The Forgotten Smugglers' Cave #12: The Bubbly

This is an installment of a new dungeon adventure set in the Portown milieu that I'm writing for Holmes Basic D&D. You can find the Introduction to the dungeon here: Area 1.

Each entry in the series includes part of a "pointcrawl" map showing the area & any exits, which include links. Thus, you can navigate the dungeon by following the links on the map:

Area 11 ===	12. THE BUBBLY	C== Area 18
	D || E.P.W.

12. THE BUBBLY. This area consists of a large natural cavern with a floor of sand and stones from which bubbles forth the source of the water for the stream of Area 11 and eventually the waterfall of Area 9. The PCs can enter from the west by heading upstream through the stream from Area 11 or from the east via the tunnel from Area 18.  

The Cavern. A large roughly circular space, about 100 feet in diameter, and dimly lit by phosphorescent fungus growing on the rock walls, which arch to a point about 50 feet above the floor, which is covered in deep, dark grey sand intermixed with a variety of pebbles.

The stream exiting via the west wall leads up to pool of churning water and sand with a diameter of 10 feet, fed by water continuously bubbling up from beneath. The output from this forms a stream which exits the room through the western wall to Area 11.

Concealed Tunnel. If the walls are examined, a crevice will be noted just above the sand on the eastern wall. The sand here conceals a tunnel below floor level leading to Area 18. Enough sand can be removed in 3 turns to allow entry to the tunnel. 

The Source. 30 feet beneath the surface of the bubbling pool is a nexus with the Elemental Plane of Water. At this nexus dwells a slurry, a minor elemental composed of a mixture of water and sand, which dwells here, feeding on precious metals found on the Prime Material Plane.

Slurry (DX 15, AC 2, HD 2, HP 9, #AT 1 blast of watery sand for 1d6, SD immune to normal weapons). A full write-up for this new monster can now be found here.

Anything heavy that is thrown or dropped into the churning water will sink and then either be ejected in 1d6 rounds (1-9 in 10) or pass through the nexus to the Elemental Plane of Water (on a 10). This will have a 3 in 6 chance of causing the slurry to surface in the middle of the pool, and begin spraying anyone in the area with a concentrated blast of sandy water until they leave.

If a character enters directly into the churning water, they will take 1 point of damage per round from the abrasive force of the sand in the water.

If the elemental is destroyed, the nexus to the Elemental Plane of Water will close, causing the water flow to diminish to a trickle.

Star Quartz. The churning watery created by the slurry acts like a rock tumbler, polishing quartz stones found naturally in the sand, producing the round star quartz found in the area and downstream. Searching the sand around the pool for a turn gives a 1 in 6 chance of uncovering such a gem (roll on the Gems table for value), but also a 1 in 6 chance of disturbing the elemental.

A gem dropped into the pool has a 1 in 6 chance of resurfacing at the next higher value on the Gems table. Adding gold or platinum (10 GP worth) will increase this chance to 4 in 6, but only once per day.

Chronologically on this blog, the previous post installment was Area 11 and the next posted installment will be Area 13.

The Forgotten Smugglers' Cave #11: Stream Tunnel

This is an installment of a new dungeon adventure set in the Portown milieu, which I'm writing for Holmes Basic D&D. You can find the Introduction here: Area 1.

Each entry includes part of a "pointcrawl" map showing the area & any exits, including links allowing you to navigate the dungeon:

	Area 13 ||
Area 9 ===	11. STREAM TUNNEL	=== Area 12

11. STREAM TUNNEL. This area consists of a long east-west tunnel, carved by water, that contains the stream feeding the waterfall in Area #9, and a narrow path running along its southern side.

The Path. This begins at the top of the waterfall in Area #9, and extends east, with an average width of 5 feet. The low ceiling is only 5 feet above, and the rough rock of the walls is slick with moisture, and dimly lit by patches of phosphorescent fungus. The adjacent stream is 10 feet wide but only 5 feet deep, and swift, chilly, and slippery, requiring a dexterity of 15 to remain upright.

