Beneath the Ruins Maps

Adam, the OSR ambassador to Kickassistan, made an excellent point in the comment section of my map post below.  Why not post all the maps for the published levels of Beneath the Ruins?  Why not, indeed?  Henceforth, you can click your mouse above for all five juvenile scrawlings, as well as whatever future levels get published.  Perhaps soon I'll post the sideview.

Incidentally, we'd love to hear any stories from those who've run, or played in, Beneath the Ruins.  Those I've heard so far were hilarious and I really enjoyed seeing how individual referees modified and reskinned sections.

Beneath the Ruins, Level 5 Map

 

I hate flipping back and forth to check out the map when I'm reading through a module, and if I run the module I always end up copying the map out.  Here's a copy of the map for level 5a, the Emerald Halls, for any who feel the same way and don't want to jack up their mint condition WMLP #5!

Issue No. 5

The long-delayed issue no. 5 has finally come to light!  You'll find within a creepy pumpkin patch encounter, random charts for random horrors, a strange NPC, a fully detailed dungeon level (The Emerald Halls), and a quizzical challenge for even the most diabolical DM!

 

Errata Warning: Two pages of the Monster Match Quiz were juxtaposed by our dear (sarcasm) printer, the Lightning Mage.  The continuity of the quiz isn't affected, nor is the accuracy of the Table of Contents, but we wanted to give you a heads up regardless.  Preemptive apology five! <whupa!>  

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Editorial ……………………………..…………………………   2

Alex Fotinakes

A Patch of Tentacular Jacks   ………..……………..….…  2

Venger Satanis

 

Beneath the Ruins   ……………………..……………………. 4

Alex Fotinakes

Creating a Chimera  ……………….……….……….……… 16

John?

 

Alstott Brewhammer ………………...………………….…  17

John?

Monster Match………..……….………………………..…… 18

Bob Richens

 

The Lord of the Things : Answer Sheet  ….……….… 22

Bob Richens

 

Cover Art: Dr. Brainus Mangenius, Psy D. and Frederick de Tapia

Contributing Artists: B. Mangenius, F. de Tapia, and John?

Issue No. 4!

Yay!  Through much turmoil, shouting and cursing, I have wrested from my laptop's clutching electronic fingers yet another mind-exploding issue of Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols!  This issue is full of fun stuff, supplied once again by the WMLP crew...John?, Bob Richens, myself, and our intrepid cover artist Dr. Brainus Manginus.  We hope you enjoy this new offering.

Table o' Contents

Editorial

Alex Fotinakes

Monstrous Addendum

John? and Bob Richens

      

The City-State of Tal ‘Azure

John?

 

Beneath the Ruins, Level 4

Alex Fotinakes

LL Character Class: TheVestigier

John?

Objets d’Occult 

The WMLP Staff

 

The Lord of the Things 

Bob Richens 

Cover Art: Dr. Brainus Mangenius, Psy D.

It's coming...

It had been deathly quiet for a long time.  In fact, as Steve inched his way forward in the darkness, alert to even the gentlest whisper, he wondered if he had even heard a noise at all.  He crept on, straining to distinguish any foreign sound from that made by his cloth-wrapped feet along the dungeon corridor.  He froze.  Was that the sand beneath his feet, or a manila envelope tearing open in the inky blackness? 

FLASH!  A strobe of burning light exploded in his face, blinding him almost instantly.  Almost…for in that split-second he saw a wild Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols Issue #3 lunging for his neck, then felt the cold metal of its exposed staple binding bite into his jugular.

…

Don’t be like Steve (for real, don’t be like Steve).  Be prepared when the new issue of your favorite fanzine of old school weirdness comes out this month.  

Issue No 2!

Issue No 2 of Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols will hatch from gelatinous egg sacs this week!  The Fanzine of Old School Weirdness is BACK!

Introduction to Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols

[If you've already purchased your copy of WMLP #1, you'll recognize the text below as the introduction.  I thought it might be a good idea to post it here, so that those who might miss the first issue (you know, if they come along in a year's time or something) will still have a vague idea of the philosophy behind what we're doing.]  

