Scripture & the Megadungeon Part 4: Factions

One of my favorite published megadungeons is Rappan Athuk published by Necromancer/Frog God Games. With all of its various entrances it is a sandbox campaign unto itself. Nonetheless, I still have quibbles. For example, while it is organized, it is not organized for use at the table and without a lot of preparation on my part makes for an awkward and slow gaming session with lots and lots and lots of page turning. For the purposes of this series, however, my biggest misgiving is this quote from the 2012 S&W edition:

Oh, and yes, Level 15 is still just intended for the Referee to read—Orcus is still supposed to be unbeatable.

This is, in part, due to the fact that Orcus is literally the logo of Necromancer games and they don’t want to produce a product where the symbol of their company gets killed. From a Scriptural POV, however, Orcus is doomed and Rappan Athuk will be conquered.

To make this case, let us first go to Genesis Chapter 18:

And the Lord appeared to [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. (v. 1-2)

The oaks of Mamre were a pagan place of worship. The word for "standing" in verse 2 has a military connotation, coming from a word meaning "station" in Hebrew and "marshaling troops" in Greek. In other words, God is claiming this worship place as His own.

This is possible because, unlike other gods who are tied to a specific place, God's throne is mobile:

And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire — Daniel 7:9

In the previous verse, the thrones of God's council are set up. We get a description of one of these thrones when Elijah is taken up into heaven. These thrones are chariots:

Behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. — 4 Kings (2 Kings) 2:11

At the time of Moses, the primary place where God set his throne was in the tabernacle (a tent), which Moses made according to God's command:

See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain. — Exodus 25:40

With the incarnation, the tabernacle became humanity itself:

καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν (And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us) — John 1:14

Note that in the Greek, the word translated as "dwelt" is ἐσκήνωσεν, which literally means to tabernacle. Thus, the place of God's throne — the tabernacle — is baptized humanity and through this humanity, all of creation. This includes megadungeons.

This does not suggest, however, that the megadungeon will be conquered long or even at all before the Second Coming. Note that Solomon, the builder of the Temple and the wisest of all men:

went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord. 3 Kings (1 Kings) 11:5-6

Indeed, his son Rahoboam refused to listen to the advice of his elders and the Kingdom of Israel was split into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Eventually, both would succumb to foreign invaders because they failed to stay faithful to God.

This suggests that while Orcus and his ilk can be killed, there is always someone in the wings ready to take his place. In his portrayal of Morgoth, Sauron, and Saruman, Tolkien illustrates this very well. It also gives us a very different understanding of factions within the megadungeon.

Christ tells us (in reference to being accused to working for Baalzebul):

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. — Mark 3:24

Thus, all the monsters within a megadungeon are on the same side. That doesn't mean, however, that various subordinates aren't gunning for a higher position within the team. Remember, Baal is a usurper and is doomed to have the same done to him. Thus, it could very well be in the best interest for one of those subordinates to make a little deal with PCs to have them do the dirty work of cleaning out a level or two before moving in and taking over.

Hence, from a Scriptural POV, Gygax and Mentzer got it wrong when they had Zuggtmoy bound in the depths of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Zuggtmoy should have made some kind of deal with the various forces of Good that participated in the "great slaughter" of the Temple, killing off Loth or some other demon she needed out of the way so that she could re-establish it once the various rulers who made the deal had passed away. Another option is that it was Iuz who made the deal to get rid of Zuggtmoy.

In other words, the fight versus Chaos will never end until such time that Christ comes again because men are weak in the face of evil and there will always be another evil ready to step in when Orcus eats dirt.

Gamer ADD: Re-Skinning Quasqueton

So, Into the Borderlands, published by Goodman Games, arrived in my mailbox yesterday. It is a late-arriving birthday gift and, boy howdy, is my inner gamer all kinds of distracted. For those not familiar, Into the Borderlands is a lovely little piece of gaming history which compiles the Holmes-era and Moldvay-era editions of both B1 and B2. In addition, there are some essays by various luminaries of the gaming world, three different exercises in stocking B1, and a 5e update of both modules.

Of the essays I have managed to read (the rest of the book is very distracting, so please excuse my inattentiveness to the introductory material), the thrust is that these two modules stand as the gateway to not only as the starting point for many a campaign, but how to play the game of D&D for an entire generation of gamers.

