2022-12-09 Map drawing and monster picking

I am not looking forward to setting up a laptop today so I’m blogging about writing adventures instead.

A while ago I wrote about the first third of adventure creation: offering three options to my players based on what’s going on in the setting, daydreaming about the people involved, looking up inspirational material on Wikipedia and in books, trying to pull it all together. 2022-12-04 Planescape is in your head

2022-12-04 Planescape is in your head

All right, we know what’s going to happen unless players interfere, and we know about the locations they can explore: a temple up in the mountains and a Grand Library on another plane.

At the monastery, there are not many rooms. This is where a monk and his four disciples live and train. A room for the monk and a hall to live, work, pray, and the rest happens outside. A larder, a fireplace, a spring. A porch. So all the important stuff is going to happen in the hall. No map is needed.

These are the people we care about, and the AD&D stats and abilities I care about:

• The White Master of the Dragons (monk 8), abbot of Storm Peak Monastery. HD 8 hp 22 AC -1 ⅔×2d6; heal 1d4+2 1×/day; immune to *slow*; 22% immune to ESP; languages: common, foxwoman, gnome, salamander, titan; speak with plants and animals; potion of extra healing; robe of protection +2. Three monks called Small Fist, Donkey Run, Rocko. HD 1 hp 2/6/5 AC 9 1d6. Picking level 2 here instead of two monks at level 1 and one monk at level 3 or so because the dynamic at the table won’t change – it’ll just make it harder for me to run. I imagine the monks leaving behind their real names and getting nick names like soldiers or boy scouts.
• 7 young women from important houses in El Redd and four servants each. hp 1W6 AC 10 1W4; daggers. Names for women: Thaïs, Durrije, Phaedra, Sannia, Fenna, Erzana, Icíar. Names for men: Bleond, Huaquil, Housein, Édouard, Sten.
• Grand Inquisitor Gwalchgwyn (paladin 8). HD 8 hp 53 AC 1 2×1W8 or ⅔×1W6; banded mail armor; large shield +2; short sword; long bow (19 arrows); languages: common, elf, goblin, kobold. Three fighters called Elmaid, Newen and Blerian. HD 1 hp 6/6/7 AC 4 1d8. A magic-user called Anesa. HD 1 AC 10 hp 2; spell: *sleep*; plus spellbook: *knock*, *magic missile*.
• The demon! HD 7+14 hp 46 AC -3 MR 50% 1d4+1/1d4+1/2d4; meet its gaze at short range and suffer a *ray of weakness* (Str -33%, damage -33%); at will: *darkness*, *dispell magic* (12), *fly*, *shape change*, *heat metal* (14).

My take is that these are all in or around the building and all we care about is whether the White Master of Dragons and Gwalchgwyn kill the demon or not. Demon fights like HD 10 and hits the monk’s AC -1 on an 11 and the paladin’s AC 1 on a 9. The paladin hits the demon with arrows on a 17. The monk hits the demon on a 19. The 3 fighters and 4 monks need all need a 20.

① Demon deals 3 damage to monk → 19 hp; everybody else misses. ② Demon deals 8 damage to the monk → 11 hp; everybody else misses. ③ Demon deals 9 damage to the monk → 2 hp; everybody else misses. ④ Demon deals 2 to the monk → 0 hp; paladin hits demon for 3 damage → 43 hp; fighter hits demon for 1 damage → 42 hp. ⑤ Demon deals 10 damage to the paladin → 43 hp; Fighter deals 5 to the demon → 37 hp. ⑥ Demon deals 5 damage to the paladin → 38 hp; everybody else misses. ⑦ Paladin hits for 2 → 35 hp. ⑧ Demons deals 6 → 32 hp. ⑨ Demon deals 5 → 27 hp. ⓪ Demon deals 5 → 22 hp. ① Demon deals 4 → 18 hp; paladin deals 2 → 33 hp; monk deals 6 → 27 hp. ② Demon deals 10 → 8 hp; paladin deals 7 → 20 hp. ③ Demon deals 8 → 0 hp.

It’s safe to say that after 13 minutes, when both White Master of the Dragons and Gwalchgwyn are dying, everybody runs.

I did forget to have the monk drink his *potion of extra healing* for 3d8+3 (+19 hp). I guess this would have bought them all a few rounds. It is possible for this fight to go the other way! Perfect. If the party gets involved, it might make a difference.

