The Component Library

Enter a large room (30x30x30).  The facing wall is covered with 900 evenly spaced spikes.  If the wall you are entering from is examined, it's seen to be covered in 900 evenly spaced divots.

When this room Tumbles, the spikes act as plum-bobs pulling chains from (what is now) the ceiling.  Each chain has items attached at foot-length intervals.  There are 900 alchemical components-- vials of liquid, pressed plants, dried organs.

When the room eventually tumbles again, weights at the wall-end retract the chains back out of the room.

The components are organized very precisely by a system based on the humours:

I'm thinking the third dimension could be rarity, with those nearest the floor the most common.  But, the Grand Alchemist had to have been able to reach the rarest components too, maybe a turban of climbing?

Now, any recommendations for material component charts, or should I make one?

The Well Room

My players are on a ship, headed north, but seem very interested in stopping at a mark on the map for which I have nothing prepared.  So I'm thinking I'll use stuff I've worked up partially, which means finishing up the Tumbling Dungeon.  So here is another room I just figured out.  It was like doing geometry homework, damn you OSR!!!! Haha.  If I have errors let me know*.

Here we see the room as first encountered.  Water is all in the Well.  At the bottom of the shaft there is a secret room storing alchemical powders.

Now the room has tumbled once (rotated through it's vertical axis).  Forgive me, this is very hard for me to represent graphically, but basically the water pours out filling the room with ten feet of water.
So, to lay out all the states the room will tumble through:

1. Water in the well. When players first see it.
2. Circular tunnel in the wall, room full of water.
3. Circular hole in ceiling, room full of water.
4. Circular tunnel in other wall, room full of water.

 I'm pondering putting critters in the water.

* the cylindrical tunnel actually widens from about 10' in the wall to 15' for the rest of the run in order to hold that volume of water, but I drew it simpler.  I figure if players start asking about water volume then, yes, biting critters appear.

Hall of Four Spheres

Designing a Tumbling Dungeon is proving more difficult than I'd hoped. At least, in balancing how interesting the turned chambers are with the complexity of explaining them. I thought I might put up some chambers piecemeal as they come to me.

The Hall of Four Spheres is first encountered as a hallway with domes in the flour. These domes are made of stone/iron/brass and have inscriptions of astrological signs on them representing four skies:

The domes are actually full spheres resting in hemispherical depressions in the floor.  When the hallway is rotated (or the gravity is switched to either of the two walls or the ceiling), the spheres will roll, blocking the passage.  Children, hobbits, and talking dogs may be able to slip between the spheres and the walls of the passage when blocked, but then they'll have to fight the grue alone.  There could be interesting inscriptions in those depressions revealed when the spheres roll free, you might need a child, hobbit, or talking dog to squeeze in there and see.

Dungeon Room - The Ossuary

I had to curtail my ambitions for yesterday's pdf.  I'd originally planned a little map of a dungeon room that would nicely showcase several of the house rules at once.  But I'll share it now:

The Ossuary

A veteran legion lost in a dungeon found a defensive position and were able to survive, just barely.  But reinforcements never came and they defend that position until this day.

The Lost Legion is comprised of 12 skeletal warriors with shield and gladius.  They fight in a shield wall, but each soldier will sacrifice their shield if hit.  This breaks the shield wall temporarily.  The shield-less warrior will fall back between the lines and pick up another shield.  Another warrior will move forward to fill the gap in the line. 

The Lost Legion will attack any creature entering the Ossuary, but each attack will be an attempt to push the opponent back.  Their tactic is to pivot around the central column and push their adversary into the open pit.