Tefplanz Expanded

Tefplanz:This fertile floodplain is the exclusive domain of Innergild. Canals and dikes crisscross the landscape, controlling flooding and turning the marshy land into arable fields. The border between the Tefplanz and the Middurplanz is heavily fortified and humanoid threats are rare, but ankheg attacks are increasing.

Law and order in the Tefplanz is ostensibly under the control of the Council of Innergild, but in truth the council has ceded control to the local rulers of each settlement, with no central oversight.  The Doredain heritage of the natives make them basically law-abiding and peaceful (if somewhat xenophobic), but there are many opportunities for graft and low-level corruption.  The Tefplanzers consider themselves bound by a common culture and against a common foe (everything east and north of the Middurplanz), but each town and village manages its own affairs.  The Rytteren patrol the roads under the badge of Innergild, but their mercenary status and foreign origins have prevent them from establishing effective relations with local authorities.

Sign of the Three Pigs: This massive, sprawling hostel lies on the Cilnoc-Narnigar road a short distance from the Middurplanz border, and is well known as a place of rest, refuge, and information. The owner, Odlef der Groot, brews his own ale, and has won numerous brewing competitions.

Unbeknownst to anyone in the Tefplanz, Odlef had a relatively successful (he didn't die) first career as a sellsword, looting and pillaging his way across foreign lands for coin before opting for anonymity and the quiet life back in his homeland.  One result of this earlier profession, however, were several half-orc children.  Their mother, also a mercenary, died several years ago, but the children have grown up big, strong, brutal, and nasty.  At least two of them can pass for human, and they have located Odlef and hatched a plan to blackmail him at best, or rob and kill him at worse.  Odlef's new (human) family will die in either case.  The half-orcs don't really have deep personal grudges against Odlef, but they feel like they should make the motions of avenging their mother ( they're not sure for what exactly, but it sounds good and humanish); they have enough evidence to make things hard for Odlef; and it seems like a easy way to make some coin.

The Spectre of Ylg Bridge: The road from the Tefplanz to Narnigar is one of the most heavily traveled routes in the Near North, and the bridge here undergoes regular repairs to the damage from winter ice and spring floods.  A death or two is not unknown during these repairs (victims lost to the river are referred to as Ylg's Toll), and this last year was no exception.  Two laborers were dragged into the river and lost when a load of stone came loose.  Rites were said, and work continued as usual and without disturbance.

Oda Floriswif was widow of one of the workers.  A naturally spiteful and angry woman, she grew bitter, vile, and vengeful after the death of her husband, and followed him into death only a few months later.  The cause of her passing is likely natural (she was well into middle age), but those who knew her attribute it to a personality overflowing with bile and venom.  Ironically, her husband, whose corpse is entombed in mud at the bottom of the Ylg,  beneath the stone block that swept him off the bridge to his death, rests peacefully.  Oda, laid with full rites in sanctified ground, has just returned as a spectre.

Oda's haunting ground extends slightly beyond the bridge on either side.  She killed both of the bridge keepers on the first night of her return, and several more since then. The bridge has become slippery and treacherous even during daylight hours, and animals refuse to cross it.  Traffic has shriveled as a result, and tolls have declined.  The only way to appease Oda is to exhume Floris's corpse from the river and inter it beside her, along with a payment of at least several hundred gold pieces (Oda thinks the weregild she received after Floris's death was woefully, insultingly insufficient, and her opinion of what is "rightfully hers" has only risen over time.) The money must be publicly acknowledged as hers, and laid in her grave, in common coinage (no jewels, fancy figurines, or other object d'art; Oda was a simple, albeit greedy, woman, and retains that simplicity in undeath).  The public acknowledgement is as important to Oda as the payment itself.

