Appendix-NIMH

Awash with the like of Blippi, Veggie Tales, and Super Truck (to name a few items that have blared on our television in the last 24 hours), I had - on a night not too long ago - had enough of it and steeled myself to find a program, a show or film, that would keep the boys' interest but would also not feel like a punishment as it related to my own. Thinking back - then - to films that held my attention as a child, films that I remembered for their quality and for their critical acclaim: quality, first, as if a toddler me would like it, so likewise might a toddler they; but critically, second, because if reviewers liked it - then surely, they were adults (like I pretend to be) when they wrote their reviews. Thereafter - scanning through free-to-me streaming options, bypassing several gems that I would have had to pay for - I found myself pleasantly surprised to find a version, free-with-ads on the Tubi app, of Don Bluth's 1982 classic: The Secret of NIMH.

N-Spiration: The Secret of NIMH

The Secret of NIMH theatrical poster sourced from BlackGate.com

About the Film

The Secret of NIMH, released on July 16, 1982, based on the book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and starring a wide cast of characters including Elizabeth Hartman as Mrs. Brisby (renamed to avoid a lawsuit over the Frisbee disc toy owned by Wham-O Inc.), Dom DeLuise providing air support, Shannen Doherty and Wil Wheaton playing siblings, Peter Strauss, and John Carradine, follows the story of a mouse mother attempting to save her family from both illness and man. Specifically, one man - the farmer - who doesn't truthfully know of the plight going on beneath his field: but that's neither here nor there.

Apart from its financial disappointments - MGM having released it in 90% fewer theaters than the financiers had expected - and its critical acclaim (harboring 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, as of this writing, and an 85% audience score with over 5,000 rating; and with a double-positive rating from Siskel and Ebert following its release and its win of Best Animated Film at the 10th annual Saturn Awards in 1982) - The Secret of NIMH is likely most known for the absolutely and unmistakably phenomenal art and animation on the film - and the prodigious budget and effort required to get it there.

The goal of the studio in the production of The Secret of NIMH was to reproduce the golden era of Disney animation - though Disney had passed on producing the film. The primary protagonist - Mrs. Brisby - reportedly had 46 different color palettes, representing different lighting situations called for in the film; in addition, backlit animation with color gels produce unearthly glows and multiple passes on the camera creating translucent effects - lending an ethereal quality to many of the scenes. All in all - the movie draws you in and tells a complex story within a framework that a child will understand.

Riveted, indisputably!

Mine did, at least.

Why NIMH?

This commentary may contain spoilers. Swim at your own risk.

Why should I, as an OSR referee, watch The Secret of NIMH? Two reasons: swords and sorcery. This film contains every element of an OSR game - ranging across level bands and across class niches. The rats themselves live in a society reminiscent of Camelot - fighting with swords, knives, and even once with Gary's favorite: a pole arm! Not enough sorcery in your sword and sorcery? Bam - the leader of the rats is a freaking wizard.

Regarding the sorcery aspect - most of the mystical elements present in the film manifest themselves through the use of magic items or talismans: some of which can be identified as scientific; others clearly having no secular origin. The way that the magic is used - in this sense - is very reminiscent of magic in Mausritter: a charming, not-quite-OSR game I have not had the opportunity to play enough of but the authors of which, I would be surprised if they had not seen this movie and taken some inspiration.

Further - to expand on themes in addition to elements - the film opens on a wilderness crawl. The primary protagonist has to leave home, brave the dangers of the wild, to make it to a wizened sage - Mr. Ages - in search of relief from a sickness taken to her son. The physician prescribes a medical treatment: something that's important in the context to maintain the groundedness of the film. While none can claim that D&D, as a game, as ever truly been low magic, as magic is accessible essentially to every adventuring party - it's application is limited: a Cleric, in B/X, gains no spells until second level: and doesn't gain the ability to remove diseases until 5th. Is Mr. Ages a low level Cleric? Of course not - but the point is, like many settings and setting design goals set out by OSR referees, the world bears verisimilitude - believability: historical resemblance is not compromised by indiscriminate use of magic to solve problems. Mr. Ages - and Mrs. Brisby - are both entirely human (or... mouse... as may be) and the world they live in is full of dangers and problems that they must solve or endure through wit or through perseverance. 

In this, the characters become more relatable - while at the same time making a nod to the fantastic. When returning with the medicine, Mrs. Brisby is pursued by a house cat. It's a perfectly standard experience on a rural homestead - but when presented from the perspective of the mouse, the film does a brilliant job of making the house cat into a terrifying foe. The creatures name, even, is "Dragon" - ironic humor for the farmer; an apt title for the mice; and a touch of the fantastic for us - the viewers.

Why have you come?

On two occasions worth citing, The Secret of NIMH explores a rendition of the dungeon crawl: once - again - seeing the guidance of a sage, this time in the form of the Great Owl; and then later, in attempt to drug the cat, Dragon, to facilitate movements of the rats. The former entailing a wandering monster encounter and the latter entailing a trap, imprisonment, and perilous escape, both sequences embody experiences that fantasy adventuring parties encounter: experiences which a referee - novice or seasoned - may draw inspiration.