The Bas protector-spirit, a gnarly dwarf troll that came through the gate is a dancer, not a fighter. It does not get involved in the fight. As the demon assembles from its seven parts, the spirit starts the *dance of the planar seal*, preventing the demon from gating in reinforcements and also preventing the gate through which it entered from collapsing and that is all that Teiddwen needs to slip through to the Great Library – and the party with him. If they still want to do it. “Come now, friends! This gate will remain stable for at least half an hour. Don’t look back!”

OK, enough about the monastery. What about the Great Library?

Let’s start scribbling a map. I like maps. They provide a lot of material once they are done. But the they still need critters and tricks to make an adventure and I think I might be overdoing the map, here…

A sprawling map of rooms and library and magic themed rooms in black ink hand drawing in an A4 spiral book with no regard for the grid.

What do we have? Some area that opens up to the swamp, in ruins.

Here’s the table for the swamp. Roll 1d6, I guess. Make sure you roll for surprise. If the monsters surprise the party, they attack. If not, roll a reaction roll to see how they are doing. Let the players talk and see how it goes. Make a second roll, modified by the reaction bonus of the talking character if the party makes a point. There’s usually no need to do more reaction rolls.

• 3d8 crocodiles hiding in the water, HD 3 AC 5 2d4/1d12; surprise 3/6 – the water is dead calm
• 3d6 kobolds lead by Lord Biter are sneaking around (they have a temporary camp inside the ruins, threatened by crocodiles and giant toads), HD ½ AC 7 1d4; -1 to hit during the day – “Hey, big ones! Do you have some of those rations for me?”
• 2d10 troglodytes lead by Silver Eyes are hunting (they have a camp near the ruins at the top of the map), HD 2 AC 5 1d3/1d3/1d4+1; surprise 4/6; save vs. poison or -1 str/rd for 1d6 rds – “Your clumsy stomping is driving off all the gazelles.”
• 1 manticor called Avarice flying overhead (from a nearby outpost tower ruin), looking for victims to bully, HD 6+3 AC 4 1d3/1d3/1d8; 4 salvos of 6 bolts for 1d6 each, 20 ft range – “Who is sneaking around in my lands, eh? Thieves, eh?”
• 1d20 giant cranes defending their territory, HD 3 AC 5 1d10 – they approach slowly, menacingly showing their chests
• 4d4 eblis, stork people, HD 4+4 AC 3 1d4/1d4/1d4/1d4 – “The giant cranes are a nuisance. Help us teach them a lesson!”
• 2d8 lion centaurs lead by Seven Dead Husbands, hunting and gathering, living in a nearby village, HD 5+8 AC 6 1d4/1d4/1d6; spear, short sword; only surprised 1/6 – “What are you doing out here, two legs?”
• 1d4×10 lizard people led by Seth is my Saviour, on a pilgrimage to see Thoth, HD 2+1 AC 5 1d2/1d2/1d8 – “We are on a pilgrimage to see all the temples along the Ma’at.”

What about the library? I rolled on Judd Karlman’s Tables for the Outlands for inspiration and got: modronist pilgrims, slaad egg care and refugees from a dying world… Hm.

Tables for the Outlands

I’m adding stats just in case; I don’t expect there to be fights inside the library.

