The Next Megaproject?
Added 2024-02-21 19:31:23 +0000 UTCSo, I have an idea for a new map project and I want to get your opinions on it.
The photos above are from the Initiation Well in Portugal. That isn't what I want to draw, but I think it illustrates my idea fairly well.
Imagine a large, cylindrical pit in the middle of a small village. The villagers don't know who made it or how deep it is. But it's deep. If you drop a rock, you won't hear it hit the bottom.
Looking down into the pit, one can see walkways and chambers dug into the sides. The villagers didn't dig them, but they use them as homes and shops. The village tavern is down there, too. Below the village are the mines, where most of the villagers work, digging for copper ore.
The tunnels circling the pit go deeper, but the villagers rarely wander beyond the mines. They know there are giant bats living down there, which come up at night. And there are goblins, or at least there used to be. They haven't seen one in years.
Here's a rough outline of what each level of the pit might look like:
- 1-3: The village
- 4,5: Villagers' mines
- 6: A maze of tunnels and collapsed chambers overrun by mold
- 7: Caverns inhabited by giant bats
- 8: Ancient crypt
- 9: A goblin settlement. Possibly friendly. They eat the bats.
- 10: Caves inhabited by giant spiders. Huge webs strung across the pit (which caught the rock they threw in earlier).
- 11: Rough, partially-collapsed tunnels and chambers inhabited by monsters
- 12: Night Hag's lair in ruins of an ancient temple
- 13, 14, 15: Ruins of an ancient settlement
- 16: Ancient prison covered in mushrooms
- 17: Myconid colony around a crumbling fountain
- 18: Ancient catacombs
- 19: Ancient oracle and library with a long-abandoned scholars' camp containing notes about the pit's history
- 20: Mushroom caves. Below this, the pit is filled with water
- 21, 22: Underwater ruins with undead
- 23: The bottom (Sealed vault? Trash and debris? I have no idea what goes here yet)
That's what I've got right now, but it's all subject to change, especially once I figure out the story of how the pit came to be and what's at the bottom. If you've got a better story in mind, the whole thing would basically be modular, so you could rearrange the levels or remove the ones you don't need.
Anyway, is this something you'd be interested in? I'd love to know what you think or whether you have any ideas to add. Right now, nothing is set in stone, including whether I draw it at all, so by all means, if you're into the idea, please let me know!
Comments
Glad you like it! I'm working on it right now. Here's what I've drawn so far: https://www.milbysmaps.com/stygian-city/
Milby's Maps
2024-06-28 10:11:27 +0000 UTCThat's an amazing idea. I would definitely support it
Big Texture
2024-06-28 02:14:44 +0000 UTCif you haven't, please check out: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/13085/roleplaying-games/xandering-the-dungeon.
Steven Pine
2024-03-15 16:22:13 +0000 UTCAs far as exits, there will always be a way up and a way down on each level and you can decide where they lead, which should make the whole thing pretty much modular, since you can rearrange or remove floors as you like.
Milby's Maps
2024-03-01 03:08:11 +0000 UTCI'm not sure how wide the hole will be. Probably 50-80' or so. I'll be drawing the whole thing at a 5' scale.
Milby's Maps
2024-03-01 03:03:09 +0000 UTCyou should follow where your passions take you, i'll be supportive of wherever that leads you. That said, i think my main concern boils down to scale, what do you anticipate the rough dimensions of this hole? and will you be drawing every 5 square feet of it, or will it be more like the black loch with an overworld map and detailed locations within it? Also, please ensure there's plenty of entrances, exits, and connections between layers and outside the map proper, or an easy way for us to add exits.
Steven Pine
2024-02-29 18:32:36 +0000 UTCOr maybe it influenced them to live near it so it could control them.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-24 15:15:14 +0000 UTCThey could worship it or the object / creature has an area effect this is beneficial
Parker Wimberly
2024-02-23 17:58:38 +0000 UTCI was thinking about the possibility of the pit having been created by something crashing into the ground, although I'd need to come up with a reason for the chambers being excavated around it as well. Maybe the thing that crashed was something the builders wanted to live near for some reason? That's definitely worth considering.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-23 15:55:21 +0000 UTCSure, I'll do unfurnished versions as usual.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-23 15:44:19 +0000 UTCI love the idea! I think it would be cool that sealed in the vault at the very is the object or creature that made the pit. Like the pit is actually a crater from a powerful object or creature that fell from space or another plane and an ancient civilization was built around it. It could be either good or evil all I know is that is makes for a great dungeon.
Ethan, J.
