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Return to Dyson’s Delve – From top to bottom!
Dyson’s Delve 2019 – The Surface
The upper ruins are only hinted at in the original Dyson’s Delve – the assumption in the adventure is that the party sneaks in using the hillside cave, dodging the goblin-infested tower on the hill. Here we finally have a map of this area. The ground level is all that remains of an old watch tower. The upper levels have fallen away and most of the stone was carted away by farmers ages past for use in fences and foundations.
A number of stone pillars remain to the south of the tower – the origins of these are unknown but all but one of them are single piece blocks of stone. The centremost of these is made of three pieces of stone precision cut so they rest together without even a hairline gap between them.
Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Level 11
At the very deepest depths of the Delve, level 11 brings back the troglodytes we met back on the temple level – the same troglodytes who serve the dragon living on level 10, and guarding the way to his lair. There are a few other creatures on the level as well, and of course the mandatory tentacular beasts living within the lake, ready to eat unwary adventurers.
The lake itself is probably part of the Darkling Depths – linking in turn to the Heart of Darkling series of maps.
For the entire set of Dyson’s Delve 2019 maps:
- Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Levels 1 & 2
- Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Levels 3 & 4
- Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Levels 5 & 6
- Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Levels 7 & 8
- Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Levels 9 & 10
I’m still in the process of compiling the new version of Dyson’s Delve in a digest-format PDF using all the new maps. It should be released next week to all patrons of my Patreon Campaign.
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
Return to Dyson’s Delve – Levels 9 & 10
This is the final month of redrawing Dyson’s Delve – today we get levels 9 & 10 of the redraw, and later this week I’ll be releasing the final level (11) as well as the all-new surface level of the mini mega dungeon.
At the end of this month, a PDF will be released to all patrons of the blog on Patreon (regardless of backer level) with the new version of Dyson’s Delve.
Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Level 9
Level 9 is home to petrifying monstrosities, a “noble” court of wererats, and a massive worm (but not quite as massive as a purple worm – fortunately B/X D&D includes the smaller Caecilia which fills the same role while being a more appropriate challenge for this level).
The natural cave section on the northeast side of the map contains links up and down between the levels, and is also connected to the main level albeit through a secret door, essentially making these two sections separate.
Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Level 10
This level is unusual in that it is broken up into three distinct areas. One can only be reached from level 9, one from level 11, and the last is the route used to get from level 9 to level 11.
This level of the dungeon finally brings in the big bad of the whole dungeon, but he can only be reached after the party has been to level 11.
The big bad guy? It wouldn’t be Dungeons & Dragons if there wasn’t a dragon somewhere in the dungeon.
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
Return to Dyson’s Delve!
It’s been almost nine years since Dyson’s Delve was released piecemeal on this blog. I labeled it my “mini mega dungeon” – an eleven level dungeon where each level’s map fit nicely within my small graph paper pad (nothing over 17 x 17 squares in total area).
There were a few places where I stretched the standard adventure design parameters a bit (while treasure is within the bounds of the treasure type tables of the game, they are significantly weighted towards the rich end of play in order to provide the XP needed for a party to level up at a rate of roughly 1 character level per 2 dungeon levels completed).
Over those nine years my cartography has seen a slight improvement and I’ve been redrawing the various levels of the Delve this year and posting them here two at a time.
Towards the end of this month, I’ll be posting the last three levels of the Delve’s new maps, as well as a never-before-posted map of the surface area where the delve is located.
What I’m doing right now though is collecting all those maps and redoing the layout of the adventure into a coherent whole to be reissued as this month’s Patreon-Exclusive release. Aside from the new surface area there will be a minimum of changes from the original adventure. I’m adding some development notes, and I’m working on a two-page appendix for running it using the most current edition of D&D – but the heart of this is still an 11-level B/X D&D dungeon adventure designed to take characters from level 1 to 6.
All patrons of the Patreon Campaign will receive a free PDF of this exclusive reissue – and it will remain exclusive to patrons for roughly a year before it becomes a commercial release.
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
The Phoenix Diadem
Portals between worlds are crafted from potent materials in places where the energies of the world intersect with that of other places. Sometimes these ‘ley lines’ are conveniently found where the sky meets the earth and the portals can be built on the surface of the world itself.
