On the Wild Wilderness

Beedo wrote a post here, decrying the difficulty of wilderness encounters.

Since the encounters are so infrequent the players can just expend all their resources against each encounter!

Primarily my experience has been with 1st edition and the encounter tables therein. This cannot address his issues with Tsojcanth. But it can explain why wilderness encounters are interesting.

Number encountered and % in Lair: Both these values are astoundingly important. First, if the monster is in their lair, then it's not just a random beast, it's a decision about crawling in a hole in the ground. Second, being that these are random encounters, the full brunt of the number appearing tables from the monster manual come into play. Which leads us to our second point. . .

Distance and surprise: Have you noticed the encounter distances are longer? Elves do not like trespassers. Elves are all proficient with ranged weapons. Say you encounter (2d10x10) 90 elves at a distance of, lets be generous and say 10".

What party can survive 90 short bow attacks per round.

In fact, in what world can going nova allow any party to survive that encounter.

Let's look at some common number encountered for wilderness encounters.

Elves: 20-200
Bandits: 20-200
Hobgoblin: 20-200
Berserkers: 10-100 (I'm sure parley will work great with these guys.

Science forbid you run into a buccaneer! 50-300 of those guys.

Ok, what about non-humans?
Wild Boar: 1-12 . . . with a movement rate of 15. An enemy that does 3-12 damage that you can't escape from?
Bugbear: 6-36
Crocodile: 3-24
Dragon: 1-4; You come across 4 black dragons. Nova that, bitches.
Eagles, Giant: 1-20
Preyton: 2-8; No, doesn't seem like much for creatures that are immune to normal weapons, attack at +2, have 4 hit dice, fly at 21" and do 4-16 damage (average of 10) per round.
Stirge: 3-30

All of this leads to the final factor, which is Pursuit.

Thankfully, because this was actually used in play, encountering something faster then you isn't instant death. You have an 80% chance to evade something chasing you.

-20% if they are faster
-50% if you're on a plain, desert, or open water
-30% during daylight.

Just, wilderness encounters are terrifying. Some things are easy (Dinosaurs), many things are not.

On a Masterwork Illusion

I've used illusionism in games before -- I've run a game built on the very ideal of that.

It was so entertaining that at one point we had upwards of 10 people showing up to watch.

It was a different time.

The real question is how did it work?

Why was it successful?

Is there anything from this that can be used or adapted for use in an illusion-free high-agency game?

Might some of the techniques be useful in a game that allows players to actually influence it?

Here is how this would normally work. The games took place within a single city. The city was a Space Structure. A real world map was used. Usually I ran the game in the city we actually resided in. The characters had their own goals and were within a Power Structure, containing all the relevant NPC's and factions.

During the week, I would come up with the idea for three or four scenes.

And then, during the game, no matter what the players did, those scenes would happen. Often, if I needed some particular behavior from the players, or perhaps them to visit a specific location, I would spend the preparatory time figuring out how to manipulate them to that location. I would design increasingly manipulative scenarios to cause them to accomplish the tasks I needed to set up the scene.

I'm a much different person today.

There are some things to note:

• I would design the scenes in such a way that they were very easy to trigger. They would rely as little as possible on player choice.
• I would start with the most subtle manipulation. It was not heavy-handed, just the small things I required were mentioned as reasonable options.

The downside? No matter what the players did, these scenes would occur. They could not avoid them or stop them. At best they could cause the scene to be delayed.

I had 'my story' and I was going to tell it.

Was it as bad as all that? No. Each session started in a 'virtual sandbox'. ("It is evening, you awake. What do you do?") And they would go about trying to accomplish their goals. Within the scenes themselves they would do anything they wished. But much like a quick-time events in video games, the choices in scenes were simplistic, telegraphed, and of minimal consequence to the final result of the story.

There were two reasons this design functioned as well as it did.

1. Theatrics: The game was designed around being entertaining. NPC's were interesting, and portrayed to break stereotypes. Those involved were encouraged to play up their thespian skills. Character voices, atmosphere, ritual, and setting were of paramount importance. 
2. Illusionism: The game was designed on two levels. The players were all trying to accomplish their own goals. These goals were only tangentally associated with the actual overarching 'story' that was being told.

Even though it worked, it lacks the virtues of my experiences in the last five years. Here are the problems.

