I’m finally taking the time to finish this review, because Jenx told me it’s a good practice to review adventure’s you’ve run. And I agree.
It is a
pretty solid dungeon.
It is also
often overlooked, despite having been written by a pretttty famous designer,
Bruce R. Cordell. It came out towards the end-times of TSR D&D (for AD&D
2e), and, among that batch of adventures, it is overshadowed by his works for
later editions, or the Sahuagin or the Illithid Trilogies.
When
compared to those adventure cycles, The Shattered Circle is different in scope
and aim. It’s supposed to be a true adventure MODULE, one that you can easily
slot into your own world. So, while I was also drawn to the over-the-top beauty
of, say, Cordell’s The Gates of Firestorm Peak, I picked this one when I needed
a medium-sized dungeon complex to slot into the 5e campaign I ran back when (there
is a Classic Modules Today supplement available). It’s almost setting-neutral.
And the dungeon’s connections to the overworld are easy to tailor to your own
liking. And you probably should, because the hooks offered in the book are,
hmm, underwhelming/uninspiring. However, as this was an on-going campaign, with
established conflicts and NPCs, I just modified a couple of things as needed.
--- From here
on be spoilers ---
What did I
change? Surprisingly little. I put the campaign-driving portal to the Feywild the
party was seeking down in the deepest room of the dungeon. I got rid of two or
three empty rooms, and the riddle-based tests in one of the areas – I don’t
generally like riddles.
What did
this leave me with? A lot of fun stuff.
This is a
75-room dungeon, spread out over three levels. The Upper and Lower levels are
part of an ancient dungeon complex/arcane laboratory. To keep things varied,
they are separated by a middle area, which is a large cave, with one of the
best set pieces of this module. There is one main entrance into the complex,
but after that there are many passages to follow, with alternative ways of
access to deeper levels.
The main
sentient creatures are the arachno-humanoid Chitines, split into two opposing
factions. You get a lot of variety from the other monsters and wanderers: from the
more common undead to freakin dinosaurs and gibbering mouthers. So there is
definitely a cool weird tinge to this place. The presence of all of them is
explained, and there is ample space in the dungeon between their main lairs, so
there is no “monster hotel” effect.
Speaking of
ample space: I love it when the cramped corridors of the upper zone give way to
the caverns below. And in the central cave, there is the magnificent set piece
of the Chitine city, a gigantic spherical mass of webbing suspended mid-air. Comes
with a great illustration to boot!!
The dungeon
also presents a variety of challenges: from combat through diplomacy to
navigational challenges. There is even a flooded sub-zone. One of the
challenges is a three-component “key search”, which might feel a bit computer-gamey,
but my players actually enjoyed it (and it forced them to face their greatest
fear, the aforementioned flooded area, for some cool underwater action).
I ran this
from a PDF, and printed out the maps for ease of reference. The publication is
overwritten by today’s OSR standards, but many important details are
highlighted, and the room keys are structured in a uniform, predictable way, so
there shouldn’t be much trouble running it after a read-through of the whole
thing. Yes, there is boxed text, generally kept to a sensible length (3-4
sentences), and evocatively written, so I used some of the phrases and
sentences as-is. They give a good description of the initial impression the
party gets from the room.
Overall, I
definitely recommend this adventure. It is a good fit for modern or old-school
games, quite versatile, and evocative. The tone veers towards dark fantasy,
with some Lovecraftian touches you can emphasize if needed.
I made a dungeon today, in about 90 minutes. The Bleak Corridors: a 15-room factory complex with a dark Victorian/steampunk vibe.
It includes a 2-page PDF with the room descriptions, the DM's map, and a players' map with the secrets and traps hidden for use in VTTs (the grid size is 70 px, the standard for Roll20).
There are stairs leading down to a deeper level - just erase those or use something else... Like the Bloodsoaked Gem Caverns!
Let me know what you think!