The stream and path continue east in the same manner for several hundred feet [exact length to be confirmed by later explorers...], until the path abruptly narrows to one foot and stops.

There are no permanent residents in this area, but Wandering Monsters may be encountered.

The Ford. 10 feet past where the path ends, there is an opening in the tunnel wall on the opposite side, several feet above the level of the water. Thus, the stream may be forded here by wading upstream for 10 feet through the chilly water.

Unaided, the crossing will impossible for anyone with a dexterity of less than 15. However, at the point where the path ends, an old iron ring has been fixed into the rock near the floor of the south wall, and a bit of old rope remains attached. Another ring is attached to the rock on the north side near the opening 10 feet ahead. Thus, the two rings can be connected by rope, allowing anyone to safely cross.

Past the opening on the north side, the stream continues for another 30 feet before opening into a larger natural chamber with a sandy floor (Area 12). Again, the water in this passage requires a high dexterity to traverse. As the chamber is approached, the water and bottom of the stream grow increasingly gritty and sandy, respectively. 

While fording the stream, a character has a 1 in 6 chance of stepping on what feels to be a round rock, but is actually a highly polished star quartz gem worth 1d10 x 10 gp. Roll 1d6 for color: 1-3 = blue, 4-5 = green, 6 = rose. Up to six such gems can be located by searching the bottom, two per 10 foot section at the ford and beyond.

Exits. There are three exits from this area, west (downstream) from the south side of the stream to Area 9, north across the stream to Area 13, and east (upstream) to Area 12. The map posted above can be used to navigate to these areas.

Chronologically on this blog, the previous post installment was Area 10 and the next posted installment was Area 12.

The Sutherland Dragon on Exhibit Continues!

The cover of the exhibition catalog

This summer, David Sutherland's original painting for the cover of the Holmes Basic Set has been on display again, this time at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as part of the show Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration, which runs at that museum through September 5th.

Enchanted at the Hunter Museum

After this, the Enchanted exhibit moves to the Flint Institute of the Arts, in Flint, Michigan, from September 23rd, 2022 until January 8th, 2023.

I haven't made it to Chattanooga myself, but the exhibit was organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts, and I saw it there last summer. See my long post for more about the show and photos of Sutherland's painting, which I often call the Sutherland Dragon.

Also, I made a post with closer shots of details of the painting. It's beautiful in person and well worth making a road trip to see it with your own eyes!

And of course, the exhibit has a multitude of other treasures, including D&D art by Trampier (the pseudodragon from the original Monster Manual!), Easley and Elmore, and fantasy illustration by the likes of Frazetta, Brom and Tony DiTerlizzi.

DiTerlizzi himself made a great video preview of the catalog for the exhibition, which gives a sense of some of the art that is included. The catalog is available from the Norman Rockwell Museum shop or on Amazon (the latter includes my affiliate link).

(This post adapted from a recent Twitter thread)

Gary Gygax Day 2022

Graphic by Jim Wampler

Happy Gary Gygax Day 2022!

As I don't have a new post ready, I'll highlight one I made a few months ago:

Gygax's "City on the Edge" Adventure: post-TSR Greyhawk development

See also these previous posts that I made for Gary Gygax Day:

2021: d20 Unexpectedly Intelligent Monsters in the Monster Manual (1977)

2020: First Adventures in Dungeoneering

2018: Gygax's Dungeon Delving Play Reports

2012: Obscure Art Friday: "Chainmail" by Gygax

Holmes' Pellucidar Novels to be Reprinted

 

In my last post, I featured an episode of a podcast on which Chris Holmes was a guest, and where he made an exciting announcement: his father's two novels set in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar setting are going to be reprinted later this summer by the ERB Inc, as part of their new "Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe" line. 

Holmes' books include Mahars of Pellucidar, originally published by ACE books in 1976 and out-of-print ever since, and its sequel Red Axe of Pellucidar, which was written after Mahars but canceled by the ERB estate and thus never before available in an authorized publication (unauthorized copies have circulated at fan conventions).

