Dungeons of Cloudtop Castle

[Havard]

Cloudtop Castle is the Stronghold of Robert the Bald, the most powerful wizard of all of Blackmoor. However, the Wizard is a busy man, so he has hired a group of adventures to retrieve an item from the Dungeon below his Castle.

Questions:
1. I need ideas for what artifact Robert the Bald needs.
2. What creatures and other things could be found in the Dungeon? Robert is apparently quite well known for his magical creations. I assume constructs etc?
3. What other features could be interesting in this dungeon?
4. Mapping advice? I will be using some of the ideas from this thread about Arneson-style mega dungeons, but further input is also appreciated.


I have been talking to Bob Meyer about this character in the past so I might sprinkle some of his ideas in here, but there is plenty of room for us to fill in, so lets be creative!

-Havard

[RobJN]

Not only constructs, but probably magical and/or magical-mechanical traps.(perhaps testing these is the aim, and retrieving the item is just an excuse to get adventurers to "run the gauntlet?")

Hmm... now I feel an "early days of the twins" short story brewing in my head.....

[Yaztromo]

Rob is right: this thing sounds pretty much like "let's put these guinea pigs in the labyrinth and then let's observe"...

[Havard]

Rob is right: this thing sounds pretty much like "let's put these guinea pigs in the labyrinth and then let's observe"...

Hmmm...I don't know. Robert the Bald is listed as Lawful in DA1. Does that sound like something a lawful character would do?

Not only constructs, but probably magical and/or magical-mechanical traps.

Definitely good ideas!

Cloudtop is located near the Valley of the Ancients, so it seems likely that Robert the Bald has access to artifacts from the City of the Gods.

I would also like to include some events from the stories Bob Meyer (Robert the Bald's player) shared about his adventures with the mysterious Captain Krey as detailed on my blog.

Perhaps artifacts brought home from Skandaharia or the Black Swamps?

In many ways, the Dungeon of Castle Blackmoor tells the history of Blackmoor itself. Perhaps the Dungeons of Cloudtop Castle tell the story of the life of Robert The Bald?

Hmm... now I feel an "early days of the twins" short story brewing in my head.....

Nice!

-Havard

[Yaztromo]

Hmmm...I don't know. Robert the Bald is listed as Lawful in DA1. Does that sound like something a lawful character would do?

Are you implying that all scientific and medical researchers that use guinea pigs are evil???
Louis Pasteur used a human guinea pig as well, when he tested his ideas about vaccination and he saved millions of lives!

EDIT: maybe he's just studying and testing artificial intelligence...

[Havard]

Hmmm...I don't know. Robert the Bald is listed as Lawful in DA1. Does that sound like something a lawful character would do?

Are you implying that all scientific and medical researchers that use guinea pigs are evil???
Louis Pasteur used a human guinea pig as well, when he tested his ideas about vaccination and he saved millions of lives!

EDIT: maybe he's just studying and testing artificial intelligence...

I think it would be possible for a Lawful character to use humans to test his contraptions, but perhaps because he is Lawful he would be more up front about it? I could see him actually telling the adventurers that he needs them to see if there are problems with his inventions. If the adventurers accept to risk their lives because the pay is good enough, it would not be such a bad thing would it?

What sort of things do you think Robert has brought with him back from Skandaharia?

Right now I am thinking each level of the dungeon could be dedicated to one stage of Robert's life:

1) The Early Years (Castle Blackmoor relics)
2) The Journey to the Skandaharian Jarldoms (Nordic Themed)
3) The Black Swamps (Froglin experiments, Temple of the Frog relics)
4) The Valley of the Ancients (Constructs, Robots)
5) The Secret Level

What do you think?

-Havard

[RobJN]

I like the idea of themed levels very much. Maybe that's my video-gaming side coming through there

As far as "would he tell them or wouldn't he"? He's a wizard, and their morals might not be as clear cut as "normal" folk.

[Havard]

I like the idea of themed levels very much. Maybe that's my video-gaming side coming through there

Glad you like it! What I really would like to do is have the adventure tell the story of Robert the Bald in some way. I am thinking something like:

1) Have diary pages scattered around the dungeon
2) Have tapestries or wall carvings tell his story
3) Something else?

As far as "would he tell them or wouldn't he"? He's a wizard, and their morals might not be as clear cut as "normal" folk.

Good point. Perhaps he would tell them something, but "forget" some important details?

-Havard

[RobJN]

I like the idea of themed levels very much. Maybe that's my video-gaming side coming through there

Glad you like it! What I really would like to do is have the adventure tell the story of Robert the Bald in some way. I am thinking something like:

1) Have diary pages scattered around the dungeon
2) Have tapestries or wall carvings tell his story
3) Something else?

"Here's this quasi-illusional gizmo I found and tinkered with that lets you relive some of my proudest moments!"

.... never mind the fact that those might entail things like...oh, the King's Companions running for fear of their very lives.... :lol:

As far as "would he tell them or wouldn't he"? He's a wizard, and their morals might not be as clear cut as "normal" folk.

Good point. Perhaps he would tell them something, but "forget" some important details?

-Havard

It could be entirely true. From... a certain point of view.

[Yaztromo]

Hmmm... "Re-live the magnificent adventures of Robert the Bald in the magnificence of 3D"???
Maybe it's a holographic projector from the Valley of the Ancients (that projects "true" holograms) and Robert tinkered a bit with it to make it work again after long time and use his own adventures as templates, but it's still at test phase... would you like to have a sneak pre-view???