Flatiron Building Map as Dungeon Level

 Turned a map from the Flatiron Building in a single-level dungeon with 30 rooms (so I could add a d30 table or two to go with it—to come in a future post).

Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure: The Hanging Garden (for characters levels 1-3)

Now that April is officially over, and I'm not bound to the A-to-Z schedule (or commitment for that matter), I can finally get back to some non-d30-related stuff. (Don't worry, Fridays are still "d30 Download Days" 'round these parts.)

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago on Google+ that I'd finished my entry into the One Page Dungeon Contest, and that it was inspired by an Arthur Rackham illustration from Malory's Arthurian stories, showing the fallen grail knights hanging from the tree. Honestly, my goal for this year's OPDC was not to win overall, but simply to earn "most macabre" (or something similar). The adventure I designed starts off innocent enough (orcs kidnapping locals and dragging them off into the woods), but something pretty gruesome awaits our heroes. (The title of the adventure should be your clue).

What's linked below are both the one-page version that was submitted to the contest, and the "expanded" 4-page version. There aren't a ton of differences between them, but they expanded version provides some additional color/aid to the DM. For example, a certain encounter in the one-page version simply says "dozens and dozens of carnivorous plants (some ambulatory)." By comparison, the 4-page version provides a 1-page plant monster generator (converted from the d30 Plant Monster Generator I posted a couple of months back on the blog), that allows the DM to quickly create a roster of plants monsters for the encounter. If the Þrymjahellir adventure I posted back in 2012 is any indication, downloads of the the expanded version should outnumber 1-page downloads approximately 2-to-1.

* For the expanded (4-page) version of The Hanging Garden - click here
* For the official OPDC (one-page) version of The Hanging Garden - click here

Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure (Characters level 3-6)

Okay, so this was another one of those weeks where I really just wanted to procrastinate on my client work, and started working on an adventure I'm building around the idea I tossed out a couple of months back about a scalable encounter key. Unfortunately, it felt like the encounter key idea was more interesting than the adventure itself, so I turned my attention towards a concept I'd been making notes on here-and-there for the last couple of months.

Most of the adventures that I write tend to be conflict (i.e., "story-based") encounters centered around a simple hook (like Þrymjahellir), it's been a while since I created anything where the adventure was (in many ways) out of the hands of the characters. That's not to imply a railroading approach; in fact, it's the opposite. I mean an adventure where the events are "fixed" (as opposed to the fluidity of Þrymjahellir), and the characters must decide whether the next step or action (as simple or as unimportant as it may seem) will seal their dooms or not. That's the idea behind The Grizzly Graveyard of Grimgortha. (Please forgive the Stan Lee-esque alliteration; it's a holdover from my original A-to-Z idea from April.)

This adventure includes several encounters which requires the players to think rather than to have the PCs fight (though there is some of that). And while there is an actual riddle or two to be solved, the strange occurrences that happen within the graveyard are meant to puzzle the players and fill their characters with apprehension. Hopefully, this adventure will create some paranoia in your players, and it provides the DM with a key option for that, based on knowing his player group (and how they might act in these situations).

The Grizzly Graveyard
of Grimgortha

So much dreadful energy seems to emanate from Grimgortha Graveyard you can truly feel it in your bones—and it does not feel good. Surely something that radiates this kind of evil must be imbued with a darkness so vile it defies all that is good in the universe. It must also be protecting something of great value, though one would hope your concern is ridding the world of its evil.

Click here to download "The Grizzly Graveyard of Grimgortha" from MediaFire.

Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure: Sjaudrvergrhall(for characters levels 4-7)

It's official! My viking mini-adventures are now a trilogy. Though the Great Kahn has closed submissions for his one-page dungeon contest with a Viking theme (the submission period ended last night), I did get my third one in before the deadline. The three aren't "officially" linked, and share little more than an Old Norse "vibe" and some names that sound like various items from the Ikea catalog. But there are three of them, and that's enough of a trilogy for me.

