07.07 - The Indigo River Lighthouse: Progress Point

Hex 07.07 - the lighthouse marking the entrance to the Indigo River, I envision as a guidepost in addition to a fail-safe. It both marks for the incoming boats where the river is and where to avoid sandbars, etc. - but also I see it as a sort of Ellis Island almost to the new frontier: a point where an adventuring party could jump off, either ferrying up across the river to the beach and heading North towards the Watchtower, itself, or ignoring the adventure entirely and heading in some vague South direction: hex-crawling into the Bullywug Wilds.

In either case, I'd been working on it this weekend, trying to draw out the small compound and populate it with a set of vaguely 3D NPCs - here is how far I got. Game on!

B - Blacksmith

A permanent resident of the Indigo River Lighthouse compound, the blacksmith maintains the metal equipment required to keep the compound functioning as well as the arms and armor of the men at arms charged with its security.

• The blacksmith is a male Halfling Swordmaster, Nicephor; he is lame in one ankle, which he earned in an ambush while traveling with an adventuring company years prior. His original intent was to return home - but he's since grown comfortable.

• The blacksmith's apprentice is a female normal Human, Bertrude. She is young - younger than is typical for lone travelers - and frequently dirty. She romanticizes the concept of adventure, which is what drove her to the Indigo River, but has become grateful - based on company - that she is at least making an honest living.

The blacksmith's hut consists of three main spaces; an open 10x10 area with an anvil, a 10x10 foot portico, and a 20x10 foot enclosed cabin. Along the exterior - but in the cover of the portico - are found the blacksmith's trade tools and a chest of coal. Inside the hut can be found the personal effects of Nicephor and Bertrude; Halfling-sized chainmail and a sword hang proudly near the entrance.

Bertrude has a lockbox hidden in her bunk, near the rear of the space. In it is 40 silver pieces and a necklace of semi-precious stones worth 8 gold.

Nicephor carries with him typically 20-40 gold pieces - depending on business. In the evenings, he prefers to spend time at the bar in the Main Compound.

C - Courtyard

Light scrub-grass valiantly attempts to blanket this well-trodden, oft-grazed area. Near the Kitchen (K) is a chicken coop; on each side, enclosing the space from the exterior, is a post-and-wicker fence (dotted lines): constructed of posts every few yards and limbs of one to two inch diameter woven around them and nailed in place. The fence is four and a half feet in height. Near the exit by the Main Compound is an uncovered wagon - it appears to see limited use.

There are two exits through the fence. Beyond the gate between the Lighthouse and the Kitchen, there is a well-worn path heading towards a grove of live oaks in the distance.

G - Goat Pen

This enclosed space sits along a path leading towards a grove of live oaks in the distance. In it, there are a dozen or so goats of varying sizes. There are some construction materials - as though someone had started work on a tower for the enclosure - however there has not been much progress.

H - Hog Pen

Area in white is covered, but open to the courtyard. Area in blue is open to the elements. Inside is mud, a trough, a raised area in back with hay, and a dozen or so hogs of various sizes.

K - Kitchen

This outbuilding, kept away from other buildings due to the incessant heat, is used by culinary staff. In it is a sizeable collection of cooking tools - enough to feed the full contingent of residents. Inside, it feels cramped, as there are more utensils and pans than there are places to store them in addition to a sizeable washtub.

• The head chef is a male Human, Gill, who seems always distracted, but is likewise always busy. He has two errand runners / assistants:
• Millicent, a female Footpad who is secretly working as an agent of an old-world power seeking to ensure any industry on the Indigo River supports their own agenda as conflict looms.
• Savaric, a male Seer who had been adventuring with a group set on making a fortune in the live-oak woods to the west; but in the interim had fallen enamored of Millicent. His party has since gone west without him and he, having worked through his adventuring money, is working for his keep.

I Heart Hobbs and Friends

Podcast Name: Hobbs & Friends Where I Listened: Jason Hobbs on YouTube Where It's Available: Hobbs665 on Twitch System: B/X & OSE Low Fantasy Gaming

Plate

Thoughts and Review

Hobbs and Friends of the OSR - the original podcast by Jason Hobbs - has evolved beyond convention play into a wellspring of gaming media. Although the schedule of said content is capricious, said schedule is - for the most part - published in enough advance time to consume according to your preferred mechanism: live or after the fact.

Full Disclosure

Watching the archive of video, there are several main games that Hobbs runs. The majority of episodes fall into four main categories:

West Marches in B/X (Kalmatta)	West Marches in Low Fantasy Gaming
Traditional Campaign in B/X	Traditional Campaign in Low Fantasy Gaming

This review was largely formulated perusing the Kalmatta series, episodes in the 20s and 30s. I have intentionally been watching the newer contributions on Twitch to verify its accuracy - however I do not watch the Low Fantasy Gaming segments and campaigns. Nothing against the games - nothing against Low Fantasy Gaming: just a matter of personal preference.

