Monday 15 February 2021

Sulphur and Snuff, a Horror Dungeon

A wicked theatre, a blue-skinned vizier, an imprisoned demon, evil noblemen and lots of torture, mutilation and cannibalism (and more within!). Sulphur and Snuff - A Devilish Performance is a rather horrible 11-page dungeon with horror and heist elements for Old School games. It would be a good fit for Lamentations of the Flame Princess or Mörk Borg.

Find the PDF of the dungeon below by clicking on the map or the link. I'd appreciate any feedback as it will help my future dungeons to be even better. 


SULPHUR AND SNUFF


Comments and Reviews: 

"No Regerts"

Bryce Lynch, tenfootpole.org


"Damn that way of doing maps is really clever, usable and a TON of flavor"
"Yeah I really wanna run that, and a lot of that is from the map alone"

Johan Nohr, MÖRK BORG artist and graphic designer (via Discord)


"Excellent work! This is better stuff than many published dungeons. It features a compelling layout and visual design. Just looking at this pdf invites me into a horror story with teasing secrets.

The more I read this, the more I love it, as an excellent opportunity for mixed violence and social engagement. Something of a weird fever dream, the core interior concept informs suspension of disbelief and all of the characters. Bullwain Boque for example is a character without much prose dedicated to explaining his personality, but because of the context he seems full of potential. I applaud your design for canny delegation of detail.

The puzzle-like pieces of the map which are scattered throughout the .pdf create a portrait of the internal space which is both easy to refer to, because the pieces are right there next to their details text, and easy to memorize, because the pieces fit together with a clear logic which is distinct for each piece. Thus it is easy for me to follow, page-to-page"

Peter Webb, Instadeath (via Facebook)





Friday 12 February 2021

A Peer Beyond the Alchemical Aleph Null - a Poem-Dungeon


A dungeon (or dungeons) for False Machine's poem-dungeon challenge

I certainly found the challenge interesting, the poetic style is reminiscent of how I make dungeons for my own use; terse, personally evocative (unusable by others). Making a dungeon this way, especially for an audience is a very different experience. I found the limited space and a keen adherence to terseness, limited the text's utility and overall, holistic descriptiveness. At the same time the 'poetic language', while fun, used up that same space I lacked. I consider my effort an interesting failure (a critique I have of most things on my blog). 

With this is mind, the dungeon had to become binitarian; two dungeons constituting one whole. A LIGHT (more utilitarian, 'clearer' and 'useful') dungeon and a DARK (evocative and murky) dungeon. They should be used at the same time in concert with one another. Work will have to be done on the part of a DM running the dungeon to flesh it out but I hope the ideas within kindle imaginations.        

The Dungeon: Alchemists push their art beyond God's limits discovering unknowable elements. Disaster ensues. I tried to include standard D&D'isms, traps, treasures, magic swords and boss battles but it's all just a little odd and creepy.  

Aleph Null or  0  is the mathematical term for the smallest infinite number.







Monday 1 February 2021

Dark/Pulp Dungeon Name Generator

By Esteban Maroto

 A run-of-the-mill table for inspiration or fun. Roll 1d20 for each column. 

D20 

Word 1

Of The...

Word 2

1

Cave(s)

Spectral

Horror

2

Temple

Demon-(ic)

Lord

3

Tomb

Eternal

Eye

4

Palace

Pagan

Throne

5

Prison

Impossible

Crown

6

Sanctum 

Bleeding

Cult

7

Manor

Crimson 

Sign

8

Citadel

Cerulean 

Curse

9

Tower

Astral

Entity 

10

Fortress

Infernal

Machine

11

Lair

Cannibal 

Creature

12

Keep

Creeping

Thing

13

Barrow

Alien

Frog/Snake/Ape/Insect/Spider

14

Chasm

Nameless 

Army

15

Isle 

Elder

Phantasm

16

Realm

Cursed

Overlord

17

Altar

Dreaming

Queen

18

Domain

Hideous

God

19

Maze

Voodoo 

Pit

20

Hall

Undying

Mage