Spent too much time today playing with the New Monster Name Generator at Abulafia today.  Made a few changes, and added lots of entries.  I think it's got a higher percentage of "good" names now, but still needs work.  (I'm not convinced the thing is wholly random; certain words come up fairly often, ie: waif).
Twenty random monster names:
crocodilewaif, wyrdcrocodile spellcaster, iron marauder, goblinbeast, ethereal icebull, dragonshambler mutant, brass drake, beastwaif ravager, devilclaw, mithril auroch, lion wanderer, icehawk, boundash beetle, mechanical bonespider, glassrat hunter, crocodiledrinker demon, vampiric deathsteel drake, psychic icthyoram, sanguine battlestorm, psychic boundworm
And twenty more: 
direhorn hunter, frostcopper bear, ramforged, bullclaw hunter, necro assassin, steel defender, houndgazer mystic, crab raider, sun hunter, leechant mutant, steel lion, frost bull, spiderfrog philosopher, ethereal stonehound, bronze boar, battlemangler, hawkwaif, insectwolf, goblinstalker, gibbering necrodrinker
And the last twenty for now: 
ratrat raider, sunbeast wanderer, bearcat leader, emeraldivory disciple, sanguine cyberiron goblin, horseshredder warforged, devilstone demon, rage mystic, worm skeleton, deathpig spellcaster, frosthawk leader, axehaunt, auroch tyrant, oak thug, insectleech, ivoryrat soldier, cybersteel cat, spirithaunt, spearoak wanderer, mechanical whitecrystal bat

I particularly like the dragonshambler mutant, brass drake, devilclaw, psychic icthyoram, direhorn hunter, houndgazer mystic, spiderfrog philosopher, ratrat raider, sunbeast wanderer, devilstone demon, axehaunt.

And the best: the terrifying deathpig spellcaster.

Illusions

Brilliant Pattern

Illusion (Pattern) [Mind-Affecting]

Level: Sor/Wiz 1

Components: V, S, M

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./ 2 levels)

Effect: Dazzling lights in a 15 ft. radius spread

Duration: Concentration

Saving Throw: Will negates

Spell Resistance: Yes

                This spell creates a brilliant white pattern, dazzling creatures within it.  Affected creatures are dazzled (-1 to attack rolls) for as long as they are within the pattern, and for 1d4 rounds after the spell ends or they leave the area of effect.

                Material Component: A pinch of powdered glass.

Churning Pattern

Illusion (Pattern) [Mind-Affecting]

Level: Sor/Wiz 3

Components: V, S, M

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft. / 2 levels)

Effect: Colorful lights with a 15 ft. radius spread

Duration: Concentration + 2 rounds

Saving Throw: Will negates

Spell Resistance: Yes

                A glowing, twisting pattern of green, yellow, and purple colors nauseates those within it.  Living creatures caught within a churning pattern are nauseated (Will negates), making them unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention.  The only action an affected character can take is a single move (or move-equivalent action) per turn.  The nauseating effects last for as long as the character is in the churning pattern and for 2d4 rounds afterwards; characters are then fatigued for 1d4 rounds, making them unable to run or charge, and suffering a –2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity.  Victims do not become exhausted from this spell.

                Material Component: A glowworm, which is used to trace a pattern in the air, and then eaten by the caster.

Measureless Maze - Level One (Revised)

The only changes here are to the lower left corner of the map, the "Great Stair" section.  The number of ways into the section (at least from this level) has been chopped down, and a large stairway has been added.

There are four major sections to this level.  Starting at top left and going clockwise, they are "Thieves Chambers", "The Dust & The Damp", "The Tubs", and "The Great Stair".  I haven't gotten much past that for details, but I do have some general concepts.

"Thieves Chambers", obviously, is under the control of a minor band of thieves.  Guild is probably too high of an aspiration for them.  They access their section via the ladder, and make sure to leave the door to the well-room (1-12) closed and locked.  They've had some bad experiences, so as a general rule stay to rooms 1-8 through 1-15.  They know about the secret door to room 1-1, but none of the rest, and leave the door to room 1-7 locked.

