Mike the Mangler's "Kananas Abode" 1979

Here is another infamous dungeon created by my best friend: The Mangler. We played through this time and time again in his bedroom in beautiful Milan Illinois (pronounced my-lan). There are several extraordinary things about this adventure.

First, check out it's colorfully insane Soviet/Disney Princess fascade. Remember, dungeons were all underground at this time and to get in you schlepped down the ol' staircase. Mike has flipped the whole thing, in just about every way. Above ground instead of under. Bright bold color instead of dungeon grays and khakis. You have multiple ways to get inside, instead of the one stairway down. It's also fun and inviting instead of dank and depressing like...well a dungeon.

Mike also drew a lot of these, he had issues with smiley faces. He is also probably one of the first real cosplayers in the world. He had a full Alex get-up from Clockwork Orange- boots, bowler, codpiece, eyelash and yes a real sword cane.

Mike was a Dungeon Master who did not make or keep real notes, he pretty much just winged the whole thing. I have always been envious of those people. He was big on the interpersonal relationships of all the characters, he essentially ran the game like a big soap opera. Genius, really. Going through Kananas Abode was more like making a trip to the supermarket to get some milk. In other words, it wasn't just a "one and done', it was a node in the whole scheme of things that required many visits to work out what ever was going on between us players and Kananas. The scribbles seem ridiculous, but I bet it's just the right amount of information. Plus it gives the DM room to make stuff up and get in on the fun.

Here is a link to a 2 page PDF of the whole shebang: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-dUztgIDp3GvUckC7SOXuWooy4Vw3uuR

The whole thing is all in bits and pieces, like emptying your pockets before going into prison.  I took the initiative and pasted it all into a two page excursion into The Madness Of Teen 1979. Looking at Kananas Abode, I can see what D&D lost and why I jumped off the flaming wreck with all the other rats. Well, all two rats. OK, it was just me. And the fire wasn't an accident.

Thanks Mike.

I'm glad I saved it, but even more glad to banged on Kananas locked tower door more than once.

My AD&D "Cyclops Of Yew" Dungeon Circa 1979

This was one of my fancier dungeons, probably based on Tomb Of Horrors. OK, definitely based on TOH. I have no idea where would have gotten this parchment paper to type on. Stolen from my dad's dresser? After TOH, I knew creating a riddle to give to my friends at the start was the ticket. It generated anticipation and provided logic to avoid the traps.

I had a set of colored fine tip markers (an X-mas present) that I used to make all my maps. This was always my favorite part. Cool Map = Cool Adventure.

My spelling is still atrocious.

A nice snap of me in that dreaded year. I hated the 70's. I listened to Zappa and...apparently wore bad cloths. To be fair...well, never mind. On my right is the infamous "Mike the Mangler". During one of the games he DM'ed we planned an assassination while he listened. When we carried it out there were suddenly new guards and procedures that meshed perfectly to foil our plan. From that point forward we would make him leave the room any time we made plans. 

You can find the whole "Cyclops Of Yew" here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4SbN-rtbAlgZ3FnTlVMUERsZjQ

Enjoy!

Carl’s Dungeon of “Mazes of Xanth” 1978

"Mazes of Xanth" map detail

Somehow (because I am a particular sort of hoarder) I had a bunch of my friends dungeons from the late 70’s and early 80’s. This is one was created by Carl Kestor, who by the way was not really my friend, just a guy I played a few games with. The memory that bubbles to the surface about Carl is that his girlfriend would sit on his lap while he DMd. She ignored us completely. Occasionally they whispered and smooched, and when Carl had to look at one of us he had to crane his head to see past his girlfriend. I am quite sure I never asked or was told her name. I recall being mildly annoyed, in real life Carl had a “low charisma”. However, none of us could convince any girl to sit on our lap, let alone while playing a game synonymous with note taking and tedium. I raise my bag of off brand cheese puffs to you wherever you are now, Carl.

Cover page of "Mazes of Xanth"

Yes, I am older than dirt. Often I will say this to the yoots of today, thinking that I can impress them or more importantly get respect. Medication has removed this need, so I will not bore you or myself by trying to impress you with aged based credentials. Ahem.

Typical page of "Mazes of Xanth"

Look at Carl’s dungeon: It is instructive to note the sheer amount of characters carefully recorded on each page, all 16. I’m sure I didn’t write this amount in one whole year of high school, so this mass of carefully scrawled graphite is an achievement in its own right. So many words and so little actual detail in the rooms other than monster, stats and treasure. Kinda like a video game minus every scrap of enjoyment. Heed the the title itself, appropriated from a popular book series. Look at the map with its incomprehensible rooms and serpentine hallways specifically designed to discourage accurate mapping. Consider in 1978, this was considered a better alternative to the four broadcast channels on TV. And it was.

Here is a link to the whole thing:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4SbN-rtbAlgWE9qTnlqNGdzckU

More will be posted so “stay tuned”. That is all.