Not the film, we’re still talking about the game show. Sometimes experienced players grow weary of the low-level slog. We’d like to “rocket through the levels” for a change (Holmes, 22). Just for fun—and isn’t that why we play—use the base sequence from “A ‘Monty Haul’ Dungeon” with a generous increase in treasures per additional character.
Experience and wealth yet decrease with more player characters. The party of six acquires five magic items.
Five rolls on the treasure tables for a single treasure—this is the give away show. We were warned. Now the pressure is on the DM to maintain the thrill of adventure through a combination of insidious traps, imaginative hiding places, and clever wealth reduction strategies (see Wealth Extraction in “Running the Campaign”).
Wandering monsters are a DM’s best friend. They are indispensable to old-school D&D game play. By draining the party’s resources without hope of a treasure reward, the possibility of such a random encounter keeps the characters moving, keeps the players on their toes. It raises the tension in a way a DM can only hope some planned story will do.
Keeping track of turns is a basic task a DM must learn. Not only wandering monsters, but light sources, party rest, and spell durations all depend on time keeping. It’s a habit that isn’t so difficult to pick up.
I make a simple four-by-six grid in the corner of the map or, as in this case, in the adventure log. That’s four torches or a lantern’s worth of turns. In one square of six, the party must rest or suffer fatigue, and every third turn (Holmes Bluebook) brings a dice roll for a wandering monster. Durations measured in turns are noted in the appropriate square. The turn a spell is cast, for example, is marked, as is the turn in which the party rests.
Turns and Order of March: Melqart (M) Leads Penlod (P) and Hathor-Ra (H) into the Deep Halls. “Ps” marks Penlod’s scouting position. Also shown are the order of opening doors and order of attacks by dexterity score (Holmes).
Adventure Log Excerpt
The photo above is from Dreaming Amon-Gorloth’s adventure log.
First Turn: At the rubble-strewn entry, Melqart lights a torch (“t”). The party enters. Penlod notices a secret door, and the group inspects the contents of the room beyond: a dozen skulls set into wall niches.
Second Turn: Entering the grand entry hall, the group encounters scarab beetles at the north door. The giant insects scurry. A burst of three explosions shakes the vault as jets of acid shoot from their nether parts. Melqart, stunned by the noise (“St”), slumps in a puddle of sizzling acid. Penlod throws a spell, and the insects collapse unconscious.
Third Turn: Penlod carries Melqart toward the entrance, while Hathor-Ra, carrying the torch, guards the withdraw. Among the rubble, the two are halted by an enchanting song emanating from within. The explosions attracted a harpy.
Fourth Turn: Turning, Penlod lets the magic-user slide from his shoulder. He and Hathor-Ra move toward the harpy’s lovely voice. The harpy puts a hand on each of their shoulders.
Fifth Turn: Now charmed, Penlod and Hathor-Ra follow the harpy down the grand hall, descending stairs, as Melqart comes to his senses. Lighting another torch (“t”) from his pack, Melqart follows the harpy song.
Sixth Turn: The harpy makes room in her nest. Just as the she descends to fetch the waiting Hathor-Ra, Melqart arrives at the top of the stairs. He casts charm person on the harpy.1
Seventh Turn: The party rests (“R”) while debating what to do with their new friend…
Notes
1 Holmes on Charm Person: “This spell applies to all two legged, generally mammalian humanoids of approximately man size…” (14). We could argue that a harpy, being only half mammalian, is not subject to charm person. A counterargument is that her mammalian half is very much so.
In “Vertical Scale,” we consider stairs which incline at angles greater than 45 degrees. At the DM’s disgression, such steepness impacts movement and melee combat.
Movement
At vertical rises of 15 and 20 feet over ten horizontal feet, the distance traveled is 18 and 22 feet. For either, we round to 20 feet of movement.
Considering also the extra effort to step up and, in the 20-foot case, a vertiginous decent, we justify halving the explorer’s move rate. So, moving up or down stairs—a ten-foot square on the map—costs 40 feet of movement.
Moving faster, an explorer must roll his or her dexterity score or less on a twenty-sided dice or tumble to the bottom of the stairs, taking d6 damage for each ten feet fallen.
