So I've got a campaign I'm working on, hopefully a longer-running mega-dungeon. The campaign is set in the Outlands and the plot is as follows:
*Due to the emergence of various Omenpaths (See MTG lore which I piggyback off of somewhat regularly) a handful of people from different worlds were drawn into the Outlands by chance. They met with a strange figure who promised them riches beyond their wildest dreams if they could help them unlock and navigate an ancient lost ruin left by a powerful wizard of a bygone era. The ruins lay deep below the Outlands. Originally ten people entered the ruins, only four returned, in part due the treachery of the mysterious figure. Despite all that, the treasure in the depths of these ruins is in fact real. But getting to the treasure and retrieving it is another matter entirely. The treasure is so vast that the four who remained could think of no way to carry it back out of the ruins. After leaving the ruins, they were able to make their way back to the Outlands in hopes to recruiting a group of more skilled adventurers or hirelings to aid them in retrieving the treasure.
Aside form the random monsters that will be found in the Outland Wilderness, the mega-dungeon will have a random encounter system. The ruins themselves are comprsied of a massive black stone maze. In each corner of the maze stands a tall tower. Each one must be cleared in a specific order before travelling to the center of the maze where the massive Black RIng can be found. The ring itself is a multi-layer tower.
As the ruins have been locked and forgotten about for a very long time, I was wondering what kinds of creatures made the most sense for wandering monsters/random encounters? I don't need hard answers, just generic recommendations. Like what monsters are likely to stalk the maze, or what monsters would it make sense for the old wizard to keep as guards.
If you're using a maze then the good old Minotaur would be a good start then sprinkle in some general cultits and demonic followers of the Demon Lord Baphomet using the maze as a proving ground. Alternatively if you are using MTG for some inspiration you could have the cult be followers of Mogis from the Theros setting.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
Ghosts, will-o-wisps, zombies, shadows, ghouls, skeletons, crawling claws...any undead would work, and could be a fun source of lore if you make them the remains of the 6 who never made it out.
Think also about the mysterious figure. Does this person have minions that might still be stalking the ruins? Constructs (golems, animated armor, a simulacrum, etc.) wouldn't need sustenance to survive locked in. Also, think about the dangers the original ten adventurers might have faced - is there any wild energy still zipping about? Living spells, antimagic zones, wild magic rifts, and even elemental creatures could be a good fit.
To answer the question, I'd agree with theoryofbagels idea of things like undead, elementals and constructs. With pretty much any other type of creature, what are they eating and drinking in a place that's been locked up? Unless you want to create a whole ecosystem of various degrees of predator. Of course, it's also easy to just ignore all that and put whatever you want in there, and say they are eating food, and who cares where it came from. Depends on your table and how much they look for plot holes. though you could do some kind of stasis field that the party entering breaks the field, and so now these things that have been frozen in time for an age roam free. In that case, you can use anything.
Also, I'd recommend against random encounters. There's plenty of reasons to start fights in D&D. Have them mean something and help move the plot forward. random encounters run the risk of either being too easy or too hard based solely on a die roll, and then messing up the larger plans. And boy is it sad when your PC dies to a wandering monster. I'm all for character death, I just want it to be in a fight that means something, not just a bunch of bad luck rolls.
This is set in the Outlands which nullifies high-level magic, so magc in general is muted within the ruins. The mysterious figure didn't have minions of their own but rather used the ten to get a maguffin from the treasure. There was a fight, and the mysterious figure fled (but wasn't really defeated, their treachery only really killed one of the ten, the others died to the ruins themselves, mostly). One of the four who survived is concerned about the figures motives and isn't interesed in the treasure. The other three are and are willing to use it to pay adventurers to help them retrieve it.
The Towers and the Ring are set encounters, filling them with sentient guards as well as nonsentient guards makes sense to me, so constructs (like constructed commoners), elementals, and awakened undead work fine. In general, outsiders don't need to eat or sleep (at least according to 3.5 and never quanitifed as to why later) so I was hoping to find a race of outsiderrs that would be okay with being locked up for god know how long just to take care of and guard a ruined sanctum, but I couldn't really think of one.
The Maze on the other hand will still feature random encounters (As per older rules for random encounters) The maze is full of traps, hazards, monsters, etc. It's not meant to be easy to navigate, it's meant to be a terror inducing slog. Players who aptly prepare for danger should be fine, players who walk out into a crossroads without listening, or checking for danger might be in for a world of hurt ("well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions"). I don't enjoy killing players, though I believe that the danger of character death is necessary to motivate players in some instances. Players will need to bring lots of food and water, the maze is BIG, it's partly the reason some of the ten died in the first place.
Also, I'd recommend against random encounters. There's plenty of reasons to start fights in D&D. Have them mean something and help move the plot forward. random encounters run the risk of either being too easy or too hard based solely on a die roll, and then messing up the larger plans. And boy is it sad when your PC dies to a wandering monster. I'm all for character death, I just want it to be in a fight that means something, not just a bunch of bad luck rolls.
