Castle Blackstone Log 1: Megadungeon Epiphanies

 

South

Center

The formatting on mobile for this website is a fucking nightmare.

Here it is folks, I finally finished about half of Sub level 1a. It is huge, and goes off the center map upwards and to the left. I have my hands full and i'm not even at level 2 yet.

 I've realized now why Megadungeons that work well are held in such high regards. To balance this fine art of balancing playable content to map quality to sheer gargantuan size is nothing to scoff at.

This is gauntlet of effort, discipline and creative power that will last me years. 

In terms of actual game content, what we have so far is quite an upscale in the odd. I spoke before about the 30 ft wide Dwarven Architectural Tunnel in Southern portion, and it seems like this will be a multi-level feature. I forgot all about Dungeon Highways, and their purpose as landmark pathways through a Megadungeon so rolling this up randomly was great.

The various rooms in the Southern map are closer to your typical Dungeon affair. Emptiness, and monster ecologies with lair treasures. There is however a very young Brass Dragon in Cavern #13, with some decent loot and the missing Orb of Lore from one of the nearby rooms. This section also includes a secret area leading to a literal Castle Greyhawk style Elevator down a few levels. 

The Center Map is dubbed "The Upper Armories of The Third Deep" (Double reference, guess what they are)

It was the armory/supply cache and mini settlement of the Dwarven workers who were originally contracted to build the dungeon. It's been hundreds of years since that time, i've decided these Dwarves ended up expanding and descending once the original dungeon's creator was no longer around.

 This place remains only an abandoned repository/settlement of the Dwarves, a place of respite... Meaning old Dungeon Creator had a place where they could flaunt some of the weird, mysterious, enticing things they were beginning to be able to do with enough free time and money. 

Many concealed doors, a greater emphasis on aesthetics with Cocobo Wood doors and carved Archways are the key feature here.

Only one room keyed so far, behind Obsidian Glass trapped within a Rune Circle lies an Imp. Seemingly, they are just a curiosity to look at. Like a rat in a cage suspended in limbo.

Oh yeah and the map goes off the paper again, now in 2 directions. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay....

Thesis: Rulings not rules. Setting, not system.

 Over the past 2 years, over numerous conversations over on the best OSR Discord i've come to this startling realization (Jenx calls this rediscovering the wheel, which is accurate. 

That is, a D&D setting truly comes alive when it begins to alter the D&D ruleset itself (Whatever edition/retroclone you choose. Up to maybe 3e onward).

I first began to fully put all these pieces together while reading FMC by Traverse Fantasy (very good, highly reccomend) and I came across this quote, "This book is not a system, but, perhaps a mirror."

Right before this sentence is a dissection of how various games can be eeked out of the OD&D books based on the way you approach it (Wargame/RPG/Simulation). I thought about this for a while after, and what D&D was to me personally regardless of the fragmented connotations of being OSR/Old School or the baggage of this amalgamation of the fading pulp influence and prominent power fantasy we love.

D&D to me, is the rules/mechanics/procedures/bullcrap players use to interface with a setting. OD&D is the rules for Appendix N land, AD&D is the rules for Greyhawk, B/X the rules for Mystara. 

2e's changes reflect this idea, that the D&D system is the underlying engine that enables play within a setting. The setting itself comes with alterations, additions and subtractions to the base D&D system.

"The fluff is the crunch and the crunch is the fluff." - Hellah Tellah (Good friend of mine, running AD&D 1e in Greyhawk. One of my various mentors)

What does any of this have to do with Anathea, or even this blog?

Well. Upon taking all these revelations in, alchemizing the contents within the philosopher's stone of my soul (I slept on it) I decided that I am not running D&D anymore. I am running Anathea. 

Anathea runs off of something like OD&D with some AD&D 1e/2e-isms and other things I like (professions, NWP's, mage specialization and the like). It has completely different races, a different perspective on class, NWP's that are not numbers to roll, spellbooks gain sentience reflecting the spells contained and best of all....

Alignment (Oh god) is no longer beholden to the dull bullshit Gygax farted out of his balding ass. I can make it whatever fits Anathea, language matters and common only refers to whatever is common in the region you begin play at.

Lore: Castle Blackstone and Emyrhold's symbiosis

Emyrhold, one of the few remaining settlements that still practices the barbaric cruelties of previous age (The Reign of Emperor Julius IV). They own the slave mines 5 miles west of the hold and tax heavily upon those passing through, and those who dare delve into the honeypot of Castle Blackstone's ruins.