When I was twelve I got a job working at the Cypress Swap Meet.  It was, and is, a sprawling grid of booths and stalls hocking everything from auto floor mats to handtools to used clothing.  The front half of it was occupied by your average commercial stalls, each with a particular theme.  Well towards the back, however, was where things got really interesting.  These were the cheap spots.  The merchants in the back lot dealt in all manner of junk, obtained from abandoned storage units, estate sales, and most likely, a few rubbish bins.  There was a constant turn over of every conceivable item—undergarments, double-knit polyester shirts, autographed photos of barely celebrities, etc. ad infinitum.  Valuable items next to what was basically trash; Plato lying out under the sun next to Dianetics.  It was disorganized and junky, but it was also where the magic happened.  You always had a sense that if you just looked hard enough, you could find almost anything in that crazy mix.

It was in a stall in the back that I first encountered the comic reprints of the old pulp horror and fantasy stories.  And after rummaging around in boxes week after week, finally came upon a strange game book emblazoned with a lady wizard and a warrior with a crazy helmet.  I looked at it again and again, and finally bought it.  I’d heard of D&D, of course—this was a bit after the fad stage—but I’d never played it.  Something in the images, though, struck a chord deep within me and I read it over and over, struggling to understand the concepts.  (Here is where the story gets sad, but don’t choke up over me, friend)  I spent the next couple years dreaming about D&D, of strange monsters and dark chambers, and sneaky thieves stealing treasure.  But I didn’t find anyone with whom to play.  My younger cousin tried his best, but was too little really to get into it.  My friends preferred video games and who knows what else.  It was frustrating, but it led to a time of ferment that was very important.  I owned only Mr. Moldvay’s basic book, nothing else.  But the openness led me to feel that all could be included.  Perhaps the environment in which I found D&D even helped to cement this vision, for among the piles of random used pots and pans, Atari cartridges and pulp sci-fi books, I dreamed of adventures where my hopelessly fragile footpad explored martian caves and befriended ninja turtles and Thundarr the Barbarian.  My love of the random assortment solidified, because that was where the magic happened.  Random disjointed elements integrated, becoming something new and cohesive, still dripping with weirdness as it crawled forth from its protoplasmic vat.

Eventually, I found others who knew D&D and played often, and I entered into some great friendships and played in many strange campaigns.  Years passed, and again as an adult I discovered the joy of Mr. Moldvay’s edition of the greatest game ever made.  I even found that a fantastic clone of it was available for free online, thanks to the generosity and labor of Dan Proctor (Labyrinth Lord!).  New friends joined me around the table and again we explored twisted ruins inhabited by weirdness that was decades in the making. 

Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols is a zine that belongs on a blanket at the back end of the Cypress Swap Meet, among the He-Man action figures and Snorks videos.  It will be weird and quirky, mixed up and cross-genred, but with the help of my awesome contributors, I hope it will be a place for the magic to happen again.

Alex Fotinakes

20 Quick Questions

...Edited for new helmet pic, as I discovered another 20 responder with the exact same Otus image--how gauche of me!


(Haven't posted in a while...must use crutch to get back into the game...)


I've been very interested to read the responses to Brendan's 20 quick questions, as houserules and rulings are always cool to hear about.  So, here are my replies:


1. Ability scores generation method?
             3d6, distribute as you will.  However, it should be noted that I don't use negative modifiers from ability scores, only positives.

2. How are death and dying handled?

            PCs die when they reach below their level in negative HP (e.g. a 4th level fighter dies when he gets to -5 HP).  Wounds can be bound after a battle (+d3 HP).

3. What about raising the dead?

            Getting someone resurrected is such a monumental pain in the butt that it either becomes a great story in and of itself, or the player decides to just roll up a new character and save himself the trouble.

4. How are replacement PCs handled?

            I let them play one of the NPCs or roll up a character 1-2 levels lower than the lowest PC.

5. Initiative: individual, group, or something else?

            Group initiative with d6.  We have two huge rubber foam d6's, one neon orange, the other neon pink.  I love doing the roll off to see who goes first!

6. Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work?