For Further Consumption

You mentioned early on in the review that the film is based on a book of similar title and story. Is the book worth reading? I honestly don't know - I have not read it. I can vouch that it has a 4.15 rating on Goodreads - as of this writing. But I can also vouch that the book does not contain the same mystical elements - as writer and producer Don Bluth added the mystical elements intentionally: one, to create a greater air of mystery; and two, to add a layer of spirituality and depth to the story that wasn't there in the version more geared towards an exclusively younger audience. Knowing what you know, I can guide only so far regarding the novelization.

There is a sequel, I think? And maybe a remake in the works? No. The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue did not happen: much like Mad Max: Thunderdome did not happen - definitely not agonizingly spewing effluvium on the memory of the original. Didn't happen. 

Of the remake - I am aware of a television series in the work by Fox and a live action / CGI film in the works by original producer MGM: but we'll have to see what happens with either of those particular cash grabs expansions of the NIMH ecosystem. The Secret of NIMH was a passion project - a labor of love: as evidenced by the executive producers taking out mortgages on their own homes to fund finalization of the product: it will be a challenge for corporate direction to produce the same soul, the same art as pours freely from an empowered and impassioned creator or creative team.

In Conclusion

In my first N-Spiration post, I had a kind of tongue-in-cheek scale, rating the film on a scale against itself, implying that the scale should be based on that film due to its brilliance. Between then and now, however, I've had some time to think it over and I've come up with what I'd say is a better scale: one that more aptly reflects the objective of the series. And using that new scale, I rate The Secret of NIMH a solid 1. (It's OSR, remember? Lower numbers are better sometimes.) 

The Secret of NIMH, while not a traditional fantasy, hits all the bases to inspire a referee to run their own thing, to provide a challenge and let the players turn that challenge into an adventure. The combination of thematic elements, mysticism, and adventure - stacked alongside wilderness travel, "dungeon" delving, and problem solving (sometimes with wits, sometimes with swords, and other times with magic) plant this movie thoroughly in the camp of old school fantasy adventure gaming.

If you have not seen it; I recommend seeing it.

If you have not seen it in a while, I recommend seeing it again.

Delve on, readers - thank you for reading!

The Secret of NIMH and all imagery or clips taken therefrom or from promotional material therefor is property of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and is used for review purposes under US Code Title 17, Chapter 107.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and all imagery related to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is property of Wizards of the Coast and is likewise referenced and used under US Code Title 17, Chapter 107 as a combination of review and parody.

The picture of my son is property of me - obviously - and the slide in of Grandpappa Gary... I got it from a meme.
No clue beyond that much.

Vault of the Stag PDF!

Quick update for this week - I've added a PDF version to my Vault of the Stag adventure from a couple weeks back. The original post has been edited to add the link - but for folks who'd seen it once and may not be sitting on the page, F5ing for the alternative medium: I wanted to announce it here in case it was something to which you were looking forward.

Delve on, everyone!

 

Public domain image above retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com and lightly cropped for use.

Vault of the Stag

Scale: 10 ft.
Click HERE for a PDF version of this adventure!

Suitable for 1st to 2nd level characters.

•		A little keyhole icon means the door is locked.
•		A little "S" through the door means the door is secret.
•		The other icon - which is supposed to look like a muscly arm - indicates the door is stuck and must be forced open.

A - Atrium

A1 - Sprite Circle

The northern section of the large space, north of the entry stair, is occupied by 14 Sprite (B43), who are dancing in a circle, creating a ring of stalagmites: with each stalagmite growing almost imperceptibly with each Sprite step which touches it. Between them, the Sprites are carrying 6 gold pieces.

A2 - Fountain of Order

Against the wall of the south space is a semi-circular tiled space, contained by a three-foot stone wall. The bottom is tiled, as though a fountain, and 600 silver pieces lie strewn about within. A character which enters the fountain will feel water - its push, its chill - but will not get wet. That character must - upon leaving the fountain - Save vs Spells. On a failure, the character's alignment is changed one step towards Lawful. Characters already Lawful will feel clean, energized: those characters will not need to eat, nor feel hungry, for 1+1d6 days following the exposure. The silver coins radiate - to magical detection - a slight lawfulness: though it will fade in 1d4 days' time having been removed from the fountain.

W - West Halls

W1 - Statuary

Two statues, both facing north, stand in this room. They depict life-size elk: the antlers of one touch - and seem to pierce - the ceiling.

W2 - The Ballroom's Basement

Thick cob webs line the western portion of this room. In the eastern portion, a mosaic has been placed on the ceiling - a circular piece depicting the perspective of one hidden below a glass floor, looking up at a group of rustic ballroom dancers. 

W3 - The Vault

A fortune in jewelry is locked beneath three thick steel cages in this room.