2024-02-23 03:34:18 +0000 UTCIf you want to go the sealed demon/sympathetic goblin route, I have a full on pitch. It’s long and involved, but feel free to use any or all of it. The goblins founded the settlement above, but have since been forced deeper after a nearby human empire took their city. The ruins below hold the Demon Lord Kerzit, bound in the Tome of the Black Heart. The paladin order guarding it forswore their oath, but the abandoned dungeon vaults remain sealed. It’s also covered in trash and debris, since the pit had long been used as a garbage pit, by the goblins and the humans. Akyishigal, Demon Lord of cockroaches, is petty. He hates Kerzit, and since he has no layer of the abyss to call his own, and nothing better to do, lairs in the garbage pit with his cult of bitter and nihilistic goblins. They guard Kerzit while scheming to corrupt the two settlements above. Datura the Fell is a night hag. She doesn’t particularly want to release Kerzit either, but she wants the book he’s bound in.
witch_doctorate
2024-02-22 22:24:08 +0000 UTCTo add to Troy’s ideas: 1. If the garbage pit is also used as a means of execution, the bottom layer could have plenty of nasty undead. 2. The pit could also be used as an adventure hook. Maybe they’re tracking down a phylactery disguised as an unassuming object, and they finally make it to the city. Only to find out that the lich’s lair had been raided already, and the phylactery got overlooked and thrown down the bit. 3. Other quests include interrogating the remains of an executed prisoner, recovering a ditched murder weapon, or a classic “My conservative mom overreacted and threw out my Dungeons and Dragon books; can you get them back?” type situation.
witch_doctorate
2024-02-22 22:00:04 +0000 UTCThe multiple options for the bottom is a great idea for customizing to the campaign. I would suggest for each one you do also releasing stripped down versions with no assets/lava pits/etc to give more flexibility.
Eric Green
2024-02-22 18:08:25 +0000 UTCSounds gorgeous! I'm inspired by the photos right now!
F. Wagner
2024-02-22 17:16:53 +0000 UTCYou could have the biggest Carrion Crawler in history down there just munching away, haha.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-22 11:50:06 +0000 UTCI'm going to have multiple options for the bottom and "imprisoned demonic entity" will definitely be one of them. I think the original builders will have left and, with the exception of the village at the top, the current inhabitants will probably mostly either be monsters or will be evil to some degree. But I do still need to figure out why the original inhabitants built it and why they left.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-22 11:47:06 +0000 UTCProbably not. I think I'll create an underdark entrance variant of the bottom level to give DMs the option to use it as an underdark entrance/exit, but I don't know if the lore will tie in at all. Still, you'll be able to use it as a path to the Black Loch if you want to connect the two.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-22 11:40:28 +0000 UTCThanks! I think different people will see different possibilities for it and I'm going to try to create options so that people can customize it for their own campaigns. In particular, I want to have multiple variants on what's at the bottom. Portal, imprisoned entity, artifact vault, aboleth lair and trash pile are the options I've come up with so far, but I'll add underdark entrance to the list now that you mention it.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-22 11:36:16 +0000 UTCI get what you're saying and the idea is quite a bit like Ollin's Borehole especially, although I don't plan to make this a spiral design. It'll be more like stacked rings. I think it'll be different enough that it won't feel like something I've done before. Anyway, I appreciate the feedback!
Milby's Maps
2024-02-22 11:26:57 +0000 UTCI think the bottom of the pit being trash also helps give a sense of both "believable realism" to the game. Sometimes, there isn't a dimensional seal to the Nine Hells or some horrible thing. Sometimes it's just trash at the bottom, and that's believable and makes sense. It makes the more wondrous parts of your fantasy world stand out all the more. And the rest of the pit/megaproject design gives more than enough fantasy roleplaying and adventure anyway, so no need to try and one-up that with something at the bottom. Now, if all that trash fused into some sort of trash golem or garbage elemental, that's another story.
Adam El Akkad
2024-02-22 06:00:51 +0000 UTCi would suggest an abyssal rift at the bottom. they way you might find in the underdark. theres something sealing it shut but the demons are clawing their way upwards and someone in the middle wants to let them in. most others (sane folks) dont want this to happen of course! it could be hidden by the trash falling down, and scavengers might have a lot of accidents, which whomever is making all those undead likes. mb its the same who invites the demons, mb its a rival. there needs to be a reason nonevil folks would live here. do the abyssal or other energies in this shaft allow for something? rich ores / gems only last so long before they are all extracted.
KoonFox
2024-02-22 04:35:33 +0000 UTCOoh, this sounds awesome! Will you somehow try to tie it in with Black Loch and your dwarven city?
Brutus
2024-02-22 04:22:53 +0000 UTCEveryone loves a good Megadungeon and this seems like the perfect entrance into one. The design and premise remind me of a high fantasy Silo city; maybe that was its original purpose, or maybe that's what is sealed away at the bottom. The descendants of the original builders might still be down there waiting for the all clear! Of course, this is also a perfect entrance to the Underdark, or you might take inspiration from the real-world well's purpose and have the bottom floor be a ritual chamber with a portal to one of the Outer Planes. All of which is to say, this is an idea with a lot of exciting possibilities and I think everyone could find a place for it in their campaigns.
