AtaraxianBear
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A gigantic dungeon of magic (three connected floors and a final boss room with two phases) (commissioned)
🕑 Added 2021-04-02 12:50:47 +0000 UTCPlane 0: [98x100]
Floor 1-3 [65x85]
Boss Room [60x60]
It was an incredible amount of work, but it's finally done. Three gigantic floors that can be all be used as a single dungeon and much more. If you fancy a gigantic dungeon crawl with a related theme and re-emerging objects that can be linked narrative, then take this dungeon here.
Credit for the used asset packs goes to Essendi, Synecdoche, Crosshead, Geordi, Krager, Cannyjacks, JChunick, and the Apprentice of Aule. (for the latter two i have acquired the commerciele license)
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A gigantic dungeon of magic
How to use this dungeon?
The first large plain is designed for very long-range combat with many options for cover. At the entrance of the dungeon there are magical elementals, which can throw powerful lightning bolts over a very large distance. Our heroes should therefore always take cover if possible. But there are also melee monsters, which our heroes can take and throw out of cover. Together with traps, the first test of strength takes place here, which could force a weak party to retreat.
What follows inside the dungeon is a huge dungeon crawl. Stuff the whole thing full of matching traps and monsters. (Living mushrooms, magical creatures that live in the flows of magic, creatures made of raw composite flesh which also fill the surrounding earth with life and blood, etc.)
Traps: Prepare a bunch of traps. The dungeon has many large rooms with doors and long corridors. Use this to feed the paranoia of your party and to rob its heroes of further resources and lives. A recommendation for a nice trap collection with interesting ideas can be found here: http://spatula-city.org/~chrispee/dnd/traps.html
Story
In summary: This dungeon was built thousands of years ago by an almost extinct civilization to hold captive that something that was responsible for the annihilation of their people. The last survivors locked themselves and the monster deep underground and did everything to achieve two things.
1: Future civilizations should never be able to reach this place. It would be far too dangerous and would jeopardize point two.
2: The creature must never escape this dungeon.
The monster can only be killed if the magic that holds it in place is canceled. The bottom line is whether to free the creature and try to kill it, or to go against those who are trying to free the creature.
Why are our heroes in this place?
This dungeon should lead your heroes to a place where they suspect an unbelievably great power. Give them a reason to strive for that power. But don't give them any indication that a powerful monster can be found here. (In my case, my heroes will suspect the last part of an item that they believe has world-ending and world-changing power. But they don't know that this item is part of a monster that also has world-ending and world-changing abilities.)
In their search for this power, the heroes receive clues and at some point can locate the region. A huge inhuman mountain range full of monsters. With a little research among the few residents of this area, they'll hear behind the scenes rumors of magical lights over a hidden valley high up in the mountains. Nobody who ever saw it has come back, at least not unchanged. From the babbling of a mutant farmer that my heroes have to hunt, they learn of the hidden path that will lead them to this place.
Along the way, they will come into contact with magically mutated mountain creatures again and again. At night they see strange lights and blue flashes in the sky.
Then after a long hike they will find the entrance to the valley and reach map 1 and meet the first mirror of knowledge.
The mirrors of knowledge as conveyors of information in this dungeon:
These mirrors are distributed on all floors of the dungeon and serve to give information to those unknowing who approach this place carelessly. Whoever touches this mirror is immediately provided with important information with the help of magic. But over the millennia, the information has been damaged, like a memory unit whose electronics are slowly giving up. A mirror can only pass on a limited amount of information. This information also depends on what information can already be found in the brain of the respective creature. Thus, with each mirror, players get more knowledge about the dungeon and what lurks inside. The mirrors are used to convey to intruders that this place is incredibly dangerous and that they should flee.
The first informations are warnings. Something like that:
"This place is a message... and part of a system of messages... pay attention to it!
Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.
This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here.
What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.
The danger is in a particular location... it increases towards a center... the center of danger is here... of a particular size and shape, and below us.
The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.
The danger can kill.
The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited."
(these informations are not formulated in language but are projected into the brain as mere information in order to bridge possible language barriers)
Later information, when your heroes can penetrate deeper into the dungeon, will be:
A more detailed description of the danger, a more detailed explanation of the ancient civilization and its destruction, direct communication between the spirit of the creators and warden of the dungeon and your heroes.
In addition, with each contact, the mirrors convey a greater understanding of the language of the extinguished civilization, so our heroes should understand it from the third floor on.
The dungeons magic:
The dungeon itself consists of several floors and is filled with magic. This magic comes from huge crystals, which serve as energy sources. They send their power all over the area and contaminate the soil in order to create conditions that are as hostile to life as possible. This wild magic damages or changes everything it touches.