• To the south east, a sack with 700 silver pieces, an amulet worth 600 gp, and a pair of earrings (an antique style) worth 800 gp total.
  
• To the south west, a matching pair of girdles - laced in platinum - worth 1,200 gp each, coupled with a lone headband festooned with green emeralds and fine chain (worth 1,500 gp).
  
• To the north west - a Wand of Negation (X50) sits upright in an ebony stand. Beside it, a ring - simple exterior, bejeweled with a ruby; but encrusted on the interior with cut diamond: making it uncomfortable to don or doff. Its materials are worth 1,600 gp to a jeweler - perhaps more to a collector (or masochist).

Standing guard in the room are 5 Skeleton (B42) who attack on sight.

W4 - Privy

Fist-sized holes are bored into the floor along the east wall. They are deeper than the light can see. In the southern alcove, the floor is slightly sunken, with a drain in the center: again, seeming to fall into nothingness.

W5 - West Fane

Torn curtains - heavy and thick, but damaged as though in a melee - litter this space. There is likewise some broken furniture - but both have been collecting dust and cobwebs for some time.

W6 - The Root

A root-like structure, similar to antlers, hangs from the ceiling, hanging from which can be found seven hempen pouches. In four of the lower-hanging pouches can be found 100 sp each; in the three remaining pouches, hung higher in the structure, can be found 100 gp each: for a total coin count of 700.

For each pouch removed, however, there is a chance the branch will snap; alternatively the branch can be snapped with relative ease by a determined character. If a branch snaps in this manner, a trap is activated: releasing a paralytic, corrosive mist.

All characters in the room must Save vs Paralysis or be paralyzed for 1d3 turns. Every minute that a character is in the room thereafter - while the mist lingers - suffers 1 point of damage per minute: or 10 points of damage per turn. Characters exiting and re-entering the mist must save a second time or be paralyzed: though subsequent saves in this manner may re-roll their first failure.

A character removed from the mist does not immediately recover from the paralysis - but they will stop taking damage. Organic inventory - such as scrolls, leather, and the like - may be required to save or be destroyed if left in the mist. 

W7 - Huntsman's Hall

In the center of the room is a floor tile mosaic depicting a herd of deer. Along the north and south walls are seven pedestals, four to the north - three to the south. On six of the pedestals stand petrified, desiccated bodies - almost skeletal - wearing the garb of rangers, including dusty, decaying weapons characteristic of the woodland. Each of them holds a single gemstone in both hands. The gemstones are worth 60 gp each. On the last pedestal, there is a mess of bones: as though a skeleton had collapsed.

If an Elf or Halfling walks close to one of the corpse-rangers, it will raise its hands, offering the gemstone. When obliged (the gemstone being taken) the corpse will collapse in a heap of bone and man-leather, emanating a quiet but echoing groan while it does so.

W8 - Foyer

One can see into, but not access, E11 from this space through a wall of iron bars. There is a touch-plate near the bars - a character inspecting them or interacting with them may mistakenly step on it - which electrifies them: any character touching the bars at the time of the trigger suffers 1d8 points of damage.

E - East Halls

E1 - South Fane

Hanging above the door is a simple but elegant cobweb-coated chandelier. It is emblazoned with opals, seven of them, worth 10 gold pieces each.

E2 - Fellowship

In the center of this space, a chandelier appears to have separated from the ceiling, falling to the floor. It is damaged and there are sockets where gemstones might fit. There are five opals hidden in the south-west corner of the room, valued at 10 gp each, having been broken loose and rolled (been placed?) into natural rubble.

E3 - The Hunt King's Coffin

This room contains a central coffin - open: doors split side by side, as butterfly style - with a parched corpse inside. On the walls behind - south-east and south-west - there are portraits of a tall, pale figure - hair long and lank, pale likewise - wearing dark armor.

On close inspection, the parched corpse has petrified bones: examination of which, however, may trigger a trap. A character interacting with the corpse must - if the trap triggers - Save vs Paralysis or be caught as the doors of the coffin close, crushing them inside. A character crushed in this manner suffers 3d8 damage.

E4 - Spider Den

Tattered, dusty clothing are scattered on the floor. Four Crab Spiders (B43) have made their lair in the room. Specie totaling 10 sp and 34 cp can be found among the rags.

E5 - Knob Room

A pedestal stands in the room. Atop the pedestal is fixed a disc - three feet across, horizontal: that its plane is parallel to the floor. Atop the disc, a small platform is supported by a metal ring - independent of the disc - that has two solid rectangular protuberances on top - six inches by three - arranged side by side - as the doors to the north wall. On the disc is a black arrow, emblazoned, pointing north, but not directly at either door in the north wall: the disc will rotate, if a character attempts to turn it.

If the arrow on the disc is pointed at either of the two north doors, the handle on the target door will electrify: causing 1d4 points of shock damage to any who touch it, or 2d4 on a failed Save. If the disc is pointed at the south door, it will unlock.

