One tip for any evil cult leader is to periodically go around your lair and review all your idols. Ask yourself, "does this demon idol spark joy?" If not, thank it for its service, and send it back through a portal to the abyss.
D&D General #Dungeon23
- Thread starter darjr
- Start date
One tip for any evil cult leader is to periodically go around your lair and review all your idols. Ask yourself, "does this demon idol spark joy?" If not, thank it for its service, and send it back through a portal to the abyss.
I somewhat hastily caught up, and then some, but also have come to a decision about my #dungeon23 project (see below)
First, we have a revolutionary group called R.A.T.S (Revolutionary Alliance of Tacticians and Saboteurs) that operates a restaurant in the city, from where they spy on the elite. This restaurant connects to their underground lair, including a room that transforms people into rats, so as to more easily traverse the tunnels below the city. Also I got new pens.
Then we have a metro station closed off by the police because of a series of grisly murders. Unknown to them, the tunnels are being stalked by a demonic being capable of wrecking entire trains. This station also has a crew of malevolent wraiths that feed on whatever bodies/souls they can find. In one area a prior team of investigators huddle in fear.
The map reference is actually the London Bridge tube station in London. I found these "axonometric" maps (3d perspective but not to scale) of tube stations that are jacquaysed in interesting ways. The trick with these drawings is that areas at the top of the page are made to look lower in level while retaining the 3d perspective
It has been raising the question for me: if I like these maps, and they already exist, why not just use them? They are obviously better than my quaint attempts to draw, and having the maps already done would obviously make the whole project much quicker. But I bought new pens! And I still have this notebook! So what to do.
I think I will pick up this metro-tunnel megadungeon in the future, maybe even setting it in a future london. For now I'm kind of out of ideas on that front. I have some good ones that I'll use going forward, but I'd rather move on to other things. It's also weird to spend a lot of time designing something that I'm not currently running, and that in fact may never be run.
SO, not that you asked, but I will continue to use #dungeon23 as a daily/weekly creative practice, but without the idea that everything will connect into one big megadungeon. The idea of a weekly spread to make a 7 room dungeons in various systems is appealing, and potentially useful for one shots, so I'll do that. Maybe I'll do larger month-long dungeons of 30 or so rooms. I think that will be more managable than trying to make a big thematically inter-connected megadungeon
First, we have a revolutionary group called R.A.T.S (Revolutionary Alliance of Tacticians and Saboteurs) that operates a restaurant in the city, from where they spy on the elite. This restaurant connects to their underground lair, including a room that transforms people into rats, so as to more easily traverse the tunnels below the city. Also I got new pens.
Then we have a metro station closed off by the police because of a series of grisly murders. Unknown to them, the tunnels are being stalked by a demonic being capable of wrecking entire trains. This station also has a crew of malevolent wraiths that feed on whatever bodies/souls they can find. In one area a prior team of investigators huddle in fear.
The map reference is actually the London Bridge tube station in London. I found these "axonometric" maps (3d perspective but not to scale) of tube stations that are jacquaysed in interesting ways. The trick with these drawings is that areas at the top of the page are made to look lower in level while retaining the 3d perspective
It has been raising the question for me: if I like these maps, and they already exist, why not just use them? They are obviously better than my quaint attempts to draw, and having the maps already done would obviously make the whole project much quicker. But I bought new pens! And I still have this notebook! So what to do.
I think I will pick up this metro-tunnel megadungeon in the future, maybe even setting it in a future london. For now I'm kind of out of ideas on that front. I have some good ones that I'll use going forward, but I'd rather move on to other things. It's also weird to spend a lot of time designing something that I'm not currently running, and that in fact may never be run.
SO, not that you asked, but I will continue to use #dungeon23 as a daily/weekly creative practice, but without the idea that everything will connect into one big megadungeon. The idea of a weekly spread to make a 7 room dungeons in various systems is appealing, and potentially useful for one shots, so I'll do that. Maybe I'll do larger month-long dungeons of 30 or so rooms. I think that will be more managable than trying to make a big thematically inter-connected megadungeon
M_Natas
Hero
Day 48:
I entered a mysterious clearing in the woods and before me was a large rock formation that resembled a theatre. The moon illuminated the stage with a silvery light. At first glance, it appeared to be a natural rock formation that had randomly formed into a theatre. There were no rows of seats, just a stage surrounded by a dark forest.