Find the pre-order page here on the ERB website

The cover art for each has been done by Richard Hescox, a veteran illustrator of sci-fi and fantasy with credits stretching back to the '70s, and a frontispiece illustration has been provided by Chris Holmes.

Each book also includes bonus written material: a foreword by Chris Holmes, and a bonus story set in one of ERB's worlds by another author.

Each book is available in three different formats: paperback; hardcover; or a limited edition hardcover signed by Chris Holmes. I've pre-ordered the latter for myself.

Pre-orders also include a bonus trading card while supplies last.

It's great to finally have these available again (Mahars) or for the first time (Red Axe)!

Chris Holmes on the This Ol' Dungeon Podcast

 

While I was at Philmont, Chris Holmes alerted me that he would be appearing on an upcoming episode of the This Ol' Dungeon Podcast. The episode, number 22, is out now and can be found here:

Episode 22: Chris Holmes and the Tower of Zenopus

Here is the teaser for the episode: 

"This episode we are joined by Chris Holmes: artist, writer, hobby game designer, and all-around renaissance man.  Chris recounts his father's, John Eric Holmes, creation of the original D&D basic boxset as well as telling us about his own "made for the con" game designs-that he does as a way to express his interests and creativity.  He tells about an up-coming re-release of his father's Pellucidar books and hangs with us for the This Ol' Dungeon segment where we revisit "The Tower of Zenopus" - also known as the sample dungeon from the Holmes D&D boxset.  So, hang with us for another great episode!"

I've listened to it and enjoyed hearing Chris relate a few anecdotes about his father that I hadn't heard before as well an extensive critique of the Zenopus dungeon.

Links to other podcasts that Chris has appeared on previously can be found on the Podcasts page on the Zenopus Archives site.

Back from a Philmont Pointcrawl

Just before sunrise while ascending the Tooth of Time, a Philmont landmark

Earlier this week, I returned from the most challenging physical activity of my life so far: a 12-day backpacking trek in Philmont, the historic scout camp located in the Southern Rockies of north-central New Mexico. I was one of the advisors joining a crew of Scouts, including my son, that successfully traversed more than 66 miles over 11 days of hiking, at altitudes ranging from 6,700 feet at base camp to over 11,000 feet at the peak of Mount Phillips. 

Throughout the trek, each member of the crew, including advisors, packed 30 to 40 pounds of equipment, including clothes, camping gear, 4 to 5 liters of water, and distributed food (2 to 3 days worth at a time) and cooking gear, giving me a new appreciation for the oft-ignored rules for Encumbrance.

In D&D terms it was a pointcrawl from camp to camp, which were either unstaffed trail camps, or staffed camps having activities for the Scouts such as fly fishing or blacksmithing. This map, from our crew t-shirt design, shows the location of each as we circled the southern portion of the ranch in a clockwise direction: 

And this chart shows the altitude at each of these camps. On day five, we topped 9,000 feet and I started to feel effects of lessened oxygen, chiefly being more quickly winded when exerting myself.

In addition to the weight, distance and altitude, challenges for the Scouts during their trek included navigation, which meant finding the best trail to each camp and staying on it; setting up a campsite each afternoon or evening and cooking dinner; dealing with the weather, which varied from hot and sunny to cold and wet; planning ahead for dry camps lacking a water source; and avoiding wildlife, such as the black bears that circled our campsite one morning, and ravenous mini-bears (chipmunks) trying to steal food. Despite a few setbacks, the crew did a great job overcoming these challenges and completing their trek, and I could not be more proud of them.

One day even included some "dungeon delving" when we went about a thousand feet into the Contention, a former gold mine. The trek also included a bit of gaming: one of the other advisors brought a reprint of a classic Choose Your Own Adventure book, House of Danger, and on two occasions when we had time after dinner, he read it to the Scouts, letting them take turns picking the path through the story, which was quite fun. 

Prepping for this trip consumed a lot of my free time over the last few months, so hopefully now that it is complete I will have more time for writing. In particular, I'd like to complete the Forgotten Smugglers' Cave adventure series on this blog, and write up the Expedition to Skull Stack Crater, a scenario I ran at the last Gary Con.