Wirral Pictures

Went for a walk in Wirral and a cycle path just off a strange and isolated station lead me to the kind of industrial wierdscape that pretty much defines the Wirral. Was old natural wilderness, then farmed, then becomes strange industrial wilderness in the lee of Birkenhead.

This wasn't on the path but there was no sign to say not to go there.. 

The sound of cars rushing overhead was continual.

The place was utterly and overwhelmingly empty of life. Reminded me of that Ballard story where a guy falls into a kind of gap in the motorway and there's no way out so he lives there like its an island.

Which reminds me, there's a roundabout where the New Chester Road meets the Rock Ferry bypass, and there's a copse of trees on it. I wandered into it while exploring and an angry man and woman came out & scared me off. I'm pretty sure they live there in the trees. 

This bridge leads into Bidston Moss, a long time ago this was a swamp entered by a bridge of whalebone jaws, smugglers would use it to move goods away from a pub called 'Mother Redcaps' which had a confirmed trapdoor just inside its entryway and secret passages. Bidston Moss became a landfill in the 1970's and since then has been re-purposed as a nature wilderness. A giant fucking hill made of trash covered with trees.

There's another hill near Port Sunlight which was originally a giant tanker for 'Operation Pluto', then also became a landfill, then also became a giant hill that was also a park.

Always drop an obelisk I guess. I mean, why wouldn't you?

Does this make sense?

Making a Cave.

This table is designed to help you generate a single cave in which to set an encounter.

Roll three dice, a d4, d6 and d8. 

 

This cave has	This many exits	in	Which lead to a
	D4	D6	D8
1	None	Wall	Walk
2	One	High on wall	Walk
3	Two	Floor	Climb
4	Three	Roof	Chimney
5		Hidden	Traverse
6		Hidden	Crawl
7		Blocked	Squeeze
8		Blocked	Pitch

To begin with the only important thing is where you come in.

Which Die has the highest number.

d4 - you enter through the roof.

d6 - you enter through the floor.

d8 -you enter through the wall

If triples, this is one of the d100 caves.

Every cave has one way in, that’s how you get there. It may not have a way out.

The Total

4. Flooded. Over 6ft deep. One island.

5. Delicate Decorations.

6. Dry. Dead. Full of broken fragments.

7. Wet. Dripping. Thick mud.

8. A river runs through it.

9. Kinks on the middle, half out of sight

10. A river falls through it.

11. Speleothems form columns from roof to floor.

12. Flooded. Wade-able. Some islands.

13. Almost-vertical shard of space, everything is climbing.

14. Cave contains a vertical pitch inside it.

15. House-sized.

16. Church-sized.

17. Stadium-sized.

18. Gigantic. An environment in itself.

THE D4 tells you how many exits the cave has.

Never tell players how many exits there are. They have to go in and search. One might be hidden and none are necessarily obvious. There may be no way out.

THE D6 tells you where the exits are. If you need the location of two exits then bring in the number rolled on the d4, if you need three then bring in the number rolled on the d8.

Hidden exits cannot simply be found by wandering around, they must be searched for carefully and will not be obvious. Blocked exits can be unblocked with time and work.

THE D8 tells you the kind of exits they are. Again, if you need a second or third number, bring in the numbers rolled on the d4 and d6. In that order

Making a Map

Now draw a bunch of lines across the map at right angles. There should be at least three from two right-angled directions. If you want a small-scale map then use a small number of lines, for a large scale map use a large number of lines.

It should look something like the opposite page.

This should create a nest of irregular diamond patterns on your page. These will act in a similar way to hexes would in a normal wilderness map.

If you wish, you may add a compass. This will not always be useful or necessary underground. Veins dwellers generally do not use compass directions, instead they direct by linear description. But it may be so if you wish to link different area's.

If you want to you can roll up a complex from the experimental generator. Write the complex rules in the top.

“The Torrenting Torment of He Who Seeks,

 always exposes the tracks of those who passed last

but never hides the innocent or lets the guilty flee.”

If there are special dungeons or areas you have prepared, you may wish to add them to the map at this point.

To start adventuring, choose an entry hex, you may select this yourself, or simply drop a d4 on the map.

Roll a cave for the entry hex and write the number in the empty space. The (e) indicates this is an entryway to the Torrenting Torments of He Who Seeks. Its ok to assume a roll of 4 on the d4 for the first cave.

453. The(e) is for entry.

You come up through the floor.

Flooded, wade-able, some islands.

(So, you mut come up through an island, possibly a short waterfall climb.)

One exit in the roof, one in the floor, one in the walls.

The roof exit leads to a climb,  the floor exit to a chimney, the walls to a traverse

 

Going from area to area takes D6 Hours, that's the same number of Lumes.

Depending on which way they go, the map could end up looking like this;

Draw an arrow to show which way the PC's entered a cave. The highest number will show you where that entry is if you want to use it as an exit when coming back

Each black line can have only one red line crossing it.

You can cross corners.

Some sections may not be accessable. 

Thinking maybe put little W, CL, CR, CH, TR, CR, S, and  P signs on the red passage lines so you can remember what they are.

If Things Go Wrong With The Map

This method can lead to the players being partially or totally dead-ended. There are a few things you can do to resolve this if you want.

There should always be a way out. The way out should be terrible. A long squeeze that forces players to abandon equipment. A long sump without light, a leap into the dark.

Remember rivers. Water always finds its way. When you encounter one you may draw it on the map if you wish. If you are feeling soft you can even make it navigable.