D&D General #Dungeon23
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M_Natas
Hero
Day 64
At the entrance to the mine, we found a small windowless building that provided changing rooms and resting facilities for miners. It looked as if it had been hastily abandoned. What's strange is that it looks like it was abandoned recently, not 1000 years ago. What is going on here?
At the entrance to the mine, we found a small windowless building that provided changing rooms and resting facilities for miners. It looked as if it had been hastily abandoned. What's strange is that it looks like it was abandoned recently, not 1000 years ago. What is going on here?
M_Natas
Hero
Day 65
As we walk along, we come to a sentry wall that is supposed to keep people away from the mines. It is locked. We hear something behind the wall. Humanoids, language. There are survivors in this city? After a thousand years of sealing?
M_Natas
Hero
You can do it, even if it means 3 empty rooms
M_Natas
Hero
Day 66
We actually met descendants of the inhabitants of Kyrthar Tahlketh. We managed to convince them not to attack us. Instead, as far as we could understand, they took us to the chief of the mines. They speak something that sounds like the language of the Empire, but is quite different. I can understand maybe half the words. We were asked if we were part of the unbroken circle, to which I replied in the negative. That seemed to reassure the warden. He wants to know how we got into the mine. I don't want to say yet that we came from outside. Who knows what that would do to the people here.
We actually met descendants of the inhabitants of Kyrthar Tahlketh. We managed to convince them not to attack us. Instead, as far as we could understand, they took us to the chief of the mines. They speak something that sounds like the language of the Empire, but is quite different. I can understand maybe half the words. We were asked if we were part of the unbroken circle, to which I replied in the negative. That seemed to reassure the warden. He wants to know how we got into the mine. I don't want to say yet that we came from outside. Who knows what that would do to the people here.
gorice
Adventurer
Like others, I've been feeling pretty burned out this week, but I managed to push through. The simple act of writing something is really valuable. Most of the week has been empty rooms, but some interesting stuff emerged from my listless typing.
Anyway, we're now under the Necropolis, with sunken shrine and some other weird stuff that connects to that. This is actually the bottom level of this dungeon -- the main dungeon goes up, in the various ziggurat-like terraces of the central fortress -- but it will provide a useful shortcut to the overworld (or a secret entry to the necropolis, I guess).
The Drowned Fane
1: Shrine
2: Sunken Passages
3: Spiral Stair
4: Lair of the New God
5: Leaky Valve
6: Dam
7: Trough
Anyway, we're now under the Necropolis, with sunken shrine and some other weird stuff that connects to that. This is actually the bottom level of this dungeon -- the main dungeon goes up, in the various ziggurat-like terraces of the central fortress -- but it will provide a useful shortcut to the overworld (or a secret entry to the necropolis, I guess).
The Drowned Fane
1: Shrine
- A chamber with a high vaulted ceiling, 20’ up. Pitch black. Submerged, except the top 10’ of the vault. Completely submerged passage to the East; short submerged passage to the west. Dirt-blackened reliefs of waves and playful dolphins.
- (?) Floor is littered with offerings that glitter in lamp or magelight, including a golden bracelet and 3d6 gold coins.
- (!?) There is a hole in the centre of the floor, leading to the abyssal lair of the infant god.
- (!) Oxygen in the air pocket in the ceiling is real but limited.
- (!) Stealing the offering coins raises the alarm level.
2: Sunken Passages
- Completely submerged passages with no air pockets. A faint current pulls toward the South.
3: Spiral Stair
- Hewn from the stone and rising out of the water. Water trickles down, echoing down the long spiral.
4: Lair of the New God
- 60’ down, a rounded cavern formed naturally of gleaming jade, lit by the bioluminescence of the slumbering, many-legged child of the deep.
- (!) The god sleeps, unless alerted. Victims are subdued, encased in a gooey membrane containing air, and glued to the lair’s wall.
5: Leaky Valve
- Big brass wheel in a broad vertical pipe controls the valve that releases water from the aquifer. The valve leaks: water pools on the floor and runs down the spiral star #3.
- (?) The wheel is stuck.
- (!) Opening the valve will flood the stair and the areas beneath even more, eliminating any air pockets.
- (?) It may be possible to seal the valve, leading to the eventual draining of the submerged areas.
6: Dam
- Corridor is jammed with all manner of junk – flotsam, stones, clay.
- (!) This leaky dam connects to the qanat system under the desert. Breaking it releases all of the water from the flooded areas (except #4). Anyone caught in the flood will be carried along into the (now water-logged with very cranky inhabitants) land bat nest.
- (?) The seal is not perfect -- you can feel the faintest of currents leaking out.
7: Trough
- A section of the walls and ceiling of this old chamber has caved in, and a crude tunnel winds off above water level. The water is only 10’ deep – beyond this, the muddy ground is tramped with many strange footprints…
- (!) The molerat hive draws its water from here.
gorice
Adventurer
Two days is easy. And your dungeon needs empy rooms: they're not just filler, they're for pacing, mood, time & resource attrition, places for random encounters, dumping cool but useless stuff, etc.