The first was The Tomb of Ludor the Beheader, centered around my draugr monster stats.

For the second, I again looked to one of the monsters from the Creature Compendium, and chose the red dwarf as a focal point of Þrymjahellir (Threemyahetler), who's name means both "cave of thunder" and "cave of lies."

For the third in the series, I found inspiration in Wagner's four-cycle opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. I started thinking "ring" and "dwarves" and that led me to today's entry... Sjaudvergrhall ("hall of the seven dwarves.") I really dig the backstory I came up with, so here it is in it's entirety...

Reginn, son of Hreiðmarr (king of dwarves), was a dvergr (dwarf) of not only great size, but of skill and wisdom. Dark in spirit and versed in magic, Reginn created a testament to himself in Sjaudvergrhall (“hall of the seven dwarves”)—a series of trials meant to test the bravest and most heroic of men, while proving the superiority of dwarvenkind.

Long did Sjaudvergrhall seem only legend, its location lost when Sigurd wielded Gram (the sword he used to slay the dragon Fafnir) and cut off Reginn’s head. But the roots of Yggdrasil (the world tree) have twisted and turned as they’ve grown over the ages, and passage between Midgard (the world of humans) and Nidavellir (home of the dwarves) now offers access to Reginn’s conceit.

A solitary cavern writhes for miles through the bowels of Myrkrbjarg (the “dark mountain”) until it arrives at Myrkrgrind (the “dark gate”)—the entrance to Sjaudvergrhall.

Sjaudvergrhall, like the first two in the viking trilogy, will be available for download on the Old School Adventures™ page. Or... to download Sjaudvergrhall now, click here.

Now, just a bit more housekeeping on this before I close for the day. I'd like to thank William Dowie (a.k.a. The Great Khan), not only for the cool Ramblings of a Great Khan magnet, but for the cool artwork created by his wife Mona. (Pics of all below).

Langbeck Castle Map: Free PDF Download

I have a bunch of commitments this weekend. So in lieu of my normal Riot Squad Saturdays post, I'm shamelessly uploading a rework of an old map that many of my newer followers may have missed. This new version has been updated to good ol' black and white so it's more laser printer-friendly, and I've re-keyed it, including the actual room area names/titles. You might also notice that I've changed the name from Wolvesey (the actual castle on which this map is based) to Langbeck. Since my map key is based partly on actuality, and partly on non-actuality, I didn't want historians finding my map years from now thinking the room assignment are accurate. Feel free to turn it into ruins or what have you, knowing it probably needs a second floor (including some bedrooms, wardrobes, etc.)

To download a free PDF of this map
from MediaFire, click here.

Cavern of the Darkmoon Talisman (Preview of Free Adventure Download)

Over the past few months, I've been posting some free "mini-adventures" (see the Old School Adventures™ page). Usually these are 1-3 pages long, including the maps, and contain very topline encounter information.

Partly spurred on by my recent conversion work on the Community Geomorph Project, I'm in a real map-making mood as of late. So I dug out an incomplete cavern map, and started filling it in. Before I knew it, I had all these ideas about the various parts of the cavern. So what I'll be doing over the next few weeks (in addition to the hundreds of other diversions with which I'm currently distracted), I'll be filling in each subsection of this map (pictured above) so that each area essentially becomes a "mini-adventure." As each area's encounters are complete, the PDf for that area will be posted. When complete, the pieces and parts will be compiled into one final "complete" version for download on the Old-school Adventures™ page.

The names and monsters indicated above are subject to change without prior written notice.

Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure: Þrymjahellir (for characters levels 4-7)

The other day I wrote about the Great Kahn and his one-page dungeon contest with a Viking theme. And I created The Tomb of Ludor the Beheader centered around my draugr monster stats. Since the contest goes for another couple of weeks, and some others have expressed interest in making more than one submission. I decided to do the same. Again, I looked to one of the monsters from the Creature Compendium, and chose the red dwarf.

