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help me with ideas for a temple ruins
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<blockquote data-quote="Gilladian" data-source="post: 6287948" data-attributes="member: 2093"><p>Well, actually, I just didn't feel like adding a lot more info to the original post, but since you bring it up.... </p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Mikar:</strong> god of the underdark, evil emotion, treachery. Twin brother of Mikol, sometimes worshipped as his second face rather than a separate being. As Mikol is the sun, Mikar is the moon. Most of the goblinoid races follow Mikar.</p><p></p><p> Alignment: Chaotic (many worshippers are evil, but some are neutral, and a rare few are good)</p><p> Domains: Darkness, Evil, Madness, Orc, Retribution, Sloth, Strength, Trickery</p><p> Weapons and armor: any/any</p><p> Colors/symbol: black and red/ a black mace</p><p>Animal: rabbits and cats</p><p></p><p>Mikar frequently allies with "lesser" demons who are attempting to prove their status; in this case, a powerful demon who had recently been defeated by his own enemies who was interested in rebuilding his strength and followers. Together, they sought to overwhelm a small, newly formed kingdom by infiltrating it with their own priests and eventually usurping the rulership. They failed when they moved too quickly, their main temple was exposed, and the good kingdom's armies met theirs on the field of battle, decisively defeating it. Or at least it SEEMS they were decisively defeated...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The temple was in a fairly isolated area, on the flanks of a newly resettled region that was growing rapidly into a wealthy and strong new kingdom. Mikar does love sacrifice, but mostly of things a person treasures - so I suppose there would be sacrificial altars in the main temple, offering bowls, and perhaps even "wishing pools" into which valuables could be cast. That's the sort of thing I need! </p><p></p><p>The village ten miles from the temple ruins in the present day was the main source of lay workers; they were thoroughly dominated by the temple in the old days. Yes, the temple would have been fortified, but most likely with a wooden wall; stone is not uncommon, but the temple was secretive enough that they would not likely have had the desire to build a large defensive wall; construction projects that size draw attention!</p><p></p><p>This was a moderately large temple, but secretive, so they tended to skimp on extra buildings; they had some underground barracks and cloisters for the priests. The bulk of their "army" was goblins and mercenaries who could be required to camp and to move frequently to preserve secrecy. Then again, they probably did have SOME outbuildings; I imagine a half-dozen or so structures, whose purpose now is pretty obscure. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This temple was a military headquarters, and also controlled the local populace. They trained priests here to go out and infiltrate the newly forming kingdom nearby. They came from outside, from another kingdom not far away, in which Mikar's hated twin god Mikol is dominant. They found this valley, which boasted several good-sized villages but was only lightly protected. They quickly moved in and took over by slaying the baron who had claimed the area (but who had not sworn fealty to the local king). The local populace was sort of taken by surprise and absorbed before they realized what was happening. However, since the priests and their army were able to offer them better protection than the baron had, they acquiesced fairly quickly. Mostly they were not completely willing followers, but within a generation, resistance had faded. </p><p></p><p>The temple definitely would have had lecture halls and classrooms. Not so much generation of any materials here, though; there are better places not far away to find things that would make poisons and potions; they're only a hundred miles from some really deep swamps and bayous. Instead, newly ordained priests and likely recruits would be sent here for indoctrination and instruction.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The temple was destroyed when the small nearby kingdom realized they were being infiltrated, and made a concerted effort to find the source of the infection. They discovered the temple, recruited some allies, and rode out to wipe it out. They met in battle and defeated the evil army. Or at least that's the story that is told. It might be that, realizing they had been discovered, the evil forces put up a strong defense just long enough to get their core leaders and resources away from the temple, then allowed it to fall so they could go deeper into hiding elsewhere. You know how that goes!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yeah, nasty things like poison plants will be present. I'll need to do a tiny bit of research to find out what would be most common in the climate/region, but that won't be hard. Moss, ivy, spanish moss, etc... should be plentiful. Thanks for reminding me to generate this info.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I think these can be answered in one response; there's not much evidence of scavenging, because it always ended in quick disaster. One creature I KNOW is present on the surface is a pair of caryatid columns who attack anyone who tries to carry anything away from their section of the ruins. So there are a few mangled corpses from 80 years ago, now nothing but skeletal remains, crushed and weathered.</p><p></p><p>I'll need to see what the surface evidence of monsters underneath would be - that's a great suggestion. I know there are spiders and beetles and giant rats; rats especially might easily have ways up to the surface - in fact they'd really HAVE to. </p><p></p><p>I'll also make sure to have one area where an adventuring party in the past tried to dig their way down into the catacombs below, but met an ill fate. That will scare the PCs! As far as the actual temple underground entrance, if there was sign of earlier explorers, it has been disturbed and removed by the current "expedition".