The False Temple - OSR Megadungeon and Setting Coming to Kickstarter!
A few weeks ago, I posted Dakar's Dungeon, a 3 level dungeon with nearly 100 rooms. It’s free, by the way. I have since decided to expand upon it greatly and turn it into an entire module, formatted, and published for print. Here is the link to follow the kickstarter if you want to see it. It hasn’t launched quite yet, but will soon.
The expanded module will not only expand the dungeon by over 50 rooms, but also add a surrounding area, with overland factions and hooks, but also a town filled with NPCs who are completely fleshed out, and offer their own hooks and conflicts.
Now, let’s take a look at what I have planned so Far
The Adventure Premise
As stated in the original blog post, this dungeon centers around an individual who was evil, and eventually was granted something akin to demigod status by the goddess of chaos. He went insane, and was eventually magically sealed in his dungeon. His name is Dakar.
The general area surrounding the dungeon is somewhat chaotic as well, due to the nature of the evil emanating from the dungeon. It affects the life in the forest around it, the crops grown nearby, and even has an effect on the town nearest it.
The Dungeon
If you look at the PDF for Dakar’s dungeon, you will see that it is a complete dungeon that could be run as is. However, it leaves a bit to be desired. Room descriptions could be better, factions could be more detailed, and NPCs could be more fleshed out.
I will also be adding quite a few rooms to the dungeon in order to make it a bit more “mega” but I want to actively avoid making it unwieldy. I don’t want this module to be too big.
Here is a list of dungeon features to expect:
New rooms
At least one new faction
Improved faction descriptions
More information about NPCs, their motives, and their personalities
Better map drawings
Improved (but still concise) room descriptions
The Surrounding Area
Now, this is not in the original adventure. But it will be. There will be an area around the dungeon and town that has multiple points of interest, and a couple smaller, easier dungeons.
The idea behind including this in the module is that by giving some smaller hooks, treasures, and adventures to throw in, a GM could confidently bring this module to the table for a lower 4th, or even 3rd level party without worrying about the dungeon being too difficult and having nothing to run.
For example, if the players reach a part of the dungeon that is too difficult, they can approach another hook they found and gain some experience, or even find some magic items to buff themselves a bit.
This also serves to keep the players from getting bored of the dungeon, while hopefully allowing them to maintain their overall focus on the dungeon itself.
What to expect from the surrounding area:
about 500 square miles of terrain
Multiple overland points of interest
Factions to interact with and manipulate
Multiple dungeons/structures to explore and find treasure in
The Town
Every good adventure needs a town, and this is no different a situation.
The town of Swancairn oozes ambiance, and the chaotic effect of the Dakar, though it hasn’t spelled the end of the town yet, can be felt in its underbelly. Swancairn is chock full of NPCs, locations for the players to spend time, and hooks for them to follow.
The town is designed to accomplish multiple objectives:
Set the tone of the module itself
Provide hooks that get the characters into the dungeon
Provide hooks that encourage exploration of the surrounding area
Provide hooks to encourage interaction within the town itself, allowing the characters to have a profound impact on the community itself
This design of this town in terms of the game and OSR systems, is something I am very proud of. Your players will be able to interact quite a bit, and build bonds with NPCs that drive them to clear the dungeon and save the sanity of the town itself.
What to expect from the town:
Leads and plot hooks galore
A minimum of 18 NPCs for players to interact with
Internal factions
Conclusions
So, that’s what I’ve got for you. the framework for the entire module is already laid out, the dungeon is of course already one-third finished. The town and surrounding area are also fleshed out to a fair degree already. I am also working on some art.
All said, I expect the finished product to be completed no later than June, but probably around May or even as early as late April.
The follow page is up on kickstarter, and I expect to fully launch it in the next week or so!
Here’s the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/azorynianpost/the-false-temple-an-osr-mini-mega-dungeon
Thank you for your time!