Using ruins in the setting

[Misfit Toy]

I am looking for ideas on ways to use ruins as a possible encounter area for the PCs to have to travel through, my thoughts have ranged from the old Roman style with just a few pillars or building bases to buildings falling apart. All ideas welcome.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

When I use ruins in my adventures, there are two things I look at to organize my thoughts. One – who built the ruins, and what was their purpose. Two – what’s of interest to the PCs there. Set dressing is fine now and then, but I find most players get curious about these sorts of things. At the very least, I come up with a list of things that perception/investigation/history checks will reveal.

If there’s a monster present for them to fight, I look at how the ruins can be used in the battle. Maybe enemy archers perch atop a crumbling section of wall. This puts them out of reach of melee, but then maybe a strong PC can try to topple the wall. Columns can be used for cover, or pushed over to injure either side. If the PCs don’t use the environment, I have the enemy do so.

 

[Imaculata]

In my current campaign I've introduced an island that is littered with the ruins of an ancient civilization. The island is always covered by dark clouds, and surrounded by bad weather, because the God of Storms is angry with its former people (The God of Storms holds a very long grudge). His lightning bolts are constantly striking the ruins of the temples, because at some point in time the tribe on the island started worshiping another deity. An evil deity.

This actually leads to a very interesting situation on the island, where minions of this evil deity can only walk around at night, under cover of darkness, so the God of Storms does not see them. There are these massive animated statues as well, that only animate at night. And the Watoto (the wandering undead tribe that was cursed for their devotion to this evil god), hide away during the day, but come out at night. The players can see their many spooky torches in the jungle during nightly hours, as they continue to do their evil god's bidding.

So it's not just a bunch of lore, but it also has an active effect on the gameplay. I keep the exact details a secret, so that as the players explore the ruins, they learn more and more about the fate of the tribe and how they were deceived by the evil deity.

 

[Derren]

Ruins still offer much better shelter than most natural features so in bad weather many groups would go to a nearby ruin to wait it out there.
Also, ruins are a great source of free building material (and catapult ammunition).

 

[HasturtheUnnameable]

If you're using a fantasy setting, try to make each ruin interesting in some way. The game I normally run has a very good base setting for this: Every ruin has something special about it, be it floating rocks covered in weathered inscriptions. or a cave with a magical mural that transports anyone who touches it to a completely different place in the world.

It's weird fantastical elements, or implied magic, that make ruins truly interesting.

 

[MNblockhead]

Read the old Conan stories. Can't say Robert E. Howard's writing style is my favorite, but he did an EXCELLENT job bringing describing ruins and using them to build mystery, suspense, wonder, and horror.

E.g.,

Xuthal of the Dusk, http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/Xuthal_of_the_Dusk

Iron Shadows in the Moon, http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Shadows_in_the_Moon (the ruins he and Oliva take shelter in on a deserted island)

The haunted ruins of Larsha, an ancient Zamorian city East of Shadizar, in The Hall of the Dead, http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/The_Hall_of_the_Dead

For something "game-ready" get a copy of Ruins of Hyboria, https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Ruins-Hyboria-Vincent-Darlage/dp/1905471505/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524693755&sr=8-. It will give sample maps and advice on adventure hooks and how to run it. It is written for the old Mongoose Publishing's Conan Roleplaying Game, but it can provide inspiration for a Sword and Sorcery campaign in any system.

 

[Misfit Toy]

MNblockhead, I hadn't thought to look back to Howard for material I will have to look back through some of those stories. HasturtheUnnameable, I like the idea of adding something special to teach ruin setting, in the campaign this ruin is the exit point for a portal system that shortens travel lengths. Imaculata, I may borrow the idea of the undead cult, the name of the campaign is The Curse of the Thief, the villain is in the process of reforming an ancient kingdom of undead. Ralif Redhammer what kind of system did you use to deal with the damage from the debris and such?

 

[megamania]

Ruins-
Who built them
What was the purpose?
What condition are they currently in?
How has the environment effected them? (vines? Submerged? etc....)
Then has anyone tried to rebuilt / live here.
Why? or Why Not?

City ruins or temple?

For this matter.... (age related) stone, glass, wood or other material)

There is a lot to consider when placing an adventure inside ruins.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I mostly use the traps guidelines of the DMG – saving throw for half, and somewhere between 1d10 and 3d10 damage, depending on what happens. I might also add restrained or knocked prone effects, just to make things interesting.

Ralif Redhammer what kind of system did you use to deal with the damage from the debris and such?