My 5 most important GM resource books

There are a lot of books that GMs can use to make their game better. Tonight I am going to highlight five of my favorites, and give a couple of honorable mentions. My game is a megadungeon, so that may influence this list. Here it is, with a few words on each:

5. The Name Book, by Dorothy Astoria (1992, 1997). It's simply a list of 10,000 names in alphabetical order. When I need a name, there is always one close at hand with this book. Pretty much any name book will do. Nothing is worse than Barkeep #12, so avoid that with a book you can find at a flea market or garage sale for less than a dollar.

4. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide (1st Edition), by E. Gary Gygax (at least 18 printings from 1979-1987?). The granddaddy tool book, this volume is quintessential to running any good game. Sure the rules are not well edited, and you have to hunt for similar things in different places. But, Appendix A is worth the confusion. You can literally create a dungeon by rolling dice with Appendix A. Appendix N is a list of "inspirational and educational reading" that can get any GM's creative juices flowing. You can find it for as little as $10 on Ebay, and probably cheaper at used bookstores, comic shops or conventions.

3. Bill Webb's Book of Dirty Tricks, by Bill Webb (Frog God Games) is a great resource for when the player-characters get out of control. He expertly explains how to bleed gold, resources, time, or anything else they might stack up too much of. And he makes sure the players still have fun! The PDF can be bought for $5 at the link to Frog God Games.

2. How to Write Adventure Modules That Don't Suck, by Goodman Games (2017 - It may not be available at retail yet) This book contains advice from a lot of great designers: Jim Ward, Christopher Clark, Skip Williams and Brendan LaSalle to name a few. They cover a huge range of topics, from context to description. It's going to be $30 when you can get it. It is worth it.

1. Tome of Adventure Design, by Matthew J. Finch (2009, 2016), again published by Frog God . This book literally walks you through creating adventures. It has charts upon charts (and what self-respecting GM doesn't love charts?) with everything from location names, to types of clues, and
special effects for teleportation devices. It is basically the 1E DMG on steroids. It's going to set you back $21 on PDF or double that for print. Every time I am working on a dungeon, I pull out this book.

I'm not going to go into detail with my special mentions, but I think they are noteworthy. Someday, they may even get their own post. Here's 3 more books to be on the look out for:

Special Mention #1: Storyteller's Thesaurus by James Ward and Anne K. Brown
Special Mention #2: The Dungeon Alphabet by Michael Curtis
Special Mention #3: The Random Esoteric Creature Generator by James Raggi

Hunt them down. You will be glad to have them all in your collection.

CotMA 12

When last we left our intrepid adventurers, they were neck deep in trolls. We had 2 character deaths, and we were in trouble.

Feran: Ranger 6 (me)
Chance: Cleric 5/Rogue 1 (Ian)
Clip-Clop: Centaur Fighter 5 (Jake's character. Played by Dustin. 'Cause Mangonel is dead.)
Inquisitor 6 (Rob)
Mangonel: Human Barbarian 3/Druid 3 (Lion Shaman something or other) (Dead)
Tiefling Magus 4/Rogue 2 (Dave)

It is amazing what a difference 1 character makes. That centaur is brutal. Having him in combat we had a fighting chance.

We returned to combat on Feran's action. He immediately readied an action to hand the centaur his Flaming Axe. This quickly turned the battle. Doing 1d12 +10 + 1d6 will do that. Trolls have low AC, so Clip-Clop was dropping one a round. Add to this, the tiefling dealing acid damage, and Feran tripping the foes. And the Inquisitor was using bane. The red d6 is a Spiritual Weapon. The green die is a 'smoke countdown.' Opening the lane into the room actually was a benefit to us. We could attack several instead of one. Add to all of this the DM's dice were cold. We prevailed in a fight we were very close to losing.

Searching we found a secret room with 13 sacks in it. But, we also attracted a wandering monster. This guy showed up again. And again we ran. Straight back to the sphinx. We found it deactivated. But, it woke up after someone put themselves in the 'betting ring.' We gambled for a way home. And we won!

Coming out of the dungeon, we sold pretty much everything (in Greyhawk). We each had somewhere around 16k in gp. Feran bought a +1 enchantment on his Mithral Large Shield, a +2 enchantment on his Mithral Chain Shirt, and a Goggles of the Night.

Now we take a break so I can run some Mord Mar. Should be about 12 weeks and we'll be back to CotMA.

My 2015 Convention Schedule

It looks like I will be attending 4 conventions in 2015! Up first is Gary Con VII. That's in Lake Geneva, WI (the birthplace of D&D!) I have a pretty awesome schedule lined up for this one:

Wednesday: later in the evening: there is a party at Frank Mentzer's house. I'm pretty excited to go there and meet and greet.
Thursday 1pm I have a game of Munchkin. It'll be a nice 'warm up' for the con.

Friday at 11am I am playing in Tim Kask's Curse of the Weaver Queen game. I "know" Tim (he's kind of the patron saint of our Gen Con team: Silver Bulettes). I'm excited to play in a game and get TPK'd by him.

Saturday is a busy one:
10am-4pm is Castle Zagyg: the Upper Works in OD&D. David Bedell is the GM. I don't know who he is . . . yet. But Castle Greyhawk is always fun, no matter what the name.
4pm-8pm is DCC XCrawl, with Brendan LaSalle. I'm really looking forward to this game. I've never played DCC, and have been itching to try it since last year's Gen Con when I picked up the main book. Also, the creator of XCrawl is running the game. So, there's that.
Midnight to ??? is Pub Quiz with the guys from Gygax Magazine. This should be fun. I like trivia, and I like D&D. So, I probably will bomb out early and often. You know what? I think I'm going to study for this. Stay tuned on progress.


Next up is Whoseyercon, in Indianapolis, IN.This con is a top notch fun time. It's 'free.' You can make a donation of you want, but there is no entry fee. Their event schedule is not out yet, but I am pretty sure we'll be running a big dungeon delve in Mord Mar. I'll probably get another PFS game under my character's belt. I'll be playing in a couple of True Dungeon runs. Stay tuned on this one.

Further down the calender year, we come to the Granddaddy of all cons, Gen Con! We have the hotel room. We have the VIG companion badges (and the VIGs to go with them!) We won't know schedules until May, but here's what we're sure we are doing:
True Dungeon
NASCRAG - if you don't know this is the best game at Gen Con, like 40 years in a row. They recently switched to Pathfinder, but the rules don't matter. Only the roles do.
Running Mord Mar. Probably 2 different modules.
Lords of Waterdeep World Championship
Maybe another PFS game

To round out my convention year, I will be attending GrandCon. This is where we ran the 3-team competitive delve for Mord Mar last year. We will be trying to talk them into something similar with a private room this year. Probably some Lords of Waterdeep too.

What's new in my game world. February 2015 edition

So, it's been a good week for my game library this month.

I picked up Tome of Horrors Complete and Tome of Horrors 4 from Frog God's sale early in the month. I am totally in love with these books. They would have been worth the money at retail price. Getting ToH4 for free pushed me over the edge to buy them, but I should have picked them up years ago.

They are well made books. In every sense. The artwork is good, the materials of the book are top notch. They are presented well. And all the monsters are available for the OGL. What's not to love about these products?