But more often they meet in places deep or high. And thus we build “dungeons”.
The Phoenix Diadem
The Phoenix Diadem is such a place – built beneath the world and linking it to other places. But it is not just a portal; it serves as a prison to those whom it calls forth. There is insufficient space here for the great birds who fly in the liminal worlds between the planes of water and air (referred to as the para-elemental planes by some sages learned in the ways of the many worlds). Within the diadem they find themselves trapped, forced to subservience in order to be able to return to the cold skies of their world.
The Phoenix Diadem (no grid)
Even without the spells and rituals to summon forth the great para-elemental birds, the placement and design of the Phoenix Diadem allows things to “leak through” between worlds. Smaller elemental phenomenon occasionally breach into the diadem, and some unfortunates have also been lost here, having “successfully” pushed through from the Prime to the homes of these creatures.
This map is made available to you under a free license for personal or commercial use thanks to the awesome supporters of my Patreon Campaign. Over 400 amazingly generous people have come together to fund the site and these maps, making them free for your use.
Because of the incredible generosity of my patrons, I’m able to make these maps free for commercial use also. Each month while funding is over the $300 mark, each map that achieves the $300+ funding level will be released under this free commercial license. You can use, reuse, remix and/or modify the maps that are being published under this commercial license on a royalty-free basis as long as they include attribution (“Cartography by Dyson Logos” or “Maps by Dyson Logos”). For those that want/need a Creative Commons license, it would look something like this:
Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
The Frogs’ Reliquary
The Frogs’ Reliquary
The reliquary itself is collapsing into a much deeper dungeon. It can be entered from the jungle entrance in an old bullywug temple, or by climbing up out of the deeper levels below. But getting into the reliquary proper to acquire the holy relics within requires collecting the Agate, Jade, and Lapis keys that are sealed into tombs around the space.
The Frogs’ Reliquary (no notes)
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
2019 Geomorphs – Set 4
2019 Geomorphs – Set 4
Clockwise from top left we’ve got:
- Shrine / Temple complex with secret reliquary.
- Forge / Workshops
- Magic Pool
- Crypts / Tombs
And of course, while these geomorphs work great with each other (and the thousand or so compatible morphs collected by Dave @ www.davesmapper.com ) but also with the four dungeon levels of the Geomorphic Halls.
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
Return to Dyson’s Delve – Levels 7 & 8
Once again we return to my classic “Dyson’s Delve” with another pair of maps from my 2019 redraw of the mini mega dungeon. This entry brings us to the mid-deep levels of the delve, where we find evil cultists and a second entry point into the dungeon.
Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Level 7
This level is a change from the earlier levels of the dungeon – instead of a mix of creatures and dungeon denizens trying to get along, this is an evil temple with a surface exit, acolytes, clergy, and visiting representatives of a powerful creature who lives much lower in the dungeon.
The surface exit is important, in my opinion, when building a megadungeon. It allows the adventurers to skip the earlier levels when re-entering the dungeon in the future.
Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Level 8
Level 8 is the smallest level of the Delve, with only 7 distinct “rooms” (a few of which are subdivided into separate areas). It also has the honour of being home to Owlbears.
Seriously, who doesn’t love OwlBears?
Heathens.
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
New Easy To Master Dungeons & Dragons Game (The) (Donjons et Dragons)
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(Source: Guide du Rôliste Galactique : le jeu de rôle, l’univers, et le reste…)
Geomorphic Halls – Level 4
- Geomorphic Halls – Level 1
- Geomorphic Halls – Level 2
- Geomorphic Halls – Level 3
- Geomorphic Halls – Level 4
This is the final level of the Geomorphic Halls – except for that one small tunnel that has been dug out to the west, leading perhaps to other complexes or the fabled “underdark”.
The east side of this level of the complex is a span of natural caves and a quiet lake which in turn is home to a small island at the base of spiral stairs that descend from the low ceiling (and from the level above).
Geomorphic Halls – Level 4
As with the other levels of this dungeon, you can use any of the geomorphs from my own Geomorph Mapping Challenge, or the thousands of other compatible designs from sites and blogs all around the net.
