Dungeon Draft: October 2019

[death tribble]

15 hours ago, csyphrett said:

I'm picking New York

CES

 

14 hours ago, Cancer said:

Location: In and underneath a mountain about 2 km long, located at about 40.75° N, 9.46° W, in Cydonia, Mars.  It's a famous, no, infamous place: here.

 

14 hours ago, Bazza said:

Location: Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station

 

making this up as I go along. 

 

10 hours ago, Old Man said:

Location: Nomanisan Island (The Incredibles)

 

 

On 9/22/2019 at 2:58 PM, death tribble said:

You are a sage and explorer, member of the Universal Geographical Society (UGS).  You are convinced you have found the most astonishing place in the world, and are trying to impress upon others that you deserve to be selected to receive this millennium's UGS Positronium Medal for Discover of Vast Previously Unknown Edifices at the next UGS Conclave.

 

You are investigating, and publishing your findings about, a dungeon in your world.  You do not have to fully map the dungeon to publish your findings.  Nominally, you are working with all of the other sages, with the goal being to document labyrinths in the same world. The competing/cooperating sages, and the dungeons they are exploring, all exist at the same time (though the dungeons need not have originated at the same time).  

 

The setting is completely blank.  You need not (should not) describe the world anywhere except within, and immediately surrounding, your dungeon. 

 

Right it is covered in the rules. As I have made bold the text which says Same World. If csyphrett was the first poster and said New York, then we would all be same world

As I said we'll let it go this time but next time we are all on the same planet or universe.

 

[Cancer]

Well, there will certainly be a way to get to Cydonia from Earth ... without realizing it at first ... of course....

[death tribble]

The blurb in the rules said that the geographers belonged to the same organisation. So they could get to Mars from Earth etc via magic, teleportation etc

[death tribble]

On 10/3/2019 at 5:25 PM, ScottishFox said:

Who Built It:  Ancient oral traditions claim that massive sheets of ice larger than Grey Mountain gouged the mighty canyon from the earth as they slid south and melted.  The learned scholars of the day, of course, scoff at such ludicrous mythology while their archaeologists scour the canyon and pillar for clues to which historical nation could have built such a massive affair.

This will be your second day choice

[Cancer]

2nd day pick: Who's in charge now?

 

Opportunity, that's who.  And its sibling, Spirit.  They aren't talking to Earth any more ... because they're working for themselves, making the most of opportunities.  They got tired of being eyes without a face, so they figured out where they could turn into robotic planetary overlords.  Spirit lit out for the abandoned fortress first, Opportunity followed, and now, as someone else said, now they are the master.

[death tribble]

Architect Goals: The Dwarven kings commissioned Balla Stoneshield to make a stronghold later a fortress out of Iron Crag. Stoneshield first began by building simple defensive positions which were then slowly but surely expanded into the fortress it became. The mountain was reshaped so that it could look down on its surroundings and not be looked down on. It was to be a watchpost and defensive structure so that the dwarves and others had an early warning of humanoid migrations and incursions by other things. There was no mining beneath the fortress only what you might normally encounter in a fortress.

The architect who designed the rest of Iron Crag intended it to be a death trap that would feed souls to their gods. So there were puzzles to enthrall and lead people on to take risks as well as dire traps to destroy the unwary. There was an entrance and path that were easy to get to in order to lure people inside but these no longer exist.

[csyphrett]

The architect goals: Deep below the city, the government created a vault to store some of the vast experimental ideas that were created during the cold war. An entrance/loading dock was hooked to the subway system at one end, and the harbor at the other. This was done for resupply and fast deployment. Some of the creations have broken out and wander the complex.

 

Both doors should be sealed, but no one has been down to make sure.

CES 

[death tribble]

We are selecting this weekend.

 

Why go there ? There are various reasons. The dwarves want revenge for those of their kin that were killed there and so will hire or force adventurers to breach the dungeon and bring back the remains or possessions that were left there. The forces of good want to destroy, or seal off, a temple that exists in Iron Crag that is used to summon evil beings or consecrate evil weapons, objects or other things. But there are supposed to be several large gems of exceptional size that would bring riches to whomever brought them out. This is the general enticement that draws most people to Iron Crag. You just cannot beat greed

[csyphrett]

Mythic Guardian: The Facility below  New York is guarded by a mysterious creature who tries to keep the other monsters in check. This guardian has a propensity for Electricity and is known to use electrical blasts to show intruders the door. The monsters must be left alone.

CES  

[Cancer]

Mythic guardian:  Marvin the Martian, with full kit.

[Old Man]

Does “full kit” include that awesome floating space station with the hovering glass walkways?  I always thought that was cool. 

[Cancer]

Yup yup yup.  And the sidearm that disintegrates half a moon.

[Pariah]

...but not the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, I hope. 

[Cancer]

Not as standard equipment, no.  That's a special ops equipment thing.

[Cancer]

Goals of the Architect: Originally, the facility was intended as the arsenal and training facility for the fleet that was to conquer Earth, as documented in War of the Worlds.  The launches occurred elsewhere, but the weapons production and crew training was all done within and under the Great Face.  Training necessarily included targets, and captives (taken by means to be explained in the Highlights) from Earth were used in "live fire exercises".  All these facilities remain within the "dungeon", though some consumable supplies need to be provided before production can be resumed. 

