Goldsoul Mines Feedback

I know I didn't get around to it at the time, but thanks to all the folk who provided feedback for me on Goldsoul Mines. Eventually we shall get an update for it. Currently, my home group is starting to enter the dungeon (which will have been the first time I've run it), so revisions will definitely wait until after they're through it.

To-Do List for Goldsoul Mines v1.1

1. Add a microsummary at the beginning of the module to give people a clue about the weird shit on the encounter list. (Arnold K.)
2. Replace the boring loot with interesting loot! (Arnold K.)
3. Switch the font to something more readable. (David Perry) Recommended Roboto Condensed.
4. Make a version of the map that won't drain all the ink out of my printer.
5. Make a version without maps, so I only have to print off the printer-drainer once.
6. Reduce the vertical spacing between bullet points.
7. Reconsider bullet point order for some caves. When reading it myself I had difficulty parsing the information. Needs better flow.
8. Add Supplementary Section. Includes optional material like: accompanying music, rules on branching alcoves within routes, etc.

If anyone has additional notes, put 'em in the comments. If you haven't seen the module, you can find it here.

Goldsoul Mines Part 4

Dungeon Introduction

Domain of the Old Army

Goldsoul Mines

Metamorphic Were-Spider Lair

Deep Lake Caverns 

Goldsoul Mines Map

Chobar Gufa Cave, Nepal. Image Source Heath Werrett

Finally got off my ass and finished it, for the most part.

Part 4 - Deep Lake Caverns

I'm going to compile all of these parts, try and iron out the inconsistencies, and see how it looks from there.

Goldsoul Mines - Part 3

Dungeon Introduction

Domain of the Old Army

Goldsoul Mines

Metamorphic Were-Spider Lair

Deep Lake Caverns

Goldsoul Mines Map

Brandon Holt photographed. Link

Part 3 of Goldsoul Mines - Metamorphic Were-Spider Lair: here.

Re-working these last caves has been agonizing, so I'm splitting up my last post into two manageable bites. This one includes the Metamorphic Were-Spider Lair and the Hidden Mask.

Caves in the Spider Lair:

"Hot dry radiator walls. Crenelations that hold hostage the lantern light, filled with grey hair-derived dust. The errant ash pile, easily kicked up into a choking cloud. Walls of wavy muscle-colored webbing, warding passages like crooked police tape. The web stings like barbed wire. It burns exposed flesh, leaving white scars. Your boots peel off the ground."

Table for 20 Pursuing Spirits

While working on Goldsoul Mines, Michael Bacon was courteous enough to point out that the adventure would benefit from a Table for Pursuing Spirits. So a d20 table was made.

Le Petit Poucet, by Gustave Doré, for Perrault's Les Contes de Perrault

So You Pissed Off A Sorcerer, Eh? 

Well That Explains...

1. The Thumb-Hunting Ogre 

• Tries to cut off your thumbs in your sleep with a big long knife. (See above)
• Appears one hour after you doze away, in the nearest doorway. 
• Has ten thumbs for fingers and ten thumbs for toes - four tremendously strong grips. Uses leg-limbs to muffle screams and arrest limbs.
• Won't be satisfied until he's gotten at least two thumbs that he believes came from the target.
• Poor eyesight.

2. The Giant River-Snake

• Is a five-mile long rapids-filled river shaped like a snake. A giant spirit anaconda made of whitewater.
• Either occasionally precedes you to geographically hinder and confuse, or tries to sweep you up sudden massive flash flood.
• If trying to sweep you up, lets out a giant foamy hiss before trying to "eat" you.
• If it misses with the initial sweep, it's still a dangerous rapids-filled river for a few more hours, at least. It will also circle around, entrapping.

3. Your Evil Twin

• Stubby blue goblin-like creature hiding in bush suddenly jabs you in knee with shiv. When you scream or shout, it steals your voice. Then de-materializes into bush.
• Goblin-Spirit then takes on target's visage. Starts making trouble a few towns over.
• Insults important people, kicks puppies, sleeps with mayor's daughter, steals everyone's cheese, etc.
• Disappears when it sees original (note: not vice versa). Voice then returns to target.