Bill Zebub
“It’s probably Matt Mercer’s fault.”
Another week or so worth of rooms. Drawn during Monday's virtual gaming session.
3.6 Almost Bottom Level of Mine
3.6 Almost Bottom Level of Mine
- Southern shaft ends here; northern shaft keeps going down
- Wreckage of southern elevator
- Thick iron portcullises blocking south and east exits
- Bronze wheels on walls near portcullises
- (skill check) A seam of precious gems was found here; fully mined
- (skill check) A few small gems might still be found amidst debris
- (skill check) Also lizard footprints
- 0-3 Giant Lizards
- Really Big Lizard
- Magical treasure in his stomach
Mad_Jack
Legend
My "adventure area world" (which is what I'm calling it since I've so far designed several millennia worth of history and culture as well as being up to three continents (although two are just bits on the border of the map) but have yet to start on the actual dungeon, lol) started as an "adventure" map of the swamp where the dungeon is located and the surrounding area...
I then drew a larger "campaign area" map of about 200 x 150 miles to better illuminate some of the area's backstory as it emerged.
Which then led to the "continent map" that shows where on the continent the "campaign" map was located.
I've included a small number of random easter eggs on the maps and in some of the npcs in the form of vague (some more, some less) references to things, most of which probably only I will get. One of those was a tiny detail added to the original "campaign" map mainly as color. At the edge of the map I drew in one edge of an island, just to fill in some empty space, then decided it should have a label on the map to make it more interesting. But now, what to name it?
Drawing on both LotR and Irish mythology, I whimsically named it the Nanog Isles.
Afterward, in refining the design of the "continent map", I threw in some more minor details to fill in the edges of the map (more islands off the coast of the other parts of the continent and the edges of the neighboring continents). Which is when I realized that the Nanog Isles, being at least as large as the original adventure area map, would be visible on the continent map (which is roughly 3/4 the size of the U.S.).
So I decided to draw them in.
Then I thought to myself, "Self... If we're going to get cutesy about them, let's go full-on precious, lol"...
So now the Nanog Isles are actually a map of Ireland and the UK shrunk down to the size of West Virginia-ish and pasted about ninety miles off the coast of the adventure area.
An unfortunate side effect of that, however, was that it's now become an only-half-serious part of my head-canon that the inhabitants of the elvish kingdom that was destroyed in a magical cataclysm millennia ago (that later became known as the Stonewoods in the adventure area) had obnoxious snooty French accents, lol.
I then drew a larger "campaign area" map of about 200 x 150 miles to better illuminate some of the area's backstory as it emerged.
Which then led to the "continent map" that shows where on the continent the "campaign" map was located.
I've included a small number of random easter eggs on the maps and in some of the npcs in the form of vague (some more, some less) references to things, most of which probably only I will get. One of those was a tiny detail added to the original "campaign" map mainly as color. At the edge of the map I drew in one edge of an island, just to fill in some empty space, then decided it should have a label on the map to make it more interesting. But now, what to name it?
Drawing on both LotR and Irish mythology, I whimsically named it the Nanog Isles.
Afterward, in refining the design of the "continent map", I threw in some more minor details to fill in the edges of the map (more islands off the coast of the other parts of the continent and the edges of the neighboring continents). Which is when I realized that the Nanog Isles, being at least as large as the original adventure area map, would be visible on the continent map (which is roughly 3/4 the size of the U.S.).
So I decided to draw them in.
Then I thought to myself, "Self... If we're going to get cutesy about them, let's go full-on precious, lol"...
So now the Nanog Isles are actually a map of Ireland and the UK shrunk down to the size of West Virginia-ish and pasted about ninety miles off the coast of the adventure area.
An unfortunate side effect of that, however, was that it's now become an only-half-serious part of my head-canon that the inhabitants of the elvish kingdom that was destroyed in a magical cataclysm millennia ago (that later became known as the Stonewoods in the adventure area) had obnoxious snooty French accents, lol.
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hedgeknight
Explorer
@gorice Like others, I've been feeling pretty burned out this week, but I managed to push through. The simple act of writing something is really valuable. Most of the week has been empty rooms, but some interesting stuff emerged from my listless typing.
This is me. And I am over two weeks behind! I'm struggling with this challenge. I'm just stuck creatively.
This is me. And I am over two weeks behind! I'm struggling with this challenge. I'm just stuck creatively.
gorice
Adventurer
Sorry to hear that. Have you tried just writing whatever comes into your head? Remember that you can always revise things later.
M_Natas
Hero
Don't fret, I'm also a little Stuck. That's why I'm doing a Bathroom, a Bedroom and a Dining room and next comes a Kitchen and maybe some servants quarters, too!
M_Natas
Hero
M_Natas
Hero
Where is everybody? Up to the secret showings of the D&D movie?
So, I'm getting sick and didn’t feel well, so I did the smallest room for today ...
Day 71 - North Hallway, Warden's House (Crystal Mine)
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