October in Greyhawk: Things that Go Bump in the Night

In October, thoughts naturally gravitate toward the undead and other things that go bump in the night, so I've compiled some of my house rules and other variant rules about undead for your Halloween-inspired gaming!

 

Undead Variants - grodog's Standard House Rules

1. All undead gain a +3 hp bonus after their HD: i.e., ghouls are 2+3 HD, ghasts are 4+3 HD, groaning spirit is 7+3, etc.
   
   This is a natural extrapolation from the mid-tier undead like wight, wraith, mummy, specture, and vampire, and it does give them all a bit more staying power (and make them worth a bit more XP!). 
   

2. In my campaigns, zombies are now the lowest form of undead at 1+3 HD undead, and skeletons are promoted to the 2+3 HD undead:  i.e., skeletons are tougher, faster (they get +1 on initiative!), and way cooler than zombies---as it should be, in the classic Harryhausen manner:

   
   
   

   

   Jason and the Argonauts (1963) -
   skeletons by Ray Harryhausen
   

   
   
   
3. All undead cause fear upon sight (with a range/radius of 1" per HD of the undead) in any creature with HD equal to or less than the undead's HD:  i.e., zombies (1+3 HD in my games) cause fear in up to 1+3 HD monsters, and 0- and 1st-level PCs and NPCs.
   
   A save vs. Spells negates the fear, with Wisdom bonuses/penalties applicable.  If the save is failed, duration of the fear is 1 round per HD of the undead minus the PC victim’s level (with a minimum duration of 1 round).
   
   
4. For the past several years, I've used the DMG's Alternate Turning Matrix described in the table notes in the 1e DMG on page 76:
   
   
   The progression on the [clerical turning] table is not even. A variable
   increment of 5% appears - 19, 20. It is included to reflect two things.
   First, it appears to allow lower level clerics a chance to turn some of
   the tougher monsters. It disappears (at 4th level) and reappears again
   only when the clerics have reached a high level (8th and up). This
   reflects the relative difficulty of these clerics when faced with turning
   away the worst of evil creatures, but also allows the table to have them
   completely destroy the weaker undead. If for some reason you must
   have an exact progression, follow the columns for levels 1, 2, and 3,
   correcting to the right from there - and thus rather severely penalizing
   the clerics of upper levels, but by no means harming play balance.
   Column 4 will then read, top to bottom: T, 4,7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 20. Do not
   otherwise alter the table as it could prove to be a serious factor in
   balance - weakening or strengthening clerics too greatly.
   
   
   I began to adopt this rule after seeing vampires, ghosts, and liches basically made useless as monsters against high-level clerics turning via the standard table. 
   
   Another rationale for these rules (in my mind anyway!), is to differentiate clerics a bit more.  Perhaps some deities that are particularly dedicated against undead grant their clericis the original turning tables, while most employ turning on the Alternate Matrix
   
   When implemented, the Alternate Matrix for Clerics Turning Undead, et al, looks like this:
   
   
   
   Thankfully provided in full DMG-compatible layout and font through the kind graces of users Jeff and Joe Mac on the Knights & Knaves Alehouse, and downloadable at https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AKCnK4DqVZ5ZJcU&cid=BAC8631E5B382A0F&id=BAC8631E5B382A0F%215041&parId=BAC8631E5B382A0F%21144680&o=OneUp.
   
   
   

Other Noteworthy Undead Variants

While many new types of undead monsters are introduced in various TSR adventures as well as in subsequent OSR publications, some interesting variant undead types remain buried in semi-obscurity and deserve a bit more visibility. 

The Dungeon Masters Guide lists NPC vampires in the Monster Level IX and X tables of Appendix C.  The Level IX vampire also has the full powers of a 7th to 10th level cleric (1d6+4), while the Level X vampire is also a 9th to 12th level magic-user (1d4+8). 

