It's a damn labyrinth, that's what it is, lad. Dark passages winding deeper and deeper into the earth.
They've built themselves, curse their wicked claws, an underground kingdom just like ours.
~Brazor Hammerfell speaking to Talbreth Horseizer about the Khrystos Caverns
For the past month I have been working on the subterranean dungeon that will be the Khrystos Caverns. I have tried to create the maze-like quality as characterized by the words of the Dwarf-King. With multiple levels, the complex consists of more than a dozen interconnected maps to explore. There will be traps and treasures, secret passages, and of course monsters. Here is a glimpse of one area, showing various paths the party can take.
I am designing these caves around a mid-level party. There are still some fights that are fairly dangerous, and players might need to come back to try when they are stronger. Nevertheless, I would place the difficulty as pre-Guild Adventure content.
Speaking of monsters, this was a memorable cartoon that featured in the first edition AD&D Monster Manual:
Hearkenwold too now has a Giant Lynx among its growing bestiary. Large, intelligent felines with the capability to cast spells. This one below is accompanied by two ogres, probably telling them what to do.
The version of the IceBlink engine that will be used when the updated module is released has a lot of new additions, which I started to mention in the previous update. One mechanic that had been missing was the ability to score critical hits. This goes for both player characters, and enemies. In the combat log below, it shows one of the fat ogres landed a critical on our paladin for 36 hit points of damage.
Also, I am presently adding many new spells to the magic repertoire. These include: Barkskin, Bull Strength, Call Lightning, Cat Grace, Cause Disease, Cloudkill, Defensive Stance, Entangle, Gust of Wind, Haste, and Vampiric Touch. There will be more to come.
There is also a Dimension Door spell available, but it can only be obtained by wizards through special means.
With the inclusion of the new spells, I am giving the spell icons an overhaul. Here is a screen when a wizard levels up, and is choosing a new spell to learn.
And here is the Entangle spell in action:
Of course, enemies now have access to this magic as well. There are new monsters who can drain hit points on successful attacks (Vampiric Touch) and mummy like creatures have a chance to cause disease on hit.
I am going to try to finish the Caverns this month. This dungeon is the focus of half the new content that will be available, and then I need to work on the remaining areas outside this scope, mostly the surrounding wilderness locations and points of interest. At this point, I am still cautiously optimistic to have it done by the end of the summer.
