Been building a dwarven stronghold underground for a while now, and I need a few cool and original ideas on how to create a memorable switch\key\lock\secret password\any other way to open these huge stone doors which lead to the lost treasure chamber of the long dead dwarves.
I immediately thought of the video game styled press-a-number-of-buttons-in-dungeon-far-away-from-each-other, in order to activate the door mechanism, but that I have to say, is a little lame, and doesn't quite fit my dungeon layout.
A little information about the rooms I created:
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Ground level:
1. Big ass long corridor main entrance which leads to the main chamber of the dungeon.
2. Main Chamber: the ultimate gathering place of the dwarves in times of holidays and big events. Any other time it would be empty or contain a big marketplace. Very large place, which leads to five passages:
King's quarters, Burial site, Mines, accomodation, and workshops.
3. King's Quarters: a beautiful throne room with Huge stone doors which are long sealed and lead to the treasure room i spoke of earlier, and in need of help for. In the past it was used as the sleeping, working and war room of the dwarf king and his closest advisors.
Mines, accomodation, and workshops are on Level -1.
Level -1:
1. Burial Site: Where the greatest heroes of the dwarves lie. Big climatic battle planned for this room. A passage leading to the temple.
2.Temple: Haven't thought of anything interesting for this place yet. A passage leading to the Library.
3.Library: Haven't thought of something cool for this either.
4. Prison: Nothing much to say about that. Maybe stuff in two halfling tombseekers NPC's jailed by the dungeon's current owners. (Muhaha.) for intruding the stronghold. Save them, get XP, maybe allies in the future.
5.Armory, Storage and Blacksmith: All stuffed into a single big room. Some furnaces, anvils, and some good old platforms for an interesting fight scene.
6.Accommodation Chambers: Basic bedrooms of the dwarves. A smaller and much prettier one exits between them for the upper-class dwarves, such as army leaders, the king's advisors and so on.
7.Dining Rooms and Kitchen: One big general dining room, which will probably be a victim for a cave-in trap, since I have no idea of what to put in it. a passage leading to the Kitchen with some stoves and ovens maybe, and from the kitchen a passage leading to the upper-class dining room. Again, for those snobby dwarves. [Lacking ideas on what to put in the dining rooms.]
8.Passage to mines on -2 Floor (20 feet wide) laid with two railway tracks for mine wagons. (see text in Level -2).
Level -2:
A big mine complex in a maze-like layout. In the middle, a wide, 20 feet wide lane running across the mines with smaller 10 feet corridors coming out of it, all lined with railway tracks. Now, The real cool thing I'm planning for this floor is to let the players find a mine wagon to fit them all in, so they can cruise the mines in it, and other cool stuff they'll probably come up with. I'm really happy with this idea. In addition. the mines have a chamber in the middle which was used as the mines' administration office.
All of the rail tracks are laid in a way that they have access to the workshop chamber in the upper floor. Besides all that, a few secret rooms and tunnels, and a secondary back entrance to the mines' floor from the outside.
This Dwarven Stronghold as a whole will have Guard posts sprinkled throughout the floors. Any ideas of what to put in these guard posts?
I'm planning to Inhabit the place with 2-3 rival armies of monsters. Maybe some evil necromancer in the mines with his undead minions, army of orcs\gnolls ruled by some crazy tiefling\human battlemaster.
bunches of random dungeons infestations (gricks,rats, spiders, stirges and stuff).
And maybe even a group of dwarves that have come to cleanse their ancestors' home and reclaim it as their own, guarding the treasure room, and facing the players as a real dilemma. Kill the dwarves or not?
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So what do you think I should do with that treasure chamber door?
And also, feel free to say whatever you want about the dungeon as a whole, I would love some feedback.
Thank you for reading.
Of course you could choose to have the hallway appear at not quite halfway. The players would have to decide to become a bit younger or older.
Annoying thing - players had to solve it. Took hours and much soda pop. They did it though. Da rat done run home. heheh. Horribly unfair. Kinda fun though.
To open the door to the Treasure Room, which is actually a keyed portal, you need the Ring of the King (of the stronghold) and his scepter. When you tap the ring to the top of the scepter, a 10x10 square in front of the door is lit up for 2 rounds. Each round anybody standing in or walking into the lit area is teleported to the Treasure room.
Same for going back.
Gregor had completed translating the ancient dwarf seal that protected the treasure vault. He would need the blood of one Elf drained into the seal lock. He would have to kill his unsuspecting companion.
"Well Gregor, What does it say?" Kail Faerunner looked at the intricate artwork beneath his feet. Gregor's grip tightened on the hilt of the sword he was using as a walking stick and shook his head.
"This is the final seal...help me up." Kail reached out to assist the old dwarf to his feet.
DM Briefing: Penetrating a Vault the PCs encounter a lock that will only open if they kill an Elf and drain his/her blood into a locking mechanism. THis blood also rouses the Dwarf Vampire hibernating in the Vault.