There are three different types of magic in this dungeon:
The blue magic stands for energy: Contact with this magic causes great damage. At the same time it has a charging effect. (Restore spellslots, charge your next attack with extra damage)
The green magic for decomposition and division: This magic decomposes everything and causes harm. Damage some of your hero's armor or weapons or destroy them entirely.
The red magic for growth and change: It penetrates the body of your heroes and changes their blood. Make them weaker, make them stronger, let chance decide. (You can equip your characters with permanent or temporary changes with every contact: Ex: https://www.reddit.com/r/d100/comments/aha65e/d100_mutations/)
The Warden of the Dungeon as recurring NPCs:
An ancient civilization was on the verge of collapse by an alien power when the last great magicians managed to tame and tie it up. But they couldn't kill it, just lock it and they knew that their civilization would not survive. So, as the final act, they created this prison. They connected their minds with the crystals, but they could not bed down to rest.
To ensure that no unknowing creature ever enteres this complex, there had to be defences. It was better to accept the death of possible intruders than to allow someone unknowing to enter the final chamber. So it needs traps and monsters to guard the dungeon. But no monster lives forever and traps also have to be serviced if necessary. In order to secure this dungeon forever, three of the builders transferred their spirits into the magic crystals and set themselves the task of guarding this dungeon. They left their bodies behind, but the three guards are still able to briefly return to their dead bodies to mainten the dungeon. After a few hours, however, their souls have to return to the crystals to collect new energy.
In order to keep their bodies from crumbling to dust, they were mummified and kept fit with living liquid, which they obtained from the living mushrooms that they cultivate in the dungeon.
In addition to their own bodies, the three guardians are also able to take over all other organic bodies, which remain in the vicinity of the magical aura of the crystals for a longer time (i.e. even after some time the bodies of our heroes, who need to make wisdoms savings throws to free themself). Thus, they can also use the beasts of the dungeon as their bodies. What is particularly important: Your heroes will come into contact with the three wareden again and again from the moment they enter the dungeon. From a certain point in time, the warden know who is coming and can make preparations and, for example, specifically target team members.
Unfortunately, the guardians do not understand the language of our heroes. At first they will only observe and when the creature that a guardian is currently possessing dies, the ward must first gather strength in his crystal again.
The language barrier falls with every mirror of knowledge our heroes interact with. At some point from the second floor it will be possible to interact with each other and to speak properly to each other by the third floor at the latest. From here on, the interaction with the wardem becomes more and more important.
The character and plans of the three warden:
Kalas, Balius and Elio. The three greatest magicians of their time who managed to lock the beast up and build this dungeon.
Everyone has their own plans and will interact with our heroes accordingly.
Kala is a quick-tempered war mage who wants nothing more than to see the trapped beast destroyed. At first she urged the warden to kill the intruders immediately. When she sees the heroes' fighting power, she will try to secretly support them without the other guards noticing. She wants the heroes to come to the final room and free and kill the creature there. Her desire for vengeance does not allow the beast to go on living.
Creatures she possesses receive an additional attack and explode in a magical eruption when they die.
Elio is a bored illusionist who finds the life as a spirit unbearable and sees the hero as a welcome distraction. In secret he has been in contact with the spirit of the locked beast for a long time. At first it was just curiosity, but at some point the beast managed to turn him. Now he sees the heroes as a welcome means of freeing the beast. He will secretly support them if he can and encourage Kala to kill the beast.
Creatures that he possesses receive the ability to make themselves invisible and have additional illusion magic.
Balius is a moderate scholastic and is always looking for the safest possible path. He wants the beast to be trapped forever. Since he perceives the heroes as a threat, he will initially plead for their elimination. Later he will try to get in touch with them again and again and get them to turn back.
(His secret: Through a failed conjuration he is responsible for the appearance of the beast and thus the destruction of his civilization in the first place. Elio knows about this and will use this knowledge at a crucial moment to incite Kala against Balius.)
Creatures he possesses roll three d20. The creatures can use a reaction and replace a roll made by themselves or the hero with one of the three d20 rolled.
The final decision of our heroes:
In the final conflict, our heroes must either choose to kill the beast or keep it in captivity.
If they decide to keep it in captivity, Elio will incite Kala and together they will try to destroy the crystals. Balius and our heroes must try to stop them. When the crystals are neutralized, the beast will be free. Elio will then side with the beast.
If our heroes want to kill the beast, Balius will stand against everyone together. After neutralizing the crystals, our heroes will fight with Kala against Elio and the beast.
