In Defense of the Dungeon

In Defense of the Dungeon:

I know this blog seemed to be geared towards 2^nd Ed. But I’ve noticed a trend within some of the 4E community, a version of D&D I also play. This trend has been the idea of rethinking the dungeon or abandoning it altogether. While they have some good or at least interesting points here and here I feel a need to defend the dungeon and what it is. I also know my argument is incomplete but I felt it was important to say the words while people are still interested rather than refine them until after the point people. care. If you have comments please leave them.

In D&D the Moldvay Basic Set the basic definition of dungeon as this: "A place, underground and often among ruins, where the players adventure."

I feel that is a good description but can be expanded just a little more. A dungeon is any confined place or places an adventure happens. It is where the PCs believe their goal lies, or at least treasure and monsters. It need not be underground and it need not be abandoned.

By my definition a dungeon can be many things. It can be sewers the PCs retreat into after benig chased by the guards because a local accused on of them to be a Witch. Or it could be warehouse the PCs break into to rescue an abducted merchant prince. Or it could be a series of caves the goblins raiding local farmsteads have holed up in. In any case it is likely to be the place battles will happen in and a map will be drawn for. However, the confusion/disapointment most people are railing against is the traditional dungeon. Like those found here.

These traditional dungeons are confined spaces. They help new DMs because it limits the options they can expect PCs to make and reduces the amount of space a DM must flesh out when creating something new. They can be very elaborate or simple in design, but allow a creative DM to tell a story if that is the type of game he or it can simple be a series of rooms that interconnect to create several combat encounters.

D&D is a fantasy game. And Gary Gygax writes in the 1st Edition AD&D DMG  "Wealth abounds; it is simply awaiting the hand bold and strong enough to take it! This is a basic precept to fantasy adventure gaming ... And are not there dragons with great hoards? Tombs with fantastic wealth and fell guardians? Rapacious giants with spoils? Dwaven mines brimming with gems? ... Why the list goes on and on!" All of this is a typical pulp fantasy milieu.  The common folk are too afraid and ill equipped to take the treasure lying around. This treasure and others can be found on the fringes of civilization while people continue to explore further and further out, the world grows older and darker and eventually what once was found is lost again and the cycle repeats.



To frame it in a 4E points of light perspective. Every time a light goes out new dungeons are beginning to form as castles topple and the land takes back what is hers. As the land fills in around a fallen fortress it is forgotten except in myth and legends. Eventually something happens and an opening is revealed. The creatures that are not part of civilization but instead prey upon it find these openings and begin using them to again plague local townships.
But the above doesn't need to happen it could be something that has never ceased being populated but is far enough from civilization that most have forgotten about it if they ever knew it once existed. The type of dungeon is partly dependent on the location and the locations can vary greatly. And also on the type and variety of monsters inside as well as the relationships between those monsters. Sometimes it can be confrontational like the the cults in the T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil and other times it can be helpfully symbiotic like the Orcs and Basilisks in A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity
A secret temple built by a religion to keep an ancient and powerful artifact safe. Might have humans guards on the first level. A few wandering deeper in to keep the monstrous guardians fed. But as you go deeper the wards get stronger and immortal representatives of the cult keep this artifact safe.
A tower created by a mad wizard might have several areas where food can be scraped from walls or conjured via magical portals. Creatures once used for experimentation have broken free and formed small communities after the wizard disappeared. Lines of influence have been drawn and with the exception of small raiding parties these creatures cannot get further in or out from what they have staked out. The creatures have been struggling so long for mere survival the knowledge of the magical items that surround them have been lost to generations.
Above are just two ways in which diverse dungeons can be populated and be seemingly maintainable without stretching too far the veil of suspended disbelief.

As the PCs enter and explore these areas it is up to their creativity to determine how they interact with it. If the DM restricts the space they can adventure in, he or she is not only limiting the creativity of the players by saying you cannot pass until you do complete this task he is also breaking the fragile suspension of disbelief and thin veil of pseudo reality created by the above. This is most notable by limiting the interaction of the dungeon as an ecosystem and creating that sense of pre-generated stagnancy of a dungeon awaiting in suspended animation awaiting adventurers to solve its problems. It also enforces the feeling of safety players get that the DM will only dispense level appropriate challenges and level appropriate times that can always be over come by level appropriate applications of violence.