Several factors make the matter even more complicated:
- The ferrymen who operate near the bridge are not exactly upset about the dramatic increase in their business.  They won't openly admit to supporting the spectre, but they're not above a little sabotage to keep the bridge closed, and adventurers venturing underwater are obvious targets.
- Scrags, nixies, and a number of other aquatic monsters frequently travel along the Ylg.
- Oda's gravebound weregild will be a rich and easy target for thieves.  Oda, in her typically perverse and misanthropic manner, will announce the loss of her weregild by haunting and killing on the bridge, leaving the thief to make his escape.
- And finally, there might be some real truth to the mention of Ylg's Toll.  It's considered nothing more than an idle saying, and no one gives it much thought, but the consequences of taking Floris's body back from the river could be far worse than a single spectre, and far broader in scope.

Notable Spellcasters

Alnin Stoneshield
A member of House Aeliden, Alnin Stoneshield was a powerful ha’ilven spellsword, with compelling good looks and a easygoing manner. He researched many battle-magics, both offensive and protective (most notably stoneshield), and died well into old age, battling a great linnorm in the Kameurhorns.

Azequor
Today a name of terror and fright-tales, Azekor was a ha’ilven wizard in the last years of Sieriven. A pupil of the wizard/priest Beirhn Rosemantle, Azequor rejected her gentle teachings later in his life, striving to accumulate power in a mad drive that culminated in his transformation to lichdom. His skeletal form dwells somewhere in the fastness of the High Hills, using his minions and servants to continue gathering magical items and spells.

Erabor the Caller
Architect of the Endless Dungeon, Erabor the Caller is a whimsical archmage. Perpetually young in appearance, though of uncommonly tall height, he studied attractive magic (drawing monsters and adventurers both to his home) and planar effects. Erabor disappeared nearly a century ago, and is thought to have settled in a demiplane from which he keeps tabs on his former home, keeping it supplied with monsters and treasure both, and viewing the resultant mayhem for his amusement.

Gereint the Dark
An apprentice of the Ninestars Council, Gereint eschewed their company for a solitary existence of research. Meglomania and paranoia led him to hide many caches of magic items (mostly scrolls and potions) in various “safeholes” around the Shadowend, often in a secure portion of an occupied dungeon. He disappeared nearly three centuries ago, along with his tower and the nearby village he ruled, but legends maintain he simply transported himself and his subjects to a secure realm in the Dark Below.

Gray Dashain
Once an apprentice of Erabor the Caller, Gray Dashain specialized in summoning, binding, and compelling outsiders. Despite the obvious dangers, Dashain lived into his twilight years before disappearing from his secluded tower. Various whispers and rumors over the years suggest he is not dead, but imprisoned on another plane, perhaps by a powerful devil or genie lord.

Menioth
One of the most gifted students of the Moonstone Guild, Menioth is the foremost expert on the Positive Material Plane and its attendent energies. She rarely adventures, preferring to “field-test” her spells through allied wizards. With straw-colored hair, fair eyes, and unlined skin, Menioth appears much younger than her fifty-six years, a possible side-effect of her long exposure to positive energy.

Raliard the Spellsage
More famous than powerful, Raliard makes his living uncovering caches of magic and spelllore. A skillful diviner, Raliard’s command of magic continually uncovers new treasures for him, and warns him against those who would take it. The secrets the Spellsage uncovers invariably makes their way into common practice as he sells or barters away his findings. He lives in the small village of Tenmensport, but is more often found on the high plains of the Tehmar.

Whisper
A member of the Fallen, Whisper helped rule the Dread Queen’s empire for half a century before being captured and bound into slumber for seven-hundred years. Freed only recently, the diminutive, leather-wrapped wizard has wasted no time exerting his subtle influence across the Hundred Kingdoms once again. His knowledge of lost and hidden spellcaches provided a quick and solid base of power, and this hidden knowledge has been slowly leaking out as Whisper takes apprentices.