E6 - North Fane

In the central area of this room, two stag-horn light fixtures hang from the ceiling. In the northern-most section, an altar with a statue of a six-legged stag atop it sits in a shallow pool of water. The water is mundane, but behind the statue can be found a loose brick: removing it will reveal a handle which, if turned, will cause the fountain to spin, facing into E7.

Before the stag altar is a band of 7 Acolytes (B30). The band is accompanied by a single Adept (Cleric, lvl 2) who has the Light spell memorized. The Adept has in his possession a Fire Opal (100 gp value) which he is convinced has some significance in the dungeon. It will not influence the stag altar, on which he is focused when encountered. 

E7 - Ringed Corridor

Ringing the south and west walls is a small rivulet, hewn into the floor, with a small grate along its center. Along the east wall is an inversion as such: a protuberance of equivalent height to the gutter's depth, rising from the floor. If a character steps on, places an item on, or otherwise applies sufficient pressure to this protuberance, it will sink down, releasing a swarm of flying hornets (B37). 

E8 - Priest's Passes

From within these two halls, the doors to E9 are obvious and simple to open. Along the walls to both are relief carvings of faces: worn with time. In E8i, two Fire Beetle (B31) are mulling about; in E8ii, four additional Fire Beetles (B31).

E9 - The Thunderhead Orb

A concentric octagon rises slightly in the center of this room - offset such that its points line the center of the edges of the room's walls. In the center of the room is an orb - held aloft by a glass pillar. The ceiling is domed and painted to resemble clouds. If characters step onto the central dais, the clouds seem to dim, as though a storm is coming.

The orb is worth 1,000 gold pieces and can be used as a crystal ball: however attempting to remove it from its pillar will activate a protective enchantment - striking the would-be thief with a bolt of electricity emanating from a random point in the ceiling. If this happens, the character touching the orb and 1d3-1 additional party members (hapless victims of chance, standing in the wrong place when the arc comes down) take 3d6 damage; a successful Save reducing the roll from 3d6 to 1d6.

E10 - Parishioners' Passes

A whistling can be heard in this space emanating from the direction of E9. If the door to E9 is unlocked, the whistling stops.

E11 - Skeletal Watchers

From this space, one can see into - but not access - W8 through a wall of iron bars. In the corner to the south-east, a handful of skeletons lie chained with manacles affixed to the wall at around waist height on a man. The skeletons will not be caught moving - however their skulls will, whenever gazed upon, be facing the gazer. Additionally, if a character is close to the secret door to W7, they will rattle gently - only once - in anticipation to see whether the party will find it or not.

The skeletons are harmless and cannot cause harm (nor help) to the party.

Warlock Tower: The PDF!

Been having a bit of a rough go these last two weeks - no time for the blog - but not wanting to miss a week, I figure I'll post some content I just happen to have lying around: the PDF version of Warlock Tower, my submission to the original Prince of Nothing No-Artpunk Contest.

Warlock Tower, reviewed here, did not win, but did get an honorable mention here; so - for the No-Artpunk Companion there hinted, I did submit a revised manuscript - fixing some typos and adding some helpful bits that - when I was running the module, myself, in playtest - that I wished I had on hand rather than having to thumb through the book to find. Provided below is that file!

Warlock Tower

There... isn't a lot of art in here, CWR. True. The provided PDF is an exercise in brevity - I was trying to stay under the 20 page limit: that, plus the deadline, kind of forced my hand on the public domain art front. I may try to go back and find some to spice it up - but no promises. It's been hard enough to get this post out today - will try to have a podcast episode with a sort of "State of the Union" later on this month.

Are you going to finish your play through on the YouTube channel? I want to, but I don't know when I'm going to get to. Because of health-reasons, I'm losing a lot of time and having to cut back on my already anemic gaming schedule. Players from that game are welcome to look - or not look - in hopes that we find a time to play: and perhaps another platform to play on, as Astral is, it seems, going away.

Should I still buy the No Artpunk Vol. 1 adventure collection, even though the obvious best author - you - aren't in it? Absolutely. I have not had a chance to read through it myself, but I can vouch that - knowing it's PWYW, you have nothing to lose: and knowing what you pay benefits the Autism Research Institute, if you choose to pay, you're paying into a good cause.

Delve on, readers!

Enter the Scorpion

They say, deep in the wastes - among the rocks and sand, where no man may dwell - in the places where water is in scarcity and the sun, abundance: there can be found the hardiest of the half-races. In those places, the Girtablilu have made their lairs.

They say - far from the places where men dwell, where the wells flow over terraces and where the barley grows - at the ends of roads mortal feet wear out before reaching: there, the gods set their homes, made their palaces, kept their keeps: and along the way, set these Aqrabuamelu to hinder the way.

They say, in these places of dying, in the corners of the wilds, where the sons of angels once walked, but whose sandals have turned to dust - the generations and generations of their abandoned guardians, their orphan soldiers, hatched from hidden clutches buried beneath the rock and clay, swarm in their thousands.

Or, so they say.

