NIGHTWICK ABBEY: The Purple Eater of People Session 71 FAILURE!

Session 71. What. A. Nightmare.

Tonight, on a very special Weeknights in Nightwick, the party learns that despite having felled giants with fireballs and possessing the sword of Father Winter and a shard of the God of Law-- you still might have to run like cowards. But still living cowards nonetheless! And living stands in contrast to the poor fates of the 3 brave souls we hired that morning. Two of which were horribly incinerated by once-man-now-monster created, no doubt, by a concoction of hubris and satanism. The third was literally torn in half by a group of #3d6+1 Blind Dead.

For previous excursions, please check out Mycelium Mischef

THE PARTY

Mayfly (MU 4)
Verinka (Ch 3)
Ulf (MU 3)
Liminal Space (Ch 3)
Bluegum (Ch 1)
Mechtilde (F 4)
Hirelings: Gutteral Noises, 2 other hirelings

...DOWN IN NIGHTWICK ABBEY...

LEVEL TWO: The intent of the party in this delve was to "simply" sojourn down into the Abbey (1). Finish mapping the second level and hopefully make it back with ~500-1000 XP each. Instead, when we hit Level 2 and turned south, we ran smack into a horrible radioactive abomination.  The party ran through a series of ill-formed plans hindered by a simple door that we could only see the eldrich light shining through.

(PC NOTE 1: Return to the Dungeon: Megadungeon campaigns, I think, have a wonderful strength in that the dungeon is the thing. This provides a convenient, well-known, easily understood "(5') square one" to always return to. This is especially advantageous in an open-table format where you might have different players, different competing interests, and PCs of different levels. There is less reliance on everyone or at least a core group to make every session in order to advance the "plot". Rather, if the party that week has the needed capabilities then you can run the delve you want. Or easily change the goal of the delve)

Should we fire up spells now and kick the door in, then fireball? Maybe we could phantasmal force? Maybe we could phantasmal force and then fireball? But what if we can't see the target, do we wait? Who would go first? Whoever does, MUs should move next- but wait then they can't cast spells and we might lose a round of combat initiative-- so what now? Our DM starts moving 1-by-1 and asking: "What is YOUR character doing?"(2)

(PC NOTE 2: Plans Are Especially Exciting When Occasionally Poorly Executed: With a totality of information and cross-table talk, its easy for players to dither and/or recursively make plans. Good plans are key in old-school D&D. However, this can sap excitement and tension. So when Miranda started asking for what each PC is doing without cross-checking with everyone else-- it really brings me into the game world. The tension returns. The stakes get raised especially when it comes to an important battle. The confusion, while one part frustrating, also adds realism- sometimes plans don't come together perfectly.)

The door is kicked open- SUPRISE MOTHERF****R! - to an empty hallway...green light streaming out of a doorway further south on the east wall. One hireling is ordered down the hallway to verify the target- a once-man-now-monster created, no doubt, by a concoction of hubris and satanism. Yup, its there. Mayfly slings a fireball into the sliver of the room he can see and lets the blast radius do the work-- 19 points of damage! (solid). But with a wail, the first hireling is reduced to an ash-coated skeleton. Disintegration is not what we are craving. The party runs, beating another hireling to the door, and therefore creates a second ash-coated hiring skeleton in the process (3). We make it out and up to Level 1, then out of the Abbey to circle around to the crypt level.

(PC NOTE 3: Second Level- Still Scary: I still like that there are things that can insta-kill, especially when combined plans gone awry as in (2) it creates great tension. It adds to the horror vibe of Nightwick. Our party has 4th and 5th-level characters, powerful magic swords, and equally powerful magic, it is nice to still have something on Level 2 (!) that can potentially kick our ass. It also is something that helps keep the level in a perennial state. And these perennial elements of Nightwick's three levels combine to create an environment that has kept a party playing weekly going for 2 years now. No sorta of 400-page Aduin Vul situation is needed; three levels with ~250+ rooms total. Not trying to say there should not be more, but hopefully demonstrating a DM needs far less than one might think before kicking off a campaign.)

LEVEL THREE: The party regroups to try Level 3, which we have a solid map of, and know that in an unexplored area there is a set of stairs back to a different room of Level 2. Okay, good plan B. Down to Level 3, up to Level 2, find some loot and scoot (4). The party turns north then east to hit this set of stairs and just as they are discussing what to do-- a hireling is torn in half by two skeletal figures! 