As such, this review is based exclusively on the host's B/X and OSE content.

What I Like

First and foremost, it is evident by the flow of the game that Hobbs has been running games for a long time. He is fluent in the system, he is comfortable with the procedures, and an onlooker need not know how to play in order to figure out how it works. Additionally, he embodies and embraces the tenant of Rulings over Rules - most frequently, if a rule is called into question or a situation is unclear as to how to proceed, he's able to make a call and move the game forward, sticking to the call so as to promote consistency and ease of play. He deals well with rules lawyers - thankfully few appear - and keeps the game moving.

Next, the quality of the material presented evidences a mountain of preparation. Although there are some points in different adventures where some improvisation with Roll20's mapping tools has to happen, by and large, it is obvious that Hobbs invests a great deal of time in his game: both to the benefit of the players and to his audience. This actual play convinced me on Roll20 sessions - prior to, I was on the fence about whether or not they can provide the same kind of experience sitting around the kitchen table can. This stream manages to do that.

Lastly, games run on Hobbs' stream feel fun. The players are engaged, the inside jokes become community jokes, and - especially with the Kalmatta series - it exudes welcome to onlookers. A lot of streams manage to produce a good game - not a lot of streams manage to produce the community this one does. One could argue that, as a fair number of Hobbs' players are from the G+ days of the OSR and thereby have history together, this hypothesis is countermanded by the open nature of his West Marches style campaigns: and likewise, having not joined the G+ community, myself, before the end, the original sentiment that the OSR movement tried to evoke bleeds through, at least, to this internet late-comer.

What I Don't Like

If I were to complain about any aspect of this stream, it would be about the editing: or the lack thereof. In the case of the live stream, it makes sense, however in uploaded videos as well, different players using different microphones and different cameras on internet connections of differing quality can make the conversation difficult to follow - especially if one mic is noticeably loud and a separate mic is noticeably soft. It would do a world of good for the post-live event experience at a bare minimum to equalize the sound.

In Conclusion

If you want to learn how to run an OSR game, watch this stream.

Specifically, his Kalmatta games - which regrettably have not been as prolific as of late - are one of the few examples of actual procedural hex crawling that I've seen online. Some episodes are better than others - but that mirrors reality, as some sessions are better than others. Knowing that, I highly recommend this content to both newcomers and long-timers of the movement surrounding old school play.

Additional Listening

As the host will tell you - he hosts two podcasts in addition to live-streaming his games:

• Hobbs & Friends, wherein he talks to RPG industry figures and publishers who are connected with the OSR movement.
• Random Screed, wherein he talks about... stuff. Occasionally gaming.

I am subscribed to both - though there is no life-guard on duty.

Random Encounters: Indigo River Estuaries and Salt Marsh

When working through the Floundered Cog, I wanted to make the night and day and the high and low tides make a definitive difference in the gameplay - random encounters included. I like the way, in retrospect, that the ship, itself, is presented: but I am unsatisfied with the mechanical implementation of the wandering monsters for the "dungeon." Specifically, though it does isolate undead to the evening and it makes high tide (and evening) more lethal than low (or day), it does so without a cohesive presentation of probability. A Kelpie for example is a one-in-five change at low tide during the day; whereas at high tide during the night, it's one-in-thirty-six. More notably, Bullywugs - who are supposed to be our main antagonist, according to the fiction, against the intrusion of civilization - don't show up at all during the day in low tide: which seems like the best time to find a frog in reality.

So I wrote a random encounter table with a new mechanic to fit the salt marsh surrounding the Indigo River. Source materials include the monsters of Moldvay, the creatures of Cook, alongside the Fiend Folio and first edition Monster Manual.

Wandering Monsters - Salt Marsh / Estuary

Rolling Encounters

In the salt marsh, there is a 1-in-6 chance of an encounter roughly every four hours.
If an encounter is rolled, determine vaguely when during that period it will occur by rolling a d4.
To determine the type of encounter, roll two dice:

• During the night, the die rolled should be eight sided: a d8.
• During the day, the die rolled should be six sided: a d6.
• Depending on tide level, consult the correct column in the table.
• During periods of transition, the manner in which this process is modified is left to the discretion of the GM.

...and consult the provided table.