Melee
Higher Ground
If your chosen rules do not address the issue, add 1 to attack rolls for melee combatants on higher ground.
Falling
When a melee combatant suffers a violent blow (i.e. takes damage), he or she must roll against dexterity or fall and suffer damage as above.
In “Channeling Amon-Gorloth,” we defined a “hall” as “any space two or more squares wide and at least twice as long.” Now, we consider the three-dimensional space, notably, ceiling heights, the incline of stairways, and how to handle intruding upper levels.
The following discussion considers only the built dungeon areas. The priests may or may not have given similar treatment to the natural caverns. We assume the horizontal scale is ten feet to the square.
“The Deep Halls of Amon-Gorloth” by Dyson Logos.
How High the Ceilings?
General rules are easy to remember and give us varying heights by how we define the space as well as its width. A particular space may vary from the rules.
Definitions
For the purpose of determining ceiling heights, we define the following spaces:
Hall: Any area at least 20 feet wide and at least twice as long as its width. Chamber: Any area at least 20 feet wide and less than twice as long as its width. Corridor: Any area less than 20 feet wide.
Using the entry way as an example (map above): From the outside, a corridor, part caved in, leads 30 feet into a hall. Through the door on the right, another corridor leads to a few chambers.
Halls and Chambers
As these halls are “used by the priests to some devotional purpose, including entombment” (“Channeling Amon-Gorloth”), I imagine impressive ceiling heights.
Halls and rectangular chambers are barrel vaulted, peaking at five feet higher than their width. Square chambers are groin vaulted, also five feet higher than wide.
Chamber — Groin Vault.
Corridors
Corridors are barrel vaulted at only ten feet high. This makes for a cramped space—a contrast to the halls and chambers.
Halls, Chambers, Corridors.
How Steep the Stairs?
Ever since I’ve had the imagination for such things, I assumed dungeon stairs go up and down at a 45° angle. Ten horizontal feet on the dungeon map means ten vertical feet. This makes imagining the dungeon in three dimensions simpler.
We see though, in our explorations, that these halls are not simple but “twisted and nightmarish.” The dreaming priests, in their oneiric interpretations, were forced to devise other solutions.
Typical stairs in our residential world step up at a 37° angle, rising 7.75 feet for every ten horizontal feet. According to the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, standard stairs incline from 30° to 50° from horizontal.1 Up to 70° is considered steep. More steep is a ladder. Less than 30° is a slope.2
Slopes, Stairs, and Ladders. Angles for vertical rises of 5-30 feet over ten horizontal feet.
Reaching into our backpack, we pull out a slide rule or a Pythagorean theorem calculator.3 In the table below, a is a stair’s vertical rise over a ten-foot horizontal distance (b), c is the distance traveled up or down, and α is the incline from the horizontal plane.
Table of Slopes, Stairs, and Ladders
a
c
α
Term
35′
36′
74°
Ladder
30′
32′
72°
25′
27′
68°
Steep Stairs
20′
22′
63°
15′
18′
56°
10′
14′
45°
Standard Stairs
5′
11′
26°
Ramp or Slope
In our cartographic interpretations, we have considerable leeway between 30 and 70 degrees. The immediate impact of the incline is the height limitation on any space directly below another space, i.e., the distance between levels. For in the “convoluted mausoleums,” the halls and corridors of one level pass over and under those of other levels.
We find a good example in the entry hall, where we pass beneath a corner of an upper chamber.
Ten Feet, 45 Degrees: At 45 degrees, the stairs to Level 1, which occupy a ten-foot square, go up only ten feet. The lower the angle, the lower a level’s height. I would put 45 at the minimum angle. No matter the stair height, the upper level intrudes the entry. We could make it work at ten feet high, but deeper seems more appropriate in The Deep Halls.
Stairs and Steep Stairs.
Twenty Feet, 63 Degrees: Rising 20 feet over ten horizontal, the incline is 63 degrees, approaching but not quite ladder steep. The precarious angle may well impact movement and melee (see “Optional Rules for Steep Stairs”) and might give explorers a moment of vertigo.
Upper Level Intrusions
Now that we have the ceiling height and the upper room’s position above the entryway floor, we can look at how to handle the inevitable intrusion. Here, we deal with the entryway. Other instances, encountered further on, might be handled in similar fashion.
