World's Largest Dungeon?

[jim pinto]

the ghoul encounter

i didn't realize at first that the feral template is from savage species

i just chose a descriptive word that fit this modified ghoul (maybe savage?)

as for books, you'll only need the 3 corebooks to use this product.
while it would be nice to encourage people to buy my other books,
our intention was to create a universal book, useable by any DM.

if you ever read the topic line, you know that they are all independent
of one another, so a DM can buy the one he wants. this has always been
my design philosophy.

you're right about the EL. maybe 6 1/2 ... haha kidding.
if i go for the full EL 7, he'll get more hit points for sure
and maybe power attack for free.

as for the price, i thought i'd addressed this before, but if i
didn't i apologize. however, since i'm not the marketing
director, i don't set prices for product, so i don't have an answer
for you. but, it does come with 16 full color, 22 by 17 inch maps
and the book is between 700 and 800 pages. closer to 800.

another encounter by friday, gang.

peace

 

[Tokiwong]

You are truly ambitious Jim Pinto

This may have to go on my list... and I never really liked dungeons but I would love to try one

 

[Leopold]

thanks for the update Jim.

Yes the template was from SS, I deeply pray that something this big goes through the editor heavily and don't want to have to go through a mega errata PDF for this thing.

So far things look good. Is this still going to be one big book or a boxed set or what have you? I know 800 pages is a pretty hefty tome to wield around. Any thoughts on making the maps available as downloadable for the DM to print off?

Yes I know they are 300mb's but I am sure you can shrink them down quite a bit and make the more usable.

How many authors are working on this? How many editors? Is it just you? Any playtesters needed

 

[Cergorach]

you're right about the EL. maybe 6 1/2 ... haha kidding.
if i go for the full EL 7, he'll get more hit points for sure
and maybe power attack for free.

You could give a 25% experience bonus for a 'difficult' EL 6 encounter.

Adjusting your ideas to fit into the EL/CR scheme of things is a bad idea, but things that don't fit should be labled as such. Chances are that players are going to complain if an encounter is to difficult for it's given EL, chances are that not every DM is as god at gauching the player oposition and possibly making on the fly adjustments.

 

[catdragon]

Hey! This is *my* dungeon

Granted, I *know* this isn't true, but the feel of this enormous dungeon is suspiciously like my mega-dungeon that I have been working on for two+ years. I am still running it for a group of players in my weekly game.

Mine is definitely dungeon-crawl though there is a reason for its existence as well as a group of NPCs/monsters that inhabit the place who have a plot in mind. thus the PCs do affect what happens in the dungeon.

In any case, I love the previews you have given us Jim. And I'm not too proud to say that I have "borrowed" them and changed them for inclusion in my own dungeon.

BTW, have any use for some room encounters?

 

[jim pinto]

Granted, I *know* this isn't true, but the feel of this enormous dungeon is suspiciously like my mega-dungeon that I have been working on for two+ years. I am still running it for a group of players in my weekly game.

Mine is definitely dungeon-crawl though there is a reason for its existence as well as a group of NPCs/monsters that inhabit the place who have a plot in mind. thus the PCs do affect what happens in the dungeon.

In any case, I love the previews you have given us Jim. And I'm not too proud to say that I have "borrowed" them and changed them for inclusion in my own dungeon.

BTW, have any use for some room encounters?

trying to get your name in print?

if you want to contact me off list, you may.

btw

your encounter for the day is coming in about 2 hours

 

[jim pinto]

this is a B- encounter in my opinion, so don't think it represents the entire dungeon's quality. but, because the text hints at a lot of things you won't be seeing until the book is on the shelf, i thought i'd tease you with its details.

enjoy


H61. Gray Render’s Lair

Well-hidden behind a copse of thorny bushes, a dark opening gapes between two large granite boulders. Although the thorns jab at unprotected flesh, they are relatively easy to push aside. From the gap issues a faint odor, the scent of stale air and rotting flesh. As you venture deeper into the slightly claustrophobic tunnel, the stench intensifies. The light does not penetrate beyond the first few paces, making the spongy, marsh-like footing even more hazardous.

Initial Attitude: Hostile

Encounter: A gray render (hp 162) has free run of the entire Region, and hunts the area on a frequent basis. Usually, it merely brings down one of the forest animals with which the area is stocked. It is, however, extremely effective at dealing with intruders in a permanent and gruesome fashion. The gray render is utterly devoted to the elven fortress and its defenders, and does not attack the inhabitants of the fortress. The elves have learned to present new arrivals to the render in the presence of one it already knows, to avoid unfortunate incidents.