It was entertaining in the same sense that a movie or book was entertaining. It was fun to experience. Sometimes. Because it was a game that actually involved physical people, sometimes people were tired, unmotivated, or generally uncreative. This meant, as much as the atmosphere and setting were enjoyable there were long periods where things might be boring and uninteresting.

This is generally ok if there are other things involved that are engaging. But if this is the primary activity and source of entertainment, then 'boring and uninteresting' are serious problems.

A description, no matter how long, detailed, engaging or entertaining cannot replace engagement. It can make a good thing better, but it cannot make a bad thing good.

{Long description of creepy forest, history of the forgotten keep, and the approach to the keep}
"What do you do adventurer?"
"I explore the keep!"
"Roll"
"16"
"You are victorious!" {Long description of the victory}

This is just an example to show that description does not make an unengaging roll any more engaging. If the system is 'chunked poorly' no amount of fancy presentation will make it fun.

You cannot, ahem, polish the proverbial turd.

As for the illusionism? The time spent during character creation designing their background and creating their character and their character's goals was only as useful to me as it allowed me to have tools and hooks to insert them into my plot.

Most of the actual game-play between my scenes was very reminiscent of OSR play. Players would try to accomplish their goals and problems would appear in their way. They had freedom within this structure only as it didn't actually interfere with the overarching story.

When they did try to affect the outcome of the story, it was a brick wall and magician's switch apocalypse. Why? It had to be.

I wasn't a player in this game so I can't speak to 'if it was worth it or not'.

I can say we had fun then. I can also say that my current players (some of whom are the same) appear to be much more engaged in the current game.

After all, it's one where they can smash the head of the boss in and be rewarded for it rather than punished.

On Decisions & Delvers

Did you hear? We're playing D&D.

There's no sense in calling it something different. Because it is D&D -- there's not one part of this that can't be implemented in the game you're playing now.

What are our virtues?

• Lucid Agency "Player Agency + Informed Choice"
• Negotiated Rulings ("stakes") and Negotiated Fictional Positioning
• Simple to start, easy to learn
• Quick, abstract, resolution of combat
• Focus on play for the players
• Pleasure-Convergent Significance (game-play)
• Strong Fictive Structure (associated mechanics, logical and natural consequences, and verisimilitude)
• Player skill focused
• Simple flexible classes that are "philosophies of problem solving"
• Impartial Adjudication

What a mess of buzzwords! Bullsh*t and double-talk you say!

Me too. How about in English this time?

Lucid Agency: The players have an idea of consequences before they perform actions and they are free to perform or attempt any actions they wish. This includes unspoken consequences such as, "Things inside dungeons are dangerous and can kill you without warning" as well as explicit ones presented before characters declare actions.

This also means no mind-reading, pixel bitching, palette-shifting, or illusionism.

Negotiated Rulings: The players and the DM discuss the rules before action is taken. The players are given options of actions and the consequences for those actions are made explicit. They player may then choose to take the action or not.

Negotiated Fictional Positioning: Where the players are actually located within the game world is not always immediately apparent. When there is some question as to the location of the players, their locations are determined as a group. The metric the group uses to decide the location of the characters is one of verisimilitude.


Simple to learn, Easy to start: No big rulebook. Random non-gaming friends should be able to join with little difficulty. Game play is focused on easily enumerable choices (7 +/- 2) with clear consequences presented in plain language.

Quick, abstract, resolution of combat: This is not a wargame, nor a study of tactics. The interesting part of this game is the problem-solving and decision-making. That is the focus. Combat remains very abstract in structure.

Focus on play for the players: The game requires no activity from the players outside of play to be successful at it. They do not have to worry about builds or spend time outside of the game thinking about the optimum advancement path for their character. They may choose to spend time outside the game engaged in thinking of ways to further their characters goals, but time spent in this way will not cause one character to be more successful than another in the play of the game.

Pleasure-Convergent Significance: I know, right? Bzzzzzzzzzz. All this means is the metric by which we decide what we do at the table is 'which of these things is an interesting and significant choice with interesting consequences'. What is interesting is constantly in flux and dependent on the people involved.  Obstacles are not put in the way of players who wish to reach these activities at the table.

Strong Fictive Structure: This means that the game is focused and set within a flavorful fantasy universe.

