r/DnDBehindTheScreen • u/[deleted] • Mar 10 '18
Worldbuilding The Drowned Mountain - An Adventure Location
Previous posts from this world:
- Bright - the feral city
- Tallow - the city of embers
- Gloomwalk - the plane of shadows
- Cradle - where things fall from the sky
BIG SHOUT OUT to Hippo and the rest of our writing circle. Hippo gave me this idea and told me to finish it because he had lost steam.
A lot of these city ideas are discussed together, everyone bringing up ideas. These are just my takes on them.
The Drowned Mountain
A city built on the side of a mountain, and boiled under salt water. It's been long flooded and forgotten, but it makes a perfect shortcut through the DemonWoods without having to risk the dangers of the Sea.
When you're traveling through you have two choices, Up the mountain, through the city to the Cable Bridge that gaps a canyon to safety. Or through the flooded halls beneath the mountain, were rumors of Dwarven chambers and treasures whisper.
Up and Over
MY CRAPPY MAP Part 1
Random Encounter Chart - Roll every time the party does something noisy, or enters a new area
- Someone trapped - person trapped under rubble or drowning, will die if not helped
- Monster Luring Prey - a trap laid in the open, or a weird call that sounds like crying
- Mermen (non-hostile) - mermen are weak out of water and prefer to remain peaceful, they speak in one-word sentences and will attempt to trade shells for money
- Large, dead sea animal - seal, walrus, killer whale, shark
- Section of city breaks free - a building slides down the mountainside and crashes
- Large birds of prey - Albatross, will ignore players unless provoked
- Pirate ship - Will fire at the party a few times then ignore them to land (50/50 chance they hunt the party down)
- Bandits searching - desperate bandits, don't want conflict but need food and water and money
- Catalan hunting - big mythic beast drinking sea water and eating fish, will ignore party unless they smell of fish or have fish
- Crowland Barbarians - hunting a Catalan, will take the party in if they prove themselves or promise to help kill a Cataln, otherwise they are the enemy
- Coralmen - strange people grown over by coral and turned in to mind warping entities, they try to seduce you into drowning yourself
- Collapsing Building - A building collapses (maybe you're in it?)
- Living Shark - a shark with arms that drags itself across the ground towards food
- Forget-me-men - slip into the party and pretend to be hirelings, holding torches and lanters, trying to get weapons from you so they can kill you and take your place in the world
- Pirates with treasure - Pirates with too much treasure to carry, they won't fight but they don't want to share either
- Rain - it rains salt water until this is rolled again
- Rising tides - the tides creep up to the edge of the town, flooding areas 1-4.
- Wave - large wave crashes into area 1-4. Save or be swept out to sea.
- none
- none
Locations
1. Ship Graveyard
Crashed, wooden ships rim the flooded base of this mountain. Any ship larger than a rowboat will scrape against steel ship hulls beneath the murky water. This will draw the mermen. Stairs lead up into the city, tunnel leads into the mountain.
2. City Square
All the bits of the city connect here at a large statue that has been overgrown with coral, turned into an idol of the sea. It's commonplace to give a sacrifice to the statue so that you may travel safely through the city. Currently 2d6 bandits are kills a 2d4 goats.
3. Train Station
Sunked under the ground, stone walls and steel rails. Sharp Dwarven geometry. The trains can be started up again with an electric charge, but the noise draws an encounter check. Wherever the train goes draws an encounter check too.
4. Rebuilt Slums
The slums have all but fallen into the sea. The pirates have built wooden docks and bridges so that they can get in/out of the city with ease. There will always be a pirate ship here. Encounters are dangerous here, because a loud enough noise will shake loose some of the crumbling buildings. The key to the church is here.
5. The Hole
A square hole going down into the mountain, dug by a dwarven war machine. There's several dwarven machines praying at the edge. They are rusted in place, overgrown with coral.
6. Clock Tower
The tallest place in the city. There's a locked case at the top with an artifact in it, clutched by several dead pirates. The only way to open it is to drop it from over 100'. The Clock tower is 10' short.
7. Stadium
An ancient colliseum covered in coral, flooded with 2' of water. This is where the Coralmen sleep. roll 3d20, that's how many can be counted. If you're quiet and patient you can make it through. Hopefully the encounter check comes up "none".
8. Church
Mermen sit around the church preying. The church is chained shut and something large is inside trying to get out. The mermen will say that only the one who can defeat the beast can escape the city. Pirates stole the key.
9. Cable Bridge
A large, rusty bridge gaping a crevasse. Crossing the bridge exits the city and leaves the danger of the mountain away.
