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About This Game

An old-school sandbox campaign centered on a deadly megadungeon.

Game System

Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game

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02/23/2024

Detailed Description

Ages skull_doorway.png.088afab17b46fde74eacffb145bae67e.pngago, an unknown people settled near a great moor. Following their custom, they built a village and constructed burial mounds and underground tombs to lay their dead to rest. Some were buried in simple alcoves, while others were entombed behind sealed doors and guarded by deadly traps. This continued for centuries, and the tombs grew into an immense complex of maze-like complexity.

Then, something changed. An evil has come to the region, and Chaos has infected the Barrows. The dead have woken and hunger for the living.

... and, according to legend, they guard the wealth of ages.


What is Barrowmaze?

Barrowmaze is a sprawling megadungeon and the centerpiece of this campaign. If you can defeat it and claim the dark artifact that lies at its heart, you win.

Be warned: Barrowmaze isn't just a cavern or lair. It's an ecosystem that shifts, changes, and adapts to your actions. To defeat it, you will need to learn its secrets and face its dangers.

Barrowmaze is huge but it's more than just a dungeon with many rooms. Its history has shaped its regions and some of the monsters within have settled into factions. A savvy adventuring party will learn from their explorations to improve their odds of success.

There are dozens of entry points in the Barrowmounds, a few of which lead directly to some of the deadliest areas of the dungeon. Fair? Not remotely. Forget balanced encounters. In Barrowmaze, survival is your responsibility.

 

 

A Descent Into Darknessbarrowmaze_hall.png

In Barrowmaze, you'll need to manage time and resources or risk becoming lost in the dark. The halls are filled with deadly traps. Monsters will be hunting you as you explore, and you'll need to weigh your options at every turn. Attempting to sleep in the dungeon might not be the best idea.

Undead hordes? Barrowmaze has them. Bottomless pits in the middle of random hallways? Yes. Green slime and other old-school dungeon hazards? Absolutely. If you don't know the lost art of the dungeon crawl, you're about to learn it.

Back to Basics

We will play this campaign using the Basic Fantasy RPG system, which is very similar to B/X Dungeons and Dragons. BFRPG, however, offers more character options and some quality-of-life improvements, like ascending AC. The Basic Fantasy Core Rule Book is available as a free download from the BFRPG site, as are all the rule options and character classes we'll use in this campaign.


It is unnecessary to have experience with older editions of D&D to play. If you've been curious about them or the OSR movement, this is an excellent opportunity to see what they are all about.

Death Is No Escape

Lose a character? No problem! This particular campaign features a unique mechanic for leveling up players in addition to their characters. Players will level up whether their character meets with success or a grisly demise. These player levels offer new character options, free experience points, treasure, and other advantages.

Of course, you can only use your levels if your character meets their fate. Luckily, making a new Basic Fantasy character only takes a few minutes.

Get Ready to Become a Permanent Resident

I'm looking for 4 - 6 players who can post several times weekly. While this campaign will feature combat and exploration, there will be opportunities for role-playing during and between expeditions and while carousing back in town.

Do you want to know more about what to expect in this campaign? Be sure to watch the Barrowmaze Trailer.

Anyone up for a challenge is welcome.
 

