Bat in the Attic Status update.

Time for a quarterly update on what going on with my various project.

I haven't made as much progress as I liked with Scrounge of the Demon Wolf. The problem is mostly in that my hobby time for writing/gaming is limited and I didn't manage it well over the summer.

The product is in two parts, the adventure and a small sourcebook for the surrounding region. Both are not extensive It looking at being 48 pages 8.5 by 11 at most. I consider the sourcebook an esstential part as I think it makes it reusable for more than just adventure. It details a village, a hamlet a conclave of mages, a short gazetteer (1 or 2 page) of a barony, So I am pushing myself now to get it done. The adventure is 90% done and the source book is 75% done.

My thoughts on minimal dungeons have come together. I am thinking of formatting it similarly to how I do a Points of Light style setting. With each level having an overview, a paragraph devoted to a large inter-related area along with wandering monsters, and the dungeon key with a few key rooms detailed. The dungeon map itself would be detailed and labeled descriptively (think Tegal Manor). Along with plenty of referee notes sprinkled throughout.

I feel this will make for a useful product in a minimum amount of pages. Because I am shifting away from putting everything into a numerical list of keyed room, It should be easier to get a feel of how the dungeon works overall. Where the referee can change or insert stuff to make it work better with his campaign. I will be using the Elf Lord's Temple as my first test of the format. You can see the Points of Light format with this free download of Southlands.

I continuing work on the big map of the Main Campaign Area. So far coast lines, hills, mountains, and swamps are done. Now I am placing settlements and roads. After that I will do the settled area/cropland vegetation, then the forest/plains/etc. Finally after that will be the labeling. This map is being done Harn style where a fill texture represent the terrain type (swamp/hill/mountain) and color vegetation.

I am still in the midst of some paid projects that will be done soon. They are fun to do, help others in the OSR, and help fund all the future stuff.

After I get the map done, it will be time to write the gazetteer of the Main Campaign Area. Like the campaign section of the MW Supplement this will contain lots on notes on why various regions work the way they do. This should make the product useful as a source of campaign ideas as well as a traditional setting product. For example the Bernost region will be a good example of a region in rebellion to central authority. You could use it as inspiration or yank out the details for use in your own setting.

Aside from being a minimal dungeon The Elf Lord's Temple will the piece of a series detailing the Dearthwood Forest. I think that big gloomy orc-infested forests haven't been done well in the past.

Hope to see some of you at Erie Days of Gaming.