Running a game where the megadungeon is the ruin of a town that was old fashioned 400 years ago. I'm mining for ideas on what to put there. So like the name says; what pops into your head?
This is what I think of...
Well the city itself i see as rooves and walls collapsing with who knows what taking up residence inside. Streets choked with trees and vines, knee high grass and wild animals roaming freely.
Maybe the town was hit by a sinkhole and parts of the sewers collapsed while other parts fell away revealing a large cavern system beneath.
Just a few things that pop into my when i hear ruined town.
Thanks Kit Kat
Benoc - that's awesome.
Ironically a forest has sprung up here over the last hundred years, magically fueled to grow a decade each year; I call it The Wilding.
What kind of buildings would you expect to see in a Pathfinder-esque ruin?
depends on the size of the city. You could have things like the crumbing clock tower that hosts a nest of flying monsters or the farmstead that has grown over with yellow musk creeper that has turned all the farm animals into plant zombies.
There is a wood golem of colossal size, big enough to walk around inside-of and explore. Its parts are clearly mechanical in nature, with great gears, pulleys and mechanisms to actuate its joints. It's been standing there so long, that much of it has become petrified, making it more of a stone golem of colossal size.
What is it? It's the manifestation of a Wish spell cast long ago, that a guardian would rise to protect the last resting place of the friends of Terek Azhmul Pratchett, and that which their spirits guard; an artifact of unimaginable power that would shake the foundations of Golarion. They never got the chance to fulfill their final quest, but Pratchett loved them, and Wished that wherever they fell, a great and powerful guardian would protect their remains from the Necromancer Dan. (Now a powerful lich). Torag Himself found the result of Pratchett's magic amusing, and endowed the golem with a divine nature, (making it weatherproof and nigh indestructible by ordinary means), to see how this drama played-out.
If the golem is invaded,(it's basically a vertical town) and its denizens neutralized, the golem returns to full power and awareness. If made aware that the PC's have taken up some portion of the original quest, it will transport them overland and deliver them to the entrance of the Vault of Pratchett, where that wizard sleeps in suspended animation, his spirit Astrally Traveling. If Pratchett can be convinced to return to the Material Plane (he's a bit of a character, so it'll take a lot of convincing) he would face his mortality one last time to help the PC's take down the Lich Dan.
Pratchett's friends died in the megadungeon, and the colossus golem knows where the particular entrance is. He can lift up some portion of the town/earth to reveal the entrance once he is restored to full power and awareness.
Is there any chance this ruined town is on a seaside cliff? That would explain the sinkhole, ocean waves slowly eroding this underground cave complex until the weight of the city became too much for the unstable ground to support.
Maybe an aquatic race like sahaugin or skum set up residence in the caves below to prey on the townsfolk. Then a clan of duergar broke through into the cave system and the two races began to war beneath the feet of the blissfully unaware city folk.
Those things combined with the Wilding should give you plenty of variety of both terrain types as well as creatures.
As for building types, maybe a wizards assembly of some sorts to explain the magical growth of the Wilding. Abandoned lighthouses are good if it is by the sea. If its large enough of a city a museum filled with dusty relics, some of which may be cursed or alive maybe (a trex bone golem would be a scary thing to find). A large library hinting at various plot hooks or reason the town was abandoned.
I dont know if you already have a creature theme in mind, but there are some more ideas at least.
well there have to be the ghosts of a few citizens, or perhaps an assassinated mayor, even if there is no "quest" around them.
For the rest, some old family heirlooms, and a well, oh there has to be a well, and something that lurks around there.
For the rest, well the walls had to be solid stone for it become ruins, so it was more or less wealthy. Perhaps a castle-like structure.
And of course the hidden dungeon of a necromancer that still has some skeleton dogs, and perhaps his wife chained down saying "Brraaaaiiinns!".
400 years is a *long, long* time.
I mean seriously. There are very few buildings on the planet that are 400 years old that *haven't* been maintained by some culture or other to make them last.
so 1) no wood 2) no cloth 3) no leather.
This means most likely no intact ceilings of any kind, and most walls would probably be caved in- at least half way. (as in, half way up their height if a 1st story building).
A stone building could have survived but it'd be thick stone- castle grade, not thoe little creek rock/pebble type jobs we see now-a days.
So whats made of really, really thick stone?
Things that the community pays for, and that the community wants to keep aruond.
so: prominent church. (may or may not be used as such anymore). Probably roofless. Any windows would most likely be long gone unless magically strenghtened. Rafters would be gone as well.
Government building. Quite possible that if the place is of decent size that it'd hve some building in the center of town to serve as a keep. This would be a place for citizens to evac to in case of attack as well as where the local noble/ruler would live.
Other nobles: Nobles tend to get rich, and its not beyond the pale that one (or two) could get uppity and decide to build a really solid home too.
Now this of course is assuming no magic. Since magic exists- you'd have to ask yourself. Were there any mages of any prominence living in town?
if so, its not beyond reason to find their home. And what would it look like? Well- like anything you want. An extradimensional pocket, a series of well appointed caves kept clean and neat underground, or nearly anything you can imagine. It can be as clean and friendly or dirty and unfriendly as you desire. (maybe it was a library meant to out last the village, or maybe it was his laboratory and the things he created are still poking around.. and hungry!)
Lastly:
caves.
Aside from the dungeon you mentioned, caves are really a relatively sturdy means of being "ruins" that survive for hundreds of years. We're still finding caves in the real world from *very very* long ago that still have the paintings in them. SO if the area around it would allow for it, some caves could be a perfect way to have some culture survive. i'm thinking along the lines of goods packed away into caves for emergency shelter type arrangments, or even just crypts tucked into the hillside.
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This ruin is old enough, and hasn't been dug up by archaeologists (like the Forum Romanum).
This is a bishop's palace which fell into ruin during the 16th century (when it was abandoned and the lead was stolen from the roof). Obviously, it needs more plants but it should give an idea. This is an image of the cellars
A thing to remember is that most walls would only look like walls once you got very close because the layers of creeping plants that covered them would be completely smothering. I have seen stone city walls, 7 ft tall, that are just a blanket of ivy and other plants: traditional masonry presents a lot of nooks and crannies for plants to take root in.
If you want clear areas you need a reason (sown with salt, magical guardains, etc.).
What about a bridge and towers? They're civic constructions and also served the defense of the town. I'm envisioning one of the 2 towers having a couple servicable rooms and then a cellar dungeon with cavern access.
A city with enough money would have some small dungeons beneath the larger building. Also, its hard to imagine no living creatures residing in the ruins. Maybe mushroom men or a t-Rex. :-)
"4 up cover save"
Sorry, wrong game.
I like a quote from the story Polaris by H.P. Lovecraft which says, "...but still the Pole Star leers down from the same place in the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey."
I like the description, and have used similar terms about ruins in my games: cities so old their purposes are forever forgotten, but are still a reminder that sometime long ago, they protected people, fostered hopes, and inspired dreams!