Seeing as how I usually post a few WIP images over on discord (and/or the YouTube community page) – I thought that I would try something a bit different with this latest project… and also share my progress in a YouTube ‘short’ (as can be seen HERE).
Anyway, enough of all that – the main reason I’m posting today is to say that the next video (the obelisks video) is live…
...and, as usual, you can find the (pay-what-you-want) pdf file over on DriveThruRPG.Hope you like ‘em!
So, while today saw my last #dungeon23 entry for a while, yesterday also saw the completion of this year's 'build along' (so yeah, it's been a busy month).
Anyway, since I haven't been talking much about this years project here on the blog, I thought I would do a quick post today that features all of January's videos - just to get caught up... so here goes!
So yeah, that's another level of the 'build along' dungeon done - and if you've been making it yourself, then feel free to post your progress over on the Facebook community page or Discord server if you like.
Furthermore, I've been keeping track of the encounters in THIS google doc if you're interested in printing out a written copy of the dungeon (though be warned - it's very rough :) ).
Anyway, if you have been following along, I hope you've enjoyed it - and if not - well... next month I'll be getting back to my normal kind of videos ;)
NOTE: the write-up for this entire level can be found HERE.
31. SEAT OF ELEMENTAL EARTH
Like the passage leading into it, the floor here is made of packed earth – but it is uneven and cracked.
Opposite the entrance, and near to the far wall, is a simple throne that appears to have been carved from a solid block of stone.
Slumped upon the throne is the skeletal figure of a large warrior (with scraps of rusted armour still strapped to it in places, and a notched blade resting upon its lap).
ENCOUNTER: Anyone approaching the throne will cause the skeleton to sit upright and initiate combat (treat it as a normal skeleton with twice as many HP, and an additional +1 to hit and to damage). Furthermore, at the beginning of each round roll a d6 and consult the table below:
*note that once all 5 ‘graves’ have been exhausted, roll a d4 instead. |
REVELATION: Upon the finger of the skeleton warrior is the ring of elemental earth (a golden ring bearing the shield-like emblem pictured below). Anyone wearing this ring may invoke its power (once per day) and gain a +1 bonus to AC for one hour (due to their skin taking on a stone-like quality).
END OF LEVEL NOTES
And that’s it for the first level of the dungeon!
And while it’s been a (mostly) fun exercise, I do think that I’m going to take a break from the whole #dungeon23 thing for a while – and maybe come back to it later in the year.
The main reason for this is largely time related. I have so much stuff that I want to do this year, that taking on another project is a bit unwise – plus, I have to admit that the whole OGL drama that’s been happening this month has sucked a bit of fun out of the hobby (for me at least).
But yeah, on the whole I’m pretty happy with my progress - and while the dungeon isn’t anything particularly original, I do think that it wouldn’t be a terrible experience to play through it sometime :)
Plus, it’s also given me a couple of ideas for some new terrain for the YouTube channel (as I’m kinda tempted to make a couple of obelisks now – one that looks kinda ‘good’ and the other that’s more sinister in appearance).
Anyway, I’ll end this post by saying thank you for following along, and here’s a little gif that I’ve put together that tracks each day’s progress. Enjoy…
As some of you might know, last year, Wargames Atlantic sent me a couple of sets of their miniatures to check out...
(the three boxes that I received)
...and, if you missed my previous review, you can see some of the ‘bulldogs’ at the end of THIS video (and a follow up review HERE on the blog).
However, being mainly a sci-fi and fantasy gamer, I wasn’t quite sure how I could use a set of historical figures from the late 1800s/early 1900s in my games (i.e. the ‘boxers’) – though doubtlessly, if that is a time period that you are interested in, then these mini’s might be exactly the kind of thing that you’re looking for!
(there are 6 sprues in the box – for a total of 30 miniatures)
That being said, seeing as how a lot of fantasy settings can be fairly anachronistic at times, I thought that if I only used the spears and swords (i.e. if I ignore all of the rifles) – then they’d work perfectly well in the kind of games that I normally like to run.
As such, here’s a ‘monk’ miniature that I’ve assembled and painted up… and I have to say that I’m pretty pleased with how he’s turned out.
I mean, he went together easily enough (I used Humbrol poly cement), and there’s plenty of details for washes to do their thing – while at the same time, not being overburdened with too many of the bits and bobs that sometimes plague ‘fantasy’ models.
Furthermore, I also needed to make some spirit models and some statures for an adventure I’ve been writing (it’s the one featured in season two of the dungeon BUILD ALONG series) – and these seemed like the perfect models for that.
Mainly because, as I say, that’s something I needed to get painted up for the adventure – but also, to show what these models look like with the most basic of paint jobs (which you can see in the following pic’s).
And, I hope you’ll agree, they’ll do the job nicely. The only drawback I can see is that, like all of the other sets, you’re expected to supply your own bases.
Now, for me, that’s not really an issue – as I like to use various size (2mm thick) mdf bases for most of my models – just to maintain a consistent look. But I can see how that might be slightly annoying for some folks.
But yeah, one the whole, they’re another nice set of models – doubly so if the boxer rebellion conflict is something that you are interested in. But like I’ve (hopefully) shown in this article, they can just as easily be put to use in our fantasy games – and they’ve definitely been a good way of adding some more variety to my own model collection.
(a group shot – including another statue that I put together)
30. CURVED PASSAGE
The floor here is made of packed earth for the most part – save for six burial slabs (roughly 5ft. square) running down the centre of the passage.
Each of these slabs bears a line or two of text in a long forgotten tongue.
REVELATION: Should any of the stones be lifted up, and the ground beneath them excavated, a single skeletal figure will be found – buried a few inches down, and curled up in a fetal position. Buried alongside each of them is a rusty blade and a tattered shield.
29. FORGE OF ELEMENTAL FIRE
The floor of this chamber is made from obsidian, and against the far wall is a large forge with its fire lit.
In each corner of the room is a small niche – inside of which is set a burning brazier.
REVELATION: None of the flames in this room give off any heat (they are simply a realistic version of a continual flame spell). However, further investigation of the braziers will reveal that, not only has a golden ring been set in the heart of the flames, but there are also a series of numbers inscribed upon the floor in front of each. These are as follows (i.e. the first five number sequence is at the base of the Northwest brazier, the second four number sequence is in the Northeast, and so on):
To solve this puzzle a player/character need only replace each of the numbers with the corresponding letter of the alphabet (i.e. 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, and so on) – and that will reveal that sequence 6·9·18·5 spells out the word FIRE. As such, picking up that ring has no adverse effect – however, each time an incorrect ring is removed, a serpentine gout of flame issues from the forge and attacks (treat as a Fire Snake).
(note that the correct ring allows the wearer to cast ‘light’ once per day, whereas an incorrect ring has no special power, and will be slightly too small to fit upon the finger of the statue in room 23)
28. TWISTING PASSAGE
The walls of this passage are filled with small burial niches – each of them holding a single cremation urn (some intact, others less so).
A flickering light is visible around the corner (coming from area 29).
REVELATION: There are a total of 42 niches in this passage – though around half of the urns are broken. Most of the remaining urns contain little more than ashes and small bone fragments – though a thorough search (with a successful roll) uncovers 2 golden teeth at the bottom of one, and a small toy soldier (carved from ivory and worth around 50gp) tucked behind another.
