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Here's my recent write up:

https://starmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/04/11/parallel-dungeons-into-the-odd-actual-play-report/

Excellent module. I recommend not pushing for the players to activate the dimension changing device, let them come to it on their own time.

I believe so:

https://maziriansgarden.blogspot.com/

Get My Zines Here!

In Print + PDF <-- links to the shop page

In PDF Only

P.61, Entrance, "leads to a lonely hidden deep in Sarkash"

Lonely X?

Grubghoul, p.59, is the "Savage Strike" supposed to benefit the PCs?

p.32, Graveworm stats are "TBD"

Any plans to bookmark the PDF? Cheers, looking great!

Some notes during first read through:

1. Darkvision... would have preferred to remove this from all player ancestries. See White Box FMAG for example, or Shadowdark.
2. 1d4 weapon damage for the Thief seems off, I'd have gone for 1d6.
3. I really like the combination of class based damage modified by weapon. Very nice!
4. Gutsy Strike vs Dual Wielder.... seems unbalanced?

Am enjoying reading this, thanks for making it.

Hello, I bought the quick start on DTRPG, but it hasn't been upgraded over there yet? Cheers

Hey I just got MBS on the Itch sale - do you recommend using the Alpha version with FIST Ultra?

Also it looks like MBS is not bookmarked, any plans to do that?

Cheers!

Here's the actual play report (warning, spoilers):

https://starmonkey.wordpress.com/2024/06/23/actual-play-report-sleeping-place-of...

One of the best adventure modules I've ever run. I have a write-up I'll publish and link here soon.

Hi Chris -  I really like this adventure, thanks for writing it. I also read your play reports for this module, up on loottheroom.uk, good stuff.

Q) Any plans for an epub version of this module?

For context - I'm using an e-ink reader (Supernote) these days a lot to read RPG materials, and page 29 is not legible, at least on my greyscale display!

Lastly, I would be interested in any house-rules you have for MB.

Cheers

How did you go, using this with your group?

I just finished reading ADF through in detail, I think this is one of the best TTRPG books I've read in a while, for those reasons you've stated above.

Agreed, it's a really good fit!

Am curious for those who've run this module, if they created a map of Clink?

Great adventure, full of weirdness. The map is fantastic, and works really well in Foundry VTT with "fog of war" enabled.

I've not run this (yet), but it feels like with Troika! and S&C, I'm ready to go after a first reading. The value of this feeling to an older gamer like me is huge.

I'm going to set this adventure "off the map" from Acid Death Fantasy, deep in the desert to the west. The "blackened" region is still off-map, but could be a world-ending threat for playing more in ADF's world.

Q) Any plan to expand on the "Thousand Sultanates Generator" content?

From first reading, the map, intro, backgrounds, and enemies are solid, but to me the generator seems like only the beginning?

"Stuff to Do" is full of interesting ideas, but I feel some more tables for Shurupak and creating city-states from scratch would be cool.

Yep indeed it is, but if I'm not mistaken I believe you said the web version is latest, so I'm hoping the web version can be my canonical reference :)

In a similar vein, the ritual word tables are missing from the html version, I think (again they are in the PDF version)?

Happy NY, thanks for creating such interesting adventures - I have a ton to read through now from the winter sale.

https://dungeon.loottheroom.uk/character-creation#roll-an-extra

Is just bullet points, with no text to say "roll 2d6"? I downloaded the PDF version to cross-check.

Cheers!

Thanks mate, appreciated

Q) Ben, do you have any plans to aggregate the Ultan's Door content into single tome?

Asking before I choose to buy the individual zine PDFs, cheers

Some minor feedback for v1.1.0:

1. The GM screen lists Plate mail as 3g, instead of 6g
2. p.11 Encounters has 10 second rounds, while p.13 Combat has 1 minute rounds

Cheers!

Haha that's interesting!

But then, wouldn't the same logic apply to enemy morale?

"If the roll is higher than 10+HD, they flee or surrender at the first opportunity."

For me I would house rule hireling morale, because I feel that the whole thing about morale is having the grit to stand and fight when every instinct is to flee.

Instead I would roleplay those kind of "survivability smarts" externally to the rules, where a veteran hireling passes the morale check but elects to flee based on rational mind.

They'd do some fighting withdrawal and regroup, rather than panic fleeing

On p.29 the text says to "roll under your Cunning but over the Hireling’s HD on a d20 ". Doesn't that mean the more experienced the Hireling, the more likely they flee?

I feel like it would be better to ADD the Hireling HD to your Cunning, up to, say, 18 maximum.

Here's my after-action report from one session of The Lichway:

https://starmonkey.wordpress.com/2023/07/02/after-action-report-the-lichway-usin...

Cheers!

Hey! I used this for my game today of TVG - thanks so much: https://starmonkey.wordpress.com/2023/07/02/after-action-report-the-lichway-usin...

What a great idea! I just re-watched True Detective S1, then found this by accident. Cheers

Just wanted to say I love how you do the secret doors on the map - automatically VTT friendly with fog-of-war. Cheers!

"and The Vanilla Game" -- nice!

Ah nice. That will scale even better on my Supernote! :)

I noticed this:

On wilderness time units:

"While exploring the wilderness the GM uses 6 hours long units of time called quarters of the day."

On spell casting:

"you must rest uninterrupted for 8 hours to regain that ability."

What about making spell casting recovery require a quarter of time (6h), that way it aligns?

Also, I see that "resting" is described in adventure site exploration, risking the Exhausted condition. But, there is no mention of sleeping once per day vs Exhausted condition? Are consuming rations required as well to avoid being Exhausted?

Ah, that's a shame re: ASE being a boring dungeon, have heard a similar story before.

I read the Denethix Campaign Setting chapters, and loved the maps, history, factions, random tables, and orbital gods.

Very interested in how you go with ASE (something I've always wanted to run). Would you consider blogging your experiences as you go?

Thanks for sharing this!

I skimmed through in ~10 minutes and immediately had a feel for how this would play at the table. I like the class-less, level-less PCs with the talents system. Would consider this for running old-school modules.

Nice use of font, so my old-man eyes can read it easily from my phone/tablet.

Roll20 sheet is a nice touch, but I'll probably use Foundry VTT (with the Simple Worldbuilding System for a basic character sheet).

Suggestion: Add bookmarks to the PDF.

Published a "first impressions" blog post, from reading TVG and The Isle and planning how to run a "one shot" of it:

https://starmonkey.wordpress.com/2023/01/16/the-vanilla-game-the-isle-first-impr...

Thanks Jared, much appreciated. Do you have an ETA on an updated epub file?

Btw, I'm enjoying using that format to read on both my phone and desktop. Never used that format before for an RPG, so it's novel to me!

F1R15 exits don't match also?

Q) Floor 1, Room 12 - the map has exits S,E but the text lists S,W?

Ah nice one, I didn't even check the epub. Cheers!