The challenge is to respect the map. That is, we cannot add columns, walls, or other features. The best way I’ve come up with is modified groin vaulted ceilings of differing heights, side by side.
Entry Detail, Showing Side-by-Side Groin Vaults Between the Second and Third Columns of the Grand Entry Hall.
I am not certain this structure would stand. A groin vault is normally square. The cartographer’s column placement imposes a length longer than the width. To accommodate the rectangular space, I dropped the long arch’s base a few feet below that of the shorter arch.
The right vault rises to 35 feet above the floor. The left peaks at 20 feet. The upper room is supported by the vault below it.
Sometimes I just want to play D&D. Explore dark places, fight monsters, take their treasure. No complicated plot, no detailed record-keeping, no play report. Just a pick-up game, rolling dice, and enjoying the story as it emerges from the interaction of setting, character, and probability statistics.
Last winter I started “Spells End,” a pick-up game using Holmes Bluebook and Sets One of Dungeon Geomorphs and Monster & Treasure Assortment. The first character, whose name was Pengodain, came from “elf-land,” seeking knowledge and magic. He met with some success, learning of the doomed wizard Zenopus and recovering a magic sword from the dungeon below his old tower. But the elf’s career was cut short through party treachery due to a quirky alignment-determination system for hirelings.
The second character is Eydis. A former hireling, now with Pengodain’s map and magic sword, the lawful evil fighting woman led her own group into the dungeon. In one of the few remaining rooms yet to be explored, Celebrian, the party elf, charmed the thaumaturgist.
Friendly discussion ensued. All agreed that the party would assist the thaumaturgist in his endeavor to take over the level.
I added the thaumaturgist and his charmed fighter to the order of march as they proceeded north to dig out the dirt tunnel that leads beneath the cemetery. Celebrian knows his spell could wear off in a day.
Geomorphs squares are twice the size of the Sample Floor Plan. Beneath the cemetery, G-II, ghoul-dug tunnels lead from grave to grave, tomb to tomb. To the northwest, more undead roam the city’s catacombs, K-IV.
Settled in after a recent move, I’m ready to renew exploration of The Deep Halls.
“The possibilities for employing such creatures are almost endless, and the abilities and weaknesses of each should be decided upon prior to the game they are to be used in. For example, a giant spider might be unkillable by normal men, but will kill them unless they roll a save of 8 or better, and it would combat fantastic opponents as if it were a Lycanthrope” (Chainmail, 36, entry Giant Spiders and Insects).
In the last few monster descriptions (36-7), Gygax and Perren give examples of adding new creatures to the Chainmail system using the framework of the rules. Chimerea and other such mythical flyers, for instance, are treated “as the most nearly corresponding type of creature covered herein.” Giant Wolves attack as Light Horse and move as Medium Horse. Versus fantasy creatures, they get two attacks “as men” (which I read as two Light Horse), and they defend as a Wight. In the example cited above, a spider’s poison is modeled by a saving roll.
To assign attacks and defenses as an existing creature on the Fantasy Combat Table, some analysis is required. Scrutinizing the table, we see that each creature attacks with varying success against the others, and the creature’s defense is subsumed into the opponent’s attack. So, a dragon hits a wizard with a two-dice roll of 10, while the wizard hits the dragon with a 9. There is no separate defense roll.
Totaling all a creature’s attack target scores, we get a clearer, though simplified, view. Likewise, for defense.
The score required for each attacker-defender pair makes sense—or at least can be justified. Figuring out whether one creature is more or less powerful than another, however, is difficult. Totaling all a creature’s attack target scores, we get a clearer, though simplified, view. Likewise, for defense.
Fantastic Opponents by Attacks and Defenses
In the two tables below, creatures are ranked by best attacks and best defenses, respectively. The stronger attacker has a lower total. The stronger defender, a higher.
