The Dry Dog Inn

Swamp Crawls

#osr #d&d #Nordmark Kampagne

Swamps shall be weird. There are the reverse of a dungeon. You see what’s there, but you have no clue how to get there.

In this post I want to explain the procedure to run a swamp crawl, and how I come up with content.

Keep in mind, my swamps are logical, not realistic.

The megadungeon campaign is in full swing. After about 30 expeditions into the depths of Stonehell, the adventurers finally want to explore the nearby swamp. A swamp is a different environment than a dungeon or the wilderness, so I try my best to twist the way it’s played. I strive to provide the players with new experiences.

Key elements:

Swamp Crawl Procedure

The procedure relies on the swamp-table, whose creation I describe in The Swamp Table, later on.

  1. Party enter the swamp. Mark a dot on a blank sheet of paper and name it “Start” or whatever.
  2. Party has to choose: They can either Explore (go to #2.1) or Head to a Location they know of (go to #2.2)
    1. Explore: DM rolls on the Swamp-Table. That’s the location the party arrives after one swamp-turn (1 hour). Go to Mapping #3.
    2. Head to a Location: If the location they want to reach has a mapped path, they arrive there after one turn. If it doesn’t have a path, they have to pass a successful bushcraft check. On success they arrive where they wanted to (go to #3). On failure they arrived at a random location (go to #2.1). If they got a directions to the location, they get a +2 to the check.
  3. Mapping: If the location is not already on the map, place a dot and name it, bonus points if they draw a picture.
    1. The mapper rolls a bushcraft check to see if they are able to map the path they took. On success, draw a line from where they started to where they arrived. On failure, don’t draw a line.
  4. Describe the location: Party interacts. One Swamp-Turn is one hour. Like in B/X dungeons. If they continue the journey, go to #2.

Wandering Monsters: I roll for wandering monsters between step #2 and #2.1 or #2.2. A 1 on a d6 indicate an encounter. I roll on the wandering monsters table. The encounter happens in between locations, no need to map it. If the party flees, head to #2.1 and skipp #3.1. If they handle the encounter, proceed as normal. I also roll for wandering monsters if they stay longer than an hour at a location.

Bushcraft check: untrained 1 in 6. Specialist may have greater chances.

Exit the swamp: either find a path to a known exit, or get a +2 bonus to find a random way out. Roll a d8 to determine cardinal direction. If the party owns a compass, let them choose where they exit the swamp.

Maximum number of paths leading to or from a location: d4 if not specified otherwise. ((That’s not play tested yet))

Special Locations Examples:

The Swamp Table — Coming up with content

We need a handful of good locations to roll on. For my table I used 20 entries, and that worked just fine.

Key elements:

In Short: brainstorm ideas. You need some locations, treasure, traps and monsters. Create 20 entries. Each entry needs a location and may include monsters, traps and treasure.

That’s my way of doing it:

  1. I make a big list of stuff in a swamp. I brainstorm, steal from the Moor in Bruckstadt, Fever Swamp, my moldy fridge. I google “swamp legends”. I remember my hike though bogs. I think about “what would be absolutely awesome to find? What would scare the shit out of me?”. I write that down. No filters. No checklist. Just a big list of whatever, whatever, swamp. Key is that I don’t use any fancy tools. Plain old text file, notebook, or Todo app.
  2. I copy/paste the list to a spreadsheet and then sort the items into 5 lists: MONSTER, TRAP, TREASURE, SPECIAL and LOCATION. If more than one list apply, great, put it on all lists that apply.
  3. I ceate a list of 20 locations, following the standard B/X procedure for dungeon stocking with a added step:
    1. I select or roll a LOCATION
    2. I roll for the content of the location. d6: 1-2: MONSTER; 3: TRAP; 4: SPECIAL; 5-6: EMPTY
    3. I roll a d6 to check if TREASURE is present, based on what I rolled before: a MONSTER has treasure on a 1-3, TRAP on 1-2; EMPTY on a 1; SPECIAL: I make something up.
    4. I select or roll on my own lists to come up with an specific entry. If TREASURE is present, I either roll on my TREASURE list, or I use B/X monster or unguarded treasure tables.
    5. I repeat step 1-4 until I have around 20 entries.
  4. I go through the list, and make sure that i could run every entry on it. I add new stats and tables right in the entries, or in my notebook. I print the list, cut the paper and glue it into my notebook.

Example:

  1. I roll for a LOCATION and get “Three stoned & petrified trolls, around a long gone fireplace, not arguing about dinner anymore “.
  2. I roll for location content and get a 2 - MONSTER
  3. I roll for TREASURE, a 2 again, indicating that treasure is present.
  4. I roll on my list of MONSTER and get “1d4 x 10 Evil Pixies”, for treasure I got “spicy healing herbs, 2d4 herbs, healing 1d4 HP each if chewed”. As i don’t think the treasure is enough, i also use B/X treasure table for pixies.

My entry now reads: “3 petrified Trolls, 15’ high, mossy, cracked. 1d4x10 bored evil pixies, playing airhockey with a silver coin. 1324sp and 12gp in petrified troll purse, silver visible through crack. 2d4 healing herbs (+d4HP) as moss on trolls.”

Following that method, I create 20 entries for my swamp-table.

Random Monster Table: I check my MONSTER list and select around 8 entries that make sense.