Hier mal Die Einleitung:
spoilers. do not read if you don't want the adventure ruined.
the book is being burned to CD and sent to the printer as we speak
below is the history and philosophy of the dungeon
in the days and weeks to come, i'll dig through what i think
are the important bits of the first 20 pages of the book and
post more. its 6pm PST and i'm a little tired (this has been
10 months coming.... whew).
thanks to everyone on the list and all the writers. i'm going to
go home now and never return. at the very least i won't be
back online for a few days.
History
Millennia ago, the celestials built a great dungeon. Within it, the celestials erected mammoth walls, locks, doors, and traps. It warded off those who would enter, but also walled in those who would escape: it was a dungeon larger than any ever known. Within it the celestials imprisoned hellish undead, demonic beasts, and fiendish monstrosities.
It was a perfect construction. Before the first dwarf would ever be born to sculpt stone, angels and celestials carved a work of art that no one would ever see. Perfect in every detail, it would stand inviolate for thousands of years. But none can say why the gods ordered demons and liches to be entombed and not destroyed. And in time, the gods would rue their mercy.
Centuries passed and the tomb stood unchanged. The champions who protected humanity from the liches and hezrou and pit fiends stood vigilant guard, ready to spend eternity in honor of the gods. But time passed over the celestials. The world forgot its heroes . Even the heavens turned a blind eye to the angels, inevitables, and guardians serving out their destiny entombed in the earth.
No one is sure how much time passed; history has forgotten the quest of the celestial heroes. One thing is certain: the earth is an unforgiving mistress and her power cannot be held back.
An earthquake cracked the foundation of the dungeon. The rift spread for miles, nearly ripping the dungeon in two. Into the rift flowed magma, but it did not boil the occupants of the dungeon. The temperature rose beneath the earth, and the cold home of the unliving became capable of sustaining life.
It was not long before the derro came. They made their homes among the rocks and tombs. Many of the traps set throughout the dungeon had been triggered, and creatures that the celestials had sworn to entomb eternally had escaped. In time, more subterranean creatures would make their homes in the rock. All the while, celestials contained the truest evils in the heart of this prison.
Then another earthquake pushed jagged earth through the dungeon floor, destroying a large portion of its foundation. Driders and drow dug beneath the rock and rubble to make their homes. The same earthquake tore
a hole in the ceiling, and flying beasts like the arrowhawk and belker perched on the highest plateaus of their underground sanctuary.
As the dungeon?s population grew, so did the celestials? fear that mankind would be destroyed by its inhabitants. Two titans made the long journey to the mountains and stood guard at the entrance and exit to the tombs, in eternal vigil.
Time passed. Few monsters made the climb down from the surface or pushed up from below. Only the strongest made a home in the debris of the prison. Eventually, more derro came, bringing other diggers with them. When they required more room, the derro dug deeper.
The burrowing derro caused a massive landslide, bringing thousands of pounds of earth and millions of gallons of water crashing in. Hundreds of derro and duergar died and the survivors moved deeper into the dungeon. Enlisting every manner of enslavable race, the derro crossed a giant chasm and started digging again.
Within the last hundred years, the dungeon has seen unprecedented activity. Every manner of creature lives in the dungeon. An elder treant and its elven entourage have made a refuge in the westernmost portion, while the undead have remained entombed at the northernmost point since the dungeon?s creation. The core of the dungeon (Regions F and G) shows the greatest sign of conflict, with angels and demons waging a war that must end poorly. Lastly, the exit has seen a change of power that will stymie heroes who think they?re ?almost done.?
The World?s Largest Dungeon represents years of adventuring. Do not tread lightly, but raise your swords high.
Facts about the Dungeon
The dungeon is in a mountainous region and has been buried for countless years. It can have any number of entrances, but for ease of play, we have provided only one. If the DM desires to add more, they should be well hidden or even guarded by the creatures protecting their portion of the dungeon (kobolds near the front, winter wolves along the cold northeast section, and so on).
