZ_GgVnQoMeIjQt0gECEH6igCoP2Inx/s2090/territory%20development%20template.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2090" data-original-width="1763" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2vBqBIbSfa-r5W1dY_eV65oW1GDrt_GL0Pza2OlcAGWrEQdHZUflqiryLNymcgtND5kif2VtpNvRgQcJux-D4rbPqI_WD8vYo0DJmxuzPdiWfeL_z_YS_kLIR6WSN7gh5qCVsM8UCHMiv2oEWc_KEwj2tbzXTSZ_GgVnQoMeIjQt0gECEH6igCoP2Inx/w338-h400/territory%20development%20template.png" width="338" /></a></p><p>The smaller hexes are 200 yards across. The larger hexes are one-mile across. They are&nbsp;nine hexes across at their widest (from easternmost to westernmost vertex), so I think this is indeed what's being described in the excerpt above. Each one-mile hex contains 44 (!) 200-yard hexes.</p><p>The DM "checks but once for random monsters in each hex". Does this refer to the 200-yard hexes or the one-mile hexes? I don't know. One monster per one-mile hex sounds like plenty to me, and two monster lairs potentially within 200 yards of one another strains credulity, but wandering through 44 200-yard hexes with a chance for a monster to be encountered in just one of them seems rather droll. Indeed, this next section suggests that the DM only check for monsters once per one-mile hex <i>after</i>&nbsp;this "core area" is mapped out:</p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiQ9jBya2pmQmndZAGd32tcigG_qrmtVywazI5tYpbvUeADpQvUJzrMdtzMHHQGaEYdthQGhRvcESi9KxH3Dz30kQfUfYI3C-cwFJ3Zz2kpsViqALgKFZwbQgrDsmt3N91gQW0hl4Cy2qYEeJ2eapJhJORSew7iDsCGfKqc6omCNyH_ftbTBOsTgVt5cvn" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="295" data-original-width="535" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiQ9jBya2pmQmndZAGd32tcigG_qrmtVywazI5tYpbvUeADpQvUJzrMdtzMHHQGaEYdthQGhRvcESi9KxH3Dz30kQfUfYI3C-cwFJ3Zz2kpsViqALgKFZwbQgrDsmt3N91gQW0hl4Cy2qYEeJ2eapJhJORSew7iDsCGfKqc6omCNyH_ftbTBOsTgVt5cvn=w400-h220" width="400" /></a></p>This sounds to me like, when exploring the "core area" of seven one-mile hexes, the player character explores each 200-yard hex one by one, with the DM checking for monsters (and possibly randomly determining terrain) in each one. It is only <i>after</i>&nbsp;the core area is mapped that the player character begins more quickly exploring the surrounding one-mile hexes (instead of the 200-yard hexes within), at which point monster checks are made "<i>as is normal for outdoor adventuring</i>" (emphasis mine).<p></p><p>Furthermore, once per day, the DM checks to see if a monster wanders into any one hex which borders an unexplored hex. Once per week, the DM checks to see if a monster wanders into "the central part of the cleared territory" (this I take to mean any explored hex which <i>doesn't</i>&nbsp;border an unexplored hex, not necessarily <i>the </i>central hex where the stronghold is being built, but I could be wrong).</p><p>Here's my attempt to visualize what this "core area" might look like (using the provided example of wooded hills, though I'm using a variation of <a href="https://welshpiper.com/hex-based-campaign-design-part-1/" target="_blank">the Welsh Piper method</a> instead of AD&amp;D's method for randomly determining terrain), with the hex where I think the player character might locate their stronghold indicated with a star:</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYNCz6Jy9tN3CF80k1gPNdfl65C7t559ErelLPazjfSL-2jZHG7iGRCSsOYosAsDT9uL82gjrNAB0G2GVtW9NrqUTcnxUocTSZ4V2uCJPGdljlAnhVtic-F4eSfalHHynhr_fxR2wGekrANUqwZTWLwYSPdogknEuvOlSEgJuekIvPndudA7zF61Q-FaA/s2090/territory%20development.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2090" data-original-width="1763" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYNCz6Jy9tN3CF80k1gPNdfl65C7t559ErelLPazjfSL-2jZHG7iGRCSsOYosAsDT9uL82gjrNAB0G2GVtW9NrqUTcnxUocTSZ4V2uCJPGdljlAnhVtic-F4eSfalHHynhr_fxR2wGekrANUqwZTWLwYSPdogknEuvOlSEgJuekIvPndudA7zF61Q-FaA/w338-h400/territory%20development.png" width="338" /></a></p><p>According to the AD&amp;D DMG, we're to check for encounters based on population density (this isn't what I usually do, but will for the sake of this example):</p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKq613GCqSHhil7HSSS_hc_Widczo9hftBIgFlP7m0l4MbHxTtFPqzuHL4fl9XEgscpPaWicRsegdA5FiNM6ya5ehfG2ng_TXq7gHSiwRi8TylkZxr1MW6vAoCOHHCxDRBl7-JYo6pOeEWSA8cYn8I9kPT8qvrS-pb46eP3sYpWI_YJBilEBvIzz2T2ZfL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="318" data-original-width="534" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKq613GCqSHhil7HSSS_hc_Widczo9hftBIgFlP7m0l4MbHxTtFPqzuHL4fl9XEgscpPaWicRsegdA5FiNM6ya5ehfG2ng_TXq7gHSiwRi8TylkZxr1MW6vAoCOHHCxDRBl7-JYo6pOeEWSA8cYn8I9kPT8qvrS-pb46eP3sYpWI_YJBilEBvIzz2T2ZfL=w400-h239" width="400" /></a></p>Since this area is 100 miles from the nearest border town, it's probably uninhabited/wilderness area. That means 1-in-10 of these 200-yard hexes will have a monster in them. Here's what that looks like:<p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiwAcOfGS7QmXBdv5Vcgznh9tGX4LtsZtwO0gnSrdp6hZGu959HWfd9gfJtCk1JAYlrn5QIp6tszWXQ1lU4rINXu_8JhBrajKMRXP-WThuasPN6AUBmOZhpuOxo1IVlIMrPrJhRQRP7N1YMsrp92X-3M4Am1EWJlCunS6-eS7wbLmu48T8OqNlD-83DUk/s2090/territory%20development%202.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2090" data-original-width="1763" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiwAcOfGS7QmXBdv5Vcgznh9tGX4LtsZtwO0gnSrdp6hZGu959HWfd9gfJtCk1JAYlrn5QIp6tszWXQ1lU4rINXu_8JhBrajKMRXP-WThuasPN6AUBmOZhpuOxo1IVlIMrPrJhRQRP7N1YMsrp92X-3M4Am1EWJlCunS6-eS7wbLmu48T8OqNlD-83DUk/w338-h400/territory%20development%202.png" width="338" /></a></p><p>That's 28 monsters. Am I doing this right? I honestly have no idea. I'm doing as described, checking each hex for a monster, not spacing them out according to any sort of logic or reason. It seems strange that the southernmost hex would have three monsters each within 200 yards of the other two, but this is what I got by following the procedure.</p><p>Again, once this is all mapped, construction can begin (the DMG does not explicitly state that the monsters have to be driven off or killed before construction can begin, unless I'm missing something), and the player character will then begin exploring the one-mile hexes surrounding these hexes, with checks for monsters proceeding according to the normal rules for wilderness exploration.&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, there is a chance per day that a new monster will wander into a border hex and a chance per week that a monster will wander into a central (non-border) hex. This can be prevented by signaling to intelligent monsters that the area is dangerous to them, patrolling frequently and aggressively, and by organized settlement of the cleared lands:</p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEit-_8ztQBpKX4T29K5-5UMg3cukjf1W4BwguDppNPtgMjRA7xF7cYRudY9rNNSdmrRpe0Mm82CsJvu6Dhe25SVh_xqI-92tonpUiY8on-ci1s2o084kIxbZvkJygteyJ6d3jmsCw6G6lGpfIHNei9cp99VxTGqseWc_q_C3bO3wSD0LqGH6Kk3gOWnI3Cp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="237" data-original-width="539" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEit-_8ztQBpKX4T29K5-5UMg3cukjf1W4BwguDppNPtgMjRA7xF7cYRudY9rNNSdmrRpe0Mm82CsJvu6Dhe25SVh_xqI-92tonpUiY8on-ci1s2o084kIxbZvkJygteyJ6d3jmsCw6G6lGpfIHNei9cp99VxTGqseWc_q_C3bO3wSD0LqGH6Kk3gOWnI3Cp=w400-h176" width="400" /></a></p>Once the stronghold is finished, if proper patrols are organized, only weekly checks for monstrous intruders are needed (one each on the <b>Uninhabited/Wilderness </b>table and on the <b>Inhabited</b>&nbsp;table). If a road is built through the area, checks are instead made on the <b>Inhabited</b>&nbsp;table three times per week:<p></p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilAavKpZio7Iz1cr5qjmSgiIcMvjNz7TigdoFLAmHpn2Dtx9yU7YpM9dISDokOWyz85l9denQ8uLIDj1ecqaAdj7qaHJoywulk8p_WfDYSKaz8ZIWosrhYZrR9qe8-BvHA9FMO8MjHMKEQP5yVUs13lMJkXkvSAV1TLr9rjsrqkzYZuewXo3oQUtPaivRh" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="213" data-original-width="533" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilAavKpZio7Iz1cr5qjmSgiIcMvjNz7TigdoFLAmHpn2Dtx9yU7YpM9dISDokOWyz85l9denQ8uLIDj1ecqaAdj7qaHJoywulk8p_WfDYSKaz8ZIWosrhYZrR9qe8-BvHA9FMO8MjHMKEQP5yVUs13lMJkXkvSAV1TLr9rjsrqkzYZuewXo3oQUtPaivRh=w400-h160" width="400" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">The <b>Inhabited</b>&nbsp;table is made up of many (presumably) good (i.e., profitable) things, like dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, leprechauns, merchants, nomads, pilgrims, and mundane animals. It also has some bad things, like ankhegs, bandits, brigands, bulettes, giants, humanoids, lycanthropes, manticores, ogres, and all manner of undead. Thus, a domain with a road through it will more frequently be settled by men and demihumans and fey creatures, but will also more frequently be preyed upon by certain monsters and haunted by ghosts. The distinction between the <b>Uninhabited/Wilderness </b>table and the <b>Inhabited </b>table has always struck me as a neat way of modeling which monsters are attracted to human inhabitation and which ones stay far away.</p><p></p><p>The DM no longer checks for monsters from&nbsp;<b>Uninhabited/Wilderness </b>areas once a territory of more than 30 miles from the center (here I'm guessing the center hex, not necessarily the exact location of the stronghold itself)&nbsp;is patrolled or inhabited. That's 30 one-mile hexes that must be explored and then patrolled in <i>all</i>&nbsp;directions (961 hexes total).The monsters from the <b>Inhabited</b>&nbsp;table continue to show up and settle in the area, and the area returns to wilderness if not patrolled or inhabited:</p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKQAy2MMGWSEVpIJCvGf5_pO_vJF5hMZeNR5_hnZm8SKHRtOrQXXjp4Ai_Nois_8HuCNcey6GzZ2p9UhE6L4zhPX_3eh_Jea7b2QzfN9LKoQsEIrTcSUGDr0vNiv03OYyQef8Ijwo9HN-XM7LQrA_BEvGuQ82KJZJiH0wGq1T4tb_rbRt7g-CeMfEEg9Bh" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="180" data-original-width="530" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKQAy2MMGWSEVpIJCvGf5_pO_vJF5hMZeNR5_hnZm8SKHRtOrQXXjp4Ai_Nois_8HuCNcey6GzZ2p9UhE6L4zhPX_3eh_Jea7b2QzfN9LKoQsEIrTcSUGDr0vNiv03OYyQef8Ijwo9HN-XM7LQrA_BEvGuQ82KJZJiH0wGq1T4tb_rbRt7g-CeMfEEg9Bh=w400-h136" width="400" /></a></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRQcKtUJKuMgNToOUYKnLYY4O6lSH730yPmPsFPMBMyk_SV_xvxNxKOP3s83xR-ebplqCwBUUV8rHv-MPn2WhcBipjeJJvrj2itSrb3uwiLcTQ4uda2Wysw1xir56SqiEoST6cJIw3on9CgY-qutiQA9mqVxi7dOociidzz3QDrNoklvQswSIEs4Rdi2WU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="42" data-original-width="531" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRQcKtUJKuMgNToOUYKnLYY4O6lSH730yPmPsFPMBMyk_SV_xvxNxKOP3s83xR-ebplqCwBUUV8rHv-MPn2WhcBipjeJJvrj2itSrb3uwiLcTQ4uda2Wysw1xir56SqiEoST6cJIw3on9CgY-qutiQA9mqVxi7dOociidzz3QDrNoklvQswSIEs4Rdi2WU=w400-h31" width="400" /></a></p>Inhabited by whom? Well, I guess the merchants, demihumans, and fey creatures. Presumably the nomads and pilgrims are not settling, as wandering is part of their nature. I suppose homesteads will begin to crop up. These will grow into thorps, then into hamlets, then villages, then towns, and finally cities, but how exactly this transpires is left to the imagination.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">The next paragraph answers the question - how far must a player character's stronghold be from civilization? Well, it needn't be far at all. In fact, it is suggested that the stronghold might be "located in the heart of some powerful state":</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7vPvk6-R6_v94NM-hUIMKbr5a5kxzepgkVxqEYiTI96Uk6F-3ZGIflVE4DgOfoUhJ8S0o0G8x2crkxxh9WSCz_wtGL_hD7t1TJGgXlFgx21qpXDoP_bwx9vYi2uxUbMFBZXLSh8ijx__sOQE0X_xPuB6MGjYub5AxC0t-JMddzgrKlLhZ3Zjazp-nxstV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="180" data-original-width="532" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7vPvk6-R6_v94NM-hUIMKbr5a5kxzepgkVxqEYiTI96Uk6F-3ZGIflVE4DgOfoUhJ8S0o0G8x2crkxxh9WSCz_wtGL_hD7t1TJGgXlFgx21qpXDoP_bwx9vYi2uxUbMFBZXLSh8ijx__sOQE0X_xPuB6MGjYub5AxC0t-JMddzgrKlLhZ3Zjazp-nxstV=w400-h135" width="400" /></a></p>As is often the case in AD&amp;D, the emphasis is on maintaining the campaign as challenging and interesting. In this scenario, the stronghold ruler is not clearing monsters from their land and then holding it against wilderness incursions, but instead dealing with "intrigue and petty wars...jealous neighbors, assassins, and the like" which threaten the fief.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Next we come right back to the matter of inhabitation of wilderness domains:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilrbywkHbPoHYup1Bnr_T9-wYxBHO75hs9bKh7hfq82wOP066sRbtkW85_LbQp-FUOfAF27iqm1ODuigE37Fc_2iuXY-zb_MeVeGRucRPwmvw37idbk0GA9fwYBp4daTNqwphkDC4XbgSd6fTUiIFn_rerdCki-PT2tbOhqjYFtR2GhDOIQ6DRYTmQ2Z6v" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="349" data-original-width="532" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilrbywkHbPoHYup1Bnr_T9-wYxBHO75hs9bKh7hfq82wOP066sRbtkW85_LbQp-FUOfAF27iqm1ODuigE37Fc_2iuXY-zb_MeVeGRucRPwmvw37idbk0GA9fwYBp4daTNqwphkDC4XbgSd6fTUiIFn_rerdCki-PT2tbOhqjYFtR2GhDOIQ6DRYTmQ2Z6v=w400-h263" width="400" /></a></p>Again, once the stronghold is finished and patrols have cleared the area, inhabitants will come to settle. I think this is at the same time as when the DM begins checking weekly on both the <b>Uninhabited/Wilderness</b>&nbsp;and <b>Inhabited</b>&nbsp;tables (i.e., <i>before </i>the 30 surrounding one-mile hexes have been cleared and patrolled, but again it isn't entirely clear).<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">The inhabitants "will match the area and the alignment of the character", which is interesting. Lawful Good creatures will settle in a paladin's domain, for example. Random monsters will settle in the area, "making proper subservience calls upon the master of the territory". I imagine this means that the Lawful Good dwarves who move into the paladin's realm will become loyal inhabitants. Would the Chaotic Evil ogres who move into the Chaotic Evil cleric's realm likewise become the cleric's vassals?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Hamlets, thorps, and other settlements will begin to crop up, starting near the stronghold and working towards the fringes, but no indication is given as to how quick this settling process is, how long it takes one settlement type to grow into another, or anything like that. (OD&amp;D, for its part, suggests 2-8 villages of 100-400 inhabitants each per territory, but it also leaves to the imagination how exactly these come to be.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Once the settlements are established, "they can be used as centers for activity - good or evil or whatever." They "attract more of the ilk which inhabit them, draw opponents sworn to exterminate them, trigger raids or reprisals, etc." The domain game becomes less about fending off wilderness incursions and more about managing the region's inhabitants and dealing with complications that arise as a result of - presumably - the ideology of the player character and their people. The paladin will need to thwart attacks from the forces of Evil Chaos, while the Chaotic Evil cleric will be dealing with assaults from the realms of Good and Law.</p><p style="text-align: left;">What's interesting is the onus placed on actions taken by the player character - that is, "forming active groups from the population base and doing something." The DM is intended to "initiate by setting up a series of circumstances which will bear upon the territory" only as a last resort. Is that to suggest that the paladin's realm is only besieged by Evil Chaos after the paladin has instigated the conflict in some way? Do the forces of Law and Good simply not mind their Chaotic Evil cleric neighbor until his ogre vassals start plundering their land? I like the emphasis on player agency, but this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One thing that strikes me is that the domain and its inhabitants read like an extension of the player character. The regular inhabitants are all of the same alignment, pay taxes (as indicated in the class descriptions in the PHB), and exist for the player character to form "active groups" and do "something". Are we talking about raising armies? How many peasant levies can be raised from the thorp, hamlet, village, or town? It isn't clear, but clearly these inhabitants are intended as additional resources and game pieces for the player to employ in whatever their ends may be. They need to be protected, not necessarily because the character is a Good hero but because they share the character's ideology and are useful in some way.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Next, we are told that the "real benefit" of player character territories is what they contribute to the DM's milieu:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOaHi_FOXWOUQjbT9VBdWShfIBJkSbgXoYxr1ictJbGU9Kge2odp4XwNeMz8yIyH9zIbqReJ_AUstuqWq1IUuVMZ90x-HA519yWdeA1u2HZUJ7laaOVx_ClH8UXz7cf_WaJf9m3Fqk8sKNP_5WnksuCcZkpdtx9PtiXIksVLJ0KuTLLJRq-tu6R0q6KFY3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="121" data-original-width="533" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOaHi_FOXWOUQjbT9VBdWShfIBJkSbgXoYxr1ictJbGU9Kge2odp4XwNeMz8yIyH9zIbqReJ_AUstuqWq1IUuVMZ90x-HA519yWdeA1u2HZUJ7laaOVx_ClH8UXz7cf_WaJf9m3Fqk8sKNP_5WnksuCcZkpdtx9PtiXIksVLJ0KuTLLJRq-tu6R0q6KFY3=w400-h91" width="400" /></a></p>When the player character constructs their stronghold, the player should provide the DM with floor plans (including <a href="https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/2025/09/retired-adventurers-long-for-dungeon.html" target="_blank">dungeons</a>) and a map of the immediate area surrounding the stronghold. This is so the DM can plan sieges and other attacks upon the fortification:<p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qRYOAs7guNCYkWVRHyytP_R3SDviqsNQ8_VwTVNFjLBceHQmJT4xnmiUWTwA6tEZpl577fpnbtoQtK0roZB50EvGgkV-NTjAvPD18QI0V_4cVTJS7D-YjmTLVL4cFFT0rhc3mwYBNiJ_1-C9DjyiKY94KUHnMEET1zYbgx5TQQLQCrcC5yaa8MRUR9ck/s531/Screenshot%202026-01-30%20101436.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="531" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qRYOAs7guNCYkWVRHyytP_R3SDviqsNQ8_VwTVNFjLBceHQmJT4xnmiUWTwA6tEZpl577fpnbtoQtK0roZB50EvGgkV-NTjAvPD18QI0V_4cVTJS7D-YjmTLVL4cFFT0rhc3mwYBNiJ_1-C9DjyiKY94KUHnMEET1zYbgx5TQQLQCrcC5yaa8MRUR9ck/w400-h122/Screenshot%202026-01-30%20101436.png" width="400" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Finally, if a player leaves the campaign or switches to a new character, the DM can take control of the former character's domain and run it as they wish:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_TswuURQS7oA0sPP69cGXCZ1Ng_KFQwB0brQs4noIXT6GRAy9XLD1HjAZTzBJdIA9TIncIUhX4uBCfwm0JQTqwN4XhLkToC2LBHHj80RgyD8nIxKRtnmRyaoBNPeVk41Q4x2B9yqbFMPKc0t2NOPTlM3K0gF0yfcjni4IKTEKZCYEqIsGLQzyrCVCV1Ti" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="141" data-original-width="531" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_TswuURQS7oA0sPP69cGXCZ1Ng_KFQwB0brQs4noIXT6GRAy9XLD1HjAZTzBJdIA9TIncIUhX4uBCfwm0JQTqwN4XhLkToC2LBHHj80RgyD8nIxKRtnmRyaoBNPeVk41Q4x2B9yqbFMPKc0t2NOPTlM3K0gF0yfcjni4IKTEKZCYEqIsGLQzyrCVCV1Ti=w400-h106" width="400" /></a></p>I would be remiss not to mention the possibility of uprisings if the player characters forces peasantry, serfdom, or slavery upon their subjects:<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh91JFbHL0KDIve_Y69A8cz_xeL7j616txrK8dWikovzNACiFfiMUL2-GYLtRxnu3BDk3ciMuYlpwpU3tKWqnePv1Sjqkee-hFFfIrGDLuvgo6VjKM99_LQ7xDx5rBkMSjHQyKTkDNg7vBiYvzNKE8Q5VRkM_ekKcJ8aWG1z8wLoYxwIGnzV20B8R5rSuvA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="370" data-original-width="533" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh91JFbHL0KDIve_Y69A8cz_xeL7j616txrK8dWikovzNACiFfiMUL2-GYLtRxnu3BDk3ciMuYlpwpU3tKWqnePv1Sjqkee-hFFfIrGDLuvgo6VjKM99_LQ7xDx5rBkMSjHQyKTkDNg7vBiYvzNKE8Q5VRkM_ekKcJ8aWG1z8wLoYxwIGnzV20B8R5rSuvA=w400-h278" width="400" /></a></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNHw34hrE3kde1fQzq0642dIDS1910fCL3emxUcYUXchvic9HM4xOCwKaCB6Xx7hVNSSae39WAV0AvQAaqJX0S_XTwzrSnNTzG49OwOg-hwX6PpMClfOcVqLMOmVK4dDEESWY2W5kPVyjrj_hBy17pcdqbeKojSSOALUgyj-EWpa5Mn-aFEctNviIJQI8d" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="294" data-original-width="532" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNHw34hrE3kde1fQzq0642dIDS1910fCL3emxUcYUXchvic9HM4xOCwKaCB6Xx7hVNSSae39WAV0AvQAaqJX0S_XTwzrSnNTzG49OwOg-hwX6PpMClfOcVqLMOmVK4dDEESWY2W5kPVyjrj_hBy17pcdqbeKojSSOALUgyj-EWpa5Mn-aFEctNviIJQI8d=w400-h221" width="400" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Peasantry/serfdom is not the accepted norm for common people in the AD&amp;D world. <a href="https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=7182" target="_blank">D&amp;D is not medieval</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This also gives us a window into what it looks like for a player character to raise levies from the normal inhabitants of their domain. 1-in-5 of the inhabitants will be fighters (which I take to mean adults capable of fighting, not individuals with a level in the fighter class). These troops will be 0 level peasants, treated "as up to 1-1 HD" monsters according to the <b>EXPERIENCE POINTS VALUE OF MONSTERS</b>&nbsp;section of the DMG:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYsznx-ik6h6svKryPtmUw1RpbbEgMXuM-5XIlflk-sPkz6udmZ8ObUTyNJu5TenS_yeawm5ypA64qhHkEEK9VYRzoPv8xDtUN6YK3un40cP1_GzpFFmKPPnQyY7xI45yUf_HnZ6WcwIbnjso88tt4qs2M2LtLODDGEcxapjNob1PiJ3znFp4LQBjsBNFB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="579" data-original-width="532" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYsznx-ik6h6svKryPtmUw1RpbbEgMXuM-5XIlflk-sPkz6udmZ8ObUTyNJu5TenS_yeawm5ypA64qhHkEEK9VYRzoPv8xDtUN6YK3un40cP1_GzpFFmKPPnQyY7xI45yUf_HnZ6WcwIbnjso88tt4qs2M2LtLODDGEcxapjNob1PiJ3znFp4LQBjsBNFB=w368-h400" width="368" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">This means the average single dwelling (population 6.5) will yield one troop, the average thorp (population 50) will yield ten, the average hamlet (population 250) will yield 50, the average village (population 750) will yield 150, the average town (population 4,000) will yield 800, and the average city (population 35,000) will yield 7,000.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-100-hex-sandbox.html" target="_blank">If we standardize the values provided by the DMG's <b>INHABITATION </b>table</a>, that area of 961 one-mile hexes (960, not counting the hex in which the stronghold itself is located) could eventually support 28 to 29 single dwellings, 19 to 20 thorps, 19 to 20 hamlets, 19 to 20 villages, 9 to 10 towns, and 9 to 10 cities. On average, that could yield from 74,000 to 82,000 peasant levies in a new campaign or uprising.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">That seems a bit hard to believe, so I am probably over-interpreting the available information. The whole point of this section is that these people do <i>not</i>&nbsp;tolerate being subject to peasantry, serfdom, or slavery, so it seems unlikely that the ruler could call on their subjects (if they can be called "subjects" at all) in such great numbers. The numbers given also pertain to an enthusiastic uprising in which everyone who can pick up a weapon for the cause does so. Perhaps in an organized war effort the numbers should instead be cut in half.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Perhaps the intention is for the player character to lead campaigns with only the strength of their follower armies and mercenaries, but it seems a bit hard to believe that these tax-paying settlements contain <i>no</i>&nbsp;loyal warrior subjects who can be called upon in a conflict.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In any case, if the uprising (or perhaps campaign) lasts more than a month, you add 10% to the total force for each month, and upgrade 10% of the total force to regular men-at-arms (1-1 to 1 HD monsters) and give them improved tactics. This suggests that perhaps a more warlike ruler cultivates a more warlike populace over time. (OD&amp;D, of course, famously suggests the insertion of a Conan-type "to bring matters into line" in the event of an uprising.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">There would also eventually be two additional strongholds in the area which, since the player character's stronghold controls the area, are likely vassals or henchmen of the character, and so would contribute their own forces as well (men-at-arms as well as whatever followers are attracted by, say, a fighter or cleric). Normally some of these strongholds would be inhabited instead by bandits, berserkers, brigands, or the like, or become <a href="https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/2025/03/d66-reasons-why-castle-is-totally.html" target="_blank">deserted</a> and potentially inhabited by monsters, but since this is a newly developed territory such a takeover or ruination would have to happen as part of an in-game event.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Now, is this system good game design? I don't know, I probably wouldn't use it as is. I think it's pretty unlikely that the player will say "I want to go 100 miles away from this town and build my stronghold on some random hill, where I don't even know what the terrain is like or where monsters may be." I don't really like the idea of switching to a much finer-grained scale of wilderness mid-game and forcing the players to laboriously explore some 300 hexes and slog their way through 30 monster lairs to establish their domain, then explore and inhabit or patrol an additional 950 hexes just to stop monsters from wandering in all the time.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">More likely is that the player characters will set up their domain in some place that they're familiar with - the existing campaign area. I obviously make a lot of sandboxes, and I arrive at the first session of the campaign with a complete map of settlements, strongholds, ruins, and monster lairs. Once the player characters familiarize themselves with the area and grow in power, I think they're more likely to build their stronghold in a region that's already settled, to take a readymade stronghold from someone else, or to rehabilitate a ruined stronghold into something they can use. If there are monsters nearby, they'll have to deal with that, but I wouldn't require them to meticulously explore a huge area before they could even begin building the thing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I do like the idea of checking regularly to see if monsters wander into the area from the wilderness, but feel that this could be applied more broadly to the campaign map as a whole. Maybe you check each unoccupied border hex of the campaign map on a regular basis to see what new monsters move into the area, and maybe likewise track their movements from one hex to another as time passes and they search for a lair to settle in. Maybe they stumble into the player character's domain and stir up trouble in their search for a home or for prey. You could have some sort of minigame for when the monster wanders into a patrolled area to see if the patrol can handle it or if the monster overwhelms them and continues on its march.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I really like the image of a player character's (or NPC adventurer's) territory being surrounded by monster carcasses and totems to ward off intelligent monsters. When the player characters see that, they know they're entering into some powerful NPC's domain.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I also like that different types of monsters are drawn to strongholds more frequently if they're joined to the rest of civilization by a road. Building a road between the stronghold and the nearest settlement is a matter of great convenience, allowing expedited travel back and forth. It will attracts merchants and elves and dwarves to the domain, but it will also attract all the men and monsters that prey upon civilization.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">I like the distinction between wilderness domains and those within settled regions. Do you want to deal with monstrous incursions, or politics and intrigue? Would you rather defend against the occasional orc warband wandering into your domain, or with the neighboring warlord's organized campaign, a king somewhere demanding your fealty, and assassins poisoning your food?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lastly, I like that the alignment of the player character seems to influence who is drawn to the domain and for what purpose. The Good character's realm will be inhabited by Good people and threatened by Evil-doers, and vice versa. One realm is populated by dwarves and elves and fey, while the other is inhabited by manticores and orcs and ogres. I imagine that both types of domain are not entirely harmonious internally - I'm sure the dwarves and elves have beef and the fey play tricks on people, and the orcs and ogres contend with one another unless united by bribes and coercion from the local ruler.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This concept could be broadened beyond the realm of alignment only instead to the nature of the character in general. A dwarf's domain will attract more dwarves and an elf's domain will attract more elves. A paladin and a ranger will both rule Good domains, but their inhabitants will look very different, as will a cleric's and a druid's.</p><p style="text-align: left;">While I like the emphasis on player agency in the text, I don't much like the attitude that intervention on the DM's part is a last resort option. It doesn't make much sense to me that (if I'm reading this right), the Lawful Good neighbors of the player character's Chaotic Evil domain will only make some effort to overthrow the neighboring ruler if the player character takes the initiative first. If you're building a barony of ogres and mustering an army within your borders, the powers that be will take notice and intervene to the extent they are able.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The takeaway here is less that you should use specifically AD&amp;D's system for any of this, but that you can take away certain broad ideas when including domains (whether player characters' or NPCs') in your campaign:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Monsters move around the wilderness looking for places to live.</li><li>Domain rulers have to contend with monsters wandering into their territory.</li><li>Domain rulers can prevent monsters from wandering into their territory by placing warning signs, patrolling the surrounding area, and inducing settlers to inhabit it.</li><li>Roads connect the domain to civilization as a whole, but introduce their own complications.</li><li>Domains in the wilderness and those in inhabited areas have their own distinct complications.</li><li>The character of the domain's ruler will influence who lives there and who opposes them, what their goals are, what problems they deal with, and the like.</li><li>The inhabitants of the domain are somewhat an extension of the character to be used to raise funds and armies and achieve whatever it is the player desires.&nbsp;</li><li>Likewise, these inhabitants are a resource of the character which can be attacked much like anything else on the character sheet (in this case, they're almost like the domain's "equipment"). They are usually attacked by the domain's ideologically opposed enemies and neighbors.</li></ul><div>That's my attempt to reckon with AD&amp;D's domain game. While a lot of AD&amp;D's actual mechanics often seem archaic or inscrutable, its broad ideas and procedures are often quite good. This is one of the few times where I find the procedure itself to be difficult to wrap my head around and borderline unusable, but once again the big ideas and overall <i>feel </i>of the system is solid, and there's a lot of good stuff to take away for whatever D&amp;D-like game you may be playing.</div><p></p>
04.02.2026 16:30 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Condensing the Palace of the Silver Princess Sandbox <p style="text-align: left;">As you may have already seen, I did a readthrough of Dungeon Module B3: Palace of the Silver Princess (both the <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/forlornencystment.bsky.social/post/3mbwbf2uhv22e" target="_blank">orange</a> and <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/forlornencystment.bsky.social/post/3mchqnun4ic2q" target="_blank">green</a> versions) on Bluesky. <a href="https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/2026/01/which-version-of-palace-of-silver.html" target="_blank">I also wrote a comparison of the two with some reasons why you might run one version over the other</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One reason I gave for running the orange version was its regional sandbox, which places the Palace in context alongside a host of settlements and geographic features:</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFrQ4yql9h21QXnvWDc_TPiuY1Hxb_J7JuAyet-fTMniYSkS_ZLFfeknOkVAxOM8EPpZSEn5p1hxTRh89RboBH8OdLW3hJ9Mesec8t9SIVHhsAb040ivy-fYVUh36vp3phYzmhzInQH10NLXiJMW05krayit4vLfrCrXkCql-Zr_IL2tbImr9RFla3mLj/s687/Screenshot%202026-01-08%20104333.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="531" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFrQ4yql9h21QXnvWDc_TPiuY1Hxb_J7JuAyet-fTMniYSkS_ZLFfeknOkVAxOM8EPpZSEn5p1hxTRh89RboBH8OdLW3hJ9Mesec8t9SIVHhsAb040ivy-fYVUh36vp3phYzmhzInQH10NLXiJMW05krayit4vLfrCrXkCql-Zr_IL2tbImr9RFla3mLj/w309-h400/Screenshot%202026-01-08%20104333.png" width="309" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">One thing I do <i>not</i>&nbsp;like about this regional map is the scale. It feels too big for the number of locations we're given, and I hate measuring in inches when determining the distance between points of interest. I also just <a href="https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/2025/12/creating-miniature-sandbox-for-b1-in.html" target="_blank">enjoy making my own sandboxes</a> <a href="https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/2026/01/creating-new-regional-sandbox-for-b2.html" target="_blank">for these old modules</a>. B1 did not include a sandbox, so I got to create my own from scratch. B2 included a rather anemic sandbox, so I took the existing locations and added some new ones to beef it up a little bit.</p><p style="text-align: left;">B3 presents a different challenge. I want to simply <i>shrink</i>&nbsp;the sandbox a bit, adding new locations only as needed. How can I do that?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Well, first, let's identify the locations provided by the module. Obviously there is the Palace itself, but we also have a few settlements, like Gulluvia, a city ruled by Lady D'hmis, a Chaotic baroness, where men are second-class citizens:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-2V4ezMEGxeAs8ycsXw2r88cphKPiT4P9wjTMNiJIj3tUe-y1QSC7yTjv_KgJscotKktM-2DGHWz55rHA7iZRt7a3ZUvefvG489KH8ZUXWxtACGhPmKmkB87039dcdop2lMEguXCgwEEKIfbMOUPq_o8aGCjNs2JI6CBRy4vyhlYwl781bzEk5JuCOeOL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="205" data-original-width="451" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-2V4ezMEGxeAs8ycsXw2r88cphKPiT4P9wjTMNiJIj3tUe-y1QSC7yTjv_KgJscotKktM-2DGHWz55rHA7iZRt7a3ZUvefvG489KH8ZUXWxtACGhPmKmkB87039dcdop2lMEguXCgwEEKIfbMOUPq_o8aGCjNs2JI6CBRy4vyhlYwl781bzEk5JuCOeOL=w400-h181" width="400" /></a></p>There's also Dead Mule, a delightfully-named town occupied and terrorized by Gulluvian soldiers:<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtuR79QwtkFE6a0iuJQX6RiitshdD9F1gvgJrdTes1EA4lpAY-wqFaWOSMWahLgRL3ztDXyLYgGnPTxE6kNh2ldb24MVgG-97NbBrlz96fw11YGv8xNN-Up3CANQZVC237uMfoo_iq97Gwr7B8OPNhH2LKyLLX77GJdzIetAuSqRke5FTdyExjrPcMDUf-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="103" data-original-width="456" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtuR79QwtkFE6a0iuJQX6RiitshdD9F1gvgJrdTes1EA4lpAY-wqFaWOSMWahLgRL3ztDXyLYgGnPTxE6kNh2ldb24MVgG-97NbBrlz96fw11YGv8xNN-Up3CANQZVC237uMfoo_iq97Gwr7B8OPNhH2LKyLLX77GJdzIetAuSqRke5FTdyExjrPcMDUf-=w400-h90" width="400" /></a></p>There's N'Sau, a relatively idyllic village:<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguCLE_fyzIZgUl08Da7xsgrSklEVDGn-zShiAxxs1kcbM2YkkWEXWojkJrxBD94Jvz16HMY0WON9_EMsbe61SXEM3w0ZsuFewbeWlyxv2ZSM5tkzVvgmeUc0ATauZ8W8irY5Mpjm7xM5GYNrLIjToEGYeR5sFxv-lMeK-DhXZIt_j0wO1635-_rCGtIptn" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="71" data-original-width="454" height="63" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguCLE_fyzIZgUl08Da7xsgrSklEVDGn-zShiAxxs1kcbM2YkkWEXWojkJrxBD94Jvz16HMY0WON9_EMsbe61SXEM3w0ZsuFewbeWlyxv2ZSM5tkzVvgmeUc0ATauZ8W8irY5Mpjm7xM5GYNrLIjToEGYeR5sFxv-lMeK-DhXZIt_j0wO1635-_rCGtIptn=w400-h63" width="400" /></a></p>There's Thorold, another village, which is ruled by Lady D'hmis's distant cousin:<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJZNyBR-4keUTzfUbm6NVIQk26al-pAoRxYdz_owoJYkImNvmjsz9AaDj_fMFPbhUaEcuPg2xnXE6bqMO3LiE778y8Fp0LwdJFGzFBCmFqcy45hOltlhP3KpXEDSisQahGamz71LZgYya7g8x_gFQs0fyS6sN2RvJR2rqRxm6q8PsgV7yDSI9qUGzYl2Uw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="119" data-original-width="452" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJZNyBR-4keUTzfUbm6NVIQk26al-pAoRxYdz_owoJYkImNvmjsz9AaDj_fMFPbhUaEcuPg2xnXE6bqMO3LiE778y8Fp0LwdJFGzFBCmFqcy45hOltlhP3KpXEDSisQahGamz71LZgYya7g8x_gFQs0fyS6sN2RvJR2rqRxm6q8PsgV7yDSI9qUGzYl2Uw=w400-h105" width="400" /></a></p>Mere, a third village, inhabited primarily by halflings, where escaped slaves and prisoners are given refuge:<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7qB9PEYZ5-qUllKlB4jtnF-752At5i1iP2Y3MH45iU3pVB3OiLxpezc12tWnj9k09oQp7puGnBacN1XnDs_y9S0X2PKOhHgvP7Ckq0gAshMs2ro-PC94qS7lTmTOQHA4nzUnehV7SEukHwHLXmwZAaUy3P7TDBdmYW4VoIvPkX6sjc3n0lyAdPwX5kilH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="172" data-original-width="452" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7qB9PEYZ5-qUllKlB4jtnF-752At5i1iP2Y3MH45iU3pVB3OiLxpezc12tWnj9k09oQp7puGnBacN1XnDs_y9S0X2PKOhHgvP7Ckq0gAshMs2ro-PC94qS7lTmTOQHA4nzUnehV7SEukHwHLXmwZAaUy3P7TDBdmYW4VoIvPkX6sjc3n0lyAdPwX5kilH=w400-h153" width="400" /></a></p>And Velders, a hamlet on the other side of the Abaddon Woods, plagued by orcs, kobolds, and "other vile creatures":<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXMpzupRZ-7bGJKUnNows9jNHIs1qy3u2f3hTK0MlgW07lR7_0K5SHvOJ-Y2OzjxReQerb70GsU6llloIkxcUQ4SXKB8vQRPNQgnWejGKAZjWdBr4-C0b-9dwSuFLErW0jvTzXKGoqLaytNx4XY0gLEeVUgMFezO7tS415jJAkVIjdfyFUCWBANNHX2aw0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="59" data-original-width="452" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXMpzupRZ-7bGJKUnNows9jNHIs1qy3u2f3hTK0MlgW07lR7_0K5SHvOJ-Y2OzjxReQerb70GsU6llloIkxcUQ4SXKB8vQRPNQgnWejGKAZjWdBr4-C0b-9dwSuFLErW0jvTzXKGoqLaytNx4XY0gLEeVUgMFezO7tS415jJAkVIjdfyFUCWBANNHX2aw0=w400-h53" width="400" /></a></div><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEih8b0IB4HC4h6sauySVKdOiRqYZGhuSDmo3EpKzcdrrPkCSvFwoNoQgxZgOQ5vtHnlY3-olZ8JamFrn4hPSf5_DzFlZHSv9tloSwEKu9nOjX8JLbcwQqxDvHkVFceRDKK7h-kJXbOuxZSlBkxFmznMf3sW87X7RgvKQHNpjOpW7CBkvfMTjH4knVwXbiqy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="52" data-original-width="449" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEih8b0IB4HC4h6sauySVKdOiRqYZGhuSDmo3EpKzcdrrPkCSvFwoNoQgxZgOQ5vtHnlY3-olZ8JamFrn4hPSf5_DzFlZHSv9tloSwEKu9nOjX8JLbcwQqxDvHkVFceRDKK7h-kJXbOuxZSlBkxFmznMf3sW87X7RgvKQHNpjOpW7CBkvfMTjH4knVwXbiqy=w400-h46" width="400" /></a></p>So far we have the following locations:<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Velders (hamlet)</li><li>Mere (village)</li><li>N'Sau (village)</li><li>Thorold (village)</li><li>Dead Mule (town)</li><li>Gulluvia (city)</li><li>Palace of the Silver Princess (ruin)</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">To determine what other points of interest should be included, we must look at the geographic features. There's the Misty Swamp, a strange place where magic is unpredictable:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDPsSMXNI7hT6EWWjcwgKldy_2bzRpGqaox1DBtoUk0p48LJpJ5_peIOugg5dwLUYmM67HTw-0uTIIuN-yUCJ2q1mL57eWLSyhkOooimiaw-U_GYEa88iS4m46-_MLpY7Vq9E0YxTv_Tpt_m1J8hfN-aghrfV8JPKruNUt7LIvuWvDj-IjGbkH4KcXVpZM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="634" data-original-width="401" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDPsSMXNI7hT6EWWjcwgKldy_2bzRpGqaox1DBtoUk0p48LJpJ5_peIOugg5dwLUYmM67HTw-0uTIIuN-yUCJ2q1mL57eWLSyhkOooimiaw-U_GYEa88iS4m46-_MLpY7Vq9E0YxTv_Tpt_m1J8hfN-aghrfV8JPKruNUt7LIvuWvDj-IjGbkH4KcXVpZM=w253-h400" width="253" /></a></p>It sounds like the Swamp may contain a dwarf lair and a tower ruled by an evil wizard. The three-headed, three-armed, and three-legged creatures are the ubues described later in the module, so they must have a lair there as well. The colored mist could be will-o-wisps, and the creatures with no visible forms could be other undead, invisible stalkers, or the like.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">There's the Abaddon Woods, inhabited by a nondescript Evil:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4CQJAZJ0lrl7YTs7WJzdEMozTO_IJtUbzfwem4OldzEkzZvFkoGccq6ymOVD4Cfl_1bIyUWK7agMMVXuewusbU919CJXcYFwgc2p_FUeVkngl8IHfYBGaLQv--cVviA-B6FMY4H4Nzu5KQ6xRomgNj9Au3v3E6L7c0gWoHIdymEK7yyRAoHhT1NR19Cy2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="88" data-original-width="456" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4CQJAZJ0lrl7YTs7WJzdEMozTO_IJtUbzfwem4OldzEkzZvFkoGccq6ymOVD4Cfl_1bIyUWK7agMMVXuewusbU919CJXcYFwgc2p_FUeVkngl8IHfYBGaLQv--cVviA-B6FMY4H4Nzu5KQ6xRomgNj9Au3v3E6L7c0gWoHIdymEK7yyRAoHhT1NR19Cy2=w400-h78" width="400" /></a></p>We know from the description of Velders that there are at least orcs and kobolds there, so they probably have lairs as well.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">There's the Moorfowl Mountains, where healing moss grows:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAX3kbt4rea-9CMFzWq0hw2s3S-BUN6aEcgcJ6boVRwH3qtBfh9na2-YjDrbcihmGZLXKMVdE2n_1TNcD2dvFPU2rjNjPsPY0990KjOiwYMJdKDv--8X0ChtgXbCn2XxCs7H6ZAn10nMGg_YBQGE1oz9KWaC16fApNQTs_pOso_8QUp-O9eNbXJExVupbi" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="139" data-original-width="458" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAX3kbt4rea-9CMFzWq0hw2s3S-BUN6aEcgcJ6boVRwH3qtBfh9na2-YjDrbcihmGZLXKMVdE2n_1TNcD2dvFPU2rjNjPsPY0990KjOiwYMJdKDv--8X0ChtgXbCn2XxCs7H6ZAn10nMGg_YBQGE1oz9KWaC16fApNQTs_pOso_8QUp-O9eNbXJExVupbi=w400-h121" width="400" /></a></p>There are non-descript Evil creatures in the mountains, plus barren mines once worked by the dwarves. We should include at least one abandoned mine for the player characters to explore.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Finally, the Thunder Mountains, plagued by storms:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDW-gsH1vArX90oIbE1TsGKSP6zf1LpwhEjQxJgWo1aMBLYRVslBGxModCKnxG4IXZ61lXl-nyRQdzDGU-mNz_AFPmihEESzeVlqZmqeO6h3OEZx0KymAPmxJvDNrJr1CTVEgEMTwxIgR5RJkvz0knXJF_2yFXGEZW_lx708llHmLpMwKXlDSLcHMqNBuF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="152" data-original-width="460" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDW-gsH1vArX90oIbE1TsGKSP6zf1LpwhEjQxJgWo1aMBLYRVslBGxModCKnxG4IXZ61lXl-nyRQdzDGU-mNz_AFPmihEESzeVlqZmqeO6h3OEZx0KymAPmxJvDNrJr1CTVEgEMTwxIgR5RJkvz0knXJF_2yFXGEZW_lx708llHmLpMwKXlDSLcHMqNBuF=w400-h133" width="400" /></a></p>There is another evil wizardess rumored to live here in a giant hollow oak. Let's call that a stronghold.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Our list of locations now looks like this:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Velders (hamlet)</li><li>Mere (village)</li><li>N'Sau (village)</li><li>Thorold (village)</li><li>Dead Mule (town)</li><li>Gulluvia (city)</li><li>Misty Swamp tower (stronghold)</li><li>Thunder Mountains hollow oak (stronghold)</li><li>Moorfowl mines (ruin)</li><li>Palace of the Silver Princess (ruin)</li><li>Dwarves (lair)</li><li>Invisible beings (lair)</li><li>Kobolds (lair)</li><li>Orcs (lair)</li><li>Ubues (lair)</li><li>Will-o-wisp (lair)</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">Of course - and stop me if you've heard this one - if I ever run B3, I'm going to be something of a heretic and give it a whirl in AD&amp;D instead of B/X. Likewise, I'll be using the AD&amp;D DMG's Inhabitation table as a benchmark to determine how big my new sandbox should be:</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OZ08u3Lwbou1HTDkViU1Y3NVFn9GhLEhxZsGKqvvvAbm40SIr4CVW1owYNnPsdnTWYi_ENj-b_pvgJxUeGiPQJ3Pk86tTy7_ZNVOm1vew-5XRIaaN9oB2tPjdOCXbI5VAPo7UKN7_hWY_7Ls8cnU-yZcf3iQ4dxJVcrmRSWe6AUhwNWuWBWYl-ntBlTZ/s399/Screenshot%202025-01-30%20112003.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="399" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OZ08u3Lwbou1HTDkViU1Y3NVFn9GhLEhxZsGKqvvvAbm40SIr4CVW1owYNnPsdnTWYi_ENj-b_pvgJxUeGiPQJ3Pk86tTy7_ZNVOm1vew-5XRIaaN9oB2tPjdOCXbI5VAPo7UKN7_hWY_7Ls8cnU-yZcf3iQ4dxJVcrmRSWe6AUhwNWuWBWYl-ntBlTZ/w400-h380/Screenshot%202025-01-30%20112003.png" width="400" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">If we count just settlements, strongholds, and ruins, we have 10 locations to include. If, according to the AD&amp;D DMG, 16 out of 100 hexes contain one of these locations, that means we need about 62.5 hexes total. I want to attempt to preserve the original proportions of the B3 map (8.5" x 11"), so I put a hex grid over it in Roll20 and get this:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2w2nTqTO1zZ8U_TrHzI0ksJOwggnAvzz-6frDDFPr18EDii6_l31R-TMhCuLzbnLkoSpZW9ZxU8myHzMcibo3iDL78zrO_LLT6CrFDvXLDv13l13u7BbVnDC_48-oAyDyCVXKqoqGO_o-SZ1MmEhLcsh4Xty0yyhWSRsGdcSV4fnV_ODmg1iVkq_TytCf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="623" data-original-width="488" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2w2nTqTO1zZ8U_TrHzI0ksJOwggnAvzz-6frDDFPr18EDii6_l31R-TMhCuLzbnLkoSpZW9ZxU8myHzMcibo3iDL78zrO_LLT6CrFDvXLDv13l13u7BbVnDC_48-oAyDyCVXKqoqGO_o-SZ1MmEhLcsh4Xty0yyhWSRsGdcSV4fnV_ODmg1iVkq_TytCf=w313-h400" width="313" /></a></p>That's 8 hexes by 9 hexes - 72 total, so a little bigger than I thought it would be, but we'll make it work. We'll need to add an extra settlement, stronghold, or ruin, which isn't a problem - plenty of places to put it!<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">This is bigger than both my B1 and B2 sandboxes (25 and 49 hexes respectively), but much smaller than the region depicted in B3 (21 hexes by 27 hexes assuming 6-mile hexes - a whopping 567 hexes total). If I used the same rule of thumb with a region of that size, I'd have 90 to 91 locations.</p><p style="text-align: left;">My new 72-hex sandbox could look like this:</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sWu-_xhaSkQE3LKeAK4AYksTYA-2CzZxxDOYrJQNcLpXnVjstkFFzdp_zTXEJglLphYOLOWPiQoogCG0j2odil7ydXmItpMAKVjRO0CTxVG5TjHpqQDlkc9AFSLFgD4jzb3UuPz8mInRGFNC_65Sf5K2v96XOUnxmFC72XlHqeWvMQ1W9ebOd6uj4Yck/s722/B3%20sandbox.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="537" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sWu-_xhaSkQE3LKeAK4AYksTYA-2CzZxxDOYrJQNcLpXnVjstkFFzdp_zTXEJglLphYOLOWPiQoogCG0j2odil7ydXmItpMAKVjRO0CTxVG5TjHpqQDlkc9AFSLFgD4jzb3UuPz8mInRGFNC_65Sf5K2v96XOUnxmFC72XlHqeWvMQ1W9ebOd6uj4Yck/w298-h400/B3%20sandbox.png" width="298" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">I had to compromise on some of my usual aesthetic values for the sake of (relative) accuracy. I don't usually like to place swamps next to mountains or hills. I like my mountains to be surrounded by a ring of foothills. I like hills next to forest hexes to be forested hills, and I like mountains next to forested hills to be forested mountains. This condensed sandbox doesn't leave a lot of room to breathe, however. The two mountain ranges dominate the map, and they are most definitely not forested, so this is what I ended up with.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The interior of the region was tricky as well, because it's a mix of grassland with scattered, light forest. I started by making the whole region forested, then cleared out the hexes which would contain settlements and roads, as that made the most sense to me (excepting the road to Velders, which explicitly goes through the Abaddon Woods, and Thorold, which is pretty clearly within a forested area, even though they apparently breed horses - I'm okay with a village in the forest).</p><p style="text-align: left;">For my extra "inhabited" location, I rolled a ruined village (but I'm going to call it a thorp). Since Velders is already on the outskirts of the barony and threatened by orcs and kobolds, I decided to place it between Velders and the orc lair. I decided to omit the formless beings in the swamp because my swamp is already pretty crowded. I gave the swamp an extra hex of territory and extended the Moorfowl Mountains so that they could contain it as described in the module.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Assuming player characters can travel 3 miles per hour/24 miles per day on foot, roads negate terrain modifiers, and trails cut them in half, it takes two hours to travel from Gulluvia to Dead Mule or from N'Sau to Thorold, six hours from Dead Mule to N'Sau, seven hours from Gulluvia to Mere, eight hours from Gulluvia to Velders, and nine hours from N'Sau to Mere.</p><p style="text-align: left;">All that remains is to figure out where my extra monster lairs should go. I have the following unoccupied/uninhabited hexes:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>13 plains (10% chance each)</li><li>12 forest (20% chance each)</li><li>14 low mountains (30% chance each)</li><li>5 medium mountains (35% chance each)</li><li>2 high mountains (40% chance each)</li><li>1 swamp (40% chance)</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">I'm going to add one lair on the plains, two in the forest, four in the low mountains, and one in the medium mountains. I'll remove the text labels and instead use the hex numbers so the map isn't so crowded. I ended up with this:</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorxAv35G0qPk8sZMAH6sU9ryjap7qIYamCOUO307EDBkx88OE2DV9mo6JWf8Qnm29hyphenhyphenzodSoymmFpise3LOVv5exeFghJNkkqmDtO3EMjaY02gu-Qch3Pi_K8BcdPQNMRYujAuxNBUZ6EHfSnfwxuQ_6YRP4XRvU-OXSE8fm2G5BctPIlTxsKZ_j1f1_K/s722/B3%20sandbox%202.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="537" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorxAv35G0qPk8sZMAH6sU9ryjap7qIYamCOUO307EDBkx88OE2DV9mo6JWf8Qnm29hyphenhyphenzodSoymmFpise3LOVv5exeFghJNkkqmDtO3EMjaY02gu-Qch3Pi_K8BcdPQNMRYujAuxNBUZ6EHfSnfwxuQ_6YRP4XRvU-OXSE8fm2G5BctPIlTxsKZ_j1f1_K/w298-h400/B3%20sandbox%202.png" width="298" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>01.07: Gnoll Lair</li><li>02.01: Palace of the Silver Princess</li><li>02.02: Thorold</li><li>02.03: N'Sau</li><li>02.06: Tribesmen Lair</li><li>02.08: Hollow Oak</li><li>03.01: Moorfowl Mines</li><li>03.02: Ogre Mage Lair</li><li>03.05: Dead Mule</li><li>03.09: Brigand Tower</li><li>04.01: Stone Giant Lair</li><li>04.04: Gulluvia</li><li>04.05: Bandit Camp</li><li>05.01: Black Stone Tower</li><li>05.07: Orc Lair</li><li>06.01: Dwarf Lair</li><li>06.02: Mere</li><li>06.05: Giant Wasp Lair</li><li>06.07: Thorp Ruins</li><li>07.01: Ubue Lair</li><li>07.04: Vampire Lair</li><li>07.06: Kobold Lair</li><li>07.07: Velders</li><li>08.01: Will-O-Wisp Lair</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">This gives us giant wasps and a vampire in the Abaddon Woods in addition to the orcs and kobolds (I guess we know now what the great evil there is!), ogre magi and stone giants in the Moorfowl Mountains, and gnolls, tribesmen, and brigands in the Thunder Mountains. There are also bandits at Dead Mule/Gulluvia's front door - maybe these are actually the Gulluvian soldiers occupying Dead Mule?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Here's a writeup of each of these locations:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqhZpW2xsrjhviryTii00N_lfbD2IJC75KJYwOq7LBoqLxSrNix6GtviHPG3n0I3EBNHhkJF-43zsrpcVc_5uXC5TFXejzqfSX3GzDzREfGhZ-Ld5neD3slz20l0cuYPylM-jH9y2wgGfqkksuYvAo9YcJyCjOXDJDWA65iDOJpRMudyvpQp9bj7FR8GY1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqhZpW2xsrjhviryTii00N_lfbD2IJC75KJYwOq7LBoqLxSrNix6GtviHPG3n0I3EBNHhkJF-43zsrpcVc_5uXC5TFXejzqfSX3GzDzREfGhZ-Ld5neD3slz20l0cuYPylM-jH9y2wgGfqkksuYvAo9YcJyCjOXDJDWA65iDOJpRMudyvpQp9bj7FR8GY1=w267-h320" width="267" /></a></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>01.07 The Bone Warrens: </b>This deep, twisting mountain cavern smells of blood and beasts. 200 gnoll warriors, 100 noncombatant adults, and 400 young live here. They are commanded by a Packlord, <b>Kargash Bonebreaker</b> (AC 3, 22 hp, attacks as a 4 HD creature and does 2d4+2 damage per attack) with a retinue of 15 Red Guards (AC 4, 20 hp, attack as 3 HD creatures and do 2d4+1 damage per attack). Groups of 20 gnolls (called a "Fang") are commanded by one of ten Fang Captains (16 hp, attack as 3 HD creatures).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The gnolls calls themselves the Gnarrakh ("those who laugh in blood"). The journey to <b>Dead Mule </b>(03.05) is too long for the town to be the target of any substantial raiding, and the town is occupied by Gulluvian soldiers, so the Gnarrakh largely ignore it. They instead target <b>the Windward Folk </b>(02.06) to the east, meeting at the mutual border of each group's hunting grounds.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Gnarrakh carry off those they slay to be devoured. Occasionally, they find that a captive has been accidentally left alive, and these become slaves ("Live Meat"), which are guarded by the Meat Keepers. There are twenty such slaves kept in the Bone Warrens currently.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Gnarrakh know little of the evil wizardess who dwells in the <b>Hollow Oak</b> (02.08), except that she brings great storms which shroud her chosen peak in winds, snow, rain, and lightning. They avoid her and do not venture higher into the mountains.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfPUPtRQJZ8yOaQilKQCV_0R3ntJbyZIYcMqjhI5nkwkHYyyqsd4QtevjQ7KlHsRUCu0WjabQVdoW-GgnUr6hOGiJu_tE99P4PP4O6CtK4MbxhMOn4HNonuoI8xIIWsPeTmRPx4vQd19imJGeKb7Pzpwlf3kSgPIxGAHerJfj15BU_SG6nzNbT-M_C9nUm" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="404" data-original-width="641" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfPUPtRQJZ8yOaQilKQCV_0R3ntJbyZIYcMqjhI5nkwkHYyyqsd4QtevjQ7KlHsRUCu0WjabQVdoW-GgnUr6hOGiJu_tE99P4PP4O6CtK4MbxhMOn4HNonuoI8xIIWsPeTmRPx4vQd19imJGeKb7Pzpwlf3kSgPIxGAHerJfj15BU_SG6nzNbT-M_C9nUm=w400-h253" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making me realize I should have probably put some centaurs in here...</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>02.01 Palace of the Silver Princess: </b>See Dungeon Module B3: Palace of the Silver Princess (orange cover version).</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>02.02 Thorold: </b>A rather large village of 900 situated in a forested glade, known for its exceptional horses and its ruler's loyalty to Lady D'hmis.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The village is ruled by the mayor,&nbsp;<b>Lord Lucien D’Marrec&nbsp;</b>(CN 12th level fighter), a distant cousin of Lady D'hmis of <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04). Though a capable warrior, he is viewed as little more than a sycophant who follows D'hmis's laws and orders to the letter. He dwells within a large walled castle with a keep in the village center. He dreams of one day turning Thorold into a town to rival <b>Dead Mule </b>(03.05). He fears D'hmis, and skims more than his share of Thorold's taxes to build his castle into a fortress complex to secure himself against a potential takeover. He is preoccupied with obtaining My Lady's Heart from the <b>Palace of the Silver Princess </b>(02.01) to use as a bargaining chip against his cousin.