Saturday, July 31, 2010

Old School Dungeon the Maze

Most notable feature is the teleport maze in the south east corner. Also the full complement of sloping passages, spinning rooms, and rooms on an angled grid. Of course there is the infamous staircase that appears to go up but actually goes down. This staircase was very useful for lining up the levels. Those who have been following along may notice it does not appear in the same place on the map. The theory is that it is always in the same place and the dungeon levels themselves rather than being one atop another are offset. I laid out a top down overveiew of how the levels line up. If I can figure out how to scan the two 11x17 sheets I used for it, I may post that diagram some time.

Another note this level is only partially keyed. I am afraid I graduated from college before this level was much explored and the group I hooked up with after starting my new job in a different state were into these new fangled scenarios that Judges Guild and TSR were begining to produce. Another issue the way we played once the party hit about fifth or sixth level the adventures started moving out into the wilderness, so dungeon levels below third more often lurked as dark dreams rather than being explored. Except in the case of my character "Boris the not too bright" who decided that Wizard Mountain would be the perfect place for his castle if he could just get that nasty basement cleaned out. The Dungeon Master folded the campaign rather than face drawing another level for me to bash through. The demise of the dragon guarding the back door to fourth is a legend in its own right, but that is a story for another day.

3 comments:

  1. That's a beautiful map. The faded, yellowed look is very nostalgic - I also created my first dungeons on paper that has yellowed over time. Is the rotated part a cutout you glued to the sheet later?

    By the way, it is my game you have discovered back in January (http://forgottenrunes.blogspot.com/2010/01/old-school-hungarian-style.html). There is a short report on it on Grognardia at http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/10/kard-s-mgia.html with some explanation. It is fairly different from games such as S&W in that it does not intend to recreate any specific old ruleset, but uses the basics of the d20 system to achieve an old school experience. Much of the supplemental material is available in English in the form of free downloads and Fight On!/Knockspell articles. The game itself isn't, although, since some people have expressed an interest, I am planning to release a very short 24 page summary that has the basic rules. It's unlikely I will ever get to the rest; too much, and written for a very different audience...

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  2. If I can figure out how to scan the two 11x17 sheets I used for it, I may post that diagram some time.

    I'd be happy to help on that front, if you need it, Dave: my flatbed scanner can manage A3 size sheets (so almost a full 11x17 sheet, but not quite).

    Allan.

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  3. Thanks for the offer Allan, but I'll probably try scanning two 10x14" and stitching them together first (worked pretty well for this http://forgottenrunes.blogspot.com/2010/01/ancient-river-palace-of-mellorin.html post). That way the one-of-a-kind document does not have to leave my hand. Now if I could just figure out where I put it.

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