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A Sapient Megadungeon is You (Generic D&Dish fantasy)

So Vote Count:
[X] 12 Raise Magic to 1: (Fellgar, kinglugia, Robotninja, Deathwings, Valette-Serafina, another advent, iamnuff, Heaven Canceler, Winged One, Drakebane, Jiven, Darik29)
[X] 3 Raise Monsters to 1.: (Larekko12, darklord, Emral282)

IRC said:
(9:35:24 AM) a2znut: Didn't I alreayd tell you the merit?
(9:35:29 AM) a2znut: Darkened
(9:35:38 AM) a2znut: Actual Dungeons Actually Included.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You expend the life you gained, burning its essence to empower yourself in ways you only dimly understand. The results are impressive, you suddenly feel so much more aware of the world around you. New sensations you never imagined existed unfold and you can feel your power changing.


++++Magic increased to 1++++
++++Spellbook Unlocked++++
++++Cantrips Learned++++


Intuitively you alter your layout. The process is slower taking minutes instead of seconds to invoke your new abilities. But the results are worth it. A rock near the entrance rises into the air and begins to spin in circles. Amazing.

++++Mage Hand Learned++++

It's easy enough to modify. You shift your layout subtly again and it simply hovers there unmoving.

++++Variation: Hover Learned++++

The results are tame enough for now, but you can make this power grow. Without dwelling on the rock you focus on the other abilities you can invoke. Movement was the easiest to conceptualize. You are, largely a physical object. Complex patterns of motion come naturally to you.

++++Sudden Noise Learned++++

But you endowed yourself with a voice, sound is not so difficult either. You shift your layout again and the rock moves, swinging back and forth as if attached to a pendulum. The motion is routine, preprogrammed. Dynamic alterations to the effects are yet beyond you. But that doesn't matter for now. Each time the rock passes the center of its arc, a bell sounds, ringing loudly and clearly throughout your depths, the second spell set to trigger when anything moves through that space.

You experiment, changing the sound. An all to human scream cries out for help with every swing of the rock, a dog's loud bark, the clash of swords.

But it's still mechanical, limited, constrained. You cannot alter the sounds dynamically, carry on a conversation. If only...

Inspiration comes almost immediately. Departing from your magic for a brief moment, you instead apply that principal to your preexisting powers. Taking the feel, the constraints, the mental exercises that allow you to craft sound and applying it to your own voice.

Help Help Help Help

"Help, I'm trapped! Please, someone, help" The results are more than pleasing, though there is still a faint mechanical sound, an oddness to the rhythm of the words that you cannot yet surpass. The truly perceptive and the careful will surely see through this trick.

++++Sudden Noise and Merit (Voice): Voice Upgraded: (Mimicry) Learned++++

And yet there is still more to test. The next spell you grasp intuitively is quite useful. You bound yourself to darkness unthinkingly, but that made it too easy to kill. The pair of adventurers stumbled some, groping around in the dark. Useful of course, and you don't regret the decision, but the power to craft light should surely allow you a variety of options. You twist your layout, forming a bright sphere of li...

++++Mage Light Learne Elemental Affinity: Darkness: Magelight NOT learned.++++


Pain. You've never felt pain before. Yet even so, you can think of no other name to label this sensation. As if your darkness within was burning you from the inside out, or as if the darkness itself was burning. The knowledge of how to craft light is there, but every attempt to use it results in agony. You set it aside for now.

The last spell is by far the most varied. Rearranging yourself you adjust your colors, alter the size of things. A rock dropped on a pressure plate causes a key to materialize in the air, perfect for opening your treasure chests, though too fragile to do more but fade to nothing afterwards. You find you can adjust your temperature ever so slightly, create gusts of wind and do a thousand other things. So long as you inflict no harm, and try nothing too large or complicated almost anything seems possible.

++++Prestidigitation Learned++++

The thrill of new knowledge fades, and the joy of experimenting with your successes soon grows stale. But, before you can slip into hibernation to await new adventurers, an almost unconscious desire fills you. Almost beyond your control, you begin to craft a new chamber, removed from the main entrances to your dungeon with no exits nor entrance. And yet, the chamber fills with fresh air. Meat would have no trouble breathing inside, though it could no more escape than it could dig through a mountain.