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The half-elf&nbsp;<b>Alaric Thornvale </b>(LG fighter 11/magic-user 12/thief 12) rules the village's other stronghold, a large concentric castle on the settlement's northern outskirts, guarding against monstrous incursions from the Moorfowl Mountains. The castle actually predates Lord D'Marrec's, and is the site around which the village was originally established. Alaric is cooperative with Lord D'Marrec, but frequently shelters escaped prisoners and slaves, for whom he secures passage to <b>Mere </b>(06.02). He is aware of Aleigha, the werebear who wields the Sword of Spartusia and who is currently sheltered in the Palace of the Silver Princess. He is interested in securing My Lady's Heart for her to legitimize her claim to the barony.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Elira</b>&nbsp;(LG 1st level transmuter) is a young human mage hoping to become Alaric's next apprentice. She hopes to secure her apprenticeship by bringing Alaric My Lady's Heart, but is penniless and unequipped to adventure on her own. She can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Chaotic non-Evil character in a party intent on journeying to the Palace of the Silver Princess.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The village is home to <b>the Iron Bridle</b>, the best stable and livery in all of the barony. The best horses are reserved for Gulluvia's military, but with Lady D'hmis's or Mayor D'Marrec's permission, adventurers can purchase good horses here as well, including heavy warhorses. The stablemaster is <b>Bramholt </b>(LG), a local, good-natured, lowborn natural horseman who chafes under Galluvian rule. He has little patience for politics, knows every horse by name, and may be persuaded to "lose" some horses in service of the greater good, if Alaric vouches for the recipients.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The village has friendly relations with <b>N'Sau </b>(02.03) to the south - N'Sau provides Thorold with wheat, and Thorold provides N'sau with fine draft horses to plow the fields.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Villagers from Thorold occasionally travel into the Moorfowl Mountains to gather moss used in compounding healing tonics and salves. In the mountains to the northeast, they have encountered the ogre magi of <b>Grimrock Hold </b>(03.02), though few have returned to speak of it. Because the ogre magi walk the surface <i>polymorphed</i>&nbsp;into the shape of humans, the villagers know only rumors of a coven of warlocks and witches dwelling somewhere in the mountains, snatching foragers.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Other Character-type NPCs:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>11 1st to 3rd level non-henchmen (3 humans, 3 dwarves, 3 elves, and 2 half-elves).</li><li><b>Serah Windmere:&nbsp;</b>4th level NG human fighter. A sharp-eyed young horsewoman born and raised in Thorold. She is the village's patrol leader and captain of its militia, but is more loyal to Alaric and the village citizens than to Lord D'Marrec.</li><li><b>Pellivar Greysong:&nbsp;</b>6th level NG human magic-user. A white-bearded, stooped, and frail elderly hedge wizard who retired to the country. Though advanced in age, he continues his studies under Alaric. He is good-natured and will aid those of similar intent.</li><li><b>Tillo Quickstep:&nbsp;</b>8th level N gnome thief. A flamboyant young gnome more motivated by curiosity and profit than moral scruples. He aids Alaric's resistance network for the right price, but will serve Gulluvia's interests as well. He dreams of moving to Dead Mule or Gulluvia and establishing his own guild.</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>02.03 N'Sau: </b>A small farming village of 600. The village is known for growing wheat and for so far being untouched by the hand of Lady D'hmis. From the outside, N'sau appears dull, docile, and unimportant, so it has been able to avoid interference.</p><p style="text-align: left;">N'sau is ruled by <b>Halen Crowe </b>(N 4th level thief), a village reeve who controls the flow of grain throughout the barony's provinces. He ensures that <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04) receives grain shipments and taxes reliably and on time, and quashes any visible signs of rebellion or unrest among his citizens. He is skilled in subterfuge, using careful bribes and false reports to divert any attention he might draw. He plays both sides, securing shelter, transportation, and provisions for escaped prisoners and slaves heading to <b>Mere </b>(06.02) for the right price. He is calm, observant, and unassuming, neither heroic nor cruel.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Other character-type NPCS:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>6 1st to 3rd level (4 humans, 1 dwarf, and 1 elf)</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b></b></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjLQkrMB0LIxcj2T8C3QT_bw87LCixdXR0zp9-PzChiLvez6NToV1MsmwbCenZ8OUaOSkZMOsFUOUoSYb5oKRvxvK6vcW-mLWn3MAyFmbwIAqCJYwzzpu78M3cPRYTNIS2K8_ur80Ow2WaopRVixuERJ6kvjwKsLZMmYKlUPWMZmAaLyk4TXl8AmRYjz8P" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1049" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjLQkrMB0LIxcj2T8C3QT_bw87LCixdXR0zp9-PzChiLvez6NToV1MsmwbCenZ8OUaOSkZMOsFUOUoSYb5oKRvxvK6vcW-mLWn3MAyFmbwIAqCJYwzzpu78M3cPRYTNIS2K8_ur80Ow2WaopRVixuERJ6kvjwKsLZMmYKlUPWMZmAaLyk4TXl8AmRYjz8P=w400-h250" width="400" /></a></b></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>02.06 The Windward Folk: </b>This tribe has lived in the lands now controlled by <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04) for as long as anyone can remember. With the settlement of the region, they were pushed into the Thunder Mountains, and now live in the shadow of its stormy peaks.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Their numbers have dwindled, and they now count just 60 warriors among them, plus a like number of noncombatant adults and children. They are led by the priestess&nbsp;<b>Eira </b>(N 8th level druid) and their chief,&nbsp;<b>Korran </b>(N 5th level fighter). Eira is served by two Stonewardens (6th level druids) and six Pathkeepers (4th level druids). Korran is served by two Ridgewardens (4th level fighter sub-chiefs). Bands of ten warriors are led by one of six Ridge-Walkers (3rd level fighters).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Folk come into conflict with the gnolls of <b>the Bone Warrens </b>(01.07) on the southwest border of their hunting grounds. The Folk simply wish to be left alone, but the gnolls are intent on hostilities. While any warriors lost to the gnolls are presumed dead, the Folk have managed to capture eight of the gnolls' own warriors, hoping to use them as bargaining chips in negotiating a peace - little do they know that the gnolls care not for their captive kin.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Folk are aware of the wizardess who lives in the <b>Hollow Oak </b>(02.08) in the mountains high above, but know not where exactly, and fear her powerful magic.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Folk possess gold nuggets (800 gp worth) and uncut gems (840 gp worth) recovered from mountain streams, and will use these in bartering with adventurers in exchange for resolving the dispute with the gnolls. Failing that, the Folk will have little choice but to migrate east along the mountain ridges.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>02.08 Hollow Oak: </b>This colossal, ancient oak is rooted atop a sheer, snowy mountain ridge, shrouded in storm clouds. Lightning frequently strikes the tree but does not damage it. The paths into the mountains are shrouded in blinding rain, sleet, and snow, and howling winds tear climbers from cliffs during their ascent. Lightning continually strikes all avenues of approach.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The oak is hollow on the inside, containing many of the trappings of a magic-user's tower.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Hollow Oak is ruled by <b>Mistress Aerindra, Arbiter of Thunder </b>(LE 12th level magic-user). She is tall, severe, and pale skinned, with long black hair bound in silver rings. She has mastery of storm magic, and the elements in general. The storms which plague the Thunder Mountains are her own creation, and serve not only to protect her domain against intrusion but to power her magical experiments as well.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">She cares little for what goes on in the lands beneath her lair, confident that none will ever reach it. Her only concern is perfecting her mastery of the elements. If intruders should reach her lair and do not intend her harm, she is neither welcoming nor hostile, more amused than anything else that anyone has made it this far.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Hollow Oak is guarded by Aerindra's henchmen, men-at-arms, and bound elementals.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b></b></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2aYOhwv-n_bKkmGag0-VyE25v1PBzdihbvrI5MODvZgDiwubCb46D55hXgj1i_1b60Z14o1l9XtXhSYXomtFVo4be-kh5sUilGitWZ1lIIAijriGlbuMveVooF83D1CqNvarjgYquXJ49ABUf9OnnL5h7fbJBn-LhvXkwVovKuH1B91dKotsfL4h8Hlpr" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="188" data-original-width="426" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2aYOhwv-n_bKkmGag0-VyE25v1PBzdihbvrI5MODvZgDiwubCb46D55hXgj1i_1b60Z14o1l9XtXhSYXomtFVo4be-kh5sUilGitWZ1lIIAijriGlbuMveVooF83D1CqNvarjgYquXJ49ABUf9OnnL5h7fbJBn-LhvXkwVovKuH1B91dKotsfL4h8Hlpr=w320-h141" width="320" /></a></b></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>03.01 Moorfowl Mines: </b>A dungeon for 2nd level player characters. This was once the major mine worked by the dwarves of Moorfowl Mountains, where they first found My Lady's Heart and gifted it to the Silver Princess. It is barren and no longer worth working, though some dwarven treasures remain.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The entry halls are now overgrown with shrieker fungi whose shrills screams echo into the depths, calling monsters to prey upon intruders. Vermin such as giant centipedes and spiders infest the surface levels. Deeper within, gargoyles carved and animated by the dwarves watch over their ancient vaults. The deepest vault is haunted by the evil spirit of the dwarves' king...or so they say.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">In reality, the offender is <b>Nerxil the Unloved</b>, a quasit which is the familiar of the mage of <b>Black Stone Tower </b>(05.01). Nerxil felt that his service was unappreciated, and in a moment of capriciousness the quasit fled its master and now hides in the mines. It remains <i>invisible</i>, using its daily blast of <i>fear </i>to frighten away those who manage to break into its lair, hence the rumors of some evil spirit haunting the place.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Nerxil wishes to get revenge on its old master and reap his soul. While Nerxil is unfriendly to most intruders, it will attempt to ally itself with a Chaotic Evil cleric or magic-user, offering to become their familiar once the old master is slain.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDr1eMwG0I66HUR8u_iwLEIgsZ8zlQpywFsrK6y26RxssaynB-jNklzdiZnXz9n5pWl2sDq-c66Gp8el-UYhNq_-gjO_71jkEtotVhiU8dGlpBTExwKfllu8-WOes7AhpDwNElXJiHlCB8Xm4DF1XeO1h3WW2dNJY0Wn4n7t-A26Bou_eP41lo8GbGaYq_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDr1eMwG0I66HUR8u_iwLEIgsZ8zlQpywFsrK6y26RxssaynB-jNklzdiZnXz9n5pWl2sDq-c66Gp8el-UYhNq_-gjO_71jkEtotVhiU8dGlpBTExwKfllu8-WOes7AhpDwNElXJiHlCB8Xm4DF1XeO1h3WW2dNJY0Wn4n7t-A26Bou_eP41lo8GbGaYq_=w266-h320" width="266" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>03.02 Grimrock Hold: </b>This fortified mountain cavern complex is the lair of two ogre magi men, two women, and three children. They are led by <b>Magroth</b>, a chief of great strength (+2 hp per HD, attacking and saving as a 9 HD creature).&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">The ogres walk the surface <i>polymorphed</i>&nbsp;into the shape of humans, so they are often mistaken for warlocks or witches. They hold captive two villagers of <b>Thorold </b>(02.02) whom they captured while the latter were gathering healing moss in the mountains. When Magroth and Thorold were both young, Magroth was captured by adventurers and brought back to the village to be ransomed back to his clan. He has held a grudge against the village to this day.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Due to their ability to <i>fly</i>, the ogre magi are familiar with the locations of the <b>Palace of the Silver Princess </b>(02.01), <b>Moorfowl Mines </b>(03.01), <b>Granite Hollow </b>(04.01), and <b>Black Stone Tower </b>(05.01). They can reveal these locations (and may even provide transportation to them) for the right price, but will hold a generational grudge against any who force them to provide this information or service.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6CbCGgM7NYVZeFgX53VT9ZGKMmjzPp11QKL1iZbBfJraPwInYNgvai9Pscb4Ea8tB54i9pEvwVJQ6im_Lw0wXdBYM27Hrc0CNp69iulzYuhDMizr94QfTeq_-nGoP_6QxGqX-phuRX3pgXwUbqBjolPbFzDOF8zItP7dIXx-k3EIqgN5H8h2Vb-6Yu1Zz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="313" data-original-width="434" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6CbCGgM7NYVZeFgX53VT9ZGKMmjzPp11QKL1iZbBfJraPwInYNgvai9Pscb4Ea8tB54i9pEvwVJQ6im_Lw0wXdBYM27Hrc0CNp69iulzYuhDMizr94QfTeq_-nGoP_6QxGqX-phuRX3pgXwUbqBjolPbFzDOF8zItP7dIXx-k3EIqgN5H8h2Vb-6Yu1Zz=w400-h289" width="400" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>03.05 Dead Mule: </b>This little shire is home to 1,500 people. It is made up of low stone and timber cottages with a market green in the center. Two shallow iron mines are all but exhausted. The old mule's burial cairn still rests by the side of the eastern road. Since Dead Mule is relatively small, it is basically one big neighborhood organized around the market green.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A <b>Gulluvian Soldier Camp </b>(04.05) lies just beyond Dead Mule's borders, occupying farmland sandwiched between it and <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04). They mostly keep their distance from Dead Mule, but occasionally storm in for unannounced searches and raids, employing their trained barics in search of sheltered refugees. They also occupy the northeast road between Dead Mule and Gulluvia, carefully monitoring who comes in and out.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Dead Mule's de facto leader is the half-elf&nbsp;<b>Althoren </b>(CG cleric 8/ranger 7). He is mayor, judge, and protector of the town. He is young but weathered, lean, and calm, with sun-browned skin and dark hair. He dresses simply in travel-stained vestments.<b>&nbsp;</b>He mediates disputes between Dead Mule's citizens and attempts to maintain peace between them and the Gulluvian soldiers, healing the wounded - including the soldiers - when conflict erupts.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Althoren maintains the <b>Shrine of the Burdened Path</b>, a place of worship dedicated to the Old Wayfather, the town's god of endurance, travel, and mercy. Pilgrims leave worn shoes, broken packs, and walking sticks at the altar within. From the Shrine, Althoren organizes a clandestine resistance network of about 90 fanatical followers who disguise themselves in their comings and goings as pilgrims of the Burdened Path, working secretly with Alaric of&nbsp;<b>Thorold&nbsp;</b>(02.02) and Halen Crowe of&nbsp;<b>N'Sau&nbsp;</b>(02.03).&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Althoren recently provided aid and shelter to the werebear Aleigha, and recommended that she seek out the cleric Cathrandamus at the&nbsp;<b>Palace of the Silver Princess&nbsp;</b>(02.01) and work with him to obtain My Lady's Heart and secure her claim to the barony (not knowing that Cathrandamus is not the altruistic and just priest that rumor suggests him to be). Althoren suspects that the presence of Gulluvian soldiers outside his town is a consequence of this aid.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Brynja Stonevein </b>(NG 1st level fighter) is an old dwarf warrior descended from the very clan that once worked the mines of Moorfowl Mountains in service of the Silver Princess. She retired in Dead Mule due to her age, but has since gone broke and must once more take up arms and armor and adventure to keep her belly full. She can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Evil character and is intent on investigating rumors of a restless spirit haunting <b>Moorfowl Mines </b>(03.01). She is patient and slow to anger, dryly humorous, suspicious of grand promises, and fiercely protective of common folk.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Corven Pike </b>(CN 3rd level fighter) is a middle aged human warrior who was once a Gulluvian auxiliary. He deserted after witnessing one too many "examples" made of villagers and now attempts to lay low in Dead Mule. He'd like to get out, but only if the pay is good and discipline is lax. He can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Lawful character higher than 11th level. He is sardonic, pragmatic, and morally flexible, but draws the line at pointless cruelty. He knows the ins and outs of the Gulluvian military structure and even has some contacts within it, but he doesn't like the soldiers, and they don't like him. He wouldn't mind driving the soldiers out of Dead Mule, but won't participate in any suicide missions.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Other Character-type NPCs:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>11 1st to 3rd level (7 humans, 1 dwarf, 1 elf, 1 gnome, and 1 halfling)</li><li><b>Sir Haldrin Wayfar:&nbsp;</b>LG 4th level human fighter. A venerable man who walks with a cane and wears battered mail. He is a devout follower of the Old Wayfather and guards Althoren and the Shrine of the Burdened Path. He is the oldest man in the town and looks as if he could drop dead any day now.</li><li><b>Veyra Korr:&nbsp;</b>LE 7th level human fighter. A middle aged warrior in unassuming dress. She is secretly an officer of Gulluvia and is in disguise in town to monitor suspicious activity. Her sister is Silvetta, the supreme commander of Gulluvia's military. She is partnered with Thessrik (see below).</li><li><b>Thessrik:&nbsp;</b>NE 7th level human magic-user. A young, pale, sharp-faced mage who never blinks. He is polite but detached. He is here to serve Gulluvia alongside Veyra Korr, and is likewise in disguise, assigned to root out the town's secret resistance network. The pair are greatly interested in activities surrounding the Shrine of the Burdened Path.</li><li><b>Jaren Foxmere:&nbsp;</b>NG 7th level human thief. A young, charismatic, fast-talking, and genuinely kind operator who aids Althoren's resistance operations, smuggling escapees in and out of Dead Mule's abandoned mines for shelter and transport along the network.</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>03.09 Blackwind Watch: </b>This old mountainside tower is partially ruined and overlooks the eastern passes into the Thunder Mountains. It is four stories tall, with a collapsed outer wall forming a rough yard and corral for a few mounts and pack animals (six riding horses, two heavy warhorses, and two pack mules). Black pennants and stripped shields hang from the walls and whip and rattle in the mountains' gale force winds.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The <b>Blackwind Cutters</b>,<b>&nbsp;</b>a&nbsp;force of about 100 brigands, use the tower as a bastion. They are a mix of former Gulluvian soldiers, deserters, desperate refugees, and the worst of the barony's escaped prisoners. They shelter here during the winter. During the summer, they make their way down into the grasslands surrounding&nbsp;<b>Velders&nbsp;</b>(07.07) and raid to provision themselves for the harsher months.</p><p style="text-align: left;">50 indentured camp followers and slaves provide manual labor, serve as cooks, grooms, and porters, or as personal servants of officers. They are kept in tents in the outer yard or in cells beneath the tower.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Aerindra once used the tower as a stronghold, but abandoned it once she found the&nbsp;<b>Hollow Oak&nbsp;</b>(02.08). She loathes the brigands that have infested her former home, and delights in sending especially malevolent storms to harry their fortifications.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Cutters are led by <b>Vargan </b>(CE 9th level fighter), a Gulluvian deserter turned mercenary, pit fighter, and finally, reaver. He is brutal, intelligent, and paranoid. To instill fear, he executes insubordinates publicly and in dramatic fashion. To sow confusion and discord among those who might threaten his station, he changes orders capriciously and encourages rivalry among his officers. He is easily manipulated by those who flatter his ego.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Vargan is advised by the mage&nbsp;<b>Malreth </b>(NE 8th level magic-user), a former apprentice wizard of <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04), expelled by his master for cruel experiments and a lack of remorse.&nbsp;He is cold, methodical, and self-serving. He is the tower's quartermaster, keeping meticulous records and trading goods for influence and information. He hopes to someday find the wizardess of the mountains and usurp her stronghold. He uses Aerindra's former laboratory as a testing ground for his own experiments.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Vargan's lieutenant is <b>Serrek </b>(N 7th level fighter), a former Gulluvian soldier who chafed under the leadership of female officers. He oversees the tower's daily operations, including discipline - short of execution - organizing watches, and mediating the disputes stoked by Vargan. He has no loyalty to Vargan and no love for Malreth. He believes the tower is cursed and secretly wouldn't mind absconding to Velders to live out his days in peace.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Vargan, Malreth, and Serrek share a retinue of six guards (2nd level fighters). A dozen petty officers (all fighters - five 3rd level, three 4th level, two 5th level, and two 6th level) command smaller groups of brigands.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In Blackwind's dungeons are four important prisoners - <b>Grashka</b>&nbsp;(CE), an orc captured in <b>Ashwillow </b>(06.07), <b>Elric Vanner</b>&nbsp;(CN), a citizen of Velders, <b>Garrik Horne </b>(CE), a Gulluvian soldier captured on the road through Abaddon Woods, and <b>Skrit </b>(LE), a kobold captured near Velders. Malrec interrogates these assets to gather information about the Cutters' potential rivals and targets for summer raids.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUHHr721wwCd-zXBsm4O0rXwoSQevYK_0aMR0GylLzt13VIq111UhwpvjeE08JRdSmB0qSZEmx4q1fe0TFZGBpK8m61Lh2NoWrED_T3v7jPa1tNbqG7FW2t0o1pq2tD0BmjmLhJU_j5TBdkjH52yn5TvX31xQ4EtJFIolc3iZRK0jBQoqLVehAPDff9hmR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="311" data-original-width="218" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUHHr721wwCd-zXBsm4O0rXwoSQevYK_0aMR0GylLzt13VIq111UhwpvjeE08JRdSmB0qSZEmx4q1fe0TFZGBpK8m61Lh2NoWrED_T3v7jPa1tNbqG7FW2t0o1pq2tD0BmjmLhJU_j5TBdkjH52yn5TvX31xQ4EtJFIolc3iZRK0jBQoqLVehAPDff9hmR=w224-h320" width="224" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>04.01 Granite Hollow: </b>This deep mountain cavern is home to a clan of nine stone giants - two adult males, two adult females, and five young (one noncombatant with the hit points of an ogre and four juveniles with hit dice, damage, and attack rolls equal to hill giants).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The giants keep seven cave bears as pets - one belonging to each adult and another three to guard the young. They keep a herd of giant goats for milk, cheese, butter, and meat - seven adults and three young.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The leader of the giants is <b>Harthuun Deepdelver</b>. Though the giants are reclusive, Harthuun finds adventurers somewhat amusing - so long as they do not intend harm to his clan - and will trade simple stone bead jewelry, healing moss, goat's milk, cheese, and butter in exchange for cloth, herd animals, coins, and gemstones. He is slow to anger and slower to forgive.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The giants have a cool but amicable relationship with the ogre magi of <b>Grimrock Hold </b>(03.02), occasionally trading for useful commodities plundered from the lands surrounding&nbsp;<b>Thorold </b>(02.02).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The giants venture down to the Misty Swamp to catch the fish that swim there. They have encountered patrols from <b>Black Stone Tower </b>(05.01) and occasionally trade with them as well.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>04.04 Gulluvia: </b>A city of 30,000, ruled by the firm and unforgiving hand of the baroness <b>Lady D'hmis </b>(CE, 20th level fighter). After sunset, only Gulluvian soldiers, city officials, and men with writs of service may walk the streets without a female escort of at least 15 years of age. All violators are arrested, beaten, enslaved, or even killed. All roads into the city lead to the <b>Iron Ward</b>&nbsp;at its center. To the northwest lies the <b>Gilded Coil</b>, the <b>Chainward</b>&nbsp;is to the south, and <b>the Sprawl&nbsp;</b>to the north.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The <b>Iron Ward </b>is Gulluvia's seat of power, a highly militarized, silent, and oppressive neighborhood. Soldiers patrol the district's wide streets, and banners of D'hmis hang from every tower. High-ranking female officers, administrators, court functionaries, and D'hmis's favored male champions and lovers live here. Features include the Baronial Citadel, Tribunal Hall, Execution Square, and the Commandery of the Crimson Mantle (D'hmis's elite officers). <b>Connections: </b>The Sprawl (N), Chainward (S), Gilded Coil (NW)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Iron Ward NPCs:</b></p><ul><li><b>Draven the Veiled:&nbsp;</b>9th level LE human cleric. He rules a religious stronghold in the Iron Ward. He is a state inquisitor and operates a cult of terror in the name of Zharvek, Gulluvia's deity of law, fear, and punishment.</li><li><b>Virexia Nocturne:</b>&nbsp;10th level LE human magic-user. She is Lady D'hmis's court mage. Without a stronghold of her own, she dwells in the Baronial Citadel with the baroness, controlling magical surveillance and bending the Lady's ear.</li><li><b>Silvetta Korr:</b>&nbsp;16th level LE human fighter. The supreme commander of Gulluvia's military. She despises chaos and schemes to supplant D'hmis as Gulluvia's ruler. Has her own stronghold in the Iron Ward.</li><li><b>Varkul:&nbsp;</b>19th level CE human fighter. The champion of Lady D'hmis's bodyguard and her favored paramour and executioner. His stronghold is the Commandery of the Crimson Mantle in the Iron Ward.</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">The <b>Gilded Coil </b>is where Gulluvia's elite - including merchants, collaborators, black-market magnates, and political climbers - live in luxury. It is lavish, decadent, and rife with social danger. Lady D'hmis and other political operators have informants everywhere. It features noble villas, exclusive auction halls where slaves and magic items are bought and sold, pleasure houses where enslaved entertainers and gladiator entertain the wealthy, and the Serpent Bazaar, where all of Gulluvia's finest goods are available for purchase. Many members of Gulluvian high society are dependent on Anterian Brandy imported from the Misty Swamp.&nbsp;<b>Connections: </b>The Sprawl (NE), Iron Ward (SE)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Gilded Coil NPCs:</b></p><ul><li><b>Selannar Quickwind:</b>&nbsp;CG elf fighter 10/magic-user 11/thief 11. The leader of Gulluvia's enclave of elves and companion to Elicerys (see below). Her thieves' guild, the Shadowdancers, located in the Gilded Coil,&nbsp;use their talents to aid resistance networks - when not at war with other guilds.</li><li><b>Karlitis:&nbsp;</b>15th level LN human thief. The leader of the Silver Knives, Gulluvia's supreme thieves' guild. Operates a fortified guildhall in the Gilded Coil.</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">The <b>Chainward </b>is where most of Gulluvia's slaves, overseers, and low-ranking soldiers are put to work. The air is loud with the crack of whips, choked by smog and the smell of iron and blood. It features foundries and tanneries, slave pens, prison labor yards, river docks, and massive storehouses. <b>Connections: </b>Iron Ward (N)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Chainward NPCs:</b></p><ul><li><b>Brottan Deepkey:</b>&nbsp;9th level LN dwarf thief. Gulluvia's preeminent freelance burglar. He lives in the Chainward, and it is said he can open any lock. He aspires to found his own guild which will compete with the city's other thieves.</li><li><b>Borim Stoneward:</b>&nbsp;LG dwarf cleric 10/fighter 12. The religious and martial leader of Gulluvia's dwarf enclave, where he oversees the work of dwarf artisans and ensures they are protected from the city's harshest punishments. He has a religious stronghold in the Chainward.</li><li><b>Yesenia:&nbsp;</b>15th level LN human fighter. Second in command to Silvetta Korr (see below), but has her stronghold in the Chainward, where she is charge of putting down strikes and rebellions.</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;"><b>The Sprawl </b>is where Gulluvia discards its leavings, and where the endangered flee when they do not wish to be seen. Refugees, criminals, and escaped slaves hide here while seeking passage out of the city. It is lawless but carefully monitored, brutal and desperate. It features collapsed buildings, hidden shrines, refugee camps, smuggler tunnels, and a black market which provides forged writs of service - for the right price. <b>Connections: </b>Iron Ward (S), Gilded Coil (SW)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Sprawl NPCs:</b></p><ul><li><b>Haldrik Vaun:</b>&nbsp;9th level LG human fighter. He keeps a stronghold in the Sprawl, sheltering escapees until they can be funneled into the resistance network.</li><li><b>Thaelrix the Laughing Mage:&nbsp;</b>13th level CN human magic-user. He is Gulluvia's preeminent magic-user, but mostly isolates himself within his tower in the Sprawl, conducting mad and dangerous magical experiments where the authorities care not to bother him.</li><li><b>Karn Blackmaw:</b>&nbsp;14th level CE human fighter. Lady D'hmis's second most-favored paramour. He commands a secondary stronghold of the Crimson Mantle in the Sprawl, ensuring that looming threats in that district do not grow to a point that they might threaten Lady D'hmis.</li><li><b>Elicerys:</b>&nbsp;A CG half-elf cleric 12/fighter 12/magic-user 12. Runs a temple and religious stronghold in the Sprawl. She works with others in the resistance network to aid escapees on their way to&nbsp;<b>Mere</b>&nbsp;(06.02).</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">Other Character-type NPCs:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>36 1st to 3rd level henchmen (24 humans, 3 dwarves, 3 elves, 1 gnome, 3 half-elves, 1 halfling, and 1 half-orc)</li><li>213 1st to 3rd level (142 humans, 18 dwarves, 17 elves, 8 gnomes, 19 half-elves, 8 halflings, and 1 half-orc)</li><li>64 4th to 7th level (43 humans, 5 dwarves, 6 elves, 2 gnomes, 5 half-elves, 2 halflings, and 1 half-orc)</li><li>30 7th to 12th level (21 humans, 2 dwarves, 3 elves, 1 gnome, 2 half-elves, 1 halfling)</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>04.05 Gulluvian Soldier Camp: </b>This riverside camp is home to a host of 90 soldiers (use bandits) from <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04), currently charged with occupying <b>Dead Mule </b>(03.05). They mostly keep their distance from the town, but occasionally storm in for unannounced raids, searching for escaped prisoners and slaves sheltered by resistance networks. They also maintain a presence on the road leading into town, monitoring comings and goings, and nominally patrol the northern segment of the forested road leading to <b>Velders </b>(07.07) - the latter posting is viewed as a punishment as such patrols are subject to attacks from orcs and giant wasps.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The camp is surrounded by a palisade of sharpened stakes and wagons arranged in a wall formation. The soldiers drill constantly in the muddy inner yard, where the command pavilion sits on a raised timber platform, flanked by iron cages containing prisoners brought in for questioning. 80 horses (16 medium light and eight medium) are kept in a corral. Four trained barics are kept in iron cages covered by heavy cloth. They are brought out only on raids into Dead Mule. About a dozen indentured camp followers cook, clean, and tend to the animals.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Among the soldiers are ten petty officers: four 3rd level fighters, three 4th level fighters, two 5th level fighters, and a 6th level fighter.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Zena Vorrenn </b>(CE, 8th level fighter) is the camp captain. She is young, tall, sharp-featured, and ruthless. She enjoys psychological warfare for its own sake, making her the ideal commander for Gulluvia's terror campaign against Dead Mule. She is the only one who knows that the true purpose of the camp's presence is to root out Aleigha, the true threat to Lady D'hmis's legitimacy.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Renvar Doss </b>(N, 7th level fighter) is Zena's lieutenant. He is a gray-bearded old soldier with a limp, valued less so these days for his combat prowess than for his experience and attention to detail. He oversees the camp's supplies and softens Zena's worst impulses when he can. He has his suspicions about the campaign's true purpose but never voices them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The camp hold nine prisoners - most of them devoted followers of Althoren's resistance network or Dead Mule citizens suspected of collusion. Among them is&nbsp;<b>Gruthak&nbsp;</b>(LE), an orc scout captured in Abaddon Woods. Zena secretly admires the work of the orcs in <b>Ashwillow </b>(06.07), and would like to negotiate a similar attack on Dead Mule for which she could deny culpability. Her interrogators are attempting to learn the location of the <b>Blacktusk Warrens </b>(05.07) to propose such an operation, but Gruthak doesn't trust their intentions and will not talk.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>05.01 Black Stone Tower: </b>This massive tower of shiny black stone is half-sunken into the surrounding muck.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It is ruled by <b>Malrec the Black </b>(CE), a sadistic and theatrical magic-user (12th level) obsessed with the legend of the Silver Princess and her ruby. He believes that My Lady's Heart is a corrupting force and a conduit for great power and evil, and wishes to obtain it for himself.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Malrec is responsible for the mist that hovers over the swamp and causes spells to go awry, though it does not affect his magic. He created the ubues from the folk that once dwelled in the swamp, and even sent some of them across the Moorfowl Mountains to the <b>Palace of the Silver Princess </b>(02.01) to obtain My Lady's Heart for him.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Currently, Malrec is preoccupied by the escape of Nerxil, his quasit familiar who (unbeknownst to him) fled to <b>Moorfowl Mines </b>(03.01). When Nerxil is present at the tower, Malrec operates as a 13th level magic-user. In Nerxil's absence, Malrec functions instead as an 11th level magic-user, cutting off his access to 6th level spells. Malrec knows that if Nerxil were to perish, his powers would diminish even more so (down to 8th level). He has also come to depend on Nerxil's ability to <i>commune</i>&nbsp;with the Lower Planes in all his decision-making. Without this ability, Malrec has become despondent and directionless.</p><p style="text-align: left;">While he is not generally receptive to visitors, Malrec will welcome any adventurers who seem capable of bringing Nerxil safely home, at which point his obsessions will turn back to obtaining My Lady's Heart.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The tower's men-at-arms patrol the swamp surrounding the tower via keelboat. They occasionally encounter the stone giants of <b>Granite Hollow </b>(04.01) and trade with them for provisions and information about expeditions spotted in the Moorfowl Mountains.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">There is mutual enmity between the dwarves of <b>Brumhold Fen </b>(06.01) and Malrec. Malrec is addicted to Anterian Brandy and wishes to control its production and distribution, but the dwarves won't treat with him and will no longer sell him any Brandy. The two factions' forces clash whenever their keelboats meet.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMKHXt6_Y23Oai_fwD---OSBQsc0UEgvH80MYxBS7S7XVE2nroEo4pItfa7AJM_w_UUjdxGecj_ejggxVH_UgZBSzLUPiE_47JoeKi6hlEe6OZs9ePqWRR43slGAHQW4HNcTLUeEOZTLuMuF7MKpU4LjxvF_MrlByZ7hgGcEGCyjyh9U8Yt8AlqvqwdDs5" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMKHXt6_Y23Oai_fwD---OSBQsc0UEgvH80MYxBS7S7XVE2nroEo4pItfa7AJM_w_UUjdxGecj_ejggxVH_UgZBSzLUPiE_47JoeKi6hlEe6OZs9ePqWRR43slGAHQW4HNcTLUeEOZTLuMuF7MKpU4LjxvF_MrlByZ7hgGcEGCyjyh9U8Yt8AlqvqwdDs5=w267-h320" width="267" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>05.07 Blacktusk Warrens: </b>This forested cavern is a maze of dugouts, collapsed barrows, and timber-reinforced pits. Crude totems of split skulls and boar tusks mark the perimeter immediately surrounding the cave.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">The lair contains 80 orc warriors, 55 noncombatant adults, and 110 children. Groups of 30 orc warriors are commanded by a leader with three assistants (8 hp each). The orcs retain two ogres as guards.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Blacktusks are led by <b>Urzak Skullrender </b>(LE), a towering orc chief with a jagged iron crown welded directly onto his helm. He is protected by a retinue of 11 bodyguards (Urzak and his bodyguards are AC 4, have 13-16 hp each, attack as 3 HD monsters, and deal 2d4 damage per attack).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The upper warrens are filled with spiked pits, falling log traps, and narrow chokepoints. Most warriors, as well as the two ogres, are housed here in patrol dens.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The middle warrens house feast halls, the war council chambers, leaders' quarters, and Urzak's throne room and bodyguard.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The lower warrens are home to noncombatant adults and children, with an underground escape route leading to <b>Ashwillow Ruins </b>(06.07), should the need arise, where the orcs maintain an outpost.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Blacktusks are divided by Urzak's three leaders and their factions, which pull the chief in different directions:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The <b>Bloodfangs </b>believe that the Blacktusks' survival depends on dominating their neighbors. They pushed for the sack of Ashwillow and now advocate for doing the same to <b>Velders </b>(07.07). They attack Gulluvian patrols on the road through Abaddon Woods on sight. They are led by <b>Kroth Bloodfang</b>, a towering berserker who promises glory through conquest for all his followers. Kroth, his three assistants, and his 30 Bloodfang warriors are currently stationed in Ashwillow, carefully monitoring Velders.</li><li>The <b>Coin-Eyes </b>believe that the Blacktusks can thrive through peaceable trade backed by a strong military presence. They wish to use the threat of further violence against Velders as a bargaining chip to negotiate an advantageous arrangement with <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04), with the orcs perhaps serving as Gulluvian mercenaries for profit. They wish to continue to occupy Ashwillow and to turn it into a proper above ground orc settlement. They are led by <b>Zulgar Coin-Eye</b>, a lean and articulate orc with a copper coin in place of one eye.&nbsp;</li><li>The <b>Stonehides </b>believe that the sack of Ashwillow was an overreach, bringing unwanted attention, and advocate for abandoning the forward outpost and fortifying the Warrens against a counterattack from Gulluvia. They are led by <b>Morgath Stonehide</b>, a grim, scarred veteran who speaks little but commands great respect.</li></ul><div>The Blacktusks have a contentious relationship with the kobolds of <b>the Needleburrow </b>(07.06). Currently, the orcs use their greater strength to extort resources from the kobolds (the Coin-Eyes' policy). The Bloodfangs advocate for subjugating the kobolds for use as fodder on further raids, eradicating them once they've outlived their usefulness, while the Stonehides wish to offer up the kobolds' lair as a concession to Gulluvia, on the condition that the Blacktusks are left alone.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwheRB_s9BOGyHJHTGW3sEVXcQsS9RbPrZbuDmRP5II9HM-wO2V145BELSguKmJ2nyujxbShziBIYxZl02V2_PMPuJmG3J96e8O2gNRdKUVFmCdCH01Lumz9CW4_Ji_74E5c1HNNxZdh75jFgNlvVFFHK2U4cVk1nXiHTvTF-77Q4Zt2N39TTbPc0vSMTx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwheRB_s9BOGyHJHTGW3sEVXcQsS9RbPrZbuDmRP5II9HM-wO2V145BELSguKmJ2nyujxbShziBIYxZl02V2_PMPuJmG3J96e8O2gNRdKUVFmCdCH01Lumz9CW4_Ji_74E5c1HNNxZdh75jFgNlvVFFHK2U4cVk1nXiHTvTF-77Q4Zt2N39TTbPc0vSMTx=w267-h320" width="267" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>06.01 Brumhold Fen: </b>A community of floating dwarven homesteads and workshops is anchored here in the swamp and connected by causeways and canals. The dwarves here are an offshoot of those who once served the Silver Princess, and many are old enough to remember a time before the <b>Palace of the Silver Princess </b>(02.01) lay in ruin.</p><p style="text-align: left;">220 fighting dwarves live here along with 110 non-warriors (who will nonetheless fight if their home is threatened) and 55 dwarf children. Each group of 40 is led by a fighter of 2nd to 6th level (five total). The community is further protected by seven fighters from 2nd to 5th level and four fighter/clerics of 2nd to 4th level in each class. A 6th level fighter is commander of the whole army, and a 4th level fighter is lieutenant. The dwarves use five 3 HD giant frogs as guard animals.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Their leader is <b>Thrainor Fenguard </b>(LG), a fighter 4/cleric 4. He is stern but fair, difficult to impress, quietly devout, and practical above all else. He and his dwarves are generally helpful, but highly secretive.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The dwarves brew Anterian Brandy from swamp water using other unknown reagents and distillation methods which are closely guarded from the outside world and even other dwarves. They navigate the swamp via keelboat and trade the Brandy with <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04) and the other human inhabitants of the region via halfling middlemen in <b>Mere </b>(06.02). They have been known to shelter escaped prisoners and slaves from Mere and secure them passage through the swamp.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They do not trade with Malrec of <b>Black Stone Tower </b>(05.01) due to their suspicion that the wizard wishes to divine the Anterian Brandy formula for his own use, nor with the ubues (07.01), who could not afford it anyway. They navigate the swamp using keelboats, clashing with Malrec's patrols and ubue scouts whenever they meet.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzFkbEOSGErTJi8eS1TwPpcPD0JL2UmLXZwLp0OjCK4cly005INjIWNUgvR1Of2fUd0eWTVx7cOXrbRu4sbMtaZrd8I709JocNiRnyRrlDVGZx-bDWkmWxmSiDzjpu6OdJ-pY5HtgGCuDQUhz2-Mg3jJaQvh192vCB9PPiiHol-pS8zaDWgVHj6bCa-rt3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzFkbEOSGErTJi8eS1TwPpcPD0JL2UmLXZwLp0OjCK4cly005INjIWNUgvR1Of2fUd0eWTVx7cOXrbRu4sbMtaZrd8I709JocNiRnyRrlDVGZx-bDWkmWxmSiDzjpu6OdJ-pY5HtgGCuDQUhz2-Mg3jJaQvh192vCB9PPiiHol-pS8zaDWgVHj6bCa-rt3=w267-h320" width="267" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>06.02 Mere: </b>This mountain village is made up of burrow homes and surface cottages built into the cliffsides. Grain silos are guard towers in disguise, and a network of secret tunnels connect the cellars of important buildings and play a pivotal role in hiding escaped prisoners and slaves. The village is home to 130 stout halfling warriors, 130 noncombatant adults, and 78 children.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">They are led by <b>Perrin Underbough </b>(LG, 3rd level fighter), a calm, observant, and fearless leader.<b>&nbsp;</b>Groups of 30 warriors are led by a 3rd level cleric (four total, which serve the halflings' gods of hearth and harvest, mercy and protection, travel and freedom, and hidden places) and two 2nd level fighters (eight total). Due to their close relationship with the dwarves of <b>Brumhold Fen </b>(06.01), their warriors employ more hammers and maces in combat than do typical halflings.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The village is also home to <b>the Dogs of Mere</b>, a collection of about 300 well-bred and trained hounds used as scouts, trackers, and an early warning system against raids from <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04). Most serve as sentries, pack animals, and messengers, but about 50 are mastiff-sized hounds trained in combat and capable of carrying warriors into battle. Because of the dogs, it is almost impossible to catch the community unawares.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The halflings work closely with the dwarves of Brumhold Fen, acting as intermediaries in the trade of Anterian Brandy. This connection to one of Gulluvia's most desired commodities is one of many reasons that the village hasn't already been raided and conquered. The halflings also aid in handing off escapees to the dwarves, who transport them partway across the Misty Swamp.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYWGfWSCPPVKBtYPBAkqI7aVKYWAulO4hdpEdad8p0ZdRbSi4bwrUd__KiQj-tjVNS2VtXqbxOKj1cBjZCqKMNbRLc1fE1-wzpPFC9cBSWCcSi2ameGJqmthadvlZ72NJCIVeqEQBVeNhySTkafOuubrMRy5AsOx89gKShBie_JHlUueUO1O_qc9Q2y1nE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="297" data-original-width="237" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYWGfWSCPPVKBtYPBAkqI7aVKYWAulO4hdpEdad8p0ZdRbSi4bwrUd__KiQj-tjVNS2VtXqbxOKj1cBjZCqKMNbRLc1fE1-wzpPFC9cBSWCcSi2ameGJqmthadvlZ72NJCIVeqEQBVeNhySTkafOuubrMRy5AsOx89gKShBie_JHlUueUO1O_qc9Q2y1nE=w256-h320" width="256" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>06.05 Giant Wasp Nest: </b>This giant paper nest is built around a 40-foot-tall blackened tree stump in a light-starved glade, fused with hardened resin and hanging combs. It is home to 35 giant wasps and their 350 eggs, larvae, and pupae. Being giant insects, they are driven by instinct and simply hunt the surrounding forest in groups of 1 to 20, preying on Gulluvian patrols, orcs, kobolds, and travelers on the road, which they paralyze and carry back to the nest to be devoured by their young.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It is possible to climb up into the nest and navigating its twisting tunnels on foot, but it is full of narrow passages, tall vertical shafts, and sudden drops.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The kobolds of <b>the Needleburrow </b>(07.06) sometimes come here to smoke out the wasps, climb up into their nest, and harvest their larvae.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>06.07 Ashwillow Ruins: </b>This ruined thorp is nestled within a copse of willow trees, overgrown with tall, bitter grass. All that remains are burned cottages collapsed into rings of stone and blackened timber. The thorp was home to 60 settlers. Their meager militia of half a dozen fell easily to a raid from the <b>Blacktusk Warrens </b>(05.07). All who lived there were slain, imprisoned, or fled to <b>Velders </b>(07.07).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The ruin is now held as a forward outpost by Blacktusk orcs - <b>Kroth Bloodfang </b>and his three assistants (8 hp each) and 30 Bloodfang orc warriors. They patrol the ruin and surrounding fields and monitor Velders from a distance at night, awaiting orders from their chief, Urzak Skullrender.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The orcs have surrounded the ruin's perimeter with a palisade of sharpened stakes, and use surviving chimneys as crude watch towers. The corpses of the thorp's inhabitants are hung from the ruin's walls as a warning and provocation. The survivors are kept locked in a farmhouse root cellar, used as food or entertainment in cruel blood sport.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI75gymPo3uM7QtEb3BTyLfVuF_EMNF2Vm20mA0TG3OPHZBEQkZs03EIAPwgV8a5-g2f9-lFvo0IYhA1WeVdgcDDwNIMq_P0JRhiELFWjzmIFB0luFDG5Xjtp7O-7yIJgshvJZ1oJPr7aYgIXSwzwx_ad2u9YQF_eYcWi-szJf3tS967to1pR4M7apkbS/s641/Screenshot%202026-01-09%20143104.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI75gymPo3uM7QtEb3BTyLfVuF_EMNF2Vm20mA0TG3OPHZBEQkZs03EIAPwgV8a5-g2f9-lFvo0IYhA1WeVdgcDDwNIMq_P0JRhiELFWjzmIFB0luFDG5Xjtp7O-7yIJgshvJZ1oJPr7aYgIXSwzwx_ad2u9YQF_eYcWi-szJf3tS967to1pR4M7apkbS/w250-h320/Screenshot%202026-01-09%20143104.png" width="250" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>07.01 The Threefold Fen: </b>This village of raised platforms and bone and hide huts atop a tangled mound of peat and driftwood is home to 23 ubue adults and 11 ubue children. In the center is a raised mound which holds the chief's home, a dueling ground, and the shaman's hut. Around it are nine family huts connected by slippery causeways.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Generations ago, the mage of&nbsp;<b>Black Stone Tower&nbsp;</b>(05.01) sent several ubue families to the&nbsp;<b>Palace of the Silver Princess&nbsp;</b>(02.01) to bring him My Lady's Heart. These ubues never returned, but the ubues of the Threefold Fen believe they someday will.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The village shaman is <b>Bonereader Korra </b>(N), a young female ubue whose heads see disparate omens when reading bones - one of life, one of death, and one of exile. One prophecy maintains that the ubues sent to the Palace will bring My Lady's Heart to Black Stone Tower, the wizard will conquer the land beyond the mountains, and bring the ubues with him to prosper as his chosen people. Another prophecy says that the wizard will instead destroy the ubues, as they will have outlived their usefulness. The third says that the wizard will make the swamp unlivable, and the ubues will need to depart for a new home. The various interpretations trouble Korra deeply.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The ubues are led by&nbsp;<b>Threxx of the Three Crowns&nbsp;</b>(CN), a strong young male ubue. His two male heads often argue over how best to punish his enemies, while his female head advocates for mercy. He believes in all of Korra's prophecies at once - that the wizard will uplift Threxx and his allies, destroy his enemies, and exile the weak.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The ubues despise the dwarves of <b>Brumhold Fen </b>(06.01), believing that the manufacture of Anterian Brandy pollutes the swamp with its eponymous mist. The two parties clash wherever their keelboats meet.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-35eKXAqelP20D5RKl4-c-ZhLx5WTOBhaC_UOvIM4N4uqgfoKTXMTo_uMZDQI1p_ZGyXDG05fLMOmg66lWwYQYBLwzfXB_3z00XhdBlrgAEInwksU2err8rdZHUeS6j0ljq4kMmg0mLxdlbJY6-t7pudWPdBbXADJOEcCDhQ1Auza0IAQ-Yzu1eOJYfh1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-35eKXAqelP20D5RKl4-c-ZhLx5WTOBhaC_UOvIM4N4uqgfoKTXMTo_uMZDQI1p_ZGyXDG05fLMOmg66lWwYQYBLwzfXB_3z00XhdBlrgAEInwksU2err8rdZHUeS6j0ljq4kMmg0mLxdlbJY6-t7pudWPdBbXADJOEcCDhQ1Auza0IAQ-Yzu1eOJYfh1=w267-h320" width="267" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>07.04 Abaddon Graves: </b>This ancient, overgrown burial ground is the resting place of the disciples of <b>the Black Verdancy</b>, a heretical sect of <b>Gullivia's </b>(04.04) worship of Zharvek. Rather than law and punishment, they believed in chaos and exile, and fear instilled not by the state but by the primordial forces of nature. The <b>Most Eminent High Priestess Velathra</b>&nbsp;(CE, 9th level cleric), fled the city with her followers to establish a place of worship in Abaddon Woods. There, they constructed a sepulcher in a cave beneath a twisted tree, feeding the soil with the blood of heretics which they captured and ritually sacrificed.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Eventually, Velathra transformed herself by drinking from a chalice of grave earth and blood. She allowed her acolytes to slay her and bury her beneath the roots of a tree. Three nights later, she rose as a vampire, with all her clerical powers, and devoured her own devotees. She buried each of them in turn and is now bound to the gravesite, alone, preaching only to her congregation of wolves.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Because she must return to her gravesite to rest and in event of her being slain, she does not wander far. She occasionally goes out hunting for kobolds from <b>the Needleburrow </b>(07.06), but prefers the blood of humans. To appease her, the kobolds capture villagers from <b>Velders </b>(07.07) and bring them to the halfway point between their lairs (07.06) to be claimed.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEeIpwKXY_Oo-lCqjzSoYIhtDKM_eBtAs0ow-qBU59-5oj2dcR0QEF2l6qWPDBSS6JI32FtJJovCoBS5PUH7BEQ3PtNA7Q5090ZNwbzYD02BNReqiSYZGo6LLaUPeR-2hIPwjh5yEvYkGIlv7mpF9EUt6bqMIWSuFk6_eZYfWM5MPhxhODuJFDkVxYgZep" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="300" data-original-width="360" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEeIpwKXY_Oo-lCqjzSoYIhtDKM_eBtAs0ow-qBU59-5oj2dcR0QEF2l6qWPDBSS6JI32FtJJovCoBS5PUH7BEQ3PtNA7Q5090ZNwbzYD02BNReqiSYZGo6LLaUPeR-2hIPwjh5yEvYkGIlv7mpF9EUt6bqMIWSuFk6_eZYfWM5MPhxhODuJFDkVxYgZep=w320-h267" width="320" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>07.06 The Needleburrow: </b>This low-ceilinged warren is hidden beneath a tangled thicket of bramble, briar, and thorns.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">The burrow is home to 210 kobold warriors, 105 noncombatant adults, 21 young, and 157 eggs. Each group of 40 warriors is commanded by a leader (five total) with two guards (20 total). Leaders and guards attack as goblins, have 4 hp each, AC 6, and do 1d6 damage. Noncombatant adults are artisans, trap smiths, fungus farmers, and egg tenders, while children act as messengers, lookouts, and trap resetters.