Lords of Shadow and Darkness manipulate things from their ruined lairs. Malign Titans absently rule all men, distant Autarchs ensconced within abstruse acropoli. Hideous Tarragons take form and seek to rend the world open to the elder realm. Dragons, hideously deformed beasts from elemental forces terrorize the land. Strange arcane crossbreeds stalk the hidden wilds.
The Gods are absent, gone or long dead, for what use is a heavenly lord when amaranthine titans stride tediously upon the earth, leaving only their perpetual selves to praise man.
Death stalks the world, astride a bacchanale of winged terrors from antediluvian nigh-black ruins and serpentine buried temples of forgotten demons. A hideous terror behind silk-hung walls that humanity cowers from, trusting in the uncaring extrinsic titans.

This fictional structure provides a grounding for the play. This isn't a mechanical numerological masturbatory fantasy -- it is a game based off conversation, imagination and fantasy.

Player Skill Focused: Your success at the game has little to nothing to do with how many plusses are on your sheet. The numbers on your sheet merely relate to your philosophy. Your skill at problem-solving, critical and lateral thinking, and creativity will define your success. Impulsively act, actively ignore information, and try to solve every problem the same way and you will be rolling up new characters often, no matter how high your bonuses.

Simple Flexible Classes: You should be able to play your ideal character, within seconds of starting play. No needing mechanical things in order to make your character work. Your characters are abstract (Fighting-man, Sage, Expert) to allow you to color and characterize them any way you wish right from the start. And what's more, each class exemplifies a method of solving problems (Respectively: Strength and brute force, Planning and resource management, and Smart risky and bold heroics). Specialized classes involve specialized methods of play (Psionicist is creativity; Alchemist is craven manipulation)

Impartial Adjudication: The people playing the game are more engaged in auguring the reality of an unknown realm rather then 'attempting to win'.

On Interesting Treasure: The Goldmani Maikp Ornament

The Goldmani Maikp Ornament

This is a miniature emblem made from gold in the shape of a panther head. It once was said to dwell on the Rhyton of the lord of panthers, though this claim is much contested.

It maintains a relatively high polish and the eyes are embossed to shimmer and appear alive.

Perhaps the lord of panthers watches through this emblem, or perhaps it is just a trick of the light.

It is worth 25 gold, perhaps 100 to an interested sage.

On Alchemical Items, Powder of the Convulsive Cachinnate

Powder of the Convulsive Cachinnate
BSC:	40%	(R)gp:	100 gp
DC:	20	TTC:	2 days
CC:	4	CGP::	35 gp
NWP:	-1	XP:	- xp
D100:	+15%	Weight:	- / 20
D6:	3 in 6 / 4	Difficulty:	Difficult
Rarity	Uncommon

Materials: Rare Earths (2 drams), Cannabis Sativa (4 drams), Powdered Nickle (2 drams), Powdered Khat leaves (1 dram)
Description: When a target is dosed with this powder, they are seized with an overwhelming compulsion to laugh. Everything becomes hilarious. They may save versus petrification to avoid the effects (Will Save DC 16). If the saving throw is failed, the target(s) begin laughing uncontrollably, falling prone on the ground. This only lasts for 1 round. After this round they may stand up again, but they continue to laugh for the next 2-5 (1d4+1) rounds. While laughing they receive a -2 on all attack and damage rolls.
This only affects targets of intelligence 4 or higher. 



Rules are here.

On The Thursday Trick, Detection of Triggers: Part the Second

Mechanical Triggers
The following is the text from the Empty Room, Tricks, and Traps document. The additional information is added to increase agency. 

Tripwire: These refer to strings or wires stretched taut that will trigger the trap of their tension is altered. Although difficult to see against a varied background, these can often be detected by careful observation and bright light. In addition to being strung across corridors, they may be attached to the inside of lids of containers, behind doors, along stairs, or to objects on pedestals. 

The most important thing about detecting these is lighting. It is quite easy in good light to miss a low strung tripwire. The material the wire is made from is an important fact, as well as how it is prepared. If the characters are carrying a light source and state that they are inspecting the floor, they should discover any exposed tripwire.

If the wire is made from metal and not covered in some sort of non-reflective material, it may reflect the light from a sun-rod or torch. If the line is made from rope, cord, or twine, wetness, mold, rot, and decay may cause the trap itself to be triggered if left alone long enough.

A tripwire, over time may sag, stretch out, and eventually be laying on the actual floor itself. These will still trigger the trap, however there should be a reduced chance (~25%) of actually triggering it for each character that crosses the trap. 

