Another entry in my recaps of the D&D products I've covered thus far. For this post it's the third booklet of the original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set, The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures. In the most basic terms, this book is the equivalent of what would eventually become the Dungeon Master's Guide.
New Rules Introduced
- Random determination of dungeon room contents (monsters, traps, treasure)
- Movement in the underworld
- Detection of secret passages
- Forcing doors
- Listening at doors
- Surprise
- Wandering monsters
- Avoiding monsters in the underworld
- Monster reactions
- Random determination of castle inhabitants
- Wilderness movement
- Encounters and pursuit in the wilderness
- Getting lost in the wilderness
- Wilderness wandering monsters
- Construction of castles and strongholds
- Hiring of specialists and men-at-arms
- PC upkeep and support
- Baronies
- Aerial combat
- Naval combat
- Swimming
- Healing
Monsters that get stats for the first time
- Dragon Turtles
- Giant Leeches
- Crocodiles and Giant Crocodiles
- Giant Snakes (aquatic variety)
- Giant Octopi
- Giant Squids
- Giant Crabs
- Giant Fish
Monsters mentioned that didn't get stats in Vol. II or III
- Giant rats
- Giant Centipedes
- Giant Spiders
- Giant Lizards
- Giant Toads
- Giant Hogs
- Giant Ants
- Giant Weasels
- Giant Beetles
- Giant Scorpions
- White Apes (from Barsoom)
- Pterodactyls
- Cyborgs
- Robots
- Androids
- Shadows
- Dopplegangers
- Red Martians (from Barsoom)
- Tharks (from Barsoom)
- Black Martians (from Barsoom)
- Yellow Martians (from Barsoom)
- White Martians (from Barsoom)
- Lions
- Bears
- Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Triceratops
- Brontosaurus
- Stegosaurus
- Apts (from Barsoom)
- Banths (from Barsoom)
- Thoats (from Barsoom)
- Calots (from Barsoom)
- Orluks (from Barsoom)
- Sith (from Barsoom)
- Darseen (from Barsoom)
- Cave Bears
- Dire Wolves
- Sabretooth Tigers
- Mastodons
- Spotted Lions
- Wooly Rhinos
- Titanotheres
NPC Specialists introduced
- Alchemists
- Armorers
- Assassins
- Animal Trainers
- Engineers
- Sages
- Seamen
- Ship Captains
- Smiths
- Spies
Details and conjecture relevant to the Ultimate Sandbox
- The book begins with a sample cross-section of a dungeon, as shown below. I plan on placing this dungeon somewhere not far from the City of Greyhawk.
- Later on a sample level is included. It's more of a way to demonstrate various tricks and traps than a genuine level, but I'm going to include it as part of one of the dungeon above. The level in question needs a chute and a slanting passage, which doesn't match anything in the sample, so it'll have to be one of the levels below 6th (the cavern). The map for this area is below:
- There's a sample of play that features some adventurers (including an elf and a magic-user who can cast hold portal) exploring a dungeon and fighting some gnolls. I've mapped out the dungeon described as shown below. These adventurers will be dead bodies deeper into the dungeon, and found with them will be their gnoll treasure: 2,000 copper pieces, an onyx case worth 1,000 gp, a jeweled necklace worth 5,000 gp, and a pair of elven boots.
- It's noted that Greyhawk Castle has "over a dozen levels in succession downwards, and more than that branching from these, and not less than two new levels under construction at any given time. These levels contain such things as a museum from another age, an underground lake, a series of caverns filled with giant fungi, a bowling alley for 20' high giants, an arena of evil, crypts, and so on".
- There are some rules that I plan to apply only as special circumstances for "megadungeons": doors are usually stuck for PCs, but will always open for monsters; the dungeon layout may change between visits; monsters all have infravision, but will not benefit from it if serving a PC. Mythic megadungeons such as Blackmoor or Castle Greyhawk are actively hostile towards the PCs.
- Blackmoor is described as "a village of small size (a one-horse town)".
- The City of Greyhawk (written as "Grayhawk" here, but we all know better) is a large city. It's said to have bazaars, inns, taverns, shops, temples, and a risky Thieves' Quarter.
- The board from Outdoor Survival was used in the original Greyhawk campaign for wilderness exploration. I'll be using it in the Ultimate Sandbox as a nearby wilderness area. Here it is below:
- There must be a lot of unclaimed wilderness around Greyhawk, as PCs are free to clear areas out and build their own strongholds. The region is also dotted with small castles ruled by fickle NPCs. The Outdoor Survival map is about 215 miles (43 hexes) x 210 miles (42 hexes), and it contains (I think) 18 different castles. Anyone in charge of a castle is considered to have their own barony, and can start collecting taxes, but they also seem to be pretty autonomous. I guess that there is a ruling authority around Greyhawk that governs these things and hands out baronies, but that they're fairly hands off unless someone starts causing them too much trouble.
- Based on the wilderness wandering monster tables, there must be somewhere in the campaign setting a "lost world" swamp or jungle that's full of dinosaurs, and a mountain range inhabited by prehistoric mammals.
- There are many references to Barsoom, the setting of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter novels, so there should be some way of getting there in the campaign.
- Sages won't work for clerics or magic-users, which I'm going to chalk up to some sort of guild rivalry or professional jealousy.
- Vikings are mentioned. I won't have actual Vikings in the campaign, but there should be some sort of equivalent.
- Apparently orcs are readily available to be hired as men-at-arms by chaotic character.
- It's noted that ships might sail off the edge of the world. Is the World of Greyhawk flat? I'm not altogether opposed to the idea.
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