'Now we should like to see our rooms,' Zerd said.The governor led him over to the staircase - the more menial of us followed closely, the rest trailed behind or simply didn't bother - and the governor stood aside to let his guests precede him. I ran up, two steps at a time, and only when I was at the top did I realise that everyone else was still at the bottom.They all stood quiet, with upturned faces, then gasped.'What's the matter?' I said, feeling appallingly self-conscious alone at the top there. T'm sorry, I thought we were supposed to come up here - ' and I began to descend again, feeling the blushes rising up my throat and scorching my cheeks.'How do you do it?' 'Where did you learn?' said several voices.'Learn what?' I asked, most embarrassed.'She ran up, two at a time,' said someone.I was now at the bottom and a crowd of winegirls ran forward cheering me, and Isad came up, dripping wet, hooting on his pet horn. Lara looked sour.'Do it again, do it again!' cried the winegirls to me.'What is it?' I said.'You're so fast, could you do it again just as fast?''Of course, my country is full of stairs. Our houses are often four-storeyed - aren't yours?''No,' Zerd said. 'We don't have stairs in the North. Do it again, Cija, it's fascinating to watch.'So I ran up and down the stairs for them twice more, and they cheered me and chanted compliments, and at last all trooped up after me.
I saw a title today - "5-Minute Dungeon (and some D&D reflections)", it's an interesting post about a boardgame with that title, go and read it!
But of course my mind went in a different direction before actually reading the post. "So, is this a dungeon you can play in 5 minutes? Or a dungeon made in 5 minutes? Can you prep a dungeon in 5 minutes?"
So I tried to make a dungeon in 5 minutes. As you might imagine, it didn't work out too well, but it wasn't a complete disaster either.
As my timer, I picked a track that's exactly 5 minutes long: "House of Metal" by Chelsea Wolfe, turned it up, took its title as the dungeon's name, and sketched a castle and wrote down everything that came to my head.
HOUSE OF METAL
Gigantic blue metal castle
Wandering monsters:
1. Blue metal golems
2. Sneaky goblins
3. Lost scientist, disoriented
1. Hall with iron guard dogs
2. Lever opens door to #3
3. Giant magnet attracts all metal except blue special metal
4.
5. 1000 sp
6.
7.
8. Courtyard
9.
10. Tower of floating coins.
You be the judge...
I think on a better day, when I'm not so overworked, I could do something better and more focused. But it was a fun little challenge nonetheless. Thanks, Chelsea!
There are many iterations of the classic Tower of Zenopus/Holmes sample dungeon map! But this is mine!
I did a Referee map and a Player map (with labels and secret doors hidden). Grid size is 70x70 pixels, so this is compatible with Roll20.
I think there is merit in re-drawing dungeons: by doing it, you gain a better understanding of the map, and it's also a sort of meditative homage?...
You can read more about the history of this dungeon over at Zenopus Archives and the Zenopus blog.
After going through all 25 issues of the old-school zine Footprints, I am in a good position to say that
a.) it's a treasure trove of gaming materials and a real community effort, and
b.) it has a bunch of GREAT adventure modules.
*drumroll*
Make sure to check out the very last adventure in #25, "Gilded Dream of the Incandescent Queen" by H.D.A. (whose Terrible Sorcery is Without Equal in the West), because it's a great one.
 |
| Footprints #24, January 2019 |
“Simulated Advancement for NPCs”, by Ken Marin
What are NPC adventurers up to during their “off-screen”
time? Answer: they possibly level up, or, possibly die and maybe turn undead or
some other mishap befalls them… Some adventurer NPCs simply retire! I think a
lot could be added to this foundation: like tables of possible
occupations/activities for retired NPC adventurers, or more mishaps… Anyways, a
good tool for long-running campaigns.
“Supernatural Diseases”, by Marco Cavagna
A bunch of foul maladies. Yuck.
“Zero is an Apprentice’s Best Friend – Zero Level Spells”,
by Delta Demon
A bunch of cantrips. Summon a skunk to spray a random
person. Cast “Sleepy” to make a person sleepy…
“Colledician Magic Vol. I. New Vancian Spells… for
OD&D games”, by Robert “Bobjester” Weber
Write-ups for titles generated in a Dying Earth spell name
randomizer! I approve. “Deour’s Serene Cigarette”, “Meepo’s Memorable
Superstition”? “Thoure’s Ghastly Spleen”? O yeah.
“The Tenebristic Orb”, by Malrex
Adventure for levels 4-7. Ooooh I like this setup, this is
good fantasy shit. A dungeon inside a magic orb. Light/shadow/darkness themed.
