Review of The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg

 This dungeon is a reproduction of Greg Svenson’s dungeon. Greg was one of the early players in Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor campaign and is immortalized in the First Fantasy Campaign as the Great Svenny. According to Greg, it was produced in the summer of 1973 using the draft Dungeons and Dragons rules. As such it is one of the first dungeons ever produced predating the publication of the original Dungeon and Dragons rules. When this book showed up first as an add-on to the Secrets of Blackmoor I gave it a pass (I routinely avoid printed things in Kickstarter as a .pdf is much more likely to show up and does not take up shelf space). However, after it had been delivered as an actual book to Kickstarter supporters, and a second printing was offered on the publisher's website my fear of missing out kicked in and ponied up the $100 for a hardback copy.

Overall this book is well printed with a nice cloth binding and a ribbon bookmark. I enjoyed most of the book. I have not subjected the dungeon to the “2000 copper piece test” i.e. do the starting levels of the dungeon contain enough experience to allow the characters to advance in power sufficiently to tackle the deeper levels below. I am happy I purchased this (although I didn’t like the months of nail-biting while waiting for them to finish the reprint). Now it has gone to yet another printing I’d probably buy the more reasonably priced softcover version. I will say that it is more interesting to me as a piece of history than something I would try and run my players through.

A section-by-section review follows below. I don’t think anything below constitutes a spoiler of the actual content.

The book starts with a disclaimer about this being old stuff and feeling free to modify it as you see fit

Part 1 An explanation of the origins of the original manuscript, how it was lost, and how recently a copy resurfaced. A reproduction of the original manuscript as is. This is something I already had as it was briefly available on the web prior to the decision to republish it.

Part 2 is a long discussion on how the game was played back in the day. It is quite intriguing to review this part and contemplate how the game has shifted during my long years of playing

Part 3 is a redrawing of the original map with a rekeying of the map to modern role-playing standards. Good because one no longer has to squint and try to read the squiggling in thick felt tip. Not so good in that giving stat for each individual monster in the encounter takes much more space than writing four clerics, three skeletons, etc. Most rooms have been given a name and a brief description of how they fit in the dungeon.

Part 4 Game rules for Champions of Zero Edition Dungeoneering (ZED). Unfortunately, this feels like a bit of padding since the Champions of ZED is already available elsewhere (I have a copy in my .pdf collection). A ruleset more closely constructed towards the pre-Gygaxian Arsonian game would been of more interest. Although construction of such a game at this point in history is a task of Herculean proportions. Champions of ZED is not a bad choice, since it is an actual original edition retro-clone, as opposed to most retro-clones which are based on Advanced Dungeons and Dragons or even Basic Dungeons and Dragons.

Part 5  Tresure rules for ZED

Part 6 Monsters for ZED

Part 7 Spells for ZED

Part 8 Appendices

Appendix A is a table for rolling random encounters and restocking the dungeon. Based on Creature Type rather than specific monsters. Appendix B is a list of further reading, not very long. I have three of them, I‘ll need to hunt the other two down.

Your Verbobonc May Vary

 Ran accross a map of Verbobonc on my facebook feed from this guy who is working on this map in world anvil

https://www.worldanvil.com/w/verbobonc-campaign-guide-576cy-stylinlp38/map/93c0c9ec-52f6-4f38-a6b4-2e91836b29db

Reading further he has based his map on this discussion on the dragonfoot forum. Athough the post is from 2003 the links can be revived through the Wayback machine. Here is the map

and here is a link to the gazetteer.

Unfortunately pursual of the Dragonfoot discussion leads to an even older map from the Fate of Itus module. A recreation of the map is shown below:

Although this map may have precedence it's got one big problem. No big river! It's hard to be one of the biggest river ports on the Velverdyva River when all you've got is a dinky creek. This next map tries to rectify this like so:

However I still like the first map better. Jason Zavoda's Hall of the Mountain King blog has a nice series of posts on how to combine Verbobonc with the Night Below Box set and the Temple of Elemental Evil. However, he is using this map:

I understand his choice better when I look at the 3-D model he is using:

This however looks suspiciously like Conwy Castle in Wales. 