</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Gilladian, post: 6287948, member: 2093"] Well, actually, I just didn't feel like adding a lot more info to the original post, but since you bring it up.... [B] Mikar:[/B] god of the underdark, evil emotion, treachery. Twin brother of Mikol, sometimes worshipped as his second face rather than a separate being. As Mikol is the sun, Mikar is the moon. Most of the goblinoid races follow Mikar. Alignment: Chaotic (many worshippers are evil, but some are neutral, and a rare few are good) Domains: Darkness, Evil, Madness, Orc, Retribution, Sloth, Strength, Trickery Weapons and armor: any/any Colors/symbol: black and red/ a black mace Animal: rabbits and cats Mikar frequently allies with "lesser" demons who are attempting to prove their status; in this case, a powerful demon who had recently been defeated by his own enemies who was interested in rebuilding his strength and followers. Together, they sought to overwhelm a small, newly formed kingdom by infiltrating it with their own priests and eventually usurping the rulership. They failed when they moved too quickly, their main temple was exposed, and the good kingdom's armies met theirs on the field of battle, decisively defeating it. Or at least it SEEMS they were decisively defeated... The temple was in a fairly isolated area, on the flanks of a newly resettled region that was growing rapidly into a wealthy and strong new kingdom. Mikar does love sacrifice, but mostly of things a person treasures - so I suppose there would be sacrificial altars in the main temple, offering bowls, and perhaps even "wishing pools" into which valuables could be cast. That's the sort of thing I need! The village ten miles from the temple ruins in the present day was the main source of lay workers; they were thoroughly dominated by the temple in the old days. Yes, the temple would have been fortified, but most likely with a wooden wall; stone is not uncommon, but the temple was secretive enough that they would not likely have had the desire to build a large defensive wall; construction projects that size draw attention! This was a moderately large temple, but secretive, so they tended to skimp on extra buildings; they had some underground barracks and cloisters for the priests. The bulk of their "army" was goblins and mercenaries who could be required to camp and to move frequently to preserve secrecy. Then again, they probably did have SOME outbuildings; I imagine a half-dozen or so structures, whose purpose now is pretty obscure. This temple was a military headquarters, and also controlled the local populace. They trained priests here to go out and infiltrate the newly forming kingdom nearby. They came from outside, from another kingdom not far away, in which Mikar's hated twin god Mikol is dominant. They found this valley, which boasted several good-sized villages but was only lightly protected. They quickly moved in and took over by slaying the baron who had claimed the area (but who had not sworn fealty to the local king). The local populace was sort of taken by surprise and absorbed before they realized what was happening. However, since the priests and their army were able to offer them better protection than the baron had, they acquiesced fairly quickly. Mostly they were not completely willing followers, but within a generation, resistance had faded. The temple definitely would have had lecture halls and classrooms. Not so much generation of any materials here, though; there are better places not far away to find things that would make poisons and potions; they're only a hundred miles from some really deep swamps and bayous. Instead, newly ordained priests and likely recruits would be sent here for indoctrination and instruction. The temple was destroyed when the small nearby kingdom realized they were being infiltrated, and made a concerted effort to find the source of the infection. They discovered the temple, recruited some allies, and rode out to wipe it out. They met in battle and defeated the evil army. Or at least that's the story that is told. It might be that, realizing they had been discovered, the evil forces put up a strong defense just long enough to get their core leaders and resources away from the temple, then allowed it to fall so they could go deeper into hiding elsewhere. You know how that goes! Yeah, nasty things like poison plants will be present. I'll need to do a tiny bit of research to find out what would be most common in the climate/region, but that won't be hard. Moss, ivy, spanish moss, etc... should be plentiful. Thanks for reminding me to generate this info. I think these can be answered in one response; there's not much evidence of scavenging, because it always ended in quick disaster. One creature I KNOW is present on the surface is a pair of caryatid columns who attack anyone who tries to carry anything away from their section of the ruins. So there are a few mangled corpses from 80 years ago, now nothing but skeletal remains, crushed and weathered. I'll need to see what the surface evidence of monsters underneath would be - that's a great suggestion. I know there are spiders and beetles and giant rats; rats especially might easily have ways up to the surface - in fact they'd really HAVE to. I'll also make sure to have one area where an adventuring party in the past tried to dig their way down into the catacombs below, but met an ill fate. That will scare the PCs! As far as the actual temple underground entrance, if there was sign of earlier explorers, it has been disturbed and removed by the current "expedition". [/QUOTE]
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