This category often covers snares also. These and other types of tripwires are often camouflaged and hidden from view. In this case, the object hiding the tripwire can be described.

• Leaves choke the hallway ahead
• Rubble is lying all about the hallway
• Mist swirls about the floor 
• A curtain hangs in the hallway

If the delvers ignore the obstruction, then they trigger the tripwire. It is a good idea, as always, to have lots of instances where these items are present without traps. 

Lids: These “mechanical” triggers are very simple - any object that covers a pit that doesn’t look like the top of a pit is a lid. This may also refer to false doors that open into walls that spring traps. Prodding and tapping are very effective at detecting these kinds of traps.

 This is mainly about how to detect non-visible pits. Note that pits, like pressure plates, usually have a 50% chance to not be triggered. Since lids are literal covers for holes, water usually tends to be very effective in detecting these traps.

Breakaway pits are usually camouflaged, but any sort of testing or prodding will indicate either that the floor is not solid, or that the covering has some give to it. You must also consider the terrain and the substance used to cover the breakaway pit. Leaves and sticks outside, and a carpet indoors.

Latch pits have moving parts. There is some support for the latch, and usually some way for the latch to reset. This means a wheel or gear hidden nearby. Also, it is more difficult to hide the seam of a latched pit.

Teeter-totter pits are easy enough to detect by prodding, but as a side effect from heavy use, may not center correctly. One side may be raised up an inch or more, while the other is low. Or if it is poorly made, the wrong side of the pit could be present.

On a Strategy Guide for Legendary Grim Rocks

The LEGEND OF GRIMROCK comes out today, and by science you should get it!

It's old school dungeon crawling in the vein of Dungeon Master or Eye of the Beholder. It has a selector on game start up for which dungeon you want to enter! Think of the re-playability!

A superb engine for endless dungeon crawling fun!

Here's a strategy guide for surviving in the depths of the realms. This Strategy guide for the Legend of Grimrock will be updated over the coming weeks. Expect non-spoiler clues to tough puzzles. And if you like Legend of Grimrock and this FAQ/Spoiler light walkthrough, take a look around the blog - it's a bit of the old school dungeon crawl and how to do it right at the tabletop.

If you have any advice yourself, comment!

General advice:

• Your party formation is a 2x2 square; 1 and 2, in the front left and right respectively, and 3 and 4 in the back left and right. When you turn to the left, your party members 2 and 4 are now facing the direction 1 and 2 were. Remember this when you're turning away from monsters. The 1-4 keys also open up the character sheet for the respective party member.
• 2x2 rooms are great for fighting single enemies in, you can strike and move away before they can turn and retaliate. 
• Enemies are tough. If possible, you should attempt to pull them in order to take them on one at a time.
• There are only a limited number of tile-sets. This is by design, not because their wonderful art team couldn't create more tile-sets. Many of the secrets are noticeable because of small differences in the walls. (Real player agency secret detection! Imagine that!!)
• It can be pretty easy to miss things. Remember that you can resurrect at resurrection stones on each level.
• The magic system is rune based, which means you can discover new spells by playing around with the runes! The runes are, in order:
  Fire, Life, Air,
  Spirituality, Balance, Physicality,
  Earth, Death, and Ice.
  You don't have to wait to discover the runes to learn new spells, but you may need to get your skill mastery high enough!
  Shock: Air (Air Magic 4)
  Lightning Bolt: Air + Spirituality (Air Magic 14)
  Fire Burst: Fire (Fire Magic 3)
  Fireball: Fire+Air+Physicality (Fire Magic 13) 
  Freeze Bolt: Air+Ice (Ice Magic 13)
  Poison Cloud: Earth (Earth Magic 3)
  Poison Bolt: Air+Earth (Earth Magic 7)
  Ice Shards: Earth+Ice (Ice Magic 3)
  Light: Balance + Life (Spellcraft 5)
  Darkness: Balance + Death (Spellcraft 5)
• Remember that the back row needs either magic, a ranged weapon, a thrown weapon, or a weapon with reach. Don't handicap yourself by arming them with weapons that they can't attack with. 
• You can change your party formation by dragging the portraits of your party. 
• Don't forget about your other character sheet tabs!
• If an item slot is red, that means you don't have enough skill points to use the items.
• The characters that damage the monster most receive the most experience! Use this to control your development.
• You'll be eating the flesh of monsters to sate your hunger. 

