The Dungeon of a Thousand Rooms

[Steerpike]

The Dungeon of a Thousand Rooms

This a community world-building project in the tradition of The Thousand Isles and A Thousand Worlds. For this one, I'm getting ambitious.

The idea here is to create a megadungeon built entirely out of user-contributed rooms. Each entry is a room with something of interest – be it a monster, a magic item, an NPC, a puzzle, a trap, some interesting piece of dungeon dressing, or anything else.

Setting rigid parameters for the dungeon beforehand would fly in the face of the idea: the whole point is to create something organically. That said, I think we should try to avoid clichés and stock encounters; there's no point in duplicating the Caves of Chaos. Let's strive for original, unusual, strange, and unexpected stuff. Apart from that, anything is game. Your room could be the size of a broom closet or a cavern that fits a city. No strict word limit, though let's aim for readability.

I don't think stats are necessary – we'd have to agree on a system first for that anyway – but if there are any unusual mechanics associated with your room, feel free to include them. Do include any dungeon "metadata" you feel is important, like what level of the dungeon the room is on (be as rough or precise as you want). Make sure to include a description of the room as a whole like rather than an isolated dungeon feature – keep your entry physically located in the dungeon.

Don't feel your room needs to adjoin the previous entry. It could be anywhere in the dungeon. Do feel encouraged to reference things in other entries. The dungeon need not feel cohesive, though - there could be all sorts of different factions and groups and areas in it. Also feel free to edit your entry later to match up with something that comes later.

If we get enough rooms I'll come up with a map, and maybe we can even compile a cool little PDF module at the end!

I'll get us started.

[ic=The Chamber of Enucleation]Level: 2

This room has a door of pale wood carved with unwholesome red glyphs, glyphs which make it near-impossible to break down. It can be opened with a Key of Frozen Blood (which can be fashioned using the mould in the Goreworks). Picking the lock is possible, but any who enters without using the appropriate key will be marked: a small cut opens on the back of their hand in the shape of a glyph signifying "intruder," called a Trespass Mark. Those bearing this mark will find some areas of the dungeon more difficult to navigate, as it can trigger alarms and other defenses.

Inside the Chamber of Enucleation is a sinister looking chair of greenish metal connected to an intricate machine that extends upwards into the ceiling. A pair of mechanical arms hovers from the back of the chair over anyone sitting in it, long, impossibly delicate nails glinting. There is also a small bowl attached to one of the arms of the chair. The design of the chair is exceedingly ornate, with a motif of staring eyes intertwined with arcane marks; anyone skilled in spellcraft will identify the marks as being associated with healing and regeneration. To one side of the chair is a stone slab on which have been placed six syringes, each filled with a healing serum.

On the wall near the chair is a depression shaped like a humanoid hand, the Mark of the Chirurgeon visible on its palm. Anyone pressing a hand (living or otherwise) bearing the Mark of the Chirurgeon to the console activates the machine. If someone is sitting in the chair when the machine is activated, a series of restraints swivels into place to keep them still. With a mechanical whirr the arms go to work and swiftly remove the eyes of the person seated. Having plucked out the chair's occupant's eyeballs the arms then deposits them in the bowl. If another set of eyes has been placed in the bowl beforehand, the chair substitutes these eyes, carefully inserting them in the sockets of the one seated. While the procedure is traumatic, the magic of the chair ensures that the eyes attach correctly, and one of the arms will reach out to grasp a syringe of healing serum from the slab to administer.

As will become clear, the characters may find this procedure vital in progressing throughout the dungeon.[/ic]

[TheMeanestGuest]

[ic=The Hall of Horace]Level: 3

A great grey arch yawns wide, dusty blackness within. In the distance the echo and clatter of screams and shouts, the clash of arms. Those who peer within feel a pressure upon their backs and hear old whispers in their ears. Listen closely, think intently - if your will should falter your legs shall carry you forward irresistibly. A dim grey light suffuses the air here, and the floor is strewn with dry brown leaves. The weight of judging eyes is upon you. The cold stone hall stretches into the distance, its roof borne up by ornate columns carved with birds and flowers and words in flowing script.

