Need ideas for a dungeon.

[Shadus]

Hey there. I'm currently running a campaign and by players are about to set out into their first dungeon. The main goal of the quest is to obtain an Artifact called the Cast of Ancient Winters(A homebrew item based of of this (http://marvel.wikia.com/Cask_of_Ancient_Winters) ). The Cast is held inside the Temple of Seasons, which is over seen by 5 Druids. Thus far I've imagined the Dungeon is separated into 4 mini-dungeons (1 for each season) with a central chamber/ entryway in between them.

Now originally I was only going to do a winter themed dungeon, but then the whole seasons thing hit me so I'd thought I'd add that in. After all, it adds a more sandbox like feel to the place since the other chambers are not needed for the main quest. They are only there if the players want to explore. But... Then I made a mistake. I had the NPC that gave them the quest tell them about the whole seasons aspect of the dungeon, before I finished building the dungeon... And I honestly have no clue what to do for the Summer and Fall portions of the dungeon. In fact, other than the Winter portion the whole dungeon feels lame...

So then, I need help brainstorming themes and encounters and other stuff for this dungeon.

A few more details for you guys:
The dungeon was formed when Loki dropped four artifacts with significance to the seasons into Midgard. After which time some Druids decided to build temple around them in honor of the seasons.

There is 1 Druid for each season and a 5th to mediate between them. I would like for each Druid to have a different alignment. With Spring being Neutral Good, Summer Chaotic Neutral, Autumn Lawful Neutral, Winter Neutral Evil, and the 5th True Neutral. However, if this has either change or go so be it. Also the 5th Druid is suppose to be a guide for the PCs. There to answer their questions.

I want each section of the dungeon to feel thematically and mechanically different.
The Spring section has a 'new life' and 'growth' theme. It is a massive garden that is home too Good fey that are non-violent unless the PCs ruin their garden. The druid protects the Sunstaff, and staff that heals humanoids, feed and grows plants, and shoots laser beams at undead.
The Winter section is focused on 'frost' and 'decay'. It has frozen hallways and the mobs look more towards slowly chiping away at the players then doing massive damage. The druid here looks after the Cast of Ancient Winters, which could envelope the world in snow and darkness, given time...
As for the other sections... I have no clue. Help?

My group is pretty big on role-playing. I mean we've been playing this game for months and we've finally gotten to the dungeon delve part of the game... So I don't want the whole dungeon to be monster fight after monster fight. I would like ideas for puzzles and social encounters thrown in.

I don't have a clear idea of what the other artifacts are. I have ideas... But wouldn't mind seeing what you guys come up with. I'm okay with home brewing them as long as I know what they do. Bonus points if you find something form Norse mythology!

Oh. Also the party is made up of 7 level 2 characters:
A Dwarf Barbarian, Our Main Melee and party leader,
Dwarf Factotum, Our Miss-Know-it-All with no combat skill,
Dwarf Warlock, A Noble and Socialite,
Dwarf Monk, The Warlocks Butler and Bodyguard,
Dwarf Cleric of Loki, Who is secretly an enemy to the party,
then theres a tongueless Dwarf Fighter DMPC and a Half-Elf commoner NPC that is being dragged around by the Barbarian :P.

Thank you too all who read this wall of text. If there is any other information you need feel free to ask!

[Trilby]

Spring is growth. Winter is ice. So, going with an opposites theme, autumn is withering, summer is fire. You could even throw in some imbalance. For instance, the neutral good fey of spring are going beyond the initial decree between them and autumn (you defined autumn as lawful neutral), and now the balance between spring (growth) and autumn (decay) is broken. As this is an ancient temple, this has been going on for a while, so it should be teeming with the (non-combative) fey. Maybe autumn is even dying, as spring grows (too?) strong? It'd be Team good v. Team lawful, so who is in the right here?
I'd make summer and winter straight up elemental themed dungeons, and have the spring-autumn dilemma (do we restore the balance? Is too much of a good thing a bad thing?) be a roleplaying extravaganza, which need not be combat based. The outcome of that need not be resolved in the temple, it coud kick off a greater world issue?
For the norse mythology connection you could flavour it to be Hel's domain is in trouble, how do the cleric of loki and the party respond to a plea from the trickster god's daughter or even the god himself?