Level 1: Into the dark (Minor Spoilers)

• Just get into the dungeon? Look behind you!
• In the small cell where you find the eye, triggering the plate before finding the hidden stone will help you escape. 
• IRON DOOR: To open the large Iron Doors on the first level, there are hidden switches right in the room the door is located in. Take the opportunity to open it before descending. 

Level 2: Old Tunnels

• Torches are the key to the "shelter left/cells right" room in the south east corner. 
• You will find a teleporter to some cells in the northwest corner. Inside these locked cells are a skeleton, and a bag. Some switches on the wall will teleport items between cells and down to the end of the corridor. Playing with them will allow you to access both the bag and the skeleton.
• The section with the crows requires a bit of a button loop to find the first key.
• The second key involves a bit of lateral thinking. Find the hidden switch and perform a feat of speed to bypass the teleporter (walking backwards mightmake it easier), and then send something over the pit before traveling over yourself. 
• Late in the level is when you first get the mortar & pestle to produce alchemical items. 
• There is a room where when you hit a switch, you are ambushed by some mushroom men. Don't miss the nearby sling. 
• IRON DOOR: This is as it appears. You must be patient for the door to open. Just step on the pressure plate and wait. I would be ready for a surprise. 
• TREASURE: In the spider area, in the room before you find the note, you'll find a switch on a pillar. . .
• You are probably becoming near encumbered at this point. Take a moment to find a safe place to stash some items. 

Level 3: Pillars of Light

• The first room has the clue by the door. The entrance room has a pillar in the center. It should be easy to figure out what to do from there.
•  The room with the skeletons can seem overwhelming, but you can lure them onto the pit and drop them down. You may have to fight them later if you want to access another skull.
• You'll notice two pits in an early room blocking access to a gate with a pressure plateIt appears there's no way to trigger it. There's a secret in the bypass around this room, and another secret inside that secret. Then facing the correct direction will allow you to throw a stone that will trigger that hard to reach plate, for your second missile weapon. 
• The rotating transporters can be a bit imposing. There's a pressure plate to the left of the room that will close the center pit. Move to the right, and face that pressure plate and throw something to have it trigger. Then, once the pit is closed, you can stand on it to manipulate the room. Duck over and drop a rock to open up the gate. Run through quickly before the teleporters drop the rock at the entrance.  
• Secret: Sacrificing more often than you need to never hurt anyone. 
• IRON DOOR: This is your first one that's not given to you on a platter. You'll find a second chamber with a pillar that has no torches in it. If you put torches in the wall sconce, and not the pillars, you'll open up the iron door for a very nice cloak.
• The spiders are deadly and numerous. Ice magic to freeze them is helpful. Watch out for being trapped and cornered, and use antivenom only after taking out a group of spiders.  
• Seriously, the spiders are dangerous.
• For all your trouble with the spiders, don't forget to grab the gold key after they are all dealt with. I found it in the middle of a hallway.
• The spectral relay may give you pause, but remember that you can trigger pressure plates by dropping something through a grate. 
• Don't miss the secret entrance to level 4, it contains a hard fight against green slimes for a secret treasure. (There's a symbol for door, and sometimes it is on the wall).

Level 4: The Archives

• This floor starts with a difficult combat. Once completed, pick up the key and move on. 
• There are 4 sections here, the iron door, and a gate between the stairway and you. There are also 4 cubby holes, with text clues for items that go in them.
• Trails of thought
• The first puzzle in this section is a 9x9 grid. The teleporters act as walls. The trick is to follow the pattern in an indirect sequence. A bit of trial and error will get you through this no problem. If you're having trouble with the sequence, write down the order you're going in to try different paths. 
• You may see no way to both get the key and move forward, but remember, you can step on the closed pit to get the sequence of opening pits to align. 
• In the side passage here, you'll find a small switch. This gives you seven seconds to walk down and hit a switch over the closed pits. This gives you only a short time to dive in the hole where the teleporter is, for an IRON DOOR key.
• Time and Tide
• Why did they give you throwing daggers instead of rocks? Because they are weapons, and should be used like them to solve the puzzle. 
• Of course, now that you can cross, I wonder where that teleporter leads?
• In the long hallway where you have to step by step navigate the temporarily closed pits, there is a switch on the right hand wall. It opens a passage, giving you access to the second piece of insect armor - the Chitin Mask.
• What to do about the pit corridor? Across the two pits with no lids, there's a bit of a pressure plate in plain sight. Remember those throwing daggers?
• Beast Gardens and Menagerie
• This may seem endless, and indeed they are. No matter how many you kill, more will arrive. Will you starve to death in endless combat? Put some of them on display as centerpieces of the cells.
• The Catacomb
• Some fights that provide a bit of challenge. Nothing difficult here, just release the pressure plates to pass.
• IRON DOOR: grab the key from Time and Tide 
• When you finally put the scrolls in their correct spot, be ready for a bit of the rough and tumble. This is a tough fight. I found myself crafting potions to keep up with the damage from the little skinks. Afterwards you have access to a resurrection stone and a stairway down.

