tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post5905718792388333629..comments2024-03-25T22:48:31.750-04:00Comments on Dreams in the Lich House: Death Mountain - A Megadungeon ConceptJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18031181424520125213noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-2884955643713013332013-11-05T17:07:16.787-05:002013-11-05T17:07:16.787-05:00I really like the idea of using Typhon and Echidna...I really like the idea of using Typhon and Echidna as inspirations.<br /><br />However, your question about dungeon dressing got me thinking too much - so I'm going to make it its own post - I'll share some thoughts in the next day or so as I get them on paper.<br /><br />Glad you liked the Death Mountain idea.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18031181424520125213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-82774328750366606012013-11-04T21:43:21.311-05:002013-11-04T21:43:21.311-05:00Beedo, this is great! I've been puzzling over ...Beedo, this is great! I've been puzzling over my own megadungeon-in-a-mountain creation, Stormtop, for months now, but I had never really solved the back story. This works very well. I would probably swap out the Hades stand-in for a combination of Typhon and Echidna. Zeus imprisoned Typhon beneath Mt. Etna, and Echidna, the Mother of All Monsters, and her children were allowed to live to challenge future heroes. I would have the Hades-type secretly scheming against the other gods and throw in a Hades cult faction. But here's the thing I can't quite puzzle out: If this is and always has been just Hades' sprawling deathtrap, that can explain the treasure/traps/boons as laid out in your post -- but what about conventional dungeon dressing? Why would Hades put a kitchen or lounge or armoire or laboratory in his dungeon? What would you do to fill the hundreds of obligatory "empty" rooms in Death Mountain? The closest I've come to a solution is a false history, in which the dungeon is believed to have been the center of power of a forgotten Atlantis-type empire. The secret is that there never was such an empire, the empire and its trappings in the mountain are literally "dungeon dressing" so that heroes do not realize what they are up against. Thanks for your great blog! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09581422638708530508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-42223764551502817062013-10-15T13:54:13.214-04:002013-10-15T13:54:13.214-04:00I am sincerely hoping that you will publish it for...I am sincerely hoping that you will publish it for sale, I want to run it! ThanksDSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13378757180964374470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-90957183532004620682013-10-15T08:32:52.566-04:002013-10-15T08:32:52.566-04:00My weekly group is having trouble getting together...My weekly group is having trouble getting together, so I haven't been throwing a lot of energy at The Black City. It's not dead, but I need to decide if I work on it just for the purposes of getting something together for the public (like a product) instead of preparation for a weekly group. I'm finding it's a much different mind set!<br /><br />My thoughts are straying to something like Death Mountain specifically because it'd involve a little less horror and be more high fantasy - a home brew I could run with the kiddos.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18031181424520125213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-5379194397030438972013-10-14T18:20:52.196-04:002013-10-14T18:20:52.196-04:00Nice concept -- it really does tie together all th...Nice concept -- it really does tie together all the elements that make up traditional D&D.Chris C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08655640273250716377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-74836173500551568962013-10-14T12:09:40.620-04:002013-10-14T12:09:40.620-04:00Beedo, I want to know if The Black City is still a...Beedo, I want to know if The Black City is still a thing or have you dropped the project?DSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13378757180964374470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-30780287094426364662013-10-09T06:21:32.438-04:002013-10-09T06:21:32.438-04:00" It is the gold that lures them to their dea..." It is the gold that lures them to their deaths.<br /><br />[...]I want something that aligns with the core values and objectives of basic Dungeons & Dragons; characters risk life and limb plumbing the dark depths of the dungeon to find gold. Gold means experience, power, glory, and fame; it's an objective measurement of a hero's success."<br /><br />This brought to my memory the French comic '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_%28comics%29" rel="nofollow">Donjon</a>', which is set in a megadungeon that works like a bussiness. Daring heros come attracted by tales of fame and fortune. Some of them escape with sweet loot, but most of them fall prey to the monsters (hired by the dungeon) or the traps. And then the dungeon keep their stuff. X)Jorgemánhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12761298504034051707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-54362025950928811522013-10-07T08:47:23.701-04:002013-10-07T08:47:23.701-04:00I imagine the Mythic Underworld is a place somewhe...I imagine the Mythic Underworld is a place somewhere deep below, and the dungeon ultimately connects to the vast caves that lead to the River Styx and the ferryman. Wouldn't that be a cool thing to discover in the depths of the dungeon?<br /><br />Once you cross the River Styx, you could treat the Underworld pretty much as described in Greek Myth.<br /><br />In the Magic the Gathering world, there is a whole class of beings called "The Returned". Dead people who somehow escape the underworld are grayish looking intelligent zombies - they retain their skills, but lost their previous identities to the River of Forgetfulness. Not sure I'd go in the same direction, since I might want there to be things like Raise Dead or Resurrection, but it's intriguing. Rescuing dead people from the underworld is certainly epic and classic.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18031181424520125213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-46097367246523533702013-10-04T17:42:57.385-04:002013-10-04T17:42:57.385-04:00Yes, mortis sounds overly latinate; either thanato...Yes, mortis sounds overly latinate; either thanatos (as Roger noted) or hades would work well though.<br /><br />Great idea overall. I would be curious about the relationship of the megadungeon to the rest of the afterlife. Would there be islands of safety within, perhaps a version of the Elysian Fields?Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-68813483959698702002013-10-04T16:24:24.925-04:002013-10-04T16:24:24.925-04:00Mount Ploutôn : it's another name of Hades whi...Mount Ploutôn : it's another name of Hades which also means "the wealthy". porphyre77https://www.blogger.com/profile/07620350717226228078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-72043164157130894862013-10-04T11:54:17.894-04:002013-10-04T11:54:17.894-04:00That's not a bad point.
On the other hand, th...That's not a bad point.<br /><br />On the other hand, the Greek is probably equally bad, but you could use "Mons" instead of "Mount" and get something like "Mortis Mons".<br /><br />Actually, that sounds a bit more like a landmark on Mars.Simon J. Hogwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07709835550452996449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-16602904715859839292013-10-04T11:35:34.433-04:002013-10-04T11:35:34.433-04:00The Mountain of Vast Wealth and Fortune is probabl...The Mountain of Vast Wealth and Fortune is probably better marketing than Death Mountain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-72057912015265591232013-10-04T09:25:16.798-04:002013-10-04T09:25:16.798-04:00Good concept. I knew about Hades being the god of ...Good concept. I knew about Hades being the god of the Underworld, death and wealth, but you've shown that all three themes tie up into a megeadungeon. When you look at it logically, Hades is the god of dungeons and megadungeons. John Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16945534608747334150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-70965039409265469772013-10-04T09:16:03.279-04:002013-10-04T09:16:03.279-04:00"Thanatos" sounds nice and is better Gre..."Thanatos" sounds nice and is better Greek.Roger G-Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594440701279968693noreply@blogger.com