As I approached, I heard strange sounds coming from the forest. It almost sounded like animals and fairies were performing. But when I reached the stage, I realised I was wrong. There were no costumes, no props, no actors. It was just an empty stage.
But as I turned to leave, I suddenly felt an icy chill that made me shiver to the bone. I heard footsteps behind me and felt a cold breath on the back of my neck. I turned, but no one was there. I was standing alone on the stage, but I had a feeling I wasn't alone.
I decided to leave quickly, but when I turned I was surrounded by a thick mist. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face and felt panic creep into my limbs. Then I heard a voice speaking to me from the mist. It was a voice that echoed deep inside me and made me tremble. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I had to get out of there. I ran as fast as I could, feeling the fog getting thicker. I didn't know if I was going to make it, but I kept running until I reached the other side of the clearing. When I looked back, the scene had disappeared and I was relieved to have escaped.
I entered a mysterious clearing in the woods and before me was a large rock formation that resembled a theatre. The moon illuminated the stage with a silvery light. At first glance, it appeared to be a natural rock formation that had randomly formed into a theatre. There were no rows of seats, just a stage surrounded by a dark forest.
As I approached, I heard strange sounds coming from the forest. It almost sounded like animals and fairies were performing. But when I reached the stage, I realised I was wrong. There were no costumes, no props, no actors. It was just an empty stage.
But as I turned to leave, I suddenly felt an icy chill that made me shiver to the bone. I heard footsteps behind me and felt a cold breath on the back of my neck. I turned, but no one was there. I was standing alone on the stage, but I had a feeling I wasn't alone.
I decided to leave quickly, but when I turned I was surrounded by a thick mist. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face and felt panic creep into my limbs. Then I heard a voice speaking to me from the mist. It was a voice that echoed deep inside me and made me tremble. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I had to get out of there. I ran as fast as I could, feeling the fog getting thicker. I didn't know if I was going to make it, but I kept running until I reached the other side of the clearing. When I looked back, the scene had disappeared and I was relieved to have escaped.
Bill Zebub
“It’s probably Matt Mercer’s fault.”
2.17 ???
- First Glance
- One entrance to this room goes up to flights of stairs to balcony (with safety railing)
- The other entrance goes down two flights of stairs to the floor below
- 20' between floors
- Secrets
- Not even the dwarves who made this chamber know its purpose.
Tutara
Adventurer
I got bored of dungeons, but quite liked the productivity of doing something every day so I have started fleshing out a potential setting - one region per week because I like broad strokes so players can fill in the details. This week, I have been mostly writing this:
The Iron Duchy of Sartor
Sartor is a coastal land of salt-blasted marsh and gorse, tempered by ambition, cunning and betrayal. Duke Ilya Kyragoth clawed his way to power over the bodies of countless rivals, carving a bloody swathe to the throne that he now jealously guards from all comers. Sartor’s agents slip into the courts of its neighbours, sowing dissent and destabilising governments, while hired mercenaries and catspaws raid the borderlands of its foes in the guise of brigands operating outside of the law. The only thing preventing all-out war with its neighbours is the Duke’s own paranoia – he views loyalty as such a weakness that he cannot imagine that others may view it as a virtue, and as such purges the ducal court with ferocious regularity.
Settlements
Fort Kyragoth: This great walled fortress-city is one of the most well defended settlements in Kildea - a maze of chokepoints and battlements designed to annihilate any invading army long before they are within a quarrel’s flight of the impregnable Iron Citadel. Despite the fortification, a sense of unease drifts through Sartor – ducal spies are everywhere, listening out for any of the myriad plots that the duke suspects his subjects of on any given day. The duke’s personal enforcers, the Knights of the Iron Sabre, are headquartered here.
Salthaven: A sprawling coastal town lashed together from driftwood and boats, Salthaven’s inhabitants have a reputation as smugglers first, pirates second and fishers a distant third. Local authorities take a sizeable cut of any illicit cargo, and woe betide the smuggler who attempts to avoid paying the toll. Off the south coast lies an ancient lighthouse, built by the hands of a people now long dead. No living keeper has set foot there in centuries, but still its baleful light guides ships to safety through the knife-like straits of the Shattered Sea.
