Archaeology yt ideas dnd and just plain interesting

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c1f_fBMuhQ

5:50 time, Bark hut early in vid

9:30 time, Human sacrifice… like 55 at a time in Illinois.

Time 16:30, the Egyptian symbols (r kinda like Soviet ones), like Farming and Herding. Hook and flail. Crook? It’s the shepherd hook. 

Underdark Ecosystem - Flumph is useful

 Never knew. Thanks to: https://oldschoolfrp.tumblr.com/ again. 

I don’t think there’s been a more humble origin than the flumph, introduced in the 1981 Fiend Folio as a hovering jellyfish that floated around defending itself as needed. But later publications turned it into an interesting and useful part of the Underdark ecosystem. It detects strong positive and negative emotions and changes its own colors to reflect its mood, making it a valuable companion that can sense the approach of violent monsters with ill intent.

Details: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Flumph

2e Orc/Goblin Art, inspired by LoTR/Hobbit cartoons.

 Let's discuss some 2e Orc/Goblin Art, inspired by Lord of the Rings/ Hobbit cartoons. 

These orcs or goblins are much like the style from the cartoons of old. The large almost toad-like mouths, the tiny noses, etc. 

Hexcrawl or Wilderness clues, and dungeon clues

• Tracks in the morning dew. (spiderwebs in grass with dew)
• Disturbed spiderwebs.
• Crunched up leaves from likely large feet or many boots.
• An odd vine that turns out to be a rope or snare on closer inspection.
• Mismatching leaf patterns of the ground (covering a pit trap).
• Bushes or brambles recently cut out of an older path.
• A hack mark on a tree indicating someone wants to remember it (something hidden near?) or use it as a trail blazing guide.
• The lack of birds in the area.
• Startled birds from a distance.
• Missing sounds (no birds or angry squirrels in the day, or no crickets at night).
• A swarm of flies and a smell of rot (dead game, corpse, or undead?).
• Bones, cloth, burnt out campfires. …
• And some advice from earlier tonight I was a player, don’t send the whole party to investigate a distant out of place green “grassy?” mound in the distance when there are rumors of a lazy green dragon in the area, heh.

I replied to a guy here, one of Tenkar's, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2hgtCsc6s

And Tenkar has great dungeon examples halfway thru. 

Lone Wolf - game book choose your own adventure type

 https://lonewolf.fandom.com/wiki/The_Masters_of_Darkness

Thanks to this guy again: https://oldschoolfrp.tumblr.com/

Some interior illustrations from Lone Wolf 12 - The Masters of Darkness. Brian Williams, 1988.

Drow Tactics

 

• Patrol groups usually separate into smaller bands to prevent foes from trapping them in a narrow tunnel or dead end passageway. 
• Scouts go in front and behind a patrol
• Ambushes and counterambushes are common, and
• hit-and-run tactics are the norm. 
• A favorite drow tactic is to levitate near a cavern ceiling while cloaked in magical darkness
• Silence bubbles (not the full 15' radius, b/c it makes you deaf)

Dwellings:

• gotta have many escape routes b/c, many things burrow through stone

Mining is noisy aka dangerous:

• Mining expeditions are particularly dangerous, for they generate a great deal of noise and must be defensible.
• Dwarves and svirfneblin always establish traps and blinds in the surrounding tunnels before excavating, and they
• keep numerous escape routes ready.

Drow Infravision vs. Darkvision

Starting in D&D 3e, they went to Darkvision, b/c Infravision was more troublesome in game apparently. 

I'm struggling a little to just do Darkvision. The more I remember from the Drizzt books, the more I read on some of the source books from 1993, etc. ... the more the infravision is cool. But it's hard to run as a DM/fair game surely. So let's list some of this out. 

Book, Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark - 1993. Reading it now. 

