The Dungeon Takes Shape

Here is where we discuss the Year Six Tournament.
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Jengenritz
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The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by Jengenritz »

So far all I know for certain is that I would like a single site.
In Chronicle the rounds were separated by time, in Warbringer they were separated by distance. Let's get back to crawling.

Locales we've used (in order):
- giant deathtrap crypt
- sprawling mountaintop complex
- exotic multi-tiered palace
- crumbling/demonic keep, giant enchanted tree
- caves, labyrinth
Co-Author: The Almanac of the Endless Traders, DCC #13, DCC #29, DCC #49, DCC #51, DCC #52, DCC #63

Author: DCC #55: Isle of the Sea Drake, DCC #61: Citadel of the Corruptor, more to come....
goodmangames
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by goodmangames »

In one form or another, we've done giant trees, exotic palaces, and caves in fairly recent years. I like the idea of a crypt because it hasn't been done in five years and is a classic -- which 4E may need. I also like the mountain complex idea because it comes with built-in expectations that we can work with and/or use against the players (dwarven fortress being the most obvious).

Are you interested in doing a Return of the Devil Lich?
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by Jengenritz »

Yes and no.
She's instantly recognizable, which is good.
I'm a little leery of going back to a well (which is my only real argument against using Cadixtat, as mentioned in the other thread). Chris has stated before that he's aware he doesn't own the concept, so whatever gets done is what happens, but I respect his wishes enough to want to leave Chalychia as "his" thing.

Mountain fortress is good. What about a mountain monastery? Yeah, no monks yet, but they might be coming, or we just use them from Fist, Fang, and Song.

I'd be 100% behind a crypt idea if we got to do a super-undead module. Something really conceptually BEHIND and ABOUT the idea of undeath.

Looking for classic...I'd like to say away from caves after Warbringer. I just wrote a module about an abandoned fort, so that's kinda dicey.

What about a temple? Other tournament modules have had shrines, but we've never used a temple.
Crypt + temple is ever better.
Co-Author: The Almanac of the Endless Traders, DCC #13, DCC #29, DCC #49, DCC #51, DCC #52, DCC #63

Author: DCC #55: Isle of the Sea Drake, DCC #61: Citadel of the Corruptor, more to come....
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by goodmangames »

Undead might be interesting, as we have touched on them here and there but never really done an undead-heavy module. And the thoughts on Cadixtat in the other module could be related. Severed god, reanimated, body parts... sounds undead without being "undead" if you know what I mean. Maybe a new interpretation of undeath, or an undead themed module that isn't the same as the usual "necromancer controlling hordes of zombies" thing. Could tie into your temple idea... a temple to a god of corrupted life... godly body parts, including a tentacle-creature... I dunno, but I'm sensing a theme.

Have you read DCC #23? It has one of my favorite monsters, the Hollow Ones. Let me know if you don't have it and I could send you a PDF. I've always loved them, and they could be a model for an undead-reanimated-by-something-other-than-necromancy -- the tentacled thing inside could perhaps reside in some or all the undead in this adventure... plus then you get a Cthulhu sub-theme...
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by Blackdirge »

goodmangames wrote:Have you read DCC #23? It has one of my favorite monsters, the Hollow Ones. Let me know if you don't have it and I could send you a PDF. I've always loved them, and they could be a model for an undead-reanimated-by-something-other-than-necromancy -- the tentacled thing inside could perhaps reside in some or all the undead in this adventure... plus then you get a Cthulhu sub-theme...
I also have the 4E conversion for these guys done for Dungeon Denizens. They're one of my favorites as well.

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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by Jengenritz »

OK, read the Hollow Ones. I like the idea, but I don't see how it fits with everything else we've discussed.
Looking at them reminded me that there is a real need for adventures in Aereth NOT set in the North.

Let's stop thinking European and start thinking Abylossian. I said some time ago that I wanted to return to deathtrap with this module, and Abylossian sounds like a good way to do it.

A while back, as my home game was working through Red Hand of Doom, I worked up a side-adventure in a building that had been swallowed by a swamp...the heroes entered through the bell tower, the only part of the place still above ground.

If we take this in a Raiders of the Lost Ark direction, our heroes can plunder an ancient Abylossian athenaeum buried under the sands, the Daharna Parnat. This college/library/monastery belonged to effendi Yash'ar Aref (Farsi* for roughly "wise one who lives forever"); after his death he was mummified and sealed within. Decades later, a calamity took the city in which the Daharna Parnat stood, burying them (a-la Tanis from Raiders)...now a freak windstorm has exposed its uppermost spire.

In addition to riches, and relevant to our adventure, Yash'ar was also buried with the Scroll of Afad (the name of our module, The Scroll of Afad**), upon which is written the true name of God.

Not really, but something else really, really bad.

