Showing posts with label Dungeons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dungeons. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Pseudo Geomorphs

Standard Dungeon geomorphs are squares filled with dungeon rooms, chambers, and corridors with so many connections per side that allow one to place them side by side and create a larger dungeon. The concept is old, and clever, as it allows a dungeon to be put together quickly but it creates dungeons that look like a uniform block of rooms and corridors without properly using the 'white space' (or in this case black space or cross-hatched space) that could help things stand out and be a bit more interesting. A clever GM can build this sort of thing into the placement but I thought it might be nice to build the spaces directly into the geomorphs.

This idea isn't fully fleshed out but I think it might have potential. It's what I call pseudo geomorphs. It's the same general idea with two differences:
  1. Not every connection needs to be used.
  2. Instead of just squares pseudo geomorphs use tetronmino. These are the shapes familiar from the game Tetris. I've mocked up a template of the shapes below, the arrows represent the possible connections between the geomorphs.
    The square tetronmino is designed to match the common 10x10 geomorphs. The other geomorphs can be used for connecting tunnels, to follow a streams course, or simply interesting shapes that won't fit on the standard square.

    The GM should place a Dungeon Landmark at any connectors that don't line up. Typically different styles of dungeons will have a subset of the Dungeon Landmark list below.

    Table 1 - Dungeon Landmark Table

    1d20
    Dungeon Landmarks
    01-02
    Alcove/Nothing
    03
    Alterr/Chapel/Dias/Shrine
    04
    Bell
    05
    Carvings/Ruins
    06
    Crypt/Sarcophagus
    07-08
    Fountain/Well
    09
    Garden/Terrarium
    10
    Gate
    11
    Mural/Mosaic
    12
    Obelisk/Menhir
    03
    Pedastal
    14
    Pit
    15
    Pool/River/Stream
    16-17
    Stairs/Ladder
    18-19
    Statue/Idol
    20
    Throne

    Anyway that's all I've got for now on that.




    Tuesday, January 21, 2020

    Dungeon Types, Dungeon Dressing

    All Dungeons should not be the same, they should 'feel' different, and trappings aren't really enough to differentiate so I've come up with some common types of dungeons and some of the features that are common to these types. The types:

    Caverns
    Ground water can eat through limestone creating caves and caverns. Such caverns are often explored by the Dwarves and their Chaotic cousins the Dueger to create their Halls (see below). Caverns are well known so I won't cover them more here except to say that the internet is full of cave and cavern maps but most have a level of unnecessary detail that the GM would be wise to strip out to make the thing more usable.

    Hill Dwarf Hall
    A limestone cavern tamed and expanded to make it livable. Dwarves will build out their Halls for centuries only to abandon the place when the ore runs dry. This leaves Dwarven Halls all over the place and they are frequently occupied by less friendly folks. Typical features:
    • Massive central area (the Main Vault) that opens up on a cliffside. This is where the water that carved the original cavern exited. There is usually a stream and waterfall through the Main Vault.
    • Exploratory tunnels as the Dwarves attempt to find the limits of the limestone layer and any ore within. Exploratory tunnels are eventually finished with masonry and apartments and such to become populated sections as the exploration pushes further and further from the main Vault.
    • Exploratory tunnels and mines of room & pillar design have leather tapestries designed to dampen the sound and limit the dust from spreading.
    • Populated sections of a vault always have lofty ceilings (structurally digging out the floor doesn't require additional shoring), frequent Air/Light shafts to the surface above the vault, and tile mosaics and tapestries. They tend to min in a room & pillar design (looks like most typical dungeon maps but in some areas they'll excavated pockets of ore leaving a vast open sapce that may be subdivided by masonry walls (looking like the crowded original geomorphs).
    • Populated sections have communal bath areas and Insula similar to those used by the Romans (although built around a large corridor and not a city block.
    • Use of water-powered elevators to move heavy equipment and ore up and down through the vault.
    • Spiral stairs, fortifications, and occasional low ceilings for better defense against invasion.
    • Vaults often have a foreign compound outside, beneath the central Vault to house Halfling workers and human merchants that trade in Dwarven goods and ore.
    • Lower levels have crypts where the cremated remains of the dead are encased into the rock.
    • Very geometric in layout. Limestone shears geometrically and the Dwarves tend to use this, also they are anal retentive engineers that don't particularly like angles or curves in their floorpans.
    Table 1 - Dwarven Hall Landmark Table
    Populated
    section
    Exploration/
    Mines
    Landmarks
    01-02
    01-18
    Alcove/Nothing
    03-05
    17
    Bell
    06-10
    18-20
    Fountain/Well
    11-14
    --
    Garden
    15-18
    --
    Mural/Mosaic
    19-20
    --
    Statue/Idol

