| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm going to use this journal as a design diary for the ideas I come up with on my journey to create the "Ultimate Dungeon".
Here's the basic premise:
Note: This is not intended to be a full campaign, but rather a mini campaign- 6-10 sessions (depending on the interest level of the players).
Premise: There is a legend of an entity of unknown power called the “Dungeon Master.” According to the legend, inexperienced would be heroes, knaves and adventurers are sometimes stolen away by mysterious forces to his lair where they must use every bit of their strength, skill and cunning to survive his diabolical labyrinth- all for his twisted pleasure and entertainment. Those who reach the mythical Fountain of Fate can drink from it, become true heroes and be released from the dungeon.
Objective: Escape the dungeon with as much loot as possible.
Disclaimer: This is not intended to be an opportunity for an egotistical GM to wantonly slaughter PCs and frustrate players. It is intended to provide players with a challenging, but entertaining location to explore that will allow them to have some laughs, roll some dice, make bold decisions, engage in creative problem solving, kill some monsters, gather some loot, rp with the inhabitants etc… However, characters will die (probably fairly often).
Character Creation: Characters begin at level 1. Players roll 3d6 in order to create their characters. When a character dies (or is otherwise removed from the game) the player immediately rolls up his next character, and the “Dungeon Master” teleports that new character to the join up with the party. The only time a player is sitting out is when he is making a new character. The “Dungeon Master” also uses teleportation magic to remove dead characters immediately along with their gear.
In addition there is a special deck of cards that a player draws a card from just before their character starts play. About half the cards are blank. Several cards confer a fortune benefit. In this case the character rolls on a random table and might gain things like a bonus feat, an attribute boost, a spell like ability etc… Finally, in the deck are a few sleeper agent cards. In this case the character is actually a loyal/dominated minion of the Dungeon Master, who at some inopportune time will turn on his fellow party members.
Obviously this not a game for min/maxers since the dice will, for the most part, determine character and party composition. The fun is seeing how long your gimpy character can survive. That being said, there are plenty of chances along the way to gain power in addition to merely earning xp (magic items, random effects that might increase on attribute, give a bonus feat or special power etc…), but players have to work for them a little. Finally at the end of the dungeon is the Fortune of Fate, which provides an opportunity to transform your Gimpy character into a more customized and viable hero (you gain build points when you drink from it that you can spend to improve your character’s attributes).
Advancement: This is intended to be a fairly low level Dungeon crawl. Characters start at level #1. They use the slow advancement track. They can level up as usual, except that they can never get to a level higher than the Dungeon Level they are on +1. For example, if they are on the first level of the Dungeon they can get to level #2, but they can’t go to level #3 until they discover the 2nd level of the Dungeon. Furthermore, if they do discover a new Dungeon level and can access it, they automatically advance a level.
Characters who survive the dungeon can drink from the Fountain of Fate and gain benefits that will bring them up to par with today’s standard of character prior to being deposited back to their homeland.
The Dungeon: It has 3-4 large levels, along with some sublevels. Exploration of the entire complex is not required to for PCs to complete the objective of escaping the place. The crazy premise behind this dungeon allows for virtually any kind of weird encounter area the GM can devise. It features plenty of secrets- useful treasure, secret doors, secret sublevels, secret means of accessing lower levels etc... It is a true sandbox dungeon. The PCs can do what they want and go where they want within the confines of this location. There is intended to be a balance between exploration, rp and combat- plenty of traps, puzzles and general weirdness to investigate; plenty of monsters (not always out to get the PCs or looking for a fight); and opportunities to role play with inhabitants of the dungeon.
Fun Features:
- Lots of Randomness to keep players on their toes (wandering monster checks, wild magic area(s), strange items)
- Open Sandbox to explore
- Many opportunities for hilarity, bold decision making, and creative problem solving.
My design approach for this is going to be to document and record ideas for various rooms, encounters, challenges etc... in this journal as they come to me. I plan to do this for the next year or so, at which point I'll compile all the best ideas and try to come up with the final maps and encounter keys.
I figure I have about a year left of the two campaigns I'm currently running, and then I might give this one a shot as a mini campaign after that.
If you are reading this and have feedback or ideas for encounter areas and other cool stuff that might otherwise contribute to this little project feel free to post them.
Entry Room: Characters are deposited into the Dungeon via teleportation magic in the middle of the first level. They will have to explore outward from the center to find the exits that lead to the lower levels of the Dungeon.
The entry room itself features a plaque on the wall that says the following.