Although my copy of the Homles Basic Edition Box came with the mono-chromed cover version of B1, and I certainly spent a lot of time looking through its pages, the sentiments expressed in these essays do not really apply to me. I have never used either B1 or B2 in any campaign I have run nor have I ever gone through them as a player. I learned how to play the game from older players who were willing to put up with me, because I was a slow reader when I was young and all of D&D's text was over my head for a number of years to come.

As long-time readers of this blog know, the one module that stands out in my playing experience is T1:The Village of Hommlet. I have used it a number of times as the starting place for a campaign. I have re-imagined it in all kinds of different scenarios and it still is my favorite TSR-era module. This is in part because, not despite the fact, that we never really got the Temple of Elemental Evil until years after the fact and the one we got fell way below expectations. Again, long-time readers will be well familiar with my various escapades and creating my own version of ToEE.

Thus, as I have been thumbing through Into the Borderlands, my Gamer ADD is going off like crazy because my inner gamer is desperate to throw together a campaign that marries B1, B2 and T1 in a crazy homage to the best beginner TSR modules of all-time. It was when I was perusing the various takes on stocking B1 that this inner chaos found its voice and it said:

Why not re-skin Quasqueton as the Temple of Elemental Evil?

It makes a twisted kind of sense. The two builders of B1’s dungeon were Chaotic, the place has some wonderfully weird rooms that can be re-skinned with elemental clothing and it would take a mere hand wave to explain its abandonment with the crusades of the followers of St. Cuthbert. One could also re-skin the Shrine of Evil Chaos in the Caves of Chaos as a fall-back position by the survivors of the cult and the Boathouse from T1 could still stand in as a forward position by the Cult as they seek to re-establish themselves after licking their wounds.

To boot, there is nothing that is preventing me from placing higher HD creatures with an elemental twist within all those lovely blank spaces between the covers of B1.

SWCL Adventure Module: The Burnt Village of the Restless Dead

I have slowly been working on my own version of The Temple of Elemental Evil for use with SWCL. Rather than releasing it all at once, I have created the moniker Adventure Tools. This allows me to release each finished section as its own adventure that can be modularly added on to any campaign or any megadungeon. The first release can be found here.

This release is a bit unusual in that it is a surface encounter area that leads to a dungeon rather than a part of the dungeon itself. I will be interested to see if and how this gets used.

As is normal for me, this comes with the disclaimer that I am a hobbyist and have edited this as best as I am able, but there will be mistakes. Please consider the comment section a thread for any typos etc. that you catch. Thank you!

The module can be found here.

SWCL Adventure Module: The Hermit Caves

I've been slowly grinding away at my own version of The Temple of Elemental Evil, and I have finished the first section: The Hermit Caves. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am releasing this SWCL megadungeon piecemeal. In this way, I can get the parts of this project I've finished out more quickly (as opposed to waiting until the whole project is done), but I also get to experiment with the design goal of flexibility. This module can be run as-is, easily attached to an existing dungeon or be used in conjunction with my other MyToEE adventures.

As per usual, this comes with the disclaimer that I am a hobbyist and have edited this as best as I am able, but there will be mistakes. Please consider the comment section a thread for any typos etc. that you catch. Thank you!

The file can be found here.

On Adventure Design

Back in December of 2011, I did a review of a module penned by Matt Finch called Demonspore. In it I stated that is the best module produced by the OSR. In the most critical way, I still maintain this position: Demonspore remains one of the very few modules written in the last ten years I have actually used at the table and would do again in a heartbeat.

The reason is quite simple. Whereas there have been some amazing ideas out there that form the foundation of some great material (many of which blow Demonspore out of the water), very few adventures go out of their way to be as flexible as Finch’s Demonspore. In Matt’s own words:

The module is extremely flexible in terms of how to fit it into an ongoing campaign; there are four possible approaches to the Halls of the Toad-King, two of which are underground passages that can be linked to one of your own dungeons or might simply lead to the surface. There are also two river entrances, one of which is guarded, allowing a frontal assault or a negotiation type of adventure, and the other of which is more difficult to enter, but is not guarded. This second river entrance might be used if the adventure is to be more of an infiltration.

