This took forever, but Yggdrasil MGZ Issue 01, Volume 02 is in the can!
It has changed shape a few times in the creation process. Taken on a few different shapes. It was originally only supposed to be one self contained thing. Now it is the first part in the adventure trilogy, The Sanctum of the Serpent Vaults.
It is huge! Sixty four pages huge. It is easily the most ambitious thing I have done since I started the magazine, with almost as much art as I created for Conspiracy of Shadows. It is also designed to work with Basic/Expert D&D and Torchbearer, which is a first as far as I know.
But it is done and off to the printer after I check all my files one more time. I appreciate the patience of my subscribers, both those for the magazine and those for the newsletter.
As this is a Torchbearer and D&D designed adventure, I added an essay to the issue on what to be aware of when using this adventure for either game. They have a lot of similarities, but also some important differences. This short essay calls those out and illustrates my general philosophy for converting between the two.
The Last Word
From a distance, Torchbearer and Basic/Expert D&D look a lot a like. They both have classes with level progression. Dungeoneering is the primary activity of the game. Loot is a primary concern of play as you need to get it in the aforementioned dungeons, and have to spend it in a town that may not want your dirty murder hobo bodies in its walls.
Despite all that, they play differently. As someone who has played both a hell of a lot, who has written adventures for both, and adopted classic D&D adventures to Torchbearer, there are some tips and tricks I want to impart.
Maybe I should have put this up front…
Be Generous with Loot
Don’t be stingy with the loot. I know, every other bit of D&D advice says otherwise but hear me out. Having too much loot forces choices. Choices are a good thing and drive play.
With Torchbearer it is more obvious. The characters only have so many slots on their character to carry the loot. Even with porters and the like, loot management is a real issue.
In Basic/Expert D&D it is a bit more murky. The encumbrance rules are listed as optional. Don’t let them be optional. Use them, because like I said, choices are a good thing at the table.
Do I keep the magic sword or the rations? I could use the sword, but I can’t eat the damn thing.
Do we keep lugging this crap around and fo deeper in? Will we be able to escape if we run into something extra mean?
Avoid Level Scaling
Don’t do it. Don’t try to down level or up level things. It is a fools errand and unecessary as long as you remember a few key things for each game.
In Torchbearer, despite its reputation, it takes a lot of stupid choices to kill your characters. If the thing is too powerful, the Might rules dictate what you can get away with.
A good Torchbearer party isn’t just out for heads. They use their heads to achieve their goals. Trick, negotiate, drive off are your friends.
In Basic/Expert D&D don’t forget step seven in the order of events of a game turn, “the party and the monsters react.” The very first bullet is, “if both sides are willing to talk…” Ask the party if they want to talk!
Also, leverage the morale rules. I know they are listed as optional, but like encumbrance, your game will be better if you use them. They change the dynamics, much like the Might rules in Torchbearer.
Every encounter transforms from the D&D myth of murder hobos to something interesting. They game isn’t about killing. It is about negotiating the world with all of the tools at your disposal!
An Urban Crawl
The majority of this adventure is an urban crawl filled with points of interest, not fully fleshed out dungeons. This is intentional. I wanted a place where I could file the serial numbers off of any number of my collection of adventures and run them straight up.
Want to run the House of the Three Squires for Torchbearer, but never could get it into your table? Congratulations, it is now a location in the Drops.
Never got the Lost City (B4) to your table and always want to see how that would play out? Awesome. You just filled in the locations for the Great Catherdral neighborhood.
If there is a dungeon, tower, or building you have wanted to explore, the Shifting City has a place for it. Just remember one cardinal rule when using a dungeon crawl. Going to town is off limits for adventure.
With Torchbearer, this is an easy thing to do. The players walk outside the dungeon you placed in the Market Square and decided to enter the Town Phase. So long as they got the money to cover their lifestyle, this is pretty straightforward. Just follow the rules.
With Basic/Expert D&D this is less a rule and more a guideline. Don’t treat it like pirate code though. If they declare they need to offload some loot and rest after a hard fought adventure, let them. Now is not a good time to screw with them.
The only time this won’t work for this adventure is the Dream Way. It can be a dangerous trek, and leaving for town resets it. Warn your adventurers!
Adventure Conversions
Torchbearer and Basic/Expert D&D adventures can be converted back and forth, but they take a small amount of prep to get right. Even then, you likely will need to make adjustments on the fly as you go. Luckily, I have some rules of thumb that help this along.
Don’t try and match monsters and loot one for one. The relative difficulty of the monsters match, but the economics don’t. So match the monsters, ignore the loot in the adventure you are converting, and use the loot tables from the game you are playing.
The same is true for traps. Basic/Expert D&D is all about hitpoints as consequences, while Torchbearer has both Twists and Conditions. Don’t recreate traps, just decide if you want one there and pick one from the game you are playing.
Unique magic items should be the exception to this rule. If it has flavor, it is worth the time trying to match the effects appropriately. See the Cleaver on page 51 to understand how that might be done.
Lastly, dungeons can feel like a slog in both games if you let them. Not everry square inch of the space is a reason to roll dice. Not every encounter needs to be something meaningful.
Because of the Grind rules in Torchbearer, this is particularly important to keep in mind. It makes resource management and camping important to dungeoneering, but only call for rolls if the choice is important. If there is nothing there to find, then say so and move to the real fun.
Testament - Segnom and Dhmelos
Broken into five parts, Segnom and Dhmelos continues the journey of mortals and immortals reshaping them with every step. Segnom explores what it costs you when you climb back up from defeat. Conversely, Dhmelos explores the price of power and what is required of leaders to be worthy of it.
Each page of Testament was block printed, hand painted, and handwritten. Those pages were then faithfully reproduced within.
