Building the Megadungeon

[Raven Crowking]

Removed

 

[Witty Comeback]

Turgenev's maps are things of beauty, and I would love to use them, but the difficulty lies in selecting/creating maps that fit the concept. Perhaps it would be better to flesh out some of Turgenev's maps as a seperate project?

I agree that they are beautiful, but also difficult to adapt. The Amber Courtyard and Bandit's Roost in particular are unique enough that it would be tough to use something generic to simulate their feel.

My first reaction upon seeing that thread was "An enterprising DM could fill a sandbox setting using nothing but these maps." A tremendous resource for those of us who like the time or skill to create that sort of material for ourselves.

 

[Celebrim]

Tapestry of the Winds

I still haven’t decided what to do with this entry.

Any ideas?


RC

I have basically two ideas.

1) That the tapestry is actually made of wind (elder wind elementals, a living epic scale 'control winds' spell, as you like) that has been polymorphed/transformed into thread to contain it.
2) The the tapestry is the cap or covering over a container (a vault or pit of some sort or a vault or pit that is actually a gate to a demiplane) holding in 'the wind' as above. In this case, the tapestry 'leaks' somewhat, making the area drafty/windy.

In either case, I think Yan-C-Bin should play some role in the items backstory, and it might in fact be Yan-C-Bin that is imprisoned by the tapestry of winds.

Yan-C-Bin

The tapestry is stored/located (in whatever fashion) in a massive vault beneath the sacristy of a ruined temple as one of the great treasures of that particular faith, but the means to gain entry into the vault has been lost as indeed has any certainty about where the tapestry of winds can be found. Having been lost for so long, information even about the existance of the artifact has become a bit of rather obscure lore that is little taught or remembered.

It's possible that in the presence of the tapestry, certain spell-like powers are conferred if the proper rituals are conducted. However, the tapestry has become fragile.

The tapestry should have appropriate guardians who would be content to bottle up wind (stone golems, a dao noble, etc.).

 

[grodog]

The part that gets me is

Authorization Code: *
The Authorization Code can be obtained by emailing the website administrator.​

because I can't find where to email the website admin.

I'll see what can be done to fix that.

Also: bumped an old dungeons mapping thread for your perusal; you may also want to check out http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...ld-these-maps-make-fun-dungeon-adventure.html which is another classic

 

[Raven Crowking]

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[grodog]

One of the site admins sent emails to RC and Humanaut, and we'll work on the language too. Thanks for the heads-up that it was as bad as it was---I had no idea

 

[Raven Crowking]

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[Raven Crowking]

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[Raven Crowking]

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[Celebrim]

[It may be imagined that, once the basic elements are decided on, the GM should simply begin mapping the project on whatever scale seems convenient. On larger projects, however, it is often useful to begin with a “pattern map”; that is, a plan of the pattern by which the whole will be mapped.

That is a decent start, but its not what I thought you meant by this. I think you've placed features on your map too soon.

I would have become by imagining the major streets of the old city. These streets would cut the city into districts and mark the place gatehouses about the perimeter. Consider what might have made each street remarkable. Did it have triumphant arches and monuments along it? Was it lined in its day with trees? Was it split down the middle by a park of some sort where obelisks, shrines and memorials might be placed? Was it lined on either side by statues, icons, or lanterns? How was it paved: flagstone, bricks, great paving stones moved at great cost? If not well paved then, it might be noted now only by being a relatively impassable mass of plants pierced only ocassionally by viable passages. Conversely, if made of blocks magically fused together, it might still provide a clear road and passage deep within the ruins (and hense would be watched by many residents). What made the street memorable in its heyday?

After drawing the major streets, I would imagine the districts, placing a government district, a temple district, a market district, a harbor district, an upper class, middle class, lower class district, and perhaps districts of special interest like a foreign quarter where aliens to the culture lived (homes of dwarves or elves or minotaurs or whatever is appropriate to your town).

I would then consider the connecting streets that allowed access to the district. Districts like a market district or government district would likely have one or more large streets that ran from the major streets into the middle of the district. Lower class districts on the other hand would generally not have such streets, with the interior of the district becoming increasingly a warren or maze of winding narrow alleys.

Since your city is ruined and you don't wish to map all of it, you can probably get away without mapping the tertiary streets.

Only after this is done would I go about placing the major landmarks.