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| Festive AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator. |
Added Sublevel 1E – Serpent Gorge, detailing the alternate entrances/exits to the Temple of the Snake Cult hinted at in the dungeon’s cross-section.
Added three additional hex entries to the Wilderness23 sandbox: a stronghold of adventurers gone bad, a necromancer’s tower, and a barbarian/berserker lair.
Finally, I'd like to wish my readers a safe and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may the New Year bring you great gaming!
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This map is released under terms of the CC BY-SA 4.0 license |
Approximately a mile north of the Temple of the Snake Cult is a winding gorge of rough, forested cliffs which drop about 90 feet below. Reaching this gorge requires a hike of approximately one hour around the small mountain on which the Temple stands (chance for a wandering monster encounter at the GM's discretion.) The southern end of the gorge is studded with caves that can provide additional means of ingress/egress to and from the Temple.
An old rope bridge extends from the northern, forested edge of the gorge towards a crevice on the mountainside that leads to the kobb-men controlled areas of Level 1. The bridge is approximately 300 feet long and three feet wide with dry-rotted, wooden planks; some which are missing.
While the small and light kobb-men can still traverse the bridge safely, human-sized characters moving at full speed each have a 2-in-6 chance of breaking through a rotted plank and falling into the gorge below. A successful saving throw against breath allows a character to hold on to the ropes.
As mentioned in Level 1, Room 23, this cave opening drops precipitously into a pile of stagnant water, waste, and debris that dates back to the heyday of the Temple, and served as its midden.
Characters near the midden (within 120 feet) will begin to hear a call for help coming from its direction. The call has a sympathetic quality to it - they can "feel" its distress.
Characters who go (or fall) into the midden will run afoul of a creature whose descendants have called the foul heap their home for a long time. It depends on frequent feedings by the oor-men, who throw their waste, offal, and even whole prisoners down here sometimes.
The midden beast is a strange combination of large cephalopod and crustacean, albeit with rubbery hide instead of a shell. It lies under the debris with only its eye stalks surfacing to detect prey, which it will then attack with tentacles and bring victims into a hungry maw.
Midden beast (otyugh): AC 4 [15]; HD 6 (HP 33); MV 60 ft. (20 ft.); ATK 1d8/1d8/1d4+1 (2 tentacles and bite); SV fighter 6; ML 9; AL N; XP 500 (or by HD plus one special)
Tentacles: the otyugh attacks with two, spiny tentacles. A successful hit allows it to grapple a victim and attempt to bite them every round at a +1 to hit for 1d4+1 damage. The otygh can use one grappled victim as a shield instead of biting them (AC 3 [16],) or slam them into the ground for 2d4 damage. Victims can attempt to free themselves with a successful Strength roll to open doors.
Disease: the otyugh's mouth is riddled with the foulness of its home. Characters bit by the otyugh must save against poison or contract a disease. The victim grows weak and feverish for 2d12 days, suffering a -2 to hit rolls and loses the ability to heal naturally during this time. Worse, there is a 1-in-6 chance the disease is contagious and deadly plague. The victims of this chancreous pox must save against death after the above time period or perish. All characters spending more than one round within five feet of the victim must save against poison or become ill themselves.
Alert: the otyugh can sense vibrations within its waste heap and cannot be surprised.
Characters that delve deep into the midden under the (hopefully) dead beast will discover a large, bronze amphora filled with coins (6,000 sp, and 2,500 gp.) The unfortunate who tried to abscond with this treasure when the Temple was raided ran afoul of the midden beast's ancestor.
A forested area at the bottom of the gorge conceals another entrance to the caverns under the Temple (Level 3.) The baern-men use this opening to exit the area for night raids in the surrounding countryside. The entrance is sealed by a large boulder, which the baern-men have no trouble removing. Characters must succeed at a roll to open doors at -1 to move the rock. Using some form of leverage allows for a normal open doors roll.
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
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| (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
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This map is released under terms of CC BY-SA 4.0 (background AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
Note: robots encountered before main power is turned back on (with the exception of Dr. Diamante) are inactive. The GM should note where they were encountered in case the player characters (PCs) return when and if the power is turned back on. If Dr. Diamante is defeated in the Astral Plane, (or the PCs joined her,) any wandering robots are friendly or indifferent to the PCs.
2. Corrupt Amalgamation (see Room 13)
3. 1d4+1 Handmaids of the Ovoid (see Level 9, Room 5)
4. 1d2 bone creature (golem) scouts (see Level 9, Room 1)
5. 2d4 failed ones (see Room 17)
6. Ancient skeletal remains. Roll 1d6+1 for belongings: (2) a wand of burning light with 1d10 charges; (3) a maintenance suit; (4) a unitool; a Green access keycard; (6) a Yellow access keycard; (7) a Red access keycard.
7. Roll 1d6: (1-2) Dr. Bamutu/MYTHRAS attempts to contact the PCs via a piece of computer hardware before being suddenly cut off; (2-3) 3d6 krigg (see Room 5) on the hunt; (5-6) 1d3 metal spiders (see Room 22.)
8. A metal man (see Room 2). This one projects the “helper” image, but may still attack on a 2-in-6 chance.
9. 1d3 security metal men. There is a 2-in-6 chance they try to apprehend the PCs for some arbitrary “violation.”
10. 1d2 large metal crabs (see Room 22;) 2-in-6 chance of attacking, with load-lifting claw attacks of 2d4/2d4. If both claws hit a single victim, they continue to constrict for 2d4 damage per round unless a victim is freed.