            Natty 20 gets double damage rolled or full damage, choose before you roll.  Nat 1 means you lost your weapon and need to spend a round retrieving it.  I should really make up a table of worse things for the critical fumble (stab friend in butt, anger the god of war with your incompetence, etc.).

7. Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?

           You probably look cooler, especially if it's some sweet Otus helmet.

8. Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?

            Hells yes!  Though I will usually warn the shooter ahead of time that the shot looks like it might be dangerous.

9. Will we need to run from some encounters?

            Only if you want to live...

10.          Level-draining monsters: yes or no?

          Yes, but only occasionally.

11.           Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?

            Yes, but again, only occasionally.  Most often death occurs due to failing to run, not checking for traps, deciding that this NPC is too big for his britches, etc.

12.          How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?

          Not strictly at all.  I find it tedious, so I just cut them off at a certain point.

13.          What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time?

           You must wait for down time, but don't need to do any training.  Spells don't come naturally and are not usually shared.  They are one of the main forms of treasure, actually.

14.          What do I get experience for? 

            Killing, looting, playing your character even if it might get him killed, accomplishing something difficult that didn't involve getting loot or killing, whatever else I feel like giving xp for.

15.          How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?

            Combo!  You have to describe what you're doing and then I roll, with bonuses or negatives depending on how plausible your description sounds.

16.          Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?

            Not encouraged, necessarily, but my players know their way around a meatshield.  Morale is only used in battle, but is highly dependent on treatment.  Meatshields and retainers will often negotiate on the spot for more cash or rewards when they're asked to do something very dangerous.

17.          How do I identify magic items?

           Use it or take it to a shaman, cleric, witch doctor, elder, et al.

18.          Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions?

            Maybe a potion, but it won't be a regular healing potion, it'll have side effects like making your hair fall out or bony protrusions grow out of your back.

19.          Can I create magic items? When and how?

            No one's ever tried to create a magic item, so I don't know.  I use Holmes' rule for Magic-Users making scrolls.

20.    What about splitting the party?

         My players never split up, but they could if they wanted.  Go ahead.  Try it.  :)

Black Pharaoh Foiled! Our First Labyrinth Lord Campaign Concluded

Wow! Tonight my small group completed a campaign that stretched 1.5 years. For many, I'm sure that isn't a very long time, but it was the first campaign for two of my players and my first in about 20 years. We used modified BX throughout and their characters reached 7th/8th levels after defeating tons of cultists, drug brewing mutants, giant phosphorescent ants, schizophrenic blobs, etc. They explored the Magus Xoth Ragar's mysterious laboratory, engaged in espionage against the notorious Black Hand in Pentastadion, and ultimately tracked the Black Pharaoh to his abominable pyramid in the desert. Great fun and lots of great ideas by these unpredictable players. Even though three of the main characters died, they were integral parts of the story that was made, so it proved once again the strange alchemy that makes a D&D campaign so satisfying. For now, I think I've earned my reward and will take a month or so off to recharge, read, and get the next campaign ready. One of the players has graciously agreed to DM for a bit. Woo hoo!

Portal in the back of the Trolls' water closet?

This is where it takes you:

Props to whomever created this image.  It's the bomb.  (Or after the bomb, tee hee.)

Mileage.

One of the PC's in my Lost Continent campaign owns a hawk whose name is Mahawkma Gandhi.  We have gotten more fun mileage out of that fact than out of some of the dungeons I've created.  D&D is awesome.  That is all.

Lost Continent Session 33

(As of late, I've been waffling on whether to post write-ups of our Lost Continent sessions, knowing that I have never really done this before and most anyone reading it would be jumping in mid-story.  Well...I decided to go for it anyway.  Those who find them tedious can easily skip the posts, and it will serve its main purpose well: helping me and my players remember what happened when, and remain recollected when the details of the campaign proliferate.)

