Dungeon graffiti

[Hand of Evil]

Lost hand and eye, big reward...

300 miles, countless monsters, lost in a maze, willing wenches, a evil paladin and all I got was a bag of copper...priceless!

 

[grodog]

Graffiti examples from my version of Castle Greyhawk:

• "Boley" = Bole-Eye = say it and press the appropriate place to open a secret door
• dungeon level markers for depth (at each stairway? = a patter of raised and lowered/carved strokes, perhaps also falsified by Zagig and/or others afterward; perhaps can use detect magic to see different auras and therefore determine which were original vs. changed by others?)
• epitaphs, epigrams, and in memoriam verses scrawled on walls, for fallen comrades, or perhaps battle praises for victories over enemies:
  
  • "Brazrabul of Irongate fell here, slain by trolls. 14 Wealsun 468
  • "Brelid died, a doughty thief /
    here he lied---we have no grief /
    since in his pack gold we found /
    and gemstones too did abound /
    and it seems he did not share. /
    Let him rot here, we don't care."
  • "The vampire Plincourt was laid low here. Beware: he escaped in a gaseous state, vowing to return."
  • "The olvic demon Caledras was banished from Oerth in this chamber --- Father Hennon, CY 571"
  • written in Olven script: "Nickar was killed by this trap. 4849 Sunflowers 17."
  • "Thayed Toetael RIP 492 CY"
• Oddball phrases:
  • "Help me, please I'm hiding in the ceiling two doors down. Ivid banished me. I can reward you if we escape."
  • "Ware the watcher. B."
• The Fox's clues, cryptic "Kilroy was here"-like phrases scrawled throughout the castle ruins and dungeons; examples include:
  • Turn 5 B2 Fox
  • Swim 5 G3 Torc The Fox
  • Down 2 A4 Fox
  • Ware Pits Q1 The Fox
  • Crawl 12 I6 Fox
  • Climb Ropes 30 S2 Fox
  In general, The Fox's graffiti follows the pattern of Verb [Noun] Number Letter Number combination [Noun] then "Fox" or "The Fox" as a signature.
  
  Some additional context on The Fox:
  
  The Fox - a Greyhawk Castle legend who scrawled cryptic graffiti throughout the dungeon levels; Fox or The Fox was already a legend when Mordenkainen and Robilar first explored the Castle, and few now know Fox's race, sex, class, etc.; legend says that Fox was the first serious explorer of the Castle ruins and dungeons, and some adventurers have reported discovering the Fox's signature in other famous dungeons like Maure Caslte, the levels below Blackmoor Castle, the Tomb of Horrors, etc. Some notable personages have attempted to study Fox and collect his/her clues, including Robilar, Mordenkainen, some sages, etc.
  
  The Fox's signatures often appear in very dangeous areas surrounded by traps (mundane and magical), vicious monsters, and in very out-of-the-way locations (the bottom of 120' pits, on obscure sub-levels, etc.). Some have speculated that the phrases are enchanted to attract monsters, and intelligent omnsters have sometimes figured out that they phrases are signficant, and will lay ambushes using them as distractions or lures, as well. The letters themselves are magical, permannet, and usually glow softly (most often blue, silver, gold, hot pink, red, deep green, purple, etc.); they are almost never trapped with glyphs of warding, symbols, sigils, etc., although sometimes others do leave such magical defenses in close proximity to the phrases (in particular, collectors have been known to try to disguise the messages with illustory script). The letters themselves radiate magic (strong alteration if magic is detected), cannot be erased, and cannot be easily destroyed---examples will be found where scorched, eaten away surfaces show pristine phrases, and other instances where the original surface, if any, was disintigrated, transmuted to mud, etc., and the letters remain hanging in mid-air (some phrases will read OK both forward and reverse-mirrored, so knowing the original orientation may prove to be difficult).
  
  For examples of the Fox's signature phrases, see The Fox entry under the graffiti section of Dungeon Dressing.

 

[Argyle King]

"For a good time Sending Mialee"

"This chest may be trapped or this may just the graffiti of a rogue hoping to mess with you."

"O|X|O"
"X|_|X"
"O|X|O"

 

[grodog]

"O|X|O"
"X|_|X"
"O|X|O"

And depending on what you fill into the center square, something different happens!

 

[Hand of Evil]

maps...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

"Redrum"

A series of coordinates, a la the Cube movie series.

 

[WarlockLord]

From the 3.5 book Underdark:

"Mind Flayers say: Wizards taste better!"

Underneath, in different handwriting

"So true!"

 

[Richards]

"If you laired here, you'd be home already."

Johnathan

 

[tenkar]

Graffiti is also used to mark territory. Look in your poorer urban areas. You'll frequently see graffiti marking territory for the local gang. Sometimes, one gangs sign is written over another, either as a diss or a land grab.

Depending on the dungeon and it's inhabitants, this could certainly be a possibility, especially if there are different humanoid factions inhabiting the halls and corridors. (I think T 1-4 / ToEE would have fit this scheme of things)

 

[Aramax]

What a GREAT thread,Im yoinking all of it and subscribing!