Then I picked up Rappan Athuk on 15%, also from Frog God Games. This book is insane! The players of my group are already begging to play it, and I've only had it for 26 hours. It is even better put-together than ToH. Faux leather cover, sewn in bookmark. I picked up the Player's Guide, the Monsters Book, and the GM Screen too. You can bet we will be playing this Character Killer soon.

I officially have a COMPLETE map for Mord Mar. It's only taken 2+ years. I have definitely got a lot of work to do. That said, reverting to 1E style map marking/description is something I should have done a long time ago. There's a reason I have all of those monster books. I don't need the stat blocks in the key.

Adventure A Week was doing a firesale on Facebook the other night. For $40, I was able to pick up a set of Rise of the Drow Dice, a RotD t-shirt, and a RotD "sackboy." Aren't they cute? Seriously, AAW does good work. Go check them out.

*Image stolen from Jonathan on FB. I don't know who took it.

PS I'm currently the high bidder on a Sword and Sorcery copy of Gygax's Necropolis.
PSS My Bones Kickstarter should ship today or tomorrow.*EDIT* It shipped today. Waiting for Monday now.

Why blog?

I've been watching my page views go up (over 1200!) That got me thinking about why I blog. There are 3 primary reasons:

1. Keep my players informed. My "home group" has had about 30 players since I started Mord Mar, and not every one of them can play in every session. The blog lets them keep up to date on what's going on in my head, and the Mountain. And we have run con games as well. I hope those players enjoyed it enough to come see what's new!

2. To get the word out. Eventually, I plan to publish Mord Mar, in one fashion or another. And blogging is free.

3. I enjoy it. Keeping tabs on what happened in Castle of the Mad Archmage makes jumping back into the game easier. I feel like I am becoming part of the "online gaming community."

What would I like to add to my blog? I'm glad you asked!

I'm thinking of adding the other bi-weekly game to the blog (that's PF Xcrawl for those of you not in the know.)

I'm thinking of doing a compare/contrast of the various megadungeons out there. Especially CotMA versus Rappan Athuk.

I would like to do a what's new in my gaming realm once in a while.

Con write ups. I think my GaryCon experience this year would be worthy of immortalizing in a blog.

Now, if I can only find the time between 2 jobs and 3 kids. . .

Rappan Athuk

So, these came today. No, not the cracked screen Kindle. That we've had for a while. It is a testament to the old saying "this is why we can't have nice things."

But, back to the Dungeon of Graves. I'm surprised at the lethality of it all. I ordered them through Frog God Games sale, which Tenkar's Tavern blogged a coupon for. I had one of my own, but mine was 10% and his was 15%, so I saved the cash by using his.

The more I buy from them, the more I like their work. This year, I bought Tome of Horrors when they had it on sale with ToH4 for free. And now, Rappan Athuk. Both are top notch work. I have never really been a 3pp guy, but Adventure A Week's Rise of the Drow made me open my eyes.

CotMA Session 11 - What a doozy

A correction from session 10. We had actually negotiated passage to level 5, not level 6 like I had mentioned previously.

The group:

Feran: Ranger 6 (me)
Chance: Cleric 5/Rogue 1 (Ian)
Drow Cleric 4/ Fighter 2 (I think) Nathaniel (our resident trainee. This will become apparent)
Inquisitor 6 (Rob)
Mangonel: Human Barbarian 3/Druid 3 (Lion Shaman something or other) (Dustin)
Tiefling Magus 4/Rogue 2 (Dave)
*The cross class levels may not be correct. I didn't double check with the players on their level ups.

Climbing out of the crevasse to level 5, the first thing we see is a sphinx with a moai head, made from a black stone with magical runes all around it. As we approach to investigate, it turns toward the group and asks "Would you like to make a wager?"

Feran, being reckless like he is (and broke) says "I will wager my health" our Drow and Chance (I think) made the wager as well. The sphinx gives us a riddle, which we solve easily, giving us each 1 permanent point of Constitution.

Next we all proffered up some gold, and doubled our money. (Except the Barbarian who bet a hammock and got a masterwork one.)

Then I decided to bet the awesome dagger I found last session. Other members decided to wager different things, and we again won. The dagger became a +2 Flaming Great Axe of Spell Storing. The Drow's Flail became a living steel flail.There were other things in there too, but I don't remember what.

Again, we are asked "Would you like to make a wager?" This time, the Tiefling, Drow, Inquisitor (and Barbarian?) decided to wager their souls against a map of the entirety of the Castle. The riddle was:
(Sphinx made an illusion of a scale set and 8 balls.) "Weighing only twice, which of these 8 balls weighs less than the others?"
The party said weigh 2 groups of 4.Then they weighed 2 groups of 2, and guessed on a 50/50 (which our DM actually allowed) and got it right. We had a "GM moment of weakness" there, I think.

After that close call, we decided we had had enough gambling for a while and headed East, toward a double door. On the way, we encountered 3 owlbears. (Owlbear don't care.) We dispatched them fairly easily, and a gelatinous cube came wandering up while we were searching their alcove. Again, no issue dispatching that, so on toward the double doors.

This is where things get interesting. The doors were locked and barred from this side. Listening, we heard nothing, so we opened the door. There was a huge ochre jelly. We shut the door and made a plan of attack. We reopened the door, and attacked. It did a little damage, split once, then died.

Searching the room, we see 4 doors besides the one we came in. We check one of them to find a proverbial mother lode of books, worth about 30k gp to collectors. We then check another room, to find it full of junk.

A third room is checked, and inside it has 7 earthenware jars and a huge crystal cylinder with a lid tightly on it. The drow and the ranger check it out. The drow goes in, looks around, and comes back out. Then Feran decides to check out a jar. The drow (being our trainee) walks back into the room. Feran taps the jar with a sickle, and a crystal materializes between him and the drow. The drow is hit, grappled and encased in crystal. Feran makes a hasty retreat.

The party slams the door on the crystal, and the Mangonel and Feran run to get the bar that was on the entry door. Before they get back, the crystal shatters the door, and the party flees for the one door we had not opened yet.

We get over to the door, and find it to be barred from the other side. We hall ass back toward the entry door, and Mangonel decides to play hero, holding off the crystal while the rest of us escape. He dies to the 7d8+9 attacks of this thing.

The surviving members of the party head back to the sphinx, and gamble 3 living characters for 2 dead ones to be brought to us, alive. We win that gamble, and gamble a full recharge on all spells and abilities. We also win this one.

Then our drow trainee decides to attempt a riddle by himself. He bets his bones against an item that can shatter the crystal. He loses and dies.

So, back to full health and full strength (minus a drow), we head toward a different exit. This time we come to a room full of summoning circles. We encounter nothing dangerous, and decide to check a room off to the side. Here we find a pleasant djinn who we have tea and read books in his library. He has 37 years left in his bound service to the Mad Archmage.

From here, we head north and turn east. We decide to check one door on our way to the stairs, and hear giant speak from the other side. 4 voices. We bust open the door and attack. 4 trolls! We fight and drop one (yay flaming axe!), but 7 more come from neighboring rooms. We are in for a tough fight.

As the session winds down, we have killed all of the trolls from the room we broke into, Mangonel and the drow are dead (again), and we are in bad position against an onslaught of trolls.

Mangonel is the prone efreet (he drank a potion of enlarge.) All of the other large sized bases are trolls heading in. The wolf to the right is Mangonel's animal companion.