4. The Maggot Explosions

• Flea-sized spirit, lightning quick, visible only under magnifying glass. Looks like ultra-tiny bee with haaaaaaands. 
• Can't pass through glass or lead. (Can be trapped and contained)
• Micro-jumps around, tainting any food you touch to rapidly rot and explode with maggots and flies. Then jumps back onto you to hide in hair follicles.
• Any time tainted food is eaten suffer food poisoning. Also vomiting maggots and flies.
• The maggots and flies themselves don't explode, and are actually edible if you pick them out. Hope you like eating maggots for eternity!
• Will follow you into afterlife.

5. Why The Sun Wants to Murder Us

• Sun appears way bigger this dawn.
• Mostly-translucent flying mantis-like spirit holds up giant magnifying glass half a mile away to focus sunbeams onto you.
• Kites you around, magnifying the Sun all day. Hides to the east every night to rest.
• Provokes exhaustion checks, or double difficulty if those already exist. Or maybe fire damage.

6. The Sock Grundle

• Spirit looks like cross between squirrel and raccoon. Very agile in underbrush.
• Can make socks dance off of feet. Does this whenever socks are worn. Painless but surprising.
• Makes crescendo-ing "Shhhhhhhhhh!" noises.
• Goes and makes nests out of stolen socks.
• A curse typically applied in cold places.

7. This Strange Lump

• Cancerous boil appears in inconvenient hairy place.
• After 1 week becomes fist-sized.
• After this period, the boil grows infolding arms and hands.
• Arms and hands will tie your hair into impossible, inconvenient knots whenever you aren't looking. (Scalp hair to nearby tree branch, armpit hair to shirt, your eyebrow hair to someone else's eyebrow hair, etc.)
• Does this very quickly, in less than a second.
• Can be excised, though very painful. Fold-able arms have tendency to snatch scalpels and start indiscriminately stabbing.

8. The Horrible Hag

• Impervious Old Lady spirit accompanies you all the time. Looks like normal old lady.
• Constantly berates you and tells other people how terrible you are. Doesn't lie.
• Is silent only so long as she is actively, currently being berated.
• Crossing a river or a very busy street gets rid of her for a day, after which she will almost certainly berate you for leaving a poor old woman to cross alone.

9. The Grey Hand

• Severed hand of grey flesh with yellow fingernails tries to eye gouge to death the person whose home you last entered. Hits at darkest part of night.
• Its touch stains the skin pale yellow, and melts flesh like acid.
• Does this a few times before moving on to main target.

10. Why Every Carpet I Sit On Has A Pit Trap Under It

• Spirit is an invisible dog-sized mole man, apt in stealth, with impeccable attention to detail.
• Anytime you would sit or stand on a concealed bit of ground, such as a carpet, there is a perfectly-calibrated cylindrical pit trap waiting for you. Sometimes over 20ft deep.
• Pit is tailored so that someone exactly your dimensions becomes stuck. You will need to be dug out.
• If the fall doesn't kill you, being trapped in an earth coffin might. Starvation or suffocation.
• Sometimes pits have earth-covered spikes. Generally only if the first one doesn't kill you.
• Dying in a pit this way is the most politically humiliating way to die. Popular spirit assassin for targeting courtiers.

11. The Door Maimer

• Dwarfish man-spirit in crocodile mask waits behind doors to scythe your legs with a wood ax.
• Given away by complete silence. Not a sound or sign of movement in the area.
• Double normal movement speed. Cripples/Amputates legs then runs away.
• Only operates on already open doors. Must at least be slightly ajar. 

12. The Dark Outriders

• Two black-clad riders with red waning-moon helmets come barreling down the way towards you. Their presence is announced by brass horns shaped like eagle beaks.
• Riders stretch a net between them. They attempt to ensnare you and anyone with you, dragging you for seven miles with their hell-horses. 
• They laugh all the way.
• Nothing beneath their armor.

