Mythic Locations 1a: Ruined Tower of Alcheon the Great

I finally have some time on my hands to demonstrate the usefulness of a premade, but unstocked dungeon (which I introduced in Mythic Musings 1: 3 Mad Libs Locations For Location Crafter RPG supplement, part 1 the Dungeon.). I would like to note that this is hardly a new idea. If you go back to the early history of D&D you will find the first published module B1: In search of Adventure was a very well described but empty dungeon. It had lovely scene dressing but no monsters or treasures. Though if I recall correctly, there was a suggested random encounter list suitable for a low level party.

As this is a Mythic game we will be doing it in the Mythic style. Instead of premade scene dressing all of the descriptions will come from the context of the game. The object and encounters will spring into being on the spot based on your context, prompts, and Fate Questions. To make the very most of the Mythic elements I strongly advice you pick up a copy of Mythic Game Master Emulator 1e ($5.95), or its robust sequel Mythic Game Master Emulator 2e (14.95). The 2e version is packed with a ton of useful content, but that extra content isn't essential to our game today.

Below is the generic dungeon template we will be using for this game. As it lacks any hard and fast descriptions or encounters it can be reused over and over. (It is an eventual goal of this blog to have a collection of such templates for all the elements of gaming, across many genre, but that is neither here or now).  I have copied it from its original article for reference and convenience. 

Small Ancient Dungeon Template

1. Room, Exits: 1 Leads directly to another Area (2)
1. Random Location ( Tranquil/Positive)
   
2. Encounters Expected
3. Objects Random ( Travel/Modern)
2. Room, Exits: 1 Leads directly to another Area (3)
1. Expected Location
2. Encounter Known, or Random (Positive/Dangerous)
3. Objects Random ( Unusual/Prized)
3. Room, Exits: 2 Leads directly to another Area (4) and Well or hole in the floor (6)
1. Location Expected
2. Encounter Expected
3. Object Expected
4. Room, Exits: 1 Leads Directly to another area (5), but has a small attached room (7)
1. Location Expected
2. Encounter Known, or Random (Generous Ambush)
3. Object Known, or Special (Lethal Fuel)
5. Room, Exits: 0 (just opening to 4)
1. Location Complete
2. Encounter Expected (Boss?)
3. Object None or Expected (McGuffin/Treasure)
6. Room, Exits: 0 (just the shaft that leads to 3)
1. Location Random (Unsteady/Protection)
2. Encounter Expected
3. Object Expected
7. Room, Exits: 0 (just an opening to area 4)
1. Location Expected
2. Encounters None
3. Objects Random (Hard/Average)

As I am playing this as a one shot, I have no particular context going in so I will roll for it from the Dungeon Story Descriptors Table in Mythic Magazine 3 (purchase details in the first article). The first roll gives me Associated with Magic. The second roll gives me Known to be full of Traps. This strikes me as an old fashioned Fun House dungeon.

The table of interest is Dungeon Region Descriptors Table. This will give us the general look and feel of the dungeon. First we get Crumbling and in Ruins. This suggest that this particular dungeon was constructed in the days of old. Some of the Traps could just be the danger of ancient masonry that has finally given up. The second roll gives us Specific Purpose. 

So we have an ancient fun house dungeon that is falling to pieces. It is asssoicated with magic and is full of traps, but it also it built to house something (Specific purpose). So our adventure is to find the special something that is to be housed here. Lets say this is an old wizards tower to give it a bit more context. The top levels have long since crumbled down on themselves, but there is an opening to the dungeons beneath at the foot of the rubble.

Off camera I design a mid level wizard character using tips from Black Streams: Solo Hero (Cost Free), which gives tips for a basic OSR style character to survive in solo play. What I end up with is a mid level Wizard who focus on exploration magics. The tips in Solo Hero, and a little common sense will probably see the character through to the end of the dungeon.

Now we know a few things about the dungeon lets fill out some lists.

Locations

1. Storage room
   
2. Summoning chamber
3. Alchemy Lab
4. Reading room
5. Zen Garden
6. x
7. x
8. x
9. x
10. x

Encounters

1. Unseen servants 
2. Magical Traps
3. Damaged masonry
4. Tower guardian
5. Mimics
6. x
7. x
8. x
9. x
10. x

Objects

1. Potions
2. Scrolls
3. Wands
4. Magical Brick-a-brack
5. x
6. x
7. x
8. x
9. x
10. x

To give a bit of context lets say the Wizard, whom we will call Milford the Daring, found a treasure map to this crumbling old edifice. He hired a skilled guide to get him to the entry point, and now conjures a magical light and proceeds into the dungeon. 

Ruined tower of Alcheon the Great

1.Following his floating whisp down into the basement he comes upon a sandy floor that is positioned with a number of artfully placed rocks. Some magical force keeps shaping new mandala into the sand. A feeling of relaxation courses through the room which invites the user to relax. The room is made into the facsimile of a cave and as he lingers he hears the sound of surf crashing in the distance, which of course is an audible glamour. At the far end of the room is a partially collapsed arch. It seems some prior adventure met a poor end here as there is a skeletal body. The poor adventurer's corpse is the only mar on this tranquil scene. Milford takes the stone walkway around the zen garden and bends down piously near the corpse. He says a benediction for their soul, but he also takes their backpack. Such is the life of adventurers. Knowing now the danger of  falling rocks Milford conjures a magical shield and goes through what is left of the arch into the next room.