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
Édito du 8 juillet
El Presidente s’est marié ce Week-end. Oui ce grand matelot, cet amiral qui a mené notre bateau dans la tempête, qui a organisé des dizaines de GRoG-conv, qui s’est autoproclamé le ficheur fou, qui a sillonné la France pour représenter le GRoG à toutes les conventions, qui a participé à des colloques universitaires sur le jeu de rôles, qui a écumé toutes les éditions de D&D, du dungeon crawl classique jusque dans l’espace non pédagogique pour y traquer le gobelin … au delà du héros, l’homme est arrivé à bon port, il a trouvé sa terre promise, une terre mythique. Serait-ce son Nephilim qui a enfin trouvé l’Agartha? Rien n’est moins sûr, car les voies sont nombreuses pour mener à l’Agartha, et certaines sont gardées par des templiers. En cet âge moderne, les hommes ne choisissent pas leur voie à l’aveuglette comme aux temps anciens, non ils disposent de manuels sophistiqués.
Notre grand capitaine organisa ainsi la première fête de mariage par télépathie. Nul ne reçut de faire part, certains s’étaient vu demander de réserver la date sans plus d’explications, d’autres ne connaissaient ni le jour ni l’heure, ni le lieu. Certains croyaient savoir qu’il fallait venir en tenue steampunk, d’autres non. Certains pensaient qu’il y aurait des vélos gratuits pour les enfants. Mais tous se réjouissaient. Et de nombreux petits temples rôllistes s’élevait une mélopée : “El Presidente du GRoG se marie!! Heureux présage!! Les Runes sont propices “.
La mariée, dame Caroline, entrait donc ainsi par alliance dans la grande tribu rôliste dont les coutumes aussi étranges qu’absconces lui étaient étrangères, notamment le fameux dé mythique. Il lui fallait faire une tournée de leurs forts et frontières. Elle eut donc l’insigne honneur de découvrir Changeling tout au long de l’année, sous les traits d’une Nocker spécialiste en potions en tous genre, on lui doit notamment l’invention de la confiture de gonfle glotte, très pratique pour calmer les bouches géantes du désert vorace, aux confins du songe, très utile aussi pour faire taire les bavards. Sorcellerie?
Et tous se mirent donc en route pour les réjouissances, franchissant allégrement portes, trésors, et pièges, d’un pas preste et agile, en chantant joyeusement “HACK, HACK, HACK, ah qu’il est bon de faire la fête!“.
Et comme cadeau nuptial, il y avait les fiches du GRoG …
(1367 jeux, 13855 ouvrages, 31 systèmes, 15985 critiques, 512 jeux amateurs, 1208 éditeurs, 2370 bios, 5364 utilisateurs
(Source: Guide du Rôliste Galactique : les dernières news du jeu de rôles)
Onyx Hill Ruins
But what is at the top of those first stairs?
Onyx Hill is capped by old ruins of a small fort. Shattered and broken remains of a pair of structures and the old wall remain, along with one squat stone guardhouse that boasts the only intact roof in the area. In the centre of the old ruins is the peak of the hill with a 60 foot tall square pillar of onyx resting atop it.
This onyx monolith gives the hill its name, and attracts the occasional historian and sage to investigate its origins and to take rubbings of the inscriptions upon it. Much of the surface has been worn away or damaged by ancient violence.
Onyx Hill Ruins
In the back of the squat guardhouse is a secret door that opens over a set of stairs that lead down under the hill, and perhaps to the base of the onyx monolith itself… or perhaps a massive sprawling dungeon chosen from the huge numbers out there.
This map is made available to you under a free license for personal or commercial use thanks to the awesome supporters of my Patreon Campaign. Over 400 amazingly generous people have come together to fund the site and these maps, making them free for your use.
Because of the incredible generosity of my patrons, I’m able to make these maps free for commercial use also. Each month while funding is over the $300 mark, each map that achieves the $300+ funding level will be released under this free commercial license. You can use, reuse, remix and/or modify the maps that are being published under this commercial license on a royalty-free basis as long as they include attribution (“Cartography by Dyson Logos” or “Maps by Dyson Logos”). For those that want/need a Creative Commons license, it would look something like this:
Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
Geas of the Star-chons (Dungeon Crawl Classics)
Geas of the Star-chons est un court scénario pour le jeu Dungeon Crawl Classics. Il a été distribué dans le cadre du Free RPG Day 2019. Le livret comporte deux couvertures en tête bêche. La couverture du scénario d’un côté, celle du livre de base de l’autre. Les deuxièmes et troisièmes de couverture sont également occupées pour une pagination totale de 50 pages.
