Urban Geomorphs: Common Quarter Block 3 and 4 (PDF)

This Map Monday, I have not one, but two new Last-Minute GM Urban Geomorphs for the Common Quarter: Block 3 and Block 4. Both are still mostly common laborers, although in Block 4, there’s a craftsperson of one kind or another.

I’ve been thinking a bit about the future of the urban geomorphs. Although unique places, merchants, and inns still make a lot of sense, if you are reusing city blocks for the residential areas – the intention of the series – you’ll wind up with a lot of repetitive intrigues going on. Part of this is because we aren’t mixing and matching houses from different blocks.

Now, you could do exactly that: swap the description of a house in one pamphlet with one from another pamphlet. But that leads to some handling problems. But I think I have a solution to make the residential areas work better, one that actually involves something I’m already kind of doing.

More on that in a future post.

Urban Geomorphs: Stables 2/Common Quarter 2 (PDF)

Map Monday this week is another Last-Minute GM Urban Geomorph. Or rather, not one, but two! Urban Geomorphs: Stables 2, for a larger stable than seen in Stables 1. Room for ten horses! Or giant horned jackals, or some other mount! For this geomorph, there’s only one house. The stablemaster doubles as the farrier. The second is Urban Geomorphs: Common Quarter Block 2. More common laborers for your enjoyment!

I have to fix one or both of the first two urban geomorphs, because I found some errors. I may also post some new thoughts I have about urban geomorphs sometime later this week.

Urban Geomorphs: Stables 1 (PDF)

Here’s a bonus urban geomorph pamphlet for the week: Urban Geomorphs: Stables 1, the one I hinted at yesterday. I wanted to show the difference between a residential block and a shops and services block. There would be one other kind of block, of course: a unique feature. Residential and commercial blocks can be reused within a single town or city, but unique features can only be used once each per city. (We’ll have to see if I can inject enough randomness to allow unique features to be reused in other cities…)

I also updated the common quarter block 1 geomorph. There was an error in the Random Personal Info and Quirks section: the last two entries can be repeated. This is why I used a “checked box” for those two lines and an “unchecked box” in the first four entries. You can mark an “X” in an unchecked box when it’s been used.

An aside: I hope everyone understood how those quirk lists are supposed to work. Roll a d6. Count from the first entry, skipping entries that have already been used. In other words, if the result is a 1, use the first unused entry, if it is 2, use the second unused entry. If the result of the roll is more than the number of unused entries, use the last entry.

There will, of course, be more urban geomorphs. And I was discussing with Scott Anderson in the comments what other accessories I might make to go along with these geomorphs.

Urban Geomorphs: Common Quarter Block 1 (PDF)

This week’s Map Monday is an urban geomorph, a town or city block usable in any map. Behold! Last-Minute GM Urban Geomorphs: Common Quarter Block 1. I’ve been working on this since before I posted the review and discussion of Lankhmar, City of Adventure.

My thought process was this: when I was doing the Instant Village series of pamphlets, I tried to do a town (Revelode) and mentioned then that I noticed a problem: the pamphlet format is just too tight a space for a town map, let alone a city map. If I insisted on doing towns and cities in the pamphlet format, I’d have to split the map across several pamphlets.

Which is when I though of Lankhmar and its geomorphs. One of the problems I had with Lankhmar was that I thought there weren’t enough geomorphs. There’s only twelve. That lead to the idea: “Why not do more geomorphs for Lankhmar or a similar city?” And that in turn lead to: “Why not do each geomorph as a pamphlet, so that a GM could randomly pull a pamphlet out and use that for unique locations in a city?”

The pamphlet uses several random rolls to make the geomorph reusable. There’s a random jobs table specific to this city block (everyone’s a simple laborer.) The head of the household’s name is random, as are the number of additional people living in a household. In addition to the built-in randomness, the GM can always ignore the map key and use the map for another city block with no special encounters or custom encounters they write themselves.

There will be more urban geomorphs. I will also continue the Instant Village series, focusing on villages and hamlets there instead of towns.

Semi-Random Maps

No Map Monday this week, because I took the weekend off. Thought I’d take the time to talk a little about someone else’s maps, and some ideas I had related to it.

Dyson Logos had some posts last month about geomorphic halls. These are dungeon level maps with 1 to 3 blank squares where geomorphs can fit, the idea being that each GM using one of those maps would have a unique dungeon, because of the geomorphs, and the geomorphs could change each time the dungeon is revisited. I believe Dyson actually posted maps like these a couple years ago as well, and traces the idea back to the City of Lankhmar TSR product which had unmapped squares on the city map and a booklet of city block geomorphs.