Of course, to hold them indefinitely. It's easy to twist your layout to include new food, and to reshape your dungeon entirely without crushing the prison. Rather than grasping why or how such secrets emerged, you find yourself content to simply experiment. It's easy enough to understand how to use the prison, to bind an incapacitated adventurer to you until they are as much a part of you as the treasures you create. This, you feel, does not allow control. But it would allow you to move the incapacitated deeper inside as easily as you rearrange your own body, make them vanish from their companions and appear in the prison. Of course, you realize, it won't work on the dead. Using your dungeon means you can't eat the captured until you tire of them. Its use also requires that you defeat adventurers without killing them, and manage to capture them before a companion can help them recover.

There's no sense in wasting time contemplating how or why such complicated extensions of your own functions came to be without any consumption on your part. It happened and you are stronger for it, more able to catch prey. And that's what important.

You wait. Adventurers will come.


1. Change your basic layout?
[ ] Keep the same simple progression (trapped chest in the first room, boulder in the second based on trapped chest in the third.)
[ ] Change it up (Write up new overall plan or choose not to make one)

2. What do you add to the first room?
[ ] Keep it the same (3 dogs)
[ ] Add animals, traps and/or magic
[ ] Nothing

3. Shall you communicate?
[ ] Keep pretending to be the spirit left to guard the mad-wizard's treasure
[ ] Use mimicry to change it up, adding more voices and sounds as well. (Describe changes?)
[ ] Write-in?
 
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[X] Keep the same simple progression (trapped chest in the first room, boulder in the second based on trapped chest in the third.)
[X] Keep it the same (3 dogs)
[X] Keep pretending to be the spirit left to guard the mad-wizard's treasure
 
Maybe we should ya know step it up a bit. So we can actually get some good bodies? Maybe double the dogs?

So two stages traps?

Maybe some scream bait behind a trap?
 
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Larekko12 said:
Maybe we should ya know step it up a bit. So we can actually get some good bodies? Maybe double the dogs?

So two stages traps?

Maybe some scream bait behind a trap?
the frist room is meant to be easy so we can get an idea of what these guys are weak against. we customize from there.
 
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Meh, not smooth operator enough.

We should have mentioned to Wil that there are some treasures that have ressurective effect farther inside. Not that we are saying anything, really, can you keep quiet about that, Wil?

You aren't strong enough, Wil, who will take care of your brother's body, if you die here and now?

Maybe if you get strong enough, then you can get farther in, and through all the secret doors, and all, to get to one of the treasures.
But you cannot right now, cause all the traps, and you didn't hear it from me, certainly!


Should've done something like that, and not just shut up at the end.

Meh, I also dislike the initial Darkness vote. Not versatile enough.
But votes are votes.

Keep the setup as it is currently. When we get more lives, we can allow people to find secret doors to further in.
 
[X] Keep the same simple progression (trapped chest in the first room, boulder in the second based on trapped chest in the third.)
[X] Keep it the same with the Dogs.
[X] Keep pretending to be the spirit left to guard the mad-wizard's treasure
 
[X] Keep the same simple progression (trapped chest in the first room, boulder in the second based on trapped chest in the third.)
[X] Add animals, traps and/or magic
-no dogs in room two more in 3 use Prestidigitation to make a Fake key and put it in the first chast
[X] Keep pretending to be the spirit left to guard the mad-wizard's treasure
 
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[X] Keep the same simple progression (trapped chest in the first room, boulder in the second based on trapped chest in the third.)
[X] Keep it the same with the Dogs.
[X] Keep pretending to be the spirit left to guard the mad-wizard's treasure

Honestly can't think of anything new to do, and really don't want this quest to die.
 
[X] Keep the same simple progression (trapped chest in the first room, boulder in the second based on trapped chest in the third.)
[X] Keep it the same with the Dogs.
[X] Keep pretending to be the spirit left to guard the mad-wizard's treasure
[X] However make it a clear progression of loot, put copper coins in the first chest have silver scattered throughout the tunnels, gold in the last room and cough up some gems for people who bring possible keys with them if you feel like it and have obtained at least one life from their party (claim that the blood while not enough to fully open the treasure allowed the displacement of a few gems).
I figure it gives them clear motive to keep moving forward and take risks while giving us a reputation of being able to score a decent haul fairly easily but giving more as you push onwards thereby incentivizing risk and sunk cost fallacies.
 