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The chief of the burrow is <b>Skrix&nbsp;</b>(LE). He is patient and calculating, paranoid, and interested purely in survival. He maintains authority over the burrow by his control of the egg vaults. He is served by an elite bodyguard of four warriors. Skrix and his bodyguards attack as 1+1 HD monsters, have AC 5, 7 hp each, and do 1d8 damage.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The outer warrens house 80 warriors and their leaders. They are heavily trapped, and designed to delay and bleed invaders. The warriors always retreat to the middle warrens if overwhelmed, where noncombatants work and are protected by another 80 warriors and their leaders. The inner warrens are where Skrix holds court along with his bodyguard and an additional 50 warriors. Skrix keeps three wild boars as pets which he unleashes on intruders who make it this far. The hoard pit and egg vault is also contained within.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The kobolds are extorted for resources by the orcs of <b>Blacktusk Warrens </b>(05.07) - mostly treasure, bespoke traps and other gadgets, and the occasional human captive taken from <b>Velders </b>(07.07).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The kobolds occasionally venture to the <b>Giant Wasp Nest </b>(06.05) to collect larvae, which they raise to maturity in the middle warrens. The wasps' wings are burned off so that they can be kept in pens. When they're matured, they're killed and harvested for their venom, which is sealed in clay pots and stored in the inner warrens for use by Skrix and his retinue of guards, who poison their weapons.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The kobolds also occasionally bring human captives to 07.05 as an offering to Velathra of <b>Abaddon Graves </b>(07.04). If they fail to do so, they know that it is they who will instead become Velathra's next meal.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>07.07 Velders: </b>A small, struggling frontier canton of roughly&nbsp;400 souls, clinging to existence at the edge of Abaddon Woods. Though technically under the protection of <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04), it receives little real aid, as the road through the Woods is dangerous and poorly maintained.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">The people feel forgotten by the world. They are wary of outsiders but desperate for help. Houses are built closely together for defense, and the canton is surrounded by ditches and spiked hedges. Fires are dimmed at night, bells are strung between buildings, and dogs and geese are used as warning systems.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The trading post at the center is used as warehouse, inn, garrison, and stronghold. It is operated by <b>Saelwyn Thornecloak </b>(LN 8th level thief), a mysterious and influential elf trader. He is responsible for the canton's governance, carefully organizing the settlement's defenses against threats from brigands, orcs, and kobolds. It is because of his efforts alone that Velders has survived this long.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Halvek:&nbsp;</b>LE 1st level human cleric. He is an emissary of the Gulluvian Church, here to preach the gospel of Zharvek to the barbarian people of Velders. Though he frequently says the people are sinners living in chaos, he has a vested interest in the canton's survival and will participate in its defense if needed. He is secretly disillusioned with the lack of a Gulluvian presence in the canton.</li><li><b>Tyressa:&nbsp;</b>CE 1st level human magic-user. A hunched old crone living in a moss-covered leaning stone hut on the fringes of Velders. Though she is feared for her strange experiments on animals and has no love for the people, she will gladly participate in defense of the canton, if only for the opportunity to test her magic.</li><li><b>Branna:&nbsp;</b>CN 2nd level human thief. A young, independent rogue who chose Velders precisely for its distance from authority. She thinks Saelwyn is a stick in the mud and frequently sneaks in and out of the ruins of <b>Ashwillow </b>(06.07), past the orc patrols, if only to prove she can.</li><li><b>Ysil:&nbsp;</b>NE 3rd level human thief. A young, ambitious student of Saelwyn. He knows a great deal about the operations of Velders's defenses and would sell out the canton for the right price. Saelwyn ensures that his offer if always better.</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">Velders is preyed upon by Blacktusk orcs from <b>Ashwillow Ruins </b>(06.07) and by kobolds from <b>the Needleburrow </b>(07.06). The occasional woodsman or traveler on the road through Abaddon Woods is carried off to the <b>Giant Wasp Nest </b>(06.05), or waylaid by a Gulluvian patrol.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoM_OUtapJyCW2B_2gXqks8tCq1KI2x8hYUaa3d4BxJj5URwoa8--MMLZJliInjrRGb8hbiAmCuyUD2lVdNil-xYUjxP3U2LqBK5E5t16JWGXpifJ7LI9bj0H0CYAxoROQNxrr4QLGpszRkThDhIyQm2leqXZ1qzu3EeEulR2-ujMkMpFPdY5zU-jg6KWL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoM_OUtapJyCW2B_2gXqks8tCq1KI2x8hYUaa3d4BxJj5URwoa8--MMLZJliInjrRGb8hbiAmCuyUD2lVdNil-xYUjxP3U2LqBK5E5t16JWGXpifJ7LI9bj0H0CYAxoROQNxrr4QLGpszRkThDhIyQm2leqXZ1qzu3EeEulR2-ujMkMpFPdY5zU-jg6KWL=w267-h320" width="267" /></a></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>08.01 Mire of False Paths: </b>This maze of sunken stone markers and broken causeways is the final stop along the path to freedom for escaped prisoners and slaves. Unfortunately, it was discovered by the ubues of <b>the Threefold Fen </b>(07.01), who launched an attack on the refugees camped there carrying off or killing them and their guards.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Not all prisoners of <b>Gulluvia </b>(04.04) were imprisoned for the wrong reason, however, and at least one evil cutthroat, exiled warlock, or heretical priest fell into the sucking mud and drowned. Their death panic and the strange magic of the swamp combined and gave rise to the Gloamlight - what the locals call the will-o-wisp who now haunts this place.</p><p style="text-align: left;">With no one to maintain it, the resistance checkpoint fell into ruin. The mists of the swamp hang thick here, the water and mud dense with bones and personal effects. Torches and lantern lights dim and sputter out so that only the Gloamlight is visible, just out of reach. Is it the beacon light, signaling the edge of the causeway which finally leads out of this dismal place to freedom? No, the beacon hasn't been lit in years. But maybe...</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Gloamlight feeds on the negative energies created by the confusion, frustration, and despair of refugees who meet their end so close to their goal. It leads them astray, into quicksand pits, the feeding grounds of swamp beasts, and thick tangles which render their keelboats immobile. The dwarves of <b>Brumholt Fen </b>(06.01) will warn against following the strange light, but even that will not guard against the spirit's trickery. When ignored, it will attempt to lead travelers on the <i>safe&nbsp;</i>path, so that in avoiding it, they run into trouble all the same.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Conclusion</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">I am aware, as you may now be, of the irony of naming this post "Condensing the Palace of the Silver Princess Sandbox", then proceeding to write what may be the longest post yet on this blog. Would I have been better of simply detailing those areas described in the module itself, rather than adding gnolls, ogre magi, stone giants, wasps, a vampire, and the like? Perhaps! But I am not disappointed by the result.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This is a highly gameable, condensed (as in shrunken in scale) yet expounded upon (in terms of complexity) region for a game using Dungeon Module B3. While the Palace itself is the focus of that module, it hints at a much greater world. At the heart of it is a small barony terrorized by a cruel baroness with a vested interest in obtaining the Palace's treasure. At the edges is a strange wilderness filled with mystery and evil creatures which threaten the land as well.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In this sandbox, the tyranny of Lady D'hmis and the resistance network organized to oppose her take center stage, with all sorts of deadly monsters and evil magic-users at the periphery. Almost every location and NPC deals somehow with the Palace and My Lady's Heart or with Gulluvian politics and resistance. Almost every monster or wilderness ruler poses some threat to their corner of the map or to the barony itself.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I would probably start the player characters in Velders, give them the opportunity to fend off orcs and kobolds, then venture through the Abaddon Woods to Gulluvia, where they will get a much better understanding of the region's politics and pressing issues. They might travel to the Palace and recover My Lady's Heart, using it as a bargaining chip in their dealings with any number of factions. Along the way they might aid the resistance network or the Gulluvian state. They may make the Misty Swamp safe for refugees once more, venture into the Thunder Mountains to investigate rumors of the evil wizardess, or root out the vampire haunting Abaddon Woods. In time, they might liberate Thorold, Dead Mule, and even Gulluvia itself.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It is <a href="https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/2026/01/play-environments-power-complexity-and.html" target="_blank">a complex, dynamic sandbox with room for the player characters to grow within it</a>, and I think it makes for a great supplement to Palace of the Silver Princess, turning a single dungeon into a full campaign.</p><p></p>
28.01.2026 15:40 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Which Version of Palace of the Silver Princess Should You Run? Over on Bluesky I did a readthrough of both the orange cover and green cover versions of Dungeon Module B3: Palace of the Silver Princess. My reading of the orange version was more in-depth, whereas my reading of the green version was more for the sake of comparison. I thought it would be productive to summarize my thoughts in an easily-digested blog post. For those who don't know, the publication history of this module is a mess. The Wikipedia article about the module sums it up pretty well. Essentially, Jean Wells wrote the original, orange version of the module. For one reason or another, TSR waited until the day before the module's publication (when the copies arrived at the office for shipping) to decide that it was unacceptable. All of the copies were recalled or confiscated and destroyed. The explanation at the time was that the illustration of "The Illusion of the Decapus" by Laura Rosloff was objectionable because it was overtly sexual and was exposing children to the S&M fetish. This was also in the midst of the Satanic Panic, so another explanation was that the illustration gave credence to the claim that D&D was promoting devil worship. Since then, the story has changed. It is now widely believed that the actual objectionable image was Erol Otus's illustration of the ubues (three-headed, -armed, and -legged monsters with both male and female heads), which depicted the monsters with heads that were essentially caricatures of TSR executives (notably Brian and Kevin Blume, though accounts vary). Apparently, Wells had wanted to replace this illustration before the module went to print, but was told it was too late. Whatever the exact reason, the end result was the same. The original version of this module was essentially memory-holed. Many players from that time are familiar with only the revised green version, which is the version that was officially released after the original underwent many significant revisions at the hands of Tom Moldvay. You can read Wizards of the Coast's own flawed hagiography and download the orange version for free here. The original version was similar to Dungeon Module B1: In Search of the Unknown, with many rooms empty of monsters, traps, and treasure, with instructions for the DM to determine these elements their self (the quality of these empty rooms, in my opinion, is not quite as good as those found in B1). Not every room was empty, however. The module also contained several intentionally designed encounters with unique monsters, among them the aforementioned ubues and decapus (pictured on the cover of both versions), sentient bubbles, a giant six-legged rat with a toothy duck bill and as many hit dice as an owlbear, an amoeba which disguises itself as a pool of water, paralyzes you, and dissolves you, a giant snake with an enchanting whistle, giant marmoset monkeys large enough to serve as mounts for halflings, and a moss that puts you to sleep and then grows over, suffocates, and devours your unconscious body. The original module was a relatively straightforward site-based adventure - an ancient palace in ruins, and legends of a giant ruby still hidden within. What will you do with that information? Well, probably go explore the dungeon and try to find the ruby - classic D&D stuff. In addition to the dungeon, there was a minimally-detailed map of the surrounding region with short entries about settlements and geographic features - a city ruled by a Chaotic baroness (the only living descendant of the titular Silver Princess, who wants the ruby for herself), a shire occupied and terrorized by the baroness's soldiers for unknown reasons, a halfling village which is home to escaped prisoners and slaves, a canton cut off from the barony by a dark and foreboding wood, a swamp inhabited by strange monsters, where spellcasting is unpredictable, a mountain range riddled with abandoned dwarven mines, and another range plagued by storm clouds conjured by an evil wizardess. The module was filled with mystery. According to legend, the kingdom ruled by the Silver Princess fell into ruin when a stranger arrived at a party to see the Princess's ruby. A red dragon appeared over the valley and burned the land, a man in silver and blue armor upon its back. However, upon exploring the ruined palace, the players may find that the relationship between the Princess and the stranger was not as adversarial as it seemed - or, perhaps, she was corrupted by this sinister interloper. So what exactly happened? The module does not provide an answer, because the DM was expected to. It is filled with unanswered questions. The land surrounding the Palace is wandered by a tinker in a special wagon that can float across rivers and lakes. Should the players have occasion to visit his home, they will find in his bedroom a suit of silver armor covered by a blanket, and a strange set of riding equipment too large for a horse - intriguing! Inside the dungeon is a chaotic cleric, Catharandamus, who has partnered with Aleigha, a werebear with a ruby sword, who is believed to be another descendant of the Princess. It is possible for the player characters to align themselves with the two, but it's unclear why they're at the Palace and what they're trying to accomplish. And what of the soldiers with the wolf insignia, who can be found on the random encounter tables? Who are they, and what are they doing here? By comparison, the green version is much more focused and utterly non-mysterious. The region surrounding the Palace is totally omitted. Rather than being an ancient ruin, the Palace was recently besieged by Arik, an evil outsider akin to a godlike entity. The ruby is a vessel of sorts to Arik, which drove some of the Palace inhabitants mad, petrified the others, and trapped the Princess and the dragon-rider (who is unambiguously good in this version) inside the ruby itself. The Palace is held within in a stasis field while Catharandamus (teleported there by Arik's magic) tries to summon Arik into the world. The party is visited in their dreams by the Protectors, a race of magical beings from the land of Faerie who beseech the player characters to enter the palace and free the Princess. (The Protectors are also in the original version, but they are simply magical guardians of the Palace's tower, warding it against evil so that the party can safely rest within.) Throughout the adventure, the Protectors serve as the voice of the DM, giving the players hints as to where to go next, how to destroy the ruby, and the like. If the Princess is freed, the land returns to normal, and all is more or less hunky dory. Gone too are the module's original monsters (excepting only the decapus - which loses its ability to create hyper-specific and horrifying torture illusions - and some deadly plants). Instead, the magic of Arik has attracted the usual D&D fare - goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, and the like - to terrorize the place. These creatures were present in the original as well, but it is suggested that they are minions of Catharandamus, which he has brought there as an insurance policy against the berserkers who serve Aleigha. Although the two are aligned, the former does not trust the latter. There is a hint of faction play in the original. This nuance is totally absent from the green version. Aleigha and her dwarf henchmen are replaced by a werewolf and some orcs. Aleigha's ruby sword (a magical heirloom which introduces a complication to the evil baroness's claim to the Palace and ruby) is now the Sword of Arik, one of many MacGuffins which can be used to destroy the ruby and yield the module's happy ending. The mysterious tinker, himself a potential complicating piece of the puzzle, is omitted entirely. I would be remiss not to mention Travis. In the orange version, he is a paranoid old adventurer who tortured and killed his party out of greed and now wanders the dungeon holding "court" - capturing, torturing, and killing adventurers to take their treasure. In the green version, he is instead a Palace guard driven mad by the magic of Arik, but otherwise doing more or less the same. That all is not to say that the green version is without its merits. What might compel you to run one version over the other? Well... **If you want a classic old school D &D dungeon, run the orange version**. In the orange version, the Palace is an ancient ruin filled with odd monsters, tricks, and traps. The party's goal is to go there and find the ruby, doing with it whatever they please. The player characters are not assumed to be do-gooders with any higher purpose to their motivations. It's a classic D&D smash-and-grab operation. **If you want a narrative-driven adventure or your player characters are assumed to be heroes, run the green version.** The green version has more of a high fantasy vibe - an unambiguously good princess and her kingdom in peril at the hands of an unambiguously evil villain. There are magical fairies which can serve as the DM's voice to nudge the players along the intended path. If the player characters are victorious, they're heroes of the realm and earn a substantial reward, a day of thanksgiving in their honor, and even a ceremony where they're presented with medals. **If you want the Palace to be part of a larger world, run the orange version.** The orange version includes a regional map with additional locations like the evil barony and its surrounding settlements, and mysterious wilderness locations like the Abaddon Woods, Misty Swamp, and Thunder Mountains. There are multiple factions suggested by the module's descriptions of these locations, which place the Palace within a larger context and give the players other activities to pursue before or after finding the ruby. The locations are minimally detailed, so you will have to do some legwork to bring them to life. **If you want the Palace to be self-contained (or want to drop it into an existing sandbox), well, you can probably run either version, but I would still lean towards the orange version.** Both versions describe a decent dungeon, but I lean towards the orange one because of the Palace's age in that version, which lends itself towards being plopped down as just another ruin on the map. In the green version, the calamity is extremely recent and the kingdom is in immediate peril as a result. It seems harder to just drop that into any old sandbox. **If you want a dungeon that "makes sense", well, neither version really does.** Whichever version you use, the dungeon layout is somewhat nonsensical and "random". The green version feels more "palatial" and provides names to all the rooms, which makes it easier to imagine what those places were originally used for, but there's also weird details like tapestries, mosaics, and paintings depicting the Princess and the dragon-rider. The dragon-rider apparently arrived at the Palace the day before Arik struck, so why is there so much artwork of him? This makes more sense in the orange version, where an indeterminate amount of time passed between the dragon-rider's arrival and the ruin of the Palace. **If you want to make the dungeon "yours", run the orange version.** Several rooms in the dungeon have space for the DM to add monsters, traps, and treasure. This ensures that no two DMs' version of the dungeon will be the same. Likewise, many characters' motivations are not made explicitly clear. You will have to come up with these yourself, but by the end you will have your own private Palace of the Silver Princess. **If you want everything figured out for you, run the green version.** This version's keying of the dungeon is much more complete. You won't have to do any prep beyond the usual or rolling to find out at the table, and you won't have to figure out what any NPC's "deal" is. **If you want original monsters, run the orange version.** As I've already mentioned, this version of the module has some truly horrifying, memorable, and silly original monsters. I like the living bubbles that drown you, but if a six-legged duck-billed giant rat as tough as an owlbear is too goofy for you, you may not like this version as much. **If you want your standard D &D monsters, run the green version. **While goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs aren't anything new, that doesn't mean they're bad. There are merits to every dungeon containing unique monsters, but there are also drawbacks. If your setting is otherwise plagued by monstrous humanoids, maybe you want your Palace to be overrun by them as well. It might be odd if your campaign features the usual D&D fare, only for this one location to randomly have very weird creatures that don't show up anywhere else in your game. **If you want faction play, run the orange version.** The faction play in this version of the module is not especially strong, but it does exist. In the green version, basically everything in the Palace is a minion of Arik and united against the player characters. In the orange version, there is at least tension between Catharandamus and Aleigha and their respective minions. The ubues are a faction of their own and may play the party against Catharandamus, align themselves with him, or even help the party against him. That's not to mention the faction play you can have between the evil baroness and the other settlements in the region, plus Aleigha, who may also be the rightful heir to the Princess. **If you want to make Travis an imposing foe, run the green version.** Travis the insane adventurer/palace guard is probably my favorite NPC here. I really like the idea of this crazy old fighter ruling a corner of the Palace like a kingdom, torturing intruders, holding court, and training giant apes to guard his treasure. In the orange version, Travis is a lone operator, a 1st level fighter, and has just 4 hit points. Shame! In the green version, he has 16 hit points, is a 3rd level fighter, and commands a retinue of orcs which he dresses in guard uniforms. Cute! He apparently hangs out in his office writing gibberish reports on the conditions of his orc troops, mimicking the behavior of the guard captain he slew. This is welcome additional detail. You could also easily take the suped up Travis and plant him in the orange version along with his orc guards. I probably would not have Travis wandering the dungeon all on his lonesome and relatively easy prey for adventurers - I'd have him fortified in his lair, sending his orcs out to round up intruders. It would be very cool if the orc guards captured the player characters and brought them before Travis for judgement. To conclude, here's a random miscellany of other neat features from both versions: * If you want your player characters to be able to hitch a ride on a wagon that floats across rivers and lakes, run the orange version (or add the Tinker to the green version if you're dropping it into a sandbox). * If you love paralyzing your player characters and depriving them of air, run the orange version. Many monsters in the module have paralyzing attacks. There's a whole section in the introduction with drowning rules based on what armor the character is wearing, and many monsters and traps try to drown the characters or suffocate them. * If you want snakes in unusual places, run either version. * If you want "good" boxed text, run the green version. The orange version mixes the typical "at a glance" information with stuff that the players would only learn once their characters investigate an object in the room (the contents of buckets and barrels, for example). The green version's boxed text is much more consistent with what you'd usually expect from these descriptions. * If you want your lady thieves to be HOT and evil and not just "above average-looking" and friendly, run the green version (or run the orange version but make the lady thieves HOT and evil). * If you want your player characters to be able to capture and sell or tame a young cave bear, run the orange version. * If you want a trap to drop 20 pounds of glitter on the player characters, run the orange version. * If you want a harp made of ice that can magically calm any beast, run the orange version (or assign this property to the same harp in the green version, which in that version is just another MacGuffin that can destroy the ruby, rather than a more generally useful magic item). * If you like strange eggs in unusual places, run the orange version. * If you want to teach your players a lesson about robbing a Palace they're supposed to be saving, run the green version. When they free the Princess at the end of the module, she will get angry at them if they looted the Palace on their way, demanding that they return the stolen treasure and giving them a lesser reward. For a game like D&D (especially this era of D&D), this is quite cruel! Overall, it probably sounds like I prefer the orange version...and I do! In fact, reading both versions has convinced me that there's little if any reason for the green one to exist at all. Obviously, Jean Wells was screwed over by TSR, thrown under the bus, and her work appropriated and basically erased entirely by the revision. The orange version is certainly incomplete, with unstocked rooms, dungeon history, and important NPC motivations left to the imagination of the DM, but this is pretty consistent with the trend in modules published at the time. There seems to be a belief that Moldvay was needed to "finish" the module, regardless of the other justifications for its burial, however I would argue that he does a poor job. This is not intended as a dig at Moldvay, who was put in a position which is probably not conducive to good adventure writing. What results is a module with an entirely different feel than the original. It is less unique and weird. It wields clumsy narrative devices in service of a black-and-white, linear adventure of unambiguous heroism which feels more at home among the content published by Wizards of the Coast today, rather than among the B series adventures of the time. The fault is not with Wells or Moldvay, Rosloff or Otis, but with TSR themselves. Whatever the actual reason for the reaction to the orange version, the failure is not one of imagination or execution, but of development and oversight. If there was objectionable material, it should have been identified before the module went to print, and it should have been the original authors, illustrators, and editors who were left to determine how to correct the issue, not another writer brought in to hastily patch and retcon the initial work in the eleventh hour. As I have demonstrated, there are reasons why one might wish to run the green version over the original. I may have even convinced you that the green version is right for you, but I have not convinced myself. For me, it's Jean Wells's Palace of the Silver Princess all the way.
21.01.2026 15:16 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Creating a New Regional Sandbox for B2: The Keep on the Borderlands Over on Bluesky, I recently finished up my readthrough of Dungeon Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands - actually, by the time this post sees the light of day it will have been over a month ago since I finished it! One thing that struck me about B2 is the regional map, which looks like this: Not included in the image above is the scale of the map, which is 100 yards per square. Nothing wrong with that, except: Huh. It takes an hour to walk 300 yards. That doesn't sound right. A commenter on my thread pointed out that this is probably an error: That certainly makes more sense, but I actually kind of like the larger scale produced by the error. If we just count squares and determine how long it takes to get from place to place using the originally printed guidelines we get the following travel times (assuming 8-hour travel days): * ~1 hour and 40 minutes from the fork in the road to the Keep * ~16 hours (2 days' travel) from the Keep to Area 1, the Mound of the Lizard Men * ~32 hours (4 days) from the Keep to Area 2, the Spiders' Lair * ~10 hours (1.25 days) from the Keep to Area 3, the Raider Camp * ~6.5 hours (.8 days days) from the Keep to Area 4, the Mad Hermit's lair * ~16 hours (2 days) from the Keep to the Caves of the Unknown * ~16 hours (2 days) from the Keep to the Caves of Chaos Maybe it was intended for the player characters to be able to walk from the Keep to the Caves of Chaos in 2 hours and 40 minutes, but I like my players to have to work just a little bit more to get to their destination. It gives them a chance at having random encounters which produce interesting and unexpected results and complications, and I want that to happen. I like the larger scale. I don't however, like the map. I don't like counting squares. So I made a new map: This map more or less yields the same travel times as those above, and I'll show my work. The scale is 6 miles per hex. Plains hexes take 1 hour to enter and 2 hours to cross (same with roads if the player characters are on one, but in this case it doesn't matter because the only roads go through plains hexes). Forest hexes take 2 hours to enter and 4 hours to cross. Heavy forest hexes take 4 hours to enter and 8 hours to cross. Forested hill hexes take 3 hours to enter and 6 hours to cross. Forested mountain hexes take 4 hours to enter and 8 hours to cross. Fen hexes and wetland forest hexes take 8 hours to enter and 16 hours to cross. Rivers take 1 hour to cross. So: * From the crossroads to the Keep is 2 hours * From the Keep to the Mound of the Lizard Men is 16 hours (6 hours on the road, 1 hour off road, 1 hour to cross the river, and 8 hours to enter the fen) * From the Keep to the Giant Spiders' lair is 15 hours (2 hours on the road, 1 hour off road, 1 hour to cross the river, 4 hours across the plains, 1 hour to cross the other river, 4 hours across the plains again, and 2 hours into the forest) instead of 16 * From the Keep to the Raider Camp is 11 hours (2 hours on the road, 1 hour offroad, 1 hour to cross the river, 4 hours across the plains, and 3 hours into the forested hills) instead of 10 * From the Keep to the Mad Hermit's lair is 6 hours (3 hours across the plains and 3 hours into the forested hills) instead of 6.5 * From the Keep to the Caves of the Unknown is 13 hours (10 hours on the road, 1 hour offroad, and 2 hours into the forest) instead of 16 * From the Keep to the Caves of Chaos is 15 hours (12 hours on the road, 1 hour offroad, and 2 hours into the forest) instead of 16 I had to make some concessions due to the self-imposed restraint of using hexes as a measurement tool and placing the locations of interest perfectly in the center of the hexes, but most of these travels times are just an hour off from the numbers I originally calculated. The exception is the Caves of the Unknown, which are pretty close to the Caves of Chaos in the original module. At this scale, I can't properly recreate the intended distances (I'd probably have to include them both in the same hex, which I don't want to do). Now, I think the Mound of the Lizard Men, the Giant Spiders' lair, and the Raider Camp are a little anemic as presented in the original module, so I want to juice them up a little to make them feel like proper AD&D monster lairs using that edition's numbers, since that's probably how I'd run this module. My version of the Mound of the Lizard Men contains 40 (!) lizard men (the original contains 7 males, 3 females who fight similarly to males, and 8 young who do not fight - AD&D does not make this distinction, so all 40 of mine are simply fighting lizard people). I would flesh out the lair to make it a muddy warren of burrows and dens, forcing the players to actually get in there and try to use the space to their advantage. My lizard men do not simply come parading out to be killed. I imagine this environment would play similarly to the Caves of Chaos themselves, with tight corridors and lots of united enemies which can quickly be mobilized to respond together to threats. I'm okay with leaving the spiders basically as is, but I would change them to AD&D's giant spiders (the module uses black widow spiders, which aren't explicitly a monster type in AD&D). AD&D's giant spiders have a bit more hit dice, better AC, and do less damage. Otherwise they're basically the same. B2's Raider Camp contains a dozen chaotic fighters - hardly enough to pose any real threat to the Keep. To make them a more proper and dangerous faction in the sandbox, I'm going to treat them as brigands (Chaotic Evil bandits). My Raider Camp has 100 brigands led by five 3rd level fighters, three 4th level fighters, two 5th level fighters, two 6th level fighters, a 7th level lieutenant, and a 9th level leader with six 2nd level guards. They have nine important prisoners and 30 camp followers and slaves. I want to bring this region more in line with the wilderness stocking described in AD&D's Appendix B. I have 49 hexes total, and 16% of them should contain either a settlement, stronghold, or ruin - that's seven or eight hexes. I already have the Keep and the Caves of the Unknown, which I'm going to classify as a dungeon/ruin, since that's more or less how it's described in the text. I'm classifying all other locations, including the Caves of Chaos, as monster lairs. That leaves me with five or six areas of inhabitation to add. Let's go with six. I rolled up two single dwellings, a village, two more strongholds (a deserted keep with a monster and a totally deserted tower), and another ruin (a tomb). Let's add those to the map: I cluster the settlements around the Keep along the river. The ruined strongholds are off to the east, near the caves. These areas may have once been cleared of forest, but since the strongholds fell into ruin, the forest has reclaimed them. The ruined keep (now inhabited by a will-o-wisp) is the one farther to the east. The ruined tomb is to the northwest of the Keep on the Borderlands. Roads still lead to all three ruins, and the Keep probably charges a toll to use them. Next I want to determine if I should add any more monster lairs. My rule of thumb is that 10% of plains hexes, 20% of forest and hill hexes, 30% of deep forest and mountain hexes, and 40% of wetland hexes should have monster lairs. As of now I have six empty plains hexes, eight empty forest hexes, five empty hill hexes, one empty deep forest hex, two empty mountain hexes, and nine empty wetland hexes. I roll and determine that I need one monster on the plains, one in the forest, one in the hills, and four in the wetlands. I place these and get the following: Here is my final key: * 01.01: Brownies * 01.02: Tomb Ruins * 01.05: Dwelling * 01.07: Raider Camp * 02.01: The Mad Hermit * 02.03: The Keep on the Borderlands * 02.04: Village * 03.05: Dwelling * 03.06: Ghouls * 04.06: Giant Weasels * 05.03: Deserted Tower * 05.05: The Mound of the Lizard Men * 05.07: Giant Spiders * 06.02: The Caves of the Unknown * 06.07: Tribesmen * 07.01: Green Dragons * 07.02: The Caves of Chaos * 07.04: Deserted Keep (will-o-wisp) * 07.05: Wolves * 07.07: Beholder **** **** **01.01 Brownie Burrow:** This forested hillside burrow is the lair of 11 brownies, chief among them **Leongath**. They are friendly towards adventurers and particularly helpful to those that are Lawful Good, offering to make or repair mundane items. They were friends of **the Mad Hermit** (02.01) - before he went mad - and can guide the party to his lair. If made aware of the settlements south of **the Keep on the Borderlands  **(02.03), the brownies will eventually migrate there, settling in the surrounding farmlands (01.05, 02.04, and 03.05) before eventually taking up residence in various homesteads. **01.02 Tomb of the Druids:** A dungeon for 1st level characters. This forested ruin is little more than a burial mound surrounded by ancient standing stones. Here the druids of the area were entombed. Many died of natural causes, but many more were slain in their conflict with the Cult of Evil Chaos. The dungeon is inhabited by undead and cursed vermin, and the sacred burial grove deep within is guarded by **Balaesus** , a former druid reanimated as a ghoul out of his desire for revenge. He is hostile to all intruders, suspecting them of being tomb robbers or cultists. If **the Mad Hermit**(02.01) is killed and brought here for interment, Balaesus will become friendly (he assumes that the Cult of Chaos is responsible). He is somewhat knowledgeable about the Cult and knows about their shrine within **the Caves of Chaos**(07.02). **01.05 Hale Homestead:** A peaceful farm tended by **Edrin and Mara Hale**. They mind their business and are unfriendly towards adventurers, mistaking them for potential brigands. Their son, **Tamsin** , was captured by brigands and taken to the **Raider Camp**(01.07) while wandering the fields across the river (02.05). **01.07 Raider Camp:** See Dungeon Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands, but use brigands. There are 100 normal brigands with five 3rd level fighters, three 4th level fighters, two 5th level fighters, and two 6th level fighters. They are led by **Sobek**(lieutenant) and **Geppert**. Geppert is protected by six 2nd level guards. The brigands have 30 camp followers and slaves tending to their camp. The brigands have seven light horses and three medium horses. Groups of ten mounted riders will venture forth into the plains (02.05 and 02.06) daily to snatch up villagers and homesteaders who wander across the river. They have acquired nine prisoners in this way and use them to demand a ransom from **the Keep on the Borderlands**  (02.03). * **Geppert:** 9th level fighter. He is neutral towards adventurers and is willing to entertain them on the off-chance that they will be useful in raiding the Keep and its surrounding lands, or as middle men in securing and delivering a ransom from the Keep. * **Sobek:** 7th level fighter. He is unfriendly towards adventurers, suspicious that they will reveal the camp's location to the garrison at the Keep. * **Prisoners:** Nine in total, includes Tamsin Hale of **Hale Homestead**(01.05) and several villagers from **Southron Village  **(02.04). **** **** **02.01 The Mad Hermit:** See Dungeon Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. The hermit is a former druid, captured, tortured, and driven mad by the Cult of Evil Chaos in their conflict. He has encountered Gungroyeth of **Wyrmwood Cave**(07.01) at a distance in the forest east of his lair (03.01 and 03.02) and believes the dragon is a demon conjured by the Cult to devour his soul. **02.03 The Keep on the Borderlands:  **See Dungeon Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. The Keep controls a number of settlements to the south (01.05, 02.04, and 03.05). Several villagers have been captured and taken to the **Raider Camp**(01.07) and are being ransomed. The **Castellan**  would rather pay adventurers to root out the raiders than pay the ransom. Patrols have spotted Gungroyeth of **Wyrmwood Cave**(07.01) in the forest to the east (03.03) and have heard reports that he flies over the eastern road (05.04, 06.03, and 07.03). The dragon is viewed as a threat to the Keep's survival, and adventurers are encouraged to seek out its lair and slay it. (I would also make the Castellan at least 9th level, since that's the level at which fighters in AD&D can have strongholds.) **02.04 Southron Village:** A peaceful village within the domain of **the Keep on the Borderlands** (02.03). It has a mixed population of about 900 and is ruled by **Lady Althaea** , a half-elf aligned with the Keep's Castellan. The village is a gathering place where homesteaders from the surrounding lands grind wheat, bake bread, and trade for goods. The village controls the road leading north to the Keep. **Sir Garrick** commands the village militia (about 90 can be mustered in times of urgency) and leads patrols across the river, clashing with brigands from the **Raider Camp**(01.07). Several of Southron's homesteaders have been captured by the brigands and are being held for ransom. Lady Althaea would prefer to pay the ransom to ensure the safe return of the villagers, but the Castellan will not allow it. **NPCs and their henchmen:** * **Delmare:  **NG human fighter 1. She can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Evil character. * **Reynrielle Smugbottom:** N dwarf fighter 1/thief 2. She and Hurlbert dream of getting access to the Keep's inner bailey and stealing everything that isn't nailed down. * **Hurlbert:  **CN human thief 1 * **Vanelis Silentsmile:  **CE elf fighter 1/magic-user 1/thief 2. He is a secret agent sent by the Cult of Evil Chaos to spy on Southron. * **Shaeris Summerpot:  **LG halfling fighter 2. She is friendly and can be convinced to aid the party on a sufficiently good-intentioned quest, such as freeing prisoners from the raiders. * **Damiane:  **LE human fighter 3. She and Xiomara will fight as mercenaries against the raiders if the price is right. * **Xiomara:  **NE human fighter 1 * **Lady Althaea:  **NG half-elf fighter 8/thief 11. Loyally serves the Castellan, but will recruit adventurers to free prisoners from the Raider Camp. * **Sir Garrick:  **LG human fighter 7. Wants to make a name for himself in battle with the raiders. * **Squire Padgett:  **NG human fighter 3 * **Magus Awarnach:  **LN human magic-user 3 **03.05 Vetch Homestead:** An unassuming homestead on the edge of the swamp. **Harlan, Ilyra, and Corvin Vetch**  live here, eking out an existence at the edge of the lands controlled by **the Keep on the Borderlands  **(02.03). They are friendly towards adventurers, offering hospitality to those on their way northeast or into the swamp. Corvin is a restless teenager and will want to accompany adventurers on the road as far as the fork leading to the ruined tower. It is difficult to convince his mother and father to allow this, since lizard men (05.05) and wolves (07.05) prey upon travelers on the road, and a dragon (07.01) has been spotted flying over the area. **03.06 Blackfen Hollow:** The lair of three ghouls - priests of the Cult of Evil Chaos who were captured and executed by the Castellan of **the Keep on the Borderlands  **(02.03) and dumped here without a burial. They prey upon any who wander into the fens, and have already devoured Ilyra of **Vetch Homestead  **(03.05). **04.06 Blackfen Den:** The lair of five giant weasels - two adults and three young (50% grown). The adults' pelts will fetch 2,000 gold pieces each if brought to the Trader in **the Keep on the Borderlands  **(02.03). The young are not yet totally wild and can be trained as hunting animals or guards if taken from their parents. If gifted to the Castellan of the Keep, the Castellan will grant access to the Keep's inner bailey. **** **** **05.03 Aramis's Tower:** A dungeon for 7th level characters, This ruined tower was once the stronghold of **Aramis** , a cruel and evil human magic-user concerned principally with strange experiments and arcane power. Aramis lived and died long before **the Keep on the Borderlands  **(02.03) was built, and the forest has since grown to reclaim his ruin. While the tower has collapsed, the mazelike dungeon beneath, where Aramis conducted most of his experiments, is largely intact. A pair of umber hulks has moved in, drawn by the strange lingering magical energies. They lair in Aramis's vault in the dungeon's deepest level. **05.05 The Mound of the Lizard Men:  **See Dungeon Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. There are 40 lizard men here. The lizard men prey upon those straying from the road to the north (04.04 and 05.04), lurking in the river to snatch them and carry them back to their lair. They are aware of the ghouls of **Blackfen Hollow**(03.06), but avoid the place. **05.07 Giant Spiders:  **See Dungeon Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands, but use giant spiders instead of black widows. **06.02 The Caves of the Unknown:  **See Dungeon Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. In the spirit of the original module, this area is left undetailed so that the DM can fill it in themselves! Okay, fine. Let's say it's a dungeon for 1st level characters. My Caves of the Unknown were a dumping ground for Aramis's experiments. Throw in a secret passage or collapsed tunnel leading to **Aramis's Tower**(05.03), perhaps. The most powerful creature here is an ochre jelly which has been festering in some kind of alchemical sump. There's all sorts of other weird stuff here. Happy? **06.07 Poison Needles Tribe:** This tribe are the original inhabitants of the grasslands surrounding **the Keep on the Borderlands**(02.03). When the Keep was being constructed, they clashed with the garrison and were ultimately forced off their land. To avoid the Keep's frequent patrols, they retreated across the southernmost river. When they came under attack from the **Raider Camp**(01.07), the tribe fled east into the fens, where they now live in their village. There are 100 fighting men and women in the village, plus a mix of about 100 noncombatants and children. There is an additional 1st level druid, ten 3rd level fighters, ten 4th level druids, four 4th level subchiefs, and three 6th level druids. They are led by the head druid, **Killian** , and their chief, **Ronan**. * **Killian:** N human druid 8. Suspects adventurers of being raiders or hired soldiers from the Keep. If convinced otherwise, he will be helpful. He wants the raiders to be driven out, but believes in peaceful coexistence with the Keep if the Castellan will agree to leave the tribe alone. * **Ronan:** N human fighter 5. Advises Killian to be suspicious of armed adventurers and other fortune-seekers. He favors an isolationist approach to outsiders. Giant spiders sometimes wander into the tribe's fens from 05.07. The tribe hunts them and harvests their venom, which the tribe's fighters use on their weapons (save versus poison or be killed). **07.01 Wyrmwood Cave:** This forested cave beneath the roots of a great tree is the den of a mated pair of very old dragons, **Gungroyeth** and **Rustathultox** , and their very young offspring, **Zergosh**. Zergosh is well fed and is in a deep sleep within the lair, while his parents are awake and active, alert to threats from **the Caves of Chaos**(07.02), the Lawful inhabitants of which often bring the dragons tribute to avoid their wrath. * **Gungroyeth:** Large, powerful, and deceptively stealthy. He is of average intelligence and does not speak, but goes out into the forest to hunt for food to bring back to his child and mate. * **Rustathultox:** Sleek and regal in appearance. She is very intelligent and capable of speech. In addition to the language of dragons, she speaks the common tongue and the languages of goblins and kobolds. She is the schemer of the pair, remaining in the lair to guard and educate Zergosh. She keeps detailed records of gifts given by the clans of the Caves of Chaos. * **Zergosh:** A disproportioned and overfed very young dragon. Due to his healthy diet, he is often asleep. When awake, he is tutored in the ways of "domain management" by his mother. He is not yet capable of speech. When hunting, Gungroyeth ranges as far west as the forest east of **the Mad Hermit  **(02.01) and **the Keep on the Borderlands  **(02.03), and as far south as **Fenside Cave  **(07.05). The dragons are largely indifferent towards adventurers, so long as the adventurers do not try to harm the dragons or steal their treasure. They desire the treasures of the Keep, **Aramis's Tower**(05.03), and **Gerwald's Folly  **(07.04), and wish to drive the Chaotic creatures (who do not bring them tribute) from the Caves of Chaos. Gungroyeth and Rustathultox each have 8 hit dice and 56 hit points. Zergosh has 7 hit dice and 7 hit points. Like all dragons, they can be subdued and sold. Zergosh, being young, small, and unintelligent, can be sold for just 1,400 gold pieces. Gungroyeth, being larger but unintelligent, is worth 28,000 gold pieces. Rustatholtox, being the only dragon capable of speech, is worth 33,600 gold pieces. Zergosh is the most likely to remain subdued, followed by Gungroyeth, then by Rustathultox. They are unlikely to serve a Good master for long - for example, if sold to the Castellan of the Keep, they are likely to break free and unleash havoc on everyone inside. Rustathultox, being intelligent, is likely to usurp her master rather than remain subdued - for example, if sold to **the Raider Camp**(01.07)** ** or the Cult of Evil Chaos, she is likely to overthrow Geppert or the Evil High Priest and rule in their stead. **07.02 The Caves of Chaos:** See Dungeon Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. The Lawful inhabitants of the Caves (kobolds, orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins) peacefully gather once a month to contribute to a tithe which is then delivered to the dragons of **Wyrmwood Cave**(07.01) so as to avoid their wrath. The Chaotic inhabitants (bugbears, gnolls, and cultists) do not contribute, which has put the whole valley at risk and heightened tensions among the monster clans. **07.04 Gerwald's Folly:** A dungeon for 7th level characters. This ruined keep was built by the magic-user **Gerwald** to rival **Aramis's Tower** (05.03). In his attempts to surpass Aramis, Gerwald summoned **Barachiel Vex** , a pit fiend which eventually slipped its bonds and slew Gerwald. Vex has remained here, studying Gerwald's research to conceive of a way to open a gate to bring his infernal legions to the mortal realm. Since Gerwald's demise, the ruin has been reclaimed by the forest, and a lonely spirit (a will-o-wisp) now haunts the surface ruins. It is the soul of Gerwald, bound to this world by hatred of Vex. It is friendly towards adventurers, though still very much Chaotic Evil. It attempts to lure adventurers down into the subterranean ruins to confront the fiend, often leading adventurers directly into danger, more so out of blind determination than a desire to see the adventurers perish. Gerwald's spirit will not aid adventurers in combat except against Vex, though it still understands the languages Gerwald knew in life and may be convinced to help. **07.05 Fenside Cave:** This riverside cavern is the home of a pack of seven wolves and their eight cubs. They are desperately hungry and attack any travelers which seem weak. They range as far west as the outskirts of **Vetch Homestead**(03.05), but mainly attack travelers on the road at 05.04 and 06.03. They can be found near **Aramis's Tower**(05.03), **the Caves of the Unknown**(06.02), and **Gerwald's Folly**(07.04). They are occasionally preyed upon by lizard men from **the Mound of the Lizard Men**(05.05) when ranging into the latter's hunting grounds. The cubs are not yet totally wild and can be trained as war dogs or hunting beasts if taken from their parents. If gifted to the Castellan of **the Keep on the Borderlands**(02.03), the Castellan will grant access to the Keep's inner bailey. **07.07 Bogwatcher Warrens:** This mazelike marshy crater and its warrens are home to **Mirexath the Bogwatcher** , a beholder more ancient than any creature in the region. It is hateful and aggressive and will attack any it encounters without listening to reason, though it doesn't travel far from its lair. Despite its lengthy residence in the area, it knows little of what goes on in the region. Here's a final updated map with some of the monster lair icons changed: This updated and expanded sandbox definitely distorts some of the intention of the original module. The purpose of the wilderness encounters in the original is to simply provide additional points of interest for the players to investigate. None of them are larger, more complex, or more dangerous than the Caves of Chaos. By beefing up the number of raiders and lizard men in their respective lairs, I'm only reducing the number of viable low level adventure sites in the region. On the other hand, I've codified the Caves of the Unknown as a 1st level adventure site and have added an additional dungeon for 1st level characters (the Tomb of the Druids). I've also added two 7th level dungeons (Aramis's Tower and Gerwald's Folly). Here is also a breakdown of monster lairs (and the Keep) organized by the level of the most powerful monster found therein: * **Level III:** Brownie Burrow, Blackfen Hollow, Blackfen Den, Mound of the Lizard Men, Fenside Cave * **Level IV:** Mad Hermit (mountain lion) * **Level V:** Giant Spiders * **Level VII:** Raider Camp (Geppert), Keep on the Borderlands (Castellan), Poison Needles Tribe (Killian) * **Level VIII:** Wyrmwood Cave * **Level X:** Bogwatcher's Warren If we also take for granted the module's suggestion that the Caves of Chaos are fit for 1st to 3rd level characters, than the progression through adventure sites in the region would look something like this: Tomb of the Druids/Caves of the Unknown/Caves of Chaos > Brownie Burrow/Blackfen Hollow/Blackfen Den/Mound of the Lizard Men/Fenside Cave > Mad Hermit > Giant Spiders > Raider Camp/Keep on the Borderlands (if the players wanted to say, kill the Castellan)/Aramis's Tower/Poison Needles Tribe/Gerwald's Folly > Wyrmwood Cave > Bogwatcher's Warren. That's a solid amount of stuff for levels 1 to 3 and level 7. Getting from level 3 to 7 might be a bit challenging, as will getting from level 7 to 10. However, that isn't to say that characters must be of a certain level to confront the corresponding monsters. Level III monsters can appear on the 1st level of the dungeon, level IV and V monsters on the 2nd or 3rd level, level VII monsters on the 5th level, level VIII monsters on the 6th level, and level X monsters on the 7th level. Thus is might be appropriate to say that this sandbox is fit for characters level 1 through 7. I'm pretty satisfied with this. It's scope creep, but a good kind, where the play area contains a variety of play environments with different levels of challenges, allowing the player characters to grow within it. If I run Keep on the Borderlands at some point, I'll be using this - _my_ Keep on the Borderlands.