CotMA Session 10

The party this week:
Feran, Human Ranger 5: Me 
Chance, Cleric 4/Rogue 1
Clip-Clop, Centaur Fighter 4 (ECL penalty)
Inquisitor 5
Barbarian 2/Druid 3 (I think)
Magus 3/Rogue 2 (I think)

End of last session, we killed Brekk, who blew up. This session picked up immediately after.

We looted his area, and found a bunch of coin, a Rod of Wonder, a Ring of Retribution (the thing that blew Brekk up), Ring of Maniacal Devices, and a couple of potions. After tallying up our haul, we decided we need to rest. We were quite deep in the Castle, and just had a dude EXPLODE! on us.

After nothing happening during our rest period, we entered back into Brekk's workshop. Looking over the machine that disoriented us, was the Mad Archmage himself. After a bit of a talk, he asked us if we 'wanted to see his Crypts.' I said yes. And away we went.

Well, the rest of the party was a bit upset as we were teleported. We appeared in a crossroads.The Mad Archmage then told us we were to meet a 'caretaker.' A rumbling started. We began to run in a random direction.

Eventually, with the rumbling following us, we found a 'jawbreaker machine.' Three of us bought jawbreakers. As we did, a variant bulette attacked us. The centaur, ranger, barbarian, and ranger's animal companion failed saves vs disease. (tbd).

From there we stumbled onward. We passed through bronze doors, and didn't disturb any tombs. Eventually, we decided 'up' wouldn't be inside the area inside the bronze doors. We found our way through another bronze door, and eventually to an area with more tombs.One marked "Guy Fawkes." My ranger broke it down, and found a +1 dagger of distance and returning.

From here, we turned a corner into a death cult, who assumed we were powerful enough to be here, and negotiated a way back to level 6 for the Ring of Retribution. That's where the session ended.

CotMA: Session 9

The party this week:
Feran, Human Ranger 5: Me 
Chance, Cleric 4/Rogue 1
Clip-Clop, Centaur Fighter 4 (ECL penalty)
Inquisitor 5
Barbarian 2/Druid 3 (I think)
Drow Fighter/Rogue1/4
Magus 3/Rogue 2 (I think)

After dealing with the hobgoblins at the end of our last session, we jumped right back into the action.We finished clearing out their complex, finding keys to the portcullis and a few secret doors. We found a bunch of money, bracers +2 and a wardrobe with an animated suit of scale armor. Our grapple expert grabbed it, and never let go. It was quickly pummeled into submission. It was guarding a tuning fork, that radiated magic. We stowed this carefully in the cleric's bag of holding. After this, we rested, and headed back to find Brekk.

We looked at our maps and figured out about which way to get to him, and followed a plan. The druid had Know Direction memorized, which kept us from getting off track, and possibly lost. Going through several corridors that seemed to double back on themselves, we eventually found another complex.

First, we ran across a room with a leaky pipe and moss growing in it. We tentatively checked it out and were not molested by any shambling mounds or other planty doom.

Then we came across a bloodied room. It was apparently the scene of a bloody battle (we found out later it was between hobgobbos and orcs). Following our best guesses, we found two emptied barracks and a room with a stone arm from a statue in it. (We left the arm there.)

Finally we came to a place where we found something alive again. Behind a door we hear voices speaking in Orcish. We knocked on the door and negotiated directions to Brekk and passage through their territory.

Following the orcish directions we found our way to Brekk's complex. One arrow trap blasted the party. We were fortunate on our search rolls after that.

We muscled our way to Brekk's workshop, where we were immediately hit by a device that disoriented any movements we made. (Chance and Feran rolled nat 20's to be unaffected.) The battle was joined with Brekk, his 5 gnolls, and only Chance and Feran moving normally.

Our War Mage hit the machine with a projectile, proving it could be destroyed. Chance turned it on the gnolls, keeping them out of the fight.Turning it also allowed our heavy hitters into the combat. Brekk was forced to destroy his machine himself.

Brekk activated some crazy stupid armor: Displacement, Shield, and Mirror Image. Then he used a touch attack to deliver a 5d6 Vampiric Touch and a 5d6 Shocking Grasp to Clip-Clop! Ouch.

Then he turned it on the Ranger. Double-Ouch. The gnolls went down, and I had to head to work, but the rest of the party were able to finish off the gnome-o-mancer. That's where the session ended.

EDIT: Apparently, this was session 9. Updated in the title.

CotMA Campaign Reset

We reset the CotMA campaign the weekend before Christmas. That's why there wasn't a post about it. Now I have to relearn everyone's character names. We did it to rebalance the party. A few of the players felt there was a brighter spotlight on some people (myself included). We also felt that some roles (in combat) were being under served, that's another reason for the reset. We also procured a few new books that everyone wanted to use in the game.

Our old characters sold our new ones their maps, and many of the quests were open to the public, so no real loss of continuity. The only things that really happened in the 'remake session' was discussion of roles and some light RP (finding the quests and etcetera.)

Here's the new group:
Ranger 5 (me)
Cleric 4/Rogue 1 (Oldhimara?)
Centaur Fighter 4 (ECL penalty)
Inquisitor 5
Barbarian 2/Druid 3 (I think)
Warmage 3/Rogue 2 (I think)
Some wizard thing 5 (from Advanced Class Guide)

So, last week's session found us heading once again towards Brekk (with different people. heh.) We found hobgoblins instead.

Not a lot actually happened. We had an encounter with a Hobgoblin Shaman with an Ape pet of some sort. Other than Spike Growth in a dungeon, we breezed this encounter.

Next a Hobgoblin patrol found us searching the Shaman. There were about 12 of them, that we again handled with little problem.

We followed the passage they came from to find an oddly shaped "room." A portcullis blocked one passage out. Another passage led further than we could see, and there were 2 doors. The room had signs of the Hobgoblin clan living here, so we knew they were close. We found a secret door that led to a weapons cache for the Hobgoblins. Then we found the Hobgoblins.

About 25 of them.
And 2 more Apes

All at once.

And 3 leaders showed up after the fight began.

Our centaur dropped, but we did well. The cleric was able to move into position to heal quickly, and efficiently. The Ranger used his bolas and sickle to trip, and AoO prevailed. The wizard-thing used lightning balls to harass and damage.
The Inquisitor used his judgements to great effect. All in all, the reboot did what it was supposed to. We were much more combat effective, and able to work as a team. We won the day, and beat all the hobgoblins (and pets).


Let's hope it continues.

Castle of the Mad Archmage Session 6

Castle of the Mad Archmage Session #6 recap:

Current Party:
Hask (1/2 Orc FTR 3/ PAL 1) - played by me
Ankar (1/2 Orc SRC 4) - played by Ian
Einar (Dwarf CLR 4) - played by Dave
Santiago (Halfling ROG 4) - played by Dustin
Go'ram(??? ALC 4) - played by Richard
New Guy (Dwarf DRD 3/MNK 1) - played by Rob
Skarsnik (1/2 Orc FTR 4) - played by Jake - new player


This week we didn't actually head into the CotMA. Instead we were approached by the town's cleric, Scarlett. She asked us to send a representative to a secret meeting. We elected to send our Dwarven Cleric, as it was a religious invitation. Through the next couple of days, he and the DM texted the meeting, which included the Pints 'o Pain (the adventure group we attacked in our last outing of the dungeon) and the wizard (sorcerer?) who almost killed us in our first incursion.

