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Old 08-29-2019, 06:23 PM   #1
martinl
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Default Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Let's make a collaborative DFRPG mega-dungeon. Anyone who wants can propose a section.

Guidelines:
  1. Assume about four 250 pt characters for the first level. Sections from lower levels can be about 50 pts "harder" per level down.
  2. Keep your section small. If you want to do something bigger, make several small sections and connect them.
  3. Try to have at 1-2 connections to previous sections and 1 or 2 open connections for others to latch onto. Links to outside are ok, but not required, and if this is not the first level make them hard to find from the outside.
  4. No maps are required. Feel free to link one if you want. Be default, there is no light, normal mana, nature's strength and sanctity, etc. as the defaults in DFRPG. Any exceptions that apply to the whole section may be noted at the top. The whole complex is sacred to the God of the Underworld - assume +(dungeon level) sanctity unless noted.
  5. Framing-story - The God of the Underworld holds dungeons sacred. It has rescued a bunch of its favorites from across space and time and merged them into a sprawling complex that is part museum, part temple, and part delve. Almost anything may be found within its confines, and "dungeon sanctity" boosts the power of many of its denizens, but delvers are always "welcome" to try their luck. The God roots for the home team, but doesn't rig the game. ... Much.

Proposed Format:
Title
Level:

Environmental note 1
Environmental note 2

Text

Connections -
  • Connection 1
  • Connection 2
  • Connection 3



Example:

The Pit of Death, But Also Riches and Glory
Level: 1

This entire area is +3 sanctity to God of the Underworld as long as the pattern remains on the floor of the pit.

The Pit: A roughly 40' diameter, 20' deep hole in the forest floor, lined in polished cobbles. Some unseen agency keeps the pit clean and dry, but for some reason it always smells of oranges. The construction style does not match any current civilization. Careful examination of the cobbles on the floor of the pit reveals a subtle pattern sacred to the God of the Underworld.

A ramp spirals down to the bottom, and an ominous dark arch leads to a cramped annular maze that surrounds the pit.

The maze is not complex, but it is home to multiple angry spectres, who harass delvers with running attacks before disappearing back into the stonework, at least two horrid skulls sheltered in small secret rooms, and a few roaming "goldbugs" - harmless hand sized beetles who's golden shell actually contains a nontrivial amount of gold. (Worth $50 ea. to a jeweler if you can catch them.) Passages are dark, 5' tall, 3' wide, and the floor is bad terrain.

There is a secret room deep in the maze with a floor covered in glued down copper coins, with a sparking chain-armored corpse golem standing on top. The coins are electrified and do 2d-4 per round to those touching them - but the corpse golem is healed for that amount. Destroying the golem ends the effect, and coins can be pried up with 1 minute of work ea.

The outer edge of the maze has several exits deeper into the dungeon, and one dusty dead end is a teleporter to the third level of the dungeon that can be activated by the sacrifice of a virginal mammal of at least 100lbs weight.

Connections -
  • The Pit Itself
  • Teleporter(this could be you!)
  • North to Terror Bird Junction
  • (this could be you!)...

Last edited by martinl; 09-01-2019 at 06:35 AM. Reason: environemental notes
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Old 08-31-2019, 09:30 AM   #2
martinl
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Terror Bird Junction
Level: 1

Glowing moss lighting: -4 vision, but restricted to 1d+4 yards
Entirely bad terrain
Nature's Strength: +2
Sanctity to God of the Underworld: +2
Lower Purpose +3

Four corridors come in from the cardinal directions into a large, roughly circular cavern about 20 yards in diameter. There are many stalagmites, stalactites, and hanging sheets of glowing oozy moss (light enough for -4 vision) restricting sight lines to 1d+4 yards in any direction. The floor is irregular and is coated with a slurry of decaying offal and animal waste, making it bad terrain in addition to being a serious risk of infection.

Three adult terror birds, as well as their six chicks (who will fight as unarmed dinomen, but only if cornered), have their lair in a large filthy nest in this area. Despite the ambient filth, their plumage is radiant, and they have long ago memorized every square foot of the cave, making it fine terrain for them. They will attempt to use their superior knowledge of the area to hit any intruders from multiple directions at once.

The nest contains many shiny gew-gaws of modest value - 15 lbs, $20/lb.