Finally, there is this map from the Cannon Fire Atlas:

Which map should you use? Well, that is entirely up to you. I do find it ironic that the one from the most "official" source an actual TSR publication is my least favorite. Greyhawk online has a nice listing of all mentions of Verbobonc in DnD products here in case you wish to attempt preparing your own map.

 

Marmoreal Tomb Review

 In my previous post, I indicated my unhappiness with the Marmoreal Tomb versus what I thought I was getting. Certainly, the long winding road traveled by this Kickstarter has biased my viewpoint (Funded in September 2015, promised for 2016, Troll Lords takes over and cracks the whip 2019, last .pdf received by me January 2023). I will attempt to put my biases aside and review the delivered products on their merits. Benoist's maps are gorgeous and have been available for a long time. I have five main products: the Tomb itself, the Wilderness Expansion, the Underworld Expansion, the Players Guide, and the Prismatic Maze. So far the best ones are the Underworld Expansion and the Prismatic Maze. Please note most of my detailed review is in the spoilers below (I have a hard time reviewing things without talking about them). At $150 for the boxed set, it is a bit pricey but there is a lot of stuff within. Unfortunately, the Prismatic Maze does not appear to be included in the box set.

RATING

Art ****

Writing ***

Creativity ****

Overall ***1/2

****** Spoilers below******

Tomb Main Module

THE PREFACE

Mostly explaining how the game was played back in the day. I'll ignore the references to forthcoming products as they are unlikely to appear soon other than the Underworld and Wilderness which are already published. 

INTRODUCTION

History of the region, suggestions for starting character background, rumors and other helpful stuff

CHAPTER 1 VIPER PASS.

Description of the Wilderness surrounding the dungeon. Not really a concept I am enamored with since parties can be easily be distracted by the wilderness and never make it to the dungeon at all. The network of goblin tunnels is intriguing. The frequent tremors in the pass can open some interesting side adventures.

CHAPTER 2 ENVIRONS AND CAVE SYSTEM

I feel this chapter is redundant with the prior one. Smart parties will just walk straight up to the entrance to the first level and not mess with any of these encounters.

CHAPTER 3 GRUN GALEB

the dungeon finally. Pretty standard monster selection. some interesting coordination between rooms. a dwarven ally hidden out.

CHAPTER 4 THE BURIAL VAULTS

undead and stone giants interesting combinations. I like the rhinoceros stone giant chariot

CHAPTER 5 THE CRYPT

Urns and Sarcophagi are guarded by vengeful spirits and Cyclops Priests

Marmoreal Tomb Wilderness

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I - PRIMER TO THE LOWER MIDLANDS

Overview of the Geography, history and religion of the lower midlands

CHAPTER 2 – FIGURES AND FACTIONS

People and groups of the lower midlands. I like that most of the profiles include some adventure suggestions.

CHAPTER 3 – CROM CAEMLOCH

A town to use as a homebase for adventuring. Of course there is a tunnel network underneath

CHAPTER 4 - THE TWIN TANKARD

A tavern to use as a homebase for those who don’t like towns. The cellar has a passage to the underworld

CHAPTER 5 – ENCOUNTERS

Several different approaches to wilderness encounters. Includes the random castle system for outdoor survival.

APPENDIX A – MONSTERS AND CHARACTERS

APPENDIX B – HIRELING EXTRAVAGANZA

 

Marmoreal Tomb Underworld

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I – EXTENDED BURIAL VAULTS

Addition to core burial vaults level. More rooms become available off the core map as tremors clear passages

tsCHAPTER II – THE HEARTH OF CHAOS

A crazy high level adventure with a lake of fire and magic artfact forge. Even though it is an 82 room level the authors feel the need to include suggestions for making it bigger

CHAPTER 3: THE PROVINCE OF THE SHOKO-JUMI

Linked to the Hearth by a portal this adventure takes place in the far east with a Japanese vibe. Wilderness map so I’m not sure why its in this book

CHAPTER IV – THE MELLIFLUOUS SHRINE

An extra-dimensional nexus with gates to numerous other planes.

