That out of the way, let's talk traps. As pointed out here, my 100-area dungeon level would have about 14 traps scattered about; 6 with treasures and 8 without.
It is easy to view traps as arbitrary damage, and there was a time when that is how most of mine were, dealing damage to the tune of 1d6 times the dungeon level, so when the first level PCs ventured to the 3rd level, the door trap (rolling well) of 3d6 killed one PC outright (sorry, Jake). Everyone else ran.
Traps aren't just for killing and maiming, however. Capturing, detouring, and party-splitting traps work well regardless of dungeon - or PC - level. Sometimes traps can both kill and force a detour; a multi-ton ceiling stone may crush an unlucky soul and will block the easy way back to the sunlight.
I like these types of traps because they don't and often can't directly kill or even hurt PCs. What traps like these do is force a change of session objective. Regardless of what the initial plan was, PCs now must find a way out. Cages, chutes to lower levels, floors dropping to pools, portculli falling, and the like all contribute to a change in environment and a change of mission. So there will be one or two of these among 14.
Yes. This is from the boardgame Dungeon.
If the dungeon is an active one, and I am thinking it will be, then some traps may already be sprung or triggered when the PCs find them. Open pits, spears already jutting from walls or floors, perhaps with an unlucky soul upon/within them, things of this nature. They still pose a problem, but a nonfatal one.
As this is intended to be a starter level, the truly nasty traps must be few and primarily protecting treasure. Poison needles in the locks, contact poison on the items, or crushing blocks, for example. Of course, this means these particular treasures are the ones PCs and players actually want. Good stuff. High GP value and magic items.
But not all of the traps with treasure will be like this. A few - 2 of the 6 - will be incidental treasures from past victims of the traps (small coins, small jewelry, adventuring gear, perhaps a potion or small ring).
All told, the real trick in placing traps isn't so much what the trap is, but what the tells are for an observant PC/player to take advantage of. If your ruleset has perception, these tells are the things a PC's good perception score or roll reveals (because a good DM should never baldly state, 'you see a trap'): evidence that a trap is there so that players can make a meaningful decision.
To quote Bastionland's definition of traps, a good trap features at least one part that is immediately visible, allows interaction and investigation, and has impactful consequences for the victim. Doing this makes dice rolling, well, not irrelevant, but a final step, not a first, or only one.
Visible tripwires, past victims, strange smells or sounds, rubble or grease in odd places, off-color stones, small holes, scrapes or even runners, whatever else seems fitting, depending on the trap: these are all examples of what PCs might encounter as tells.
I don't know that this post would garner Grimtooth's stamp of approval, but, like Admiral Ackbar, discussions of dungeon traps are incomplete without at least mentioning the venerable Grimtooth. His books (or pdfs) contain a plethora of fiendish traps.
Note that there is a fine line between specials and some traps, so if the final key plusses up one at the expense of another, so be it.
Once again, I am between campaigns, and once again, the urge to craft a megadungeon settles upon me.
I've done a bit of logistical planning of this current incarnation of my megadungeon, and have already determined that the first level, or entrance level, will feature 100 encounter areas. Not rooms or chambers, necessarily, but areas. In the end, it boils down to the same thing.
Filling those 100 areas is easier than it seems, if only because I lean on this table from Moldvay's Basic:
Others have done the math breaking down likelihood of various combinations over 100 dice rolls, but I'll summarize:
6 traps 'guarding' treasure
8 traps
8 unguarded treasures
12 monsters
16 specials
17 monsters with treasure
and 33 areas are empty.
For the uninitiated, empty doesn't mean empty, it simply means the empty area contains no specified monster, special, trap, or treasure. Veteran players should be automatically suspicious of a truly empty - devoid of dust and debris - chamber or room. And rightfully so, as that suggests a monster, a trap, or a poorly conceived illusion.
This means that empty areas can be used for other purposes beyond burning resources and garnering additional wandering monster checks, especially if said area is a larger corridor or chamber with multiple entrances. These empty rooms can provide respite if defensible and out of the way, or fallback positions in case of PC retreat. If well-hidden behind secret doors, empty rooms might even be turned into waystations and resupply points by canny PCs.
Mostly, though, these empty rooms can - and should - be used to build up the history and reality of the megadungeon. Use these rooms to let PCs discover evidence of past explorers, current denizens, or ancient mysteries. This becomes simpler once the Monsters are (mostly) decided upon and placed, but sometimes these empty rooms can feed into those entries, instead.
Imagine discovering the shed skin of a snake that is apparently 30' feet or more longer. Then later catching a distinct reptilian smell in the air.
Other discoveries like large bloody footprints, a burned out fire and discarded food remnants, monster, animal, or adventurer scat, broken weapons and armor, and/or torch and candle stubs all tell a story. Forgotten or lost useful items (although these may overlap with the Treasure or Special entries) are always welcomed by the magpie adventurers.
Graffiti is another fine way of giving life (and occasional clues) to your world, as reading 'watch the water that is not water, and beware the basilisk' warns of potential dangers, while 'kilroy was here' warns of rival adventurers (or history-obsessed DMs).
Kalman is no Bargle, but he is still a threat. Maybe he dwells within the dungeon alongside the graffiti.
Of course, sometimes random is better than design, so a custom table of dungeon detritus and dressing can be rolled on, or one of the published or onlineforms can be used.
What all this means is that these 'empty' rooms may need keyed, as well, even if only with a one- or two-sentence description of what is there or just a few words or drawings on the map itself. Yet empty rooms cannot be keyed if they are not there, so incorporate empty rooms to your dungeons, if only to further emphasize the Exploration pillar of D&D. Besides, without empty rooms, it can be difficult to show the sheer size of the megadungeon in game.
In real life, nobody likes a thief. But in RPGs, players often play as thieves of some sort, either through action or character class. Violent thieves, at that.
Dungeon Masters Guide, 1979
Even if you've never played alongside a sticky-fingered thief of a PC (thieving players are a different discussion), you've likely heard or read the stories. The greedy thief scouts ahead, finds some sweet loot, pockets it, and keeps it all for themselves. The other players get upset, and the game may end for one or all.