Encounter Table

Roll	High Tide	Low Tide
2	1-4 Kelpie (FF, 55)	1-3 Algoids (FF, 11)
3	1-2 Giant Catfish (X, 35)	1-4 Trolls (X, 41)
4	1-3 Bull Shark (X, 39)	2 Assassin Bug (FF 12)
5	1 Crocodile (X, 29)*	1-4 Giant Crayfish (MM, 15)
6	2-7 Salt Water Termites (X, 40)	1-4 Giant Toads (X, 40)
7	6-48 Bullywugs (FF, 16)	3-24 Buccaneers (X, 35)
8	1-8 Sea Snakes (B, 42)	Insect Swarm (B, 37)
9	2-8 Drowned Sailors (as Zombie: B, 44)	3-12 Former Settlers (Skeleton, B, 42)
10	2-12 Harpies (MM, 51)	1-10 Stirges (B, 43)
11	3-24 Sahuagin (MM, 84)	1 Giant Hornet
12	1-6 Wights (B, 44)	1 Shambling Mound (MM, 87)
13	2-12 Giant Crabs (MM, 15)	1-6 Shadows (B, 41)
14	1 Coffer Corpse (FF, 19)	1 Groaning Spirit (MM, 50)
15	1 Will-o-Wisp (MM, 101)	1-4 Apparition (FF, 12)
16	1 Ghost (MM, 43)	1-3 Spectre (X, 39)

     * Roll for size:

1-in-6: Giant

2-in-6: Large

3-in-6: Standard

Page References

B - Moldvay Basic X - Cook Expert

MM - AD&D Monster Manual FF - Fiend Folio

Why not use a preexisting table?

Although, truly, there is an abundance of wilderness and dungeon encounter tables themed around the marsh, I wanted the table for Watchtower on the Indigo River to reflect a few core principles:

1. Tide Matters. The tide changes the landscape and the things that live around it; so likewise should it change the adventure.
2. Circadian Rhythm. The sun and moon moving in slow sync across the firmament changes the atmosphere of the wild; so likewise should it change the tone of the adventure: motivating the players to take it into consideration during their planning.
3. Rareness of Rare Monsters. Some monsters, according to their source material, are more uncommon than others. I wanted the table to reflect that - producing small chances for uncommon creatures and large chances for common ones. Similarly, the creatures people talk about should be able to be placed as common - making reason to talk about them.
4. The Dead Walk at Night. Tied in to #2 above, undead are always scarier - and more abundant - at night.

Preexisting tables, though useful and many are more clever than this one, wouldn't be as easy to conform to those ideas as it would be to simply read through a few books and come up with something original.

Plus - making tables is fun.

Full Disclosure

Page references are done to the best of my ability; but I don't actually own a copy of the first edition monster manual. References provided therein are the product of an online resource I was guided to which, I have a hunch, has been tweaked or expanded by maintainers; hopefully it lines up with the physical copy - if not, I'll be happy to update this page accordingly.

06.03 - Floundered Cog

    Update 7/3/2020
Click here for a PDF version of this adventure!

The waters leading to Black Hammock are deep and true - the current slow and lazy - but the course they take are winding and the bottoms treacherous. Smaller vessels have little trouble, but larger ones - especially the sea-goers with square sails - often need the services of rowed tugs. Such was the fate of one ship, the Fette Tante, carrying people and goods from more civilized lands. Having crested the Indigo River Lighthouse roughly one week ago, the brash crew found themselves sailing further north than advisable for a cargo cog - running aground some five miles north of the lighthouse.

As the waters of the high tide receded, the Fette Tante began to list - leaning first to starboard, then backwards: such that the prow was lifted a into the air. The crew raced to brace and batten as the ship began to slip into the mud, working into the evening and hoping to brave the tide until there was enough draft to break free... but when the sun rose, the ship was oddly silent.

Now, the Fette Tante, in addition to listing 30 degrees to her starboard side, reclines a full 50 degrees aft to bow - the prow jutting skyward a full 50 feet in the air. Her rear deck covered is moistened by the sea, even at the low point of the tide - how much longer she'll stay above the murk is a guess to anyone but the gods.

Situational Geometry

Note, the right hand side (starboard) is lower than the port side - thus, the decking is at approximately a 30 degree incline. This will not impact movement too much, but a character should be careful traversing it - and a character in armor may tire.

Additionally, the front (bow) is much higher than the stern - thus, the decking is at approximately a 50 degree incline upwards! Characters encumbered or in armor may have trouble, balance and falling may become an issue if fighting breaks out, and characters trying to move towards the bow - on any level - may find themselves climbing.

Top Deck

Scale: 5 ft. A – Forecastle The forecastle is comprised of a walking promenade with functioning railing along the curved prow of the ship. The extreme angle has caused anything that was here to fall aft-ward. B – Topside Cargo A section of space used for cargo covered in tarp and tied down. If the party opens this space during the day, they will encounter 2 Stirges (B, 43) that have taken shelter there. At night, the Stirges will be off hunting other prey. The cargo being carried is preserved foodstuffs, primarily; but also a collection of silver plate-ware (1,000 gp) in a double-bound crate in the middle. C – Main Deck The main deck is primarily open space: with two relatively narrow walkways on either side of a gaping hole leading to the cargo hold. The area shaded is an 8 foot drop to the Main Hold (B) below. D –Quarterdeck The quarterdeck is littered with sailing folderol, having slid back along the vessel, and is partly submerged. Depth in numbered subsections is as follows, based on tide: Dry. 1 ft. deep, high tide; dry otherwise. 2 ft. deep high tide; 1 ft deep in transition, wet and slick at low tide. 4 ft deep, high tide; 3 ft deep in transition, 1 ft deep at low tide. The door in the base of the Aftcastle (G) is stuck and leads to the Cargo Deck. E – Estuary Briney water, flowing slowly south. There are makeshift supports cannibalized from ship parts that appear to have been jabbed into the mud in attempt to keep the ship from tipping or sinking further - they are difficult to see, further back, and further foreward they no longer make contact with the hull - it having risen up beyond their length. The area marked E1 is the extent of the water at high tide. The area marked E2 is the extent of the water at low tide. F – Salt Marsh Sea oats and mud. Some folderol appears to have been tossed overboard and piled; perhaps to lighten the load and enable the ship to slip off the silt. G – Aftcastle A dry platform with tiller, 6 feet higher than the deck below, accessible via stairs on either flank. If it is daylight, a Horned Chameleon (B38) is sunning itself. It has swallowed a telescope worth 300 gp.