If your knowledge should avail you, you will know that this is the ancient language of Dram - the City of Soaring Boughs. But the words are strung together as nonsense, and meaning eludes you. There is a story you recall, though, that long ago the bold Prince Horace and his ten Companions ventured within the dungeon's trackless depths. They sought knowledge of an ancient spell, a spell that should return joy to Dram - a city long bereft.

The keen-sighted will espy in the distance a silver throne upon a tall dais. The walk feels as an eternity, and your legs begin to ache. You stand before it, and strangely you feel uplifted, as if all the oppressive weight of rock and earth above you has of a sudden vanished. A slender sword of azure hue leans upon one side of the empty throne, a deadly lance of dark steel upon the other. A voice speaks, and shadows cavort upon the walls.

"I have watched as you have trod in my footsteps, here in this wicked place," he says. "I am Horace, and here buried I remain. They do not dare disturb my rest, and so you may take your ease."

Ten wraiths rise behind you, hoary old ghosts fraying at the edges, garbed in all the trappings of the ancients. "For a moment, at the least," he continues.

A bargain is proposed. Retrieve the melcifer of delight from the Weaver's Creche and bring it thence. Horace will grant to any who should assent either his sword or his lance, that it's power should avail this hero or villain in their task.

"Do this and you will have the service of my Companions so long as you should travel Beneath. Betray me, and I shall set them as hounds upon your trail. I was a fool in life, I shall not be so in death."[/ic]

[sparkletwist]

[ic=Goblinville]
Level: 4

This large chamber was once some sort of temple or meeting hall, but has since fallen into disuse and has instead become home to a tribe of goblins. The west wall has fallen (or been knocked) down, and now opens into a natural cavern, enlarging the already large chamber considerably. Its main entrance is the large archway in the Hall of Sorrows, but the cavern is also accessible through the small tunnel in Shanti's Abode and, should anyone break it down, through the barred door in the Tomb of the Four.

The goblins are quite comfortable here, with a natural spring, a smithy, a mine, an apothecary, a tavern, and several other small shops. They are fed by a mushroom and lichen farm, and also eagerly eat the oversized bioluminescent grubs that seem to be endemic to this portion of the dungeon. Occasionally, they raid the Glutton's Feast for food, as well.

Though the goblins are initially wary of outsiders and will mercilessly defend any threat to their community (and they are somewhat battle-hardened, given the zombies that seem to all too frequently wander in from the Hall of Sorrows or beyond) they are also eager for trade and stories from the outside world, should travelers be able to accept their... goblin-ness. Like most goblins, they are loud, crude, and pugnacious, although the goblins of "Goblinville" show a community-mindedness often absent in other tribes, as the numerous threats from the dungeon beyond have meant that infighting must be kept to a minimum or they will not survive. Visitors who bear a Trespass Mark (e.g., from the Chamber of Enucleation or the Corridor of Transmigration) will be treated with a sort of reverent curiosity, as they have broken into areas of the dungeon few goblins dare to tread.

The chieftain of "Goblinville" is a grizzled old goblin by the name of Rot the Dragonslayer. According to the lore of the village (and the tale, as well as the dragon, seem to get bigger each time someone tells it) Rot happened upon a dragon in its home and bravely faced it down, slaying it with his battle prowess and goblin ferocity. Its skull adorns the back wall of the cavern, an imposing sight and a source of pride for the entire community. Of course, it's impossible to tell where the skull is actually from or how old it is; however, the lore is important to the community's sense of togetherness and doubters as to the veracity of Rot's tale frequently find themselves assigned to the most demeaning and menial of labor, or the victim of "accidents."
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[Steerpike]

[ic=Chamber of the Gorgon's Head]Level: 1

A smell of dust and lichen pervades this huge round room, which has become strewn with bits of rubble and crowded with stony, mutilated forms: decapitated, dismembered, and otherwise broken statues. These are the petrified victims of a reanimated gorgon head which hangs suspended from the domed ceiling by its necrotic, serpentine hair. Meticulously embalmed and tattooed with necromantic sigils, the head swivels this way and that, casting its dead eyes at the four doors that lead into the chamber.