"The Dust and the Damp" lacks any kind of organized control.  Rats and one or two mindless sort of monsters are the likely threats here.  A giant raccoon has established a lair in 1-33, coming and going via the stream (which flows into the dungeon at this point). 

"The Tubs" are also undetermined.  Water-based monsters are likely.  At least one of the pools (the smallest one) possesses a magical "heating element" that warms the water, a la Roman baths (a hypocaust would be neat, but a bugger to map unless I switch to a 1-square = 1 foot scale, and it would then be a bugger for the adventurers.  Unless they used reduce person...)  Rooms 1-47 & 1-48 will have something going on.  Passage 1-49 is accessed by climbing the wall from the waterfall to the passage opening; a short distance, but not something the PCs are going to do easily.  This will be generally true of aerie levels.

"The Great Stair" is probably a goblin-held section.  Their warren spans several levels.  The great stair itself drops to level 3.

Measureless Maze - Level One

Level One
 Primary entry level of the Measureless Maze, via the stairs at top center.  Secondary entrances are via the ladder at top left, and the stream at top right.  Exits are top left (down a level), bottom left (down a level), bottom left (up a level), top/mid right (the room with the small pool; probably up a level, though it'd be a hard climb up a waterfall), bottom right (up a level), and bottom (access via the Shaft to several other levels).

Now that I look at this, actually, I'm going to close off a few corridors and add another set of stairs.  I'll leave this version up, though.

Megadungeon Musings, part 1

The subject of megadungeons is a perennial one, and events of the past few days have got me thinking about them again.  I've designed dungeons; I've designed large dungeons; but I've never designed a full-on megadungeon.  It's an intriguing exercise.

The two basic rules I'll follow are: 1) a minimum of 12 levels, not including sub-levels, demi-levels, quasi-levels, or any other sort of "not-a-full-on-level" that you want to name, and 2) no overarching theme or villain.  The most powerful monsters will be near the "bottom", but they won't control the entire dungeon.  Different factions will control different areas, with different goals.

I will map by hand, but I will also experiment with other formats, primarily sketch-up, to generate simple 3D visuals.

Preliminary features & details include the following:

• a gigantic vertical crevice or shaft, which provides the central focus of the dungeon.  The shaft has been closed over at certain points, so one cannot simply rappel from the first level to the 12th, but the shaft does span a number of levels, and not all of the closures are well maintained.  The shaft is large enough to allow fliers room to maneuver, and has links to the outside at its very highest reach.
• A pride of manticores controls the first 3 levels of the shaft.  The third level has a solid stone floor covering the shaft, and it is not apparent from above that the shaft continues below.
• The first level intersects the shaft roughly halfway between the "floor" and the highest visible point of the shaft.  Above the first level are the "Aerie Levels", a number of sub-levels that are mostly inaccessible except from the shaft.  Some also feature outdoor connections (onto a cliff-face or the like).
• At least the upper levels of the dungeon are within a mountain or other elevated terrain feature, rather than wholly below ground.  This allows some of the Aerie levels to include watchtowers or the like.

