Chordille Keep - The Goblin Lair

The Goblin Lair (areas 13-16)
This series of rooms now hosts a goblin war band led by a goblin brute. All the goblins in the area fear the brute, as his reputation is much greater than his actual fighting prowess. Most of the other races that make up the bestial host leave him alone, as he is particularly difficult to work with. As the characters wander into this area, it is likely to become one large melee as the goblins will join in any fight, as they do not want to face the wrath of the brute. In any combat, after 2 rounds, all the goblins in these rooms will come out to investigate. Once the goblins in the barracks join in any fight, roll once on the random re-enforcement chart to see what additional re-enforcements are available.

13. The Goblin Brute.
This is where the goblin brute can be found with his two body guards. As soon as an intruder enters, the goblin body guards will attack immediately. The goblin brute will attempt to attack the weakest party member, in order to preserve his combat legacy. The goblins in the neighboring rooms will come and investigate in 2 rounds.

1 goblin brute. AC 17, HD3, HP18, Dam 1d6+1 (short sword)
2 goblins. AC 15, HD1, HP5, Dam 1d6 (short sword)
Treasure: 4d6 gold, potion of bull’s strength

Goblin barracks (Area 14 & 15).
Areas 14 and 15 are the goblin barracks. At any given time, there will be 2 goblins in each room, with a 20% chance of additional goblins being in the rooms or close by. Each goblin has 1d4 gold. Once combat is joined, there is a chance that additional goblins join in. Roll once on the chart below to see what re-enforcements are available. The concept is to provide a larger scale battle with random re-enforcements joining in.

Re-enforcement chart (roll once)

Die Roll (1d8) Re-enforcements

1. No further re-enforcements
2. 1 additional goblin joins in 1 round
3. 2 additional goblins join 2 rounds after combat starts
4. 3 additional goblins join 3 rounds after combat starts
5. 1 goblin riding a goblin dog joins in 3 rounds.
6. 1 goblin joins after 1 round, and another goblin joins after 3 rounds.
7. 1 additional goblin joins in 2 rounds
8. No further re-enforcements

14. Goblin barracks
2 goblins. AC 15, HD1, HP3, Dam 1d6 (short sword)

15. Goblin barracks

2 goblins. AC 15, HD1, HP3, Dam 1d6 (short sword)


16. Goblin Kennels
This was once a small guard post, and is now a kennel for goblin dogs. A particularly nasty smell comes from this door, with characters having a 25% chance of noticing it prior going into the room. There is nothing of value in this room, as the goblin dog has made a complete mess of the place.

1 goblin dog. AC 13, HD1, HP8, Dam (bite) +2 1d6+3 plus allergic reaction. (See Pathfinder #1)

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Revisit.
As long as the goblin brute is still alive, the areas 13-16 will re-populate with additional goblins. Once the goblin brute has been defeated, the remaining goblins will leave the area, and rats will move in.

Chordille Keep - The Grand Entrance

12. Grand entrance to the keep.
Once the grand entrance to the keep, now it lies as a burnt out hulk of what it once was. The main double doors are mostly destroyed and only parts of the doors remain hanging on their hinges. The charred remnants of a red carpet are lie on the ground, as a bitter reminder of what was. The Bestial Host has posted a pair of goblin guards and a goblin dog. If confronted by an opponent stronger than themselves, they will run to the goblin lair that is located in areas 13-16.

2 goblins. AC 15, HD1, HP3, Dam 1d6 (short sword)
1 goblin dog. AC 13, HD1, HP8, Dam (bite) +2 1d6+3 plus allergic reaction. (See Pathfinder #1)
Treasure 1d6 gold

Revisit

On subsequent revisits, if the goblins in areas 13-16 have been defeated, a band of orcs will have moved in, otherwise the goblins post another 2 guards and a goblin dog.

4 Orcs. AC 16, HD1, HP5, Dam 1d8 (long sword)
Treasure: 1d10 gold

Chordille Keep - Inner Keep (area 11)

11. Ruined room
With the razing of the keep, and number of rooms were totally destroyed. In the case of this room, most of the ceiling has collapsed into the room, creating a mess. Most creatures avoid this room, although there is a 10% chance of a vermin crawling in through the hole in the ceiling to come searching for food or to just hide. Other than that, there is nothing of significance in the room.

