need some dungeon ideas

[calighis]

I am not a big fan of dungeon design. I feel like long dungeons mostly distract from plot development and become an exercise in monotony. None the less it's time to design one. My players are expecting me to have something worked up and I have some ideas.

Background goes something like this.
For some time a character familiar to the PC's named Nephra Demphi has been conducting preliminary studies of a ruin a few days trek from town called Dakar. A challenging labrynth oupled with guardian otyughs have been enough to keep her from getting to far in.
The characters have not been too interested in helping her until a recently.

The previous night a wave of psychic agony washed over the town of Bridge Port. Candles were lit simultaeneously all over town and infants were heard to be screaming as each resident experienced a distinctly feminine scream coupled with a searing throbbing pain between there temples.

The next day Nephra Demphi explained to the characters that she had experienced similar trauma but only when she was close to the ruins of Dakar.

The PC's are now sufficiently interested and on the case.

This begins my next session.

The characters arrive at Dakar and find freshly hewn corpses flung everywhere. Closer inspection reveals that these soldiers were members of the blood pride, the paramilitary arm of the Temple of Hextor. If the PC's move onto the Labyrinth they will become sealed inside by a wall of force that allows people in but does not allow them out.
They will also be trapped inside with the leader of the blood pride and few select surviving cohorts.
The PC's have been feuding horribly with the Blood Pride since it's beginning.

Now I have a plot but not a premise.
What is giving off the waves of anguish?
Why is the blood pride keenly interested?
What do the characters have to accomplish in here in order to be released?
The fact is that this is a critical component of the campaign and this is not a game that I can rush into without a grand design.

Any questions or advice are wecomed.
ty

 

[Branding Opportunity]

Could you give us a bit more info about the power level of the group you will be running through this dungeon? It's helpful in tailoring what kind of challenges to throw at them.

Having said that, here's a bit of brainstorming. I warn that some of my ideas are pretty warped, so YMMV:

-The dungeon is being used as an incubation chamber/womb for a new creature which is about to be "born". The temple of Hextor got wind of this through divination magic and sent a strike team to destroy it. Why would they do this? Well, the mother of this creature is a FEMALE aspect of Hextor, which is something the orthodox male leadership of the church of Hextor can't stomach. They also fear that the newborn will eventually grow up and challenge their authority, or some such.
The dungeon itself has been repurposed to provide combat challenges to the new born aspect. The walls of force keep folks from escaping these challenges. Other critters in the dungeon have been drawn in by the same psychic birth pains of the female aspect of Hextor. They either want to worship and protect it, or destroy it.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Since I do not have a lot of information on your party, I will make some stabs in the hopes of generating some ideas (which works for me)

1) Some sort of artifact/relic within the labyrinth has been disturbed/activated and is causing the waves of anguish. It was possibly disturbed by an adventuring party led by an evil cleric who tied an ancient prophecy to this artifact/relic. While the evil cleric and his or her party were not powerful enough to take the artifact and activate it, their blood and/or their souls completed the first phase of activating the artifact.
2) The Blood Pride is interested because a senior member of their order knows about this prophecy and also felt the disturbance, and sent out the Blood Pride to investigate and possibly claim the artifact. If the first group fails, then another group will be sent, possibly led by the senior member himself/herself. They feel that if the Church of Hextor has this artifact in their possession, it will allow their army to become unstoppable.
3) The PCs will have to successfully deactivate the artifact/relic by performing some sort of ceremony that will cause the artifact to become dormant again – something akin to “Hallow” or “Consecrate” if they are high enough to cast. DM’s choice if the artifact can be reactivated and become a running plot feature, or if it will stay dormant forever.

 

[calighis]

Could you give us a bit more info about the power level of the group you will be running through this dungeon? It's helpful in tailoring what kind of challenges to throw at them.

Having said that, here's a bit of brainstorming. I warn that some of my ideas are pretty warped, so YMMV:

-The dungeon is being used as an incubation chamber/womb for a new creature which is about to be "born". The temple of Hextor got wind of this through divination magic and sent a strike team to destroy it. Why would they do this? Well, the mother of this creature is a FEMALE aspect of Hextor, which is something the orthodox male leadership of the church of Hextor can't stomach. They also fear that the newborn will eventually grow up and challenge their authority, or some such.
The dungeon itself has been repurposed to provide combat challenges to the new born aspect. The walls of force keep folks from escaping these challenges. Other critters in the dungeon have been drawn in by the same psychic birth pains of the female aspect of Hextor. They either want to worship and protect it, or destroy it.