Dungeons of the Shadowend

• Bone Castle: Few specifics are known about this necromantic edifice in the Bone Forest.  A few particularly foolhardy individuals claim to have entered the castle and met its skeletal lord, but to no particular end.  The relationship between Bone Castle and the Castle of the Stag is unclear, although everyone seems to feel one exists.
• Broken Tower: An ancient ruin of the Dwarfmoors which marks the entrance to an underground labyrinth said to lead (though only after a great distance), to the dwarven greathall of Hearthhome.  Not a few adventuring parties have thought to quietly plunder the dwarves treasure (for surely they have much), and lost their lives beneath the Broken Tower searching for the elusive passage.
• Castle of the Stag: Built by the elven lord Dualin in the Bone Forest (aka the Corpse-Wood), the Castle of the Stag fell into ruin after his death.
• Deephalls:  Underlying the Hundred Kingdoms, Larenyss, and much of the Shadowend Forest, the Deephalls are less dungeon than enviroment.  The three regions of the Deephalls were once one, separated when the sidhe cracked the earth.  The hallmark of the Deephalls are the arrow-straight tunnels, eighty feet wide and forty feet high, that run for hundreds of miles beneath the earth.
• Dungeon of Stones: A fallen gnomish winterhall, the Dungeon of Stones was overthrown by fell creatures ruled by an elemental earth power. No sign of that ruler is visible, but it's creations and bound minions still guard treasures from across the planes.  Located in the Turont Hills immediately north of the Eldewood, where the north branch of the Eldeflow emerges from underneath the earth.

• Endless Dungeon: Once a wizard's retreat, the corridors and caverns of the Endless Dungeon shift, open, and close apparently at random, revealing pristine chambers or arcane workshops filled with enchanted items and magical lore.  The entrance is less easily found from inside, it's said.  The Endless Dungeon is marked by an empty tower, which sits at the southern tip of the High Hills, east of the ruins of Osar.
• Greenbind Castle: This ancient overgrown keep in the Moonwood is rumored to still conceal at least one vault full of weapons enchanted against lycanthropes.
• Hall of Roses: The remains of a bardic college; what is left is filled with riddles, tricks, and traps designed by the elves to test an aspirant's knowledge of faerilven lore and legend.  The fallen Hall of Roses sits north of the Hags Mere, under the shadow of Alorm Peak in the High Hills.
• Hill of the Three Kings:  Actually three large barrow mounds, the Hill of the Three Kings are feared and avoided by all wise folk of the Shadowend.  The resting places of three brothers, the barrows each open once a year, one a night for three nights, and the hellish undead within ride forth for one night of terror and murder.  Many heros have tried to end the rampages of the three kings, but none have succeeded for more than a year.

• Kaerzin Mus: Castle Mouse overlooks the River Yls near Barvanigar and is kept in good repair by the orcs and brigands of the area.  Tunnels and caverns in the bluff below Kaerzin Mus reportedly include passages below the river and possibly into Barvanigar itself, a serious threat to the security of the town.
• Kaerzin Torn: Between the Gonenfall Forest and the Shrouded Peaks, Hill Castle was one of the anchors of Dorandin defense.  The fortress eventually fell to a monstrous horde of orcs, ogres, and giants, but none of Kaerzin Torn’s notable treasures or weapons have ever been recovered or even seen in the centuries since then. Much of the fortress was destroyed, but the central keep and curtain walls still stand.
• Knighting Well: Of unknown origin; the Knights of the Oak (an order now largely extinct) utilized the outermost areas as a testing ground of a candidate's worthiness; legend says a great temptress makes her home here; undoubtedly she has accumulated much magical treasure over the centuries.  The Knighting Well lies in the flat forestland halfway between the Greenflow and the Eldewood.
• Legionaire’s Tomb:  The fabled resting place of the first Amerite legion in the Hundred Kingdoms, the Legionaire’s Tomb is a much sought-after legend.
• Measureless Maze:  This vast dungeon complex beneath the Shalanwode was excavated centuries ago by the archmage Kulan Unculear.

• Temple of the Rats: A stronghold of the Rat Cult, the Temple has been razed and rebuilt more times than can be counted.  Rumor suggests the Cult is struggling to gain a foothold once more, and that they've stockpiled gold, gems, and jewels to fund their efforts.  Closest to Shalanholt and civilization, the Temple of Rats lies on the swampy shores of Hags Mere, where the ratmen may seek fell allies.
• Undercity of Shalanholt:  Of unknown orign, the Undercity of Shalanholt was excavated from the bedrock beneath Shalanholt.  Streets, buildings, alleys, and fountains are all found in this abandoned settlement, all shaped to human size and fashion.  The archmage Kulan Uncùlear is sometimes found here.
• Vanishing Dungeon: The stronghold of an evil cult dedicated to four dark deities, the Vanishing Dungeon manifests periodically on the Material Plane, disgorging evil when it does.
• Volgabaern Warren: Once the gnome winterhall Cynwualf, now a goblin stronghold in the White Hills.

