One Million Ancient Ruins

[Reynard]

One Million Ancient Ruins

The world has seen the rise and fall of thousands of civilizations over millions of years. Though their bones are long dust, their ruins remain, stark reminders to all that the current status quo is but a heartbeat in the life of the world.

A. Location: The ruin is found... (roll 1d10)
1. ... in the high mountains.
2. ... in the deep forest.
3. ... at the bottom of the ocean.
4. ... beneath a modern city.
5. ... on a remote island.
6. ... half sunken in a vast swamp.
7. ... encased in a glacier.
8. ... buried beneath the desert sands.
9. ... floating among the clouds.
10. ... half in this world and half in the next.

B. Type of Structure: The ruin was originally... (roll 1d10)
1. ... a temple.
2. ... a palace.
3. ... a fortress.
4. ... a villa or chateau.
5. ... a foundry, forge or factory.
6. ... a laboratory or research facility.
7. ... an academy or school.
8. ... a library or archive.
9. ... a prison or dungeon.
10. ... a vault or treasury.

C. Defenses: The ruin is protected by... (roll 1d10)
1. ... leagues of untamed wilderness.
2. ... rumors, false sightings and tall tales that obscure the truth.
3. ... difficult and deadly (natural) terrain that must be crossed.
4. ... difficult and deadly (un/supernatural) terrain that must be crossed.
5. ... a clandestine group or society dedicated to its continued secrecy.
6. ... a powerful and malignant curse against all who seek the ruins.
7. ... a spell of illusion that keeps it hidden from modern view.
8. ... magical inaccessibility to those without a key/spell/password.
9. ... an extraplanar or transtemporal nature where it only appears at specific times or events.
10. ... a singular, unique and immensely powerful guardian that must be bested in order to enter.

D. Occupants: The original dwellers are long gone. Now, the ruins are occupied by... (roll 1d10)
1. ... no one and nothing -- it is a place without life.
2. ... natural monsters and beasts that have wandered in.
3. ... tribal and/or savage human(oid)s that have wandered in.
4. ... un/supernatural monsters and beasts that have wandered in.
5. ... the degenerate human(oid) descendents of its original inhabitants.
6. ... the descendents of the original inhabitants slaves, servants or constructs, awaiting their masters' return.
7. ... the unquiet spirits of the original inhabitants.
8. ... the destroyer(s) of the original inhabitants.
9. ... the original inhabits, thought long extinct.
10. ... roll twice, using 1d8+1 and ignoring repeated results.

E. Dangers: Aside from the ruins' current inhabitants, the ruins are dangerous because of... (roll 1d10)
1. ... time. Structures could collapse if disturbed.
2. ... flora and fauna. Aside from "monsters", poisonous plants and animals abound.
3. ... environment, atmosphere and/or climate. The very air and/or water is toxic, or the climate is so hot or cold as to be deadly.
4. ... accidental or natural hazards. Random geysers or volcanic vents or similar "natural traps" are common -- and deadly.
5. ... engineered and unnatural hazards. The current or original inhabitants filled the place with deadly mechanical or magical traps.
6. ... a physical malady. Those in the ruins are exposed to a plague or illness that slowly sickens, kills or changes them.
7. ... a psychological malady. Forgetfulness, madness, or loss of identity -- the ruins eat away at the minds of those who enter.
8. ... strange physics. Times runs differently, gravity is unusual and/or other physical qualities of the ruins differ from the "normal" world.
9. ... strange magic. Areas of wild or dead magic, a disconnection from the gods, or some other kind of disruption in the normal "laws" of magic exists in the ruins.
10. ... roll twice, using 1d8+1 and ignoring repeated results.

F. Wonders: Despite all these dangers, adventurer brave finding the ruins in search of the ruins' fabled...
1. ... vast mundane wealth (e.g. gold and jewels, mineral wealth)
2. ... access to temporal power (e.g. the right to be king, weapons and armaments for an army)
3. ... vast unusual or magical wealth (e.g. or adamantine, "true element" deposits)
4. ... access to unusual or magical power (e.g. ancient technology, powerful spells or magical secrets)
5. ... ancient artifact/weapon of benevolent power (can be taken/removed)
6. ... ancient artifact/weapon of malevolent power (can be taken/removed)
7. ... ancient artifact/weapon of benevolent power (cannot be taken/removed)
8. ... ancient artifact/weapon of malevolent power (cannot be taken/removed)
9. ... lie. Roll again using 1d8 to determine what is said to reside in the runs, but does not.
10. ... curse. Roll again using 1d8 and change the result to be the opposite or otherwise twisted.

 

[Jack7]

Well thought out and very well done.

Can I make one suggestion?

Over time a ruin may have changed functions several times, a temple becomes a hospital, a palace a catacomb or maze, a laboratory a library, and so forth and so on.

