Delightful Dungeons

Following the steps of disappeared hunter Markus Wegener leads you to an ancient tomb infested by termites and ancient evil! This small tomb reminds me a lot of the first part of Tomb of the Serpent Kings, and I will throughout this review contrast the two adventures to highlight the strenghts and weaknesses of this one (and the weaknesses of TotSK!). Like TotSK this bills itself as a low level adventure. Is it a good starting adventure or even a good introduction to the game as a whole? Download it here! Does it qualify? Yes.  The PDF is 2 pages, the text and map are well readable (though the termite holes in the wall could use a label for what they are) on a printed page, no heavy lifting is demanded by the dungeon master, there is hidden treasure, it is written for ACKS but is runnable in another system with small effort. What is my judgement? Since I'll be contrasting it with Tomb of the Serpent Kings  I'll give a short explanation of that module. It was written as an OSR ...

This is a small monster lair with an artifact level staff hidden behind a puzzle. The author notes that this should be hidden 30 hexes into the wilderness, finding it is the reward for following a treasure map. The author submitted this as it was a ready made lair which fit the judgement criteria (almost!), though stating it shouldn't be competing for the win. I'll be the judge of that! As far as the use, either you follow the author's intent, or change the artifact for a lesser treasure more closely matching the challenge (closer to 10,000gp rather than 150,000gp). It seems to me the Storm Sage should live near the coast, but placing this far from the sea would make it more mysterious and memorable. Download it here! Does it qualify? No! The main treasure contains 3 treasure maps to nautical encounters and instructs the DM to roll them up. Other than that, it fits the competition format. It's a 2-page PDF, easy to read map and text, there is a hidden treasure, is it wr...

Each of the five rooms in this tomb requires the players to be on their toes. The cloud giant Kaelos interred within had a sorcerous bent and a skill with light, lightning, fog, and illusion. Recommended level to enter is 5+ and it is indended as a hex lair in the wilderness. I can see this slotting in almost anywhere - as part of another dungeon, as a feared landmark in civilization, as a surprise find in the howling wilderness. I would not be afraid to tempt even lower level heroes with this, something to show them the casual brutality of mid level adventuring, where they can return some time after their first set of characters perish or are trapped inside. Download it here! Does it qualify? Yes. The PDF is 2 pages, the text and map are legible on the printed page, there is hidden treasure and arguably sentinels, the author does not put the burden of creativity on the reader, it says "1e" on the page which I take to mean AD&D but it uses Morale scores from "Men ...

 This adventure asks an interesting question: what happens when a dragon is slain, its hoard claimed by the heroic adventurers, but thousands of copper pieces are left behind because they're not worth the sweat of hauling them off? The answer: a deadly feud between rival villages vying for the treasure. This is an intricate piece that demands a bit of work, but it has a strong and gritty pagan vibe, perfect to set on the outskirts of civilization, or in a backwater interior. The assumed low level, but complex situation, makes this ideal for either experienced players starting a new campaign, or roleplayers who have not had their brains coagulated by cookie cutter dungeon crawling yet! Download it here! How does it do in the competition? First, does it qualify? Yes. The PDF is 2 pages, the text is on the smaller side but legible reading it at the table, the map as you see if helpfully colored coded to set the cavernous and built parts apart. Traitors galore in this adventure, both i...

 This is the final day to submit your dungeon to participate in the First Delightful Dungeon Competition! The current number of competitors is 9 and all entries look to be of good to great quality at a first glance (though one is at risk of disqualification because of small print, but the competitor has a chance to amend this). I will keep reviewing the entries at the pace my life permits before secretly selecting the winner, after which the qualified competitors will be asked to vote on their favorite - so that our choices don't influence each other one way or another other. May the most Delightful Dungeons win!

 The third competitor presents a bizarre puzzle-dungeon, it feels like primal D&D - before the rules of the form were established. The author says to use it as a stand-alone cavern, or as part of a greater complex and it seems perfectly suited for it. It does not explain itself though there is an undeniable dream logic to the whole. You can definitely run this as a half-session adventure or side-trekk, and you should if its inexplicable nature does not turn you off! Download it here! Does it qualify? Yes! Mr. Blasso submitted a 2-page version and a 4-page version which includes a cover and details on the treasures and monsters, but as a fair judge I didn't even look at that one before reading and digesting the adventure. The map and text are clearly readable on a printed page. It includes traitors and hidden treasure within the first 30' of the dungeon, sentinels later. No heavy lifting is foisted on the DM. It is formatted for Advanced OSE but would be trivial to convert ...

The contest's second entry is another well designed dungeon, including many rooms without feeling the least bit rushed or compressed. It straddles the line between a "pure dungeon" and a naturalistic place, I am reminded of Stonehell. As a larger piece, and somewhat sparse in characterization of both place and people, the dungeon master would use it best by flavoring it to their setting, or creating more ties between the dungeon and the outside world. It is a level 5 dungeon (as in 5th level party?) and the distribution of treasure and danger would allow for several sessions of trepidatious exploration, or a half-session precision strike on the well guarded main treasury! Download it here! What follows is the review according to the strictures of the competition. There are a total of 6 entries submitted so far, I plan to review them continuously before the final selection and vote. Does it qualify? Yes. The pdf is exactly 2, the generously sized map and natural language t...