The gates of Castle Xyntillan beckon (OSR)

Beyond the small town of Tours-en-Savoy, the road passing through the mountains branches.

Most travellers cross themselves and press onwards, hoping to reach the small priory on the pass before sundown, and continue towards Rüti Canton and its merchant towns. Yet some, mostly the foolhardy and the less than scrupulous, take the less travelled road climbing through the shadowy pine forests and into the silent mountains. There, after two days of travel, lies the Valley of the Three Rainbows, and on the shores of a crystal-clear lake, the crumbling parapets and fantastic towers of Castle Xyntillan.

How long the immense, ragtag building complex has stood is not known, only that it was erected on the remains of a much older structure. The masters of Xyntillan, the Malévol family, have ruled the province since Charlemagne and perhaps earlier, each generation adding to Xyntillan in its own way. Their corruption, and curious habits which have never put them on good footing with the Bishop of Chamrousse, has long haunted their reputation, leading to their spiritual and material decline. At last, the current head of the family, Jean-Giscard Malévol, decided to move to his smaller but less costly and considerably more fashionable summer palace in Chamrousse, and abandon his family nest to time and the elements.

However, that was not the end of the story, for Xyntillan’s fabulous treasures and Machiavellian deathtraps have fascinated the fortune-seekers of a dozen lands – and never mind the ghost stories.

Introduction to Castle Xyntillan, p7

 

After lots of starts and stops, I've finally completed building Castle Xyntillan in Roll20. This is a large dungeon made for Swords & Wizardry for characters of level 1 to 6. I think I made this harder than I needed to, as I decided to set up dynamic lighting because I think it gives a much more creepy effect, which is right for exploring a (somewhat) abandoned chateau. 

It's been a bit of a learning curve, but it's almost there. The only decision I need to make now is whether to add the key characters into the Roll20 journal so I can just drag and drop them in. The biggest challenge I managed to create for myself was managing to put the maps on the Token Layer not the Map layer, but that was fixed quickly one I realised what had happened.

I've set this up to use Old-School Essentials because I like that rule set (and early D&D is pretty much interchangeable on the fly). I could see it being pretty fun for Shadowdark too, if that floats your boat more. 

This is one of those perennial projects that I dig into over the Christmas period. Speaking with Graham, it's kind of like the West March thoughts he gets. However, somehow I've managed to get the key bit over the line! I have to do a couple more tests, but hopefully I've now got a potential open house dungeon to use irregularly through the year.

I like the idea of a game with slightly less pressure for people to be there all the time. 

Do you have gaming projects you dig into over the festive periods, only for them to get set aside for the rest of the year?

23 December 2025