(TFT) the last dungeon part II

["David Michael Grouchy II" <david_michael_grouchy_ii@hotmail.com>]

The last dungeon I ever wrote part II

   Becky could reach into the quiver and pull out
more than just an arrow.  As the players had found
a huge pile of gold at the bottom of the topless
shaft, they had also fond a pile of weapons, armor,
potions, teleporting jackals, a mule, and a cart.
She could reach into the quiver and pull out
whatever she wanted.  In addition every one in the
party could escape by jumping into the quiver, and
"Yes" her character (he) could pull the quiver down
over his head and disappear up his own topless
shaft.  They would all be standing around on top of
a pile of gold and potions (healing, invisibility,
telekinesis) safe in the bottom of their own dungeon.
   Becky loved her quiver.
   She went on to develop other uses.  She could
summon teleporting jackals out of the quiver.  They
could fill the room, grab people, and teleport back
with them.  I'm just glad they never figure out that
she could grab a potion of telekinesis, next turn
grab a lit petard, and next turn ...  What I
intended with the last dungeon was that is should
intentionally be Monty Hall in one way, and only one
way.  That is, with potions.  I warned my players
before the game, that no matter how long they worked
they wouldn't be able to buy any magic items.  Only
potions.  I told them that the magic items were rare
and very powerful.  In this way I wanted any magic
item, even a +1 DX dagger, to be more powerful than
all potions together.  A different magnitude of
magic if you will.  I wanted a magic item to be
permanent.  Not a potion.
   Man, you should have seen the players.  I gave
Edd (after an adventure of course) the +5 strength
attribute, +5 damage, Flaming, Fire proof, self-
powered invisibility battle-axe.  He was, to use the
old surfer slang 'stoked'.  It was set in the Giant
City.  A huge city covered completely in spider
webs, and crawling with them.  The giants were the
+5 strength, and the +5 damage.  They stayed in the
city and were loyal.  The spiders, unfortunately,
would migrate to be where ever the battle-axe was.
Did I mention that there were three 14-hex spiders
in the herd?  It was quite a spectacle.
   I gave Steven (one of my brothers) the +2 charm,
lightning, staff of power.  Of course he had to be
presented this item.  As it was a staff it didn't
allow anyone to handle it with out the permission of
its owner.  He had fun connecting with his always
desired one true magic item.  Steven had always had
a drive for the +2 charm.  Above weapons, above
words.  He wanted the one item that would negate all
broken weapons, and enhance everything else.  It was
a cloud city, and as long as he was under its cloud
coverage, lightning cost nothing to cast.   It was
more like D&Ds' call lightning spell.  But
underground or away from the cloud coverage, it
would cast lightning according to the ST he put into
it.  It was there if he needed it.  Hell, lightning
does automatically De-enchant all items on someone
killed by it.  That's awfully powerful in this
campaign.  De-enchantment results in disbanding the
community.
   Narrator pauses.  He is interrupted by one of
the listeners to his story.

   "That would be like a perpetual hero quest."
   Said Jim, the Rune Quest GM.

   Yes.  Imagine running into a bad guy with a
glowing sword, a glowing crown, and magical armor,
who is riding on top of a fire elemental chariot,
being drawn by four enormous air elementals through
the sky.  Three separate magic items means this guy
is backed up by at least three separate cities, or
dungeons, or other form of support community.  Every
magic item is a community that represents a lot more
power than just the item itself.  Every community
should be able to field its own elemental.  The
three eyed hobbits could actually field four a day.
   Becky's' hobbit archer was devastatingly
accurate twice a turn with the flaming +3 DX arrow,
supporting jackals jumping all about the place, and
she had mage sight.  Mere mortals, with no magic
items, were no threat at all no matter what potions
they were on.  He had such a high DX that he always
went first, and never missed the head.  Five points
of damage to the head, and the figure is knocked
unconscious.
   With the last dungeon I ever wrote I was able to
launch a campaign that contained many similar
dungeons to the quiver, and the players were very
interested in every detail.  They poured over the
notes.  It got to where I could imagine and design
any magic item into a city or support community.  A
+1 sword could be almost anything.  A mercenary
group, a monastery of fighters in the mountains, one
building of veterans in a city, or even an entire
city with a standing army of swordsmen.  Soon it
became possible to tell even +1 daggers apart, as
they represented different communities and the
weapons themselves bore the mark of having been
produced by a unique community.
   In conclusion: If a monster is defined as
someone who can't hold a job, then a support
community is defined by what they all do, or focus
on.  Be it a talent, or spell, or language, or
telepathy.

   David Michael Grouchy II
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