Adding Trappings to Beneath Ahknoor


Since the listed Locations on a dungeon level are meant to be the highlights, not an exclusive list of places the characters can find themselves in, Keepers will find themselves improvising side locations regularly.  Moments were the CfB mechanism I started with here, but Justin Alexander's video on Corridor Themes  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJlImE6rJVo) seemed like a great addition. 

I'm adding Trappings to the Level Sheets, and a short explanation to the rules. Here's the text from the  "Reading a Level Sheet" section:

Trappings - A list of six details that can be used to describe passages and other unnamed locations on that level. The Keeper should select one or two of them during each Exploration Move to create a more engaging description of the spaces the Adventurers pass through and investigate.

And here are the Trappings and Moments from the Warrens of the Beastfolk:

Trappings

  • Bits of cloth and fur bunched into a makeshift sleeping area
  • A narrow space that must be passed single file, moving sideways
  • Graffiti claiming the space in the name of one faction
  • A foul stench, the source is not apparent
  • A broken weapon
  • Bones cracked open to get at the marrow within

Moments 

  • Ankle-deep fetid water covers the floor. The sound of splashing footsteps seems to carry through the narrow, low-ceilinged passage.
  • Rotting beams sag overhead, groaning with the weight of rock overhead.
  • Choking smoke suddenly fills the passageway.
  • A chimeric, humanoid body lies on the floor. Its mismatched limbs are bent at unnatural angles, and its severed head is missing.
  • Hand-sized maggots crawl among the discarded remains of several beastfolk.
  • Webs with strands as thick as a finger festoon the walls and make the way forward precarious.

As you can see they're complementary, even related, tools. It should be easy to build your own Moments using one of the trappings, or to pick one or two and craft a flavorful description of an unlisted location as the Adventurers move through it, encounter something there, or search it for Clues.

For example, after Berend and Yasoon fail an Exploration Move, the Keeper might say - 

"As you move toward what you think is the Low Gallery, you find yourself at a three-way intersection, unsure of how to proceed. In a small niche, you can see a person-sized nest of skins, fur, what looks like a pair of old trousers, and a ripped adventurer's cloak."  


Ok, that's it for now. I'll post again in a couple of weeks. What would you like to read about?

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