13. A White Tiger That Just Burst Out of A Man's Gut

• An albino spirit predator attacks you out in the open, despite how well accompanied or armed you are. Could be a tiger, a wolf, a cougar, a bear, something big and scary. Stats as normal for such a beast.
• If it kills the target, that's good.
• But if it doesn't, those that eat of its flesh will grow deathly ill over the course of a week.
• Color drains from their skin. Their belly gets distended outwards. Pain.
• Then a tiger claws its way out of their guts, from the inside. Attacks nearest person.

14. The Dancing Snake-Sword

• Malicious dancing sword of bendy steel that rattles with loose cross-guard before ambushes.
• Turns into flexible poisonous rattlesnake whenever it is grabbed.
• Sword blade is also Poisonous.

15. This Mysterious Black Amulet

• Black amulet with red eye painted onto it finds its way into bags/pockets.
• Always finds it way back, no matter how it is disposed of.
• Doesn't actually do anything harmful.
• Occasionally roll a secret meaningless roll for it.

16. The Double Agent Hawk

• Looks like a duke of hawks. Majestic, ferocious, perfect. Clearly supernatural.
• Can talk. Speaks like an old royal.
• Initially provides useful intelligence for you. Dangers ahead, enemy troop movements, interesting locations. Does this a few times to build trust.
• Betrays you. Turns traitor after trust has been built and intel looks solid.
• Begins telling enemies about your location. Leads predators straight to you. Misdirects about traps.

16. Why The Night Sky Wants to Kill Us

• Constellation Man with a hit job.
• Only appears on starry, clear nights.
• Shoots star arrows from the heavens. Hits like meteorites.
• Unconcerned with collateral damage.

16. The Ghostly Hand That Emerges From My Porridge

• Ghost that haunts your first meal of the day.
• Emerges hand/arm first from any liquid/semi-liquids. Constantly dripping in said material.
• Will attempt to swallow you whole like a python and drag you back into the breakfast food.
• Portended by vibrating liquids, all nearby roosters dying before dawn, and spilling milk that forms shapes of seeking hands.

17. The Demon Counsel

• A court of demons appears every Monday, ruled by The Demon King.
• King acts like a shitty guidance counselor, trying to steer you to commit selfish or abusive acts. Surprisingly supportive and understanding in this regard; still, asks you to do horrible things.
• If insufficient evil acts have been committed, then "assistance" is necessary: micromanaging demons, rumor-mongering imps, harassing spirits eager to "just get this over with", etc.
• They have all of the proper papers.

18. Your Backwards Head

• Ghost of weeping woman with black eye holes causes all who look upon her face to have their heads turned around 180-degrees with a quick snap.
• Person is functional in all other ways while head is turned around. Fighting is quite difficult, though.
• She keeps appearing in inconvenient places.
• Three head-turns and your head pops right off of your body. Body dies, your head lives. You are now just a head now.

19. How Everything's On Fire

• Little ash mote floats about 10ft above your head. Barely visible, less invisible at night.
• Sets fire to anything and everything flammable that you go near.
• Starts fires like things are drenched in lighter fluid.
• Quite useful if ensnared. Causes prison-container to drastically heat up, though.

20. This Horrible Toothache

• Tiny little yellow spirits crawl into your teeth to party when you sleep.
• Horrible toothache.
• Causes bottom molars to grow back and upwards towards brain. Over several days teeth will grow into roof of mouth and eventually pierce skull, growing into brain causing painful migraines and death.

Goldsoul Mines - Part 2

Dungeon Introduction

Domain of the Old Army

Goldsoul Mines

Metamorphic Spider Lair

Deep Lake Caverns

Goldsoul Mines Map

Part 2 of Goldsoul Mines is finished! You can find it here.

It includes the mines proper, a rival adventuring party, and the lair of the Dracolich. Enjoy!

The first quote from it:

"There are pools of gold in every depression and crevice. Not the pure glimmering gold of kings and merchants, but the sick dirty-water-gold of excised fat tissue. It seeps into every crack, every claw mark in the ground. It poisons the earth, acidifying it beyond growth, rubbing off on your boots and hands. It may never come out..."