Greeting most unfortunate souls,
Welcome to the labyrinth of the Dungeon Master. Consider it your new home for the foreseeable future. Within you will find great challenges and dangers that will put your lives in mortal peril. However, there is also a wealth of secrets and treasure to uncover, and if you are cunning and lucky you may win your freedom. There are two ways to garner your Freedom. One is to kill The Gatekeeper, which is the fellow slouching against the wall behind you. Go ahead. Try it. Though if you find the weapon known as the Slayer of the Immortals, you may find it much easier. Your other possible escape is to find the Fountain of Fate. I will give you a hint about that one- it is located on the lowest level of the Dungeon.
May whatever gods you worship be with you. Good luck.
The Dungeon Master
The Gatekeeper will have a stat block, but he will be a very tough opponent for low level characters. I’m thinking around CR 10-11 with defenses like DR, SR, regeneration and nasty offensive abilities. He won’t be out to get the PCs. In fact he will mostly ignore them unless they try to interact with him. In this case he will be crusty, but if they are lucky he might give them the odd rumor (some true, some false). They can come visit him throughout the course of their stay, and if they are lucky and have entertained the Dungeon Master, the Gatekeeper might have him hand out the odd useful item (like a healing potion). Think of him as a crusty and sarcastic hotel clerk. Obviously, he will defend himself if they try to kill him. In the initial encounter he will ask if they can read, and if they can't he will read them the plaque.
- a bit like how in Hunger Games, useful items were occasionally dropped out of the sky for the competitors.
The Gatekeeper appears as a 7' tall humanoid with a bit of gut. He seems slow and old, but he is actually very quick and strong. He wears robes, and a cowl that conceals his face in darkness. He speaks in a deep voice, but is a being of few words. If characters annoy him he will tell them to be gone, and if they don't leave he pretty much just slouches down on the ground and ignores them. If they do anything stupid (e.g. try to pull up his cowl), he lashes out at the offender making a single attack. He only fully enters into combat if they actively fight him. In this case he will never pursue characters that flee, but he will kill without mercy anyone who fights him, but if they stop attacking he stops fighting as well- "Are you done now."
The Great Doors:
This area features a set of doors that can’t easily be opened without something like a Chime of Opening, which can be found on this level of the Dungeon.
However there is a very small sized tunnel way near the door. Only a small sized character can navigate it by crawling (at least one scroll of reduce person can also be found on this level). If they do crawl through they get behind the doors. Here this there is a lever that can be pulled to open the doors (with a nasty catch).
Also behind the doors is hallway in the form of a ramp that slopes up very steeply. When the lever is pulled the doors open, but a big stone ball (10’ diameter- Indiana Jones style) is sent rolling down the ramp. Characters that are waiting for the doors to open will potentially be crushed by the ball as it comes through.
Levitating stone ball trap room: This room features an exit on the opposite side that characters might want to get to. It also features several 5’ diameter, levitating balls of stone. They are initially still, but once a PC enters the room they start to fly around and crash into eachother- potentially crushing a PC unless the character can use acrobatics to navigate the room. A command word posted on the far side causes the balls to be still, making it a good place for dexterous character like a rogue to shine.
Treasure: There is a secret trap door in the floor accesses a tiny room containing a small chest with a useful minor magic item. The chest may or may not be trapped.
Dotted for interest, hope you don't mind :)
The Beer Chugging Chamber: A tankard of what appears to be ale sits on small stone plinth in the middle of this room. A plaque on the plinth reads something like:
Whomever consumes this draught
Won’t find their efforts for naught.
Drink it quick to gain a boon
The player of the character must chug a beer. If he succeeds the beer grants him a +2 bonus to Fortitude saves while he is on this level of the Dungeon. If he fails, the ale turns poisonous and his character must make a Fort Save or suffer poison effects (probably some str or dex damage).
Only 1 player may participate in this challenge.
Gresela, The Hag/Witch merchant: This area is the lair of a hag/witch. She is more interested in selling the characters her wares than fighting, though she does have a few competent bodyguards (maybe a couple of hobgoblin fighters and an ogre) in case the heroes decide to try and rob her. She is a minion of the Dungeon Master, but she also has her own agenda. She will always have some magic items for sale, and she will accept coin and treasure the heroes acquire in their exploration for such items. She also can be a source of rumors and side-quests. For example, she has a sister who makes her lair elsewhere in the Dungeon. They don’t get along, but her sister is also a witch, and Gresela covets her familiar and its secrets. She will tell the characters that she can provide them with a chime of opening (good for places like the great doors) if they bring her the familiar.