CHAPTER V – THE HIVEWORLD OF UR-SHAMATH

Seeming a large beehive in the Mellifluous Shrine expands to world size when entered by one of the planar gates in the Shrine

APPENDIX A: BESTIARY

New monsters

APPENDIX B: SHADES OF IYON

Additional planes using the outdoor map

APPENDIX C: HANDOUTS REFERENCE LIST

List and Handouts. Includes a dungeon cross-section

APPENDIX D: SECRETS OF THE HEARTH

Timeline of the setting. Location of major artifacts in the modules.

Marmoreal Tomb Players Guide

I. INTRODUCTION TO THE DUINNSMERE

Background and history for the region

II. CHARACTER CREATION

How to roll up a character. Little specific to the settling so perhaps redundant with your core rules              

III. ADDITIONAL RULES

House rules for this campaign including gnomes, extra stuff for your primary character, and cold iron as a special weapon.

Character Sheets and Maps

Prismatic Maze

INTRODUCTION

this module and the main setting

CHAPTER I – DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Large quantities of NPCs with long backstories

CHAPTER 2 – GAME OPENINGS

A bunch of different options on how to connect this dungeon to the core campaign

CHAPTER 3 – DUNGEON FEATURES

Explanation of how the dungeon works. Having both three rotating middle sections and shifting effects dependant on region color explanation is required.

CHAPTER 4 – DUNGEON KEY

Encounters include the NPC adventuring party, A hidden gem and boss monster for each color, a maintenance drew capable of melding with the walls, and a surprising number of sea creatures for dry level with only fountains. Mummies, and a lich also. Numerous unlocks are available by manipulating the rotating sections, color gems, and beams of light. Many creatures reform so have to be defeated more than once.

OVERALL

THE GOOD

More great ideas than you can shake a stick at. My favorite level is the Hearth of Chaos. My Second favorite is the Prismatic Maze. Years of adventuring material. The clean black and white text layout is highly readable. Pen and ink drawings definitely harken back to the Erol Otis days. Hand-colored maps are gorgeous. Motivations are given for most encounters enabling roleplaying beyond hack and slash. I like that most of the profiles in FIGURES AND FACTIONS include some adventure suggestions. Players Guide is a great idea to introduce the players to the setting.

THE BAD

Verbose, many entries suffer from wall-of-text syndrome. Introductions tout many products that will never be.

THE UGLY

The long journey from CROM CAEMLOCH to the tomb is rough on low-level characters. The many encounters outside the tomb also threaten low-level parties. I didn’t like having TWO chapters on encounters outside the tomb. When I run this I’ll probably delete the outdoor environs encounters (or move them to Viper Pass) and use the caves as an additional level for the tomb itself. Not sure why there are two bases a town and a tavern in the wilderness guide but at least I can place the tavern close to Viper Pass and cut out the three days and two nights of wilderness encounters

Hobby Shop Dungeon

 I have rooting around on the web for old-school dungeons and ran across a photo of the sixth level of the Hobby Shop Dungeon. My first reaction was "wait a minute" don't I have this. The Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarter was supposed to have something to do with this dungeon. Unfortunately, a closer review of items from the Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarter reveals a different dungeon in the "spirit" of the Hobby Shop Dungeon, so not the same. I unleashed my google-fu on the Hobby Shop Dungeon to try and find other levels. The first level is relatively easy to find. The original notebook containing the whole thing was sold at auction some years ago. Several secondary sites show a picture of the first level from the auction site. However, the auction site itself has gone "zombie" and my antivirus software recommended I not pursue it further. Some work with Wayback Machine did manage to revive an earlier version of the auction site which actually contains photos of the entire notebook (although some of the key is shown only as a fan of pages rendering much of the writing on the back pages in the fan unreadable). I have not yet deciphered the key from blurry photos of water-damaged handwritten text. The maps on the other hand are fairly legible. As a side note, although Ernie Gygax ran this Dungeon for most of its existence, the maps are attributed to Terry Kuntz. Here are some linked images:

Benoist Poire is attempting to redraw these from the originals (surface level here, first level here), but if he proceeds at the same speed as he did on the Marmoreal Tomb it may be a while.