Chordille Keep - Inner Keep (area 10)

10. Hobgoblin guards
The fire damage to this room makes it impossible to determine what this room was used for prior to the razing of the keep. A small band of hobgoblins have moved into this ruined room, and have staked a claim to it. The sergeant in room 9 is ok with this development as it allows him to keep a close eye on his small band from the bestial host. There is some wreckage that remains in the room, but the hobgoblins have made it a point to remove most of it to make room for their bedrolls and such.
5 hobgoblins. AC 15, HD1, HP6, Dam 1d8 (long sword)
Treasure: 2d10 gold

Revisit
On subsequent revisits, if the hobgoblins have been defeated, a band of orcs will have moved in.

5 Orcs. AC 16, HD1, HP5, Dam 1d8 (long sword)
Treasure: 1d10 gold

Chordille Keep - Sitting Room (area 9)

9. Sitting room.
This was once a formal sitting room, which included a grand piano and was used to entertain guests. Now the furniture is in terrible shape and the piano is a broken wreck in the corner of the room. A hobgoblin sergeant makes his home here, and holds his own sort of entertainment in this room. There is a bedroll in the corner that serves as a bed for the hobgoblin.
1 hobgoblin sergeant. AC 16 (buckler), HD2, HP16, Dam 1d8 (Masterwork long sword) or 1d6 (light crossbow)

There is a 25% chance that there will also be a female hobgoblin in the room.

1 hobgoblin (F). AC 13, HD1, HP4, Dam 1d6 (short sword) or1d4 (dagger)

Treasure: There is a small chest (Hardness 5, HP 10) in the room that is locked (pick locks: DC 14, CL2). The key is on the body of the sergeant hobgoblin and contains 1d12 gold.

Revist
Once all the goblins on the surface level have been defeated, an orc band will move in, and an orc sergeant will take up residence here.

Chordille Keep - Main Keep Entrance

Continuing on with the description of the keep.

2. Main keep entrance.
Overview: The old path leads up to the main keep entrance. Once this was a grand entry way, but now it lies in ruins. The main entranceway shows considerable amounts of fire damage, and the main doors are just charred remnants, hanging loosely in what remains of the hinges. As one creeps closer, one can see murder holes in the ceiling above.

A. Lower guard Chamber. This chamber has pieces of debris lying all about, but is otherwise empty except for the trap. The trap is cleverly hidden in the wood and rubble that lies throughout the room. On subsequent revisits, the trap will be reset by the Bestial Host.

Trap. The Bestial Host has rigged a primitive trap here with a trip wire that dislodges a large stone that falls down on the characters, ), and also rings a bell that is located outside the entry way. Treat the trap as a 2 HD monster (BAB +2) with a damage of 1d6 (DC 18/CR5 to find, and DC12/CR0 to disarm). Once the trap has sprung, and the bell has rung, roll once on the wandering monster chart as the characters leave this area.

B. Upper Guard Chamber. The upper level was once a guard chamber, but now is filled with debris. Enterprising characters can climb up into the guard chamber from the lower level. There are no stairs in this area, as the normal way to access the upper area was through the wall walkways from the main defense turrets. The chamber is otherwise empty. On revisits the chamber will still be empty, as there is too much rubble to effectively station guards.

Chordille Keep - Guard Towers

1. Guard towers.

Overview: The path leads past two guard towers to the ruined keep. Both show signs of fire damage, but otherwise seem to be in fair shape. These towers are very similar to each other as they are two story towers with a common area on the first level a barracks on the second level, and a roof level. The second level has are arrow slits (4 per side), but the ground floor does not. There are hatches and ladders that lead between levels. The doors to the towers are re-enforced wooden doors with a hardness of 5, and 20 hps, and can be locked from the inside (pick locks CL +2, DC 15).

A. West tower. The west tower is empty when initially encountered.
B. East tower. The east tower is occupied by 6 goblins and one sergeant hobgoblin from the bestial host. There are two goblins on each level of the tower, with the sergeant on the second level. The two goblins on the roof are the lookouts to the tower, as the other inhabitants are either sleeping or playing some sort of goblin game with cards or abusing a small rat that they have captured. The lookouts on the roof are less than professional in their duties, and it is possible to sneak up on them, without being seen.