    Table 2 - Dwarven Hall Light
    Populated
    section
    Exploration/
    Mines
    Light
    01-05
    --
    Brazier. On wall or freestanding, provides dim but adequate light
    06-10
    0-05
    Firepit/Chimney. Can be smelled 100 feet away when lit.
    11-19
    06-20
    Candles/torches. On wall, freestanding, or candelabra
    20
    --
    Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth.

    Table 3 - Dwarven Hall Populated Sections Descriptors
    Walls
    Floors
    Material
    01-02
    01-02
    Brick
    05-18
    05-14
    Flagstone
    --
    19
    Tile, Mosaic
    20
    20
    Tile, Plain


    Table 4 - Dwarven Hall Exploration/Mines Descriptors
    Walls
    Floors
    Material
    01-02
    01-02
    Brick
    03-05
    03-05
    Dirt, Loose
    06-14
    06-08
    Dirt, Packed
    --
    09-10
    Gravel
    --
    11-12
    Mud
    --
    13-15
    Sand
    15-20
    16-20
    Stone, Rough



    Limestone Sinkhole
    A limestone sinkhole is where water cuts vertically into limestone, often causing an area to collapse. These are commonly exploited and 'flipped' by Duegar (Chaos's Contractors, no job too small) on behalf of mad wizards and doomsday cults that wish to keep their location secluded and secret. A limestone sinkhole is a small vertical dungeon built by expanding out an existing limestone sinkhole. Common features:
    • Multiple floors built around a central air/light shaft (the original sinkhole).
    • Usually occupied by original owner (and thus features for comfort such as rugs and tapestries).
    • Usually have water (that carved the original sinkhole) and thus basic plumbing.
    • Tend to have excavated areas subdivided by masonry walls.
    • Usually has normal doors.
    Table 5 - Limestone Sinkhole Landmark Table
    1d20
    Landmarks
    01-02
    Alcove/Nothing
    03
    Alter/Chapel/Dias/Shrine
    04
    Fountain/Well
    05
    Gate, Magic
    06-08
    Mural/Tapestry
    09-13
    Pit
    12-16
    Pool/River/Stream
    17-19
    Sairs/Ladder
    20
    Statue/Idol


    Table 6 - Limestone Sinkhole Light
    1d20
    Light
    01-02
    Brazier. On wall or freestanding, provides dim but adequate light
    03-05
    Firepit/Chimney. Can be smelled 100 feet away when lit.
    06-12
    Torches
    13
    Candles. On wall, freestanding or candelabra.
    14-15
    Glowing Lichen. Provides dim but adequate light.
    16-17
    Glow Beetles. Crawling around free or in cages. Provide dim but adequate light.
    18
    Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth.
    19-20
    None.

    Table 7 - Limestone Sinkhole Descriptors
    Walls
    Floors
    Material
    01-24
    01-04
    Brick
    15-17
    05-17
    Flagstone
    18
    18
    Stone, Rough
    19
    19
    Tile, Mosaic
    20
    20
    Tile, Plain

    Orc Complex
    An orc complex is the shorthand for half-assed tunnel complex. The following features are common:
    • Insufficient shoring up of the roof creating constant danger of cave-in
    • Bad draining, mud, and wet walls
    • Improper ventilation and a lack of 'room' in general
    Table 8 - Orc Complex Landmark Table
    1d20
    Landmarks
    01-09
    Alcove/Nothing
    10
    Alter/Chapel/Dias/Shrine
    11
    Bell
    12-15
    Well
    16-17
    Pit
    18-19
    Pool/River/Stream
    20
    Statue/Idol

