Dungeon Draft: October 2019

[ScottishFox]

I'll be back in action after tonight.

 

Got too much going on for proper creativity.

 

Started the day off with a 4:30am wake-up and the inability to go back to sleep.  Whee.

[Pariah]

Yikes! Sorry to hear that.

 

I also need to make a few picks. It may take me until Saturday to do so. 

[death tribble]

I have been waiting for people to catch up. As long as we are closing on a finish by the 24th October we should be golden.

[Cancer]

Highlight 4: Water Room

 

The Martians knew Earth has seas and lakes ... that's one of the big reasons they invaded.  But they didn't know what those were like.  The Arsenal being a training facility, deep in its catacombs is another large room, roughly a fifty meter cube, full of water, lacking any airspace inside.  If you pump air into the room through a hose running through a door, the bubbles rise to the top, but never accumulate to make even 3 cm of air gap there.  A few experiments with the doors (see below) involving balloons, sealed airtight containers, and nested arrangements of both, suggest that the force fields are permeable by air but not by water, so that air released in the room diffuses out quickly through the top-side force-field doors.

 

Force-field screens make for entry into the water, and there are about a dozen such entrances on each face of the room.  Water can be stolen from the room, but only in man-portable containers that must be sealed before leaving; this is adequate to supply dirty water to dungeon delvers, but not for much more, considering the difficulty of getting there from the surface and getting back.  No breathing apparatuses are available any more; their storage bays are obvious in the passageways adjacent to the doors but these are now empty, having been plundered long ago.  You can "peek into" the room by sticking your head through a door briefly and pulling it back out, but not many explorers do even that much.

 

Tha Martians had heard of fish, whales, and sharks, but while they had stories of these they had no specimens, so the robotic mock-ups of aquatic animals are bizarre and unpredictable in behavior.  The robo-sharks in particular behave like banths, attacking in teams using effective three-dimensional tactics, and they have no hesitation about killing.  Some other robot fish are aggressive in using converging swarm movement to charge at intruders and veering off at the last possible moment into a dispersal, maybe even explosion, of the swarm, and they are not shy about bouncing off their target, which makes for a full-body pummeling of the target, though the swarm merely flees after doing this and does not return to make any follow-up attack.  Unless your breathing apparatus is quite robust, all these encounters can be very dangerous.  The population of robots in the room seems to vary slowly on timescales of weeks, and a few explorers report episodes of seeing none at all.

 

The passages around the water room meander quite a bit, as the supporting pipes and machinery must take up a large amount of space, but it seems that you do not have to negotiate the water room to get anywhere: you can get from any force-field door to any other force-field door by dry passages; it may be a long, twisting walk, though.  The illumination level in the room varies slowly -- at least a few hours from well-lit to full dark -- but not in any clear sequence.  There are currents in the water that have yet to be mapped, and whose primum mobile has yet to be found.  The water is dirty, even muddy near the bottom, and while drinkable (it isn't obviously poisoned or tainted) it tastes bad, and no one has tried drinking it straight and untreated for longer than a day or two, so it might be toxic on longer times.  A rigorous chemical analysis has yet to be performed.

 

There are features here and nearby in the dungeon that suggest a second, much larger water room was originally planned but never built; some documents indicate that one was to be for training in submarines, and it was assumed that whales would be comparable in size, and react aggressively towards, the submarines.

[L. Marcus]

The duff covering the ancient flagstones was barely disturbed by the big paws that trod on them. Rolf the Ranger moved stealthily in the shadow of the massive, crumbling walls. His nose worked hard, trying to catch the tiniest hint of any scent, an arrow on the string of his horn-bow ready to answer any perceived threat. Behind him came Morgan, moving even more quietly with a lead shot in her sling, whiskers twitching in the still air.

 

The big wolf-head halted under a collapsed arc. "I can smell nothing, kitten. Not a fox, not a rabbit ... Not even a vole."