"It's what my character would do!" is often the thief player's defense, because many times, the other players are well aware of what has gone on, even if their PCs are oblivious. The trouble with this defense, aside from it being code for "I want to be a dick," is that in a game based on fictional violence, where the PCs are violent people solving problems through violence, "it's what my character would do" is exactly why killing the troublesome thief would happen, likely sooner than later.
In games where XP comes from GP, this is moves from being a venial sin to a cardinal sin, as no player enjoys having their XP stolen from their PCs.
Still, thieves are a necessary evil when there are traps to be disarmed and locks to be picked, and arguably moreso when the black market and sketchy shopkeepers are needed to buy or fence items of questionable provenance. So players continue to play thieves (or rogues, if you prefer).
We know that thieves will be thieves, and treasure won't steal itself, so if this is how you're gonna play your thief, keep the skimming to just that: skimming.
1. Don't claim all the hidden treasure, just a bit of it. Players will let this slide because they are still getting part of it. If nothing else, this will allay suspicion.
2. Don't claim the magic items, especially the ones you cannot use - odds are good the DM put it there for a reason and your selfishness getting the other PCs killed, while in character, can result in hard feelings.
3. Don't always skim, especially if being watched. Disarm the trap, pick the lock, and back away. Any time you're rolling the dice (like some form of skill or ability contest against other PCs) you risk losing and getting caught.
This silver and bone goblet is fashioned from the skull of a long-ago wizard. Close inspection reveals miniscule runes within the cup portion of the goblet and within the skull itself. Detect magic reveals transmutation and necromancy auras.
Drinking a full cup of wine from the goblet restores one spell slot to the drinker. It is possible to regain multiple spell slots this way, but the drinker will end up quite drunk by the end of that ordeal, as the goblet transforms the wine into a more potent vintage due to mixing in magic.
Drinking a full cup of blood from the goblet transforms the drinker into a ghoul, a vampire, or a werewolf (DM choice). It can be an instant change or a slow-rolled reveal, as historical details are vague and few. In my campaign world, this means becoming an NPC.
Drinking a potion from the goblet has variable effects. 1-2 the potion is maximized and of double duration. 3-4 the potion becomes a random potion of normal duration. 5 the potion becomes permanent. 6 the potion becomes a particularly nasty poison.
Drinking anything from the goblet results in the drinker having strange dreams. Apsethus, the wizard whose skull was used in the creation of the goblet, comes to the drinker in dreams. Above all else, Apsethus craved immortality and wanted to become a god. While the latter didn't happen (yet?), the former did, somewhat, and this fact gives Apsethus hope.
In the dreams, Apsethus visits the drinker and provides council and information, in exchange for small tasks accomplished in the waking world. These tasks, Apsethus believes, will eventually result in his godhood. On occasion, the tasks involve parrots. Information Apsethus provides can lead to the dreamer gaining more corporeal power (treasure hunts and answers to puzzles and occasionally learning a new spell of the DMs choice).
Filling the cup with holy water causes an explosion destroying the Goblet and releasing an angry Apsethus (in ghost-wizard form). Granted, the explosion deals necrotic, fire, and shrapnel damage, as well as a final transmutative wave of magic, wherein all in a 30' radius save or are forever changed.
Apsethus is unaffected by the transmutative wave, but is forever bound to the area the goblet was destroyed in - unless all the pieces of the goblet are found and reconstructed (probably via mending) by someone living. Until that happens, Apsethus has immediate revenge on whomever destroys his goblet and then waits to convince someone to collect and assemble the pieces.
A good megadungeon includes people beings to speak with. Item 5 on the Dungeon Checklist even tells us as much. While factions and rival adventuring parties are inevitable and useful sources of local and limited information, it is the weird denizens scattered throughout the levels that are most useful, both for information and entertaining play at the table.
Cassandra can tell you, being an accurate soothsayer ain't all cakes and roses. Sometimes, all you can do is make your predictions and watch them be ignored. Right, Julius?
So here are four such oracles and an honorable mention.
1. An intelligent mimic in the shape of a statue, located at a busy intersection on level 2. Observant players/PCs notice that the statue slowly grows and shifts appearance between encounters. Mostly it lives off of vermin and lone dungeon wanderers. It will happily trade information for food (it is partial to fresh goblins and has a sweet tooth, but in the end isn't that picky). While it speaks broken common, it doesn't have much of a vocabulary (but can learn) and communicates more by numbers (1, 2, many), rough size, how many legs things traveled on, and how they taste and smell. This can help regarding monster taste.
2. There is a high-ceilinged square chamber on the 3rd level that has one entrance. Suspended from the ceiling in the center of the room is a large cage that ends about 3 feet off the floor. Seated in a lotus-position within the cage, among pillows, books, and what appears to be a bottle or two, is a being wearing simple robes. The being within appears as a bald, clean-shaven human male. He sits facing the entrance, and motions the PCs closer, holding a hand to his ear to suggest he cannot hear them from the doorway (which is a lie, as he can hear them just fine). His name is Asklepios, and he spends much of his immortality projecting astrally through the dungeon, watching and learning. The cage keeps him alive indefinitely, but it doesn't prevent him from wanting creature comforts, such as good wine, tobacco, lotus, and books - offering any of these in trade can provide better answers than not offering them. He is fond of telling dungeon delvers 'if you have a question, just Ask lepios!' before laughing at his own joke.
Note that Asklepios is a bit of a dick, partially due to temperament, partially due to boredom, occasionally because he is drunk. Because of this, Asklepios enjoys baiting entire parties to close with him and then he wills the floor away.
Beneath the chamber is a long drop to a cold dark pondish-lake on the 5th level (bugbears lair nearby and listen for splashes). PCs that survive his 'little joke' and return get some free answers; those that don't provide Asklepios some entertainment as they vainly try to find a way back in the dark. The bottom of that lake has a large quantity of empty wine bottles.
Despite all this, Asklepios knows LOTS about the megadungeon; whether or not he shares information with the PCs depends on how much they amuse (or bribe) him.
3. Elsewhere on the 2nd level is a rectangular room. The side walls feature rainbow-hued tiles spanning all 40' of the walls that slowly move as the PCs watch. Asking a question aloud nets an answer of sorts as the colored tiles fly off the walls and begin to spin around in the center of the chamber (like the school of moonfish in the movie Finding Nemo), to form shapes that answer the question asked. The mural is NOT all-knowing, so forming a question mark is possible. After answering 2d4+3 questions, the tiles fly back to the wall and become dormant, turning grey in color. They won't wake until next session. Some adventurers report that the tiles have a voice, but that is unverified.
