The Old School Dungeon – Populating Level 1, Chillyfist the Ghoul
G. Bruce MacKenzie
Map key 8, Revisited
We will skip over this key and randomly determine its contents later.
Map key 9, Revisited – Chillyfist the Ghoul
We are still placing our treasures and now that we have some exposition regarding the Kobolds lets look again at our Special Wandering Monster Table. In a previous article we introduced a Ghoul as part of the Special Wandering Monsters who respond to the shriek of the disturbed Shrieker at Map Key 9. Let’s give this Ghoul a name, Chillyfist, We just made it up by combining two words. This monster, we proposed earlier, would normally be found on Level 2, and we’ll suggest there is a lair. So, the Ghoul will only appear on Level 1 when it hears the noise of the Shrieker or as a random wandering monster. We’ll propose that should a Ghoul appear as a wandering monster on Level 1 or 2 it will be Chillyfist. In Gollum-esque inspiration let’s give Chillyfist the Ring of Invisibility we are proposing as one of our “placed” treasures for Level 1. We are being tricky here in making this a treasure that moves around but hey, why not? We shall decide that there is no reason why this monster (character) cannot use the ring. Why? We are doing this to make the Ghoul a more “interesting” opponent, much like the Kobolds. Again, a wholistic understanding of the rules helps us grasp how to better role-play the Ghoul.
A Ghoul, according to the definition of this monster is an undead hideous beast-like human. Oddly, the rules then don’t include them as “persons”. Why not? They are undead but clearly not stupid. According to their description in Moldvay on page B26 Ghouls act intelligently because when they paralyse one character they immediately attack another. Ghouls crave the flesh of the living and this monster we propose uses all its cunning to obtain it. Like other undead it moves silently although this is not specifically listed in the Monster’s description, Refer to Moldvay page B26, topic Listening. As for magic, Charm and Sleep spells these have no effect on Ghouls per the spell descriptions. However, a Ghoul is vulnerable to being turned by a Cleric, refer to the table in Moldvay on page B8.
We can propose that Chillyfist is wearing the magic Ring of Invisibility and that invisibility makes the Ghoul even more dangerous. In a lot of respects the rules are incomplete regarding invisible characters and so this forces the Dungeon Master/Ref to interpret the rules and make adjudications regarding a few things. As the Dungeon Master you do not have to abide by the suggestions which follow but whatever you decide write down your decisions and try to consistently follow them.
Normally, characters may listen for noise and have a 2-in-6 chance of success. However as Ghouls are Undead they make no noise and so there is nothing to be heard when a character is listening. Let players roll anyway for the check.
Surprise normally occurs on a dice roll of 2-in-6 when characters are visible. Invisible monsters such as Pixies and Invisible Stalkers have individual and differing definitions of achieving surprise:
- Invisible Stalkers surprise foes 5-in-6 of the time. These invisible monsters cannot be seen or heard.
- Not all Monsters are the same; they can have a variable x-in-6 chance of surprising their opponents.
- Pixies can attack and remain invisible and they always gain surprise.
We can assign the invisible Ghoul a 5-in-6 chance of surprising foes. More broadly though, and as there is no rule, we can propose a 3-in-6 or 4-in-6 chance of surprise for characters wearing a Ring of Invisibility.
This leads us to ask how do magic rings actually work? They are usable by all characters albeit only one can be worn per hand on the fingers or thumb, refer to Moldvay page B49. As part of our mastery of the rules we can paraphrase the various invisibility rules in Moldvay on Page B17, B48, and B49 in order to grasp the entire concept of magical invisibility. With regard to the ring of Invisibility a character is invisible as long as the ring is worn except that if the wearer of the ring attacks or casts a spell they become visible. The character does not have agency in that they cannot become invisible at will; they must put on the ring. There are limitations. When the ring is worn it will only cause a character to turn invisible once per turn. Anything a character is wearing or carrying becomes invisible as well. Anything they pick up turns invisible and remains so until they put it down. However, invisibility is not a panacea, it does not prevent footsteps from being heard or odours being smelled. There is a 2-in-6 chance of hearing noise when listening and a similar x-in-6 chance can be assigned to detecting odours. We can propose that animals and monsters may of course have a better chance of detecting smells from 1-in-6 to 5-in-6.
How does invisibility work in melee? If a character were to attack or cast a spell in the first round of a Turn they would remain visible for the entire turn, in total 10 rounds of melee. If a character is invisible and doesn’t attack until the 5th round of melee they immediately become visible in that round and remain so for the last 5 rounds of melee. The ring of invisibility will then automatically make its wearer invisible again on the first round of melee in the following Turn so long as the character continues to wear the ring and does not attack or cast spells in the first round.