Cargo Deck

Scale: 5 ft. A – Crew Quarters Over a dozen hammocks hang awkwardly at an angle along regularly positioned posts. One hammock on the north-west side has a satchel in it, having been left there by its last occupant, containing a bracelet worth 80 gold pieces, a brass key, and a map of some unfamiliar isthmus. There is a wall that separates this area from the Main Hold (B). In it are 2 Ghouls (B, 35) - unfortunate souls feeding on the corpses of sailors. Repine in the hammocks are a further 6 Zombies (B, 44) - if it is day, the Zombies will rest; motionless. If it is night, the Zombies will seek for flesh. Most personal effects appear to have fallen into the walled groove between the Main Hold (B) and this area. There are 8 foot lockers, among which are mostly worthless personal belongings: but also two sapphires worth 10 and 80 gp; 70 sp in coin, and an antique statuette with a small crack in the face worth 60 gp. B – Main Hold The initial tethers for the cargo having been cut, crates and barrels have piled up in the south east corner of this room. Barrels contain either wine or pickles. Crates contain primarily textiles. Along the walls on either side are affixed 12 bladed weapons - scimitars, the like - presumably for warding off boarding actions. If the characters search, two personal lockers can be found among the cargo. One is locked; the other has broken open - apparently in a fall. The locked locker contains a knife, a rabbit's foot, and 10 sp. 30 sp, a parchment with a Halfling poem on it, and a broken stringed instrument from the open locker can be found strewn about the cargo - under boxes, in niches, etc: but will take 1d3 turns to collect due to its disorganization. On the south side, there are several grates that can be opened to access the Lower Deck. The longer grate to the east is pinned to the floor by crates and barrels. The longer grate to the west is heavy, but will open, leading to the Fore Partition (A). The smaller grate in the hall, beyond the mast, is stuck, but can be pried open by a strong character, leading to the Aft Partition (B). Water bubbles out of it if this occurs. C – Galley This room is dry, but smells like rotting meat. There is a cooking stove, a cutting area, and a stool that has fallen against the south east corner. D – Officer’s Cabin Two hammocks hang awkwardly at an angle with the ship's lean. Two wooden chests have slid against the far wall. Both contain naval attire, one contains a set of fine garments, tailored to a slight frame - would fit an average Elf - and a necklace worth 80 gp. The other contains an antique and ornate compass that appears to be worth 100 to 200 gp. The compass, however, is cursed: for as long as a character carries it, the GM - when rolling to see if the party gets lost traveling in the wilderness - should roll 1d4 instead of 1d6. E – Map Room A large table and several book cases have slid against the south wall. The room has the scent of mold to it. Records and maps appear waterlogged; though one can be found in a waterproof case that details the route between the Indigo River Lighthouse and Black Hammock with moderate accuracy. If it is night, a group of 12 Bullywugs (Fiend Folio, 16) have taken refuge between here and in the Captain's Cabin (F). At high tide, this room is submerged on the south wall with water trailing to 1 ft deep at the north wall. F – Captain’s Cabin A grand space - considering the other crew's accommodations - with a small bed, writing desk, and armoire. The armoire contains naval attire in addition to one set of fine garments sized to a male human. The writing desk contains the captains personal log and a lockbox. The lockbox contains several worthless (but shiny) trinkets and a small oil-painted portrait of a child. G – Quartermaster’s Cabin This space contains a cot, a writing desk, and several waterlogged, illegible ledgers. In the writing desk's locked drawer is a set of pens worth 10 gp and a rosary worth 30 gp. This room is submerged.