Rob Kuntz's uderlings from RJK-2 Tower of Blood (published originally by Pied Piper Publishing and reprinted by Black Blade Publishing in 2014) are a cool undead gnomes that mix plane-of-shadow and vampiric powers: 

 

RJK-2 Tower of Blood --
back over art by Jim Holloway

  

Lenard Lakofka introduced several undead variants in his wonderful sandbox adventure L1 The Secret of Bone Hill, including some that were not reprinted in the MM2:

• Ghoulstirges:  (AC; 7, MV: 3"/8", HD: 1 + 6, #AT: 1, D 1-4 plus paralysis and blood drain). On the first successful hit the ghoulstirge does 1-4 points of damage and paralyzes the victim unless a save vs. Paralyzation is made. Every round thereafter,
  the ghoulstirge does 1-6 points of damage automatically, through blood drain. When the ghoulstirge has drained 12 points, it detaches from the victim and flies away to digest its
  meal. The ghoulstirges are 70% likely to guard a nearby treasure (on the body of a former victim). The treasure will contain 6-60 gp, 8-80 ep, and is 40% likely to also contain either a miscellaneous potion or scroll with 1-4 1st and 2nd level clerical spells.
• Skelter: (AC: 6, MV 12", HD 2 + 2, hp 16, #AT 1, D 1-10). The skelter, like the zombire, is the animated remains of a once very evil low-level magic-user. It is immune to the same attack forms as listed for the zombire and can cast the following first level spells: shield, sleep. It can be turned as per wights and has 42 gp.
• Zombire: (AC: 5, MV 12", HD 3 + 3, hp 18, #AT 1, D 2-12). The zombire is not slow like a zombie but might pretend to be so in order to deceive the party while approaching. A zombire is immune to hold, charm, sleep, and cold based spells, in addition to poison. It can be turned as per wraiths. In addition, the zombire, the animated corpse of a low-level magic-user, can cast the following spells:  First level: magic missile, protection from good.

I have naturally flipped the power-level of the skelter relative to the zombire to match my house rules above. 

Undead Variations - Standardized Immunities 

While I've used the above house rules for ages now, other house rules that I've developed have been less-thoroughly playtested.  They seemed like good ideas at the time, but I'm still not sure that they're necessarily worth the effort, overall. 

On example is that all undead benefit from a variety of different levels of immunities, which I codified into letters/types A-E, as written in the inside of my MM cover:

1. Immune to sleep, charm, hold, energy drain, and generic mind-affecting spells (see Wisdom listing); also gain frost resistance (save at +4, -1/die damage)
2. Immune to poison, paralyzation, immune to cold-based attacks
   
3. Immune to aging, ray of enfeeblement/strength drain, black flame; also gain electricity resistance (save at +4, -1/die damage)
4. Immune to death magic, exorcism, magic jar/possession, body sympathy; immune to lightning-based attacks
   
5. Immune to insanity (including feeblemind, confusion, symbol of insanity), polymorph

I defined most undead immunities for creatures from the MM, FF, and MM2---along with some additions from Dragon Magazine---as follows (shadows and slow shadows don’t appear on the list since they’re not undead IMC):

• apparition – ?
• bloody bones (?)  – ?
• coffer corpse – ?
• crypt thing (an insane/crazed/devolved lich?) -
• death knight – E
• demilich – E+
• eye of fear and flame – ?
• ghast – B
• ghost – C
• ghoul – A
• groaning spirit – D
• haunt – ?
• huecuva – ?
• juju zombie – D
• lich – E
• monster skeleton - C
  
• monster zombie - B
  
• mummy – B
• necrophidius – ?
• penanggalan – ?
• revenant – E (C?)
  
• sheet ghoul – ?
• sheet phantom – ? (do these two really even exist in my games??)
  
• shoosoova (Dragon #63) – C
• skeleton – C (B?)
• skeleton warrior – E
• son of kyuss – C
• spectral stalker (my renamed midnight stalker from Grenadier's Monster Manuscript) – ?
• spectre – D
• tapper (my renamed rapper from Dragon #58) - C
  
• vampire – C
• wight – B
• wraith – C
• zombie – A
  

Happy Halloween and Samhain!

Allan.