While it is possible to dodge between statues to avoid the gorgon's gaze, it can also be defeated either by destroying the head or by wearing a Gorgoneion. If the head hears an intruder it will swivel towards the sound, petrifying even invisible creatures. The head is suspended 20' above the floor, making melee attacks against it difficult.

There are several notable victims petrified here, including one of the ten Companions of Prince Horace, fallen hero of Dram, who is rumoured to be interred somewhere in the complex. The Companion – Gwendolyn the Fearless – is aiming a crossbow at the gorgon's head; her own head is missing. Another adventurer, the sly delver Valentine Redthumb, also stands as a statue near one of the doors. Amid the rubble by his feet a thorough searcher will discover the Ring of the Spider-Friend, which causes arachnid creatures to view the wearer favourably. Also petrified here are two goblins who ventured up from the lower levels and a Slug Naga that has been partially melted. Periodically, skeletal servitors from the Ossuary equipped with Gorgoneions enter this chamber with clubs and pots of acid to maim the statues.

Most of the statues are now host to infestations of purplish Stonerot Lichen, a valuable reagent in some alchemical recipes.

The gorgon's head can speak the language of reptiles. Anyone conversant in this tongue can attempt to parley with the head, although it is quite mad from centuries spent bodiless. The head will agree to close its eyes, allowing the party to pass, provided the characters promise to acquire a new body for it (a zombie from the Hall of Sorrows is a good possibility). Alternatively a silver-tongued and suitably philosophical interlocutor might convince the head that its own destruction is desirable, in which case it will request to be incinerated or immersed in acid or holy water so that it might not be reanimated again. The head has long forgotten its own name but is nicknamed "Old Stone Eyes" by some of the dungeon's denizens.[/ic]

[sparkletwist]

[ic=The Glutton's Feast]
Level: 2

A room that appears to have once been a banquet hall contains a table with an ever-renewing sumptuous feast of broiled and grilled meats, fresh breads, candied fruits, wine, and other delights, served on gilded platters with exquisite silverware. The only thing to diminish the appeal of this delicious meal is at the head of the table: a hideously obese humanoid creature with jet-black skin and long and matted hair that partially covers its ugly face. Its exact nature, gender, and the like are impossible to determine due to its immense corpulence. It sits at the table and eats noisily and endlessly, smacking and munching, throwing bones and scraps on the floor which are dutifully carried away by rats or other vermin, though, oddly enough, the vermin do not seem to take food from the table directly.

Others may partake in the feast without any reaction from the glutton, indeed, communication with it is more or less impossible. At any point, there is a 25% chance there will be 1d6 orcs, goblins, or kobolds also there, stealing a quick bite to eat. However, should anyone attempt to remove the glutton from its seat, or attempt to steal any of the valuable tableware (the regulars all know not to do this, and will loudly protest should anyone try), the glutton will rise from the table and attack. It will use its immense bulk as a slam attack, in addition, it can create a cloud of nauseating vapors by expelling truly fearsome amounts of flatulence. The vermin in the room will also form into a swarm and join the fight on the side of the glutton, though it does not exert any particular control over them. Should the glutton be slain, its body as well as the entire feast will instantly turn to ash.
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[LoA]

[ic=The Tunnel of the Red Witch]

Level: B3

At one of the bottom most levels of the Dungeon lies a strange cave of seemingly endless darkness. Very few have ever gotten to the other side of this cave to find out that it is in fact a tunnel with a door at the other end. No one knows who the Red Witch is. An evil enchantress, or a fiendish phantom are just some of the theories that are spun around this insidious and cryptic being. However there is a chance you could run into a couple of men in the dungeon who have survived the ordeal of entering this tunnel and encountering this horrific woman.