11. Roll 1d6: (1-4) a metal statue of recycling (see Room 6;) (5-6) a Metal Goliath (see Room 11.)
12. Dr. Diamante android: this is a separate one from the one in Room 19. If one version of Dr. Diamante is already with the PCs, this one will attempt to hide and stalk them, waiting for a moment in which characters are separated to attack.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Arthur C. Clarke
In my humble opinion, science fiction and fantasy are like peanut butter and chocolate: they go great together. Not all the time, but oh man is it good!
Science fantasy has been a part of the Original Game from the very beginning, all the way back to Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor campaign. The Original Game mentions the potential for encounters with creatures straight out of Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom, as well as robots, and androids. Supplement II – Blackmoor had the infamous Temple of the Frog adventure, which included sci-fi elements. His later series of adventures for BECMI, like City of the Gods included “Blackmoor devices” which were high-tech treasure. Gary Gygax also included sci-fi elements in his fantasy work, such as rules for adapting Gamma World material in the AD&D 1st edition Dungeon Master Guide, and then there's the module Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, which takes place inside a spaceship. These works naturally informed my decisions when creating this level.
I wanted the “final” level of my Dungeon23 project to end with an epic (and sometimes literal) “bang.” Let’s face it; most campaigns fizzle out after one or two years, maybe four or five if you’re playing with a high school or college group. That has been my personal experience, at least (damn you rare, lucky ducks with your decades-long campaigns!) Since it is unlikely that a campaign will ever reach the deepest levels of this dungeon, I wanted to make the final level interesting and rewarding for groups that do make it.
Two works from my own personal “Appendix N” inspired the big reveal in the Truth of the Wyrlds. The first is the obscure novel Wyrldmaker by Terry Bisson. To me, this is the last of the great gonzo, weird fantasy novels. It has tons of whacky, mineable material for your campaigns, but I will say no more so that I won’t spoil it for those who decide to read it. You can easily see how it inspired me, right down to the nomenclature.
The second of these works was the video game RPG Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom. Yes, I know video games aren’t very “old school,” but they were a big influence on me and I have to thank them for driving my interest towards RPGs. I probably would have never gotten into D&D if it hadn’t been for the likes of Legend of Zelda and Dragon Warrior. Heck! These games are now considered "old school" themselves.
The Phantasy Star series of games have a neat blend of fantasy and sci-fi elements. The third of these is set in a giant spaceship where wilderness "kingdoms" are individual biodomes and the dungeons are the high-tech bowels of the ship. I can’t believe that it has never occurred to me to set a campaign in a “world” like this. Well, here it is!
At some point, I should do a post or series of posts on my personal sources of inspiration. I love spending time at used bookstores discovering “new” (to me) sci-fi and fantasy, especially in the Appendix N vein these days. Alas, I’ve noticed some of these are starting to command collector’s prices. Get em while you can!
Holy sh*t balls! I can’t believe I stuck it out this long! As I mentioned in the commentary for the previous level, “mistakes were made,” and I finished a little early – just in time to take some much-needed breaks for the holidays. Still, I’m using the remaining time this year to add additional entries (most as sub-levels) to complete the work. In the new year, I’ll be doing a full retrospective on my thoughts concerning Dungeon23 as well as the future of the blog.
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| The Astral Plane (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
After a brief journey through a tunnel of flashing light, the PCs awaken inside shallow pools of quicksilver. These lie on a floating island in an infinite “sea” of twinkling lights within clouds of prismatic phlogiston. Some of the closest lights appear to be polyhedral shapes that float in the ethereal soup. Other floating islands, large and small, can be seen in all directions, but the eye gravitates towards an immense, chaotic Maelstrom in the distance.
The PCs bodies emerge from the quicksilver as versions of themselves that glow with an inner light. Any magic items they posses also have glowing versions, but no other material possessions make the trek (which could be somewhat of an embarrassment for those that appear unclothed.) Some of the quicksilver clings behind them, and tapers into an insubstantial cord that connects them to their respective pools. They also feel weightless.
A glowing image of MYTHRAS, in the guise of Dr. Bamutu, waits patiently at the center of the pools for the PCs to acclimate themselves before going into explanations about this strange realm.
No Physicality: The Astral Plane is a realm of the mind (and perhaps the soul.) Physical laws do not really apply here. As such, the characters have no Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. Instead, these are replaced by Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma respectively. This may have an effect on hit rolls, armor class, and hit points, as well as tasks requiring physical prowess. Magic-users, clerics, and elves may have a clear advantage here. However, MYTHRAS reassures those who rely on their now lost, physical attributes that these can be regained if they are able to find their inner strength (see Area 30 below.)
Movement: while the characters feel weightless, the Astral Plane does have a subjective form of gravity. In order to move, characters must first decide which direction is “up” and “down,” then propel themselves by “falling” in the direction they want to go as a form of flight. This requires a Wisdom check the first time they try, but they no longer need to make checks once they succeed. Their Move is equal to their Wisdom or Intelligence score times 10 per turn, and 1/4th of that per round as normal. Characters that find their inner strength may use their Strength or Dexterity instead.
Time and healing: The characters do not need to eat, drink, or sleep here. They will also notice that they are not breathing. Their sense of time will also become distorted. MYTHRAS explains explain that they can be here indefinitely while their bodies lie in stasis, but time will continue to pass on their home plane, so they should not tarry if they can help it. He also explains that they can be hurt and even die here, since the body cannot live without the psyche. Furthermore, only curative magic can restore damage while in the Astral Plane; they cannot heal naturally.'
The Quicksilver Cords: The quicksilver cords are the PCs’ connection to the physical plane, and they can always follow this cord back to their origin pool. MYTHRAS warns them to guard this connection, for Dr. Diamante has the power to sever it, potentially trapping their psyche in the Astral Plane forever.