Waykeepers of the First Gods

Scorpion Men are - as their name indicates - a fusion of man and giant scorpion. They have the upper body of a man mounted atop the body and tail of a desert scorpion. They speak a language derivative of the Wild, despite the origin of their species being steeped in Chaotic sorcery. 

Encountering Scorpion Men

Scorpion Warrior
Armor Class:	6	No. Appearing:	2-20
Hit Dice:	3+3	Save As:	Fighter 3
Move:	150' (50')	Morale:	8
Attacks:	1 Weapon and 1 Stinger	Treasure Type:	A
Damage:	As Weapon +1 1 + Poison	Alignment:	Neutral
Frequency:	Uncommon	Chance In Lair:	5%

When In Lair When encountered in lair, the No. Encountered represent warrior males; a second roll should be made for females – which are likewise capable, but not necessarily armed, in that they may not be expecting combat. There is a 2-in-6 chance they will be guarding eggs: in which case their Morale increases to 11.

Poison Stinger A character which is injured by the Stinger attack of any Scorpion Man must Save vs Death or perish. The effect takes between 1 and 4 turns; but if a second dose is administered (that is, a second sting occurs and a second save is failed, the time remaining is reduced to 1 to 4 rounds.

On the Organization and Tack of Scorpion Men 

• 3-in-6 Scorpion Men - warriors, the rank-and-file - carry a morning star, shield, and crossbow. With shield equipped, their AC improves to 5.
• 2-in-6 Scorpion Men -  lancers, the cavalry among the chimeric - carry composite longbows and spears, with which they are wont to charge: benefiting as using a lance.
• 1-in-6 Scorpion Men - mutants, regressions - are hatched with the claws of a scorpion rather than the hands of a man: often with projecting antenna and occasionally mandibles in addition to their jaws. These creatures are sentient, albeit not as clever as their kindred - their intelligence corrupted by their instincts - but they benefit from two natural pincer attacks which do 1d6+1 damage each, which they use in lieu of a weapon and in addition to their normal Stinger attack.
  

Split Fire All Scorpion Men may - if equipped with ranged weapons - split fire: that is, move a portion of their movement, fire a ranged weapon, and then move the remainder of their movement afterwards, but still within the Missile phase.

Spoiler Alert!

The Deeper Lore section contains some notes to help a GM (me) to run the Scorpion Men in a way consistent with the archetype they are supposed to fill and some of the inspirations behind their creation. If you play in (or want to play in!) a game GM'ed by me, beyond this point will ruin some of the mystery for you for both Scorpion Men and for most of the sentient races: having some impact in the game world that isn't immediately available outside of player character discoveries.

Deeper Lore

The Scorpion Men are free peoples, with tribal affiliations determining the nature of their governance. However, they have a kinship with one another - a bond brought on by their shared origin. Scorpion Men are not a Vice Race: they bear no seed of Chaos - but they were mutated, chimerized by the ancient gods of Chaos to wage war on other celestial beings - the lords of Law and the natural world, alike.

In the ages that followed, they have been employed by various powers as guardians - some say that they guard the gates that hold the sun in the evening - in part due to their territorial nature and in part due to their rugged survivability. They are fiercely loyal to their own - but they are not intractable: with a good reaction and proper communication, they are apt to make powerful allies to any who have curried their favor. They are territorial with one another - although it is rare to find unrelated tribes in proximity to one another: and often, the borders are drawn and observed amicably.

They have some suspicion of the gods and of Clerics. In the modern age, as mentioned, they are free - but the elders tell tales to the hatchlings of days wherein the gods enslaved them, ensorcelled them, sent them to battle for purposes alien to the Scorpion folk. The truth of it - many serve these powers unintentionally due to their penchant to protect their territory: having been placed there to block the movement of other races into a place beyond of which the Scorpion Men have no knowledge - others reside in forgotten places: the purpose of their seeded colony having been lost as the cosmic struggle moved on.

Public domain and open license artwork retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com, from Pixabay, and from The Public Domain Review and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.

Temple of the Bat

Scale: 10 ft.
Click HERE for a PDF version of this adventure!

Suitable for 2nd level characters.

•		A little keyhole icon means the door is locked.
•		A little "S" through the door means the door is secret.
•		The other icon - which is supposed to look like a muscly arm - indicates the door is stuck and must be forced open.

A - The Ledge

A1 - Thirsting Effigy

Above a deep defile, a narrow road winds along the mountainside. Flanking the road are steep edges, stone and scree, with the occasional dead or dormant vine: sinking its roots into barren earth. Nestled in the cliff face is a shallow cave - planted in which is a carved statue of a giant fanged bat. Beneath the bat, on the ground - having been cast aside - is a stone bowl. If blood is spilled into the bowl and lifted to the mouth of the statue, the blood will drain, the statue's eyes will flash, and all characters within 20 feet of the statue are transported into B1, by the hanging statue in the south corner.

Two Lizard Men (B38), traveling, have taken refuge in the alcove and are resting.