Because the northern reaches of the World?s Largest Dungeon have access to the surface world, it should be in a remote area, lest adventurers know all along it is here. Page 8 lists a number of ways for the PCs to ?stumble? upon the Dungeon, but ultimately, what draws the PCs to the Dungeon is for the DM to decide.
A chasm filled with magma (consisting solely of mephits) pushes through the
earth beneath the Dungeon. It must have a beginning and end point, but the DM may simply insist that it remains under the earth, pushing up under a lake or sea bed, warming the ocean currents.
The monsters in the Dungeon do not have children. There are no locations with baby orcs or yuan-ti eggs. If this does not mesh with your vision of a harmonious dungeon, we apologize now. Killing children, whatever their race, faction, or identification, is not heroic.
What you are reading is the product of one line developer, almost 20 writers, and over 100 years of imagination and gameplay. We made it fun first and useful second. Logic was a byproduct of our stubbornness, but was always subordinate to the first two laws.
We hope you enjoy the read.
Layout and Design
The Dungeon was built to jail undead and demons, not to be comfortable. There are no barracks, kitchens, or anything resembling ?living? quarters. Humanoids and other carpetbagger creatures have made do with what they?ve found here. Makeshift barracks do not afford the comforts of home. The PCs won?t find a logical pattern here.
After a few weeks of exploring, the PCs may start coming to their own conclusions about the Dungeon. If not, they can always run into the lantern archon.
Lantern Archon(s)
One of the PCs? best friends are the helpful lantern archons that may appear throughout the Dungeon. These celestials were assigned to know everything about their own dungeon sections, and some have survived to the present day. Each lantern archon knows why its Region of the Dungeon was created, but is ignorant of conditions on other maps. These archons are a great way to dole out information to the PCs.
Lantern archons can be found anywhere the DM likes. They know many things they shouldn?t, like PC names, recent plunder, total dead in the area, and so on. They are not there to tell the PCs what lies beyond a door, but rather to point them to the Dungeon?s major plots. Their original purpose was to watchdog the Regions, but since the earthquake, each archon has grown sullen (and perhaps a little lonely), taking on a personality of its own.
Feel free to give each archon a unique voice. Alternately, ignore them altogether and have the PCs ?find? their way into the mess.
The Dungeon Environment: SIGHT
A key thing to keep in mind is that the Dungeon is completely dark. Except where noted, there are no sources of light anywhere inside the Dungeon. This environment does not present a problem for most creatures, which rely on darkvision or blindvision to find their way.
Of course, while darkvision or blindvision allows the creatures to see, there are distance limits to such vision that come into play in some cases ? a creature with darkvision 90 ft. can have a significant advantage over one with darkvision 60 ft.
Because of this, unless the party is composed entirely of races that have darkvision (commonly dwarves and half-orcs), they must rely on light sources to find their way. Aside from illumination problems (torches burn out, light spells end), having to rely on light sources presents a huge handicap to moving in Sections where other creatures can see in the dark. Outside, a torch can literally be seen from miles away on a moonless night. Inside a dungeon, low ceilings and tight corridors reduce torch visibility to 100 ft. or so. Nonetheless, any attempts at stealth, including surprise, are ruined by a simple candle as a watchful creature is likely to spot the light source long before it becomes visible. Nothing attracts unwanted attention in darkness like a source of light.
Regions H, K, L, M, the eastern edge of N, and O all have slightly different lighting conditions. Higher ceilings, holes in the mountain tops, and other conditions make these Regions different from the claustrophobic tunnels of the remaining dungeon. Review these chapters and make sure the PCs understand just how high the ceilings are.
The Dungeon Environment: Sound
Sound doesn?t travel as far as the PCs might expect. While the Dungeon is not soundproof, the walls were made very thick to muffle the screams of the demons inside their cells. Wards were added to soften the annoying, persistent echoes. Years of neglect have caused these wards to warp, creating an unplanned new effect: sound is unpredictable.
