Matters of State & Megadungeon - ACK's Dwimmermount & Dave Cook's X5 Temple of Death - Cha'alt/Godbound Campaign Commentary

"The gates of Dwimmermount have opened. After years of rumors, it is time to discover the secrets of this vast mountain fortress for yourself…"


For my  Cha'alt/Godbound campaign I've been looking over any number of old school resources but I stettled upon one that speaks to me from an earlier part of the OSR. 

Finding a copy of ACK's Dwimmermount is utterly ridiculous, its like find a needle in a haystack in New England. Sure I can get a Dwimmermount  hardback  copy from Drivethrurpg & that would be fine if I wanted it to sit on a shelf. But I'm looking for something I can use for the table top level.
Now I know that there's a whole bunch of people who got butt hurt about the Dwimmermount kickstarter controversy business. But this isn't that book.

According to Autarch forum member koewn; "IIRC, the only real differences are the inclusion of domain statistics for the various settlements, plus trade details, etc, in the ACKS version versus the LL version.There may also be more detail in the back for various rituals surrounding Termax. Monster stats will differ in AC and Morale, since ACKS/LL use different metrics for those. I've checked a few encounters and they all match up.

LL/ACKS both count B/X as their ancestor, so I'm pretty sure that the treasure amounts are the same - I've spot-checked a few rooms in the first and last levels and they all match up. (if anything, the treasure is less compellingly mixed than if it was ACKS-only, as ACKS' treasure tables are superior)." 

For my campaign I'm looking for a gonzo balls to the walls dungeon of early D&D style games. So because this is Adventurer,Conqueror, King I know that the game  material in Dwimmermount has filtered itself through other ACK's products. Along with this I've been looking back into Dave Hargrave's Arduin rpg & specifically the free Swords & Wizardry adaption of it by JMiskimen available right over here. 


There are several reasons for using the free Swords & Wizardry of Ruins of Arduin  JMiskimen  for my Cha'alt Godbound campaign. One is the inclusion of Arduin which has already been established within this campaign setting. The second is the rainbow of well established & fleshed out old school race options from Arduin. The third is that the Cha'alt warp has brought all kinds of monsters & old school horrors to Earth. South America's Boliva is the center for the inclusion of Dwimmermount. The forces within the Black Pyramid are well aware of the alien visitor to the planar shores. And they are none too happy about it.


 There are other raiders to the shores of Earth & they are already harvesting the rich source of Azoth & taking the bounty of humanity. This is where Dave Cook's X5 Temple of Death comes in. The master is a part of the slave lords faction & he's taking full advantage of the Cha'alt wrap. His forces have already invaded the deserts between Nevada, Arizona, & California.


My Cha'alt/Godbound campaign dragon has been fighting the 'master's' forces of chaos for some time.  The Slave Lords who have an alliance with the rulers of  Elysium. The nomads & humanoids don't belong on the Earth's deserts but their being whipped into a frenzy by the thought of conquest.  The  'Order of the Lords of Mystery' has been observing this hot white mess for some time & knows this might end in tears.
To loop this back around there's been fighting between the forces from Dwimmermount & several of the 'master's' armies along the Mexican/California border. This has been on going & the PC's caravan from last week's game are about to get caught right in the cross fire coming up this week!


Will the PC's survive?! Tune in soon kids!