I’d wanted to do something similar for a while. It was part of the idea behind the mega-dungeon plug-in modules on the Maps page. The difference there is that I was imagining a more generic tunnel map with a few “empty” rooms added, then you’d plop down one or two plug-in modules somewhere on the map and change the empty rooms to the indicated “support” rooms.

I had a similar idea related to the “Watchtowers of the Golden Hills” pamphlet dungeons. Before I did the pamphlets, I had been thinking of a sort of interlocking set of dungeon modules based around towers. The PCs would be searching for a particular dungeon, but wouldn’t know exactly where it was, only that they’re looking for an old ruined or abandoned tower as the entrance. I had some geomorph tricks or other random dungeon gen tricks in mind so that each GM’s version of the tower dungeons would be different. The inspiration for this was more or less the Judges Guild Frontier Forts of Kelnore module.

I may still do the tower thing. At least, my current plan is to make a couple more tower pamphlets and 1 to 3 larger modules with tower entrances so that GMs can run a quest in a similar way, letting players explore ruined tower entrances trying to find the “real” dungeon.

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Mineshaft Geomorphs: MINE-6 and 7

For this week’s Map Monday… Another two geomorphs in the mineshaft geomorph series. As before, I’m playing around with mine rails in my geomorph concepts.

I’ve got some plans for what I’d like to do with this geomorph series, but it may be a while before I reach the end. Especially since I have two other dungeon maps I’d like to do this month… they just aren’t ready for this week’s Map Monday.

Edit to Add: Well, obviously, either Blogger or StackEdit has changed the way they work together and the post came out early instead of being scheduled for Monday. Maybe I'll whip up some more geomorphs for "official" Map Monday.

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Map Mondays Bonus Geomorph: Mine-8

As promised, here's an extra geomorph in the Mineshaft series to officially mark Map Mondays.

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Mineshaft Geomorphs: MINE-4 and MINE-5

Continuing the mineshaft geomorph series with two more geomorphs. I experimented with rail lines for these, and think they came out pretty good. Probably most of the geomorphs in this series will focus on mine rails, since that’s a distinctive feature. Generic tunnel geomorphs could be used for tunnels that don’t have rails in them.

You may also notice that I settled on the 1mm dash approach to indicating support beams. It looks the best of the three options I tried, and it’s actually the easiest to do. I’ll go back and redo the first two geomorphs in that style later.

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Mineshaft Geomorph Series: MINE-03

After publishing MINE-1 and 2 today, I thought I’d whip up a quick example of the third option for support beams, the “smaller 1mm strokes like I use for the walls” option. That would certainly make it clearer what the different support beams would look like. So here is MINE-3. Whichever option I choose, the other two geomorphs will be updated to reflect that option as well.

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Mineshaft Geomorph Series: MINE-01 and MINE-02

Time to start doing geomorphs again.

I’m re-learning my process and looking for ways to improve it. I also have new ideas for presentation. I will still be focusing on features, but will also be looking at themes. So, the latest geomorph project is mines. The eventual plan is to have 20+ basic geomorphs that fit the theme and 6+ special geomorphs with unusual features. Production codes will be four characters (in this case, “MINE”) followed by a two-digit number, plus a lowercase e, q, or x for edge pieces (5x10,) quarters (5x5,) or special features.

Here are two geomorphs to start out the new series. I’m taking it slow, starting with very basic designs, although MINE-01 does include a hole in the floor of an upper level passage looking down into a lower level passage. I’m a little concerned that the support beams look a little cluttered and haven’t decided yet whether to use a shaded fill for the beams, as in MINE-O1, or outlines with no fill, as in MINE-O2, or even just use smaller 1mm strokes like I use for the walls. Does anyone have a preference?

(Edit: The 1mm stroke option is now posted as MINE-3 for comparison.)

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Upcoming Maps

I know the dungeon shorthand posts are getting pretty boring, but I'm almost at the end (I'll save the non-structural uses of the shorthand for some time in the distant future.) However, there's something I plan on doing with it that might not be so boring: I'm thinking it would be neat to take sample texts from a couple famous authors and do a typical dungeon for each author's style. A Shakespeare's dungeon, Lewis Carroll's dungeon, Dickens's dungeon, Lovecraft's dungeon, Hemingway's dungeon. Maybe even a dungeon based on spam subject lines, or Javascript bookmarklet code. I won't be dwelling on the technical details of dungeon shorthand in those posts, just presenting the text and the resulting dungeon, mapped out. That would be more useful to those who don't care about the shorthand.

Another mapping idea I've had recently was redoing the dungeon geomorphs, or doing new geomorphs organized in different sets. The difference is that I want to do these in Sketchup instead of Inkscape, and I may stock them as if they were modular pieces for a megadungeon and include an isomorphic view. And, eventually, pack a bunch together and print it out. I thought this might make a good alternative product to the Last-Minute Menagerie, sort of a Last-Minute Labyrinth.

Geomorph Collection Fixed

I got a request from someone last night to share the G-Series Geomorph document. This is weird because it was supposed to be publicly shared, but when I logged in, it was set to private. I've updated it, so if anyone had any problems with that document in the past, you can give it a try now.

I half suspect something went wrong at Google and the settings were changed, though.

F-Series Geomorphs: Finished!

I finished the five missing corner pieces for the Floor Features (F Series) geomorphs and embedded them in the PDF, which is now available via my Google Docs account:

F-Series Geomorphs (Floor Features) PDF

For the four collections I've completed, I have

• 60 standard 10 x 10 geomorphs,
• 22 borders (10 x 5),
• 22 corners (5 x 5).

I think this is enough for now, so next Map Monday, I plan on doing something different, either a standard dungeon map or a specific room, fully stocked.

F-Series Geomorphs: Delayed!

Well, it looks like I won't have the F-Series Geomorph PDF ready this morning. Maybe this evening, or tomorrow.

Why?

Because for an entire week, I did 10 borders and 15 corners to add to the 18 geomorphs already finished, then last night I was doing the layout and realized I'd misjudged.

I need five more corners.

So, once I've done EQ18 through EQ22, I'll be able to finish the PDF. In the meantime, here's a small compensation on Map Monday to hold you over: EQ8, a corner piece featuring a pit with a ladder and an exit from the bottom into a corridor on another level.

F18: Cracked Floor

The last of the 10x10 F-Series geomorphs (at least for a while) is F18, which is a large crack in the floor of a 40 foot by 30 foot room. The crack is directly above a 20 foot by 70 foot rectangular room on a lower level; if there's light in the room below, adventurers should be able to notice it. The crack at its largest is only a foot or two across and thus easily jumpable, but if the party stumbles into the room without light, they may trip and get a sprained ankle or even slip down and fall through (for the thin ones) or get wedged in waist high. Also, the GM can optionally decide whether the crack is still crumbling; the entire floor may collapse, particularly if a large party enters the room all at once. There are also two rooms arranged around an L-corridor in one corridor; GM's option as to which sub-level these two square rooms are on.

It doesn't look like I'll have the F-Series PDF available until later this week, because I still want to do at least eight borders and eight corners.

F-Series Geomorphs: Tar Pits/Pools

I was planning to do three geomorphs on one concept on Map Monday, to finish out the F Series; but then I realized I had missed a theme. Rather than post all three geomorphs on Monday, I'll post two today, then post the final one on Monday.

These two geomorphs are built around a theme similar to the pools of water or liquid I did last Monday, but with a thicker, bubbling liquid. I'm calling it "tar", but originally I was thinking of it as lava; it could also be hot mud or effervescent slime or anything else. F16 is a pair of rectangular pools of tar blocking two different passageways; under the larger tar pool is another corridor, which leaves open the possibility of a mild, slow drip from the pool into the corridor below. There's also a side passage to the lower corridor with a couple small chambers; and because I hardly ever put rooms in the corners of the geomorphs, I've added a secret room this time.


Geomorph F17 is a cavern version of the viscous liquid pool theme, which might be more reasonable to use for lava pools than the rectangular one. One large cave with one large pool; one corner of the cave has a ledge that overlooks the pool; ledge access is via two different tunnels, neither of which connect directly to other tunnels on the geomorph. Explorers could risk diving into the pool to reach the lower level. There's also another tunnel that passes under the cave, but not directly under the pool.

As I already mentioned, there's one more 10x10 geomorph Monday, but I'm also considering doing some borders and corners in the F series, which I'll either post with F18 or include them in the F-Series PDF without comment, since they'd all be very simple pits, pools, and grates that wouldn't need much description. The PDF should be available Monday or Tuesday.

G-Series Geomorphs: Blade Traps

Since I like to keep the numbers in each geomorph series in multiples of six (because that's how many fit on one page,) and since I wanted to finish off the G series, at least for a while, I decided to do two "final" G-series geomorphs, both based on a blade trap theme.

Geomorph G17 is a giant buzz saw, plainly visible and blocking a corridor. There's a secret control room nearby where the saw's speed can be altered or stopped/started. The lower part of the geomorph has a couple rooms, including one 20x20-foot room above a lower corridor.


Geomorph G18 has a straight corridor with an opening along one side; sharp-eyed explorers might catch a glint of metal, warning them about a trap ahead. As the explorers approach the suspect area, a trigger releases a scythe blade, which swings out horizontally. The GM can place this trap at different heights, depending on whether the trap should decapitate or merely... depeditate. There's an access area behind the trap where dungeon inhabitants can grab the scythe's handle and push it back into position, resetting the trap. There's also an unconnected corridor that runs under the trapped corridor to a simple room.