(PC NOTE 4: I still think mapping is great. For me it is a form of exerting control over a space that initially seems sprawling. As the unknown is revealed, you can take better action and anticipate outcomes- survival becomes easier. Maps function as a sort of emergent quest log due to its record of hallways, doors, portals, and areas unexplored. And at least in Nightwick, creating a map allows a form of fast travel in that we don't have to crawl square by square, but the DM will just roll the required encounter checks from point A to B and zip us to our goal if nothing pops up.)

Stretching before us is a long column of skeletal dead. F**K. The party re-forms ranks. Mectilde, with the sword of Father Winter, cuts down 4 of the things, but fearing wading into the mass given the rend ability that was just one display. A quick vote is taken among the PCs: Let's leave.

The party leaves Level 3 and the dungeon as a whole. DM calls it a night as that was the second route (5).

(PC NOTE 5: These two delves are about as close to a "loss" as one can have in D&D, short of losing a character or a TPK. We were run out twice, lost 3 hirelings, gained no treasure, little XP, and didn't kill the "boss" monster. I am disappointed but only as much as I would be losing a game of Halo or Catan. It spurs me to do better next game. Bitter defeat helps enhance the flavor of sweet victory. Our windfalls are all that move meaningfully because we have 0xp sessions like this one. In the vein of Farfhd and Grey Mouser, my character, and I as well, experiences the boom-bust cycle of adventure. I think these defeats or setbacks also help ground an otherwise fantastical setting & game realistically-- each adventure does not guarantee a happy ending. And that is also not the fault (or responsibility) of the DM; Miranda runs a great game of D&D.)

Total Play Time: 2 hrs
Total New Rooms Explored: 0.5
Hirelings Dead: 3
Hirelings Left Behind to Haunt Us Again: 3
Enemies Defeated: 4

Damn you Nightwick.

Our fearless scribe has also chronicled the terrible result of this ill-fated outing.

...BACK TO THE MEDUSA'S HEAD

PIZZA IN THE LOST CITY: Friday Night D&D

 

Great illo from the Pyramid of the Undying

Last Friday I was asked to run a game of D&D over pizza and beer. A classic pairing and impossible to say "no" to. The hosting couple was I had previously run my "wine dungeon" . And given that the last outing ended in somewhat of a TPK, they were down for starting over with new characters. I asked if they wanted to try to delve the wine dungeon again or try something more classic? 

"Classic" was the answer and I just happened to have a revamped copy of B4 The Lost City✦ with me. No, not the Goodman Games one, but a lighter PDF call "Pyramid of the Undying"- highly recommend this PDF.  It creates a much tighter layout for the first 5 tiers of the dungeon, changes the gods to the more familar Zeus, Athena, and Hermes, and also creates a small set of boons if you join the factions. Keeps Zargon of course.

This group of novices had played with me before, so they are used to my low(er) fantasy D&D. It doesn't seem to bother them a bit. In deference to this being a friendly game, I just allowed my friend a STR 18 "barbarian" (or a fighter with a background equipping him with a battleaxe, leather, horned helmet, and 2x oil flasks). Each of the 3 players rolled 2 characters, so in total we had 6: fighter, thief, cleric, wizard, wizard, thief. I also started folks at Level 2 because- eh, wanted to keep the game light. I'm trying to get folks to have fun with D&D not prove some sort of old-school bona fide.

What was also interesting was that despite offering maybe a d66 roll for additional power, the players elected just to start the game. Again, I interpret this as your average player of D&D just wants to start playing some D&D ASAP.

Adventuring in The Lost City

• My brief background is that the party is fleeing through the desert from a definitive war their side lost. I ask three questions to establish this and at least answering one of them brought about the fact that dragons no longer exist. Oops, now we are playing Dungeons & [deleted].
  
  
• Needing water in 2 hours (12 exploration turns), the party succeeds in only setting off 1 trap before figuring out a way to disable the other two. And dropping torches down into the first level to trick the fire beetles below.
  
  
• After a brief scuffle, they investigate the three doors and scare off a pale-skinned "werewolf" by waving wolfsbane (randomly rolled equipment) in their face. The explored northward and ran into a well-armed group wearing the stylized mask of an old bearded man- the devotees of Zeus.
  
