Dungeons of Ynn

 Previously, I expressed my admiration for Emmy Allen's Gardens of Ynn depthcrawl, but wished for a way to play a more goal-oriented game with the tools the book provides. To that end, I've created a little dungeon generator, referencing material from the tables, details, and bestiary of Ynn, as well as Courtney Campbell's rooms resource. 

The dungeons all generate a d6 random encounter table, as well as exactly ten rooms. You can generate additional rooms at your leisure. There is no set level for the dungeon, so be sure to present the most powerful monsters in ways that signpost their danger and allow a party to either face them with an advantage or avoid them altogether. You will need a copy of the Gardens of Ynn to reference for the rules of the monsters and location details.

This generator can be used to make adventure locations within the Gardens, but with slight adjustment can also create Ynn-themed locations in the prime world.

Plot Hooks of Ynn and Ynn Natives

When my players started running around in Ynn, they constantly asked for directions. It was hilarious every time to have a salamandar blink, nod, and say "follow me!," tramping in a random direction. I would throw them a small bone. Looking for a particular kind of settlement with a guide meant I would interpret any random settlement as that one. If I run adventures with specific objectives in the Gardens of Ynn, the ability of natives to semi-navigate, or the presetting of certain locations will be very important. People have found it difficult to imagine how to run adventures in Ynn beyond the natural adventure of exploring and getting lost. I think slightly reducing randomness is a great tool in ameliorating that.

Thomas Kinkade

d4 Plot Hooks of Ynn (some adapted from the rumor table)

1. A Dream of Metal and Gears is attempting to overrun Ynn. After depth 8, roll a d4 for encounters. Rolls of 1 are infected by the Dream, rolls of 2 are fearful servants of the dream, rolls of 3 or 4 are independent or servants of an enemy dream (possibly including the Idea of Thorns.) The Dream itself resides in a clockwork tower around depth 14. People who know its location have a 50% of finding it at that depth.
2. A Sidhe is attempting to escape through an open door, and is willing to work with the PCs.As they travel together, it becomes clear what a disaster the Sidhe's arrival in their world would be.  A band of croquet-mercenaries serving a Shepherd of Trees hunt the Sidhe and any allies armed with Hamartia, a poison that can afflict the ancient creature.
3. A high-ranking rose maiden hires the party to guard her as she travels to a meeting of the Dandelions, the directing council of her kind. Flower politics are subtle, and even nonmagical plants encountered on the way to the Filigree Orchid-house in depth 8 have their own agenda.
4. The king of a chess set is newly advised by a Ferret-Servant wizard. With his aid, they stand a reasonable chance of taming part of the Garden, with stable doorways to the outside. A kingdom-building campaign ensues.

I've before mentioned my dissatisfaction with the Ynnian Changeling as a class. Instead, I offer versions of several creatures found in Ynn suitable for PCs. As I usually run races, each will have a primary attribute they can reroll, an advantage, and a disadvantage.

Ynn Natives

• Myconid Composter: reroll constitution. You can create another Myconid by donating d4 HP, and merge with any other myconids. However, halve your sense of self.
• Young Salamandar: reroll strength. You are immune to fire and can breathe flame (d6 damage,) however apologizing or interacting with ugliness deals 1 damage to you.
• Rose-Maiden: reroll intelligence. You can speak with or command plants twice a day. However, you cannot harm a plant.
• Pawn: reroll any. Gain an extra skill. However, get disadvantage versus possession or peer pressure.
• Ferret-Servant: reroll charisma. Once per day, cast charm, sleep, or invisibility. However, you are forever doomed to command 4d4 frog- and fish-servants who are incapable of being helpful.
• Floral Spider: reroll dexterity. You can climb walls. however, you always act last in combat.
• Candle-Golem: If the players encounter one naturally, let a player run it as-is. Doesn't heal naturally or speak. Charmingly foolish.

Notes on Gardens of Ynn

The Gardens of Ynn is a delightful procedural pointcrawl, written by the talented Emmy Allen. I was fortunate enough to receive two copies as a gift from friends and family, and I inaugurated a session yesterday.

This is not a review in full. Instead, I will just note some thoughts, including tweaks I will make the next time I run the Gardens.

A wizard PC's spellbook, plus the "totally random" spells Detach Limb, Too Fast, Wall of Asbestos, Kindergarten, and Blaspheme

• 
  The book is laid-out well. I did find it useful to write a cross-reference to appropriate tables or entries.
• I was uncertain about how to use the rumor table, since it was unclear to me how the inhabitants of Ynn could keep society with each other. This would have been a good place to put more overt advice on how to write adventures for Ynn-- something I am interested in doing. (Watch this space)
• You could totally do an Over the Garden Wall-esque game in Ynn, bending the encounters to a relevant theme. When I ran it, the original party was composed of pensioners and retired adventurers, and the best location was an enchanting maze created by an old grandmother-tree so that she would not be lonely.
• I love how easily Ynnian changelings can reintroduce players of dead characters, but its abilities aren't very interesting to me. I'm especially leery of giving half the party the ability to resurrect from flowers. A couple of times I just had players take up the roll of a salamander or a rose-maiden, and that worked out fine. Perhaps I will write up simple rules for level one PCs from Ynnian society.
• I love how the map looks after a session! When I ran the first session, I did not show the map to the players as I marked it out, but that was probably a mistake. Looking at the map would have helped them realize they can actually go back to previous locations if they know the way.