Lots of weird and psychedelic images, strange demons, riddles (twisted
wizard-created pocket dimensions is the only context where I would use a
riddle)… Definitely adding this to my folder!
“Elvish Backgrounds”, by Alan Powers
Rounds out the backgrounds published in #23-24.
“Last Stand”, by Jesse Walker
2e adventure, for levels 2-4. A small 14-room dungeon
adventure, pretty modular (easy to drop into any setting or campaign). This
means it is also quite generic, there is not much theming going on in the
dungeon itself. I do, however, like the final artifact that can be found here:
an arcane clockwork recording device, that can also be used by the DM to deliver
hooks to further adventures.
“Gilded Dream of the Incandescent Queen”, by H.D.A.
Labyrinth Lord adventure for levels 3-6. Yes. Oh yes. I
really like this adventure, and I already have it printed out separately, ready
to be run. It’s a big, complex, and flavorful adventure. A double-tetrahedron-shaped
floating golden edifice. Psychedelic and weird. Inside, space and time do not
follow the laws of nature. The concept of a witch-queen’s failed ascension to
the higher planes is interesting. “I wrote this adventure so that it could fit
into almost any campaign. It does however rely upon that old stumbling-block,
alignment”, discloses the author: yes, at certain points in the adventure character
alignment comes into play.
The silver jubilee issue of Footprints, thus, ends on a high
note!
Looking forward to #26!
 |
| Footprints #25, July 2021 |
The issues are getting longer (although more spaced out in time), so I'll do three in this batch, and the final two separately! Oh, very impressive cover arts beginning around #22.
 |
| Footprints #22, February 2015 |
“Monsters of All Sizes”, by R.N. Bailey
Guidelines for scaling monsters up and down, how their HD
and abilities change, pretty useful stuff!
“The Wizard’s Laboratory”, by Marco
An EXTREMELY detailed random table of d100 types of things
one can find in a wizard’s lab. With subtables for each entry. *roll roll roll*
Spell components for a random spell for 9 castings, explosives, cheese
cultures!
“The Conjuror”, by Ian Slater
A magic-user subclass specialized in summoning spells. I’m
not a fan of subclass bloat, but I like the new spells! “Svintooth's Mighty
Carriage”, for example, “summons a wyvern carrying an iron cage in its talons.
Up to eight medium-sized creatures, or the equivalent, may be carried in the
iron cage at a time.”
“Lake of Sorrows”, by Steve McFadden
Adventure for levels 1-3. Felt like a lot of text… There is
some good imagery, though! A lake in a caldera, shrouded in permanent mist, a
banshee trapped underwater… Pine forest, glacier yeti ambush, lake ghouls…
“Feelin’ Trapped?”, by Tony Chaplin
Random traps for dungeon stocking! Great material. Traps are
divided into 4 levels of danger, and rolled like monsters depending on dungeon
level. 66 different traps, with smaller tables for trigger types, etc.
“Treasures & Tables”, by Stuart Marshall
This is “an optional, alternative system for generating
random magical items. These tables allow for more variation in the kinds of
items found”, looks useful!
“Blacktop Vale”, by Steve McFadden
Adventure for levels 1-2. A lot of dense text (I guess this
is McFadden’s style), so it’s hard to get a good overall feeling of this
adventure without reading all of it. I read the first page of long backstory,
and it says that the wizard’s tower was “recently damaged” and the wizard
disappeared, but there is no explanation of this here (although it would be
important for the DM to know right off the bat). I think you only learn about
the background some 10 pages later, in one of the room descriptions? Not a fan
of this. I like the wintery setting.
“Centaurs! More than just horsing around”, by Alan Powers
This is a pretty comprehensive look at centaurs as D&D
characters. It brings together rules from the 2e Complete Book of Humanoids and
the author’s home game.
“No Bones About It”, by Darren Dare
Darren b
“A Digest Alchemical”, by Ryan Coombes
Write-up of the author’s alchemy system. Ryan says, “I prefer that alchemical methods be non-magical in nature, rather than the properties of the compounds produced being the result of mystical or arcane energies”, and he delivers. A big list of about 50 various potions and concoctions, with requirements to brew them, and a paragraph of details for each. Definitely a good supplement if you need a more mundane set of alchemical things!