In other words, I could drop this module into my existing megadungeon without a hitch and had several sessions of great adventuring that ultimately led to the story behind why stirge meat is a delicacy in Headwaters in my Lost Colonies campaign.

At the time, I challenged other adventure designers to follow suit. Indeed, I hoped enough folks would produce similarly designed material that could be pieced together seamlessly as an ever growing community designed megadungeon that could be dropped into any campaign. Alas, Demonspore remains one of the more obscure adventures in Matt Finch’s library and no one (to my knowledge) heeded my call.

In thinking about how to do my own version of ToEE, it occurred to me that I had an opportunity to head my own advice. I will release the various pieces and parts of my version of ToEE as individual adventure modules under the moniker of Adventure Tools. Like Demonspore before them, they can be dropped into any campaign, stand on their own, be an add-on to a extant dungeon or collected together and run as the semi-megadungeon that I am in process of putting together. At some point, I’ll do an omnibus edition where all of them are stitched together as the module I originally had in mind, but I really want to highlight this idea of flexibility and usability in an adventure module.

Hopefully, someone besides me will see the value in this simple design concept.

It's Re-Imagination Time!

As those who have followed this blog over the years are probably aware, my favorite TSR module of all time is T1:The Village of Hommlet. There really is no contest. It is one of the very few TSR modules I have actually ran as a Referee and it is the only one I have ran multiple times. I have even re-skinned it on numerous occasions. Headwaters in my Lost Colony Campaign started life as the map from T1.

It should come as no surprise, then, that I was sore disappointed when T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil finally made its way to publication. While I have used the surface temple map as an entrance to other dungeons, I have never actually bothered to run it outside of a failed attempt at a solo campaign from some summer when I was in college and was desperate for some gaming.

Therefore, it has been the TSR module I have most wanted to re-imagine a la Slave Pits of Abhoth are to A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity and The Caves of Cormakir are to B2: The Keep on the Borderland. I have drawn maps, re-skinned Druids as elemental monsters and fiddled with the idea for years. Unfortunately, nothing has ever really inspired me to go beyond tinkering.

While I have been working on my various alternate versions of SWCL, I have been trying to wrack my brains as to what kind of adventure I could write up to support SWCL since it has set up permanent residency in my gamer heart and mind. It occurred to me that I could write up a mega-dungeon based on maps I’ve done in the past and ran in my Lost Colonies Campaign (with mixed results, thus justifying the re-write). It also occurred to me that these maps could be the foundation of my version of ToEE. Once I had that thought, ideas just started flowing.

The first big idea, the one where this will most obviously be a re-imagining, is to ditch the 4-part European elemental system and replace it with the 5-part Asian system. In terms of gaming, it offers a lot of world-building and factional goodness that the 4-part system lacks. For example, each element has two “opposites,” one element it likes to work with and another that likes to work with that element. Therefore, there is a given structure to motivations and factional disputes that is really easy to re-skin for use in an RPG.

There are also a bunch of associations that are made with each element that are not necessarily obvious at first glance, but not only make some sense but suggest a much richer elemental creature catalog than that suggested by a 4-part elemental structure. For example, here are how the animal associations are described:

Wood = Scaly
Fire = Feathers
Earth = Human
Metal = Fur
Water = Shelled

Given that we are talking about a corruption of nature, this gives me the ability to assign two different archetypal creatures to each element: one is ideal and the other is corrupt:

Wood = Dragonborn/Troglodyte
Fire = Kenku/Dire Corby
Earth = Human/Humanoid
Metal = Ratling/Wererat
Water = Crabmen/Spiders and Driders

Once you start skinning these creatures in elemental clothes and add in other related creatures this very quickly becomes a fertile ground for all kinds of ideas.

Finally, there is one really punny idea that really started this ball rolling and one that as an Old Grognard I cannot resist: Hermit Crabmen.

Druids as Monsters Redux Part 3

Here are some more musings about the Druid Redux I have been working on in the last few posts:

The four Druidic cults do not like each other. This rivalry is particularly bitter between the Fire Druids and the Water Druids as well as between the Air Druids and the Earth Druids. These rivalries spawn from the fact these cults are particularly effective at canceling out each others' powers and therefore pose the greatest threat among all of the cults.