Þrymjahellir (Threemyahetler)
When the PCs come across the entrance to Þrymjahellir, they will find two pairs of half-elves in a stand-off. Each pair will claim the others are dopplegangers, and are preventing them from going inside the cave, where they wish to confront a small tribe of red dwarves and reclaim a stolen magic item (an axe named Tuireann).

For the record, the name of this cave, þrymjahellir, is Old Norse for both “cave of thunder” and cave of lies”--a reference both to the deceit happening outside the cave, as well as the occasional "booming" sounds that echo throughout the caverns. (Somebody who actually speaks old norse, or is just Scandinavian is probably going to tell me it means "poopshelf" or something ridiculous - look... Gandalf was old norse dwarf before he was a Tolkien magic-user; it's called creative license!)

Now for a caveat... I did create a 1-page version for the contest, but kept having more and more ideas about stuff I wanted to add. Before I knew it, I had a two page version with some additional adventure seeds for continued stories (the 2-pager also has more treasure). I am making both versions available here, but only the 2-page version will be available on my Old School Adventures™ page.

* 2-page version of Þrymjahellir - click here
* 1-page "abridged" version of Þrymjahellir - click here

And don't forget to look for more free mini-adventures on the Old-school Adventures page!

Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure:Tomb of Ludor the Beheader (Levels 8-12)

William over at Ramblings of a Great Kahn is having a one-page dungeon contest with a Viking theme. This seemed the perfect opportunity to create something around the Draugr I statted up. I know that by one-page-dungeon standards, this one is a little skimpy on the number of rooms/encounters. Instead, I kind of wanted to keep it in line style-wise with the other mini-adventures I've been creating, rather than "re-inventing" my format/content just for this contest. If that harms me from a judging standpoint, so be it. But don't be fooled, just because the tomb is only four rooms doesn't mean it's not a difficult one. The draugr alone, though a 10 HD monster, fights much tougher than a 10 HD monster (especially considering its magic armor and naturally low AC makes its AC -9, in its "weaker" form).

The Tomb of Ludor the Beheader
Ludor the Beheader was a vicious warlord renowned equally for his avarice, his strength, and his sadism. Ludor the Beheader, son of Finnur the Wanderer, was alternately known as Ludor the Black (a reference to his steely black eyes), and Ludor the Devourer (a reference to his appetite for wealth, women, and blood).

Click here to download "The Tomb of Ludor the Beheader" from MediaFire.

Note: I updated the file at 8:25 CST on 9/4/12 with changes to a couple of placeholder saving throw notes I had forgotten to finalize. If your downloaded file contains "R2" in the name, you have the most current version. Please feel free to download it again, or simply note all saving throws are now "vs. death ray" (for both the trap in room 3 and the new magic item, sword +2/beheader.)

Giant Week Day 4: Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure for Characters level 6-9 - Foray to Filmarion Wood

I know that on Sunday when I announced Giant Week, I mentioned that I would have a free adventure today that would start to fill in the Nimmerland Hex Crawl. That was my intention, anyway. But as I started to flesh things out for the stone giant encounters on Rock Island, it got unwieldy... quickly. I will continue to flesh out those ideas (which I'm really digging), but it may be a while before the world sees them.

Instead, submitted for your approval, I present an adventure based on Tuesday's new monster, the dirt giant. (I guess it's too late for a spoiler alert at this point.)

Foray to Filmarion Wood
The link to download Foray to Filmarion Wood, an Oe/1e/BX mini-adventure for characters levels 6-9, can be found over on the Old-school Adventures™ page.

Some Free Maps You Might Have Missed

In the earlier days of this blog (which wasn't so long ago compared to some around these OSR parts), I didn't have too many followers (not that just under 100 is "many", but it is way more than 25.) As such, many of my earliest downloads may have gone unseen by many of you (especially because they are WAY down now in the archive of this blog).

These days, I'm smart with my posting labels (i.e., "keywords"), and my blog is now on the roll of many another blogger, as well as great sites like ADDGrognard's Eternal Keep (and I can never thank him enough for all the work he has and continues to put it into that thing.) That means newer posts get seen by many, and downloads like the Hex Crawl Worksheet can go from 0-60 downloads in a matter of hours.

