Adventure Site Contest 2: The Fall of Saddleroddle

​Written by Danger is Real
AD&D, levels 4-5
Fallen gnomish dungeon.
  Once upon a time the Devil's Swamp was a collection of hills where the Gnomish Federation of Saddleroddle was thriving led by the great Saxif the Cryptic. Legend has it that one night the ground shook so hard that all the hills collapsed into the depths, leaving a field of crevasses and tunnels dotted with the ruins of the city. As time passed, the area became a sinister swamp populated by creatures vomited from the depths of Saddleroddle. But who really knows what lies at the bottom of the sunken
rooms?
  Gnomes. Why did it have to be gnomes? From jolly fae garden types like in David the Gnome to rainbow-haired tinkers in World of Warcraft there’s a vast spectrum of interpretations for “short bearded guys that are not dwarves or halflings”. Anytime I’ve had “gnome” on the list of playable races, no player has even considered playing one. Every interpretation of gnomes seems to include a discordant note of whimsy, they’re hard to take seriously. TTRPGs can host hilarious sessions with everyone around the table absolutely busting a gut, but “joke games” are unfailingly miserable, because the humor is forced. Nobody wants to hit a flumph with a +1 noodle, but it’s funny when the orc with his axe goes “bonk”. I think this applies to characters, as well, a human noble who’s a bit of a ponce or a dwarf who’s all about drinking can be funny, but there are serious elements allowed with those archetypes, too. Gnomes, despite their strange different permutations, all seem unable to be serious.
  Also I played WoW on PvP servers back in the day and gnome rogues were the worst.
  Here in this adventure we have a fallen gnomish complex, the titular Saddleroddle, where returning contributor Danger Is Real presents a vertical 31-room-dungeon set within a swamp that used to be hills. The reasons for Saddleroddle’s fall are unfortunately left vague, but I’m sure we all know the usual hubris-that-leads-to-the-gods-smiting stuff and there’s some weirdo things in rooms that show these gnomes were in the arcane tinkerer tradition. Now there’s Kuo-Toa and lizardmen infesting the area along with the usual cast of “swampy underground ruin” characters. It’s designed for level 4’s and 5’s, so we’re spared any peasant farmer hooks, it’s just a ruin with loot inside. Go to there.
  We need to note that the rules are bent here in terms of page count…the front page with a map also has background and random encounter table. Feels like just removing a few spaces would fix the issue.

  The map is…controversial. Solely vertical maps are a weird case for me. Obviously there’s some good and dynamic exploration gameplay with all the loops and environmental clues shaping an expedition’s path through the dungeon. Unfortunately, a vertical map like this means I must put in a lot of effort to convey the horizontal spaces that players enter into, which by virtue of both the game’s mechanics and baseline human psychology is how the people involved will be first and foremost interacting with the imaginative spaces they’re in. This thing is very interesting and cool, but it hides the hard work in translating to a table.
  As is important for a place like this, we do have a baseline risk for going downstairs (Save vs. Paralysis or fall down taking d6 per 10’), and this mucky, slimy space has that as the normal “trap”, with numerous pit traps and chasms also threatening. Disease from tainted water and poisons from the locals are a frequent threat as well, playing up the swamp vibe. I was a little disappointed there wasn’t more monkeying around with the water table, but sadly this is a stone complex. Magic traps are leaning hard on the whimsy side, mirrors that change hair color, a giant rolling cannonball, huge silver d30 that teleports…all make sense within the gonzo context, as do the “things to mess with” like a healing fountain that intoxicates or a statue that turns into a golem. I like the illusory black dragon as a block, wish it actually guarded treasure. Rust monsters crop up again, as ever a mix of monsters and trap.
  In addition to the clay golem, there are kuo-toa, lizardmen, blindheims, oozes, bats, stirges, giant octopus…and an umber hulk. Nice mix of living enemies. Several parties of adventurers are here to ally with and/or fight against, which is nice. Good monster roster, just huge number of rooms going to make it a bit of a slog and the site lacks a unifying “boss”.
  Treasure is adequate although very back-loaded, most of it on the very bottom of the complex beneath the blindheims, giant octopus, and kuo-toa tribe on the bottom level, beneath the water, in a cleft, in a chest…we’re not hiding stuff carefully here, but its at least guarded. Rhythm would feel off to me, I think, but it’s okay.
  In the end, a fallen complex in a swamp is a great adventure site location and I don’t think anyone will struggle to place it in your game…no matter how you feel about gnomes in your world.