Order of Best Attacker
Rank
Creature
Attacker
Defender
1
Dragon
82
130
2
Elemental
86
121
3
Super Hero
91
110
4
Giant
92
118
5
Treant
95
115
6
Wizard
99
121
7
Roc
101
109
8
Hero
117
76
9
Lycanthrope
118
78
10
Troll, Ogre
118
86
11
Wraith
119
108
12
Wight, Ghoul
121
67
Order of Best Defender
Rank
Creature
Attacker
Defender
1
Dragon
82
130
2
Elemental
86
121
3
Wizard
99
121
4
Giant
92
118
5
Treant
95
115
6
Super Hero
91
110
7
Roc
101
109
8
Wraith
119
108
9
Troll, Ogre
118
86
10
Lycanthrope
118
78
11
Hero
117
76
12
Wight, Ghoul
121
67
Using these tables, we can more easily find the general power of a new creature. Once narrowed to a range of two or three existing creatures, we decide on an equivocal creature by a brief examination of those creature’s attacks and defenses, perhaps choosing one creature for attacks and another for defenses. One step further, if a couple scores vary widely from our vision of the new creature, we might assign different scores, taking the example of some opponents versus True Trolls (table, 34).
Comparing Creatures by Rank
Further analysis reveals the order of attackers mostly corresponds to that of defenders. Dragons and elementals, for example, are ranked first and second in both orders. Wights are last.
Rank
Attacker
Defender
1
Dragon
Dragon
2
Elemental
Elemental
3
Super Hero
Wizard
4
Giant
Giant
5
Treant
Treant
6
Wizard
Super Hero
7
Roc
Roc
8
Hero
Wraith
9
Lycanthrope
Troll, Ogre
10
Troll, Ogre
Lycanthrope
11
Wraith
Hero
12
Wight, Ghoul
Wight, Ghoul
In this table, we see that some types are ranked differently for attacks and defenses and that these are paired (italicized). Super-heroes are ranked third as attackers, sixth as defenders, while wizards are the reverse: third as defenders, sixth as attackers. The same with the pairs hero-wraith and lycanthrope-ogre.
Chainmail doesn’t say how to determine which spells a Wizard may cast. Perhaps it is implied that the referee choses the spells according to the scenario. Or we might assume a Wizard may cast any spell.
At the Battle of Throrgrmir, a Wizard Casts Cloudkill.
If we want to determine a particular spell list for a Wizard, we could use a random method, either by drawing cards from a deck or by rolling dice. One way to get a number from 1 to 16 on dice is to roll a d8 and d6. The d8 determines a pair of numbers: 1 is 1-2, 2 3-4, and so on. Between the two numbers, choose odd or even based on the result of the d6.
I use the general term magic-user hereafter to refer to a Wizard of any power level, reserving the specific term for the more powerful of the class.
In the Valormr Campaign, Zosimos and the Elf King and Queen are seven-spell Wizards. All other magic-users have a point value of 80 (close to average by number of spells), and I dice for the power level. Spells are determined by drawing from a deck.
Complexity
In addition to this randomosity, I added Chainmail’s optional Spell Complexity (33). Because the complexity was often higher than the user’s level, spells rarely took effect. A fireball, certain of effect, was more worthwhile than a spell with little chance of success. Magic-users became 80-point missile throwers.
After a brief trial, I did away with it. Spell Complexity is better used when the spell list is determined with some judgment.
Player Choice
To preserve some power in spell-use while incorporating Complexity, we might allow the player to choose spells of any complexity, either before play or in game. In both cases, the player judges the risk of failure.
Restricted by Complexity
To lean in the direction of later adventure games, we might throw out the chance of spell failure and restrict a magic-user to complexity levels at or below his or her power level, based on number of spells. A Seer has access to only Complexity 1 spells, for example; a Warlock, Complexity 4 and below.
Choose From a Subset or the Entire Spell List?
While the adventure game that grew out of Chainmail restricts arcane magic-users to a subset of spells—usually acquired over time and collected in a spell book, we might allow access to the entire spell list, possibly restricted by complexity as above. This carries the potential to slow play, as the player must consider more options. On the other hand, it makes magic-users a little more powerful and makes them appear more prescient, as they are more likely to have just the right spell for the situation.
A year ago, due to the current world situation, I had the opportunity to rent a small apartment on the beach at a monthly rate that fit a nomad’s budget. It’s equipped with all the necessities in two rooms with a view on the sea, a constant breeze, and three tables of various sizes. With an eye on the tables and knowing that human contact should be limited for the coming months, I rekindled the decade-old idea to play a solo wargames campaign.