Often random encounters are unprepared combat encounters and those often end badly but you can make a table of prepared encounters that occur randomly or simply not run random encounters as combat.
If you have an area players are going to spend allot of time in and the players have some free roam on what to do there then you can create a list of inhabitants or objects and then use a dice to choose which appear and how. If the things on the list are defined character or factions you should have an idea how they interact. For example for a forest you may have some beasts, a druid, a unicorn and a faction of bandits which are poachers. You roll on the table twice and maybe you get a beast on it's own which is maybe them stuck in a trap or trying to get into a hunters cache or you get a bandit and a beast which is them chasing down or fighting an animal or you get a unicorn and a beast which is the unicorn healing them ect...
As the ruins have been locked and forgotten about for a vry long time, I was wondering what kinds of creatures made the most sense for wandering mosnters/random encounters? I don't need hard answers, just generic recommendations. Like what mosnters are likely to stalk the maze, or what monsters would it make sense for the old wizard to keep as guards.
Pretty much anything.
Do you want it to be haunted? If so is it ghosts, demons or celestials haunting it? any spiritual entity or undead can do a haunting. Heck even fey can get in on the action. There is nothing quite like being pranked to death by a fey in a dungeon
Do you want it to be techy? If so are you thinking bio tech, alien tech, magi tech, or steam punk? you can have mutants, robots or weird goo
How about having it be retaken by nature? you can have plants, maybe an insect hive or something more magical like a dryad
You can even mix and match. Demon possessed insect swarm or robots or zombies, robots covered in fungus or insect eggs and you cna even make the alien goop haunted by ghosts.
This is set in the Outlands which nullifies high-level magic, so magc in general is muted within the ruins. The mysterious figure didn't have minions of their own but rather used the ten to get a maguffin from the treasure. There was a fight, and the mysterious figure fled (but wasn't really defeated, their treachery only really killed one of the ten, the others died to the ruins themselves, mostly). One of the four who survived is concerned about the figures motives and isn't interesed in the treasure. The other three are and are willing to use it to pay adventurers to help them retrieve it.
The Towers and the Ring are set encounters, filling them with sentient guards as well as nonsentient guards makes sense to me, so constructs (like constructed commoners), elementals, and awakened undead work fine. In general, outsiders don't need to eat or sleep (at least according to 3.5 and never quanitifed as to why later) so I was hoping to find a race of outsiderrs that would be okay with being locked up for god know how long just to take care of and guard a ruined sanctum, but I couldn't really think of one.
The Maze on the other hand will still feature random encounters (As per older rules for random encounters) The maze is full of traps, hazards, monsters, etc. It's not meant to be easy to navigate, it's meant to be a terror inducing slog. Players who aptly prepare for danger should be fine, players who walk out into a crossroads without listening, or checking for danger might be in for a world of hurt ("well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions"). I don't enjoy killing players, though I believe that the danger of character death is necessary to motivate players in some instances. Players will need to bring lots of food and water, the maze is BIG, it's partly the reason some of the ten died in the first place.
A slightly left field option might me have the area occupied by rogue modrons who still think their on the plane of mechanus, that way you have a ready supply of constructs that maintain everything, you have the higher level modrons as mini bosses, larger constructs roaming the area, depending on the level of PC's a cadaver collector might be quite interesting as a form of body collection to keep the maze looking fairly harmless.
Or just poach the entire plot/theme of the film labyrinth and have goblins running around led by an Archfey.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
You should include a Nothic somewhere - I'll recommend these monsters until my last breath. Creepy creatures that stalk ancient knowledge and crave information, the remnants of wizards who got too consumed in their search for more power/knowledge....what's not to love?
They're definitely more of a social encounter than a combat encounter, but you could potentially run it either way. Maybe the Nothic acts as a guide of sorts for the party in a certain area of the mega dungeon? For a price, of course...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
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So I've got a campaign I'm working on, hopefully a longer-running mega-dungeon. The campaign is set in the Outlands and the plot is as follows:
*Due to the emergence of various Omenpaths (See MTG lore which I piggyback off of somewhat regularly) a handful of people from different worlds were drawn into the Outlands by chance. They met with a strange figure who promised them riches beyond their wildest dreams if they could help them unlock and navigate an ancient lost ruin left by a powerful wizard of a bygone era. The ruins lay deep below the Outlands. Originally ten people entered the ruins, only four returned, in part due the treachery of the mysterious figure. Despite all that, the treasure in the depths of these ruins is in fact real. But getting to the treasure and retrieving it is another matter entirely. The treasure is so vast that the four who remained could think of no way to carry it back out of the ruins. After leaving the ruins, they were able to make their way back to the Outlands in hopes to recruiting a group of more skilled adventurers or hirelings to aid them in retrieving the treasure.
Aside form the random monsters that will be found in the Outland Wilderness, the mega-dungeon will have a random encounter system. The ruins themselves are comprsied of a massive black stone maze. In each corner of the maze stands a tall tower. Each one must be cleared in a specific order before travelling to the center of the maze where the massive Black RIng can be found. The ring itself is a multi-layer tower.