Level 5: Hallways

• Right at the start, you must find a hidden button to progress. Don't be too hasty, check for a another button on a wall in the room right past the button for a cloak made from mysterious scales. 
• Near the caged crabs, there's a switch on a wall that leads to a hidden dagger. 
• The pit room follows a regular pattern. Once beyond, you have several tough fights. You eventually find a room with a key, where a major combat will take place. After the dust settles, if you're still stuck in the room, perhaps leaving a gift where the key was will grant you freedom. 
• Don't miss the switch on the far wall. It raises a platform worth investigating.
• On the other side in the abandoned hallways, there's a switch and a pressure plate. The teleporter flashes on to knock items off the pressure plate. When you hit the switch, the gate opens to your left, and the teleporter flashes on. The plate opens the nearby door right past the gate. You can't reach the pressure plate in time to trigger it with your body, perhaps there's some way to trigger the plate from down the corridor so you can make it past the closed door in time.
• IRON DOOR: And the clue says to rest where the Dragon(s) gaze. There are more than one of them. Perhaps where their vision intersects will point you to the place.  

Level 6:Trapped

•  The maze of madness isn't so maddening, you just have to be on the lookout for some hidden switches. Pay close enough attention and you can gain access to a necklace that gives bonus experience. 
• In the Halls of Fire you will find a mage's entrance that works like you expect, being that you find a fireball scroll nearby. If you can't cast fireball, there's a nearby hallway with a hidden switch. Hitting that switch will give you a little hidey hole which may allow you to reach the end of the hallway. There you might find a tool that will give you what you need to cross. 
• The walkabout is a walkabout. Go round once (Click/Click/Click) and get a stone. Keep walking for some bones and then a sack. 
• There is a lot of fighting on this level, especially against ranged fire throwers. Use ranged weapons and quick dodging to slay your opponents. 
• There are secrets within secrets near the hallways with the heads that shoot fire, both of them. After three secret switches, one leads to plate (seen on a level above), the other to a challenge for fighters. 
• IRON DOOR: This isn't too difficult, there are four keys, one in each section.  Find them all and open the iron door.

Level 7

• Lots of fighting on this level, but you should be powerful enough to handle it
• To find a dagger fit for slayers of men (Assassin's Dagger) look for five switches. Only three of them make noise. Playing with them should do the trick. 
• Near the Crystal on this level is a hallway with two doors. There is a pull chain to get into a room with two pressure plates. One raises a gate, and the other fires a missile. A bit of quick stepping will get the missile in the bucket. Prepare for a difficult fight. Afterwards, don't forget to walk around, to find a powerful Earthbound Staff. 
• Stuck in the room where the floor opens and shuts? There's a switch hidden on a wall inside the room, in addition to treasure in a cubby hole. Remember, your body can block the spectral ray. 
• IRON DOOR: Three demon faces. Any ball makes it to the goal and you get to start over. Your reward? Chitin Boots and a Scroll teaching you the Fire Arrow Spell.

Level 8

Skull Locations

• North section of the Old Tunnels, There is a switch where you find the key in the fungus rooms. Pulling this switch opens a secret chamber nearby with a skull on the ground next to some Nomad Boots.  
• This second skull is technically in the archives, but can only be reached from Level 3. Fall down into the pits, and in the back corner, you'll find this skull on the ground. You'll have to do a bit of fighting first.  
• Near the 'real' entrance to Level 8, right past the room with three faces and three pits, you'll find a skull in a wall cubby hole.