4. The face on the floor. He's hungry, his mouth is large enough to swallow your foot (and he will keep your footwear) or a halfling, but mostly he's lonely. No magic yet has determined where the things Face consumes go, but once somethin is gone, it tends to stay gone. Regardless, Face is bound to this chamber on the 4th floor, but can move about the floor and tries to position himself near whichever entrance (there are several) has noise coming from it.
Of all these oracles, Face is most likely to lie and spin tales to keep people there and talking to him. If attacked, Face squinches his eyes shut and holds his breath until he turns blue. Then he disappears, until the next session, at least.
(My inspiration comes from the Grimjack comic book, where there is a face on the floor of at Munden's Bar (I'm thinking that Munden's Bar should - at least sometimes - open up to Skara Brae). But a Google search turned up lots of references to 'the face on the barroom floor' that are far older than Grimjack.)
The honorable mention is the Brazen Head from the Holmes Sample Dungeon (1977), room I on page 43. I won't lie, this oracle is on the first floor of my megadungeon, and its booming voice can be heard echoing through the halls (attracting wandering monsters) whenever it speaks. Control of this head (as it is one question per day, not one question per asker per day) may yet turn that area into a siege environment.
So, in closing, provide a means to answer PC/player questions, as secrets aren't much fun if nobody learns them.
I attended a funeral this past week, and reflecting on it has me thinking of two things:
1. What will become of my gaming stuff, comic books, and books.
2. What goes on when a PC dies and is survived by at least fellow party members, or even family and/or organizations that have a vested interest in the dead PC's belongings.
The title, art, and even quote seem fitting for the topic.
Number one is a hard reality. My kids will divvy up what they want and sell or give away (hopefully not throw out entirely) the rest. I'll draft a pseudo-will (as in not legally binding, but free!) about which friends get dibs on what nerd stuff, because I accept that my kids aren't much for my types of games, let alone reading my books for fun.
Number two, though, can be a point of contention for people. In my years of gaming experience, PCs loot the body and either carry it back to prevent it returning as a Revenant for a proper burial or resurrection, or the party members leave the remains behind (presuming such remains exist - some D&D deaths are more permanent and thorough than others).
I've encountered some groups that have PCs draw up wills, while others have a gentleman's agreement to return bodies and belongings home. Escorting such a cargo could make for an interesting adventure, especially in the case of a PC run by a player who can no longer participate in the campaign, for whatever reason.
Some campaign worlds even feature bureaucracies that exist to profit on the transient nature of adventuring companies, to include licenses, fees, insurance, death certificates, and last wills and testaments. Note that all of these items make for some fine props if your group is into that. Truth be told, you can likely find such props online.
That said, looting the body and leaving it behind (in a shallow unmarked grave, burnt on a pyre made up of whatever killed the PC, or simply in a puddle of gore) is a popular option and is the most common I have encountered through the years. Truth be told, in some games, this is the only option if the rest of the PCs want to survive. Because in some games, losing even one PC starts a death spiral potentially ending in a TPK. If the cleric is the first to go, then the death spiral is even more likely.
In the megadungeons near Skara Brae, leaving behind a fallen comrade is likely to result in undead or a haunting of some sort. Recovering remains or treasured family heirlooms are an excellent limited objective for adventurers exploring the depths. Whether or not the remains are former PCs or merely plot devices to encourage PCs to explore certain areas doesn't matter that much, as long as they are recovered.
Once back to Skara Brae (or what passes for civilization in your world), there are several options based partially on the PC's faith and mostly on the player's creativity. The people of Skara Brae are fairly open-minded about such things, and there is a vast array of temples and shrines within the city to cater to most needs. A bit of gold may result in more needs being met.
Some options include:
Standard burial in a pine-box. Headstone and box cost extra. The local cemetery has some room left.
Fancy burial in a mausoleum or crypt or tomb. These are typically pre-paid or family affairs. Unless the PCs want to get involved in constructing one. Some of the Dwarves that live in Skara Brae will gladly do so for the right price.
A longship set aflame in class Viking fashion. Preferably filled with treasures and trophies of enemies slain. The Harbormaster of Skara Brae insists (at sword-point, if needed) that these events be in the deep water outside the harbor, and will gladly offer tugboat services (for a fee, of course) to get longships there. Unscrupulous PCs may begin diving at that location seeking grave-goods. What could possibly go wrong?
A proper pyre. Beowulf or Darth Vader style. Also done outside city limits.
Found via Google. I don't know who drew it, but I do know it was not me.
Burial at sea - wrap the body in chains and sailcloth and pitch it over the side.
Air funerals. Body left on a raised platform until reduced to bone by birds.
Erect a barrow mound (you'll need to find and clear a space for this in the wilds outside the city walls; you'll also need to provide your own barrow wights).
Sometimes, bodies cannot be recovered, but people need closure. In these cases, a Cenotaph may be erected. If you as a DM are into lifting ideas from books (and most DMs are), the Cenotaph Road might exist in your game. Cenotaph Road is a six volume series of books by Robert E Vardeman. They are premised that on certain nights, when the stars are right, cenotaphs of heroes become gates to other cenotaphs on other planes. Or at least the first book was. I never found paperbacks of the other five.
All of these events are excellent opportunities for some honest, solid, roleplaying amongst the surviving PCs: eulogies, speeches, oaths, and vows are possible. Furthermore, just ensuring these burial rites are achieved can be an adventure in and of itself.
Depending on the circumstances of the PC and their death, a parade or public spectacle may in the cards. Especially if the PC was a hero of the realm and well-loved or respected by the locals.
This card screams out 'play extra lands' and is in the colors to do so, so mote it be. At 5 cmc, Tatyova is a better support card than actual Commander, but I am stubborn.
As a start for the deck, I began with the remains of my Patron of the Moon deck and started adding supplemental green cards, to include my beloved SquirrelCraft combo. If I am not tutoring it up, it should be fine, right? Should I lay hands on the recently printed legendary squirrel, though, Tatyova will need to find two new cards.
To be honest, given the low price of said squirrel, I will make at least one more purchase of cheap niche cards for my current and future decks and Commander collection as a whole. Granted, the better and most versatile cards are often outside my price range, so will likely never be acquired except through packs (a terrible way to gain cards you actually want).