When faced with a bitter rival, a druid can cancel out a power/attack by sacrificing a combat round if they are of the same circle or higher than the power/attack being cancelled. For example, if a 3HD Fire Druid were attempting to shoot a fan of flame, a 3HD or higher Water Druid could spend a combat round canceling out the Fire Druid's attack.

Currently, the weakest cult is that of the Water Druids, because it was their stronghold that was decimated when the Temple of Elemental Evil was "destroyed." As a result, the Fire Druids are currently the most powerful of the cults. This has driven both the Air and the Earth Druids into a reluctant alliance with the Water Druids. Each is harboring and protecting the remnant Water Druids in order to counter the growing power of the Fire Druids. In the meantime, the remaining Water Druids are playing the other cults against each other and biding their time.

Although there are rumors of more powerful circles beyond the 8th (12 & 16HD elementals supposedly exist), no druid has ever managed to get beyond the 8th circle. Indeed, it has occurred to some that the 7th circle is actually more powerful than the 8th. [And it is. I did this on purpose in order emphasize the complete loss of humanity that comes with the 8th circle]. Though rare (because when found out they are hunted down and killed) there are rogue druids (normally of the 7HD variety) who are either seeking a way to increase their power while holding onto what remains of their humanity or that seek a way to gain back the humanity that they have lost.

Finally, there are also rumors of Druids who have successfully merged the disciplines of the various elements to create brand new circles such as mist, steam, mud, lava, etc. Given the rivalries that exist between the four main cults, however, such heretics are normally hunted down and killed.

Druids as Monsters Redux Part 2

Continuing with my thoughts from my last post, here are the stats for the other three classifications of Druids for use in my own version of the Temple of Elemental Evil:

Air Druids

Number Appearing: 1d6
% in Lair: 30%
Alignment: Chaotic
Armor Class: see below
Move: 120' (see below)
Hit Dice: 1 to 7
Attacks: 1 (damage see below)
Special: see below
Save: C1 for every HD
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 1HD=10; 2HD=29; 3HD=65; 4HD=190; 5HD=650; 6HD=1320; 7HD=1840

These Chaotic cultists are completely dedicated to the annihilation of the self into becoming one with the element of air. Within the cult there are eight "circles" that the cultists advance through. Each circle as a corresponding power:

• 1HD = the cultist begins their journey to "union" by learning how to manipulate the air that is immediately about their person. The first application is effectively making a shell of swirling air. This grants the cultist an effective AC 2 against missiles and an AC 4 against other attacks
• 2HD = The cultist learns how to project his control of air at a distance. The result is a line-of-sight attack with no range penalties that does 1d6+1 points of damage. The cultist may fire off a number of these attacks per round equal to their HD/2 rounded up.
• 3HD = The cultist begins to learn to integrate the air around them into their own flesh. As a result they may Levitate as per the spell at will.
• 4HD = The cultist can now project much of their own physical self into the air around them. As a result they cast create an Obscuring Mist as per the spell once per turn.
• 5HD = As the cultist becomes more aware of their own presence in the air around them, they begins to radically affect the air around them. They can create a Gust of Wind as per the spell at will.
• 6HD = The cultist is now able to control air at a molecular level, able to create friction within the air itself. The result is massive amounts of static electricity which can be focused into a Lightning Bolt, as per the spell, 3 times per day.
• 7HD = At this point, the cultist is almost completely one with their chosen element. They are able to Fly as per the spell at will.

The eighth circle is the final transformation of the cultist into an 8HD air elemental. Whatever humanity and personality they had is completely destroyed. They have completely given themselves up in order to become one with air.

