Holmes Sample Dungeon XP

[captaincrumbcake]

Out of curiosity, I decided to account for the Experience available in the sample dungeon the good professor provided in his introductory volume.

By my best guess/estimate, there is around 3,595 that can be extracted through treasure, and  580 (at the low end) to 600 (at the normal high end) for monsters killed; the latter figures do not account for rooms or areas where it is described that "after a certain number of turns" or "after a certain number of feet" there is a X % chance of a monster appearing--that sort of stuff. So my totals are: 4,175 at the low end, and 4,195 at the high end (given nothing wandering rears its ugly head).

Given the likelihood that the dungeon will claim at least one adventurer's life, one would think this might not be sufficient to warrant such exploration.
But wait! Did I mention--treasure?
Indeed I did, and it is just such that, IMO, is half the reason to undertake the quest.
Oh, and the other half:

the excitement of finding out just what lies around the next corner, or beyond that stuck door!


Thoughts?

[Vile Traveller]

IIRC he treasure in the manuscript was substantially more. Holmes = generous, Gygax = miserly, it seems (when it comes to tresure, anyway!).

[captaincrumbcake]

May 17, 2016 5:05:40 GMT -5 Vile Traveller said:

IIRC he treasure in the manuscript was substantially more. Holmes = generous, Gygax = miserly, it seems (when it comes to tresure, anyway!).

Here's what I compiled according to the MS--room by room (A, B, etc.)  SPOILER ALERT!!















A: 1000 SP, 2000 CP
B: None
C-E: None
F: Magic sword, scroll, 1000 GP(belt)
G: Silver dagger (x 50 GP), bag of 50 EP
H-I: None
J: magic dagger
K: None
L: None
M: 2-12 GP (x4)
N. 2000 SP/chest, 1000 EP + 12 gems worth 100 gp/chest, magic sword, coronet x 300 GP, jewelry (x 900 GP)
P: 50 PP, 5 gems (50 GP total)
S2: magic wand, scroll

Am I missing much?

[Admin Pete]

I haven't seen the Holmes manuscript and I also don't give experience for killing monsters, but the amount of treasure seems IMO pretty generous for that small of a number of rooms.

[captaincrumbcake]

Even adding the monsters into the mix, the total XP available is pretty thin for a party of, say 3-5 characters, should they all survive. Likely only a thief would get close to breaking a level in such a group, if they all got out alive.

That said, it is just a sample dungeon--worthy of being expanded and personalized.*



* Which I am going to be working on (some more) today--the rat tunnels! I'll be posting it when I complete it.

[Admin Pete]

May 17, 2016 11:45:26 GMT -5 captaincrumbcake said:

Even adding the monsters into the mix, the total XP available is pretty thin for a party of, say 3-5 characters, should they all survive. Likely only a thief would get close to breaking a level in such a group, if they all got out alive.

That said, it is just a sample dungeon--worthy of being expanded and personalized.*



* Which I am going to be working on (some more) today--the rat tunnels! I'll be posting it when I complete it.

Yes, however, bear in mind that the number of rooms you have noted above is considerably less than a full game session, at least for me. My game sessions run 4-5 hours and the sample dungeon, that I have not looked at, sounds like it would occupy maybe an hour give or take. I game once per month, which is all that I can do right now. That is just to explain why I would not expect that size of an area to yield enough treasure for the party to level up.

[captaincrumbcake]

Here's my extension of the rat tunnels for those wishing to expand on the sample dungeon.






Warrens of the Rat King.pdf (91.96 KB)