Twenty-one eldritch dungeons...

I finally updated the list of dungeons I've written over the time. The tally is 21! That includes one-page dungeons, pocketmod-sized dungeons, 8-page booklet dungeons, a "megadungeon" (three levels so far...)... I've ran 10 out of the 21. What makes me particularly glad is that other people have used my dungeons in their games!

All of them are available on the blog as free PDFs.

You can always find the list here.

So, as of March 16, 2026, in chronological order:

• The Belly of Gargantuel (mini-dungeon inside the rotting carcass of a sea monster)
• The Chaldean Archives (30 minute dungeon, set in Assyrian ruins)
• The Golem Master's Workshop (30 minute dungeon, fun "haunted house")
• Temple of the Berserkers (minimalist OD&D fantasy adventure!)
• Outpost of Stone & Silver (OD&D/Delving Deeper science fantasy adventure!)
• Maze of Amazement & Death (minimalist OD&D/Delving Deeper dungeon, 61 rooms!)
• Bloodsoaked Gem Caverns (system-agnostic OSR dungeon, set in an abandoned mine!)
• Cave of Trials (a prehistoric initiatory dungeon for OSR games!)
• Nest of the Circuit Roaches (small system-agnostic OSR sci-fi horror dungeon!)
• Parallel Dungeons (a dimension-shifting OSR adventure, three dungeons in one!)
• Temple of the Forgotten God (16-room OSR dungeon, written as a 1-hour exercise)
• The Bleak Corridors (15-room OSR factory dungeon with a steampunk/victoriana vibe)
• Oracle of the Laughing Prophet (small 6-room lair)
• Delver's Delight (ongoing megadungeon thing, currently 3 levels completed)
• The Red Bastion (15-room OSR dungeon, the map from my GIMP mapping tutorial keyed)
• Hole of the Goblin King (hand-written one-page dungeon, OSR)
• The Dark Keep in the Snow (snowed-in yeti monastery, OSR dungeon)
• Secret Hide-Out of GLAXORZIS, that Sorcerous CREEP! (minimalist 3-level OSR dungeon that fits in a pocketmod)
• Underground Station, Long Abandoned (OSR science fantasy, post-apoc, abandoned subway hub station)
• Wreck Worship (a sea & salt themed cult dungeon, OSR)
• A Single Tomb, Unplundered... (Egyptian-style tomb adventure, for OSRIC)

Have fun! Let me know if you run something.

Two of my dungeons in action

It always makes me happy when other people play the dungeons I share here. I want to highlight the play-reports and versions made by A Level 3 Dork. They repurposed two of my dungeons for their OD&D campaign. My Maze of Amazement & Death became their Lair of the Serpent Men. And my Temple of the Berserkers was transformed into, well, another Temple of the Berserkers, only these Berserkers are UNDEAD, HELL YEAH

They are good examples of how far simple reskinning can go. Reskinning is an easy and fun way of integrating a dungeon into your campaign's setting. For example, my Temple of the Berserkers has remnants of modern technology - a CCTV security camera and a television screen. In A Level 3 Dork's version, the television screen became a scrying pool. My "14 Spiders" are transformed into "14 Child-Faced Spiders", yikes! In my version, I already had "Pale Children (as Goblins)" to make low level monsters more interesting, so such palette-swapping is part of the DNA of the adventures. 

A Level 3 Dork also writes that 

"Its really quite funny how two simple dungeons have led to nearly 10 sessions worth of play so far. Our next session will see an Undead Army of Berserkers (controlled by the PC’s, or so they think) going toe-to-toe with a small army of Gnolls."

So, let us all wish luck to the party on their path to becoming the baddies as leaders of an undead army!

"Comus" by Arthur Rackham

[Dungeon] "The Arnesonium" - a Blackmoorian exercise

The topic of the dungeon maps from First Fantasy Campaign came up on the Wandering DMs discord server. Mostly we discussed how to describe all those weirdly shaped spaces and labyrinthine corridors...

Just for fun, I decided to draw up and stock a dungeon level in this style. I did not use the "Protection Point" system (you can read about it over at The Alexandrian's blog), just filled everything up as I went randomly. 

The Arnesonium, Level 1

1) 4 Ogres, lazy, 4000 GP, Potion of Ogre Shape

2) 8 Spiders

3) 5800 GP, Wand of Bridge Building

4) Knee-deep water. 28 Talking Eels

A. Teleport to 3)

5) 6 dead adventurers, will rise as Zombies

6) Dungeon noticeboard: monsters for hire

7)

8) Switch: lowers the ambient temperature of the whole dungeon level to arctic, then breaks off.