A2 - Secret Entrance

Dead shrubs cling to the walls of the ravine; anchoring scree and soil. Beneath a thicket here marked is a suspiciously solid slab of stone hidden behind a set of bushes, the stem of which is at its head. The vine is artificial - and if the stem is turned counter-clockwise and then shifted left, it will allow the slab to slide downward into a hidden compartment, opening the secret door.

B - Atrium

B1 - Grand Hall

In the south-east corner, a statue of a bat - identical to the one in A1 - hangs upside down from the ceiling. Characters able to "feed" the bat in the same manner of the statue in A1 will be teleported back to A1. Hanging north-west of the statue, closer to the center of the hall, are three live Giant Bats (B31).

B2 - The Cage

Behind a barred section is a large statue of a bat. Its face has been damaged, one fang is broken and missing, along with half of its face and part of one wing.

B3 - South Entry

An orb sits on a pedestal, half visible, in the center of the room, a slight glow emitting from underneath as though it sits in a concave bowl. If it is turned, the glow increases - and if it is turned quickly, it emits a bright flash. All characters exposed to the flash must Save or be blinded for 1d4 hours.

B4 - North Entry

A faint smell of guano infuses this room. To the north, a hole appears to have been smashed through the wall - leading to B6. The occupants of B6 may notice if a party enters B4 prior to encountering them otherwise.

B5 - Temple

In the center of this room, an eight pointed star is embossed into the floor - forming small rivulets in the floor. The ceiling is taller than in other corridors and rooms - 20 feet - and from it hangs a Gargoyle (B35) - the appearance of which is of a stone bat. In its chest is an eight-sided emerald (worth 300 gp). If the emerald is placed in the center of the star on the floor, the rivulets light up before the center of the star rises from the floor, revealing a strongbox. The strongbox is chained to a peg in its alcove and locked - however inside can be found 3,000 electrum pieces, five rubies worth 30 gp each, and two topaz worth 25 gp each. 

B6 - Cave In

This short tunnel appears to be the result of a collapse of soil, undermining the walls of the northern part of the dungeon. Entrances to this space are gaps in the walls, but care must be taken to get in - as the rubble is treacherous.

Inside the tunnel, 4 Fire Beetles (B31) are munching on three dead adventurers. Among the possessions of the corpses is a satchel containing 700 silver pieces and a diamond necklace worth 900 gp.

C - North Wing

C1 - Oratory

Braced against the south door is a sizable wooden stand, one used for standing and speaking, as at a commencement. Along the north and south walls are brightly colored mosaics depicting the sunset.

C2 - Treasure Table

Nine Skeletons (B42) guard 12 brass figurines (10 gp value each) and a jade bat (100 gp) placed on an eight-sided table.

C3 - Freeze Dried

This hallway is oddly cold. If the characters proceed all the way through to the other end, depending on which way they entered, they will emerge with frost on their hair - and any rations on their person will have transmuted to iron rations, instead.

C4 - Dry Fountain

A dry fountain sits in the corner, a grotesque facing both south and west. Their mouths are open, large enough to fit a hand into. A character reaching into the west mouth will find a rotating handle; which, if turned clockwise, will unlock the base of the fountain. When unlocked, the fountain - also - can be turned clockwise, causing the bottom to fall out and reveal a small horde:

•  1,000 sp
• 300 gp
• 1 Topaz (50 gp value)
• 1 Diamond (500 gp value)
  

Turning the handle counter-clockwise will cause the mouth to shriek - a metal on metal noise - prompting an immediate wandering monster.

In the south facing mouth, a similar lever. It will not turn clockwise, but if turned counter clockwise, will also produce the same metal shriek: also prompting a wandering monster.

C5 - Statuary

Statues depicting robed figures - some with the faces of bats - line the east and west walls. On the north side, the wall has caved in. The room is otherwise empty.

C6 - Feeding Room

The walls are lined with aging but still luxuriant velvet. Books, shredded, line the floor and a lone Ghoul (B35) feeds on a dead Elf. The Elf is carrying 900 sp, wearing a pair of bejeweled bracers worth 400 gp total, and possesses magical Chainmail. The armor is cursed - providing AC 9 and refusing to be removed from a new wearer without a Remove Curse spell or similar magic.

D - South Wing

D1 - Ruined Sanctum

As the party enters, a spectral procession is moving to the north west: acolytes behind and a leader in the front. They are incorporeal and unaware of the world around them: if interrupted by magical means, they will disappear; if allowed to proceed, they will complete a short sacrament where fruit is placed in a bowl. Shortly after the sacrament completes, the procession disappears.

The bowl and altar remain, but the room is full of broken furniture, otherwise. If the party leaves an offering in it, the Gargoyle in B5 will not attack them if they enter - instead clinging to the ceiling, motionless. It will defend itself if attacked, however.

D2 - Bat Tunnel

The secret doors into and out of this space are obvious and easy to open from within this space. Two Giant Bats (B31) have made it their roost.

D3 - Abandoned Confessional

Four boxes - man sized - line the south wall. One conceals the secret door to D5. North, there are instruments of penance - long unused - and some broken wood furnishings.

