The Bogeywoman's Cave

A weird surreal funhouse dungeon, just to get back into the swing of things. Some parts are a bit wonky, I'm out of practice, things have been busy and out of hand this past month. ( Art by Mathew Borrett ) Hook Deep in the woods where few people ever go is a twisted labyrinth of white stone. It has been there as long as anyone can remember, and it is rumored that it comes from a time before humans walked the face of the world. The maze normally has no entrance, and anyone who has tried to climb over the labyrinth's walls has never returned, but rumor has it that once every 300 years it opens; that time is tonight. What secrets could this unearthly place hold? Description The White Maze is a strange structure built by faeries eons ago. Its original purpose is unknown, but the maze has strange properties beyond mortal understanding. For one, the maze occupies less space than it should physically be able to, and for another, time doesn't seem to pass the right way ...

(From Holmes Basic, I believe) Hook Orcs have been seen wandering the wilderness! You have heard tales of their cruelty and monstrous capacity for violence, and from the looks of it, these ones are armed for war. A few remote hermits have had their shacks burned to the ground and their livestock ripped to shreds, though some survivors claim that it wasn't the orcs that killed their livestock, but something horrible that travels with them, The orcs seem to have made their lair in a nearby cave. Description A warband of orcs called the Rusted Teeth are camping out in a cave, leaving by night to raid and pillage. They are small in number, but have an enslaved troll which they use to make up for it. A farmer named Frederick has been kidnapped by the orcs. Combat Encounters Orc Guards Some orcs stand watch, clad in armor made from stitched together leather and rusted steel. One of them wields a heavy crossbow, while the others are equipped with spears and shields. The orc...

Right so everybody on my blog should know about my 30 minute dungeon formula, but if you don't here is a brief recap: Based on my experience as a dungeon master, I find that the perfect ratio of rooms in a dungeon is as follows: 30% combat encounters 30% empty 20% traps 10% NPCs 10% weird stuff Which, in practice when it comes to making a quick dungeon in 30 minutes, is 3 combat encounters, 3 empty rooms, 2 traps, an NPC, and something weird to fiddle with. Also one magic item, thrown somewhere in there. Now this is all well and good but I've found myself realizing that even I didn't really full "get" what made a good one of any of these archetypical rooms in a dungeon. What separates a good trap from a bad trap? When is a combat encounter just a boring die rolling competition, and when is it tactical and neat? How do I a huge dumbass  write interesting characters? Here is what I came up with to answer these sorts of questions: What does a good com...

(This is me right now) Hey, I'm still alive. I haven't been posting much because of general stress combined with me being quite busy. My initial goal of posting a dungeon a day was far too optimistic for what I'm capable of right now, with a real job and college. But, I don't want this blog to fall by the wayside, and I still love D&D, so lets make a dungeon. Hook There have long been tales of a buried sorcerer and his treasure in the hills, but they have never been substantiated until now. A local explorer trekked inside, and brought back a centuries old golden coin. Background Centuries ago a powerful sorcerer wandered the lands, plundering and killing as he willed, and he amassed a following of impressionable young occultists. This spellcaster was named Radok the Cruel, and by the time he retired, he had gathered a large amount of treasure. But Radok was dying, he had spent too much time adventuring and performing black magic in his youth, and now that ...

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(I found this on pinterest unfortunately, and couldn't find the source, if anyone knows where it is from, please let me know in the comments!) Today's dungeon is based on my own idea, since I've run out of requests, but since this blog tends to focus on the usable rather than the imaginative, said idea is "a tomb with some undead and treasure in it". I'm also gonna experiment with a different layout for this post. But before that, here is a 30 minute dungeon made by someone else! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1batSQzURoCboa5CG2FZQchMgq11c5uOh/view Hook The local church has found evidence that the body of a Saint Jonathan was interred in an ancient tomb not far from town. Retrieving the saint's body would be a great boon to the local economy, as pilgrims from elsewhere in the nation would travel to see the relic. The local preacher has tasked you with retrieving the corpse. Background The tomb is ancient, dating back to the very early bronze a...

So lets say you're playing JABOM (my house rules), or OD&D, or some other system where what weapon you're using doesn't matter that much, and you're just gonna deal 1d6 damage or so anyway; what is your motivation to choose one weapon over another? And if there is variable weapon damage, why not just choose the cheapest one that deals the most damage? It all comes down to other factors, such as "Can this weapon be used for things outside of combat?", "How easy is it to hide?", and "How hard is it to carry around?" For example, a flintlock pocket pistol in my house rules is treated as a light ranged weapon, dealing 1d6-1 damage. In theory, its basically the same as a sling, just fancier. But the pocket pistol is not able to use improvised ammunition, like rocks you just find lying around in the case of the sling, it requires less space to operate, and it is a lot louder. Shooting someone with the pocket pistol is more likely to attra...