14.01.2026 16:27 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Play Environments, Power, Complexity, and Agency in D&D --- Location types exist in close proximity to one another but serve very different gameplay functions. There are basically four main location types in D&D (and D&D-like games): settlements, strongholds, dungeons, and lairs. You might disagree with this taxonomy. The Welsh Piper's Hex-Based Campaign Design identifies two other types of "major encounters" (or locations): religious orders and natural phenomena, as well as many more "minor encounters" (or locations): camps, beacons, construction sites, battlefields, crossings, gathering places, and more. Sachagoat's Re-Inventing the Wilderness identifies not just towns, lairs, and dungeons but also "scenes" and "utilities". Hexographer has icons for oases, geysers, windmills, wineries, and graveyards. You can't really boil all the locations player characters might encounter in their adventures down to just these four broad categories. But these are, I believe, the "core four" locations around which a D&D-like game tends to be structured. They are the major locations characters will be interacting with again and again. There might be one settlement or stronghold which serves as a home base, a single megadungeon that props up the whole campaign, and one big bad monster lair such as a dragon's den or an orc camp which threatens the entire region until it is dealt with, or there may be many settlements to familiarize oneself with, many strongholds whose rulers must be obeyed or subverted, many dungeons to haul treasure out of, and many monster lairs to clear out or otherwise deal with. Three of the four location types are those on the AD&D DMG's Inhabitation table: Lairs are not included because it is assumed that these will be discovered when monsters are randomly encountered _in their lair_ based on the % in lair statistic. I prefer to stock my sandboxes with these lairs ahead of time, which makes them set locations. Thus, when I create a sandbox, I'm populating it with these four location types. First I'm checking each hex for human inhabitation (including ruins). Once all areas of inhabitation are determined, I check the remaining hexes for monster lairs. While I'm not going to argue that Gygax was right about everything or that his approach to designing D&D should color our perception of all such games in the present and into perpetuity, I do find this distillation of location types into a manageable few to be appealing. There are certainly others, but to me these feel very much like the most important, central locations in a campaign. (I replace religious orders, as defined by the Welsh Piper, with strongholds ruled by religious character-types like clerics, druids, paladins, and monks. And how many groves, stables, windmills, and wineries are _keystone_ locations in the average campaign? I think it's not many.) For further reading, I recommend my post on creating minimalist sketches of these four location types for the initial stages of sandbox prep. I think that's a good primer for better understanding the four location types and what I consider to be the most important information to know about each before diving into more detail-oriented prep. What interests me about these four location types is what gameplay utility and experience each provides - that is, what is each location type _for_  and how does it _feel_  to interact with each? Since my primary focus at this time is AD&D, I will be analyzing this topic through that lens. Not every D&D-like game will have settlements filled with unhelpful NPCs and burdensome taxes, strongholds ruled by character-types of a specific level with a specific number of men-at-arms, dungeons which conform to that particular early D&D logic, or lairs containing hundreds of orcs, but AD&D has come to color my perception of D&D and its derivatives as a whole, and many of the ideas here are still broadly applicable to similar games. **Settlements** I've already written a great deal about settlements in AD&D, the purpose they serve, and the vibe they give off. In short, they are incredibly useful places where player characters can accomplish mundane tasks such as reprovisioning, recruiting henchmen, and gathering information, as well as more fantastic efforts such as acquiring spellcasting services from high-level NPCs or even auctioning off captive dragons and selling monster organs. While being useful, settlements are also often unfriendly, oppressive, and incredibly dangerous places where player characters are strangers and viewed as threats to the powers-that-be, where relentless taxes check their rampant accumulation of wealth, NPCs are sensitive jerks, diseases flourish, powerful factions war with one another in the streets, and almost everyone you encounter is trying to trick you, call the guards on you, rob you, fight you, or even kill you for looking at them funny. Due to their nature as densely packed social environments with labyrinthine rules, odd taboos, and resourceful individuals and groups with independent interests in the player characters and what they do, settlements are immensely complex environments where the players must carefully consider and prepare for each move they make. It is this element of settlements which enables them to provide their other gameplay function (aside from sheer utility): political intrigue and high-level faction play. Above all, settlements are a test of the player's mastery of the complex social fabric. Settlements are the lifeblood of an adventurer, allowing them to turn treasure into gold, gold into experience points, experience points into levels, NPCs into contacts, contacts into information, and information into further adventure. They also don't exist solely for the player characters' pleasure and utility. While they might serve as a home base to the characters, they are also highly dangerous. A wise player of a low level character will spend as little time as possible within a large settlement like a town or city before turning their attention back to those environs in which the adventurer truly belongs. **Dungeons** Dungeons are the low level adventurer's true home. Considering that low level player characters in a town or city might stumble into a high-level NPC who has a problem with them, a demon that's escaped a cleric's or wizard's control, or a vampire that wants to suck their blood, they really _shouldn't be there_  if they can avoid it - or at the very least, they should avoid going out for a walk at night as much as they can. Similarly, they have no armies with which to contend with stronghold rulers or enough renown to be welcomed into the Keep on the Borderlands's inner bailey, and they are not strong enough to venture into the unpredictable wilderness and start clearing out dragon dens and orc camps. Dungeons, on the other hand, are much more suitable environments for early career adventurers. Dungeons are "balanced". The 1st level of the dungeon is fit for exploration by 1st level characters. The monsters therein are drawn from a handful of tables including creatures that such characters could reasonably fight or otherwise overcome or engage with. It gets more dangerous the further down they go. Unlike the town or city, the dungeon is a simple environment with rules which are fairly easy to grasp. Obviously, that doesn't mean the dungeon is _safe_ - there are monsters, tricks, traps, and other nasty things. Higher level monsters can wander up from deeper levels of the dungeon. A trick stairway might turn into a slide that sends the party down more levels than they wished to descend. A falling ceiling trap may instantly kill an adventurer of any level. They might get lost within, never to escape. The value of a dungeon to an adventure is that it is a relatively simple environment with easily understood rules and structure. It is a place to collect treasure and experience points early in the game when the player characters are most vulnerable. Dungeons do not usually contain groups of monsters which require a small army to uproot, and there is not usually a powerful ruler sticking their nose in the party's business and exerting their will upon them. That's not to say that dungeons are without intrigue. Just as settlements offer complex political faction play, dungeons have factions too - they're just (usually) smaller. The factions in dungeons aren't guilds of thieves and assassins with high-level cutthroats at their disposal or merchant consortiums that control the levers of power - they're groups of 2d4 hobgoblins, 4d4+2 kobolds, and d6+6 orcs (at least initially). While factions and social play are important in dungeons, this is not the primary challenge of these locations. Rather, dungeons are a test of the player's mastery of a space. The primary mode of play in these environments is exploration. Play in dungeons is concerned with figuring out and dealing with whatever's in the next room. If there are monsters, how do the player characters overcome them, circumvent them, or collaborate with them? If there's a trick, what does it do? If there's a trap, how does the party disarm it or get around it? If there's treasure, how do they identify it and get it out? More advanced is not just confronting the dungeon room by room, but understanding the broader picture and how the room fits into the greater space. How does the room connect to others? Can the party use that information to plan an ambush or a tactical retreat? Where is it safe to rest? Where are the secret doors? The stairways? The hidden dungeon entrances and exits? What is the fastest route to the party's goal which allows them to minimize encounters with wandering monsters? Exploration is key to settlement play as well, but like much of settlement play, the medium through which information is acquired is social. Players learn where to find an inn, where to buy equipment, and where to go to recruit henchmen by asking around. They learn how to buy and sell smuggled goods, where the assassins' guildhall is, and how to infiltrate the palace by leveraging their connections. They don't (usually) do it by mapping all the buildings on graph paper, looking for spatial discrepancies, and knocking on the right 10' section of wall (although they could, I suppose). Navigating the physical space of the settlement is less important than navigating its social dynamics. **Strongholds and Lairs** I feel compelled to address both strongholds and lairs together, since the two are difficult to parse. Is not a stronghold the lair of its ruler? Is not a monster's lair a place where it fortifies itself against intrusion by adventurers? A group of bandits, berserkers, brigands, or dervishes might rule a stronghold as their lair. A group of demihumans or humanoids or even a dragon might lair in a deserted stronghold. It is worth pointing out that there are different kinds of monster lairs. What exactly a lair looks like is determined by the type of monster that lives there. It could be a cave, a camp, a village, a castle, or something else entirely. The most important distinction is not so much the type of place but the quality of creature therein - namely, is the monster intelligent or not, and does it appear in numbers or with minions? The lair of an owlbear is a relatively simple - though still dangerous - environment, while a lair of orcs is more complex because of their greater numbers, ability to organize to repel invaders, and respond intelligently to repeated attempts to infiltrate their home. Whether they live in a cave, fortified village, or ruin will make a difference, but not a huge one. A dragon's lair might be comparable to an owlbear's if it's a dimwitted variety of dragon. It will be more complex if the dragon is intelligent or cunning, and even more so if the dragon has enlisted a small humanoid army as worshipers or mercenaries. The idea for this post initially came to me after reading dungeon modules B1: In Search of the Unknown and B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. I felt that B1 is a good example of a prototypical dungeon (itself a deserted stronghold) and that B2's titular Keep and Caves of Chaos are good examples of a stronghold and a lair (or series of lairs), respectively. But reading through the Caves of Chaos, with their large homogenous populations of allied monsters who can all be mobilized to ward off intrusion together, along with their tightly-packed corridors where control of strategic chokepoints would prove essential, I wondered, "Is this really that different from a stronghold?" Whether the players choose to clear out the Caves or ally with their inhabitants to instead lay siege to the Keep, does the actual gameplay experience of doing either of those two things differ all that much? Gus L. writes about this element of Gygaxian design better than I ever could in his post on All Dead Generations, Gygax's Fortress. In it, he writes about how many of Gygax's iconic adventurers like The Keep on the Borderlands, the Against the Giants series, and the Vault of the Drow (all of which detail what I would classify as "lairs") put siege-style gameplay front and center. Siege, you say...like the thing you do to a stronghold? This is not to say that there is otherwise no overlap between _all_ of these location types. The ruler of a settlement might dwell in a fortified tower. The Keep on the Borderlands is a place to provision and gather information as much as the Village of Hommlet. A settlement might contain a ruined manor which is essentially a dungeon, and a dungeon might house a large group of squatters or other inhabitants which form a de facto settlement within. Monsters might lair in settlements just as they do in the wilderness, and a wilderness elf enclave is a settlement of a kind. A ruin could have once been a stronghold. Monsters lair in ruins. But the relationship between strongholds and lairs strikes me as different because they feel so similar when you consider how the players _interact_ with them. If the players wish to roust an evil ruler from their castle, it's going to look very similar to clearing out the Caves of Chaos - a protracted series of forays into a defensible position held by an organized, (mostly) united enemy. Much of this can be chalked up to aesthetics. A stronghold is a stronghold because it is a tower, keep, or castle. It has a gatehouse, battlements, oil cauldrons, ballistae, catapults, or whatever. A lair is a lair because it's a cave, an informal camp, or a hut in the woods. But it isn't always that - hobgoblins and orcs sometimes lair in above ground villages with ditches, ramparts, palisades, gates, and guard towers. Many giants and aquatic creatures like locathah and tritons live in castles. You could also attribute the difference to ideology. A stronghold is a stronghold because the creature who rules it is viewed as a person or as part of the established order, regardless of their alignment or relationship to their neighbors. A lair is a lair because it is inhabited by crude monsters who are outsiders, without rights or the privilege of simply living. It's essentially Law versus Chaos. That's all well and good (or bad, I guess), but it's unsatisfying to me because I'm primarily concerned with the gameplay function of these locations - what use do they present to the players, and how do the players engage with them? From that perspective, how are strongholds and lairs different? One way to think of it is how the locations project power. Strongholds control a certain area around them and collect revenue from the settlements within their domain. They send out patrols of men-at-arms led by high level fighters. The stronghold's ruler might emerge to challenge the party to a joust, demand a tithe of treasure or magic items, or ensorcel the party to send them on some quest. Monsters in their lairs, on the other hand, just wait around for the party to come kill them and take their stuff. But this is a disservice to monsters, and not entirely true. Monsters with a lair in the area should be included on wilderness encounter tables. Orcs can go out on patrol too, mounted bandits will surely raid any inhabited areas within their sphere of influence, and flying monsters like dragons can control and have influence over the entirety of a small region, even demanding tithes of treasure from settlements within their domain much the same way a stronghold's ruler might. You could also make a distinction between the two on the basis of their relative locations. Strongholds are generally found in inhabited areas, whereas monster lairs are found in the wilderness. Strongholds are known locations and readily accessible to the players should they have the means to take them, whereas monster lairs are hidden and remote, requiring scouting to find and wilderness travel to reach. This too does not hold up to scrutiny. More dangerous monsters are generally found in the wilderness, yes, but monsters lair in inhabited areas as well. Humans, demihumans, humanoids, giants, and even vampires can establish their lairs in close proximity to settlements, strongholds, roads, and cultivated farmland. If one of these creatures lairs in a fortified camp or stronghold, its location is likely known, and it is probably well within reach of player characters launching forays from inhabited lands. You could attribute the difference to logistics. Taking a stronghold requires a small army and siege weapons - but clearing some monster lairs will require these as well. According to the AD&D DMG's Appendix C, a stronghold will have its ruler, up to five henchmen, and as many as 64 men-at-arms led by four low-to-medium level fighters. On the other hand, a gnoll lair can have up to 200 gnolls, 10 leaders, a chieftain, 20 guards, and either three trolls, 16 hyenas, or 12 hyaenodons. Humans, demihumans, and other humanoids also appear in numbers up to the hundreds with leader-types and (often) other monsters in their service. These will need to be faced with armies as well - and in many cases, armies which are _larger_  than those needed to deal with strongholds. Facing a monster lair in the form of the aforementioned hobgoblins' fortified village or giants' castle will likewise require the use of siege weapons, just as strongholds do. The distinction might also be a matter of politics. Strongholds are part of the established order - they are fortified positions in which armies can be mustered, which control a surrounding area and collect revenue from its inhabitants. Powerful people within the social fabric of the campaign will generally care one way or another about what happens to a stronghold, and they will be sticking their noses in the player characters' business if they get wind of a plot to usurp a local ruler. But that's not to say that people _won't_  care what happens to a monster lair. Goodly folk will likely be appalled if they hear that the party led an army to massacre a village of elves, and a powerful Evil magic-user who rules the local town will be none too pleased to find that the party has slain a manticore with which the magic-user was secretly aligned. Similarly, people's feelings about the fate of a stronghold can go both ways - fury if the party burns down a monastery inhabited by peaceable monks, or jubilation if they overthrow a tyrannical warlord. The difference is utility. A stronghold is real estate which the player characters may now control. They are probably not going to take up residence in a cave cleared of goblins (and would not be able to raise an army there or collect revenue from it in any case), and might not be able to make much use of a castle proportioned for inhabitation by giants, but a conquered stronghold is a readymade base of operations for the player characters going forward, which will come with both perks as well as obligations. All of these locations exist on a gradient which is perhaps best viewed through the lens of power, complexity, and player agency. Dungeons are relatively simple environments where players have a high level of agency despite their characters not having much power. There are factions within, but they are small. A local ruler might have opinions about what goes on in the dungeon and may lay claim to what is hauled out of it, but their ability to exert control over it is limited. Players of low level characters by comparison have much less agency in highly complex settlements, where powerful factions and high level NPCs rule, influence, and exert themselves upon those weaker than them. Strongholds are somewhere in the middle. They are fortified, ruled by high level NPCs, and involved in regional politics, but they are not so formidable that they cannot be overcome by medium level characters, and their position (often) on the borderlands of civilization means that the more powerful rulers of settlements' influence over them will be somewhere between that of nearby dungeons and that of the settlements themselves. However the players address them will require some consideration and planning because they are of medium complexity. So what then is the role of monster lairs? Because they can vary so much, they fluctuate along the gradient. They are stepping stones from one level of power, complexity, and agency to the next - the owlbear den is probably more dangerous than the dungeon levels the player characters have explored up to that point, but it is not any more complex (it might even be simpler), and the players have considerable agency in addressing it because it is unlikely that anyone will retaliate against them for clearing it out. These lairs give the players the experience (both in terms of experience points as well as accumulated knowledge) to later tackle more challenging locations like strongholds. The lair of hundreds of organized men, demihumans, or humanoids may in some cases be an even tougher nut to crack than a stronghold ruled by a character-type, but past experience with such a stronghold (and the accumulation of revenue and mustering of an army in such a place, should the characters be able to hold it) will prepare them for the challenge. It is a more complex environment than the owlbear den because the monsters there will be true factions of their own - meaning powerful individuals will have opinions about them, which in turn will limit the players' agency. Like the owlbear den before it which provided the bridge to engaging with stronghold play, this type of lair will be the launchpad into high level play in towns and cities, with the player characters now powerful enough to assert their agency there. We can summarize the complexity/agency gradient as a semi-linear progression as follows, from low complexity/high agency environments which require only a low level of player character power to engage with to high complexity/low agency ones which require greater player character power: dungeons > simple monster lairs > strongholds > complex monster lairs > settlements. There are of course more complex and challenging dungeons (or simply deeper, more dangerous levels of the same dungeons in which play begins), as well as simpler settlements (a thorp and a city are very different environments). We could complicate the progression like so: dungeons/simple settlements (thorps, hamlets, and villages) > simple monster lairs > moderate complexity settlements (towns)/moderate complexity monster lairs (where monsters are intelligent/faction-like but not huge in number (a clan of ogres, for example)/strongholds > complex monster lairs (a clan of 100 orcs, for example) > complex settlements (cities). This is reflected nicely in my sandbox for B1: In Search of the Unknown. In that post, I anticipate that the players will begin by tackling Quasqueton, then venture into the wilderness to deal with the less complex monster lairs (the leprechaun, the giant eagles, and the owlbears), then graduate to the brigand stronghold and the slightly more complex/challenging ogre lair and adventurer camp, before finally being able to confront the evil illusionist who rules the local town. None of this is prescriptive - the illusionists' stronghold is right in the middle of town, and the adventurer camp, brigands' castle, and ogre den are nearby. There's nothing stopping the player characters from checking those places out in the very first session, but they will face considerable challenge should they choose to try confronting them. This challenge might be readily apparent to the players, but if I'm conscious of it as well, I can be sure to signpost the danger in rumor tables and interactions with NPCs. Regardless of how exactly we define it, understanding this progression is key because it informs how campaign play is structured. Player characters begin with a relatively small amount of power and a limited ability to affect the world. They begin play in less complex environments, which they can affect without entangling themselves in overwhelming complications. As they accumulate power, their ability to affect the world grows, allowing them to tackle more challenging environments while being equipped to deal with the complications which arise. Each of these locations is essential to a standard D&D-like game not only because they provide different gameplay experiences to the players and utilities to the characters, but because each is a stepping stone to the next type of adventure environment, allowing the campaign to evolve in scale alongside the player characters' growing ability to affect the setting.
07.01.2026 15:45 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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The AD&D Series, 2026 Collector's Edition The 2026 Bloggies are upon us, and I plan on submitting a handful of mine - and, of course, others'. If you've enjoyed reading this blog in 2025, I would greatly appreciate you submitting and voting for your favorite of my posts. Blogging has been a big part of my year, and it would mean a lot to me to at least make it into one or more brackets. Maybe one of my posts will go on a little run or hey, even win something. That would be neat. First and foremost, I'd like to submit to the Best Series category my posts analyzing the AD&D DMG. The thing is, those posts were never intended to be a series, and weren't labeled as such. The series evolved naturally over time as interesting things to talk about continued to pop out at me. This makes it difficult to figure out what post exactly to submit. So, here is one post with the whole series collected in one place: * Stocking a Sandbox with the AD&D DMG (Part 1) * Stocking a Sandbox with the AD&D DMG (Part 2) * d66 Reasons Why the Castle is Totally Deserted * Stocking a Sandbox with the AD&D DMG (Part 3) * Dead Gods Waiting to be Reborn: Ruined Shrines and the Syncretist Cleric in AD&D * Your High-Level NPCs Should Ride Dragons * d100 Woefully Encysted Creatures * Gangs of Teenage Dragons Roam the Wilderness: The Implied Lifecycle of Dragons in AD&D * Death, Taxes, and Indentured Servitude in AD&D Cities * There's a Road to the Dungeon, and It's Paid for by Adventurers * Non-Descript Danger: Vagueness and Similarity in AD&D City and Town Encounters * Dealing with NPCs Should Be Expensive and Irritating * Good Henchmen are Hard to Find * Adventurers Are a Threat to the Established Order * It Did Not End with a Mere Slaying of Ogres: Treasure as a Source of Challenge in D&D * Advanced Diseases and Diagnoses * Warring Guilds and Rogue Assassins Plague the Streets of AD&D * The Monster Economy of AD&D * Speak with Monsters: The Languages of AD&D and the Adventurous Linguist * Alignment Languages are Socially Repulsive * Strangers in a Strange Land * Where are AD&D's High-Level NPCs? * The Implied Setting of AD&D Towns & Cities: Four Themes * Who Can Rule a Stronghold in AD&D? And yes, I did include this same list in my year-in-review post, which went up...yesterday. But submitting a year-in-review post didn't really make sense. If you've enjoyed this series and what to submit it for consideration, please use this post. That is all the campaigning I'll be doing on the blog. Thank you!
01.01.2026 17:35 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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2025 Year-in-Review If the theme of my 2024 Year-in-Review was despondence, lack of direction, loneliness, and uncertainty, then the theme this year is one of hope, renewed purpose, community...and a bit of uncertainty still! In 2024, I was discouraged because my blogging had slowed down, I wasn't sure how much I really had to say, if anyone cared, or if I was a "real" blogger, whatever that means. I wasn't getting the dopamine rush I wanted from posting. I wasn't sure how to promote my work. I felt embarrassed even trying to promote it. What was I doing? In 2025, I bit the bullet and got on Bluesky, where the TTRPG scene seems much more robust and supportive than over on Twitter. I joined the Prismatic Wasteland Discord to stay in the loop on upcoming Blog Bandwagons. I put myself out there and shared my stuff, and people didn't just repost it and like it - they talked about it too. My thoughts were generating discussion. That's new! I found my community. I got to engage with bloggers whose work I admire and respect. They shared my stuff. They talked about it. At PAX Unplugged, I got to actually meet some of these people, and play in their games. They asked me what was my blog and when I told them _they knew what it was_. I can say that this or that TTRPG on my bookshelf was made by so and so who _I know and have played with_. That's pretty neat! My posts ended up all over the place this year, from Prismatic Wasteland's roundups to Carouse, Carouse!, the Explorateur, Shiny TTRPG Links, and even the Glatisant. I was so excited about the latter that I had to explain to multiple people who Ben Milton/Questing Beast was. According to Elmcat's ongoing Mapping the Blogosphere project, this blog is tied for 9th place on the list of "rising stars" in 2025, with 21 other blogs linking to mine this year. Maybe that sounds like small potatoes, but it's a big deal to me. I authored 48 posts this year (49, counting this one), which is almost one per week, and 10 more than last year (many of which were play reports - not to suggest they are of lesser quality, but it does feel different). The AD&D DMG has been a bolt from the heavens for this blog. It started with Stocking a Sandbox with the AD&D DMG, back in February. I love making little sandboxes in my downtime and coming up with new ways to populate them. I thought the AD&D DMG's Inhabitation table was pretty interesting, so I decided to give it a spin and write about my process. Little did I know that it would lead me down the rabbit hole wherein I'd be dissecting, analyzing, and often rationalizing One Weird Guy's specific, often controversial - but no less interesting - vision of this game. For convenience, here is a great big collection of all of my AD&D posts from this year: * Stocking a Sandbox with the AD&D DMG (Part 1) * Stocking a Sandbox with the AD&D DMG (Part 2) * d66 Reasons Why the Castle is Totally Deserted * Stocking a Sandbox with the AD&D DMG (Part 3) * Dead Gods Waiting to be Reborn: Ruined Shrines and the Syncretist Cleric in AD&D * Your High-Level NPCs Should Ride Dragons * d100 Woefully Encysted Creatures * Gangs of Teenage Dragons Roam the Wilderness: The Implied Lifecycle of Dragons in AD&D * Death, Taxes, and Indentured Servitude in AD&D Cities * There's a Road to the Dungeon, and It's Paid for by Adventurers * Non-Descript Danger: Vagueness and Similarity in AD&D City and Town Encounters * Dealing with NPCs Should Be Expensive and Irritating * Good Henchmen are Hard to Find * Adventurers Are a Threat to the Established Order * It Did Not End with a Mere Slaying of Ogres: Treasure as a Source of Challenge in D&D * Advanced Diseases and Diagnoses * Warring Guilds and Rogue Assassins Plague the Streets of AD&D * The Monster Economy of AD&D * Speak with Monsters: The Languages of AD&D and the Adventurous Linguist * Alignment Languages are Socially Repulsive * Strangers in a Strange Land * Where are AD&D's High-Level NPCs? * The Implied Setting of AD&D Towns & Cities: Four Themes * Who Can Rule a Stronghold in AD&D? Of those posts, six are among my top 10 most-viewed posts of this year, and 14 are in the top 20. The other entries in the top 10 are The 100-Hex Sandbox (which uses the AD&D DMG, but which I don't quite consider part of the same series), The Village of Hommlet is Too Much: Minimalist Location Sketches for Sandbox Prep (more sandbox posting), Clerics Need Spellbooks Too, which was my entry in Prismatic Wasteland's Blog Bandwagon on clerics and religion in D&D (motivated by the pope's passing), and On Settlements (a post from the end of 2024 which benefited from renewed discussion about cities). Other entries in this year's top 20 include On Initiative (a post from 2024 which has endured, likely because of its inclusion in Dwiz's master post) as well as Using Reaction Rolls to Determine Faction Relationships in the Sandbox (even more sandbox posting). Six of my top 10 posts from this year are now also among the top 10 posts of all time on this blog, and one has even claimed the #1 spot. I'm not quite sure why the AD&D stuff has resonated with people so much. Is it because AD&D is inherently of interest to people who read D&D blogs? Is it because people are interested in Gygax's odd design idiosyncrasies? Is it because AD&D is something of an impenetrable text and I do a good job distilling it? I'm not quite sure, but I've enjoyed the hell out of my time with it. I'm sure there will be more to write about AD&D in 2026, but I'm not sure _how much_  more there is. I have a feeling that my time with it is coming to an end, but I'm not sure when, which brings me to the _uncertainty_. What is the future of this blog? Lately, I've taken to Bluesky to share my thoughts while reading TSR-era modules. These are modules I've always wanted to experience myself, and discussing them in detail with others has been a lot of fun. They've also inspired some of my more recent posts (one of which even made it into the most recent issue of the Glatisant). These are not "reviews" so much as they are just my reactions to reading this stuff for the first time. I'm enjoying it and will probably continue making my way through classic modules. I also started the year by reviewing modules I planned to play - Mörk Borg and Mothership stuff. These reviews didn't get much traction and were a fair amount of work, so I haven't done them since. One of my resolutions for this year was to play different games with different people, and to do less work when preparing for them - that means fewer wholly original D&D sandboxes with my regular group and more short prewritten modules with people I haven't played with before. I didn't really succeed at this goal. I played _a lot_  of Mörk Borg (which was very fun!), but not much else. I played with more people than in 2025, but I wasn't gaming with everyone all the time like I had hoped to do. I'm excited to take another crack at it this year. I can definitely get my Mörk Borg group to try some other games, and we've nearly exhausted what Mörk Borg content I have. I am also toying with the idea of running my B1 sandbox, whether it be in AD&D, OSE, or some other system entirely. I imagine I might want to do something similar with B2 and whatever other classic modules I read. Overall, while I'm left with uncertainty about the future of the blog once again, that uncertainty is not an anxious one but an excited one. This has been my best year of blogging yet, and I'm eager to see where it goes from here. One thing I've continuously learned this year is that the more you put into something (usually), the more you get out of it. I started playing rec league softball back in 2023. I had never played baseball in my life, so I was terrible. In the second half of 2024 we really clicked as a team, started practicing in the field, going to the batting cages, scrimmaging other teams, and the like. I put the time in and showed up. I got better. I started captaining my own team. I volunteered at youth clinics. The other regulars in the league started to get to know me. I made the All-Star team twice. I won an award for congeniality - not for being good at softball, but I'll take it! We won more games than ever this season and made it to the championship game before falling just short. Those people are my real-life friends now. I'm a lot better at softball now _and  _I'm part of a community. I share that story because blogging is much the same. If you show up, put yourself out there, engage with others, and generally make a consistent effort, people will notice. Before you know it, you'll go from feeling like you might give up on something to wondering what your life would be without it. It's been a tough year for me personally, but I've gotten through it, and this blog and the greater community of bloggers has honestly been a big part of the reason why, along with my other hobbies and communities. I'm excited to see what 2026 has in store.
