Underworld Adventurer

A second full moon hangs over Orm this month. With it comes the latest news around Orm: The Black Pyramid Arrives!-- Orm's wastrels, mystics, and visionares report visions of an ethereal black pyramid when the late summer moon turned full. The profound feels of cosmic dread they all share marks one thing- the Black Pyramid now visits this realm. What exactly is the Black Pyramid, most cannot say. Beggar prophets share word of the Black Pyramid bringing increased chances of rare encounters into ones life. The Archwizard of the Transcendental Congress of Aureate Precepts has sent warning to seater holders in Orm to be cautious--signs point to profound risks being linked to this extraplanar structure. Castora Cup Announced -- The knightly Order of the Dragon is to host the first annual Castora Cup Challenge this Hunter's Moon. The contest will be held in an open air challenge dungeon constructed in the ruins of Orm-of-Old. Teams of five adventurers, each representing a virtue of ...

 So, I lied. Here is one more blog post outside the scope of campaign maintenance. I have been interviewed by Ben (who plays Phasmo) for this podcast he started on the megadungeon playstyle: You can listen to it on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or Google Podcasts . Beyond playing in the Twilight Age, Ben's work as a dungeon master and the writing on his blog Mazirian's Garden  has made its mark on the Twilight Age campaign. Most notably, it can be seen in key elements of our downtime approach along with the introduction of the Phantomorians and the Black Pyramid. The latter come from his Wishery campaign that I have played in for several years (thanks to an invite to the game from Crannoc's player Alek  the first time we met irl). Ben and I talk a lot about games. When Ben asked me to be his guinea pig for a new podcast he wanted to start, I expected the interview to be like one of those conversations that. Instead, Ben got me to deliver some practical information in a way ...

I am briefly going to interrupt the usual content of this blog to announce I am starting up a newsletter. Surprisingly, this newsletter is going to also be called Underworld Adventurer . I have been wanting to make something (ideally a zine) about megadungeons for some time. I mainly want to focus on the process of creating a megadungeon and the skills for running them (though I plan on a sample dungeon inspired by parts of 'The Complex' to help along the way). So, for this time only, I am posting up the first newsletter here. Going forward, I aim to keep this space focused on what it was made to do-- manage the ongoing Twilight Age campaign. You can subscribe to my newsletter over on Substack if you like. And with that... Let the Adventure Begin A look at what this newsletter will be about and being "good enough" Welcome! My name is Nick Kuntz (sometimes Nick K.). I am slowly working on a dungeon crawling comic called Underworld Adventure . I also have a blog simila...

The Red Riders were absent this week at the Drinking Crow. The vat spawn antaur Copra Kaan was off undertaking his first mission as a hirelng under the 111th Company. Fr. Bert joined heads with Bludoon as they worked to step up their efforts feeding the orphans of Orm. Armeen was dedicating his time around the Shrine of Danu-- mentoring young Chauncy in the way of the faith and starting up the Shrines endless torch offering (only 250gp ea.). Crambo, have ascended to the level of "Philosopher" in the Transcendental Congress of Aureate Precepts was beginning his work in crafting a new spell. That left old allies the elfin ring master Petra P. and black grass abetment specialist Bors Redbeard to swap old stories of the Dragon Slayers around the Drinking Crow. Fellow patrons could hear stories of adventures (and adventurers past) like name-making defeat of a fire breathing dragon or the Ur-Dan spanning chase of Big Time Hashimi. One tale continued to gnaw at Bors: the weeping gho...

Drinking at the Burning Witch, PakPak lamented to the barkeep Jakki about lingering obligations he had in the Twilight Shores. These debts were passed to him when his wife of just a few weeks died in 'The Complex' along with several of her fellow Midnight Maruaders. A week of debaucherous carousing saw him married to the minorest of hob nobility, the Lady Meggee. Three years after her death, PakPak had yet to fulfill her family's obligation to secure hob support for Lady Blackmarsh. The Beholder Kiddo found PakPak's desire to return to the Twilight Shores auspicious as she, via song bird, had received a summons to appear before the Eventide Queen that now ruled the Twilight Shores. Kiddo had been among the party that had freed her from her captivity by the Imperial Mother thus allowing her to ascend to her rightful leadership the elfin domain. Kiddo suggested to PakPak that maybe they combine their efforts in a trip to the mysterious elfin realm.  Before setting off on ...