Also, you have five players (I tend not to count dmpcs), and five chambers with possible artefacts in them, so how do you divvy those up? What item is cool for which party member? Or do they form some epic power when combined? If so, should this power be allowed in the world?

My 2 cents:smallcool:

[ArcturusV]

One thing I'd consider, since this is a druidic dungeon?

No central navigational chamber. Druids are big on the natural order. Meaning that it should be something where the only way to get out of Winter is to go to Spring, the only way out of Spring is into Summer, etc. Thus you can have your 5th druid, the guide, being someone who is walking the seasons, cycling through and can drop hints as needed. The only way out of the temple achieved by doing something within each season. Various MacGuffins that may open a portal to the way out. Combine with other ways to open a level to "Deeper _____" where your Cast and similar artifacts may be found.

Spring and Winter, it's easy to draw inspiration from the Seelie and Unseelie courts of the Fey. Dealing with the fey should never be straight forward however. Social encounters should be given a chance to pop up more often. You might want to keep in mind things like the fact that, akin to Devils, they tend to always tell the truth... just warp their words and speak vaguely when they can, etc. Ideally "talking" should be the way your party wants to deal with the Fey. A simple DR 5/Cold Iron can actually be fairly hefty for players to overcome at level 2, where even your frontliners will probably be losing out half their damage to it. Mobs of fey would be very resilient to the players.

Fall and Summer? I'd stick with the Fey, going for more unaligned sort of fey creatures. Fall can get the various "Harvest" spirits, fey that are small, simple, and tend to be non-combative. They're more likely to do things like tie together a sleeping man's boot laces and throw something at his face to wake him up than stab him in the throat. Less of a violent threat (Leave that for Summer and Winter), and more of a nuisance. Unlike Spring and Winter they can't be talked to or deals cut at there is a lack of unity among them and their own flighty nature means any agreement they reach is likely to be dropped. They won't molest the players too much unless they make a go for the MacGuffins they are guarding... at which point you draw inspiration from things like the movie Home Alone, traps and improvised defenses rather than just all out brawling. For Summer I WOULD go with all out, simple brawling. Use "dumb" brutes. Trolls as bosses, Ogres, etc. Singular combat threats, no mobs, no teams. Encounters are fairly straight forward, the only way to "deal" with them is to bribe them heavily with something they want, food, silver, etc.

[Red Fel]

I like the idea of Summer and Winter (particularly Winter) being fairly evil, or at least malevolent. While I like the idea that not each season needs to be evil per se, I think they all need to be dangerous.

Let's go through the seasons in order, so I can show you what I mean. Let's start with summer, because I said so.

Summer is wild. Summer is the climax of live, the high point of the sun; it's madness and growth and chaos. Most fey are chaotic, but this is the place they should really get going. Expect Summer to be hot - perhaps fire-related stuff - but also mad. Insane. Expect rampaging Maenads, for example. The creatures in this area should be extremely temperamental, and just as likely to offer a bite of food as to take a bite from a party member.

Autumn is reserved. The liveliness of Summer is dying off, giving way to the natural order of things. It should be quieter, and even a bit spooky. You should be thinking two things - Thanksgiving and Halloween. Thanksgiving, in that it is the time of harvest. Expect grim reminders of that, with larger creatures reaping the lives of lesser fey and nature creatures. Halloween, in that it's creepy as heck. Things exist in an eerie state between life and death. Include some ghosts if you want, maybe a creepy scarecrow.

Winter is dead. It is cold and merciless. Things here should be actively evil. Cruel, calculating, and without a heart. Add ice elements, some truly vicious fey, like a Wendigo.

Spring. I saved this for last, because it is misunderstood. Spring is the rebirth. Winter's cruelty passes, and gives way to Spring's mercy. That said, Spring doesn't have to be good. Having good creatures here is a nice idea, but fey aren't naturally good - they're naturally chaotic, because life is naturally chaotic. So instead of violence, present mischief. Enchantments, mind-affecting compulsions. Love-type spells and effects if you're feeling naughty. Or, make it even worse - give the player with the highest Cha an obsessed (but well-meaning) fey stalker. Make it a moral issue - s/he may follow the party out of his/her season, exposing him/herself to the danger of the other areas. What will the party do? Spring is also soothing. Consider the "Poppies" scene from the Wizard of Oz - isn't this field so nice? The sun so warm, the breeze so gentle? Don't you just want to lay down and take a nap? And let nature reclaim you?

