Satyrn
First Post
So, as I mentioned in another thread: I'm building a megadungeon based on a couple ideas. One of my players, when he tried DMing, began running a campaign based on an anime about a sadsack adventurer who tried to make his fame - and win the love of some great adventurer - in a megadungeon under the city. Success is measured by reaching lower levels of the dungeon, by beating boss monsters, etc.
So: delving as a sport, delvers as professional athletes.
To make this make sense - to have some vaguely logical reason for why the dungeon always has monsters despite adventurers make multiple delves every day - I've decided the dungeon naturally repopulates itself through what I've dubbed "spawn engines."
After inventing a few spawn engines, I've found the idea is proving awesome. By figuring out why a spawn engine exists in the first place, the dungeon itself gets reshaped and flavored in ways I wouldn't have otherwise considered.
For example, the top levels of the Dungeon are populated primarily by a spawn engine called The Imp Portal. It's actually two portals - to Hell and the Abyss - spewing out endless demons and devils who are playing a constant game of King of the HIll with each other. Each day, a new Boss, with minions, comes through the Imp Portal to challenge the current Boss and its minions. So whenever the players are in these levels, they can find various situations, randomly determined: The Bosses might be battling each other, or preparing for the battle, or celebrating their victory. And there's a new Boss every day!
Another spawn engine is the rather undefined "Fey Caverns." This is a point where the Feywild intersects with the dungeon, where various plant monsters can grow in seconds. Think the Genesis Cave from the Wrath of Khan . . . and I'm now renaming this engine The Genesis Cave.
There's also some weird, massive magic crystal that stretches through several levels of the dungeon. It spawns crystal skeletons with coins or gems in the eye socket. And they're powered exactly as you think they would be: Copper-eyed skeletons are super weak, diamond-eyed skeletons are Badass Bosses.
Anyway. My creativity only stretches so far, and I'd appreciate more ideas for spawn engines I can build from.
What are the coolest or craziest way to spawn monsters?
So: delving as a sport, delvers as professional athletes.
To make this make sense - to have some vaguely logical reason for why the dungeon always has monsters despite adventurers make multiple delves every day - I've decided the dungeon naturally repopulates itself through what I've dubbed "spawn engines."
After inventing a few spawn engines, I've found the idea is proving awesome. By figuring out why a spawn engine exists in the first place, the dungeon itself gets reshaped and flavored in ways I wouldn't have otherwise considered.
For example, the top levels of the Dungeon are populated primarily by a spawn engine called The Imp Portal. It's actually two portals - to Hell and the Abyss - spewing out endless demons and devils who are playing a constant game of King of the HIll with each other. Each day, a new Boss, with minions, comes through the Imp Portal to challenge the current Boss and its minions. So whenever the players are in these levels, they can find various situations, randomly determined: The Bosses might be battling each other, or preparing for the battle, or celebrating their victory. And there's a new Boss every day!
Another spawn engine is the rather undefined "Fey Caverns." This is a point where the Feywild intersects with the dungeon, where various plant monsters can grow in seconds. Think the Genesis Cave from the Wrath of Khan . . . and I'm now renaming this engine The Genesis Cave.
There's also some weird, massive magic crystal that stretches through several levels of the dungeon. It spawns crystal skeletons with coins or gems in the eye socket. And they're powered exactly as you think they would be: Copper-eyed skeletons are super weak, diamond-eyed skeletons are Badass Bosses.
Anyway. My creativity only stretches so far, and I'd appreciate more ideas for spawn engines I can build from.
What are the coolest or craziest way to spawn monsters?