  
• Despite the chauvinistic leanings of this group and in desperate need of water, the party decides to join up and receive food, water (!), and lodging. They are led down below to Level 3 where they decide to try delivering a message of parley to each of the other two factions.
  
  
• The exploration yields a remnant of a potential "fourth" faction devoted to a sun god, but the altar is destroyed and desecrated. A vicious fight with a giant black widow spider ensues and almost kills the two fighters. They decide to leave this area and make it back to the Zesus compound to recuperate but not before encountering a group of pale figures clad in the costume of adventurers. A brief beheading (Nat 20, plus max damage, +1 STR bay-bee!) by one of the PC fighters is enough to get them to back down.
  
  
• When the PCs return to the compound they recount their sojourn with gusto. A series of awkward looks are exchanged between the Zeusians: "While we appreciate your need to protect yourselves, we do try to avoid killing the former inhabitants of our great city. It is our duty to protect them."
  
  PCs: Oh...😓...mah bad

In all a fun session and the same folks reached out to secure another game for end of October so a certified success.

✦ I've always wanted to do a review of B4 The Lost City because I believe it's possibly the best module of the B series and I think actually deserves a spot higher than the venerated B2 Keep on the Borderlands.

BAD MOON RISING: An Adventure & Campaign Starter for Tomb of Black Sand

 

Jesper Myrfors

Apparently, one thing I really like is strange moons and in particular, those that, like a Cuckoo bird, have displaced the native moon. Here is a quick set-up that I did to run Tomb of Black Sand (Swordfish Islands) for PAXSouth 2020 (RIP). I have also included a short blurb on how to spin it into a potentially longer campaign.

CON ADVENTURE
The SIBLINGS of CHANGE

✦DM NOTE✦: The PCs are part of a mystical order representing a union between human forest communities, druids, and forest spirits. The players have done something wrong. And in their dispiration to correct that mistake (not necessarily all the exact same one) they ended up in the Tomb. The Siblings are powerful but have been petrified maybe by the Order or maybe by some other faction. They are not benevolent, but still only children. To reinforce this mystical order, I only provided pre-gens in the following 5e classes, Thieves, Fighter (Champion), Druids (Circle of Land, Forest), Fighter (Eldritch Knights), Rangers, Wizards

OPENING: All of you stand on a dark grey plain. Flocks of corvids & carrion birds, not yet glimpsed by your eyes, wheel & dive overhead.

In front of you is an endless void swallowing black sand. A step forward would bring release, but that blessed step is halted by a warm presence- one that holds promise. When you turn two figures, siblings, speak in unison:

“You desperately seek oblivion, but purpose we now supply:

Rescue us from this tomb, where we rest not in death, but still eternal lie.

Beyond a lover’s lake measuring adoration in tears,

We embrace under a purple sky, trapped only together with our fears.

And our egress is blocked and your eyes won’t reveal,

This portal home or its lock; the key- a smashed lunar seal.

Now we must be silent as the Raven Queen is always vigil,

So holy knights remember us and the quartered silver sigil.”

✦DM NOTE✦: This describes the two purple sheet-covered statues of two siblings in room 13C described as being petrified by the nobility to prevent a world-ending prophecy involving them from coming true. The rest is references to how to get out of the tomb.

CURRENTLY: You awake, stiff, heavy, and covered in a gossamer and crystal burial shroud. It is cold like woven ice water and burns the thin skin of your face.

You have a heavy almost life-ending guilt for something you did or didn't do-- a broken oath. But this is only a dull ache, covered over by the scab of new purpose the Siblings have given you.

Around you the sounds of a shovel scraping against stone in deafening silence. The scent in the air is two types of rot: bodily and spiritual. Shroud-muted figures toil lit by flicking candles.

 

CONNECTIONS OF THE PAST (roll for your relationship to the person to your left):

✦DM NOTE✦: This just helps explain party cohesion and gives the players a little something to roleplay around. Its amazing how well little things like this work.

1. Entered the Order together

2. Inexplicable doppelganger of

3. Mentor to

4. Squire of

5. Broke an oath with

6. Do not fully trust

7. Owe a life debt to

8. Share a dream of the nemesis moon

 

EXTENDED CAMPAIGN

The ODRER of the HIDDEN MOON

OPENING: The PCs are part of an important pact between the scattered human communities of Vast Wold and the creatures therein. The pact was brokered by the druidic communities. These sacred woods sit in the center of the world (at least as far as the PCs are concerned).