Fire Druids

Number Appearing: 1d6
% in Lair: 30%
Alignment: Chaotic
Armor Class: see below
Move: 120' (see below)
Hit Dice: 1 to 7
Attacks: 1 (damage see below)
Special: see below
Save: C1 for every HD
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 1HD=13; 2HD=38; 3HD=95; 4HD=300; 5HD=950; 6HD=1820; 7HD=2790

These Chaotic cultists are completely dedicated to the annihilation of the self into becoming one with the element of fire. Within the cult there are eight "circles" that the cultists advance through. Each circle as a corresponding power:

• 1HD = the cultist begins their journey to "union" by learning how to acclimate themselves with fire. As a result, they are immune to all normal fire damage and take half damage from magical fire. A tactic they like to use in combat is to douse themselves in oil and set themselves on fire using a torch. Thus, anyone they hit in melee takes an extra 1d6 fire damage and anyone who hits them must make a save vs. breath or take 1d6 fire damage.
• 2HD = Having acclimated themselves to fire, the cultist learns how to spontaneously Produce Flame as per the spell at will.
• 3HD = The cultist begins to learn how to manipulate the fire they produce. They can create fan of flame in a 120' arc that shoot out 3' from their hands. Anyone caught in the flame take 1hp per HD of the cultist with no saving throw.
• 4HD = The cultist can now produce tremendous amounts of heat from their body, as they begin to internalize the flames that they produce. Thus, they can Heat Metal as per the spell at will.
• 5HD = The internal fire grows within the cultist and they are now able to throw a Fireball as per the spell three times per day (1d6 per HD).
• 6HD = The internal fire is now an inferno. The cultist can produce a Wall of Flame as per the spell at will.
• 7HD = At this point, the cultist is almost one with their chosen element. They can produce a Flame Strike as per the spell three times per day.

The eighth circle is the final transformation of the cultist into an 8HD fire elemental. Whatever humanity and personality they had is completely destroyed. They have completely given themselves up in order to become one with fire.

Water Druids

Number Appearing: 1d6
% in Lair: 30%
Alignment: Chaotic
Armor Class: see below
Move: 120' (see below)
Hit Dice: 1 to 7
Attacks: 1 (damage see below)
Special: see below
Save: C1 for every HD
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 1HD=13; 2HD=38; 3HD=95; 4HD=245; 5HD=800; 6HD=1570; 7HD=2190

These Chaotic cultists are completely dedicated to the annihilation of the self into becoming one with the element of water. Within the cult there are eight "circles" that the cultists advance through. Each circle as a corresponding power:

• 1HD = the cultist begins their journey to "union" by adhering pockets of water to their skin. As a result, they have an effective AC of 4. In addition, in combat, the water blurs the cultist's outline. Opponents suffer a -2 to hit the first time they attack during combat.
• 2HD = The cultist learns to extend the water that now surrounds them to devastating effect. At will they can create a spray of water that has the same effect as a Color Spray spell.
• 3HD = The cultist begins to learn how to bend light itself with the water that surrounds them. Three times per day they can become Invisible as per the spell.
• 4HD = The cultist begins to internalize the water that surrounds them and they can breath in water as in air.
• 5HD = The cultist now begins to be able to affect water at a molecular level. They can create a Wall of Ice as per the spell at will.
• 6HD = The cultist's molecular control of water becomes more refined. They can produce an Ice Storm as per the spell three time per day.
• 7HD = At this point, the cultist is almost one with their chosen element. They can move through water better than they can air. While in water, they can move twice their ground movement.

The eighth circle is the final transformation of the cultist into an 8HD water elemental. Whatever humanity and personality they had is completely destroyed. They have completely given themselves up in order to become one with water.

Druids as Monsters Redux Part 1

Due to the fact that I've been working on a concept for a redux of the Temple of Elemental Evil, I've been inserting various ideas to play test into my current campaign. One such idea is having Druids as the movers and shakers behind the Elemental Cults that vie for power within the Temple. Thus, I snuck in a few druids among the Blighted Fist orcs to see how much fun I could have.

The results were not very inspiring. Whereas I can almost see why someone might enjoy playing a Druid (I've never been a big fan), as enemy combatants…(let me see if I can put this nicely)…they suck…er, they aren't any fun to play. "Do what I say or I'll warp wood!" just doesn't cut it and casting Entangle still requires closing and trying to survive while wearing only leather armor (read: suicide). Even when you get to monster-cool spells like Call Lightning, you have to be outside. Obviously, if I am going to have any fun at all with a Temple redux, it will require a redux of the Druid.

In the past I have posited two simple answers to the identity of pagan priests (aka Druids). The first is to dress up magic users in priestly garb. The second is to make Druids Anti-Clerics who are only able to use the reverse versions of Cleric spells. While both have their appeal (I even began the process of making elemental spell lists by uniting the spells lists of all the various spell casters in AEC), I really wasn't all that interested in playing around with classes, whether old, modified or new. Only when I remembered my own axiom — Druids are monsters! — did things begin to fall into place.

