A dissonant chorus of low moaning and high-pitched laughter echoes from the grand ballroom, where Languard’s lowest elements mingle with its haughty elite. Luxuriating in their black euphoria, they pose no threat to your exploration of Martryn Manor. In fact, the debauchery provides an excellent diversion—with most of the guards tending to the guests’ extravagant needs, you are free to roam the manor unchallenged. Until now, at least… Heavy footfalls herald the approach of three thugs patrolling the halls. Instinctively, your hand glides to your sword-hilt, but you resist the impulse to draw steel, instead remembering the words of your companions: “Just act like you belong”. As the men turn the corner, you steady your heartbeat and straighten your shoulders, greeting the ruffians with a curt nod and a wry smile. For a brief moment, three pairs of puzzled eyes lock with yours, and you fight the urge to look away. Several long seconds later, they nod and respond with a grunt which could be a greeting as well as a curse. Breathing a sigh of relief, you duck into the nearest room to continue your search. A dry “click” sounds beneath your feet, causing a pair of iron portcullises to slam down, sealing the chamber. Then, a low, gravelly voice resonates from a brass horn set into the wall: “No one saw you enter. No one has to see you leave…”

Design Bart Wynants Cartography Dyson Logos and Bart Wynants

About Dungeon Backdrops

You are a GM, but you are busy. You want to write your own modules, but you just don’t have the time. And you don’t want to use commercial modules. You want to make your campaign your own. That’s where the Dungeon Backdrop line comes in! Each Dungeon Backdrop presents a fully fleshed out and lovingly detailed self-contained dungeon ready for you to use as you see fit. Stock the dungeon with your own monsters (and—perhaps—their treasure), decide their back story and you are good to go.

Every Dungeon Backdrop is carefully designed to be easily inserted into almost any fantasy campaign and is compatible with virtually any fantasy roleplaying game. Dungeon Backdrops: we describe the dungeon, you add the monsters (and the treasure).