I've already updated the G-series PDF; turns out I don't need to change the link on the Maps page, because the Google Docs version management takes care of everything. This coming Monday, I'm planning to do three F-series geomorphs so that I can put together the F-series PDF as well.

F-Series Geomorphs: Pools

It's time for pools of water or other liquids. I did a batch of four F-Series geomorphs this time, because I'm trying to finish 18 of the F and G series quickly and move on to a different geomorph topic entirely.

Geomorph F12 starts out the series with a couple simple pools that act as obstacles. The corridor on the left has a pool 10 feet across, almost certainly jumpable by the unencumbered, but trickier for those carrying a lot of gear or otherwise at a disadvantage (like dodging thrown rocks.) A chamber on the right is divided diagonally by another pool; it's a bit wider, so it may be a problem even for the unencumbered. Either pool may contain ordinary water, brackish or tainted water (no effect on swimmers, but not fit for consumption,) or something entirely other than water: acid (does damage,) alcohol (stings the eyes, but may be drinkable,) poison (deadly if ingested, perhaps even damaging for those who try to swim or get dunked.)

Geomorph F13 has something different: two long rectangular pools that run under some stone walls in the center of the geomorph. The stone walls create a large central room and two flanking corridors. The left-hand corridor is straight, so it's just a matter of jumping or crossing the pools; the wider pool may be a problem for those who try to jump. The right-hand corridor ends where the narrow pool ends; there's a door above the pool, which may mean some tricky negotiation. The central room has two pillars between the pools; there may actually be a chest or other object between the pillars, as a lure to timid adventurers. There's an exit on the opposite side of the narrow pool as well that leads to an irregular room.

Geomorph F14 is a large rectangular pool that almost completely fills a square room. The pool is swimmable, assuming the characters want to get wet, and assuming there's no blind cave piranhas or other creatures in the pool, and assuming the pool is water and not something more dangerous, like acid. If the characters don't want to take the risk, there's a narrow balance beam that crosses the pool. TWO narrow balance beams, actually, at different heights, since there's an east-west passage running across the square room at a slightly higher level. There's another short corridor running above another passage in the upper left quadrant that leads to an upper level chamber.


Geomorph F15 is an irregular-shaped pool in a cavern. The pool is not really an obstacle this time, but it might contain: blind cave fish or molluscs (suitable for a snack,) an aquatic monster, or a sunken treasure.

There's actually only one entrance to the cavern on the lower level. The southern portion of the cavern has a ledge, though, with exits on opposite sides. No stairs are marked, so you have to add some if the rooms mapped on either side of this geomorph are on the same level as the cavern. There's also an unconnected curved tunnel in the upper right quadrant.

Geomorph F11: Spiked Trench

I got busy this weekend and wasn't able to do much blog-related work, so I wasn't able to do more geomorphs for Pit Week. Instead, as today's Map Monday offering, I give you a follow-up to the spiked pits of last week: Geomorph F11 is a spiked trench or chasm. The entire trench/chasm has spikes along the bottom; it cuts off access between two sides of the geomorph. A couple narrow wooden bridges cross the chasm; the widest is perhaps 5 feet and shouldn't be a problem unless the adventurers are attacked while trying to cross or the bridge is damaged. The other two bridges are narrower, though, and could require a roll to avoid falling; they might also break under any extreme weight.

Edit: this was meant to be published Monday, obviously. Can't post again tomorrow, because I'll be off with relatives most of the day. Enjoy!

F-Series Geomorphs: Mixed Pits

The next two pit-themed geomorphs have a mix of pit types.

Geomorph F9 has three large pits in a single tunnel; one normal pit, one spiked pit, and one with an exit at the bottom. The exit leads to a corridor on a lower level with two small chambers and stair access back up a level; it also connects to two other regions on this level (east and west, with the default orientation.) The spiked pit blocks access to a door leading to a medium-size chamber. (I'm really enjoying the practice of putting pits in front of obvious doors, to cause players to fret over how to reach the door.) This door perhaps has enough space to open even if it opens outwards.

Geomorph F10 could perhaps be titled "Pitmania". There's a mix of small and large spiked and ordinary pits in an irregular room. The pits are all close together, with walkways between them varying from 5 feet down to one foot. One of the pits has an exit in the bottom, opening ton a small corridor that leads to (1) a couple rooms connected to an L-shaped corridor, and (2) another pit. If adventurers are able to climb out of the second pit, they enter an isolated L-shaped corridor with one medium-sized room.

You know what would make F10 really diabolical? Make the spiked pits invisible, or cover them with balsa wood.