Planting Seeds of Adventure

Sorry I haven't been posting about the War Machine revisions I've been working on. I did check out the version in Dark Dungeons X, which was recommended to me. It's simplified many aspects (including making it opposed d20 rolls instead of d% rolls, so smaller numbers to work with overall), but has some layers of complexity that I've gotten rid of in my current version. Anyway, I've been too busy with grading assignments and other real world stuff to bother much with it this week. Probably not this coming week, either, but who knows. 

Today (my final day at the ripe young age of 49), we had a really fun session of my TS&R Jade campaign, and I think it illustrates some of the things I'm doing to enrich my campaign world and plant seeds of future adventures, including setting up potential for "end game" domain/war game/planar adventures type things in the future. 

Before I talk about today's session, readers will need a bit of background on the campaign. 

So it's an Asian goulash fantasy setting, and I've started it from a home town area with a 1 mile per hex scale (although there's a local region map at 6 miles per hex, and the PCs have ventured off the initial map once to visit the daimyo, more on that below). The home town is called Pine Bridge Town because it sits at the confluence of two small rivers into a lake, and has a large bridge across one of those rivers. Near the home town are some smaller villages, and plenty of ruins and monster lairs, including The Pits of Lao, the local "megadungeon" although it's only 3 levels deep and I don't plan to increase that. 

Early in the campaign, there was a group of martial artist bullies who came to town. They were disciples of Coiled Serpent Bao, a martial arts master warlord (BBEG type). The PCs managed to kill or capture all but the leader of this group, who fled back to Coiled Serpent Fortress (on the regional map, not that close to Pine Bridge). Because of another early adventure hook in which the constable of Pine Bridge was neglecting her duties (actually an Asian doppelganger called an aswang), the party decided to visit the daimyo, tell of defeating the ruffians, and get some support to protect the town. This succeeded, and the daimyo sent a troop of soldiers to guard things while the PCs sorted out the aswang menace (eventually). 

Meanwhile, they did make a few light forays into the Pits of Lao. They also explored some other local adventuring sites, like protecting the Holy Tree from yasha (small annoying demons), battling bandits and finding out that the local Imperial garrison doesn't care about the bandits or the bakemono menace, and visiting the local Yokai Village and making some friends there. 

Oh, another rumor that they initially started to follow up on but dropped was that the local Temple of Morning needed money, and would provide sohei to support they group if they would eliminate a lair of nasty bakemono that were causing trouble. 

Most recently (the previous three sessions) they were following up on a rumor. The nearby Nabeoka Village had a plague, but the local wu jen (magic-user) Seung had read of healing waters in the abandoned Nishino Iron Mine. They also encountered some ninja who also were seeking a plague cure (a potential seed for later) He sent the party to get the waters so he could make medicines. In the process, the party made an alliance with some bakemono (goblins), found out that koropokuru (dwarves) had set up shop in the upper levels of the mine [bakemono and koropokuru don't get along], and that various dangerous giant bugs lived below. Well, long story short, after three sessions and several slain henchmen, they recovered the waters, along with a magical spear, a spellbook, and a foreman's tally book. 

I'd originally put the tally book in just as a bit of color. But one of the players kept asking questions about it, hinting that possession of it might lead to information on who has claim on the mines, wondering if the PCs might take it over. Well, I wasn't going to let that go to waste. Over the break, I gave them a rumor that says the Nishino family served the Hasegawa family, so any deed to the mine is probably in Ghost Castle Hasegawa (long time readers may remember that name from my Chanbara playtesting--yes, I'm reusing it). The name has kept them away from that dungeon despite other rumors trying to draw them there. 

Additionally, the magic spear, I decided on the spot during the previous session, was forged by the legendary Huang the Swordsmith (a special encounter in the Pits of Lao), as was the magic blade of the koropokuru leader. More seeds. I gave the party a rumor that Master Xu, the Lotus Fist, might know more about Huang. The 18 Chambers of Lotus Fist is a location on the local map that they were curious about, but hadn't visited before.

Finally, now that Seung the Wu Jen has made medicine and the residents of Nabeoka are recovering, the 12 yangban (aristocrat) families of the town invited the PCs for a celebratory feast. But Uncle Chiu, who runs a noodle stand in Pine Bridge and always has lots of rumors and inside information, warned them that the yangban families probably just want to give them some bothersome mission or other. That was the third rumor I gave them. 

OK, lots of long set up done, but it is necessary to demonstrate how all of these seeds, interconnections, and rumors can play into each other. Sometimes I have these things planned in advance, other times I make the connections on the fly, as demonstrated above. But you can't make any connections if you don't have more of the world planned out than just enough for the next dungeon delve. 

Today's session in brief. After discussing rumors the party (level 5 vanara thief/ninja with level 1 dog hengeyokai sohei retainer; level 4 crane hengeyokai kensei with level 1 human mudang retainer; level 4 human wu jen with level 1 raccoon dog hengeyokai retainer; level 4 human blade mage with level 1 human fighter retainer; plus one man-at-arms that they more or less forgot about and dismissed after the first day) set out to the feast at Nabeoka. Arriving at night, they learned a little about the village (12 aristocrat families, other lower class families serve them, mostly rice farming going on), and the feast would be the next day. 

With plenty of time on their hands, they set out to the 18 Chambers of Lotus Fist, which was only 9 miles away. They met Master Xu, and found out that the temple was overrun by monsters. He had cleared out the main hall, but in order to train others, the 18 Chambers (training halls) would need to be cleared. The party set out to clear the Hall of the Foot (Dex related), fighting ethereal marauders in the Chamber of Balance (harder than expected fight, they lost the wu jen retainer), and quicklings in the Chamber of Reflex (hard but manageable). 

They decided not to press their luck, and headed back to Nabeoka for the feast. They found out that yes, the yangban want them to get some bakemono who have been kidnapping children (the same as the Temple of Morning rumor mentioned above), and they would like the PCs to investigate. 

The next morning, the PCs, refreshed with new spells, and having recruited a new 1st level wu jen henchman, decided to return to the Lotus Fist temple and finish the job on the Hall of the Foot. They fought two flailsnails in the final chamber to clear it out, and collected some loot. Master Xu told them that Huang the Swordsmith can be found on the third level of the Pits of Lao (they've explored about a quarter of the 1st level, but have a map bought from a thief with some vague indications of areas they haven't explored).

But on the way, they had a  random encounter with "martial artists" which presented me with a nice opportunity. I decided on the spot that if reactions were unfavorable, they were Coiled Serpent martial artists coming for some payback. If they had positive reactions, they were looking to become students of Master Xu. They ended up being Coiled Serpent lackeys. The party avoided them (they managed to surprise them), but considered returning to take them out after battling the flailsnails. 

In the end, they decided not to go after them at this time, but they had another random encounter with bakemono. They first tried to fast talk the goblins, but that didn't work and a fight broke out. After slaying the bakemono, they went through their belongings looking for evidence of kidnappings. There were none, but now they seem hooked on that. 

On the return trip to Pine Bridge, there was one more random encounter. I rolled for 2 duelists. Well, of course they were not a friendly pair, it was a stand-off! I've been waiting for this result to come up for a while now. The party stopped to watch. My 9 year old, Steven, wanted to interfere, but everyone stopped him. Then the players started taking bets. Denis (who plays the kensei and mudang) bet on the samurai, everyone else bet on the ronin. Then I gave control of the duelists to Denis and Steven. They played out the duel, and the ronin won. Everyone had a lot of fun with that encounter. 

Nate (playing the thief and sohei) commented that they shouldn't try to ally with a disgraced ronin, and I commented, maybe he just earned his honor back. Anyway, the ronin waved to the party then headed on his way. But that's another potential seed for adventure in the future. 

So after this one adventure, we have all sorts of potential for future adventures. 

• There are bakemono kidnapping children. 
• There are 15 more chambers of Lotus Fist to be cleared out, and potentially training with Master Xu some time in the future. 
• There are more areas to explore in the Pits of Lao, and they have yet another rumor to follow up (there are several outstanding rumors about the Pits), one which could result in custom made magical weapons. 
• There is the tally book, pointing to Ghost Castle Hasegawa. 
• There are Coiled Serpent martial artists in the area, apparently looking for revenge. 
• And there's this mysterious ronin duelist. What's up with him? I have no idea yet. But he may well return some time in the future.