Each time they go to visit her they will find that she has different items for sale. She will also complain about her horrible sister. However, if the characters actually kill her sister, and she finds out she will be furious and likely try to kill them or at least have her minions kill them.
Levitating stone ball trap room: This room features an exit on the opposite side that characters might want to get to. It also features several 5’ diameter, levitating balls of stone. They are initially still, but once a PC enters the room they start to fly around and crash into eachother- potentially crushing a PC unless the character can use acrobatics to navigate the room. A command word posted on the far side causes the balls to be still, making it a good place for dexterous character like a rogue to shine.
Treasure: There is a secret trap door in the floor accesses a tiny room containing a small chest with a useful minor magic item. The chest may or may not be trapped.
It might be more interesting/challenging to have the treasure somehow contained in the balls
I thought about that option. Perhaps making them hollow, but I wasn't sure how exactly that would work.
Reverse Gravity Pool: This area features a reverse gravity affect. The ceiling is entirely occupied by a dark pool of water that is held in place by reverse gravity. Any character entering the room will fall up to the ceiling and into the water. The water is 15’ deep. At the “bottom” of the pool is a shaft (so that shaft is carved into the ceiling) that is also filled with water. The shaft is about 5’ in diameter, and it leads to a room another small room that contains an exit- whereupon character return to normal gravity. The shaft is guarded by a pair of skeletons that are submerged in the pool. They attack anyone who enters the pool using spears.
The Nature of the Dungeon Master: The campaign world has many stories and rumors about the Dungeon Master, and it is possible to encounter the odd adventurer who has made it to the Fountain of Fate and been set free. The truth of the matter is that the Dungeon Master is a guise worn by a greater deity (a trickster type). The Dungeon Master is sadistic and evil, but ultimately he is bored and wants to be entertained. Consequently, he makes sure that those who end up in his dungeon have both hope and a sporting chance of surviving. He rewards wits, clever thinking and big bold decisions.
The Dungeon itself is on a demiplane, and it is well within the god’s power to stalk it as he sees fit, and make changes to its structure (though he doesn’t tend to make too many changes to its structure while the PCs are exploring it).
In a way he is similar to characters like: Arcade from the X-men, The Computer from paranoia, Lyzarand the Mad or Acererak from Greyhawk, Halastar Blackcloak from the Forgotten Realms, and probably other characters.
The Cell of the Angry Dire Boar: At the end of a T intersection is a cell that is secured with a portcullis. Inside the cell is an angry and abused dire boar. There are two levers set in the wall of the hallway beside the door to the cell. Lever #1 causes the portcullis to rapidly raise up (takes 1 round), and Lever #2 causes a large metal frame that is suspended from the cell’s ceiling (and not visible in the hallway) to fall. The frame has downward facing spikes affixed to it, and it will pin the boar to the ground and possibly kill it instantly if it falls while the boar is in the cell. It might do the same to the PCs if they happen not to notice it and they are in the room when someone pulls the lever. Fortunately it is fairly easy to spot once you are in the cell.
If the boar is unleashed it will go charging down the hallway, overrunning and goring anyone in its way, but it won’t stick around to fight, unless the PCs try to stop it from escaping. It becomes a wandering monster- replacing a lower CR monster on the wandering monster table for that level, and if encountered later it will likely attack the PCs.
Inside the room is a secret door that leads elsewhere on the level. Among the straw and filth on the floor is a treasure parcel- perhaps a leather pouch with coins/gems or a minor magic item.
Vermin Crawlspace, sublevel (crawl space only, infested with vermin): Tight tunnels with lots of intersections and a few rooms. Medium characters will have to crawl, and small characters will have to crouch. Concentration checks will be required for spell casting in the constricted environment, penalties for fighting, many weapons are unusable (two-handed weapons, longer blades). Things like daggers and shortswords are somewhat useable. Two rooms with treasure parcels, and access point to a lower level- likely level 2 to level 3. Characters will have to fight various vermin- centipedes, giant rats, spiders etc… These creatures are well sized for the tunnels and can move and fight without penalty.
I like the concept for a large scale dungeon crawl. E Gary Gygax and Rob J Kuntz, amongst other early pioneers of the game made their specific dungeons (Castle Greyhawk & Maure) major parts of their campaign. I've tinkered with my own 20-level dungeon on/off for years. Strangely, I've never subjected any of my players to it, but that will probably change before long. I hope your players enjoy the "crawl."