Okay, not seeing many votes, so I'll call it here for the keep it the same plan. Have some things that might interrupt the writing if it takes a while, but let's see what you'll be up against.

1-4- Warrior
5-7 - Thief
8-9 -Cleric
10- Wizard

dice_warn.gif
And what happens if you try to edit the tampered message anyway? !
Rolled 5d10 : 9, 4, 8, 7, 9, total 37

1-2- Peasant
3-8- Hireling
9-10- Adventurer
(No more than 2 adventurers

dice_warn.gif
This dice roll has been tampered with! Be afraid meatbags
Rolled 5d10 : 4, 9, 6, 7, 5, total 31

Edit: Oops. hireling range was wrong. I totally didn't change these rolls (much)! I'm innocent, innocent I say! Is shoddy editing a crime?
 
3 clerics, a warrior and a thief. all of the hireling level.
 
Warrior's an adventurer. Chart range is a bit different for this roll, since your reward went up a bit (And no first time through mercy anymore)
 
Darkened said:
Warrior's an adventurer. Chart range is a bit different for this roll, since your reward went up a bit (And no first time through mercy anymore)

opps, the light grey makes the numbers hard to read sometimes. I thought that 9 was a lower number.
 
Also it says that Hireling is 3-9 and adventurer is 9-10.
 
So, a warrior who actually knows what they're doing brought along some help, but nobody as good as them. And they presumably really like being healed.

Or maybe it's a religious pilgrimage that hired the warrior, who brought the thief along for the traps. Except that we don't have any religious stuff... can we make things like golden idols as treasure?
 
A Warrior and his apprentices, all wanting to become Adventurers.
The Thief may be Wil?
 
so, stick wolves in room two and put even more wolves in room 3 along with scattering gems along the floor to make even walking hazardous.
 
"And brother Miriam, would you care to explain once more why you find the drunken ravings of a disturbed peasant to be so noteworthy?" The younger of the two monks sighs and rubs his temples. Dealing with Miriam's enthusiasm is almost as difficult as dealing with the younger man's brilliance in the field, brilliance that demands an older, wiser hand to temper it.

The younger, rounder, monk smiles at his companion once more. "Well, we know that the Alfar civilization left ruins not fifty miles from the place before they all died in the war. Now, a drunken madman starts raving about how his brother died in a cave with a talking spirit. Now, you know as well as I that no proper mage has been recorded living in the Wellmar hills since we have coherent records. So that can only mean that such ruins would actually predate the Name-blight. It's a historical treasure trove!"

The older, thinner librarian sighs. "Ignoring, for the moment, how you happened upon this drunken lout in the first place, I suppose then that you won't be talked out of investigating?" Miram steadfastly shakes his head. Many have doubted Miriam's will and his commitment to the monastic lifestyle, but never has any raised doubts about his courage or his devotion to history.

"And, if the drunk is just an idiot, or we can't find the cave in question?" Librarian Amum's objections are mere token resistances at this point. None who devote themselves to the goddess of history could resist the chance at such a find, no matter how slim. He is certain he will approve Miriam's expedition now, at least in the course of time. Finding the money, for a temple that already oversees a small and adversarial community, hiring guards, properly informing the head temple of the potential discovery... Why, Librarian Amum nods to himself, the expedition could begin in as little as three years depending on how remote the cave is.

"Oh, no worries. I've already used most of our budget to hire a crack troupe of adventurers! They'll round up that drunken peasant in no time and we'll have him lead us!"

"You... what?" Librarian Amum can only sigh.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++Librarian Amum, Brother Miriam, Wil the Bandit, Gregor Greydawn and Merchant-Priest Petricia have entered the dungeon.++++

You don't quite know how to place the emotion that fills your cavernous heart when you realize Wil once again stands outside your doors. Of course hunger plays a part, but there's an odd variety buried behind your bloodlust. There's no point in worrying about these things. You survey the rest of the group.

The five people stand sWil stands a bit apart with bloodshot eyes and a dejected look. The two men in simple brown robes form their own miniature conclave. One is short and fat and the other tall in slim.

