Caverns
Ground water can eat through limestone creating caves and caverns. Such caverns are often explored by the Dwarves and their Chaotic cousins the Dueger to create their Halls (see below). Caverns are well known so I won't cover them more here except to say that the internet is full of cave and cavern maps but most have a level of unnecessary detail that the GM would be wise to strip out to make the thing more usable.
Hill Dwarf Hall
A limestone cavern tamed and expanded to make it livable. Dwarves will build out their Halls for centuries only to abandon the place when the ore runs dry. This leaves Dwarven Halls all over the place and they are frequently occupied by less friendly folks. Typical features:
- Massive central area (the Main Vault) that opens up on a cliffside. This is where the water that carved the original cavern exited. There is usually a stream and waterfall through the Main Vault.
- Exploratory tunnels as the Dwarves attempt to find the limits of the limestone layer and any ore within. Exploratory tunnels are eventually finished with masonry and apartments and such to become populated sections as the exploration pushes further and further from the main Vault.
- Exploratory tunnels and mines of room & pillar design have leather tapestries designed to dampen the sound and limit the dust from spreading.
- Populated sections of a vault always have lofty ceilings (structurally digging out the floor doesn't require additional shoring), frequent Air/Light shafts to the surface above the vault, and tile mosaics and tapestries. They tend to min in a room & pillar design (looks like most typical dungeon maps but in some areas they'll excavated pockets of ore leaving a vast open sapce that may be subdivided by masonry walls (looking like the crowded original geomorphs).
- Populated sections have communal bath areas and Insula similar to those used by the Romans (although built around a large corridor and not a city block.
- Use of water-powered elevators to move heavy equipment and ore up and down through the vault.
- Spiral stairs, fortifications, and occasional low ceilings for better defense against invasion.
- Vaults often have a foreign compound outside, beneath the central Vault to house Halfling workers and human merchants that trade in Dwarven goods and ore.
- Lower levels have crypts where the cremated remains of the dead are encased into the rock.
- Very geometric in layout. Limestone shears geometrically and the Dwarves tend to use this, also they are anal retentive engineers that don't particularly like angles or curves in their floorpans.
Table 1 - Dwarven Hall Landmark Table
Populated section | Exploration/ Mines | Landmarks |
01-02 | 01-18 | Alcove/Nothing |
03-05 | 17 | Bell |
06-10 | 18-20 | Fountain/Well |
11-14 | -- | Garden |
15-18 | -- | Mural/Mosaic |
19-20 | -- | Statue/Idol |
Table 2 - Dwarven Hall Light
Populated section | Exploration/ Mines | Light |
01-05 | -- | Brazier. On wall or freestanding, provides dim but adequate light |
06-10 | 0-05 | Firepit/Chimney. Can be smelled 100 feet away when lit. |
11-19 | 06-20 | Candles/torches. On wall, freestanding, or candelabra |
20 | -- | Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth. |
Table 3 - Dwarven Hall Populated Sections Descriptors
Walls | Floors | Material |
01-02 | 01-02 | Brick |
05-18 | 05-14 | Flagstone |
-- | 19 | Tile, Mosaic |
20 | 20 | Tile, Plain |
Table 4 - Dwarven Hall Exploration/Mines Descriptors
Walls | Floors | Material |
01-02 | 01-02 | Brick |
03-05 | 03-05 | Dirt, Loose |
06-14 | 06-08 | Dirt, Packed |
-- | 09-10 | Gravel |
-- | 11-12 | Mud |
-- | 13-15 | Sand |
15-20 | 16-20 | Stone, Rough |
A limestone sinkhole is where water cuts vertically into limestone, often causing an area to collapse. These are commonly exploited and 'flipped' by Duegar (Chaos's Contractors, no job too small) on behalf of mad wizards and doomsday cults that wish to keep their location secluded and secret. A limestone sinkhole is a small vertical dungeon built by expanding out an existing limestone sinkhole. Common features:
- Multiple floors built around a central air/light shaft (the original sinkhole).
- Usually occupied by original owner (and thus features for comfort such as rugs and tapestries).
- Usually have water (that carved the original sinkhole) and thus basic plumbing.
- Tend to have excavated areas subdivided by masonry walls.
- Usually has normal doors.