31.12.2025 15:14 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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'Tis the Season (for a Sandbox): Into the Jinglebell Barrens This post is a part of Prismatic Wasteland's Hexmas Blog Bandwagon. The intention was for participants to make a single holiday-themed hex with connections to other participants' holiday-themed hexes, but I'm a sandbox sicko, and I really wanted to make a whole miniature sandbox of my own. In keeping with the format, let's say the whole sandbox is contained within one hex (**0601**). Here is state of the sandbox on the date of this post's publishing: **Connections:** * **North:**??? * **Northeast:**The Peppermint Wood (0701) * **Southeast:**Talking Wishing Well (0702) * **South:  **Sadtown (0602) * **Southwest:**Snomes (0502) * **Northwest:**Rankin/Bass Pro Shop (0501) Presenting the Jinglebell Barrens: Key: * 01.01: Yuletide's End * 02.03: Frostyford * 02.04: Rednose Rest * 03.01: Silver Sleigh Caravan Camp * 03.04: Tower of Noel * 05.03: Solstice Doomhall * 05.05: Carolcrag Cave The **Jinglebell Barrens**  are a vast expanse of icy sand desert which gleams bright in the sun and glitters under the light of the moon. When the wind blows across the flats, the grains of sand tinkle like tiny bells. On stormy nights, great gusts from the cliffs to the east and southeast whip the sand into a frenzy, rattling the land with a deafening metallic clatter. Unless traveling on a road, it takes 2 hours on foot to enter a barrens hex, and it takes 4 hours to cross one. The Barrens are bordered to the east and southeast by the **Carolcliffs** , a towering escarpment of jagged blue-white ice which encase the bleak gray mountain peaks known as the **Carolcrags**. Wind howls through the ice like organ pipes, creating eerie music known to locals as Cliff-Carols. Hidden paths and passes snake through the cliffs, leading to ancient ruins captured in ice, and into the mountains where monsters dwell. Unless traveling on a road, it takes 3 hours on foot to enter a cliffs hex, and it takes 6 hours to cross one. It takes 4 hours to enter a mountain hex, and it takes 8 hours to cross one. To the southwest lies the **Tinselgrass Steppe** , a land of long, thin grasses that glitter gold and red at sunrise and sunset. Silvery elk graze and winter wolves hide among the tallest, wildest grasses. It takes 1 hour on foot to enter a steppe hex, and it takes 2 hours to cross one. **01.01 Yuletide's End:** Once a thriving city of artisans and traders, Yuletide is remembered as the Merriest City that Ever Was. It was a festival city, and learned scholars of the region say that every day was a "Holly Day". The city was full of looming towers which housed great silver bells, rung at dawn and dusk each day. But Yuletide was not as merry as it seemed. It was ruled by the **Bellwrights** , a theocracy which worshipped the mysterious **Saint Nikodemus** - a merry god of festivals to the faithful and a capricious demon of revelry to others. The Bellwrights worked enchantments upon the city's bells, closely monitored Yuletide's citizens, and spoke to Nikodemus directly. Through the Bellwrights, Nikodemus passed down a pair of lists - one Naughty and one Nice. Those on the Nice list were invited to live on **Hearth Hill** among the belltowers, enriched with gifts from the city's greatest artisans and kept warm by the glow of roaring fires, while those on the Naughty list were consigned to the **Coal Warrens** , where fire was forbidden, forced to mine and haul the fuel-stones which powered Yuletide's industry. Yuletide is said to have met its end when the Bellwrights conspired to assign to the Naughty list - and thus confiscate the material wealth of - **Magister Skruj** , master of the city's most powerful mercantile enterprise. Skruj was alerted to the plot by **Thoralf** , High Priest of Revels and Skruj's agent within the clergy. On the eve of Demus Mass, Yuletide's most sacred Holly Day, Skruj consorted with the **Defrocked** - former Bellwrights themselves condemned to the Naughty list and the Coal Warrens - to slaughter the high priests in their **White Chapel** on Hearth Hill. The chapel was stained red with the blood of Nikodemus's favored. Yuletide was cursed to never know joy again. The following dawn, the Great Bell rang out from the White Chapel - and shattered. The hearths died, no matter how much fuel they were fed. The city froze. The bells did not ring out at dusk on Demus Mass, and never did again. Until recently. The bells have mysteriously begun to ring out again across the Barrens. The usual treasure hunters - a superstitious lot - have begun to avoid the place, but a different breed of adventurers has replaced them, venturing to the region to investigate the strange phenomenon. Yuletide's End contains five neighborhoods, each with its own dungeon: * **Peddler's Village:  **The road into Yuletide's End leads here. It was once a middle class neighborhood where artisans and traders gathered to sell their wares. Many of the city's inns for travelers were found here. Now the markets stalls are empty and the inns cold. Some snomes have come here to explore and cause trouble. * **Skruj's Manor:**  A dungeon for 5th-level characters. Magister Skruj lives here. For his greed, he was turned into a **humbug**  - an insectoid creature cursed to hoard all the wealth it can acquire while deriving no joy from it (use **xorn**). He has accumulated all the wealth of Peddler's Village and jealously guards it here. He is always hungry for more, and craves treasure from the other districts - graves goods from festival square, religious artifacts from Hearth Hill, diamonds from the Coal Warrens, and silver from the Foundry. He is friendly towards those who bring him gifts. * **Connections:** Festival Square (N), Hearth Hill (NW) * **Festival Square:** Once a middle class neighborhood where residents and visitors gathered to celebrate Yuletide's Holly Days. It is now filled with frozen fountains, crumbling statues, empty halls, stinking breweries, and other remnants of revels past. * **Revel's End:** A dungeon for 3rd-level characters. It is a tomb for the Bellwrights. Many revels were held within the tomb itself so that the spirits of the dead could join in the festivities. Thoralf, being the Master of Revels, was charged with maintaining the place. For the crime of betraying his fellow Bellwrights, he was turned into a **garland snake**  - a giant serpent covered in braids of leaves and flowers - and charged with guarding the tomb against predations. The serpent has a bite which injects the victim with powerful alcohol, causing severe intoxication and even death (use **giant poisonous snake**). Thoralf wants to atone for his sins and believes that the wealth of Skruj, if delivered to the White Chapel in Hearth Hill, will restore the city to its former glory. He is friendly towards those who offer to help. * **Connections:** Peddler's Village (S), Hearth Hill (SW) * **Hearth Hill:** Once an upper class neighborhood, home to Yuletide's belltowers, Nice-listers, and the Bellwrights themselves. The bells ring out from their towers at dawn and dusk each day, though the tops of the towers remain encased in ice. It is especially cold due to its elevation and winds blowing between the ancient towers and tightly-packed buildings. * **The White Chapel:** A dungeon for 6th-level characters. Once the seat of power for the Bellwrights, the temple was shuttered for good when the clergy was murdered on Demus Mass Eve. It is now haunted by corporeal and incorporeal undead alike. Chief among them is a trio of spirits calling themselves the **Ghosts of Yuletide Past, Present, and Future**(three **will-o-wisps**). They have been awakened by a vision of Yuletide's future in which its streets are filled with revelry again. They have begun the ringing of the bells to summon revelers to Festival Square. They are friendly to those who bring gifts of treasure, food, or alcohol. * **Connections:** Festival Square (NE), Peddler's Village (SE), The Foundry (SW), Coal Warrens (NW) * **Coal Warrens:** Once a lower class neighborhood designated for Naughty-listers. It is filled with crumbling tenement buildings, dark alleys covered in soot, and disease-carrying filth and vermin. * **The Coal Mines:** A dungeon for 1st-level characters. This is where Naughty-listers were put to work as slaves, mining coal to fuel Hearth Hill and the Foundry's great fires. The mines are now controlled by a gang of five **coal rats**  - the cursed Defrocked who once employed their swords in the killing of the Bellwrights (use **wererats**). They are led by the **Rat King**. They are harmed only by silver, and slain instantly by silver weapons forged in Yuletide's Foundry and blessed by the Bellwrights (only the Ghosts of Yuletide Past, Present, and Future, or Thoralf, can bless such weapons now, unless a cleric learns the appropriate 1st level spell in the White Chapel). They are driven mad by the ringing of the bells and are friendly to those who offer to help. * **Connections:** Hearth Hill (SE), the Foundry (S) * **The Foundry:** Once a middle class neighborhood where Yuletide's best artisans crafted its silver bells and weapons with the aid of the Bellwrights' enchantments. The forges have all gone cold and quiet. * **The Forge:** A dungeon for 2nd-level characters. It is a mazelike collection of storerooms, workshops, and smelting chambers, connected by a labyrinth of access tunnels and catwalks. **The Krampus** , a monstrous silvered automaton of fearsome demonic aspect, has perfect knowledge of the structure and prowls its passages for intruders (use **minotaur**). It captures those it deems naughty (Chaotic or Evil creatures, or those who have earned the enmity of the Ghosts of Yuletide Past, Present, and Future), stuffs them in its sack, and delivers them to the White Chapel. It ignores those bearing the holy symbol of Nikodemus (a sprig of mistletoe worn around the wrist). * **Connections:** Coal Warrens (N), Hearth Hill (NE) The ringing of the bells is an illusion fabricated by the Ghosts of Yuletide Past, Present, and Future. Lifting the curse on Yuletide's End is difficult: * **The Forge must be reignited**. This can be done via a spell cast by the Ghosts or by a cleric capable of casting 3rd level spells who learns the proper spell in the White Chapel. The spell consumes a 5,000 g.p. diamond from the Coal Mines, which must be obtained by convincing the Rat King to surrender it willingly. Once the diamond is gifted, the curse on the Defrocked can be lifted by a _remove curse_  spell if they are willing. * **The Forge must be used to craft a new Great Bell**. This must be brought to the White Chapel to be enchanted by the Ghosts, then hung in the Great Belltower to replace the old one. * **The curse on Thoralf must be lifted**. This can be done by a _remove curse_  spell only after a new Great Bell is hung, and only if Thoralf is willing. * **Skruj must learn the true meaning of Demus Mass**. He must be brought a truly thoughtful gift (something with little to no monetary value). He will only listen if Thoralf is present. If he is willing, the curse on him can then be lifted by a _remove curse_. * **Skruj himself must use a flame from the Forge to reignite the Great Hearth in the White Chapel**. This will magically light the other hearths throughout the city, which melts the ice encasing the city's many belltowers. * **A party must be held in Festival Square**. The party must convince enough people to attend such that the Ghosts are satisfied that Holly Day cheer has returned to the city. They, Skruj, Thoralf, and the Defrocked are able to pass peacefully on to the next life. The hearths go cold again, the bells stop ringing, and Yuletide's End is still once again, ready to be repurposed or to fade into memory according to the wishes of those in the region. Of course, there is no requirement that the players lift the curse on Yuletide's End. They might simply slay all the monsters and take their treasure, or align with one faction or another and establish them as the de facto "rulers" of the ruin, but it seemed worthwhile to define exactly how the "good" ending might be achieved. If the curse is lifted over Yuletide's End, the Krampus will wander the city streets, eventually heading to the Rankin/Bass Pro Shop. It longs to become real and punish the naughty creatures of the world. **02.03 Frostyford:** A thorp of about 30 people within the domain of the **Tower of Noel**(03.04). The thorp gets its name from its river crossing, a bridge of solid ice created by the ice witch named **Rimehilda**. Noel's agent in the thorp is his henchman **Ridley** , a human fighter. Ridley has been tasked with overseeing the construction of a stronghold here to control the crossing into the Barrens. Ridley commands a retinue of eight men-at-arms. Usually, four guard Ridley and await his commands while four others man the toll booth at the southern end of the river crossing. They charge 5 gold pieces per head, hoof, or wheel to those traveling north or entering the thorp from that direction. Since the bells began ringing in **Yuletide's End**(01.01), the workers have become superstitious, and progress on Ridley's hold has crawled to almost a halt. Ridley recruits adventurers to travel to Yuletide's End to silence the bells. Rimehilda traveled to **Solstice Doomhall**(05.03) to learn the magic of the frost giants, but never returned. Ridley will recruit adventurers to go in search of her, believing that her return could bolster his own position. * **Ridley:** LE human fighter 8. A forceful, imposing, serious man of middle age. His taciturn nature has earned him few friends. He knows that he is not Noel's favored henchman and that he will likely be replaced once the stronghold is finished. He enjoys ice fishing and can sometimes be found at the river's edge with only two men-at-arms as guards. **02.04 Rednose Rest:** A hamlet of about 300 people within the domain of the **Tower of Noel**(03.04). The hamlet gets its name from Noel's slaying of the Red-nosed Beast, a particularly ornery and intelligent reindeer which once rallied its kind against the hamlet's people. The Beast's nose is housed in a beacon tower in the hamlet's square. It still glows with unearthly red light, which guides travelers towards the hamlet when snowstorms kick up. The cleric **Lothar**  is Noel's agent here, but he has gone rogue and is collecting tithes to send to **Yuletide's End**(01.01) - instead of the Tower - to appease the spirits there. He will attempt to recruit adventurers to travel to the ancient city to deliver the hamlet's tribute (2,100 silver pieces) to the White Chapel. * **Idina:  **CG human fighter 1. A strong young woman dressed in a dirty tabard. She is looking for work as a henchman and will join non-Lawful non-Evil characters, but they must pay for her food, lodging, and equipment, and offer her a proportionate share of treasure. * **Karlotta:  **LG human magic-user 1. A highly intelligent and agile young woman dressed foppishly. She is gullible and frail, her analytical nature is often off putting, and her unyielding curiosity sometimes gives the impression of mental instability. She is compelled by her curiosity to investigate the tower of the snomes. * **Elphira:  **CN half-elf fighter 2/magic-user 2. An intelligent young half-elf woman with a rustic, unkempt unkempt appearance. She is trusting and diplomatic, but due to her elvish blood she can sometimes come across as haughty and insensitive, which rubs some people the wrong way. She has learned from refugees of the plight of Sadtown and wishes to liberate the people there. * **Lothar:  **LE human cleric 2. A discerning, somewhat intelligent young man dressed in immaculate priestly vestments. His religious fervor, neurotic doomsaying, and contrarian nature is unpleasant to some. While he does not identify as a Bellwright or follow their religious practices (he worships some non-descript unforgiving God of Winter - perhaps some vestige of Saint Nikodemus passed down through the generations), he recognizes their influence on the region, and believes strongly that the ghosts of Yuletide's End must be appeased with gifts, and does not fear that he might be punished by Noel for usurping his authority. **03.01 Silver Sleigh Caravan Camp:** A large encampment atop a tall plateau of packed snow and gravel. The camp houses 15 merchants - led by **Miloslav** - 15 drovers, and **the Painted Battalion -  **120 mercenaries in brightly colored military dress (think nutcracker dolls). A magic-user, **Blazenka** , also camps here. The caravan has stopped here to provision adventurers heading to **Yuletide's End**(01.01) - and to buy any treasure they might pull out. Here they are conveniently out of reach of **the Tower of Noel  **(03.04) and Noel's underlings in **Frostyford**(02.03) and **Rednose Rest**(02.04). The total value of merchandise in the camp is 10,000 gold pieces. The merchants have 20 oxen and two sled wagons, their runners shod with bright silvery steel. * **Blazenka:** NG human magic-user 6. A very intelligent middle aged woman. She lives in a richly appointed tent, wears fine jewelry, is well spoken and cheerful, and genuinely well-liked by the entire camp. She will lend her aid in spellcasting services to adventurers (for a price), but won't accompany them in their travels. She is interested in information about the ice witch Rimehilda, whom she hopes to stop, should she ever resurface. * **Miloslav:** NG human merchant. He is a loquacious young man and a scrupulous trader. He sharply questions all adventurers who come to his camp, suspicious that Noel might send agents to infiltrate and rob them. * **Pay chest:** Hidden in Miloslav's tent. It contains 3,000 gold pieces, 300 platinum pieces, and ten 100 gold piece gems. * **The Painted Battalion:** Brightly-dressed mercenary soldiers in tall hats. They are led by **Yosefine  **and her lieutenant, **Freya**. Yosefine and Freya share a retinue of 12 2nd level guards (all in addition to the 120 regular soldiers). They employ a mix of arms and have 60 war elk: 12 light, 36 medium, and 12 heavy. Each heavy war elk belongs to a 1st level fighter who rides it into battle. * **Yosefine:** N human fighter 10. An imposing, strong young woman. She is arrogant but honorable. A few of the Battalion chafe under her command. * **Freya:** LG human fighter 8. A somewhat gullible middle aged woman. She is very righteous and does not drink. While she can be a bit overbearing, she is better regarded than Yosefine, and some in the Battalion wouldn't mind her taking charge. The camp houses 15 swift riding elk for use by the merchants. If the caravan is attacked or robbed, the merchants will mount up and ride swiftly to the north to acquire more mercenaries, then return to hunt down the thieves or murderers. **03.04 The Tower of Noel:** A six-story tower ruled by **Noel** , a cruel human fighter who controls **Frostyford**(02.03) and **Rednose Rest**(02.04). Noel is cautious of new adventurers arriving in his realm. If adventurers encounter a patrol from the tower, it will be led by **Clotilde**  (see below). She is unfriendly, and will attempt to round up any trespassers to bring to Noel for judgement. The tower is garrisoned by 10 heavy elk cavalry, 9 light elk cavalry, and 24 men-at-arms, led by two 3rd level fighters and two 4th level fighters. Noel cares little for **Yuletide's End**(01.01) though he is interested in its treasures and religious artifacts, and in obtaining one of the city's famous silver swords. He covets the wealth of the **Silver Sleigh Caravan Camp**(03.01), but doesn't possess the means to take it himself. He would be willing to deal with enterprising individuals who might help him obtain it. His scouts have encountered the Silent Knights of **Carolcrag Cave**(05.05) in the cliffs to the southeast, much to their dismay. * **Noel:** NE human fighter 12. A well spoken, haughty young man with an immaculate appearance. His mood swings, paranoia, unforgiving nature, dishonesty, and penny-pinching have earned him no favor from his subjects, or even his followers. He has a keen interested in the ancient religion of the region, and it is for this reason only that he entertains Lothar's insubordination. His chambers are decorated with a robust collection of swords. He favors Clotilde, tolerates Mistique, and is suspicious of Nasjenka's loyalties. He trusts Ridley (see 02.03), but only to the extent that he might use him to further his own ends. * **Clotilde:  **CN human fighter 8. A very strong, intelligent, hardy young woman dressed in ragged furs and leather. She is violent, antagonistic, and harsh. She is Noel's lover, and is a zealot for whatever his current religious fixation or curiosity is. She enjoys hunting, and often leads the patrols out of the tower. Her patrols have encountered the Silent Knights, and she is particularly invested in rooting them out of their cave. She does not get along well with Mistique or Nasjenka. * **Mistique:** LN human cleric 8. A highly observant but feeble young woman in modest religious garb. She is saintly in her collection of holy books and scrolls, and always driven to acquire more, which she maintains in the tower's chapel. She is pessimistic, cold, and craven, which has caused Noel to distance himself somewhat. She is jealous of Clotilde's relationship with Noel. She is helpful towards adventurers, and will attempt to recruit them to travel to Yuletide's End to retrieve religious artifacts, which she hopes to gift to Noel in exchange for his favor. * **Nasjenka:** LN human fighter 8. A strong, intelligent, hardy middle aged woman in ragged armor. In battle she is brave and energetic, but also hot-tempered, which occasionally leads to careless mistakes. She has charge of the tower's garrison due to her greater battle experience, but is otherwise solitary and secretive, interacting with the tower's inhabitants rarely, and lying to them about her activities when questioned. She is greedy and easily bribed, and has a large collection of daggers secreted away in her chambers. She does her best to steer clear of visitors to the tower. **** **** **05.03 Solstice Doomhall:** An ancient, crumbling, enormous castle, frozen by icy winds. It was once the forward outpost for an empire of giants who embodied winter itself, before festival and ritual took hold in the minds of men. Long ago, the Bellwrights of **Yuletide's End**(01.01) would travel here at the solstice and again at the equinox, bearing gifts for the giants. A feast was held and, if the gifts pleased the giants, they would permit a mild winter and an early arrival of spring. To the Bellwrights, the giants were known as **the Arbiters of Winter**. Before they were slain, the Bellwrights met with the Arbiters at the solstice to ensure a mild winter. They never met again - spring never came, the winter became harsher with each passing solstice, and Solstice Doomhall was abandoned and fell into ruin. The road from Yuletide to the Doomhall was buried in icy sand. With the ringing of the bells, the giants have returned and prepared a solstice feast for the Bellrights, who never arrived. Instead, they hosted **Rimehilda  **of **Frostyford**(02.03). Rather than a mild winter, Rimehilda negotiated for something else - a child, to be fathered not by the giants but by the spirits of winter itself. The giants agreed, and the child was immaculately conceived in a profane ritual in the fortress's temple. Now, Rimehilda feasts with the giants until the solstice passes and the child is born (21 days). The "child" Rimehilda carries is in fact **Cryonax** , Prince of Evil Cold Creatures. If born, he will summon white dragons, frost giants, and yetis to plague the region, laying waste to strongholds and settlements before eventually taking his seat as Lord of Winter in the White Chapel in Yuletide's End, with Rimehilda as his regent mother and true power behind the throne. If the curse is lifted over Yuletide before then, the city will be warded against Cryonax's intrusion, and he will wander off into the northern wastes to claim some other seat. Winters will continue to be harsh in the region unless the Arbiters are appeased each year, bought off with a considerable one-time sum of treasure, or slain. * **The Arbiters of Winter:** A clan of **frost giants** consisting of four males, two females (use **stone giant**), and a young child (4 hit points, 1-2 damage/attack). * **Hrothvar:** The Arbiters' chieftain. He is a young giant, dressed in fine furs and hides. He is of average intellect, and Rimehilda has his ear so that he will be suspicious of adventurers, though he is even tempered when assessing threats. He is not one to back down from a challenge to his authority, and he is extremely vengeful should anyone harm Rimehilda or his clan. He is smitten with Rimehilda and chafes under his mother's chastisement. * **Hailveig:** Hrothvar's mother. She is old, but imposing, well-spoken, and intelligent. She wears a cloak of white dragon skin from a dragon she claims to have slain herself. She is harsh on her own son for his boyish infatuation with Rimehilda. She is a devotee of Cryonax and puts up with Rimehilda's cruelty out of mutual purpose. Like Hrothvar and Rimehilda, she is suspicious of adventurers' intentions. * **Kolvi:** Hrothvar's only son. He is the frost giant equivalent of a toddler - as large as an ogre, but doughy and badly proportioned. He is always accompanied and protected by his pet **winter wolf** , **Hoarfang**. He is lazy and cowardly, has a child's temper and petulance, and wants nothing more than to see adventurers slain, roasted, and served up at a feast. He hates both his father and grandmother, but adores Rimehilda. He will run to her and make up any lie about adventurers which might get them into trouble. One adventurer, before being killed and eaten, spoke of a talking wishing well. Kolvi begs Rimehilda to take him there so that he might wish for all adventurers to be killed and eaten by him. * **Rimehilda:** CE human magic-user 10. A highly intelligent, maniacal, and malevolent old woman dressed in silver-stitched robes lined with winter wolf fur. She is cold, hard, and utterly without moral scruples. She eats ravenously - all to feed the "child" gestating within her. She is obsequious towards Hrothvar but cruel to Hailveig. She is unfriendly towards adventurers, suspecting that they have come to murder her and her child. If a fight breaks out here, the giants will defend Rimehilda with their lives (or until their morale breaks). Hrothvar and Hailveig will both fight to the death for her. If all of her protectors are slain, flee, or surrender, Rimehilda will _teleport_  herself to the **Doomhall Dragonpit** 's treasure vault (with which she is very familiar due to her insistence that Hrothvar show her it multiple times). The vault is well-provisioned with ample food and drink so that Rimehilda can bring her child to term there if needed. * **Doomhall Dragonpit:** A dungeon for 7th level characters. The dungeons of Solstice Doomhall were excavated long ago by the giants to expand the interior area of the castle above, hold prisoners, and guard treasure accumulated from the Bellwrights' biannual gifts. The dungeons are also home to a subdued ancient **white dragon** , **Hrímkaldr** , charged with guarding the entrance to the dungeons' vault. The dungeon has a secret entrance from the Peppermint Wood. The dragon has managed to survive and grow to incredible size by venturing out into the wood to feed on licorice eels, reindeer, elves, and syrup. It is currently in a state of deep sleep and is dimwitted if awakened, so it is possible to sneak past it if intruders are silent or clever. **05.05: Carolcrag Cave:** This icy mountain cavern is home to the **Silent Knights**  - or what's left of them. Originally an order of 25 knights charged with protecting the Bellwrights of **Yuletide's End**(01.01), they were cursed when they failed to do so on that fateful Demus Mass Eve. Their commander, Lady Walburga, broke her vow of silence to express concerns about the Bellwrights' plans to Thoralf, who then warned Magister Skruj. The Knights accepted gifts from Skruj and agreed to partake in the evening's festivities, rather than protect their charges. For breaking the vow of silence, the Knights were cursed to never utter a sound again. For allowing their masters to be slain, and for the hearths of Yuletide to go forever cold, they were cursed to experience only pain from the warmth of fire. After the slayings, they exiled themselves to the Carolcrags, dwelling forever in this cave. With time, they became beastly monsters - 300 pounds, covered in white fur, with pale blue eyes and ivory white claws and teeth (use **yeti**). Only two of them remain - Lady Walburga herself and Sir Inglebert, her second-in-command. They have outgrown their armor and have entirely forgotten their knightly ways - namely chivalry and swordsmanship. Only snarling beasts remain. They don't call themselves anything, but locals refer to them as **Mr. and Mrs. Claws**. Carolcrag Cave is deathly silent - not even the sound of Cliff-Carols can penetrate its icy depths. Any noise inside will alert the beasts to the presence of intruders. The beasts are hostile towards intrusion and use their ability to blend into their surroundings to lie in wait for the moment to strike. While unable to speak, they can be reasoned with, but only briefly, and they only half remember the common tongue. If they can be convinced to return to the White Chapel in Yuletide's End, the Ghosts of Yuletide Past, Present, and Future will release them from their oaths, allowing the curse to be lifted via _remove curse_. **And that is the Jinglebell Barrens!** This was a lot more work than I thought I'd be doing on this, and its much more detailed than sandboxes I've drawn up for this blog in the past, but once I got started I just couldn't stop. It was too fun tying things together and giving everything a kind of grimdark Christmas vibe. I think you could have a pretty wild seasonal adventure here. We've got a couple of very manageable settlements with some political intrigue (all contained within one faction), a stronghold that exerts control over a large chunk of the region, a ruined city with five (!) dungeons and almost as many factions, a friendly merchant camp to trade with (or plunder for its riches), a frost giant lair in a ruined castle with an ice witch brewing up an Elemental Prince of Evil, another dungeon beneath complete with a dragon, and the lair of a pair of fearsome yetis. Curses abound, and they all have thematic means of being lifted. Hopefully, this is a welcome gift to you, dear reader. If you're feeling generous yourself, you can give me the gift of sharing this post wherever you want, or commenting down below with your favorite parts, constructive criticisms, or whatever. As you celebrate the season in whichever way you're inclined to do, remember that there are always d100 creatures encysted beneath the surface of the earth, wishing you glad tidings this year and next!
24.12.2025 14:03 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Who Can Rule a Stronghold in AD&D? This is something interesting that came up when I was messing around with the AD&D DMG's Appendix B to create a sandbox (okay, _many_  sandboxes - I have a problem). As I've described many times on this blog, when using Appendix B to stock a sandbox, I roll on the Inhabitation table to determine the placement of settlements, castles (which I will call strongholds), and ruins: Generally, three out of 100 "spaces" (6-mile hexes, in my case) will contain a stronghold. To determine the type of stronghold and who rules it, we are directed to the Castle Tables in Appendix C: Strongholds can be ruled by bandits, brigands, berserkers, dervishes, or characters/"character-type NPCs". Deserted strongholds (which I generally rule to be ruins, not proper strongholds of good construction) can also be inhabited by monsters (or totally deserted). Bandits, brigands, berserkers, and dervishes are all "men" - that is, humans. Character-types, I figure, can be of any race which is available to the players. So if I determine that a stronghold is ruled by such a character, before I determine that character's class, I roll on this table (found earlier in Appendix C) to determine the character's race: 80% of characters will be human, 5% will be dwarves, 5% will be elves, 2% will be gnomes, 5% will be half-elves, 2% will be halflings, and 1% will be half-orcs. You can actually simplify this by making it one roll, like so:     **d100       Race of Individual ****    **01-80     Human     81-85     Dwarf     86-90     Elf     91-95     Half-elf     96-97     Gnome     98-99     Halfling     100        Half-orc I'll then determine the class of the character by rolling on Castle Sub-Table II.B., limiting myself to those classes which are available to that race. But there's a problem - characters can only build strongholds beginning at a certain level, and demihuman races have level limits, as outlined in the PHB: So the question is - which demihuman characters can actually rule strongholds in AD&D? Let's find out. **The Cleric**  can establish a "place of worship" and attract followers at 8th level, and at 9th level can construct a religious stronghold (presumably, they would build out the existing place of worship into a stronghold, not start an entirely new construction, but this isn't made explicitly clear): While Castle Sub-Table II.B. states that clerics who rule wilderness strongholds will be from 9th to 12th level, I would allow them to be 8th level as well, with the caveat that these are not proper religious strongholds but the lesser "places of worship". Aside from humans, player character half-elves and half-orcs can be clerics, but they are limited to 5th and 4th level, respectively, so they can build neither places of worship nor religious strongholds. Dwarf, elf, and gnome NPCs can also be clerics, but player characters cannot - I would personally ignore this as I don't really see the logic. Dwarves are limited to 8th level and elves and gnomes are both limited to 7th level. Dwarf clerics can build places of worship but not religious strongholds. Elf and gnome clerics can build neither. Only human clerics can build religious strongholds. **The Druid** does not dwell permanently in castles, but at 11th level they can "inhabit building complexes set in woodlands and similar natural surroundings": This is not a castle per se, but I would still count it as a stronghold. I imagine it being like the druid grove in Baldur's Gate 3, which is very much a stronghold. Castle Sub-Table II.B. states that druids who rule strongholds will be 12th to 13th level, but I would allow them to be 11th level as well. Only human and half-elf player characters can be druids, and half-elf druids have no level limit, so they can construct and live in such building complexes just as human druids can. Halfling NPCs can be druids, but are limited to 6th level, so they cannot. **The Fighter**  can establish a freehold ("some type of castle") at 9th level: A player character of any race can become a fighter, but gnomes and halflings are limited to 6th level, elves to 7th level, and half-elves to 8th level - none of them can build a stronghold as a fighter. Dwarf fighters are limited to 9th level (but they must have Strength higher than 17), and half-orc fighters are limited to 10th - they can both build strongholds. **The Paladin**  can only be human. It isn't clear when exactly they can build a stronghold, but they can at some point. However, it can only be of the small type (a small shell keep, tower, moat house, or friary): I assume that, as a sub-class of fighter, they construct their strongholds at 9th level (this is consistent with Castle Sub-Table II.B., which lists the lowest-level paladin with a stronghold as being 9th level, though as I've already demonstrated - and will continue to demonstrate - that table is not entirely reliable). **The Ranger**  can construct strongholds much the same as fighters: That is, rangers can build strongholds at 9th level. This makes me more confident in my assumptions about the paladin, since both are fighter sub-classes. Again, Castle Sub-Table II.B. omits 9th level rangers (it includes only rangers of 10th to 13th level). Aside from humans, only half-elves can be rangers, and they are limited to 8th level, so they cannot build strongholds. **The Magic-User**  can construct a stronghold at 12th level: Castle Sub-Table II.B. incorrectly lists 11th level magic-users as potential stronghold rulers (it includes levels 11 to 14, but should probably be levels 12 to 15). Aside from humans, only elves and half-elves can be magic-users, and they are limited to 11th and 8th level, respectively, so they cannot build strongholds. It is not clear from the PHB whether **the Illusionist**  can build a stronghold, but since they are a sub-class of the magic-user and are included on Castle Sub-Table II.B., I assume that they can, and that they follow the same rule as the magic-user (that is, they can build a stronghold at 12th level). Castle Sub-Table II.B. includes illusionists of 10th to 13th level, but like the magic-user, it should probably be 12th to 15th level instead. It's also worth noting that illusionists' strongholds "will often be covered by an _illusion_  to appear as a mound of rock, a ruined place, or a huge castle". Neat! Only humans and gnomes can be illusionists. Gnome illusionists are limited to 7th level, so they cannot build strongholds. **The Thief**  can build a stronghold, but it must be "a tower or fortified building of the small castle type" and "within, or not more than a mile distant from, a town or city": This means that you will never encounter a thief's stronghold in the wilderness. It sounds like the thief can build the stronghold at any level, but can only establish a gang (i.e., attract followers) at 10th level, so for the purposes of this exercise I'll say they can build the stronghold at that level as well. This is consistent with Castle Sub-Table II.B., which lists the lowest-level stronghold-ruling thief as 10th level (although it is worth pointing out that since I use 6-mile hexes and a thief's stronghold can only be 1 mile distant from a town or city, I will never have a hex containing a thief's stronghold - if you instead use Gygax's scale of 1-mile hexes, the table works just fine, but the thief's stronghold must be in a hex adjacent to a town or city). Anyone can be a thief, but half-orc thieves are limited to 8th level, so they cannot construct strongholds. Dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, and halfling thieves have no level limit and so can construct strongholds. **The Assassin**  is tricky, but essentially, they have two types of "stronghold" - a guild headquarters in a large town or big city, "typically a warehouse or other nondescript structure", and a second headquarters "of any form - cavern, castle, monastery, palace, temple" which (presumably) may also be in a large town or big city, but "if it is a large and obvious place...must be located well away from all communities": The assassin must be 14th level to rule the former and 15th level to rule the latter (15th is the level cap for assassins). Castle Sub-Table II.B. lists the assassin stronghold ruler's level as 14th (and only 14th) level. As with the thief, this works with Gygax's scale of 1-mile hexes, but the assassin's stronghold must be in a hex adjacent to a town or city. Since I again use 6-mile hexes, 14th level assassins can only rule guildhalls which are "always within a large town or big city", and only 15th level assassins can rule wilderness strongholds, my version of the table should include only 15th level assassins. Dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs, and humans can be assassins. Dwarves, elves, gnomes, and half-elves are limited to 9th, 10th, 8th, and 11th level respectively, and cannot rule strongholds. Half-orcs and humans have no level limit and can rule strongholds. **The Monk**  can build a stronghold at 8th level, but it must be a monastery or monastery-like headquarters: Castle Sub-Table II.B. states that "Monks' strongholds will usually be monasteries, resembling a type of enlarged moat house, having fewer of the defensive constructions of a typical castle - but being nonetheless formidable." I take this to mean that monks can only build castles of the small variety, specifically moat houses or friaries. Castle Sub-Table II.B. includes monks of 9th to 12th level, omitting 8th level monks just as it omits 11th level druids and 9th level paladins. Only humans can be monks. **The Bard**  is of course a special case. The description of the class does not explicitly state that they can build strongholds, but they are included in Castle Sub-Table II.B., so we must assume that they can. Bards begin as fighters, then become thieves between 5th and 7th level - they must make the switch before attaining 8th level as a fighter, so they cannot build a stronghold as a fighter does at 9th level. They can attain 5th to 9th level as thieves, then must become druids - again, they cannot build a stronghold as a thief does at 10th level. Once they become a druid, they begin progression as a bard. They have their own experience table but are treated as druids of the same level (kind of - after 12th level they remain a 12th level druid until 23rd level when they finally become a 13th level druid). Thus, I would assume that bards abide by the same rule as druids when it comes to building strongholds - that is, they can do so at 11th level, but it must be a building complex in a wilderness or natural setting. Castle Sub-Table II.B. includes only bards of 23rd level (i.e., 13th level druids), but I would treat them the same as druids - that is, a bard who rules a stronghold can be 11th to 13th level. Only humans and half-elves can be bards. Half-elves have no level limit as druids, so both can rule a stronghold as a druid would. Here is a summary of my findings - **Who Can Rule a Stronghold in AD &D:** * **Clerics:** Dwarf clerics of 8th level only and human clerics of 8th level and above can rule places of worship, and human clerics of 9th level and above can rule religious strongholds. * **Druids:** Half-elf and human druids of 11th level and above can rule building complexes set in woodlands and similar natural surroundings. * **Fighters:** Dwarf fighters of 9th level only, half-orc fighters of 9th or 10th level, and human fighters of 9th level and above can rule strongholds of any type. * **Paladins:** Human paladins of 9th level and above can rule small strongholds only. * **Rangers:** Human rangers of 9th level and above can rule strongholds of any type. * **Magic-Users:** Human magic-users of 12th level and above can rule strongholds of any type. * **Illusionists:** Human illusionists of 12th level and above can rule strongholds of any type. They are usually covered by an _illusion_  which makes them appear to be something else. * **Thieves:** Dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, halfling, and human thieves of 10th level and above can rule small strongholds only, and they must be within or no more than a mile distant from a town or city. * **Assassins:** Half-orc and human assassins of 14th level can rule a guild headquarters (a nondescript location, not a castle of any type) which must be within a large town or big city, and half-orc and human assassins of 15th level can rule a headquarters of any type (cavern, castle, monastery, palace, temple, etc.). It can be in a town or city but must be located away from all communities if it is a large and obvious place. * **Monks:** Human monks of 8th level and above can rule a moat house or friary. * **Bards:** Half-elf and human bards of 11th level and above can rule building complexes set in woodlands and similar natural surroundings. Here is a different summary sorted instead by race: * **Dwarves:** Can rule as clerics (places of worship only), fighters, and thieves. * **Elves:** Can rule as thieves only. * **Gnomes:** Can rule as thieves only. * **Half-elves:** Can rule as druids, thieves, and bards. * **Halflings:** Can rule as thieves only. * **Half-orcs:** Can rule as fighters, thieves, and assassins. * **Humans:** Can rules as any class. You could determine who rules a stronghold at least two ways: Do you roll to determine the ruler's race or class first? If I roll first for race and determine that the ruler of a wilderness stronghold is a human, for example, they could be of any class. If I instead determine they're a half-orc, they can only be a fighter or Grandfather/Grandmother assassin. If I roll first for class and determine that the ruler is a paladin or monk, for example, they can only be a human. If they're instead a cleric, they could be a human or a dwarf. I'm not sure which is better, but I'm leaning towards determining class first. Just remember that thieves and most assassins don't live in the wilderness and druids and assassin Grandfathers/Grandmothers don't usually live in cities. It is worth noting that deserted strongholds (which I treat as stronghold ruins) can be _inhabited_  (like a monster lair) by dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings, even if these types can't _rule_  strongholds as most classes. The wilderness encounter tables in Appendix C include these demihumans under "rough" terrain, which I believe is where you're meant to roll when populating a "castle" of the "deserted (monster therein)" type (the footnote to the tables describes "rough" as including "ruins within up to five miles of the party"). What this suggests is that individual elves, gnomes, and halflings, for whatever reason, don't _build_  wilderness strongholds, but enclaves of them may move into such places once they're abandoned. Interestingly, all four of these demihuman types can lair in such castles in uninhabited/wilderness areas, but only dwarves and gnomes lair in them in inhabited/patrolled area. In other words, if there's a road to the dungeon, elves and halflings won't hang out there - not on the surface, anyway. I wonder why that is.
17.12.2025 15:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Creating a Sandbox for B1: In Search of the Unknown B1: In Search of the Unknown is a very self-contained dungeon module. That is, the dungeon _is_  the module. There is a hint of civilization nearby, but it isn't made explicit how far the dungeon is, how long it takes to get there, what the surrounding terrain is like, or if there are monster lairs or other noteworthy locations in the area. Since I've been spending a lot of time with B1 and would like to run it myself sometime, I thought it might be fun to come up with a small region to place the dungeon in a larger context. It's perfectly fine to just plop the party down in front of the dungeon entrance and run the module as is, but I also take a lot of joy from the journey to and from a place. Quasqueton is supposed to be remote, so I don't want the journey there and back to be trivial or handwaved. I also think it would be neat to see if B1 could be a starting point for a larger game - the low-level dungeon which launches the player characters into a larger sandbox with which to engage. The only clue B1 gives as to Quasqueton's surroundings is this: Quasqueton is built upon a heavily forested hill. We also know that the region borders some barbarian lands to the north: So let's say that Quasqueton is situated atop a hill in a heavily forested sub-arctic-ish region bordering barbarian lands to the north. I use a version of the Welsh Piper's Hex-Based Campaign Design to generate terrain and the AD&D DMG's wilderness stocking procedure to add settlements, strongholds, ruins, and monster lairs. Here is what I got (scale: 1 hex = 6 miles): The text makes it a bit crowded, so here's the version with grid numbers along with a key: * 01.05: Adventurer Camp * 02.02: Town * 02.05: Giant Eagle Nest * 03.01: Brigand Castle * 03.02: Thorp * 03.04: Ogre Den * 03.05: Quasqueton * 04.03: Owlbear Den * 04.04: Leprechaun Burrow Many of these locations are too far in the wilderness to be known to the players at the start of play, so here's the player-facing version of the map with just the locations they would know of: The players will of course know about the town and the thorp, as well as the castle ruled by brigands (who likely prey upon the people of the thorp below). The ogre den is close enough that the ogres might emerge from the forest and cross the river to prey upon the farms south of the town, and a wandering homesteader may have ventured into the wilderness and stumbled upon the cave's location. Quasqueton's location is not generally known, but B1 tells us that the player characters have acquired a map to its location, so it should be known to them: It might make sense for the players to know about the adventurers' camp as well, but let's say the adventurers have only recently moved into the area, so their exact location is not yet common knowledge. Based on the map, the fastest way to Quasqueton is to head south from town, then through the forest hex to the south or southeast (but likely through the former, since the latter is the lair of at least one ogre) and then up into the hills. Based on the overland movement rates I use (from AD&D 2e), it takes 1 hour on foot to enter a plains or farmland hex (2 hours to cross from edge to edge), 2 hours to enter a forest hex (4 hours to cross), and 3 hours to enter a hills hex (6 hours to cross). It also takes 1 hour to cross a river unless traveling on a road (where there would presumably be a bridge or other crossing). It isn't relevant for traveling to Quasqueton, but it takes 4 hours to enter a heavily forested hex (8 hours to cross). Normally I would advocate for there being a road to the dungeon, which would negate the movement modifier imposed by difficult terrain, but because Quasqueton is intended to be remote and unknown, I will omit one in this case. So if the party departs from town, it will take 11 hours to reach Quasqueton: 3 hours to cross the farmlands (assuming there is a river crossing immediately south of town, since that is all inhabited land), an hour to cross the river a bit further south, 4 hours to cross the forest, and 3 hours to climb into the hills. Since the party can only travel 8 hours per day before forcing a march and risking exhaustion, they will likely have to rest at some point during the journey. Because the farmland is safer than the forest, I would recommend having a short first day and camping on the north side of the river, then crossing and venturing into the forest the following day (this however, would necessitate resting at or near Quasqueton at the end of the day, which can also be dangerous). Here is a more detailed description of each location on the map: **01.05 Zerelda's Company:** This adventuring company is led by **Zerelda** , a human magic-user. The members of the party and their henchmen are as follows (although B1 is written for B/X, I would want to run it in AD&D, so these NPCs are generated using that edition's guidelines and rules): * **Triphina Springwaddle** , LG gnome fighter 6/illusionist 7 * **Windemuth** , N human fighter 3 * **Omarion** , LN human illusionist 4 * **Tharmus Trollreach** , LN dwarf cleric 8 * **Farmund Burrowhorn** , LG dwarf cleric 4 * **Thurmond** , N human cleric 9 * **Carsten** , N human cleric 5 * **Alvaro** , N human thief 5 * **Zerelda** , NG human magic-user 10 Zerelda's company has recently moved into the area in search of a site on which to establish a religious stronghold for Thurmond. They have settled on this forested hilltop and seek laborers to aid in clearing the trees around the site. Lambrecht, the ruler of **Timbershore**  (02.02) has been cooperative to a point, but will only lend the aid of tree cutters for a significant tithe of magic items or the delivery of eggs from the **Giant Eagle Nest  **(02.05), both of which Zerelda's company has balked at, leading to tension between the groups. **02.02 Timbershore:** A walled town of 5,500 people. They are mostly human, with small enclaves of dwarves, elves, half-elves, gnomes, halflings, and half-orcs. Using the demographics outlined in my post on henchmen, I determine there are 9 henchmen in town and 58 non-henchmen character-type NPCs. The players will only be able to recruit 1st-level henchmen at the start, of which there are only two, so those are the only ones that need detailing. B1 already provides ready-made henchmen to use, but - while I am sad to part with the likes of Grampal of the Secret Church, Glendor the Fourth, and Trebbelos, boy Magician - since I am doing this with an eye towards AD&D, I'll make my own henchmen. The 1st-level henchmen here are **Othmar** , a LN human fighter, and **Zelmae** , a NG half-elf thief. B1 recommends that the party might need as many as four henchmen (if there are only two player characters), but in that case they could simply hire men-at-arms to round out their numbers. I'm not going to detail all 58 non-henchmen in town, but I've determined there are four high-level and two very high-level character-types among them, so those should be fleshed out: * **Manolito** , LN human fighter 7 * **Sigismund** , N human magic-user 7 * **Pia-Marie** , LG human ranger 8 * **Albertyna** , LN human magic-user 11 * **Blanchefleur** , CE human cleric 13. Rules a large shell keep. * **Lambrecht** , NE human illusionist 16. Rules a large walled castle with a keep. It's a bit troubling that the two highest-level NPCs in the town are evil, but it's probably fine. I'm sure they won't complicate things at all. Surprisingly, there is no conflict between Lambrecht and Blanchefleur. They are not working together, but have an uneasy truce. You may be wondering why there should be such high-level NPCs in a settlement tied to such a low-level adventure. Why don't they simply solve all the problems themselves? Well, for one, these ones are evil. But also remember that high-level NPCs must live somewhere, and they are assumed to have little interest in engaging in adventuring activities themselves and make a habit of using player characters to do their dirty work. Lambrecht has four henchmen of up to 10th-level, whereas Blanchefleur has 3 henchmen of up to 8th-level. If I really wanted to get into the nitty gritty, I could detail all of the character-type NPCs in the town and assign them as henchmen to the higher-level NPCs (if their alignments aren't in opposition). This is certainly too much work to do up front, so I won't. But, for example, Manolito and Sigismund are likely henchmen of Lambrecht. Albertyna is too high-level to be a henchman of either, and Pia-Marie's alignment does not agree with either, so they are independent. Lambrecht is in a standoff with **Zerelda's Company**(01.05) over the construction of a religious stronghold, a magic item tax, and the acquisition of eggs from the **Giant Eagle Nest**  (02.05). While no one knows where the giant eagle nest is, the eagles have enough range to fly over the entire area, so everyone knows of their presence in the region. Lambrecht is an evil wizard, so of course he wants to kill them and take their babies for evil magic reasons. Lambrecht is in conflict with the brigands of **Fayette's Hold**(03.01) and is courting the ogres in **Okorg's Den**(03.04) to do his bidding. **02.05 Giant Eagle Nest:** This is the lair of four giant eagles which routinely fly over the entire region. There are actually no young or eggs present in the nest at this time, so Lambrecht's predations (02.02) are for naught. They generally shun the other creatures in the region, but have taken an interest in the dwarf cleric Tharmus Trollreach and are monitoring the activities of **Zerelda's Company**(01.05). **03.01 Fayette's Hold:** This castle was ruled by **Fayette** , a LN human fighter who had established an uneasy truce with Lambrecht (02.02). Lambrecht schemed to infiltrate Fayette's Hold by sending a band of brigands led by **Ulrika**  (8th-level fighter) to enlist as men-at-arms. With aid from Lambrecht, the brigands slew those loyal to Fayette and imprisoned the fighter in the castle dungeons. Ulrika's brigands have since had a falling out with Lambrecht over missed payments and have seized control of **Ebongrove**(03.02). There are 40 brigands, including six 2nd-level fighters, two 3rd-level fighters, a 4th-level fighter, a 5th-level fighter, and **Krimhild** , Ulrika's 7th-level fighter lieutenant. **03.02 Ebongrove:** A thorp of 30 people, caught between the tyranny of Lambrecht (02.02) and the predations of Ulrika's gang (03.01). With a small militia and no character-types to protect them, they're at the mercy of both. When she still ruled the castle, Fayette would protect them. The people of Ebongrove have little to offer, but would be eternally grateful to any who could overthrow the brigands and free Fayette from her cell. **03.04 Okorg's Den:** A clan of 16 ogres lairs in this forested cavern, making forays out of the forest and across the river to plunder homesteads south of **Timbershore**(02.02). The ogres believe that the people of Timbershore have been sneaking into their lair and stealing their treasure. The ogres are led by **Okorg** , a 37 hp chieftain, and two 31 hp leaders. There are six female ogres and four young ogres who remain in the lair (in addition to the aforementioned 16). They have captured and keep six humans and one dwarf as prisoners and slaves. Lambrecht has made overtures towards the ogres, attempting to bribe them with trade goods, coins, and gems to turn their ire from Timbershore's farmers and towards **Zerelda's Company  **(01.05), with the promise of plundering **Fayette's Hold**(03.01) if they prove themselves useful. Lambrecht's gestures have proved insufficient, as the ogres have captured, killed, or eaten all messengers and their escorts. **Blubazar** , one of Okorg's lieutenants, is lobbying Okorg to take a band of ogres into the deep forest to hunt down the **Owlbear Den**(04.03). The ogres have not located the den, but have had the misfortune of encountering the owlbears when venturing into the wood's depths. **03.05 Quasqueton:** See Dungeon Module B1: In Search of the Unknown. **04.03 Owlbear Den:** This deep forest cave is the lair of three adult owlbears. They are fiercely territorial and ravenous, running off or devouring any who venture into their domain. They bear injuries from past encounters with the ogres of **Okorg's Den** (03.04), and have only become more irritable as a result. **04.04 Jinglepuff's Burrow:** This idyllic forest glade is home to **Jinglepuff** , a mischievous leprechaun who wanders the woods stealing things, especially from **Okorg's Den**(03.04). He knows the location of **Quasqueton**(03.05) and visits on occasion, and may invisibly watch adventurers going to and from the place, using _ventriloquism_  to frighten and trick them into surrendering any treasure acquired inside (pretending to be the ghost of Zelligar). He knows of the owlbears in the deep forest but has not located the **Owlbear Den**(04.03). He is sure that there's great treasure to steal there, but avoids going in search of it because he knows the owlbears will smell him. Here's a quick summary of the elements I've added: * A company of medium-to-high-level adventurers in conflict with the local ruler over constructing a stronghold * A town ruled by an evil illusionist with multiple nefarious schemes in motion * Giant eagles who watch over the region and closely monitor the activities of good-aligned adventurers * A band of brigands who have usurped a castle and imprisoned its ruler, and who are in conflict with the local ruler over a scheme gone awry * A humble thorp caught between two unrelenting masters, who have little to offer but gratitude for the liberation of their former protector * A clan of ogres who plague the locals due to a misunderstanding and resist attempts to be reasoned with * A den of belligerent owlbears who prey upon everyone without discrimination * A mischievous leprechaun with lots of information who loves to steal One problem I'm noticing is that I've simply plopped Quasqueton down in a sandbox environment which is otherwise totally unrelated to B1. Quasqueton is inhabited by orcs, troglodytes, kobolds, gnolls, hobgoblins, goblins, and gnomes, among other things - yet none of those are represented here. There's still nothing here to suggest where those creatures are coming from. Would it be better to replace the ogres with orcs? The leprechaun with kobolds, goblins, or gnomes? Or is it enough to simply say that those creatures make their home only in the dungeon? I could instead try to tie these new elements in. Perhaps Lambrecht was Zelligar's apprentice - he's a wizard after all, and he's certainly evil enough. Perhaps the brigands were once used by Rogahn and Zelligar as mercenaries in their campaign against the barbarians to the north - when the war was lost, they headed back south and flooded this region, which allowed Lambrecht to use them for his own purposes. Perhaps the ogres were once among the slaves used in Quasqueton's construction. Perhaps the owlbears are escaped creations of the mad Zelligar. That all sounds fun. B1 already includes a legend/rumor table, but many of the entries are misleading or outright false. The party might waste tons of time searching fruitlessly for the powerful magic of Zelligar or Rogahn's 100,000 gold piece gem (neither of which exist) or avoid Quasqueton altogether because of the curse upon those entering it or stealing its treasure (which isn't real), the guards that still patrol its halls, or the rumor than Rogahn and Zelligar have in fact returned (neither of which is true). False rumors are fun to an extent, but not so much when they end in frustration or disappointment or when they discourage players from undertaking the adventure entirely. Instead, we could replace the problematic rumors about Quasqueton with information about the surrounding region: 1. A band of adventurers has made camp on a hill to the southwest. Perhaps they seek Rogahn and Zelligar's treasure. Maybe they're here to rid us of these brigands, or of Lambrecht himself? 2. The truce between Lambrecht and Blanchefleur is shaky, but Blanchefleur would be an even crueler mistress than Lambrecht. It is said she consorts with demons! 3. Lambrecht has offered a reward of 700 gold pieces for any giant eagle eggs delivered to him. If only we could find the nest! 4. The brigands of Fayette's Hold claim to hold the Lady for ransom, but they're utterly ruthless - former soldiers of fortune under the banner of Rogahn and Zelligar. She's surely dead, right? 5. The people of Ebonshire seek to liberate the Lady Fayette from the dungeons of Fayette's Hold. They have little to offer, but are kindly. 6. The ogres plaguing the lands south of Timbershore accused the homesteaders of stealing their treasure. Could it be true? 7. A horrible beast lurks deep in the forest where the three rivers meet. It's said to be one of mad Zelligar's escaped experiments. 8. A fearsome spirit haunts the ruin of Rogahn and Zelligar's hold, wherever it is. It is the ghost of Zelligar, demanding intruders surrender his stolen treasure! Another potential issue is that, aside from Quasqueton itself, I'm not sure there's enough here for low-level characters to actually do. Completing B1's content alone is probably not enough to graduate new player characters to a level at which they can begin exploring the wilderness and knocking off monster lairs in earnest. Let's figure out roughly what level each of the monsters and powerful NPCs in our sandbox are, calculating average XP values using Appendix E of the DMG for monsters and the rough calculations on page 85 of the DMG for our character-types: I cross-reference the rough XP values with this section from Appendix C: Here's what I ended up with: * Level III: Jinglepuff (85 xp) * Level IV: Giant eagles (average 168 xp) * Level V: Owlbears (average 421 xp) * Level VI: Okorg (521 xp) and Ulrika (~815 xp) * Level VII: Zerelda (~2,300 xp) * Level IX: Lambrecht (~5,870 xp) Now we can use the **DUNGEON RANDOM MONSTER LEVEL DETERMINATION MATRIX** to get a feel for at what level the player characters might be able to take on each of these factions: For example, Lambrecht is a level IX "monster", but the party could _maybe_  challenge him as early as 7th-level. They could _maybe_ take Okorg or Ulrika at 4th-level, and the owlbears at 2nd- or 3rd-level, though it might be a tall order in any case. This is, of course, just a rough estimation of what level the party should be if they intend to _fight_ these creatures. There's nothing but (potentially deadly) random encounters preventing the party from venturing into the forest to track down the giant eagle nest or investigate the nature of the monster in the deep woods, and they could always sneak into these creatures' lairs to steal their treasure for XP while avoiding a direct confrontation. Similarly, there's nothing but their reputation, social acumen, and reaction rolls preventing them from treating with Okorg (and from there, perhaps finding a way to track down Jinglepuff), Ulrika, Zerelda, or Lambrecht. The player characters will be small fish in a big pond, but if they're savvy, they can definitely make some moves. The point of this is not to create a "balanced" play environment where the party is herded from one level-appropriate challenge to the next in the "adventure path" style, but rather to simply get an idea as to whether there's enough that the party can reasonably accomplish to feel like they're making progress in the game. The most important thing is that the environment feels lifelike, is engaging, and provides the players with choices. What they choose to do with it is entirely up to them.
10.12.2025 15:42 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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B1 and Toyetic Dungeon Rooms Over on Bluesky, I did a walkthrough of B1: In Search of the Unknown. I already wrote about how B1 tells the story of Rogahn and Zelligar, two adventurers motivated "by greed and vague evil" who in their retirement became dungeon sickos and built Quasqueton, a labyrinthine dungeon stronghold, as a monument to their own egos and sadism, and as a middle finger to the upstart adventurers who would one day surely come to plunder its riches. But how, exactly, does the module tell that story? Well, it's largely through its room descriptions. By default, most of the rooms in Quasqueton are empty. A few contain incidental or major treasures, tricks, or traps. But, being a teaching/introductory module, the intention is for the DM to manually stock each of the rooms (excepting a few) with monsters or treasure from a provided list. When I stocked my version of B1, I treated a roll of 1 or 2 on d6 as a monster. If there was no monster, a roll of 1 on d6 would indicate a treasure should be placed. This is based on OSE's stocking procedure, minus special rooms because those are already written into the module: That still leaves something like 56% of rooms empty. My version of B1 ended up with 33 empty rooms out of 56 total rooms - that's 59% (here I'm counting traps and special rooms already written into the module as "empty" in the sense that I'm not _adding_  anything that isn't already there - these are not strictly-speaking empty rooms, so the numbers aren't wholly accurate). That number is fairly consistent with AD&D, where 60% of dungeon rooms are empty: Overall, I was impressed by the quality of B1's rooms. Even without monsters, tricks, traps, or treasure, few of them are ever actually truly _empty_. This is consistent with modern OSR design philosophies, wherein empty rooms can be actionable, containing mundane items to use, clues to or warnings about encounters elsewhere in the dungeon, environmental storytelling in the form of artwork and other set dressings, or dangers other than monsters, tricks, and traps, such as hazards or obstacles. Interestingly, despite what the common wisdom may be regarding empty rooms, there is some evidence to suggest that Gygax (in the earliest days, at least) imagined empty rooms as being _truly_  empty - or at least, not worth detailing. Even so, truly empty space in a dungeon can still serve a purpose by facilitating tension or mystery, or by helping with the pace of the game, providing breathing room between dungeon factions or a safe place for the party to rest or think. For the most part, B1's rooms, when empty, are of the mundane items and environmental storytelling variety. As my previous post describes, many of the rooms tell the story - by way of carvings, tapestries, paintings, torture devices, and manacled skeletons - of Rogahn and Zelligar's egos, cruelty, and paranoia. Many others are filled with mundane equipment and barrels, bottles, and casks of various unremarkable substances. One thing that struck me when reading B1 was that even those rooms without prewritten tricks, traps, and treasure, when my stocking method revealed them to have no additional monsters or treasure, still ignited my imagination. Specifically, they made me imagine how these rooms might play if there _was_  some additional element like a monster or treasure. That is, the descriptions made me imagine the rooms' _potential_. Take for example Area II, the kitchen. You could easily just describe this room as "An old kitchen. Y'know, there's moldy food and utensils and crap all over, but there's nothing else here." And that's basically what the room is. There are two big cooking pits, a very narrow chimney, moldy food on the tables (including a "particularly noxious" chunk of cheese), hanging utensils, pots and pans, and a large cast iron kettle hanging from the ceiling by a chain. The room isn't _empty_. It's got stuff in it. At the same time, none of the stuff here is particularly useful to adventurers (unless they want to cook a monster they kill later), it doesn't provide any clues about the rest of the dungeon, there isn't much in the way of environmental storytelling (besides establishing that people used to eat here a long time ago), and there are no other dangers present. But I can't help but imagine _what if_  there was something here. What if a huge spider hid in one of the cooking pits? What if giant centipedes nested in the chimney? What if you got into a food fight with some hobgoblins? Is the "particularly noxious" cheese an especially potent weapon? Would it have the same effect if the enemies were instead stinking troglodytes? What if you stabbed a goblin with a fork or smashed it over the head with a cooking pan? Could you use the kettle on a chain as a wrecking ball against a band of kobolds? Or take Area X, the storeroom. This one contains barrels of stale but still edible foodstuffs. This room falls into the "mundane but useful stuff" category, since the party can provision itself here (albeit with old, nasty food), but the room takes on a different aspect if, for example, giant rats are currently getting their way into the barrels. Or, if the party does plunder the room's contents but isn't careful to avoid spillage or to reseal the barrels, vermin and monsters will be attracted to the place on future delves. Or Area XXXVII, the recreation room. This is basically Rogahn's gym, complete with archery targets, barbells, a pullup bar, a climbing rope, very heavy weapons, and battered shields. The party might make use of some arrows, lug around a notched sword, or replace a broken shield with one in less than pristine condition. But I can't help but imagine if there were orcs in here. Would they challenge the party to some sort of sporting competition? A single player character would get exhausted if they tried to defeat the orcs - who are probably universally quite strong - in every competition themselves, so the whole party would have to get involved. A thief could likely win an archery contest or climb a rope pretty quickly, but what will the magic-user do? And you might say, "That's all well and good, but the rooms are still 'empty'. They may have potential as the scene of such an encounter, but in the absence of one they're just places for the party to poke around for a bit, maybe pick up one or two useful items, take a breather, and move on. The potential isn't used!" But that isn't true, because empty rooms might only be empty when the party first encounters them. If you're checking for wandering monsters (which you should), any one of those rooms could suddenly not be empty at the roll of a die. This is doubly true if you're restocking the dungeon or having the monsters that remain in the dungeon react to the party's actions in between delves - both of these practices can result in originally empty rooms becoming occupied. If a room's dressing is simply barren, there's little creative juice to squeeze when and if a monster ends up being encountered there. The gnolls are simply passing through, camping out, or maybe looking for secret doors - what else could they be doing in a barren environment? But in the kitchen they might be roasting some slain gnomes in the cooking pit, in the storage room they might be reprovisioning, and in the recreation room they might be pumping iron. What I'm getting at is that empty rooms should be "toyetic" - that is, they should contain lots of little elements that the players can mess around with like knobs and levers. I'm cribbing this particular term from Prismatic Wasteland's Encounter Checklist. That post describes a goblin encounter wherein each of the goblins has a sort of prop that invites interaction or experimentation by the players. The encounter should be designed "like a child’s playset—something with elements the characters can interact with. These can come in many forms: ladders, rope swings, trap doors, greased floors, functional stove tops, round boulders begging to be pushed, things that can be opened or locked or launched, etc., etc." That sounds a lot like a well-designed dungeon room! The Encounter Checklist is in turn derived from Goblin Punch's Dungeon Checklist, which includes "Something to Experiment With". In the Dungeon Checklist, this role is filled by what we might ordinarily call a trick or special room, but those are relatively rare (1-in-6 rooms in OSE and 1-in-10 rooms in AD&D). What I'm arguing for in this post is that _every_  room in your dungeon should have something to play with. That might be something more or less mundane like a bunch of adventurer's corpses to examine, a potentially valuable object like a nude statue of a bodacious babe to leer at, or a magical oddity like a mica formation you can chip pieces off of and eat for various magical effects. That might be all that's in the room, but if there does happen to be a monster or a treasure, the set dressing gives you something to riff on. There are kobolds picking over the bodies, orcs leering at the statue, or gnolls sticking pieces of rock in their mouths. One of the adventurer's corpses still has treasure, there's a jeweled pendant hanging from the statue's neck, or one of the pieces of mica transmutes itself into a valuable gemstone when removed. Because B1 is a teaching module and is intended to be manually stocked with monsters and treasure by the new DM, it's especially important that each and every room has such elements to work with. There are certainly _truly empty_  rooms in B1 - the second level of the dungeon in particular is filled with empty caverns, many of which are barely described - but they are few and far between. And that should be the norm. Design all of your dungeon rooms under the assumption that, even if there's no monster, treasure, or whatever there _now_ , there _could be_  something there later. In that case, you'll want there to be some toys with which to play.