Session 33

Bellor Ruthenia, 5th level Moravian Shieldsman
Zoe of Zoe, 5th level Colonist Thief
Tune of Santa Monica, 6th level Stranger Sorcerer
Itchy of the Brotherhood of the Dawn, 7th level Colonist Cleric
Shaan Solo, 7th level Colonist Bounty Hunter

The party has been working out of Pentastadion for the past few months, adventuring professionally as "The Company of the Belching Dragon".  They have taken on odd delving jobs outside of town and under Pentastadion itself, and have attracted the attention of one of the powerful Syndics.  Her attendant, Rolando Blackman, recently negotiated with them, and they contracted to do a practice job: to explore and map a newly discovered underground complex accessible only through the cellar of a brewery in the warehouse district of Pentastadion.

The last session (32) found the Company venturing through the strange hidden door behind the brewery's mash tun again, descending a long stair and exploring what they would discover was the Den of the Thief Kings.  They cautiously moved through several decrepit rooms until they entered a small gallery with portraits hung on all the walls.  Two disparate figures stood on the far side of the room, stock still and unresponsive, staring at a large portrait of a human man.  Upon inspection, the two figures turned out to be a scruffy barbarian type, with pale skin and scant clothing, and a tall, thin, erudite looking man in a robe.  Both appeared alive and well, but completely still.  Tune judged them frozen somehow, perhaps by gazing at the portrait, and had Bellor throw a cloak over the painting.  They examined the rest of the room and found nothing, so as a last measure, Itchy called upon the power of Solus to banish any magical effect in the room.  In a flash of action, both men came to life.  The barbarian spun around and, seeing a sinister figure at his shoulder, stabbed the man in heart.  A tense standoff ensued between barbarian and adventurers while the robed man's life quickly ebbed away.  After attempts at communication proved futile, the party slowly backed out of the room and left the barbarian some space to leave safely.

More exploration of rooms followed, with the discovery of an empty lair and a shadowy altercation with foul humanoids resembling hyenas and covered with coarse bristling fur.  Arrows, plasma blasts and arcane bolts of energy flew back and forth, and several hyena men were slain.  The battle brought on fatigue, however, so the Company retired to a defensible room and locked themselves within for the night.

Session 33 began with the Company rising from a fitful rest in the small room.  Shaan smelled the odor of oil, while Zoe could hear several figures moving in the hallway outside.  Abandoning the better part of valor, Bellor threw open the door and Itchy charged into what he assumed was combat.  He guessed right and was able to engage the last two of the hyena men before they escaped down the hallway.  Itchy slew one, but the other shot a flaming arrow that brought fire licking all about the cleric's divine boots.  Itchy ran to escape the burning oil and Shaan sniped the last of the bestial fiends with a powerful blast of his plasma rifle.

The Company paused to catch its breath, then continued to explore the rest of the Den.  Among other things, they found a prop room used by an ancient thieves' guild.  Costumes and wigs filled numerous chests and wardrobes, but the main attraction was a raised platform set before a mirrored triptych.  A multitude of chains hung down with handles on them.  Itchy was the first to ascend the platform and pull a chain, finding himself immediately 30 lbs. heavier!  Disgusted but undaunted, he pulled again, and was rewarded with a Fu Manchu.

The Company moved on, encountering a shrine to Hermes wherein they gambled with the god, and other less exciting rooms.  (I can't remember anything else, honestly).

When they finished mapping the floor, they ascended the stairs and were immediately intercepted by Rolando Blackman's henchmen, who directed them quickly through panic-stricken streets.  Something was very amiss in the city by the sea.  But that's where we leave our party...

[I've forgotten big chunks of these sessions, apparently, and must set about fixing that by writing notes soon after the next session.]

Next installment: Panic in Pentastadion!

Den of the Thief Kings: Prop Room

Last night we concluded an adventure where the party was tasked with mapping out a newly discovered complex below the city of Pentastadion.  The entryway was through an iron door hidden in the cellar of an abandoned brewery.  After descending a winding stairway, the party found itself exploring the Den of the Thief Kings.