Renovating the Monastery - Recasting the Classic DMG Dungeon in Greyhawk - Part 1

Wichita Greyhawk Campaigning

I ran the unnamed sample monastery dungeon from the Dungeon Masters Guide for my eldest son's after-school AD&D group a few years ago, and I've repurposed it as one of the starting points for the new Wichita Greyhawk campaign that kicked off last month.  

I've compiled the bits and pieces about it that I've discussed over at the Knights & Knaves Alehouse forum and Scott Gregg's Doomsday Games forum:

1. Background
2. Maps - Wilderness Environs 
3. Maps - Dungeon Levels
4. Keys

I'm detailing #1 and #2 in this post, with more info to follow on the updated, revised, and expanded dungeon maps and keys later. 

Below I dig into plenty of spoilers for the sample dungeon, so if you are currently playing through it, you should stop reading now. 


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Background

 

I've decided to leverage my continued interest in the sects and cults of Wee Jas for my background to the DMG Monastery dungeon in the Wicihta campaign.  This necessitates some changes to the original sketchy background from the DMG:

• The slain abbot becomes an abbess
• The fire opal becomes a holy relic of Wee Jas, perhaps in part reflecting her vanity
• The lower level needs a new rationale from how I'd originally conceived it, and I'm thinking it may be tied to the Plane of Shadow now, but am still noodling on that:  perhaps the shadow influences are what, in part, lead to the near-total destruction of the monastery, and if so, it seems likely that the destruction was meted out by other, more-orthodox sects within her faith (this aligns well with my depiction of the relationship between the primary and heretical sects in my Castle Greyhawk level)

Some other changes are related to the broader picture of the historical record of Greyhawk, too:

• The fen that surrounds the monastery was caused by the subsistence of the ground due to the deleterious effects of the cult of Elemental Evil a decade ago
• The EE cult's origins will tie back more closely to Dyvers and Wild Coast (as hinted in T1), but the DMG Monastery will not be a significant part of that network as I've previously used it (it will however still have some ties to there, via the brigands)
• I think I'm going to insert an octych piece in the dungeon somewhere as well....

Wilderness Environs Maps

 

I've been sketching out the larger campaign environment on and off for awhile now, and spent some time over the past few weeks building it out further.

I began with the larger regional level for mapping out roads, smaller-sized settlements that don't appear on the Darlene Greyhawk map, etc.:

Kron Hills, Gnarley Forest, and Welkwood environs -
map by grodog

On the above map, each large hex is a single Darlene Greyhawk hex, so 30 miles each. The smaller hexes within each are 5 miles each. 

The hex with the DMG monastery dungeon is one hex north of Narwell, in hex # I4-93 on the Darlene map grid location system.  Then I use our single-hex sheets to drill down into each campaign hex; the single hex sheets have three layers of hexes, which break out like this in scale:

• Layer 1 = large campaign hex = 30 miles
• Layer 2 (6 medium hexes per large hex) = 5 miles
• Layer 3 (6 small hexes per medium hex) = 5/6 miles = 1466 2/3 yards/4400 feet

Greyhawk hex I4-93 -
detail map by grodog

I haven't started to color the above map yet, so it's probably a bit faint....  

Then I drill down to a detail view using the 5 mile hex as the large scale on the same hex sheet template:

• Layer 1 = 1 large campaign hex = 5 miles = 1 medium campaign hex (layer 2 above)
• Layer 2 (6 medium hexes per large hex) = 5/6 mile
• Layer 3 (6 small hexes per medium hex) = 244.4 yards = 733 1/3 feet

Detail within Greyhawk hex I4-93 -
map by grodog

The small hex that the monastery ruins are part of is now 244 yards across, and sited on a hilltop that measures about two full hexes in area (the smallest hexes), which feels about right for the complex size as I envision it.  

The small-scale (colored) hex map shows the subsided fen round the monastery hill (which I've not decided whether to color in part with forest or to leave "cleared"), and some other forested areas on higher-ground in its immediate vicinity.

Next up:  the ruins of the monastery site, as well as the dungeon levels and keys.