• 15 modronist pilgrims led by Gadfael looking for a modron delegation, hp 1d6 AC 10 1d4; knives – “Silence! Can’t you see this is a library?”
• 15 modrons led by Expanding Money Supply are wandering the halls, looking for the great index, 1 dekaton (HD 10+10 AC 2 MR 10% 10×1d4; +2 required to hit), 2 quadrons (HD 4+4 AC 4 1d4+3/1d4+3/1d4+3/1d4+3; immune against illusions & charms), 4 tridrons (HD 3+3 AC 5 1d4+2/1d4+2/1d6+2; immune against illusions & charms) and 8 duotrons (HD 2+2 AC 6 1d4+1/1d4+1; immune against illusions & charms) – “Such a mess! Such confusion. This is a disgrace.”
• 6 blue slaads researching egg care and matrix stabilisation techniques, HD 8+4 AC 5 MR 40% 2d6/2d6/2d6/2d6/2d8 – “You may not approach. This is egg business.”
• 4 Githyanki led by Blodwedd are searching for the remains of the dead minor god Kratylos in the Astral Sea and are looking for pointers, 1 sorcerer (fighter 7/magic-user 6; longsword +2 for 1d8+2; spells 4/2/6: shield; read magic; friends; unseen servant; spider climb; magic aura; strength; darkness 15’ radius; knock; tongues; lightning bolt), 1 blade knight (fighter 5 with two handed sword for 1d10), 2 guardians (fighter 1 with longswords 1d8); all wearing magic splint +4 (AC 0). – “Have you been to the Astral Sea? Have you seen any tentacle heads? Do you know any red dragons in your area?”
• 12 priests are bringing back books – “Why can’t visitors not put back the books where they get them from? There’s something wrong with the world.”
• 1 Grand Librarian with 3 assistants is patrolling the area, HD 6 hp 24 AC 10; spells: *knock*, *arcane lock*, *shield*, *sleep*, *silence 15 ft*, *dispel magic*, *hold person*, *protection from missiles*, *slow*; assistants wield clubs and *sleep* spells, HD 1 hp 4 AC 10.
• the lion centaurs might also be found in the library – “We have come to praise Thoth.”
• the eblis might also be found in the library – “We think somebody might be poisoning our eggs. How is this possible? We are looking for documents showing how eggs have been poisoned in the past.”
• the lizard folk might also found in the library – “This is the first station on our pilgrimage. The temple of Seshat is our next stop.”

Anyway. All of the above was my “write up” of the notes you see below.

Scrawled notes with a pen on graph paper, barely readable, some big lists, some small lists, but a lot of stuff recognisably the same as above: kobolds, troglodytes, manticore, and so on

Oh, and one more thing before I go.

Surely the players will want to look at some books. I have a library book title generator.

library book title generator

• The Temples of Odin
• Protection from Werewolves
• Elven Siege Engines
• Seducing People and Suffering Friends
• The Reproductive Cycle of Lycanthropes
• The Servants of Orcus
• Oral Histories of The Philosopher’s War
• Secret Knowledge in Conjuration
• The Legends of Alfheim
• The Secret Powers of Bungle Mustard
• Elven Warfare
• Exposing the Alchemical Congress of the Common Court
• Advanced Studies in Conjuration
• The Kings and Queens of Erlechai
• Pathways to Myrkheim
• The Secret Powers of Scarlet Parlsey
• The End of Spirits, by Coel
• Elemental Fire
• Oral Histories of The Vampire Wars
• Legends of The Dragon Wars
• Mastering Youth
• Realm of the Spirits, author unknown
• Dwarf Buildings
• The Deadly Secrets of Humans, author unknown
• Dealing with Afarit
• Dwarven Weapons and Armour
• The Eternal Victory of Freya
• The Creatures of Midgard
• Pathways to Niflheim
• Advanced Studies in Fleshcrafting
• Human Buildings made of Dead Wood
• Exposing the Brothers of the Sylvan Minds
• Transformation of the Body
• Foundations of Bird Flight Interpretation
• The Deadly Secrets of Zombies, by Gwennol
• Transcendence of Animals
• Oral Histories of The Vampire Wars, Volume 2
• Dealing with Devils
• Travels to Asgard
• Preparing Worm Helmet

OK, enough! I need to think of a few notes to add to some of the rooms. 2022-12-10 Random treasure.

2022-12-10 Random treasure

​#RPG ​#Prep

Comments

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Beautiful map.

– ruprecht 2022-12-10 23:11 UTC

ruprecht

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Thanks! With my fear of empty space it has of course grown to fill the areas still open on the picture. 😅

– Alex 2022-12-10 23:16 UTC

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Interesting read, thanks! This is a complex encounter. I don’t think I’ve done anything so elaborate when GMing, so far.

I like to look at hand written notes, and I love how your map *disregards* the grid. Also, your notes somehow seem to demonstrate the beauty of the AD&D system ... hm, it’s hard to pin down ... 🤔

More thoughts about game prep: https://tabletop.social/@wandererbill/109499558028123468

https://tabletop.social/@wandererbill/109499558028123468

– Wanderer Bill 2022-12-12 07:54 UTC

Wanderer Bill

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Maybe it’s hard to pin down because it’s hard to see. 😀

– Alex 2022-12-12 21:19 UTC