This site lists some things about Infravision that make me think: https://ladyinferus.tripod.com/drow/mysite3/darkvision.htm

• Inviz spells would be a problem, if they could see your hot footprints. But the site says Drow's inviz spell works perfectly to hide that, too, while upper world spells do not. 
• Water and mirrors wouldn't reflect normal light. Just show a temperature. 
• Inks and writing wouldn't work without extra light.
• I do recall them using faint light for this sort of thing in the Drizzt books, right?
• "Furthermore a Drow can identify how long ago an object has been held or an area has been passed through based on its 'visual' temperature."
• Seems like trouble... you could never escape easily.
• Hiding:     The usual ability to hide, assumes that you can hide in shadows, or out of site. The Drow have mastered a special form of hiding only possible in a lightless world. They can pick a spot in a cave wall that more closely matches the temperature of their clothing and blend in. Anyone else attempting to hide from a Drow would be spotted instantly even in the darkest corners.
• Yeah. Problem.
• Ranged Weapons:     There is little purpose in carrying a long ranged weapon in the underdark, first of all because most caverns wind long before maximum range, and second because drow darkvision only extends to 120 feet. Therefore the standard hand crossbow is the ranged weapon of choice.

Well that site is likely going away any second, so let me just copy paste all the text. Sorry for the duplicates. 

The Underdark is a lightless place, yet Drow have developed eyes that can see down here. They use the infra-red spectrum to pick out differences in heat. Unlike Low-Light Vision however, they can see almost anything in great detail, since their eyes are so sensitive to even minor differences in temperature. This great adaptation also puts the Drow at a disadvantage if they ever see real light, the drow will be blinded while their eyes slowly adjust - remembering the genes of their Elven forefathers.

A Drow can see shades of red and white through darkvision (infravision). The brighter the red, the hotter the source, white results from very hot sources or real light that's not quite bright enough to make the drow shift into the regular spectrum. Here is an illustration of what the Drow actually sees with her eyes:

Because of the absence of light, several things are done differently by Drow than would be done by surface dwellers. First of all the heat sense allows a Drow to easily identify the state or arousal of another drow, as well as states of emotion. Furthermore a Drow can identify how long ago an object has been held or an area has been passed through based on its 'visual' temperature.

Mirrors:   There are extremely rare in the Underdark. Since mirrors relly on reflected light to work, such a device would be quite useless. Only in the presence of real light would the mirror show a reflection. Similarly, liquids don't show reflections, but are usually cooler than their surroundings.

Inks and writing:     A few minutes after a Drow writes a letter, the parchment and the ink become of a homogenous temperature and look blank. Wizards and Priestesses often use real light in the form of candles expressly for the purpose of reading scrolls or spell books. Special fluorescent inks are also available, however these are expensive and never last forever.

Faerie fire; dancing lights:     Faerie fire and dancing lights is one of the drow's innate abilities, the light produced by these sources is too faint to even read by however and in no way disrupts darkvision.

Darkness:     The special ability of all Drow is to create a globe of darkness, like with the wizard spell, even darkvision doesn't allow sight within the globe.

Hiding:     The usual ability to hide, assumes that you can hide in shadows, or out of site. The Drow have mastered a special form of hiding only possible in a lightless world. They can pick a spot in a cave wall that more closely matches the temperature of their clothing and blend in. Anyone else attempting to hide from a Drow would be spotted instantly even in the darkest corners.

Ranged Weapons:     There is little purpose in carrying a long ranged weapon in the underdark, first of all because most caverns wind long before maximum range, and second because drow darkvision only extends to 120 feet. Therefore the standard hand crossbow is the ranged weapon of choice.

Invisibility:     Invisibility cast by a Drow functions perfectly, masking even heat emanations. Invisibility cast by a surface dweller makes the caster invisible to a drow, but you can still see the warmer spots where the caster is standing on the ground.

Bright Light:     Bright light hurts the Drow's eyes and blinds them temporarily. It is often used as a weapon.