The strategic movement map is laid out on the first table. When opposing forces meet, battles are fought on the second. The third table is reserved for the Throrgrmir Citadel, where take place the opening and closing engagements: the dragon’s assault on the Citadel and its storming by the Forces of Law.
No table for dinning remains to me, but who needs to eat when you can play wargames?
Forces of Law Execute a Plan.
Moving overland, the Aeskrvald and Lanze armies are escorted by elves through the Ellriendi Forest to take up positions northeast of the Citadel, while Noerdenheim and Grallune move by sea to capture Port-of-Sands then the Keep on the Pale Moor, thereby cutting the Chaos Armies’ supply lines.
Battle of Throrgrmir.
The Chaos Armies routed from the field, Anax Archontas hops from his perch atop the Throrgrmir Citadel to deliver a tongue of fire into a formation of Grallune troops.
Meanwhile, an adventuring party gains the base of the Citadel, where they enter a secret tunnel. The adventurers must find their way through a dungeon, overcoming any obstacles, to enter the Citadel’s upperworks.
Ostanner ninjas move through woods to the base of the Citadel’s plateau. They are to scale the cliff and the ramparts to create a diversion as the adventuring party enters the Citadel to open the gates.
Zosimos Wields the Wyrmwyrd.
A moment later, a strange wizard from south of the World Dragon Mountains confronts the dragon. With a device fashioned by the Throrgrmir dwarves, Zosimos banishes the would-be usurper from the Throrgrmir Valley. Anax Archontas’s bid to become the first emperor of the Age of Dragons ends with a few spoken words bolstered by the power of the Fates. The device ever after is called the Wyrmwyrd.
Hadewych Pretends to an Empire.
The dragon is gone and with it the Chaos Armies’ raison d’être. But the dwarves below are starving, and the Forces of Law are diminished and weakened, while armies of kobolds, orcs, and gnolls arrive from the south, and the Wraithwright marches at the head of an undead legion from the north. Hadewych the Arbiter, with two regiments, a host of heroes, and the Citadel’s upperworks under her control, finds herself atop an empire ready for the taking.
Storming of the Citadel.
But the Forces of Law set up a catapult on the hill due south. It pelts the ramparts before Grallune forces march up the slope. As fighting erupts on the Stonesward, the adventuring party fights its way from the Greensward toward the gate, and, bursting through the door from below, dwarves cry vengeance and death to Throrgrmir’s enemies.
This is the Throrgrmir Empire, rich with gold and gems and treasures beyond imagining. If she wants it, Hadewych must fight for it.
Storming of the Citadel (Overhead).
The year on the beach draws to a close, as does the wargames campaign. I’ve kept a detailed record of events of Valormr, which, like Wyrm Dawn from which it spawned, informs the upcoming B/X campaign.
Apart from the Throrgrmir Civilization, Aeskrvald is the largest power center within the realms of law. Though a venerable and well-loved king still sits on the throne, the city is effectively ruled by a prince. The Prince of Aeskrvald coordinates the Forces of Law, but the armies remain independent.
Each Throrgrmir regiment represents one clan. At this point in Throrgrmir’s Renaissance, eight clans comprise the dwarven civilization. Each dwarf clan recruits a regiment. Regiment commanders are Dwarf-Heroes.
Ambush at Eckselon Pass. Mordred leads the Gyrhawk army along the mountain trail. Oberon’s orcs, hiding in woods, await the moment.
Four hills, two woods, a marsh, and a river runs through it. Using Chainmail’s Terrain Selection method, a battle is fought over similar ground, regardless of the larger terrain in which the engagement takes place.
This is more true in my experiments playing the whole terrain-card deck. But even when limiting the draws to four per player (as the rules suggest), a forest battlefield could be barren of trees. Opposing forces in swampland might fight on a battlefield with a couple hills and no marsh. Conversely, in hill country, a commander might have to maneuver around a swamp. There is no intrinsic difference between battlefield terrain in different biomes.
The following modification simulates more varying terrain. It exchanges terrain cards based on the terrain types occupied by opposing forces on the strategic map.
