The Tower of Babel in a Dungeon Fantasy world

[b-dog]

I was wondering how you would rule something like the Tower of Babel in a Dungeon Fantasy world. The tower would reach the heavens if it had been constructed so how might this work? If the world is like ours and there are planets and outer space then maybe the tower would be some sort of supernatural bridge between worlds? Reaching the heavens by climbing the Tower of Babel might be sort of a gate to heaven that can only be used by climbing the tower? Just a thought...

[TwodSix]

It depends on the world and what you want to do.

Assuming a spherical sphere in a void that revolves around a star which orbits a galactic core, it can go several ways.

The first is that it is literally a tower that reaches the heavens. A building that peaks outside the atmosphere. Nothing else, and works best in a more cosmic horror setting.

But let's say it actually reaches heaven.

The first idea I have is that the inside and the outside of the tower aren't identical. Sure, there's a shell that climbs nearly to the void of space, but inside the massive staircase eventually opens onto a field with a breathable atmosphere (or whatever your afterlife or seat of the gods is). The inside might be taller or shorter than the outside, but the tower somehow serves as a tunnel between dimensions. No gate, no portal, just a slow climb until eventually you reach the top, with nobody being able to tell when you shifted from one plane to the other.

[Anthony]

In a dungeon fantasy world you would go "there is a tower here. There are legends of great rewards for anyone who can reach the top." You then start PCs on the first floor of the tower (or possibly higher; I would be tempted to have escalating difficulty with the PCs gaining one floor every 3-5 experience points, so you could start people on level 50-83, that being 250/(3-5)).

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by b-dog

I was wondering how you would rule something like the Tower of Babel in a Dungeon Fantasy world. The tower would reach the heavens if it had been constructed so how might this work? If the world is like ours and there are planets and outer space then maybe the tower would be some sort of supernatural bridge between worlds? Reaching the heavens by climbing the Tower of Babel might be sort of a gate to heaven that can only be used by climbing the tower? Just a thought...

For a campaign with a twist, you could model it off of Ted Chiang's excellent short story, Tower of Babylon. It would involve social challenges as well as combat, so it may veer too far from traditional DF for you. I should say no more, however, at the risk of spoiling the story for any who haven't read it.