Though not unusually creative in its design, one simple room turned out to be lots of fun (for both Labyrinth Lord and players, I think!):


Prop Room.   A thick burgundy curtain covers the walls of this room, but more importantly it is filled with a multitude of wardrobes and chests.  Each wardrobe and chest contains various costumes and clothing, jewelry and accessories, mostly of low quality but accurate appearance.  They are ratty and moth-eaten, for the most part, and have no value.  At the far end of the room is a large polished metal mirror in triptych, with a platform to stand on and a series of handles hanging by chains from above.  If the handles are pulled while a character is standing on the platform, a random effect is generated:

Roll d6	Effect
1	Skin changes color.
2	Hair style changed.
3	Random facial hair.
4	Gains/loses d4 x 10 pounds.
5	Grows/Shrinks d6 inches.
6	Eyes change color.

The room was used several centuries ago by thieves on the lam.  One quick stop in prop room gave them a disguise with an added twist: a permanent change of appearance.

One of the players tested it out and immediately gained 30 pounds.  He then laughingly tried again--Fu Manchu facial hair! We determined also that one of the NPCs would be goading into trying it also.  An already large warrior, Bellor Ruthenia instantly grew another 4 inches taller.  Russian accented complaints about trying to [Yakov Smirnoff's voice]"fit into peasant bed already big hassle!" ensued.

Good times.

(By the way, there is a hilarious table of Random Facial Hair in one of the issues of Fight On!, written by Jeff Rients, I believe.  I can't remember which, though.  Anyway, this room would put it to excellent use.)

Under Pentastadion

To Itchy and Tune,

Here's a little map I put together from what I knows and what my buddy Treddo's herd.  I thot you guys could use the help and you've always been big tippers.  Let me know if you guys ever wanna hear some more stories about all those twisty places under Pentastadion.

Thog

 

(Thanks to Dyson for the map making lessons he's posted!)

Robotic Arm and Plexiglass Skull Flap

This is what I randomly rolled when one of the party's NPCs got "repaired" by the little tin men in a recent adventure.  They roam the ancient halls of the underworld picking up and repairing discarded life forms (dead or dying people and monsters).  As they are quite ingenious in their use of the scrap material at their disposal, they often provide extremely unique solutions for replacing the original "equipment".  Often they will drug and pick up an adventurer trying to sleep off his injuries, only to place him back where they found him after they finish their work.  Many a dungeon explorer has found himself thus: awakened as if out of a dream, possessing a slinky-like spring where his mangled foot used to be.

Tin Men
(No. 1-3; AC 6; HD 2; ATT 0; Dmg Nil; AL L.)

These 3' tall tin men are made of hollow pipes and have a hollow, cylindrical torso with a hinged door on the front.  If opened, a small, visible wisp of green or blue mist moves rhythmically within.  Of mysterious origins, they wander the halls of the underworld, seeking "broken" lifeforms to "fix." They will readily help any creature they encounter, regardless of alignment.


Random Repairs (d10)
1. Robotic Arm
2. Clear Fiberglass Breastplate (replaces skin; organs visible)
3. Rubber Tentacle-like Appendage
4. Subcutaneous Metal Plate
5. Wooden Hand (completely wired for movement)
6. Permanent Stone Helment
7. Plexiglass Skull Flap
8. Wooden (workable) Ear
9. Metal/Electronic Forearm that emits Heavy Metal Guitar sound effects once/hour
10. Kaleidascopic Glass Eyeball

The Mysterious Laboratory of the Magi Xoth-ragar

This is coming soon.  We played through it and had a blast, so I'm thinking of posting it up on the blog somehow (this will take some technological fumbling on my part).  Anyone have advice on how to post something that 8 pages or so?

For those who are wondering...Classic D&D and Labyrinth Lord

I've recently noticed that I get quite a bit more traffic on this page than I would expect.  And I suppose it's because I talk about D&D and lots of people my age are searching the internet to see what's become of their estranged friend, old-school D&D. 

So for those interested in Old School D&D, I recommend a clone that you can download free as a PDF.  It's called Labyrinth Lord and is an excellent emulation of the 1981 version of D&D edited by Tom Moldvay.  The one that looks like this:

You should get back into gaming!  Remember how simple and fun it was?  It still is.
Get Labyrinth Lord free here: 1981 D&D!

