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This map is released under terms of CC BY-SA 4.0 (background AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.) |
Area Links:
- Area A – Common Areas
- Area B – Administration and Security
- Area C – Medical and Biolab
- Area D – Maintenance and Servers
Random Encounters (2d6)
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.
Commentary
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Arthur C. Clarke
The Science Fiction Fantasy Level
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.
Other Sources of Inspiration
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!
Dungeon23 Complete?!!!
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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