This is why the traditional dungeon is something that should still be preserved and considered as a fundamental element of the D&D game in this generation and in the future. It is a place where strange things happen. It is the reason not everyone is an adventurer and rich beyond their dreams. It is also the reason we can have a world that "works" in our imaginations but also has monsters that can tear most things to shreds and yet the frail humanoid races without levels can still survive.

Last PC Creation Post: Going Shopping

This will be my last post about character creation until Tillam dies horribly (possibly eaten by rats or in a fire). But I wanted to discuss something that seems to have taken a back seat in 4th edition. Equipping a PC with mundane items and having a detailed inventory of all your equipment how you are carrying it and how much it all weighs.

There are many schools of thought for equipping a PC. The quick summary of those I've encountered are:

1) Spend all your gold on a wide and varied selection of things eventually you will find a use for that stuff.
2) Buy only those items you know you will need. Gold can be spent on items as you know you need them.
3) Buy a standard set of equipment the same list of items every time for every character.

I must admit I usually option for something between options 1 and 3. This time, however, given that the campaign will be city based and Tillam is a moderately well to do businessman I've decided to go with a foppish style of equipment mostly clothing and changes of it along with a few pieces any good thief would need.

Very little of my equipment needs explanation it is all the basic stuff from the PhB but here I present his equipment. All the while trying to stay acutely aware of my carrying capacty of 35 lbs. I also do try to keep track of what is on Tillam's person and where in the event a pickpocket attempt happens.

Item	Notes	Weight	Local.
Belt		-	Worn
Cloak	Cloth	-	Worn
Leather Armor	AC 8	15	Worn
Dagger	2 on belt 2 in boots 1 on chest	5	Worn
Thieves Tools	Special Set	1	Belt
Boots	Soft	0	Worn
Surcoat		0	Worn
Tunic		0	Worn
Breeches		0	Worn
Hose		0	Worn
Gloves		0	Worn
Sack Large		.5	Pack
Sack Small	x2	.2	Pack
Backpack		2	Worn
Pouch Small	x2	1	Belt
Pouch Large		1	Belt
Flint & Steel	in S. Pouch 1	0	Worn
Chalk	in S. Pouch 1	0	Worn
Hooded Lantern	Backpack	2	Worn
Lamp Oil	x2 in L Pouch	2	Worn
Lamp Oil	2		Stored
Torch			Stored
Sealing Wax			Stored
Gloves			Stored
Hose	3		Stored
Breeches	2		Stored
Tunic	2		Stored
Boots	Soft		Stored
Belt			Stored
	Total Weight	31.9

Tillam's Thoughts 1

10-2-1758VR

Tillam, sat in atrium and sipped his drink. It was raw outside but the alcohol helped to warm him. It also helped keep his head clear and he had a lot to think about. It had been a rough few days. He began to sort through the events. First there was the damage to repair to his house. But at least the trap worked, it is a shame when a security man cannot discuss or show the success of his traps. But still it works and helped even the odds. Well as much as the odds could have been evened. That “man” if he can be called that was strong and fast. He gave me a good drubbing. All because of something my father stole? I wonder if it has to do with the “Punchline” affair. That had the SPQV on my doorstep that morning and early as well. The two things almost have to be connected. Dad wasn’t a thief. I am, but he could barely run a business let alone become a privateer and take a ship.

He sighed, took another sip and began to organize himself and his thoughts better. There is a lot to work out and the new job with Alexi and the Tiapetra’s. No, I can’t get distracted. First things first look at the past sort it out so I can deal with the future.

