Spring Cleaning

I'm clearing out some of my RPG stuff. Take a look.

• The Monster Burner
• The Magic Burner
• Ron Edward's Sorcerer
• Dungeons of Dread
• The Dungeon Alphabet

The Visual Inspiration Series

One thing I struggle with as a GM is "purposeless" dungeons. By that I mean deserts, forests, mountains, natural cave systems and so on. Basically, any wide open space that is more of a geographical feature. To brush up on those skills I put together a series of slideshows meant to inspire challenges and help shape those spaces in my games. Hopefully, they are similarly useful for you.

• Badlands
• Castles
• Deserts
• Forests
• Mountains
• Plains
• Snow
• Swamps
• The Underdark

Visual Inspiration: Castles

Visual Inspiration: Badlands

Visual Inspiration: Plains

Visual Inspiration: Swamps

Visual Inspiration: Snow

Visual Inspiration: Mountains

Torchbearer: Navigate Maze Conflict

Should your party stumble into a maze, treat it as a trap. They can successfully navigate it with a Dungeoneer test using the factors below:

Suggested Help: Cartographer, Scout

Maze Factors

Size: small, medium, labyrinthine

Hazards (choose all that apply): monsters, traps, temperature

Construction: man-made, natural, magical

Twist: Go to Navigate Maze Conflict.

Navigate Maze Conflict

Skills and Abilities for Disposition

Skill: Dungeoneer
Add to Rank: Will

Conflict Ability and Skills Used by Action

Attack: Dungeoneer
Defend: Scout or Cartographer
Feint: Dungeoneer
Maneuver: Scout or Cartographer

Maneuver: Characters who succeed on a Maneuver with a margin of 3 successes may perform a special action: Loot. Roll 1d6 on the table below, and then roll on the appropriate subtable:

Loot

1-2: Stuff
3-5: Gear
6: Valuables

Suggested Compromises:

Minor: Exhausted or Angry

Solid: The characters lose a piece of gear in the maze

Major: Any map they make of the maze is inaccurate. Should they pass back through it, they will need to test again.

Labyrinth of Trials
Might: 4
Nature: 4
Descriptors: Misdirecting, Enclosing, Sprawling

Conflict Disposition

Navigate Maze: 9

Conflict Weapons

Attack: +1D Winding Caverns
Defend: +1D You've Been Here Before, Haven't You?
Feint: +1D Dead End

Special: The turn clock advances at the top of each round of this conflict. During this phase, players may light new torches and eat food. If the Hungry and Thirsty Condition is earned, the Conflict Captain chooses which member of the team suffers a loss to their disposition. Reduce maximum disposition for the duration of the conflict.

Visual Inspiration: Deserts

Visual Inspiration: Forests

Wyrdwood Tokens

Level 3 Magic Items

At the center of the Hall of Masters, there is a large, ornately carved stone table. The table is an ancient map of Fyndel Forest. Several carved wooden tokens have been placed on it. Upon further inspection, these tokens seem to be living, autonomous creatures. They are actually tied to the various creatures living in Fyndel Forest. The table is dotted with several piles of ash, as if some tokens have been burned.

Carved by the Druids of Fyndel, the Wyrdwood tokens have the likeness of a Spider, a Giant, a Giant Wasp, a Dragon, and a Goblin. All of the tokens share the following common abilities:

• Their eyes glow when a creature of the token's type is near
• While holding the token, characters may communicate with those creature as if they were fluent in its native language

Additionally, each token has a unique ability. After using it, the token turns to ash.

• Spider: Create 100' of silken rope.
• Giant: For a single turn, the bearer has giant's strength. Double the rating of Health or a Health-based skill for a single roll.
• Wasp: During a single round of combat, an arrow or bolt fired from a crossbow splits into many and swarms the enemy. The character who uses this decides how to reduce the enemies disposition in the turn it was used.
• Dragon: Engage in any type of conflict, regardless of Order of Might, counting the party as equal. 
• Goblin: The token transforms into a key capable of opening a single lock.

Starved for Cash

Two sessions ago my players found some strange wooden tokens on a 3D diorama of the forest they have been exploring. These tokens were moving independently of any force they could discern. The players threw them in their packs and hoofed it back to town to pawn their loot. It took every ounce of restraint to stop myself from shaking one of them and screaming, "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT SELL THESE."

But I didn't. I just quietly smirked as they they traded a set of magic tokens to the vendor for a stack of gold without even bothering to identify them. To be fair, my players were in rough shape. They had recently lost a fight to some bats (food, as one of my players called them) and had very little in the way of cash. Even if they knew what these things could do, they likely still would have sold them to fund their next trek to the caves below Fyndel Forest.

Visual Inspiration: the Underdark