Jean Béraud
Besides my other RPG stuff, I completed five "dungeons" in 2023.
- The Temple of the Crying Buddha - Unknown Armies 3e. During the 1937 Rape of Nanking, a squad of Japanese soldiers are sent to retrieve an artifact from a hidden temple mysteriously untouched by the looting.
- The Mountain of the Mad Marquis - d20 fantasy. The legendary bandit Gorrister the Great was last seen descending into the ruined DeCavalier estate on the edge of civilization. There's a price on his head, but the real question is what he went looking for.
- Dungeon Crawling Double Feature - Unknown Armies 3e. The Four Adventurers descend into the underworld in search of occult power, then use their discoveries to raid the Old King's fortress and topple the Monarchy.
- The Cage Cup - Unknown Armies 3e drinking game. In the year 143 BC, a party of Slaves is caught in the Roman Republic's violent suppression of the Bacchanalia. Their only hope to escape the bloodshed is the power of the wine god himself.
- Singing Sand - Delta Green dungeon crawl in the world of Fear & Hunger. Feature complete, awaiting a third playtest. The year is 1913, the place the ancient land of Abyssonia, where archaeologists have just uncovered the lost tomb of a New God.
My next project is a hex crawl.
Following the death of her father Arminus, the eponymous Giantess Morwenna is looking for a political marriage, but isn't interested in learning about politics. To find the best husband (or wife) she's holding a battle-royale, pitting her suitors and their retinues against one another. Three contestants have brought their entourages to the tournament grounds, determined to win the grand melee.
- Robert the Bandit and the green warriors of One Ear
- Wilusa the Lamia and her high level party of ensorceled adventures
- Gorrister the Great and his monstrous Brigands of All Nations
Signups are still open for late-arriving warlords, meanwhile preparations for the event have devastated the countryside. Morwenna's legion of landsknechts have denuded the landscape of life for miles around. Crops stolen, animals driven off, inhabitants enslaved to chop wood and cut stone - or rounded up in meatcamps to be served at the giantess' feast.
Low power groups can do missions to give one of the contestants an advantage or steal things during the chaos. Higher level characters can enter the tournament and fight for the Morwenna's hand, or raid her steading and assassinate her. The challenge is to fill the landscape with interesting smaller details besides the primary factions. I hate "wilderness travel" so I want to make a hex crawl I will actually enjoy running, and the players will enjoy playing.
Very excited for your hexcrawl project The Wedding of the Giantess Morwenna. Really like the idea that low power groups can contribute to which faction "wins." Since wilderness travel can turn into a bore as you said, maybe having points of interest in the hexes that have resources that can either be personally exploited, or turned into one of the factions to bolster them? Or maybe have the resources also be able to be given to the Giantess herself for her favor?
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