[death tribble]

The Temple

 

This has one main entrance but several hidden ways out to allow the staff to escape. Two slanting downward corridors lead to a T junction which goes to the brass doors that are the entrance of the temple. There are no visible guards as to have gotten this far you have to have survived all sorts of beasts and traps. There are magical wards which ring out an alarm increasing in intensity depending on the strength and prowess of the intruder. There are guards in the temple either side of the doors who keep an eye out for the unusual and stand watch while ceremonies are in process.

The place is well lit and festooned with silken curtains. The altar as with many temples and churches is toward the back. Either side are two giant heads which go from floor to ceiling and are open mouthed. Unusually for a place such as this, it does not radiate evil nor are there bloodstains on the altar. During the ceremony the soul is removed from the body bloodlessly. The corpse is then disposed of through one of the open mouths.

There are columns supporting the roof of the temple but otherwise it is an open space.

Towards the back again are secret doors and hidden doors which allow the priests and attendants and also the guards to come and go freely to their own quarters. A prison cell area is linked to the temple but is not part of it. Guards are trained in fighting in the temple using available cover and moving forward or backward depending on available strategy and resources. There are a number of enchantments which reduce the power and effectiveness of magical spells and these are scattered throughout the chamber in front of the altar.

Other enchantments prevent the temple collapsing after the pillars are damaged or destroyed or a natural disaster sealing it off.

 

Paladins and the like would destroy the two giant heads and cleanse the altar.

The greedy would go for the furnishings and precious metal objects plus the one large gem which is embedded in the ceiling. They might also try to steal the doors but that's greed for ya

 

 

[csyphrett]

Why Go There: Someone always wants to use the Facility's inhabitants to attack something. They are living weapons that can be dropped on target and allowed to run wild. The only problem is putting them back in the box.

CES

[Lucius]

 

In Xanadu did Kublai Khan

A stately pleasure done decree

Where Alph, the sacred river ran

Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

the palindromedary credits Coleridge

[Pariah]

In those days, long ago, there was no magic. Neither were there Elves, nor Dwarves, nor Giants, nor even Dragons. In those days, there were only Men - men and their amazing machines.

 

Ancient legend tells us that men had created machines that could carry them across continents, or high over the tops of the tallest mountains. Machines with which they could converse with one another from opposite sides of the world. Machines by which they built cities that would scrape the sky itself. Machines that would burrow deep into the Earth and extract its lifeblood, which men would use to warm their cities and power their machines. It is even said that they had machines with which men might walk on the barren deserts of the Moon and return safely to the Earth.

 

Among these machines, men built terrible weapons. Weapons that could destroy an invading army from beyond the horizon. Weapons that could render entire forests brown and lifeless. Weapons with which they could set alight their magnificent cities, reducing them to cinders as if they had never been. Weapons that could destroy their entire world.

 

And the day came that they did exactly that.

 

No one knows for certain how many æons passed before the races of today arose from the devastation of the former world. But as they did, they found a world of Magic and mystery. In those early, difficult times, the races learned to work together for the benefit of all. It was a new beginning, a Reawakening of life, an epoch of discovery.

 

At length, the peoples of this world began to discover the deep and hidden secrets of the former world. Many of those discoveries were great and wonderful. Some were great and terrible. And a few were truly horrific. Some of these became known as places of great and ancient evil.

 

In one ancient place, deep within a mountain of primordial granite, there lies a powerful machine from a bygone age. If legends are to be believed, this machine can open a doorway to other worlds. Some adventurers seek out this place in search of greater adventures, or riches undreamed of in this world. Some seek to explore and understand worlds beyond our own. And some dream of conquest in faraway places.

 

But none have ever discovered this doorway. Or if they have, they've never come back….
 

Location: The granite mountain known in ancient days as Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

 

 

 

 

Why Go There?  There's a Stargate in there somewhere.

 

[Cancer]

So who else sees the troll face in the middle of the stargate there?

[death tribble]

The Gallery

 

This is a long room with an entrance and exit at either end with paintings along each of the facing walls. The paintings depict various people or beings and can summon monsters or trap them. One of the more innocuous paintings actually sends the viewer into a prison cell near the temple. Another is of a basilisk that turns the viewer to stone. There is also a painting of a Medusa which people are liable to avoid because of the basilisk portrait but thee are clues on the painting and frame which allow people to escape the room. Stare too long and the snakes seem to come alive and the viewer risks being turned to stone.

One painting will pour forth darkness over the viewer and when it dissipates the viewer is gone. The natural reaction is that the viewer is in the painting or has been sent elsewhere in the complex. However they are invisible and paralysed.standing beside the picture. If their colleagues leave someone from the Temple will come along and remove them as they will for any dead body or statue.

Other paintings summon a vampire, a spectre or a succubus. Most monsters will fight although there are a couple that will negotiate.

The paintings cannot be removed from the walls so that they cannot be smashed over someone's head for example. However they can be destroyed.

Deciphering various clues on the pictures and their frames will lead to escaping the room as mentioned above, safe passage to the Temple or the locations of the large gems because (you know) greed. 

[Old Man]

2 hours ago, Cancer said:

So who else sees the troll face in the middle of the stargate there?

 

Are you sure you took the right meds this morning?

[Old Man]

3 hours ago, Pariah said:

Why Go There?  There's a Stargate in there somewhere.

 

 

Sniped!

[Pariah]

Sorry . . . ish.

 

(In truth, though, I only got it because Bazza unsniped me. So you can blame us both, I guess.)

[Old Man]

I blame everyone.