Posted on by Magnus Seter

FAL General: Dungeon of Doom II (UPDATED)

At this very moment I am running the popular dungeon delve Dungeon of Doom at the Stockholm Spelkonvent, in Stockholm, Sweden, together with my friends. We’ve printed a map 2 meters by 2,40 meters, created by the talented Dante Algstrand and based on WotC dungeon tiles. You can catch a glimpse of it in the pictures below!

We’re using the D&D 4e rules, and the players get to pick a PC at random, and then go into our dungeon facing overwhelming odds. PCs are killed left to right, and the players love it!

UPDATE: The Dungeon of Doom is a simple and very popular concept. I had the idea several years ago and together a group of friends put together a killer dungeon for D&D 3e. We had maps, kill markers, overwhelming monsters, adversarial dungeon mastering, and low level PCs. And dropin. Anyone could play, and it took about 15 minutes for their PC to get whacked. And people lined up in droves and droves.

The freewheeling manner of play, one of the basic philosophies behind my own gaming style, is a real draw. And it seems to work equally well for D&D 4e. We’re running into some things that slow down play, such as Analysis Paralysis, but a firm DM hand brings things up to speed when things get bogged down.

We have one DM, one rules assistant and one player coach. One huge map, minis for the PCs and minis for the monsters. Dice, rulebooks and stuff like that. We’ve laminated the character sheets, so players can write on them with dry erase markers.

Works like a charm!

/Magnus

Posted on by Magnus Seter

WFRP: A View from a Pram

It is all so easy to forget that Altdorf is a city divided by the broad River Reik. In the summer, when I walk about the crowded streets, among the alleys and walkways, the sheer bustle of the city whisks all thoughts of open spaces and cool waters. But always, the deep black waters of the Reik are there, waiting for me as I take an unexpected turn and end up by the banks of the river.

It is a fact of life, and while it serves as the life blood of our capital, at the same time it reinforces the social and cultural boundaries dividing the working class from the nobles and their servants of the Imperial administration.

The bridges of Altdorf serve as gateways between different worlds. They are officially under the jurisdiction of the City Watch, but since they straddle the Reik, powers are working to put the River Watch in charge of the bridges as well. This, and the fact that a bridge connects two Bezirks and therefore often fall under two City Watch jurisdictions,  means that the bridges more often than not are havens for crooks and criminals, while the powers that be squabble over who has the responsibility of keeping order … and who will get the money for doing it.

Adolphus Altdorfer

Wellentag, Erntezeit 9, 2523 IC

Go here to download the complete iAltdorf map!

Werksviertel Bezirk

/Magnus

Posted on by Magnus Seter

WFRP: Otto Stierne’s Observatory

Close to the bank of the Reik, in the Universität Bezirk, lies one of the most curious buildings in Altdorf. But it is not the shape or architecture that makes this building of interest, it is the inhabitants. I’m speaking of course of Otto Stierne, the renowned astronomer, and Heirodüle Krangelschaft, the scandalous inventor. In a tall tower overlooking the Reik, Stierne houses his celestial observatory, filled with advanced Dwarfen telescopes, intricate models of the heavenly bodies and copious maps of the starry sky above us. Here he makes his observations, trying to chart the glittering night sky and link it to our history and future. Stierne is often consulted by the Emperor and his Electors before any large decisions, and this has earned him quite a following in the capital.

Many nobles and merchants seek out his advice, although it has never been proven that his predictions are more or less accurate than any other oracle’s musings. Commanding less authority, but surpassing Stierne in notoriety, is his good friend Heirodüle Krangelschaft, the inventor. He is most known for his theories about aerial flight by the harnessing the power of alchemy and mechanics, which has resulted in several spectacular public experiments.

Curiously quite a few of his failed inventions are acquired by unknown parties, for unknown purposes. His workshop resides in the lower parts of the tower, and are filled with tools, metal, wood planks, chemicals, glass tubes, drawings and books. Every now and then a fire will clear out the workshop, but so far the tower has stood the strain of having a mad inventor residing in it.

Adolphus Altdorfer

Konistag, Vorgeheim 10, 2523 IC

Go here to download the complete iAltdorf map!

Otto Stierne's Observatory

/Magnus