Table 5 - Limestone Sinkhole Landmark Table
1d20 | Landmarks |
01-02 | Alcove/Nothing |
03 | Alter/Chapel/Dias/Shrine |
04 | Fountain/Well |
05 | Gate, Magic |
06-08 | Mural/Tapestry |
09-13 | Pit |
12-16 | Pool/River/Stream |
17-19 | Sairs/Ladder |
20 | Statue/Idol |
Table 6 - Limestone Sinkhole Light
1d20 | Light |
01-02 | Brazier. On wall or freestanding, provides dim but adequate light |
03-05 | Firepit/Chimney. Can be smelled 100 feet away when lit. |
06-12 | Torches |
13 | Candles. On wall, freestanding or candelabra. |
14-15 | Glowing Lichen. Provides dim but adequate light. |
16-17 | Glow Beetles. Crawling around free or in cages. Provide dim but adequate light. |
18 | Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth. |
19-20 | None. |
Table 7 - Limestone Sinkhole Descriptors
Walls | Floors | Material |
01-24 | 01-04 | Brick |
15-17 | 05-17 | Flagstone |
18 | 18 | Stone, Rough |
19 | 19 | Tile, Mosaic |
20 | 20 | Tile, Plain |
Orc Complex
An orc complex is the shorthand for half-assed tunnel complex. The following features are common:
- Insufficient shoring up of the roof creating constant danger of cave-in
- Bad draining, mud, and wet walls
- Improper ventilation and a lack of 'room' in general
Table 8 - Orc Complex Landmark Table
1d20 | Landmarks |
01-09 | Alcove/Nothing |
10 | Alter/Chapel/Dias/Shrine |
11 | Bell |
12-15 | Well |
16-17 | Pit |
18-19 | Pool/River/Stream |
20 | Statue/Idol |
Table 9 - Orc Complex Light
1d20 | Light |
01-05 | Firepit/Chimney. Can be smelled 100 feet away when lit. |
06 | Glowing Lichen. Provides dim but adequate light. |
07-08 | Glow Beetles. Crawling around free or in cages. Provide dim but adequate light. |
09 | Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth. |
10-20 | None |
Table 10 - Orc Complex Descriptors
Walls | Floors | Material |
01-02 | 01-02 | Dirt, Loose |
03-17 | 03-08 | Dirt, Packed |
-- | 09-10 | Gravel |
-- | 11-12 | Mud |
-- | 13-14 | Sand |
18-19 | 15-18 | Stone, Rough |
20* | 19-20 | Wood Planks |
* Indicates wood planks shoring up the roof or muddy insecure walls.
Titan Necropolis
Titan Necropolis
Looking at the barbarous and corrupt ancestors it is easy to forget that long ago the Titans had an advanced civilization that spread colonies across the multiverse. These colonies lasted thousands and thousands of years but there is little evidence except the necropolis each colony built to house their dead. Titan Necropolis generally fall into the category of Mega-dungeon. Known Common features:
- Dug into sandstone using room & pillar design supplemented by masonry as necessary. Sandstone allows for curves and artistic expression and Titan Necropolis often look more like a modern suburb network of streets and cul-de-sacs than the typical dungeon. Burial beds are carved directly into the wall of the different rooms. Sometimes there are three or four beds high in some rooms or chambers.
- Ceilings tend to be barrel vaulted and 20' or more. Main corridors are 20' wide, lesser corridors are 10' wide. Stairs are steep and spiral stairs nearly unknown.
- Different great houses created their own sublevels to bury their dead. These sublevels were often closed by a bronze door and statues of Great Members of the House.
- Great houses often had a caretaker living in their sublevel to help expand the sublevel with new rooms as necessary and to help the family with any funeral needs. They supported such caretakers with food but this also means the sublevel would have a little apartment with bed/kitchen storage and bathroom facilities.
- Lesser houses buried their dead in communal areas. These areas often dug out the floor to expand a chamber when necessary rather than building new chambers, this means they could be far taller than the standard 20'.
- Titan history (for each world colony) is divided into periods unique to that colony. When a new period begins a new level will be started. Different periods may have different design styles (prefer curves or not). Often they searched for a different colored layer of sandstone to differentiate the period.
- Each level will have at least one air/light shafts. Different sublevels often have air/light shafts that connect to this providing indirect light and air to that sublevel. The Air/light shaft often opens into a large room with plants and other foliage. Such an air/light shaft is only rarely used as the entrance/exit to a level.
- Titan worship of the elements is found in numbers fountains, airshafts, stone, and eternal flames (often these were powered by magic, or at least captive elementals).
- Decorations are typically mosaics carved directly into the sandstone wall, bronze plates with etched designs, tapestries and fancy rugs, fountains and flames as mentioned above, and bronze and stone statues. The titans loved their statues.
- Since Titan Necropolis are ancient the millennia of later users have often removed any remnants of the Titan bodies, graffiti, and destruction of the mosaics carved into the sandstone are common; and burial beds are often converted into beds (presumably without the new occupants knowing the original purpose).
Table 10 - Titan Necropolis Landmark Table
1d20 | Landmarks |
01-03 | Alcove/Nothing |
04-05 | Carvings |
06-10 | Fountain |
11-12 | Garden/Terrarium |
13 | Gate, Magic |
14-15 | Mural/Mosaic |
16 | Pool |
17-18 | Stairs/Ladder |
19-20 | Statue/Idol |
Table 11 - Titan Necropolis Light
1d20 | Light |
01-03 | Firepit/Chimney. Can be smelled 100 feet away when lit. |
04-11 | Glowing Lichen. Provides dim but adequate light. |
12-18 | Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth. |
19-20 | Skylight. Provides fresh air and a bit of light, sometimes only a spotlights worth. |
Table 9 - Titan Necropolis Descriptors
Walls | Floors | Material |
01-10 | 01-10 | Dirt, Packed (sandstone) |
-- | 11 | Mud |
-- | 12 | Sand |
11-17 | 13-16 | Stone, Rough |
18 | 17 | Tile, Mosaic |
19 | 18 | Tile, Plain |
20 | 19-20 | Special |
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