This means a lot to clever DMs. If the PCs are being extra quiet, perhaps a single breath gets funneled down a quarter-mile of corridor, alerting everyone of their presence. Or an epic battle in a Room two doors away goes unheard. Echoes from the farthest reaches of the Dungeon could be heard at the entryway, and the PCs? footfalls could go unheard by someone right in front or behind them.
Don?t be afraid to use this to your advantage or to help low-level PCs sneak past larger adversaries. It is important to note the Regions H, K, L, and O do not follow standard rules regarding magic, wards, and ? in this case ? sound. Feel free to apply these concepts as you see fit (see Encounter Conditions, page 10 and 830).
The Dungeon Environment: Traps
While most of the original magical traps have long since failed or been destroyed when the creatures imprisoned here escaped, the celestials maintained a number of other traps up until their departure to Regions E and G. Although they are usually in areas of strategic importance, such as at an important junction or guarding a supply cache, traps can occasionally be found in unexpected places.
Many traps were designed only to paralyze the undead and demonic forces that could not be destroyed. Others produce cold and/or fire depending on whether they were designed to kill devils or undead. Acid and sonic traps were effective as well, bringing many creatures to their knees. However, because of the nature of the undead and demonic beasts, someone always had defenses against something. As a result, a variety of traps were made, many of them magically capable of resetting themselves.
Over the centuries, many creatures have stumbled through these corridors, tripping glyphs, spells, and fire traps. The hardest ones to spot have been tripped, and some never reset. The ones that have a marking were circumnavigated once the first hobgoblin was turned into a rat or doused with flaming oil. The easiest ones to spot have been avoided.
That said, traps can be anywhere the DM wants to put them. While corridor traps have a tendency to slow down game play, a project of this type requires them to some degree. Be merciful and give PCs a chance to spot them. Doors, columns, and secret panels could be trapped. Anything that a demon might try to move to get out of a dungeon could be trapped. But feel free to add all manner of non-lethal traps whenever the whim strikes.
Reading the Encounters
Each encounter ? all 1,612 of them ? is written in the same format. Each opens with the number and name of the Room followed by pertinent information on running the encounter.
If there is specific information about the door or entrance to the Room that DMs should be aware of before the PCs enter, it can be found before the Read Aloud Text. Additionally, if there is a trap or something of note before the door, it is mentioned here. Some encounters happen in hallways, so be alert for them.
Read Aloud Text. It is recommended that the DM paraphrase or relay this information in his own voice, rather than read it aloud verbatim. This text relays to the players what they see, hear, and sense about the environment.
Initial Attitude. Attitudes for NPCs and monsters are Hostile, Unfriendly, Indifferent, Friendly, and Helpful. Few in this dungeon are Helpful. The Player?s Handbook? explains how to use the Diplomacy skill to sway attitudes, should the PCs choose to negotiate rather than fight. Hostile attitudes are hard to change, and monsters that are assigned to guard duty rarely change their minds about attacking.
See the Player?s Handbook? or page 828 of this book for more on NPC attitudes.
Encounter. This is the meat of each Room, and includes the Room?s history, details of the environment, monsters, traps, and so on. If a Room is completely empty, there is still a short description to give the DM something to improvise. If a monster or NPC is present, its hit points are listed. If the encounter refers to creatures from another part of the Dungeon, it lists the Room they are from.
Encounter Condition. This is a special section. Written in shorthand, these notes point the DM to the chart on page 10 and 830, explaining exactly how to conduct the battle. Not every encounter has a special condition, but feel free to add them to taste.
Sometimes Encounter Conditions exist for encounters that are not violent. Details are still provided should a fight break out, or should the PCs try to sleep in a haunted chamber.
Tactics. Sometimes generic, other times specific, the tactics of a given monster are explained here. Sometimes the Tactics section helps a DM understand the contents of the Room, how to open a secret door, or what the best course of action is. Tactics is a catch-all when the Encounter and Treasure sections don?t fit.