 

DROW DOs and DONTs

Do. 

Pay attention. The smallest detail can save your life (or ruin it).

Think only of yourself. No one else will.

Work together. When an enterprise benefits both parties - why not?

Speak when spoken to. Volunteering information is considered suspicious.

Control your emotions.

Assume the worst.

Make yourself appear stronger than you really are.

Gain power.

Don't

• Refuse a Priestess.

• Kill a Spider.

• Talk back to the Matron.

• Make TOO many enemies.

• Try to make friends. The Drow don't even have a word for 'friend.'

• Assume someone is your friend.

• Tell them all you know.

• Speak out against Lolth.

• Attempt to invoke pity. You will not get any.

• Be satisfied with what you have.

• Trust anyone.

• Appear weak.

• Forget

• Fail

D&D lotsa old art blog err tumblr - really good unique

 https://oldschoolfrp.tumblr.com/

He's got some good stuff. Oh, tumbr, not blog. Says some interesting things per pict, where it came from, etc. Tons of stuff I've never seen before. 

Examples:

 Lone Wolf 12 - The Masters of Darkness. Brian Williams, 1988.

From Wizards Handbook 2e AD&D 1990.

Gargoyle in B12 Queen's Harvest, 1989. 

OK probably saw this: orcs in 1989 B11 King's Festival by Carl Sargent.

Ivy Siege, 6th level druid spell (Enchantment), causes damage to structures equivalent to a small catapult across several turns. (Jeff Easley, The Complete Druid’s Handbook for AD&D 2e by David Pulver, TSR, 1994)

BECMI HITDICE D8 for monsters

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lBa551SCZBQ&t=1069s

 Woah Nellie, I forgot that. Was thinking d6 even for BECMI. 

SAVE AS: F1 means like a Fighter at lvl 1. Look at that chart.

Asterisk  * means pay attention special stuff. Reqd desciptioN.  

Name w a * means gotta hit with silver or magic weapons. 

Hitdice w a number of * means that many special abilities. 

Some hidden top 10 d&d, Brit guy Owen Edwards.

New  Brit review  guy Owen Edwards. (((note, he is fine w/ Labyrinth Lord, science-fantasy stuff too, so has a less narrow taste than many)))

• NIGHT BELOW box by Carl Sargent has The Sunless Sea… old one about Underdark. City of the Glass Pool. (Gold as XP. ). 3 adventures. Levels 1-12. AD&D 2e. 
• Return to the Tomb of Horrors (he likes this new one pretty well, despite other reviewers not)
• D3, but loves all Gygax. Drow are weirder and eldrich than in Salvatore’s. 
• Nightwolf, he loves that author.
• Fabled city of Brass City one, about Efreeti
• Broken Castle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKINq-YFqYk&t=981s

Commenter thuumhammer says Khosura, Baklin, and Castle Xyntillan by Gabor Lux (and honestly anything by Gabor)

Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage by Chris Perkins et al (actually has had some really good content for my 5e campaign) Incandescent Grottoes by Gavin Norman (really good OSR tutorial dungeon) Genial Jack Vol 1 & 2 by Jonathon Newell (well written and illustrated adventures inside a god whale) Blackmarsh by Rob Conley (unsure if a hexcrawl counts as a module but very good) Volo's Guide to Waterdeep by Ed Greenwood (again unsure if splatbooks count but it really paints a picture of the city and its locales) I actually picked up Huso's City of Brass at GaryCon, but haven't had a chance to read through it yet. The map is truly beautiful.

Another guy Jeffgsim says

• Xyntillan
• Time the Mad
• Valley of Kishar
• Dawn of the Ivory Sun

Ned leeds says

• T1-4
• Against cult reptile god
• Sinister secret saltmarash
• Castle Mistamere
• Rats in the walls
• Screech hag crawl
• Sunless citadel
• Veiled society
• Keep on borderlands 
• Nihts dark terror
• Lost city 
• 
  

Tenkar’s visual descriptions

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ew-tZ9OmiaU&t=592s

Tenkar's notes say: An escalation ladder (from vibe → evidence → first bite → commitment) so danger is readable before it’s fatal.

