Level 16

[Mythmere]

Don't post until 9AM, but there can be discussion of the name, theme, and development of the map.

[Fingolwyn]

How about using Level 16 as the "deep sand" level with 16B as the "jungle level". The connecting tunnel between A and B would be a river, perhaps entering 16B from a waterfall from above (some drainage from Level 5?) and exiting after passing 16A into a deep abyss (or the Elemental Plane of Water or wherever). Level 16 could also be a pocket plane so the "desert" wasn't just a few hours journey.

The "deep sand" level would be roughly akin to the old Lost City (B4) module in that it would include a trek across a blisteringly hot desert wasteland in search of (or traveling to an obvious) lost pyramid/temple. The exit to level 17 (or other levels) would be in the bottom of the pyramid. Depending on the intended difficulty of this level, it could be the burial tomb of a lich or several generations of his family (pharoah-types and such). As jungle, level 16B leads nicely into the Dragon Temple below.

Speaking of which, what level of difficulty should Level 16 be? 8-12? 9-14? Super-high (for OD&D) like Tomb of Horrors?

EDIT -- Level 17 would also work well as the deep sand level if you don't want the "jungle level" to connect with the "desert level".

[Grim]

You have officially staked your claim on this level! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with

[Fingolwyn]

As a newbie to this board, I'm not sure what ruleset we are using. I assume Swords & Wizardry. I haven't looked at any of it but am familiar with all the "old school" sets from beginning to 1E as well as OSRIC and LL.

Also, what level should this level be? ("Level" was always such a problematic word in D&D: dungeon level, character level, spell level...you could use the same word three or four times in the same sentence and mean something different each time. I'm wondering what sort of creatures will live here, and if a lich and a couple blue dragons are too powerful (or too weak!).

[Grim]

Yes, Swords and Wizardry Core Rules.

As far as level. Deeper should be more difficult. For instance the bottom level is a planar nexus to the resting place of a sleeping forgotten god.

[Fingolwyn]

Well, yes, more difficult the deeper you go. I guess what I'm trying to ask is what level should the characters be by the time they get to this level? But I suppose if not too far down is a dragon temple and nexus plane with demigods, then a lich and a couple dragons wouldn't be overkill here.

[Grim]

Well, yes, more difficult the deeper you go. I guess what I'm trying to ask is what level should the characters be by the time they get to this level? But I suppose if not too far down is a dragon temple and nexus plane with demigods, then a lich and a couple dragons wouldn't be overkill here.

I dont think they need to match the character level.

[Fingolwyn]

Here's a crude map of the temple tower portion of the ziggurat. I used DC 1.4.1, which turned out to be a serious pain because I drew the original in Visio using 5' squares. I'll probably redo the whole thing in DC using 5' squares...this is just a working map. I'm planning a desert (many days travel in any direction) with the ziggurat, a distant "Ivory" tower, a river connecting 16A with 16B and a jungle wilderness area at the other end of the river. The ziggurat is the main level (large and rectangular) with the temple-tower atop it and probably a level or two of dungeons beneath. A lich inhabits the temple-tower. One or two (probably two) blue dragons, subservient to the lich, inhabit the large main level (it's open and supported by columns. A crypt-thing (the faux lich) will be in the temple proper, waiting to teleport the characters into the dungeon below (so they can fight their way back up again). Sand Wyrms (sand-dwelling purple worms, but smaller...you know the type) wander the dunes outside the ziggurat. I'm not quite certain how to tie the Ivory Tower into this yet...maybe a tie-in with another level.

EDIT -- I have removed the old pictures. Please see the new maps a few posts past this one (on Page 2).

[Geordie Racer]

Nice maps, this level's a really cool idea

[Fingolwyn]

I've spent the past couple days working on the maps with 5x5 squares instead of 10x10 and they look MUCH better (and more like my original design). I'll replace the current ones with the new ones sometime next week.