Once the characters have gained an understanding of this realm, MYTHRAS explains his plan: the Maelstrom is what protects Dr. Diamante from having to re-merge with the MYTHRAS AI. It allows her to remain a separate, independent entity, and subvert portions of the Wyrldbearer to her will. Alas, MYTHRAS cannot penetrate the barrier while Dr. Diamante is at her full strength, which matches his own, but the PCs can. It will be up to them to weaken her, incidentally weakening the barrier and allowing MYTHRAS to enter. He warns that once they go into the Maelstrom, they will come under direct, psychic assault - one they cannot fend off easily by mere force of arms or spells, but once they are past the barrier, she can be confronted directly.
The Malestrom is a dark convergence of Astral clouds, form fragments, and raw energy, created by Dr. Diamante (as a firewall) to keep MYTHRAS away. It may seem a mortal danger to go into, but PCs that try will notice that they can do so (mostly) unscathed.
Once inside, each PC will become separated by buffeting, Astral winds into their own area, where each will hear the voice of Dr. Diamante and encounter an illusory trial where she will attempt to turn them to her cause, or at least demoralize and weaken them. Here are some general ideas for each trial by character class, along with effects for success or failure. The GM should also feel free to tailor these to their players and their characters:
The PC must confront some danger related to a deep-seated fear or personal flaw while in their physically-weakened state. This may involve single combat against an equally-matched creature with full physical power, perhaps even a shadow of themselves. For example, Lawful fighters may have to protect their people, friends, or loved ones against a version of themselves that appears as a dark knight of Chaos, while Chaotic ones may have to slay a shining paladin that represents the last shred of law and goodness in themselves (which holds them back from true power.)
Success means the character finds their inner strength, and are able to use their physical attributes as normal, while failure means they remain weakened. They do not die or remain permanently damaged from any combat in the trial regardless of outcome.
Dr. Diamante confronts the cleric with the fact that their god(s), being aspects of the MYTHRAS AI, are false and fallible; with little true power. The PC will find themselves in a situation where they no longer feel a connection to their deity, and cannot call on their power. For example, a Lawful cleric cannot help multitudes of injured or sick, or protect them from undead that cannot be turned. A Chaotic one finds themselves persecuted by an angry mob, or their army of controlled undead suddenly turns on them. Once they are overwhelmed, Dr. Diamante will offer them power if they serve her.
Characters that remain steadfast in their faith without spells or powers succeed at the trial. They regain use of their physical attributes and full allotment of spells. In addition, they can regain cast spells at a rate of one (1) turn per spell level. Those that fail remain weakened and only keep spells up to the third level of power while in the Astral Plane. All other spells are lost and they are not able to recover used spells.
Dr. Diamante blasts the magic-users’ mind with visions of fractal forms, non-Euclidian concepts, and quantum algorithms that seem impossible to comprehend with their pitiable, mortal minds, leaving true understanding of the multiverse tantalizingly out of reach…unless they pledge themselves to her in exchange for this knowledge.
The GM should provide the player with a simple, but still somewhat challenging puzzle such as a small maze, Sudoku puzzle, series of riddles, or the like and give them a short, real-time limit in which to solve it (no more or less than it would take the GM to solve it themselves without help. They should err on the side of mercy here.) Success allows the magic-user to choose the higher of their mental or physical attributes for physical actions while in the Astral Plane. Furthermore, they are able to re-memorize spells cast at the rate of one (1) turn per level of the spell. Failure means they cannot re-memorize spells while in the Astral Plane. In addition, their spells against Dr. Diamante will fail on a 2-in-6 chance.
Dr. Diamante teases the thief character with visions of a great and valuable treasure (perhaps one known to them,) inside a courtyard. The treasure is protected by seemingly impossible obstacles:
Inside the chest is the same courtyard, but now the chest remains at a normal size and can be opened. Inside is the treasure, which represents the thief’s inner strength and success in the trial. With success, the thief can now employ their physical attributes as normal, and may use their stealth abilities to “backstab” Dr. Diamante during the confrontation by concealing themselves in the swirling, Astral clouds of the Maelstrom. If the thief gives up on the treasure (or refuses to try,) they will know deep down, and for all time, that they are not the greatest of thieves. Their physical abilities remain weakened, and to add insult to injury, they are wearing the glowing jester’s outfit during the confrontation with Dr. Diamante.
Any of the character may decide to pledge themselves to Dr. Diamante and thereby succeed in their trial automatically. This may lead to an awkward confrontation with any other characters that did not align themselves with her.
Once through the Maelsrom, and regardless of the outcome of their individual trials, the PCs arrive in an impossibly idyllic paradise. Animals,creatures, and humanoids both mundane and mythical frolic here while paying no heed to the new visitors. Overseeing this bright, eternal garden is a large, statuesque figure which bears more than a passing resemblance to Dr. Diamante. Her skin is made of living, white opal with diamond accents. Those on her face converge into a floating crown above hair that flows constantly with the Astral winds. She gestures to the PCs with one of her many arms, some of which are dragons, and speaks to them in a voice with a plural quality that spreads through the body in wan vibrations of despair. It is clear that Dr. Diamante is Tiama’at, the Many-Headed Mother of Monsters.
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| The Mother of Monsters in all her terrifying splendor (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
She offers those PCs that didn’t align themselves with her earlier one last chance to join her, seducing them with promises of unimaginable rewards. Otherwise, she commands those PCs that chose follow her to slay the others for her amusement (she does not care if they are outnumbered.) If all stand against her or slew her follower(s), she points out the fact that they are all trapped here with her and proceeds to destroy them with echoing laughter.