Tenkar’s 3 things to hint at big danger (thx to ohfoti)

1. Senses: a vague foreboding or sense of doom 
2. Physical Evidence: an obvious or visible example of how deadly
3. Actionable: a hint on the type of danger, but you can avoid. 

Senses Examples (his notes say: Sensory cues that raise the hair on your neck without giving away the answer) (Monster signatures that hint at the threat without naming it)

• A large slime trail on floor. A terrible smell between wet dog and rot. = clue of black poudding. Or gel cube. 
• Massive tuft Of shed fur
• Coins fused in corner from massive heat. 
• Webs too big for normal spider. 
• You feel a chill in your bones
• Torches burn twice as fast here
• Corridor drains heat
• *** Green Slime is deadly: Clean cave, maybe a piece of armor or a weapon that was partially dissolved, if you want to be generous, a piece can drop 10' in front of the party that lands with a sizzle - they don't see it, just hear the flop and fizz

Physical Evidence- (his notes say: Environmental tells that show “proof” the dungeon has teeth) 

• Animals wont go near
• Priest’s holy symbol cracked in half when tried to bless the place
• People came back, couldn’t speak (tongue swollen). Died 24 hrs. 

Still on Physical Evidence, plus Actionable? -  (his notes say: Environmental tells that show “proof” the dungeon has teeth) 

• You see animals frozen (petrified) in the middle of the room. (Instead of saying you see a basilisk). 
• A statue’s gaze makes your skin itch, you lose 1 dex for ~hour (1d6 turns or something) Shows this dungeon has TEETH. 
• 
  
• Trap near miss, darts thud into wall where your head was. Shows this dungeon has TEETH. 
• Fungus spores… cough for d6 turns hours, cant sneak. Shows this dungeon has TEETH. 

Actionable (make a decision to not get nuked)(notes: NPC warnings and rumors that are specific, actionable, and actually useful)

• Maybe just being able to escape is the whole idea. 
• Scrapings on the wall says go the other way.
• Scratchings on the wall say a mirror will help (vs. basilisk). ((doesn't have to be perfect info tho, keep the truth slightly out of focus. Accurate but incomplete.))
• Avoid the trap, go another way.
• Go back and get reinforcements. Hirelings, etc. 

Commitment Points / No turnaround zone (players understand if they cross this line, that's it, can't easily go back): Time 10:30ish https://youtu.be/ew-tZ9OmiaU?t=619

• A heavy stone door shuts loudly behind you.
• A crawlspace that is dark and dank... and lets you know if you go down there, hard getting back up. 
• A rope into scary difficult to return to area
• Flooded dungeon spot, armor becomes a problem. 

.Extras from Dan S:

@DanStevenson

10 hours ago

Graffiti would tell experience players what type of humanoids are living in the dungeon. Another thing graffiti could tell the players is another group adventurers tried to hit the dungeon but were chased out. The failed dungeoneers could post up a warning or a FU to the monsters who chased them out.  Stink and piss pots dumped near the entrance will tell players humanoids living in the dungeon are present and using the dungeon as a residence. There could be warnings written in goblin such as don't drink from red bottles or booby traps straight ahead. If a character speaks goblin it could come in handy. 

If there are streams or ponds near by the dungeon the monsters of humanoids would create well worn trails to the water sources. This could lead to finding tracks along the banks of the water allowing players to know what is lurking in the dungeon. Butchering locations were the dungeon inhabitants have been dressing out deer, boars, and people that are being eaten by whoever or whatever is in the dungeon. If there are a lot bones and hides that means there is a lot mouths to feed in the dungeon. 

Fake signs written in common could trick players to enter a booby trapped room. Signs that read treasure room, armory, or lord's chambers could draw in greedy players.