If I embrace Druids as monsters then I am free to scuttle all the trapping of class — spell lists, levels, XP, variable HD, allowable armor & weapons, etc. What I am left with is the beautiful simplicity of HD and special abilities. What has resulted is an alternate vision of Elementals and where they come from. This is compatible with cosmologies that range from the systemization of Gygax and those who simply want to deal with only the "prime material plane."

Since the impetus of this project is the Temple of Elemental Evil, there are four flavors of "Druids." The first in this series will be those dedicated the the Cult of Earth.

Earth Druids

People are mortal, and what they make with lawless hands is dead; for they are better than the objects they worship, since they have life, but the idols never had. — Wisdom 15:17

Number Appearing: 1d6
% in Lair: 30%
Alignment: Chaotic
Armor Class: see below
Move: 120'
Hit Dice: 1 to 7
Attacks: 1 (damage see below)
Special: see below
Save: C1 for every HD
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 1HD=10; 2HD=29; 3HD=65; 4HD=190; 5HD=650; 6HD=1570; 7HD=2540

These Chaotic cultists are completely dedicated to the annihilation of the self into becoming one with the element of earth. Within the cult there are eight "circles" that the cultists advance through. Each circle has a corresponding power:

• 1HD = the cultist begins their journey to "union" by fusing bits of earth to their skin. Thus, the cultist has an AC of 4.
• 2HD = The cultist begins to be able to manipulate the fused earth on their skin. They are able to form vicious spikes on their fists. They gain a +1 to hit in melee and do 2d4 damage.
• 3HD = The fusion of earth to skin is complete. The cultist now has an AC of 2.
• 4HD = Now begins the process of fusing muscle to earth. The cultist gains an 18 STR — +3 to hit and damage.
• 5HD = The outer crust of the cultist becomes so hard that they are now immune to normal missiles.
• 6HD = The cultist begins to have control over earth. They may Stone Shape at will and 3 times per day may encase targets in contact with the ground (or a wall made of stone) in earth with the same effect as Hold Person.
• 7HD = At this point, the cultist is almost completely one with their chosen element. They are able to pass through stone and earth as if it were air.

The eighth circle is the final transformation of the cultist into an 8HD earth elemental. Whatever humanity and personality they had is completely destroyed. They have totally given themselves up in order to become one with earth.

A Different Kind of Megadungeon

Awhile ago, Staples of Grognardling began blogging about his efforts to create a megadungeon based upon various philosophies within the OSR. One of his inspirations was one of my own maps:

His own efforts got me thinking about a way that I could turn my own experimental map into a megadungeon. Step one in this thought process was to replace each room in the map with an entire dungeon area. Step two was to completely re-tool that marvelous old-school trope of the endless stair. The result has been a multi-level megadungeon with hundreds of encounter areas that for all intents and purposes uses only one map for each and every level.

First, a little background: as I've stated before, one of my all-time favorite modules is T1 The Village of Hommlet; however, one of my biggest disappointments was T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil. I have always wanted to do my own version of the Temple, but have never been satisfied with the several aborted beginnings I've made over the years. Thus, when I started musing about doing a megadungeon based upon my experimental map, I immediately began musing about a potential TEE redux.

Thus, the top level of this dungeon is the Temple as found in T1-4. Immediately beneath are catacombs, roughly in the form of an eight pointed star. This corresponds to the central room in my experimental map above. Each"point" in the star has a pair of locked double doors. These doors lead to dungeon areas inspired by the alchemical signs for Sun, Moon, Air, Earth, Fire and Water (and each corresponds with a different room in my experimental map). The Sun and Moon have two sets of doors leading to them and the others have one each.

Every area has a pair of teleportation rooms (just as each room does in the map above). One of the teleportation rooms in the Air, Earth, Fire and Water regions teleport the party to an identical dungeon located somewhere else (either on the same campaign world or potentially a different prime material plane). The other (requiring a key) will teleport the party outside the dungeon to a given spot (thus, mimicking the endless stair concept).