Through negotiation, our Cleric did an awesome job of getting us paid: 3500 gp to investigate a "temple," 250 gp per cultist, and 2k dead or 3k alive for a cleric we were familiar with, Abigail. She had traveled with us from Hommlet to Greyhawk as a guard of the caravan that we hired on to.

We headed out after dark, based on directions from Scarlett. Finding the temple was no problem, and a storm even rolled in to cover our noise! Luck seemed to be with us. We spotted a light patrolling the area, and engaged 4 followers of Demogorgon! I have to say, Channel Energy (Negative) really hurts. We survived, and took minor injuries.

Moving around to the back of the temple, we found two entrances. We sent in Santiago, invisible to scout the area. He returned telling us of a long hallway with 10 (?) doors and another corridor leading to a temple with a Demogorgon statue. The group quietly entered the outer door, and began systematically checking the doors. All of them were empty save for a desk, and perfectly made bunk beds. We checked the second corridor and found that a couple of those rooms were used, but unoccupied. Then we heard a scream.

The Paladin ran towards the woman's scream, ignoring a pair of double doors, which Santiago glued with a tanglefoot bag. Approaching the screams Hask saw 2 ogre sized "bleeding" skeletons, which he ignored when he saw the clerics dragging a maiden.

Three more clerics of Demogorgon engaged with the skeletons on the party. Skarsnik, Go'ram, and the Druid, dealt with the skeletons, while Hask, Santiago (with a Pro Evil from Einar), and Ankar moved to deal with the clerics.

In the middle of this hard combat, 3 more clerics broke out of the tanglefooted door. We did eventually take them out. But we were bloodied when done. However, we did save the maiden!

Between the 2 Ogre-Blood-Zombies were another set of doors. We healed some and headed in, to find 4 more OBZs and Abigail. She gave a fairly typical bad guy speech and the fight was joined. Hask got dropped by a zombie, and Abigail fled through a "door." Skarsnik played cleanup on the zombies while Ankar, Einar and Santiago chased her through the illusion.

She tried to escape through an outer door. Santiago blocked the escape.  Meanwhile, Hask came to, stood up, and was dropped by the same zombie taking an AOO. Another fight ensues with Abigail, while Hask is brought to consciousness again. Abigail is close to defeated, when Menkel (the Inquisitor) shows up and kills Santiago. They dimdoor to escape, and the session ends.

Castle of the Mad Archmage Session 5

While in my 'downtime' for Mord Mar, we have two DMs filling in the game sessions. Blondie is running XCrawl for the group, and Adam is running CotMA. I plan on doing session updates for at least that game, as it is a pretty popular setting.

Long and short of previous sessions: we started in a caravan heading to Greyhawk. Fought some kobolds, and established a party. We've established ourselves in the town, Chenth. We killed the bandits, got our asses kicked by Gorkhar the Magnificent, met the dwarves and elves. We made a deal with the kobolds (in the Castle), and found or fought several other random battles. We met and made deals with Hannegar.

Our current party makeup:

Hask (1/2 Orc FTR 3/ PAL 1) - played by me
Ankar (1/2 Orc SRC 4) - played by Ian
Einar (Dwarf CLR 4) - played by Dave
Santiago (Halfling ROG 4) - played by Dustin
Crazy-Ass (??? ALC 4) - played by Richard
New Guy (Dwarf DRD 3/MNK 1) - played by Rob
Jade (Human CLR 3) - NPC (pd 200 gp +10% over 2k from each Hask and Ankar)

A bit more back story:At the end of our previous session, Rob's old character (an Inquisitor of Grumish) attacked Ankar, and was left naked at negative HPs in the Xvents rooms. He had interrogated the bandit leader about their treasure that was left in Greyhawk.

So, we began Saturday's session heading to Greyhawk ahead of the Inquisitor. We decided to do some research while there too. No issues recovering the treasure, and spent several days researching the following topics:
Chenth (a legendary blue dragon who died twice, apparently) - and his bloodline
Chenth's mate - the kobolds believe they are descendants of hers. Part of the treaty.
Lyndys (the LN dragon god, Bahamut's dad) Jade's god
Elder Elemental Eye - our caravan at the start of the campaign went through Homlet, and this came up
Tristan, Scarlett, and Blaze (mayor, head cleric, and guard captain of Chenth)

Returning to Chenth from our trip, we found that the Inquisitor had indeed survived, and lodged a complaint to Tristan. They apparently think their law extends into the dungeon. Hask told them he would willingly submit to a Zone of Truth on the matter. That was set up for 2 days later.

The group headed into the dungeon, heading down toward level 3. As we entered, a rival group was in the great hall, using our kobold "allies" as puppets. Talking was an option until the other group pointed at 3 elf corpses and said "don't mind the axe marks."

The problem is, those elves saved our lives after we were knocked out by Gorkhar. So, Hask walked up and attacked the puppeteer. A lively fight ensued, with 2 Black Tentacles spells making sure we could not have an advantage. The other group fled, and we followed. This time, the crazy alchemist talked to them, and paid them to not talk in town about us attacking them.

We then proceeded down to level 3. We found a rhino trap, and a room with giant scorpions, who knocked Hask out, but the party was victorious. Everybody got <500 gp and leveled up.

Gen Con Registration

Gen Con registration is on Sunday. I've been spending a lot of time setting up my wishlist. That's why nothing is going on here.  Check out the Mord Mar events at Gen Con:

RPG1460521 Thursday 11am
RPG1460530 Friday 9pm
RPG1460534 Sunday Noon

There may be a Wednesday event too. That hasn't been processed yet. . . If you get a ticket, let me know here!

UPDATE 
The Wednesday event went live Sunday morning. Then all 4 events sold out during the initial rush for tickets!

Couldn't get one for Gen Con? Plan a trip to Grand Con. That event is going to be crazy! (Here's a hint: 5 GMs)

Approved!

Mord Mar: To the Citadel was approved by Gen Con as an official event yesterday. Currently, there are 3 run-throughs scheduled: Thursday 11 am #RPG1460521, Friday 9 pm #RPG1460530, and Sunday at Noon #RPG1460534. Each are planned to run 4-6 players. Wanna play? Get to Gen Con in August.

The Gods of Mord Mar

Here are the gods of Mord Mar, as of now. The creeds are RP notes to help the players understand the motivations. All is subject to change, of course. I also expect to add a few more gods at some point. EDIT: As Mord Mar is being designed to be dropped into any campaign world, it is expected that other pre-published gods be used as well.

Blain Oreweaver: God of Metals domains Artifice, Strength, Earth, War (Neutral)
Uncaring about undead.
Blain was a god who helped create the god-machine (I really need a better name for this).
Holy Symbol: any unworked chunk of metal
Favored weapon: bastard sword
Cleric of Blain Oreweaver's Creed:
Seek all metals, for each is precious in some way.
Wood is forbidden for all uses where metal can be used instead.
Feats of strength are more impressive than feats of intellect.
War proves the strength of metal.
Be kind to artisans and blacksmiths, for they shape the metal into the sword and into the shield.