Its main opposition is to the arrival of the nemesis moon, Ghorath, which has unseated the silver moon in the sky. It now sits as a black spot against the noon sun and a red baleful eye at night.

In this world the gods have gone silent, their voices drowned by the usurper moon’s song.

OTHER FORCES:

• EAST the coastal communities of the cities under the Seven Faceless Angels (the only human fortifications left)

• WEST the GÜL kingdoms in the unconsecrated empires (the ruminates of the human kingdoms)

• NORTH the northern desolations of the Null and Hobgoblin enclaves

• SOUTH is a flooded coastline that connects the EAST to the VAST WOLD

JAQUAYSING THE LOOP: All that is Jaquaysed is looped, but not all loops are Jaquaysed

 

Over on Discord, I got into a discussion about the link in this older post that discussed the power of loops to make dungeons interesting. And I generally still think that is true. Given 6 rooms, you create a more interesting arrangement if you just loop them in a ring versus a line. More so if you arrange those rooms so you get double or triple loops and place a feature at hallway intersections. This article further explains how the creators of Unexplored use loops and the program behind it.

But the specific discussion on Discord we touched on if there was a difference between "Jaquaysing" the dungeon vs using "gated circles" as often found in Metroidvania and other video games. I think there is an important difference which I distinguish them this way:  

• Jaquaysing the dungeon, to me, is about PC choice and multiple alternative routes that could be taken provided you have the right equipment/class/mindset/risk tolerance. Its goal is to increase the potential for exploration because areas can be gotten to by multiple avenues. A player's goal is set by their own desires.
  
  
• Gated circles are more about GM control of environmental reveal and ensuring that PCs experience 90% of the environment as often PCs need 2-3 "keys" (which could be actual keys, items, or abilities) in order to unlock various areas of the dungeon. This requires them to traverse most of the dungeon in order to get these keys. A player's goal is set by the designer's desires.

For me, the former is better for RPGs while the latter is better for video games. However, in the discussion, there was disagreement on this. I posited that gated circles are important in video games because they ensure that the player will explore X% of the content of each level and thus, I reason, walk away feeling like they are getting maximum value out of their dollar.

The counterargument proposed was that in fact, RPGs can benefit from gated circles in the same way too: gated circles ensure X% of content is encountered by the PCs and therefore prep is not wasted. Again, I think it is a matter of viewpoint so two things still stick out at me.

One: Prep really is never wasted to me because it can be repurposed. I don't mean in a "Quantum Ogre" manner where all roads lead to prep not initially explored, but they can be folded into a larger effort, redesigned, or the players could return to the content at a later date. Once created, the material is ever ready. But unlike a single DM who can change large swaths of the world in a single night, a team of videogame designers can not do the same. So the bolus of initial content must be utilized in order for the player to experience the value* of their purchase.

Two: Gated circles, while they might loop, are experientially linear. You can investigate them in any manner you please, but you can only eventually progress by following a specific order. That is because certain "keys" are needed to be collected to open a series of "locks". And those locked are nested behind each key-lock pairing. This creates a linear hierarchy in progression order. Even if you are allowed to investigate a lock without the key, it often becomes a trap. You can't get through the blue door at the bottom of the pit because you don't have a blue key and they is no way back up- the lava kills you or you have to just start over. This, by design, is a restriction of player choice.

So while the dungeon might be a loop, its is not Jaquaysed. Progression through that loop is not determined by the rate of exploration and/or risk, but instead by the number of key-lock pairs that have been accumulated. The only way to go deeper is to find the blue key in a gated circle. However, to go deeper in a Jaquaysed dungeon is to make a choice to keep going.

Perhaps I might need to justify why choice is so high value over % of the dungeon experience, but maybe I'll stop here, for now, to keep this think-piece somewhat punchy.

Some nice additional thoughts by Sean McCoy of Mothership:

MORE WINE! PART 3: Actual Play of the Dungeon

MORE WINE!: Session 4

The general setup is here. But I have not recorded the first 3 sessions.

