What's better than a giant, pissed off turtle with gems encrusted on it's shell for greedy players to try to steal? Not much in my book. My friend Bill also pointed out with issue 01 I mention the troll's brother but then never address what happened to him so I needed to fix that. Thus, 02 is a continuation of the first issue. I do not plan on doing this with all of the future issues, but the next two will likely be needed to flesh out the rest of this cavern.
(click to download PDF)
Long time readers might notice that I have an affinity for water in dungeons and caverns. I have toured many caves and mines over the course of my life in Texas, Colorado, Kentucky, and Tennessee and one thing that I find absolutely horrifying is bodies of water in caves. Nothing is more terrifying that a black, still, and cold pool of cave water. What vile things lie hidden beneath is glass-like surface? I never, ever want to find out.
In a cave in Kentucky about eight years ago I got the chance to do real spelunking, don a flashlight and hardhat and go crawling through a small cave. Not one of those touristy, stairs and solid path things, but crawling on your belly with an inch of clearing through mud, slit, and grime sort of cave. In part you had to climb up a slick cliff, scoot along a flat and tight area with about 10 inches of room between the floor and ceiling, and then drop down a short cliff into a pool of water. Looking down from that cliff, about ten feet, into that cold water was a horrible feeling. Sure, near the cliff it was only knee deep, but farther out you could not see the bottom. Just BLACK EMPTINESS. What was lying in wait there to gobble me up?
Anywho, every time my party ventures into a cave and we encounter water, that runs through my head. I am sure our little heroes are just thinking of killing orcs and taking their meager treasure, never really afraid. But damn it, I am not sure I could do what they do!
Quasi-black and white version for the ink-sissies out there:
