Much of my free time was being taken up by my current campaign, which took priority over writing since I wanted to game more than write!
However, due to schedule conflicts, the campaign is pretty much on hold, which means I'm free to focus on our project. It's probably for the best. I had only 1 player, and the game was distracting me from this project too much. So...here's the latest news!
First, Ruins of Undermountain III: The Deadly Levels is going to cover a little more ground than originally anticipated. What does that mean? Well, originally we planned on detailing Level 7, Level 8, and a major Sub-Level. However, while designing the Adventure Booklet portion, it hit me that the adventures could be based on smaller sub-levels, which means covering more material. In other words, the 3 adventures detailed in the Adventures Booklet will each take place on their own small sub-level.
One of the sub-levels is going to be called the Level of the Damned, and that name has a lot of deep meaning and homage and all sorts of special implications. I can't explain more than that. It was based off an original idea for a particular area, but thinking it over I decided that the idea didn't warrant a very large sub-level. Originally, I conceived of the Level of the Damned as a vast cavernous sub-level. However, the new idea works better and keeps it as a manageable sub-level similar in size to the published Lost Level adventure by TSR/WOTC.
The Level of the Damned is also part of an homage I am working into the project. It is in regards to the first party I ever ran through Undermountain when I first got my evil hands on that magnificent boxed set all those years ago.
I ran a party of close friends through it, in our first Forgotten Realms campaign. Unfortunately, several of the original PCs died. Some were raised and went on adventuring. Others were stuck forever dead. So, I am working them into the history of Undermountain for this release in honor of that first intrepid group who dared face my Undermountain DMing. Without giving away too much, those characters (or rather, their remains and effects) are going to be incorporated into this release in honor of them. The Level of the Damned is perhaps the most perfect tribute and the most poignant of them all.
So, Ruins of Undermountain III: The Deadly Levels will now cover two main levels (Level 7 and Level 8 ), a major sub-level (the name of which I cannot at this point reveal), and three smaller sub-levels (one of which is called the Level of the Damned). Quite a lot of area covered!
Some things change as I write, and new stuff gets added. This is a list of what is being included (material which is currently completed, although the list will grow somewhat):
30 new magical items (including a couple of artifacts and relics)
36 new monsters
36 new spells (including a priestly quest level spell)
12 new NPCs
162 developed rooms
I will probably add 6 new magic items since I want some appearing on the Adventures sub-levels, and it would be cool to have an even 3 dozen each of new monsters, spells, and magic items.
The developed rooms stat includes both Areas of Interest (essentially smaller, more minor rooms) and Core Rooms (major rooms). Typically the Areas of Interest are labeled A-Z on each level, while the Core Rooms are numbered 1-whatever.
Keep in mind several things:
1. Many of the rooms are multiple-roomed areas. For example, on Level 7, there is a Room #1A - #1H, which means the complex called "Room #1" consists of 7 different actual rooms, labeled 1A - 1H. Since each of these are really mainly full sized rooms (it's usually done as, for example, #1A-#1D since the rooms are so closely connected) we need to count those as 60 extra rooms, which brings the total developed room count to 222.
2. We also have to keep in mind that we are adding at least 15 "plug and play" rooms that are generic (though highly detailed) developed rooms that are designed to be able to be dropped in anywhere, on any level, to "fill" up any undeveloped areas the PCs may run into. So that ups the number of rooms to 237.
3. I do not have a room count for the two minor sub-levels since they are not fully designed yet, but assume about 30 more rooms (roughly 10 per sub-level), which brings it up to 267 developed rooms.
Yeah, it's gonna be a big-ass PDF book!
Level 7 is complete. The major sub-level is a bit more than half complete (by complete I mean the rooms in their total, final developed stage, fully details and formatted) since all the areas of interest are done, as are more than half the core rooms, and Level 8 is in its rough draft phase, with most room planning complete, and sketches of each room just needing final writing and detailing. But a vast majority of the material is done room-wise.What's mainly left is converting development notes and details into final prose form.
I'm going to wrap up the major sub-level next, since there's so little work left to do on it.
After that, I will wrap up Level 8 and then the 3 sub-level adventures.
And then we are done.
Well, as soon as we manage the art and mapping that needs completing, but we'll get to that.
After not looking at the material in a while, then going over it all with a fine tooth comb once more to proof it and catch up on where I'm going with everything (and to put me in the mood to work on it), I must say - while it is generally considered uncouth to toot one's own horn, I just gotta toot mine a bit here.
I really am very proud of the material and feel good about it. It's some of my best work ever. And I'm hyper-critical of my own work. I'm brutal. If it sounds good (or even really good) to someone else, but I'm not feeling good about it, I call it crap and re-do it until they fall over looking at the revision and call it "great". So rest assured, this is me giving it my all.
I can't wait to release this beast. It's so hard to be patient, and so tempting to put it out piecemeal (one level at a time), but when I think about the overwhelming overall impact the full product will make, it just gives me the patience to wait it out no matter how bad that looks to some critics who ask "why is it taking so long". When I put it out, I'll be able to say "let me see you put out something of this size and quality in less time and still work and go to school". And eat. And sleep. LOL!
Anyway, just a heads-up to let you all know we're not giving up. I worked on Memorial Day and got paid double time to basically sit on my laptop and work on the project. I love it when I can actually get paid for writing a free product for once!