The lair is ordinarily utterly dark, with no light penetrating into its depths. Unless using alternate light sources, characters without darkvision suffer standard darkness penalties to Spot and Search checks.

The floor of the lair is ankle-deep in bones, many of which still have rotting flesh clinging to them. Humanoid bones are mingled among the animal bones, and all of them bear the print of large teeth marks.

Tactics: If the characters are accompanied by one of the elves or have been “introduced” to the gray render, it does not attack. Otherwise, thanks to its excellent sense of smell, it is not surprised by adventurers entering its lair. It is also unhampered by the darkness, and attacks the first intruder to enter its lair. If facing multiple foes, it uses Power Attack and Cleave to quickly reduce the PCs' numbers, then latches onto the nearest foe.

Treasure: On a DC 28 Search check, the PCs find a cunningly worked figurine in rowan wood, the shape of a young elven woman. The figure is three inches long, with a hole bored sidewise through the top of the head. The figure is worth 1d6 silver for the workmanship if the PCs can clean the gore off it. However, questioning the elven troops in the Southern Rampart reveals that the figure belonged to Borileos, one of the elven warriors gone missing some time ago. The figure is the image of his betrothed.

EL: 9

Scaling: To increase the challenge of this encounter, increase the gray render’s Hit Dice by four. To decrease the challenge, reduce the gray render’s Hit Dice by one.

Gray Render: CR 9; Large magical beast; HD 13d10+85; hp 162; Init +0; Spd 30 ft. ; AC 19, touch 9, flat-footed 19; Base Atk +13; Grp +23; Atk +18 melee (2d6+6/19-20, bite); Full Atk +18 melee (2d6+6/19-20, bite); +13 melee (1d6+3, 2 claws); Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; SA Improved grab, rend 2d6+9; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; AL N; SV Fort +15, Ref +8, Will +5; Str 23, Dex 10, Con 24, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 8.
Skills and Feats: Hide +3, Spot +11, Survival +4; Cleave, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Track.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a gray render must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Rend (Ex): A gray render that wins a grapple check after a successful bite attack establishes a hold, latching onto the opponent's body and tearing the flesh. This attack automatically deals 2d6+9 points of damage.
Skills: Gray renders have a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks due to their six keen eyes.

 

[jim pinto]

it's quiet

almost TOO quiet

here's another encounter. this one has not been edited.

J85. Angelic Lightning
Like many of the statues throughout this Region, a pair of haunting angels, wings spread, rest or crouch on smooth stone pedastals. Their eyes fixed with a glassy gaze, these two have cold blue gems for eyes. As you get closer, you can feel the cold air around you, with droplets of condensation lining the ebony walls. Along the floor, the charred remains of an azer lays still and untouched.

Initial Attitude: N/A
Encounter: These two lightning bolt traps are set off when a pressure plate (at the intersection) has more than 50 lbs. on it. The pressure plate triggers multiple lightning bolts coming from the eyes of the statues.

Lightning Bolt Trap: CR 10; magical device; location trigger; automatic reset; spell effect (lightning bolt, 10th-level wizard, 10d6 electricity, DC 14 Reflex save for half damage); Search DC 28; Disable Device DC 28. This trap triggers four times before reseting.

Tactics: The first two blasts are immediate and unavoidable if the trap is unknowingly triggered. The third and fourth lightning bolts trigger 2 rounds later. Allow a DC 20 Listen check; if successful, the PCs hear the crackling of the lightning a few short moments before the statue fires again. Allow the alerted PCs a +4 circumstance bonus to their Reflex saves.
Treasure: The slain azer lies on top of a small slag of gold, that was once 36 gp, but is now a single pile.
EL: 10
Scaling: To increase the challenge of this encounter, increase the Search and Disable Device DCs of the lightning bolt trap by 5. To decrease the challenge, reduce the DCs by –5.

 

[thundershot]

Wicked!

When you get around to the next encounter... try something "good"... like a celestial, or even something with a celestial template. Yess...



Chris (REALLY wants more info on when this thing is coming out, and what price it should be, and format...)

 

[DaveMage]

I really like how each encounter has ready-made scaling options. When I'm running a module, the less work I have to do as a DM, the better.