As I've reworked this site (you may have noticed all the new links at the header of this page), there were some old downloads that I've left off the new pages either because A) I just haven't quite figured out where to put them, or B) there's just no room for them... yet. This includes a series I started called "Discovered Dungeons" (one of my earliest starts and abandons on this blog.) I've reposted them here until they find a new home.

Undertemple #1 A map I drew in 1981-2. Read the story Download Undertemple #1	Wizard's Keep Another map I drew in 1981-2, that formed the foundation of Module SK1: The Mysterious Mist of Foxpond Download the Wizard's Keep	Wolvesey Castle Based on the actual ruins of Wolvesey Castle Download Wolvesey Castle

Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure (Characters level 8-12)

This was another of the A-to-Z adventures that I mentioned when I posted the free low-level D&D adventure at the beginning of the month. It leans a bit toward BX, but does a little "mix/match" with the monsters and spells (both of which are easily adjusted around your own game, considering the monster stats are included in a framework that supports Oe, 1e, BX, and compatibles.)

The Inexplicable Ice Tower
of Inverlock Isle

The rolling green fields of Orlea, normally aglow with soft sunlight, are blanketed with gray. Clear blue skies have given way to the dismal haze of threatening dark clouds that drizzle cold rain and sleet over the area.

The source of this recent and everpresent gloom is a mysterious tower of ice on a small island in the center of Inverlock Lake. The slender, frosty peak supposedly emerged from the ground and over a few weeks has risen to a height of well over 500'.

No one seems to really know what the tower is or why it appeared, but whatever is happening can’t be good.

Click here to download "The Inexplicable Ice Tower of Inverlock Isle" from MediaFire.

Free Low-level D&D Adventure!

Normally, Friday is "d30 Day" at Save vs. Dragon, but I've been terribly consumed with work and the d30 items I'm prepping (with an eye on the d30 Sandbox Companion) are fairly involved and taking much longer than I expected.

As I mentioned Tuesday's post, I had originally intended "a dungeon a day" for the A-to-Z challenge... until I realized how absolutely ludicrous that would have been to attempt. I did, however, get the first one pretty much done. So with a few tweaks and a few additions, I've finished it and am uploading it for all to enjoy.

NOTE BEFORE FOLLOWING LINK: MediaFire's PDF browser viewer is very buggy and very inadequate. Be sure to hit the "download" button, save the file to your desktop, then view it from a better PDF reader like Acrobat Reader or Preview.

Click here to download "The Auroral Arcazal of Aethaungor" from MediaFire.

Free Download: Master Dungeon Mapping Key

For the last few weeks, my co-conspirator Dave Welborn and I have been proofing the svirfneblin out of the d30 DM Companion. In trying to make the thing as meaty as possible, we trimmed some fluff, and expanded the meatier parts, but still had a page to fill. Since the Dungeon Crawl Worksheet was so well-received, it seemed only natural to create a Master Dungeon Mapping Key to accompany it (will appear as a single spread in the book). There's a couple of things I'd like to have added, but didn't seem to have space for (e.g., a "rope bridge" similar to the phanaton platforms from Isle of Dread.) I think the major bases are covered, though. More importantly, I don't think I've seen a key as comprehensive as this, with all the major architectural features, natural features, and furnishings.

To download a free PDF of this Master Dungeon Mapping Key from MediaFire, click here.

My First Monster: The "Beguine" (1982)

As mentioned previously in my Discovered Dungeons posts, I used the equipment at my Dad's office to put together a "book" called Maps I, which was little more than a velo-bound photocopy of about a dozen pages of maps I'd drawn in 8th and 9th grades. Nevertheless, Maps I did include my first "monster." (I may be pushing it a bit to call it that.)