However, how do you attack an invisible character? Moldvay Basic D&D does not typically permit attacks against invisible characters. The implication of the text is that an invisible character must first be made visible via magic, or a natural ability to detect the invisible, before they can be attacked. That a character must be visible in order to be attacked entirely avoids the question of attacking invisible characters. We can explore older texts to try and understand why this is:
If we refer to Chainmail we find that invisible characters are similarly treated in that they cannot be attacked unless they can first be seen, refer to the topic Elves in Chainmail on page 26. This is not the only reference to invisibility but it is the most significant. Clarification is not particularly aided by the description in Moldvay Expert D&D of the Invisible Stalker, refer to Moldvay Expert page 52, where no mention at all is made of how to attack this invisible character in melee though they are assigned an Armor Class of 3. The presumption one may make from this is that when a character is not visible they may not be attacked.
If we then refer to Mentzer Basic D&D, topic Special Attacks, on page 23 this is confirmed when we find that a character may not normally attack an invisible character but as an optional rule if the spell Detect Invisible is used by a Magic-User they then may guide attackers, who are treated as if blind, and a -4 dice roll modifier is applied to attacks.
In First Edition AD&D the rules further conflate blindness and invisibility in that they apply the same -4 dice roll modifier to attacks vs. invisible characters. This rule appears in the 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide in the topic Invisibility on pages 56 and 57. This is the approach also taken in Labyrinth Lord, refer to page 44. Note that these rules do not require the direction of the 3rd party Magic-User.
However, Moldvay Basic D&D does not conflate blindness and invisibility. Attacks by blind characters are not permitted, refer to Moldvay page B15, the effect of Blindness is in the Light spell description, OSE Classic Fantasy page 132.
The conclusion we can draw is that the original intent is that characters which are invisible cannot be attacked unless they are magically visible, with the exception of special rules for monsters such as Pixies. If we look at the example of Pixies in Moldvay page B41 we learn, insofar as Pixies are concerned, that their invisibility is not absolute, character’s see shadows and movement in the air and may attack an invisible Pixie with a -2 penalty on “to hit” rolls. In my opinion this text is written as such because there is generally an expectation in D&D that a character must always have a chance of success. The 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide doubles down on this concept and applies it more broadly because on DMG page 57 the observer is able to note a disturbance in the air, a shimmer, that thereafter reveals the general location of an invisible character. If this approach is taken widely in Moldvay/OSE/Labyrinth Lord then invisibility is no longer truly invisible and something unique and special has been lost.
Note – maybe characters should be allowed to detect the invisible as an 1-in-6 opportunity or 2-in-6 for Elves. If attacks vs. invisible characters are to be allowed I feel that the -2 attack penalty as suggested by the example of the Pixie is sufficient.
From the texts we see that the later iterations of the rules have wrestled with this issue of attacking invisible characters in order to present characters with a chance of success without the need for magical revealment. However, the original rules are much more interesting in that they make magic, and Magic-Users, necessary for fighting invisible monsters. Monsters such as the Invisible Stalker are far more formidable if they must first be made visible before they are subject to attack. Therefore I would rule in accord with the original intent; that an invisible character must first be made visible via magic, or natural ability, before they can be attacked. So, as long as the ring makes Chillyfist invisible the Ghoul cannot be attacked.
Now that we are more fully informed about invisibility we can begin to envision how Chillyfist will act and how to best role-play the character. Chillyfist, we might imagine, slinks silently through the underworld in search of fresh meat. Are we juicy? Are we scrumptious? Chillyfist won’t turn his nose up at a bit of fresh Kobold either. Where the Ghoul obtained the magic ring we can only guess, perhaps taken from a victim or looted from some long forgotten hoard. The power of invisibility has made Chillyfist even more dangerous as we propose the Ghoul now surprises foes 5-in-6 due to invisibility. We imagine that in an encounter the Ghoul first paralyses surprised characters and then carries them off, invisibly once they are picked up, to its lair. As we are proposing that Chillyfist will only respond to the sound of the Shrieker on Level 1, the Ghoul will otherwise be found as a wandering monster except when encountered in the monster’s lair on Level 2. When the Shrieker shrieks and Chillyfist is indicated by the special encounter table the Ghoul will enter Level 1 from the stair Map Key 8 and pass through 7, and 9 in pursuit of otherwise distracted player characters. As Chillyfist is responding to the shriek it makes sense that the Ghoul cannot be surprised.