6 goblins. AC 15, HD1, HP3, Dam 1d6 (short sword) or 1d6 (light crossbow)
1 hobgoblin sergeant. AC 16 (buckler), HD2, HP16, Dam 1d8 (long sword) or 1d6 (light crossbow)

Treasure: The goblins have a total of 1d12 gold equivalent and the hobgoblin has 1d6 gold equivalent.

General tactics: The goblins are cowardly foes, and the two on the roof of the east tower will not engage foes unless it looks like they are headed to the keep, and which point they will fire from the protection of the roof ramparts. If they take fire back, they will sound the alarm. Once the alarm is sounded, the two goblins and the hobgoblin on the second floor will open fire through arrow slits. The goblins on the ground floor will guard the main door.

Revisits: Upon subsequent revisits to the keep, the bestial host will station goblin guards in one or both towers, led by a hobgoblin sergeant. Once the characters have revisited the keep and defeated the goblins three times, there will be no further guards stationed at the towers, and instead roll for a random monsters. . On subsequent visits, if the doors were destroyed, they will be replaced by a simple wooden door with a hardness of 2, and 10 hps and will not possess a lock. After the third visit, the doors will not be replaced.

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Note: For the write ups, I will be using the C&C monster stats to keep things simple, and to allow for easy conversion into other systems.

Chordille Keep - Wandering Monters

This will be a ongoing series of blogs on my Chordille Keep map. First up, the wandering monster charts.

Wandering Monsters: Die roll/result (check 1/hour)

1 – No encounter
2 – Wolf pack (1-6 wolves) or Worg + wolf pack (higher level party)
3 – 1d6 Goblins or 1d6 ratlings (see Ptolus Bestiary)
4 – 1 Ogre or 1 owlbear
5 – 1 Red dragon wrymling, unique encounter. Once defeated, this turns into a “No encounter” result
6 – Evinarus (Male Elf/ Rogue 2) unique encounter, once encountered, this turns in to a “No encounter” result
7 – Ghoul pack (1d4 ghouls or ghast + 1d4 ghouls (higher level party) - night only otherwise no encounter
8 – Rodents (1d6 rats or rat swarm)
9 – 1d4 Stirges or 1d4 Nightmare bats (Pathfinder module D2)
10 – 1d4 Vermin (beetles, centipedes, scorpions or spiders)
11 – 1d4 Red Kobolds hunting party on dire weasels
12 - No encounter

Notes on Wandering Monster Chart

A. For more than 6 characters increase the monster groups by one die size (ie change 1d4 to 1d6, change 1d6 to 1d8, etc)
B. Red dragon wyrmling – A small red dragon has been seen in the area, and it is rumored that it is the spawn of Metterak
C. Evinarus – See bonus encounters at Dungeon-a-day.com
D. Nightmare bats – These were summoned by a wizard long ago, and still hunt in the area.
E. Red Kobolds – This is a band of kobolds that are descended from a red dragon. The scouts can been seen mounted on dire weasels and patrol the area around the keep. I really like the idea that kobolds are related to dragons and have dragon blood in them. When AD&D was released, they were pictured with dog like heads, and over time they have morphed to lizard like creatures that are related to dragons. By making kobolds related to dragons, then we can do fun things like give them wings and breathweapons, which really just makes my day. Obviously I am a big fan of this, and I will be linking the kobolds to Metterak.

Chordille Keep (ruined keep maps)

In Monte’s Dungeon-a-Day, Monte references the ruins of Chordille Keep which sits on top of the dungeon. As of this point, Monte has not provided a map of Chordille Keep. The initial assumption is that it is a series of ruins with nothing significant remaining. However, given that I like castle ruins, and I could not resist drawing something up, which is what I spent a good part of this weekend doing.

Enclosed is the player’s map and along with the GM’s map, which has the room numbers on it. Even through this has been designed with Monte’s dungeon in mind, it is fairly generic and can be used for any dungeon that needs a ruined keep.

Over the next week or so, I will be providing my write ups on the encounter areas.

GM Map














Player's Map

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Permission statement

With this statement, I give permission for folks to use these maps for their own use. If this is going to see publish in another media (blog, electronic publication, fanzine/magazine), please reference this blog site and this particular blog entry.