I've been working on random generators over at Abulafia, specifically random class generators. I've largely done the combat class and spellcasting class generators, and will work on the skillful class generator next week.  There's a fine line between too detailed and too generic, but I think it's working out.  Here's a sample of the random combat class:

Name: Moon Striker, Redserpent rager, Ice Striker
Class Themes: Feudal, Primal
Key Abilities: Charisma, Strength
Weapons: swords, swords, swords
Armor: any armor, any shield
Hit Dice: d8 (d6+1)
Special Features: (skill ability), companion (magical beast), attack bonus with clubs, maces, minor spellcasting ability (abjuration), attack bonus against giants

First off, the Feudal/Primal themes make me think Viking.  Charisma and Strength?  A jarl, or leader.  Clearly good with swords; a melee combatant.  Hit points are low.  The companion magical beast is very interesting; the attack bonuses could be changed to sword bonuses, minor abjuration ability could be protective magics, and the attack bonus against giants goes right along with the whole Viking concept.  We'll lose the unallocated skill ability (haven't created that chart yet), up the hit points to d10, and we're pretty close to Beowulf.  I like it.

Spent too much time today playing with the New Monster Name Generator at Abulafia today.  Made a few changes, and added lots of entries.  I think it's got a higher percentage of "good" names now, but still needs work.  (I'm not convinced the thing is wholly random; certain words come up fairly often, ie: waif).
Twenty random monster names:
crocodilewaif, wyrdcrocodile spellcaster, iron marauder, goblinbeast, ethereal icebull, dragonshambler mutant, brass drake, beastwaif ravager, devilclaw, mithril auroch, lion wanderer, icehawk, boundash beetle, mechanical bonespider, glassrat hunter, crocodiledrinker demon, vampiric deathsteel drake, psychic icthyoram, sanguine battlestorm, psychic boundworm
And twenty more: 
direhorn hunter, frostcopper bear, ramforged, bullclaw hunter, necro assassin, steel defender, houndgazer mystic, crab raider, sun hunter, leechant mutant, steel lion, frost bull, spiderfrog philosopher, ethereal stonehound, bronze boar, battlemangler, hawkwaif, insectwolf, goblinstalker, gibbering necrodrinker
And the last twenty for now: 
ratrat raider, sunbeast wanderer, bearcat leader, emeraldivory disciple, sanguine cyberiron goblin, horseshredder warforged, devilstone demon, rage mystic, worm skeleton, deathpig spellcaster, frosthawk leader, axehaunt, auroch tyrant, oak thug, insectleech, ivoryrat soldier, cybersteel cat, spirithaunt, spearoak wanderer, mechanical whitecrystal bat

I particularly like the dragonshambler mutant, brass drake, devilclaw, psychic icthyoram, direhorn hunter, houndgazer mystic, spiderfrog philosopher, ratrat raider, sunbeast wanderer, devilstone demon, axehaunt.

And the best: the terrifying deathpig spellcaster.

Illusions

Brilliant Pattern

Illusion (Pattern) [Mind-Affecting]

Level: Sor/Wiz 1

Components: V, S, M

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./ 2 levels)

Effect: Dazzling lights in a 15 ft. radius spread

Duration: Concentration

Saving Throw: Will negates

Spell Resistance: Yes

                This spell creates a brilliant white pattern, dazzling creatures within it.  Affected creatures are dazzled (-1 to attack rolls) for as long as they are within the pattern, and for 1d4 rounds after the spell ends or they leave the area of effect.

                Material Component: A pinch of powdered glass.

Churning Pattern

Illusion (Pattern) [Mind-Affecting]

Level: Sor/Wiz 3

Components: V, S, M

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft. / 2 levels)

Effect: Colorful lights with a 15 ft. radius spread

Duration: Concentration + 2 rounds

Saving Throw: Will negates

Spell Resistance: Yes

                A glowing, twisting pattern of green, yellow, and purple colors nauseates those within it.  Living creatures caught within a churning pattern are nauseated (Will negates), making them unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention.  The only action an affected character can take is a single move (or move-equivalent action) per turn.  The nauseating effects last for as long as the character is in the churning pattern and for 2d4 rounds afterwards; characters are then fatigued for 1d4 rounds, making them unable to run or charge, and suffering a –2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity.  Victims do not become exhausted from this spell.

