The Depths of Lethria: First Level

I've decided to use AD&D DMG Appendix A to generate the dungeons beneath the shrine. I did the first level by the book and it unsurprisingly sprawled into a slightly chaotic mess. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but gaming time is at a premium for me, so I'll tweak the process slightly for subsequent levels. I cleaned up my graph paper version and sketched it up quickly in Dungeon Scrawl. Here's level 1 in all its glory:

Note that I randomly rolled starting area 5 (pg 169), but getting the triangular area to match within the Dungeon Scrawl app was too much of a PITA for me, so I turned it into a rectangle ("discretion must prevail", after all). When I finished the random generation, I thought about the layout for a little while and decided to replace some hallway openings and regular doors with secret doors to segment the areas and generate a backstory for the place. I also added some secret doors in the ceiling to throw a twist into it and add some 3D vertical motion. My plan is to run our previously generated PC group through the dungeon as a solo play exercise. Let's see if the fickle Dice Gods decide to reward or punish our feisty murder hobos.

The History of the Shrine of Lethria

The Shrine of Lethria has existed as long as Men have walked the Cold Wastes around the city of Valthrun. Some say the shrine was built at the same time as the city, others that it existed prior to the city's founding, but the truth is that its origins are lost to the mists of time. Even the name is in dispute. The most widely held belief is that Lethria was the name of the god of Law to whom the shrine is allegedly dedicated, others say it was the name of a former high priestess who grew the shrine to prominence countless centuries ago. Whatever its origins, the site of the shrine is dominated by the crumbling ruins that sit above at least one underground level. It is pure conjecture as to why the upper levels were allowed to fall into ruin but the lower levels remained intact and largely undisturbed for so long.

Over the decades, many intrepid souls have ventured to the shrine and explored its treacherous depths. Most disappeared without a trace but a very, very few returned with great wealth in the form of oddly proportioned baroque jewelry, hoards of strangely minted ancient gold coins from unknown and forgotten kingdoms. Most intriguingly, several bizarre esoteric magical devices were unearthed and very quickly bought by wealthy patrons for staggering sums of coin.

No maps of the shrine have ever surfaced (if they even exist), so nobody knows with any certainty what the interior of the shrine looks like nor how far beneath the surface it may stretch. The shrine stands on a wind blasted hill some mile or so outside of Valthrun, its obsidian ruins a perpetual beacon in the fevered dreams of the curious, greedy, or insane adventurers that seek to plunder its long-hidden ancient riches.

The Secret History

The shrine sits at a particularly potent intersection of magical, planar and temporal forces. It was discovered eons ago by the insane priestess Lethria, servant of the Outer Gods. Recognizing how powerful this nexus of energies truly was, Lethria built the shrine on the hill with the efforts of her slaves and disguised it as a sacred temple dedicated to the gods of Law. As she gradually attracted followers to her false faith, she slowly corrupted them and turned them to the path of the alien Outer Gods beyond space and time. Using her slaves and fanatical worshippers, she quietly expanded the shrine deep below the Cold Wastes and built warped structures beneath the tundra to further channel and amplify the eldritch energies that flow through the land.

As is the case with all insane cultists, her ultimate goal was, of course, to loose some nameless horror from the Outer Dark and bargain with it for power and control "when the stars were right". Her efforts failed and she is now damned to wander the twisted halls of the complex as an insane undead horror. Her power is still formidable and her damned soul acts as a magnet for all evil creatures who instinctively make their way to the subterranean terrors of the shrine's depths to seek her out.

Lethria is uniquely cursed by the Outer Gods with a hideous form of undeath. When first encountered on level 1, she will be a mindless zombie. If slain, she will reform on level 2 as an insane starving ghoul. If her ghoul form is slain, she will manifest on level 3 as a wight. If her wight form is slain, she will achieve apotheosis as a vampire on level 4.

Level 1 Encounter Key

If the party investigates the above ground ruins of the shrine, they will see that the remnants of the building are made of the same deep obsidian-like stone that is used in the city of Valthrun. Some great cataclysm or war has destroyed the upper buildings, but it is possible to pick through the rubble and find a 20ft wide set of broken stairs that lead down to level 1 of the dungeon. There are likely other entrances and egresses, but they are doubtlessly hidden elsewhere in these crumbling ruins.

The first dungeon level is segregated by secret doors into roughly four sections:

Rooms 1-7: public face of shrine and fake Temple of Law

Rooms 8-14: worship areas for the acolytes of the Outer Gods

Rooms 15-18: acolyte ritual chambers, guardrooms and pens for the sacrifices to the horrors beyond time 

Rooms 19-20: preparatory ritual chambers for those moving to the deeper mysteries

Room 1: False Temple of Law

This room is dominated by an altar to the Gods of Law (as can be surmised by the familiar representations carved into it), but everything else of interest was plundered long ago. This room (along with areas 5 and 6) were the only areas shown to the uninitiated public. All other areas are secured by secret doors, originally only known to those acolytes who were sufficiently devoted to their pursuit of the Great Old Ones (i.e. insane cultists).

Room 2: Hall of the Acolytes

Statues representing the less loathsome aspects of the Great Old Ones as well as some of their greatest champions line the walls of this chamber. The indoctrination and further degeneration of the acolytes occurred here at the hands of Lethria (her statue is the most prominent one and is located in the center of the eastern wall). All other statues seem "off", with minute unsettling runes covering every inch of their bodies, misproportioned body parts, poses that shouldn't be possible for humans with the standard number of joints and so in. The evil radiations of the shrine have attracted 18 kobolds who have some here to worship the idol of one of their new gods (a Great Old One that resembles a leprous toad with six horns and all-too-human delicate feminine hands). The statue in the southeast corner covers a trap door that opens onto a spiral stairway leading to Level 4. The kobolds know about the stairs (and were, in fact, about to descend before the PCs arrived). If any kobold can be interrogated, it will gladly reveal the info in exchange for its life (and freedom).

18 kobolds: AC: 7; 1/2 HD; HP: 1,3,3,4,4,2,1,4,1,2,1,3,3,4,4,1,4,4; #AT: 1 short sword (1-6dmg). The kobolds have a total of 238cp between them.

Room 3: Plundered Treasury

Thick, solid shelves made of carved stone are expertly cantilevered into the walls of this room. It was originally the treasury for the shrine and is only accessible via the secret tunnel from the EHP's suite. Lethria would also use the secret ceiling door in the southern tunnel as well to enter and leave the complex unseen by her lowly followers. Through sheer dumb luck, a group of orcs discovered the secret trap door and the subsequent secret door on the south wall that led into this room. Orcs being orcs, they're too dumb to find the hidden trap door in the floor. They don't know anything else about the complex.

11 orcs: AC:6; 1 HD; HP: 4,3,1,7,7,8,5,6,2,3,1; #AT: 1 Battle Axe (1-8) or Shortbow (1-6) There is a total of 92ep sitting in an old sack on one of the shelves. The orcs have no treasure themselves.

Room 4: EHP Private Chambers

The once lush trappings of this room were plundered long ago. The only indication of the function of this once grand room are some scraps of faded fabric and broken remnants of furniture. The room is otherwise empty.

Room 5: Visitor Reception Area

The remaining furniture in this room (rotten tables and benches) indicate that this is a reception area. Lurking in the detritus are two very hungry fire beetles.

2 fire beetles: AC: 4; 1+2 HD; 10hp, 7hp; #AT: 1 (2-8dmg); red glow from glands light 10ft radius; lasts for 1-6 days

Room 6: Guard Room

This was the barracks of the personal bodyguard of the EHP Lethria. Some bits of broken weapons and other unidentifiable junk is the only indication of the rooms former purpose.

Room 7: Acolyte Dormitory

The acolytes of the unholy shrine made their home here. This is where the PCs will first encounter Lethria where she will appear as a zombie clad in fraying and decayed finery, accompanied by her most devoted acolytes. The zombies cannot be turned due to the curse of the shrine and will fight until destroyed. This is, of course, what Lethria wants so that she may begin her path to apotheosis.

3 zombies: AC: 8; 2 HD; 3hp, 7hp, 8hp; #AT: 1 (1-8dmg)

Rooms 8 through 12: Ritual Chambers

These rooms were a series of ritual chambers that the cultists would pass through as they entered increased states of insanity before ultimately attempting communion with the Great Old Ones in the Forbidden Temple of the Acolytes (room 14). A group of giant rats have found their way into the shrine via the chimney in the far north of the complex. They're hungry...

9 giant rats:  AC: 7; 1/2 HD; HP: 3,3,3,1,4,1,4,1,2; #AT: 1 (1-3dmg); 5% chance of disease per wound; save vs poison

Room 13: EHP Throneroom

At the peak of her power, Lethria would receive delegate, supplicants and would-be allies here, as she was seated on the great stone throne that dominates the northern wall. The pillars and the walls are completely covered with disturbing carvings and obscene runes that hurt the eyes of any examiner. The very room radiates a deep set "wrongness" that will make normal people nauseous and anxious while within. Should any fool spend more than 30 minutes (3 turns) trying to decipher the abominable writings, they must make a save vs. death magic or suffer the effects of a random insanity for 1d8 hours. 

Room 14: The Forbidden Temple of the Acolytes

Lethria would lead the acolytes of her cult in dark services to the insane Great Old Ones in this terrible place. Much like the throneroom (room 13), the walls, altar and columns are covered with the same type of unholy runes, frescoes and bas-relief carvings. The effects in this room are the same as above.

Room 15: Guard Room

This was the guard room for the sacrificial victims that were kept in the pens (room 16). It is currently occupied by a rival party of adventurers looking to make their fortunes (and angry over the fact that they've found nothing). If conversations don't go to their liking, they will take out their frustrations on the party.

NPC Party:

• L1 (N) druid; 6hp; leather armor, wooden shield, spear; L1: Detect Snares And Pits; backpack, iron rations, 5 torches, water skin, large sack
• L1 (NE) fighter; 9hp; scale mail, shield, broadsword; backpack, iron rations, 5 torches, water skin, large sack
• L1 (NE) fighter; [S:18/82 +2/+4]; 2hp; chain mail, shield, battle axe; backpack, iron rations, 5 torches, water skin, large sack
• 6 men-at-arms: 3hp (x4), 4hp, 5hp; scale mail, morning star, light crossbow; backpack, iron rations, 5 torches, water skin, large sack

Room 16: Sacrificial Victim Pens

This was where the sacrificial victims lived out their final moments before being dragged to the altar in the Temple of the Acolytes. Though abandoned for centuries, the place still reeks of blood and filth with an oppressive air of hopelessness leaving little doubt as to the purpose of the place. The cages of the victims are set below the floor level of the center part of the room so the guards could easily keep watch on the damned souls below.

Room 17: Empty Room

Its purpose is lost to the ages.

Room 18: Adept Ritual Preparation Room

This northern wall of this chamber is open to room 16 and allows the occupants to stare down upon the wretches that ended their lives in the Temple of the Acolytes. This was an unsubtle reminder of the fate that awaits the unworthy servants of the Great Old Ones. The walls are covered with the same obscenities as the Temple of the Acolytes and instill the same effects upon the overtly curious.

Room 19: Sentinels of the Adepts

Guards in this place once kept watch on the corridor to the north to ensure that only the adepts descended to the lower levels. The punishment for all others was, of course, death on the altar of the acolytes.

Room 20: Adept Ritual Room

Adepts would ritually purify themselves here before descending to the lower levels. Its walls are covered by the now familiar eldritch horrors and will affect the party as described previously. There is a spear trap in the corridor leading to the stairs (1-3 spears for 1d6 damage; 1 in 20 chance of poison). I mean, you are checking for traps with a 10ft pole...right??

The Shrine of Lethria

We've got our starting city, our band of degenerate murder hobos and a nearby temple. Let's say the temple is in the next hex over, so let's see what the environs look like, per AD&D DMG Appendix B.

I roll a d6 and get a 3 which means we're starting in the southeast (FYI - I decide 1 is north and continue clockwise since we don't really care in which direction the shrine lies). We roll on the wilderness table (pg 173) and get an 18 which means our lost shrine is in the swamp. Let's see if there's anything interesting in the hex. We roll a d100 get a 61 which means there's a shrine in this hex (how cool is that!? The dice gods know what they're doing!). Let's see if we've got any monsters lurking around the outside of the shrine.

Turning to AD&D DMG pg 47, we see that there's a 1 in 20 chance for an encounter in a relatively dense area (remembering that Valthrun is a city of 40,000 a mere mile away). We get a 12 so there are no further monsters encountered, beyond whatever we might find in the forbidden shrine.

I'm planning on using Appendix A to generate the dungeon beneath the shrine, so let's put some limit around the size. I roll a d4 for the number of levels and get a 4 so that's how deep it will go. I'm going to limit each level to a max of 20 rooms because I don't want to turn this into a megadungeon, mainly due to time constraints on my part.

Since we've described the beginning environment of our campaign, it's worth starting to flesh out our world map. Let's start with 1 hex = 1 mile and we can expand later if needed:

Hex 100,100 is our starting area that we rolled up previously and I've added icons for the city and the monsters living in the hex. The shrine is is in hex 101,101 and we've changes the terrain to a marsh. 

As described in the last post, I've decided Valthrun lies at a crossroads and is a trading hub since that's a reasonable explanation for the population of 40,000 humans that live here. What's in the remaining gray hexes? Who knows??? We haven't explored them yet and will populate them as the campaign progresses.

Next up: we generate dungeon level 1 and see if the murder hobos can survive to tell us more...

Eternal Valthrun, the Obsidian Citadel of the Cold Wastes

Based on the rolls we used to define our starting hex, I've fleshed out the background of our starting environment. Notice that this is pretty much straight out of the rolls with minimal editing to flesh this out and make it a (hopefully) enjoyable read. Seriously, AD&D DMG Appendices are content creation machines! Enjoy...

Eternal Valthrun, the Obsidian Citadel of the Cold Wastes, World's End, the Portal to the Dark - The City has many names and countless stories told about it for as long as men have told tales. Ancient beyond memory, the city has stood in the wind-blasted steppes of the north for countless eons and has served as the hub of communication and trade between the rich demon cursed holds of the Inhumans to the north and the Realms of Man to the south. All manner of goods, both fantastic and mundane, flow in both directions through its cyclopean black walls. Some say the Men that currently are merely the latest upstarts to think they rule its labyrinthine roads and age-darkened halls, others say the Inhumans abandoned it after seizing it from its prehuman creators, but the truth is nobody knows who built the city or when it was founded. Although there are numerous remnants of previous civilization, both familiar and not, surrounding and beneath the steppes around Valthrun, none have yet revealed any cultural, architectural or historical connections to The Obsidian Citadel.

Valthrun is a city of narrow roads, steep windowless buildings, and iron doors protected (some say imprisoned) by 20ft thick black stone walls that rise unbroken to heights of 75 feet and surround the city of 40,000 souls. Its physical properties are a mystery. The stone used in its construction is unlike any that naturally occurs within a thousand miles around The City, and sages have yet to discover its like anywhere in the Known Realms. If the Inhumans know anything of its source or how it was so expertly worked, they do not speak of it to the humans. The avaricious dwarves speak with grudging admiration of the great artifice shown in its construction. The decadent and degenerate elves say nothing of it, too concerned with their relentless pursuit of unfettered hedonism. The insane gnomes, in rare moments of lucidity between their madness-inducing narcotic journeys to the Outer Dark, admire the supreme skill of the creators but quickly degenerate into ravings about the Horrors that were and will be again. The halflings? No sane Man would willingly risk life, limb and soul by deigning to speak with these naked cannibal savages to see if they even possess enough lucidity to converse naturally.

The buildings and their architecture are unique, sharing no commonality of culture or aesthetic with any other civilizations in the Realms of Man. All are made of the same dark stone as the city walls and are protected by 1ft thick wooden doors that never seem to rot, or need repairs. Visitors find the doors to be extremely unsettling - are they meant to keep the threats out or to trap the inhabitants within? There are no windows on the ground floor of any building in The City and are only seen on the upper stories. This, coupled with the narrow winding streets, turns Valthrun into a trackless maze for the numerous visitors, most of whom wisely pay local guides to escort them through The City as they conduct their business.

For it is business that is the lifeblood of the city. The City is the nexus of numerous trade routes among the Known Realms and the ancient cities of the inhuman empires. While various groups may be bitter genocidal enemies outside the black walls of Valthrun, all observe a truce while within its environs and those that do not, quietly disappear leaving behind the bloody rags of their once fine clothes as the only testament to their miserable existence.

Valthrun has a functional government ostensibly headed by Lord Jirex, Guardian of Portal. The real power lies with two radically different patrons: Kirenos, the Master of the Thieves Guild and Bilious Yarena, a Night Hag from the depths of Hades. Jirex, in reality, is largely a figurehead put in place by Kirenos and has no real power beyond the administration of quotidian affairs (such as city patrols, tariffs and the like). Jirex is, of course, well compensated for his role and sees little point in upsetting an eminently agreeable situation.

Little is known of Bilious Yarena since she (it?) takes great pains to ensure no mortal knows of her existence, goals or agents. Based on scattered records recovered from the Cold Wastes and other places, she has been part of the city for at least 1,000 years and quite possibly more. There have only been a few confirmed sightings of the foul hag in this vast period, and she has largely remained invisible, pursuing whatever her goals may be. She always operates through a vast network of operatives, only some of whom know their true employer, and has, so far, never interfered in the mortal affairs of Valthrun (at least far as anyone can determine).

Only slightly more is known about Kirenos, for he too prefers to keep a low profile. Nobody knows for certain his age or appearance, but all are aware that he will do anything to ensure the flow of trade is never disrupted and that every merchant pays their tax to him. If some choice items disappear, well, that's the price of business in The City.

The most famous site of numerous ruins scattered the Cold Wastes surrounding Valthrun is the Shrine of Lethria, some mile or so beyond the walls. Numerous adventurers have journeyed to the Shrine and explored its eerie depths, but very, very few have ever returned. Who can say if these poor souls met their doom in the Shrine's twisted depths or rather fell to the hill giants or leucrotta herds that roam the Wastes? The handful of brazen fools that have survived and returned did so with great wealth and doubtlessly fabricated tales of horrid undead and twisted dimensions that nearly broke their sanity.

I Cast "Summon Murder Hobo"

 While I'm still ruminating on the background of the initial environment we generated, I thought I'd start building out the murder hobo clan that will be the protagonists of our sordid tale. I decided to go with Method I (AD&D DMG pg11) but keep them in order to add some difficulty to my future solo expeditions.

My results:

Ooof...lotta dogs in there, but let's see what we can make of the hand we've been dealt.

The campaign is going to have a lot of dungeon crawling (duh), but there will be a lot of wilderness exploration, so I want a ranger and a thief. I love blasty wizards, and will definitely need one of those, assuming he can live long enough to get some decent firepower.

I threw 5 of the losers back to civilian life and ended up with a party of 5 murder hobos:

Let's roll up hit points, starting funds and kit out these guys for their foray into the forbidden shrine. I also randomly rolled for alignment in order and got the following:

Yeah...Shifty and Blasty better not get delusions of heroism cuz they're pretty frail.  They're also the only evil characters, but since everybody came up on the Neutral axis, I'm going to say they can keep their nasty tendencies contained when the other guys are looking and the NG PCs are looking for the good side of their unfortunate brethren. Clean country living has made the Mighty Redneck into a pretty serious badass so Shifty and Blasty better watch their mouths around him.

The random rolls have already paid off with an interesting dynamic (Note: no bullshit session zero, or 3 page character backstories are needed!). Are Brother Fitzy and Sir Stabbington members of the same esoteric order that have fallen in with the like-minded Mighty Redneck? Are Blasty and Shifty two scumbag siblings that are using the stronger members as cover for their rapacious looting tendencies? Time will tell...

A quick trip to the local outfitters and we end up with:

All are mounted on light horses (with saddle, bit and bridle as well as saddle bags), and have backpacks, 10 torches each, iron rations, 50ft rope and iron spikes). Sir Stabbington has opted for studded leather and put the savings towards hiring 4 light horse mercenaries and equipping them with leather armor, shield and spears to act as additional guards and help haul treasure. I'm going to say they're former brothers-in-arms that are down and their luck and as their former commanding officer, Sir Stabbington is trying to take care of his comrades in their hour of need. Let's see what the first morale check tells us about their feelings towards the old boss...

Next time, we'll flesh out the background of the city and maybe get to the forbidden shrine we rolled up last time.

New Year, New Project!

Happy New Year! 

I've decided to try the #dungeon24 challenge using the hex starter described here. I'm going to aim for weekly updates so let's hope real life doesn't conspire to change that.

If you haven't used the random tables in the One True Ruleset, you really should give them a try to see what the dice will generate. It's surprising how well the results hang together to form an amazingly coherent world (with a little creativity to plaster over any unseemly warts). This has the huge benefit of creating some really fun adventures without supporting the Death Cult and their anti-life agenda. I might extend the rolls to the lesser (though still valid IMO) works of the FF, MM2 and UA (sorry! I still like it in spite of the general disdain) but for now I'm going to stick to the challenge as issued. 

Let's see what we get, following the rules from the link above:

Start with a Single Hex

OK - I'm starting with a single 24 mile hex. Check out the classic article In Praise of the 6 Mile Hex and the also very excellent Getting a Sense for 24-Mile Hexes for some really great info. 

Let's determine the climate (@pearsesd forgot this part in his post - you'll need it for the wilderness encounter tables). Roll a d6 for cold/temperate/tropical. I got a 3 so we're in a temperate climate.

Roll d8 and d20 on Terrain Type Table (d8 selects initial type Headers. D20 on table)

I rolled a 5 (desert) and a 3 (plain). I wanted a little more flavor and looking at the Terrain Guide entry on AD&D DMG pg173, the sub types have some nice flavor so I d4 and d8 combo to get 1 (barrens) and 2 (steppe). Nice - this already starting to look good!

Roll on 1e DMG Appendix B for population (d6+2 on population center table will avoid populations of 80 or under)

I rolled a 6 (city) and considering the listed size is 10,000-60,000 another d6 gets me a population of 40,000. I'm getting heavy Lankhmar vibes now.

Roll on 1e DMG Appendix B for dungeon type (d4 on Ruins table)

I roll a 3 (shrine) so we're already starting to get a sense of atmosphere for the area.

Roll d2 and d4+1 on City/Town Encounters

I roll a 2 (nighttime encounters) and a modified 3 for the number of encounters. Three d100 rolls (62, 87, 99) which means I have a Night Hag, Thief and Wraith. This is awesome! The Night Hag is going to be a hidden hand pursuing a nefarious agenda behind the scenes via a network of catspaws, flunkies, and cultists. The Thief is, of course, the local guildmaster and the Wraith must be linked to the forbidden and desolate shrine of the dark gods near the city.

Roll on Terrain Type Wilderness Encounter d4 times

A d4 roll gives me 4 encounters and 4d100 rolls give me (10, 16, 32, 34) which means I have a flock (?) of griffons flying around, a hill giant tribe (41 on the giant subtable), a group of leucrottas probably being hunted by the pride of lions (or maybe the hill giants). Lotsa potential here...

With 17 rolls we've established a completely workable skeleton of a campaign setting in under 10 minutes. It honestly took more time to write the post that it did to generate the content.

More to come...