Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Dwimmermount Maps

As some of you are no doubt aware, I'm in the process of putting together a megadungeon/setting book inspired by my ongoing Dwimmermount campaign. I have no firm release date in mind but it'll likely be in the Fall of this year. Like its predecessor project, The Cursed Chateau, it'll be compatible with any class-and-level fantasy RPG, but this time around I'm probably going to be hewing more closely to Labyrinth Lord, since it's the retro-clone that's actually closest to the way I play OD&D these days.

Anyway, I'm in the midst of getting its maps together, employing the talented Tim Hartin (proprietor of Paratime Design and the blog Gamma Rites) to produce them. The initial release will include six levels of Dwimmermount, although they'll only go four levels "deep," as there are several side levels. One of the principles I hold dear when working on Dwimmermount is that there should be multiple routes between the various levels and sub-levels. Likewise, the levels and sub-levels don't all stack neatly on top of one another but sprawl in a variety of directions. This is, in my opinion, an antidote to monotony and a key to keeping a megadungeon interesting and challenging over the course of long-term play.

Tim very helpfully created the following image, which shows how several of Dwimmermount's upper levels relate to one another.

If the first presentation of this material proves sufficiently popular to warrant it, there will be a follow-up that details the larger and more complex depths of Dwimmermount. I should note, though, that the dungeon presented in this book won't entirely be the "real" Dwimmermount, as that's an ongoing campaign and I prefer to keep its contents secret from my players. That said, the maps and their contents include many elements directly lifted from the actual Dwimmermount, for those who care about such things.

23 comments:

  1. That actually looks fantastic! And the layout with things spread around, rather than all stacked on top of each other is exactly how my megadungeon works too!

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  2. "Likewise, the levels and sub-levels don't all stack neatly on top of one another but sprawl in a variety of directions."

    Excellent. This is how it should be. Three-dimensionality within a level would be great, too, but that can be tough to do right on a 2-d map.

    (Well, for an artistic incompetent like me, it is.)

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  3. Looking forward to any and all future developments! Thanks!

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  4. Excellent, I suspected you would do this and wholeheartedly endorse the product. You have a guaranteed sale with me.

    I also agree with modifying it for publication. Since the actual dungeon is in always changing, trying to capture it "as it really is" would be like trying to capture the wind.

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  5. Together with Stonehell and the Castle of the Mad Archmage, Dwimmermount has been a fabulous source of inspiration.

    The maps juxtaposition looks really inspiring... I wonder what could be found in those large empty spaces? Bare rock? I don't think so...

    I'll be definitely looking forward to this book!

    ---

    Word Verification: dizookin (fey relatives of kobolds)

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  6. Nice! But damn, can't you sign the players to a "Won't look a the product" contract so we can get the ongoing "real" D.mount?

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  7. Excellent! Looking forward to finding out MORE.

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  8. Very cool. I love the way the maps stack atop one another.

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  9. I am ready to Pre-Order. Looks fantastic.

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  11. Is that a Moon Pool I spy with my X=Ray Dungeon Eye? <grin>

    Looks good. Kudos to Tim for the cartography.

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  12. where is the buy button, must buy. BUY.
    Thanks I been reading you dungeon with interest each week. I am running StoneHell, than Dwimmermount will be next.

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  13. Those are some excellent maps. You'd have to sell these smeared with dog feces for me to even consider not buying. You got yourself a sale here.

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  14. Sold! to the beatnik pig in a beret.

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  15. You've mentioned in the past that most of the rooms in dwimmermount you've rolled contents for on the fly. Are you planning to key all those rooms for this, or leave them as you used them, to be determined in play?

    I'm more curious to see a presentation with tables for stocking with a few set rooms than a fully fleshed out description for each room.

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  16. This looks really cool, even from a 3.5E-use standpoint. Consider me another buyer!

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  17. I wonder what could be found in those large empty spaces? Bare rock? I don't think so...

    The big space in the middle is where another level is located. It's just not included in the image I posted here.

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  18. Nice! But damn, can't you sign the players to a "Won't look a the product" contract so we can get the ongoing "real" D.mount?

    The "real" Dwimmermount includes a lot of stuff not fit for use by anyone but myself. By that I mean that, when I started the dungeon, I had no intention of sharing it with others, so I initially designed a lot of it rather haphazardly and coherently. Those levels probably wouldn't translate well into a published product. My approach changed as time went on, though, so the deeper you go into the dungeon, the closer it is to the place my players have seen.

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  19. Is that a Moon Pool I spy with my X=Ray Dungeon Eye?

    No comment :)

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  20. I'm more curious to see a presentation with tables for stocking with a few set rooms than a fully fleshed out description for each room.

    That is, more or less, my plan. Presenting a full megadungeon in a compact format is difficult. Stonehell took one approach and I'll be employing another one, namely to leave a lot of rooms empty of monsters, treasures, and, in some cases, descriptions, to give the referee leeway to make it his own. I will include suggested monsters and treasures, along with descriptions of unique dungeon features, like the "cleric tree," the moon pool, the azoth reservoir, and so on.

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