Lower Deck

Scale: 5 ft. A – Fore Partition The the center of this room contains tightly bound barrels. The barrels contain drinking water - lightly spiked to keep the mildew at bay. Along either wall, there are mesh nets that bind various implements: primarily spare equipment. On the east side, it appears that these have been cut loose and what was stowed there is missing. If it is day, 18 Bullywug (Fiend Folio, 16) are awkwardly rummaging through piles of loose equipment, fallen to the south east corner. One of them speaks common. A secret door leads to section C. It is a section of keel, where the kelson arcs upward with the curvature of the prow. An Elf, Ranger, or otherwise woods-savvy individual may note that the wood is a different species - the grain and tone being slightly off; a sea-savvy type may question why the keel has a break in it at all; or other observers may note rough edges - the relative humidity having caused the plug to expand unevenly with the surrounding wood. It opens when a few wooden plugs are removed. B – Aft Partition This room contains crates, fallen against the back wall. There is a hole in the side of the boat - apparently cut into from the outside to allow ingress. If it is day, there are 2 Bull Sharks (X, 39) circling; if it is night, there is a ghost searching through the boxes: it is the ship's navigator, searching for his compass. He is incapable of physically touching the world, but appears to handle the crates anyway. This room is submerged. The crates are waterlogged - but contain mail, textiles, and various farming implements. C – Hidden Cache Behind the secret door is a sizeable iron chest. When the door is opened, there is a 4-in-6 chance it will fall out, crashing onto the barrels 10 feet beyond, dealing 1d6 damage when it hits something. The chest is locked. There is a concealed razor along the edge of the lock that is coated with poison - save vs. death if exposed. Inside is a ledger detailing the planned movements of several sister ships, a case of jewelry worth 600 gp, a pouch containing 8 rubies worth 120 gp each, and a coin purse containing 700 sp.

Wandering Monsters

The Fette Tante, having floundered in the fickle shallows of an estuary, is exposed to a variety of visitors as it slowly sinks into the mire. During the day, if the tide is out, the sun slowly bakes the brine into the mud, sea birds lazily riding above on updrafts above the haze; conversely, if the tide is in, a rush of life - frogs, fish, alligators, sharks - floods in alongside the semi-salty flow to take advantage of its cover. All the white, at night, an eerie disquiet emanates from the east: the water hiding a deep malevolence.

New Method! 

Included from Random Encounters: Indigo River Estuaries and Salt Marsh.

In the salt marsh, there is a 1-in-6 chance of an encounter roughly every four hours.If an encounter is rolled, determine vaguely when during that period it will occur by rolling a d4.
To determine the type of encounter, roll two dice:

• During the night, the die rolled should be eight sided: a d8.
• During the day, the die rolled should be six sided: a d6.
• Depending on tide level, consult the correct column in the table.
• During periods of transition, the manner in which this process is modified is left to the discretion of the GM.

...and consult the provided table.

Encounter Table

Roll	High Tide	Low Tide
2	1-4 Kelpie (FF, 55)	1-3 Algoids (FF, 11)
3	1-2 Giant Catfish (X, 35)	1-4 Trolls (X, 41)
4	1-3 Bull Shark (X, 39)	2 Assassin Bug (FF 12)
5	1 Crocodile (X, 29)*	1-4 Giant Crayfish (MM, 15)
6	2-7 Salt Water Termites (X, 40)	1-4 Giant Toads (X, 40)
7	6-48 Bullywugs (FF, 16)	3-24 Buccaneers (X, 35)
8	1-8 Sea Snakes (B, 42)	Insect Swarm (B, 37)
9	2-8 Drowned Sailors (as Zombie: B, 44)	3-12 Former Settlers (Skeleton, B, 42)
10	2-12 Harpies (MM, 51)	1-10 Stirges (B, 43)
11	3-24 Sahuagin (MM, 84)	1 Giant Hornet
12	1-6 Wights (B, 44)	1 Shambling Mound (MM, 87)
13	2-12 Giant Crabs (MM, 15)	1-6 Shadows (B, 41)
14	1 Coffer Corpse (FF, 19)	1 Groaning Spirit (MM, 50)
15	1 Will-o-Wisp (MM, 101)	1-4 Apparition (FF, 12)
16	1 Ghost (MM, 43)	1-3 Spectre (X, 39)

     * Roll for size:

1-in-6: Giant

2-in-6: Large

3-in-6: Standard

Page References

B - Moldvay Basic X - Cook Expert

MM - AD&D Monster Manual FF - Fiend Folio

Old Method - Retained for Purity

Characters aboard the Fette Tante have a 1-in-6 chance every hour for a wandering monster. To represent the shifting nature of the environment:

• If the encounter occurs during the day, roll one die and add 1 to the result.
  If the encounter occurs during the night, roll two dice and sum the result.
• If the encounter occurs when the tide is low, dice rolled should be four-sided.
  If the encounter occurs when the tide is high, dice rolled should be six-sided.