If the terror birds are killed, slorn will move in 1 day later. Then puddings. Then dinomen hordes. Then horde zombies. This place is sacred to the Underworld and never stays empty long. Whatever occupies it benefits from Lower Purpose 3. (As higher purpose, but benefits those fighting delvers.)

Connections -
  • South to the The Pit of Death, But Also Riches and Glory
  • North to (TBD)
  • East to Maintenance Tunnels Of The Sewer Of The Lost City Of The Dead
  • West to (TBD)

Last edited by martinl; 09-02-2019 at 01:01 PM.
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Old 08-31-2019, 06:03 PM   #3
Tom H.
 
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Location: Central Texas, north of Austin
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Comment Only

This sounds like great fun; I may have to come back sometime in the future to add something.

The "framing-story" is a very creative concept in order to allow for a variety of eclectic and individual contributions.

I look forward to see how this develops.

P.S. If this comment compromises your format, let me know, and I'll happily remove it.
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Old 08-31-2019, 07:32 PM   #4
martinl
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom H. View Post
P.S. If this comment compromises your format, let me know, and I'll happily remove it.
No worries. Comments welcome.
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Old 08-31-2019, 09:18 PM   #5
evileeyore
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Location: 100 hurricane swamp
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Maintenance Tunnels Of The Sewer Of The Lost City Of The Dead
Level: 1

Sanctity: Death (Divine Necromantic spells are at +5, Healing spells at -5)
Mana: Average to Low. Most main tunnels are Average, as are basements and storerooms that lead outside, enclosed storerooms and basements are Low.
Nature: -1
Lower Purpose: 0

These damp maintenance tunnels used to connect the under streets and the storm tunnels to the upper sewers of The Lost City Of The Dead. Most tunnels are partially flooded to a few feet depths, making some hazards harder to see (additional -3 to Vision to spot underwater hazards), most rooms are a step up from the tunnels and are 'dryish'. There are bronze plaques marked in the shorthand of the ancient lost tongue of the long dead people who built The Lost City Of The Dead. These plaques used to designate directions, corridor numbers, important buildings, and such... now as the tunnels themselves have been disarrayed when the God of Death moved the sewers here, they are largely useless for their former purpose, even if there were a Sage who could translate them (of course every Sage worth their pay knows the ancient language of The Lost City Of The Dead). However, a delver can make an IQ roll at -2 (+3 with Absolute Direction) to memorize them and thus be able to find their way around easily once they know the majority of junction corridors. It's not like the tunnels are still being rearranged after all...

Still, these tunnels do connect to basements, storerooms, and the upper sewers and storm drains. It's said some of the twisty corridors even still lead to The Lost City Of The Dead, but most actually lead to broken open basements and collapsed storerooms that lead into the lands above, or the Stair rooms to the Storm Tunnels below.

Wandering Damage Chart: roll 1d, 1-3 Nothing, 4-6 roll again below
1-3: Hunting Monster
4-6: Random Damage

Nothing: Self explanatory.
Hunting Monsters, roll 1d: (1-2) The terror birds (or whatever has taken up residence) from Terror Bird Junction can sometimes be encountered here as they travel to and fro to hunt outside. Also (3) Rats of Unusual Size (1d+2 rats), (4) young slorn[1], (5) Giant Insects of the Appropriate Type (solo or swarming), and (6) goo can be found hunting and wandering in these tunnels.
Random Damage, roll 1d: (1) Partial tunnel collapse, the ceiling/floor gives way dropping a few stones from above or creating foot sized pits in the floor, everyone Dodge (at ‑2 without Danger Sense), or take 1d damage to foot or head; (2) an old trap goes off, the unluckiest delver (roll randomly, reroll Lucky delvers once, unless everyone is Lucky) takes a barrage of 2d darts (1d-3 impaling each) from somewhere off down the corridor due to a trap triggering on it's own; (3) a slime drips from above or seeps up from cracks in the flooring, Vision -5 to notice before it's too late; (4) total tunnel collapse, everyone Dodge (at ‑2 without Danger Sense) or take (1-3) 6d damage from falling stones or (4-6) 1d+3 damage falling into a pit/room/tunnel below (GM's choice), (5) an old trap, it's harmless unless someone tries to disarm it (-5 to Traps), any failure sets it off; and lastly (6) they find they've wound around back to some area they already been in, but the tunnels they were in should not have been able to lead them here, this is a subtle space warping effect left over from when the God of Death moved the sewers, there is no way to resist it, or stop it, it just happens.