“Human and Halfling Background Tables”, by Alan Powers
What it says on the tin! Good if you need details for NPCs.
There are several tables to roll on, Social class, Sibling rank, Social rank,
Skills & professions, many of them with subtables. If you just need a
single quick detail, pick that particular table and ignore the rest.
“B11a: Priest’s Errand”, by Leon Baradat
A supplement to use in conjunction with B11: King’s
Festival, to bring characters up in levels before B12: Queen’s Harvest. “I created this add-on adventure when my children suffered a total party kill (TPK) at the end of module B11,” discloses the author. I haven’t read or played B11, so cannot comment on this much. I like the opening: the characters arrive and see the tavern besieged by goblins! I think this is a good setup, a clear call to action. The next task at hand can be to pursue the goblins and find where they came from, which is actually the tunnels they dug and reached the Temple of the town. This is a 13-area underground goblin cavern. So, mostly standard stuff, but I like how these staples are put into a wider context.
New monsters: About a dozen new monsters, pretty good ones. One that stood out is the “Decanter Golem”, by John A. Turcotte. I came up with this monster too! Had it in the lair of a decadent satyr. Only I had my “glass servants” be filled with booze. Turcotte’s variant is the offensive type, often filled with acids or poisons.
“Citadel of the Carrion Eaters”, by Andrew Hamilton
For character levels 10-14. Heavy on marauding gnolls (no lairs in the adventure, but the author provides a couple of sources that can be referenced), in the Borderlands. Probably ties in with Hamilton’s gnoll shaman from Footprints #18. The gnolls build a fortress (the titular citadel). There are simple maps for the citadel, which also look instantly reusable if you need a stronghold map. There is a ghoul-infested dungeon underneath. The gnolls and their shaman worship a demon lord, so, good luck, there’s your really high-level component… Overall, this looks like a solid adventure, although not one I’d see myself using as-is.
 |
| Footprints #23, September 2015 |
Previous installments: #1 through #5, #6 through #10, #11 through #15.
As always, check out the zine for yourself over at Dragonsfoot.
 |
| Footprints #16, November 2009 |
The adventure in this issue is by Brian Wells, who wrote the
great module in #15. This offering is less intriguing: “Bandit Stronghold”, for
levels 2-4, and that’s it.
New Monsters: “Primordimental”, by John Turcotte, is a cool
Lovecraftian beastie.
“The Urban: A New Character Class”, by Ryan Coombes
A criminal character class for city campaigns. I don’t
particularly care for the class. However, one of the features is an interesting
subsystem that can be hacked and used independently of the class. It is the
“Web of Contacts”, which works on three levels – Rabble, Toughs, Specials. The
example NPCs given at the end of the article are good too. “Contacts” is
something that many other non-D&D RPGs do anyway (like Shadowrun), so it’s
interesting to see an AD&D implementations of the idea.
The adventure in this issue is “The (False) Tomb of
Horrors”, by Joseph Pallai. It is, indeed, a false Tomb of Horrors, that can
also serve as a ramp-up towards the real thing. Not really my cup of tea.
“Death Dice”, by Leonard Lakofka
A fun Deck of Many Things style magic item. Roll 2d6 in-game
and on the table, suffer/enjoy the results.
“The Cult of the Devourer”, by Andrew Hamilton
A write-up of the cult of Jubilex, with a handful of
slime-based spells. I guess Nickelodeon was a cult of Jubilex?
“The Mired Cathedral”, by C. Wesley Clough
A location-based adventure for character levels 4-6. The
setup is simple, and it has a very classic feel, but it’s also pretty
well-made. It’s a pity the ogre lair that is mentioned in the adventure wasn’t
included. The titular mired cathedral is described in some detail, with
attention to various points of egress; definitely a useful piece. I like all
the different items of interest that can be used as hooks or that can spark
further ventures for the party. There is a book with details on a local noble
family’s history (possible blackmail material? Or simply a thing that can be
sold to them for profit or patronage?), swamp lotuses grow in the middle, etc.
“Tribal Spellcasters Revisited”, by Andrew Hamilton
Includes a gnoll spellcaster NPC and a couple of new spells.
Hyena-themed, of course.
“An Unhealthy Obsession with Equipment”, by Stuart Marshall
A long-ass equipment list for OSRIC. Item, price, weight.