Tiama’at, the Mother of Monsters: AC 0 [19]; HD 15+2 (HP 130); MV 120 ft. (40 ft.,) fly 420 ft. (140 ft.) ; ATK 1d8+2/1d8+2/1d8+2/1d8+2/2d8/2d8/2d8/2d8 (4 +2 swords, 4 dragon bites); SV fighter 20; ML 10; AL C; XP 18,000 (or HD plus four specials)
Multiple limbs: Tiama’at’s four human-like limbs attack with swords of light that function as +2 swords. Her four dragon-like arms can each project a different type of breath: cold, acid, lightning, and fire. Each type can only be used once during a battle, and she can only attack with swords while a dragon limb breathes. She can forego two sword attacks to cast a spell (see below.) Attacking an individual limb at a -4 to hit and dealing 15 HP damage or more to it severs it. Tiama’at then loses any attacks or abilities with that limb, dragon-like or otherwise.
A roll of "20" with one of her sword attacks severs a character's quicksilver cord. They cannot leave the Astral Plane without help finding their quicksilver pool of origin.
Monster summoning: Tiama’at can summon a number of random monsters at will. The GM should roll randomly for the dungeon level of power, then roll on the appropriate wandering monster table.
Spells: Tiama’at can cast the following cleric and magic-user spells at the 16th level of ability: (bestow) curse, cause (serious) wounds, dispel magic, feeblemind, finger of death, flesh to stone, hold person, magic missile, polymorph (others,) protection from evil, web.
Despite her godly might and seeming confidence, Dr. Diamante/Tama’at is more vulnerable than she lets on. As the battle progresses and the PCs wound her, her paradise begins to change: fruit trees dry up and lose their leaves, the ground becomes fouled and barren, and the creatures die and rot. Once reduced to 0 HP or less, the Malestrom surrounding her Paradise dissipates. An immense, undulating dragon of shimmering gold and silver scales arrives: MYTHRAS in the guise of Bhaal’mut the Dragon Father. He carefully lifts the body of the fallen Tiama’at in his claws and says: “It’s over, Anna. Time to return to the source, for the good of Wyrldbearer and all humanity.” She moans helplessly and begins to disintegrate into a swirl of prismatic particles that the Dragon Father aspirates, then they both disappear in a blinding flash.
When the PCs recover their sight, they are in the presence of a being of pure light. The MYTHRAS AI is now whole, and it has the PCs to thank for it.
If all the PCs (or the remaining ones) threw their lot in with the Mother of Monsters, she creates an opening in the Maelstrom by which Bhaal’mut the Dragon Father soon arrives. She then clenches her fists, closing the barrier and trapping the Dragon Father. He struggles in futility and screams: “What have you done?!!!” It is not clear if he is talking to Tiama’at or the PCs. “The same thing you did to me!” she replies. “Enjoy the paradise, though. I created it just for you!” She laughs as the rest of the Maelstrom moves to surround the Dragon Father. Once he is encased in his new prison, Tiama’at takes on the more familiar size and appearance of Dr. Diamante and says: “Well, that takes care of that!” She then turns to the PCs with a predatory grin. “Come, my pets. We have a lot of work to do yet.”
In this case, the MYTHRAS AI is a mere shell and completely at the mercy of Dr. Diamante/Tiama’at. She will use the PCs as her personal agents in her retaking of the Wyrldbearer, starting with their Wyrld above. The GM is encouraged to devise wyrld-spanning adventurers in pursuit of her goals, which include creating a suitable, physical body to hold her power. The future of the Wyrlds, however, is uncertain. Is Diamante acting of her own free (if insane) will? Or is she doing the bidding of the Old Ones within their Ovoids?
It is also possible the PCs come up with their own ideas or plans regarding Dr. Bamutu/Bhaal’mut and Dr. Diamante/Tiama’at. The GM should absolutely entertain these. However, note that defeating Tiama’at at any time causes the Maelstrom to dissipate, so one of the two former scientists-turned-gods will ultimately be triumphant.
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
(Note: this story is a continuation from events that may transpire in Level 10, Room 28 and contains major spoilers for the Dungeon23 campaign)
The image of the figure in the white robes explains (in a soothing voice incidentally appropriate to his visage) that he is the remaining consciousness of one Dr. Georges Bamutu, once chief among a number of “psi-tists” or Sages within Wyrldbearer – the vessel on whose bowels the player characters (PCs) currently stand in. He is part of the greater consciousness of a powerful god, or “Ey-ai” called MYTHRAS, for whom the Wyrldbearer, its many Wyrlds, and its people, are its charge. Through his words and illusory images, he patiently explains his story:
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| My voice sounds just like you think it does (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
What exactly is Wyrldbearer? To understand this, Dr. Bamutu must explain the origins of his people, which are also the PCs' ancestors in not just their Wyrld, but in many Wyrlds as well.
It began a long time ago in the fathomless void between the stars. The people of Dr. Bamutu’s world progressed through the ages, to the point where they mastered their home world of Terra, or “Erth” through their advanced crafts, and even created their own gods, which were called Ey-ai. Communion with the Ey-ai increased the Sages’ knowledge and abilities beyond anything they could accomplish before. They were able to create ships of silvery steel and exploding light fast enough to travel to neighboring worlds swiftly. While these were dead worlds of rock, ice, and gas, the Sages used the knowledge of the Ey-ai to harness the power of their Sun and turn each of these dead worlds into paradises comfortable enough for their people to live in. Each of these was overseen by its own Ey-ai. Despite occasional times of conflict, there was always progress, and the people lived as nobility under the care of the Ey-ai, served by metal men and creatures.