[1] Young Slorn. SM 0; ST 15; HP 20; Bite (13): 1d+3 cutting + follow-up 1d burning Reach C; Flame Breath (13): 1d+1 burning. Treat as a jet spell (Spells, p. 12) with reach C-2; all other traits are identical to Slorn.


Denizen Rooms

The Ancient Guardhouse
Mana: Low
A large circular (200 feet diameter) room that stretches four stores above the outside ground and three stories deep (the entrance from the sewer is on 'floor 2' and is about 12 feet from the bottom of the tower, the entire bottom floor is filled with water). All other entrances have been long bricked in, though there are crevice windows in the upper floors. There used to be flooring on floors 2, 3, and 4, though they are long rotted out and collapsed in the centers. What once was a series of wooden ladders from floor to floor have since rotted away, and the trap doors are all gone. The upper three floors are still mostly intact and have several bronze chests (long corroded shut, Forced Entry at -3 to burst open) housing bronze weapons, armor, rations, and potions. Most of the weapons are cheap (old, corroded, and rotted), though there is one chest 'full' of enchanted bronze headed arrows. The leather and bronze scale armor in the armoires is rotten and corroded (and Molded), the rations are long past their use by date and completely corrupted with Mold (anyone eating the rations immediately makes Mold checks at an additional -4). Most of the potions are likewise off, foul and cloudy, but several are still clear and of a good color.

This guardhouse used to house guards (imagine that!), but now houses their skeletal remains... and the Brown and Green Mold that has infested them. It's infested basically everything in the tower, for every minute in the tower check against both Brown Mold and Green Mold. If they make the mistake of fighting something in the tower, or they critically fail a movement roll (Climbing, Jumping, Acrobatics, etc) getting from floor to floor (or critically fail a Forced Entry), the room they are in becomes heavily clouded with mold spores, check every second a delver is unfortunate enough to be in that room. The spores will take hours to settle...


The Slorn Nest
Mana: Low
This hot, damp, doorless storeroom is near to a tunnel that slopes up into a mostly collapsed tunnel leading outside (the tunnel becomes tight for any creature greater than SM -1, Escape -2 per higher SM). Anyone slipping outside will see that something (the mother Slorn [2]) has been digging at the outside, trying to clear the tunnel. The storeroom itself is filled with wet moldering, fungus covered wooden crates that have been smashed and piled into a nest. In the nest, a clutch of twelve slorn eggs. If the delvers take the eggs the mother Slorn becomes the next 'non-Nothing' Wandering Damage Chart result they encounter, and all rolls are at +1 until she is encountered.

If they leave the eggs, within a few weeks the slorn will hatch. Increase the occurrence of Young Slorn on Wandering Damage Charts for 4 weeks, or until 8 of them have been killed in this way.

Note: The heat in the room is from the rotting wood, slorn excrement, and toadstools. Do not eat the toadstools, they're growing in slorn poop.

[2] Momma Slorn: as Slorn except Berserk.


Giant Insect Hive of the Appropriate Type
Sanctity: Animal, Healing, Plant +5, Necromancy -5.
Nature: +3
Mana: Normal
This was once a temple dedicated to an agricultural god of The Lost City Of The Dead, but now it's the hive of whatever Giant Insect is most appropriate to infest the lands the dungeon is in. The top of the pyramidal temple has openings that the Giant Insects use, and that is primarily how they come and go. However at least three maintenance tunnels connect up to this chamber from below. Should all the Giant Insects be killed, another hive will come and take up residence within a few weeks, as the draw of the ancient Grain God is strong. If the delvers can kill all the Giant Insects, clear all the insect bits and resinous wall coatings, they can then consecrate (Religious Ritual -3, 6 hours for the ritual, 12 man hours to scrape enough the bug goop off the walls) the temple to their deities and end the draw of the Giant Insects of Appropriate Types. During the entire ritual double the checks on the Wandering Damage Chart and give all such attacking monsters Lower Purpose +3 as the God of the Underworld does not like this act! Doing so restores the temple to Normal Sanctity and Nature's Strength to -3. Conversely, the delvers can Exorcise the temple (1 hour, Exorcism +2, 12 man hours to scrape away bug goop) and render it identical to the Sanctity and Nature's Strength of the rest of the tunnels. There will be no Wandering Damage rolls during this time and rolls on the Chart are at -2 for the rest of the session (or one full day if they make it an extended stay).


