I want to improve the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (again). I concentrate here on the "Lesser Caverns", reached from the surface, in canon by a flight of stairs.
Both the upper and lower caverns are boxy affairs which just so happen to fill up a sheet of notebook-standard paper. I find this cheesy. I have to believe that even in 1982, they found it cheesy. I don't much mind this boxiness in the "Greater Caverns" on account (now) a VERY powerful witch and (demonic) allies helped carve those. But for the "Lesser Caverns" in 1982, this was an opportunity that Gygax missed.
First step is to graph it in the abstract:
First off, A is feeding water - and fish - to this whole system. We're told it's flowing at least a mile from the west, where there's a 60' high chimney to the surface. The claim is that it "twists and turns" but it really doesn't, as it only does so for a mile, which is the same as the crow flies. Beyond that, the water fills the passage and it's impassible to man. Likely there are several tributaries feeding water into it.
The first chamber is, also, 60' below the surface entrance. As far as caverns #1-12 go (they are all caverns), all these denizens must share the same route out for basic sustenance - mainly thinking here of #9's trolls and 12's giants. I mean, they could eat fungi, cave-crickets and bats... but. I was thinking that some passages between caverns could be valleys on the surface - like in module B2 - but I decided against that.
I am less concerned with the carnivores on the other side of big lake 13-14. The lacedons in #20 assuredly swim up the river as they must. As for that gorgimera in 16-18, I expect he does much of his hunting in that big lake west and 400' down from D.
Anyway, the "Lesser Caverns" can be de-boxied whilst keeping the basic plan intact. Otherwise my main change would be to expand the central lake.
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