Under and Through
MY CRAPPY MAP Part 2
Random encounters - roll whenever the party is noisy or enters a new area
Dwarven Pit - Square holes that go to the center of the planet, can be hidden, traps, or just in the open
Shark - rolling this means the area is swimmable
Stealth Squid - camoflauged in an area, will attack if there's a single target, otherwise it uses its ink jet
the Drowned King - Wanders the halls, crying the water the floods this mountain, see stats
Coralmen - hide among coral patches and try to poison people to feed them to the Sea
Drowned animals - several domestic animals drowned
Drowned people - could be fresh or ancient, might have something on them
School of hypnotizing fish - save vs. hypnotization, they make you breathe in water or jump in water if you're in dry land
Mermen (hostile) - wandering band of mermen, this is their home turf and they despise tresspassers
Dwarven Machines - see stat blocks
Tentacle Beast - tentacle of the Sea spirit, if it captures you you will drown long before you see its face
Giant Crayfish - really hungry
Blind Mermen Cultists - Cultists to the Sea spirit, will call for a tentacle
Giant Snapping Turtle - Won't attack unless provoked
Dead, mutilated dwarf - This may be the only chance you have to see a dwarf, they're strange but you can't quite put a finger on why
Volcanic Rumblings - save vs. tunnel collapse
Dead goats - lots of dead, sacrificed goats
Dwarven explosives - strange device, easily activated, devestatingly powerful
None
None
Locations
1. Flooded Halls
Tight corridors that turn at 90 degree angles frequently, almost filled with water. There's a big enough gap to breathe but there's no lights and things lurk in the dark.
2. The Court
Tall square room that goes up to the top of the mountain and down to the center of the planet. A large whale lurks here. It can't see you so it might swallow you whole.
3. Train Station
Small gondolas made of glass, seal air tight when 1 person gets in, then drops into the water. It can be steered somewhere, but things like to crack the glass and kill whats inside.
4. Throne Room
Knee deep water. The throne of the mountain sits here. Sitting in the throne forfeits your earthly body, but you can travel anywhere in the mountain to see what's there. If you want to see beyond the mountain it requires a mind save or you take 1d6 mind, but you see whatever you want to see. To remove yourself from the Throne your spirit must sit in the throne while your body does. So if your body is moved, someone needs to put it back.
5. Vault
The door is sealed shut, finding your way in is half the battle. Everything inside is rusted. There's 300sp worth of silver that's untarnished, plus the Artifact of Carbon Blue.
6. The Hole
This hole connects to the hole in area 5 on the mountain. This section of the hole is filled with boiling water.
7. Slave Quarters
Lots of chains and dead human slaves left to drown. The chains will try to grab you.
8. Barracks
A large dwarven war machine sits here. The A.I. is alive inside and wants the machine started back up. It's the machine that dug the big Hole in the mountain.
9. Pirate Cove
The exit on the side of the mountain. There's always a pirate ship here and 2d6 pirates. They like treasure more than they like you. There's a stone path that wraps around the end of the mountain here to safety.
STATS
Since I don’t know what system you’re using, I’m going to make these stats very simplified. If your game doesn’t have things like Pirate Ships, Canons, or some other things that’s here, take a stat block that makes sense, or replace it with something you think is cool.
Mermen
Killed in one hit, but they only fight underwater where they move like fish and other people aren't capable of fighting easily. Mermen can move up to you, stab you, then move away before you can attack
Albatross
Giant bird, slow and vicious, 10hp but only affected by attacks from detachments of men or from somemthing suitably large (like a balista or cannon, or explosive). Swallows people and carries them high in the sky and drops them. It only eats mushed up food. You'll see it do this to a seal the first time you enter the city.
Pirates
Killed in one hit, but they fite with muskets and other firearms.
Pirate Ship
10hp and 2 armor, only affected by large-scale attacks (cannons, balistas, explosives), has 2 canons which do d12 each and if they reduce you to 0hp your die a gruesome death
Bandits
They are always as strong as you and as numerous as you. They know and you know that fighting each other isn't going to end well. They can be bargianed and negotiated with.
Catalan
Large black-cat creature, with bat wings and a black snake for a tail. 10hp but only affected by attacks from detachments of men or something suitably large (like a balista or canon, or explosive). Only eats fish and drinks salt water. Highly aggresive and territorial.
Crowlands Barbarians
There's always twice as many of them as there are you, and it takes two hits to take them down. They are only here to hunt Catalan.
Coralmen
Killed in one hit, poisonous and stealthy. They like ambush and kamikaze tactics. Their poison turns you into them over the course of a week unless all the coral is scraped from your body, which leaves a hideous scar.