Treasure. Be careful not to read this aloud until the PCs have taken time to search the Room. Because there are over 1,500 Rooms in the Dungeon, no matter how much or how little treasure we assigned, it was going to be the wrong amount. Carefully weigh whether or not the PCs need another +1 longsword; would the campaign be better served with a potion of cure light wounds instead? Don?t be afraid to give out less treasure at the start of a Region, anticipating greater rewards at the end.
EL. This is the encounter level, here only to help DMs quickly grasp the difficulty of the encounter. If you?re giving out XP, you can use this instead of each individual monster?s CR.
Scaling. Each encounter with a monster or trap includes tips on how to make the encounter easier or harder. The DM should feel free to ignore this section, or embellish each encounter as he sees fit.
The DM is always free to increase DCs. If the PCs succeed at every Diplomacy, Hide, Listen, Search, Spot, or Swim check, the game can grow stagnant. Increasing the DC is as simple as saying ?the stonework is very dense? (a ?6 circumstance penalty to all Listen checks), or ?the pervading darkness and low ceilings make it hard to see? (Spot checks are more difficult beyond 30 ft. or so).
This book is a great big toolbox, and you are the craftsman.
Stat Block. An NPC or monster stat block appears in this font and follows each Encounter in which a monster of that type is present. We understand that in doing this, there is a duplication of effort, but the more important issue was being complete and thorough.
Stat blocks are presented in 3.5 format. Any time the stat block is different from the information printed in the Monster Manual?, the stat block is correct. Even though they might look similar, stat blocks often vary from one another in terms of weapons, hit points, and even special qualities. Read them carefully. An iron golem, for instance, might have a magical attack that it normally wouldn?t have. Many encounters have been designed with these changes in mind. Ignoring them robs the adventure of crucial flavor.
The final line of a stat block is Possessions, which details items when the Atk and AC of the creature is not thorough enough. It is occasionally omitted for space reasons. If a Possessions line is missing, but Atk lists a longsword, assume that the NPC carries a longsword.
[Sidebar]
Skill Use
The rules for take 10 and take 20 have a positive and negative
effect on Dungeons and DragonsTM. Rather than begin
a philosophical debate that results in nothing but upset players and anxiety-ridden DMs, let us say this ? the DCs in this
dungeon are for DMs who do NOT allow take 10 and take
20 actions in their campaigns. That said, DMs who find PCs are able to open every lock, charm every monster, and beat every Search check without rolling a single die have options.
1. Increase all DCs by +10. Done. If the PCs insist on taking
2 hours to search a Room, make everything impossible to find.
2. Increase the time it takes to take 10 or 20 and increase the
frequency or Random Encounters. PCs that stay overnight opening a lock are in for one or six rude awakenings.
3. Rooms with specific Encounter Conditions (Distracting, Echoes, Haunted, Negative Energy, etc.,) are no place for intense concentration. PCs insisting on searching in these Rooms are going to suffer penalties to their checks ranging from ?1 to ?10.
4. Require a Concentration check to take 10 or 20. No one has infinite patience and continuing to look for the proverbial needle in the haystack is going to tax the characters, no matter what the players think.
5. Limit the number of take 10 and 20 actions on a map to three and one (respectively) per Region per PC. This is a fair
compromise and confirms for the players the DM is not a tyrant.
6. If the PCs DO find EVERY trap, make the ones they don't find VERY deadly.
7. If the PCs can take 10 or 20, the monsters can start carrying deadlier weapons with better critical hit ranges and multipliers.
8. Eight. Succeeding at everything is boring. Just say No.
That's enough for now. I've sampled the more important and more enticing bits from the introduction, instead of just taking the first 4 pages. That's all for now.
See you later.
__________________
jim pinto
"he's made of candy"
aegartguy@alderac.com
Quelle: ENWorld
