Gorefest Gazette #6: Preview of the Labyrinth!

Gorefest Gazette by Richard Sharpe Volume 1, Issue 6 Wednesday, March 29, 2017 One of the reasons I stopped writing session recap narratives was that they took upwards of four hours for me to complete, and I'm already putting around 20 hours into dungeon prep every week. So, something had to go. However, as I've stated before, another reason is that the Roll20.net forum software often doesn't accept formatting very well when copy and pasted from a word processor such as Microsoft Word. Sometimes, it does an okay job, but others, it doesn't. Furthermore, the plug-in that I use to save text in the event that I accidentally close or back my browser doesn't work on Roll20.net. I can't believe I actually wrote most of the fourth session recap three times, but I did, wasting probably ten hours of work. The last time, it was one click away from being posted—that's what I was trying to do—and somehow, I hit a combination of buttons other than Alt+F4 to close the window. Worse than the wasted time and effort was the loss of my creative endeavor. I was devastated, but it forced me to finally realize that writing recaps was eating up too much of my GURPS time. That all said, I've very glad that Archie wrote a recap for the last session! It was a thrilling read; very well written. I hope he continues to regale us with his style of narrative.  Thanks, Archie!  Into the Labyrinth The Research roll made by Merideth, played by Naryar, revealed that inside the current dungeon is a maze and somewhere within that maze there is a "great treasure" of some sort. It might be gold. It might items of magical power. It might just be a life lesson that friendship is all you really need. Whatever it is (it's probably the last one), it's found in a labyrinth of passages that also contain some form of terrible danger. Everyone's probably guessing that danger has horns and hooves, but we'll see.  I love mazes, though! Some of my earliest childhood memories are of drawing them. I watched Jim Henson's  The Labyrinth at the theater when I was six years old and it influenced me profoundly. So, I'm glad that mapping for the third and final section of the current dungeon is now underway. Instead of drawing it on the current map, I've given it its own, so in reality, it's a whole 'nother dungeon, a massive one at that. Here's a preview:    That view is at just 50%, so yes, it's massive. The halls are more than three hexes wide! Dynamic lighting will be a pain, so much so that I might texture the walls and not use it. Someone might ask, "Then, won't we be able to see the solution?" Nope. Not even close.  However, while treasure chests and monsters can remain on the GM layer until discovered, areas of interest would be visible without dynamic lighting. Plus, torchlight in a maze like this would look cool, so I'll probably drudge through a number of hours adding it. What I do for you players! You'd think I like you guys! It's important to know that the current dungeon can be "completed" without entering the maze. It's really another dungeon. It will "count" as our third dungeon unless the Undercrypt is entered sooner, which will be up to the players. Dots on the Map With inspiration from the  Pyramid #3/72 article, "Dots on a Map"—not to mention the same video games that inspired both that article and the Dungeon Fantasy line as a whole—the guild in which all players are members has access to a magical gateway or dimensional portal. We've seen these portals in our first dungeon, the Slime Prison. The magic gateways look like a swirling maelstrom of crackling energy. Their locations are apparent; all have a round landing with an "endless knot" or "Celtic knot" design around its edge. The guild knows a few secrets about these portals. One is how to make them open to a random, or seemingly random, location, just as they did for the PCs' initiation into the guild. Everyone stepped through, fought monsters, rescued prisoners, and looted treasure before making it back, so they gained membership and Rank 0 in the Delver's Company. For more about the guild, see Dungeon Fantasy 17: Guilds , p. 13. Now, the players have access to the Slime Prison through the guild's gateway back in town as they have "activated" its portal. The guild's portal can only be used on the seventh day of the week, but otherwise, the players can re-enter the Slime Prison whenever they with. There is a "waypoint" in the slime prison.  There's also a waypoint in the current dungeon and, spoiler alert, it's just before the entrance to the maze. These magic gateways that act as waypoints are going to be a standard campaign feature in Gorefest Dungeon . All that Glitters Speaking of campaign features, our Australian Blue Team player, Lukas, recently found a random treasure in Gorefest Dungeon . Wait. There are random treasures? Yes. Yes, there are. In fact, here's the table:  Random Treasure Table v. 1.0.0 After taking one minute and making a successful Search roll, roll 3d and consult the following table: 3-10 — Nothing. 