Saturday, 28 July 2012

By Zagyg's Beard, Let's Do This!

Xounds! As from a sorcerous fogbank I have woken up and realized that school's out for the summer, the other group that was exploring it is terminally moribund, so there is no reason why I should not gather up my fairly detailed notes and map for CELLARS OF THE CASTLE RUINS, pdf it and release it upon an Old School Rumbelow seemingly producing core systems faster than it can produce sprawling gonzo megadungeon levels.
Do these three stairways look familiar?
This is the level that takes the place of that one other level of the impossible-to-get adventure supplement that finally started in on The Big Kahuna's Big Kahuna Dungeon, and that hooks up with the second level of Joe Bloch's megadungeon that finished off the Big Kahuna's unfinished business. After two years and over a dozen incursions from four separate teams of delvers, this 119-room low-level mooncalf may well be ready for prime time.

CONTENTS:
4 entry ramps
1 mysterious tavern
1 excruciating puzzle room (nearly solved at one point)
1 secret library, with bad-ass librarian
4 competing and radically different kobold tribes
1 philosopher yeti
2 trash disposals
1 massive cave-in
3 wells
2 inscrutable games-within-a-game
6 stairways down
1 stairway up

I've started layout in Publisher, and have decided on a format where each one-or-two page spread of room descriptions contains a map inset of those rooms, next to which is a key to the monster stats as given by AD&D. That's not my preferred system, but it's compatible with Mr. Bloch's opus, and I actually use the stats from Kellri's AD&D monster reference in my own more Basic/Labyrinth Lord-like game, only dialing down some of the multiple attacks (for example, one instead of two claw attacks from most animals).

To respect and not undercut the efforts of others I'll be releasing it as contribution-ware. All proceeds will be farmed directly back into the DIY roleplaying movement.

1 comment: