A dungeon from my head

It is a happy day. Why? Because today I got my medical results and I don't have brain cancer, tumors, diabetes, or any kind of neural damage! Yay! I've also felt good for the longer part of the week and there is no sign of my problems returning.

So what was it? I dunno. Truth to be told, no one knows. The most probable hypothesis claims that it was an inflammation of the Membranous Labyrinth.

Now go to this link and look at it! Isn't it awesome? We carry a nice dungeon in our heads (actually two of them. dungeons, not heads).

In honor of our labyrinths, here's a little something to celebrate my well being. Enjoy.


Membrious Parasitic Dungeon

This micro dungeon is the home of Membrious the Mad, a magician of old times who seeking solitude and peaceful environment for his mystical inquiries and strange experiments, moved to live in a pocket dimension.

Membrious arranged his artificial plane in a very peculiar manner. He formed it from usual construction materials - stone, metal and wood, but decided to fill a large portion of the dungeon with a live symbiotic organism that would filter the air and water.

Needles to say, as many powerful (and mad) magicians, Membrious was extremely paranoid about his security. That's why he decided not to anchor his solitude to any particular place in the actual world. Instead he created a magical mechanism, which allowed him to randomly connect his dimension to one of the already existing dungeons.

This means, that every time the mechanism was activated, it "moved" the dungeon entrance (which looks like a normal, iron reinforced, wooden door) into another dungeon from the list of dungeons known to Membrious at the time of creating this apparatus. Unluckily, the mechanism is now malfunctioning and changes the placement of the entrance at random.

The map and descriptions:

1. This is the entrance. After stepping in, the visitors will enter a long spiral corridor. The walls are made of old, copper colored metal, kind of like a big metal tube. The strange thing about it is that no matter which side the players move - in or out, the corridor will always seem to lead down. The DM should place some kind of a pit trap near the entrance.

At the end of the corridor, just before the door, the PC's will encounter a camp of hobgoblins... They are discussing their plans and if the players won't kill them at first sight, they will explain that they entered the unknown door from their dungeon, but now the exit leads to a different place. Moreover, their leader took 3 of their companions and went to investigate the strange place. They are confused and presume he is dead, if the players show some initiative, the hobgoblins will be willing to join forces.

2. The main door. They are made of coppery metal and have a gargoyle face on the surface. They aren't locked.

3. The mechanism. The walls of this whole room are filled with strange instruments and containers. Looks kind of like this. It is also the home of Membrious' clockwork golem.

He was created to keep maintenance of the mechanism, but now the lifeless body of armor lies on the floor covered with some king of plant growth. If the players remove the growth and menage to heat up his body, or put a electrical discharge to it, the golem will awake and demand explanations. He's perception is quite limited and so is his intellect. The players might gain his assistance at restoring the mechanism to its proper state, by (for example) claiming that one of them is Master Membrious, or came to see him. On the other hand if the players bring him back to life and don't come up with something creative, the golem will attack should they try to descend further into the complex.

4. A small corridor leads past a small bathroom and into the hall. The toilet sink restores 1d4 hp after washing hands. On the other hand, the toilet might scare the players by demand "feeding" in the hoarse whisper of an old woman.

5. This is the main hall. All the wall surface of this tall room is filled with book shelves and cupboards containing strange and bizarre objects. The only exception is east wall in the passage to area 7, where a large painting, similar to this one hangs. Some of the PC's may feel like they caught a glimpse of movement within the painting. Perhaps the girl smiled as they were passing by, or winked when one of them was turning his head away? The room is lit by an elaborate organic structure hanging from the celling, supporting several glowing globes. If the players manage to obscure the light, or turn it down in any manner, they will be able to see the true image of the girl in the picture. Should the room be completely dark, she will leave the canvas.

6. Kitchen and dinning room. The players might easily mistake it for an alchemists lab. Cooking utensils, skinning devices, strange glass containers and so on are scattered all over the place. There is a high chance, that any food the players find is poisoned or has hallucinogenic effects. Similarly, any containers with liquids have equal chances of being either heeling/boosting or narcotics/poison. There is a large hole (crawl space sized in the wall) with an acidic substance constantly flowing out and into an elaborate basin.

7. Those are the workroom (on the right) and the bedroom (left) of Membroius. They are mostly filled by many strange memorabilia, some examples:

• a vampire's coffin
• a jar with mind flayer's head that will try to communicate telepathically with the players
• an enchanted lute with a spirit of a bard trapped inside - he will speak only after a skilled musician plays the instrument

In the bedroom lies a concealed entrance to a secret escape tunnel (8) which leads to the main hall (the exit is hidden behind a book shelf).

The workroom, apart from a huge desk with many secrets compartments, contains a weird chair that looks something like this. It's the place from which the mechanism is operated. To change the "location" of the dungeon, one has to place a copper pin ended with a HUGE ruby in one of the holes in the copper tablet map, that is fixed to the wall over the desk. At the moment of entering the dungeon the pin is inserted in one of those places, however until the mechanism is repaired it won't work.

The chair is occupied by the body of Membroius. The remains of the once famous mage look as if something sucked all the water out of his body... The players might notice a thin cable-like thing lying on the floor, connecting the body with a hole in the nearby wall. If they fail their spot checks, the mages carcass will attack them when they are near (for example, when they are searching the desk). He is now controlled by the symbiotic organism, that provides air, energy and water to the dungeon. This organism mutated for unknown reasons and became hostile. Treat him like a powerful construct, that has some of the abilities of the mage he used to be.

9. and 10. those are two "pipes" big enough to crawl in. Pipe number 9 looks like a polished copper pipe with constant flow of an acidic liquid. Pipe number 10 is made of stone and is covered with polyp like tissue, that moves and gives a small breeze. Both lead into space 11.

11. This is the chamber in which the dungeon's "parasite" dwells. The floor is covered with an organic tissue which serves as the organism's digestive surface. It is covered with acidic mucus that is meant to melt any organic mater before it is fully ingested. The half melted remains of the hobgoblin leader and his companions can be found on the floor (perhaps he had a fine magical axe, that is now lying in the acidic fluid). Needles to say, the players standing in the substance will suffer damage to their gear and eventually to themselves. Any contact with naked flesh will cause serious burns.

The parasite itself is somewhat similar to a roper or anything else that is tentacly and scary. I leave the details to any DM. One thing is sure, it is vulnerable to fire. Perhaps he is resistant to non magical weapons? Or maybe he is fully resistant to magic and that is why Membrious got killed? WHat will happen when the organism is dead? Will the lights go out and the vampire/monster/girl from the painting wreck havoc?

I leave this and many other matters (like treasure, stats and touch-ups) to the rest of you.

Behold The Obelisk pt.3

First, two important things happened while I wasn't writing:

1. I finished my semester tests, so hopefully, there will be more time to write,

however...

2. It seems like I'm finally gonna roll some dice THIS WEEKEND!!!

and that means there are some important preparations to be made!


Ok... But this post was actually planned to be about something else, so let's get to the point.

As you might have gathered from my previous post the City of Obelisk is influenced, more or less directly, by some classical pulp and D&D locations, that I intended to mash into one, that will prove useful to me..

Here are my three (quite obvious) inspirations:

1. City-state of The Invincible Overlord

I learned about Wilderlands from OSR blogs. I think I have read a review of the d20 version of the setting once, but otherwise I was completely ignorant. Until a few months ago. All the gripping tales of that supplement made me want to find it and submerge in the old-school vibe of the whole thing.

Finally, after some struggle, I obtained the City - state book. As much as I like it, I instantly felt, that it won't exactly fit into my setting and thus decided to modify some tables.

But why just mod the tables, when I can actually loot the City-state for ideas and make it my own?




2. City of Thieves

I feel that the Howardian "unnamed city" was the main influence behind the City-state. I love the roguish and adventure friendly character of this location, but who doesn't?!

When I look back at the history of my gaming, I can clearly see that all cities I've ever depicted in my games, were in some way reminiscent of this one.

3. Waterdeep/Undermountain/Skullport

Even though I really dislike Forgotten Realms, I must admit - I do like the concept behind this gaming region.

When I first thought of turning the Palace of Culture into a game location, it was quickly followed by the idea of adopting it's infamous tunnels into a Undermountain like location.

This opens a lot of possibilities for adventuring, as well as a reason for random monster appearances in the city. You get the idea.



Ok. So this is it. I just felt that this post is a necessary addition to my Obelisk general overview.

If you have some city location ideas that could compliment my vision, you can drop them in the comments. All will be appreciated!

Behold The Obelisk pt.2

The Free City of Obelisk is a very peculiar place. It's one of the few cities in the world, that was built on the ruins of an Elder settlement. Until this day it remains unknown whether the site used to be a city or a temple complex of which the famous Obelisk was part.

The beginnings of the City's history are somewhat hazy. Because of the fear of the Obelisk, the fertile land lying in it's shadow remained unclaimed for a long time after the Fall. None of the surrounding kingdoms wanted to take it, as it was said to be cursed.

However, as the trade between the new kingdoms intensified, it became clear that the old Elder roads could handle more traffic and are faster than the new paths. Soon a small group of traders decided to take the risk and lead their caravan near the Obelisk. This granted them an advantage over other traders, however their joy didn't las long.

After few trips near the Obelisk, their secret was spilt by some drunk caravan guards. Others started thinking of taking their rout, however most of them lost their enthusiasm when only one person returned from the original caravans next voyage. This nameless man claimed that the traders felt over confident with their success and decided to break their rule of not spending the night in the shadow of the Obelisk. The man who lived to tell the story died soon afterward.

Some years later, emerged a man with a plan. He wanted to be wealthy and powerful and he knew how to do it. He sold all his possessions to buy equipment and hire people for his journey. The aim was to build a settlement near the Obelisk, where the caravans could safely spend the night. He knew the venture was risky, but succeeding would mean securing a profitable monopoly. And since his wife and children had passed away, he had nothing to loose.

He succeeded in establishing a small stronghold. At first it was just a palisade with a bunch of tents inside. But with time, the settlement grew. First a watchtower was built, than a wooden house for the leader. When the leader was dying, the outpost was already more than a hundred people strong. However, since he died childless, a problem arose, who should be the next leader...

By the decision of all the dwellers, the 9 remaining members of the original, founding expedition would choose the next head of the village. This is how the tradition, that the council of the 9 oldest trader families chooses the next head of the city, came into being.

This is the legend of how the Free City of Obelisk was founded.



Today the City is ruled by the 33rd of the elected leaders, one who took the title of the Magistrate. The agglomeration is one of the larger human settlements and perhaps the most famous place throughout the know lands.

It attracts all kinds of adventurers, traders artist and anyone who dreams of fame and fortune. It is said that the Obelisk Market is the largest trading place in the world and offers any item known to man, be it silks of the far east, frost steel from the far north, or illegal spells and powders from the south.

The Free State is also infamous for it's organized crime, drug trafficking, slavery, but most of all - religious cults and Elder past. The Obelisk attracts all kinds of zealots, flagellants and future sect leaders. Many new comers, who became charmed by one of the new orders, ended their lives sold to slavers.

The fact that the City is built on the old Elder ruins is also not easily forgotten. Although during the day, the traffic on the streets creates the illusion that the city is twice as populated, few are bold enough to roam the streets by night for in the Obelisk City a lone traveler can easily disappear, suffering a fate far worse than life in chains...

Behold The Obelisk pt.1

Few days ago I was rushing to the University, when I looked behind me at the mighty stature of Warsaw's most recognizable landmark - The Palace of Culture.

It was half submerged in the mist, looking like some ancient construction, a tower perhaps, from atop of which the undying gods rule their city and amuse themselves, toying with our everyday lives.

You get the picture.

This is how it looks from a pigeon's point of view:



I won't go into much detail, since crucial info can be obtained here.

However, what's most important for this post is not covered by the wiki article. You see, almost everyone here has an extremely strong opinion about the building. Some hate it and postulate it being demolished as it's "the everlasting mark of the dark times of communism and Russian supremacy", others praise it's original architecture (if I'm correct only Kiev and Moscow have similar buildings) and try to promote it as Warsaw's logo.

Over the years the Palace of Culture has accumulated a number of myths and urban legends. For example, it is officially known that underneath the building and it's adjacent neighborhood lies a whole system of cellars and underground passages. However, officially no plans exist, nor are civilian tours admitted. This has led to many speculations what the "dungeons" were originally designed for and weather they really are as defunct as it is officially stated.

Anyway, here it is...


THE OBELISK





The Obelisk is a gargantuan construction standing in the middle of the Free City of Obelisk.
It is built out of black stone and has no windows, doors or visible entry ways. Most of it's surface is covered with sophisticated spiral symbols and runes. It's undoubtedly the largest architectural landmark in the known lands.

No one knows what the Obelisk is, what it has been constructed for, or even why it's called that way (since it's clearly not shaped like an obelisk). It is still widely disputed wether it's a temple form the time of the Old Empire, or a much older construction. Some claim it has been built in time before time, others say it was the palace of the Elder Emperor. There are also those who claim that it's a prison, protecting the world from unspeakable horrors locked within.

One thing remains a fact, no one has ever managed to get inside and return.

Whatever is the origin of the Obelisk, the dwellers of the Free City got used to it and treat it just as a famous landmark. The big stone square that surounds it has been turned into a lively market that attracts traders and religious zealots from all around the world. It is said that on the Obelisk Market religion is just a good for sale.

Though the city's population got used to the sight of the black tower, newcomers are always thirsty for new stories about the Obelisk. More than one bartender is ready to spin a tale of how he lost a limb descending into the legendary tunnels that run underneath the city, presumably connecting it with the alien structure.