Experienced old school DMs probably don't need to hear this, but if you're new to DMing, or you've just been playing the WotC way, this is how you start building up that campaign world. Make connections. Tie this to that. Think of ways to turn random encounters into adventure seeds. Give the players rumors and hooks. If they don't follow them, maybe let the laps. Or maybe, find a new way to get them interested. 

My players weren't interested in fighting bakemono with help from the local temple, if they had to split the profits. But rescuing kidnapped kids? They're all about that. 

The players have ambitions about making their place in the world (using the mine operation as funding, for example), and I've given them hooks to follow to make that happen. 

One player has his wagon currently undergoing renovations to become a battle wagon. There is a tanuki armorsmith who can make mastercraft armor, who is doing the work. Another session or two and the battle wagon will be ready. 

Another player wants to head down to the coast on the regional map to buy a junk (Chinese ship, not garbage) and maybe become a pirate captain. 

If the players can end the curse of Ghost Castle Hasegawa, the Hasegawa clan can reclaim it. Daimyo Isenoumi would like to send his army to check the growing power of renegade warlord Han Ji Shen (haven't mentioned him yet to you guys, but I've dropped rumors to the players -- another potential BBEG). Having the Hasegawa clan restored would help that effort. 

Exploring the Pits of Lao, the PCs may encounter all sorts of other encounters which can lead to further adventure (dragons, planar portals, treant gardeners, evil cultists, allies and enemies...)

Some of these things I've had in the works since I made the regional map (Warlord Han Ji Shen, Coiled Serpent Bao, a few other potential BBEG types). Some since I made the local map (The Pits of Lao, Ghost Castle Hasegawa, the 18 Chambers of Lotus Fist). Some I've thought up based on previous PC actions. Some I just make up on the fly. No matter where they come from, they can all make the world richer, and more lived-in. And they get the players into a situation where they have more goals and ambitions than they can handle at one time. And my campaign is just transitioning to the mid-level sweet spot zone. 

When we get to high levels, I plan to continue to put as many irons in the fire as possible for the players, to keep the campaign fresh.

Current State of the West Marches

1. Silverwood (the home town) on the Gallandus River

2. Scorpion Shrine (Goblin Hills)

3. Moon Temple (White Woods)

4. Sahuagin Lair (White Woods)

5. The Caves of Chaos (Goblin Hills)

6. Centaur/Green Flame Temple (Tiger Home)

7. Long Cliff (Whispering Forest)

8. Abandoned Elven Outpost (Black Woods)

9. Border of Dead Woods (Dead Woods)

10. Chimera Shrine (Dead Woods

11. Neanderthal Village (Hellhorse Plains)

12. Quasqueton (Cloud Lands)

13. Ruins where tribal dragonborn camp (North Moor)

14. Haunted House (Dead Woods)

15. Mimir’s Well (Dead Woods)

16. Knight’s Pavilion Encampment/Endless Tournament (Far Downs)

17. Blue Dragon (deceased)’s Lair (Far Downs)

18. The Hall of Power (The Folded Lands)

19. Gemstone Tree (Black Woods)

20. Elven Spire in Quicksand Mire (Goblin Hills)

21. Twin Isle Lake (Hellhorse Plains)

22. Dark Druid Circle (Haunted Woods)

23. The Moathouse (Haunted Woods)

24. Obsidian Ridges (The Folded Lands)

25. Fairy Kingdom of King Louhi (White Woods)

26. Ruins of Xak Tsaroth (Voodoo Bayou)

27. Centaur Ranch (Tiger Home)

Here's the current map from my West Marches game...well, the player map anyway. These are all the hexes they've been to. Most have been explored. Early on, I used a random die roll to determine if they found the interesting thing in a hex (if there was one, some hexes have no adventure potential except possible random encounters). Later, I decided that it was better for the game to ignore realism and have them encounter the hex contents if they entered the hex. So there are still a few hexes that were crossed early in the game that haven't been fully explored, but I think there aren't many of them left.

The thing that's interesting for me is that since last December, no new hexes have been explored.

Part of that is due to the shift from 5E to Classic. As I've blogged about a few times before, I lost some players and gained some new ones. And the new players started out with 1st level characters. So they wisely wanted to stay close to town. And they did find some of the locations that were undiscovered earlier.