Community

OSR
  1. What's new in this game
  2. "We found these big...uhh...well, big fragile somethin's-'r'-other. Clay-like, yeah? Fancy, fragile shit, no doubt about it, yer Mr. Magnificentness. An' I 'spect we'll be gettin' more where tha' came from, since me 'n' th' boys seem ta have a knack fer this whole grave-robbin' thing." The worst part of all this is that Zaivie really felt like she did well there too.
  3. Tharnakalian is more than a little surly as he returns to the Strumpet. No shield is a steep price for being candid, confound it. Are we all up for another go at the Mounds tomorrow? That prank was ill done but we are still making a profit on all this nonsense and we're all still breathing so it could be worse. Did the others go to speak with the wizard? Let's hope they return as we last saw them rather than as barnyard animals. Tharnakalian shivered at that.
  4. Mazzahs snorts. "It says to leave me alone! What it does NOT say is that I make exceptions for paying customers. Been to the Barrow Mounds, have you? What did you find there? Treasure? Enchanted relics? Ancient scrolls? Speak!"
  5. Zaivie begins to protest that of course she could read the sign, even if she wasn't exactly the world's greatest reader...but then it occurs to her that maybe Thomas is lying for a reason and that it'd be best to keep her mouth shut for the moment.
  6. HP 5/5 | AC 16 | Base To Hit +1 | StatsStr 14 (+1) Int 6 (-1) Wis 11 (0) Dex 16 (+2) Con 15 (+1) Cha 11 (0) | SavesDeath/Poison.....13 Wands................14 Paralyze/Stone..13 Dragon Breath...16 Spells.................15 | Thieves Abilities Open Locks .......25% Remove Traps....20% Pick Pockets.......30% Move Silently.....25% Climb Walls........80% Hide...................10% Listen.................30% | Bullets/Silver x20/5 Thomas several feet back from the doorway answers "Sorry to distress you Mr. Magnificent. I ... I mean we are adventurers who have been recovering artifacts from the barrow mounds. We were told that you were a master of the arcane arts and we were wondering if we could consult with you about some of our findings, Sir. We saw the sign on the door but we are not the brightest intellectuals of our party. What's it say?"
  7. Thanks! I'll get the xp thread updated in a sec. Oh boy, mobile phones......👿
  8. Thanks posted here and then decided it could be asked in character so I did it there and meant to delete the OOC post.
  9. In short order, Mazzahs the Magnificent yanks the door open. "What? Who's there? Who are you? Can't you read? No... no, probably not. Well, what do you want?" Mazzahs makes a less-than-magnificent impression. His left eye is larger than the right, making him look bug-eyed. His wizard cap is bent, and his robes are decorated with small charms and knick-knacks that jingle when he moves. He has a charcoal pencil tucked behind one ear and numerous rolled-up papers jammed into his belt.
  10. "Cakes 're nice, don' get me wrong, but we could jus' do this instead," Zaivie says before knocking on the door with three sharp raps. She turns to Thomas and shrugs, offering him one of her trademark grins. "Worth a shot, yeah?" Of course, it doesn't even occur to the warrior that she doesn't actually have anything to say to this wizard if he does come to answer the door, but that seemed more like a problem for future-Zaivie than present-Zaivie.
  11. Thomas and Zavie Light is coming from inside the tower, and while you're standing at the door, you can hear some banging around inside. Someone is definitely home.
  12. Thomas and Zavie The sign is handwritten on thick, pulpy paper. It has been nailed to the door and would be very easy to tear off. It looks like it's been there a while — at least several days. There is plenty of space to slip a note under the door.
  13. HP 5/5 | AC 16 | Base To Hit +1 | StatsStr 14 (+1) Int 6 (-1) Wis 11 (0) Dex 16 (+2) Con 15 (+1) Cha 11 (0) | SavesDeath/Poison.....13 Wands................14 Paralyze/Stone..13 Dragon Breath...16 Spells.................15 | Thieves Abilities Open Locks .......25% Remove Traps....20% Pick Pockets.......30% Move Silently.....25% Climb Walls........80% Hide...................10% Listen.................30% | Bullets/Silver x20/5 Confronted with the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign again Thomas contemplates the situation. He checks the sign and how it is hanging to see if it could be removed with a 10' pole. He also checks the doorway itself to see if it would possible to slip anything underneath. "I don't know Zaivie maybe he's not even home. Maybe we should buy him a cake or something." Finally he glances up at the telescope to see if there is any light at all coming from the observatory.
  14. Can you describe the DND sign? Would it be easy to remove from the door? Is there a crack under the door where we can slip a note?
  15. 375/7 = 54 (rounded up) or 64 XP (20% added before rounding) for us humans. Next time just take the shield and keep your mouth shut Tharnakalian.
  16. EVENING Serpe brings the remains of the scorpion's victim to the Shrine of St. Ygg, and Tharnakalian returns from the Axe and Anvil. You catch each other up on current events. Of course, you now get Bertrand's "joke." By the time Dougal approached him, the Brigands had already released Gern. Thomas and Zavie head to the Wizard's Tower and find it the same as in the morning. The Do Not Disturb sign is still on the front door. What next?
  17. Karg had been under the impression that your group negotiated Gern's release, but while talking to Tharnakalian, he realized that wasn't the case. So he did not pay the shield.
  18. XP BONUS: +125xp for returning the body of the scorpion victim XP AWARD: +250xp for the Gern job These are group awards, so divide by 7. Don't forget the human bonus.
  19. No shield! That's it we kill 'em all.
  20. HP 5/5 | AC 16 | Base To Hit +1 | StatsStr 14 (+1) Int 6 (-1) Wis 11 (0) Dex 16 (+2) Con 15 (+1) Cha 11 (0) | SavesDeath/Poison.....13 Wands................14 Paralyze/Stone..13 Dragon Breath...16 Spells.................15 | Thieves Abilities Open Locks .......25% Remove Traps....20% Pick Pockets.......30% Move Silently.....25% Climb Walls........80% Hide...................10% Listen.................30% | Bullets/Silver x20/5 Thomas smiled at Zaivie and winked "Good to know you've got my back Zaivie. I ain't all that interested in gaining the ire of a wizard either but some of us had some questions they wanted to ask about writings and what not. All a bit above my head. Just thinking if he has a telescope to look at the night sky he could be functionally noxious and asleep during the day."
  21. Karg narrows his eyes at you. "Wait. You not even know Gern here. You not get him back, Bertrand just let him go. No shield for you."
  22. "Can't say I'm much in'erested in wizards an' th' like. But if'n yer lookin' fer someone ta watch yer back an' keep ya company as ya head over there, Tommy Boy, then sure, I'm yer girl," Zaivie offers.
  23. Agreed. They had already cut Gern loose when I was negotiating his freedom. is the shield just a shield?
  24.  
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