But the last two are far more interesting. A fair-haired man, or boy perhaps, approaches. He idly toys with the hilt of a slender sword. Various blades are strapped across his lightly armored body. And yet the youth walks with far more casual grace and confidence than any of his companions. He practically radiates danger. A woman wearing--isn't she cold--practically clutches to him in between glaring at the two men in robes. Why, Wil was thoughtful enough to bring a feast with him this time! You really should thank him.

Oh hello Wil, I didn't expect to see you again. Who are your friends Wil?

They all startle at the noise, but only the warrior moves, pushing himself to the front and drawing his sword with a single quick motion. When no threat appears he steps back, sheathing the weapon.

"Fascinating, fascinating. Librarian Amum, have you ever seen, or heard I suppose, anything like it? Why this is simply..." The fatter man in the robe wanders toward your entrance, practically mindless of his surroundings. Nice to know that at least one of them won't be any difficulty to kill.

Introduce me to your friends Wil.

The would-be bandit glowers a little before speaking. "Those two in the robes're Miriam and Amum, so fancy monks from the big ci..."

"If, larger town is what he means by big city, then yes. It's a pleasure to meet you spirit." The thinner one, Amum, responds for his companion.

"And the other two are Gregor Greydawn and his girl Pettie or something. Worships the god o' business I think." Amum winces horribly at Wil's speech. He should have heard the kobolds talk if he thinks that's bad. "They're some 'proper' adventurers or something." Neither of the two mentioned deigns to offer a response and the moment drags into an awkward silence.

Well do come in. I've been simply dying for company.

As the group approaches the cavern, three voices begin to mutter and three orbs of bright, painful, light spread out within your darkness, illuminating at least half of the room.

"Amazing! Amum, the darkness isn't at all natural. Notice how the lights waver and don't go as far as they should. Why, we'd need a thaumaturgical expert to investigate, but I expect the entire cavern is aspected to...." Gregor grabs the fat one and practically kicks him back. In one smooth motion he turns, draws his sword and bisects the first starving dog to jump out of the shadows. That's... that's not fair! The dog wasn't even making much noise that time and he acted like he knew it was there.

The woman behind him begins to mutter, and Gregor's arm sparkles ever so slightly as he launches a tumbling knife into the eye of one of the remaining dogs. It hadn't even left the darkness yet! The last dog survives last barely seconds as Gregor quietly steps forward. Both Amum and Miriam look somewhat panicked, by the barely-dressed woman stays focused, waiting to do something until Gregor casually sheathes his bloody sword looking faintly bored.

"Forty copper added then." The cleric notes drily, absently producing a pad of paper from somewhere in her costume and marking something down.

"Oh look at this!" Miriam, on the other hand, remains just as excited, despite the fact that he would have, absent Gregor, had his throat torn out by a wild beast.

"The chest you mentioned seems to be locked again, fascinating! Wil, come unlock it for us all!" The bandit slumps forward, his eyes hardening as he focuses on Gregor with a strange emotion you can't place. Barely paying any attention at all, he sets to the chest... a mistake that proves rather pleasant for you as he finds himself impaled on the spikes that rush out from the ground.

Be careful Wil, you might get hurt.

Wil?


The fat one and the thin one both set to muttering something and focusing on Wil. By contrast, the scantily clad woman walks over and pokes the bandit's bleeding corpse a few times.

++++Hireling Wil the Bandit was Slain! 2 lives acquired!++++

Wonderful, the rush of blood and life is far better than you got from Wil's brother. Surely someone such as Gregor would be better yet. Visions of blood and murder dance before your (not that a proper dungeon such as you would rely on something so primitive and fleshy as eyes) eyes as you contemplate how best to kill them all. Unfortunately you probably won't get to thank Wil for the bounty, but you're sure he's in a better place. At least, a better place for you that is.

"Deader than any of us can fix." Pettie, if that was her name, notes emotionlessly before turning to the now-unlocked chest and pushing it open with a long stick.

While the two monks try to see to the murdered bandit, Gregor wastes no time in plundering the chest. The warrior somehow manages to fit the chest's entire contents into a single pouch. How curious. is it magical then?