The second reason is that there are a few dungeons that have been discovered, and they've been enjoying tackling these dungeons. Early on it was a home-brew dungeon of mine. Lately it's been the Caves of Chaos.

I think, unless they throw me a curve ball, tomorrow they intend to try and find the new boss of the Caves. If they manage that, I expect they'll move on to other areas. So I threw out some new rumors that, if they follow them up, will take them just a few hexes beyond the current limits in one direction or another.

And I shouldn't be complaining about them not covering lots of new hexes each session. It gives me more time to key encounters for new regions on the map that haven't been explored yet.

Brainstorming through Rumors

Years ago (I was still in Japan, so eight maybe?), I started writing down random rumors for a dungeon on the back of an unused worksheet during a break period.  The list grew over the next two or three days, and in the end I went through it and started using the ideas to work up my first attempt at a Megadungeon.

That first attempt wasn't very satisfactory, but when I went about re-creating the dungeon, that list of rumors remained the core of many of the ideas in the version that saw play a couple years ago.

Starting with rumors was a novel innovation for me.  Usually, I'd create the dungeon from general idea to map to key to rumors.  Starting with the rumors gave me more creative freedom.  Not only did I have lots of cool ideas (and some not so cool) to work with, but I didn't have to waste any of the extra ideas, as the ones I didn't use could be used as false rumors.

Now, I've just about finished my house rules for GamMarvel World, and I've written a few rumors and have finished the first location (map thanks to Dyson Logos, key by me) based on one of the rumors.  Because this is a wilderness sandbox, I want all of the rumors to at least point to some sort of adventure (even if the rumor is partially or completely false), so I'm not creating nearly as many.  I've got a handful at the moment, and plan to come up with more over time as some rumors get followed, and others are decided not worthy (or the players miss their chance).  A half-dozen or so rumors leading to some sort of interesting place or ruin of the Ancients or faction stronghold gives plenty of choice to the players.  Plus, they always have the default option of just loading up on supplies and striking out for parts unknown.

With XP for exploration and loot acquired instead of monsters defeated and loot acquired, this final option may end up more popular than it normally would be.  Of course, that means I need at least a skeleton of an idea about certain important locations, and an ability to come up with minor adventure sites on the fly.  I may try to prep a few small encounter areas and NOT put them on the map just for that purpose.  Then I can add "Unknown Ruin" to the wilderness encounter charts and pull out one of these when the players run across them.

All in all, I think this campaign will go well, as long as the players' interest remains high.  And I'm hopefully striking the right balance between too much and too little prep.

The Dragon Sandbox: Plotting

Damn, now I've thrown my mind out of samurai/ninja gear, and into my "dragon sandbox" idea.

Plotted out what I think I'd need to do to get it off the ground.

1. Use my old Maritime Campaign maps.  Here's the Maritime Campaign that barely got off the ground a few years back.

2. Name those islands and peninsulas!  At least name ones where lairs will be placed, and ports will be located.

3. Place dragon, giant, and other large monster lairs.  At least a dozen to start, maybe more.  Maps of lairs (some caves, some ruined castles or cities, some in the wilderness, etc.), denizens (the big monster & it's treasure, plus any guardian creatures/traps, and lesser beasts that dwell in conjunction with or in the shadow of the big attraction).

4. Have a list of what sorts of information/help could be found at ports, with some info specific to each port location (sages, libraries, wizards, navigators, heroes retired and active, etc.)

5. Have at least 5 "treasure maps" of varying levels of accuracy for the players to discover (and they should likely start with at least one already).

6. Make sure each lair's treasure hoard contains some Keystone Treasures (famous named items, whether gems/jewelry like Hope Diamonds, or famous magic items like in my Unique Magic Items downloads over there on the sidebar).  For hoards that are only coins, have a history of how they got there (lost pirate treasure, cultists sacrificing to the beast, ransoms paid, or whatever).

7. Make a big ol' list of rumors of all of the above.  Make sure the players start with a bunch of rumors, not just one or two (one of the problems last time was that I still hadn't developed much, so I didn't have many rumors for the players).

8. Have a few stock ruined cities, mysterious temples, etc. that could be thrown onto unstocked islands, which would provide some clues to other lairs/important locations if they are explored.

