Barrow of the Two Brothers: One Page Dungeon

My entry into the 2021 One Page Dungeon Contest can be found here

The Barrow of the Two Brothers is a short adventure for a Level 1-2 party. Two long-dead brothers, Ethelred and Olaf, are buried in the barrow. In life, they fought and murdered each other over their dying Mother’s crown and as a final punishment they were interred together. The spirits of the two brothers haunt the barrow, waiting for someone to finally allow them to rest.

I've been interested in the One Page Dungeon format for some time. There's a tension between amount of content and depth of detail. Layout, design, word choice and usability at the table are essential elements as well. I decided to focus on a smaller map than most other one page dungeons (there are only four distinct areas) but to add plenty of detail to each room. 

Let me know if you have any feedback. It’s the first time I’ve published an adventure so I’m keen to find out what people like and don’t like. A player's version of the map is also available here.


Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing. For whatever it's worth, after skimming all of this year's entries, I homed in on yours as one that looks like it would be fun for my more-experienced co-players but still looks approachable enough that a newbie like me could run it without wanting to die.
    I have ended up with this question, which might stem from a misunderstanding about the effigies, but here we go anyway: I can conceive PCs breaking the salt line around Ethelred's tomb in order to be able to open it and enter, but if the only way to get to Olaf's tomb is from the shaft underneath, then if the salt line around it is unbroken, how could PCs open the tomb and climb out to access and break the salt line? Seems like a catch-22, unless I'm just not being clever enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you liked the dungeon and hope you have fun running it - let me know how you get on!

      I should have been clearer in the text - yes, you can't get the lid off Olaf's tomb from the inside. The players will have to work out that they need to dig into Olaf's tomb from the outside. There's a clue in the story that Olaf had a magic sword, so it's a reward for players who are paying attention. Let me know if you have any other questions.

      Delete
  2. Can we get a player version of the map?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem! I'm busy with work for the next few days but will post a player's map soon.

      Delete
    2. A player's map is now available at https://copperpieces.itch.io/barrow-of-the-two-brothers Let me know if there are any issues.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is random weather in role-playing games too random? Using simple Markov chains to make RPG weather more realistic (Markov Chain Weather Part 1)

What would the weather be like after the Apocalypse? Or in a Hell-like setting? Using Markov chains to make fantastical RPG weather feel more realistic (Markov Chain Weather Part 2)

Creating localized RPG weather using a simple Markov Chain - an example of a foggy swamp (Markov Chain Weather Part 3)