For periods of transition, the GM is encouraged to use their best judgement. Compare the result to the following to determine the nature of the encounter:

2. One Kelpie (Fiend Folio, 55), curious as to what these man-things are up to, on 1-in-6; otherwise, one Bull Shark (X, 39)
3. 3-24 Buccaneers (X, 35), come to plunder the Fette Tante
4. One Giant Catfish (X, 35)
5. One Crocodile (X, 29). Roll subsequently for size:
   1.  1-in-6: Giant
   2. 2-in-6: Large
   3. 3-in-6, normal
6. 6-48 Bullywugs (Fiend Folio, 16) on patrol
7. 2-8 Drowned Sailors (as Zombie: B, 44) 
8. 1-4 Trolls (X, 41)
9. 1-6 Shadows (B, 41); remembering these last five decades
10. 1-4 Giant Toads (X, 40)
11. 1 Spectre (X, 39); carrying the years in its conscience
12. 1-3 Algoids (Fiend Folio, 11)

Timed Hazards

The Fette Tante is in a precarious position - one not destined to last long. The party will hear rumors of a shipwreck if they visit the Indigo River Lighthouse; or they are likely to see the shipwreck if they travel towards the Watchtower. However, if they choose to avoid it, or choose to come back later, the following hazards should apply:

• After five day's time, a salvage team will have been sent to try to secure the wreck. This amounts to 12 sailors and 8 men at arms, who will be on the main deck or positioned about the salt marsh surrounding.
• After eight day's time, the wreck will have sunk further into the murk. The entrance to the Fore Partition in the Lower Deck will be flooded; rooms C, D, E, F, and G on the Cargo Deck will be flooded; the flood lines on the Top Deck, Quarterdeck will move forward 10 feet and the Aftcastle will have moisture in transition and a few inches of water at high tide.
• After 10 day's time, the list will increase to 45 degrees. In addition, the wreck will have a 1-in-6 chance every day to turn, rolling into the river and flooding all exits for anyone still within.

Quick Acknowledgement 

This adventure borrows from ideas and encouragement garnered from several anonymous enthusiasts. Thank you for your contribution; and thank you for the constructive commentary that I'm certain you'll continue to provide.


Game on, everyone!

-- Edited --
Edited for nautical terminology and for speelling.
I need to stop posting at midnight...

-- Edited Again: 3/22 --
Edited to clarify how the secret door works - or how I envisioned it to - and  to include the newer wandering monster table from 2/23's post.

Watchtower on the Indigo River

50 years ago, a group of some 700 indentured souls were ransomed from service by a lord to the north anxious to have a buffer between his lands and the Bullywog Wild. They settled between the banks of a brackish river, low and slow flowing, known to flow backwards if the tide was strong, and the sea with the hopes of growing indigo in the wet heat. In the first year, their efforts were met with moderate success - a small compound being established along the shore, its crown a tall watchtower, visible for miles around. However, in the second fall, a great storm came through: drowning their limited cropland, halting supply and resupply from the sea, inundating the camp, and bringing with it a season of disease to follow. When no word was heard from them for two months following the storm, the lord to the north sent an expedition: he found only death.

Now, rumors of war in the old world have fueled a new rush of interest in the area. Industrialists and entrepreneurs seeking sources of lumber, of iron, all to produce materiel have moved south: establishing a new township - Black Hammock - on the cold ashes of the old Indigo River settlement. A port of 6,000 souls, Black Hammock is thriving: a gateway to the unknown and a haven for would-be explorers seeking to strike it rich - be it in the service of those who would be belligerents back home or be it from long forgotten troves hidden beyond the mangroves.

Watchtower on the Indigo River

Having been challenged by (or, perhaps more so having received a suggestion from) an anonymous fellow old-school enthusiast to create a map of a haunted/cursed lighthouse based on a regional landmark proximate to where I live, I started work on this map and mini-module. Posted here is my progress to date.

Points of Interest

• 02.03: Black Hammock - a newly established and rapidly growing port town; the point of resupply and likely starting point / based of operations for would be adventurers.
• 06.03: The Wreck - a sea-going cargo vessel, grounded and floundered, along the salt marsh: having ventured into the maze of tributaries and estuaries that ring the Indigo River Delta.
• 07.07: The Indigo River Lighthouse - likewise newly established, a lighthouse serving both as a guide for ships sailing into Black Hammock and as a lookout for approaching hazards, from sea, salt, or shore.
• 08.02: The Watchtower - what remains of the original Indigo River settlement: a small compound, slowly sinking into the marsh, the improvised tombs of 700 souls... and their long unclaimed ransom.

Map Key

Scale is 1 mile to a hex. Powered by Worldographer.