Circular Stairs Down
These rooms (6 in total) have old wooden doors that were covered in hammered bronze plates, while the wood hasn't held up, the bronze shells have. As such they are easier to force open (Forced Entry +3). The locks are of an ancient and simple design making them easier to pick (Lockpicking +5), if they aren't too corroded (1-4 too corroded, 5-6 still workable). Inside are wide spiral stairs that go down into the Storm Tunnels below...


Portals to The Lost City Of The Dead
Several rooms (The Temple Giant Insect Hive of the Appropriate Type and The Ancient Guardhouse certainly, though there may be others) still look out onto the Lost City Of the Dead on special nights consecrated to the ancient Gods of The Lost City Of The Dead. Gate magic can detect these lingering connections... (but honestly The Lost City Of The Dead is a whole 'nother mega-dungeon so we aren't going to get into it here, but if you want to, I won't dissuade you).

Connections -
  • West to Terror Bird Junction
  • East to (TBD)
  • North connects to whatever is also North of Terror Bird Junction.
  • South to (TBD)
  • Down stairs into the Storm Tunnels
  • Several collapsed rooms and tunnels that have openings up to the outside

Last edited by evileeyore; 08-31-2019 at 09:29 PM.
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Old 09-01-2019, 06:28 AM   #6
martinl
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Quote:
Originally Posted by evileeyore View Post
Maintenance Tunnels Of The Sewer Of The Lost City Of The Dead
Noice.

Momma Slorn doo-doo doodoo-dit-doo...
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Old 09-02-2019, 12:21 PM   #7
martinl
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Crush Room
Level: 1
  • Initially, the floor is coated with a thick grainy brown liquid that appears to be mushroom gravy. -3 to any acrobatics or other fancy maneuvers that require traction.
  • Plant aspected mana - Nature's strength and plant spells at +2
  • The roof over the corridor before both entrances is a 5' wide block of stone than can plummet to the floor, but this is very well concealed - traps is at -7 to detect it.
  • Secret doors in the approaching corridors (-6 to detect).

This is a simple stone room, 30' by 30', with arched entries to the north and south. If someone enters from one arch and gets within 2 yards of the other one, the stone blocks in the corridors outside plummet down, blocking both exits and doing 8d crushing (+2d/rnd after) to anyone standing under them. (Dodging, diving, and partially successful versions of both are possible, if one is alert.)

The round after the trap activates, the brown liquid on the floor begins to gather together into four mounds, two flanking each door. Each round, roll 6d "regrowing dice" and add it to the "HP" of each mound - when they reach 100HP they become fully functional and terribly hostile Crushrooms. This can be delayed by attacking the mounds (no defenses aside from homogeneousness). If a crushroom is slain it slumps down into a pile of gravy with 30HP already accumulated and starts re-forming from there.

This can be slowed by cold-based damage (every 10 pts to a crushroom will remove 1d from it's regrowing dice for the next minute), or actually stopped by fire or acid damage (as cold above, but reduction is permanent).

The hostile crushrooms will dissolve if there are no living targets left in the room.

Anyone who attempts to consume the mushroom gravy takes 1d6 toxic damage per round of eating (HT-2 for 1/2), and must roll HT - (number or rounds of eating so far) or experience vivid mushroom hallucinations, but also absorbs some of the crushroom's power - +1d ST, and the nearest crushroom's regrowing dice are reduced by 1.

Two rounds after the trap activates the east and west walls begin moving towards the center of the room, at a speed of 1' per round. Anyone left in the room when the walls would meet 15 seconds later will take 2d crushing per round for the next full minute. Flexible DR will not protect. (If it gets to this point, the Crushrooms slump back into gravy.)

The walls are 1' thick stone. Smashing through them with magic or raw might gives access to the machinery (below). Pushing back on them slows them 1" per round per 20 lbs of basic lift applied, but this requires traction and if the crushrooms are not active the floor will probably be covered in gravy. Bracing feet to shoulders (when the walls get close) makes you doubly effective (apply slowdown to both walls) and ignores gravy problems, but costs 1 FP/minute to hold. Bracing the walls with solid timbers etc is possible, assuming the PCs have some, but the bracing materials will take 2d crushing per round from a combination of pressure and magic. This also applies to spikes etc. used to wedge the walls open.