Stonecrag: Slate-roofed hovels and dusty quarries make up this mining town, set in the sheer rocks of the northern uplands. It is from here that the grim grey stones that make up the walls of the duke’s forts are hewn, and it is here that the duchy’s prisoners labour until dead. A sizeable population of dwarves live here, delving ever deeper into the broken earth.
Fenhold: Mouldering on the edge of Blightmire, Fenhold is slowly sinking into the surrounding murk. The people here are poor and insular, suspicious of strangers. Even the duke’s tax collectors try to avoid this place, and most travellers have no reason to come here and even fewer reasons to stay. Half-remembered traditions speak of the old gods that sleep beneath the marsh, and strange hymns are raised to these forgotten deities away from the prying ears of outsiders.
Locations
The Bleakwood: This hag-haunted northern forest borders the shadowy depths of the Schattenwald. Its greying trees seem to leach all colour from those who enter, and everything that spends an extended period of time here seems to crumble to monochrome dust.
Blightmire: A salt fen that dominates the inland regions of Sartor, Blightmire is the domain of the drowned dead and monstrous bloodfiend mosquitoes that can drain a living creature of its fluids in moments. These terrible creatures lay vast quantities of eggs in the undead corpses of the giants that once lived here, creating horrific mobile hives that endlessly slog through the bitter black water.
The Shattered Coast: Broken granite cliffs and grey sand dominate the gloomy southern shores of Sartor, extending out into the Shattered Sea from which this place takes its name. Roving crews of pirates and wreckers huddle in its windswept inlets, waiting for their next victims to happen by.
The Iron Duchy of Sartor
Sartor is a coastal land of salt-blasted marsh and gorse, tempered by ambition, cunning and betrayal. Duke Ilya Kyragoth clawed his way to power over the bodies of countless rivals, carving a bloody swathe to the throne that he now jealously guards from all comers. Sartor’s agents slip into the courts of its neighbours, sowing dissent and destabilising governments, while hired mercenaries and catspaws raid the borderlands of its foes in the guise of brigands operating outside of the law. The only thing preventing all-out war with its neighbours is the Duke’s own paranoia – he views loyalty as such a weakness that he cannot imagine that others may view it as a virtue, and as such purges the ducal court with ferocious regularity.
Settlements
Fort Kyragoth: This great walled fortress-city is one of the most well defended settlements in Kildea - a maze of chokepoints and battlements designed to annihilate any invading army long before they are within a quarrel’s flight of the impregnable Iron Citadel. Despite the fortification, a sense of unease drifts through Sartor – ducal spies are everywhere, listening out for any of the myriad plots that the duke suspects his subjects of on any given day. The duke’s personal enforcers, the Knights of the Iron Sabre, are headquartered here.
Salthaven: A sprawling coastal town lashed together from driftwood and boats, Salthaven’s inhabitants have a reputation as smugglers first, pirates second and fishers a distant third. Local authorities take a sizeable cut of any illicit cargo, and woe betide the smuggler who attempts to avoid paying the toll. Off the south coast lies an ancient lighthouse, built by the hands of a people now long dead. No living keeper has set foot there in centuries, but still its baleful light guides ships to safety through the knife-like straits of the Shattered Sea.
Stonecrag: Slate-roofed hovels and dusty quarries make up this mining town, set in the sheer rocks of the northern uplands. It is from here that the grim grey stones that make up the walls of the duke’s forts are hewn, and it is here that the duchy’s prisoners labour until dead. A sizeable population of dwarves live here, delving ever deeper into the broken earth.
Fenhold: Mouldering on the edge of Blightmire, Fenhold is slowly sinking into the surrounding murk. The people here are poor and insular, suspicious of strangers. Even the duke’s tax collectors try to avoid this place, and most travellers have no reason to come here and even fewer reasons to stay. Half-remembered traditions speak of the old gods that sleep beneath the marsh, and strange hymns are raised to these forgotten deities away from the prying ears of outsiders.
Locations
The Bleakwood: This hag-haunted northern forest borders the shadowy depths of the Schattenwald. Its greying trees seem to leach all colour from those who enter, and everything that spends an extended period of time here seems to crumble to monochrome dust.
