Ernie Gygax's Hobby Shop Dungeon - The Adventure Begins!

[Odhanan]

I know at this point some issues of Gygax Magazine Issue #3 are in the mail, and I am therefore very excited announce that Ernie Gygax and I are launching the Hobby Shop Dungeon discussed on various venues, including this Dragonsfoot discussion thread with a feature module within it!

I will share more information and, time willing, answer any question you might have about HSD0 - THE MARMOREAL TOMB OF GARN PAT'UUL, or anything else related to the Hobby Shop Dungeon.

Here goes!

The forlorn dwelling of the Stone-Cutter Dwarves has been found somewhere in the wilderness at the base of the Bitter Peaks. It is rumored the clan once dealt with the renowned mage Nester De Guyx whose mazes underground became the stage of many a legend still remembered to this day.

Maybe your party is heading there searching for traces of the mage's presence, some information or clues that could help you survive in the Dungeon's depths. Maybe you have some personal connection with the dwarves, or seek to know more about the history of this world. Or maybe you simply are searching for the treasures the dwarves could have left behind. Whatever the case, glory, or death, awaits.

Take heart, for this is where a new life of adventure begins!

Written by Ernest Gary Gygax Jr. and Benoist Poiré, illustrated by industry legend Jim Holloway, THE MARMOREAL TOMB OF GARN PAT'UUL is a role playing game module for First Edition compatible rules, the feature piece of Gygax Magazine Issue #3.

Designed for levels 1 to 3, THE MARMOREAL TOMB OF GARN PAT'UUL can be used in a variety ways, straight from the page or with home-brewed modifications. It can be used in different game worlds, and can serve as an introduction to The Hobby Shop Dungeon, a brand new collection of adventure game products centered around the dungeon and setting created by Ernest Gary Gygax Jr. in 1978, and developed today in concert with Benoist Poiré.

The adventure begins. Are you ready to play your part?

Pack your gear and step through the threshold with Gygax Magazine Issue #3.

To keep up to date with the Hobby Shop Dungeon project, one easy way is to "Like" the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/hobbyshopdungeon

 

[TerraDave]

Awesome!

I am really looking forward to the magazine!

 

[howandwhy99]

Totally jealous. Now I need to go get one.

 

[Odhanan]

Thank you for the enthusiasm!

One thing I probably should point out is the way this module could be used in a variety of ways.

The Marmoreal Tomb is described using First Edition compatible rules. It can be used as an introduction to the wider world of the Hobby Shop Dungeon and setting, and/or inserted into most home-brewed settings without issues.

It can be explored using all TSR versions of the game with little to no modifications, of course, which is also valid of most OSR clones and variants out there. So whether you are using 0e, 1e, 2e, the Basic/Expert versions of the game, OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Adventurer Conqueror King System, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, or the likes of them, you should have no problem getting some cool game play out of the Marmoreal Tomb of Garn Pat'uul.

Likewise, it should be relatively easy to say, identify Fronts for a Dungeon World game using the Tomb. Or some Torchbearer, 13th Age and various such games inspired by or loosely related to old school play. I could see a 0-level DCC RPG funnel game taking place in the Tomb very easily with potentially great game play, for instance.

Given the organization of the Tomb, and particularly the space between its various inhabitants and the relationships between them, I think it would be fairly easy to calibrate the module in order to run it with versions of the game including tighter notions of game balance, encounter levels, challenge ratings and the like.

I should also note that the Tomb comes with a set of advice geared specifically towards the customization of its environment. So it shouldn't be too hard to up the numbers of inhabitants and run it for levels 3-5 for instance, or to add another completely new layer of threats and inhabitants on top of what is described therein. The module itself explains all that, with a couple of examples to spark your imagination.

There are also areas which have been purposefully set up in order to be able to use the Tomb as the first stepping stone of a greater dungeon environment to explore. So it certainly could be used as the basis to build an entire mega-dungeon of your own, if that's what you'd rather do with it.

It'll play well and provide a very traditional old school exploration experience if you run it straight from the page unmodified. It's going to have its slow parts with mapping and searching from room to room wondering when that is you are going to hit the jackpot, and it's going to have its scary moments too, where you'll have to think really fast to make it out of there alive. It is not a "killer dungeon" of the likes of the Tomb of Horrors, but it is very much old school in the sense that it can certainly trigger some TPKs on the unwary.

 

[Odhanan]

Argh double post sorry.

 

[Agamon]

Sweet! Very much looking forward to Issue 3 of GM to show up!

 

[MJS]

Definitely a big selling point for issue 3, I look forward to it.

A Tomb adventure by a guy named Gygax....get your 10' poles, people. You are going to need them.... : )

 

[Odhanan]

Here's Scott Tailor, art director extraordinaire, holding Gygax Magazine Issue 3 in his hands!

Definitely a big selling point for issue 3, I look forward to it.

A Tomb adventure by a guy named Gygax....get your 10' poles, people. You are going to need them.... : )

Some exploration gear might indeed prove useful!

 

[Odhanan]

A few weeks ago, friend Alex Kammer was playing The Hobby Shop Dungeon's MARMOREAL TOMB OF GARN PAT'UUL with Ernest Gary Gygax Jr. at the Gamehole Con in Madison, WI.

In his own words: "I can tell you from based on personal knowledge that the module is awesome! Ernest Gary Gygax Jr. was nice enough give me one of his two original copies of The Marmoreal Tomb along with his laminated map at the conclusion of Gamehole Con. What an unbelievably nice gesture on the part of Ernie."

Gustavo Iglesias, who ran the dungeon with his Brazilian crew, seems to agree: "It's a 'lair' type dungeon, but one that's jam-packed with goodness, and gives both the PCs and the DM some intriguing foreshadowing of what's to come in the Hobby Shop Dungeon. I heartily recommend it."

The adventure begins in Gygax Magazine Issue 3.

 

[Odhanan]

I just did an interview with Brendan Davis on the Bedrock Blog yesterday. We talk about the Marmoreal Tomb, module design, the world of The Hobby Shop Dungeon, and what to expect from Ernie and I, and our partners, at GP Adventures.

The link to the interview: http://thebedrockblog.blogspot.ca/2013/11/interview-benoist-poire.html