At last, once Gregor's done, he turns to face the others and finally speaks. "No one left to look for traps. Safer to turn back, hire someone competent and come back."

Amum and Miriam glance at each other and mutter darkly before Amum steps forward. "I'm afraid it simply isn't in the budget to hire anyone else. We only have a certain amount of time and funding for this expedition, so I must insist we continue today."

It's the woman, Pettie?, who replies this time. "Gregor's contract specifies that we'll take care of the fighting provided that you brought someone to disarm traps, pick locks and handle other miscellaneous traps. If you don't have that, then, I'm afraid the amount you've paid isn't sufficient." Thankfully neither the woman nor the warrior leaves. Surely they won't just walk away after teasing you with how delicious they might be. So, what are they up to?

The thinner monk sighs while Miriam actually begins to cry. "Fine then, you get to keep the silver, and we'll only take enough of whatever coins we find to examine for historical purposes. But we still need to examine relics or the like, or the entire expedition becomes pointless so we won't surrender rights to those."

Fascinating, bargaining with each other in the middle of a dangerous situation such as this. How greedy can these humans be? Eventually the matter is settled, and the group proceeds onward to the next room. Gregor naturally takes the lead.

1. Room 2: The hallway with the boulder. What else have you set up?
[ ] Choose traps and monsters.
 
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Well, now I'm tempted to kill them all and dispense with the wizard deception entirely, now that we've eaten Wil.
 
[X] A variety of shallow, thin trenches and spike traps to slow unwary explorers enough that, should they manage to avoid being tripped or stabbed more then a couple of times, they will still be able to make it through to the 'end'.
 
[X] A series of shallow trenches that are easy to trip in, stick a pack of 6 wolves in there as well.
 
[X] Stone carvings on the walls and indecipherable writing, parts of them trigger poison arrow traps when touched.
[X] They're here for historical purposes, give them some wall ornaments and say that the ornaments further in are less worn-down to lure them further in
[X] 6 dogs and 5 bats
 
Hm...
[X]A pack of 5 wolves, and the treasure chest in the next room also triggers the darkness to get to maximum blindness here. The pressure plate that triggers the boulder trap once armed itself by the treasure chest also triggers some arrow traps (hidden in some stone carvings with indecipherable writing) in the hallway behind (as in farther in) the pressure plate, discouraging the retreat back into room 3 that could save them from the boulder trap.

Yeah, I'm just trying to kill them all here.
 
Eler0 said:
[X] Stone carvings on the walls and indecipherable writing, parts of them trigger poison arrow traps when touched.
[X] They're here for historical purposes, give them some wall ornaments and say that the ornaments further in are less worn-down to lure them further in
[X] 6 dogs and 5 bats

This is the Boulder Room.

You know that one level in Crash Bandicoot that keeps showing up, where you have to run away from a giant fucking boulder tumbling down to crush you?

It's kind of like that.

Our goal should be to trip up the monks, and then let the mercenaries leave with some treasure... Assuming they don't throw their lives away to save the monks, which would also be fine.
 
Vindictus said:
This is the Boulder Room.

You know that one level in Crash Bandicoot that keeps showing up, where you have to run away from a giant fucking boulder tumbling down to crush you?

It's kind of like that.

Our goal should be to trip up the monks, and then let the mercenaries leave with some treasure... Assuming they don't throw their lives away to save the monks, which would also be fine.
The boulder only triggers on their way back.
And I'd prefer to let the monks leave and kill the mercenaries. We just have to drop some hints to the monks about a library or something further in behind the locked door you need a relative of the wizard to open and we'll get lots of adventurers from their order.
 
It only triggers when they leave? Huh. I missed that.

Well, in that case,

[X] A series of spike traps, creating a simple maze. The traps are visibly different from the rest of the floor, but only slightly.
[X] Irregularly placed, shallow ditches to trip people up and twist ankles.
[X] ALL THE BATS.

It'll be easy going in, but getting out is going to be a bitch and a half.
 
[X] Stone carvings on the walls and indecipherable writing, parts of them trigger poison arrow traps when touched.
[X] They're here for historical purposes, give them some wall ornaments and say that the ornaments further in are less worn-down to lure them further in
[X] 6 dogs and 5 bats
 

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