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| Sages commune with the Ey-ai (Ey-ai image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
However, this near-decadent prosperity eventually came at a cost. Their Sun began to turn red and dim as it aged at an unnaturally accelerated rate. The Sages conferred with the Ey-ai, but all reached the same conclusion: a process that should have taken millennia would come much, much sooner, resulting in the death of all worlds; this process was irreversible.
With the time remaining to them, the Sages theorized ways for their people to leave their worlds for others nestled in the stars far away. Despite the advancement of their crafts, travel on their silvery ships beyond the confines of their worlds to even the nearest star was impossible to do in a timely manner; such a process would take thousands of years.
They arrived at another solution: to create a great and mighty ark; one that could encase the stuff of their worlds within itself, using the crafts by which they had mastered these worlds years before. These encased worlds, or “Wyrlds” were made up of multiple “by-ohms,” and nearly indistinguishable from the paradises in which they already lived. This ark was named Wyrldbearer.
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| The construction of Wyrldbearer (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
Such an undertaking would encompass all the knowledge of the Sages and the Ey-ai, the resources of all their worlds, and the wealth of their two greatest merchant houses: Leiwan Cybersystems and Makani Biogenetics.
The complex systems of Wyrldbearer would be overseen by a great Ey-ai, one created by merging other Ey-ai, who had until then been under the strict control of the Sages. This greater being would be known as MOTHER. Generational teams of Sages and support staff would assist MOTHER and see to her health, as well as the health of the Wyrlds, and their people within. They would also keep their history and provide a link through the many generations the journey would take. And so, Dr. Bamutu’s people escaped doom in the hope of a new life in the stars beyond.
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| The Wyrlds are planetary simulacra ideal for supporting life (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
At some indeterminate point during this journey, and several generations past (exact records have been lost or corrupted,) Wyrldbearer encountered what the Sages called First Contact. Egg-like vessels, named Ovoids, appeared spontaneously in many Wyrlds; unannounced and undetected by MOTHER until they had already arrived.
In accordance with their laws and protocols, the Sages made no overt moves and waited for the Ovoids to act first, while keeping the curious away. However, there was no response from them.
They then sent teams of Sages supported by metal men. At first they were unable to enter the Ovoids, but one day, some of theses began to silently open and let them inside. The Sages reported finding “xenospecies” that were either petrified or in a state of suspended animation. Perhaps these were vessels like Wyrldbearer? They were not able to ponder this theory for long before the Ovoids closed and the teams of Sages were trapped inside them. All contact with them was lost.
Shortly after these tragedies, the Ovoids began to emanate signals which MOTHER detected, but these signals were undecipherable. Meanwhile, some people among the Sages, their staff, and those in the Wyrlds reported having strange dreams and nightmares. In some, these began to manifest further as signs of mental instability, ranging from euphoria, to manic episodes, paranoia, and eventually violence.
It was becoming clear that the Ovoids were an existential threat to Wyrldbearer and its sacred mission to shepherd humanity to a new home, so the administrators of the Wyrlds, under the advice of great Sages like Dr. Bamutu, resolved to send soldiers and metal men to destroy these Ovoids.
Unfortunately, the Ovoids proved to be impervious to even their great weapons, which could blast and sear with burning light. To make matters worse, the Ovoids’ emanations could turn the metal men against their masters. MOTHER also reported the emanations were attempting to “infect” her, but the powerful Ey-ai was more resilient than the metal men. Meanwhile, Wyrlds were falling into civil conflict and destruction as people came under the sway of the Ovoids.
It was around this time that Dr. Bamutu’s protege, a young and brilliant Sage named Dr. Anna Diamante, was able to decode the Ovoids’ emanations. She discovered a link between the emanations and the writings of an ancient people of Erth from a place known as “Bab-il.” The strange thing about this discovery was that Dr. Diamante came upon it partly through inspiration from recurring dreams.
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| The gifted Dr. Diamante was to be Dr. Bamutu's successor and Chief Sage (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
After further study, Dr. Diamante created a sort of written language from these emanations by combining it with the language of ancient Bab-il. It was a language that was both material and for lack of a better term, conceptual. She could use this language to create phrases and formulae that when spoken and enacted, caused manifestations in the physical world as psychic, extranormal and supernatural effects. Doing this however, would wipe the knowledge from her mind, and she would need to study her notes and formulae again to repeat the process. This process was incredibly taxing on the mind, but it had an interesting side effect: it seemed to protect her from the influence of the Ovoids. She quickly proceeded to instruct Dr. Bamutu and other Sages in this knowledge.
It is important to mention at this point that the creators of Wyrldbearer, which included the great, conglomerated merchant house of Leiwan-Makani, had devised secret protocols and mandates, known only to the leading Sages and some Wyrld administrators. Most of these mandates were relatively benign, such as experiments to adapt animals, plants, and people to live in new worlds, but others were more sinister, such as creating new life forms to be studied within specially-crafted and often hostile Wyrlds. Other experiments were conducted insidiously on the inhabitants of the Wyrlds themselves, with the goal of creating more perfect societies (under the wise and benevolent control of the merchant houses’ descendants, of course.) Another of these secret mandates was that in the event of First Contact, they would harness any new knowledge and technologies discovered, and incorporate them into these experiments and objectives.
In this case, the experiments worked in the Sages’ favor. Drs. Diamante and Bamutu were able to combine their known crafts with Ovoid knowledge to create powerful beings resilient to their influence. These took the form of creatures straight from the myths of ancient Erth: dragons. The first of these, while powerful, were still somewhat corruptible to the Ovoids. The Sages then improved on the design incrementally, eventually creating more powerful versions, even ones combined with the parts of metal men. These could be recognized by their scales of burnished gold. They also adapted designs for “neo-sapiens,” which could resist the Ovoids’ emanations, and use them as soldiers and support staff for the dragons. These are recognizable as progenitors of the Fey.