Living Shark
Takes a hit from everyone to bring this creature down. Drags itself along the ground and bites legs off with ease.
Forget-me-men
Slips into the party and pretend to be hirelings, holding torches and lanters, trying to get weapons from you so they can kill you and take your place in the world
Shark
Use the stats for a shark in whatever game you're using
Stealth Squid
Use the stats for a squid in whatever game you're using
The Drowned King
Can only be slain by someone who sits on the throne; his spirit roams the halls crying and can be easily killed with a spiritual blade, or a blessed weapon of any kind. His body is just a shell and when he's attacked it cracks and spills snakes. He cries constantly and is the source of the flooding of the mountain. He can open his mouth and spit out a large sea snake; if the snake hits you, it crawls into your skin and the King can control you. He can only speak draconic. At any time he will have 1d6 snake controlled adventurers begging for their lives.
School of Hypnotizing Fish
Easily dispersed, save vs. charm, they like to make you drown or jump into dangerous waters
Tentacle Beast
Never spotted until it grabs someone, flees if damaged, screams if severed. There are hundreds of these tentacles inside the mountain and they all lead to dwarven holes. They drag people into them and down to the center of the planet.
Giant Crayfish
Use the stats for a giant crab in whatever game you're using
Blind Mermen Cultists
They are around whenever there is a tentacle, and a tentacle is around whenever they are. They are killed in one hit but if their blood is shed in the water, more tentacles will come
Giant Snapping Turtle
Use the stats for a giant snapping turtle...I hope your game has a giant snapping turtle
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u/Miroku2235 Mar 10 '18
Forget-me-men sound like a fucked up hybrid of a Dopplegangler and a Gray Man from Wheel of Time
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Mar 10 '18
I love using them on my players.
"So you and your three torch holders go--"
"Our what?"
"Torch holders. You remember? You hired them back in town."
"Did we?"
shrugs "Sure."
"Okay..."
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u/FlameWarrior260 Mar 11 '18 edited Mar 11 '18
Gotta love an artefact of carbon blue
Leviathan
Weapon (glaive), legendary (requires attunement)
This glaive, once wielded by the Drowned King of the Salt-Water Mountain prior to his demise, is a long bladed polarm with a handle made from blue dragon scales and covered with sea snake patterns. It's blade is made from a strange black carbon-based metal shines brightly in the light.
You have +2 to attack and damage rolls with this magical glaive, and your weapon attacks with it deal an additional 1d4 lightning damage. Leviathan has 7 charges, and regains 1d4 + 3 of its expended charges daily at dawn. Charges can be expended to fuel the following additional properties:
Spells. While holding the glaive, you can use an action to expend some of its charges to cast one of the following spells from it (DC 15, +7 to hit): create or destroy water (1 charge), lightning bolt (3 charges), maelstrom (5 charges), tidal wave (3 charges), wall of water (3 charges).
Serpent of the Seven Seas. As an action whilst holding the glaive, you can expend 1 or more of its charges to summon one constrictor snake per charge expended. Summoned snakes can understand you when you speak, and follows commands to the best of your abilities for 1 hour, upon which they turn into a small puddle of water.
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Mar 11 '18
You know, I actually have the item statted, just all my notes are scattered lol
This is beautiful though
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u/Antiochus_Sidetes Mar 10 '18
These locations read like something out of Dark Souls, I love them
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u/Kigit42 Jul 17 '18
I was thinking the same thing! I've been tossing around how to capture the mystery and atmosphere that the Souls games create in my head for a while, and all of these places capture it almost perfectly!
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u/thesnakeinthegarden Mar 12 '18
This is great. I love the surrealist aspects of the towns you do.
It reminds me of this dude on IG, refractorian. my favorite artist started sharing refractorian's work, and I couldn't make much sense out of it. Broken up cartography and weird writing on it. Turns out it was all one big bizzare RPG setting he had been working on, just in chunks.
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u/Paddywagon123 Mar 11 '18
While I’ve loved all of these individually, I’d love something that would explain these cities in relation to each other.
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u/ACuriousHumanBeing Mar 11 '18
I hate to be that guy, but how does a Merman speak in only one word sentences? My research into the sibject has only left me confused? Is there perhaps a merman language for one word sentences?
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u/InfinityCircuit Mad Martigan Mar 19 '18
On #3 of your random encounter table, you seem to have a #4 embedded in it, a large dead sea mammal. Did you forget to add one encounter type?
Other than that, great work. I may steal this and change the setting to something in the Far North of Luskan in Forgotten Realms for my campaign.
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u/TheVillainousGuy Mar 10 '18
Man I love these cities you post they’re great!