D4 - Pit Trap

The hallway at this point conceals a 20 foot pit trap. At the bottom of the trap are three skeletons - victims of a fall. Between them, they have 1,100 silver pieces, 400 gold pieces, and a single magical Sword (+1).

D5 - Spider Tunnel

Doors to this room are obvious and accessible from this side. At the point in this narrow escape tunnel where it widens from 5 feet to 10 feet, a lonely Rhagodessa (X38) lurks in wait, hiding on the ceiling in the corner.

Public domain artwork retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com and the National Gallery of Art and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.

Being Creative During the Holidays

A Conversation with the Author

I have a busy life. Folks who have hung around for a bit invariably know that I've got a set of twins - it's in the biopic after all - as well as a full time job and (as of recently) another little guy on the way. December has come - it's almost halfway done, as of when this post should publish - and, this time of year, most of you, dear readers, can identify this problem.

Despite the responsibilities I have - I've still run this blog, posted something every week, started a podcast, and occasionally even found time to run a game or two. Because of that, I've been asked a couple times by friends about what I do differently to manage my time - and I wanted to post the highlights from those conversations here, hoping that maybe - for those of you out there having trouble keeping your game together during the busy holiday season, hopefully this may be a way to keep that creativity flowing and keep the spirit of the game alive for you. 

And for those of you with whom I've had these kind of conversations - if the below article sounds familiar, it should! Thank you for pinging me, for your trust, and thank you for sharing your experiences with me: both so I can incorporate some of your successes into my own process but also to spur me into putting it all into words, for the benefit of the wider internet.

Happy holidays, everybody!

Find Time For Yourself

First and foremost - you have to find time for your creative outlet.

This seems blasé - something you'd see posted in the 00's, white on a black border around some picture of a waterfall or bird; or something you'd see embroidered on a wall hanging next to the equivalent hurl-bait to "Live Laugh Love" - but it doesn't mean (or, isn't intended to mean) what you may think it does on initial impression. Finding time for yourself does not mean prioritizing yourself or your hobby over your obligations - instead, it means literally that: finding the time on the schedule, on the clock, that isn't taken up by other, more important things.

For the first year of my boys' life - or, the year starting after the point where they started sleeping through the night - that time was 8 PM. They would fall asleep around 8, I would have an hour or so of time to myself, and then I would try to go to sleep at 9.

Time Opens the Gates of Dawn

9 PM? Really, grandpa? Yes - because the other "finding time for myself" activity, cardio exercise, can only happen early in the morning, before my wife wakes up. But I digress.

So what did that mean for me - I had to schedule creative time, game time, to hit on or after 8 PM: because that's the point that the twins went down, my wife would try to wind down, and I'd have some time to myself, free time, which I could spend either doing dishes or gaming. And dishes can wait. 

Your time may be different. You may have some time in the afternoon where your distractions sleep; you may have some time in the morning before your obligations start. But that's the name of the game - figure out when that time is going to be and then have the discipline to jump on it. Time-boxing those hours, dog-earing those hours, to try to get your hobby done is the best way to make sure it does.

Break Creative Projects Down

8 to 9 PM is only an hour. Is it possible to run a game in that short a span? It can be - depending on the way you play - but if I am being honest, I don't play that way. The games I have been able to participate in over the last few years have definitely pushed me past my bedtime. To accommodate - I've either gotten up late or doubled down on coffee the next day. But as rough as that sounds - it only applies in certain circumstances - the next huge thing that has kept me going is breaking projects down.

When working on your home setting - you won't be able to draw a hex map and stock a hex map in the same day. This is wisdom outside crunch time - with maps, with dungeons, and with life, it's best to stay one step ahead: prep to about a session and a half out from where the party currently is and play. Knowing that you're going to incrementally prep - apply the same theory to the item under preparation. If you're building a dungeon - for example - break it down into actionable tasks: 

• Draw map
• Determine corridor traps
• Define themed wandering monster list
• Stock section A
• Stock section B
  

...and so on.

These actionable items should be doable, finite tasks with definitive end artifacts. "When I have produced this, I will have completed this corresponding bullet point," so to speak. Once all the bullet points have been put together - you'll have your completed product.

Doesn't that run the risk of feeling tonally different, knowing you're going to be in different mindsets between start and finish? Yes. Look at Watchtower on the Indigo River. There is a palpable difference - in my opinion - between the stocking of the different adventure sites and wilderness. Knowing that, it becomes important to have an editorial read-through: a final task in your task list to come at it, read through it, and ensure tonal consistency. With Watchtower, I expect I'll have to re-do several of the maps - they are slightly different in symbology - and I'll want to re-stock - more emphasis on frog-men and the undead; less "got to include this entry from the Monster Manual!" But that will come with time: and will happen just before a final play-test.

Hopefully.