Mathern Grovelbeard: Exiled God of Evil domains Evil, Liberation, Rune, Trickery (Neutral Evil)
Friendly towards undead. Mathren sees undeath as a freedom from death's grasp.
Mathern was another god who helped create the god-machine.
Holy Symbol: The dwarf rune for evil
Favored weapon: rapier
Cleric of Mathern Grovelbeard's Creed:
Mathern Grovelbeard should be returned to his place. Always advance this goal.
Runes pass Mathern's story to the next generation.
Evil is the only true freedom. With it, all other treasures can be yours.
Freedom is a treasure above all others.
Freedom can only be accomplished through deceit. 

Quarran Battlereaver: God of Battles domains Glory, Luck, Strength, War (Chaotic Neutral)
Undead are a tool to be used in battle. Intelligent undead are dangerous, as they often wage war.
Quarren Battlereaver was the first god to be ascendant through the god-machine. He had been a dwarven cleric of (campaign's main dwarven deity) before ascension.
Holy Symbol: 2 axes crossed over a shield
Favored weapon: battle axe
Cleric of Quarran Battlreaver's Creed:
Strength and Luck are the same.
War is a victory unto itself
Glory through war is the only true glory.
Battles are chaotic. Sow that chaos on every battlefield.

Charna Weepwisp: Goddess of Death domains Death, Law, Repose, War (Lawful Neutral)
Despises undead.
Charna Weepwisp was a halfling assassin who successfully used the god-machine.
Holy Symbol: A black hood
Favored Weapon: great axe
Cleric of Charna Weepwisp's Creed:
Death is a law above all others.
War brings law to everyone equally.
Undeath is the most egregious of transgressions to the Dark Woman. Show them law.
Death is the Final Rest. Do not suffer one who resists it.

Inute Tebro: God of Goodness domains Community, Good, Knowledge, Nobility (Lawful Good)
Undead is the antithesis of community and must be destroyed.
Inute Tebro was a human, and the most recent to use the god-machine.
Holy Symbol: A stylized griffon
Favored Weapon: longsword
Cleric of Inute Tebro's Creed:
Community must follow nobility.
Protect the community, and the weak, for this is the epitome of good.
Knowledge is best when shared amongst the community.
Goodness must come from community, knowledge, and nobility.

Inelia: Goddess of Law, and Equality domains Charm, Good, Law, Liberation (Lawful Good)
Undeath breaks the Law of Death, and all who become undead must be destroyed.
Inelia was an elf maiden able to survive the rigors of the god-machine.
Holy Symbol: balanced scales
Favored Weapon: war hammer
Cleric of Inelia's Creed:
Law and Good are the same.
Freedom only comes from law and from goodness.
Charms are a tool of peace.  Use them accordingly.
All people deserve to be free.

Marshield Ironbeard: God of the Forge domains Community, Fire, Protection, War (Chaotic Good)
Undead are only a concern if they threaten the community or the forge.
Holy Symbol: an anvil
Favored Weapon: war hammer
Cleric of Marshield Ironbeard's Creed:
The forge creates your armor and weapons.
The forge creates your beds and plates and benches.
Keep fire in your forge always.
Protect your forge and your community.

Lady Luck: Goddess of Luck domains Chaos, Luck, Travel, Weather (Chaotic Neutral)
It is some people's fortune (or unfortune) to become undead. Lady Luck cares not.
Many believe Lady Luck to be an aspect of other gods of the realm.
Holy Symbol: a coin, heads up
Favored Weapon: star knife
Cleric of Lady Luck's Creed: 
Lady Luck is a fickle goddess.
Luck runs out for everyone.
Do not take credit or blame for your luck.
Luck is most interesting far from home.

Dollin Silvervein: God of the Lost domains Artifice, Darkness, Liberation, Nobility (Lawful Neutral)
Undead are an enigma to be studied. Probably from afar.
Dollin Silvervein was the god who hid the god-machine.
Holy Symbol: a shadowed silhoutte
Favored Weapon:heavy pick
Cleric of Dollin Silvervein's Creed:
All of us are lost sometimes.
Machines can help us find home.
Freedom is the ability to find home.
In the deep places, many never find home.

Bashiel Ashmouth: God of Evil domains Evil, Glory, Lust, Murder (Chaotic Evil)
Undead are useful, and make strong allies. When their use is done, take their power.
Originally a demon. Bashiel devised the god-machine to ascend to godhood himself. He took the essences of the failed attempts, and gained their power.
Holy Symbol: a machine cog, with a demon face inside it.
Favored Weapon: battle axe
Cleric of Bashiel Ashmouth's Creed:
unknown. This cult is secretive about its tenants.

Ghanael: God of Nature domains Animal, Earth, Plant, Weather (Neutral)
Undead is an affront. Destroy them at an opportunity.
Ghanael was an animal companion to a druid. This druid died near the god-machine. The bear found the god-machine, and he ascended to godhood.
Holy Symbol: A bear's tooth
Favored Weapon: punch dagger
Clerics of Ghanael's Creed:
The land is our home. Protect it.
Animals are food, protection, friends and enemies.
Weather is a needed part of life.

Xyler Shameweaver: God of Darkness domains Law, Darkness, Destruction, Magic (Lawful Evil)
Undead are respected.
Xyler Shameweaver was a Drow fighter who was able to overcome the rigors of the god-machine.
Holy Symbol: an onyx
Favored Weapon: long sword
Clerics of Xyler Shameweaver's Creed:
There is only one law: Xyler's.
Magic is an extension of this law.
Xyler's law is best seen in the darkness.

A Little History of Mord Mar

Before I begin, I would like to state this is all in flux still. A lot of things may need tweaking or removing all together. Also, the time frames are rough. They will be less well rounded later. That said, here is my current history.

