The Lair of the Lycanthropes

I thought I would post one one of the level maps from one of the first dungeon I every mapped and the map the players created.  This was level 3 of my “Haunted Keep” dungeon based on the introductory dungeon in the Red book rules. It was drawn up in early 1982. I was always just a level ahead of my players when we first started gaming.

The Haunted Keep Level 3: Lair of the Lycanthropes (1982)

Back in 1982 part of the fun was seeing how lost the players could get in the dungeon as you tried to describe what they saw in words and provided minimal help with the mapping. This was exacerbated by the dreaded “natural caverns” style dungeons. Level 3 of my Haunted Keep was called “Lair of the Lycanthropes”.  If you ever read the Red Book rules (1981 version) the introductory adventure hinted that the Rodemus family that built the keep might still be around and were rumored to be wererats. My adventure ended in a cavern on the other side of an underground lake where the Wererat chief held court. To make getting out of the dungeon quicker, there was an elevator on this final level (it was 1982 and I was a high-schooler). It was my first dungeon and I figured the players would not want to roleplay traversing all three levels again to get out.

Below you can see how my players made out on their map of level 3.

The Player's Map of Lair of the Lycanthropes

Probably not my best design choice for a dungeon