Several categories, items in alphabetical order, 8 pages.
“Field Notes from Davendowns”, by Tain Wehrcraft ( &
Andrew Hamilton)
This is neat, the detailed description of an in-game book
written by a ranger, Tain Wehrcraft. Some parts of the book are about
herbalism, lore, geography, there are some magic spells sprinkled throughout
(incl. a couple new ones, described at the end of the article, like “Transmute
Stick to Arrow” or “Bird Call”), info on monsters… A great way to slip rumors
or hooks or hints to the players. This is good world building too.
“The Shrieking Hollow”, by C. Wesley Clough
Adventure for levels 1-3. A two-level cave dungeon. It is
probably not a bad adventure, but feels overwritten? Lots of text… So it’s hard
to pick out the highlights. It comes with a convoluted back story about rivalry
between two wizards. I like the new spell included in this adventure!
“The Witch”, by Stuart Marshall
This is a very good Witch class for OSRIC! In fact, one of
the coolest I’ve seen around. With a bunch of new spells. “The witch is meant
to cleave to OSRIC's source literature which contains few clerical archetypes.
In campaigns that lack clerics, witches can, to some extent, be substituted.
Alternatively, witches can work alongside clerics, since the two classes'
abilities do not necessarily overlap.” Definitely a class worth adding to the
roster.
“The Secret of the Wood of Dark Boughs”, by R.N. Bailey
Adventure for levels 3-5. Okay, this also has a convoluted
backstory (like the module in #19), but I feel it pays off, because it ties
into a mystery/investigation plot. I also dig the Scandinavian names and the
overall “folk horror” feel. The main hook relies on the party being good of
alignment and ready to help out unjustly persecuted people; but the
“local lord asks the players to act as arbitrators” can also work. Anyway, the
adventure presents the background not just as a text narrative, but also as a
timeline, so that’s definitely useful. Because there are a couple of “moving
parts” (the players, the fey agents, Brand the thief). A lot of important
details are included, like tactics for the fey search party and many NPC
writeups. There is a patch of wilderness and two dungeons/lairs. A big and
flavorful adventure! Very impressive.
“The Rat’s Meow”, by Darren Dare
A second adventure! This one is for 2e, for levels 3-4. It’s a small side-trek type thing, about a roadside inn overtaken by lycanthropes. It does the job, I guess? I feel that there’s only a certain amount of “the tavern keeper tries to murder the party” adventures you can do with a single group.
 |
| Footprints #19, July 2013 |
More interesting materials from the pages of Footprints! Issue #15 in particular turned out to be a goldmine.
Previous installments: #1 through #5, #6 through #10.
 |
| Footprints #12, March 2008 |
“Lost Shrine of Tharizdun”, by Alphonzo Warden
This is of some interest due to its modular nature. It’s a
small chapel to the dark god Tharizdun, hidden behind a secret door, that can
be slotted into any existing dungeon. Two magic items, very useful if the party
delves into WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. The little dungeon segment
is not particularly outstanding, but I do like the idea of this little
connective element.
“New Illusionist Spells”, by Brian Dougherty
Delvorm’s Dancing Deck is an interesting spell, it summons a
deck of cards, from which cards with various spell effects can be drawn. And
then tossed, Gambit-style, at the target. The deck scales with caster level, so
it remains useful for a long time. It’s also a shortcut to memorize a couple
spells at the price of one – this might be open to exploitation though… I’d
prefer if the deck draws were randomized (as written, the caster chooses from
effects available to their level).
Slim pickings, other than “Leomund’s Silken Squares”, a set
of wacky magic items by Len Lakofka.
“Tower of the Elephant”, by Tulsa
An adaptation of the R.E.Howard Conan classic. Pretty close
to the text in most parts. An archetyptical tower adventure. The author is
probably right when he says that you can run this even if the players are
familiar with the story (and most RPG fans are), because the fun is in avoiding
the wizard and looking for the alien elephant creature.
“Kzaddich” & “Tsalakian”, two new monsters by John A.
Turcotte
Based on a dream vision of the Fiend Folio II! Two
Lovecraftian cosmic beings, locked in eternal struggle.
