New Map-A-Week


This entry is simply called Castle. As the original archive stated, "The five sections of this castle can be used as separate modules or can fit together for a larger floorplan." It's a nice idea, but looking at the sections, it is really hard to see how to fit them together. The third module (the square on the middle left) has two double doors leaving the great hall (35), but there isn't any other connection on that map, and there's no other door entrance on the other maps. Like the ruins map, there are staircases on every level that could conceivably connect them as well, but again, it's hard to see how. Frankly, this would work better as another dungeon, this one with less ruins. And these would be easy to expand without connecting them, since every section (except the third one) has multiple entrance and exit points.

So this is Ardismouth Castle. Or at least, a part of this map is a part of that castle. I'm going to tie it in with the ruins from the previous post by saying that they were sister fortresses until the first one, which is now Bruckstone Castle, was destroyed. A part of me was hoping that the maps were similar so I could use them as a before-and-after map, but you can't have everything.

I'm going to use three of these sections as part of the same castle. The bottom right section is the main part of the castle; the two passages leading left and right at the top will lead to the first section (top left) on the left, and the second section (top right) from the right-hand corridor. I'll leave the other two sections for now. For this post, I will just stock the main section (rooms 44-60).

44. Priest's Chamber. A small, spartan room for the chaplain.

45. Library. Mostly religious books.

46. Chapel. Quiet prayer for the guards and servants.

47. Guard Room. 2 guards at all times (2nd-level fighters).

48. Guard Room. Two more guards (also 2nd-level fighters).

49. Grand Hall. Tapestries adorn the walls. The floor is polished marble, and the doors are extravagantly carved and decorated. The door handles are gold, and the double doors at the end of the hall are covered in mystical sigils that warn of deadly danger to those who are not welcome. (The door is covered with explosive runes and a sepia snake sigil that activates when any unauthorized person tries to open them.)

50. Guard Room. Two more 2nd-level fighters. All the guards surrounding the Great Hall watch through peepholes for any trouble.

51. Guard Room. Yep, two more 2nd-level fighters. Plus a 4th-level fighter who acts as the guard sergeant and commands the entire squad.

52. Guard Room. No, it's not fighters this time; it's a pack of six dogs, trained to obey the guards in 48.

53. Audience Chamber. The King's guests and supplicants wait in this chamber until summoned before the King.

54. Guard Room. More dogs, six of them, who obey their trainer, a 1st-level fighter who stays with them in this room.

55. Fortified Room. A last resort if escape is cut off; this room is protected by a magic circle against evil, and the walls and door are reinforced. There is also food and water here, enough to last five people two weeks.

56. Armory. There is a stack of weapons and armor here in case the King is forced to escape through the secret door in 58; all of his guards are aware of the room and its contents.

57. Antechamber. The King will hold more private meetings in this chamber outside of the pomp and circumstance of the Throne Room.

58. Throne Room. When the King is present, this is where he holds court. Even when he isn't here, the throne room is guarded at all times by four fourth-level fighters.

59. Treasure Room. This doubles as a panic room for the king if necessary. It normally holds a selection of valuables that can be used as an emergency fund if dire circumstances arise.

60. Escape Room. The staircase in this room leads to a passage that in turn leads to a secret exit half a mile away.

I'm expecting my package to arrive tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to digging into the DMG next. If it doesn't show, I'll stock the other two sections instead.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

May 2000

Image
Again, two things on the list as we get closer to the release date. This time, the online character is  Tordek, the Dwarven Fighter . He's got the usual 1st, 4th and 7th-level writeups. His first-level sheet shows that he's using an Exotic weapon, the dwarven waraxe. He had to take the proficiency for it as a separate feat. He also took Weapon Focus (dwarven waraxe), which according to the previous Countdown article means he's getting a +1 to his attack rolls with it. We get the dwarven special abilities here of darkvision (replacing infravision, but different from what the elves got), Intuit unusual stonework (+2), which is undefined at this time, as well as a saving throw bonus vs. poison and spells and a +1 bonus to hit goblinoids and orcs. Other than that, not much else of interest here. On his 4th-level writeup we see how the fighter bonus feats add up quickly; he now has five feats, adding Improved Initiative, Dodge, and Specialization with his dwarven waraxe. His 7th...
Read more

Dungeon Master's Guide Chapter 7

Image
Okay, so now we get to look at the real reason people go on adventures: The Rewards. This chapter covers experience points, treasure, and other rewards. It's another short one, so let's jump right in. First, XP. This is how you level up. I've already seen the basics of the XP system in the 2000 Survival Kit in the back of the Player's Handbook . The system is basically unchanged in the DMG. First of all, every encounter has a Challenge Rating. Monsters, NPCs, and traps all have CRs which indicate how tough they are to overcome, and how many XP the party receives from overcoming them. Note that XP for treasure is no longer a thing. That's a big part of the old system removed, but on the other hand, leveling up is a lot faster now, and the rules suggest that characters should be advancing roughly one level per adventure now. Which is going to shorten campaigns, since if you're reaching the highest levels of play after only twenty or so sessions, you're not goi...
Read more

June 2000

Image
Closing in on the release date, and we've got a bigger batch to go through today. In addition to the Countdown article, Dragon had its annual 'dragons' issue, including our first look at a 3rd edition monster writeup. But first...we have  Ember, the Human Monk  to look at. They formatted this sheet differently from the prior ones. It's not spaced out very well, and everything is listed in a column format without abbreviations. It's the same information as the previous characters, but it just feels off. And the artwork makes it clear that Ember is not from the far East, but rather the Dark Continent. Interestingly, the levels on this sheet are 1st, 3rd and 7th. I'm not sure why they did the switch, but there it is. For 1st level, Ember's top stats are Strength and Wisdom, and she's skilled in acrobatic-type skills. At 3rd, I noticed that her movement speed went up, and I don't see a magic item to explain that, so I'll assume it's a class featu...
Read more