Returning once more to Aeolos' cellar are the following:

Captain Buffet Dwarf 1
Garret Thief 1
Rogon Fighter 1
Issac Cleric 1
Abraham follower 1

Despite the death of Shade (MU 1, bats), the hideous injury to Hela (MU 1, cavalier), and failure to return with any wine, the party gathers its remaining members 24 hours later to return to the fabled cellars. Aeolos' current demands are 4 amphorae of any type, except the same wine as Week 1 (where they previously discovered SITTING PRIESTESS wine). 

(DM NOTE: Since it was 24 hours later in-game time, the party does not get a week's rest so instead have to roll a CON check, and if they pass, gain 1d4 HP)

DOWN THE STAIRS to the STONE SATYR...

The party passes the leering statue without incident. Issac covers the eyes of the chaste Abraham to guard against the accuracy of the nymph statues. The satyr's cup goes unfilled. Traveling through the north archway the party is surprised to find the corpse of the Iron Hand missing.

DECORATIVE VINEYARD: They find once again each door is marked by a grape motif: north is white, east is green, and west is red. The PCs choose "west".

GRAND LOUNGE: The Party finds a long rug and many sitting chairs, loveseats, and chaise loungers all mixed. No strange creatures in cloth-covered heads this time. The party remembers that through the west door in this room is a singing fountain that put them under its thrall. The party turns north heading toward the CHECKERED CHURCH a known wine cellar.

(DM NOTE: In that session, all the PC failed their saves so it was time to break out one of those popular Escape the Dungeon d20 tables; might need to tone down the singing fountain- maybe...)

THE CHECKERED CHURCH: Slamming the stuck door open, the PCs survey the room: black and white columns, pomegranate motif, nymph being carried off by a saytr on the east wall. Captain Buffet goes over to inspect that mural and finds that the mural depicts a sorta trail of eaten pomegranates dropped from the nymph to the west wall. And Garret joins him. With a keen dwarven eye and a thief's instinct, a secret door if found where all the pomegranates have been "eaten" off the tree.

But before the secret room could be explored, the north door bursts open and in sways 5 very drunk humans wearing poorly made-up costumes in a "sea-king" motif. They shout a greeting and keep wanting to take on the PCs are additional party(ing) members: "Come-on have a swig, have a swig!"

Garret the thief steps forward to take a swig while Captain Buffet partakes of his own bottle. The clerics abstain. Garret is able to keep the soured wine down to loud exclamation by the intoxicated group. They grab him by the shoulders and push him through the north door.

THE ROOT CELLAR: Stumbling through the dark after the drunken revealers, the party notices they have no difficulty navigating the dark and moving through doors...hmmm. The turn west and are halted in their tracks by more inebriated hollering of another group of shabbily dressed humans- this time as nymphs.

The Nymphs refuse to let anyone pass and the leader demands a champion. The "Sea-Kings" push Garret forward as their champion. Garret wheels around and demands that the king of the "Sea-Kings" steps up to this challenge. His request is met with a skull-cracking blow to the face (DM NOTE: 12 rounds until dead). Melee ensues to the delight of the Nymphs, but Captain Buffet and Rogon dispatch filet the "Kings" causing them to lose their morale and run-- Nymphs giving chase with high cackles.

(DM NOTE: Dig the death and dismemberment tables. Been using them in Nightwick, so I grabbed one from Necropraxis for this dungeon; previously I've just done save vs. Death)

But before tears can be shed over Garret and pockets turned out (+24sp), Slip the thief drops out of the large root in the ceiling claiming to have been chased by a giant centipede and seeking to get a message from the thieves guild to Garret.

The party turns south in search of more wine.

SINGING FOUNTAIN: Not hearing anything through the door, the PCs open it with a bang! Nothing. They scope the fountain found here of a nymph balancing on 3 amphorae reaching for a bright orb. Slip scales the statue and is able to dislodge a crystal hummingbird that continually emits light (+200sp). The party realizes going east in this room links them back to the GRAND LOUNGE. They turn south instead.

THE DRAGON'S FOREST: Players enter a room with a basrelief forest carved into the walls. They notice the basrelief dragon on the floor with a gaping hole where its mouth is- something glints there. Issac also notices that there is an image of a kneeling satyr on the north wall with a speech bubble "Please pray with me"

(DM NOTE: Its actually quite useful to know if a PC is literate or not, which is found in BX, because the written word is a puzzle)

Slip and Abraham devise a way to tie a rope around Slip and lower him into the dragon's mouth to retrieve the shiny objects (DM NOTE no encounter check...lucky) and the nimble thief is able to retrieve a thing metal wand and a necklace (400sp + a wand). Issac chooses to kneel with the satyr and when he does so he hears a "click"... and a secret door opens...