A locked secret door (-6 to detect, -5 to pick once detected) in the north hall leads to the west machinery room. A similar door in the south hall leads to the east machinery room. Anyone mechanically savvy (dwarf, thief, or traps skill) can turn off the wall trap from either of these rooms in 3 seconds. Raising the blocks in the entries is harder to figure out (same folks as above, but IQ-4 or traps roll required) and takes 15 seconds. An even harder roll (additional -2, but add any magery) or thorough magical investigation allows delvers to track down the motive power behind the trap, a small metal gear engraved with a crush rune. An IQ+magery roll allows anyone holding this gear to stare at someone within (their will) yards and inflict 2d crushing to their skull per round, as a concentration maneuver, for up to 10 seconds per day. The target, if it can see you, can reduce the damage by the MOS they achieve on a will roll of their own, but this is also a concentration maneuver. Skull/helmet DR also applies.

If the crush runes are removed from the dungeon they dissolve and magically reappear inside of this trap.

The eastern machinery room has a narrow spiral ramp (roughly 2' around) leading down, lightly greased with mushroom gravy. Anyone climbing UP this ramp will discover a Crushroom at the top by the time they get there.

Connections -
  • North to Maintenance Tunnels Of The Sewer Of The Lost City Of The Dead
  • South to TBD
  • Down to TBD on level 2.

Last edited by martinl; 09-04-2019 at 06:28 PM.
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Old 09-04-2019, 06:57 PM   #8
David Johansen
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Rick Loomis Memorial Room.

Connections: Could be connected to any long hall, exit to the outside and crazy caves if you survive.

This is a 60 foot long and 21 foot wide room with a 30' tall ceiling. The PCs enter from the long end. A wizard sits behind a desk at the far end of the room. He has a long beard and a pointy hat covered with stars and moons. The room is dimly lit by the wizard's staff. There is a sign on the desk. It can be read with a Perception roll at -5. It says, "Hi, I'm a seventeenth level wizard." No exit is apparent. Danger Sense will suggest that the room is very dangerous. If the PCs walk halfway into the room they will be able to read the sign at no penalty. If the PCs cross the 21 feet mark, the floor begins to tip downwards. The pivot point is at the 21 foot point but the tilting is caused by sand running out of a reservoir under the room and cannot be stopped without breaking through the two foot thick stone floor in some way. The wizard's desk is on a six foot shelf at the end of the room. The wall above the entrance is open and contains a herd of 100 Buffalo which will charge into the room towards the portal which opens up in the wall beneath the wizard's desk. Beyond the portal is a pasture and watering hole at the bottom of a 210 foot deep chasm.

In order to survive, the stampede the PCs must be able to fly or kill three buffalo to form a break against the tide.

Buffalo
St 25
DX 10
IQ 4
HT 10

DR 2, Head DR 6
Horns

Should they manage to approach the wizard, he is bored and friendly but not particularly helpful. He will mostly complain about the management and wages and working conditions. If attacked he is a formidable opponent.

Wizard
St 8
DX 11
IQ 15
HT 9

Magical Aptitude 4

Skills:
Staff -14


Spells
Take That You Fiend (1d Lightning Bolt) - 21
Hell Bomb Blast (12d Explosive Fire Ball) - 17
Nighty Night (Sleep) - 17
Oh There It Is (Seeker) - 17
Blow Me To... (Teleport) - 17

He knows many other spells but probably won't use them. His deluxe magic staff contains a 50 point power stone and is enchanted with Pusiance +5
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Old 09-07-2019, 05:21 PM   #9
martinl
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Johansen View Post
Rick Loomis Memorial Room.
...
In order to survive, the stampede the PCs must be able to fly or kill three buffalo to form a break against the tide.
....
It really seems to me that these buffalo should, well, fly.

That said, solid addition. Thanks!

Last edited by martinl; 09-07-2019 at 05:44 PM.
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Old 09-09-2019, 09:32 AM   #10
David Johansen
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Default Re: Collaborative DFRPG Mega-Dungeon

I thought about it but flying buffalo would make it too hard to escape.
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