Pre-history: The god-machine is put in the deep earth. This causes a mountain to grow above it to gigantic proportions. Both Giant Eagles and Griffins make the mountain home. The Labyrinth (Above and Below) is created by unknown forces. The Forgotten Armory is created, presumably by the same unknown forces as the Labyrinths.
2500 years ago: Mord Mar founded by dwarves, led by Bradel Greybeard. The endeavor is funded by mithral, gold, silver and platinum mined while excavating.
2400 years ago: Var Nae opens for outside races to trade with dwarves.
2250 years ago: Mord Mar's main city and crypts are completed.
2225 years ago: The Feeding Caves are completed. (after the fall became known as Feeding Pits).
2200 years ago: The goblins of Mord Mar stage a revolt and gain freedom from dwarves.
2199 years ago: Goblins find the Humanoid Holds. The goblins that survive here grow to become hobgoblins and bugbears.
2195 years ago: Bradel dies, succeeded to the throne by his daughter Cense Greybeard.
2175 years ago: Cense orders work begun on the "Great Bazaar Below."
2170 years ago: Cense dies in her sleep. Her son Tyran Greybeard ascends to the throne.
2150 years ago: The "Great Bazaar Below" opens for any race from below the surface to trade. Tyran orders the building of sewers, waterworks and tunnels to maintain them.
2145 years ago: Drow declare war on Mord Mar.
2100 years ago: The Drow Wars end in a treaty. This treaty calls for the building of an arena to decide disputes between the races. The sewers are completed. Tyran retires from the throne. His son Ranid takes the throne.
2070 years ago: The Arena is completed. This marks the end of the Mord Mar dwarves delving deeper into the earth.
2000 years ago: The gods of Mord Mar reveal themselves, and replace the gods of the realm in the city. King Ranid dies in the arena to a Drow woman named Sh'al Nightstone. His son, Miter, takes the throne.
1950 years ago: a faction of secret "old god worshipers" begin digging the Cultworks. Many races take part in this, including the Drow, dwarves, deep gnomes, and others.
1945 years ago: Miter discovers a sect of heretics. Orders the jails built to house heretics and other unwanted. Miter (and Mord Mar) do not know about the Cultworks.
1940 years ago: Miter found assassinated in the sewers. His daughter, Jessa Greybeard becomes queen.
1925 years ago: Jessa's champion, Tanc Gembeard, defeats the Drow's Witch-Sorceress, Tan'eth Darkeye. Tanc and Jessa show mercy and spare Tan'eth's life.
1900 years ago: the Cultworks is completed.
1875 years ago: Queen Jessa is found dead. Tan'eth's body is also found in the queen's chambers. Trebor Greybeard ascends to the throne.
1870 years ago: The Grottoes and Caverns are discovered. Declared to be a natural area by King Trebor. The secret vaults of Grizzlegrim excavation begins.
1845 years ago: The Hellevator is first spotted in a grotto.
1830 years ago: Cella the Seer foretells the fall of Mord Mar.
1750 years ago: Trebor is killed in an ambush outside of the Great Bazaar Below. Trebor's son Fier Greybeard ascends to the throne. Orcs overrun the Bazaar. Work on the Teleportation System begins.
1745 years ago: Orcs pushed out of the Bazaar, and surrender to Mord Mar. The Goblin Mirror is taken as tribute from the surrendering orcs. It is put into a magical storage.
1700 years ago: A group of dwarves finds their way to the Lost Forge. All perish there.
1600 years ago: Fier Greybeard dies, his son, Boldin takes the throne.
1550 years ago: Boldin dies in the Arena. The victor Drow claims to be Sh'al Nightstone. Boldin's daughter, Necsa Greybeard takes the throne.
1450 years ago: The Great Wizard, Egg, builds his tower in Mord Mar.
1400 years ago: Necsa vacates the throne to lead a group of dwarves in founding a new city. Necsa's son, Gygan takes Mord Mar's throne.
1375 years ago: A huge red dragon, Crymsyn, attacks Mord Mar. Gygan kills Crymsyn with help from Egg's magics.
1300 years ago: Gygan retires. His son Eja, takes the throne.
1150 years ago: Eja dies. His son, Pence, takes the throne.
1145 years ago: Pence dies. His brother, Hone, takes the throne.
1000 years ago: Hone retires. Pressa Greybeard, Hone's daughter, takes the throne.
650 years ago: Pressa dies. Her son, Mikel, takes the throne.
500 years ago: Bear Yarl settles in peak of mountain. Teleportation System completed.
475 years ago: Mikel dies in the arena to Tel'ma Lightstopper, a male Drow. Tel'ma died to his wounds less than a minute after Mikel. King Ritham Greybeard ascends to the throne.
425 years ago: Bear Silva settles with Yarl.
400 years ago: Mord Mar struck with a 'ghastly plague.' King Roni ascends to the throne when King Ritham succumbs to the plague.
375 years ago: King Roni discovered to be a doppleganger. Two other houses attempted to wrest the throne from the Greybeard line, but Vor Greybeard was able to retain his birthright.
350 years ago: Mord Mar overrun by a 'demonic army, led by the Horsemen of the Apocalypse themselves.' Confirmed in the army are: Drow, deep dwarves, demons, orcs, goblins, bugbears, gnolls, hobgoblins, undead, and 3 dragons (red, black and blue). King Vor is killed in this attack. King Johan ascends to Var Nae's throne-in-exile.
325 years ago: Var Nae sends an army back into Mord Mar. This army is completely eradicated.
300 years ago: Mord Mar's Adventurer's Guild is formed.

Tying the Old City together

I recently posted a blog with a flowchart to the Old City. In this blog, I basically listed the factions in each are of the Old City, but not how they interact. In this older blog I talked about how a few of the denizens interact. I think it is time to talk extensively about these getting tied together.

The main factions in Mord Mar are:
Goblins
Orcs
Hobgoblins
Bugbears
Gnolls
Crazed Humanoids

Goblins/Hobgoblins/Bugbears are all loosely allied. They are all goblin-kin and can use a goblin mirror if nearby.
Orcs have 4 tribes that infight, but still man posts enough to control their own section of the city.
Gnolls control their own section of the city, but are looking for something. The control of their section of the city is just a means to that end.
Crazed Humanoids are exactly that. They have held this place for generations, sending warriors into the city to fight the evil races. Extremely chaotic, they don't know that Var Nae has survived. They believe any adventurers to be 'tomb raiders' and attack on sight.

There are also several minor factions in the Old City:
Red Ants
Black Ants
Drow
Undead
Dire Apes
Baen's Circle (hags)
It is also expected that individual DMs add more to their Mord Mar as they see fit. (There are also some very powerful creatures that are individuals inside Mord Mar. They are not listed here, and will be put into a future blog.)

But, as a whole, how do all of these fit together? The groups' general disposition toward each other is here:
Crazed Humanoids hate everything, and attack relentlessly until one side is dead. All of the goblins, orcs and gnolls fear this faction.
Goblins/Bugbears/Hobgoblins are loosely allied with Hobgoblin leadership. Hate Orcs and Gnolls and will attack on sight (as long as a leader is present).
Orcs hate goblinoids and gnolls, and will attack on sight, even stopping infighting to do so.
Red Ants and Black Ants are colonies fighting for the same territories. The red ants are overwhelming the black ants. Neither group engages directly with any humanoids.
Drow send adventurers in similar to Var Nae's Adventurers' Guild. They engage in typical adventurer tactics, and generally avoid large scale battles. They have been known to take bribes to help one side or another.
Undead are relegated to the Temples District. This district is (nearly) completely sealed off, and they take little or no part in the greater Mord Mar landscape.
Baen's Circle of hags are self serving. They have an agenda outside of Mord Mar (that has been covered in an earlier playtest and will be revealed later). They too can be bribed to change the fortunes of war.

Var Nae: sends adventurers in to reclaim territory, artifacts, historical documents and other noteworthy McGuffins. Var Nae interacts as an outside force making incursions inside a hostile territory. The city does not have cohesive goals, instead goals are generally specified by adventurers going into the Old City.

Residential District: Controlled completely by orc clans. There are several clans that are fighting amongst each other. The short list as of right now:
Black Heart Tribe: a badly equipped clan, weakened by the best warriors taking the best mates and leaving due to bad leadership.
Black Eye Tribe: the splinter group from the Black Hearts. Growing in power quickly, by convincing warriors from the other tribes to join them.
Crushed Dwarf Tribe: The most populous of the orc tribes. Their best warriors are defecting in large numbers to the Black Eyes.
Fire Eye Tribe: A matriarchal tribe. Few of their warriors are defecting, and the Fire Eyes have been amassing gold for something. They have also captured 8 Giant Red Ants and trained them to guard their treasure.

Barracks District: Controlled by hobgoblins. Originally from the goblin mirror, the hobgoblins moved further into Mord Mar and took control of the barracks. This district seemed perfect: training grounds, places to repair weapons and armor, and an ample food source (that's for another blog though). The hobgoblins watch over their allies the goblins.