The deck itself kind of durdles along spamming lands until I play something thatanimatesthemall, then Throne of the God-Pharaoh wins (yes, MtG has taught me to spell pharaoh correctly without double-checking it). This translates to 'dies to stupid combo.' Many of my decks do this, mostly being on the receiving end of said stupid combo, though. Such is life.
Throne is my kind of card, though. It supports my tendencies to spam the field with creatures and to go all-in with them. Then it hits all opponents. All this for 2 cmc. If you aren't running this in a token-heavy strategy deck (or something that turns all your lands or permanents into creatures) do consider it.
Despite the lovely color-pairing of UG (a favorite for powerful decks), this deck is just kind of unsatisfying for me. It may be that I went to far with the theme of playing lands for their own sake, and didn't focus enough on actually winning. This is an issue with many of my decks, but at least I can see it for what it is.
Anyhow, the deck is on the way out, if not already disassembled. It taught me a newfound respect for Arachnogenesis, though. This is a fun card that actually plays nice with the Throne above. While I'd like to claim credit for clever planning, the truth is I blundered into the synergy, but I won't complain.
Yes, I am one of those gamers, letting the music of Blue Oyster Cult, Rush, and Led Zeppelin heavily influence and inspire my thinking.
Listening to music tonight makes me want to participate in a campaign that ends in Led Zeppelin's Battle of Evermore.
If nothing else, some fine inspiration for bardic magic items in the hurdy-gurdy and three-necked guitar.
From the lyrics, it suggests Middle-Earth with the line 'the ringwraiths ride in black.' But really, the song is the capstone to an epic campaign, ending with a full-scale war against dire odds (again, a Middle-Earth comparison with the Fields of Pelennor), ideally with the PCs on the winning side - be they aggressor or defender. If nothing else, it would provide me all the justification I need to finally use those mass combat rules in the Companion set.
The C in BECMI games
In fact, I imagine a blending of Battle of Evermore with Manowar's Ride the Dragon would be somehow even more epic. If you are unaware of Manowar, or at least this song, here you go.
Manowar songs are made for fan-made videos using footage from Game of Thrones, Vikings, 300, and Lord of the Rings
The catch with this dream (beyond reliable scheduling and players) is that this is decidedly a predetermined ending, win or lose.
And I don't like those, because predetermined endings mean lots of predetermined actions building up to that point. Which is what books are for, not role-playing games.
Still, it would be quite the ride getting there. Maybe one day.
This deck builds itself - Black and Blue critters with big butts, backed by solid cards that support a milling theme. Note that milling out multiple opponents, one player at a time, is a dangerous, slow strategy and requires solid threat assessment of opposing decks. In a vacuum, this can be an utter crapshoot.
Milling is very much an 'all-in' strategy. To be honest, Phenax isn't even the best choice for a milling commander. Objectively, Phenax is slow and demands other creatures in play to be useful, and even then only hits one opponent at a time.
So I decided to emphasize the Deception part of the title and focus on 'deceitful' type spells, notably combat instants.
Basically, the deck sits and waits behind walls. I won't lie, some of the walls are chosen for art over toughness. This makes it slow-ish.
Effectively, the deck is Wall Tribal, which isn't as bad as it sounds, unless in a meta where everyone races to combo, and frankly, I'd rather sit those games out. In fact, that is a major reason I stopped visiting my FLGS pre-COVID: the vast majority of regulars raced to combo with $$$-mana. More power to them, I guess, but it is so dull.
Despite my flavor-over-efficiency approach to this deck, some cards are a must for a milling strategy in Commander, or at least a must for a Phenax deck, so these cards are found within.
So these cards, surrounded by walls and tricks - to include all the mass untapping I own. I'm running other tricks, of course. Colossus of Akros is my favorite - if I am not milling you for 10, I am punching you for 20. Win/win, as far as I am concerned.
The best part for me is that Cody at the Saturday game regularly asks to borrow this deck, so I must have done something right with it. I imagine he'll be surprised when next we play, because the last round of single purchases have me leaning into the mill theme, on top of wall tribal. There is one last one of purchases I will make, and that one will include the standard rocks for a deck, because I am running none of them.
Play update: we got in several 3 and 5 person games, with Phenax in at least 2 3-person games. Maddening Cacophony earned its keep. Increasing Ambition, as it only hits one player, is already on the out list. "When did Phenax get good?" was asked aloud, so I did something right.
Dragons should appear more in D&D sessions. After all, they are in the title of the game.
Yet I have rarely included dragons, and can only recall encountering one as a player (after a short conversation, we traded our wealth for our lives - a fair deal).
To remedy this oversight, I had a grand plan. In the wilderness surrounding Ironguard Keep, I had rough plans for a Black dragon to the south, lairing in the swamps abutting the foothills in the ruins of Xak Tsaroth of DL1 fame. This is heavily due to my loving that map since encountering it decades ago.
Xak Tsaroth - this map just cries out to be used in a game.
A green dragon claimed the forests across the river. I hadn't given that one too much thought beyond the potential of making it a short-term ally of the PCs - for the right price, of course. After all, there are lots of chaotics with treasure on that side of the river, and Greens are lawfuls that love their treasure...
Lastly is an ancient red lairing in the mountains, which is what this post is mostly concerned with.
The players were aware that at least one dragon was afoot, both through Twk-men rumors and physical evidence - they had found a large steaming pile of dragon shit, that they of course searched, discovering a golden chaos pendant from the dragon's last meal - a chaos cultist that awoke the dragon and incidentally set several things in motion. Randall's warlock claimed the pendant and made good use of it, as a future session report will show.
As for the dragon itself, it's a red. An ancient wyrm, maybe tainted with shadow. A Smaug-level dragon who has been quiet for decades, if not centuries. Now it is stirring... and hungry.
Part of the fun of running large intelligent beasties (beyond rolling all the dice when they inflict damage) is speaking for them to portray their might and occasional majesty. This video clip from the Rankin-Bass version of the Hobbit sums up how I suspect meeting this dragon would go - at least my role-playing the dragon would channel Smaug's attitude, and at least his opening lines about smelling and hearing and feeling.