The creature was a half-elf/half-halfing, a genetic offspring that at least one person suggests would be infertile, and therefore very rare. The odder part was the name I gave this creature... "beguine." I knew of the musical/dance style (there wasn't a "beguine" button on my Casio MT 40, but I think my best friend's Lowrey organ had one), but I figured it was obscure enough no one would care (or at least I didn't.) I did not, however, know of the monastic use of the term. Regardless of either, the pronunciation in my head was ""be-GINE" (with a hard "g")... so that's different enough. Right?

The stats and description are pretty jacked up. It's pretty obvious I just "split the differences" between the elf and halfling descriptions. They're a little off-kilter for system mechanics; take a look at the movement of 11". In the 1e monster manual, there's only a handful of creatures whose movement isn't a multiple of 3", including the clay and flesh golems, and the gray ooze.)

Now lets's look at the drawing. Why did I make him bald? Did I think that somehow elf and halfling parents (known for their long and curly hair, respectively) would somehow genetically result in a folliclely-challenged kid? Or was I just obsessed with Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces?

I do still like the idea of a small, bald, pointy-eared, furry-footed humanoid. Maybe I'll tweak the description and the stats, rename it and repost it as a monster of the week.

Mac Map c. 1985/6?

I recently found this map I'd created on my friend's Mac 512K back around 1985 or 1986. I remember thinking it was the coolest thing in the world (at the time.)

I still think there's something cool about it. I just wish I could figure out a way to get the same look now. (Somehow, the computer's become too smart and powerful for me to figure out how to get it to not look so smart and powerful.)

Discovered Dungeons: Wolvesey Castle - Ground Floor

Today's Discovered Dungeon is again, not a dungeon, in that it's a castle, and not so much discovered (per the first two posts in this series) as it is "interpreted." It's my interpretation of the ground floor of the caslte, based on the actual ruins of Wolvesey Castle near Winchester Cathedral in the UK, and the scale of the drawing should reflect the dimensions of the actual castle (where 1 square = 10'.) I'm planning to finish this out at some point with a parapet level, as well as an in-ground level, and below ground (i.e. "dungeon") level, the latter two of which will be completely invented.

To download a free PDF of this map from MediaFire, click here.

Discovered Dungeons: Wizard's Keep

Today's post is another one of my Discovered Dungeons. I obviously use that term loosely since today's map isn't a dungeon, but a keep.

In the secret room off room 5 on the first floor, of I would suggest adding a trap door in the floor to an underground complex. You might also consider putting something in the "dead spaces" between the floors.

Download the map from MediaFire.

Discovered Dungeons: Undertemple #1

Download the map from MediaFire.

While digging through some old boxes of gaming materials, I came across a some of my early map designs from some of my initial forays into D&D back in 1981-2. I was in eighth grade at the time, and lucky enough to have a dad who had his own office... and copy machine... and VeloBind machine!!! It was actually how I put together the first version of The System toward 1984-85. (FYI, the poorly-written, daisy-wheel-printed original is something I've been considering sharing at some point. Stay tuned.)

So sometime in 1981-2, I collected the best of my maps, including several dungeons, a tower and a ship (inspired by U1: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh), copied the originals and bound those copies into a "volume" titled Maps I. I guess I was expecting to produce Maps II at some point and, if I remember correctly, it was going to feature outdoor/hex maps. I only ever put together that one copy of Maps I.

There are a few supporting illustrations in the "book," and they're about what you'd expect for an eighth-grader who drew moderately well, but had not really had any art lessons proper. The maps? Well, let's just say I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they seem to hold up. The layouts are generally well thought out for the minor dungeon crawls I intended them to be. In some of the rooms on a couple of the maps, I see the faint pencil lines that say things like "monster" and "treasure," but that's about it as far as any kind of notes.

The originals are in black and white, but I've always loved the low-tech look of the 100% cyan (i.e., "single color, but still color") printing on the inside of the early modules, so that's how I'll be sharing them here. The typographic elements are new additions, as is the full cyan bleed, but the map interior is unaltered from the original (outside of the color change.)

I apologize for not providing any sort of additional notes on any of the maps, but you don't need me for that.