                Material Component: A glowworm, which is used to trace a pattern in the air, and then eaten by the caster.

Measureless Maze - Level One (Revised)

The only changes here are to the lower left corner of the map, the "Great Stair" section.  The number of ways into the section (at least from this level) has been chopped down, and a large stairway has been added.

There are four major sections to this level.  Starting at top left and going clockwise, they are "Thieves Chambers", "The Dust & The Damp", "The Tubs", and "The Great Stair".  I haven't gotten much past that for details, but I do have some general concepts.

"Thieves Chambers", obviously, is under the control of a minor band of thieves.  Guild is probably too high of an aspiration for them.  They access their section via the ladder, and make sure to leave the door to the well-room (1-12) closed and locked.  They've had some bad experiences, so as a general rule stay to rooms 1-8 through 1-15.  They know about the secret door to room 1-1, but none of the rest, and leave the door to room 1-7 locked.

"The Dust and the Damp" lacks any kind of organized control.  Rats and one or two mindless sort of monsters are the likely threats here.  A giant raccoon has established a lair in 1-33, coming and going via the stream (which flows into the dungeon at this point). 

"The Tubs" are also undetermined.  Water-based monsters are likely.  At least one of the pools (the smallest one) possesses a magical "heating element" that warms the water, a la Roman baths (a hypocaust would be neat, but a bugger to map unless I switch to a 1-square = 1 foot scale, and it would then be a bugger for the adventurers.  Unless they used reduce person...)  Rooms 1-47 & 1-48 will have something going on.  Passage 1-49 is accessed by climbing the wall from the waterfall to the passage opening; a short distance, but not something the PCs are going to do easily.  This will be generally true of aerie levels.

"The Great Stair" is probably a goblin-held section.  Their warren spans several levels.  The great stair itself drops to level 3.

Measureless Maze - Level One

Level One
 Primary entry level of the Measureless Maze, via the stairs at top center.  Secondary entrances are via the ladder at top left, and the stream at top right.  Exits are top left (down a level), bottom left (down a level), bottom left (up a level), top/mid right (the room with the small pool; probably up a level, though it'd be a hard climb up a waterfall), bottom right (up a level), and bottom (access via the Shaft to several other levels).

Now that I look at this, actually, I'm going to close off a few corridors and add another set of stairs.  I'll leave this version up, though.

Megadungeon Musings, part 1

The subject of megadungeons is a perennial one, and events of the past few days have got me thinking about them again.  I've designed dungeons; I've designed large dungeons; but I've never designed a full-on megadungeon.  It's an intriguing exercise.

The two basic rules I'll follow are: 1) a minimum of 12 levels, not including sub-levels, demi-levels, quasi-levels, or any other sort of "not-a-full-on-level" that you want to name, and 2) no overarching theme or villain.  The most powerful monsters will be near the "bottom", but they won't control the entire dungeon.  Different factions will control different areas, with different goals.

I will map by hand, but I will also experiment with other formats, primarily sketch-up, to generate simple 3D visuals.

Preliminary features & details include the following:

• a gigantic vertical crevice or shaft, which provides the central focus of the dungeon.  The shaft has been closed over at certain points, so one cannot simply rappel from the first level to the 12th, but the shaft does span a number of levels, and not all of the closures are well maintained.  The shaft is large enough to allow fliers room to maneuver, and has links to the outside at its very highest reach.
• A pride of manticores controls the first 3 levels of the shaft.  The third level has a solid stone floor covering the shaft, and it is not apparent from above that the shaft continues below.
• The first level intersects the shaft roughly halfway between the "floor" and the highest visible point of the shaft.  Above the first level are the "Aerie Levels", a number of sub-levels that are mostly inaccessible except from the shaft.  Some also feature outdoor connections (onto a cliff-face or the like).
• At least the upper levels of the dungeon are within a mountain or other elevated terrain feature, rather than wholly below ground.  This allows some of the Aerie levels to include watchtowers or the like.