Tile	Description	Encounters (X57)
	Forest / Dense Forest Hardwood deciduous forest with standard forest creatures. Foliage species include red bay trees, magnolias, and live oaks. Dense forests have a concentration of scrub, including bayonet plants, grape vines, and prickly pear cactus.	As "Woods"
	Forest Wetlands Similar to forest / dense forest, but commonly flooded or otherwise just wet enough to make construction on the ground implausible. Knob-kneed cypress are common - as are hanging plants: such as mosses or vines.	As "Swamp"
	Dense Coastal Forest / Coastal Forest Palms, palmetto, and an under-story of oaks housing a wide range of lizards, insects, and spiders. Dense coastal forest resembles scrub land - excepting that you can't see the sky for the taller trees.	As "Jungle"
	Mangroves Mangrove trees clustered around an intricate lattice of freshwater rivulets. Common breeding ground for marine life - fairly easy to traverse with a light boat; fairly difficult otherwise. Armored characters or beasts of burden run the risk of getting stuck in the silt floor.	As "Jungle" at low tide; as "Swamp" at high tide
	The Salt Briny grassland permeated by small tidal creeks; inundated during high tide; largely dry during low tide - but pockmarked with deceptive mud. Characters in armor or beasts of burden will have a hard time traversing this ground. Home to crustaceans and tidal life frequently - almost exclusively marsh grass as the natural flora. This is where the original settlers intended to grow indigo.	As "Barren"; substitute sub-table "Swimmer" for "Humanoid"
	Scrub Barrier plant life - saw palmettos, bay trees and cedars, dotted with wildflowers. Fauna is sparse, but includes gopher tortoises, raccoons, gopher frogs, and armadillos in addition to a collection of different snake species - some dangerous, some just posing.	As "Woods"
	Freshwater Swamp Wet, flooded area consistently covered in standing water. Cypress trees are common, as well as bay, sweet bay, and elm trees: many of which house vines, ferns, mosses, and other "air growing" plants. Birds are prolific, as are otters, panther, and black bear.	As "Swamp"
	Beach Dunes, sand, and Corona sea oats. Fauna includes sand mice, crabs, and sea birds.	As "Ocean"

In terrestrial environs, substitute "Boar Men" for Orcs (or just use "Porcs"); likewise, in marsh or aquatic environs, substitute Bullywogs for Orcs or Goblins.

CWR reserves the right to amend this post prior to the completion of the final product; the tables in the Expert set work OK with some minor substitutions to capture the theme - but in order to really fit with the way I want the hex adventure to feel, I really need to produce a totally custom encounter table for the geographic regions around the Indigo River.

Next week maybe. Game on, all.

Musing about Dungeons

Podcast Name: Dungeon Musings Where I Listened: YouTube Where It's Available: Still YouTube System: Most of them...

Chainmail with Shield

Thoughts And Review

Dungeon Musings is a semi-daily actual play live-stream on YouTube of various D&D and D&D inspired systems. Run by Kevin B. Madison since at least 2015, the channel produces games for a fairly consistent stable of players recognizable within the OSR and gaming community. The streams cover a wide variety of systems - including both in-print and out-of-print editions - and follow a number of different story arcs, depending on which game and which campaign is being streamed in any given video.

Full Disclosure

I like OSR games - and as such, I watch almost exclusively Dungeon Musings for the content that follows that interest: specifically, I subscribe for AD&D, AS&SH, and occasionally Low Fantasy Gaming. Admittedly, LFG is a bit too dicey for me, but the theme is there: and theme is key.

This represents a subset of the content available to consume on the Dungeon Musings media outlet, however it represents the totality of my experience with the channel and is the basis for this review.

What I Like

As I joked about above, Dungeon Musings is absurdly prolific. As I am finalizing this writing, he is actually streaming a Zweihander game: having streamed 16 videos in the month prior to this moment. When I was unemployed in college, at my D&D height, I was running 8 games monthly: my home game and a weekly friendly-local-game-store game: the Dungeon Muser doubles that output while, as far as I can tell, having a family and full time job on the side. Due to the volume of video being produced, it becomes virtually impossible not to find something in the stream for you. Kevin Madison gives 1981 Gary Gygax's work ethic a run for its money.

Hats off to you, Kevin.

The game - regardless of which system is being used - is very ruling-heavy. This is a good thing. Rather than allow questions regarding the rules to slow down or otherwise damage immersion in the game, the DM makes the call, moves on, and remains consistent through the session. Though changing the pattern occurs in the off chance that the rule is truly there and truly different than how they played the game, these don't result in retcons of what happened nor do they interrupt the consistency of the stream. Knowing that continuity of play and the play, itself, is far more important than absolute fidelity to the RAW differentiates this live-cast and YouTube channel from many others.

Dungeon Musings makes good use of environment rules. The DM is consistent in his application of lighting when dealing with the visual and otherwise engaging with his player's senses circa their character experiences. Specifically, in modern vintage, darkvision has become somewhat ubiquitous: if you have a character that doesn't have it as a racial power, you have it as a class ability; or lacking that, there is an item that makes up for it without further consequence - or your DM simply runs lit dungeons: something anathema to old-school play in several regards, the margins herein being incapable of holding while remaining faithful to the spirit of the post. The games run on the Dungeon Musings channel evoke a sense of claustrophobia, a sense of the unknown, and produce an excitement and tension to the adventure due to their engagement of the senses and due to the element of the unknown that consistently perforates underground or otherwise indoor adventures. Episodes wherein a party explores a cavern, or delves into an ancient temple - those episodes are episodes to write home about.