You might think about including a Ruin is Now: category, or a Ruin is Now Believed to Be:, or Ruin Over time Was Also: category.

 

[blargney the second]

Niiiiice. I may just be using this sometime soon!
-blarg

 

[Alikar]

Your missing an option at D. What if a group of civilized humanoids who are not in any way related to the original inhabitants. takes up the place?

 

[Chaoszero]

What if a group of civilized humanoids who are not in any way related to the original inhabitants. takes up the place?

I may be wrong, but if civilized humanoids took up residence in ruins, wouldn't they quickly fix the place up? Or it would be like Rome, where half the city is ruins and half is normal.

In either case, I love random generators and this is going to be used.

 

[Lanefan]

Over time a ruin may have changed functions several times, a temple becomes a hospital, a palace a catacomb or maze, a laboratory a library, and so forth and so on.

You might think about including a Ruin is Now: category, or a Ruin is Now Believed to Be:, or Ruin Over time Was Also: category.

How's this:

=========================================================
B1. Change in use: The ruin has since been used as… (roll 1d10)
1-5. … nothing.
6. … raw material for (an)other structure(s). Significant amount of original ruin is missing.
7. … roll on table B, cannot be same as original use.
8. … a monument or memorial.
9. … a battle or adventure site (may or may not be well-known).
10. … temporary shelter for passing wayfarers or locals, unaware of risks or rewards within.
=========================================================

It also occurred to me there's no table suggesting *how* it became a ruin; relevant if the party includes a Bard or historian. So, one more for the mix:

=========================================================
B2. History: The ruin became a ruin due to… (roll 1d10)
1. … abandonment. It has succumbed to sheer age and the ravages of time.
2. … a major fire of either internal or external origin.
3. … a single significant weather phenomenon e.g. a hurricane, tornado, etc.
4. … a flood or rising waters.
5. … an earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, or similar.
6. … poor construction. It fell apart long before it should have.
7. … an act of war against its inhabitants.
8. … an act of war not related to its inhabitants. It was collateral damage.
9. … a mishap of magic, wild magic surge, or similar.
10. … an act of divine will.
=========================================================

Lanefan

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Once again, great job!

 

[Jack7]

I like it LF. It is also very well done.

On B1 though I might also suggest these slight modifications:

B1. Change in use: The ruin has since been used as… (roll 1d10)

1-3 ... nothing
4 ... roll on table B2, cannot be same as original use
5 ... recent and perhaps secretive attempts to renovate for original use
6 ...raw material for (an)other structure(s). Significant amount of original ruin is missing, or has to be recovered/repaired
7 ...a secret or clandestine operating base, roll on B3
8 ...a monument or memorial.
9 ...a battle or adventure site (may or may not be well-known).
10 ...temporary shelter for passing wayfarers or locals, unaware of risks or rewards within, roll on B3.


Which might lead to this,

B2. History: The ruin became a ruin due to… (roll 1d10)

1. … abandonment. It has succumbed to sheer age and the ravages of time.
2. … a major fire of either internal or external origin.
3. … a single significant weather phenomenon e.g. a hurricane, tornado, etc.
4. … a flood or rising waters.
5. … an earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, or similar.
6. … poor construction. It fell apart long before it should have.
7. … an act of war against its inhabitants.
8. … an act of war not related to its inhabitants. It was collateral damage.
9. … a mishap of magic, wild magic surge, or similar.
10. … an act of divine will.


then to B3

B3. Current Use. Ruin is Currently and/or Secretly Now Also... (roll d10)

1 ...Laboratory Facility
2 ...Excavation Site
3 ...Housing for Holy Relic or Ancient Artifact or a Vault for great treasure
4 ...Place has been turned into a working Device of great complexity
5 ...Secret/Hidden/Concealed Library or Information Source
6 ...Dungeon Complex, Torture Facility, Prison, or Maze
7 ...Smuggling Network or Storage Area
8 ...War Camp, insurrection/guerilla hub, and/or arms depot
9 ...Lookout, monitoring post, or signaling and communications post
10 ...Catacomb, Barrow, Mass Grave, or Tomb


Tables B1 and B3 can be used complimentarily and concurrently in developing site current usage information, or used to reflect different and conflicting eras in the site's history.

For instance a site might currently be 10, on Table B1, and also a 7 on B3.
Or the 10 on B1 might have been ten years ago, and now the site is only a 10 on B3.

 

[DreadPirateMurphy]

Keep in mind that throughout history, the clear split between "residential" and "commercial" we have due to modern zoning laws is pretty recent.

There was recently an article in the media about how ancient Greeks often used private homes as taverns and/or brothels.

 

[Phaezen]

Reynard - do you have your tables collected in a central location?