MDBC: Castle Triskelion Week 3

Quite a small area at only 15 rooms, but there’s still some fun to be had here. Of note, the Room of the Pit and Ambrogino’s room. The pit is a fun puzzle with some great rewards, and Ambrogino’s room provide some more backstory for the world. I’d probably have a journal or something in the locked chest in Ambrogino’s room for more backstory, especially his worship of the Ghoul god. The hidden temple beyond his room is pretty memorable as well as leading deeper into the depths of Triskelion.

Having the stable doors blocked behind a weeks worth of work provides something for the players to spend money on, but I’m not sure I’m a fan of it. I guess the keep wasn’t really designed in withstanding sieges (since there are also bottom floor windows), but it feels out of place to have a raised, gated entrance with a drawbridge that can be bypassed by a guy with a rock.

Split into 4 semi-independent regions around the central garden, the outer ward’s 2nd floor very much feels like a "no-man’s land" before the towers above.

Rooms 1-13 make up the northeast "administrative hall" consisting of the Quarter, Weapon and Pay masters, which is on-theme with the lived-in feel, but I’m not 100% on the placement here on the 2nd floor.

14-21 make up the northwest corner, I’m choosing to call the "Art wing" is pretty barren with only hints to Patrizio’s bedroom through the secret passage into the inner ward. The social gralkin are an interesting if idiosyncratic encounter, with these seeming to have more intelligence than their brethren elsewhere in the dungeon.

The southwest area, made up of rooms 22-30, is actually an early start to the captain’s tower above (yes, I peeked ahead to see if these towers had names), and works in that capacity. This area also has a treasure map, which is a personal favorite treasure of mine, so bonus points for that.

The southeast area is split into 2 regions, with rooms 31-35 being the logical connection of the northeast and southwest towers, and consistent with the hobgoblin incursion seen below. The other portion, rooms 36-43 are the upper floors of the inn, and the domain of Ulixes, our other talon goblin faction leader. Something that bothers me up here is that some, but not all of the talon goblins are named, I’d strongly prefer one or the other.

I’m frankly quite impressed with Tim’s creativity, to have this many interesting rooms is a testament to his skill. Even these comparatively lackluster areas make up only 58 rooms, and with the interesting content above and below, continue to make this a must-play dungeon for me.

Next week we’ll cover the 3rd floor of the Outer Ward and New Materials Volume 2. As we’re running out of sections complied by & Mag, I’ve begun working on creating my own compilations for the future floors. Look forward to those separately on my blog in the near future.