“The Necromancer. A Chilling NPC”, by David Mohr
A couple of cool spells, like Cloak of Death (either to hide
from undead, or hide your undead minions), Spectral Voice (ventriloquism, speak
through undead creatures; although I’d expand this power to include any
corpse), Choke (ghastly hands choke target, “apology accepted, captain”, I
guess?), Empathic Healing (transfer damage from target to self), False Face
(disguise spell, but it can copy both living and dead people --- I think it would
be more thematic and necromantic, if it could only copy dead people…),
Cannibalize (actually Auto-Cannibalism! Sacrifice ability points for a
temporary boost), and more, this is a big article!
“One Hundred Names for Taverns and Inns”, by C. Wesley
Clough
What it says on the tin! The names are okay, but short
descriptions of the sign-boards are also included, which makes for an
interesting detail (“67: The Thirsty Fish (The head of a trout peaking out from
an ale tankard)”).
“The Haunted Inn of the Little Bear: Revenant’s Revenge”, by
Brian Wells
A short low-level adventure, set in an abandoned roadside
inn. The inn became the place of a gruesome massacre some years ago. There is a
small mystery element (which can be tied into the campaign’s politics),
exploration of the two-level inn, and a small dungeon. Around a dozen or so
areas. There are a couple of cool descriptions, like shambling skeletons that
“walk as if they are becoming accustomed to using limbs that have not been used
in quite awhile”. I also like how not all undead in the adventure are
instantaneously “enemies”. The module text is pretty bloated though. But
overall, this reads like a good adventure, with a Solomon Kane vibe!
“The Shaman NPC Class”, by David Mohr
Detailed write-up. Cleric & Druid spells, plus a couple
of new ones. Around 40 (!) different totem animals. Each totem animal provides
a unique boon at levels 1, 4, 7, 10, 15. This is a great table, very useful
even if you don’t want to include the whole class. These boons can be
spell-like abilities, skill bonuses, etc. There is also a very useful list of
all these powers, another thing you can grab.
“Random Phantom Generator”, by Michael Martin
Nine tables (mostly d6, one d8) on two pages, to generate
flavorful phantoms. Good in general for haunted house situations. This is
mostly eerie dressing though, not much interactivity.
“Give Your Cities Some Character”, by Mike Hensley
A quick template for random city generation. The classic six character attributes are applied to the settlement. Strength is military presence, Dexterity is for laws and personal freedom, Constitution is population, Intelligence is arcane/wizardly presence, Wisdom is the religious factor, Charisma is the overall atmosphere and crime levels. A neat feature is that small checks are assigned to the attribute scores. For example, to find if a mundane item is available in the shop, roll 3d6 under the Constitution score. Roll 3d6 against Charisma daily to see if the players are harassed by criminals.
 |
| Footprints #15, June 2009 |
Second batch of my Footprints read-through! First batch here. The zines are available for free here.
I found not that many stuff for myself in #6-8, but then with #9-10 it picks up again! Two very good adventure modules in there.
 |
| Footprints #6, April 2006 |
“The Ebony Tower”, by James M. Ward
A short, simple, whimsical stone- and statue-based tower
module. I like how it sticks to the themes. And when I say whimsical, I mean
it. There are talking stairs. Talking chalices. Talking statues. I’m not really
in need of another wizard tower, but it’s good that this exists… No level range
indicated?
“Boggarts!”, by John A. Turcotte
A selection of creatures from Slavic folklore.
+ there is a Rusalka later in Footprints #9.
“Expanded Secondary Skills”, by Mike Stewart
An updated look at AD&D secondary skills. A good list to
use when generating PCs, but also when generating the backgrounds of NPCs! *roll
roll roll* A miner, an acrobat, and a city official walk into a bar…
“Crafting Items in 2nd edition AD&D”, by
Cyrus Ayers
Just noting that it’s here, in case I need various takes on
crafting systems.
New Spells: “Curse of Yarthos”, by Stuart Marshall, a level
1 spell that makes everybody drunk! “Valdemar’s Voltaic Digits”, by Joel K
Bishop, a classic evil warlock “lightning bolts from fingers” spell.
“The Emperor’s Lost Army”, by John A. Turcotte
Open-ended sandbox module for levels 5-7. Very atmospheric “lost
world” adventure location, a ruined city to explore. A. Merritt + Clark Ashton
Smith vibe + the Terracotta Army. Crumbling masonry, alien reliefs, overgrown
with vines… It’s eerie and deserted (until night falls). There is a very cool new
monster living there, won’t spoil it. The city ruin exploration is mostly left
to the DM (could be supplemented with Yoon Suin?), but there are 6 named
locations of particular interest. There is a magic fountain, a ruined amphitheater
(“voices and movements echo weirdly”), and, of course, one majestic dungeon,
the Emperor’s Tomb. There are some Oriental Adventures references here, but
overall the adventure is a real “module”, in that it can be slotted into any campaign
easily. Extra legwork is required to do the city crawl, but what is included is
very inspiring!
“Locks Come to Life – An Addition to any AD&D System”,
by David Havard
Eleven levels of locks (from 0 through 10)! Ten named locks
per level! From the Goblin Gripper through Eagle Claw and Tenser Series D 5 Pin
to the Mitre Jewel… There is a subsystem for “learning locks” (a learned lock type
is easier to pick). As written, I probably wouldn’t use this – it’s just a bit
TOO MUCH :D But I think this is still a great article, and one can probably
boil it down to perhaps 10 locks (one for each level) and use it to create a
new house rule for lockpicking?
“Beginning Magic-User Spell Table”, by Joel Bishop
A small but quite useful table for determining starting
spells.
“Death From Above!”, by Michael Haskell
Adventure (levels 6-9) set on a flying cloud giant fortress!
It’s a mini-module, so there is just a small dungeon area and a compact
overground, or rather, overcloud keep. Two giants lair here (twin brothers!).
The giant-scale weird architecture provides interesting navigational challenges.
It is also a VERY combat-heavy adventure, unless the party employs stealth and
trickery (there is room for that, though).
I love this description: “Whatever eldritch quarry provided the stone for this flying castle is beyond normal ken. The stone is predominantly black, shot through veins of gold that seem to pulse and shift, sometimes suggesting the forms of animals, men, and monsters beneath the surface of the stone.” And overall there is a psychedelic feel, like “whorls of color” on a floor, etc. There is a hall “floored with cloud”, with shifting vapors. This is prog rock smoke machine action. “Strange forms of ice cling to the walls, as if the shadowy forms of nightmare had been melted and refrozen by the horrid breath of the winter wolves.” Yeah! The giants are “eating massive vegetable croquettes from immense silver platters”.
 |
| Footprints #10, April 2007 |
Footprints is the long-running in-house zine of the Dragonfoot AD&D community. 25 issues since 2004! In this small series of posts, I will systematically go through all the issues of the magazine, and mark my highlights. I'm not doing full reviews or overviews - these are my personal subjective picks of things I might use in my own games. Generally, new classes or house rules are of little interest to me. However, I still read them, because, well, you never know where you find something useful for your own game! My main interests are adventure modules and random tables and generators. After all, I already tested a random monster generator from Footprints #24.
All issues are available as free PDFs over at Dragonsfoot. So go check them out!
 |
| Footprints #5, August 2005 |
There is an adventure (“DD0: Keeper of the Old Faith”, by
Bill Silvey), but it didn’t really catch my attention.
“Critical Hits & Fumbles”, by Steve “bloodymage” Willett
The author’s crit&fumble homebrew. I’m not a fan of how
much crit confirmation is needed (two confirmations for a roll on the sweet
Gnarly Crits table!), but the entries are pretty fun, and can be taken as-is or
adjusted to fit your own tastes. Strangely, there is no info on when/how Fumbles
occur in the author’s game. The chart is cool.
Kudos for including recipes in the zine (in the “Create Food
& Water” column, of course)!
“What Have I Got in my Pocket?”, by John A. Turcotte
A cool general mundane item table. The type popularized in
the OSR-sphere as “I loot the body!” tables, but here intended mostly for picking
pockets. Two main tables (the first for humans/demihumans, the second for
humanoids/monsters) and several sub-tables. Entries include (*roll roll roll*) “Spell
Components (DM’s discretion, preferably something slimy)”, “Jerked Meat [Meat
sub-table roll: Mutton]”, “Alcohol [Alcohol sub-table roll: Grog, in Skin]”,
etc. There is even a chance to find a bug or a small monster in the pockets!