A Chat with a Dragon from the 1977 The Hobbit
Dragons of this caliber have names, and in time-honored fashion, I am leaning towards a pseudo-Latin or pseudo-Greek term for fire or burning. Something pronounceable when read, so no extraneous Zs, Xs, or apostrophes. Incineratus or Incendiarius or Flagrantia. The last sounds feminine which can mean a clutch of eggs or perhaps she has decided it is time to mate. Maybe both!
If she finds a mate, you'd better believe she slays him post coitus black widow or preying mantis style. Take that, horny bardling!
Flagrantia lairs in the Worldspine Mountains that divide the borderlands and civilization, such as it is. Besides the main entrance, which is guarded by her minion Orcs and Ogres, the caves she calls home contain a sinkhole leading to the surface, providing a secret way in for clever or (un)lucky PCs. There is also a shaft descending into the Deep Underdark where dwell lots of ideas cribbed from Veins in the Earth and OperationUnfathomable. While Flagrantia is aware of this hole, even she has the sense to not explore it, and now she is far too large to try.
For now, at least, the lair is partially notional. I have a hand-drawn map, but it lacks the ... interesting suggestions found in the Draconomicon, so the map needs revision. For posterity, though, here it is:
Let's talk more about this dragon. As a child, I watched the Rankin-Bass Hobbit often. We went through one or two VHS tapes of it, and maybe even a BETAMAX tape. So that is how I will always picture a dragon.
To my players' chagrin, perhaps.
Smaug's Boast from the 1977 classic The Hobbit
This is Flagrantia. Honestly, I expect a few PCs - maybe all of them - to die trying to slay her, especially if they try and beard her in her lair. That said, players exist to surprise DMs, and the crew I had - Ben, Randall, Harley, and Kyle - probably would have done so, likely by utilizing some of the bizarro things I cribbed from assorted blogs and pdfs - an accumulation of ideas resulting in something far greater than the sum of its parts. (Had they crushed her out of hand, a party of githyanki would be in the wings, there to negotiate an alliance of sorts and ready to take out their frustration on the PCs).
Regardless, Flagrantia is always arrogant and lazy and while she has several escape plans (including the ability to go ethereal), she doesn't honestly believe it will need to use any of them. She is a spellcaster, as well, because all dragons should be. I haven't given much thought to which spells, and won't have to do so for the foreseeable future. Still, Mage Hand, Chain Lightning, and Dispel Magic at the least. Those eyebeams (because it will have them) are more flavor than spell or spell-like ability, but I imagine they should freak out players who never watched the cartoon from the 70s.
As Flagrantia keeps up the trappings of civilization, there is always the chance for the PCs to converse with her, after all, what does she fear from mere mortals? If feeling benevolent or is sufficiently flattered, Flagrantia may even let invaders leave alive if they divest themselves of all valuables, to include mundane weapons and armor and such. Basically, the dragon sends them away naked - it is not her fault that ephemerals bothered her, and frankly, they should be happy to leave alive.
Proper dragons have hoards, and have had them since at least Beowulf was written down (note that both the thief in Beowulf and Bilbo Baggins both awaken a dragon by stealing a CUP). Flagrantia is no different. I reckon I can go crazy with hoard contents, because there are no Bags of Holding or Portable Holes in this campaign, so the PCs won't be able to carry off but a small portion of it, again, reminiscent of the Dwarves sorting through Smaug's hoard in the Hobbit.
One of my favorite Dragon Magazine covers; in this case illustrating my point about dragon hoards.
In proper DM fashion, I can always repurpose a published dragon's trove, such as that of Infyrana of Dragon Mountain (pg 52-55), Flame from Dungeon #1 (pg 50-52), Vesicant from Dungeon #16 (pg 64 mostly), Aliamere (a prismatic dragon!) from Dungeon #51 (pg 37), or Felmurnuzza from Dungeons of the Dread Wyrm (pg 24-25), among many others.
I can also rely entirely on random generators, which has the benefit of being fast, but boring, or at least disconnected from the world of Ironguard Keep.
A third option is to design the entire hoard myself, which sounds like more work than I care for. Yes, DMs always have homework, but this DM prefers to keep it to reasonable amounts.
So it appears a compromise is needed. Yet, before I settle on particulars, let's see what the 5e MM suggests as appropriate hoards for Ancient Reds:
"Obsessive Collectors. Red dragons value wealth
above all else, and their treasure hoards are legendary.
They covet anything of monetary value, and can often
judge the worth of a bauble to within a copper piece at a
glance. A red dragon has a special affection for treasure
claimed from powerful enemies it has slain, exhibiting
that treasure to prove its superiority.
A red dragon knows the value and provenance of
every item in its hoard, along with each item's exact
location. It might notice the absence of a single coin,
igniting its rage as it tracks down and slays the thief
without mercy. If the thief can't be found, the dragon
goes on a rampage, laying waste to towns and villages in
an attempt to sate its wrath."
While this type of treasure provides potential story hooks (which is a good thing, and as a conscientious DM, I would do just this in detailing the multi-page trove), it still doesn't help describe it much. I say this, because as that link points out, most players don't really care - not out of maliciousness, but because such things often have little impact at the table. So I need to seek guidance elsewhere.
The Draconomicon (Get this book. PDFs exist, but the hardback is far more satisfying to thumb through) contains an excellent chapter on dragon hoards, with a variety of random tables AND sample hoards running up through CR 27 dragons (roughly 456,000gp in value, if curious). The sample hoards provide not only art objects, but a smattering of history-based items (Greyhawk-oriented) alongside the standard coins, gems, and book magic items. This book gets me thinking.
If you like dragons in your Dungeons & Dragons, do yourself a favor and get this book.
Ye olde AD&D Monster Manual, however, provides rather specific guidelines: Red Dragons have treasure types H, S, and T. Furthermore, it says that Ancient Dragons are 75% likely to have 200% of their treasure type. THAT is useful information that has impact at the table.
H is coins (all measured in the thousands, except platinum, which is measured in the hundreds), gems, jewelry (art objects can be subsumed under jewelry), and any 4 magic items, plus 1 potion, plus 1 scroll. S is potions, and T is scrolls. All of this, times two. (As an aside, looking at the Treasure Types, I am intensely curious about what creatures have treasure types U-Z as those look utterly amazing.)