As the ruins have been locked and forgotten about for a very long time, I was wondering what kinds of creatures made the most sense for wandering monsters/random encounters? I don't need hard answers, just generic recommendations. Like what monsters are likely to stalk the maze, or what monsters would it make sense for the old wizard to keep as guards.
I think for a big boss, something like a basilisk or behir, with a few sprinklings of darkmantles and cloakers.
Studded Leather: He does exactly what I do
Natural Armor: But better
If you're using a maze then the good old Minotaur would be a good start then sprinkle in some general cultits and demonic followers of the Demon Lord Baphomet using the maze as a proving ground. Alternatively if you are using MTG for some inspiration you could have the cult be followers of Mogis from the Theros setting.
Ghosts, will-o-wisps, zombies, shadows, ghouls, skeletons, crawling claws...any undead would work, and could be a fun source of lore if you make them the remains of the 6 who never made it out.
Think also about the mysterious figure. Does this person have minions that might still be stalking the ruins? Constructs (golems, animated armor, a simulacrum, etc.) wouldn't need sustenance to survive locked in. Also, think about the dangers the original ten adventurers might have faced - is there any wild energy still zipping about? Living spells, antimagic zones, wild magic rifts, and even elemental creatures could be a good fit.
To answer the question, I'd agree with theoryofbagels idea of things like undead, elementals and constructs. With pretty much any other type of creature, what are they eating and drinking in a place that's been locked up? Unless you want to create a whole ecosystem of various degrees of predator. Of course, it's also easy to just ignore all that and put whatever you want in there, and say they are eating food, and who cares where it came from. Depends on your table and how much they look for plot holes. though you could do some kind of stasis field that the party entering breaks the field, and so now these things that have been frozen in time for an age roam free. In that case, you can use anything.
Also, I'd recommend against random encounters. There's plenty of reasons to start fights in D&D. Have them mean something and help move the plot forward. random encounters run the risk of either being too easy or too hard based solely on a die roll, and then messing up the larger plans. And boy is it sad when your PC dies to a wandering monster. I'm all for character death, I just want it to be in a fight that means something, not just a bunch of bad luck rolls.
This is set in the Outlands which nullifies high-level magic, so magc in general is muted within the ruins. The mysterious figure didn't have minions of their own but rather used the ten to get a maguffin from the treasure. There was a fight, and the mysterious figure fled (but wasn't really defeated, their treachery only really killed one of the ten, the others died to the ruins themselves, mostly). One of the four who survived is concerned about the figures motives and isn't interesed in the treasure. The other three are and are willing to use it to pay adventurers to help them retrieve it.
The Towers and the Ring are set encounters, filling them with sentient guards as well as nonsentient guards makes sense to me, so constructs (like constructed commoners), elementals, and awakened undead work fine. In general, outsiders don't need to eat or sleep (at least according to 3.5 and never quanitifed as to why later) so I was hoping to find a race of outsiderrs that would be okay with being locked up for god know how long just to take care of and guard a ruined sanctum, but I couldn't really think of one.
The Maze on the other hand will still feature random encounters (As per older rules for random encounters) The maze is full of traps, hazards, monsters, etc. It's not meant to be easy to navigate, it's meant to be a terror inducing slog. Players who aptly prepare for danger should be fine, players who walk out into a crossroads without listening, or checking for danger might be in for a world of hurt ("well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions"). I don't enjoy killing players, though I believe that the danger of character death is necessary to motivate players in some instances. Players will need to bring lots of food and water, the maze is BIG, it's partly the reason some of the ten died in the first place.
Often random encounters are unprepared combat encounters and those often end badly but you can make a table of prepared encounters that occur randomly or simply not run random encounters as combat.
If you have an area players are going to spend allot of time in and the players have some free roam on what to do there then you can create a list of inhabitants or objects and then use a dice to choose which appear and how. If the things on the list are defined character or factions you should have an idea how they interact. For example for a forest you may have some beasts, a druid, a unicorn and a faction of bandits which are poachers. You roll on the table twice and maybe you get a beast on it's own which is maybe them stuck in a trap or trying to get into a hunters cache or you get a bandit and a beast which is them chasing down or fighting an animal or you get a unicorn and a beast which is the unicorn healing them ect...
Pretty much anything.
A slightly left field option might me have the area occupied by rogue modrons who still think their on the plane of mechanus, that way you have a ready supply of constructs that maintain everything, you have the higher level modrons as mini bosses, larger constructs roaming the area, depending on the level of PC's a cadaver collector might be quite interesting as a form of body collection to keep the maze looking fairly harmless.
Or just poach the entire plot/theme of the film labyrinth and have goblins running around led by an Archfey.
You should include a Nothic somewhere - I'll recommend these monsters until my last breath. Creepy creatures that stalk ancient knowledge and crave information, the remnants of wizards who got too consumed in their search for more power/knowledge....what's not to love?
They're definitely more of a social encounter than a combat encounter, but you could potentially run it either way. Maybe the Nothic acts as a guide of sorts for the party in a certain area of the mega dungeon? For a price, of course...
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?