Seeking Advice of Redwall Experts

[Helmsworth]

Hello all! First things first, I wasn't sure where the best place to post would be, so I've make the same post on a few forums. Apologies for the repeats..

Each year I run a spooky Halloween table top role playing game for my friends, and since I've been re-reading the Redwall books (about to finish Martin the Warrior, wish me luck), I've decided to theme my game in Redwall style.

I was hoping this would be a good place to ask for help on some points! Specifically, does anyone know if there are maps of the inside of the abbey? Or the outside, for that matter. So far I've found a great map from 2006 of the abbey from overhead (credit to jadematrix, according to the file name), but if there are more I'd love any and all information I can get! The adventure will involve exploring the abbey in true redwall fashion, so I'd like to get my details correct.

Also, does anyone have suggestions for how my fiends could pick which animals they'd like to play? I don't mean specific characters, more like species. I can of course just let them decide, but I thought something like a quiz could be fun.

Cheers everyone! I'll go on to explain what I have so far as far as story goes, but feel free to stop reading here unless you're interested in that kind of thing.



So given that I want it to be scary (Halloween, after all), what I've got so far is this: There's been an early winter storm, and the abbey is snowed in. Luckily they have plenty of supplies, and it's shaping up to be a cozy few weeks or so until the snow melts. Unfortunately, the early cold has driven something dreadful into the forgotten lowest floor of the abbey! (My invention). With creatures disappearing in the night, it's up to our heroes to discover what has moved in below them, how it's getting up into the abbey, and how to stop it.

So. I haven't decided what creature to make the monster. I'm thinking a reptile, since it would make sense for the cold to have driven it underground. I'm hesitant to make it a snake, since that starts to feel a lot like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I'd love some suggestions.
I'm also toying with the idea that something like this has happened before, and instructions were left by the abbey mice of the past. I'm hoping to get a classic Redwall riddle in there, with some clues to follow and secrets to discover. I'm not much good at poetry though, and I'd love any ideas on that front!

All in all, if you've read this far, thank you for your time. I'm open to any and all feedback

[Verdauga]

Hey there Helmsworth, and welcome to the forum; we're happy to have you!
    General discussion seems to be the best place for this question, so I deleted your other two posts.

Now, onto the meat n' potatoes:

    As far as I am aware (it's been years since I re-read the books) there is no map of the inside of the abbey. Technically, you could potentially create diagrams from where rooms in the abbey are described ("down the hall from. . . Underneath the tapestry was concealed. . . et c.) but that would be a momentous task. I expect there also to be inconsistencies in locations throughout the books.
    All that is to say, you may have to dream something up, but it should be fine, as long as you include the main points ( the great hall, kitchens, cellars, dormitories, tapestry, great staircase, et al)
Go ham. exploring Redwall is more about how it is done, rather than the accuracy to the bit. The Redwall Wiki should include most of the major spots mentioned throughout the books. You could "always" get in touch with @LordTBT but this forum is not the most effective place to do that.

    Making a quiz for your friends to answer could be fun, if they're dedicated enough. It depends on whether you want to quiz the player or the character they have in mind. There are dozen buzzfeed quizzes out there if that's your style, that you could design a character-creator out of. Throw in questions like "what's your favorite nature spot? What was the name of your first pet?" that can help determine the character names, if you want to go that far.


    I would post more, but I have notes to format and send to a classmate, so I should be going.

Once again! It's nice to see you around Helmsworth! If you have a chance, you should stop by the Introduction Topic and let us know a bit more about yourself!

~ Verdauga, site moderator

[Luftwaffles]

Welcome to the board!

I think Verd has already said the important bits, so I just wanted to say "hi"

[Matthias720]

I would ADORE a Redwall TTRPG, but unfortunately one does not exist, and the canon for the series doesn't have any hard and fast maps of anything in particular. Each book or piece of expanded media has differences from the rest. The only thing that has any sort of consistency is the general layout of the Abbey itself, which comes across more as a suggestion than anything else. My recommendation is to use the Wiki to see what rooms or sections of the Abbey exist and then make your own map. Alternatively, use Salamandastron, Brockhall, or Loamhedge as your setting, where layouts are a bit looser and less defined in the series, making them perfect for homebrewed campaigns.

[Helmsworth]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the warm welcome, and the direction to the wiki, looks like it will be super useful. I'm trying to build rules and mechanics that capture the mood of the books, so assuming I get it all finalized enough, maybe I'll post the rules and information on here for anyone who might want to play!

[Luftwaffles]

I'd sure be interested!

[Verdauga]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the warm welcome, and the direction to the wiki, looks like it will be super useful. I'm trying to build rules and mechanics that capture the mood of the books, so assuming I get it all finalized enough, maybe I'll post the rules and information on here for anyone who might want to play!

Not Redwall related, but if you have seen the TTRPG "R.O.OT." (or alternatively Humblewood for DND)-- those have stats for a number of woodland species similar to the inhabitants of Mossflower.

[Helmsworth]

I'd heard of Humblewood, but not R.O.O.T, I'll check it out!

Another thought, I need to figure out which critters to have in the abbey at the point in time my story takes place. I don't think I want to have any of the main characters of the books in there, so I'll probably select a book (Maybe Redwall or Mattimeo) and add the side characters from that story. That said, it could be fun to include any of you all who would be interested!
This might be silly, but if you read this and you'd like to be in the story, could you describe what kind of critter you'd like to be, a basic personality, what you do at the abbey, and a name?

[Matthias720]

Yeah, I almost suggested R.O.O.T. but didn't want to deviate too much from the question.

[Verdauga]

So given that I want it to be scary (Halloween, after all), what I've got so far is this: There's been an early winter storm, and the abbey is snowed in. Luckily they have plenty of supplies, and it's shaping up to be a cozy few weeks or so until the snow melts. Unfortunately, the early cold has driven something dreadful into the forgotten lowest floor of the abbey! (My invention). With creatures disappearing in the night, it's up to our heroes to discover what has moved in below them, how it's getting up into the abbey, and how to stop it.

So. I haven't decided what creature to make the monster. I'm thinking a reptile, since it would make sense for the cold to have driven it underground. I'm hesitant to make it a snake, since that starts to feel a lot like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I'd love some suggestions.
I'm also toying with the idea that something like this has happened before, and instructions were left by the abbey mice of the past. I'm hoping to get a classic Redwall riddle in there, with some clues to follow and secrets to discover. I'm not much good at poetry though, and I'd love any ideas on that front!

    Doing a quick name-drop here, but if you want riddles, @Tinarandel would be a good person to contact. He posts regularly and is working on his own work, but he's worth contacting.

    One thing I will say for Redwall is that it's largely based on England. I don't expect there to be a long snow, but obviously, you're the GM, and it's far from impossible. As far as the monster, a snake would be right up Redwall's alley (there're at least two in the series) but another reptile would be fine. Especially if it were a snake, there could be any number of notes from Redwall times, but obviously it is up to you.

[Tinarandel]

I wouldn't say I'm the best person to contact when it comes to making riddles. I've barely made any myself. 

[HeadInAnotherGalaxy]

Ah 'avenae vorked on me Redwall zombie Fan-Fiction in a lang vhoile, but Ah dae ztill 'ave ziz image o' ze layoot o' Redwall Abbey zat Ah found zomevhere online zat Ah vaz uzin' tae 'elp viz ze vroitin' o' it. May'apz it'll 'elp.



(Ye can open ze image in anozer tab tae get a larger viev o' it.)