I've run it three times now, and I've come out with a fun dungeon every time, so I decided to record my results to post online. My intent would be to flesh out an entire dungeon based on this model, but in the meantime - here is the saga of the great lost Dwarven city of Galeb Dur.
HTHAD is broken up into several stages: The Age of Civilization, which undertakes a Disaster, becomes the Age of Monsters, which then grows into the Age of villainy, when a bad guy takes over the Dungeon to use for his or her or it's own purposes.
Part 1: The Age of Civilization
I've set up the naked board from before the mists of history. A mithril rich land, with a set of secluded caves which I've decided contains a long isolated tribe of orcs. Those happy pink fellows are the orcs, and the orange triangles represent veins of mithril.
I rolled for the type of civilization (can be demons, drow, dwarves) and get dwarves! They're going to love that mithril! They sink a shaft and begin to mine. Those happy green fellows are the Dwarfs, and the yellow smileys represent treasures the dwarven treasure they have brought with them.
Skip forward a few years (turns? decades? centuries?)
The dwarfs have found and mined almost all the mithril. They have founded the great city of Galeb Dur, and built many barracks for the great mines to the west. A hall of the dwarven king has been built and extended, and a hall of records created to keep track of the immense amounts of paperwork the dwarven government produces. Two other items of interest: the workshops to the west which allow the dwarfs to make incredible items of technology, and the secret dwarven treasure chamber - two great treasures reside there, but the entrance is hidden and it's existence known only to a chosen few.
But alas the dwarves delve too deep - they sink a shaft to the bottom of the page thereby bringing about phase 2 of the game - the great catastrophe and the Age of Monsters!
Part 2: The Great Catastrophe and the Age of Monsters
I roll for the catastrophe and get - meteor strike! I suppose some ancient evil or sigil was disturbed, or some great war with a powerful foe or even hubris leading to punishment from the gods - leads to a massive asteroid strike! I decide it hits to the right of the map (I want to build my castle near the mountain later) and that it fills to become a lake. The crater has three finger length tunnels radiating out from it. The great hall is a writeoff. The dwarfs abandon their mines and cities and flee or are killed. Their treasures are left behind. The meteor itself becomes a treasure of great value - presumably for it's astral ores.
Our long ignored orcish tribe is oblivious. God only knows what they're doing down there.
Monsters move in - more orcs. Some deep gnomes. Humans colonise the surface - Castle Ravensbrook is established, along with a farm and human miners delve into the earth seeking the remnants of the dwarven mithril seams.
A fire giant, a noble and terrifying race, and an alpha predator of the dungeon moves into the old mines and workshops. I decide to call him 'Sparky'.
A fire giant, a noble and terrifying race, and an alpha predator of the dungeon moves into the old mines and workshops. I decide to call him 'Sparky'.
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| "Sparky" |
A wandering owlbear appears, but is killed by the secluded orcs. The human miners abandon their mine, after realising all the mithril has long been extracted by the dwarfs. Sparky discovers the deep gnomes, and after a skirmish they pay him off with a treasure. The orcs multiple and discover the long lost city of Galeb Dur, and loot it's attendant treasures.
Meanwhile, above the ground, the castle grows, and more farms spread across the long-wild lands above.
In year (century?) three, Drow arrive! From the depths of the earth, they tunnel toward the surface and break into the long isolated orcs tunnels. They immediately go to war, but the orcs drive them back, and sieze a great drow treasure from them! Meanwhile, the other orc tribe encounter Sparky, and use some of their ample loot to bribe him. The deep gnomes try to kill sparky once more, but are forced to pay treasure to him after their defeat to avoid total annihilation. Sparky is accumulating quite a bit of treasure now. On the surface, the castle is doing very well and more farms are built.