Blightmire: A salt fen that dominates the inland regions of Sartor, Blightmire is the domain of the drowned dead and monstrous bloodfiend mosquitoes that can drain a living creature of its fluids in moments. These terrible creatures lay vast quantities of eggs in the undead corpses of the giants that once lived here, creating horrific mobile hives that endlessly slog through the bitter black water.
The Shattered Coast: Broken granite cliffs and grey sand dominate the gloomy southern shores of Sartor, extending out into the Shattered Sea from which this place takes its name. Roving crews of pirates and wreckers huddle in its windswept inlets, waiting for their next victims to happen by.
Remind me what scale you're using. Ten foot squares? Or five foot?
Bill Zebub
“It’s probably Matt Mercer’s fault.”
5' squares.
0X.15: Undertown
Form: A fortified village in a large cavern.
Illumination: Bright light provided by bioluminescent fungus.
At First Glance: Undertown is similar in construction to Whisperdale, except it is not dominated by a massive temple, and much of the construction is clearly Baelishite dwarven in style. There are a few dozen buildings, including residences, workshops, merchants, inns and taverns and municipal buildings. While fortified, its gates are open so long as no alert from the Undertown gate has been called. Guards patrol day and night, ready for trouble.
On Closer Inspection: Undertown was established by the Baelishite dwarves when they abandoned their bastion. The chasm provided more security and so they built their invisible bridge and then the great wall and gate. As time went on, more and more accidental travelers found themselves in the underrealm of the Godecho and the dwarves took many in. Eventually Undertown transformed from being a dwarven settlement to a town full of the lost and exiled.
The population of Undertown is about 200, half of which are Baelishite dwarves -- specifically, lost Baelishite dwarven soldiers and support professionals. The non dwarven population is dominated by adventurer types -- the sorts of folks likely to find themselves lost in the depths of the earth at the mercy of the semi-sentient memory of a malevolent divinity.
Secrets: Undertown is essentially at war with Whisperdale, but it is a cold war. The cultists of the Godecho desire to destroy or enslave all of the people of Undertown, but must also by necessity deal with them occasionally. For their part, the people of Undertown wouldn’t mind seeing the Whisperers destroyed either, but Mayor Balask Gilmanath is not willing to make the necessary sacrifice in lives it would require. In addition, there is the concern that if the Whisperers actually have the Godecho’s favor, destroying them might bring the wrath of the entity down on the town.
HERE IS A LIST OF NPCS IN THE TOWN
Treasure: While supplies are limited there is regular trade in Undertown, both among residents and between Undertown and the Garklings and even a little trade with Whisperdale. Characters can buy regular equipment. In addition, there are a few alehouses and two taverns in town along with a “inn” (more of a flophouse) where they can rest.
Connections: East of Undertown lies the Undertown gate (0X.14). South of Undertown,a tunnel leads to garkling hunting grounds (0X.17).
Form: A fortified village in a large cavern.
Illumination: Bright light provided by bioluminescent fungus.
At First Glance: Undertown is similar in construction to Whisperdale, except it is not dominated by a massive temple, and much of the construction is clearly Baelishite dwarven in style. There are a few dozen buildings, including residences, workshops, merchants, inns and taverns and municipal buildings. While fortified, its gates are open so long as no alert from the Undertown gate has been called. Guards patrol day and night, ready for trouble.
On Closer Inspection: Undertown was established by the Baelishite dwarves when they abandoned their bastion. The chasm provided more security and so they built their invisible bridge and then the great wall and gate. As time went on, more and more accidental travelers found themselves in the underrealm of the Godecho and the dwarves took many in. Eventually Undertown transformed from being a dwarven settlement to a town full of the lost and exiled.
The population of Undertown is about 200, half of which are Baelishite dwarves -- specifically, lost Baelishite dwarven soldiers and support professionals. The non dwarven population is dominated by adventurer types -- the sorts of folks likely to find themselves lost in the depths of the earth at the mercy of the semi-sentient memory of a malevolent divinity.
Secrets: Undertown is essentially at war with Whisperdale, but it is a cold war. The cultists of the Godecho desire to destroy or enslave all of the people of Undertown, but must also by necessity deal with them occasionally. For their part, the people of Undertown wouldn’t mind seeing the Whisperers destroyed either, but Mayor Balask Gilmanath is not willing to make the necessary sacrifice in lives it would require. In addition, there is the concern that if the Whisperers actually have the Godecho’s favor, destroying them might bring the wrath of the entity down on the town.