Megadungeon Design: Honeycomb Hideouts

I've been fascinated with Megadungeons for a long time, reading all the great blog posts and forum threads on this adventure-site/play-style/philosophy and mulling over all the possibilities.  I have a megadungeon placed on the Lost Continent, in fact.  The party adventured there quite a bit and it was pretty rad, even.  But we've also encountered a sticky issue.

My players are not that excited about exploring just for the sake of exploring.

They like to have particular reasons for going into some deathtrap, for one thing.  They take their roleplaying pretty seriously--not in terms of making weird voices or wearing costumes, but in regards to making decisions in-character rather than as a player.  By that I mean, Brian wants to be able to come up with some reason why Shaan (a deadly, but soft-hearted, bounty hunter) would want to wander down into a dark place where demons eat kittens and wait for larger meals.  He doesn't need much reason, mind you, but something either he creates or I create.

One easy fix for this is the utilitastic Megadungeon Missions Table by Al over on Beyond the Black Gate.  I've used this several times to generate a seed for an adventure.  I'm lucky that my players follow hooks like a googler follows hot elven chicks.

So, partly in response to the style of adventuring we do, and partly because of how I like to draw maps, I'm experimenting with a new type of megadungeon: the honeycomb hideout.  This might not be new to others, but it's different than what I've done before.  Basically, it's a megadungeon made of numerous interconnected mini-dungeons.

Lo, verily I say unto thee...scanned, badly drawn dungeon maps will follow.

Hall of the Fallen: Arthur the Fighter

And so passes into legend Arthur the Fighter:

Bold and eager for Adventure, Arthur climbed the dizzying heights to the Keep on the Borderlands.  He impressed the Castellan immediately when he interrupted his conversation with the Captain to offer the services of a trained warrior (and rolled a really good reaction roll).  Just at that moment the Castellan had been describing the foul hooligans who had lately been entering the keep, looking only to quaff ale in the tavern and lounge in the common room.  "Where shall I find a man stout of heart and eager to quench his thirst for renown by slaying dark creatures?", he asked.

"I'm down", replied the hero.

The hero thus ventured forth into the black caves of chaos, in search of goblin heads (worth 5 gp a piece) and a lost expedition in need of resupply.  He found them and mounted a successful attack against a group of guards.  But alas, the second contingent they encountered (he and his retinue of uncoordinated torch bearers) was much craftier, summoning forth with a sack of ill-gotten gold the furious Ogre.  Spears flew, goblins screamed, torchbearers cried, and blood flowed.  The dirty goblins died or fled, but still the Ogre pressed on, receiving blows but dropping meatshields, nonetheless.  Finally, when hope seemed to return, the cruel Ogre rolled a natural 20 and his knobby club showed Arthur the way to Valhalla.

May he rest in peace.

Genre Mashing in Labyrinth Lord

I've been encouraging my players to give me some ideas of the types of things they'd like to see on the Lost Continent.  This is not for immediate use, mind you, but rather idea seeds that I can plant in far away places so they'll be nice and grown-in when the characters find them.  The LC is, after all, supposed to be huge and magical--so lots of variation was already on the table.  That's why I didn't bat an eye when Shawn Solo's player asked, "How about an old west town?"  We riffed on that for awhile, thinking of how that could be done cohesively.  We came up with some neat ideas and I'm looking forward to playing with it some more.  He'll be pumped when he finally comes across said town, all filled out and "real" in his character's eyes.

The process of thinking it out was fun, and got me thinking of the different styles of genre mash-up.  When introducing another genre, you really have a whole continuum of cohesion levels, from straight-up "the Enterprise just landed next to your castle" to "Elves are really aliens from another planet who passed magically through portals to this world, bringing higher technology."  In other words, the elements of the new genre can be dumped in without any eye for cohesion, or they can be "translated", so to speak, into your world's style/feel/mood.  Mash-ups on either end could be fun, I'm sure, but I find myself gravitating much more toward the heavily translated end of the continuum.  I want my old west town to seem like an old west town, but also not stick out too much from the other locales.  How is that done?

In the next few days I'll be working on it a bit.  We'll see what comes of it.