Tomorrow Pied Piper Publishing will launch the new DUNGEON SETS line. DUNGEON SETS #'s 1 & 2 will go on sale at PPP's online store tomorrow at 12:00 noon CST.

DUNGEON SETSâ„¢ was an idea conceived to bring maximum game value to each DM's table, whatever FRPG system they are currently using. These are un-keyed, color maps with integration notes and a comprehensive legend that are presented as a contiguous, and exacting, dungeon setting. In studying the needs of DMs who all have specific campaigns with real histories, characters and plots of their own, it became apparent that the idea of mainstay adventure modules, such as many based upon TSR's old model of assumed expediency, has shifted greatly with the contraction of that market and an ever present need over the years for specific game material created by each DM. In keeping with that honored ideal, PPP will make a leap in two areas: in presenting challenging maps for expansion along different creative lines by individual DMs; and in offering supportive materials for these, such as booklets containing new and innovative monsters, NPCs, spells, magic items, magical areas and set pieces which can be incorporated into the map designs as each DM sees fit, thus expanding the range for them to continue "branding" their own campaigns as creatively unique.

Read more about DUNGEON SETS:

http://lordofthegreendragons.blogspot.com/2009/11/dungeon-sets-product-line.html
http://lordofthegreendragons.blogspot.com/2009/11/sample-updates-to-ds-line.html

This is but the start of an eager endeavor for Pied Piper Publishing to bring a line of products to bear that will creatively grow with the needs of the DM and his or her players.  We look forward to your participation.

I read it, I still don't think I know what they are.  Sound like Geomorphs to me.  Also sounds like they're going to follow up with M&TAs.

Hence my wondering if anyone had bought them and could tell us wtf they really are...

Brian bought one...Brian will buy anything...

bbarsh wrote:Brian bought one...Brian will buy anything...

So many anythings, so little time . . .

If I want an old-school module, then I'll buy a module from Pacesetter.

If I want dungeon levels, then I'll buy the Dungeon Sets from PPP.

JohnGaunt wrote:[Slightly re-ordered Sigma's text]


I'm a dinosaur.  I need physical packaging.  I don't read PDFs on a PC screen.  I don't read eBooks on an eBook reader.  I don't download digital music.  I want something tangible for my money.

And if I were concerned solely with cost, I could download 0one torrents all day long . . .

[insert anti-PDF rant of your choosing here.]

Oh, I didn't think they were .pdfs; I was suggesting that they might as well be. I can't stand reading from a PC screen, either, and I like physical products also. My concerns, if that's the right word, were more about the direction PPP is headed. The description of #3 answers that, somewhat, but it does appear that RJK is these days more oriented toward having others write, draw, etc., and stamping his name on the work than in producing more adventures along the lines of Bottle City, etc. Which of course is fine, but does not appeal to me. Glad to see that there's a market for it, but it does surprise me.

*taps fingers*

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand?

Has anyone ever actually used the TSR Dungeon Geos? I don't recall ever doing so myself.

Super quick review based on my perusal of sets #1 and #2 last night:

The format is a set of 6 dungeon levels individually color* printed on single 8.5 x 11 inch sheets of fairly heavy paper. (Not the weight of cover stock mind you; just heavy paper.) Included with this, also on heavy paper, are a sheet with a cross section of the dungeon levels (which allows you to get a better idea for how they relate vertically), a cover page (with Andy Taylor art), a map legend page, and an introduction page (not particularly useful, but gives some practical context for the use of the maps). These sheets and a cardboard (comic?) backing board are enclosed in an appropriately-sized poly bag sealed with a piece of tape.

* The levels are primarily black & white, but with many other colors used as part of feature denotation.

The maps appear to be mostly drawn by hand, with a few bits of computer assistance for textures and labels and similar.

I will likely get my money's worth on these things ... about $3 per map, once you account for shipping. Yes, there are cheaper alternatives for maps out there, but these are better maps than those cheaper alternatives. They afford multiple ways around/through each level of the dungeon, as well as between levels, including slopes & vertical shafts. There is a variety of room shapes & sizes, plenty of secret doors, teleporters, one-way doors, and similar. The amount of unused space varies quite a bit on the different maps, as well as between different areas on a single map.

Overall, the design feels reminiscent of the Bottle City maps, so while Ramsey Dow did the level design, it feels like Rob Kuntz probably had considerable influence in the concepts used for the map designs.

Though many of the levels have connections to one-another, most of them are easily useable independently.

The critiques...

They feel like they were produced on somebody's high quality home color printer, and so I think they're probably a little bit overpriced. (For example, they don't feel as professional as Bottle City, Tower of Blood, or any of RJK's booklet-format projects.)

I would have preferred them to be in booklet format, or as nested cardstock screens/sheets, like bi-fold module covers.

Each individual map is somewhat hit-or-miss. While some of the maps are really good and immediately suggest some creative uses to me (such as the catacombs in set #2), some are fairly pedestrian and have what feels on first-blush to be too many secret areas or small rooms** ... too much for me to meaningfully populate. Or rather, instead of saving time, my first instinct is that a few of them may end up costing me time as I wrack my brain for more creative ideas to fill so many of the small rooms. Even so, the majority are quite useful, and as I said before: They're better than most other available maps.

** I'm not talking about the one-way door mazes here, either. Those don't necessarily need much design work, though they can certainly benefit from it. I'm talking about large quantities of 10 x 20 or 20 x 20 rooms on some of the maps.

Color is probably overkill. I'd prefer an entirely black & white product. I will need to mark these up to make them useful in my game, and I'm *not* going to write on the originals (for a variety of reasons), and so I'll probably end up making black & white photocopies anyway.

Digitally rendered maps would be better. I can appreciate how some people prefer the hand-drawn look, but I prefer computer rendered ones. These maps are not, for example, as tight looking as even some of the hand-drawn ones from TSR modules.