Haunted Prison

[Rushbridge]

I am created a Haunted Prison dungeon for my PCs to adventure into.

The prison is set in the Forgotten Realms and it doubles as an old temple to the god Helm. Long ago there was a terrible prison break and many of the evil beings/items contained there in, escaped and destroyed the prison in the process.

The PCs are heading there on the suspicion that the BBEG is looking for something within the ruins of the prison.

I'm about halfway done creating the dungeon and I was wondering if anyone could add some comments or ideas for cool encounters/architecture in a temple/prison of this nature.

Thanks in advance!
Rushbridge

 

[Hand of Evil]

I would have nightmares effecting the players or them seeing prior events. Try to put your players on edge, strange sounds and appearance of the prison.

 

[Rushbridge]

I would have nightmares effecting the players or them seeing prior events

Thanks a lot, Hand of Evil! That is a good idea, I hadn't thought of that. There will be alot of foreshadowing and clues to what actually happened as they adventure so a nightmare or vision seems really appropriate.

I want some of the wards and such to still be holding some of the more magical prisoners in place. That way the PCs have to be very careful they don't unleash something awful.

Most of the temple/prison clerics/guards have risen as undead. And there are a few of the BBEG's minions roaming about, but they are just as subject to the denizens of the prison as the PCs are.

I'm just trying to imagine what a magical prison for horrid magical/supernatural criminals would be set up like?

The first level I've completed is the temple proper and gate house to the actual prison itself (which is the second level).

There is also a maximum security third level but I'm currently trying to flesh out level 2...any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Hand of Evil]

Ever read Hawk & Fisher? There was one story of a prison break, it was not your normal prison but one for powerful beings. I would use something like that, creating a pocket plane that dampens magic.

 

[wighair]

1) Portals. You could have (for the real bad guy prisoners) portals leading to little mini-planes.

2) Ghosts. In a place like the prison in general I would expect to find several tortured souls still hanging about. Lots of screams of madness and anguish going off at spooky moments.

3) Torture. Nasty, sticky, pointy implements lying around. Racks, Iron maidens etc. Hopefully the undead former torturer too, mindlessly lamenting the passing of his former captives.

4) Graves. People will probably have died in the prison. they should be burried somewhere.

5) Belongings. The items the prisoners bought in with em might still be available hidden away in some "safe".

Mel

 

[Azure Trance]

3) Torture. Nasty, sticky, pointy implements lying around. Racks, Iron maidens etc. Hopefully the undead former torturer too, mindlessly lamenting the passing of his former captives.

Mel

OOH! OOH! Don't know if anyone remembered seeing The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but there was one scene where a boy is in the back of a church surrounded by equipment used for punishment. A chair with spikes on the seat and arms, the rack, etc .... On the rear wall he see's a closed iron maiden (which just looks like a metallic statue of the Virgin Mary with it's arms crossed)

He starts to hear a voice calling him, echoy and faint. It's hard to pinpoint but he notices that it's coming from the 'statue' which has an open visor - and he see's a pair of eyes looking straight at him.

Then the thing flys open and he see's a gush of blood fall out with a body.

Just thought it would be a really, really cool thing to sic on your players.

 

[papa_laz]

I believe it was his mother in the iron maiden. And I agree that scene was quite visually stunning.

 

[Redevil621]

i dont know if any of you ever played BDGII, but there was a part that took u to an pirate island, and on that island was a place called spellhold... it was some sort of prison that powerful magic users/monsters/messaces to society that were to powerful to be kept in BDG. anyways, when u arive u find that ur enemy has broken free of the enchantments in place, and now is in control of the prison. the only chance the players had against him at the time was to break out all the prisoners and help them defeat the ones holding them captive...

might be of some help to u, a good plot idea the very least

 

[Dirk Perfect]

Prison...

If you want extra creepy, Ravenloft-style fear checks and Cthulu-style insanity checks wouldn't be bad.

It's always a nice touch to have mirrors or pools of water where they see horrific reflections of something behind them. Fog or mist can keep the visibility down, too.

The island prision is a good idea. For something with less horror you could have the island as the prison. Why lock them up when you can just dump them on the island. Stranded characters would have lots of fun trying to get off. The "island" could be really huge.



Dirk Perfect

 

[Xarlen]

The undead torturer with a few undead or dead victims? Even if they don't feel the pain, he doesn't really 'get' it. You could have a zombie twitching, on it's 'last legs', so to speak.

Ghosts. I have to say this, Ghosts. If you've seen 13 ghosts, you'll see what I mean. THere has to be some Twisted, Insane, Maniacle beings who's spirits hung around. Or, imagine the anguish of an *innocent* prisoner. A martyr, a political prisoner, a powerful spellcaster locked away by his enemies.

Along with foreshadowing, don't forget Back-shadowing. Visions of the prisoners interacting, or being tortured, inmate riots, suicides, killings, perhaps something relatively tame, or utterly Horrific. What if a part of the prison was an attempt to 'Reform' these things, but using methods like Fear, pain, and magical/psychological therapy to reform them?

How about some of those minons unleashing a bad thing or two, and then the party just finds the... remains.

I can definetly see something like a 'magical' symbiot. Something like a liquid 'skin' (Ala Venom, or those skins in the PsiHB), a possessive spirit, something along those lines. Reaccuring villain for the next adventure, anyone?

This is half a horror movie, half a haunted house that you go to, and fully a game. So, have some *fun* with this.