Allan.

Kellri's 18 Module Challenge - Day 6: DMG Monastery Dungeon by Gary Gygax

Day 6 - A Module You Can Play with Children: DMG Monastery Dungeon by Gary Gygax

 

The Monastery Dungeon, 1979

 

Why I Love the Monastery Dungeon

• It's iconic design not only represents the one and only map in the Dungeon Masters Guide, but it is also central to the Example of Play
• Like all good dungeon designs, the monastery map is extensible, and built-in hooks help to coach a fledgling Dungeon Master how to further refine its contents:
  • hints about additional monsters types from the Wandering Monster table:  goblins in 7-8, bandits in 4-5, fire beetles in 12-13, ghouls from 24, evil cleric and hobgoblins from 35-37, skeletons from 27
  • references from early keys to further ones yet-to-be-designed:  the map's description in 2 mentions the secret door 28, the treasury at 29, and the caverns below this level; a secret entrance/exit is also mentioned in passing on page 96, in the description of the DMG's "three" maps (the other two sadly non-existent), and while not identified specifically, the stairs at 39 are suggestive of such a portal
• Despite being a pretty small dungeon (although it's still bigger than some levels of Rappan Athuk...), the map design offers a variety of challenges and tactical options for players (and monsters!) to leverage in play, including looping corridors, several secret and concealed doors, and a number of potentially-deadly dead-ends.

If you're looking for some additional inspiration, you should check out Timrod's excellent and intertwined blog pieces on the relationships between the DMG Monastery Dungeon, T1's Moathouse dungeon level, and the wilderness environs of B2 Keep on the Borderlands.  Jonathan Tweet also wrote the ready-made "Dungeon of the Fire Opal" adventure for this dungeon map in Dungeon Magazine #84 (Jan/Feb 2001; you will, however, need to convert it from 3.0 back to AD&D....).

I have in fact followed-up on the suggestions to expand the monastery dungeon with my own second level caverns map, as well as modifications and expansion to the first level map, and the keying of both.  More will follow on that front, later!

Three Runners Up

There are many good candidates here to choose from, but I've focused on rookie/neophyte players as my target audience for the child players for today's challenge.  Gygax's B2 Keep on the Borderlands and T1 Village of Hommlet are fan-favorite campaign starters for a reason, but they're also not good modules for novice players, since both require levels of both strategic and tactical acumen lacking in most children.

I'm limiting myself to three, otherwise I'll just end up recreating my favorites list each day:

• B1 In Search of the Unknown by Mike Carr (TSR, 1978):  more forgiving that B2 or T1, the first level's design in particular does an excellent job of teaching new players how to play the game
• L1 The Secret of Bone Hill by Lenard Lakofka (TSR, 1981):  an excellent bridging scenario that teaches new players the ropes of the first wilderness explorations (B10 Night's Dark Terror also does this well), and also details the Bone Hill ruined castle and dungeon, the town and inhabitants of Restenford, and outlying locations in the surrounding wilds
•  "Trouble at Grog's" by Grant and David Boucher (TSR, March/April 1987 in Dungeon Magazine #4):  a good introductory scenario for players with a more dramatic bent, perhaps: the PCs must solve the mystery of who's framing the local half-ogre tavern owner for a local crime spree

My other posts in Kellri's 18 Day Module Challenge:

1. Day 5: S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks by Gary Gygax
2. Day 4: "Deep Shit" by Jeff Barber
   
3. Day 3: A Fabled City of Brass by Anthony Huso
4. Day 2: Masks of Nyarlathotep by Larry DiTillio
5. Day 1: Empire of the Ghouls by Wolfgang Baur
6. Day 0: These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Monsters Not in DMG Appendix C - Dungeon Random Monster Tables by Monster Level

While working on keying the recently-redesigned and -expanded dungeon level 2 of my version of Castle Greyhawk, I discovered that many monsters from the 1977 Monster Manual were not, in fact, represented in the Dungeon Masters Guide's Appendix C's Dungeon Random Monster Tables, which list dungeon monster encounters by Monster Level:

DMG Appendix C - Dungeon Random Monster Tables - Monster Level

Since I use the DMG Appendix C tables to help populate run-of-the-mill dungeon encounters, using only the Appendix C tables would preclude certain monsters/types of monsters from showing up all, without some tinkering.