TABERNACLE OF THE ELEPHANT... revealing a large desiccated green corpse with the body of a man but the massive head of an elephant. And WINE! Large amphorae are lined up and labeled The Green Hierophant. The PCs grab amphorae for each person and leg it back to the cellar door.

... AND BACK UP OUT OF THE CELLAR

The head steward is very pleased! The party is rewarded with silver (and xp) for the recovery. And as agreed, invite the party members to attend the festivities at the end of the week (staying to the side of course) if they would like. Captain Buffet, Rogon, and Issac agree. Slip slips out the door to head into the city to sell the found items and drink in the relative "safety" of the city bars. As a result:

• Issac, restrainedly sipping at the delicious wine, makes little impact at the party
• Rogon, fooled by the soft civil nature of the minor nobility, is taken for all he is worth in a game of dice! By Crom!
• Captain Buffet, in the middle of a wine-fueled recounting of his time battling on the underground rivers, receives a painful flash in his mind knocking him flat on the table! The dwarven gods demand servitude and send him a quest!
• Slip manages to sell a lot the goods and goes in search of rumors in the city.

Until the next time when all is drunk dry.

  

MORE WINE! PART 2: 30 NPCs With Help From To Distant Lands

 

Parnassus by H. Siemiradzki

For a dungeon that I am writing, I need about 30 NPCs. Most likely that is too many, but it represents each major position in a roughly medieval household (or at least what was identified about 1 hour of reading on the internet). 

My main philosophy about NPCs is that they mainly need 3 things: a want, a give, and an archetypical personality descriptor. Really they don't need much more. If you want stats just make them a level of [insert appropriate class] and if you really need them to be important make it a domain level.

And with the dungeon I am writing, I really want to make it a sorta "quilt campaign" meaning that I stitch it together from existing pieces of resources- blog posts, useful tables, other adventures I have, ect. And to that end, To Distant Lands has created a wonderful set of tables for NPC generation. 

Here are my 30 NPCs from the House of Aeolos. We will exclude the first two as they are more plot-centric, so what about the others: 

NPC (want)(goal)(attitude to PCs)

1. Master Aeolos
2. Mistress Persephone
3. Marshal (A special trinket or gadget) (Sheer curiosity) (Baffled)
4. Steward (A dangerous location or local landmark) (mistakenly believe it will get them revenge) (Envious)
5. Clerk (A portent or omen) (To topple some local authority)(Furious)
6. Cook (Another NPC’s activities) (To get revenge on someone(a ward)) (Lackadaisical)
7. Blacksmith (A pet or species of animal)(To be left alone) (Baffled)
8. Carpenter (A local game or custom) (To rescue someone or something dear to them) (Fawning)
9. Mason (A special trinket or gadget) (To get revenge on someone)=Chaplin) (Mistakes them for someone else who they are (baffled)
10. Groom (A location no one else knows about)(To clear their name)(Fawning)
11. Messenger (A magic item not in their possession)(To prove someone wrong)(Doesn’t seem to notice them)
12. Huntsmen (arguing with the Mason about the Candlestick Maker)(To be left alone)(Scamming)
13. Astronomer (A local custom)(To expose their rival)(Furious)
14. Chamberlin (A dangerous location or local landmark)(To clear their name)( Baffled)
15. Herdsmen (A legendary monster) (To topple some local authority) (Lackadaisical)
16. Mill workers (gossiping about the huntsmen) (To get revenge on someone) (mistake the PCs for someone else who they find amusing)
17. Wood-cutters (A missing belonging) (To topple some local authority) (Skeptical)
18. Butcher (gossiping bout Ward 1) (To become rich) (Lackadaisical)
19. Baker (A household malfunction happening right in front of you) (To impress their crush) (ignore)
20. Candlestick Maker (Another NPC’s activity Mason) (To expose their rival Ward MU 3) (Fawning)
21. Minstral (A local custom) (To get revenge on someone) (Baffled)
22. Cupbearer (A location no one else knows about) (To impress their crush (you)) (Lackadaisical)
23. ChambermaidA household malfunction happening right in front of you) (To get revenge on someone) (mistakes you for the guard who they are skeptical of)
24. Gardener (Heard an extremely inaccurate rumor) (To rescue someone dear to them) (Furious)
25. Fisher (A portent or omen) (To clear their name) (Baffled)
26. Chaplin (Fixated on the activities of the Steward)(To become rich) (Desperate)
27. Ward (MU 1) (The latest fad) (Mistakenly believe it will help then rescue a loved one) (Envious)
28. Ward (MU 1) (Craving a specific kind of food) (To impress their crush) (Baffled)
29. Ward (MU 2) (A magic item not in their possession) (To be left alone) (Scamming)
30. Ward (MU 3) (Collects something rare but not necessarily valuable) (To prove someone wrong) (Obsequious)