HERE IS A LIST OF NPCS IN THE TOWN
Treasure: While supplies are limited there is regular trade in Undertown, both among residents and between Undertown and the Garklings and even a little trade with Whisperdale. Characters can buy regular equipment. In addition, there are a few alehouses and two taverns in town along with a “inn” (more of a flophouse) where they can rest.
Connections: East of Undertown lies the Undertown gate (0X.14). South of Undertown,a tunnel leads to garkling hunting grounds (0X.17).
Room 17 - Wizards Academy
It's hard to say what's worse. All the locking spells. All the torch spells. Actually hoping the things, any of them, try coming up again so they can be stopped and at least break the monotony. Worrying about letting everyone down. Worrying about the sabotage. Failing to train the kids enough. Wondering what happened to the ones trained before. Would it be bad if the things weren't stopped? Missing my Arelle. Dammit. No, nothings wrong child, just my arthritis and watery eyes. You're doing well!
In addition to the elderly human Wizard Branwyn, this 20'x20' room is the home of her four apprentices (the dwarven pre-teen Hekhihilda, the human pre-teen Aloysius, the half-orc teen Mirabeele, and the elvish young adult Elyon), and the middle-aged human housekeeper/cook Fritz.
The south wall of the room has a bed (for Branwyn), two foldable cots (for Elyon and Fritz), and bedrolls for the rest. For training there is a folding table with stools and a large thick carpet in the middle. Against the west wall there is a narrow table with shelves underneath holding food and pots and pans, and two heating rocks (one smaller and one larger). And against the north wall are built in shelves holding books, components, compartments for chamber pots, and drawers for cloths. The room is well lit by four continual flame lanterns.
Branwyn has transitioned Elyon to most of the teaching and has begun writing poetry. Elyon isn't quite sure what she thinks of this. And Fritz might be the glue that holds it together.
Hekhihilda and Aloysius are as Apprentice Wizards but 5 hit points and only 1 spell per day. Mirabeele is as an Apprentice Wizard but with 22 hit points, magic missile once per day and can cast a choice of two of continual flame, arcane lock, magic mouth, and enlarge/reduce. Branwyn is as a Mage, but only 35 hit points the 2nd level spells are chosen from the list Mirabeele has, and no 4th or 5th level spells. Fritz is as a Noble who is very good at cooking and housekeeping (and the breastplate and rapier are on a shelf).
Elvish and Dwarvish name courtesy of https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/
The next room created (#88) is in post #607 D&D General - #Dungeon23 .
Last edited:
M_Natas
Hero
Day 49 - the river boat
We have rented a riverboat for our expedition to the lost city of Kyrthar Tahlketh. It is a modest boat with a white sail that carries us gently through the currents of the river. The river, a dark ribbon, winds its way through the wild landscapes of the continent as we steadfastly move forward on our journey.
The boat may be small and unassuming, but it is our faithful companion on this perilous journey into a world of uncertain fates. We have equipped it with everything we will need to survive - from supplies to equipment. For we know that we are moving through unfamiliar terrain, in a world where nothing is as it seems.
I cannot shake the feeling that something dark and ominous awaits us in these deep waters. But we must press on, face the unknown, in order to find the lost city that promises us all fame and fortune. For that is what drives us, what propels us through the darkness and danger: the desire for discovery and adventure.
We have rented a riverboat for our expedition to the lost city of Kyrthar Tahlketh. It is a modest boat with a white sail that carries us gently through the currents of the river. The river, a dark ribbon, winds its way through the wild landscapes of the continent as we steadfastly move forward on our journey.
The boat may be small and unassuming, but it is our faithful companion on this perilous journey into a world of uncertain fates. We have equipped it with everything we will need to survive - from supplies to equipment. For we know that we are moving through unfamiliar terrain, in a world where nothing is as it seems.
I cannot shake the feeling that something dark and ominous awaits us in these deep waters. But we must press on, face the unknown, in order to find the lost city that promises us all fame and fortune. For that is what drives us, what propels us through the darkness and danger: the desire for discovery and adventure.