9) 6300 GP, Dragon-Fang Spear, 2 Potions of Sadness

10) 1 Wight

Wandering Monsters by Quadrant

A) 6 Berserkers

B) Conjurer and 4 Men-at-Arms

C) 4 Zombies

D) 1 Ogre

Grab as a PDF...

My phased combat sequence house rule

I LOVE PHASED COMBAT! Yes! Behold, my phased combat sequenced that I use in certain games. It's based on OD&D/Chainmail/Delving Deeper, but modified according to my experience of running phased combat in Mazes & Minotaurs.

COMBAT PROCEDURE

Each side rolls d6 for initiative, higher is better.

Each round, we go through the following steps:

1. Morale checks (for monsters & NPCs).

2. Declaration of intent, in reverse initiative order (so the faster side can react to the actions of the slower).

3. Action phases; all sides complete each phase in initiative order, Referee adjudicates sequence of actions as needed:

A) Missiles, Movement & Miscellaneous actions

• Stationary characters with ranged weapons at-the-ready can fire twice (or fire once and reload crossbow)
• Non-stationary characters with ranged weapons at-the-ready can fire once, with a -2 (elves ignore this penalty)
• Ducking in-and-out of cover counts as movement
• Firing into melee is allowed, attack rolls that miss their mark are checked against the nearest friendly participant of the melee
• Spell-casting starts in this phase; caster must remain stationary

B) Melee

• All in melee range (10’) can attack or be attacked; performance is determined with a single attack roll (against 1 (or less) HD enemies, fighters and monsters can opt to do multiple attacks [a number, equal to their HD])
• Sequence of attacks is determined by logic (e.g. longer weapons strike first on the first round, but last on subsequent rounds) or initiative
• Grappling/overbearing: each participant rolls their HD, higher wins; grappled character is immobile until held, or even knocked/choked unconscious (save against Paralysis applies)

C) Magic

• Spells begun in phase (A) go off
• If the caster took damage in the previous phases, they must save against Spells/Magic or the spell is interrupted and lost

 

Referee trying to adjudicate phased combat, by Francisco Goya

I'm too lazy to write up an example of play, but maaaybe in the future.

[Dungeon] Temple of the Forgotten God

This is a 16-room dungeon I wrote in about an hour for the OSR discord's community hexcrawl. I thought I would share it here too. Meat & potatoes OD&D-style experience. Minimal keying. Have fun!

Download as PDF here!

(now with enhanced map)

Update: enhanced map!

All rooms are hewn from the black basalt of the mountain. Ceilings are 8’ high unless otherwise noted. Doors are stone slabs that slide into the wall. One square = 10’.

Wandering monsters (2d4):

2 2 Robots in love

3 Black Pudding

4 1-10 Pixies

5 2-8 Reptiloids

6 2-12 Koblins

7 1-4 Vampire Bats

8 Time-travelling Thaumaturgist

Areas:

0. Entrance Chamber

The double doors are voice operated (react to OPEN and CLOSE commands uttered in the language of the Ancients). Labored breathing of a large creature can be heard beyond the second set of doors.

1. Trapped Dragon

20’ high ceiling held up by red pillars. Emaciated Adult Red Dragon (half HD), trapped here a decade ago by a cunning adventurer who knew the command words. The monster cannot fit through the doors towards #2 or #5. Small hoard of 1200 gp in the corner.

2. Trophy Room

Rusty weapons and shields (2 swords and 3 shields salvageable) on the walls. Thick layer of dust everywhere: trace of an approx. 3’ object dragged towards #4.

3. Locked Storage

Secret door: ventilation duct 6’ above the floor leads to a 4’ wide passage.

4. Drippy Area

Weird lemony green ooze drips from the walls. The object dragged over from #2 is a 3’ square extremely durable, yet light metal plate with handles.

5. Transitory Room

Doors to rooms #6-8 painted Orange, Yellow, Black.

6. Orange Door Room

Empty.

7. Yellow Door Room

6 Ghouls, transfixed, staring at a grainy TV screen. 

8. Black Door Room

Dark & squalid, walls painted black. Secret door: outline barely traceable below thick black varnish.