For a "give", which was not in the tables, I think mostly it will be something the NPC can make or research for the PCs.

To really polish this off, I should turn these into sentences as demonstrated in the original post. But I'm not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good (enough). So, I'll just print the above off, punch holes in it, and put it in the campaign binder.

MORE WINE! PART 1: What Happens When A Wine Cellar Goes Bad?

 "The Wine Dungeon"

A dungeon resulting from having a morning cup of coffee, a random dungeon room/hall roller, and a single sheet of graph paper. I ended up with about 50 rooms. And I liked it so much I wanted to try and run something with it that was more "off-the-cuff D&D". Kinda in the same vein as how I imagine the Tonisborg dungeon came together.

What leaped into my head is a little bit of the mythic underworld mixed with a non-crypt underground structure (wine cellar) and populated by some of my dreamland monsters to sorta kick myself out of the more typical dungeon molds.

And in addition to just trying to ensure its a fun dungeon, I am trying to do two other things: 

(1) organically grow out the world as my players require. I sorta did this a little bit with the "Super Cleric Bros." campaign. Trying not to exhaust myself with prep, but more just throw potentially useful KNOCK! articles, blog posts, and favored tables into a binder

(2) use the actual play of the dungeon to guide the development of it instead of agonizing over it. Did the group have fun? Yes. Well, play it again. Is this little random dungeon I found seem cool? Great. Let's say one of the fountains has dried out and now there are stairs leading to it.

Peter Paul Rubens "Two Satyrs"

The Setup

Master Aeolos has returned from a long voyage to Banquet Season in The City Under The Veridian Moon.

But horror! His fabled wine cellar has gone rancid and turned into a dungeon. A few servants have died, the house guards won't go down there, and things have moved in.

With the season arriving quickly and several parties to be hosted this month,  Aeolos has hired you to delve into this cellar and retrieve casks and bottles of spirits. Oh, and maybe bring back some notable "dungeon meats" ("I did have a wonderful pond down there").

"And keep quiet! We can't have a word of such neglect spread!" (Behind the scenes, the cellar is where Aeolos has buried some of the more unsavory elements of the past- which have also grown in his absence)

1 Wine Amphora can hold about 82 pints of wine or 164 cups; each amphora recovery is ~200sp & 200 xp. Plus whatever else the player can hide on their person and avoid discovery. Afterall dungeon or not, the cellar is still owned by Aeolos.

I'd also want the players to have to recover differnt types of wine for different parties during the season. That way there is a reason to hit up more than the first cellar they find.

If they recover wine, then they can carouse at the party for no money. If they fail to recover the wine, then out into the streets they go due to Aeolos' frustration and anger. Maybe there is a night-on-the-streets table to roll on, but opportunity to be approached by other groups looking for dirt on Aeolos.

"Cask" of Characters:

• Master Aeolos- concerned with present society; want to keep the past just that; hates being inconvenienced
• Mistress Persephone- seeks her own power behind the scenes
• Castellan Cerebrus- suspicious of PCs; hold to a strict protocol in the absence of Master & Mistress
• Captain Hauberk- considers the PCs slightly better than feral dogs and less useful than the hunting dogs; quick to punish
• Several other household staff who can give players equipment, be a source of rumors, and potentially be hired to join them.

Just The Wine Dungeon?

Off the top of my head, here might be some modules I'd throw in or module parts I'd use:

• Through Ultan's Door
• Desiccated Temple of Locha
• Incandescent Grottoes
• the NPCs from B2: Keep on the Borderlands by Gary Gygax
• The manor layout from The Waking of Willowby Hall by Ben Milton