Mordred and Oberon at Eckselon Pass. The Thane of Gyrhawk, travels through mountains on a trail. The Orc King intercepts. Both forces occupy mountain hexes on the strategic map. Ending experiments, I laid this terrain with four draws per side. See the terrain card placements in the photo below.
One or More Terrain Types
Depending on your strategic-level rules, you might fight a battle within a single biome, say forest or hills. Or, outside a campaign, you might be fighting a battle in which the scenario dictates the general terrain. In those cases, you have only one terrain type as input to the following card exchange.
Using the Valormr strategic rules, however, when two or more forces meet on the strategic map, each force occupies one hex. Each occupied hex may have terrain different from the others. We assume the engagement takes place somewhere near hex borders. So, we encounter a mix of biomes.
Replacement Cards
This method requires making additional terrain cards. As an alternative, a pencil mark, erased afterward, on the cards which these replace may suffice.
4 woods
2 marsh
1 river
2 hills
4 wooded hills
4 low hills
4 high hills
1 impassable terrain
Marsh, Pond, Gully, and Rough Ground ★
With this method, we group marsh, pond, gully, and rough ground into a category, designated by a star (★). In some terrain types, we replace one or more of these four cards, which we may choose randomly or by preference.
Simulating Maneuver for Suitable Terrain
A battle does not necessarily take place in a random spot between two armies. Commanders maneuver forces to fight on advantageous terrain. This is modeled in the strategic rules by the contact dice. The commander with the higher throw draws and places, in his or her first turn, a number of terrain cards equal to the number by which the throw was won. In this way we simulate the commander’s advantage gained by outmaneuvering the opponent.
Hills and Lines of Sight
A rise of seven feet or more over a hundred horizontal feet (7% grade) slows movement.1 This becomes the definition of a hill in a tactical wargame. All hills slow movement, but not all hills block lines of sight. At a scale of 1″:10 yards, a hill rises at least two feet over one inch on the table. At 1″:20 yards, the hill is four feet or higher. I round to five.
Class
Height
Blocks Lines of Sight for Creatures
Low
5′
Smaller than man-sized
Medium
10′
Man-sized to ogre- and troll-sized
High
15′
Up to giant-sized2
I represent hills of different heights with layers of cardboard, from which the contour is cut (photo above). A low hill is one layer. I add another smaller layer, cut to a similar contour, to make a medium hill. For a high hill, I add a third—larger—layer beneath the first. Thus, a high hill is also broader.
Terrain Card Replacements
We take the terrain types given in Chainmail’s Terrain Selection (10) as clear terrain. That is, when all engaging forces occupy clear hexes, we use the terrain cards in the numbers given.
For each non-clear terrain hex occupied by an engaging force, exchange cards as follows. When three or more forces meet, no more than two of the same terrain type should be considered.
Players may agree, prior to the draw, to substitute any card that makes sense in the battlefield scenario.
Clear: No change.
Forest: Exchange one hill and one ★ for one wood card each.
Hills: Exchange one ★ for one hill card. If a second force also occupies hill country, one ★ exchanged should be the marsh.
Forested Hills: As hills, plus exchange two hills for two wooded hills.
Swamp: Exchange one hill for one marsh; two hills become low hills. When a second force is in swampland, also exchange the gully for one river; all hills are low.
Mountains: Exchange the marsh for impassable terrain—a peak, an escarpment, or the like; two hills are high. With a second force in mountains, exchange one ★ for one hill; two more hills, now four out of five, are high.
Rivers and Coastlines: Apply the predominant terrain type as above. River cards define one or more tributaries or inlets.
Terrain Reconnaissance at Eckselon Pass. A dowel, placed before the terrain-card draw, represents the general line of the mountain trail. Two hills (fore- and background) are high, and the pond is a mountain lake. The previous photo is the finished model. The lone hill opposite the stream is embellishment.
Positioning Rivers, Coastlines, Trails, and Roads
When forces occupy hexes containing linear features, these may be transposed to the wargames table prior to terrain card draws. The position of a river, coastline, trail, or road depends on the relative positions of the forces involved.
Careful placement lends to or limits tactical possibilities for one or more sides without depriving all forces of portions of the table. If all forces are on the same side, for example, the river edges the battlefield. If one force is on the opposite bank, or if one or more forces travel on water to enter the battlefield, the river may well run through it.