Chillyfist’s description follows:
Chillyfist the Ghoul, Armor Class 2, 1 Hit Dice, 9 Hit Points, Move 90/30, 2 Claws, 1 Bite 1-3, +Paralysis (2-8 Turns), Saving Throw F2, M9, Alignment Chaotic, description page B35. Moves Silently and cannot be heard. Charm and Sleep spells these have no effect on Ghouls. Chillyfist wears a magic Ring of Invisibility which makes the Ghoul invisible granting a 5-in-6 chance of surprising others. Invisible characters cannot be attacked but when Chillyfist attacks the ring can no longer keep the Ghoul invisible for the remainder of the turn in which the Ghoul’s attack occurs. While invisible anything Chillyfist picks up becomes invisible until it is set down. Chillyfist responds to the sound of the disturbed Shrieker at Map Key 10 or is found as a wandering monster on Levels 1 or 2 when Ghouls are indicated. Using the advantage of surprise granted by the Ring of Invisibility, Chillyfist will attack living characters, including monsters, paralyse them and then carry them to the Ghoul’s lair on Level 2, Map Key 4, refer to the map of Level 2 below. If Chillyfist fails a morale check the Ghoul will attempt to get away, becoming invisible, and hide in the lair.
Level 2 Map keys 4 and 28
Map Keys 4 and 8 are the lair of the Ghoul.
4. Ghoul Lair. 8 Ghouls, 7 if Chillyfist is not present. They are hunched over a corpse of a Giant Rat which they are in the process of consuming.
Secret Ref Info: There are 8 Ghouls, Armor Class 6, 2 Hit Dice, 9 (Chillyfist), 3, 3, 9, 6, 4, 8, 8 Hit Points, Move 90/30, 2 Claws, 1 Bite 1-3, +Paralysis (2-8 Turns), Saving Throw F2, M9, Alignment Chaotic, description page B35. Scattered on the floor amid Ghoul dung are 2000 Silver Pieces, 3000 Gold Pieces, and a +1 Axe.
Just for fun we can name the Ghouls; Clawfoot, Skullthumper, Bonecracker, Eyetwitch, Nevertaste, Eyepoke, and Bilebite.
28. Entrance. There is a secret door here; there is no peephole. This room is empty. The eastern door has a lock.
Secret Ref Info: Beside the secret door are is a hidden switch. The switch opens the secret door. The door is locked and only Chillyfist has the key.
Confrontation!
We have inventively set up a situation where soon after the player characters enter the underworld it won’t be long before they are met by the Kobolds. If you as the Dungeon Master find this a bit “spicy” you can delay the Kobold ambush an additional number of Turns of your own choosing in order to let the Players explore a room or two of the dungeon. In general, having devoted some time to preparation, the Dungeon Master should let the adventure play out and see what happens in order to learn what works. The really interesting part always comes when the players react to what has been set in motion and the outcome is always a toss up. The story is completed by the actions of the players and chance plays a part. What that will be in the end you won’t and can’t know. That is part of the fun of this never-ending game.
Remember though that the Player Characters could negotiate with the Kobolds so the encounter doesn’t have to result in a battle if the players are willing to give the Kobolds something.
When the Shrieker is disturbed note that the Special Wandering Monster table doesn’t draw the Kobolds and the Ghoul at the same time. If the Kobolds are no longer in play by the time the players reach the Shrieker I would substitute another monster in their place on the table; maybe we’ll add an alternative monster to the table, we’ll think on that while we continue to situate the remainder of our Level 1 placed treasures.
Level 1 – Map key 10
Referring to the map of Level 1 below and our previous text we’ll continue the “fungi” visual theme from Map Key 9. We’ll add some glowing fungi, why not? We’re just making this stuff up.
10. Chartreuse Room. The walls and ceiling of this room emit a sickly chartreuse glow and therefore in this dim light no torch is needed. The light is emitted by a strange growth of luminous fungi.
Secret Ref Info: When the chartreuse fungi is touched it wilts temporarily where touched and the dim light is extinguished. Beside the secret door are two hidden switches, stones in the wall covered by fungi. The first switch opens the secret door and the second is meant to disable the crushing block trap in Map Key 10 but it no longer works. Pushing it does nothing. There is a 1-in-6 chance of spotting them; 2-in-6 if the character is an Elf. If the switch is not found the door may 2-in-6 be forced open. There is a peephole in the secret door which allows Map Key 9 to be spied on from behind the door. The glow from the fungi is not bright enough to reveal the peephole to anyone in Map Key 9. We’ll assign a 1-in-6 chance of spotting the peephole; 2-in-6 if the character is an Elf.