Fourth, I like the DM. He just seems like the kind of guy you'd want to play with. He laughs easily, seems to work hard on DM-prep to make the game go smoothly, and I like his beard. Not one of those big Billy Gibbons meets Phil Robertson numbers that frequently graces the chin (and neck) of D&D enthusiasts - but one that's maintained and clean: flows well from scalp to side-burn to short-and-sweet. Important to stay on topic, you know.

When binge-watching, the prolific nature of the channel can be both boon and curse definitely boon only. That is to say, I enjoy his Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea - but if I want to watch nothing but Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, I have a lot of videos to churn through before finding what I'm wanting to see. Similarly, It can be a challenge to follow a particular campaign, as they mix together somewhat capriciously - in terms of actually playing through sessions: so between any two connected episodes, a totally random number of other, unrelated games might be played a super convenient YouTube feature that the author uses, "Playlists", to curate his series!

Section updated to reflect the extremely magnanimous education provided by the Muser, himself! Original text left in strike-through, for transparency, but official post edited for accuracy to illustrate a feature and benefit of the channel that I had hereto missed.

The aforementioned granular and convenient curated playlists are visible on his channel here. If a prospective GM is interested in a particular system, this feature will empower that GM to specifically focus on that system and see it run in a real environment; or if a watcher, like me, is following a specific story-line while on a commute or during an exercise routine, this feature makes it very easy to watch through mentioned story-line hands-free; one episode after the next.

What I Don't Like

If I were to complain about one thing about this podcast - it's Pathfinder.

The DM is talented and likeable, the material he produces - the dungeons he runs - are very consistent with the game philosophy of the original hobby: but in his replete video repertoire, he likewise includes a handful of new-school games and new-school groups the players and ethos from which periodically diffuse into old-school sessions. This can manifest in long stretches of players waxing poetic regarding their character's motivations and perceptions or reacting with a prolonged internal monologue for something as simple as a fight-these-goblins encounter. Additionally, some of the story lines in the games seem forced - that is, they were planned by the DM and the players, rather than taking the bait on the hook, find themselves impaled by the spear gun of plot. I fast forward through those parts.

The above does not dampen the experience for the Dungeon Muser's players. He has a wide and largely consistent stable who truly enjoy the game. If that's something that you enjoy, you will enjoy the channel; if it's something you're not comfortable with, you may end up skipping a lot of content.

In Conclusion

On a scale of clothing-only to plate armor, I rate this play cast Chainmail with Shield. There is a ton of good content, and hours upon hours of good listening - but it does get dragged down on occasion by stretches of expose, of inner monologue, or sometimes even banter that feels like its going on too long: forcing me, at least, to skip ahead. In addition, there is a lot of good exposure to how the various games are supposed to work - and though the DM is very talented at keeping them separate (that is, rules from one system never slip into another unless the rule is individually simply brilliant as a house rule) - but there are also several systems I'm not interested in and don't embody the spirit of the old-school: meaning that the almost daily video may or may not

Kevin posts the schedule of his games on a weekly basis, visible on the Community page along with reminder updates, N-spirational material, and other media pertainent to the hobby and the channel; in Discord; and at his @dungeonmusings Twitter handle.

On that last note, maybe there is a schedule I'm missing or simply haven't caught on to... but I guess that just happens if you use D&D play streams as entertainment for a morning elliptical routine.

In any case, I will continue to subscribe to the Dungeon Muser - and I would highly recommend giving him a shot in your case as well: as you don't have much to lose in trying and you may well gain something worth keeping.

Additional Listening

Madison produces a podcast of the same name - Dungeon Musings - available on your preferred podcast player. I do not delve too deeply into the podcast here as I wanted to focus on actual play, which Dungeon Musing produces a lot of. There are enough people talking about OSR - not enough people demonstrating it.

Never enough. Keep it coming, producers!

Bull Temple

    Update: 7/20/2020
For a PDF version of this adventure in a classic TSR-blue, click here!

The plan for this week was to put together a review of another actual play live cast I've been screening; but we're into week two of sick child: this time, the other one. So - between blowing noses and re-dosing on cold medicine - you get a graph paper adventure instead.

When mapping a dungeon, I usually start with a theme in mind when working through the floor plan. That said, themes and procedural generation of dungeon contents often don't go hand in hand - but, stocking this one using the second-level lists from Moldvay Basic, it dawned on me that it works perfectly for an abandoned, derelict, or otherwise under siege environment. For the below, why are the elves there? Where did the neanderthals come from - or the lizard men? Are they working together, or against each other? In my mind, I know exactly how I'd run it - motives, reactions to one another, and explanations internal to the universe as to why the dungeon is and works as it is - but really, I don't want to share it for fear of clouding how you would run it. Half the fun is in figuring those details out - in advance or on the fly!

There's almost a blog post in it to talk to emergent theme derived from randomization of encounters and treasure...

Maybe next time. As always, feel free to use it if you like it.