At the beginning of the next century more random monsters move in - green slime, hobgoblins, and an ankheg. The deep gnomes once more try to kill sparky, and he finally loses patience and utterly destroys them. The drow are once more defeated by the isolated orcs, who take the opportunity to finally expand their territory along the abandoned drow tunnels. The orcs tire of paying tribute to Sparky, and make war on him - but lose, and are forced to pay compensation. Sparky tries to counter attack, but is driven back. An orc exploring the flooded ruins of the great dwarfish hall is killed by a green slime.
Year five - and our first adventuring party! A group of evil adventurers, drawn by tales of great ancient treasures, delve down the human mines. They first encounter Sparky, who hires (!) them with a treasure to wipe out his enemies. They slaughter the orcs, with the loss of only one man, and kill the hobgoblins with the loss of another. Finally they kill the ankheg, but are reduced to a single thief - who flees to the surface with his treasure. This changes the ecology of the dungeon quite considerably. Without pressure from competitors, sparky moves back to his old lair. The isolated deep orcs, however, finally defeat the drow, who withdraw. Inspired by the drow treasure they have gained, they tunnel and connect to the main dwarven mine shaft and the rest of the world!
Year six. Kua Toa arrive, infest the flooded great hall and are promptly wiped out by Sparky. The castle sends an adventuring party down into the old mines. They don't travel far, encounter very little, but it is declared a success. The city of Ravenslake is built on the short of the great meteor lake.
Year seven! A second adventuring expedition delves into the dungeons, and a wizards tower is built above ground on the far side of Mount Raven. The orcs are out of loot to bribe Sparky with, and so sparky starts to pick them off, one by one. The orcs counter attack and try to kill sparky, but they are slaughtered and lose one of their great treasures. Sparky now has eight treasures - the accumulation of this much attracts a great villain to the dungeon. The Age of Monsters ends and the Age of Villainy begins!
Part Three: The Age of Villainy
I roll for the type of villain and get - the Dungeon Master! I call him Glaverion the Undying an decide that the Wizard of the Tower has become a Lich and seeks to take over the dungeon and it's treasures for himself.
The Dungeon Master quickly uses his wealth to buy armies, installing them in the mines beneath his tower, and inhabits the old dwarfish workshops. The orcs are driven back and lose 1 population. Sparky meets the Dungeon Master and is enslaved! He works for Glaverion now, who now has his massive hoard of gold, and ancient orcish, drow and dwarfish treasure.
In year two, a group of six adventurers enter the caverns via the main shaft next to the lake. They descend to the orcs and are driven back at the cost of half their number, where they encounter the hired army of Glaverion! They kill them all with the loss of one man, but then the two survivors come face to face with Glaverion himself, and are enslaved! Glaverion gains six more treasures. He is wealthy and able to raise an army. He focuses his attention on setting a dangerous trap along one of the corridors.
In year three the Castle sends an expedition, presumably to find out what happened to the adventurers who disappeared. They are quickly enslaved by the ever growing power of the magician. The empty caverns attract wandering monsters - a wandering magician, a troll lurking in the depths of the caverns, and a giant slug near the lake. Drawn by the ever growing mystery of disappearing dungeon delvers, a group of five adventurers enter the caverns. They lose one man tot eh trap, and manage to kill all the soldiers hired easily - and then come face to face with the dungeon Master - who they defeat!
So as at the end of the game, there is a minor wizard, a troll and a slug, some scattered treasure, and two great treasures long forgotten buried deep in a hidden chamber by the dwarfs. That's quite a history.
To develop this dungeon further, I think I would set it in the first half of year three of the age of monsters. The party can be the adventurers who defeat the Dungeon Master. I imagine them uncovering some ancient reference to the two lost treasures buried deep beneath the earth, and while exploring uncover that the wizard who seemed so friendly helping them on the surface actually is working to take over the world, mustering a great army under the very feet of Castle Ravensbrook.
I really enjoy playing this game, though it is quite time consuming, and I love the way it creates a long history as a background for a dungeon, a rationale for every room or chamber, a rationale for every monster and treasure, as well as, in this case, a simple and handy plot for the adventurers to go delving themselves.
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