Guilds District: Controlled by gnolls. The gnolls are holding the territory and searching for something. (Will be revealed after the playtest moves through this area.) The Dire Apes have their home in this area as well. The gnolls have learned to leave the apes alone, and have even traded information and supplies.

Shops District: A veritable war zone. Currently the hobgoblins are winning here, with help from the goblins and limited support from the bugbears. The Black Eye Tribe have the potential to turn the tide in favor of the orcs. The gnolls are also ready for a full assault. This is the next zone they intend to search. The crazed humanoids frequently come to hunt here as well. Giant Rats, both types of ants, and several other vermin are frequently found here, scavenging meat from the corpses.

Embassies District: Controlled by bugbears. It is unknown at this time if these bugbears are a single large group, or smaller factions. They are known to be particularly cruel, even for bugbears. No prisoners have ever been reported.

Manors District: The major factions generally avoid this area. The main route is partially blocked by a gelatinous cube that sits in a permanent fog, waiting for the hapless to literally walk into it. The gnolls have discovered this, and move it with torches when they want to enter the area. Baen's Circle holds their lair here, as well. Although they avoid conflict, they are always happy to have new slaves (and in fact have at least a few from every major race in Mord Mar>)

Warehouses District: Controlled by crazed humanoids. Once primarily dwarven stock, they are now mixtures of dwarf, halfling, human and elf. I probably will use the "dark" creatures for these, seen here. These creatures attack any other humanoids on sight. They believe AG members are either 'grave robbers,' or 'foul figments of the past.' And they still hate the other races.

Finally, while on the subject of the Old City, I'm thinking about an amusement style map for this level. Here's one from Six Flags. It allows flexibility and not making a map the size of Detroit. I think its a better solution than the flow chart I mentioned in an earlier post.

Another measuring stick comparison

I will be gauging Mord Mar's experience compared to Raging Swan's post here:
http://raging-swan.livejournal.com/242751.html

I don't know his real name, but he's another pretty prolific blogger in the RPGasphere.

Anyway, just like last time, I will quote his advice, then gauge where Mord Mar is in comparison. This time, I will be giving myself a letter grade too. Ready? (Raging Swan's words will be BOLDED, and follow the link above for the full blog.)

Raging Swan's Layout and Design Criteria:

Name: The megadungeon should have a cool, flavoursome name.
I think Mord Mar accomplishes this fairly well. Nobody has complained, and several people really like it. 
(Grade: B+) With more feedback, I think it could be higher.

Multiple Entrances: 
Currently there is one entrance. However, that one entrance makes an easy way into any level of the mountain. Its not very far from The Hellevator, The Zombie Carriage, and the Transitionary. One way in, but it branches almost immediately to any destination wanted. The teleporters in the main entry just multiply the possibilities. 
(Grade: B) Its not traditional, but I think I cover the multiple entrances in a non-conventional way.

The deeper you go, the more dangerous it is and the greater the rewards. This is a tradition of dungeon design. It holds true for megadungeon design as well. However, it is better restated as the further from the main entrance you go, the greater the danger and greater the rewards.
I have Mord Mar splitting up and down both. And the closer to the entrance, the easier it is. Well, the challenges are suited better for low level characters anyway. 
(Grade: A) I think the design will make for an interesting delve. Important, and interesting choices will be easy to facilitate.

Each level (or sub-level) should have its own distinctive flavour.
I have made sure that flavor changes level by level. Even the city's different districts have their own feel. The creepy feeling of walking through an 'abandoned' city is far different than the overrun mushroom farms. The jail doesn't have the same flavor as Devil's Decision. 
(Grade: D) I have the cool flavors in my head, but until they are transferred to the digital page, they are just wisps.

Sub-Levels: 
This is one area where I think Mord Mar has a leg up. First, the flowchart design of the Old City allows many sub-levels inside the 1st level. I consider the Citadel a sub-level, with an expanded "home version." Second, the Geotic Bubbles allow for both premade and home brewed 'official' sub-levels. And these levels are compact enough to be completed in one session, then pretty much tossed aside. And there are even true sub-levels like Ludos' Lair.
(Grade: A+) The moving design really makes this the shining star at this point in the design process.

There should be multiple connections between levels and sub-levels.
I'm working on it. Really, I am. Without completed maps yet, its hard to judge exactly what the inter-connectivity will look like throughout the dungeon. However, the Hellevator, and the Zombie Carriage plus the Transitionary will give relative ease to transitioning levels. And let's not forget the teleporters in the main artery into the mountain.
(Grade: C) I think this will be a higher mark, once the maps are done. I have made moving through the mountain easily a high priority and I think it will show eventually.

Secret & Remarkable Connections:
I think I've covered the bases pretty well on this. And that's before secret doors, dried up wells, anti-gravity shoots, and non-conventional passages.
(Grade: B) Again, this suffers from not having the completed maps yet. I swear, once I get done with the convention modules, that is my next priority.

Players should have meaningful choices:
The first playtest allowed for a plethora of meaningful choices. As I am writing a convention module right now, that is not an expectation. But, the rumors continue to grow, and the re-working of the levels should allow for even more meaningful choices.
(Grade: F/B) The F is because I am in ConMod mode right now. The B is because of the reworkings, and the increased capability of PCs to have freedom of movement.

Links to the deepest dungeon of all.
Although these will probably exist, they aren't a priority and will never be used in play by a group.
(Grade: F) Mord Mar is big enough without the links. The only reason to have them is for 'plausibility.' But I have teleport and gate and plane shift for that.

It should all make sense (to a certain extent).
I have taken a long time making sure Mord Mar 'all make sense.' I think I have accomplished this well enough to continue on without worrying to much about it.
(Grade: C) Its an afterthought. But I have thought about it just enough.

Minor Elevation Shifts:
The city has not had any notable elevation shifts. Nothing else has been re-mapped.
(Grade: Incomplete) When I start getting to the other level maps, this is something that will need to be kept in mind.

Extra-Dimensional Spaces: 
Let's just say there are enough of these. I don't want to give too much away to the players yet.
(Grade: A) For now, my observed score will only be "Geotic Bubbles." Stay tuned.

Level Size:
A staple that any good GM is conscious of and tries to make sure is done correctly. 
(Grade: Incomplete) When the maps get done, we'll see how this turns out.

Raging Swan's History and Minutia Criteria:

Details, details, details. But not too many details.
I think with the ConMods I have hit the sweet spot with this. 'Empty' rooms tell the story of Mord Mar. This makes them interesting, without being obtrusive. I think it is a formula that I will use a lot going forward. The count is still low against John Arendt's (Dreams in the Lich House) ratio though.
(Grade: A) Telling the back story of Mord Mar through empty rooms still allows for discovery without over-saturation.

The megadungeon needs a decent reason for existing.
I think an overrun dwarven city, with a god machine somewhere underneath it is a compelling enough reason to make it an adventurer's paradise. The questions will be answered.
(Grade: B-) I need to flesh out the overrunning army a bit more, and why the dwarves cannot retake the city.

There should be secrets to uncover.
and

Relevant and discoverable back story:
I've lumped these together, because in a lot of ways they are the same. Secret doors are fun, but not really a secret worth uncovering. 
Who led the army?
Why attack Mord Mar?
What is the God Machine?
What drove the wizard Egg mad?
The list of questions can go on forever. Mord Mar is big enough to sate any knowledge seeker's appetite.
(Grade: A) I have a lot of the secrets down somewhere. There is room for any GM to expand his own story inside Mord Mar.