Many thanks this a good suggestion and fits well with the existing campaign plot. It's actually uncanny.
This is my adaptation;
Nephra Demphi is actually a handmaiden of the good gods.(Ironic because she only has one hand) Due to divine politics she can't actually take direct action against the new born. So she has led the party and will likely trick them into going in first. She then will advise them of their situation once they are trapped inside and explain that this aspect of Hextor need not be Evil. It is the characters Job to consecrate the area during it's final stages of birth while simultaneously protecting the infant from the blood pride and other fell threats. In addition, This specially dapted form of the consecrate spell requires a willing humanoid sacrifice in order to be complete. This sacrifice need not be part of the spell per se but could take the or of one wiling to die in defense of the infant. I have an NPC with the Hextorites who is capable of filling that role so the party wont have to make any tough choices in that regard. Never the less it will be fun to see them draw straws.
The plot will resolve with the characters rescuing the child and sneaking it away to a hidden fey valley where they will entrust the child to powerful good aligned fey.

(The island that they are currently on has a tourist based economy. Nobles from the mainland attend the procession of the equinoxes here largely in hopes of discovering one the many fey orgies rumored to take place on such nights. Of course they are only rumors. In fact the town hires elven and halfling prostitutes to wander around the woods and do it with whoever.
Like many rumors this one has its roots in the truth. A fey valley has existed here for a thousand years but few know of its real location.)

 

[calighis]

Since I do not have a lot of information on your party, I will make some stabs in the hopes of generating some ideas (which works for me)

1) Some sort of artifact/relic within the labyrinth has been disturbed/activated and is causing the waves of anguish. It was possibly disturbed by an adventuring party led by an evil cleric who tied an ancient prophecy to this artifact/relic. While the evil cleric and his or her party were not powerful enough to take the artifact and activate it, their blood and/or their souls completed the first phase of activating the artifact.
2) The Blood Pride is interested because a senior member of their order knows about this prophecy and also felt the disturbance, and sent out the Blood Pride to investigate and possibly claim the artifact. If the first group fails, then another group will be sent, possibly led by the senior member himself/herself. They feel that if the Church of Hextor has this artifact in their possession, it will allow their army to become unstoppable.
3) The PCs will have to successfully deactivate the artifact/relic by performing some sort of ceremony that will cause the artifact to become dormant again – something akin to “Hallow” or “Consecrate” if they are high enough to cast. DM’s choice if the artifact can be reactivated and become a running plot feature, or if it will stay dormant forever.

I am combining these two ideas. Thanks to you as well Jeff.
BTW The paty is a 4 man group. A cleric4 rouge3 shadowbane inquisitor1
A rouge 8
a sorcerer 6 warlock 2
and a minotaur 7 barbarian 1 ( we took one level off of his LA)
A thrikreen 5 monk 4 is also likely to be with the group but not until next week. he will likley be guided to the group by a mysterious force or illusion since he has been out on vacation. I dont want him to miss out on the sickness.

 

[BlackLotus]

I would have the party encounter a ghost of a deceased adventurer that would speak to them. Or you could have them find some letters, a diary or a travel log, which contains information that would move the plot along while they explore the Dungeon. These are some of the things that I have placed within some of my adventures.
I also like simple puzzles or riddles written on the wall somewhere within the Dungeon, give the players something to talk about other than slaying monsters.

 

[Set]

Given the nature of Hextor's faith and the waves of anguish, it's possible that whatever lies within has some connection to slavery or control, and that the Hextorites want it for their own use. Whatever it may be, it is powerful enough that it doesn't just enslaves beings, it enslaves them *beyond death,* which is where the anguish comes from, the ghostly remnants of those creatures whose animated bodies still defend it.

If the Blood Pride get their hands on the item / master the spell / complete the riddle of the maze (pick one, or all), they will be able to command these ghosts as well. If it is destroyed (or it's will broken, or it's sweet temptations of power resisted, whatever), the ghosts will finally be freed to go to their final rewards.