One of the teleportation rooms in the Sun and Moon regions requires four different keys (one for each of the four elements) to operate. It will teleport the party to a section of the dungeon inaccessible any other way. Within this inaccessible area is a teleportation room that will send the party to some fantastic place (such as a space station orbiting the sun or a moon base).

There are effectively four levels to this megadungeon (with each "level" existing in completely different places). Each one is dominated by a sect with the TEE cult dedicated to one of the elements. Only one of these levels (and thus, only one sect) was decimated by the forces of good that "destroyed" the Temple. These sects are bitter rivals, made only worse by the decimation of one of the sects. Each is trying to find their way into the inaccessible areas of the dungeons in order to gain access to the fantastic "magic" available to those who find themselves orbiting the sun or on the surface of the moon. Ironically, their rivalry is preventing any one of them from succeeding (because they need the keys from each of the sects).

I am very interested to see how this plays out. Map-making will be critical, because once one level is mapped out, the whole dungeon is mapped out giving the party the opportunity to carefully plan their expeditions.

Here is the rough draft of the map that I came up with for this concept. Enjoy:

Saintly Saturday: St. Eupsychios the Martyr

Today is the feast day of St. Eupsychios the Martyr. Considering the recent flap about a pastor burning a Koran down in Florida, St. Eupsychios is an extraordinarily politically-incorrect saint to be celebrating. He lived during the reign of Julian the Apostate (331/332-June of 36). The title Apostate refers to someone who renounces a religion. In his short reign, Julian tried to re-impose a systematized paganism over and against the Christianity that had taken hold of the Roman Empire. Whether he himself was once a Christian or he simply represented the renunciation of Christianity in the office of the Emperor, I cannot say for certain.

St. Eupsychios was on his way to getting married when he and others saw a sacrifice being offered at the pagan temple to Fortuna (a cult beloved of the Emperor). Seeing this, the groom-to-be led a group that destroyed the temple. Enraged, not only did Julian have Eupsychios tortured and beheaded, but he gathered an army to raze the city (Caesaria in Cappadocia) on his way to fight the Persians. He was diverted from this task by the bishop of Caesaria (St. Basil the Great) and subsequently died in battle from a stray spear. Legend has it that the spear was thrown by St. Mercurius (a Cappadocian martyr from a century before).

Setting aside the real-world merits and consequences of St. Eupsychios' zealotry, I can't help but meditate on one of the most beloved of Gygax's modules (and one of my all-time favorites) — T1 The Village of Hommlet.

We are told at the beginning of the module of a battle to destroy the Temple of Elemental Evil:

So great was the slaughter, so complete the victory of good, that the walled stronghold of the Temple of Elemental Evil fell within a fortnight, despite the aid of a terrible demon.

Interesting parallel, is it not? When one re-reads T1, there are those who go to the newly established Church dedicated to St. Cuthbert and those who cling to the Old Faith (along with a local Druid). If one recasts this module in terms of paganism vs. Christianity, the questions posed about Hommlet by Gygax for the players in his introduction are given added depth:

Will outsiders be shunned? Are reports of the whole community engaging in evil practices true? Are the folk here bumpkins, easily duped? Does a curse lay upon those who dare to venture into the lands which were once the Temple's?

Imagine, for a moment, if the open worship of St. Cuthbert's God is a recent phenomenon made possible by the conversion of those in political power. What if we recast the Viscount of Verbobonc in the role of Julian the Apostate? What if he were were either openly or secretly funding the renewal of the Temple?

Suddenly, Hommlet is transformed into a hotbed of political intrigue where every person in town who clings to the Old Faith is a potential spy for the Viscount and therefore the Temple. If the module (and implied campaign) goes ahead as written, the players will play the role of St. Eupsychios and risk the wrath of the Viscount, inviting an exciting end-game.

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The Spear of St. Bywarian

This item, though it will radiate magic if detected, appears to be a rusted spearpoint upon a broken shaft. Its efficacy as a weapon depends upon the alignment of the target. Against Lawful creatures, it will function as a Staff of Healing. Against Neutral creatures, it will function as a normal spear. Against Chaotic creatures it will function as a +1 magic weapon and do double damage if the "to hit" roll is 5 or higher than the target number. For example, if the target number is 14 and the roll is 19 or 20, than the damage will be doubled.