 

The cat-kin's ears swiveled. "What, are you hungry? Anyway, there's not supposed to be anything here, if the priest is right."

 

"Hungry, no. But a little snack could do me good. Come on, let's head back to the others."

 

--

 

Who Built It? Trolls did. Trolls of the kind rarely seen nowadays -- giants and ogres, a whole different deal than the goblin-pests infecting the highland forests today. And then there was the troll wizards, and the Troll King himself, binding the cyclopean blocks together by spells they had learned from their Outsider patrons. These and other spells were bought with blood from the enemies of the trolls, sacrificed to the demonic patrons of troll-kin on the menhir-encircled altars that stood on lonely hills.

[death tribble]

The Fighter Marath Thren is in charge. He has been trying to get the old pathway reconstructed to the original entrance but with little success. The powers that be put him in charge after failures with the high priests that preceded him.. He leads a spartan lifestyle and keeps the complex running. He is not a devotee of evil so is not the sort of person you would expect to be in charge which is exactly the reason why the Powers That Be put him there. He was involved in some notable battles over half a century ago so how he is still vigorous and active now is surprising. For security reasons he does not know the whole layout of the complex or what the priests are up to. This would lead intruders into thinking he is less than he really is which is how he likes it.

[Cancer]

Why go?

 

Much of the materials gathered by the Martians as they were investigating and planning the invasion of Earth are present in the arsenal.  This remarkably heterogeneous collection includes some very unexpected unique, irreplaceable things.

• Santa Claus.  The real one.  In Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Santa was brought to Mars to deprogram young Martians.  Santa himself has said he was kidnapped and brought to Mars so they could adopt his manufacturing and delivery methods for their invasion.  Other records indicate he came to Mars to investigate outsourcing of his toy manufacturing and undercut his elf labor costs.  Whatever the real reason, Santa did come to Mars and in fact has never returned to Earth.  He's slimmed down, usually dresses in Hawaiian shirts, cut-off jean shorts, and retread sandals, and looks kind of like a more hung over than usual edition of Jimmy Buffet these days.  He can still do the "ho ho" thing and will give toys and candy to the kids, but very few children cross paths with him now.  At a glance he knows if you're naughty or nice (a trick he steadfastly refuses to explain) and gives immediate gifts appropriate to that status, so televangelists, pro-austerity politicians, stockbrokers, payday loan promulgators, and other self-aggrandizing individuals are advised not to cross his path.  Santa occupies a comfortable complex on Level 32 and is accompanied by a bevy of hot Red Martian babes.
• The capsule of the cryogenically frozen Philip J Fry.  The how and why of this artifact's presence in the arsenal is entirely unknown, but there is a coin-operated turnstyle allowing entry into a small room with the labeled capsule; Fry's frozen face is plainly visible through the viewing glass.  Its presence adjacent to a long-abandoned pizza counter in a defunct refectory on Level 22B is assumed to be an expression of irony.
• The rose brought by Gallinger to the Martian high priestess in A Rose for Ecclesiastes, and the hothouse rose garden she and her acolytes grew.  This is in a near-surface dead-end tunnel accessible from Level 19C.
• In a tiny closet on Level 11C is a still-operating low-power radio transmitter which sends single a very brief coded message every few hours.  The text selection part of the transmitter has long been damaged so its content cannot be changed; it seems to have originally been intended to be a coin-operated "Send Your Note" amusement device.  Translating the glyphs on the mangled display, the now locked-in text seems to be "Mars Needs Women".
• On Level 6 is a duty free shop for Radegast Distillery, perhaps the oldest still-operating whiskey maker on Mars.
• Level 38C seems to be a wing of timeshare condos owned by itinerant individuals who reliably but intermittently spend time on Mars, but generally live on other planets.  One apartment has been broken into and plundered (the resident seems to have been J'onn J'onzz).  Others (the names are above the doorbell buttons on the outside) include Dr. Manhattan, Mona the Monkey, Narab, Princess Marcuzan, and Uncle Martin, and a gated suite of several apartments labeled Capricorn One.  (Marvin the Martian's quarters are on a different level, behind a heavily-damaged zone with the sign "Off Limits".)