But when you're working on a smaller project - one which doesn't spread over the course of essentially your blog's entire lifespan - having four or five sections will take four or five sessions to map, stock, and finalize enough for beta: it will be easier to keep tonal consistency - especially if you find some music or other inspiration to consume in the background while working.

Take Notes On the Go

I have a file on my Desktop - "Elf Mansion Dream.txt."

Last May, I had a very gonzo dream - one that dove into my fears and perceptions of my own failings, but transformed into a mostly cohesive narrative about a protagonist (it was originally me, but by the middle, it was a bit disembodied) who had to deal with responsibility, temptation, and then forcible injection into reality after a season-long emotional affair with a strange, supernatural entity: one which faded from him after his attempt to codify the ethereal, to tame the unbreakable wild, germinated the seed buried deep in her consciousness that had always served as a blemish to highlight fundamental incompatibility of the real and the beyond.

Less dramatically, I also have a file on my Desktop - "To Message.txt" - which contains notes on call-ins I want to make to other people's podcasts. The point is, Notepad is your friend: as are other tools that allow you to take notes in the moment when inspiration has hit, but when you have other things you need to do.

Google Keep and voice-to-text - in this sense - is my best friend. I have a Christmas list on it - a list of things I see and the names of people I think would like it; I have a grocery list on it - shared with my wife so she can see what's there, think about adding what she needs, and then write it down on a post it note that she doesn't share while I'm at Publix instead; and I have several RPG-related notes saved. Am I selling you Google Keep? Not intentionally - but it's backed up, I can access it cross-platform, and I have an Android device. The key - if I have a cool idea, or if I want to make a new podcast episode about a subject, I can write it down when I have the idea and then come back to it later for implementation.

To that end - the benefit: you never know when inspiration will strike - and when it does, you can't guarantee you'll be in the middle of doing something from which you can't get away. Having the ability to jot notes down - class lecture notes: not the meat of what you think, but pointers that will activate your brain cells to re-think the same ideas, to remember where you were, mentally, when you came up with them. Sometimes, the notes you jot down in the middle of a workout or on a smoke break at work become the task bullets on your next time-boxed personal time.

And maybe one day you too will write that sappy Harlequin novel that your brain conjured up in unconscious delirium and then, on waking, thought was neat enough to catalog.

Keep a Backlog of Creative Ideas

Related to the above, don't be afraid to keep ideas on the back burner. Recall earlier, I mentioned that the way to make a project come to completion is to break it into doable pieces and then have the discipline to execute on each of the pieces so that you can stitch them together at the end.

One of the things that happens to me - at least - and I've seen it in other people on occasion: if I'm not being productive, or not being as productive as I want to be, or if something I thought was going to be great turns into a flop, I can get discouraged - I can lose the motivation to create. I can lose the interest I had in a project - and I find myself pulling back, pulling out of games I would normally have played in, not committing to projects that I would have normally been gung-ho about. While burnout can be a thing - I'm not saying that you don't need to take a break, play something else on occasion to keep the flame burning, the passion stoked, for your hobbies - but pulling away can be a self-perpetuating cycle. How many blogs have you seen start and then suddenly stop posting? How many YouTube channels have 10 followers, 4 videos, and no updates in 3 years?

Don't let it happen to you.

Keep a backlog of creative ideas - keep a list of things you'd like to do - so when the doldrums come, you can pivot. You can change your focus, stay in the hobby, stay in the swing, but you can take a break from the stuff that's not bringing you joy. As of this writing, I have 15 blog posts in Draft: some of which have nothing in them but the title and maybe a line to clarify what I was thinking when I wrote it. I have 3 podcast subjects I'd like to address and 5 guests I'd like to have appear: one of whom I've talked to about it and am working through scheduling. I have those backlog items because I know a week is going to come when I'm not feeling it and, when that happens, I'll have a list to pick from to keep my mind occupied - and to keep the creativity flowing, keep the motivation fresh, lest the spring run dry. 

Stick With It

For me, at least - and I assume there are others like me - creativity is easier when it's constant. Behaviors are easier when they become habits; if I leave a project, game, or hobby for long enough, the inertia will keep me out of it - and conversely, the more I engage, the more I work on it, the more easy it is for me to keep going, to produce, and to improve. Knowing that - I don't let myself rest: and I would advise you consider the same.

With a backlog of items, per the above advice, you're never at a loss for something to work on - and having small projects can be the difference between feeling dead in the water and feeling like you're smooth sailing. That big project with 30 task points in it got you down after the first 7? That's alright - take a break from that big project: give yourself some little wins and don't let the intimidation of the last 23 items tear down your love of the project.

Keep trying.

Keep playing.

Keep creating.

The enemy is letting life keep you down - and though sometimes life will put you down: childbirth, for example, may from experience put a dent in your gaming schedule - but there is always either a way around or a way through.

And Them's My Two Coppers

Find the time, break and schedule such that it fits into the time you found, find and use tools to help keep you moving, and - most importantly - stick with it.

Delve on, readers - even through this busy season!

Public domain artwork retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com and adapted for thematic use. Attributions in alt text.