• Well of Swords: The former stronghold of a powerful runesmith, who may have survived into undeath -- survivors report a great number of mechanical and magical traps, all in good repair.  They also recovered a great number of fine magical & masterwork weapons.  The Well of Swords lies due west of Shalanholt, just beyond the western tip of Hags Mere.

Unnamed or Undescribed Dungeons:

• Chelaim Tower
• Haunting Halls of the Herald-Lords
• Keep of Wyrms
• Silent Halls
• Sinking Tower of Dremdolain
• Tower Ain
• Tower of Cthros March
• Whispering Well
• the great funerary maze of the archmage Isadollin, famous for her staff of power won from a great red wyrm.
• a series of crypts used by the Autumn Kings, who ruled a small but rich kingdom for several centuries.
• the final foul resting place of a high priest of Nevias, who terrorized the populace as a vampire after his first death, and whose malignant spirit was finally imprisoned by Biedon Houl, Clerist Arcanist of Ados, at the cost of his own life.
• an ancient dwarven hold beneath Kiend Peak, in the High Hills, now the home of a powerful tribe of fire giants.

Shalanwode

The Shalanwode is a crossroads in the Shadowend, a thickly forested highland travelled regularly by orcs, goblins, giants, elves, and other creatures of the Shadowend and Utgard.  The Wiernaug tribesmen have their oldest settlements here, tiny hidden hamlets which have never fallen under the rule of any outside law or king.

Elves, goblins, and giants are also frequently found here, as the elves travel from the Winding Halls and points east to Shalaen and the Reachlands, and the goblins journey from the mountains of Sarn to the High Hills and Utgard.  Monstrous and dire animals of all kinds may be found in the Shalanwode and its environs, including dire wolves, boar, and elk, owlbears, and harrow hounds.

The Shalanwode was never cleared, and few dungeons or ruins of interest are known.  The natural inhabitants of the area discouraged many people from seeking refuge here, but a few powerful factions established strongholds before falling with the rest of the Woodmarches.  A splinter cult dedicated to Nevias, Ragavar, Urjin, and Kajalla founded several fortified temples in the Shalanwode before being eradicated four centuries ago; the most powerful of these temples is known as the Vanishing Dungeon, as it shifts to the Prime Material from a sealed demi-plane at widely spaced intervals.  Other dungeons include the Tower Ain, an ancient elven watchtower currently held by a faerilven archmage, and the Measureless Maze, a vast dungeon complex excavated beneath the Shalanwode by a powerful lich centuries ago.

Cleric role

here's a rough draft of the cleric role. My intent is to make roles largely "class-neutral": the character could be a warrior cleric, an adept cleric, or an expert cleric (not happy with expert as a class name), though there will be clear advantages. Adepts get poor attack bonus and 1d4+1 hp/level; experts get medium attack bonus and 1d4+2 hp; warriors get good attack bonus and 1d4+4 hp. Adepts get the best spellcasting abilities; other classes, if they take a spellcasting role (one with a spell list) get a bare-bones ability to cast spells. Obviously a number of things need to be fleshed out, including tweaks to turning undead (& channelling power in general) and exact spell lists.

Considering using James Mishler's cascading d6 for Turn Undead (aka channel power) http://jamesmishler.blogspot.com/2009/12/cascading-d6-system-for-bx-etc.html

First-tier, second-tier, and so refers to the first tier at which a character takes on this role. A character that starts off as a cleric would be an acolyte at 1st and 2nd level, a friar from 3rd-5th level, and so on, while a character that becomes a cleric later in life (a fighter gaining religion, for instance), would start the first tier at a higher level, perhaps 3rd, 6th, or 9th.

