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Thursday, July 7, 2011

Dreadrock Dungeon: An Introduction

Dreadrock Dungeon is a massive labyrinth of tunnels with various levels situated under, what has come to be called, Dreadrock Mountain.  The dungeon was first discovered merely 3 decades ago by chance by a party of adventurers who were fleeing a band of mercenaries in the valley.  They stumbled upon the sealed entrance, and seeking to flee and hide from their pursuers, they managed to open the passage into, what they would soon discover to be the ruins of an ancient dwarven civilization.  A millenia ago, the dwarven city of Karzamir was one of the largest dwarven civilazations in the realm.  For reasons still undetermined, the city was virtually wiped out, and the tunnels leading into the city were sealed shut.  Eventually as time passed, Karzamir was forgotten and knowledge of its existence faded in the realms.  A few historians and sages knew of the place, but after centuries it became nothing more than a place of myth and legend.
 
After the discovery of the dungeon by The Company of the Black Rose, who spent quite a few years exploring its depths and exploiting the hidden riches within, word began to spread about the newly found ruins.  People of all races, especially dwarves, came to the mountain looking for opportunities of their own.  Eventually the members of The Company of the Black Rose retired from adventuring, now rich beyond measure.  A few went back to their own homelands, while a few stayed behind, erecting a small settlement near the entrance to the dungeon.  Soon, others followed suit settling in the town now known as Dreadrock Bluff, situated along the side of the mountain.  Dreadrock Bluff is now a small town with approximately 10,000 citizens, most of which make their living by catering to the adventurers who flock to explore the riches of Dreadrock.  There are various inns and taverns in the town, most charge exorbitant prices in comparison to other towns, because of the convenience of location to the dungeon.  Various sundry shops, weapon and armor shops, smiths, sages, and temples can be found within Dreadrock Bluff's walls, all willing to help the curious adventurer, for a price of course.
 
Dreadrock Dungeon is not without its dangers of course, and many adventurers who decide to explore its depths never return.  The locals in the area simply call it "The Rock."
 
Note: Dreadrock Dungeon is a site based dungeon which can easily be incorporated into any campaign setting or world.

4 comments:

  1. See, at first I read the subject as "Dreadlock Dungeon" and was immediately struck with visions of Rastafarian goblins.

    Making a mega-dungeon out of an abandoned dwarfhold is an idea I've had in mind for ages. I like the take on this, the whole "gold rush" vibe. I imagine in a world filled with forgotten tombs and underground cities stuffed with treasure, discovering a lost dungeon would be the equivalent of striking the mother lode. Nicely done.

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  2. Haha yes, I imagine that will be a bit tough to get used to. I think Dreadlock tends to flow off the tongue easier and people will probably tend to think about that at first glance.

    And thank you. I'm hoping the project turns out to be a success myself. Looking forward to getting this first pdf out there.

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  3. I think it's great that you are playing 2e. I really enjoyed the system and found it manageable, evocative and not really deserving of the derision pointed at it.

    I look forward to seeing how the dungeon progresses.

    Rock on,
    Christian

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  4. Yes 2e has certainly had its detractors, and I can understand the reasons. To me the edition just had so much to supplement it, especially with all the Forgotten Realms stuff, which I loved back then and still love. If anything, 3e was when the mechanics started to really shift and DnD no longer resembled its old self. Fundamentally there isn't much different between 2e and 1e other than in some instances, it's quite a bit more vanilla.

    This project will be compatible with any edition prior to 3e as well as all the OSR retro-clones.

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