Note – we’ll add a chance of spotting the peepholes to the text of previous Map Keys. We’ll assign a 1-in-6 chance of spotting a peephole; 2-in-6 if the character is an Elf.
Map key 11
Onward, our Shrieker from Map Key 9 will hide here if it is able to.
11. Mushroom. A narrow path winds through this room from Map Key 10 to 12. The room is also dimly lit by a sickly chartreuse glow similar to Map Key 10. This room is crowded on either side of the path with yellow spotted chartreuse mushrooms that nearly touch the ceiling. They are as hard as wood.
Secret Ref Info: The Shrieker from Map Key 9 will try to hide here among the Fungi. There is a 3-in-6 chance of spotting it but of course it can’t help shrieking if light is brought into this room or it detects movement, refer to Map Key 9 for details, and don’t forget the sound will draw monsters!
Hidden inside one of the mushrooms next to the path is a +1 magic sword. It is concealed in a secret compartment in the bole of the mushroom which can be spotted 1-in-6, 2-in-6 by an Elf. The compartment opens easily when the door in the bole of the mushroom is pushed, there is no switch.
This is the sword which fits in the wall niche in Map Key 17. Maybe we will make something special happen when the sword is placed into the niche, something to think about…
Map key 12
Lets make this the last fungi room. We’ll use our imagination though to make this a little different.
12. Burned Room. There were once fungi in this room similar to Map Key 11 but the walls are black and the mushrooms are all charred black from burning. The path from Map Key 11 continues to the wooden door. The wooden door in the west wall is blackened from fire.
Secret Ref Info: Among the wood-like charred remains of the mushrooms is a black iron box which was once concealed in a mushroom. It contains 250 silver coins, and 150 gold coins. This box is hard to spot, 1-in-6 when searching, and it is locked.
Map key 13
We will skip over this key and randomly determine its contents later.
Map key 14
We need to conceal a +1 magical shield, we’ll use our imagination, the shield’s true nature may be revealed by the magical spell Detect Magic.
14. Armory. This room is draped with dusty old cobwebs. It was once an armory and there is a wooden rack here on the north wall where seven spears remain, seven shields which are painted with red dragons hang on the west and east walls. There was once armor here as well, as stands for them line the west and east walls. Helmets, also painted red, lay discarded on the floor.
Secret Ref Info: The spears, helmets, and shields, though old, are still perfectly usable. One shield is a +1 Magic Shield but there is nothing visually different about it.
Map key 15
We will skip over this key and randomly determine its contents later.
Map key 16
We will add content from our first article, there’s some extra treasures but it won’t hurt anyone.
16. Cleric Secret. This room contains shelves of preserves contained in sealed jars and pots which are now spoiled and unfit to eat. It doesn’t look like anyone has been here in a very long time as all the jars and pots are covered in dust. There are three boxes as well which are stacked in the southwest corner. On top of the boxes is a book.
Secret Ref Info: The secret door which permits entry to this room can only be opened by a Cleric, it is otherwise Wizard Locked. The switch will only respond to the touch of a Cleric. There is a 1-in-6 chance of spotting the switch that opens this secret door; 2-in-6 if the character is an Elf. There is a peephole in the secret door which allows the corridor, Map Key 15, to be spied on from behind the door. We’ll assign a 1-in-6 chance of spotting the peephole; 2-in-6 if the character is an Elf.
The book on top of the box is actually a Magic User spell book containing the spells Invisibility, Knock, and Wizard Lock. There is a note tucked into the first page on a bit of parchment which says;
“While lost and running from that invisible thing which hunts us I found this room by chance; a fortunate refuge indeed for it cannot enter. I hear it outside clawing at the door. I will wait for it to lose interest and then I will depart this underworld. I do not know where you are or where you went so I will wait for you at the entrance. I am leaving here what I cannot take with me as it will not do to be slowed from carrying overmuch.”
Of course here by “invisible thing” we are referring to Chillyfist.
The three boxes are filled with straw which protects some glass bottles within. These contain unspoiled root beer and magical potions; two of Healing, one each of Invisibility, and Growth.
In the Following Articles
Now that we have placed our main treasures in subsequent articles we will randomly populate the remainder of Level 1 of the underworld. Until the next article!
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