With races becoming roles, this means demihumans will always lag behind humans in general roles, and won't ever reach the fifth tier in anything but their racial role, without level limits or penalties.

Cleric
Clerics are holy warriors and scholars invested with divine power. They are more martial than most temple priests, and often undertake divine quests to defeat evil or chaos (or cause it!). They may wear light armor and wield blunt weapons.

First Tier: A first-tier cleric is known as an acolyte.
• Ascetic Life: Due to their regimented lifestyle, clerics gain +1 hit point each level they advance in the cleric role.
• Channel Power: Clerics can “Turn” the undead, making them flee from the Priest’s holiness (or, in the case of an evil Priest, bringing them to heel as servants and minions).
• Spells: Acolytes can learn the following spells:

Second Tier: A second-tier cleric is known as a friar, and expected to go out into the world to fight the enemies of her faith.
• Warrior-Priest: Friars gain a +1 bonus to damage with blunt weapons, and the ability to wear medium armor, thanks to their martial training.
• Spells: Friars can learn the following spells:

Third Tier: A third-tier cleric is known as a curate, and begins to take responsibility for the well-being of lesser clerics, as well as her religious faith.
• Power of Faith: Curates continue to increase their martial abilities, and gain a +1 bonus to hit with blunt weapons and the ability to carry a shield.
• Acolyte: The curate gains an acolyte student to assist her. Should the acolyte die, another will replace him the next time the curate gains a level. If too many acolytes die, or die under suspicious circumstances (ie, not in the cause of their faith), the cleric is likely to face investigation and repercussions.
• Spells: Curates can learn the following spells:

Fourth Tier: A fourth-tier cleric is known as a clerist. Clerists often lead a stronghold of their faith.
• Establish Stronghold: At the fourth tier, a cleric character may establish a stronghold and attract a body of loyal (or perhaps even fanatic) men-at-arms who will swear fealty to him.
• Staff: The clerist gains two acolyte assistants, and her former acolyte becomes a friar in her service.
• Spells: Clerists can learn the following spells:

Fifth Tier: A fifth-tier cleric is known as a high clerist, and typically is the head of, or embodies, her faith in the campaign world.
• Resurrection: A high clerist gains access to the resurrection ability. This ability acts as a raise dead spell, with the following differences: the person resurrected must be on good terms with the cleric’s faith, must have died since the cleric’s faith became established in the campaign world, and only be used once per month. The subject incurs no ill effects or penalties from the resurrection, but is expected to undertake a quest to benefit the high clerist’s faith at the earliest opportunity.

Darkwater RPG, take...three. Or four.

(reposted from a thread here http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2284&start=0 )

I've been mulling over "my" rpg for some time, and had a burst of thought (and mild inspiration) in the past few days. So, I'm just going to sketch out some ideas here.

To make one thing clear, though, I'm building on S&W as the core framework, but it's not intended as retro-clone in any shape or form. It's a S&W + 3e + True20 hybrid. Simplicity with choice.

Abilities: I'm really mixed here; need more thought. I'd like to swap Charisma for "Presence", which I think is clearer and more in line with my take on it, but is it worth the confusion?

Classes: Classes are broken up into "Classes" (or maybe Roles), and "Aspects" (or maybe Classes"). Classes are more or less mechanical: warrior, adept, expert. Or warrior, mystic, rogue. Classes are "what" a character does (hit things, cast spells, other); Aspects are "how" they do it. Elf would be an aspect, as would Fighter, Barbarian, Knight, Wizard, Cleric, Druid, and etc. As characters progress, they can take on new aspects, or develop existing ones, so an Elf could become an Elven Wizard by taking on the Wizard aspect, or a High Elf, by taking on the High Elf aspect. See levels & tiers below.

Races: Subsumed into aspects, so a first level elf would be an Elf, while a 1st level human would be a Fighter, or Wizard, or Thief, or whatever. The Elf could take Fighter at third level, but will always lag a little bit behind in Fighter abilities.