Raging Swan's Denizens and Challenge Criteria:

Wheels within wheels:
I disagree with Raging Swan's assertion that there needs to be a head honcho. There will be one or two ultra-powerful figures inside Mord Mar, but they will generally be dealing with their own agendas.
(Grade: D) I may make a head honcho someday, but right now, factions are enough.

Away with the 15-minute adventuring day.
I completely agree with Raging Swan's analysis here. I am not sure that Pathfinder facilitates it, but the second playtest suggested I am on the right track.
(Grade: C) I may have chosen a bad system for this, but overall I hate the 15 minute paradigm, and push the players away from it as much as possible.

Wandering Monsters:
Again, because I'm in ConMod mode right now, this has taken a back seat. However, there are WM tables fleshed out for 3 of the levels.
(Grade: A) I am very happy with the WM tables I have done. They make sense, don't drain creatures from specific places and are interesting in their own rights. And the Geotic Bubbles are 'wandering monsters.'

Raging Swan's Nearby Criteria:

Settlements:
Var Nae is inside the mountain. It has everything an adventurer would want. It was the first part of Mord Mar that was designed.
(Grade: A) NPCs are fleshed out. 70% + of the map is complete. Rumors abound. There's even a random name generating table for dwarf names. 

 

In response to the idea of a Megadungeon

 There are a few people in the blogosphere that I read a lot of :
John Arendt over at Dreams in the Lich House
Michael Curtis at Society of Pole, Torch and Rope
Joseph Bloch at Greyhawk Grognard

There are others, but these guys know their stuff when it comes to dungeon design. And they all discuss at one point or another how to make a mega-dungeon. Well, they may have just designed one, and not talked about it.

Quoting from John:
"If I were to boil it down to a list of bullets, here's what *I'd* have:

• Many large levels
• Highways in and out
• Themed levels and sub levels
• Set piece locations
• Multi dimensional challenges
• Mostly empty - 33% encounter density
• Plan to restock!
• Gold as XP
• Deeper levels = greater danger
• Resource management
• Factions and NPCs
• Information flow - patrons, rumors, treasure maps"

For the most part, I think Mord Mar follows these tenants. I would like to discuss where Mord Mar is for each bullet individually.

Many Large Levels: currently Mord Mar is planned to have 20 full levels, and an infinite number of sub-levels. Mapping is back at square one for the large levels, with a few changes coming down the pipe for the order of the mountain.

Highways In and Out: This is a bit difficult to quantify. I think I have highways in and out, but its difficult to tell without more playtesting.

Themed Levels and Sub Levels: The entire first level is pretty much broken down into sub levels. But, I don't think this is exactly what John means. I think Ludos' Lair is a better example, and I have a few more ideas:

Geotic-bubbles

Throughout the old city, there are bubbles of displaced space that materialize in place of a known or seen feature. These bubbles appear and disappear at random times, and places (and therefore are only found on the Random Encounter Tables.) It is also rumored that the Zombie Carriage and the Hellevator can bring adventurers to these elusive locales.

When they materialize, any who witness it feel time slow to a crawl, then are blinded by a flash of light. Nobody has been able to record how much time passes when the phenomenon happens. It feels like an eternity to those who witness it, but when they return to a civilized place or to someone unaffected, they notice almost no chrono-distortion.

There will be other themes running through Mord Mar as well. The first set of modules has a pretty great theme running through 3 tiny parts of the Old City.

Set Piece Locations: It seems everyone defines "set pieces" as something different. To me, these are locations or encounters that are unique, and memorable. Quite often they are points in a dungeon that are used for directions (look for the Red Wall With a Mouth, then turn left). I have at least 3 written into the first level of Mord Mar, and probably more, depending on how loose the definition is.

Multi Dimensional Challenges: This is just good DMing. You need to allow all players and characters to use their strengths. Sometimes the Rogue needs to sneak, sometimes the Wizard needs to think. I have DMed long enough to know this, and its there for sure.

Mostly Empty - 33% Encounter Density: I'm not sure that I agree with this. In 3.x/Pathfinder, so much time is spent doing anything, but I do have a lot of empty space none the less. We'll see what the final ratio is.

Plan to Restock: I have a long-term plan for this. I don't think Mord Mar needs restocking, so much as revamping, though. Many of the locations allow for a simple reset until the PCs fix the problem.

Gold as XP: I didn't agree with this in 1st Edition and don't agree with it now. And to top it off, Pathfinder doesn't allow for it.

Deeper Levels = Greater Danger: I had to put a twist on this staple. There are levels above and below the main floor that increase danger the further away you get. I hope this works well, but its a long thing to playtest. I hope the dynamic change makes it more fun.

Resource Management: A general staple of low level characters, and something that fades with power. I hope to get the characters lost in the dungeon, and force their hand on this a bit.

Factions and NPCs: I have been working a lot on both of these. I think they will be a high point of the project when its all said and done.

Information flow - Patrons, Rumors, Treasure Maps: Patrons are covered in the Adventurers Guild. Rumors are somewhere near 1000 at this point and growing. I need to refine them a bit, but they are around. Treasure Maps, well PCs keep on your toes.

Changes are a coming

Earlier today, I posted on Facebook that I would be changing some of the teleporters in Mord Mar.  It is a significant change to how the whole campaign world works, and I thought I should expand on the idea.

As I tune Mord Mar to a convention playtest, I have been looking at all of the overall mechanics of the campaign.  I already did away with the Meave, as it was too clunky and confusing. That was pretty cut and dry compared to the teleporters though.  The teleporters are a staple, and are the cogs of the modular design inside Mord Mar.  But, on some level they need to make sense.

As I was writing the hallway (highway?) from the Entrance City to the Ruined City, I thought about a group just trying to activate every teleporter on the way.  Why not?  Then I wondered why a mighty dwarven king would have a backdoor into his stronghold completely unguarded that would allow an assassin materialize at his back.  It just didn't make sense to me to allow it to stay as it was.

The king would do his best to keep that particular rune a secret, but it would be difficult, if not impossible to do so.  Whoever made it would know about it.  His children would know about it.  His advisers and his wife would know about it.  The Captain of the Guard would know about it.  His (and his wife's) family would know about it.  And each generation would add more people who knew the secret.  Any sane king would not want that to be a two way street. The king would be sure to make it an exit only option.

This opens up other possibilities.  One way in, fight your way out.  One way out, find your way to the Mcguffin.  As a GM, it is a lot more appealing. Mixing up the teleporters will take away a lot of quick jaunts to odd parts of the mountain.

The question becomes, which ones need to change, and which ones stay the same?  I think teleporters that lead to market districts, or places that once supplied goods to the city should remain two way teleporters.  But what about the rune in the Orcish Holdings?  should that be two way?  Was that once part of the Old City (current writing says no)?

A beautiful thing about the mountain itself being alive is the fact that the mountain has its own wishes and desires.  It may change the way the magic works inside its body to confuse the creatures that are assaulting its innards.  So, it is possible that the teleporters don't work the same way every time.  And what if evil party hating wizards decide they need to rewrite the code that makes the teleporters function?

So many more possibilities this way.  Expect the unexpected, intrepid adventurers.