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(Source: Guide du Rôliste Galactique : le jeu de rôle, l’univers, et le reste…)
Raiders of the Lost Bark (D&D5 – Dungeons and Dragons Cinquième Edition – D&D5 – Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition)
Raiders of the Lost Bark est un scénario pour Dungeons & Doggies, un produit compatible D&D5. Il a été distribué dans le cadre du Free RPG Day 2019. Dungeons & Doggies est le premier né de la gamme Animal Aventures, une série de figurines de héros animaux financés via Kickstarter, accompagnés d’un supplément numérique fournissant les règles pour jouer l’espèce animale concernée avec les règles du SRD5.
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(Source: Guide du Rôliste Galactique : le jeu de rôle, l’univers, et le reste…)
Livre des Monstres (D&D5 – Héros & Dragons)
Le Livre des Montres est un bestiaire pour Héros & Dragons. Il s’agit de la traduction du Tome of Beasts, publié par Kobold press et compatible avec la 5ème édition de Dungeons & Dragons. Il recense plus de 400 nouvelles créatures, certaines adaptées à la gamme Midgard du même éditeur….(Source: Guide du Rôliste Galactique : le jeu de rôle, l’univers, et le reste…)
Tome of Beasts (D&D5 – Dungeons and Dragons Cinquième Edition – D&D5 – Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition)
Tome of Beasts est un bestiaire compatible avec la 5ème édition de Dungeons & Dragons. Il recense plus de 400 nouvelles créatures, certaines adpatées à la gamme Midgard du même éditeur….(Source: Guide du Rôliste Galactique : le jeu de rôle, l’univers, et le reste…)
Return to Dyson’s Delve – Levels 5 & 6
Today we return to my classic “Dyson’s Delve” with another pair of maps from my 2019 redraw of levels 5 and 6 of this mini-mega-dungeon.
Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Level 5
Level 5 is known as the howling halls and is essentially an abandoned section of the dungeon. The creatures that made the upper levels their homes find it unsafe to descend this deep, and the creatures below are only now exploring this far up. Instead, the level is eerily noisy and yet populated by only the scavengers of the dungeon ecosystems – carrion crawlers, gelatinous cubes and the like.
Dyson’s Delve 2019 – Level 6
What is immediately different about this level is that it is made of two distinct areas that are not connected on this level. In fact, the dungeon section to the lower-left is only accessible from level 7 of the dungeon.
The area that the party will first discover (coming down from above) is a section of the dungeon that has been taken over by the adventurers / mercenaries / explorers from the temple deeper in the dungeon.
The other section is still abandoned (like the majority of level 5), and is an old prison of a creature that is cursed to only die a violent death, and thus has been imprisoned here for quite some time.
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
Geomorphic Halls – Level 3
As we continue down into the Geomorphic Halls I get to experiment with different types of configurations. This level uses 4 geomorphs loosely scattered around the level – but in a tight mess of corridors, rooms and other connections. This particular map does something I generally avoid and fills up almost every available nook and cranny of a letter-sized page.
Geomorphic Halls – Level 3
As with the other levels of this dungeon, you can use any of the geomorphs from my own Geomorph Mapping Challenge, or the thousands of other compatible designs from sites and blogs all around the net.
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
The Tomb of Za’az
The Tomb of Za’az
A classic “dungeon for the sake of a dungeon”, the Tomb of Za’az has never been home to the mythical Za’az, and only achieves the title of Tomb because of the two adventurers who died here in a previous delve. It is a manifestation of the archetypal “place where the MacGuffin is hidden” and contains prisons, pits, chambers of pillars for no good reason, curtains, a swimming pool, a shrine, and all the other amenities expected of a dungeon that manages to stick to a straight grid design throughout.
The maps on Dyson’s Dodecahedron are released for free personal use thanks to the support of awesome patrons like you over on Patreon. Every month 400 patrons come together to make these releases possible. You can help too in order to keep the flow of maps coming and to improve their quality – and even get a map of your own!
(Source: Dyson’s Dodecahedron)
(A)D&D Covers