    Table 9 - Orc Complex Light
    1d20
    Light
    01-05
    Firepit/Chimney. Can be smelled 100 feet away when lit.
    06
    Glowing Lichen. Provides dim but adequate light.
    07-08
    Glow Beetles. Crawling around free or in cages. Provide dim but adequate light.
    09
    Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth.
    10-20
    None

    Table 10 - Orc Complex Descriptors
    Walls
    Floors
    Material
    01-02
    01-02
    Dirt, Loose
    03-17
    03-08
    Dirt, Packed
    --
    09-10
    Gravel
    --
    11-12
    Mud
    --
    13-14
    Sand
    18-19
    15-18
    Stone, Rough
    20*
    19-20
    Wood Planks
    * Indicates wood planks shoring up the roof or muddy insecure walls.

    Titan Necropolis
    Looking at the barbarous and corrupt ancestors it is easy to forget that long ago the Titans had an advanced civilization that spread colonies across the multiverse. These colonies lasted thousands and thousands of years but there is little evidence except the necropolis each colony built to house their dead. Titan Necropolis generally fall into the category of Mega-dungeon. Known Common features:
    • Dug into sandstone using room & pillar design supplemented by masonry as necessary. Sandstone allows for curves and artistic expression and Titan Necropolis often look more like a modern suburb network of streets and cul-de-sacs than the typical dungeon. Burial beds are carved directly into the wall of the different rooms. Sometimes there are three or four beds high in some rooms or chambers.
    • Ceilings tend to be barrel vaulted and 20' or more. Main corridors are 20' wide, lesser corridors are 10' wide. Stairs are steep and spiral stairs nearly unknown.
    • Different great houses created their own sublevels to bury their dead. These sublevels were often closed by a bronze door and statues of Great Members of the House. 
    • Great houses often had a caretaker living in their sublevel to help expand the sublevel with new rooms as necessary and to help the family with any funeral needs. They supported such caretakers with food but this also means the sublevel would have a little apartment with bed/kitchen storage and bathroom facilities. 
    • Lesser houses buried their dead in communal areas. These areas often dug out the floor to expand a chamber when necessary rather than building new chambers, this means they could be far taller than the standard 20'.
    • Titan history (for each world colony) is divided into periods unique to that colony. When a new period begins a new level will be started. Different periods may have different design styles (prefer curves or not). Often they searched for a different colored layer of sandstone to differentiate the period.
    • Each level will have at least one air/light shafts. Different sublevels often have air/light shafts that connect to this providing indirect light and air to that sublevel. The Air/light shaft often opens into a large room with plants and other foliage. Such an air/light shaft is only rarely used as the entrance/exit to a level.
    • Titan worship of the elements is found in numbers fountains, airshafts, stone, and eternal flames (often these were powered by magic, or at least captive elementals).
    • Decorations are typically mosaics carved directly into the sandstone wall, bronze plates with etched designs, tapestries and fancy rugs, fountains and flames as mentioned above, and bronze and stone statues. The titans loved their statues.
    • Since Titan Necropolis are ancient the millennia of later users have often removed any remnants of the Titan bodies, graffiti, and destruction of the mosaics carved into the sandstone are common; and burial beds are often converted into beds (presumably without the new occupants knowing the original purpose).
    Table 10 - Titan Necropolis Landmark Table
    1d20
    Landmarks
    01-03
    Alcove/Nothing
    04-05
    Carvings
    06-10
    Fountain
    11-12
    Garden/Terrarium
    13
    Gate, Magic
    14-15
    Mural/Mosaic
    16
    Pool
    17-18
    Stairs/Ladder
    19-20
    Statue/Idol

    Table 11 - Titan Necropolis Light
    1d20
    Light
    01-03
    Firepit/Chimney. Can be smelled 100 feet away when lit.
    04-11
    Glowing Lichen. Provides dim but adequate light.
    12-18
    Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth.
    19-20
    Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth.

    Table 9 - Titan Necropolis Descriptors
    Walls
    Floors
    Material
    01-10
    01-10
    Dirt, Packed (sandstone)
    --
    11
    Mud
    --
    12
    Sand
    11-17
    13-16
    Stone, Rough
    18
    17
    Tile, Mosaic
    19
    18
    Tile, Plain
    20
    19-20
    Special