2. It must have been the magic of the garden that held off the musty smell of this ancient room. The crumbled or crumbling remains of a pair chair are near a chimney. There are also moldered books and papers laying on tables, which seem largely held together by inertia, considering how brittle they look. Milford thinks is is probably the damp coming down the chimney that has caused the decay. There are two things of interest in the room and another arch leading out in the opposite wall. One is an old clay tablet on the mantel of the fireplace and the other is an undecayed book, next to a throne like wooden chair. Milford approaches the mantel piece first and cast a simple spell to search for enchantments. The clay tablet is clearly magical. But surely this isn't the protected treasure. Yet still it is an ancient artifact. He carefully lifts it and wraps his spare cloak from his own pack around it, and stores it for later examination. Next, Milford moves to the untarnished book. Using the same cantrip he examines the book for enchantments but finds none. Withdrawing a wooden probe from his belt sheath he gives it a poke. At which time it springs to life with a dozen pseudopods and snatches the rod from his hand. Milford rushes out of the room while the mimic devores his probe.

3. Milford rushes into the next room still looking over his shoulder when and steps on the very ornate rug without a seconds thought. The pattern on the rug begins to shift and the room is lanced in prismatic colors. Before he can even take stock of the room, Milford is blinded. He falls to his hands and knees and gropes about the room. This is how his fingers find the edge of a great circular well in the middle of the room. An old chemical smell rises from it. Over the next few minutes the dazzling lights fade from his eyes. He can see he is in an ancient and disused alchemical laboratory.  The glassware is fairly intact but the various reagents have long since turned to powder. besides the well there is yet another arch leading into yet another room. Milford conjures a second willow whisp light and lets it gently drift down the well. He can see that a stream runs through the bottom, and there is a very shallow winding stairs going down. Could the bottom of a well could be a good hiding spot for an ancient treasure. On the first step down Milford steps on a slim rod that rolls under his foot  dropping into the well. Only a very lucky lunge for the wall prevents the same fate for the Adventurer. 

6. After carefully descending the virtually non existent stairs, Milford finds himself in a waste deep, ice cold stream. Alchemical residue has coated and dried the stones around the edge of the stream. His footing on the bottom is somewhat unsteady. He does have a touch of good luck when he sees that the wand that had fallen from the top of the well has been washed into a niche in the wall. In the same niche are a collection of gleaming objects. Chalices, bottles that seem to be made of cut crystal, and a heavy golden ring. Fine inspection under the willow light shows that the ring is engraved with the symbol of a shield with a glyph upon it. Just as Milford slips it onto his finger he hears a rumbling, and the old stairs start to pull into the wall, abandoning the other treasures he rushes up the stair, lunging for the lip as the last of them vanish into the wall.   

4. The next room Milford entered carried an air of menace. The center of the floor had concentric circles set in rusted iron and blackened silver. Within the circle was a shimmer in the air. The Wizard decided this was well out of his pay grade and edged along, but as he did the room started to wobble in his vision, and his footing became unsteady. At the same time at the edge of his hearing whispers began (at this point the character attempts a mental savings throw and passes, if barely. As his back is pressed to the wall as he edges around he hears a faint click, and falls into a secret room beyond.

7. This room is little more than an alcove filled with books. A quick glance indicates that he has found what he came to seek. This is the library of the great mage, with books ranging from simple magical primers to the finished grimoire of the great mage himself. He chooses a selection of them, because taking all of them is beyond his gear capacity, he then edges out of the room once more.

5. Milford knows pressing on is pushing his luck, so he sends his whisp light into the next chamber, carful that it doesn't touch the circle holding the entity. In the room is a dais and on the dais a sarcophagus, that is made of shining silver with gold ornamentation. Possibly this is the last resting place of Alcheon the Great. So continuing to edge along (after passing a slightly easier save) he walks into the room. The room has frescoes on every wall of the life of the great mage, and the heavy metal coffin is engraved to show a man laying in peace in stately robes with a staff across his body diagonally. The adventurer knows that robbing this great man of his grave goods would be a step to far, so reluctantly he contents himself with studying the murals, and marveling at the feats they depict. Every true wizard lives a life of adventure and Alcheon was no exception. Gathering his new treasures close to his body, Milford pulls out a scroll carried just for this reason, and intoning its empowered words vanishes from the memorial and appears outside of the ruined tower.

And there you have it folks. You will see that each room has an outline, sometimes it is followed strictly and other times inspirationally, but going room to room the adventure unfolds.

I hope you take the outline above, and those to come and have your own adventures.

W.D.

P.S.
Because of the small interruptions of life it took me longer than expect to turn this out. I apologize for that. The next couple will just be the outlines, though I intend to save them and play them through myself. Because it took so long to get this to publish I know it is probably rife with typos and run on sentences. I will be working back over it and cleaning it up, but I didn't want to delay it an hour longer after promising it so long ago.

W.D.