Goldsoul Mines - Part 1

For the Goldsoul Mines, Part 1, see here.

For a clear view of the map, see here.

For the long-winded introduction to this adventure, see here.

I've finished digitizing the first part of the Goldsoul Mines - The Domain of the Old Army. Designed for Veins of the Earth/Lamentations. Mid Level approximate.

Contains The West Entrance, and caves A1-A8. Enjoy! Part 2 to come next.

(Aware Errata: Entrances not labeled on map. B10 and B11 caves do not exist. The Outline doesn't quite get entries next to big headers.)
(I will get to fixing these once I have power again at my apartment.)

The Goldsoul Mines

(Scroll down to skip dungeon introduction turned creation myth)

(Gold King Mine, Colorado, source: EPA)

~~~~~

The age-wizened Griots sometimes speak of a time when all the world's gold used to dance in the sky. It glittered and shined among the stars, joyous and plentiful for all People to behold. Ancestor-spirits wove golden garments upon constellation-looms, and the Moon cavorted in symphonies of glimmering majesty with the planets upon the great celestial canvas. Man was at peace, for the riches of the world belonged to all, for all, to behold every night.

They call it The Golden Age. The Great Peace.

It was not to last.

One night, a creature of the earth, a great wyrm named Gongor, slithered out from his hole in the ground to behold the Great Beauty. He saw the star-garments of gold. He saw how the Moon danced. He saw how Men reveled at the sky, and he grew jealous of its beauty, for none such existed in the ground.

A great flame awoke in Gongor - a mighty flame of Greed. Like a brushfire, Greed spread throughout his body with a raging swiftness. Gongor frenzied and spat, jealous of Men and their ancestors. He cursed Men, he cursed their ancestors, and he cursed the gods for the form they had given him. He swore that before his death all gold would be his.

Gongor was a clever beast. He knew he could not reach the sky. He knew that the spears of the Ancestors were deadly. And he knew that he could not fit much gold in his mouth. Not without help.

He slithered back underground, and sought out his friend the Rabbit.

"May I borrow your wings, Rabbit?" Gongor asked. "I will give them back shorty."

Gongor had never broken a promise, so Rabbit agreed. She rarely got to make use of them, anyways, since she found the ground more comforting. She would lend Gongor her wings.

Gongor then went to seek out Shrew-Mole.

"May I borrow your scales, Shrew-Mole?" He asked. "I have great need for them."

Gongor had proven himself an ally to Shrew-Mole when he had chased away predators, so Shrew-Mole agreed, and gave Gongor his scales.

Gongor then went to seek out Great Snake.

"May I borrow your arms and legs, Great Snake?"  He asked. "I wish to feel the earth between my toes, such as you."

Snake was crafty. He knew that Gongor was up to something. Nobody just asks for your arms and legs for such a trivial reason, and here was Gongor, with Shrew-Mole's scales and Rabbit's wings! Snake sensed a plot.

"Tell me, Gongor, why do you really want my arms and legs?" Snake hissed.

Gongor, ashamed to have been caught in a lie, confessed:

"I wish to take the Gold from the sky, Snake. There is no beauty like it underground, and there is far too much in the sky. There should be majesty in all places, Snake. But I have nothing to hold and keep it with."

Snake, a creature of the earth, was sympathetic to Gongor's plight. He too wished for there to be beauty in the ground as well as the sky, for he lived in both worlds, and loathed their inequality. Snake, however, was too cautious to attempt what Gongor now planned. Snake feared and understood the wrath of ancestor-spirits better than most, for Snake was adept at sorcery.

But if Gongor went instead, he would bear all the risk. So Snake agreed.

Gongor, with Rabbit's wings, Shrew-Mole's scales, and Snake's powerful arms and legs, took to the sky to gather up the gold at next twilight. Spirits and Men, seeing this new frightening creature, ran at first sight of its terrifying visage. With Rabbit's wings Gongor flew across the sky with decisive swiftness. With Shrew-Mole's scales he deflected the spears and arrows of Man and Ancestor alike, whose bravest warriors came to oppose him. With Snake's arms and legs he scooped up every bit of gold - save for one last brilliant nugget that slipped without his notice.

Gongor, his haul in claw, escaped into the depths of the earth. Deep, deep down he went, until he got so deep that none would follow him. In the darkness he counted up his riches.

Meanwhile, Men and Ancestor rallied. It did not take them long to discover that it was Gongor, the mighty wyrm, that they had seen in the sky. An army was assembled, the last of its kind, to confront Gongor and take back the gold. Yet the earth is no place for armies. Unaccustomed to the earth, the Army of the Sky of Man and Ancestor bickered and fought, unable to decide a course of action. Inevitably, it was little more that they could do than besiege it against Gongor's return.

Gongor, having counted up his hoard and discovered that the brightest bauble had been missed, flew into a rage. Yet, he knew that the Grand Army of the Sky had set siege to the earth. He knew that he could not successfully fight a ready army. Shrew-Mole's scales had deflected one or two powerful spear thrusts, but it would not stop them all. He was trapped.

The fire of Greed grew within him with every passing day. His stomach burned with it, and it tortured him. Nearly all the world's gold and still he was not satisfied. It consumed him from inside. Soon enough the Greed erupted from his mouth. It ate up his guts and burned his heart. In a great internal pyre he was consumed.

Atop his hoard Gongor melted from inside-out, and all the world's gold with him. In liquid form the gold flowed through the cracks and crevices of the earth, until it stretched to every corner of the Underworld. Naught but bones remained of Greedy Gongor, his fortune scattered like tree-seeds in the wind. Not just gold, but even some stars he'd accidentally scooped from the sky.

In the end, Gongor died from his Greed, The Golden Age of Man and Spirit had ended, and the sky has now but one golden remnant of that glorious time.

Snake, though, was satisfied. Now there was beauty in the earth as well.