03.12.2025 15:53 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Greed and Vague Evil: B1 and the Retired Adventurer as Dungeon-Brained Sicko I did a fun little walkthrough of B1: In Search of the Unknown over on Bluesky. While you can read the detailed play by play over there (including my step by step stocking of each and every room per the module's instructions, with some interesting results), I thought I'd use the blog to discuss some more high-level impressions of the module's contents overall. One thing that immediately struck me about this module is that it's essentially the embodiment of my blog post Retired Adventurers Long for the Dungeon. That is that high-level adventurers, upon retiring to their (typically) wilderness seats of power will, for whatever reason, feel compelled to construct "dungeon mazes thereunder." Dungeons are all that adventurers know. They stake their claim to power and wealth by plundering them, then apply that same wealth and experience to perpetuating their existence. Inadvertently or not, they create the proving grounds for the next generation of adventurers. This is basically the premise of B1. Rogahn the fighter and Zelligar the magic-user built a single tower for lookout purposes, but it isn't detailed at all in the module and may not even still stand. Instead, the focus is on the mazelike dungeon beneath the tower, which contains all of the retired adventurers' living quarters and utility rooms. But the dungeon isn't just a place where Rogahn and Zelligar once lived. It's also filled with impracticalities like needlessly long hallways, twisting corridors to nowhere, door labyrinths, pit traps, and portcullises which drop from the ceiling to trap hapless wanderers in dead end passages. The dungeon is not incidentally hazardous to plunderers, but intentionally so. Rogahn and Zelligar lived alongside these contrivances, presumably because they anticipated that one day, their spiritual successors would arrive to overcome the challenges they had created. This can all be written off as dungeon weirdness typical of TSR modules of the time, but I think this would be a disservice to the legacy of the great Rogahn and Zelligar. The dungeon is not just a lair with some weirdness necessitated by gameplay expectations. Rather, it is a place that tells a story about who these two characters were - they had huge egos, were without moral scruples, and were _massive_  trolls. Rogahn and Zelligar are a perfect representation of the character of adventurers in D&D. "Their motives were based on greed and some kind of vague (or chaotic) evil." Using "the work of hundreds of slaves and laborers" they built their stronghold far from civilization, "since both men disliked visitors and intruders." They ventured out only occasionally to do adventurer stuff, until for some reason they emerged to defeat a barbarian horde which threatened the valley which the stronghold overlooked. This was either because they expected a substantial reward from the populace (which they did receive) or because their massive egos simply could not tolerate barbarians within their domain (this is my read on the situation). They then went on campaign in the barbarian lands, never to return. But their stronghold, Quasqueton, remains, and it is a monument to both men's legacies. The place is _thick_  with ego: * The entrance corridor contains a pair of magic mouths which declare one after the other and then in unison: "WHO DARES ENTER THIS PLACE AND INTRUDE UPON THE SANCTUARY OF ITS INHABITANTS? ONLY A GROUP OF FOOLHARDY EXPLORERS DOOMED TO CERTAIN DEATH! WOE TO ANY WHO PASS THIS PLACE - THE WRATH OF ZELLIGAR AND ROGAHN WILL BE UPON THEM!" Then they both laugh as the enchantment fades away. Keep in mind that this effect would have been triggered any time anyone entered the stronghold _even when Rogahn and Zelligar were still alive_. * Zelligar's chamber contains a 70-foot wall carving of himself casting the spell which turned away the barbarian horde. * His laboratory includes a wall hanging which reads "What mysterious happenings have their birth here? Only the greatest feats of wizardry, for which every element of earth, water, and sky is but a tool!" * The library has blocks of white granite in the floor which form "R&Z". * Rogahn's mistress's chamber contains a tapestry depicting himself rescuing her from a burning village with enemies watching from afar. * Rogahn's own chamber contains tapestries which depict him personally slaying a dragon (his companions are also there, but he is striking the killing blow), his and Zelligar's battle with the barbarians, he and his mistress holding hands on horseback, and him and Zelligar shaking hands atop the hill where the stronghold now sits. * Rogahn and Zelligar gifted their advisor what is essentially an autographed painting of _themselves_ which hangs in the advisor's chamber. * The unfinished second level contains a museum dedicated to Rogahn and Zelligar's own lives and deeds. Who's to say how else the two would have managed to stroke their own egos had they lived to finish their construction? Quasqueton is filled with indications of not only Rogahn and Zelligar's egos, but also their sinister nature: * Rogahn and Zelligar used orc slaves in the stronghold's construction, and some of those slaves can still be found within the dungeon. * Zelligar's laboratory contains a barbarian chieftain's skeleton hanging from the ceiling and also serves as a torture chamber. * The stronghold's trophy room contains not just trophies from monsters but also a dwarf skeleton suspended in irons from the ceiling. * The worship area contains an idol of a horned head with an evil visage. * There is another barbarian skeleton on display in the museum on the second level. Finally, Quasqueton contains many elements which seem to exist for the sole purpose of inconveniencing, annoying, or otherwise thwarting adventurers: * The aforementioned needlessly long corridors, hallways to nowhere, and labyrinth of doors. * The "wizard's annex" where Zelligar practiced his magic contains, for seemingly no reason, an illusory treasure hoard. It is not tied to a trap or any other element of danger which would justify its existence. * Zelligar's laboratory contains a glass jar with a black cat in clear liquid. If someone opens the jar, the cat yowls, jumps out, and flees, even passing through closed doors, never to appear again. This is there explicitly "to surprise and/or mystify the adventurers." * Two teleportation rooms in close proximity connected by winding hallways exist solely to confuse intruders attempting to map the dungeon. * The room of pools contains some elements which might be of practical use, such as healing liquid, drinking water, and fish, but also acid, sickening syrup, wine which compels imbibers to drink to excess, liquid which puts the drinker to sleep, another illusory treasure hoard, and water which causes muteness. * A guest chamber contains a false door which seemingly exists solely so that intruders will attract monsters while trying to open it. * A hallway outside an empty utility room contains false steps which trick intruders into thinking they've descended a level. * A statue on the second level points to a rocky outcropping of no significance. There are other tricks and traps to be found in Quasqueton, but those which I haven't mentioned at least serve an apparent purpose in deterring intruders or meddlers who may have been present during Rogahn and Zelligar's lives. The poison needle trap on the nightstand in Zelligar's chamber is protection against thieving guards or apprentices. The portcullis or pit trap in the dead end hallways could be used to trap or kill visiting dignitaries or enemies. The treasure cave on the second level is guarded by animating statues because slaves working in the caves might stumble upon or know about and seek to plunder that room. The tricks and traps listed above, however, seem to have been included with the assumption that one day Rogahn and Zelligar would be no more, and that upstart adventurers like they once were would come to rob the strongholds of its riches, just as Rogahn and Zelligar did to similar dungeons in their youth. B1 is a good teaching module, not just for its advice for players and Dungeon Masters, but because it gives us a look into the psyche of the retired adventurer: reclusive, inscrutable, and egomaniacal. Maybe that's not the kind of retirement you as a player see for your character, and maybe as a DM you don't want all your retired adventurers to be this type, but it's an interesting place to start when thinking about what all those deserted castles are supposed to look like from a gameplay perspective. As should always be the case when preparing to run a site-based adventure like a dungeon crawl, the place should tell a story. In the case of Quasqueton, with its elaborate tapestries, proudly displayed skeletons, and middle fingers to adventurers, B1 tells the strange story of Rogahn and Zelligar, dungeon-brained sickos.
26.11.2025 19:22 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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The Implied Setting of AD&D Towns & Cities: Four Themes This is a topic I've been dancing around a lot for the past few months. As my observations have accumulated, I've begun to feel that it would be beneficial to collate my findings into a broader "master post" which paints a more comprehensive picture of the subject. To summarize my findings so far (more or less sorted beginning with broad ideas down to specific details): * Player characters are assumed to be strangers to the land in which they adventure, including the local town or city, and will have to learn the lay of the land when they first begin their careers. Even things as simple as entering through the gate and finding lodging, a place to buy equipment, and where to meet fellow adventurers is intended to be a challenge. * Towns and cities are home to high-level NPCs. They represent the established order, and view player character adventurers as a threat to that order. While they generally have no interest in adventuring themselves (allowing the player characters to rightfully be the main agents of change of the campaign), they are more than happy to use the player characters as pawns, both to accomplish their own ends as well as to remove these threats to some distant border region where they will pose less of a danger and hopefully build their own domain well removed from the NPCs'. * NPCs are expensive and irritating to deal with, and because of the high density of NPCs in towns and cities, adventures in these places will as a result be particularly expensive and irritating. While towns and cities offer many amenities and services to the player characters, actually obtaining these is a challenge of the player characters' wealth and the players' patience. * Encounters in AD&D towns and cities are intended to be disguised "using vagueness and similarity". The players are meant to never be quite sure who or what exactly they're encountering. While many encountered people and creatures will be indifferent to the party, many others will be actively seeking to prey upon them (using their mistaken identity to their advantage), or more than ready to throw a fit if they're offended or mistreated (likely because their identity is mistaken). * AD&D towns and cities are supported by a _robust  _system of duties, excises, fees, tariffs, taxes, tithes, and tolls - including tolls to use roads to dungeons. Towns and cities do not exist solely to house and support the player characters but also to lord over them and drain their resources. If the player characters conspire to dodge these annoying inconveniences, they might pay for it by way of the usual complications involved in engaging in criminal activity or by becoming indentured servants to the city guard or watch. * Towns and cities are the best place to find henchmen and hirelings. 1 to 2% of NPCs are "suitable for level advancement", and of those, only 10% are looking for work as henchmen. Recruiting them takes time and - like other interactions with NPCs - is likely to be costly and frustrating. There's a cottage industry of criers, tavernkeepers, and printers who make substantial amounts of money on the side helping adventurers advertise to prospective henchmen. It's also suggested that there is a complex web of social taboos and expectations when recruiting henchmen, which may apply more broadly to interacting with other NPCs in towns and cities - alignment and religion are touchy subjects, and speaking the language of alignment is a social faux pas, reinforcing that in these environments the player characters should never know exactly who they are dealing with. * Larger towns and cities will usually have a market for subdued dragons as well as other enslaved monsters, their eggs, young, hides, and other parts - that is, there exists in AD&D towns and cities an adventurer-fueled "monster economy" of sorts. Occasionally, adventurers (player characters or otherwise) will pull a subdued dragon, a train of giant beavers, a cartload of pegasus eggs, or a barrel full of mind flayer brains into town to sell, which is probably an occasion worth noting. If followed to its logical conclusion, this presupposes that wealthy and/or high-level NPCs will own pet dragons, griffons, and the like, and be decorated with the pelts of giant otters and winter wolves. * Cities are infested with disease, which proliferates due to crowding, filth, and plague-bearing beggars and rats. These diseases can be quite lethal, and because curing them is relatively expensive and difficult at low levels, these characters would be wise to spend as little time in cities as possible. * Most towns and cities will be home to both a Thieves Guild and an Assassins Guild. Thief and assassin player characters will need to choose whether to join them or supplant them. Even in the absence of such player characters, there will likely be conflict between these entities and their upstart rivals, generating conflict which the player characters can choose to avoid or become embroiled in. To these points I'll add a few others before concluding. From the PHB, in the section titled **MONEY** , AD&D cities and towns are analogous to gold rush boom towns: This not only justifies why equipment prices are so high compared to what might be "historically" accurate (I'm to understand that some people are concerned about this), but also lends additional character to the town or city. Towns and cities are vital places to adventurers due to the availability of goods and services, but they are also money sinks where opportunistic merchants and service providers will test them to see just how much they're willing to spend for what they need. Also, D&D is a Western. From the PHB section titled **THE ADVENTURE** : Town adventures are described as "interesting, informative, and often hazardous", requiring "forethought and skill". "Care must be taken in all one says and does" and in these environments one can find "many potential helpful or useful characters" as well as "clever and dangerous adversaries". Later, in the section titled **SUCCESSFUL ADVENTURES** , we are told that, compared to underworld and wilderness adventures, "City adventures are the toughest of all": Like underworld and wilderness adventures, successful adventures in the city depend on "Setting out with an objective in mind, having sufficient force to gain it, and not drawing undue attention to the party." Why then are city adventures "the toughest of all"? Probably it is some combination of the aforementioned high-level NPCs and powerful factions, hidden dangers, meddling officials, social landmines, and the overall size and complexity of the place. Crawling through a dungeon filled with monsters and traps is one thing, and assaulting a wilderness monster lair or stronghold is another - engaging in a protracted war with the Thieves Guild in the city streets is an order of magnitude more complex because of the many different characters and factions in proximity to the scenario, each of which will have their own goals and opinions about the matter and will intervene or otherwise react in ways befitting their personalities. I would be remiss not to mention that in addition to criminals, officials, character-type NPCs, and other mundanities of municipal life like laborers, merchants, and rats, the city/town encounter table is also filled with demons, devils, dopplegangers, lycanthropes, and undead: The town or city is home to Evil temples guarded by devils, wizards who conjure demons, deserted places, entrances to the underworld, and ruins where dopplegangers and shadows lurk, haunted charnel houses and graveyards, and shapeshifting beasts and vampires almost always in search of victims. Each of these points reinforces one or more common themes in the portrayal of AD&D's towns and cities: * They are **fantastic  **places - maybe not as mythic as the dungeon, but nonetheless inhabited by the game's highest-level NPCs and warring guilds, and the sites of the occasional market day featuring the sale of everything from exotic monster pelts and eggs to live dragons. Conjured demons and devils, haunted graveyards, deserted ruins, predatory shapeshifters, and entrances to the underworld are common. * They are also **mundane  **places, where player characters are subject to real-world annoyances like overbearing taxes and other drains on their wealth, meddling officials, easily-offended nobles and merchants, beggars, drunks, rowdy laborers, and common diseases. * They are **useful  **places. Player characters can rely on them for common services and resources such as lodging, equipment, meeting with fellow adventurers, selling treasure, and recruiting henchmen. Due to the presence of the aforementioned high-level NPCs and the monster economy, they are also places where player characters can procure powerful spellcasting services and purchase rare ingredients needed to ink scrolls, brew potions, and craft other magic items. * They are **adversarial**  places. They are strange to the player characters, and will require some investigation to become familiar with. The player characters are viewed as troublemakers at best and threats at worst, and NPCs will require significant persuading before offering aid to them. These environments are social mine fields and money pits, with powerful authority figures and hidden dangers eager to exploit the player characters, do harm to them, or otherwise embroil them in trouble. These themes help to lend a unique character to these environments which the DM can keep in mind when running scenarios therein. They also suggest that, like dungeons and wilderness environments, towns and cities serve a dual purpose when it comes to gameplay. Dungeons are dangerous places, but they're also a reliable source of treasure in a somewhat "balanced" gameplay environment suitable for lower-level characters. The wilderness is often even more dangerous and unpredictable, but the treasure hoards possessed by monsters there are often much greater in value, and the environment provides ample room for characters to establish and carve out their own domains around which higher levels of play are centered. Towns and cities are essential to characters because of the goods and services they offer, but rather than being purely beacons of safety, they are perhaps the most dangerous, complex places in which gameplay takes place. In AD&D, no environment exists solely to benefit or serve the player characters. Nowhere is without peril or challenge - and towns and cities are no exception.
14.11.2025 13:45 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Where are AD&D's High-Level NPCs? This is a question I've pondered quite a bit in my exploration of AD&D. Theoretically, my assumption would be that there's nothing to restrict a character-type NPC from reaching the same level of experience as a player character of the same type. That is, a human character can become a cleric of 29th level, a fighter of 11th level or higher, or a magic-user of 18th level or higher (no upper limit is provided in the latter two cases, whereas 29 seems to be the cleric's limit for whatever reason). Non-human NPCs would also presumably abide by the same restrictions imposed on player characters of that type, so an NPC elf could advance as far as 7th level as a fighter and 11th level as a magic-user, and no more, just like a player character. Interestingly, NPC dwarves, elves, and gnomes can be clerics, and NPC halflings can be druids, even though these options are not available to player characters: The PHB, in the section titled **THE ADVENTURE** , describes three different adventure types, characterized by the setting in which they take place: **Town Adventures**(which include not just towns but also cities and large villages, and so are probably more accurately described as settlement adventures), **Dungeon Expeditions** , and **Outdoor Exploration**  (this is, for my money, a better configuration of modern editions' "Three Pillars of Play" - which are Combat, Exploration, and Social Interaction). The DMG provides some guidance as to what level character-type NPCs encountered in each of these scenarios will be, so I'll analyze the subject within this framework. I'll begin with **Dungeon Expeditions** , because NPCs encountered in these scenarios will tend to be of lower levels. Character-type NPCs are encountered in dungeons as early as the 1st dungeon level: They can also be encountered all the way in the deepest levels of the dungeon, and on every level in between: Here is the relevant section describing the level of these NPCs: Character-type NPCs encountered on the 1st through 4th levels of the dungeon are of the corresponding level in their class. Such NPCs encountered on the 5th through 15th levels are level 6 to 12. NPCs encountered on the 16th level or deeper can be as high as 13th level. 5th level NPCs are oddly never encountered in dungeons, nor are those higher than 13th level. This suggests that 13th level is the maximum level at which player characters should continue to embark on dungeon expeditions - that's before clerics or magic-users gain access to 7th level spells, for context. Next, let's look at **Outdoor Exploration**. For whatever reason, character-type NPCs are encountered in temperate and sub-tropical uninhabited/wilderness areas and nowhere else - not in arctic, sub-arctic, sub-tropical, or tropical areas, and not in waterborne environments. Not even in inhabited areas! The occasional high-level NPC is _ _ still encountered in groups of men (bandits, berserkers, brigands, etc.) and demihumans (dwarves, elves, gnomes, etc.), but full parties of fellow/rival adventurers are not. According to the special footnote to these encounter tables, character-type NPCs in the outdoors are always of 7th through 10th level: But random encounters are not the only way to encounter character-type NPCs outdoors. We must also account for those NPCs who rule strongholds: Excepting the bard, which is an outlier by design, there is a good deal of overlap with those character-type NPCs found in the lower levels of dungeons and in random outdoor encounters. Only magic-users, thieves, and assassins exceed 13th level - and, as I mention in my post on Thieves and Assassins Guilds, this table is not totally reliable when used to stock an outdoor area, since the PHB states that thieves can only build small-type castles within or close to towns and cities, and only Grandfather/Grandmother assassins (15th level) rule wilderness strongholds (14th level assassins' strongholds are always in a town or city). Where are all the higher-level character-type NPCs, then? According to the rules presented by the DMG, characters adventuring in dungeons and outdoors will never encounter a cleric capable of casting 7th level spells or a magic-user capable of casting 8th level spells (16th level in both cases), an illusionist capable of casting 7th level spells (14th level), a Great Druid (14th level), a Grandfather/Grandmother assassin (15th level), or a monk of higher than 13th level. This has gameplay significance because players may _need_ to be able to find such NPCs. They may need a cleric to cast _resurrection_ , a magic-user to cast _wish_ , or an illusionist to cast _vision_. Druids, assassins, and monks will need to find higher-ranked NPCs of the same type and defeat them to advance in their own class. Where are they? As I've already mentioned, the Grandfather/Grandmother assassin _should  _be in a wilderness stronghold. Druids, likewise, according to the PHB, "do not dwell permanently in castles, or even in cities or towns", but "in sacred groves...set in woodlands and similar natural surroundings": While no such restriction is imposed upon higher-level monks, it seems fitting to me that these too would be (literally) cloistered away in some remote wilderness monastery. It seems to me that the highest-level druids, assassins, and monks are left off the castle sub-table merely because they are unique individuals who should be deliberately placed in the play area with careful consideration by the DM - though this rationale again is not applied to monks in the same way, who appear on the sub-table despite the fact that those of 9th level or higher are, according to the PHB, one-of-a-kind: That still leaves the higher-level spellcasters, which brings us to **Town Adventures**. In my post on henchmen, I mention that 1-in-100 humans and 1-in-50 demihumans are "suitable for level advancement". Of those, generally, 1-in-10 are "interested in offers of employment as a henchman". Since newly recruited henchmen can only be 1st through 3rd level, this means that 10% of the character-type population in a settlement is of 1st through 3rd level, but no guidance is provided for the level distribution of the remaining 90% of character-type NPCs. The city/town encounters detailed in the DMG shed a bit of light on the level of NPCs found in these environments: * **Assassin**  encounters are with assassins of an indeterminate level (my guess is that one is to refer to the **Thief**  encounter below to determine the level of the assassins). * **Bandit** and **Brigand  **encounters at night will include "1 or more leaders" (based on the Monster Manual there could be a fighter from 8th to 10th level, a magic-user of 7th to 10th level, or a cleric of 5th to 6th level, but it's unclear how to determine which leaders and of what level will be present because the Monster Manual deals with much larger groups of bandits). * **City guard** encounters include fighters of 2nd to 5th level and indentured magic-users of 1st to 4th level. * **City official**  encounters include fighters of 1st to 4th level. * **City watchman**  encounters include fighters of 1st to 5th level and indentured clerics of 2nd to 5th level. * **Cleric**  encounters are with a cleric of 6th to 11th level and can include lesser clerics of 1st to 4th level. * **Druid**  encounters are with a druid of 6th to 11th level and include either lesser druids of 1st to 4th level or fighters of 1st to 6th level. * **Drunk**  encounters can include individuals from many of the other encounter types, presumably at similar levels. * **Fighter** encounters are with a fighter of 6th to 12th level and include henchmen of 1st to 4th level. * **Gentleman**  encounters can be with fighters of 7th to 10th level. * **Harlot**  encounters may be with a harlot who is a thief or is working with one (presumably of the same level as those described under **Thief** , below). * **Illusionist**  encounters are with an illusionist of 7th to 10th level and include either illusionists of 1st to 4th level or fighters of 1st to 6th level. * **Magic-user**  encounters are with a magic-user of 7th to 12th level and henchman magic-users or fighters of 1st to 6th level or 4th to 7th level, respectively. * **Mercenary**  encounters include 1st level fighters and may include fighters of 2nd to 5th level. * **Merchant**  encounters include a fighter of 1st to 4th level. * **Monk**  encounters are with a monk of 7th to 10th level. * **Noble** encounters include fighters of 1st to 4th level, and the noble may even be a fighter or cleric of 5th to 12th level. * **Paladin**  encounters are with a paladin of 6th to 9th level. * **Pilgrim**  encounters may include a cleric (or druid) of 2nd to 8th level, a monk of 5th to 6th level, a fighter (or paladin or ranger) of 1st to 8th level, a thief (or assassin) of 2nd to 7th level, or a magic-user of 6th to 9th level (as with **Bandit**  and **Brigand**  encounters, it's not entirely clear how to determine which of these character-types will be with the group, as the Monster Manual details much larger groups). * **Press gang**  encounters will be with 1st level fighters with a leader of 2nd to 5th level. * **Rake** encounters will be with fighters of 5th to 10th level. * **Ranger  **encounters will be with rangers of 7th to 10th level. * **Ruffian**  encounters will be with 2nd level fighters and may include an assassin of 5th to 8th level. * **Thief** encounters will be with a thief of 8th to 11th level and may include lesser thieves of 1st to 4th level. So, that's a lot of information that I probably didn't need to type out. Do you notice anything? The highest-level character-type NPC which can be randomly encountered in a city or town is of 12th level (and that's only individual fighters and magic-users and noble clerics). Again, where are the higher-level NPCs? Well, they must be _somewhere_. The DMG contains the following list of prices for hiring NPC clerics to cast certain spells: (Interestingly, there is no such list for druid, magic-user, or illusionist spells, suggesting that while clerics are probably happy to accept tithes to their faith in exchange for service - if the character requesting such is "of similar alignment and religion as the cleric" - those other classes will probably only provide their services in exchange for magic items or service in kind.) This list includes 7th level cleric spells like _astral spell_ , _control weather_ , _earthquake_ , _gate_ , _regenerate_ , and _restoration_. Higher-level NPCs _are_  present in the world (and specifically in large enough settlements), but for some reason are never randomly encountered in dungeons, outdoors, or in settlements. This suggests that such NPCs are essentially retired from adventuring (they do not go into dungeons or the wilderness) and insular (they do not leave the place in which they reside to wander the streets of towns and cities). They have to be deliberately sought out where they live, and they probably won't be happy to see you. So where do they live? Clearly not in dungeons, and apparently not in wilderness strongholds. However, while there are certainly domain-less high-level NPCs in D&D, I have a hard time believing that retired, insular, very high-level NPCs would be without them. Rather, I suspect that these individuals have ruled their strongholds for a long time - long enough that they are well a part of the established order. Strongholds maintain order in the borderlands, attracting people to settle around them in tax-paying single dwellings, thorps, hamlets, and the like. Eventually, I imagine, those communities grow into villages, towns, and even cities, with those old strongholds at their core. Is this where the highest-level NPCs live? I think so. I think cities especially probably have _lots_ of strongholds within them - those may be ruled by NPCs like those found on the castle sub-table in the DMG, but I imagine others will be ruled by even higher-level ones. Unfortunately, there's no guidance as to what the distribution should be. In my post on settlements (which leans towards 5e), I stated that the character-type NPCs in my settlements are broken into groups corresponding to the "Tiers of Play" - 65% will be Tier 1, 20% tier 2, 10% Tier 3, and 5% Tier 4. In a later post, I wrote about how a similar "Tiers of Play" framework might be applied to AD&D (specifically 2e). While in that post I found that the "Tiers of Play" framework did not clearly map onto AD&D, I do still find it helpful to consider here. In my post on henchmen, I provided an example AD&D city of 35,000 people with the following character-type NPC demographics: * 280 humans * 35 dwarves * 35 elves * 14 gnomes * 35 half-elves * 14 halflings * 3 or 4 half-orcs Since the total is 416 or 417, and 10% of these will be henchmen of 1st to 3rd level in accordance with the AD&D DMG's rule of thumb, that leaves 374 to 376 character-type NPCs to be distributed as follows: * 243 to 245 low level (level 1 to 3 but not interested in work as henchmen) * 74 to 76 medium level (level 4 to 7) * 37 to 38 high level (level 7 to 12) * 18 to 19 very high level (level 12 to 20 - or 20+ in AD&D 1e's case) We can use AD&D's **Character Subtable**  for dungeon encounters to get some idea as to what classes those very high level characters are: Since this is for dungeon encounters, it may not apply to cities exactly, but it's what we've got. It's also worth noting that I'm not taking race into account, which would affect the distribution somewhat. Dwarves can't be magic-users, for example, so allowing all of these NPCs to be of any class will result in skewed numbers - but this is just a broad overview. We can expect the average AD&D city to have the following very high level character-type NPCs in residence: 3 or 4 clerics, 7 or 8 fighters, 0 or 1 paladins, 0 or 1 rangers, 3 or 4 magic-users, 0 to 1 illusionists, 1 or 2 thieves (each of which might have their own guilds or gangs at war with one another), 0 to 1 assassins (but no higher than 14th level), and 0 to 1 monks. There will be no druids, because druids do not live in cities, and you might opt to rule the same for rangers and monks depending on taste (this is how I'm leaning). While the demographics I'm using to divide the NPCs into "tiers" are entirely of my own invention and not based on anything in particular, I think they work reasonably well for the setting AD&D is depicting. The assumption seems to be that player characters will be able to find very high level NPCs in large settlements if they go looking for them, and these numbers support that. It also makes sense that player characters will be bumping into NPCs of up to 12th level in the streets, since there are a decent number of them living in the settlement. Hopefully this is helpful to someone, and hopefully I've demonstrated that this is not just worldbuilding and number crunching for its own sake, but that these numbers actually have gameplay implications and are important to consider when running a game. What are the chances that a high level cleric of the player character's alignment lives in the city? What is the political landscape among the city's fighter lords? If the party has earned the ire of one powerful magic-user, is there another they can call upon for powerful magical aid? How many Thieves Guilds are active in the place, what is the status of their internecine turf war, and which would it be best to align with? The player characters are not the most important or powerful individuals in the setting, and they may never be. I for one think it's important to know who those individuals are, how many of them there are, where they can be found, what they want, and most importantly, how the player characters might have to deal with them.
06.11.2025 16:45 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Strangers in a Strange Land From the AD&D PHB, page 34: In AD&D, it is presumed that "in all likelihood", the player character is unfamiliar with the campaign setting. They are a stranger in a strange land, and must work from the get-go to familiarize themselves with their environment. It is also worth mentioning that players are expected to name an heir or next of kin to inherit their possessions should they die. This certainly isn't a new idea to me, and I'm sure plenty of old school games were filled with siblings and children of dead player characters who were eerily similar to the recently deceased. Yet, it feels like this doesn't get nearly enough attention in play. Player characters are assumed to have families, but too often, they are played as if they're purely individuals. According to the DMG, player characters might have one or two "non-professional" skills (i.e., those unrelated to their training in a particular class). These represent those skills acquired "from early years or incidentally picked up" during their training: Add to it that player character starting money intended to represent an inheritance or savings: This to me suggests that, while player characters are exceptional (and thus fit to adventure), they also get their start as ordinary people. They have jobs and families. They give those things up to travel to a place they don't know, to adventure and seek treasure. This could be intentional - saving up every silver to someday embark on this adventure - or incidental - perhaps the character is the fifth son of some noble and happened to inherit a small windfall of cash. Either way, they leave their old life behind to seek their fortune. But not exactly, because they also name someone from their family to inherit their belongings when they die. The connection is still there. I could be reading too much into it, drawing a link where none exists, but it almost sounds like adventurers leave their families to delve dungeons and battle dragons the same way immigrant workers come to America to support their families back home. Or maybe not. Gygax is _very_  thorough in detailing all of the expenses player characters must pay, and supporting a dependent family is not one of them. Maybe adventures are just deadbeat parents? Continuing on with the PHB, under **ESTABLISHING THE CHARACTER** : In this strange new land, the player character must first negotiate with a guard to gain entry into the settlement. Surely this interaction will be appropriately expensive and irritating. Likely, the character will need to dip into their life savings to pay some sort of gate fee to enter. Then the player character will need to find a place to live and sleep. In a town there might be one inn, or in a city, several - in a village or smaller settlement, the character will probably need to sleep in a barn or stable, or convince a homesteader to put them up somewhere else. Since the character will be known to all as an adventurer and assumed to be dragging unimaginable wealth from the depths of the nearby dungeon and storing it in such a place, that place must be secure. It is assumed that there will be unsavory types looking to rob the player character. I can't imagine many villagers wanting to house someone like that unless they anticipate a considerable upside (or plan to rob the adventurer themselves). Finally, the player character can begin asking around to learn about the place to which they've come - including where to buy equipment and find other player characters with which to adventure. It reads more like the opening scene of a movie than like the first session of a D&D campaign. If a campaign features a party of five player characters who are all just starting to adventure, is this same scene meant to be played out with each of them in turn? It seems laborious. I personally prefer to start my campaigns with the characters having met and already decided which adventure they'll embark on first. Others may even begin play with the characters at the entrance to the first dungeon - although I think this misses out on the fun of trekking across the deadly wilderness to get there. I had never considered starting a campaign with this level of detail, though it does sound fairly interesting/immersive to play out this scene if, for example, I had just a single player. The final paragraph in this section even accounts for this, explaining that a lone player character - alone either because there are no others available or because those available "are not co-operative" (how quaint!) - may seek out men-at-arms or even henchmen: This all stands somewhat in contrast to what is later written in the DMG under **THE CAMPAIGN** : Here is is instead suggested that the DM "hard frame" the scene when beginning play - the characters have already met and chosen to adventure together. They are familiar with common knowledge of the area, but Gygax reiterates that otherwise "they know nothing of the world". I think the advice in the DMG is much more practical than what the PHB tells players to expect. I don't think there's any hard and fast "rule" to follow here - even the presumption that the player characters know nothing (or very little) of the play area when the campaign begins seems flawed and will probably vary from one game to another. Take it or leave it as you see fit.
27.10.2025 17:36 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Alignment Languages are Socially Repulsive In my last post on languages in AD&D, I teased that alignment languages were a topic worthy of their own post. Was I right? Let's find out. It's fitting, for context, to start with original D&D to understand the intended function of alignment languages: Here we see that alignment languages are treated much the same as other languages in terms of their function as a tool of communication, _except_  that creatures who do not speak a particular alignment language will nonetheless "recognize a hostile one and attack". This I take to mean that if you speak Law to a creature aligned with Chaos, the creature will not understand you, but will recognize the language and recognize you as an enemy. If you instead speak Neutrality to the same creature, it will neither understand nor attack (and may not even recognize the language at all). Now let's switch over to AD&D (specifically the PHB, in the section on **CHARACTER LANGUAGES**), where, in keeping with that edition's _extremely thorough_  list of languages (and many other things), the number of alignment languages has exploded to nine: There are two things to come back to here - the parenthetical about _The Assassin_ and the fact that a character who changes alignment no longer knows the language of their previous alignment. For now, we'll leave these be. Continuing on in that same section of the PHB, we have one of the more interesting tidbits: "Open alignment speech will be frowned upon as a serious breach of social etiquette." Huh. That's kind of similar to the OD&D thing where a creature attacks if you speak a "hostile" alignment language in its presence, except here that specific rule of thumb is made a lot more general. _Any_  open alignment speech, regardless of the audience, is a breach of social etiquette. Why is that? Later in the PHB, in the section on **THE ADVENTURE** , the use of alignment languages is described as "socially repulsive": Furthermore, "questions about rank, profession, god and alignment are perilous". In my post on henchmen, I mentioned that, during the recruitment process, "direct questions about alignment and religion are usually taken poorly" or "amiss". Interesting. First, let's try to grasp what alignment languages actually are. Here we will move on to the AD&D DMG: There's a lot here, but the most important part - the actual definition of alignment language in AD&D - is highlighted, namely that they are sets of "signs, signals, gestures, and words which intelligent creatures use to inform other intelligent creatures of the same alignment of their fellowship and common ethos". Well, that makes sense. But...speaking alignment language openly is "socially repulsive" and "a serious breach of social etiquette." This same paragraph says that "alignment languages are NEVER flaunted in public" and "are _not_  used as salutations or interrogatives if the speaker is uncertain of the alignment of those addressed." How then, if it is so taboo to speak openly, is alignment language meant to be used to inform others of "fellowship and common ethos"? It is worth noting that Gygax compares alignment language to Thieves' Cant (more on that later), Latin (as used by the Catholic Church), and the languages of secret organizations and societies. These example languages include "recognition signs" and "recognition phrases" and are used "as a common recognition and communication base". Basically, you use alignment language to identify people who are of the same faction as you. So why is the use of alignment language so taboo unless _you're already certain_  of the recipient's alignment? Gygax goes on to clarify that "alignment languages are of limited vocabulary and deal with the ethos of the alignment in general, so lengthy discussion of varying subjects cannot be conducted in such tongues". The next paragraph expands on this: Again, alignment language is identified as a means to _recognize_ like-aligned creatures. Again, Gygax says that the language is used "to discuss the precepts of the alignment in detail" and that all other communications in the language will be rudimentary at best. You can discuss the ethos of Lawful Good with a dwarf, but you can't use the language to plan a counteroffensive against the orcs. Here too _Thieves' Cant_(and _Druidic_) come up. It's interesting that these are lumped in with alignment languages. This is because they are "_specialty tongues_ " which, like alignment languages, are used exclusively to discuss those topics which are within their sphere of interest - crime and nature-y stuff, respectively. Presumably, like alignment language, it is considered rude to speak them openly, but they can be used to recognize members of their respective factions. Also presumably, if a druid converts to some non-Neutral deity or a thief forsakes skullduggery, they would likewise somehow suddenly lose the ability to communicate in those tongues. The next paragraph describes the consequences of open alignment speak more thoroughly: As in OD&D, a creature which is hostile to the alignment which is spoken will recognize the speaker as an enemy (although, unlike in OD&D, they will not necessarily immediately attack). However, even _creatures of the same alignment_ will refuse to associate with the speaker out of embarrassment, because speaking the language openly is "unmannerly, rude, boorish, and stupid." The final paragraph in the section clarifies the situation in which alignment language is to be used: The discussion about which creatures can actually speak their corresponding alignment language is not particularly germane to this post. Suffice it to say that a creature of a given alignment can only speak its alignment language if its Monster Manual entry explicitly says that it can. Thus, just as blink dogs do not speak Lawful Good, neither do animals speak Neutral, nor do undead speak Chaotic Evil. What picture is being painted by all this information? Alignment language is a set of signs, signals, gestures, and words which allow creatures of the same alignment to discuss the concepts pertaining to that alignment and little else. It is used as a tool of recognition, but never publicly, and only after communication has been established between the two parties. One does not simply walk into a tavern and ask in the language of demons, "Anyone else Chaotic Evil?" Rather, you scope out the place first, recognize the Evil High Priest in the dark corner bearing the subtle indicators of a follower of Orcus, pull up a chair and introduce yourself, and, when you're absolutely certain that no one else can overhear, offer them a Sign of some sort. You might discuss the latest schism in the faith presented by the anti-pope's recent declaration, but you wouldn't use that language to negotiate the cost of a _raise dead_  spell or to recruit the priest as a henchman. Think of alignment language as ideological jargon. If you're well-versed in Marxist political philosophy (Lawful Good), you can probably carry out a conversation with someone similarly educated at a party, but a third person who is not fluent may have a hard time following along. Even that same well-versed person might be put off if you launch right into theory without introducing yourself first. If you start loudly talking about it to anyone and everyone who will listen, you will put people off. Someone who otherwise agrees with your ideology may nonetheless be hesitant to associate with you out of embarrassment. If you do it at Thanksgiving with your conservative family, they will probably become hostile towards you. But it's not exactly a 1:1 comparison, because you can only speak an alignment language if you _are of_  that alignment. You can't speak it by merely being familiar with its ideas, and you lose the ability to speak it if your alignment changes. But in real life, a fascist can learn Marxist buzzwords, and a Marxist can become a fascist and still speak the language of Marx. Or can they? Speaking alignment language is basically a means of determining if someone is truly _of_ a given alignment. It's a test. The fascist might be fluent in Marxism, but if you have a long enough conversation with them, you'll probably figure out that they don't really believe it, or perhaps don't understand it. They don't embody it. They're not a _true_  Marxist. They're a fascist. Perhaps you are Lawful Good, trying to pass yourself off as a follower of Orcus to learn what the Evil High Priest is up to. Since you're both Chaotic Evil, the priest switches to speaking in that tongue. He's not speaking an unintelligible Black Speech - he's talking (maybe in what we would call the common tongue) in a ideological jargony way about eating babies and having sex with zombies (or whatever it is they do). You're familiar with the ideas of Chaos and Evil so you're like "Yeah, haha, I love doing that stuff too", but you can't really hang in the conversation for long. The priest will _know_  you're not what you're pretending to be. He's testing you to see if you know the Signs. In that sense, alignment language makes a lot of sense to me. It's off-putting to most people, but when employed with tact, it can be used to identify your true allies and reveal hidden enemies. This is maybe best represented when we dig into the assassin (I said we would get back to it), specifically the assassin's ability to learn alignment languages other than their own: High level assassins are the _only ones_  capable of speaking the language of an alignment to which they don't belong (including Druidic and Thieves' Cant, which are again lumped in with alignment languages), and thus the only ones able to pass themselves off as belonging to an alignment other than their own when tested in this way. Since assassins are the masters of disguise and subterfuge, this makes a lot of sense. They're kind of like the COINTELPRO/CHAOS agents of AD&D - the rats who will infiltrate your movement, give your plans away to your enemies, and kill your ideological paragons. And just like those agents in real life, their alignment can only be Evil. How you feel about alignment language will of course be dependent on how you feel about alignment. It is a famously difficult concept to grasp. Is alignment a cosmic faction of which your character is a part? Is it a set of ideological guiding principles which influence their behavior? Is it their religious beliefs? Is it simply the distillation of who they are? Is it what they do? Is it their position on a graph? It's kind of all those things! From the DMG: Here alignment is described broadly as an "ethos of thinking". It does not "dictate religious persuasion", but "religious beliefs will dictate alignment". For NPCs, _alignment determines behavior_ , but for PCs, _behavior determines alignment_. Alignment not only defines/is defined by behavior and religious beliefs, but _also_  groups creatures basically into factions which are (usually) friendly, unfriendly, or neutral based on their alignments' relation to one another, similar to OD&D, where alignment is simply a "stance" the character takes: All of this, of course, you're somehow supposed to graph: I'm not graphing shit, Gary! Fortunately, despite providing definitions and examples for each of the nine alignments, Gygax gives us permission (not that we need it) to decide for ourselves what exactly is Lawful, Chaotic, Good, or Evil: So yes, you can simply ignore that one forum post where Gygax says it's Lawful Good to kill orc babies or whatever. Or not. It's your game. Even after you're done grappling with alignment, you may still struggle with alignment _language_. Why does the Lawful Good paladin who kills an orc baby and becomes a Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil fighter suddenly lose the ability to speak of the Lawful Good ethos with his former contemporaries? Can the truly Lawful Good somehow recognize that the fallen paladin no longer _truly_  believes that killing children is wrong? This is exactly what AD&D suggests. And why is the Lawful Good paladin unable to converse in the tongue of Lawful Neutral or Neutral Good? Can the paladin not at least discuss the precepts of Law and Good, if not those of Neutrality? If we view alignment language as less a full language and more a set of codes for recognizing what someone _actually embodies_ - which is again what Gygax suggests - then I would argue that the Lawful Good paladin _can  _converse with a Lawful Neutral or Neutral Good creature in the language of those beliefs which they have in common. The two would simply come to recognize that they do not fully agree with one another and thus are not of the same alignment (although not necessarily enemies). To simplify this, and because I don't like the nine alignment languages, I would reduce the number to five - Law, Chaos, Good, Evil, and Neutrality. Most creatures can converse in two of these languages, True Neutral creatures being the exception (not sure how I feel about this - should there be an Order-Neutral language and a Moral-Neutral language?). Lawful Good creatures can converse with Lawful Evil creatures about the ideology of Law, or with Chaotic Good creatures about Goodness. I see no reason why a character shouldn't also be able to speak in the language of a former alignment. The Lawful Neutral fighter who was once a paladin still knows the language of Good, but actual Lawful Good creatures would recognize him as not being _truly_  Lawful Good. If you conceive of alignment language as something bestowed upon the character by some higher power - which is kinda sorta what AD&D suggests - then this probably seems wrong, but it preserves the originally intended gameplay function of alignment language while reducing cognitive dissonance in the fiction. If there's a serious drawback to the use of alignment language, it's that deception is much more difficult. You might be able to convince the Evil High Priest that you too are Chaotic Evil, but if he is wise enough to test you to see if you know the correct phrases (and he is a high level cleric, so he is likely wise), you have no hope of tricking him (unless you're an assassin, in which case you are Evil by necessity, if not Chaotic, although this is treating the example too literally). This reduces player agency, as subterfuge is suddenly off the table. Then again, _detect evil_ /_good_  and _know alignment_  are spells in AD&D, and they are available at low levels, so this kind of deception is tricky anyway (the availability of those spells also makes this use of alignment language somewhat redundant, but then again not every creature is a spellcasting cleric). I would err on the side of allowing characters to bluff proficiency in alignment languages, rather than treating them as a totally binary detection system. Just as I allow characters to more or less "get by" in languages with which they're not proficient, I imagine a Good character would have some familiarity with the beliefs of Evil and might know some of the correct phrases. This would work well with a skill-based system (to determine how well the character passes as the desired alignment), or in an old school system you could adjudicate it using reaction rolls. Another option is to forego alignment language entirely as presented in AD&D - that is, as a language an intelligent creature automatically knows by nature of their alignment. Instead, the languages of Law, Chaos, Good, Evil, and Neutrality are simply additional languages characters can learn. Gandalf is not Evil, but he knows the language of Mordor all the same. This is similar to how modern editions of D&D handle it. There are no languages named Law or Chaos, Good or Evil, but there is Celestial, Infernal, and Abyssal - languages generally spoken by creatures of a particular alignment but which anyone can learn. Hopefully I've demonstrated an interesting use case for alignment language and have shed some light on the way in which it was originally conceived. Like alignment itself, I feel that alignment language has gotten a bad reputation as a weird AD&D thing and has been doomed to be the butt of jokes made by people who learn about it from memes and never really try to understand what its purpose originally was. I've come to find that alignment language is actually quite interesting, and my gears are churning trying to figure out how I'd use it in my games.