Knowledge is half the battle

It's been two years since I've blogged about rumors.  Time to do so again!

I've been stocking my megadungeon using a "keystone treasures" idea.  There are certain extremely valuable items of treasure in the dungeon, and some known magic items as well.  Rumors about these treasures are easy to come by.  The idea is that by giving rumors of these sorts of treasures, it gives players some goals to shoot for when exploring.

I've also now got lists for the first two levels plus the outer works that provide rumors about monsters, traps, tricks, and red herrings and a few outright lies (but hopefully lies that still lead to interesting locations in the dungeon). 

Now I've thought up a new wrinkle: Class Specific Rumor Tables.

Or if using AD&D, Basic Fantasy, or LL AEC, Class Specific and Race Specific Rumor Tables.

I'm thinking of sorting out all the rumors into areas of knowledge.  Magic-Users are more likely to learn about what sorts of magic items there are down there (and what sorts of spells could be learned, or spellcasting monsters abound).

Clerics learn about relics and shrines, undead, and holy magic items.

Fighters mostly learn about monsters and magical arms.

Thieves learn about tricks and traps and what monsters are likely to have treasures.

Dwarves and Halflings get a mix of Fighter and Thief rumors.  Elves get a mix of Fighter and Magic-User rumors.  There would likely be some demi-human specific rumors on their tables as well.

Also, I can then break down rumors about keystone treasures into groups.  The Adventurer's Guild and the Thieves' Guild can tell you about most monetary keystone treasures.  The old hedge wizard or the alchemist can tell you about wands/staves/rods and miscellaneous magics.  The old arms-master can tell about most magic weapons and armors.  The priests at the temple (or the druids in the grove) can tell about holy relic treasures.  Things like that.

This would give players a bit more of a reason to play a variety of classes (get more rumors), as well as give everyone a reason to be adventuring.

Also, one more idea - every henchman or man at arms hired knows one random rumor.  Another reason to hire help!

How do you open that secret door?

Over on Dragonsfoot, several of us contributed ideas for methods to open secret doors.  It's good to have ideas for this sort of thing.  Just rolling the die is kind of boring.  This way, they may learn the door is there (by searching or a die roll) but not be able to open it, open it by accident, or learn of the method by rumors or hearsay in town, and need to search to find the door!

Some of these ideas work well for special, non-secret doors to special areas as well.

List contributed to by myself as well as DF posters Rath Denacht, Serleran, Wilowisp, and Mike.