Matthew Neville
2024-02-22 03:28:29 +0000 UTCI've got photos of that well in Portugal burning a hole in my computer, in a folder of RPG inspo waiting to be turned into an adventure. That said, if I had ANY reservations (which are minor) I would point out that you have some fabulous maps already built around the premise, kinda. I just Orrin's Bolthole in my last Spelljammer chapter, and this new idea would share some ideas with that. Deepspire (which I've also used in this same Spelljammer campaign) also has a corkscrewing path up a cylinder, albeit with the goodies on the inside, and not the outside. Even so, it's built on a similar premise. Even the Tusk (haha which I've ALSO used) has something a little bit like that. Mind you, this is NO reason to not do this map project - I'll love it and use it, most likely. But if you're looking for someone to say "on the other hand", that would be my reply. But there's always room for one more, and it's going to be great, that's just to my two domars. It goes without saying that we're all eager to see your next map, whatever it may be. Thanks for all your great work!
Andrew Jones
2024-02-21 23:07:57 +0000 UTCYes please!
Jonathan Coit
2024-02-21 22:54:42 +0000 UTCI hadn't heard of The Silo before, but I think I might have to watch that. Not sure it'll influence this, but it sounds really interesting.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-21 22:25:58 +0000 UTCThat's exactly what I'm thinking. I particularly want to have options for the bottom of the pit, since that's going to have a lot to do with what's going on. The variations might be something like: trash pile, imprisoned entity, artifact vault and aboleth lair.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-21 22:21:22 +0000 UTCI thought of two things: 1. The Silo (book series and Apple TV series) 2. The pit Bruce Wayne has to climb out of #1 is higher-tech but definitely had "hidden stuff", "people being pushed out the airlock", "you're forbidden to investigate "
Jeffrey P
2024-02-21 22:03:17 +0000 UTCDefinitely a Seal
Jeffrey P
2024-02-21 22:01:05 +0000 UTCIf you do this, you should definitely have both 1. A specified “answer” to the mystery of who made the tunnels or how they got there, and 2. A way to keep it modular so game designers can add or remove floors as needed to facilitate their own “answer”.
Asiriyuq
2024-02-21 21:26:30 +0000 UTCI was thinking of something/someone being locked away down there, or maybe the idea was even to bury it, but the people who built the pit were interrupted before they could fill it back in. Of course, my other idea was that maybe they were digging something up. Like, maybe something is trapped down there and it was calling to them to free it.
Milby's Maps
2024-02-21 20:32:57 +0000 UTCYeah, I imagine the village being built both in and around the top of the pit as well. With a fence, of course. I was thinking the bottom of the pit might just be trash, too. Actually, I was considering drawing several options for the bottom, one of which would just be trash and debris. The players would get down there and go, "Well, what did we expect?"
Milby's Maps
2024-02-21 20:20:05 +0000 UTCFirst thing I thought of was dungeon of the mad mage, except without the mad mage, maybe something else. I like it.
Bryan
2024-02-21 20:12:28 +0000 UTCReally love these ideas. They add a lot of flavor to the story, as well as provide some fodder for adventure hooks, should the need arise.
Michael Combe
2024-02-21 20:01:10 +0000 UTCI love this idea. For my own game, I'd lean toward a Seal keeping a Great Evil locked away, possibly with a bunch of trash & debris piled on top. I might even make the bottom (flooded) area a mine of mithril, or something equally tough & valuable - when the Gods sealed away the Great Evil, they placed a cork right on top of it made of material tough enough that no mortal was likely to ever pierce it. Another celestial plan that sort of backfired when that ancient civilization built a mine and a city around it. Let the flooded ruins have subtle clues to their destruction at the hands of celestials, lots of ominous "delved too deep"/"Tower of Babel" vibes to build suspense for the Seal itself 😈
Zach Hunt
2024-02-21 19:59:59 +0000 UTCHas sort of a "Made in Abyss" feel but with a more dungeoney and dragoney slant. Very interested in what the full story would be.
Chad Imbrogno
2024-02-21 19:56:31 +0000 UTCI think this sounds really cool. I would imagine that the villagers likely have an above ground village and then the parts of the pit as well. I also think maybe they have a safety system in place like guard rails or nets to make sure villagers don’t die. I also think it totally makes sense for them to use it as a refuse pit - so maybe the Giant Spiders occasionally have to rebuild webs and the bottom of the pit is just a huge pile of trash? I also think that the villagers may even use the pit as a form of execution - so you may have some folks who have to walk the plank for their crimes and may even survive the fall into the spider webs to be eaten or escape and become thralls of the Hag.
Troy Robinson
2024-02-21 19:54:14 +0000 UTCSounds pretty cool!
PrettyBigGuy
2024-02-21 19:54:07 +0000 UTCI think it sound pretty dang cool, yeah
CH
2024-02-21 19:54:01 +0000 UTCThanks!
Milby's Maps
2024-02-21 19:35:58 +0000 UTCSounds incredible
Alexander Tettenborn
2024-02-21 19:33:10 +0000 UTC