Coins, gems, and jewelry are the work of random generators, followed by a bit of DM history-adding to some of the jewelry items. Magic items, though, should be at least partially decided and placed by DM.
So 8 nonpotions, nonscrolls, then upwards of 18 potions and 10 scrolls. I'm not going to roll all this, just place it. A dragon of Flagrantia's age and history would no doubt have some items that survived their owners, the owners being previous would-be dragonslayers. Perhaps this band of would-be slayers.
I'll also steal an idea from Dragon Mountain, and have a pile of faintly magical slag that was once a Dragonslayer sword. Flagrantia didn't live 900+ years by being a fool. Along with this evidence of past items is a golden ring featuring three diamonds that appear scorched from the inside out. This is a used-up ring of three wishes. Flagrantia acquired the ring several centuries ago and spent the better part of a century contemplating each wish before making it.
Her wishes were: to become ethereal at will (it allows for easy access to and from her lair), potent regeneration (15 hp equivalent per round - she will play dead if needed), dispelling breath weapon (her fire damage is normal, but those hit with it ALSO are hit with a potent not-quite-mage's-disjunction dispel magic effect).
In proper D&D fashion, at least one magic item will be outright cursed - very likely a scroll, as scrolls are easy props to make for in-person games. Speaking of scrolls, at least one scroll is a treasure map (though to where is undecided, likely a published adventure module), and a few scrolls can be turned into a captured spellbook or three, or perhaps the scorched and scarred remains of several spellbooks, for flavor.
Potions will be a mix of book potions, these potions, and maybe a custom potion or two... or quirky book potions. Like potions of incredible usefulness that also limn the imbiber with Faerie Fire. Potions of Fire Resistance and Dragon Control would be amusing, but we shall see. Castle Xyntillan features an assortment of liquors and distilled spirits that function as potions, and this idea is worth borrowing.
A dragon's trove is a fine place to throw players/PCs a bone regarding magic items by including items the party can directly benefit from. With my players in mind, it would be something for a cleric, a sorcerer, a warlock, and a barbarian. Generalizing things means some arcane items, some defensive items, and some weapons. Whether or not the players actually keep such items is on them.
My rambling is finished, so let's consider her magical trove:
Potions:
a Beaker of Plentiful Potions that pours random potions; its quirk is that ALL of its potions look, smell, and taste the same - until they hit the stomach and take effect. d6 to see which potion you pour: Gaseous Form, Fire Resistance, Speed, Cloud Giant Strength, Poison (sickened and two levels of exhaustion), Greater Healing.
Bottled Memories - there are a half-dozen of these metal vials clinking together in a felt bag. Inside the bag are six labels, apparently having fallen from the vials. There is no way to tell which label was on which vial. The labels read (in Elvish): buried treasure (treasure map); terrible secret (worst of all is beings now know you know - enjoy living in terror!); cosmic truth ; forgotten spell (drinker learns new spell); hidden technique (choose one weapon, drinker gets advantage when fighting with it, but disadvantage on all others); horrid death (by immolation 30d10 psychic damage as skin darkens and drinker burns from within). Note that (re)discovering how to bottle memories is beyond the scope of this post. (I am certain I read of bottled memories on one blog or another).
A box holding a pair of almost-matching vials, the difference being one has the image of a sword on it, and the other the image of a staff on it. These are vials of Myrmidon's Milk and Instant Power, respectively. Myrmidon's Milk is fed to a baby, and the baby will grow to be a mighty warrior. Instant Power is consumed by a child, who instantly gains 3 levels of wizard. (d4 Caltrops)
This bottle looks more like a small oil can, and contains several doses of Modron Blood. Modron Blood drives away gremlins and fixes small broken mechanical devices. (d4 Caltrops)
Potion of Bright Life - This nondescript vial smells like fresh cut grass and damp leaves when opened. Consuming it makes your skin turn green, your hair turn to small flowering vines and grass, and you can now subsist entirely through photosynthesis. The drawback is that a lengthy lack of sunlight can kill you dead. (d4 Caltrops)
Potion of Cure-All - A crystal bottle is labeled "purgative for poisons, diseases, possessions, lycanthropy, and other ailments. use with caution." in Elvish. Drinking it cures everything but HP damage. The drawback is that the drinker vomits up the nastiness in the form of 1d4+1 gelatinous cubes. (d4 Caltrops)
Tomb Sealant - A brown canister with a yellowing label reading "tomb sealant" in archaic common. Opening it finds a brush attached to the bottom of the lid and the whole thing resembling a paste pot. When applied to coffins/sarcophagi, it fuses them shut. Forever. As might be imagined, you don't want to get any of this on you. (d4 Caltrops)
Scrolls/books:
Treasure Map - claims to lead to Mimisbrunner and promises knowledge and power. It warns of Mimir and the 'eye cost of knowledge.'
Fragile tapestry that is actually a map of the empire from centuries before. Comparing it to modern maps reveals the location of several lost (and presumably ruined) cities.
Three charred but mostly readable spellbooks, containing Wizard spells (3d4 each of levels 1-5, 2d4 of level 6-7, and 1d4 level 8).
Scroll of Protection from Undead, Scroll of Protection from Fey, Scroll of Protection from Magic
Scroll of Meteor Swarm - regardless of caster's intent, it centers on reader.
Cursed Scroll - Reader is Feebleminded, no save.
Cursed Scroll - Reader petrifies (but to clear crystal). Stone-to-flesh returns to normal.
A fancy prayerbook that allows reader (if they hold) to turn undead as if 1 level higher than they are, or as a third level cleric, whichever is better. Readers not of the faith (Norse-ish) take psychic damage from reading the book.
A thick treatise on medicine written by someone named Galen, with marginalia and notes by others; healing checks are at advantage after reading this (takes three months of study) and healing spells cast by reader cascade on the top two numbers.
Items:
Ring of Djinni Summoning - as per the book, but each time used, the wearer must save or become a cloud as per gaseous form for d6 turns. That said, this ring's biggest quirk is the DM channeling Genie from Disney's Aladdin. (The djinn that appears would not be named Djinn Carter, Djinn Balooshi, Djinn Morrison, Djinn Carey, Djinn Stewart, or Djinn Kimmel, if only because I am terrible at impersonations AND my regular players too young to catch most of these puns. Djinn Rumi and Djinn Antonic are fair game, however.)