-depress stone/brick on wall/floor
-move lever
-pull book
-pull rope/chain
-slide small statue or part of large statue
-pull/turn torch sconce
-speak the password ("open sesame")
-Insert small item into XXXX.
-Color-code.
-Pour liquid.
-Use some element (fire, air, earth, etc etc).
-Specific magic spell.
-Secret symbol worn (ring, amulet, crown, etc etc).
-Hidden lock.
-Answer riddle.
-certain number (or pattern) of knocks on the hidden panel
-with finger, trace a certain symbol (or pattern) on the hidden panel
--opens automatically at certain natural conditions (full moon, high or low tide, high noon, during a thunderstorm, etc.) or similar unnatural conditions created by magic
--device in nearby area opens it (through a method described above)
--pushing or pulling on the door (!)
--touching it with the appropriate body part (forehead, toe, buttocks...I'll stop there)
--playing/singing a certain song
-depress stone/brick on wall/floor: This; but, the stone/brick/ or floor is actually sentient, and the door only opens if you indeed manage to "depress" them. Players have to use Chr to convince them that noone likes them, they're only a silly ol' brick noone cares about, thery're really ugly compared with other, prettier bricks, Etc...........
-move lever: Same idea, but now the PCs must somehow inspire the lever's enthusiasm!
-Insert a key
-Knock on it
-Cast knock on it
-It opens by itself randomly 1/6 of the time (check once per turn)
-The door opens automatically in complete darkness, but closes instantly at the slightest light
-The door has a demon's head carved on it. You have to stick your hand in the mouth and feel around to find the catch.
-The door has a weird insignia carved on it. If you kiss the symbol the door opens
-The door is an illusion but seems real to every test. You have to disbelieve and just walk through it; if you try to walk through it, save vs Spells to see if you succeed.
-There is a bookshelf nearby. Pull a certain book halfway out to open the door.
-Swear at it.
-The door has a face with a magic mouth. You have to talk to it, but the door is (1) aloof and proud, (2) asleep and narcoleptic, (3) cooperative but hard of hearing [mishears what you say], (4) easily distracted, (5) a flippant prankster, (6) thinks it's smarter than you are, (7) believes it is a magic mirror and tries to imitate you, (8) only opens for monsters, (9) lonely and wants to talk for 1-6 turns before letting you go, or (10) believes it is a dragon and the supreme ruler of this level, demanding treasure and respect, except its breath weapon is merely halitosis. Thus you have to convince or trick the door into opening.
-The door is outlined in what appears to be purple crayon. You have to find a purple crayon and draw a handle on the door to open it.
-The door has a rusty nail sticking out of it. You have to prick your finger on the nail and draw a drop of blood.
-The door is an unusual kind of mimic. If you put a day's worth of rations nearby, it will leave its post temporarily to go consume them, then return.
-Pull a lever in a different room.
-The door only opens when a humanoid is killed in this room.
-The door has a hemisphere with three holes on it, arranged like a face: two above, one below. It opens if you put your fingers in the holes as if picking up a bowling ball.
-Coin operated door.
-Security door: if you put on the previous owner's robe and ring, it opens at a touch. Otherwise it does not open at all.
-Only opens for bearded characters. (It was made for gandalf by a dwarf)
-Only opens when moonlight shines on it. How to get moonlight into a dungeon is the problem.
-You have to pull on it, but the handle is gone leaving only a couple of bolt-holes.
-Door is hinged horizontally: push against the top and it lays down like a drawbridge.
-Door is hinged horizontally: push against the bottom and it opens upward.
-Door slides upwards like a gate. You have to jam something underneath and pry it upwards.
-Door is plastic like taffy. You can push through veeeryyy sloowwly, taking a full turn (for each character) to ooze your way through it. If a wandering monster shows up when you are halfway through, you are essentially paralyzed.

How I've been using and misusing rumors

For the original megadungeon that I started and gave a few test runs with the Yamanashi Group 2.5 years ago, I actually started with a list of rumors and built from there.

It was an interesting experience, because I was just bored at work one day, and started jotting down interesting sounding tidbits on a bit of scrap paper. I added to it over a couple of days, and had some ideas about some that I wanted to be true, a few I knew I wanted to be false. Most were left up in the air.

Then I drew maps, and started stocking.

When we played a few marathon sessions with the dungeon, I worked out rumors this way:

All the rumors were printed out, cut into individual strips, folded, and put in a box.
Every PC starts the game with 3+Cha bonus rumors, drawn randomly from the box.
Just going back to town allows PCs to make a Charisma check to get 1 rumor (more if they have a Cha bonus).
Any time the group goes specifically trolling for rumors, they get 1-3 from the box, depending on how they play it.
Interaction with non-hostile NPCs in the dungeon may net more rumors.

It worked fairly well. Some players shared their rumors quickly, others hoarded their knowledge. After a few PC deaths, they started sharing more openly. And they were using that information to inform their play in the setting.

With my Silverwood mini-dungeon sandbox at the Board Game Group, I tried the same thing. I think it didn't work for a couple of reasons. One, I never varied the rumors. Certain rumors kept coming up, and I should have taken those out between sessions. But I usually forgot to do so.
Secondly, I think too many of the rumors were warnings about powerful creatures, and not enough were about the locations of fabulous treasures or powerful magic items. Warning people that they shouldn't go to dangerous places is a good thing, but then where do they go? They needed more rumors that would actually lead them to adventure, not away from it.
Finally, I pretty much already knew which were true and which were false. So I didn't get forced into improvising interesting things on the fly in those games.

So what have I learned? If I ever get this new megadungeon off the block and take it for a spin, I'll need plenty of rumors (and decide later if they're true or not), I'll need to rotate new rumors in and old ones out every now and then (although I do like the idea of getting the same rumor more than once--it seems realistic for everyone to be talking about subject X, and makes the players pay a bit more attention to it), and I'll need to make sure that most rumors lead to proactive play, rather than hindering action.