So, yeah, this is a great tool for DMs.
“Multiclasses as Classes”, by Mike Stewart
This is an interesting homebrew article. The multiclass pairings
are reimagined as classes. Cleric/Assassin becomes the “Macabre”, Fighter/M-U
is a “Feyblood”, Fighter/Thief is a “Brigand”, etc. There are short write-ups
and exp. charts for all 13 new classes.
The module in this issue (“Stop the Goblin Raid”, by Trenton
Howard) has a pretty standard D&D adventure setup, goblin raids directed by
a hidden evil NPC.
“Gigger”, a monster by Quinn Davis Munnerlyn III aka “Lothat
TVNI”
A nasty giant centipede with a blinding bioluminescent
attack. I’m definitely adding this to jungle and swamp and fetid dungeon encounters.
“Watchers on the Whyestil”, by John A. Turcotte
A Greyhawk adventure (for levels 4-6), centered upon
recapturing an elven watchtower. It is set up as a strategically important
episode in a greater war effort. However, the tower itself (and the island it
is on) can easily be taken out of this original context and repurposed, so definitely
of interest to DMs of all settings. A well-mapped edifice, three floors, with a
small underground dungeon area.
“Magic Items in their Proper Place”, by Mike Stewart
A useful tool for DMs. Magic items reorganized according to
their relative power levels. So they are like monster encounters (level 1,
level 2…). Definitely an interesting and useful spin on the original DMG tables.
“CURSES, Foiled Again!”, by Rizak the Really Horrible
More info and details for curses. d20 random curse effects
<- definitely useful!
“The Lost Cache of Father Tomas”, by John A. Turcotte
A 1st level AD&D adventure. Buried treasure
in the old keep, go! There is a pretty long backstory. And it has cool
elements, like the clue to the whereabouts of the treasure. According to the
backstory, this cryptic clue was found and partially deciphered by an NPC (the
quest-giver, who wants the chalice interred in the dungeon). I would probably
change this so that the players find the clue, and have to do all the steps
themselves, if time allows. But even as written, there are parts of the clue
that are left to the players to decipher, which is good. The dungeon is… okay,
I guess, a small 1st level dungeon, nothing spectacular. I do like this note at the end, regarding the
quest-giver: “The heroes may come to regret their arrangement with the Steward.
The chalice is, after all, worth more than all the treasure in the complex by
itself. However, Gregory is waiting outside for their return. He is a very
powerful man in the area, and should the PCs attempt to abscond with the
chalice, they may never find rest again. If they return the chalice to the
Steward, he is will be overcome with emotion and they will have gained an
influential patron.” The real treasure is the patron we found along the way!
“Vingotsky’s Vile Vessel”, a new spell by Stuart Marshall
Quote: “This spell enables the caster to raise a vessel from the bottom of the ocean as a ghost ship.” NEED I SAY MORE.
This is a dead simple generator of wilderness lairs. Good for stocking a big hexcrawl map or for on-the-fly use. This is where your tribe of orcs or gobs or human bandits live.
Lair location:
|
|
Type |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
1 |
Cave |
Flooded |
Gorge |
Grotto |
Cave system |
Mine |
Dungeon |
|
2 |
|||||||
|
3 |
Camp |
No
shelter |
Lean-to |
Tent |
Hovel |
Military |
|
|
4 |
Ruin |
Homestead |
Tower |
Shrine |
Manor |
Outpost |
Settlement |
|
5 |
|||||||
|
6 |
Structure |
||||||
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
1 |
Plague |
Curse |
Haunting |
Inner
strife |
Leaderless |
Starving |
|
2 |
Recently
defeated |
Low
morale |
Fleeing |
Lost |
Traitor
in ranks |
No
offspring |
|
3 |
Spring |
Stream |
Pond |
Waterfall |
Well |
Ample
food |
|
4 |
Valuable
resource |
Workshop |
Prisoners |
Traps |
Mounts or
vehicles |
Livestock |
|
5 |
Co-habit with
different type |
Talented
storyteller |
Talented
healer |
Talented
magic-user |
Leader of
different type |
Allied
with local faction |
|
6 |
Superior
weaponry |
Double
treasure |
Magic item |
Cult idol |
Sacrificial
altar |
Ley-line
nexus |