The first one a knight by the name of Barlo Parlin, a knight in action only, doing his duties for the attention and recognition of the masses rather than for the spirit of his heart and the joy of righteousness, and is the most insufferable of gloryhoundds. He is however a very capable warrior. If you find him he will tell you his tale over a drink and some food, on you of course. While he'll tell you in the most pompous and self-inflating way possible, you can form a basic picture of what happened when he faced the challenge of the cave. One evening he came across the tunnel entrance and walked in. It was as black as velvet in there for a long time, but the hall seemed completely linear so he walked forward. Eventually he found himself at the entrance of a town. He'll tell you that he just knew that something was off when he came to this point. But almost none of the other tales that people tell of this tunnel fits with this. They say that they became disoriented and fall for this illusion completely, so you can probably chalk that up to Parlin's Narcissism. The rest of the tale he tells at this point is that the towns people were cheering him on and escorting him to a grand feast! Honey Glazed Turkey baked with berries and herbs, Summerfruit cordial, Cheese Bread fire baked with Basil, and other mouth watering temptations. Eventually a women in an absolutely incredible red dress made with the utmost care and craftsmanship came up to him and offered a delicious looking wine. However when he put the cup to his lips, he sniffed something.... strange. His instincts kicked and his training came back to him. He was trained how to pick up poisons by scent and after this he ran out of the hall. When he did so he found himself staring at a door with a barred window springing light into the tunnel. He looked behind him and noticed the long black tunnel behind him. He opened the door and found himself right outside the dungeon.

The other tale is disturbingly straightforward. Piolini the Shadow is a figure of tragedy and sadness. Lost Lovers and Dead Mothers only begin to scratch the surface of this tormented character. However no one seems to know what his whole story is. While some people have gotten a hint Involving a girl named Viola, and other's have gotten a hint of a terrible war he has never told anyone much about himself. He is to be found lurking through the dungeons just passing through, trying to find ways to numb himself. He can often be found in the gluttons room drinking as a result. He doesn't talk often so you'd better catch him at the right time. When you do he'll tell you about the time he encountered the Red Witch. He merely walked down the hall and all of a sudden he was in a green field on a nice day. He walked up to a woman in a majestic red dress sitting at a table drinking wine and eating some tea crackers and sweet berry goat cheese. He merely walked up and took a seat. They chatted for a bit. He had heard about the poisoned wine. He asked her why she wasn't trying to trick him into drinking the poison. She grew cold for a second. Then she grew a devils smile. Then she glowered her eyes and merely said. "I don't have too." And merely pushed the poisoned wine towards him.

When asked whether or not he drank the poison he'll say "I'm here aren't I?"

If he's in the mood he'll tell you that he did come very close to drinking the wine. He'll never tell you why didn't go through with it.
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[Ghostman]

[ooc]
Lately I've been enjoying the awesomeness that is Overlord, so I made these two rooms as a shout-out to Overlord.
[/ooc]

[ic=The Dining Hall with the Combat Maids]

Level: 5

A bizzarre anomaly amidst the grim and gloom of the dungeon, this room is suffused from floor to ceiling in baroque elegance. It is fashioned as a lavish dining hall, with delicately hewn stonework of black-veined marble, walls adorned with tapestries, chiaroscuro oil paintings and scarlet silk curtains, a vaulted ceiling of mosaic floral patterns, dimly lit by soft candle-light shed from ornate candelabras and chandeliers. Oval tables draped with laced covers populate the hall amidst slender pillars, with chairs of finely carved blackwood for seating. A subtle scent of rose permeats the hall.