9. Healing Pool

Eerie blue glowing water. Murals on the walls depict nymphs bathing – sometimes laughter can be heard! A creature fully submerged in the water for 1 hour regains d4 hit points and, if poisoned, can repeat the save (this healing procedure is only effective 1/week). Partial submersion can lead to weird mutations.

10. Rug Maze

Garishly patterned rugs and curtains hang everywhere. Total value: 500 gp.

11. Crate Maze

Crates stacked high, easy to topple. 9 Dervishes lurk here, their leader holds the Pipes of Slumber (Sleep spell 1/day, but the wielder doesn’t heal from resting). 

12. Generator

Entrance partially obscured by crates. 10 Large Centipedes warming around an energy generator.

13. The Bone Gang

Entrance partially obscured by crates. 8 Skeletons, clearly a former group of adventurers (2 “fighters” with swords and shields, 1 “cleric” with mace and “unholy symbol”, 1 “magic-user” with a staff and a Scroll of Magic Missile, 4 “henchmen” with burnt-out torches and empty sacks). They guard a chest containing 4 rubies (500 gp ea.) and a gilded silver goblet (200 gp).

14. Ape Nest

Pool of dried blood before entrance. 2 White Apes lounging on dirty hay.

15. Wolf Lair

3 Giant Wolves, their hides colored blue (same hue as the pool in #9).

16. Garage

Functioning anti-grav skiff, with enough fuel for 2 days of operation. Seats 2 people.

[Dungeon] Cave of Trials, a prehistoric initiatory adventure!

I put together a stone age Cave of Trials! Survive and become an adult member of your tribe!

13 rooms, one page with the map, another with the key, so you can print it on a single sheet if you like.

Download PDF with map & key!

There is also an unlabeled players' map in the folder. The adventure is pretty much system-agnostic, run it in your favorite OSR or whatever system.

These uncooperative a-holes will NOT survive the Cave of Trials

Have fun!

Science fantasy Harpist class

The science fantasy Harpist class is a character type for OD&D/BX/whathaveyouish games. It is based on the lyrists and bards from pulp fiction, who can manipulate emotions or matter with their music. See, for example, one of the protagonists in "The Jewels of Bas" by Leigh Brackett (I wrote about it in this post), and other appearances of lyres in Brackett's sword & planet fiction. I was also influenced by the description of the "Pipes of Killorn" in "Swordsman of Lost Terra" by Poul Anderson. 

“It was like the snarling music of any bagpipe, and yet there was more in it. There was a boiling tide of horror riding the notes, men's hearts faltered and weakness turned their muscles watery. Higher rose the music, and stronger and louder, screaming in the dales, and before men's eyes the world grew unreal, shivering beneath them, the rocks faded to mist and the trees groaned and the sky shook. They fell toward the ground, holding their ears, half blind with unreasoning fear and with the pain of the giant hand that gripped their bones and shook them, shook them.” (Poul Anderson, “Swordsman of Lost Terra”, Planet Stories, Nov. 1951)

So basically it's a D&D bard, but with science fantasy flavor for the powers.

			Saving Throw vs.					Powers / day
Lvl	Exp	HD	Poison	Wands	Paralysis	Breath	Spells	1	2	3
1	0	1	13	14	13	15	13	1
2	1,500	1+1	12	14	12	14	12	2
3	3,000	2	12	14	12	14	12	2	1
4	6,000	2+2	11	11	11	13	11	2	2
5	12,000	3+1	11	11	11	13	11	2	2	1
6	25,000	4	10	11	10	12	10	3	2	1

 

	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
1	Charm Person	Deflect Missiles, 10’	Charm Monster
2	Comprehend Languages	Deflect Rays	Confusion
3	Deflect Missiles	Enthrall	Destabilize Matter
4	Identify	Forget	Disrupt Force Field
5	Message	Hidden Message	Heroic Frequency
6	Radionics	Hold Person	Radionics, Group Therapy
7	Sleep	Silence, 15’	Suggestion
8	Ventriloquism	Siren Song	Warm Earth Music for Plants

 

See the full post for the Descriptions of powers:

[Dungeon] Maze of Amazement ( & Death ), one-page adventure for OD&D/Delving Deeper

So, if keying the entirety of The Maddening Corridors of Nuclear Chaos is not really a viable option, what can we do with it?

Well, we can cut it up and use a part of it as a complete dungeon!

I divided up The Maddening Corridors map into 36 quadrants, took a random one (by rolling two six-siders), cut it into half, edited out some errant corridors and superfluous exits; and ended up with a 60-ish room dungeon.