SO, back to our topic, what if our dungeon was a library/monastery/college (just go with college) buried under the sands, and our foozil was the mummy Yash'ar Aref? AND what if he was - in life and undeath - allied with Things From Between the Stars, those who scribed the Scroll of Afad?

Perhaps, in fact, we fight Yash'ar Aref at the end of Round One, and then go after his secret allies? I'm snowballing here, so feel free to jump in.

This gives us undead, traps-a-go-go, crazy Persian abominations from beyond Space and Time, and possibly a memorable bad guy.

* I probably put myself on a CIA watchlist looking for Farsi translation through Google
** I once had a discussion with Joseph about using exotic names in titles (Tsathzar Rho, for example). If "Afad" is too strange, then we can go with The Scroll of Ruin/Oblivion/Final Truth...whatever...I'm easy.
Co-Author: The Almanac of the Endless Traders, DCC #13, DCC #29, DCC #49, DCC #51, DCC #52, DCC #63

Author: DCC #55: Isle of the Sea Drake, DCC #61: Citadel of the Corruptor, more to come....
goodmangames
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by goodmangames »

I like it!

Definitely read DCC #32: Golden Palace of Zahadran, if you haven't already, as a couple concepts overlap. Nothing too huge but enough that you should be aware. I just sent you the PDF... let me know if you don't get it.

I would like a more "normal" title for the book, like The Scroll of Oblivion (which sounds cool, IMHO), but within the module you can refer to it using exotic terminology.

If there is going to be a mummy here, get Ken Hart involved. Years ago, he was working on a Complete Guide to Mummies, which I cancelled when the market turned. We've been talking about restarting it now that 4E reopens that possibility. After Gen Con he said he would dig up his old notes. Perhaps this adventure could be the start of that, and a mummy supplement could come open alongside it. In fact, he may have ideas for a lot more than just mummies, based on his research for that book.

How about we start putting together deadlines?

Is October 1 doable for a list of tasks and who will do them? e.g., overall plot development to be completed by Adrian, level 1 to be completed by Ken, etc.

Then could we have first drafts back by January 15, all of them playtested by the authors?

Let me know...
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Jengenritz
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by Jengenritz »

I'll start assembling a timeframe of responsibilities right away. The first step will be dungeon concept...I'd like to have a pretty complete picture to send to the invited authors.

Right now, I see our three rounds as being:

Round One: "Bridge to the Heavens" - party enters through the top of the Dabistan Rassad's spire, works their way down; these floors would be observatories and be astrology-themed. Each room of this level has to fit in an X by Y dimensions to match the spire.

Round Two: "The Dabistan Rassad" - this area is a free-for all...a series of interconnected, intact rooms on the main floor of the Dabistan Rassad...all other rooms are collapsed, choked with sand, or otherwise impassable...this floor would feature several deadly hazards.

Round Three: "Bones of the Enlightened" - the crypts beneath the Dabistan Rassad contain the remains of its scholar-monks, death-traps, the burial site of Yash'ar Aref and the casting chamber where his ritual remains in stasis, centuries later.

Something else to consider is new monsters.
Most authors create new critters to populate their areas...I did it, we all do it, but at the end we've got 6-10 new critters for the module, and few of them have anything to do with each other.

What I'd like to do is create a list of a few critters we want in the module...mummies, Hollow Ones, that sort of thing...and tell the authors they either draw from the MMs or that list.
That list can either be full-on 4E stats (like Aeryn's Hollow Ones workup), or just a set of guidelines of what we want to see (mummy beetles, Medium skirmishers, teleport-by-dust ability, etc).

EDIT: for the new backstory
Co-Author: The Almanac of the Endless Traders, DCC #13, DCC #29, DCC #49, DCC #51, DCC #52, DCC #63

Author: DCC #55: Isle of the Sea Drake, DCC #61: Citadel of the Corruptor, more to come....
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by goodmangames »

Sounds good. I like the idea of a list of "suggested theme monsters."
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by Jengenritz »

Under 3.5 we were tied to only using WotC material that appeared in the core books. My understanding was that - under 4E - anything WotC put online was fair game. Is that the case?

This is relevant because there's a sand golem that's in our level range in the "Bestiary: Mindless Monstrosities"...this would be ideal for Scroll of Oblivion.
Co-Author: The Almanac of the Endless Traders, DCC #13, DCC #29, DCC #49, DCC #51, DCC #52, DCC #63

Author: DCC #55: Isle of the Sea Drake, DCC #61: Citadel of the Corruptor, more to come....
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Re: The Dungeon Takes Shape

Post by goodmangames »

Jengenritz wrote:Under 3.5 we were tied to only using WotC material that appeared in the core books. My understanding was that - under 4E - anything WotC put online was fair game. Is that the case?
I don't believe that's true. I would have to re-read the 4E SRD but if I recall, it defines a format for reprinting material then lists all the relevant material that could be included, such as lists of monster names. Of course, "sand golem" is generic enough that you could basically re-use theirs and just tweak a few things.
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