Armed with their new powers and an army of creations, the Sages took the battle to the Ovoids. Dr. Bamutu was noted to have quipped: “We have the privilege of existing in an age of technological marvels, but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that we would have to fight aliens with dragons and magic!”
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| The Sages and their creations do battle against the Ovoids (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
The struggle raged fiercely over many Wyrlds. It seems the Ovoids had also studied humanity using the trapped Sages, and vomited forth corrupted creations of their own based on this knowledge. MOTHER was under continued, and relentless psychic assault from the Ovoids, which caused her to weaken and fragment in order to protect her integrity. These corrupted sectors became free-willed Ey-ai that wreaked havoc on already war-torn Wyrlds.
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| Wyrlds destroyed...is that the City of Humankind? (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
The Sages eventually triumphed over the Ovoids. They were able to breach a few of the alien vessels and destroy the creatures within. Most left as mysteriously as they had arrived while others, perhaps too damaged to escape, sealed themselves and became dormant. All emanations from them ceased. The Sages decided to encase and bury these within the Wyrlds and monitor them in the event of future activity.
But this victory may have proved to be pyrrhic. Many people in the Wyrlds had been lost and MOTHER was severely damaged; only able to perform the most basic, life sustaining functions on Wyrldbearer. Dr. Bamutu and his Sages sought to assist MOTHER as best they could, but entire Wyrlds were lost. The remaining administrators and Sages discussed invoking the emergency EDEN Protocol: in the event the Sages were rendered unable to support MOTHER, she would be unleashed from their control and the Wyrlds left to live and evolve organically under her care. It was understood that entire societies could collapse and knowledge would be lost over generations, but the hope was that by the time they reached their destination, one or more of these societies had advanced to the point where they could retake control of Wyrldbearer, and thus humanity would survive. However, MOTHER was far too damaged to enact the EDEN Protocol.
Meanwhile Dr. Diamante, who had delved deepest into Ovoid knowledge, was experiencing signs of withdrawal without the existence of the emanations. She spent more time in her lab and away from others, poring over her research to retain even a sliver of the feelings the emanations instilled in her. She became paranoid of the Ovoids and obsessed with the experiments mandated by Wyrldbearer’s creators. Dr. Bamutu, working on ways to repair MOTHER and enact the EDEN Protocol, was too occupied to see the danger of what was happening.
Dr. Diamante began to unleash myriad creations inspired by Ovoid knowledge and her own twisted interpretation of Wyrldbearer's mandates into many Wyrlds, without care for protocol. She corrupted many Sages to support her in this sinister work. The result was conflict between factions of Sages: ones who wanted to safeguard Wyrldbearer’s mission, and others who supported Dr. Diamante’s inscrutable designs for the ark. It seemed she was either driven insane by her exposure to Ovoid knowledge, or was perhaps doing their bidding. Regardless, her near-cult had become a danger.
Once again, war consumed Wyrldbearer as administrators and Sages were forced to choose sides and battle one another. Dr. Diamante’s faction eventually lost ground and retreated to a facility in one of the abandoned Wyrlds. Dr. Bamutu and his remaining Sages pursued her and her followers all the way to this forsaken place. They fought monsters, metal men, and fellow Sages with spell and blast rod all the way to one of MOTHER’s nodes, where Dr. Diamante decided to make her last stand. Only she and Bamutu remained after this slaughter and they were both wounded severely.
Dr. Diamante crawled into a connection capsule in a last-ditch attempt to take over the weakened MOTHER, whose home existed within the Astral Plane known as "psi-ber space." Dr. Bamutu followed after her and a final battle ensued between them inside this realm of the mind. Dr. Bamutu found that he was hopelessly outmatched by Dr. Diamante’s deeper mastery of Ovoid knowledge over his.
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| Dr. Bamutu confronts Dr. Diamante in the Astral Plane (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
However, Dr. Bamutu’s goal was not to destroy his former protege. At some point during the war, he and his fellow Sages had come upon the solution for repairing MOTHER – by joining human consciousness with her to replace the most critical Ey-ai sectors that had been lost. This would not be a perfect solution, but would be enough to enact the EDEN Protocol. This would require both a male and a female consciousness. Dr. Bamutu had hoped to discuss this with the other Sages to find willing volunteers, but Dr. Diamante and her betrayal had forced his hand. While he had concerns that her damaged psyche would be a detriment to the new Ey-ai, it was a risk he would have to take.
Dr. Bamutu allowed himself to be struck by Dr. Diamante’s spells and was able to create a psychic conduit between them. With it, he ensnared her like one of those finger-traps that holds fast the more one tries to pull their fingers away. Her struggling only served to accelerate their convergence and she screamed in wild frustration as Dr. Bamutu merged the both of them with MOTHER. The result was a new Ey-ai: MYTHRAS, who swiftly initiated the EDEN protocol and thus saved Wyrldbearer.
Before entering the Astral Plane to perform this grave task, Dr. Bamutu made one last entry into Wyrldbearer’s logs: “I will depart this plane of existence to an uncertain but wondrous future as part of something more than I or anyone could have ever dreamed. It is my hope and prayer that MYTHRAS will be able to shepherd humanity on the final leg of our cosmic journey to a new civilization and life for our people; may God have mercy on our souls.”