I wouldn't make any area 100% friendly, is what I'm saying. Each should have its own distinct dangers - Summer would be insanity, Autumn would be spookiness, Winter would be cruelty, and Spring would be the most dangerous of all - apparent kindness.

Also, hopping off of what Arcturus said, if this is a Druidic dungeon, consider making each section predominantly one-aligned. So, Summer could be CN, Autumn NE (or LN), Winter LN (or NE), and Spring NG. Mind you, just because an area is alignment-themed, it doesn't mean everything there fits the alignment (fey are still generally Chaotic, and Spring doesn't have to be Always Good).

[Zubrowka74]

I agree that autumn is decay and winter should then be death / sleep / stasis. Spring is both birth and rebirth, because it's an undending cycle. Going through each dungeon sequencially fits the theme. If you find the cycling too railroady, have the players do onlyt a fraction of each dungeon at a time and run through the whole circle several time, depending on their choices. Perhaps they only have a set amount of time before they switch to the next dungeon?

For those familiar with M:TG, I picture spring as Green or Green White, summer as White or White / Red, autumn as Red/Black and winter as Black/Blue.

[Shadus]

Spring is growth. Winter is ice. So, going with an opposites theme, autumn is withering, summer is fire.

Withering sound good for Fall. I thought about doing a fire theme for Summer, but I thought that might be a bit too extreme. Also there are not many fire themed mobs that are very nature friendly. Most seem to be the type that would want to burn everything. Are there any fire themed Fey?

Maybe I could have that section be in a volcano...?


You could even throw in some imbalance. For instance, the neutral good fey of spring are going beyond the initial decree between them and autumn (you defined autumn as lawful neutral), and now the balance between spring (growth) and autumn (decay) is broken. As this is an ancient temple, this has been going on for a while, so it should be teeming with the (non-combative) fey. Maybe autumn is even dying, as spring grows (too?) strong? It'd be Team good v. Team lawful, so who is in the right here?

I like this idea. Maybe the spring sect took something from Fall. Fall believes that they stole it, and Spring thinks that Fall doesn't understand the payment?


I'd make summer and winter straight up elemental themed dungeons, and have the spring-autumn dilemma (do we restore the balance? Is too much of a good thing a bad thing?) be a roleplaying extravaganza, which need not be combat based. The outcome of that need not be resolved in the temple, it coud kick off a greater world issue?

Well if the PCs hand over the CoAW (Cast of Ancient Winters) to the guy that gave them the quest, they'll have enough world changing problems for a low level party... After all he is a Vampire which is wanting to to use to cover the world in an eternal snowy darkness. :smallbiggrin:


For the norse mythology connection you could flavour it to be Hel's domain is in trouble, how do the cleric of loki and the party respond to a plea from the trickster god's daughter or even the god himself?

Could you explain this one a little more? I'm not sure what you're getting at.


My 2 cents:smallcool:

Well thank you sir. :smallsmile:


One thing I'd consider, since this is a druidic dungeon?

No central navigational chamber. Druids are big on the natural order. Meaning that it should be something where the only way to get out of Winter is to go to Spring, the only way out of Spring is into Summer, etc. Thus you can have your 5th druid, the guide, being someone who is walking the seasons, cycling through and can drop hints as needed. The only way out of the temple achieved by doing something within each season. Various MacGuffins that may open a portal to the way out. Combine with other ways to open a level to "Deeper _____" where your Cast and similar artifacts may be found.

I like the idea but I don't want to force the PCs to get involved in the rest of the dungeon.