11-14 — 3d copper coins. 15-16 — 3d copper coins and 2d silver. 17 — 3d copper coins, 2d silver, and 1d gold. 18 — Same as 17 and roll on the "Gem Table," Treasures , p. 19. His roll indicated a gem, and to our delight, that gem turned out to be a diamond after he rolled a 6, 6 on the "Gem Table"—the only result to do so. Nice! How big, you ask? A whopping 3.5 carats! Then, we resolved its value and were let down to lean it was only worth $1,050. Boo! Another campaign feature of Gorefest Dungeon is that for every full carat above 1, we'll double the gem's value modifier. So, a ruby with a value modifier of 35 will become 70 at two carats, 140 at three carats, 280 at four carats and so forth. Remember that cutting the gem may then reduce its value modifier!  Mark—whom you may know as the player-turned-traitor who now takes the role of monsters and other enemy NPC's—and I spent some time filling the golden chest at the end of the Slime Prison with coins, but we ended up only changing the value of the silver coins from $4 to $8. Well, we'll return to the standard denominations ( Dungeons , p. 14) from now onward:  a copper farthing is $1; a silver penny, $4; and a gold piece, $80. Searching the Dungeon The following section was written after the third or fourth session. I've had it so long that I don't recall when exactly I wrote it, but it kept getting delayed and lost with the recaps. However, it's still very relevant, so here it is.  I want to briefly recapitulate some very basic rules that we've all been following, so you're probably all aware of them, but these are fundamental Dungeon Fantasy rules copy and pasted right out of Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons , pp. 6, 7. Secret Doors: Secret doors [open] to reveal hidden portals – but only when some hard-to-find control is manipulated. Finding them always requires an active search; the GM rolls secretly against the highest of Vision , Observation , or Per-based Traps for each searcher. Success reveals a door, if there is one; it may require an IQ-based Traps roll to open. These rolls often have steep penalties! Concealed Doors: Concealed doors are ordinary doors behind or inside other items, like tapestries and wardrobes. They require a roll to find, as for a secret door, but not to operate. However, the GM may wait for a player to declare that he’s looking behind the curtain or whatever – so pay attention when the GM describes the area! It's all important, but notice that unlike for traps , finding secret and concealed doors "always requires an active search;" in other words, the player must declare he is searching for secret doors to find them. However, many secret doors will also be concealed, so players should always be specific when doing so. Instead of just saying, "I search for secret doors," please remember to always state the exact hex or hexes of the location you're searching, and describe the manner in which you search. For example, say, "My character searches these three hexes on this east wall by pulling the tapestry down and moving aside the urns and crates." Please try not make me ask you to be more specific when searching for secret doors. Always point out the exact hexes and describe the manner in which you physically perform the search. The first person who tries my patience in this regard will spring a three-hex 8d corrosive-damage trap. Not really. Well, maybe. Just kidding. Or am I? This might be a good time to remind anyone a bit rusty on the canonical rules for finding traps that they are on pages 8 and 9 of Dungeons:  Finding: Detecting a trap requires a Per-based roll, with Acute Vision bonuses and darkness penalties. Concealed traps give a penalty. The party is assumed to be looking for traps at all times. The GM rolls secretly against their best Traps skill – separately for each group, when split up – to see if they notice each trap. When fleeing or similarly rushed, the roll is at -5! So, the canonical way traps are found are with secret GM rolls, and the player doesn't have to declare he is searching—the PC's are constantly on the lookout for danger of all sorts. Usually, that's how we've always done it, but players like asking for checks and sometimes it's more fun and nostalgic for the GM to allow the players to make their own trap-finding rolls when they do. I wouldn't be a good GM if I didn't enjoy calling for Per-based Traps rolls to detect them, and savor my players' groans of agony upon seeing their pitiful failures! Mwahaha! However, those rules omit the answer to one obvious, often-asked question: how fast is "fleeing or similarly rushed?" What is walking speed? Jogging? Running? The answer to those questions are found in an esoteric place, the modifiers to another skill on p. B202:  -1 if you move at a slow walk (Move 1), -2 at a fast walk (Move 2), or -5 at a run (Move 3+). There we have it. Walking speed is Move 1-2. At Move 3, the penalty for detecting traps is -5. Also, remember that Stealth (p. B222) is at a -5 penalty if moving faster than Move 1 as well.