OTHER PPL'S ADVICE

https://youtu.be/i4ZrTOexNJk?t=227

• That guy at that time has a good one vs. humans. B/c humans might be level 0 or might be level 15 assassins. Basically you have to say "they look battle hardened, the grip their weapons with ease and confidence... you[r instincts tell you that you] are outmatched. What do you do". 
• ObsidianKnight90 says: telegraph individual attacks by monsters, especially the big flashy powerful ones. Having the red dragon take its turn, and finishing it by telling the players that smoke is coming from its nostrils and flames are licking out between its teeth is a GREAT way to tell him that it's going to use its Breath Weapon next round. The evil mage grabbing a lodestone and staring dead-eyed at the Rogue, mumbling arcane curses over and over, can let them know that Disintegrate is incoming. This let your players mitigate this incoming threat, by diving behind cover before the dragonfire hits or knocking the component out of the mage's hand.
• WilliamBarnes says: house rule in my campaigns. When the turn starts, I go in REVERSE order, with the LOWEST init declaring what they're going to do FIRST. People with higher inits, get to have foreknowledge of what the lower init people are going to do, and can respond or interrupt. Then after everyone has declared, the events HAPPEN from high to low.
• What monster left its tracks amidst the bones.
• 
  

Results so far - hexcrawl / pt. crawl, kinda oneshot

 Sunday night

• Alligator. Druid used animal spells to calm it, it left. 
• Giant Crawfish at night, distant but dangerous, avoided.
• pixies stole a potion
• More lost travelers to send home. 
• A day of no problems.
• While resting at night, a shaking ground. What the. Another thud and ground shakes, it's coming closer!  An unnatural fear. Something huge (the green dragon)! Get the heck out of there. We walked faster ... looking back our campfire went out. OMG we were just there! and finally started running as the fear took hold. Our campfire attracting its attention apparently.  :P Got out OK. Lost a tent and some minor supplies, but that's ok. 
• As we ran 30 minutes away, slowed to find a new campsite. Saw a light in the distance. Investigated.
• More Cultists!
• Spotted them in the dark. Snuck up on them, 3... one with red robes, other two normal black robes. Greenish and reddish fire again. Swamp area. Attacked with Moonbeam first, they were confused. 
• 
  
• Chromatic Orb, attacked from dark, so rolled with advantage. Hit, did a little dmg. 
• Main bad cast a bonfire type fire near us to spot us. 
• Fighters ran in. One of the cultist pulled a sword and swung through the fire, it gave something to the sword in the attack. 
• 
  
• Later main baddie jumped in fire... heals and extra spells. 
• Druid moved moonbeam in there, but he stayed in the fire anyway (healing him some). 
• Main baddie, used fire to do a small AOE, hit both fighters (10 and 5 dmg with dex save). 
• Big Flame, demonic face appeared, 3d10 firey spell, hit the druid pretty hard (12 dmg)!
• Finally we eliminated 2 minor cultists, 2 handed fighter ran up to main cultist (who had been hit a little from moonbeam and Magic Missile) and critted him for big dmg, took him out. 
• 2 trogs
• short rest
• 7 undead trogs (harder than normal). Something sent them on us. 

Pronounce British Town Names Correctly yt

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3DfunCCoIQ

I never realized just how many syllables in SO MANY words (old town names mostly) are skipped in British style English. 

• worcestershire pronunciation
• salisbury pronunciation
• Birmingham
• Nottingham
• Durham
• Buckingham

Ton =~ Town some say

• Brighton -- use the schwa sound
• Southampton
• Luton

-wich = "ich"

• Norwich
• Greenwich
• West Bromwich

-cester = "stuh"

• Leiscester = "lester" in American I would say or "lestuh" in Brit
• Gloucester
• Worcester = "wuh stuh" in Brit and the difficult "wer ster" in American.