Last night a tall and incredibly strong “man”. named Maliekas. picked my masterful lock. He came in with 2 thugs. I don’t know why he hired the thugs they were completely unnecessary. They proved it by falling for the trap. One died and the other broke a leg. I suppose that’s why. To a “man” like Maliekas hiring thugs to trigger a trap instead of him was worth it. He was certainly looking for me, but I don’t know what his intentions were. Who holds up a man by the neck and then interrogates him? How did he expect me talk? Then with the pummeling. I’m just glad he missed me once in the dark. Probably means he can’t see in it. After the miss I got him talking. He wanted to know where my father was. I was starting to get some information from him until Aunt Fiora came bursting out her room like crazy bat she is. What did she think she was doing? She could have impaled me. All while I was getting the situation under control. Clearly, Fiora wasn’t thinking I’ll have to try and have a talk with her. Things are getting dangerous.

Back to events though, I got him talking about why he was there. He wanted information on Dad’s where abouts. I couldn’t give him anything because the old codger took off 19 months ago. I thought it was to find a quiet place to die. Apparently not! So Maliekas having revealed that information and easily dodging Fiora’s wild charge knocks here out and tells me ominously we will meet again to discuss the retrieval of what my father stole.

Tillam mulls those events over, then drinks a little more. After he took off, I began inspecting the carnage. The cantilever works dropping 120lbs of pain onto the would be thugs. One was crushed to other lamed. I learned Maliekas’name from him and that Maliekas either is or was once a priest. The lame duck also told me they got paid half in advance. I didn’t want to deal with the consequence or disposal of 2 dead bodies so I made him think he was getting off with a good bargain keeping his gold and crawling away. Maybe one day if I need a cheap thug that owes me the rest of his life I’ll try to collect that debt. But what to do with the body? I got lucky there. Xan “Sausage Fingers” was around sniffing at what might be scavenged from my shop. Seeing as I was still alive he seemed a touch disappointed. But I was able to convince him to come by at the start of his rat catching duties to pick-up some free rat bait. So at least the body wasn’t hard to get rid of. And he had some things on him. Hopefully the fillings and 5 of dinar can repair the damage to the stairs and banister.

That morning was almost as scary though. I open the shop to find an SPQV at the door. Don’t know if he saw anything interesting there. But he was looking for me. He wanted to know if I knew about my father’s location. Since I wasn’t much help he attempted to ply me with information to see if I’d let anything slip. It seems dad may or may not have had some correspondence dealing with a ship called the “Punchline” it was very unclear if he helped privateer the ship or if he had other dealings with it. But the SPQV wanted what information I could get. I asked Auntie to see if there were any notes in the old books. She kept them so hopefully she’ll know and find them within the next 3 days before SQPV Wren comes back.

My day went rather smoothly after that, until a very awkward thug, Giovani Benecheck, strong-armed me into being a security man on a job. His leverage was, the last of dad’s old debts, I got the ballooned interest cut down. At least it seems unlikely they’d kill me after the job is done. The deal wasn’t too good. After the job I’ll still have the principal balance to pay off. But it is something. Giovani told me to await a tall unkempt gutter Bruthalese named Alexi. The job could be interesting lots of new construction so the countermeasures are new but also likely untried. It will be a test my skills and probably everyone else’s as well.

Finishing his glass, Tillam, looks sadly at it. Then smiles, Alexi Patrovovich, is what I was told to expect. He’s trying to hard to not be a street kid. But the details of the job are very unclear. He’s still putting together the team. What I know is this: The house belongs to a man named Ferante. It is a villa in Stabientia and has canal access. The building is a guarded compound and we need to get in to find a vault inside to retrieve a box that belongs to Ferante’s son Septimo. It seems unlikely Ferante made this money as the barge pilot he claims to be. I’ve advised Alexi to find some muscle and get more information on the man. I also got Xan hired on to get us into the building he know the sewers of Stabientia and with luck will help us avoid notice getting in. I think we should have at least 2 exits one of them being a boat on the canal the other going back into the sewers. If we rabbit onto the streets the odds are in Ferante’s favor because I don’t doubt a man that owns a compound also own some of the men and buildings around.

With one last look at his empty glass, Tillam stands, straightens himself out. He claps warmth back into his hands. He has a meeting to go to and call him many things but never late for dinner.

