Dungeon23 (Wk 8 and 9) – Still here, still creating a megadungeon!

I’m changing the format of my weekly catchups. I don’t think the day-by-day will always work, especially if I’m doing basic things or or just plugging away. I want build logs to be informative and to share good content, not just time-filler.

I’ve found myself drawn to another project, temporarily, so I’m back to do a room or two a day. Since I’m well ahead of the curve (almost 3 months into the project, 3 levels completed), I think I have some buffer. I I’m currently still keying one of the sublevels.

It’s fun to put myself into a consonant frame of mind as folks would have been playing/creating some of these wacky rooms from Greyhawk and Blackmoor! 

I’ve even started looking at Arduin, and OMG… that’s some crazy stuff. David Hargrave was a mad wizard with all the plusses and minuses, if his writing is any indication! 

For example, this is from a “Special Abilities” chart that you can roll on for your class type:

That’s.. uhh… pretty damn metal! 🤘🤘

Anyway – inspiration strikes from everywhere, including from some of the crazy, gonzo history of the game.

Sublevels

My homage to Castle Greyhawk is completed. I had a ton of fun with it. I’ve begun keying the Blackmoor level, with a focus on taking a few things from the third supplement to OD&D. I’ve come to appreciate that supplement quite a bit! Comparing it to Greyhawk, the differences in what mattered to David vs. Gary are really apparent. David cared a lot about the wargaming aspects, and his play was quite a bit more deadly and rewarding, in terms of loot! 

Level 4

I’ve been doing a few rooms at a time, and level 4 is coming along. I’m repeating the process from Level 3, where I draw out the map, figure out what the content types are, but then fill in the details after the drawing is done. Level 3 was a faction stronghold, so I’m still open to what the deal is with Level 4. 

Town of Oily Messe

We played our third session of the Black Maw in week 9. There were only 3 players available, so they chose to backtrack out of the dungeon and find the town. 

Now, with the Maw being on a prison island, and my vision of the island being a type of desert wasteland, well… in the spirit of OD&D, the town of Oily Messe is quite the stereotypical American West town! Yep, great fun! Between the Sheriff, the strange Doctor and the barkeep who had no time for “f###in’ noobs”, I think it was a great and unexpected change of pace! 

I’ll write more in the after-action report.

Dungeon23 stats: 

• Levels: 5
• Rooms: 231 (20 added in wks 8 and 9)
• Levels 1, 2, 3: mapped/keyed.
• Level 4 in progress. 
• Level 5 started. 
• 2 sublevels mapped/keyed. 1 sublevel in-work. 
• Town: Created, 7 locations/NPCs keyed.