20.10.2025 14:08 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Speak with Monsters: The Languages of AD&D and the Adventurous Linguist Language is a hot topic in D&D. You can refer back to my post from early last year, which also serves as a sort of bibliography of the many talking points surrounding the subject. I do think I came up with a rather clever solution to many of the perceived issues with languages in D&D, but it depends on both a more modern, skill-based system as well as a relatively "tight" list of just a few thematic languages, some of which are connected by common scripts. A tight list of just a few thematic languages is _not_ , however, what you find in AD&D. Let's take a look. What first got me started on this subject was the random language determination table in the section of the DMG on non-player characters: There are a lot of languages in AD&D! This is not 5e, where brownies, centaurs, and dryads all speak Sylvan, bugbears, goblins, and hobgoblins all speak Goblin, and dragons, kobolds, and lizard folk all speak Draconic. Tons of monsters - even individual dragon, giant, and naga types - have their own unique languages. And the random language determination table doesn't even tell the whole story. There is, of course, the "common tongue", spoken by humans and others "in close contact with people": Then there are the _nine_  alignment languages: I have a lot to say about alignment languages, but it's such a juicy topic that I'd rather save it for its own post. Finally, there are the languages tied to classes, namely the language of druids and the Thieves' Cant: Except that still isn't all of the languages! Entry 86-00 on the random language determination table has the following footnote: What's this? Unlisted creature languages? Like what? Well, if you happen to go looking for information about the secret language of druids, you will learn that druids learn the languages of woodland creatures beginning at 3rd level and every level thereafter: Most of these appear on the random language determination table, but not treantish, so we can add that as another language (faun does not appear either - you have to either check the Monster Manual or use your knowledge of folklore to figure out that faun is just another name for satyr, whose language is already on the random language determination table). Let's look at the Monster Manual to see which otherwise unlisted creatures have their own languages: * Beholders * Blink dogs (They "have a fairly complex language consisting of barks, yaps, whines, and growls.") * Djinn (Efreet, on the other hand, do not have their own language, but can communicate with any intelligent creature using limited telepathy.) * Dragon turtles * Giant eagles * Giant lynxes * Giant owls * Harpies * Hippocampi * Ice toads * Invisible stalkers * Ixitxachitl (Their Monster Manual entry makes no mention of a language, but sahuagin can apparently speak it.) * Ki-rin * Locathah (Their Monster Manual entry makes no mention of a language, but 50% of mermen and all tritons speak it.) * Lycanthropes (each type has its own language) * Mermen * Mimics * Mind flayers (who also speak "several other weird tongues - purportedly those of terrible races of things which dwell in regions of the subterranean world far deeper than mankind has ever witnessed") * Otyughs * Perytons * Sahuagin * Sphinxes * Triton * Umber hulks * Unicorns * Winter wolves * Worgs There is also the matter of mundane plants and animals. Spells like _speak with animals_ and _speak with plants_  suggest that communication with these creatures is possible only via magic. However, couatl can speak "most serpent and avian languages". Dryads can speak with plants. Wood elves speak the languages of "certain woods animals". Gnomes can speak with burrowing mammals. Hobgoblins can speak the "rudimentary tongue" of carnivorous apes. Weretigers can speak with cats. These are not phrased as magical or spell-like abilities. The dryad's ability to speak with plants is not _italicized_  as if it were the same as the spell. While many of these are magical monsters, the hobgoblin's ability to speak to carnivorous apes does not strike me as magical, but rather as a consequence of the mutual relationship between the two. Do all animals and plants in the AD&D world speak their own languages? Do you need to be one of these creature types to talk to them, or else use magic, or are these languages anyone can learn? Do giant eagles, lynxes, and owls speak regular-sized eagle, lynx, and owl? Can you enlist a sage who speaks bird? These unlisted creature languages raise additional questions. Are those included in the random language determination table simply those which are most common? Does that suggest something about the utility of speaking those languages in the setting? Demihuman, humanoid, and fairy creature languages (those of creatures which people might reasonably interact with somewhat frequently) all make sense for a linguist NPC to know. Many of the unlisted creatures are oddballs or those found in the depths of a dungeon or the ocean, suggesting little opportunity to learn their tongues, but plenty of strange and rare creatures find their way onto the main table anyway. I'm not sure how much rhyme or reason there is. What's with all these languages, anyway? Doesn't a big list of languages simply exacerbate D&D's oft-discoursed language issue? And yes, it does. But there are ways to get around it. I was surprised to find that demihuman player characters speak _a lot_  of languages. See here: What surprised me is that, if my interpretation is correct, all player characters of these races know how to speak all of these languages _by default_. Before I read the text closely, my ideas about starting languages for player characters were certainly informed by 2e, in which the languages listed were simply the initial languages the player could _choose_  for their character to know at the beginning of play (depending on the number of languages they could learn, as determined by Intelligence). 1e is much more generous when it comes to initial known languages. Half-orc characters can speak three languages, dwarf characters can speak seven, gnomes and halflings can speak eight, and, as usual, elves and half-elves reign supreme - they can speak nine languages. Clearly, demihumans are the diplomats of adventuring parties! Humans, by comparison, are totally uncultured brutes. One interesting thing to point out is that demihumans speak the languages of both demihumans and humanoids. Elves speak gnome, halfling, and the language of mankind, but also goblin, hobgoblin, orcish, and gnoll - languages of "Evil" races with which they are typically at odds. Gnomes hate kobolds and goblins enough to add +1 to hit when engaging them in combat, but also speak their language. This could be merely so they can hurl insults during battle, but in that case, surely only a few crude words are needed, not fluency. On the other hand, goblins and kobolds do not speak gnome. Elves can speak the language of gnolls and hobgoblins, but gnolls and hobgoblins don't speak the language of elves. Dwarves speak orcish, but orcs don't speak dwarvish. That's not to say that the humanoids are not themselves linguists - gnolls speak troll and "often (60%)" orcish and/or hobgoblin, goblins speak kobold, orcish, and hobgoblin, hobgoblins speak goblin, orcish, and carnivorous ape, kobolds "usually (75%)" speak goblin and orcish, and the majority of orcs speak goblin, hobgoblin, and ogre. This design choice makes sense if you assume the point of view of a bioessentialist colonialist - the "civilized" demihumans are more intelligent and have a greater capacity for linguistics than the "monstrous" humanoids. According to the Monster Manual, all demihumans are very intelligent or highly intelligent, and all humanoids are of low to average intelligence. I'm obviously not the first to point out that this is problematic. You could also interpret it through the lens of alignment. The demihuman races are Good, and it is Good to try to understand your neighbors' perspective and attempt to communicate with them - for example, to negotiate peace or establish trade. The humanoid races are Evil, so they may be more likely to learn the languages only of their prospective allies (or the enemies of their enemies), so as to better plot against their foes. That might not work for you either, depending on your feelings about prescribing morality to entire races of people, but I do prefer it to the former explanation. It feels more like mythic fantasy than fantasy racism. Moving on from...all that, let's assume a hypothetical scenario in which the player characters' party consists of at least one character from each of the demihuman races. Here is that same random language determination table, with the languages in which the party is able to communicate highlighted: That's a good chunk of the most frequently spoken languages checked off the list! Let's push the unlikely hypothetical scenario a bit further and assume that a human or half-elf in the group is a druid. As previously mentioned, druids learn the language of a woodland creature at 3rd level, then learn another every level thereafter. A 13th level archdruid can eventually add the following languages to the party's repertoire: Then there is, of course, the opportunity for player characters to learn additional languages. This is determined by Intelligence: There are additional limits imposed (and bonus languages granted) by race. Dwarves, gnomes, and half-orcs can learn at most two additional languages, regardless of Intelligence. Half-elves and halflings can learn an additional language for each point of Intelligence above 16 (i.e., 2 additional languages at Intelligence 18, so 9 additional languages total), while elves can learn an additional language for each point of Intelligence above 15 (3 additional languages at Intelligence 18 for a total of 10 additional languages). To learn a new language, the player character must spend time with someone (broadly speaking - it can be any creature) that speaks the language: This is then taken to its logical conclusion - capture monsters and force them to teach you their language!: Maybe something to do with your subdued dragon before you auction it off? Perhaps you can force your giant beaver slaves to teach you the language of water-dwelling mammals? It might make sense while traveling with a party of adventurers - each of which knows their own assortment of languages - to pick up some of what they know. However, you're better off learning languages which are _unknown_ to the rest of the party, thus expanding the linguistic capabilities of the party as a whole. D&D is, after all, a team sport (something that Redditors who spend their time comparing the damage output of different 5e builds - and laboriously bemoaning the inequity - could stand to learn). Still, even if you have a party of 18 Intelligence demihumans with a pet druid and thief, it seems unlikely that one party could ever learn every one of these hyper-specific languages. "Isn't that what alignment languages are for?" you might ask, and the answer is NO! Alignment languages are a totally different thing! There's some baggage there. Again, a topic for another time. There are yet a handful of solutions to the language problem remaining. At 1st-level, magic-users can cast _comprehend languages_(rangers can do it at 9th level, and illusionists can do it at 14th level): I did not realize the caster has to touch the creature which is speaking. Better not to try this with the angry manticore! This also does not impart the ability to _speak_  the creature's language, so communication is more or less one way. Useful for determining intent and acquiring information, at least. Also at 1st level, druids can _speak with animals_(clerics and monks can do it at 3rd level, rangers can do it at 8th level, and paladins can do it at 11th level): Note that this also functions almost like a _charm_  spell. It prevents animals from attacking and allows the caster to be on amicable terms with them. Are giant animals "basically normal, non-fantastic creatures"? What about carnivorous apes? Dinosaurs? At 5th level, magic-users can cast _tongues  _(clerics can do it at 7th level, and paladins can do it at 15th level): This unlocks communication with all speaking creatures, but only briefly, and in a small area - a 60-yard circle outdoors and a 60-foot circle indoors. 60 feet is within striking distance in a dungeon environment, and 180 feet in the wilderness is not all that much when speaking to a band of 150 orcs or a gang of teenaged dragons. The spell only lasts 10 minutes, so whatever you have to say, say it quick. At 6th level, druids can _speak with plants_(clerics can do it at 7th level, monks at 8th level, and paladins at 15th level): Like _speak with animals_ , it's almost like a pseudo-_charm_  spell, as it sounds like the caster can basically command the plants as well. At 11th level, clerics can _speak with monsters_ : This is similar to _tongues_ , but it can affect more monsters at a time (but only one type of monster per casting of the spell), and will last a bit longer (just one minute longer at 11th level, but up to twice as long at 20th level). Interestingly, while clerics get the most spells which allow them to talk to things, it is the magic-user who, at 16th level, might make the effects of a _comprehend languages_  or _tongues_  spell permanent (upon themselves only) using _permanency_  (at the cost of 1 point of Constitution per effect): Thus, with a permanent _tongues_  spell cast upon themselves, the magic-user can become the party's foremost diplomat. Hopefully, they have a high Charisma. Consider also the value of a telepathic psionic: Or the rare bard, who picks up an additional 15 languages (without needing to study them) throughout their career: (This in addition to having several levels of druid and the bonus languages which come with them, since bards in 1e are weird.) There are magic items to consider as well, such as the _helm of comprehending languages and reading magic_ : Or you could luck out with an exceptionally intelligent magic sword: If my calculations are correct, .000176% of magic swords can speak their alignment language plus 10 additional languages. That would be a very useful sword indeed! So yeah. There are _a lot_  of languages in AD&D - so many in fact that they cannot all fit on the big table which lists all the languages an NPC might speak. The people who reside in the AD&D world, however - from the most intelligent elf to the most dimwitted gnoll - are linguists. Everyone speaks at least two languages, every demihuman and many humanoids speak several, and even a human player character of below average intelligence can pick up a new one, given access and time - from something as commonplace as halfling to the strange language of mind flayers. Any NPC who has reason to know an additional language has a 1% chance of speaking the obscure tongue of the lammasu. At the same time, the sheer number of languages poses a considerable challenge. Even the most fluent of player character parties cannot hope to speak the language of every creature they meet. For this, there are spells and magic items, but even these are limited. Spells require forethought and preparation, allow for only brief conversations, and put the caster within arms reach of potential enemies. Magic items are few and far between, and talking swords rarer still. It is a far cry from modern versions of the game, where two characters in the same adventuring party might begin at 1st level each speaking the language of demons, and where the _tongues_  spell lasts a full hour and has a range as long as the volume of the speaker's voice. AD&D expects player characters to sacrifice precious spell slots in case they will want to speak to some odd creature encountered by chance, enlist sages to tutor them in linguistics, and capture monsters to learn their languages. It is costly and sometimes dangerous to speak with monsters. Is it good game design? Is it fun? One criticism of languages in D&D is that players may have no idea which languages are most useful to know until the campaign has started and they've already made their selections. Because the number of languages known is often limited, and languages can't simply be forgotten to make way for new ones, this cannot be remedied. The proliferation of specific languages for every type of monster only exacerbates this issue. The more important criticism of languages in D&D is one of player agency. If a monster speaks a language the player characters do not know, and they do not have the right spell prepared or the right magic item, they cannot hope to speak to it. If they can't hope to speak to it, they can't negotiate with it. They can't learn anything from it. If they're lucky, they can ignore it. If they're not, they can only fight it. They don't have a choice. As my previous post on the subject hopefully made clear, I'm in favor of a simultaneously more lenient but restrained approach. I don't much like the one hundred specific languages of AD&D and its hyperintelligent elves who can speak nineteen of them, but I also don't particularly care for modern D&D's handful of languages which can be spoken trivially easily by even the party's dumbest character, given the right proficiencies. I like a D&D world where everything talks - even the plants and animals - and does so in its own bespoke language. I also like adventurous linguists. I don't want them to be perfectly fluent in six languages, but I do think it's reasonable that adventurers would know the occasional word here or there which would allow them to more or less _get by_  in conversations with a variety of odd creatures. They would probably know the mind flayer word for "brains" and the sphinx word for "riddle". Let the player characters have a few languages they're comfortable in, and the chance to pick up a word or two in those they're not. Give them the choice to at least try to talk to whatever, even if they don't "know" its language, and the choice to invest more in those languages which seem particularly important. And remember that if they _are_ able to talk to that creature, dealing with it should still _always_ be expensive and irritating.
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The Monster Economy of AD&D --- AD&D's most endangered creature. We all know that larger towns and cities will usually have a market for dragons. That is, it is generally understood that adventurers will occasionally drag a cowardly battered and chained dragon into town, and when they do, there will be wealthy people there ready to bid for the privilege of making the dragon their slave. If you're using a table to determine what's going on in the town or city when your player characters arrive there, you probably already have "dragon auction" on the list, right? Well get ready, because there is a lot more to AD&D's monster economy than just simple dragon slavery. I thought it would be fun to go through the Monster Manual and find all of the critters that can be enslaved, skinned, robbed of their eggs, or butchered for parts. That's fun, right? Our first example is not particularly exciting, and not a "monster", per se, but nonetheless offers a bit of opportunity to the enterprising adventurer/trapper. The badger (or giant badger) can be skinned, and its pelt sold for 10-30 gold pieces: Badgers can be found in dungeons in groups of up to 8. The payout for a successful badger encounter could be anywhere from 10 to 240 gold pieces. It's not much, but every bit counts. My next example might seem like more of the same, but there's more than meets the eye when it comes to the giant beaver: Giant beavers are considerably more intelligent than badgers. They engage in trade, and will agree to construct a dam if offered valuables. Cute! It's like a Disney movie. Of course, they can be killed and skinned for 500 to 2,000 gold pieces per hide, and their children (if under 8 hit points) can be subdued and sold as slaves for 100 to 200 gold pieces each. There will be 10-40 adults, which will yield 5,000 to 80,000 gold for their pelts alone! There will be an equal number of kits, with about 4 to 18 (44%) small enough to turn into slaves, which is another 400 to 3,600 gold! The kits that are too old to make good slaves are either killed alongside their parents or orphaned and left to starve. Fire beetle glands can be harvested to shed light in a 10' radius for 1 to 6 days after being removed: These are "highly prized by miners and adventurers", although we're not told for how much they can be sold. Still, we can imagine that they are considerably more valuable than a simple torch and that they are probably sold in settlements near dungeons (where they are found in the 1st level in groups of 1 to 4). Blink dog lairs have a 50% chance of containing 3-12 pups which can be captured and sold for 1,000 to 2,000 gold pieces each: That's 3,000 to 24,000 gold if you get lucky, and all you have to do is slaughter 4-16 Lawful Good intelligent dogs and stuff their puppies into a sack (and, I guess, somehow prevent them from "blinking" away). Dwarven craftsmen can fashion a bulette's armor plates into +1 to +3 shields: It's unclear how the exact bonus is to be determined, how much it would cost to have the shield made for you, or how much the dwarves might pay for the materials. I'll return to this a bit later. The entry on giant eagles is a bit confusing, but I think it means that there is a 50% chance of each nest containing young or eggs (if the initial roll is positive, a subsequent roll is made, with a 50/50 chance of young or eggs being present): While the entry uses the vague language "they can be tamed" (presumably referring to both young _and_  eggs) _only_  eggs sell for 500 to 800 gold pieces each, leading me to conclude that actually only those newly hatched from eggs can be tamed, and the young already hatched in the nest are worthless. So steal the eggs, but like those giant beaver kits too large to be enslaved, either kill the young in the nest or leave them to die once the adults are slain. Since giant eagles appear in groups of 1-20, there is one nest per 2 eagles, and 1-4 young/eggs per nest (0 to 40 young/eggs in a lair), knocking over a giant eagle lair can net you anywhere from 0 to 32,000 gold pieces! Elephant tusks can be sold for 100 to 600 gold pieces: With each elephant having two tusks, and 1 to 20 or 1 to 12 elephants being encountered in a group, slaying a herd of elephants may yield 200 to 24,000 gold pieces! The tusks are heavy, though - the cheapest weighs 25 pounds, and the most valuable weighs 150 pounds. Unlike giant eagles, griffon fledglings _and_ eggs are valuable commodities. In fact, the fledglings are _more_  valuable than the eggs: This suggests, to me, that griffon eggs are difficult to hatch, so it's better to allow the griffon adults to do the work of hatching the eggs and then steal the young fledglings from them. With 2 to 12 griffons per group and 1 or 2 eggs or young per pair of griffons (anywhere from 0 to 12 eggs or young), raiding a griffon lair can yield up to 60,000 gold pieces! Like griffons, hippogriff eggs and fledglings can be sold as well, and the fledglings are once again more valuable: Hippogriffs appear in groups of 2 to 16, so a lair might contain as many as 16 eggs or fledglings - up to 48,000 gold pieces! Fire lizard eggs sell f or 5,000 gold each: If you happen to find a lair containing 4 eggs, that's 20,000 gold pieces. Mammoth tusks are 50% more valuable than elephant tusks (150 to 900 gold pieces each - a group of 12 such creatures could yield up to 21,600 gold pieces) but also weigh 50% more (37.5 pounds to 225 pounds), while mastodon tusks are valued the same as elephants': --- "Their" here refers to mastodons. Like giant beavers, giant otters can be skinned for their pelts: A group of 5 giant otters can yield up to 20,000 gold pieces in value. Returning again to the matter of eggs and hatchlings, those of the giant owl can be sold as well, and the hatchlings are again more valuable: A nest can contain up to 3 hatchlings, which will yield 6,000 gold pieces. Owlbear eggs and young can also be sold: Again, the young owlbears are more valuable than the eggs. A lair with 6 young yields 30,000 gold pieces. As with the giant beavers, some young will be too large to tame - again these must be either orphaned or killed along with their parents. Pegasus eggs and young can be sold as well, and again the young are more valuable: A full group of 10 pegasi might have 10 young, which can be captured and sold for a total of 50,000 gold. Giant weasel pelts sell for 1,000 to 6,000 gold pieces: A full group of 8 weasels yields 48,000 gold. Whales produce ambergris, which can be sold for up to 20,000 gold. Their carcasses can also be sold for up to 3,600 gold: Groups of up to 8 can appear at once, so this could be 160,000 or 28,800 gold, if somehow you manage to encounter 8 sick whales or can tow 8 whale carcasses into port. Good luck with that! Winter wolf pelts can be sold for 5,000 gold: A group of 8 winter wolves would yield 40,000 gold. These are all of the examples made straightforward by the Monster Manual. Things like wild dogs, horses, and ponies can be captured and trained, and prices for these creatures are provided in the Player's Handbook: But what of the more "exotic" animals? Elephants "can be trained to carry equipment and/or men", and wolf cubs "can be trained as war dogs or hunting beasts", but no attempt is made to put a value on those animals (a trained wolf would be more valuable than a dog, I would think). In addition to wolves, dwarves can tame brown bears. Gnolls can tame hyenas. Gnomes tame badgers and wolverines. Hobgoblins keep carnivorous apes (my personal favorite monster-pet pairing). And what of other "fantastic" beasts? Elven maidens might ride unicorns. Wood elves tame giant lynxes. Hill giants keep dire wolves and giant lizards. Storm giants keep rocs. Giant goats "have been tamed to serve as steeds". Hell hounds "are favored as watchdogs by monsters and fire giants". Hippocampi, giant sea horses, and sea lions can "be trained to serve as steeds" or "for use in guarding and hunting". Presumably the domestication of these animals and monsters is solely the purview of the the peoples and monsters explicitly mentioned, but that doesn't necessarily stop the player characters from profiting from those relationships. Can they sell wolf and bear cubs to dwarves? Giant lizard and roc eggs to hill and storm giants? Hell hound pups to fire giants? How much would those creatures be willing to pay for these commodities? All of this killing and skinning and theft and enslavement of young animals and monsters probably sounds pretty Evil - and that's because it basically is. I'm of the opinion that the poaching of animals in the real world (represented here by the killing of badgers for their pelts or elephants for their tusks) is Evil, but if you dig a little deeper into what's going on in AD&D, it's even worse! Giant beavers are intelligent and engage in trade! Blink dogs are Lawful Good! Giant eagles, while Neutral in alignment, "ignore any good creatures but attack evil creatures" and are of average (i.e., human) intelligence! Giant otters are semi-intelligent and are characterized by their love of play! Giant owls are very intelligent and "sometimes befriend other creatures"! Pegasi are Chaotic Good, "serve only good characters" and "always serve unto death"! I'm sure the locals who have to deal with bulettes, griffons, owlbears, and winter wolves don't much mind those particular creatures being hunted to extinction, but the majority of these creatures, when not purely animal in intelligence and habits, have a distinct inclination towards Good! And I kind of like it. There's something about giving players monetary incentive to be Evil (or at least morally unscrupulous) that's appealing to me. Being Good is hard. It should be. It should be easier (or at least more profitable) to be Evil. Players can write "Good" on their character sheet all they want, but they have to actually _do_  Good for that to _mean_ anything. And for doing Good to actually mean something, it has to be a _choice_. For doing Good to be a choice, _the players must also have the choice to do Evil_. If they spend the whole game doing little quests for the dirt farmers of the local thorp out of the Goodness of their hearts with little wealth to show for it, they may start rethinking what they wrote on their character sheet once they hear that their (Evil) rivals just earned 80,000 gold from skinning giant beavers and selling their children into slavery. Maybe it just reaffirms their commitment to Goodness, and the existence of such Evil in the world instead serves to distinguish them from those sorts, and they vow to put an end to such injustices at any cost. But the (potential for) Evil deeds must exist to create that contrast. You might have players who choose to play Evil characters, and that's okay too! A campaign of poaching monsters and selling their children into slavery is definitely not for everyone, so you might restrict these options, but I personally enjoy portraying a fantasy world in all its ugliness. If there are giant beavers nearby, the village may be negotiating with them to construct a dam, while simultaneously, outlaw poachers may be conspiring to prey upon them. The pegasi nesting nearby may be valuable allies to Good characters, but if there's a Chaotic Evil wizard in the area, they're likely to desire the creatures' eggs for nefarious purposes, and are willing to pay good money for them. The players get to choose how to engage with those dynamics one way or the other. It's not all skinning and stealing babies, though. The section in the DMG on the fabrication of potions describes the need for a "special ingredient", which should be of "high or greater" difficulty to obtain: The list of suggested special ingredients suggests that most of these will come from monsters: We can still detect a hint of Evil in this list: human thalamus glands, dragon and giant brains (presumably an Evil act to seek these out if the dragon or giant in question is Good), pegasus hearts, and more. For the most part though, the aspiring alchemist will be collecting their ingredients from Evil or adversarial monsters which adventurers will likely battle in the normal course of their escapades: shapechangers, mind flayers, trolls, elementals, undead, beholders, and the like. Unlike the bits I highlighted from the Monster Manual - which is very much concerned with animals and animal-like monsters - the list includes very few animal parts. These are all suggestions, so the DM can use this list exactly as is or come up with their own special ingredients for potions. Gygax also provides a rule of thumb for determining the cost "to concoct the basic formula - with rare herbs and spices and even more exotic ingredients", which is equivalent to the potion's experience point value: We see in the magic item tables towards the end of the DMG that a potion's gold piece sale value is greater than its experience point value: Thus we have two different potion costs - the cost to buy one, and the cost to make one yourself. The increased sale value includes the cost of labor and the seller's profit margin. I assume that the cost to create a potion includes the cost of buying ingredients (including the "special" ingredient harvested from a monster) as well as keeping one's laboratory properly stocked with the more mundane requirements essential to its upkeep. So what, then, is the value of the special ingredient? If the player character party consists solely of beefy fighters who have no means of creating potions themselves, but they just got back from a raid on a mind flayer lair and have a barrel of pickled illithid brains (_always_ bring a barrel of pickling liquid), how much can they sell those for? Unfortunately, the DMG doesn't offer any guidance. My inclination is to look at the percentage markup from the potion's experience point value to its gold piece sale value and instead subtract that percentage from the experience point value. A _potion of ESP_ costs 500 gold to create and sells for 850 - a 70% markup. Thus, a mind flayer brain sells for about 150 gold...maybe? I'm not going to pretend to be a economics guy, but that fairly sounds reasonable to me. Returning to the example of the bulette, whose armor plates can be fashioned by a dwarven craftsman into a magic shield, a _shield +1_  has an experience point value of 250 and a gold piece sale value of 2,500. A _shield +2_  is 500/5,000, and a _shield +3_  is 800/8,000. Using the above rule of thumb, you could sell a dwarven craftsman bulette plates for 25, 50, or 80 gold, depending on the quality of the plates. Seems a bit low. Is my rationale off? Someone who is good at economics sound off in the comments. Just after the section on potions, in the section on the manufacture of scrolls, we learn that each spell transcribed on a scroll requires "a fresh, virgin quill" which "must be from a creature of strange or magical nature": Gygax goes on to explain that "special quills cannot normally be purchased": This seems a bit odd to me. As with my previous example of the party of fighters with a barrel full of mind flayer brains they cannot use, surely there will be adventurers slaying all manner of magical feathered monsters. Even if the party includes a magic-user, surely that magic-user will not have need of every single feather plucked from every single griffon. So, why can't they sell them? And inversely, why couldn't they also buy them? How much would they sell for? There isn't much to go off of. We also learn that the ink used to scribe spells onto scrolls and into spell books is concocted from the ink of a giant squid or giant octopus, plus "blood, powdered gems, herbal and spice infusions" and "_draughts concocted from parts of monsters_ " (emphasis mine): The example suggests that a unique formula should be devised for each and every spell (or protection scroll) to be scribed. This one includes basilisk eye, cockatrice feathers, and venom from a medusa's snakes. The ink "is compounded only by the inscriber", suggesting it cannot be purchased (perhaps concocting the ink is part of the magical process, so the inscriber must have a part in it). But how much does it cost to compound it? And in turn, how much can you sell those monster parts for? The only real indication we have as to how much this ink should cost comes from the magic-user spell _write_  which, confusingly, suggests that you _can_  purchase the ink...maybe: This is a specific use case, so it may not apply more broadly to ink used in scribing spells generally, but I don't see why not. Keep in mind 200 is only the _minimum_ , and as this is a 1st level spell used to scribe spells of at least 2nd level, we might say the gold piece sale value of ink is 100 gold per level of the spell, which is consistent with the rule of thumb used in subsequent editions of the game. This makes sense, as if the ink needed to scribe each spell has its own unique formula, some inks would presumably be more difficult to concoct than others. Wouldn't an ink containing dragon's blood be more expensive than one containing only rat blood? Most likely, higher-level spells require rarer ingredients in their ink, which justifies the increased cost. Here's the footnote beneath the scrolls table in the DMG: You get 100 experience points per level of spell you scribe onto a scroll, and you can sell the scroll for three times that amount. I would venture to guess that it then costs 100 gold per spell level to concoct the ink yourself, which means concocting the ink for a 2nd level spell would cost 200 gold...which is how much the _write_  spell says the ink _sells_ for. Hmmm... Perhaps the rule of thumb for potions (cost to fabricate equals experience point value) is unique to potions, and some other equation is at work in the case of other magic items. In the section on fabrication of other magic items, Gygax describes a wizard spending 5,000 gold pieces to craft a _ring of spell storing_ : However, the magic item tables indicate that the experience point value of a _ring of spell storing_ is 2,500 gold: As is often the case in AD&D, Gygax seems to want the DM to arrive at a ruling according to individual taste, rather than providing a broader rule of thumb from which to extrapolate. This is fine, but as someone who values AD&D (and the DMG in particular) for its exacting specificity in many areas, it does frustrate me when Gygax is less clear in others. This is all without getting into material components of spells! _Augury_  requires dragon bones (it's a 2nd level spell, so I imagine the cleric is buying these somewhere, rather than slaying dragons at 3rd level). _Scare_  requires a bit of bone from an undead skeleton, zombie, ghoul, ghast, or mummy. _Clairvoyance_  requires a pinch of powdered pineal gland from a human or humanoid creature. _Rary's mnemonic enhancer_  requires either black dragon's blood or giant slug digestive juice. How much does that stuff cost? I got a bit into the weeds there, but the point is this - monsters are valuable. They are a part of the world the player characters inhabit, and they are exploited for resources much like animals in our own world, and then some. Their pelts are valuable. Their young are valuable. Their eyes and hearts and brains and feathers and blood are valuable. While the Monster Manual's accounting for the value of every pelt, egg, fledgling, tusk, and what have you may seem laborious to some, in my opinion it doesn't go far enough. The DMG suggests that player characters - and the world as a whole - has a much greater use for monsters than just skinning them and selling their pelts. I don't want to know just how much I can sell the griffon's babies for - I want to know how much a wizard will pay for its feathers. Can I make something with its eyes or talons? How much can I sell those for? Can I take the ankheg's shell and make it into armor? Can I harvest the acid from its guts? How much will someone pay for a suit of red dragon scale mail? Just as this is important information for players, it also helps the DM's worldbuilding at a gameable level. I'd be remiss not to mention that in OD&D, castles may be garrisoned by all manner of monsters, as well as Heroes riding griffons, hippogriffs, and rocs: Clearly they are coming from somewhere! If there are valuable monsters nearby, someone in the nearby settlement or stronghold will be looking to exploit them. Just as there will be Evil trappers preying upon the giant beavers and wizards scheming to obtain pegasus eggs, the lord of the castle might be struggling to tame griffon mounts for their riders, the alchemist will pay good money for basilisk eyes, and someone is probably looking to buy a barrel full of slug slime. And of course, there will be the occasional dragon auction. The typical market found in an AD&D town or city is a lot more fantastical than you might imagine, and all of those fantastic elements invite engagement by the players. Will they join in on the poaching or plot to put an end to it? Will they make their fortune as slime merchants? Will they infiltrate the Evil High Priest's temple stronghold and attempt to free the gold dragon he just purchased at the auction? The possibilities are much greater when monsters are worth more than just XP.
06.10.2025 14:52 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Warring Guilds and Rogue Assassins Plague the Streets of AD&D Thieves guilds and assassins guilds are ubiquitous in AD&D cities and towns. Both assassins and thieves are found on the DMG's city/town encounters matrix: The assassin entry tells us that not only are cities and towns assumed to have a Thieves' _Quarter_ , but also that (many) assassins may be encountered "at the guild": The thief entry tells us that "other thieves encountered will be on guild business": Thieves can "build a tower or fortified building of the small castle type for their own safety", but only within or very close to a town or city: This calls into question why thieves are listed as potential masters of castles - including medium and large ones - in Appendix C within the procedure for generating fortresses in _uninhabited  _areas: ...but this is certainly not the only contradiction between the PHB and DMG, and isn't particularly relevant to this post, so I won't dwell on it. What _is_  relevant is that if a thief _does_  build a stronghold, they may use it as a headquarters for a gang, and in so doing attract thief followers. However, if they do so they will "bring the enmity of the local Thieves Guild". This will result in a war which ends "only when and if all the Master Thieves on either or both sides are dead, or if the thief character removes to another locale" (where, presumably, there is simply another Thieves Guild to contend with): Similarly, the PHB tells us that "most towns and cities" are home to an Assassins Guild which "controls an area of from 10 to 100 miles radius around the headquarters town or city", and that "all non-player assassin characters are members of such guilds". A player character assassin who is discovered in a guild area will be invited to join the guild. They may decline, but will be sentenced to death if they perform an assassination while not a member of the guild: Later, we are given more information about the nature of the Assassins Guild headquarters, which is "always within a large town or big city", but must be "nondescript" and safeguarded so as to avoid "attention and unwanted notoriety": Compare that to this paragraph from the section of the DMG on poison, which describes the Thieves Guild as "an accepted part of communal society", so long as they stick to doing things that thieves do. The Thieves Guild can provoke the enmity of the Assassins Guild by engaging in acts which bring unwanted attention (or unwarranted blame) to the latter, or which are seen to step on the latter's toes: This suggests that while the Thieves Guild may be at war with an upstart gang outside of their organization, and the Assassins Guild may condemn to death an outsider carrying out unsanctioned killings, the two organizations may also be in conflict with _each other_. Unlike the thief, who can simply start a gang but must then go to war with the local guild, an assassin must assassinate or otherwise kill the local Guildmaster Assassin to attain 14th level (and later do the same to the Grandfather of Assassins to attain 15th level): The headquarters of the Grandfather/Grandmother of Assassins can take a variety of forms but, unlike the local guild headquarters, is obvious and "must be located well away from all communities": (Here we have another inconsistency with Castle Sub-Table II.B. That table lists the assassin as a possible master of the castle, but they can only be 14th level. 14th level assassins are Guildmasters, though, and their headquarters "is always within a large town or big city". As Grandfathers/Grandmothers - 15th level assassins - are the only assassins who build headquarters in uninhabited areas, it would be more accurate for the assassin on Castle Sub-Table II.B. to be of 15th level. But I digress yet again.) The local Guildmaster Assassin commands 7-28 lower-level assassins. If the Guildmaster is killed, 75% "leave the area" (presumably to defect to a Guildmaster in another city or town) and new (1st level) assassins eventually arrive to fill the ranks: The DMG goes on to state that the Grandfather/Grandmother of Assassins always has 28 followers of 2nd through 8th level, plus 4-16 of 1st level, and that when they are overthrown, as with the Guildmaster, 75% of these followers desert: Since Guildmaster Assassins are referred to as "the _local_  Guildmaster Assassin", whereas the Grandfather/Grandmother of Assassins is referred to as "_the_  Grandfather/Grandmother", I'm going to conclude that there is only _one_  such Grandfather/Grandmother of Assassins in the entire world, similar to The Great Druid: It is my conclusion then that those assassins who desert when the Grandfather/Grandmother is supplanted do not return to the guild or defect to another but instead become masterless rogue assassins who wander the world, employing their skills in unsanctioned killings (thus making themselves persona non grata within the newly established order). They may even plot to overthrow the new Grandfather/Grandmother (the player character) once they've accumulated sufficient power. This would require reengaging with the guild structure which, since they've already deserted, may not be the intention. In any case, the player character assassin would be wise to closely monitor any new Guildmasters within their domain! The assumption that there is only one Grandfather/Grandmother of Assassins and that assassins who desert in the wake of one's thus killing leave the guild forever is at odds with the previous declaration that "all non-player assassin characters are members of such guilds", but I've already demonstrated Gygax's tendency towards contradicting himself. Gygax may also simply be describing the status quo at the time when campaign play begins, not accounting for every possible action the player characters might take during the course of a campaign. Whether this is another contradiction or I'm simply over-interpreting or making a false assumption, the idea of rogue assassins roaming the world is at least a fun one with interesting gameplay implications, so I'm willing to accept it at face value. All of this, in fact, is highly gameable information. A player character thief may start a gang and provoke a war with the Thieves Guild. A player character assassin may decline to join the Assassins Guild and be condemned to death for unsanctioned activities, or join the guild and climb the ranks to Guildmaster or even Grandfather/Grandmother and so have rival (and even guildless) assassins plotting to kill them. But also keep in mind that anything the player characters can do, NPCs can do too. Whether or not there's a player character thief or assassin in play, these organizations are assumed to be present in all AD&D towns and cities and will be operating in the world on their own terms. The player characters may be unlucky and run into thieves or assassins in the streets of the town or city, but perhaps they can also help out the local guild by toppling the upstart gang or capturing or slaying the rogue assassin. Perhaps the players help the upstart gang of thieves or mistakenly hire a rogue assassin, thus earning the enmity of the respective guilds. Perhaps they employ poison in some high-profile skirmish in the city, and now the Assassins Guild is out for their blood. In summary, pit your guilds against each other for control of the streets, and let your player characters get mixed up in the conflict or caught in the crossfire. Remember that all dealings with thieves and assassins are wrapped up in layers of intrigue, subterfuge, and esoteric rules. The guilds are everywhere, and something as simple as helping or hiring the wrong person or putting a bit of poison on your blade may be seen as the opening salvo in a protracted war with AD&D most dangerous organizations of burglars and cutthroats.
29.09.2025 13:41 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Advanced Diseases and Diagnoses Adventuring is dangerous business. Dungeons are filled with monsters, tricks, and traps. The wilderness is littered with small armies of orcs and bandits, and strongholds ruled by hostile high-level characters who demand jousts or tribute in the form of magic items, or send player characters on quests via _geas_  to obtain such items. But even adventurers who overcome these challenges have another, unseen threat to contend with: disease! The AD&D DMG has detailed rules for handling the contracting of diseases, although Gygax claims that the "system does not attempt a specific treatment of a subject which is beyond its scope and purpose": --- From the AD&D DMG, **CHARACTER AGE, AGING, DISEASE & DEATH**, page 13 I will clarify what exactly Gygax means by this shortly. For now, let's get into the non-"specific" but nonetheless very thorough handling of disease in AD&D. First, we are told that the DM should generally check whether each player character has contracted a disease once a month, once a week if conditions are favorable, or each time a player character is exposed to a disease carrier: We are then provided with the percentage chances of contracting a disease each time the check is made: With a base 2% chance and no situational modifiers, we can expect a player character to contract a disease, on average, once every 50 months, or a little more than 4 years, which seems a bit low. In particularly dangerous circumstances - the character is already diseased or infected with parasites (I'll get to that later), is in a crowded, filthy environment (a city, encampment, ship, or siege) in a hot and moist swamp or jungle, and is of venerable age - the chance increases to as high as 14%. On average, such a character would contract a disease about once every seven _weeks_(remember that under ideal conditions, the check is made every week instead of every month). If there is an outbreak in such circumstances and the poor character is being exposed to disease carriers left and right, the chance increases to 24%, meaning the character will contract a disease roughly every four _encounters_(assuming, I suppose, that there are somehow multiple diseases at play, which seems unlikely in an epidemic scenario). That would be a terrible situation indeed! Hopefully, the character is a paladin or monk, as both of these classes are immune to disease - in the monk's case, beginning at 5th-level. Speaking of 5th-level, that's also when clerics and druids get access to the _cure disease_  spell, so it's safe to say that disease is, for most adventuring parties, one of those low-level setbacks which is eventually trivialized by access to more potent forms of magic. It is a "lock" for which the players will eventually acquire a "key", so to speak. And that's great news, because diseases are really annoying! Here is the table you roll on to determine what area of the body is affected by a disease, the disease's occurrence, and severity: Here we see what Gygax meant when he said that AD&D "does not attempt a specific treatment of" diseases. I take this to mean that specific in-world diseases are not described in detail, but rather generally, and in terms of actual game mechanics. If you want your AD&D diseases to reflect those found in the real world, apparently OD&D Supplement II: Blackmoor has you covered. Instead of that, Gygax provides some general guidelines regarding occurrence and severity: And then descriptions of the game mechanics pertaining to each type of disease: Diseases are brutal. A diseased character is incapacitated for anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks, may suffer permanent penalties to their ability scores, lose the function of body parts, and even die. A character who contracts a disease has a 1% chance of it being a brain/nervous system disease, which has a 37.5% chance of being terminal, which has an 8% chance of killing them in one hour. That's a .03% chance overall, so it's very unlikely to happen, but it could. Imagine being the unlucky player whose character drops dead before they even know that anything's wrong with them. People who complain about save or die traps and spell effects in AD&D clearly have not read about the diseases! If my math is right, a character who contracts a disease has a 13.125% chance of contracting a terminal case - and that's before accounting for modifiers to the severity die roll. Fortunately, having a high (or even average) Constitution score significantly mitigates this risk: Disease goes hand in hand with parasitic infestation, which the DM must also check for each month or week (in favorable conditions), or whenever the player character is exposed to a carrier: Parasitic infestation also gets its own percentage chance of occurring: In particularly nasty situations - the character is exposed to filth (i.e., is in the city, probably), eats improperly cooked meat, drinks polluted water, and is in a swamp or jungle environment - the chance is as high as 16%, indicating infestation once every 6 months, weeks, or encounters with a carrier. Here is the table of infestation types and severity: A character who is infested with parasites has a 15.625% chance of developing a terminal case (there are no modifiers to severity for parasitic infection). Assuming an unmodified disease severity roll, parasitic infestations are slightly more deadly than diseases. A character who dies from disease or infestation (most likely) continues to suffer the effects after being brought back from the dead: This all to say nothing of lycanthropy, which in AD&D _is_  a disease...as well as a curse? It is treatable with both _cure disease_  as well as _remove curse_. Lycanthropy however is a much larger subject and is beyond the scope of this post (I will likely write about it some other time). Aside from lycanthropes and monthly/weekly checks, what else can spread disease/parasitic infestation? Let's start by looking at the Monster Manual. Cerebral parasites are, of course, parasites. They siphon energy from psionics: The demon Demogorgon's tentacles inflict a disease which can cause limbs to rot and fall off, or permanently reduce a creature's maximum hit points unless _cure disease_ is administered within 6 rounds: Another demon, Juiblex, has the spell-like ability to _cause disease_(the reverse, evil version of _cure disease_): Infestation by ear seekers can be thwarted by _cure disease_ if cast with 4-24 hours of contact. Otherwise, the host is 90% likely to die: Violet fungi's branches inflict flesh rot similar to Demogorgon's tentacles, but that of violet fungi takes effect in only one melee round, although a saving throw is allowed (the mechanical effects of the rot are not elaborated upon, so I'm not sure how it's meant to function in game terms - perhaps similar to that of Demogorgon): Gas spores, when exposed to flesh, infest a creature with tiny rhizomes (parasites) which kill within 24 hours and produce more gas spores unless a _cure disease_  is applied: Green slime is a "strange plant growth" which turns exposed creatures into more green slime within 1-4 rounds. Its vulnerability to _cure disease_  suggests it is itself either a disease or parasite, though it isn't clear which: A bite from a giant leech has a 50% chance of causing a disease which kills in 2-5 weeks (here a mischievous leprechaun from the adjoining column, unaware of or perhaps immune to the danger, is seen riding the leech): Yellow mold, when attacked, releases spores which infect the lungs and kill instantly unless a saving throw is made. A _cure disease_ and a _resurrection_  cast within 24 hours can save the afflicted: The touch of a mummy inflicts a rotting disease which kills in 1 to 6 months, permanently reduces a creature's Charisma score by 2 each month, negates _cure wounds_  spells, and reduces the rate of natural healing to 10%. The disease causes the bodies of those killed to rot away, and such individuals cannot be brought back to life unless _cure disease_  and _raise dead_  are applied within 6 turns: The neo-otyugh inflicts disease, although the method of transmission and the exact type isn't specified: Presumably, like the standard otyugh, its bite has a 90% chance of inflicting typhus - yes, typhus specifically, for some reason (perhaps the neo-otyugh transmits neo-typhus): Typhus is, of course, a real world disease, and it affects multiple areas of the body, including the skin, gastro-intestinal organs, and brain. I'm not sure how it would be classified within AD&D's non-specific disease schema. The bite of a giant rat has a 5% chance of transmitting a "serious" disease (is this meant to mean "severe" disease?) unless a saving throw is made. Since the specifics of the disease are not detailed, presumably the DM would roll on the disease table in the DMG: Like the cerebral parasite and ear seeker, rot grubs are treated as parasites. Infestation is countered by _cure disease_ if applied within 1-3 turns: Like the giant leech, a bite from a giant tick has a 50% chance of inflicting a disease which is fatal in 2-8 days unless a _cure disease_  is applied: Of the monsters that cause disease or parasitic infestation, ear seekers, giant rats, rot grubs, gas spores, violet fungi, wererats, giant ticks, werewolves, and yellow mold all appear on the random monster tables for dungeon levels I thru IV, meaning that player characters will likely encounter these monsters prior to having access to _cure disease_. Of those, diseases/infestations inflicted by ear seekers, violet fungi, yellow mold, and rot grubs will take their course well _before_ the player characters have a chance to return from the dungeon and treat the ailment, so low-level characters without access to _cure disease_ should be especially wary of these threats. In addition, while low-level adventurers would be wise not to venture into the wilderness too early, there one might find green slime (in shallow fresh water), giant leeches (in shallow fresh water and uninhabited marshes), lycanthropes (in both inhabited and uninhabited areas), mummies (in uninhabited rough terrain, hills, and mountains - undead are not encountered in deserts, for some reason, and unfortunately there are no bog mummies here), giant rats (in sub-arctic forest, rough terrain, and marshes, as well as most terrain types in inhabited areas), and giant ticks (in uninhabited scrub and forest). While all but the green slime inflict diseases which allow some time for treatment, this is of course the wilderness - who knows how far away treatment might be? If the player characters happen to use psionics, they run the additional risk of encountering cerebral parasites, demon princes such as Demogorgon and Juiblex, and yellow mold. It is telling that disease-carrying and parasitic monsters are more common in the dungeon than in the wilderness (dungeons are, fittingly, disease pits). I would be remiss not to mention the dreaded beggar, which may also be a disease carrier: Since beggars can be disease carriers, an encounter with one could be cause for the DM to immediately check to see if the player character has contracted a disease (with +10% chance of contracting the disease, according to the table at the beginning of this post) - just another hidden danger of city encounters! And don't forget that giant rats and all manner of lycanthrope will be encountered in cities and towns as well. Evil clerics - and druids, apparently - can also _cause disease_ by reversing the _cure disease_  spell (druids are Neutral by necessity, but they still have access to the - evil - reverse of _cure disease_): Evil clerics can also reverse the _heal_  spell to instead _harm_  and by doing so inflict disease: It's not all monsters, wretched beggars, evil clerics, and the ubiquitous peril of living in the AD&D world. Cursed scrolls have a 25% chance of inflicting a disease which kills in 2-8 turns: The _periapt of foul rotting_ , which may appear as any "gem of small value" inflicts a rotting disease which reduces Dexterity, Constitution, _and_ Charisma by 1 each week. When any score is reduced to 0, the character dies. The disease can only be removed by _remove curse_  **and  **_cure disease_**and**  _heal_ , _limited wish_ ,_ _ or _wish_ : Outside of avoiding hot, moist, crowded conditions, swamps, jungles, cities, encampments, ships, nasty monsters, beggars, scrolls, and gems of small value, never getting old, living in the mountains, being naturally gifted in Constitution, or being a paladin or 5th-level monk, are there any other ways to _avoid_  diseases and parasites? You can start by cooking your meat and boiling your water. Alternatively, a 1st-level cleric can instantly purify it for you: Druids can only _purify water_(not food), for some reason: Additionally, amber gemstones are reputed to ward of disease: Unfortunately, Gygax immediately informs us that, actually, that's hogwash, and carrying around such a gemstone "will convey absolutely no benefit of magical nature": This is too bad, as I quite like the list of **REPUTED MAGICAL PROPERTIES OF GEMS**. I really like the idea of player characters carrying around a bunch of bejeweled items (rather than selling them) in order to benefit from minor magical properties. I say if they're carrying around some amber, give them a -1% chance of contracting a disease! The _periapt of health_(which looks exactly the same as a _periapt of foul rotting_) confers immunity to all diseases except the foul rotting inflicted by the aforementioned periapt (interestingly though, the _periapt of health_ can be crushed into dust and sprinkled upon an afflicted character to counter the _periapt of foul rotting_ 's effects): Finally, one possible minor benign power of an artifact or relic is to grant immunity to disease: But you're not a paladin or 5th-level monk. You don't live in the mountains. You're of a sickly disposition, and very old. You live in a city which is for some reason built in a swampy jungle. You run into beggars on your way to the plague rat-infested ship which takes you to the dungeon full of gas spores, green slime, and violet fungi. You break for lunch and eat and drink nothing but raw otyugh meat and polluted dungeon water. You're _gonna_ get sick. Where can you get a cure? _Cure disease_  is of course the obvious solution. As I mentioned earlier, it's a 3rd-level spell for clerics and druids: In addition to being immune to disease, paladins can also cure disease (even before they gain access to the cleric spell, which isn't until 13th-level): A psionic can use _cell adjustment_  to cure disease as well: If you have a disease of the eyes, _cure blindness_  (another 3rd-level cleric spell) will help, but not if you've already lost the affected eye(s): If you have no cleric, druid, paladin, or psionic in your party, you will have to find an NPC to help you. _Cure disease_  costs 1,000 gold pieces: A dungeon room containing unguarded gold contains 250 gold per level, so this is equivalent to four such rooms for a 1st-level character and one such room for a 4th-level character (that is, it is _not_  cheap): Remember that even if the player characters can afford this service, actually obtaining it from the NPC should still be irritating! If you have no luck finding a human/demihuman spellcaster to aid you, you might seek out a "tribal spell caster": It will have to be a bugbear, gnoll, kobold, orc, giant, goblin, hobgoblin, or lizard man, however, as these are the only monsters able to attain a high enough spellcasting level: However, considering that most of these monsters are Evil, and curing disease is Good, casting these spells often will put these monsters in jeopardy with their gods and alignment: It is probably fair to say that convincing these monsters to utilize this magic will be even more expensive and irritating than usual! If you also have no luck finding a tribal spell caster, consider tracking down a werebear: Or steal a night hag's periapt forged in Hades: Failing all that, you might track down some medicinal herbs, spices, or vegetables. **APPENDIX J**  has a detailed list of such things and their reputed medicinal benefits, which is much too thorough to get into here. In short, they can be used to treat urinary, venereal, skin, liver, pulmonary, eye, mouth, and respiratory diseases. As with gems, Gygax spoils the fun by saying, no, actually, none of this stuff actually does anything, but we don't always have to listen to the old man. Finally, there are a few magic items that cure diseases, such as the _staff of curing_ : _Keoghtom's ointment_ : A _bead of curing_(found on a _necklace of prayer beads_): The _cup and talisman of Al'Akbar_ : And as a major benign power of an artifact or relic: All this is to say: give your player characters diseases! Make them face down disgusting little dungeon creatures. Make them ward off hoards of beggars. Introduce a plague to your next urban or seafaring adventure. Have the Evil warlord in the castle lay siege to the city and start catapulting diseased corpses inside. Make the player characters properly cook their meat, or make the cleric prepare _purify food and drink_. Make them spend tons of gold dealing with annoying NPCs. Make them seek out and parley with monstrous spellcasters and werebears. Make them steal from hags. Make them quest for rare magic items to ward and cure themselves (and don't forget to sprinkle in the occasional cursed scroll or gem). Put in them the fear of swamps and jungles, cities, ships, old age, fungi, mold, and rats, and all the unseen dangers lurking in heaps of filth, standing water, rotting wood, and the very air they breathe!
