Estarion, Game 12 (plus a mansion map)

The PCs are invited to a party at noblewoman Julia Martus' house. While mingling with a cast of colorful characters, they are embroiled in the investigation of the murder of Nevius Albanus, Imperial Master of the Keys and Orcus cultist. The death is blatant hit job, and Jerrit's ridiculous passive perception helps them quickly identify the main suspect.

A confrontation eventually follows, allowing the group to flush out and fight the killer— who turns out to really be an Intellect Devourer riding around in the skull of a party guest.

Arturius barely manages to end the night with a brain, while Meadow finds that Searing Ray provides a compelling choice for frying an enemy. The revelation of the killer is confusing, as it seems to indicate an opponent that is not seeming to belong to any known faction so far. Jerrit, at least, has a brain with animal-like legs that could provide some interesting research opportunities.

Gratuitous Dungeon Map

A simple map of a headquarters in the sewers, loosely based on the maps in one of the Slavers modules from AD&D.

Monday Map: Another Dungeon

This one is done with some simple Photoshop. Another mini-dungeon map.

Monday Map: Isometric Tomb Map

Not keyed, and not the most exciting, but another map I made noodling around with isometric maps and the drawing tools on Pages.

Monday Map: Underground Library

This is the dungeon I used for my game on Sunday, March 17th. This was the inaugural session of the Mars game, and my players really enjoyed diving back into B/X gaming. Most had cut their teeth on 1st or 2nd edition D&D, and we ran through most of the dungeon not concealed by secret doors. The party of 1st-level  The monetary treasure was too high, but the game is showing some real promise, and it allowed me to set up players' hesitation to hand over the books, and some concern about what is really going on.

I forgot to mark areas 6 and 6a -- they are on the middle of the eastern edge of the map -- the arrow points to North.

Monday Map: Three-story Mansion

Monday Map: Isometric Dungeon Experiment

A hand-drawn isometric map of a dungeon:

Monday Map: Residential Tower

Martian cities like Izmir are often filled with towers that offer shops and residences among the many floors of the buildings. Below is a simple, five-story tower common to the city.

Monday Map: Under the well....

Monday Map: More Buildings

Yet more maps from my DM mini-binder.

Monday Map: Dungeons

Even more sketchy maps from my mini-binder.

Monday Map: Two Mansions

The layout of this first mansion is a rehash of the Medusa's house from Zak S' Vornheim:

 

The second is intended to be the lair of a sorcerer with rather unusual wives that he keeps a secret on the third floor. 

Monday Map: More Dungeons

Some more dungeons from my mini-binder filled with DM notes.

Monday Map: Dungeon Sketch

Monday Map: Dungeon Map, Level 2

Level two of some blocky, old-schoolish gridded maps. I don't love the fact that I put together this maze with only one exit down, but I thought it made sense with the maze design I was going for.

Dungeon Map, Level 1

Even though I'm not a huge fan of dungeons, they have their place as a low-level introduction to play. Here is the first of about five levels of generic dungeon maps I have been putting together for a section of the Izmir undercity. Believe it or not, these are made on Pages with shapes, text boxes, and shapes, but could just as easily been done with a spreadsheet program. It's bland, and too bound to squares, but not very different from maps I saw in modules as a teenager in the 80s….

Monday Map: Dungeon

Monday Map: Dungeon

Monday Map: Dungeon

Monday Map: Dungeon

Cross the sewers to enter the dungeon.