Visitors are ceremoniously greeted by a septet of elegant serving maids dressed in elaborately frilled french maid outfits. These maids are superficially humanoid, each of them flawlessly beautiful with mannerisms and air both sensuous and gothic. Their delightful exterior conceals a dangerous, hidden nature: in truth they are a squad of deadly combat maids, inhuman amoral monsters equally capable of unspeakable cruelty and prodigious feats of bloodletting as they are of diligent maid service with perfect etiquette. If asked about their purpose, they'll merely state that they are servants of the "supreme being", responsible for maintaining this room and servicing visitors. They speak with impeccable eloquence, asking the characters if they would sit down for a cup of tea.

Sensible characters who behave themselves are shown to a table, treated to high-quality tea served in a delicate porcelain tea set, and politely sent on their way after they've emptied their cups. During their stay, one of the maids will shamelessly flirt with them, without any regard to age, race of gender. She will prominently display her bountiful bosom, lasciviously visible through the liberally wide neckline of her dress. Anyone uncautious enough to grope her finds himself in grave danger: this maid is actually an amorphous slime-creature that delights at devouring unwary mortals. A pervert laying a hand upon her is caught in a nearly irresistible force dragging him within her deceptively gelatinous body, more likely than not ending up sucked into the non-euclidean abyss inside her (large enough to contain hundreds of victims) where he will be slowly digested in an agonizing process lasting several months. Other party members will be safe as long as they continue sipping their tea and pretend that nothing happened.

Boorish fools who make the potentially fatal mistake of behaving rudely, lacking manners, damaging the furniture or threatening the maids will be imperiously scolded by the leader of the squad, a pale ice queen with an acidly refined tongue and without the slightest shred of mercy. Human characters will suffer the brunt of her consummately articulate verbal assaults -- she regards the human race as a particularly lowly breed of vermin, just beneath tapeworms and dung beetles in the hierarchy of living things. At that point the characters' only hope of avoiding a violent assault upon themselves is to apologise profusely while hastily backing away and out of the hall.

In case things escalate to violence, the characters are likely to be overwhelmed by the hideously powerful combat maids, unless they manage to make an organized fighting retreat out of the room. The maids are a collection of melee and ranged combatants, magic users, shapeshifters and assassins, and they ruthlessly exploit their numerous abilities to the maximal effect. They will not pursue retreating enemies beyond the hall's exits. Any characters unfortunate enough to be captured alive will be dragged into a concealed side-room where they will be subjected to viciously inventive tortures before being given to the amorphous maid.
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[ic=The Vampire Loli Room]

Level: 7

This room has been sealed by walling all the entrances with conjured bricks, and magical wards have been erected to further guard against entry. Graffiti exclaiming "DANGER - KEEP OUT" in multiple languages is imprinted on the barricades. Exploring the space within requires breaking both the physical and the magical barriers. Air within the dark, single-room space is dusty, stale and reeks of the grave. The interior is a ruinous mess, littered with debris, cobwebs and a thick layer of dust -- it is obvious that the place has been undisturbed for a very long time. Desiccated remains of partially complete corpses and assorted body parts are strewn about the floor, all in very advanced states of decomposition. Their rotted and rusted outfits betray the fact that these people were some kind of adventuring party, and rather well equipped at that. The floor is smeared black from blood spilled long ago. What dominates one's attention here, though, is the lone figure standing still in the center of the room.

She appears to be a girl or a young woman, perhaps 13 years of age. Her complexion is pale, her frame lithe and short of stature, clad in a tidy black dress in gothic lolita style. Her crimson-red eyes stare blankly ahead and she appears to be frozen stiff like a statue. Rather disturbingly, her body and attire are in pristine condition, showing not the slightest hint of either the passing of time or dirtyness. Even the specles of dust kicked up by the exploring characters seem to be deterred from her, daring to fall no closer than a couple paces from where she stands. The floor beneath her feet appears to bear a triangular geometric pattern of scorch-like marks that surrounds her.

The girl of course is not a human; she is a centuries old vampiric monster. She has been held in stasis in this room ever since the time she battled the fallen adventurers here. They had cornered her in this chamber and employed an artifact of immense power in an attempt to place her under their control. Despite the power of the item, the monster proved too formidable to be successfully dominated. The result of the disastrous battle was that the artifact shattered, most of the adventurers were brutally killed, and the vampire was locked into a catatonic state. The survivors of the incident determined that they couln't risk entering the room again for fear of stirring the monster from her stupor, so they used what sorcery they had left to seal her therein. Unfortunately, none of them made it alive out of the dungeon, so news of the incident were never brought to the surface. Characters may be able to learn this story if they have means of speaking with the dead and use it on any of the corpses in the room.

Disturbing the supernatural stasis of the vampiric girl-thing would be extremely unwise. Merely entering the room does not risk awakening her, as long as the intruders do not venture much beyond the entrance. The dark symbols on the floor begin to dissipate one at a time when characters draw nearer to the paralysed girl; if they get too close the triangular pattern will disappear entirely, freeing her from the spell that holds her still.

The fallen adventurers were possessed of many legendary artifacts from a bygone age, and these enchanted items are still intact and functional, buried under dust and grime among the rusted pieces of their mundane gear. Carefully looting the most accessible cadavers triggers a 10% chance of accidentally freeing the monster, while attempting to search all the bodies raises the risk up to 40%. It is impossible to safely approach the girl-thing; either physical or magical intrusion within four paces of her snaps her to consciousness. Typical undead-countering spells such as concealing one's life force are ineffectual against a monster of this caliber.

The creature has lost all her memories preceding the incident but retains her abberrant personality and appetite, as well as all of her combat skills and supernatural powers. If awoken she smiles sadistically, curtseys innocently, and offers polite thanks for her "saviours" for sparing her from the mild inconvenience of spending another couple of centuries locked in a still posture. Then she immediately proceeds to casually murder them and feast on their blood.

Her close combat abilities are extremely overpowering -- to the point that she could slay fully grown dragons with ease. Unarmed, she uses her razor-sharp pinky fingernail to parry swords and other weapons with effortless ease and to decapitate her enemies. All the blood spilled near her is drawn into a magical floating glob of blood that orbits around her, gradually filling it. Dying characters are instantly drained dry, filling up the orb quickly. She can use this collected blood to fuel her magical powers and to regenerate any damage she might suffer. She is also capable of summoning a pack of shadowy dog-like monsters, which she might unleash after fleeing characters or slay them herself to restore her health. After a couple of rounds of combat she transforms into her true form: a grotesquely warped terror of a beast with huge slavering jaws, awful rending claws and gleaming eyes. While in this form she becomes consumed by uncontrollable bloodlust, ravenously devouring everyone that stands in her way.

The best chance for characters to survive this room is to avoid freeing the monster. If they fail to do so, their best option is likely to flee into different directions -- that way only one of they might be run down and horrifically killed, while the others may be able to escape with their lives.

[spoiler] [/spoiler]
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[Llum]

[ic=The Dragons Gullet]

Level: 5

A large stone chamber, hexagon in shape, that lies at the intersection of five corridors. The sixth wall has an enormous larger than life carving of a dragons head, every scale carved in the finest detail. Two enormous rubies are set in its eyes. In front of the statue is a small granite basin, etched with draconic runes. If a dragons egg is placed in the basin, or if the statue is blasted with dragons fire (which is much hotter than regular or magical fire), the carved dragons maw will open. Large enough to easily pass a horse through, the maw leads back, the ground slowly sloping downwards until becomes too steep to walk on. Anyone who slides down the Dragon's Gullet will arrive into an abandoned Dragonkin Nursery on Level 15. [/ic]