Orb of Dominance - this mammoth (about 12' diameter, but fits nicely in Flagrantia's hand) crystal ball crackles with an internal energy reminiscent of plasma balls. The attuned wielder merely makes eye contact (via light or darkvision or even if ethereal or astral) with the intended victim, and if the victim fails to save, a long-term Dominate Person is cast. The Orb of Dominance allows its wielder to Dominate up to a dozen entities, controlling their actions and seeing through their eyes. This Domination allows a save once a year on the anniversary of the first time. DM note - think of how Theoden was dominated by Saruman in LotR (and then how Gandalf cast him out - so Dominated people take on physical changes). The major drawback of this item is its size and weight.
As it so happens, Flagrantia has used it on the leadership of the Orc and Ogre tribes she dominates, but would love some non-orcs to Dominate. Preferably some would-be heroes. Then chaos shall reign!
Ring of Cold Resistance - this golden band is stretched to its limit to fit on Flagrantia's smallest wing-talon. It's drawback of Fire Vulnerability is overridden by Red Dragons' inherent immunity to Fire damage. Investigation reveals the mark of Grandfather Favarro, so it is one of his creations.
Honor - featuring the attributes of both a Scimitar of Speed and Sword of Sharpness, this bastard sword is just that - a right bastard. Honor is Sentient and extremely Lawful (LE, technically). It can detect chaotics at will, and will do so. If it finds any, it loudly calls them out and urges its wielder to attack them. Failure to do so results in Honor attempting to Dominate its wielder.
Wielders that please Honor find that it provides additional powers, notably vampiric regeneration: half of the damage done by Honor heals its wielder, but never beyond full. In addition, Honor's wielder is immune to blindness and exhaustion and saves at advantage against poison.
Wielders that displease Honor will find they strike at disadvantage as Honor twists and shifts in their grasp, as well as losing access to Honor's other abilities (Speed, Sharpness, healing and immunities). Should Honor dominate its wielder, its priorities are to 'restore its wielder's honor' by striking down people that have insulted, cheated, or otherwise disgraced the wielder. Honor doesn't care if these people are strangers, allies, friends, family or other PCs.
Staff of Mambres (Staff of Power) - as per the Staff of Power and Snake Staff in the DMG, with the added bonus of being possessed by it's creator, Mambres, who appears to the PC in dreams. While in dream form, conversations can be had, and with a successful intelligence check, remembered. Note that the eventual goal of Mambres is to reinstate the Egyptian-ish pantheon over the current Norse-ish.
Champion's Plate - this suit of +2 field plate is etched with a lion rampant and the symbols of Norse pantheon. The wearer is immune to magical fear and incapable of retreat, rout, withdrawal, or escape once battle is joined. This plate provides additional protection, in the form of Element Resistance, as well as immune to blinding, deafening, stunning, and exhaustion. Allies in your sight attack with advantage due to the armor inspiring them. All that said, the remains of the last wearer are still inside this armor and her spirit will demand a proper burial (treasure-barrow level - sealing the dragon's lair with her remains and most of the dragon's treasure inside will suffice).
Cindersoul - this longspear is etched with runes that glow a fiendish reddish-purple. In addition to piercing damage, this spear deals necrotic damage and fire damage with each strike. All beings slain by this spear find their souls/spirits bound to the spear itself. The wielder can hear these spirits as a continual whispering of words and half-sentences. Once per three long rests, the wielder must do something to appease one of the spirits (DM choice of task) or suffers exhaustion as long rests become impossible due to the voices. Discarding Cindersoul requires far more than a Remove Curse, as the spirits will continue to haunt the last wielder until someone new takes up the spear.
A Hand of Glory- the candle version, in a locked wooden box. All within its light (except holder) are held as per Hold Person or Hold Monster. All doors within the light are unlocked and opened; this includes planar portals and other portals best left closed, locked, and forgotten. Once the light goes out, the doors unlocked reseal, so hopefully the person with the candle is on the proper side of the door!
Iron Horn of Valhalla - these berserkers are Einherjar and the power of the horn compels the blower to join them in glorious combat. Should the horn-blower die during the fray, the Einherjar carry them back to Valhalla with them when they disperse. Should the horn-blower try to run away, the Einherjar attack the horn-blower for the coward that they are.
There we have it - an ancient wyrm and the more interesting parts of her hoard.
The third session, which begins a sequence of at least one person missing. We compromise by me or another player rolling for them.
5/4/20 - Session #3
Klayton Mueller - Human Warlock 1 Albrecht Schultze - Human Sorcerer 1 Yelrah - Half Orc Barbarian 1
The party bathed, fed, and rested at the Lion's Den. In addition, they found and rented an apartment from the Bailiff, NAME, for a period of three months, at 50gp per month. Being flush with cash, the PCs happily paid for their privacy.
In addition to finding a new home, the team sold loot and had items identified. The gems were sold and the profits split among the survivors. The fancy belt that the skeleton had worn was found to have small words spelled out in thread: Scutum (shield), Armis (mage armor), and Lorica Segmentata (globe of invulnerability); the belt was also determined to render its wearer utterly exposed to enchanted missiles. Yelrah claimed the belt. The fancy ring was determined to be fire aspected (+2 to fire spells DC and damage), and was taken as Klayton's share. The scroll found on the upper floor was determined to be clerical in nature, and (gotta love random rolls) held 5 spells: level 6, 4, 2, 2, 2. Albrecht traded it to the Chaplain for some healing potions now and future healing down the line.
Still flush with cash, the adventurers visited Mario Favarro's shop, and met the hired help: Constanzo Stregone. The old man minded the till and answered basic questions. While there, the party learned that Mario Favarro acted as a broker of sorts for enchanted items, and would happily purchase or trade for them. As such, there was a variety of items available for purchase.
Klayton took advantage of this and purchased a potion of diminution (shrinking), planning for an eventual escape. Klayton privately voiced a suspicion to Yelrah that Constanzo is an arcanist of sort (he is correct), based on an overly alert cat in the shop.
While Klayton and Yelrah were shopping, Albrecht had unrolled the scroll that the statue had come with. He then voiced the word (in Elvish) to awaken the statue, which resulted in the statue growing to nearly 6 feet tall and becoming an irritated warrior woman named Morgan Ironwolf.
