One Page Dungeon Recommendations

I hope it’s not giving away trade secrets to say that the latest backer-only update mentions hexes where the dungeons were something from the 2009 One-Page Dungeon Contest. This immediately appealed to me because I’ve always loved OPDs but I’ve had a hard time putting them to use if they weren’t made by Dyson Logos. Therefore, these immediately hit me as recommendations.

What I’m getting at is asking Alex if it would be possible to get a larger list of which OPDs he used during his campaigns. If anyone else wants to chime in with OPDs they’ve successfully used in ACKs campaigns (especially if you include comments about what tweaking you had to do) that would be swell too.

THE BORDERLANDS Region:
OPD The Foetid Pit Beneath the Abandoned Shrine (2009)
OPD The Ancient Academy (2009)
OPD Serpent Temple - Lost Tombs (2009)
OPD Grey Goblin Warrens (2009)
OPD Fortress on the Iron Flow River (2009)
OPD Valley of the Necromancer Kings (2009)
OPD Crumbling Ruins (2009)
OPD Secrets of the Old City (2009)

I also used:
0one’s Blueprints: Kobold Warrens - Ruined Keep
0one’s Blueprints: Kobold Warrens - Abandoned Tower
0one’s Blueprints: Orc Fortress
0one’s Blueprints: Dwarven Citadel
0one’s Blueprints: Cairns - Round Cairn
B2 Keep on the Borderlands
B1 In Search of the Unknown
X1 Isle of Dread
G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King
Caverns of Thracia

THE FANGS OF CHRIOS Region:
Basic Fantasy Role-Play: Chaotic Caves
Basic Fantasy Role-Play: Death Crypt of Khaldun
Pocket Full of Peril #2: Tomb of Ice
Pocket Full of Peril #3: Spider Riders of Pren
Pocket Full of Peril #4: Ruins of Rabon Nov Dranbon
OPD Chantry of the Earthflame (2009)
OPD Trolls Will Be Trolls (2010)
0one Blueprint: Dragonpeak

Because I… like detail… each of these was substantially expanded to about 5-10 pages. One of the things I’ve been wrestling with is, when I publish the various gazetteers, whether I ought to license the maps or dungeons from their creators and publish my expanded versions, or simply refer people to the originals and let them do it themselves.

I should add that, in many ways, the Auran Empire campaign setting was a love letter to old-school D&D. I specifically worked in as much of my favorite material from classic modules as I could, and the setting was set up so that there was at least one of every monster and every magic item in B/X somewhere in the region.

There’s all sorts of hints of this sprinkled throughout the setting. Turos Tem is named Turos Tem because that means “Castle’s Fort” in Classical Auran, e.g., “Keep”, and it was actually The Keep from B2.

Thrassians are named what they are because the ruined city of Zahar was built on the maps and key of the Caverns of Thracia, which is chock full of slumbering evil lizardmen who previously ruled the city.

1 Like

great list! thanks for being so thorough.

furious googling commences

That’s some awesome insight. it works best in a forum rather than in an actual document, I think, but I like that seeing your thought process or why you made certain choices. It sort of gives people who are still fledgling world/setting builders an idea of what someone else’s thought process looks like.

Very neat. I’ll probably end up using things I already own, so I expect my list will include X1 and B2, along with:

S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King
U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
LNR2 Tales of Lankhmar
Dragon #80 Barnacus: City in Peril
Dragon #90 Aesirhamar
Dragon #92 The Sword of Justice
Dungeon #41 Old Man Katan and the Incredible, Edible, Dancing Mushroom Band
Dungeon #59 Seeking Bloodsilver
Dungeon #59 Voyage of the Crimpshrine
Dungeon #60 Iasc
Dungeon #72 No Stone Unturned
Dungeon #73 Quoitine Quest
Dungeon #74 The Scourge of Scalabar
Dungeon #74 First People
Dungeon #79 Keep For Sale
AA2 Red Mausoleum
AA3 Curse of the Witch Head
AA9 Lost Pyramid of Imhotep
AA11 Conqueror Worm

Although Alex didn’t use it, my OPD would probably fit somewhere in the Badlands of the Borderland. Isometric view is always worth the price of entry.

https://studiogreengoat.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/opd_devilgutrock_greengoat.pdf

That’s a great OPD. What year was that published?

I think Devil Gut Rock won “best theme” for OPD 2012. It looks like they have narrowed up up their prize field recently. :slight_smile:

I am keen to do more “West” style fantasy, sans revolvers and nonsense.

So, Isle of Dread does "Exist" on Cybele! Just a wonderful place to introduce some BCK material into your Auran campaign.

There is something I am working on in this direction...

bump