Contacts in the City of Varo

Oodja the DM pulled a card from Shadow run and has decided to use something similar to their contacts mechanic. A PC can have between 2 and 12 contact points. A contact has a level and a loyalty. The higher the level the more access they have to resources and knowledge. The higher the loyalty the more often the contact can be used and the more of their resources they are willing to devote to you. A contact maximum level and loyalty can be 4 each rank required one point. A PC can choose to accept a flat 7 or roll 2d6. 


Embracing the randomness and rolls found in AD&D I decided to roll I got a 10. Thinking about Tillam, I considered generating 5 1/1 contacts. But I like to think that Tillam is the kind of person everyone likes so I decided to generate a 3/3 contact somebody that Tillam trusts and trusts Tillam and is well connected. I then decide to generate 2 other 1/1 contacts. I now present my contacts and their details some things are intentionally left open and available for the Oodja to fill in and use.

1) Fenzani Orentes 3/3

Fenznai is the owner and occasional chef of Oentes'. For the most part he will only cook for his friends. And Fenzani is a great chef. He's the creator of Kobold Slathered in Nutella. Orentes' is a pub with rooms to rent. It sits just outside of Stabentia, but the area's kept clean and safe by Fenzani. He wants clientèle to feel safe. While he may want people to feel safe if anyone was thinking of being a deadbeat he's got a great payment plan. If you don't pay then you go fishing. Depending on his mood and how many fishermen he's got you either end up working the hauling, from his boat "Legitimate Girl" or you get put inside the lobster pots.

Fenzani didn't always have this life of legitimacy. For years Orentes' was the public facing side of his business and the "Working Girl", as she used to be called, was used to smuggle cargo in from larger vessels. They would drop the contraband off into his lobster pots or connected to his buoys and he'd pick up. But he's been out of the game for years. He left when he got fed up after finding his wife, and I forget if it was his 2nd or 4th or 6th wife, having her locks picked by his former security man. He had them both put out then he got out. 

Fenzani for all his mischievous activities has done very well for himself in many aspects but his greatest failure has been with wives. He hasn't tad one in some time. But, when he did; the odd numbered ones weren't that interesting the even numbered wives all have stories that drive him to drink. Each has a tale and a nickname "Picked Locks" has already been described, there was also "Angel" face like one but a tendency to drink and to knife anyone dumb enough to think of "taking advantage" which made her a great girl until she shivved a rivals conciliator after peace talks turned to festivities, and there was also "Harpy" depending on how much Fenzani's been drinking "Harpy" either screeched enough to crack glass or was actually a harpy either way "she fell off a boat onto her own private island". The odd numbers just died unceremoniously, the first in childbirth, the 3rd on a ferry in winter while visiting her sister & newborn, and the 5th to plague.

As is clear he's been around. Still has some muscle to do work for him and he keeps things secure around his place. He's doing his best to go legit, well as legit as any crime boss will go.

2) Skjelmund 1/1

Skjelmund once was a viking. A great raider, was he. He had a tendency to put anything flammable to the torch, but he also had an eye for valuables. This served him well until one day a Skald told a tale that showed he made out better viking than the chieftain running it. He lost his right eye and most of his left hand. Now he resides in Varo fat and wealthy of the sales of his viking antiquities. He's a fence but nobody's ever hauled him up on charges, and those who know he's a fence wouldn't admit proven it and some claim for the right cut he'll provide his associates with weapons and munitions not normally available inside the walls of Varo.

3) Fullmen Sattelles 1/1

Fullmen Sattelles an adopted member of One of the Great Merchant Houses. He's an educated and swift individual he keeps the books and always tries to get ahead. However, since he's really only good at keeping the books it has limited his upwards mobility. He's an awkward man always looking at you like he's tallying your current value against the time he's spent on you. If the tally gets imbalanced to his; determinant he'll cut you off. But since he keeps the books, he could be useful and I suspect more people owe him favors for burying an expenditure here and there than he admits. But he also knows and catalogs each time it happens and has a price associated with each.