 The Rani, ruler of the Impossible Fortress and therefore leader of Orm, has no children. She has no consort, either. It is presumed among most of the court that one of the three young women she has taken in as her wards will be her heir. The history of these women, before they arrived into the Rani's care is a mystery thought best ignored. It is, however, widely believed that the three are siblings. The Wards are ranked one through three. While many assume it is tied to their different ages, these ranks more clearly are reflected in their level of responsibility within the dynamics of the Impossible Fortress.  The adventures around Orm are most familiar with the 3rd Ward. She served as a patron to the adventurer Dogmouth. She was known to have an interest in works of fiction, fashion, and the history of warfare. The 1st Ward of the Rani: Lyceia, the Lady Destina The 2nd Ward: Melinoe, the Lady Glamora The 3rd Ward: Trita, the Lady Valorius

 Journeyman Crannoc approached the adventurers based out of the Drinking Cow with a offer. The philosopher of the Transcendental Congress had discovered some information about the strange metallic card his sorting spell found among the treasures of the Dreaming Dragon. It appears that it is a key to a laboratory of some vivamancers from the Empire-That-Was on Level 5 of 'The Complex'. He wanted to offer a chance to explore this area with him to the party that were there when he found the card. The group eagerly agreed to join in. Bludoon took a pass to continue to feed the orphans of Orm but Crambo slotted in to fill his place on the expedition. Armeen purchased 50gp of vegetables to deliver to the Ogre Monks of Law on their way. With that set, the following party descended into the cellar of the Athenaeum of the Dying Sun to investigate Level 5 of dungeon: Armeen of the Two Rivers (Level 6 Cleric of Danu) Copra Kaan (Level 6 Vat Spawn Antaur) Crambo (Level 4 Goblin Magic-User)...

A perigean full moon rose as the harvest moon above Ur-Dan. With it came the fall of an eye tyrant and magical new culinary delights along with the rest of the news around Orm.  The Eye of Terror defeated!- Four joint strikes executed by adventurers has seen the reign of the Eye of Terror come to an end. The first group in freed the Children of Peroma from the Eye collaborating leadership of Attuk and his right-hand ogre Zonk. A second saw a group press all the way down to the Pool of Life and slayed the Eye of Terror themself in battle. A third saw the crushing defeat of a pair of demons known as the Mariliths--allies of the Eye that ruled over the former cells of the Imperial Mother on Level 1. Midnight Maruaders Grizzly Battle for Life- Key to this plan was the hiring of the Midnight Marauders to deliver a barrel of Sweet Dreams to put the Eye's forces on Level 1 to sleep. The Marauders returned from their mission with Ferris the Living Harness badly damaged. Shelby the S...

Following the defeat of the Eye of Terror,  the adventurers based out of the Drinking Crow had hired out the Phantomorians to hold the Pool of Life so no other adversarial forces could claim it. They also have hired out the Midnight Marauders to deliver the weighty 1800gp per week fee to the Phantomorians on the 2nd Level of the Complex. This first week, though, following the multi-pronged campaign saw the group planning to return to that very area. One of their stalwart members, the errant friar Fr. Bert, had been turned to stone by a ray shot by one of the Eye of Terror's eyes. On this return delve, the group would be down Bludoon. The dwarfin chef has decided to dedicate his time to feeding the orphans of Orm while Bert is incapable of the task. In addition, Armeen's retainer Jubal has decided to retire. This brush with death delivered by the Eye of Terror while his employer was ensorcelled into the monster's service was too much for him. Jubal had developed a real faith...