Fall and Summer? I'd stick with the Fey, going for more unaligned sort of fey creatures. Fall can get the various "Harvest" spirits, fey that are small, simple, and tend to be non-combative. They're more likely to do things like tie together a sleeping man's boot laces and throw something at his face to wake him up than stab him in the throat. Less of a violent threat (Leave that for Summer and Winter), and more of a nuisance. Unlike Spring and Winter they can't be talked to or deals cut at there is a lack of unity among them and their own flighty nature means any agreement they reach is likely to be dropped. They won't molest the players too much unless they make a go for the MacGuffins they are guarding... at which point you draw inspiration from things like the movie Home Alone, traps and improvised defenses rather than just all out brawling. For Summer I WOULD go with all out, simple brawling. Use "dumb" brutes. Trolls as bosses, Ogres, etc. Singular combat threats, no mobs, no teams. Encounters are fairly straight forward, the only way to "deal" with them is to bribe them heavily with something they want, food, silver, etc.

All good ideas. :smallsmile:


Spring. I saved this for last, because it is misunderstood. Spring is the rebirth. Winter's cruelty passes, and gives way to Spring's mercy. That said, Spring doesn't have to be good. Having good creatures here is a nice idea, but fey aren't naturally good - they're naturally chaotic, because life is naturally chaotic. So instead of violence, present mischief. Enchantments, mind-affecting compulsions. Love-type spells and effects if you're feeling naughty. Or, make it even worse - give the player with the highest Cha an obsessed (but well-meaning) fey stalker. Make it a moral issue - s/he may follow the party out of his/her season, exposing him/herself to the danger of the other areas. What will the party do? Spring is also soothing. Consider the "Poppies" scene from the Wizard of Oz - isn't this field so nice? The sun so warm, the breeze so gentle? Don't you just want to lay down and take a nap? And let nature reclaim you?

I LOVE the Poppies idea... I'm stealing that. And the rest is all good stuff to think about!

[gr8artist]

Blatantly copying some ideas from a campaign I ran:

Consider an encounter against some form of ice construct. This construct is protecting/guarding object of significance. The players must shatter/melt the ice construct (possibly a wall or pillar) faster than it is re-forming itself. In my campaign, the object (to be destroyed) was at the center of a huge sized ice pillar (the object occupied the central square, and nothing but ice for 5' around it). Each square of ice had individual hit points, and the pillar cast a frosty burning-hands-based spell every round (along with some enchantments and necromancy because why not). The pillar regained health from ice effects, essentially healing for 5d4 points wherever it was most damaged, and injuring those near it. The team could focus on one block to shatter it faster, but they'd be taking more damage than if they spread out.
Consider aging/withering effects to the autumn theme. If you already know your characters' ages, you can have a lot of fun with this. The air in a certain area causes you to age much faster, like 1 year every minute (or round). The characters will be walking around, and you can describe a gradual pain, soreness, or gradual weakness taking hold. Mechanically, every so often, they take ability score penalties as if they'd gotten older. Whether the effects are reversible or not depends on you. Alternatively, have the effect be more pronounced (instantly jumping to the next age category) with a more obvious trigger (touching the giant hourglass).
I would make spring more healing themed, with lots of flowers and children and such. In one of my dungeons, there were flowers that had hallucinogenic/mind-altering powers, and were used as dyes and paints. When used in excess, they elicited moods that were wildly out of place, essentially mimicking a certain spell for every period of exposure. So, standing in a room painted with a lot of reds would subject you to the rage spell, a lot of orange to a blessing of courage, yellow to tasha's hideous laughter, green to confusion, blue to fear, and violet to charm person... I think. It's been a while so the colors might be confused, but you get the idea. Add in some bears/wolves/dire-lions tripping nuts on red/orange paint, and you've got a memorable encounter.
For summer, consider a healing effect that burns those who are already at full health. Like a lesser version of the plane of positive energy, you gain 1d4 health per round of contact, but once you reach full health this becomes constitution or strength damage.
Also, consider having the environment apply metamagic or spell-enhancement effects to the players' spells... Healing magic is empowered in the spring area but minimized in winter. Necromancy gains a similar buff in the autumn, but is reduced in the summer. Fire deals +1/die in the summer area, but is halved in winter, and vice/versa for ice effects. Longer conjurations in the spring zone, easier dispel checks in the autumn. Etcetera.

[killem2]

This is only one room in a dungeon I made but it kept them there almost a session and half getting through it lol

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288489