Review: Dungeon-a-Day.com (Part 2)

Continued from yesterday
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Final thoughts

Dungeon-a-day is a very interesting idea. My overall thought is that the website is very slick, and I suspect that Monte will continue to make improvements over time, which means it will get better. We spend a lot of time debating the merits of one rule set over another, or discussing some optional rule set, and discussing game philosophy. It is good to see someone put all that rhetoric aside and actually start working on an ambitious project, which this is. I have to give kudos to Monte for this.

Now I do recognize that there is a bit of criticism about the subscription model. There is a feeling that what one is really getting is just fancy blog, and with the multitude of blogs out there, why would one want to pay for it. This goes back to my discussion on value, and does one consider this as valuable as a magazine subscription. With any internet subscription model, that is the basic question that one has to answer. If one is not interested in an electronic magazine subscription, then this is not for you.

There has also been a bit of discussion on whether or not this is really an old school mega-dungeon. The level maps are a bit small (38 encounter areas on the first level and 24 on the second) and the room entries are a bit long. So I do agree that the map levels are a bit on the small side, but I am ok with this, as I actually like to see more vertical orientated dungeons with half levels in between the main levels. When I am doing my design work on large dungeons, I try to incorporate as many small side levels, as I find that a bit more interesting than just one large flat dungeon. I do recognize this as my preference, and not everyone would agree with me. I think offering vertical choices are more interesting than just a standard horizontal choice.

With regards to the long room descriptions, I think that is the nature of the subscription model beast. If I am going to pay for content, then I want to see content. To put a number on it, if I am going to subscribe to something that promises daily content, then I want to see ~1K of word content. Now this does not mean that I want to see dungeon rooms come in at 1000 words, but rather I want to see a total of ~1000 words between the different articles. Different folks may have a different number in mind, but that is my threshold. Thus far, Monte’s room write ups range between 300 words to up over 1500 words. I fully agree that he could tighten up the descriptions on some of the rooms. However, he is using a room template that while easy to read and use, and does stretch out the room descriptions a bit. Also, the 3rd ed monster write ups can become very bloated, and thus far, Monte has tried to keep the monster stat blocks to an absolute minimum, which I appreciate.

One of the things I really like is the interconnectedness of the dungeon so far. There is an overall dungeon plot to it, and it is not just a collection of rooms. I think that this is truly the key to making a great mega-dungeon. It is relatively easy to create a series of maps and populate them monsters and such. However, it is quite another thing to create a tight interconnected dungeon plot that links rooms and levels together. As a player, it is more interesting to play through a dungeon, if it has a plot, and there are deeper things to discover. This concept of a dungeon plot turns into a puzzle for the players, and I think that this helps stimulate good game play, and keeps the interest going. Levels which are quite independent and divorced from one another may be interesting at first, but I think greater interest comes from dungeon plot that gets revealed as one travels through the dungeon. This is not to say that dungeon should be an adventure path, but rather the plot should be a bit of a puzzle that the players can figure out, and I believe that this leads to better game play.

The last point I do want to mention is Monte’s use of Dwarven Forge miniature terrain. I really like the pictures of dungeon with the Dwarven Forge terrain. When I first started playing D&D, I always wanted to create a 3D dungeon. I will be the first one to say that Dwarven Forge terrain is very stunning when set up. It definitely gives the game a bit eye candy at the table. I personally do not owe any, but I am giving it considerable thought. To run a mega-dungeon using Dwarven Forge terrain (or something similar) would be really cool.

Overall, I do give this product a thumbs up. I think Monte has made good start, and I am hoping that he continues to improve the site. With that said, I realize that this is not for everyone. The subscription model may not work for everyone’s budget. If one is not planning on playing through it, if may not have a high value proposition. However, if one is creating a mega-dungeon, this site has a number of good ideas that are ripe for using. With each room getting its own detailed description, there are plenty of ideas that can be used in one’s own mega-dungeon.

