OSR 1977 Holmes basic super dense dungeon

[darjr]

Well, that's certainly a one page dungeon!

[OC] My dad's bafflingly dense dungeon from his first custom campaign (1977, Holmes Basic)

 

[Sacrosanct]

1. That would be a BEAR to DM (or play lol)
2. That also looks a LOT like what I did during class (instead of paying attention).

 

[darjr]

Oh but I think I need to try!

 

[darjr]

 

[David Howery]

that.... looks rather similar to my first efforts as a DM. Except I used TSR's Dungeon Geomorphs set to do them.

 

[Mezuka]

Mind boggling!

I'm intrigued by the 'town square, fontain waterweird'. Was this a dwarven city before being taken over by monsters?

If the blue maker line is the party's exploration route, they didn't get very far before dying or retreating.

 

[ilgatto]

Well, that's certainly a one page dungeon!

lol

screamers? snakemen?

the plot thickens

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

What I find fascinating is that if we can assume that the extent of the dungeon key are the notes at the top and the bottom, how much of it is empty and/or random-encounter to populate.

It's a design theory that's dwindled as the game has evolved, but early dungeons (see also Tegel Manor) were often definitely designed to be mazes to challenge the players, in addition to all the monsters and traps to challenge the characters.

 

[Orius]

Ten squares per inch? That's pretty extensive.