[Old Man]

Who built it: The Dinosaurs

 

 

 

Why go there: The Guardian of Forever (Star Trek: TOS)

 

 

 

Goal of the architects: Control access to the Guardian

 

Who is in charge: The Medjai, led by Ardeth Bey (The Mummy)

 

 

 

 

Mythic Monster: The last survivor of his timefaring civilization-- The Indominus Rex (Jurassic World 2)

 

 

[Bazza]

Location: Castle Greyskull

 

Who’s in charge: The Helmet of Nabu & The Eye Of Agamotto are in charge. That person becomes the Fated Sorcerer/Sorcereress of Greyskull, or just “Doctor Fate” for short. 

 

Who built it? The Dwarves of Greyskull. A greek letter fraternity of master masons made up of the “best of the best” dwarven smiths, and artificers in the universe. It is rumoured that some of the stones in the castle contain the spirits of these dwarves. 

 

Goals of the architect?

The former capital and seat of power for the noble Jarl Grey Skull.

 

Why go there? For a vacation. Have you seen the other dungeons? This one is easy. A Monty Haul awaits. Also, there is the “power of the universe” a vast vault of magical items, powered items, etc. It is like The Warehouse (Indy), The Library (tv movie series), Odin’s Vault & Nidavellir (MCU), and The Collector collection (Marvel) all merged. 

 

Mythic Monster: It is rumoured that the Titan Atlas guards the Treasure Vaults aka “The Power Of The Universe”.

[death tribble]

11 hours ago, Bazza said:

Goals of the architect?

The former capital and seat of power for the noble Jarl Grey Skull.

That is not a goal. To create a seat of power or a capital are goals.

A former capital is not a goal. To remake what was the former capital as a seat of power would be.

[Bazza]

Fair enough. I’ll rethink an repost. 

[Lucius]

 

Final Highlight:

 

Five miles meandering with a mazy motion

Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,

Then reached the caverns measureless to man,

And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;

 

Despite the words of the poet, the Sunless Sea is not truly lifeless, although it is not exactly teeming with a diversity of life forms. All sea life native here has transparent soft tissues, and those who shone a lantern beam into the water and spied what seemed mere skeletal fish swimming, assumed the Sea to be home to undead animated by some foul necromancy. Contrary to that superstition this is the Sunless Sea into which Alph the Sacred River runs, and water from here is Holy Water, useful to disrupt necromantic energies and damage undead.

 

 

Mythic Monster:

 

A damsel with a dulcimer

   In a vision once I saw:

   It was an Abyssinian maid

   And on her dulcimer she played,

   Singing of Mount Abora.

   Could I revive within me

   Her symphony and song,

   To such a deep delight ’twould win me,

That with music loud and long,

I would build that dome in air,

That sunny dome! those caves of ice!

And all who heard should see them there,

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!

 

The final defense of the Ancestral Voices is called The Muse, or The Damsel with a Dulimer. Appearing as a lovely maiden the Muse will so enrapture an adventurer that they offer no resistance when led away to be fed on honeydew and milk, and installed as the latest Prophet of the Ancestral Voices.

 

The poem "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

 

Additional text by

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Assisted by a palindromedary

 

 

[Cancer]

Highlight 5: Tripod Arena

 

The largest enclosed space in the arsenal is an oval 5 km long by 3 km wide, with a ceiling height of 100 m at the edge to 400 m over most of the middle region.  This room was built for training in unit tactics for the Martians' "tripod" walking combat vehicles. The floor is divided into four terrain types: open fields, forest, urban ruins, and broken rocky hiils (albeit with suppressed altitude changes).  Space for the spectators/judges/instructors is a wide, multi-tiered gondola suspended from the ceiling, with many separate direct viewing bays, five command and control centers, and hangar bays for small helicopters (none still function; six wrecked ones dot the floor) for ferrying officers to the training floor.  The arena's illumination is under full control from any of the gondola command centers.

