Bocoloid from Southern Edge

 In the previous session, one of my players, a devout follower of the god Mythris, discovered a strange sanctuary to his god in the city. It was the headquarters of a secretive and elusive order. He asked to join and undergo the trials required for initiation. Since we were nearing the end of the session and I wanted to make it interesting, I told him we would resolve it in our next session. Over the course of the week, I had time to think about it. The order, I told him, had several levels, each with its own trial. However, only one trial could be attempted at a time, and each trial could only be undertaken once the initiates returned to the surface. They couldn't take all of them in the same "city phase." The first trial needed to be something that could be completed quickly, so that the character would enter the cult and feel motivated to level up. First, we set the trap, and then the bait. For me, the god Mythris is akin to the vengeful god of the Old Testament: powe...

 The dungeon in my campaign is created by a Dream Worm , so I thought it would be a great opportunity to experiment with a modular dungeon . The idea is that every time the players leave, the dungeon reconfigures itself based on their dreams and fears. Additionally, random events can trigger shifts in the module layout during exploration. Designing the Modules To simplify the process, I decided to make square modules . I then had to determine how many rooms each module should have and how many modules would make up each floor. Module and Room Count I settled on 12 modules per floor to ensure a good variety of layouts without making the combinations too predictable. Each module contains between 8 and 15 rooms . Initially, I considered 30 rooms per module , but that would result in 300 rooms per floor , making exploration too slow. I want my players to move through multiple levels, so I reduced the number. For reference, adventures like The Hole in the Oak and Against the Cult of...

One of the challenges in dungeon-delving RPG campaigns is figuring out what to do with all the gold. Players often amass large sums of money without knowing how to spend it. The usual recommendations are upgrading equipment or managing a stronghold , but these are often vague suggestions without clear mechanics to support them. One aspect I appreciate about His Majesty the Worm , the game I'm currently running, is its structured approach to the economy. When adventurers return to the surface, the City Phase begins, requiring them to pay taxes on their expedition's earnings, choose their level of comfort for lodging, and perform a City Action . These special actions allow gold to be spent in interesting ways with clear mechanics: commissioning a rare artifact (with a cost based on the number of words in its description), going on a spree to gain experience, hiring training services, building a tavern, and more. These actions are standard, but the rulebook encourages adding dist...

  This Thursday, we had the third session of HMTW, and it was the best one so far. Using some doors, the players improvised a couple of rafts to cross the lake and headed southeast through cold hallways covered in snow. Along the way, thanks to the Meatgrinder encounter table, they found small leaves from a blue velvet tree, a sign that they were close to their goal. The tree was located in a dungeon module where intrusive thoughts dominate the mind. Exploration and Encounters The first room led them to a marble balcony suspended over an infinite void, with a starry sky stretching beyond their sight. As they peered down, a voice in their heads invited them to jump into the abyss, but they resisted the temptation and stepped back. The second door led them to a restaurant kitchen filled with sharp objects. Since rations were scarce, they decided to explore, but soon felt the urge to test the knives on their own skin. Not everyone was lucky: several failed their wands checks and suff...

  Session 2: Deeper into the Dream Dungeon Fifteen days after our first session, we gathered for the second, this time extending the playtime to four hours. As established, whenever the party enters a new room or a significant amount of time passes, we secretly draw a card from the Meatgrinder encounter table. During the last session, upon entering a new area, I drew card #21, which indicated that the event should provide a clue about their quest. This was perfect, as the players had been feeling like they were opening doors at random without clear direction. To fulfill this, I placed an ethereal gnome selling potions at the entrance of the corridor where they stood. These creatures, foreign to the dungeon, remain unaffected by the Worm’s magic due to their magical nature. They take advantage of this to live here, primarily engaging in the trade of dreams, potions, and gems. The players seized the opportunity to purchase some healing ointments. They also inquired about the gnome’s...

   Since the game is focused on exploring a megadungeon, the first thing I needed was one. The first option was to adapt a pre-existing dungeon to the system, but in my experience, converting monsters and treasures, studying the lore, generating encounter tables, etc., is quite labor-intensive. So I decided to start from scratch. The Concept   The idea for my dungeon is that an entity known as the Dream Worm created this place beneath the city WhisperShadows ruled by a tyrant. Legend has it that the Worm dwells in the deepest parts of the dungeon, and anyone who finds it will have their wishes granted. The place is also filled with treasures and magical items created by this entity, which it uses to lure adventurers into its domain. The Worm feeds on people's dreams, and adventurers, being greedy and ambitious, are highly nourishing.   Certain factions operate in both the city and the dungeon, which are always important to have. They can open up storylines for playe...