Skills, Kits, and Proficiencies Oh My!

Creating The First Character Continued

When we left off Tillam had stats and a background but that was about it. Now I’ve got a lot of things to add to flesh him out. Including starting gold, assigning my languages, my non weapon proficiencies (the things I’m really good at), my weapon proficiencies (the weapons I know how to wield effectively), assign my rogue skill points, and pick a kit (a way to further customize my character similar to prestige classes or paragon paths but for 1^st level characters)

 Now Tillam is, in AD&D terms, an exceptionally smart person so he knows 4 languages in addition to common and thieves cant, which is exclusive to rogues. I decide to spend 3 of them on regional languages of the system. I keep on in reserve this is because we are using an optional rule that allows bonus languages to be spent on additional Non-Weapon Proficiencies. The languages I have chosen are Shan-Li (a common language among the working class), High Salumar (the Latin of this world), and Channar (the language of poets)

From there I began looking towards my Non-Weapon Proficiencies (NWP). Rogues get the short end of the stick here because they start with only 3 NWPs and get a new one ever 4 levels unlike the other classes which get a new NWP every 3. The PhB and other expansion books cover a lot of skills and deal with the things common people adventurers and skilled laborers would do.

I should also pause here for a second; especially since I’m ranting. Some Kits require specific NWPs be taken or provide you with bonuses so I should pick one before I go one. So I should look at that before going onward. The kit that most fits what I envision for Tillam is the Troubleshooter. This odd kit is a security expert, he is in many ways a white hat hacker. I like that about it. The kit requires the Observation NWP. It also has some bonuses to my thief’s skill. Aside from that the advantage and disadvantage is I’m a walking lightning rod for Murphy’s Law and for plot. Anything can go fantastically or terribly for me. It is up to the DM to dole that luck out in equal measure. I’m sure Oodja is up to that job.

Now to, finish selecting my NWPs. I have observation. I also want to emphasize the business man aspect of Tillam so I add the Locksmith NWP witch will also work for clock repair. Tillam’s a charismatic guy and to emphasize that plus his intelligence I take Fast Talking hopefully it will help me bamboozle hirelings into taking a cheaper rate and also give me an advantage when working out contracts. Finally since I have High Salumar as a spoken language I should take Reading/Writing to emphasize his learned aspect and because High Salumar is mostly dead language found primarily in writing.

Next I look at weapon proficiencies. I immediately decide to select the dagger as one of them. It is an excellent weapon because it is a ranged and melee weapon. As a ranged weapon it is thrown and Halflings gain a +1 attack bonus to thrown weapons. As a melee weapon I can fight with 2 of them (one in each hand) and make one attack as normal and the second attack with a -1 penalty to the attack (the penalties are -2 & -4 with your dexterity modifier added as an offset but cannot provide bonuses). The second weapon I choose is a hand-crossbow. It will be a while before I can afford that 300gp luxury but I want to be able to use it when I buy one. Any other weapons I suffer a -3 penalty to attack with.

Now I the next to last step to my character needs to have thieves skills picked out. I have a lot of modifiers. There are the base skills. The 60 points I get to allocate (no more than 30 can go into an one skill) the bonuses from my race and high DEX, the bonuses from my kit, and the bonus to lockpicking from the locksmith skill. I think it is best to use a simple grid to outline what is going on here

Name	Starting Value	Modifiers	Discretionary	Total Value
Pick Pockets	15	-	7	22
Open Locks	10	+30	11	51
Find/Remove Traps	5	+10	15	30
Move Silently	10	+15	1	26
Hide in Shadows	5	+20	1	26
Detect Noise	15	+5	0	20
Climb Walls	60	-15	5	45
Read Languages	0	-5	20	15

In another installment I’ll discuss equipment I will let everyone know that while rolling for starting gold I got the slightly below average 50gp starting value.

But I think the next topic I talk about will be contacts who they are and what we can do with them. While not an item from an actual AD&D product (although the Lankhmar rules might have mention of the concept) it is something this campaign is using, inspired by ShadowRun.