 

Twenty tripods populate the ground, all still functional, though the main weapons systems (heat ray and poison vapor) are replaced by mock-ups of an intense searchlight and nontoxic colored smoke.

 

The tripods are a remarkable experience in themselves.  Each tripod has space for six crew, though it is not known if these are "trainer" versions with expanded crew space.  The controls are fairly simple and obvious, though obviously constructed for humanoids of somewhat different sizes and proportions than Terrestrial humans.  Safety straps keep crew members safely in their couches even in the event the tripod topples, which happens especially often in the broken-rock terrain.  Speeds up to 50 km/hr can be sustained on the flat, clear field ground, but in any sort of crowding terrain the top safe speed is rather less.  The manipulator arms (3 in all) can right the tripod from a fallen position, and it seems clear that much of a crew's training goes into mastering this process.

 

From the overhead command centers individual tripods can be deactivated for periods of up to 40 minutes, presumably as part of training manuvers for small units.  Additionally, people in a command center can communicate with all tripods collectively and individually, and can select video feeds from ten separate cameras in and on each tripod.  They can also direct the infantry on the floor via speakers in a many locations.

 

Some two hundred infantry entrances are distributed about the floor, all of them concealed, but none locked.  Underneath the arena floor is a complex of assembly rooms, armories, etc., for the infantry who presumably represent the tripod crews' opponents.  The armories have been depleted somewhat by looters, but since all the weapons are harmless dummies they are not coveted.

 

The tripods clearly were designed strictly for use against infantry, and not against other vehicles.  The tripods cannot be damaged by even live fire versions of the heat ray and gas attacks: the environmental control is robust and internal breathing air cannot be breached by human-strength attacks, and the construction of the tripods uses materials and mechanisms which are impervious to exposure to a heat ray for up to 30 seconds.   Two tripods can flail away at each other with manipulator arms, but only superficial damage can be inflicted that way.  Still, the signs are clear that many intruder teams have entered here and engaged in tripod jousting of various sorts.  

 

It is also clear that infantry with small arms stand no hope against tripods even absent the tripods' main armament: the manipulators can break humans in two, and toss them casually twenty or thirty meters, which no unarmored human can survive.  It also seems clear that tripods were used many times to hunt and kill gangs of human victims in the arena.

[Pariah]

Wow, it's the 24th already. I guess I'd better wrap it up.

 

First, the Architect Goal: Baal chose this ancient location because he knew this was where Men had been strongest in the old universe. He has built up the complex in order to identify the strongest, smartest, bravest, and most talented humans in the galaxy. These will become his servants...and, he hopes, the hosts of a new generation of Goa'uld, with himself as King of the Gods.

 

Who Built It? The original complex was built æons ago by a powerful nation-state as a place to hide its technological secrets. But to make it his new seat of power, Baal employed semi-intelligent machines (no, not Replicators) to update and upgrade his new labyrinth: Diagnostic Repair Drones (DRDs). 

 

[Pariah]

But Baal wanted to make sure only the very, very most capable humans would survive to reach the Stargate and enter his service. So before reaching the Gate Room, any would-be traveler would have to defeat--or at least survive--one final test:

 

Mythic Monster or Guardian: The Cyberdemon

 

[death tribble]

Due to circumstances beyond my control this is not yet complete and we are behind on a vote. I will finish this however as I have liked what people have come up with.

So the vote will be in November

[Bazza]

On 19 October 2019 at 9:09 PM, death tribble said:

That is not a goal. To create a seat of power or a capital are goals.

A former capital is not a goal. To remake what was the former capital as a seat of power would be.

 

New goal: to preserve the "power of Greyskull" (cache of magic items & power items) from the unworthy.