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help me with ideas for a temple ruins
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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6287906" data-attributes="member: 4937"><p>At a generic level, read my dungeon building advice. <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?14005-Dramatic-Dungeoncrawling/page3&p=212975&viewfull=1#post212975" target="_blank">http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?14005-Dramatic-Dungeoncrawling/page3&p=212975&viewfull=1#post212975</a></p><p></p><p>So, apply that to your specific situation.</p><p></p><p>a) You've left the god of trickery and his demon generic. Don't. Understanding what worship was about is critical to creating your dungeon. You've hit a road block in your creativity because you're not addressing the critical issue. What things are associated with and symbolize this deity? What animals does the god have some dominion over or relationship with? What creatures? What plants? What beasts - foxes, ravens, coyotes, monkeys, snakes, etc. - might have moved into the area with the deities approval? </p><p></p><p>b) What needs were the builders of the temple trying to address? If for example the god required animal sacrifices, then there was probably some sort of area near the entrance where livestock could be brought, kept, and perhaps sold and traded. The temple also probably needed a water source, so their was probably a well or possibly a spring and probably a building to contain and protect it. The temple probably had full time laypersons to maintain the temple and the grounds. Where did they live? What was their status - monks, servants, slaves, prisoners, etc.? If they weren't here willingly, some sort of overseer probably had to manage them closely. The temple if it feared attack may have been fortified, with the grounds surrounded by a now largely broken down wall. What other out buildings might the temple have needed? </p><p></p><p>c) In what ways was the temple serving the community? Someone paid for, built, and worshiped at this temple. Why? Who was petitioning the god of trickery and for what purposes? Why did the local population think it wise or important to build this temple? What wisdom did the temple teach? Were classrooms required or lecture halls? What did the temple sell? For example, might the temple used its knowledge to monopolize production of subtle potions and poisons? </p><p></p><p>d) What changed about the relationship with the local population that caused the temple to be destroyed and more importantly abandoned. What services that the god provided either stopped or started to come at too high of a price?</p><p></p><p>e) In 100 years, lots of vegetation, even a whole forest, could have grown up in and on and around the temple. How does this disguise the original purpose or interfere with motion. Early succession plant life typically includes brambles and thick groves of evergreens that could block line of sight and create difficult terrain - forcing perhaps crawling to reach inner areas. Vines, ivy, and mosses likely now grow over the stone work. If the area is a reservoire of evil, many of these plants are likely unpleasant in some fashion even if attractive - poison ivy, poison oak, poison summac, shelf fungi, poisonous mushrooms, nightshade, black locust, wolfsbane, etc. On the other hand, some of these might be worth something as reagents or alchemical supplies if recognized and carefully collected.</p><p></p><p>f) You mention scavenging materials and disaster. What was scavenged and what resulted. What evidence of the scavenging remains.</p><p></p><p>g) What else has over the years investigated the temple, and with what results? Did monsters try to tunnel in the area? Who might have taken advantage of the temple's isolation? What external evidence might monsters living in the dungeon (if any) leave on the surface? Have former adventuring parties ventured into the temple? How far did they get before abandoning the task? What evidence did they leave behind? What tragedies might have happened over the years?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6287906, member: 4937"] At a generic level, read my dungeon building advice. [url]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?14005-Dramatic-Dungeoncrawling/page3&p=212975&viewfull=1#post212975[/url] So, apply that to your specific situation. a) You've left the god of trickery and his demon generic. Don't. Understanding what worship was about is critical to creating your dungeon. You've hit a road block in your creativity because you're not addressing the critical issue. What things are associated with and symbolize this deity? What animals does the god have some dominion over or relationship with? What creatures? What plants? What beasts - foxes, ravens, coyotes, monkeys, snakes, etc. - might have moved into the area with the deities approval? b) What needs were the builders of the temple trying to address? If for example the god required animal sacrifices, then there was probably some sort of area near the entrance where livestock could be brought, kept, and perhaps sold and traded. The temple also probably needed a water source, so their was probably a well or possibly a spring and probably a building to contain and protect it. The temple probably had full time laypersons to maintain the temple and the grounds. Where did they live? What was their status - monks, servants, slaves, prisoners, etc.? If they weren't here willingly, some sort of overseer probably had to manage them closely. The temple if it feared attack may have been fortified, with the grounds surrounded by a now largely broken down wall. What other out buildings might the temple have needed? c) In what ways was the temple serving the community? Someone paid for, built, and worshiped at this temple. Why? Who was petitioning the god of trickery and for what purposes? Why did the local population think it wise or important to build this temple? What wisdom did the temple teach? Were classrooms required or lecture halls? What did the temple sell? For example, might the temple used its knowledge to monopolize production of subtle potions and poisons? d) What changed about the relationship with the local population that caused the temple to be destroyed and more importantly abandoned. What services that the god provided either stopped or started to come at too high of a price? e) In 100 years, lots of vegetation, even a whole forest, could have grown up in and on and around the temple. How does this disguise the original purpose or interfere with motion. Early succession plant life typically includes brambles and thick groves of evergreens that could block line of sight and create difficult terrain - forcing perhaps crawling to reach inner areas. Vines, ivy, and mosses likely now grow over the stone work. If the area is a reservoire of evil, many of these plants are likely unpleasant in some fashion even if attractive - poison ivy, poison oak, poison summac, shelf fungi, poisonous mushrooms, nightshade, black locust, wolfsbane, etc. On the other hand, some of these might be worth something as reagents or alchemical supplies if recognized and carefully collected. f) You mention scavenging materials and disaster. What was scavenged and what resulted. What evidence of the scavenging remains. g) What else has over the years investigated the temple, and with what results? Did monsters try to tunnel in the area? Who might have taken advantage of the temple's isolation? What external evidence might monsters living in the dungeon (if any) leave on the surface? Have former adventuring parties ventured into the temple? How far did they get before abandoning the task? What evidence did they leave behind? What tragedies might have happened over the years? [/QUOTE]
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