~~~~~

Two generations ago, The Great Mine flooded. A mistake of engineering, they called it. An unexpected monsoon. The noble architect was given five lashes. Two-hundred workers drowned. Their bodies could never be retrieved.

The King called upon his Sorcerer and his Diviner to appraise the situation. Both went to perform the augury-rituals and both came back with blood drained from their faces. So much human death could not be appeased, neither by sorcery nor by god. The mine was condemned.

In pity, they named those who perished in the mine flood "Goldsouls", for their bodies and spirits would no doubt carry the stain of gold on them forever, even in the afterlife.

None have entered since that time. It had become a wild place.

Then, recently, a hunter came back to his village, exhausted and covered in dried golden muck. He said that he had frequented the area, despite the warnings of the village elders, as game was abundant and untouched. He'd slipped down a muddy slope and broke him arm.

He said that he had seen something - a creature, down in a deep hole in the earth past a pool of aurilian slush. Vaguely man-shaped, dripping in a golden sludge, with a nugget of gold the size of the hunter's fist. Behind the veneer of gold were malformed teeth and sharp crushed bone. They had a desperate battle, but the hunter won.

The hunter brought this treasure back.

Now All know of the Goldsoul Mine.

~~~~~

Using Inkscape (it's free to download), I made a template for Veins of the Earth-style cave systems. I figured I'd test it out by copying down this cave system I made a while back. The template isn't perfect, but it's made making cave systems a lot smoother for me. I expect to make improvements over time.

(Note: They are in .svg format. You will need a program like Inkscape to use them. Previewing doesn't normally apply to .svg files, methinks.)

Veins Cave System Inkscape Template here.
Veins Cave System Inkscape Template (Wide) here.

Anyways, the introduction to this dungeon ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated. First block will go in an appendix, I think. Second I can actually use as an introduction to an adventure document.

Spoilers for my players below

Here's a map of the Goldsoul Mines, using the Veins of the Earth cave system mapping method:

Link for full-size map here.

I'll be working on transcribing all of my notes on this dungeon into a digital format. If any are willing, I'd also like to commission some art pieces to go along with it. You can contact me at murlockiller@gmail.com with a summary of your uncolored-but-maybe-gold rates.