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I've recently been tinkering with a combined project to collate my rather random ideas on a megadungeon based campaign and teach myself a bit of html so I've put together a few pages on a campaign based around the Passage of Slerotin in the good old World of Greyhawk. I thought I'd post a little link here in case anyone else found anything useful. You never know something might actually see the light of play.
Codex of Slerotin
The basic concept is to use the recently discovered tunnel (150 miles long under the Hellfurnaces)as a linking 'staircase' between disparate levels of the dungeon so that the party can chose their difficulty reasonably easily and explain why some areas don't interact more (they are tens of miles apart!)
Here's the latest section I'm working on, but I've messed up the structure some how so it may take a while to get on line.
The Halls of Madness
The derro are one of many Suloise servitor races created in the heyday of the Imperium. They were labouring in the mines at the western end of the Passage when the Rain of Colourless Fire fell and scattered survivors sought refuge beneath the earth. Soon after Slerotin arrived and demanded their service assisting him creating a passage to safety. It remains unrecorded whether Slerotin simply sealed them in the Passage when he had no more use for them, or if their fear of the sun made it impossible to leave. Whatever the cause a large tribe of the insane dwarves remained in the tunnel when the humans were (mostly) gone.
Many years later a potent Savant Din'kaneros arose amongst the derro and declared that he had received visions from Diirinka instructing him to build halls to tempt and torment would be heroes from other races. From this warped and fickle imagination fed in equal measure by paranoia and psychosis aided by the unquestioning dedication of a huge clan of equally deranged dwarven miners a huge complex of tunnels and traps defying any rational logic was created. Yes, a traditional mega-dungeon lurks in the midst of this tunnel. None can say if Din'kaneros still leads his clan in their efforts deep in their insane complex or if they have abandoned their endeavor perhaps as a tomb to their greatest Savant.
Did you play any Living Greyhawk? There are years of adventures set in the Yeomanry, and at least one core mod that fits, Lerara.
Did you play any Living Greyhawk? There are years of adventures set in the Yeomanry, and at least one core mod that fits, Lerara.
I never had the chance to play Living Greyhawk - nothing happening in this area of the UK. I have seen a few of the comments on the modules. I'll probably have the Mother in there somewhere for the theme stuff. From what I can pick up she was a huge undead ooze of some sort?
A few features and landmarks worked up to try and keep the main passage interesting. Travelling deeper I plan to link in with the volcanic nature of the area with geysers and lava flows. Any suggestions for other features most welcome.
In the entrance to the passage lie the remains of a Juggernaut, a huge golem left by Slerotin to guard the entrance to the Passage. It forms a stopping off point for almost every adventurous soul venturing into the depths and most leave some mark on it to record their arrival and, somewhat less frequently, their departures.
For the first few miles the main path weaves through clumps of boulders that have fallen from the ceiling, and avoiding the many shallow pools and small streams in the area.
Next explorers arrive at Jenkin’s Step. A tectonic shift has lifted the whole floor at the passage by about forty feet at this point forming a small cliff. Several small waterfalls tip over the lip and feed a significant pond that has collected at the base. There are several tales to explain why it is called Jenkin’s step (none of which I’ve thought of yet) but all are wildly contradictory. There are several flights of steps hacked into the rock and also a crude winch designed to lift pack animals up to the higher levels.
A couple of miles beyond the step is Camp #1, a large open area off the side of the main passage. Rumours claim that when the first explorers arrived it was populated with still-functional automatons, lights and ancient furnishings. If this was true it has now been stripped back to bare stone, however it is noticeably warmer than the surrounding tunnels so it is a popular rest stop.
A long stretch of damp tunnels are adorned with numerous stalactites and stalagmites. There are also numerous naturally formed caves and tunnels formed by the water flowing though the porous rocks in this area. Many of these connect to The Tangles although most of the residents take pains to ensure that routes leading to their territories are inconspicuous.
The end of this region is marked by ‘Old Bob’, a particularly massive stalagmite hunched in the centre of the passage. Often utilised as a camp site Bob is adorned with large amounts of graffiti, some slowly being obliterated by continuing encrustation, some quite ornate.
A few miles deeper and the party has reached the trench. A gentle dip in the passage has collected a significant lake generally thirty to sixty feet deep and occasionally the ceiling dips low enough that it gets close to the surface. Stalactites in these areas sometimes reach down to the water. The inky waters are bitterly cold and stretch for several miles before shoaling back to the surface. Rumours insist that there are tunnels in the darkness below the surface and dangerous aquatic monsters stalk these caverns.
The trench is fed from the depths by the Roaring River, at first at least a strange name for this sluggish river of moderate size although it does have the power to cut a channel into the floor of the passage. As travellers head deeper into the tunnel they notice a deep roar, at first subliminal, but steadily increasing until the air seems to throb.
Pressing on the party comes to the Hall of Thunder – the passage is severed by a huge cavern where a mighty underground river plunges into the depths, a small fraction of which spills into the tunnel mouth to form the river. It would seem that this feature was present when Slerotin drove the Passage through this area as a wide bridge of pure force spans the gap. Unfortunately for those hoping to use it to travel deeper into the Passage erosion has destroyed one of the ziggurats that anchor the ends of the span and it now flickers on and off at unpredictable intervals.
Hi Elaine, Did you ever finish your 'PASSAGE OF SLEROTIN MEGADUNGEON CAMPAIGN'
Seems you can place the connections to other dungeons anywhere.
Maybe there is a dented helm of teleportation near the flickering force bridge. If anyone tries to use it they find themselves in The Cleaves.