The next step of the exercise was to key it. I followed the basic procedure of my two previous OD&D efforts (Temple of the Berserkers and Outpost of Stone & Silver): stocked it quickly using Delving Deeper (made even quicker through Inspiration Pad Pro automation), then edited as needed...

You can fit 61 rooms on a single page... Of course, the key becomes very minimal, but still, I think this is playable. See for yourselves:

Download PDF with map & key!

Enjoy!

UPDATE 2025: A Level 3 Dork turned this into The Lair of the Serpent Men! Compare & contrast to see how far a little re-skinning can take you in making a dungeon your own.

Automatic stronghold generation! [OD&D / Delving Deeper]

 

Let's bring together all my favorite things: random tables, automated through Inspiration Pad Pro, OD&D-style strongholds, and ancient history turned fantasy!

I put together a generator file for Strongholds:

Download the .ipt file*

* To run the generator, you need Inspiration Pad Pro 3.0 installed, then you have to copy the generator file (.ipt) into the folder with all the other generators. The software is free for Windows, but not free as a mobile app.

or,

use the online generator at perchance, created by ktrey/d4 Caltrops!

It's based upon:

1. The wilderness and treasure sections of Delving Deeper form the foundation (DD is one of the best OD&D clones out there!).
2. For the NPCs, I added the wonderful d4 Caltrops Vocations, Mannerisms & Pecularities!
3. For names, I loaded thousands of ancient Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Hittite names, sources from Kate Monk's Onomastikon.
4. And fleshed it out with some of my own work.
5. Also, for inspiration, read the collected "Implied OD&D setting" posts!

The file generates a hextype, a short stronghold history, details about the current resident and garrison, and also a magic artifact or item that can be found at the fortress. Named magic swords included!

A couple of examples:

· Plains hex
· The Stronghold is a centuries old fastness at a bridge. It was won at a game of chance by the current resident. Its condition is weak.
· The resident is Eurykratides the Barbarian, a level 10 Chaotic Magic-User (signature spell: Phantasm), Judgmental and Paranoid; with an entourage of Gargoyles. Attended by 2 Apprentices (level 3-6 Magic-Users).
· The resident's coat of arms is a Purple Flower against Black field.
· A force of 130 Berserkers is garrisoned in the Stronghold.
· No Specialist hireling is in the resident's personal employ.
· Some NPCs: Pushu-ken (Fastidious Caulker), Satyros (Egotistical Shrine Attendant) and Luga the Gray (Honest Furniture Maker).
· An artifact is hidden in the zoo: a Map leading to a magic item: a magic sword:

Teeth of Leontiades the Mad
Lawful Sword +2, Ego: 5 (+1 for each language or power), Intelligence: 5 (Unintelligent)
If both Intelligence and Ego are equal to or over 9, the sword's Purpose is to Slay fighters

 

· Mountains hex
· The Stronghold is a pre-human fort inside a volcano. It was created by the current resident. Its condition is serviceable.
· The resident is Duchess Oarizus, a level 11 Anti-Cleric (signature spell: Insect Plague), Impolite and Giggling; with an entourage of Vampires.
· The resident's coat of arms is a Black Gorgon against Silver field.
· A force of 100 Orcs is garrisoned in the Stronghold.
· No Specialist hireling is in the resident's personal employ.
· Some NPCs: Ahu-shina (Earnest Hawker), Maiandrios (Irrational Guardsman) and Pinotmou the Equine (Observant Jailor).
· An artifact is hidden in the bedchamber: Plate armor & shield +2.

 

Players' maps for the OD&D adventures (Temple of the Berserkers and Outpost of Stone & Silver)

I know a lot of people use virtual tabletops, especially in these quarantine days. Or just like to have something to show to the group. So I made players' maps for the two OD&D dungeons I published recently. These versions come without any text labels, and the traps and secret doors are masked. They probably don't line up perfectly with the 70px grids, but I'm sure you can get that to work... (oh, and the maps are on a 1 square = 10' scale).

You can get them here:

Players' maps & PDFs

[Actual Play] A Delve into the Outpost of Stone & Silver [Carcosa / OD&D]

Yesterday I ran the Outpost of Stone & Silver for two players (as a quick and dirty one-shot when the regular game was called off). They grabbed two characters each from R. Sivaranjan's generator and off we went!