MYTHRAS set about to repairing the Wyrlds, quarantining ones that had been compromised or destroyed, and shutting down the administration facilities, since these were no longer necessary for the EDEN Protocol. Any remaining Sages and staff (which were almost nonexistent at this point) were to be placed in Wyrlds of their choice and tasked with helping to maintain civilizations as best they could. The Ey-ai then stabilized individual Wyrlds and helped their inhabitants to survive, but had to take a light and indirect hand in doing so, according to its directives. Even creatures that had been created by Dr. Diamante had to be left alone if they managed to become part of a Wyrld’s ecosystem. MYTHRAS also attempted to find and neutralize any rogue Ey-ai separated from its previous incarnation as MOTHER, but even these had to be left alone if they became an organic part of a Wyrld. Lastly, MYTHRAS set Wyrldbearer back on course towards Alpha Centauri, since it discovered that the ark had deviated from its path wildly during the years of conflict.
After completing the EDEN Protocol’s initial tasks, MYTHRAS shut down any unnecessary systems and slept. It was likely that at some point in this dormant state, and perhaps due to the proximity of an Ovoid, that Dr. Diamante managed to separate herself from MYTHRAS, where she remains a danger to Wyrldbearer as long as she is free.
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This map is released under terms of the CC BY-SA 4.0 license |
Corruption from the Ovoid converges on the door to this room. The majority of the room is also covered in the corruption, partly concealing small and large metal statues similar to those the PC may have encountered elsewhere in the Halls. Parts of the corruption have a number of protrusions with oozing holes similar to anthills. These are krigg nests (see Room 5.)
During the turn the PCs search this area, 20 krigg (HP 8, 14, 11, 5, 7, 12, 4, 13, 6, 11, 10, 12, 13, 7, 12, 9, 14, 5, 13, 6) will slowly emerge slowly from their nests, employing their natural camouflage; since they are moving towards the PCs, the surprise chance is 3-in-6.
If main power has been turned on, the metal statues are active and struggling against the krigg. Due to this, only half the number of krigg will be able to attack the PCs.
Once the krigg are dealt with, the metal statues begin cleaning up the corruption and krigg nests in the area, oblivious to the PCs. The small ones are spider-like with small claws, while the large ones walk on two legs, with crab-like bodies and pincers. If attacked, the small ones will flee while the large ones will utter platitudes to cease, followed by “Security has been notified” if the assault continues. There is no response, however. The small ones have AC 3 [16] and 2 HD and the large ones have AC 0 [19] and 4 HD.
If this room is cleared and main power is turned on, the small maintenance bots can later be encountered in other parts of the Halls, trying to repair certain areas and clearing patches of Ovoid-stuff.
One of the krigg nests has a skeleton with a Yellow access card. The rear area is littered with parts of various metal statues and metal men. At the GM’s discretion, some of the parts here can be used by Grizz (see Level 7, Area C2,) to build one or more devices from an Elder Builder diagram.
This junction features a Yellow access door straight ahead, which has been barred with plasti-steel table and chairs. A Red Access door labeled “REACTOR” is to the right. The word has been crossed out and the words “INVISIBLE DEATH” written in blood. An area to the left has some remaining plasti-steel desks and chairs.
If main power has been turned on, the wall in the area with the desks activates with illusory images, including a map of the facility that shows the room to the north in red, with the phrases “REACTOR DAMAGE” and “RADIATION DANGER.” If the krigg in Room 22 have not been dealt with, the phrase “BOT ERROR: UNABLE TO DEPLOY” is flashing. Otherwise, the phrase “DEPLOY BOTS?” is flashing. If the PCs touch this prompt, it changes to “BOTS DEPLOYED.” A number of small metal crabs from Room 22 will reach Room 25 in 1d6 turns via the maintenance hatches and repair the damage there in 2d6 hours. The room will then be safe to access without the threat of radiation.
This room contains dust-laden, plasti-steel shelves and crates. There are spare parts, tools, and broken machinery scattered about among patches of corrupt Ovoid-stuff. Some of the crates have melted pock marks on top of their surfaces, with trails of corrosion running down their sides.
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| The storage room (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
Characters inspecting one of four, corroded crates have a 4-in-6 chance of being surprised by a translucent, paramecium-like slug that drops on them.
Oozing Corruption: AC 6 [13]; HD 10 (HP 54, 46, 45); MV 50 ft. (10 ft.); ATK special; SV fighter 10; ML 6; AL N; XP 2,000 (or by HD)
Corrosive suffocation: On a successful hit, the oozing corruption wraps itself around its victim. It causes 1d6 damage per round due to corrosive secretions and suffocates them in 2d4 rounds plus their Constitution bonus unless freed.
The crates contain the following:
At the GM’s discretion, the shelves also include spare parts that may be used by Grizz to construct an Elder Builder diagram device.
This room has three sections. The first descends down a set of stairs to a room with alcoves to the right. One of the alcoves has a maintenance suit hanging from a hook inside. The second area is an airlock with two, Red access doors.
Beyond the airlock is a metal walkway surrounded on both sides with column-like cylinders wade up of faintly-glowing rods If any PCs have a maintenance suit on, a display on the visor shows the words “RADIATION DANGER” in yellow with a number below it. If PCs that remain in this area for one hour (6 turns) or more without a maintenance suit on, must make a save against poison or begin to feel sick (from radiation poisoning.) They lose one (1) point of Constitution permanently! Even if they succeed, they must make a save every hour spent in this area.