After learning the particulars about when and where she was, Morgan grudgingly agreed to accompany Albrecht on his next adventure, if only out of a sense of gratitude for her freedom (and also to see if the skeletal remains belonged to the mage who statuefied her - Melchior the Malevolent).
The party went to the tower of the Lord Magus, but was only able to meet with one of his apprentices. Apprentice Brunhilde agreed to take the supposed spellbook for study, but was not happy to learn that Klayton is either a warlock or sorcerer, both likely agents of Chaos. She said as much and sent them on their way.
With the necessities of civilization attended to, the party decided to continue investigating Gargamel's Tower, as they recalled the secret basement area and the area within the chest were ripe for exploration.
Enroute to the tower, the party ran afoul of invisible sprites. The sprites were more bored than malicious and became amused enough at Klayton's failed attempts to trip Albrecht as a prank that they left after one last trick: attempting to put Yelrah to sleep. That failed, at least partially because 5e sprites suck, and the party continued otherwise unhindered.
As the stairs in the chest made them suspicious, the party decided to check the secret area in the cellars first. Explorations revealed an empty safe room and an escape tunnel. It was (properly) surmised that this is how the servants survived the fall of the tower.
Moving to the chest, the party listened closely to the pipes and drum, and determined that whatever was making the noise was moving about. Yelrah noted that the piping was strangely soothing to him, reminding him of home. That acknowledged, they descended the stairs to find themselves in a dark area that was far larger than the size of the chest suggested. At the foot of the stairs, a skeletal piper and drummer marched by, wearing odd necklaces. The key-looking necklace was successfully removed by Yelrah's lucky grab. Beyond that, the undead musicians ignored the PCs as they passed by (DM note, had PCs stopped the music, ALL the undead would have woken up, and it is unlikely an additional session would exist with these PCs).
Exploration and application of player brain eventually netted the party several keys: Iron, Copper, and Silver. A golden lock was found, but without the key (or a competent rogue), it was left closed. The silver key came from a wight with a flaming sword.
The wight fight was anticlimactic, leading the DM to reconsider 5e's choice to not use level drain. Moving forward, the DM may not use level drain, but these options from Dyson Logos look mighty tasty - as does inflicting levels of exhaustion. In addition, the action economy is telling in these one-on-many fights.
Regardless, after defeating the wight, the PCs left its purplish-green blade behind as no one could safely use it. Examination via Mage Hand revealed runes written in Infernal on the blade and an attempt to wield it by Yelrah burned him (due to differing alignments), so it was dropped on the ground.
The session ended with the PCs still in the dungeon and excited to explore the rest of it.
Our second session, still a bullet list, but more complete.
4/26/20 - Session #2
PCs - Klayton Mueller Human Warlock 1 Yelrah, Half-Orc Barbarian 1 Albrecht Schulze, Human Sorcerer 1 Maria, Half-Elf Druid 1
Another player, Ben, joined us on Discord to listen in and kibbutz (and decide if he wanted to join the game (spoiler: he did!).
Wherein the party continues exploring/looting the Tower of Gargamel (yes, I missed the opportunity for Smurf references) and is reminded that adventuring is a deadly business.
The study contained more stairs, which the party followed up into a damp ruin of a bedroom. Aside from obviously wet and leafy stairs heading to roof, the room also included a large four-poster bed with golden yellow blankets, a bedstand holding a metallic rack and orb, a dresser, a wardrobe, a full length mirror, and a purplish chest.
Yelrah made a bee-line for the bed, and after urine and pee jokes were made, Yelrah discovered the golden yellow blanket was actually Yellow Mold. Ben pointed out that Yellow Mold doesn't exist officially in 5e (poor choice by 5e designers), but it does now, so a Con save later saw Yelrah suffering a nonfatal coughing fit. After recovering, he checked under the bed and found dust bunnies piled up against something he could not otherwise see. Reaching under the bed, Yelrah found what felt like a box. An invisible box. Jokes were made about the DM and invisible boxes under beds (they had encountered such a box in another campaign of mine). Forcing it open, they discovered a book, nay, a tome!
Being smart enough to not read strange books in strange locations, they closed the lid and put the box and bag into a backpack.
Albrecht investigated the dresser, which collapsed in a pile of damp wood, rotted clothing, and rat shit. Moving to the mirror, he found it simple and cracked and nonmagical.
Klayton opted to check the wardrobe. It also contained rotted clothing, but also some fine hard boots. Torchlight sparkled on some gems in the bottom of the wardrobe (presumably fallen from clothes). As Klayton pocketed the shinies, he decided to claim the boots as well. A large spider crawled out of one to contest the ownership, but was promptly smashed into a spidery paste.
Maria primarily observed the looting and watched the stairs. Still, she took the time to investigate the metallic globe and rack on the bedstand. She saw that Elvish words were inscribed along the rack: Follow, Stay, Bright, Dim, and Dark. No one said any of the words, nor did anyone claim the rack and orb.
All that remained was that purplish chest. Through artful use of a crowbar and brute force, the chest was opened, and the band was surprised to see stairs run down into darkness, and the distant, but nearing, sound of pipes and drumming greeted them as they stared. They closed the lid and decided to leave it for later.
from Dungeons and Dragons cartoon Episode 11 "The Box"
The group ascended to the uppermost chamber and found it missing part of the roof. They also found evidence of several lairs over the years: a blue dragon (skull and dull scales found), harpies (feathers everywhere), wyverns (keep stories and some scales), and most recently the manticore. While searching the mess, a buzzing heralded hungry Stirges flying in to attack! (now THESE are monsters!).
Alas, Maria fell to the Stirges. In response, the survivors reverently looted her body and left it behind. (DM Note - Sometimes future events just write themselves.)
Stirges slain, the party grabbed a scroll tube and a variety of coins from the filth and detritus. If there is more there, they didn't find it. (no one made search checks, just visuals).
The band decided to return to Ironguard Keep, richer, but sadder. Along the way, they were ambushed by Goblins, but made short work of them. Further on, the intrepid band then encountered a Keep patrol led by Dame Annaliese Falkenrath, who approved of slaughtering goblins and manticore, but was irritated at the team leaving their dead behind. The patrol rode off.
Arriving at Ironguard Keep, the survivors met with the Captain of the Watch to offer the map and hopefully collect a bounty on the manticore spikes and goblin ears.