Kahlo (He of the Fabulous Eye-Brow), Red Fighting-Man 1

Steel of Woe, Green Fighting-Woman 1, one-armed and psionic

Luu, Orange Fighting-Man 1

Ranko (She of the Superior Hit Point Pool), Brown Fighting-Woman 1

Our ragtag group of adventurers, all outcasts of their respective tribes, learned about the existence of a sorcerous or scientific outpost, with shining metal walls built into the purple rock. They set out with high hopes: perhaps their tribes would take them back if they came bearing treasures...

They arrived to the place with their pack-lizard and cart. They saw two entrances: one set in a niche, and another set between two tower-like edifices. The bravest, Luu, approached the first one, and noticed that it had no door - but the passage was barred by a flickering curtain of light. He threw some objects at it, trying to match his projectile with the on/off phase of the curtain, but learned that all objects just bounce back, cause electric discharges, and overheat when connecting with the field.

He was about to head back, when he noticed some sounds from beyond the curtain, but he couldn't see the source, as the corridor was only slightly illuminated by the twin suns.

To his surprise, he received an answer in a child-like voice. The friendly creature on the other side invited him to join a knife-throwing contest. Luu was wary, and called a group meeting. In the meantime, they could hear that the contest commenced inside. There were sounds of knives hitting the wall, and the disappointed murmurs of a small crowd. And then, finally, a cheer -- and, to their surprise, together with the cheer, the curtain of light dissipated! 

[Dungeon] Outpost of Stone & Silver, science fantasy adventure for OD&D/Delving Deeper

Temple of the Berserkers received a very warm welcome, so here's a follow-up! Outpost of Stone & Silver is in the same format: dungeon map + keys that fit on one page (or two pages, if you want larger font). It's a science fantasy adventure, in the spirit of Gamma World or Carcosa. A mysterious science outpost/laboratory, built into a mountain - who knows what lies in its depths?

This time, instead of the OD&D booklets, I used the guidelines of Delving Deeper, a great iteration of the 0e rules.

To achieve the science fantasy feel, I re-skinned all fantasy regulars. Goblins became bug-eyed monsters, skeletons became flayed androids, giant snakes and spiders turned into robot arms and patrol drones*. I must admit that I'm kinda proud of turning the "Red Dragon, Hatchling" entry into a flamethrower turret... And if the dragon is asleep, then the turret is just "on hold"...

So yeah, I had a lot of fun. Aaaand I added a reference of something that'd made a big impression on me in my childhood. That's always nice.

Download PDF with map & key!*

* 2020.08.24 - now with a player map, with secret doors and labels hidden!

* Technically, Delving Deeper has stats and even descriptions for robots, cyborgs, etc. (unlike OD&D, where the "Robots, Golems, Androids" are "self-explanatory monsters which are totally subjective as far as characteristics are concerned"...). But those monsters are too strong, I wanted something weaker. + Re-skinning is more fun.

Have fun, and, as always, let me know what you think!

[Dungeon] Temple of the Berserkers, one-page OD&D adventure

 As a little exercise, I drew a dungeon and stocked it according to the guidelines in the 3 original Dungeons & Dragons booklets. Behold, the Temple of the Berserkers!

Download PDF with map & key!*

(for a one-page adventure, print "2 pages on 1 sheet")

* 2020.08.11 - updated the file with a new map and a couple of minor edits.
Big thanks to John Bragg for spotting the error in the elevation levels!

* 2020.08.24 - now with a players' map, with traps, secret doors and labels hidden!

Workflow:

I started with the map (because I love drawing maps). 40-ish rooms, interconnections, etc., and I added some features like statues and secret doors right away. Then I reserved the bigger or more peculiar rooms as "specials", but didn't put anything in them yet.

Instead, I went through the rest of the areas, stocking them randomly, as a level 1 dungeon. The OD&D procedure is clunky (and can be substituted with a single-roll stocking method), but I used it more or less as written. Next, I rolled up random monsters for each populated room.

At this point, due to a freak coincidence, I rolled Berserkers three times. And so, a theme emerged. A temple/dungeon mostly overtaken by Berserkers, and a couple of other creatures and NPCs, who are either their leaders, allies, or, in some cases, enemies they can't get rid of.

With this theme set and most rooms stocked, I returned to the specials and adjusted them to fit the theme (or not fit the theme, as OD&D dungeons are not supposed to be all logical...). 

I like how it all came out and it was fun to make. Enjoy!