The analysis of these tables (as well as those that appear in the Fiend Folio and the Monster Manual II) reveals that the following noteworthy---to my eye, anyway---MM monsters are missing from the standard dungeon encounter tables by monster level:

• anhkheg 
• bulette
• giant crab (despite appearing in the Black Reservoir level of Castle Greyhawk)
• giant crayfish (despite appearing T1 Village of Hommlet's Moathouse dungeon)
• crocodile (despite appearing in the Magician's Ring level of Castle Greyhawk as well as in the OD&D tables)
• dinosaur (any)
• dragonne
• dragon turtle (a primary antagonist in my own version of the Black Reservoir!)
• harpy
• homunculus
• ixitxachitl
• larva
• lizard man
• peryton
• pseudo-dragon
• giant scorpion (despite appearing in the original Castle Greyhawk)
• sphinx (any)
• giant wasp
• water weird

The above is not an all-inclusive list, and this is not to imply that these monsters don't appear in Appendix C at all, merely that they're not present in the Level I to Level X tables listed by monster level for use as random dungeon encounters.  (Also noteworthy:  both the nycadaemon and mezzodaemon from D3 Vault of the Drow appear in the tables, too, although drow do not, nor do other new creatures introduced with TSR's new modules). 

In fact, several classes of monsters were largely absent from the dungeon-specific encounter tables, some of which were quite surprising (and some of which made some sense, of course).  Taken as a whole, the following types of monsters do not appear in the Appendix C tables by Monster Level (again, for random determination of dungeon encounters):

• animals (normal and giant)
• aquatics
• avians
• faeries
• pre-historic beasts
• wilderness-only creatures (including those from extreme environs)

The lack of axe beaks, tyrannosaurus rex, giant eagles, ixitxachitl, leprechauns, mastodons, tigers, treants, unicorns, whales, and yeti makes sense in many cases---after all, how often are you DMing a mega-dungeon beneath a Castle in the Unseelie Court, set in Pellucidar, or in the frozen north?---so excluding them from standard dungeon environments makes perfect sense at the baseline level.

Several of the missing classic monsters were later added to the updated tables published in the Fiend Folio and MM2, including the anhkheg, bulette, lizard man, and giant scorpion, which helps to insure that such fan-favorite monsters are more-easily encountered in our mega-dungeons. 

I do wonder why some these monsters are absent from the tables, and speculate somewhat on possible causes as follows:

• A simple editorial oversight?  This seems less likely to me since the MM was published at least a year in advance of the DMG, and would have been readily available as reference.
• Some of the more-recently created monsters may have been excluded from the first drafts of the DMG tables, or perhaps not have been top-of-mind for the DMG team---the water weird, for example, is mentioned in the Preface of the MM as the creation of Ernie Gygax (and was first published in the 1976 tourney Lost Caverns of Tsojconth), and Erol Otus' remorhaz and anhkheg (from The Dragon #2 in August 1976 and #5 in March 1977, respectively); other relatively-recently created creatures like the beholder and the demons and devils from Eldritch Wizardry (April 1976) do appear in the tables, so perhaps this does fall back on editorial oversight?
• Perhaps most early mega-dungeon designs didn't include the aquatic, avian, etc. classes of creatures as part of their standard dungeon encounters' repertoire?  This also seems unlikely, because Rob Kuntz and Gary Gygax have both discussed the need for larger rooms for large, flying creatures in the deeper levels of Castle Greyhawk, so perhaps the world will  never know....

Of course all of these monsters are easily added to a dungeon key through DM fiat, or through a more-systematic revision to the Appendix C encounter tables, but at least now know you that some creatures are missing in the first place, and you can remember accordingly to include them when designing your dungeon encounters.

Happy gaming!

Allan.