22.09.2025 14:24 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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It Did Not End with a Mere Slaying of Ogres: Treasure as a Source of Challenge in D&D It's easy to think of treasure as purely reward - the player characters have overcome the challenges of the dungeon or wilderness and have slain some monster in its lair. The monster's treasure hoard (if any) is some collection of coins, gems, jewelry, and occasionally even magic items, all for the player characters' taking. However, just because the dungeon or wilderness and its inhabitants have been defeated, the challenge needn't end there. The recovery of treasure poses its own challenges. From **PLACEMENT OF MONETARY TREASURE** in the AD&D DMG, beginning on page 91: The first challenge posed by treasure is one of transportation. However, of the treasure types listed in the appendix of the Monster Manual, all but the coins are readily transportable. But coins pose a problem only in large quantities - although it is worth mentioning that monsters' treasure hoards (in their wilderness lairs) only ever contain most denominations of coin in the thousands: Even then, the movement of large amounts of coin is one of those low-level setbacks in D&D which is often eventually trivialized by the accumulation of equipment or magical ability - just as past a certain point players will likely have magical means of providing light, creating food and water, traveling overland, and even coming back from the dead, they will likely some day acquire a _bag of holding_ , _handy haversack_ , _portable hole_ , or a personal _demiplane_  in which to stuff vast sums of cumbersome coins. Thus it would be insufficient to say that transportation is the sole or ultimate means of challenge posed by treasure. While not at all related to this subject, since I'm analyzing this section of the DMG I feel the need to call out this bit: This suggests that it is not so simple as to say that, for example, all minotaur groups possess treasure type C, which means that, among other treasures, they have a 30% chance of possessing 1,000 to 6,000 silver coins. Rather, minotaurs have a 30% chance of possessing silver coins, and because they appear in groups of 1 to 8, a group of 8 will have the maximum 6,000, while a pair of 2 will have 25% of that, a group of 4 will have 50%, and so on. Or perhaps we're meant to roll to determine the amount of silver coins and then adjust that number according to the actual number of minotaurs relative to the theoretical maximum (for example, if I have just one minotaur and roll to determine that it has 3,000 silver pieces, I might then divide that number by 8 because the actual number of minotaurs is one eighth of the maximum, giving it 375 silver). I could be misinterpreting what Gygax is saying, but that's my takeaway. Kind of weird that this bit is buried in a single sentence in the DMG! But I digress. Continuing on, Gygax next suggests that treasure comes in forms not listed in the Monster Manual appendix: (At this point I feel I could write an essay on the use of the Gygaxian "of course".) Rather than blindly rolling on the treasure table to assign a monster heaps of coins, gems, jewelry, magic items, and the like, the DM is meant to "Assign each monster treasure, or lack thereof, with reason". Brigands, giant rats, and centipedes will all have their own treasure types as listed in the Monster Manual, but ("of course") the treasure will manifest itself differently according to the qualities of the monster in question: (I thought it worth highlighting that, "naturally" - the cousin of the Gygaxian "of course" - monsters without treasure will "hate and envy" those _with_  treasure - an opportunity for the players to engage in some social manipulation between enemies, albeit with bedfellows they'll later have to reckon with if they want the treasure for themselves.) Again Gygax describes types of treasure not found in the treasure tables: Here Gygax is once more describing a method other than blindly rolling on tables to generate results. Rather than randomly determining by a roll of the dice that a monster with a huge treasure hoard like, for example, a dragon, is lairing right in the middle of a settled region, he suggests that these creatures and their treasure should reside in "more inaccessible regions". This same principle is described earlier under **MONSTER POPULATIONS AND PLACEMENT** on pages 90 and 91: Likewise, orc warbands in a settled region should be small relative to those found in true wilderness (monster populations in inhabited areas and wilderness regions can differ on the basis of "individual prowess" _or_ "due to numbers"). While those two groups of orcs, according to the treasure table, might have the same chance at possessing copper, silver, electrum, gems, jewelry, and magic items, this suggests that those in "more inaccessible regions" should somehow have a greater chance of possessing more valuable treasure (or that those in more accessible regions should have a lesser chance of possessing it). There is something to be said of the fact that Gygax simultaneously provides a bunch of tables for randomly determining placement of settlements, strongholds, ruins, monster lairs, and treasures contained within while also telling the DM that they should do all of this according to reason, but I won't get into it more than I already have. At the very least, it's justification to reroll a result you don't like. Suffice it to say that I enjoy my "Disneyland" campaigns just fine, thank you very much. Returning to **PLACEMENT OF MONETARY TREASURE** , the example provided is illuminating: Rather than simply possessing 2,000 gold pieces, the ogres in the example have a variety of treasure (including mundane items like food and provisions, helmets, and a bardiche) which in sum total amount to the aforementioned 2,000 gold pieces. What I think this means is that if I use the treasure table to determine that the ogres possess 2,000 gold pieces, I'm supposed to then invent a variety of more specific items of treasure that add up to that amount, not just dump a pile of 2,000 gold pieces in their lair and call it a day. This is complicated by the inclusion in the example of the 350 gold piece silver necklace, which I imagine would fall under jewelry. I assume that if I roll up a number of gems, jewelry, or magic items that these are left as is. It is only the coinage in the treasure hoard that needs breaking down into more flavorful units of treasure. We already have a procedure/tables for doing the same to gems and jewelry: So the inclusion of the silver necklace in the example of the ogres is either an oversight or I'm again over-interpreting Gygax and he's instead suggesting an entirely different way of determining the specific contents of a treasure hoard which, for whatever reason, he doesn't care to elucidate. The latter highlighted section in the ogre example again brings up the issue of transportation, but _also_ the challenge of recognizing all of the items of value. Saying simply that the ogres possess 2,000 gold pieces is too easy. By instead providing a weird insurance guy's actuarial accounting of every item of value in the ogres' lair, the players are challenged with spending time actually sorting through all of this junk to find the good stuff - and if they want to reap the full benefits of their 2,000 gold piece reward, they will need to figure out how to take all of that (junk included) with them. There is time pressure as well. The treasure won't wait for the player characters to return for the rest of it. Gygax ominously portends the challenge ahead with a deftly-employed Boomer ellipsis: "It did not end with a mere slaying of ogres..." Yet the ogre example is a bit of weak one. I don't really see a party of player characters having much trouble hauling all of this out in one go. The challenge is better illustrated in the next example: Here we even get a supercharged Boomer ellipsis with a space between each period ("What a problem . . ."). I'm delighted that even the "so useful" and "so devoted" henchmen get a special shoutout here. They may expect a fair share of the treasure, but even they're not stupid enough to stay behind and guard it. There are more monsters coming! All of this challenge ("of course") is in the name of preventing too much treasure from falling into the player characters' hands (a possibility with which Gygax is particularly preoccupied, and which he goes to great lengths to prevent with his advice throughout the DMG). This isn't Gygax making things onerous for its own sake. Treasure is how characters advance in AD&D. The more treasure they accumulate, the more powerful they become, and the more powerful they become, the less challenging the game is. The accumulation and retention of treasure is a _specific_ challenge necessary to maintain the _overall_ challenge of the game. This lack of funds is what motivates the players to adventure, as Gygax describes multiple times throughout the DMG: --- (**STARTING LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE FOR PLAYER CHARACTERS** , page 12) --- (**ACQUISITION OF MAGIC-USER SPELLS** , page 39) At the conclusion of **PLACEMENT OF MONETARY TREASURE** , Gygax suggests additional ways to counterbalance the accumulation of wealth, and again draws the connection between the challenge of treasure retention, the overall challenge of the campaign, and the call to adventure: There are no free lunches in AD&D. Like everything else in the game, treasure is a challenge to be overcome, even after it's been "earned".
15.09.2025 13:13 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Appendix N of Forlorn Encystment This post is part of the Appendicitis N blog bandwagon, originally put forth by Marcia of Traverse Fantasy. The challenge to bloggers was to compile a list of inspirations that impact their game design, akin to Gygax's **APPENDIX N: INSPIRATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL READING** , originally found in the AD&D 1e DMG. An alternative option was to write about the DMG appendix corresponding to the first letter of one's own name. That would have me writing about **APPENDIX A: RANDOM DUNGEON GENERATION**. While I would love to write about this at some point, I couldn't quite figure out what the angle might be, so that will have to come some other time. I considered writing about some other appendix from the DMG, but I've already done a lot of that on this very blog, so inspirations it will have to be. In no particular order, I present the **APPENDIX N OF FORLORN ENCYSTMENT** : **The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring** film came out just two days shy of my ninth birthday. I had no idea what the Lord of the Rings was. While I (and Gary Gygax) may maintain that Tolkien was not as influential on D&D as many claim (besides halflings, and rangers, and balrogs - dwarves and elves can just as easily be traced to other inspirations as well, and even orcs as presented, at least originally, in D&D are very different from Tolkien's, also the D&D wizard is very much _not_  a Gandalf-type), I would never kid myself by feigning to believe that this movie did not inspire me. Everyone has their favorite of these movies, but Fellowship will always be mine. I love that the gang is all here together. It feels the most like a D&D adventure, with a big group of disparate personalities embarking on a dangerous wilderness adventure and dungeon crawl together. The subsequent movies only become more epic in scale, but they never feel the same. I love Gandalf the Grey, and Rivendell, and Moria, and Boromir's heroic redemption and death. I love how _sad_  it is. This movie has always inspired wonder in me, and is probably the single biggest reason I'm a fantasy fan today. This is more of an honorable mention, since I'm not sure how much this inspired my game design, but thirteen-year-old me _loved_  **DM of the Rings**. I always loved reading and drawing comics when I was a kid. I wanted _so badly_  to be a webcomic creator. I was playing D&D by this time (and had been for a while - although 3rd edition was out by now, with 4th around the corner, 2nd was our game of choice) and this was more or less my introduction to the idea that playing D&D was a specific type of experience that allowed you to relate to total strangers who also played D&D. As a weird aside, I was really into Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake at the time and briefly worked on a DM of the Rings ripoff where Dawn of the Dead was instead used as the framing device. I have no idea how far I made it with _that_ idea. It is (perhaps thankfully) now lost to time. I loved **LEGO**  as a kid (and, let's be realistic, probably until I was in high school and maybe a bit later). I had a castle. I don't remember which one, but I spent hours devising little adventures to happen in and around that place using whatever I had on hand. LEGO was the ultimate imagination fuel _and_  physical outlet for that same inspiration. LEGO was always a part of D&D for us. Every D&D character needed a representative minifigure. When my paladin got a new magic suit of armor or sword, you bet the corresponding minifig was getting an upgraded loadout as well. LEGO minifigs and Pokémon figures were the only miniatures we had, until... ...**Heroscape**  came along! This game was _very_  D&D, with dragons and elf archers and Vikings and whatnot, but it also opened my mind to the idea that D&D could be _weird_. Sure, you can have standard orcs, but what if they road dinosaurs? What if skeletons had plasma rifles? What if there was a killer robot army? Throw in samurai, World War II soldiers, and guys from the Matrix for good measure. There's a Monster Manual-sized trove of inspirational material here to mine for your next bestiary. Heroscape also caused tactical combat, for better or worse, to worm its way into my brain. We mostly played a theater of the mind-style game in my youth, but laying down different types of terrain with their own variable movement costs and rules associated with them, walls and trees for cover, and elevation differences convinced me that a game which made these factors worth considering was something that appealed to me. My burgeoning fascination with tactical combat exploded when I played **XCOM: Enemy Unknown**. This game (and especially the hugely popular, awesome, challenging, and exhausting Long War mod) consumed my life for longer than I'd like to admit. XCOM feels very much like modern D&D. It's squad-based tactical turn-based combat with a class-based roster of randomly-generated playable characters with lots of fun powers to unleash. XCOM is a game about emergent storytelling. You never know which of your new recruit soldiers will survive to rise to the top, who will unlock their psionic potential, and - **spoilers for a thirteen-year-old game** - sacrifice themselves to save the planet. You have to make peace with the idea that these characters are expendable, but they become less expendable the more powerful they become, and the more attached you get to them. You have to learn to make peace with the RNG and move on. Sound familiar? XCOM is also great fodder for your next bestiary. For your consideration: * Weak little guys with psychic powers that are little danger on their own, but can inflict temporary status effects on your characters and form psychic networks to bolster one another and more powerful enemies * Fast little jumpy guys with deadly aim, who can quickly flank you or gain a height advantage, with a long range AoE poison debuff attack * A slow, floating automaton which is highly resistant to damage when its shell is closed, but extremely vulnerable when it opens to fire * Very fast melee units which are either hard to kill or come in overwhelming numbers, who run right at you and can nearly instantly kill you if they get close enough - one of which becomes more dangerous when injured, the other of which turns those it kills into zombies * Units with invisibility cloaks that lie in wait until they can emerge from hiding and strangle you * Mechas with forcefields - if you want to damage them, you have to kill the little guy hiding way in the back of the combat area Every XCOM fight is a puzzle to solve. You have to think very carefully about how to use each and every one of your characters' abilities in the correct order to the maximum possible effect if you want to survive. I really wish modern D&D's tactical combat was more like this. **Civilization V**  is another game by Firaxis which feels worth mentioning. While I've only gotten into it fairly recently (and have only played this installment in the series), it has, like XCOM, consumed more of my time than I'd like to admit. I'm not really sure how much it has informed the way I approach D&D. If anything, it's made me think about why cities are where they are (mostly resources, and access to rivers and the sea - obvious stuff really, but somehow playing the game has enforced it for me), and how the desire for certain land and the clashing personalities of a civilization's leaders can lead to conflict. There are odd tidbits to be taken from this game. One could easily take the social policies and victory conditions and translate them into ideals or personalities of a given civilization. Is this civilization expansionist? Warlike? Pious? Artistic? Seafaring? Mercantile? Technological? I like to think about how I might run mass combat based on my experiences playing Civ. I also really like the idea of playing a game of Civ up to the Medieval or Renaissance Era and then using the map and political history of that world (or some approximation of it) in a D&D game. I felt this list wouldn't be complete without some blogs, and **Welsh Piper's Hex-Based Campaign Design** definitely deserves a mention. I love procedures in my games, and prep procedures are little games the DM can play on their own. Although my methods have changed over the years, it should be clear that I love playing this game. This post was my introduction to Hexographer (and creating hex maps in general). I can't count the number of sandboxes I've created without ever intending to use them for a game (for better or worse), and every game I've run since discovering this post has been facilitated by such a map because this procedure (or at least my version of it) is so much fun. If Welsh Piper deserves a shoutout, so does **The Original D&D Setting** by Wayne Rossi. I love implied setting stuff! I probably wouldn't be writing so many blog posts about one or two throwaway sentences from the AD&D DMG if this hadn't originally sparked my imagination. I would be remiss not to mention **Web DM**. My interest in D&D is somewhat cyclical and periodic. I recently got back into it in 2018, after not playing for several years. Around the time I started playing again, I discovered Web DM. I'm not one for watching a lot of D&D content on YouTube, but something about Web DM has always captured my attention and imagination. It's a very 5e-heavy channel, which was great for me at the time because I was just getting into 5e, but Jim is also an OSR guy who reads blogs, and he brings many of those sensibilities to his approach to 5e. As someone who came from playing older editions and has always been a bit dissatisfied with 5e, this really resonated with me. When Jim and Pruitt aren't talking pure game mechanics, they really dig into the tired tropes of D&D and try to breathe new life into them, which has been a constant source of inspiration since I got back into the hobby. Unfortunately Web DM no longer makes YouTube content, but they do have a podcast which you can access via their Patreon. They talk about other games too, like Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon, and Mothership. It's not my favorite show anymore, but I do feel like they deserve some recognition for rekindling my interest in the hobby most recently. By the way, here's their excellent video on Appendix N literature. My list would not be complete without at least one item from Gygax's Appendix N, and for me it's got to be **The Dying Earth**  stories by Jack Vance. These are stories about D&D wizards, full stop. Cugel the Clever is _the_  prototypical D&D player character. D&D does not make sense until you read these stories. While Gygax listed plenty of inspirations in Appendix N, I'm fully convinced that he was injecting this stuff directly into his veins. The Dying Earth is a weird world inhabited by petty and selfish protagonists (not heroes) and megalomaniacal wizards. It is an antisocial world filled with difficult people. It provides this blog's name. Need I say more?
08.09.2025 16:07 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Retired Adventurers Long for the Dungeon From the AD&D 1e DMG, page 106: It is an assumption that high-level player characters with strongholds "will desire some dungeon mazes" beneath them. This is not referring to something like a castle dungeon one might find in the real world, but the "dungeon mazes" characteristic of D&D - specifically early D&D. We're talking dungeons like those you might generate using the tables in **APPENDIX A**  - something weird like this: It seems a bold claim to make that player characters simply _will_  desire this sort of complex beneath their stronghold. Can the fighter not fit their men-at-arms' barracks and armory in the castle proper? Can the cleric not accommodate their shrine and altar in the above ground portion of their place of worship? Can the magic-user not find room for their laboratory in one of the many levels of their tower? Why would a character "desire" this? **APPENDIX I: DUNGEON DRESSING** provides some examples of rooms which might be found in a dungeon: Surely any of these could just as easily be included in the structure above ground, no? Is it somehow more convenient to construct these rooms below ground? Gygax helpfully provides the cubic volume of rock that can be mined in an 8-hour period by different demihuman/humanoid races and monsters: And, of course, since this is AD&D there is _detailed_ guidance for determining the productivity of slave labor and number/quality of armed guards needed to ensure maximum productivity and keep the slaves in line: There isn't much to suggest that underground construction is cheaper or faster than above ground construction, save this bit under **CONSTRUCTION TIME** : An excavated subterranean area is, after all, the crudest form of a "room", I suppose. If properly excavated and supported, it may obviate the need for building materials like dressed stone, which in turn eliminates transportation costs. For proper "interior dungeon walls", however, one must extrapolate from the cost of above ground stone buildings: It is also worth noting that the player character would likely want their above ground construction to be protected by walls. The more such construction one undertakes, the more area the walls will have to cover. Walls are expensive: Underground construction, on the other hand, comes with its own walls (albeit crude ones, unless the player character wishes to spend additional money to improve them, as previously mentioned). So maybe subterranean construction ends up being more cost efficient than above ground construction, even if not explicitly stated in the text. I'm not sure there's enough information to easily determine whether this is true, and I don't particularly care to do the accounting anyway. As to why player characters might desire dungeon mazes beneath their strongholds, I think there's a more _fun_ explanation. Retired adventures, settled in their strongholds with armies, tax-paying settlements, and the occasional wandering monster to manage, now part of the established order, _long_  for the dungeon. It's where they came of age, tested their mettle against monsters, tricks, and traps, and accumulated their power and wealth. They miss it. Deep down inside, they've always wanted one of their own. They're bored. They have money. Their mind wanders back to the dungeon. I'm still not entirely convinced that _player_ characters _will_  desire to build mazelike dungeons beneath their strongholds. Maybe it would be fun to coordinate with the DM on a project like this, slowly building out your dungeon for the next generation of player characters to one day explore. Maybe this is a pastime the gamers of the late '70s enjoyed, but I don't see it happening in the play culture we're familiar with today. Rather, what I think is more interesting is the more general assumption that high-level _NPCs_  will build mazelike dungeons beneath their strongholds. It then follows that every fighter's castle, cleric's temple, and magic-user's tower encountered in the wilderness has a dungeon underneath it. I'm not supposing that these NPCs are true dungeon sickos, filling their labyrinths with monsters, tricks, traps, and treasure (although it would be fun if they did - you could take the classic "a wizard did it" dungeon trope and expand to include any characters class). Rather, I imagine these dungeons would simply be subterranean expansions of the stronghold above - more armories, more chapels, more laboratories, and so on. I suppose then that the "monsters" would just be men-at-arms and other guards, and tricks and traps might be in place to guard treasures secured therein against possible invasion and looting. What I find most interesting about this is it answers a question I grappled with back when I wrote about "totally deserted" castles: are these supposed to be dungeons or not? Now, the answer is clear: **Yes** , totally deserted castles _do_  contain dungeons underneath, because _all_  high-level characters _will_  build dungeons beneath their strongholds. While inhabited "castles" (meaning strongholds in general) will have dungeons which are more or less extensions of the above ground construction in terms of purpose and contents, deserted castles will be weirder, proper dungeons. Their layout and dressing will be consistent with their original purpose and occupants, but the whole will be filtered through time and ruination. The armories contain crumbling weapon racks and tattered coat of arms, and are now home to rust monsters who have eaten all of the weapons and armor once stored there. The chapels contain defiled altars, fetid pools of unholy water, and perverted holy symbols, and are haunted by undead who draw power from the desecration. The laboratories contain wilted herbs and beakers and flasks in disarray, boiling over with alchemical oozes. This presents adventurers as not just the young upstarts who foray into dungeons, clear them out, and abscond with their treasure, but also as the old retirees with a late-in-life hobby, who in their hubris (or by their own design) perpetuate the ruination which they once exploited - by carving out the labyrinths monsters will one day inhabit, placing the tricks and traps that will deter future looters, and hiding their accumulated wealth behind secret doors and shifting walls for their successors to discover, accumulate, and eventually begin the cycle anew. That other category of deserted castle - "deserted (monster therein)" - also presents a more interesting scenario in this light. The castle is not just a monster lair with a unique skin - rather, the dragon, orc warband, or will-o-wisp which now inhabits the castle is an additional (and deadly) obstacle which must be overcome before the riches of the dungeon beneath can be plundered. While dungeons in AD&D are adventure sites which are "balanced" according to dungeon level such that they are a fitting challenge for low-level characters at the start and get progressively more dangerous as the characters delve deeper within, deserted castles which contain a monster on the surface are stocked using the wilderness encounter tables, which are considerably less "balanced" and more dangerous for low-level characters. The low-level adventurers who wish to plunder the level-appropriate dungeons beneath such a deserted castle are unlikely to be able to face the monsters inhabiting the surface ruins head on. This opens the door to creative solutions such as deception, parley, or the discovery of a secret means of ingress.
05.09.2025 14:19 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Adventurers Are a Threat to the Established Order An excerpt from the AD&D DMG, under **MONSTER POPULATIONS AND PLACEMENT** , page 91: I found this paragraph interesting for a few reasons. First, in AD&D the assumption is that the player characters are "the most aggressive" characters (or character-types) in the area of play. This is not to imply that they are the only adventurers active in the area. After all, character-types appear on both the dungeon and wilderness random encounter tables: Rather, I think the purpose of this assumption is to afford the player characters the maximum amount of agency. They are not "special" in that they are the only adventurers running around doing stuff, but they _are_ the adventurers most uniquely motivated to enact serious change in the region. It's fun to encounter, compete with, and even fight rival adventuring parties, so their activity in the area is still a must, but the proverbial ball is still very much in the player characters' court. The second point of interest is that there are, of course, character-types in the area of play who are both higher-level and more capable than the player characters. This is evidenced by the fact that there are strongholds in the wilderness ruled by character-types of, at minimum, 9th-level: However, "the game assumes that these characters have other things to do with their time, that they do not generally care to take the risks connected with adventuring, and they will happily allow the player characters to stand the hazards". This meshes very nicely with a previous post of mine, in which I argued that high-level NPCs will not or cannot solve the problems of their domain because they are either Evil, incompetent, indifferent, or powerless, thus leaving such problems to the player characters to deal with (this I wrote before ever reading this section of the AD&D DMG). This is consistent with other advice in the DMG, where Gygax states repeatedly and in no uncertain terms that high-level NPCs should be difficult to deal with and that player characters who make a habit of relying on such NPCs for aid will simply provoke the NPCs' ire over time. While 1 to 2% of individuals in a settlement will be leveled character-types (and presumably a portion will be high-level), if the player characters wish to recruit help in their adventuring activities, they'll need to instead call on the 10% of those individuals who are henchmen looking for work - and even those are the pitiable wretches of the adventuring profession who are instead looking to benefit from the food, lodging, equipment, shares of treasure, and protection which their employers are expected to offer them. On the other hand, this _isn't_ very consistent with the aforementioned dungeon and wilderness encounter tables, which insist that high-level characters are not only present in lower levels of the dungeon: ...but are also the _only_ such characters encountered in uninhabited/wilderness areas: This suggests that high-level character-type NPCs _do_  in fact "care to take the risks connected with adventuring", albeit not "generally". The assumption still stands that the player characters are "the most aggressive types in the area", however. The high-level NPCs must simply be adventuring as a bit of a lark. Perhaps they're on a vacation of sorts, trying to remember what it's like to feel young, alive, and hopeful? Who can relate? While there is some overlap in level with those NPCs who would typically rule a stronghold, there's no indication that these high-level NPCs belong to such a place (if they did, surely they would be accompanied by a larger force). My inclination is to treat these NPCs as adventurers who do not yet have holdings of their own. Unlike the current iteration of D&D, strongholds in AD&D do not simply materialize out of thin air once the character has attained a certain level. The AD&D world is also filled with high-level NPC bandit leaders and the like who do not necessarily possess holdings, so we can presume that it is not uncommon for high-level NPCs to be without them. (As an interesting aside, character-type NPC adventurers are not randomly encountered in inhabited areas, only in wilderness areas. Presumably this is because those in inhabited areas are holed up in settlements or in their strongholds, though it is strange that they may not be encountered on the road between places. I will chalk this up to an oversight rather than intent to imply something about the setting. Also interesting is that in dungeons, only character-type NPCs of 1st- through 4th-level and 6th- through 13th-level - and perhaps higher - may be encountered, while in the wilderness only such NPCs of 7th- through 10th-level may be encountered. Where are all the 5th-level characters? And why do NPCs higher than 10th-level abandon wilderness adventures to return to dungeon environs? To avoid getting ahead of myself, and because ultimately it is probably not meaningful, I'll forego examining this further, but I invite others to put forth a contrived explanation.) While there _are_ high-level character-type NPCs out adventuring, the assumption is that _most_ are not interested in doing so. Instead, "they will happily allow the player characters to stand the hazards" of adventuring. The player characters are after all "aggressive" (read more accurately, probably, as "overactive"), so why not let them expend their energy in a mutually productive way? Adventuring is referred to here as "dirty work" and, if the player characters are successful, the NPCs are assumed to benefit. Player character adventurers sound a lot like simple-minded pawns to be exploited by those wise enough to be content with wielding their power in relative safety, but that's not the whole story. The third point of interest in this excerpt is that it suggests that NPCs view the presence of adventurers as a threat to the "established order". If the player characters are indeed the most aggressive/overactive adventurers in the region, this makes sense. They have to deal with the aforementioned Gygaxian expensive and irritating NPCs, nobles and powerful officials who will embroil them in social conflict at the slightest insult in the city streets, tax them relentlessly and indenture them to servitude if they fail to pay, and subject them to them to hefty tolls if they wish merely to use the road to travel to the nearest dungeon to make their fortune. Gygax has ensured that the established order kind of sucks - what player character wouldn't chafe against it? Not only does the NPC reap the benefits of successful adventures by utilizing the player characters as pawns, but the NPC also removes the player characters to some more remote frontier area where they pose less of a threat. Here Gygax makes a direct comparison between adventurers and Wild West "gunfighter-lawmen" like wild Bill Hickok and Wyatt Earp - transient individualist vigilante-types who might bring order (at the end of the barrel of a gun) to frontier places temporarily, only to later be replaced by a more permanent, less dangerous lawman approved by the establishment. The gunfighter-lawman would then move on to the next frontier and do it all over again. Sound about right? D&D is not medieval! It's a Western. But adventurers need not always threaten the established order. Eventually, they might build a stronghold, "which will help to _maintain the stability of the area_ " (emphasis mine). The adventurer thus becomes part of the establishment. That is probably an oversimplification, as just because one has a stronghold, that does not necessarily mean that the player character is _beholden_ to the existing establishment. The land-holding AD&D fighter is not generally vassal to another, higher-ranking lord - the fighter does not necessarily pay taxes and is not necessarily called upon to provide fighting men to anyone else, although this is a possibility. The landed player character does, however, have a self-interested motivation to clear the area around their stronghold, patrol it regularly, and provide for the safety of their tax-paying subjects. This does not preclude the possibility of warring with or otherwise menacing their neighbors, but perhaps maintaining "stability" (i.e., the absence of monsters) is valued enough by the establishment such that it more or less looks the other way when it comes to other threats posed by these types. The takeaways here are thus: while player characters are not the only adventurers active in a given area, they are assumed to be the "most active", perhaps to afford the players the level of agency required for an engaging game. They are not (at least not at the start of play) the most powerful characters, either. More powerful character-types adventure as well, but not _generally_. Instead, powerful character-types elect to use the player characters as pawns. This serves dual purposes - it spares the NPC the labor and danger of adventuring while allowing them to reap the passive benefits, and also removes threats to their power to more remote and dangerous locations. The player characters are viewed as threats by the powers-that-be. While the player characters' adventures may allow them to accumulate more power (and thus more threat potential), the assumption is that they will ultimately settle down in their strongholds and contribute to the greater good of the region my stabilizing the frontier areas where they once made their fortune, thus bringing themselves into the fold of the established order. Much like the Gygaxian maxim that NPCs should be expensive and irritating to deal with, this notion should color every interaction the player characters have with the local rulers. Adventurers are useful, but also ambitious, unpredictable, and _dangerous_. They are outsiders to circles of power...until they're not. The only way in from the cold for them is not merely to serve as pawns, in which state they will always be viewed as threats, but to prove their ultimate usefulness by allowing the march of civilization to take another step forward by the conquest and holding of dominion over the wilderness. While that may not be every player character's ultimate goal, they will remain outsiders unless it is achieved.
29.08.2025 13:12 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Good Henchmen are Hard to Find Apparently my special interest now is writing about the annoying mundanities of AD&D city/town life - taxes, tolls, intentionally misleading encounters, and irritating and expensive NPCs. To this end, I've been reading all about henchmen in the DMG. Boy, it is a lot more difficult to recruit these people than I gave it credit for! Henchmen are not to be confused with standard hirelings like porters, teamsters, and torchbearers, nor with expert hirelings like mercenaries. Henchmen are character-type NPCs - that is, those with at least (and often only, at least when initially recruited - more on that later) one level in a class who directly strengthen the party by (mostly) loyally serving under the direct supervision of a specific player character. Not only do they serve as another character-type "body" in the party. They can also strengthen the player character's stronghold, serve as a backup character to adventure when the player character is unable to (including when the player character is dead), and, perhaps most interestingly, be used "as a safety measure against the machinations of rival player characters": It's no surprise that in modern editions of D&D - where player characters are independently strong, strongholds are non-existent or capriciously handwaved, character death is rare and easily recovered from, and player characters are generally assumed to be working together amicably - henchmen are more or less a thing of the past. But in AD&D, henchmen are explicitly "so useful" and "so devoted" that a player character's Charisma score imposes a limit on the number they can have in service at any given time: This assertion that henchmen are incredibly useful is important to keep in mind, as it provides justification for just how hard it is to recruit them. I'll provide a bit of perspective as to where it is I'm coming from. Typically in my games, when the player characters are looking for henchmen, they go to a nearby settlement, spend a week of downtime searching for candidates, I tell them who is available, and they pick who they want. I have a list of available henchmen in each settlement. Simple as that. I never considered that finding and recruiting henchman could be a challenge in and of itself, involving the expenditure of time and money and the use of social acumen. Whether it _should_  be such a challenge will depend on the individual DM's taste. Since I am recently enamored with Gygax's assertion that dealing with NPCs "should be expensive and irritating", I am currently of the opinion that jumping through hoops to recruit henchmen is similarly a somewhat charming artifact of Gygaxian design sensibilities. That being said, let's get into the nitty gritty. To begin with, newly recruited henchmen are typically 1st-level: Player characters above 6th-level might get a 2nd-level recruit, and characters above 11th-level might get a 3rd-level recruit at best. The parenthetical justification suggests that while player characters seek out henchmen for all of the reasons I've already mentioned, henchmen seek out player characters for _protection_  ("the aegis of a PC") - higher-level character-types need no such protection and so do not seek out such work. What follows are a few paragraphs about the race of potential henchmen: The race of the player character somehow affects which henchmen will seek them out. This isn't expanded upon here, but I imagine that the DM is meant to reference the ~~racism table~~  **RACIAL PREFERENCES TABLE**  in the PHB: For example, dwarf player characters probably won't attract elf or half-orc henchmen and vice versa. Racial distribution of the recruitment area is up to the DM's discretion. I personally use this bit from **APPENDIX C** : I assume that my settlements are largely human. Dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings don't have their own "settlements" per se, they have "lairs" (small-scale ethnocentric communities) as determined by stocking the campaign area using the wilderness encounter tables (for example, a few demihuman/humanoid lairs pop up in the second part of my series on using the DMG to stock a sandbox). You can assign your own bespoke racial distributions to each of your settlements as you like, but that sounds to me like more trouble than its worth, so I use this blanket distribution. Yes, you can racially profile when recruiting henchmen. You can put up posters all over the city that say "HENCHMEN WANTED: Half-Orcs Need Not Apply!": Very cool! Now that we've covered the fun issue of race, let's find out how many henchmen are in a given settlement: In my post on settlements, and again in the first part of my series on stocking a sandbox with the AD&D DMG, without ever reading this section, I suggested that probably 1 in 100 people in a settlement would be character-type NPCs. I was pretty close! I just didn't account for the possibility that non-humans (and non-half-orcs) would be twice as likely to be character-types. Why half-_elves_ are twice as likely as half-_orcs_ to be "suitable for level advancement" is beyond me (it's racism again, I guess). Of those 1 in 100 humans and half-orcs, one-tenth are recruitable as henchmen (the rest are either higher-level or "already in a situation they are satisfied with" - perhaps already in another character-type's employ or otherwise adventuring on their own). I'm going to assume then that one-tenth of non-human non-half-orcs are also recruitable (so 1 in 500 of the non-human non-half-orc population, compared to 1 in 1,000 of the human and half-orc population). As an example, let's crunch the numbers for the average city. I'll refer to **APPENDIX B** 's **INHABITATION**  table: Typically we would roll 1d6 and multiply the result by 10,000. The average of 1d6 is 3.5, so let's say our population is 35,000 (even though you can't actually roll 3.5 on the die, this is a hypothetical exercise). Our racial distribution is: * 28,000 humans (80%) * 1,750 dwarves (5%) * 1,750 elves (5%) * 700 gnomes (2%) * 1,750 half-elves (5%) * 700 halflings (2%) * 350 half-orcs (1%) Here's how many character-types there will be: * 280 humans * 35 dwarves * 35 elves * 14 gnomes * 35 half-elves * 14 halflings * 3 or 4 half-orcs (50/50 chance) Here's how many recruitable henchmen there will be: * 28 humans * 3 or 4 dwarves (50/50 chance) * 3 or 4 elves (50/50 chance) * 1 or 2 gnomes (60/40 chance) * 3 or 4 half-elves (50/50 chance) * 1 or 2 halflings (60/40 chance) * At most 1 half-orc (30 or 40% chance) Since the highest-level a newly-recruited henchmen can be is 3, I would roll d3 to assign a level to each or else divide by 3 and roll for the remainder. For example: * 15 1st-level (9 humans, 1 dwarf, 1 elf, 1 gnome, 2 half-elves, 1 halfling) * 14 2nd-level (10 humans, 1 dwarf, 1 elf, 1 half-elf, 1 halfling) * 14 3rd-level (9 humans, 2 dwarves, 2 elves, 1 half-elf) This is actually kind of useful. Until the player characters attain 7th-level, in the average city you need only prep 15 character-type NPCs to be potential henchmen. At 7th-level they might attract a 2nd-level henchmen, but even then it's only a 10% chance, so you could prep just one for every nine 1st-levels. At 12th-level you could prep one 2nd-level and one 3rd-level for every two 1st-levels (since the distribution is 25/25/50, respectively). Furthermore, if only 1 in 500 to 1 in 1,000 people are recruitable as henchmen (and the 1 in 500 applies only to 20% of the population), the smallest settlement which will definitely be home to recruitable henchmen is a town (the average of which will only have 3 to 5). In smaller settlements, you could determine the number of character types and then dice to determine if any henchmen are available. For example, the average village will have 750 people - that's 6 human or half-orc character-types and 1 or 2 others, so a 60% and 10 or 20% chance of a recruitable henchmen, respectively. You still might want to find out who the other character-types in the settlement are (I recommend fleshing out the most powerful people in the settlement - those of the highest level in a small settlement and any who might rule strongholds in larger settlements), but this has already greatly reduced the amount of character-types we need to prep in our settlements. So, math-y diatribe aside, how do you actually recruit these people? Surely you just go to a tavern and they're all hanging out there, waiting for you, right? ...Right? Wrong! You need to do more math: If you somehow fail to recruit henchmen (or fail to find the henchmen you want), you have to wait a month before trying the same method again. You can combine methods for a better chance at recruiting, but it has diminishing returns. All of this is expensive. In the example provided, the player character spends 860 gold and attracts 65% of available henchmen. Let's assume that this is done in our example "average city" with 43 recruitable henchmen levels 1 to 3. If the player character is below 7th-level, let's say they attract 65% of the 15 1st-level henchmen (9 or 10 recruits). If the character is 7th- to 11th-level, they can attract 65% of the 15 1st-level and 14 2nd-level henchmen (18 or 19 recruits, with 1 or 2 - 10% - of those being of 2nd-level). If the character is above 11th-level, they can attract 65% of all 43 available henchmen (27 or 28 recruits, with 6 to 7 each - 25% - of those being of 2nd- and 3rd-level). Let's say 9 1st-level recruits are attracted by a relatively low-level player character. Using our example demographics from above, let's say 7 are human, 1 is a half-elf, and 1 is a halfling. Of course, you have to wait around for a few days for all the recruits to show up. If you're a no-show, they leave: I determined it will take six days for all recruits in our example to show up - one on each day plus three on the second day. That's almost a week where the player character can't get much of anything done because they're just waiting around. Whatever they do, our example player character had better not ensorcell the recruits or ask them about topics which are not polite conversation (alignment and religion): I hope our example player character isn't expecting anything fancy like a monk, assassin, druid, or illusionist: The percentages break down like this: * 16.67% cleric * 3.33% druid * 35.2% fighter * 4.4% ranger * 4.4% paladin * 16.67% magic-user * 3.33% illusionist * 12.5% thief * 2.5% assassin * 1% monk Which is only slightly different than the **Character Subtable** used for dungeon encounters in **APPENDIX C** : Clerics, fighters, and magic-users are slightly less common, but everyone else is more common. I appreciate that the two tables are pretty consistent, although I don't really see the need for two in the first place. I feel similarly about the note on multiclassed henchmen: The section on **Race and Multi-Class**  in **APPENDIX C**(scroll up a bit for the screenshot, since I used it earlier) provides a totally different method for determining if a character-type NPC has two or even three professions. Why are there two slightly different methods for generating character-type NPCs on the fly - one for those in dungeons and one for henchmen recruits? I do not know. Here are the nine recruits who shows up while our example player character is waiting around: * Day 1: LE human assassin * Day 2: N human druid, CG human fighter, CE human fighter, CN human illusionist * Day 3: NE human magic-user * Day 4: CG half-elf cleric/magic-user * Day 5: LG halfling fighter * Day 6: CE human fighter Our example player character got lucky, managing to attract an assassin, a druid, _and_  and illusionist in addition to the more common types. Let's say that the player character has advertised, the recruits have arrived, and it's time to make an offer: You have to offer at least 100 gold per level of the henchman (300 gold max for a 3rd-level henchman) for them to even consider the offer, and that only gets you a 25% chance that the henchman will accept! You can get that all the way up to 55% for 300 gold more. That's right - the best you can do is offer a 400 to 600 gold signing bonus, and the henchman basically flips a coin to decide if they accept or not! You can increase the henchman's interest by offering magic items: You _also_  have to provide all of their equipment! Why don't they have equipment? Well, they're wretches. That's part of the reason why they're seeking employment: Pity the wretched henchmen of the AD&D world! This section seems to suggest that 3rd-level henchmen (not 2nd-level henchmen) will come with equipment: This also suggests that player characters can have henchmen (or rather, "associates") of a level higher than 3rd (and even of a level higher than the player characters themselves), but only temporarily in most cases. This seems to be describing the acquisition of henchmen/associates by means other than the standard recruitment process, as the NPC will become a regular (non-temporary) henchmen only if they are three or more levels under the level of the player character, which is a requirement unique to this situation. Interestingly, this means that, for example, an 11th-level player character could potentially acquire an 8th-level henchmen through this route. I imagine this "exceptional henchmen" rule is used if, for example, the player characters topple a bandit stronghold and wish to recruit the captured character-type bandits to their cause. Be sure to offer your henchmen housing, food, and clothing! Doing so only adds 5% to their interest level, but if you neglect to offer such support (or simply don't know that you're expected to), the recruit's interest level drops by 25%: With the bare necessities like the signing bonus, equipment, and other support out of the way, the recruit will want to know what exactly their duties will entail and what their share of treasure will be: Here I wish there was a little more detail. Is it not assumed that the henchman's position will be subordinate to the player character and that their duties will involve going into dungeons and braving traps and monsters? Is the henchman more or less likely to accept if they're given command of other henchmen? What about if they will be garrisoning a stronghold rather than adventuring? What is the expected share of treasure? What if less or more is offered? With such thorough percentage breakdowns elsewhere in this section, why not here as well? I have similar thoughts about the provision of equipment. "The prospective henchman must be provided with complete equipment according to his or her class or classes." Will a fighter simply accept leather armor? Will they expect at least chain mail? Will plate armor sweeten the deal? It's easy enough for the DM to simply use their own discretion here, but it is odd that the guidance is less concrete in some areas than others. The DM should also use the section on NPCs to determine henchmen characteristics. Hopefully the player characters don't try too hard to get to know their henchmen before they're hired, as this would be considered a faux pas: Whatever the henchman's characteristics and alignment, remember that dealing with them should always be expensive and irritating! Let's say our example player character is a CG human fighter. They meet with the LE assassin on day one and it's clear that the two don't get along. They wait an additional day and meet with the four recruits who arrive on day two. They get along best with the other CG human fighter, but the druid and illusionist fill roles that aren't already represented in the party at large (and they're harder to find), so the fighter wishes to recruit them. Finally, with all else being known, the DM tallies up the henchman's interest level, adds the player character's Charisma reaction adjustment, and rolls to determine if the henchman accepts employment: Let's say money isn't an issue, so the fighter offers the druid and illusionist each 400 gold as a signing bonus. They don't have any magic items to offer, but they're wise enough to offer to pay for food, clothing, and lodgings, making the chance of acceptance 60%. Their Charisma score is 13, which adds 5% for a total of 65%. For whatever reason, the druid balks (I rolled an 81 on d100, so perhaps negotiations over a couple of magic items was the point of contention), but the illusionist accepts. The fighter could stick around to see if more recruits come in, but they're satisfied with the hire and want to get on with adventuring. But that's not all! Once a henchman is successfully recruited, the player character must _keep_  the henchman. This is where loyalty comes into play: The henchman's loyalty is tested in certain situations. If they fail their loyalty test, the henchman might co-operate with or surrender to an enemy, testify against their liege (suggesting that yes, the DM should put their player characters on trial for their crimes), steal, desert, refuse orders, or run away: The loyalty score is 50% plus or minus the player character's Charisma adjustment: For context, here is the **CHARISMA TABLE** from the PHB: The reaction adjustment is used when recruiting henchmen, but the loyalty base is used when determining, well, base loyalty of henchmen. With the fighter's 13 Charisma, the newly-recruited illusionist's loyalty base is a flat 50%. There are _tons_  of modifiers to a henchman/hireling's loyalty base. Henchman are actually the _most_  loyal of all NPC followers, and even they only have +5% loyalty: However, henchmen are also treated as having the highest level of training (comparable to officers or major officials), granting another +30%: The illusionist's loyalty to the fighter is now up to 85%! The longer a player character knows a henchman (and thus keeps them comfortable, fed, equipped, and of course, _alive_), the greater their loyalty: This brings the illusionist's loyalty down to 80%, since they've only just now been recruited. This is also where shares of treasure come into play: I assume that an equal share of treasure is "average". Would it be fair for shares of treasure to be weighted based on relative level? That is, would it be acceptable for the 1st-level henchman of a 4th-level player character to receive a 20% share of the character's treasure? I'm not sure. Whatever it is, player characters must also pay their henchmen 100 gold pieces per level per month, as described under **PLAYER CHARACTER EXPENSES** : Let's say the fighter is 1st-level and offers the illusionist an equal share of treasure. Loyalty is unchanged. As the two adventure together, discipline, activity, and general treatment will come into play: Being cruel and domineering towards your henchmen is actually a bonus - so long as you are present, alive, and conscious! As the fighter is CG, let's say discipline is lax, but treatment is just, kind, and invariable. The illusionist's loyalty is now 90%. Racism, of course, must be a factor: I've determined that the fighter is in a party with three other humans, who are all "preferred" by the human illusionist. I'm not sure how to interpret the bit about adjustments being cumulative. Since both the fighter and their allies are all human, do I add 20% or 35%? It seems a bit much to count both hefty bonuses, so let's just count the 20%. The illusionist's loyalty is up to 110%. Next we consider alignment: The fighter is CG, which is -5%, but only one place removed from the illusionist (CN), which has no effect. The fighter's allies are CN, N, and N, which likewise has no effect. The illusionist's loyalty is at 105%. That's really good! It means the illusionist will not betray the fighter...unless the fighter breaks oaths, is reputed to have tortured, killed, or left henchmen to die, or actually tortures or kills them: This is really interesting to me because it provides a means by which adversarial NPCs can spread rumors about the player characters which actually affect their henchmen's loyalty. On the flip side, the fighter can further improve the illusionist's loyalty by giving them gifts, rescuing them, or raising them from the dead. "Yeah, I know there's that insidious rumor going around that I tortured and killed my last henchman. Here, have some healing potions to make up for it." Of course, there are situational modifiers to be used in combat as well: Let's say the party encounters eight orcs on the first level of the dungeon. The fighter has been incapacitated due to damage but is still alive (hors de combat, -15%). The party has four 1st-level henchmen besides the illusionist, and two are dead or incapacitated (-10%). Additionally, one of the 1st-level player character is dead (-9%, counting the two dead henchmen). Six of the orcs are alive (-6%) and two are dead (+2%). The two remaining henchmen are alive and still engaged in combat (+10%). While the fighter is still technically alive and in sight, I'm not sure the 15% bonus would apply. That modifies the illusionist's loyalty by -28%, setting it at 77%. On d100, they roll 27, which keeps them in combat for now. It wasn't easy, but it seems our fighter found a good henchman after all! Hopefully in this post I have illustrated a few things. First, good henchmen are hard to find. It is both expensive and time consuming to do so, and they are in relatively short supply in all but the largest settlements. There is no telling who will show up and whether they will accept the player character's offer of employment. Because it is considered bad form to try too hard to get to know your henchmen before you hire them, the actual quality and compatibility of the henchmen is difficult to discern. Second, good henchmen are hard to keep. Not only do they have to be paid well according to their level, but they must also be given their fare share of treasure, disciplined firmly but fairly, and treated justly, kindly, and invariably. You can improve your henchmen's loyalty by keeping them alive (and raising them from the dead) and by gifting them magic items, or damage it severely by breaking oaths or, well, torturing and killing them. Even then, there are factors that are outside of your control, such as personality, alignment, and uh...what race you are. Your enemies can spread rumors about you which will sully your reputation in your henchmen's eyes. Of course, even if you do everything right, there is still a chance that your henchmen's loyalty will falter in a life-threatening situation. When your allies are dead and you're surrounded by enemies, even the most loyal henchmen might abandon you to your fate. All that being considered, is it worth it? Is it fair to describe henchmen as "so useful" and "so devoted" as to require all this effortful recruitment and maintenance? That is for you to decide. Henchmen are a force multiplier. They are, in essence, akin to an additional player character in the party, and player characters are powerful. They become more powerful with the accumulation of levels and magic items. They can command a stronghold in your stead, fill in on adventures when your character is unavailable (or even replace the character if they die), and protect you against the "machinations" of other player characters (who are, of course, your rivals). While I've demonstrated that henchmen can be disloyal based on a variety of factors, it is important to note that of all the followers you might recruit, henchmen's +35% loyalty base _is_  the highest. While they're loyalty will vary in other ways depending on circumstances, they are otherwise "so devoted" in comparison to the other options available. Perhaps this loyalty is born out of dependence. Henchmen are, after all, the wretches of the adventuring profession. While 90% of character-types found in settlements are of a higher level or "already in a situation they are satisfied with", henchmen are the bottom 10% who are destitute to the extent that they have no equipment and must seek employment, food, lodging, and protection from those more successful than themselves. It would make sense not to trust such individuals fully, but it also makes sense that they would recognize, when paid and treated well, that they have a good thing going and that they should cling to it with all their might.
20.08.2025 14:04 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0