Dungeons of the Shadowend

• Bone Castle: Few specifics are known about this necromantic edifice in the Bone Forest.  A few particularly foolhardy individuals claim to have entered the castle and met its skeletal lord, but to no particular end.  The relationship between Bone Castle and the Castle of the Stag is unclear, although everyone seems to feel one exists.
• Broken Tower: An ancient ruin of the Dwarfmoors which marks the entrance to an underground labyrinth said to lead (though only after a great distance), to the dwarven greathall of Hearthhome.  Not a few adventuring parties have thought to quietly plunder the dwarves treasure (for surely they have much), and lost their lives beneath the Broken Tower searching for the elusive passage.
• Castle of the Stag: Built by the elven lord Dualin in the Bone Forest (aka the Corpse-Wood), the Castle of the Stag fell into ruin after his death.
• Deephalls:  Underlying the Hundred Kingdoms, Larenyss, and much of the Shadowend Forest, the Deephalls are less dungeon than enviroment.  The three regions of the Deephalls were once one, separated when the sidhe cracked the earth.  The hallmark of the Deephalls are the arrow-straight tunnels, eighty feet wide and forty feet high, that run for hundreds of miles beneath the earth.
• Dungeon of Stones: A fallen gnomish winterhall, the Dungeon of Stones was overthrown by fell creatures ruled by an elemental earth power. No sign of that ruler is visible, but it's creations and bound minions still guard treasures from across the planes.  Located in the Turont Hills immediately north of the Eldewood, where the north branch of the Eldeflow emerges from underneath the earth.

• Endless Dungeon: Once a wizard's retreat, the corridors and caverns of the Endless Dungeon shift, open, and close apparently at random, revealing pristine chambers or arcane workshops filled with enchanted items and magical lore.  The entrance is less easily found from inside, it's said.  The Endless Dungeon is marked by an empty tower, which sits at the southern tip of the High Hills, east of the ruins of Osar.
• Greenbind Castle: This ancient overgrown keep in the Moonwood is rumored to still conceal at least one vault full of weapons enchanted against lycanthropes.
• Hall of Roses: The remains of a bardic college; what is left is filled with riddles, tricks, and traps designed by the elves to test an aspirant's knowledge of faerilven lore and legend.  The fallen Hall of Roses sits north of the Hags Mere, under the shadow of Alorm Peak in the High Hills.
• Hill of the Three Kings:  Actually three large barrow mounds, the Hill of the Three Kings are feared and avoided by all wise folk of the Shadowend.  The resting places of three brothers, the barrows each open once a year, one a night for three nights, and the hellish undead within ride forth for one night of terror and murder.  Many heros have tried to end the rampages of the three kings, but none have succeeded for more than a year.

• Kaerzin Mus: Castle Mouse overlooks the River Yls near Barvanigar and is kept in good repair by the orcs and brigands of the area.  Tunnels and caverns in the bluff below Kaerzin Mus reportedly include passages below the river and possibly into Barvanigar itself, a serious threat to the security of the town.
• Kaerzin Torn: Between the Gonenfall Forest and the Shrouded Peaks, Hill Castle was one of the anchors of Dorandin defense.  The fortress eventually fell to a monstrous horde of orcs, ogres, and giants, but none of Kaerzin Torn’s notable treasures or weapons have ever been recovered or even seen in the centuries since then. Much of the fortress was destroyed, but the central keep and curtain walls still stand.
• Knighting Well: Of unknown origin; the Knights of the Oak (an order now largely extinct) utilized the outermost areas as a testing ground of a candidate's worthiness; legend says a great temptress makes her home here; undoubtedly she has accumulated much magical treasure over the centuries.  The Knighting Well lies in the flat forestland halfway between the Greenflow and the Eldewood.
• Legionaire’s Tomb:  The fabled resting place of the first Amerite legion in the Hundred Kingdoms, the Legionaire’s Tomb is a much sought-after legend.
• Measureless Maze:  This vast dungeon complex beneath the Shalanwode was excavated centuries ago by the archmage Kulan Unculear.

