I'm a little new to the forums, so forgive me if I'm breaching protocol by reposting this over here, but I feel like maybe this is where I should have put it in the first place. Please feel free to tell me if I'm stepping on anyone's toes.
So I'm putting together a lost Thassilonian tower and was hoping people might have some advice.
The basic idea is that one of the Runelords built a network of linked towers for magical research (probably evil magical research, but I haven't locked it down). Mostly built in secret, the main one was a well-known landmark in its time, and legends put its location at the base of (let's say) what's today known as the Red Mountains. Stories of the magical wealth held inside have been told for millenia, but so far little actual evidence that the site even existed has been found.
Until now.
The truth is that during Earthfall and the immediate aftermath, the mountain peak overlooking the tower erupted, suddenly and burying the tower almost completely under molten lava. As time went on, dirt and soil finished covering the last of the tower, with fauna and foliage reclaiming the side of the mountain so well that no one remembered its original size.
The magical protections keeping the tower safe have started to falter. In particular, the wards holding up the roof under the weight of the soil above it recently gave way, collapsing a significant part of the roof and creating a sinkhole on the surface of the mountain. It would have remained unseen for some time, except for the demon (or similar creature, leveled accordingly) trapped inside for the past 10,000 years was finally able to escape and wreck some havoc. Fortunately, he left an incredible easy-to-follow trail, and the party is able to start exploring one of the greatest legends of Thassilon.
Just getting planning on this, but I was hoping some folks here could help me out with a few things--my imagination is getting ahead of my knowledge of Pathfinder and magical minutiae.
First, the idea here is that the permanent magical protections that were intended to keep the tower safe from contemporary wizards (particularly of the other Runelords) would have included (a) protections against teleportation, and (b) safeguards keeping a variety of summoned evil creatures from escaping key areas. What kinds of protections would you put on such a place, assuming that you are a Thassilonian Runelord and thus, have a relatively limitless budget?
Second, I'm envisioning the tower being broken up into four tiers, each of which would be sealed off from one another and the outside world. The idea would be that not only does it afford additional lays of security to the tower from outsiders, but it also keeps the researchers of different levels in their own specific areas. Only the top researchers/leadership of the tower would have access to the entire tower. I'm imagining (again, probably too far ahead of myself) that there would be some special teleportation device within each tier that would allow access based on, say, a number of special crystals granted to researchers as they were promoted in rank. Of course, I can space out the presence of these permission crystals (yes, I'll come up with a better name) throughout the tower to keep a certain order to the progress the players make.
Third, I'm toying with the idea of having these transportation pads capable of transporting to (the remains of) some other smaller towers in other parts of Varisia. The idea would be to add some variety into the setting, and hopefully build up some unease in the players as the new areas they explore aren't quite the same as what they've seen elsewhere. I'm hoping to cap it off with their discovery of a single transporter being kept intact inside a tower that was almost completely obliterated by Earthfall--that they suddenly find themselves staring out at a room that has fallen away into the ocean, or perhaps at the top of the world and they're looking at dragons circling snow-covered mountain peaks above the clouds. Any thoughts?
Lastly, assuming that this place has been buried underground for 10,000 years, who could still be kicking around? I'm thinking some variety of summoned and trapped demons, the undead, and perhaps a necromancer or two who had managed to maintain their long life. Any suggestions as to who else would be able to survive that long without any outside supplies?
Sorry for being all over the place with this post--as you can see, I've got a lot of ideas bouncing around in my head and am having a tough time pinning them down. Hopefully you guys can offer a little advice.