Levels & Tiers: This is my eureka moment; I realize it may be not all that exciting to many people, however. I'm going to squish the game into 10 or 12 levels. Characters will get a new aspect at first level, third level, sixth level, and ninth level. Possibly 12th, if I go that high. These match up to the tiers: Adventurer, Heroic, Champion, Legend, (Epic?). Aspects will get new abilities, or refine old ones, at higher levels; other aspects will only be possible at higher tiers: Archmage at Legend, for instance.

Multi-classing: not sure of this. Have to think about it. I could ditch multiclassing if aspects brought certain abilities with them, so a Wizard warrior had some ability to cast spells or use magic, albeit at a much lower level than a Wizard adept.

Spells: Higher level spells are going to get seriously sorted and cut. I'm going to try and squish the levels down, but not necessarily spell power. Wish is pretty much out. Spell lists will be linked to aspects, with a base of "common" spells, so an elven adept will get common + elf spells, while a (human) wizard adept gets common + wizard spells.

Saves: probably a single flat save with bonuses/adjustments.

Damage: damage by class rather than damage by weapon.

Experience: one chart. Or, possibly, no chart. Use whatever chart you fancy. Or maybe using Achievement points, a la Engines & Empires.

Nostalgia

I came late to a civil (but crude) discussion on Circvs Maximvs (thus the crude) about older game editions, and the topic of nostalgia came up. I'm not claiming this is great literature, but I think it's worth reposting. I have no problem with nostalgia (quite the opposite; my thesis is likely to try and capture it), but the goal to which it is directed is inherently unachievable.

*****
Why is nostalgia seen as "bad"?

Because it has connotations (and more than connotations) of looking at the past with rose-colored glasses; eg arguing that "X" (in the past) is superior to "X" in the present while ignoring or discounting that "X" in the past involved large amounts of animal waste, infectious diseases, or the fact that 50% of the children born in Britain in 1823 died before their 21st birthday (that last courtesy of National Geographic & arguments for/against human evolution).

I'm alternately enthralled and horrified by how landscape architecture (which I'm studying for a masters degree) has become entangled with sociology and..."cultural studies", but it has reinforced the fact that everything we do is a product of our times, including nostalgia. Thus, I don't see OD&D as an "precursor" to 4e (though it is), but as two concurrent game systems that create two different styles of play.

*****

The thing is, you can't recreate the past. You can create something contemporary that draws inspiration from the past, but you can't copy it wholesale into now. The whole OSR is built on a) the OGL, b) the educated understanding of copyright the OGL engendered, and c) the online D&D community built, in large part, in reaction (positive or negative) to 3e and 4e. Our understanding of Gygax's core literary & genre inspirations has changed as we assimilate or reject Shannara, The Wheel of Time, The Black Company, and Harry Potter, not to mention movies & games.

I read a short story a number of years ago about a musical prodigy raised in isolation but constantly recorded, with his compositions made public, until someone managed to sneak him some recordings of past composers. His "benefactor" warned him not to tell anyone, but the "monitors" realized it anyways, as suddenly the prodigy's compositions lacked the (musical flourishes) he'd heard from Mozart & Bach. He'd gone from pure inspiration to artifice. D&D isn't quite on that level, but the sentiment is there. OSR nowadays reject ideas they may have embraced twenty years ago, because now "wizards must use wands" sounds like 4e or Harry Potter, and "using minis" is a 3e/4e-ism...never mind the fact that many people gamed with miniatures or something similar (I used a chalkboard during college) to provide a visual representation of the encounter area during play.

So, if you want to reject those things, that's fine...but don't pretend that's how "things really were", or that your game is "better" because it's "older".

Nostalgia is about a condition and a feeling -- you equate a sense of pleasure with a condition that existed in the past. You cannot, as outlined above, recreate the exact condition, so the goal is to/must be to recreate the feeling with current conditions..which likely utilize similar elements as in the past, and thus invoking both pleasurable feelings and memories of pleasurable feelings.

I'm all for that.