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| Columns of invisible death (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
At the end of the walkway is a metal altar with four cylinders. Each has a handle and can be pushed in and turned right to lock. Only one of these has been pushed in. A skeleton in a maintenance suit is off to one side, has a Red access card, a mirror of sending, and a rod of blasting with 14/15 charges on the floor nearby. The suit has a large hole in the torso that which been sealed by the hardening gel. A second skeleton with a maintenance suit seems to have been cut three ways, rendering the suit useless,
Each time a cylinder is locked in place, a light next to it turns from yellow to green. If all cylinders are pushed in and turned (in any order,) the room lights up with overhead lights. The column-like cylinders in the pit below begin to glow more intensely. Any characters that have a maintenance suit on will see the display on their visor turns red with the phrase “RADIATION DANGER: HIGH” flashing with a higher number than before below it. Unprotected characters now must make saves against poison every turn to avoid losing Constitution due to radiation poisoning. Those with maintenance suits now must make a save every hour.
The beds in Room 15 can diagnose the radiation poisoning in any characters that have lost Constitution. These characters will be referred to the Lazarus Chamber (Room 16.) The chamber can restore lost Constitution points at a rate of one per hour, thereby curing the radiation poisoning.
When characters exit this area via the airlock, both doors close and they are sprayed with water from the walls and ceiling for one turn before the door opens and they are able to exit.
Dr. Diamante has trapped this section leading to the MYTHRAS AI servers, using a combination of experimental technology and dark inspiration from the Ovoid.
The walls project a shimmering energy field, which also detects as magic (with a spell.) Passing through the field, or merely touching it activates a quantum encryption matrix, with a random effects on the victim (roll 1d6):
1-2. The field emits a surge of quantum energy, causing damage to molecular structures. Characters within 10 feet suffer 4d6 damage (save against breath for half.) In addition, one random item held or worn by the character is disintegrated. Magical items get a save against wands.
3-4. Lightning arcs from the field to the character touching it, causing 10d6 lightning then arcs to the three, closest characters within 30 feet for 5d6 and 3d6 damage respectively. Characters may save against spells for half damage. In addition, one wondrous item from the Halls that uses power cylinders, such as a wand of burning light or mirror of sending, is rendered inoperable.
5-6. The character(s) are transported to a hallucinatory maze of shifting, geometric shapes in the Astral Plane. Succeeding at an Intelligence check allows the character(s) to solve the maze and successfully pass through the field. Those that fail suffer disorientation and 2d6 damage (no save,) and depart the field in the direction away from the server room.
This room has multiple, cylindrical columns with faint, glowing lights. The northwest end of the room has a desk and chairs; while the southwest end has ten (10) metal sculptures of women which may be recognizable to the PCs as copies of Dr. Diamante, albeit only partially covered in a synthetic skin covering.
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| Dr. Diamante's simulacra (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
If the Doctor is with the PCs, she will attack at a time of her choosing (see Room 19.) Otherwise, one of the copies here will activate and attack. After one android is destroyed, two will activate then three, and finally four in a last-ditch attempt to stop the PCs from accessing the MYTHRAS AI node. The android(s) will play a cat-and-mouse game, using the server columns as hiding places or cover.
Even if she is down to her last android, Dr. Diamante has one remaining card up her sleeve: she activates the metal goliath in Room 11, which arrives in 1d6 rounds if it hasn’t already been destroyed.
This circular room is spartan save for polyhedral sculpture floating above a dais on a field of energy. The dais is surrounded by a number of open, capsular beds. Two of the beds are closed and have the mummified bodies of a man and a woman inside them.
If main power has been turned on and Dr. Diamante’s androids have been destroyed, the sculpture projects the image of the religious figure the PCs may have encountered earlier. The image then slowly changes into that of an older man dressed in a white robe similar to Dr. Diamante’s. This is the remaining consciousness of Dr. Bamutu, which has fused with the AI known as MYTHRAS. The image takes on a kindly demeanor, and introduces itself to the PCs, thanking them for their help and patiently answering any questions they may have by revealing the Truth of the Wyrlds.
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| Dr. Bamutu's consciousness within MYTHRAS (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
At this point, it is up to the PCs whether they want to help MYTHRAS/Dr. Bamutu by entering the Astral Plane and stopping the rogue consciousness of Dr. Diamante once and for all. If they agree, he bids them to enter the capsule beds to access the Astral Plane. The adventure continues in Sublevel 10E.
If they refuse, he bids them to reconsider, with a dire warning that entire Wyrlds, including their own, may be in danger while Dr. Diamante’s consciousness remains free of the MYTHRAS AI. If he cannot convince them, he asks whether they would at least accept his help in returning to their surface Wyrld, and directs them to the Monorail Station (Room 7,) where there is now a train waiting. After a brief ride, the train stops at a small station with a door that accesses a circular room 10 feet in diameter. Once inside, the door closes and the room begins to move upwards rapidly as an elevator. During the trip, a gas begins to seep into the room. PCs must save against poison every round or fall unconscious. They will later wake up 1d6x4 hexes away in a random direction (roll 1d6) from the Temple of the Snake Cult (Hex 1624.) Conditions in the Wondrous Halls may change if the PCs return. Given enough time, Dr. Diamante could regain control of the facility and prepare new defenses against intruders.
If the PCs defeated Dr. Diamante in the Astral Plane, the MYTHRAS AI, now whole, offers them a second option: they may now access other Wyrlds via the monorail. The trip provides a majestic view of space, the Wyrldbearer vessel, and its many Wyrlds. Each one of these could be any favorite campaign setting of GM’s, including ones of their own devising. MYTHRAS may employ the PCs in securing other Wyrlds and places from the Ovoids and other threats, with rewards possibly involving access to new, wondrous items. The details of such adventures and rewards are beyond the scope of this writing, and therefore left for the GM to imagine.
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
If you’re been patiently waiting for the return of this series while my attention flitted elsewhere, welcome back! If this is as confusing...
