[plots] What kinds of things would find in a Moria-like Dwarven complex?

[Stormborn]

Sorry Double Post. (My first one, as far as I know. Do I get a prize?)

 

[Pants]

To use some of the non-undead creatures, just have the shadows lurking in some of the sights where the largest battles occured. The other, more out of the way places, could be haunted by other strange critters.

On that note, if you have the Draconomicon, a Skeletal dragon could be used in one of these situations. A Dracolich would work perfectly as well.

In a dark underground pool lurks an ancient Aboleth Wizard. Perhaps the PC's stumbling around in the dark awaken it and it sends some of its minions (undead maybe?) to spy. And with the way the leveling system works for creatures with large HD, the Aboleth could turn be a pretty decent spellcaster with not too high of a CR.

There's always room for Pudding. A Black Pudding could be lurking within an ancient armory, ravenous after years and years of no food. This is also the perfect time to make use of the greatest and most illogical monster ever... the Gelatinous Cube!

Rust Monsters and Xorn could have found their ways into the complex, searching for large veins of metal, gems, whatnot or large caches of treasure.

Perhaps some Cloakers as well...

Also, the Tome of Horrors is a perfect book for decking out your dungeon with dangerous denizens. Lots of critters that fit well into the whole dungeon ecology thing.

 

[der_kluge]

Stormborn, no prize, but you become a real man when you get your first triple-post.

Some great ideas.

I was thinking that I could have the shadows occupy like the first section, and as a last-ditch effort, the dwarves moved further into the cave, and "sealed" off the first area by using permanent light wards to prevent the shadows from entering further into the cavern.

So, I could use a combination of the ideas - shadows and a shadow dragon (ok, a draco-lich DID cross my mind..., but I would have to buy a new mini for that, whereas I could just prime one of my existing dragons all black, and I'm done ) and further in I could use molds, vermin, and maybe a few beholders!

 

[Pants]

I was thinking that I could have the shadows occupy like the first section, and as a last-ditch effort, the dwarves moved further into the cave, and "sealed" off the first area by using permanent light wards to prevent the shadows from entering further into the cavern.

Maybe some dwarves are still sealed down there and after countless years, the have evolved into a degenerate race of insane dwarves (think Derro). The lighted areas were abandoned long ago and are currently occupied by your run of the mill monsters. The Derro, meanwhile, have fled even further below ground.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

One thing that's bothered me about most "dwarven" duneon complexes is that they seem to be designed for dwarven giants. Why would dwarves build passages more than 4'-5' high? You don't want to tunnel out all that rock that's just wasted space. 5' gives them plenty of room to fight, but would severely constrain larger (human, elf, orc, hobgoblin) creatures that might invade. Make it narrow and claustrophobic for humans, where they couldn't get large weapons into play.

Lots of traps, too, especially of the shifting wall/moving corridor/sloping passage type, just subtle enough that only a dwarf might notice, but designed to confuse mapping, and lead intruders into a box where they could be killed.

 

[Voobaha]

Don't forget the denizens of the Underdark. Drow clerics manipulating the undead, mind flayers, duergar, dark creepers, (etc.) could all be sending expeditions into the dwarven stronghold from underdark entrances.

Maybe they're also looking for legendary artifacts--or have their own agendas unknown to the players.

I've always been partial to communities of intelligent ghouls (a la Lovecraft) ruling a level of the complex.

Some dwarves could have survived in an isolated group as degenerate morlocks who've forgotten their dwarven heritage. They could be savage dwarves living in cannibalistic tribes as part of the overgrown hydroponics farms presented above.

 

[Dirigible]

What if the dwarves had some kind of big resevoir of positive energy - a Beacon or Fountain. Drop taht in the middle of the complex, and you'd have a 'refuelling' point for Turn Undead - and if the Beacon's aura was big enough, you'd have enough sapce for a community of dwarves and other monsters.

However if the cleric recharges too often, the Beacon begins to dim, and finally goes out... meaning the PCs have to escort scores of terrified dwarves out fot he complex.

 

[Dirigible]

Addendum:

What kinds of things would you find in a Moria-like Dwarven complex?

One word, my friend: balrog porn.

 

[Nightfall]

Addendum:



One word, my friend: balrog porn.

Now that's just WRONG!!

Course I'd probably have Salamanders, Effreetis and Djinn/Dao as well.

 

[thullgrim]

about that tunnel height thing posted above. I tend to agree that in the more private areas, living quarter particularly tunnels would be smaller. In publc spaces though I can easily see 6-7 foot ceilings.