In the olden days, before times got tough and money no longer flowed but was held within the hands of those who horded and were always hungry for more, Castle Blackstone was no more than just decrepit forgotten ruins from some era long ago. No one knew how long it had been since it fell, nor why it was made. Only that it had always been there, since before the days of Emperor Julius or the short reign of the Onyxblade Rebellion. 

Few dared ever go down, spare the occasional group of bold and brash teenagers or military patrol to recover the corpses of said teenagers. It wasn't until the current age, when the Capital City-State of Rim Fanathur succeeded in reviving trade/travel beteeen continents that anyone raised an eyebrow at the name of Castle Blackstone...

"Did you hear about the chest in the skeleton chamber?" 

"What about the caverns full of lizard men... and that weird pond..."

"I've heard that they found ancient tomes, and machines from long before the eldest elders can remember."

"I heard the creator never left his labyrinthine complex."

The whispers were numerous in every working person's tavern, a chance to find treasure. A chance to no longer worry about how their children were to be fed.

Emyrhold's leadership noticed the incline in interest, and became fully aware of this new exploitable resource once people began bringing up old world master crafted weaponry, forgotten currencies, relics of unknown origin.

 How dare the common lay person keep the product of their labor, they must pay proper taxes and give up the most valuable treasures... Castle Blackstone is the property of Lord Emyr Arudsen, for he had come to this land of Yax'lan to get rich... Whoevers blood needed to be spilled... Whatever means necesssry...

Playtest of Castle Blackstone

 So... I was able to convince my lovely partner to play D&D again to test out my megadungeon. (I have to play Don't Starve with her now) 

Well, for starters I tested out my new character creation. Something that can tackle the evocative NWP's and background professions from 2e onward and WFRP in the simple and vague style of OD&D.

Process goes as this:

Roll 3d6 down the line, you can exchange 2 stats once only. 

Choose a race, there is no guide. Just tell me what type of thing you want to play and i'll give you options of things from my setting. There's even distinct human cultures, even humans get some actual uniqueness from one another.

Roll background profession, which gives you [subject] lore and the practice of your profession as skills (You don't roll, just explain how what you are trying to do is covered by them).

Choose "class" starting kit, which deals equipment and starting weapons/spells/bullshit.

No rolling for gold (5 gp for everyone to start), and everyone knows Common (Varies by region) and their racial language.

Castle Blackstone: Introduction

Castle Blackstone - Level 1 "The landing zone

Here's level 1 of the dungeon. It includes the reception for the "inner circle" type club of magic-y bullshit happening on level 2, various oddities like magic obelisks and pools of waters that serve as portals, monster settlements and foreshadows to deeper levels  via magical elevator halls and closed off passageways. 

I really enjoyed this portion of the dungeon's creation because anything could go, themes weren't set and there was no real need to explain why things where in their place yet. Things like the stated portals, obelisk or the giant restroom full of feces golems. A lot of ways up and down as well, this was also the moment I realize exactly how huge a megadungeon actually is if at level 1 you're already going down multiple levels and breaking off into sub levels. 

Castle Blackstone - Sub-level 1a "Upper Armories of the Third Deep" 

Still WIP (You see that big ass hall going off the map don't you?). So far i've decided this portion is going to display the later decision by the Dungeon's creator to bring on Dwarven workers (Humanoid insects artificially created during the Star Federation Era of my setting)

Hexagonal flagstones, a clinical and symmetrial architecture mark the whole sub-level but are evident especially in bis ass hall right here. Along with that, there's less upkeep here and a lot more hidden treasure in greater quantities but inversely more monsters skulking about.

Oh yeah a river runs through this level as well. 🧙🏽‍♂️

Post the First: Purpose

 Hello all, and welcome to this cozy shit den on my corner of the internet. I am the Oaksmoker, Mage extraordinaire and world famous Short King/Hobbit/Goblin Minion (my partner's preffered title for me.)

In more serious matters, i've started this blog to archive and share the various content I create for OSR D&D purposes. 

Mainly things within my setting of Anathea, an homage (pale echo?) to the more Post-Colapse Sci-Fantasy vibes that D&D was born from. This encompasses maps of regions and locales like dungeons or settlements, lore of the world, current projects and short fiction (we'll see about that one dude).

Not to worry, I plan on having some D&D theory in here. Perhaps even glimpses into my work to mould OD&D + AD&D 1e/2e into a ruleset more specified for my setting. 

I've dragged it too long, see y'all in the first real post.

-Oaksmoker, Short King and Magic Man