Bookworm Dungeon

"Explain to me why we're on this mission again?"

The wizard chuckled. Long experience had taught him that abstract thought was beyond the fighting class, but he did not mind indulging them. He flattered himself that an easy condescension was among his virtues.

"Some years ago, the wizard Azxerkak foolishly allowed himself to be encaptured by a certain magical tome prepared as a prison by his rival. That rival, fearing discovery, stashed the book away in a library contained in this very dungeon until he could safely return at a later date."

"So this wizard's caught, like in a cage?"

"Yes."

"And the cage is a book."

"Exactly."

The fighter thought about this for a long moment. "So this wizard's caught in a prison, that's really a book in a library. So how do we know we're not caught in an even bigger book in some bigger wizard's library and he's reading that book right now?"

The wizard shook his head. "Tut, tut, my boy. The very idea is patently ridiculous."

Under the Escataur Mausoleum

Out on the Old Abian Road where the necropolis of the old city sprawls, there's a second city to mock the first. Where the city is a hive of commerce and a capital of politics, the necropolis is a metropolis of decay, filled with prowling thieves and unquiet dead.

But this is not to say that the place is without value. The dead, too, sometimes ply useful trades, or perform useful civic functions. Many a guild wizard has found himself forced to turn to the denizens of the necropolis for knowledge or even aid, though the price is always high. And even the old nobility pay a tithe to the graveyard ghosts for the protection of their family tombs.

The merchants of this, the city's quietest corner have their own rules, their own festivals, and their own humor. After a successful transaction, they always send the customer on their way with a cheery epitaph: "Well be seeing you!"

The Spelltower of Dremetar

As you approach the City State of Dremetar, you can see the Spelltower for miles upon miles. It dominates the view, sparkles in the setting sun. As you draw close to the walls, you may even catch a glimpse of a moving figure behind the great arched windows at the summit. But ask any inhabitant about the Spelltower, and you will rarely receive more than a grunt in reply. Point it out to them, and they will only look at quizzically before glancing away and changing the subject. Is there some enchantment upon the city, that makes its inhabitants ignore its most prominent landmark, or does the tower have some other secret that the people are loathe to dwell upon?

The Mad Sculptor

In the infamous Apocalypse Megadungeon there is a door cast in bronze depicting the fall and incarceration of the goddess Asundra, a master work so fine that more than one scholar has braved the dungeon (with proper escort) just for a look at it. Beyond lays the workshop of the mad sculptor. His genius transcends the boundary twixt art and thaumaturgy, producing effect indistinguishable from magic. Monsters, relics, and unfortunate adventurers have all found themselves unwilling components of his twisted works. What is the mystery behind the mad sculptor?

Snake and Sword

What a sight was Terrance the brave, brandishing his Borealis Blade, vanquishing friend and foe alike. But all good things come to an end, and Terrance the Brave subsided into a cranky retirement and downright surly old age. In his final days he invested his considerable stores of loot in creating an underground vault he considered worthy of his genius. There he set the legendary Borealis Blade, until an adventurer worthy of it should claim it from its resting place.

It's Mad Wizard Week

Why is this crazy dungeon full of deathtraps and ridiculous puzzles here anyway? Because a Mad Wizard put it there of course? I love "mad wizard" dungeons. They provide a rationale for dungeon elements that might seem incongruent in a regular dungeon. White Plume Mountain is one of my favorite examples of this. In high school a buddy of mine also ran a game where the dungeon was a cryp that an arch mage built because he knew he was turning into a Liche and he wanted to keep himself in for the good of the world.

This week I'm posting three variations on the "mad wizard" dungeon theme. Enjoy!