Rating: 4 Dragons (on a scale of 5)

Review: Dungeon-a-Day.com (Part 1)

Dungeon-a-Day, by designer Monte Cook, has been now live for about three weeks or so, and there has been quite of bit of discussion on it. A number of bloggers have posted their comments, and some of the more commonly known features have been discussed and debated at length. But none the less, I will give my assessment of what has been done so far, and provide some additional insights that have come from what we have seen over the past three weeks, that perhaps were not as well known earlier. This review will be split into two parts, the first one being the more objective overview, and the second part will include more subjective analysis as well as a bit of commentary on mega-dungeons in general

As a disclaimer, I am a fan of Monte’s work. That is not to say that I like everything he has done, but I do think he is a very talented writer, and has a good understanding of the mechanics of the game, that comes from designing games for TSR and for developing the 3rd edition version. His list of published works is impressive, both in terms of quantity and quality. I do not own everything that he has published, but I do own a number of them. In this review, I will try to maintain an objective eye at the whole thing. With that said, let’s get into the actual review

Concept

The overall concept is very straight forward, as it’s a web based subscription model that is based on providing content five days a week. The content comes in terms of a room and usually something else, which has included blog entries, pod casts, maps, handouts, bonus encounters, new monsters, and glossary updates. There are hyperlinks throughout the website that allow quick access to addition information. For visitors to the site that are not members, there are a number of areas that can be accessed to help one determine if this is something that they want to sign up for. Monte has a number of subscription plans available, and signing up for a year subscription is clearly the best dollar value, which equates to about $7/month, or a little more than a subscription to a magazine. I am estimating the current price of a year magazine subscription to be at about $5/month for a year, and this does depend on the magazine as some maybe a bit cheaper than this, but there are some that are more than $7/month. I bring this up, as I think this becomes a good bench mark in determining if this something that one wants to sign up for.

The Good

There are a number of features that I think are very solid:

1. Maps done by Ed Bourelle. Ed is the owner for SkeletonKey Games, which specializes in maps and tiles for gaming. Ed’s cartography is very solid work.

2. The main map now has the function in which one can click on a room and be taken directly to that room.

3. Pictures of the rooms created with Dwarvenforge to give a 3-D feel for what the room looks like, in addition to the standard map. I personally really like this.

4. Interesting room ideas. Monte has clearly put some thought in the room design, and there are plenty of good ideas that have been written into the dungeon.

5. The website is focused on the dungeon, and everything is built around this concept.

6. Monte has an expanding list of sponsors, and I suspect that this will grow over time. Paizo just signed up this past week, with Jason Bulmahn agreeing to write a monthly blog to support Monte. I actually think this is very cool, as Monte was acting as a consultant for Jason for the creation of the Pathfinder rules, and with this move, Jason is returning the favor. Very classy.

7. There is an active forum in which subscribers can provide feedback to Monte, and he has taken action on the suggestions that have been made.

8. An overall dungeon plot, with foreshadowing, hints and clues to what exists below.

The objections

These are some of the items that have thus far received the most criticism:

1. Cost. The cost is more than a magazine subscription.

2. Monte is using the 3rd ed rule set as the basis with which to write this, and some folks may no longer be using this rule set.

3. The content is being provided one room at a time, and there is no updates being made over the weekend.

4. At the moment, there is no compilation as the levels are finished. This may change, but right now there are no plans.

5. I personally do have a minor quibble about the site organization, specifically with regards to the key reference materials. I would like to see the navigation menu beefed up a bit more, but I do suspect that this will be improved. My general thought is that one should be able to get to a key reference page in one click, and it should be very intuitive as to where it is.

For tomorrow, I will post part two, which will include my final thoughts on Dungeon-a-Day.

Dungeon-a-day - First look

This is just a quick post to say that Monte's Dungeon-a-day is up and running, and it is impressive. I encourage everyone to just take a peek at what he has done, regardless of whether one is planning on subscribing or not. It is definitely a one of a kind web site that he has put together. There are a couple of things that I find interesting about what he is doing:

1) He has put together a website that has all sorts of built in links to tie everything together

2) He has multiple sections to page through

3) He has pictures of what the dungeon looks like using Dwarven Forge terrain

4) He has both a blog and a forum

5) Lots of art work

All in all it is very cool. Now some folks may not find it that useful, and that is fine. I am sure that numerous reviews will pop up all over the net over the next week or two. After I have used it for a week or so, I will post more thoughts and a more formal review.

Anyway, take a look, and feel free to post your impressions here. I am curious to see what everyone thinks of it