• Temple of the Rats: A stronghold of the Rat Cult, the Temple has been razed and rebuilt more times than can be counted.  Rumor suggests the Cult is struggling to gain a foothold once more, and that they've stockpiled gold, gems, and jewels to fund their efforts.  Closest to Shalanholt and civilization, the Temple of Rats lies on the swampy shores of Hags Mere, where the ratmen may seek fell allies.
• Undercity of Shalanholt:  Of unknown orign, the Undercity of Shalanholt was excavated from the bedrock beneath Shalanholt.  Streets, buildings, alleys, and fountains are all found in this abandoned settlement, all shaped to human size and fashion.  The archmage Kulan Uncùlear is sometimes found here.
• Vanishing Dungeon: The stronghold of an evil cult dedicated to four dark deities, the Vanishing Dungeon manifests periodically on the Material Plane, disgorging evil when it does.
• Volgabaern Warren: Once the gnome winterhall Cynwualf, now a goblin stronghold in the White Hills.

• Well of Swords: The former stronghold of a powerful runesmith, who may have survived into undeath -- survivors report a great number of mechanical and magical traps, all in good repair.  They also recovered a great number of fine magical & masterwork weapons.  The Well of Swords lies due west of Shalanholt, just beyond the western tip of Hags Mere.

Unnamed or Undescribed Dungeons:

• Chelaim Tower
• Haunting Halls of the Herald-Lords
• Keep of Wyrms
• Silent Halls
• Sinking Tower of Dremdolain
• Tower Ain
• Tower of Cthros March
• Whispering Well
• the great funerary maze of the archmage Isadollin, famous for her staff of power won from a great red wyrm.
• a series of crypts used by the Autumn Kings, who ruled a small but rich kingdom for several centuries.
• the final foul resting place of a high priest of Nevias, who terrorized the populace as a vampire after his first death, and whose malignant spirit was finally imprisoned by Biedon Houl, Clerist Arcanist of Ados, at the cost of his own life.
• an ancient dwarven hold beneath Kiend Peak, in the High Hills, now the home of a powerful tribe of fire giants.

Shalanwode

The Shalanwode is a crossroads in the Shadowend, a thickly forested highland travelled regularly by orcs, goblins, giants, elves, and other creatures of the Shadowend and Utgard.  The Wiernaug tribesmen have their oldest settlements here, tiny hidden hamlets which have never fallen under the rule of any outside law or king.

Elves, goblins, and giants are also frequently found here, as the elves travel from the Winding Halls and points east to Shalaen and the Reachlands, and the goblins journey from the mountains of Sarn to the High Hills and Utgard.  Monstrous and dire animals of all kinds may be found in the Shalanwode and its environs, including dire wolves, boar, and elk, owlbears, and harrow hounds.

The Shalanwode was never cleared, and few dungeons or ruins of interest are known.  The natural inhabitants of the area discouraged many people from seeking refuge here, but a few powerful factions established strongholds before falling with the rest of the Woodmarches.  A splinter cult dedicated to Nevias, Ragavar, Urjin, and Kajalla founded several fortified temples in the Shalanwode before being eradicated four centuries ago; the most powerful of these temples is known as the Vanishing Dungeon, as it shifts to the Prime Material from a sealed demi-plane at widely spaced intervals.  Other dungeons include the Tower Ain, an ancient elven watchtower currently held by a faerilven archmage, and the Measureless Maze, a vast dungeon complex excavated beneath the Shalanwode by a powerful lich centuries ago.