The Marble Cliffs above the sweltering Rubberlands are no natural formation, but an ancient battlefield scarred by a mass petrification weapon. Quarrymen and miners and orchardists cutting terraces for alligator pears unearth things from past ages who resisted stoning. The disaster at Tontes sent half the cliffs tumbling down the cataracts and exposed The Head.
The Medusa stands on the Head and everything she looks at turns to stone. The trees and the mud and the animals below turn to stone. The banks of the rivers turn to stone and her gaze passes through the clear water and turn the fish to stone so they fall to the bottom.
Petitioners brave the stone slopes and crawl on their bellies to the Head. The mouth of the statue opens. It vomits a hailstorm of stone masks.
Exterior
The Head sticks out of a collapsed segment of a white stone cliff. Heaped talus from the collapse leads all the way down to the rubberlands below. The cliffs above lead to the highlands.
The Medusa Komaweteja stands on the roof of the head, drinking the strongest spirits she can find and stoning anything that moves without her permission.
The slopes around the Head slither with Gelatinous Cubes, which drop from the opening below the statue’s nose.
Circular windows in the sides of the statue allow access to its rooms, but anyone climbing risks being stoned by the boss.
To admit rare visitors, disgorge masks or to send the Dogs out on raids, the mouth of the statue opens.
A borehole in the hollow of the sculpted bone below the neck allows entrance to the tunnels within.
The Head sticks out of a collapsed segment of a white stone cliff. Heaped talus from the collapse leads all the way down to the rubberlands below. The cliffs above lead to the highlands.
The Medusa Komaweteja stands on the roof of the head, drinking the strongest spirits she can find and stoning anything that moves without her permission.
The slopes around the Head slither with Gelatinous Cubes, which drop from the opening below the statue’s nose.
Circular windows in the sides of the statue allow access to its rooms, but anyone climbing risks being stoned by the boss.
To admit rare visitors, disgorge masks or to send the Dogs out on raids, the mouth of the statue opens.
A borehole in the hollow of the sculpted bone below the neck allows entrance to the tunnels within.
1: Throne Room
Domed throne room. Trepaned ceiling. Wall slits. Stone chair. Heaped riches and furniture turned to polished marble, porphyry, onyx and basalt. Stairs down to 3.
Domed throne room. Trepaned ceiling. Wall slits. Stone chair. Heaped riches and furniture turned to polished marble, porphyry, onyx and basalt. Stairs down to 3.
- Stone chest holding 8,000 SP in tarnished silver coins, crusted with images of owls, hekatons, salamanders, devils.
- Enormous Demon Coin, broken in half to release the bound spirit inside.
- Hermetic bottle holding Blood of Command. Thick, oily, bitter, dissolves into intoxicating alcohol warmth. Grants control of plants when drunk.
Walls smeared with corpses. The Gothrog Psolarkhos paces, seething. Ladder down to 4, door to 3, grate lets smoke out of 5. 2,000 SP in modern Commonwealth coinage and looted Cave Elf gems.
3: Temple
Two story columned room. Images of Ancient Empire deities (Quickness, Holy Mountain, Earth Shaker, MotherMonster). Wine and burnt offering stains. Lead Dog Emilio and two trusted packmates guard stairs to 1 and feed little owl clad in hood worth 350 SP. Doors to 5 and 2. 1,000 SP in incense, 1,000 SP in shells decorating wall reliefs.
Two story columned room. Images of Ancient Empire deities (Quickness, Holy Mountain, Earth Shaker, MotherMonster). Wine and burnt offering stains. Lead Dog Emilio and two trusted packmates guard stairs to 1 and feed little owl clad in hood worth 350 SP. Doors to 5 and 2. 1,000 SP in incense, 1,000 SP in shells decorating wall reliefs.
4: Garbage Chute
Ladder to 2, door to 5. Floor pit down to 6 and out of statue.
Ladder to 2, door to 5. Floor pit down to 6 and out of statue.
5: Meeting Hall
Tripod suspended awkwardly from ceiling. Polished table. Two veteran Adventurers from the Guild wait for the Medusa’s representative to commence negotiations. Doors to 3 and 5, Spiral staircase to 7, 1,000 SP in wool and 1,000 SP in oiled leather stored here. Map of other buried sites in Marble Cliffs.
Tripod suspended awkwardly from ceiling. Polished table. Two veteran Adventurers from the Guild wait for the Medusa’s representative to commence negotiations. Doors to 3 and 5, Spiral staircase to 7, 1,000 SP in wool and 1,000 SP in oiled leather stored here. Map of other buried sites in Marble Cliffs.
6: Wound Room
Shaft inside sculpted nose. Prisoners suspended upside down, slashed and wounded. Oozing wounds leak Gelatinous Cubes. Shaft up to 4, down to statue exterior.
Shaft inside sculpted nose. Prisoners suspended upside down, slashed and wounded. Oozing wounds leak Gelatinous Cubes. Shaft up to 4, down to statue exterior.
7: Kennel
Windowless. 17 Dogs stand motionless in the dark. Blood from untreated wounds on floor. Dogs ignore intruders unless they deal enough damage to down one. Spiral stairs up to 5, floor hatch to 8, ladder to 9. 270 SP in dropped coin and petty jewelry worn by dogs in former life.
Windowless. 17 Dogs stand motionless in the dark. Blood from untreated wounds on floor. Dogs ignore intruders unless they deal enough damage to down one. Spiral stairs up to 5, floor hatch to 8, ladder to 9. 270 SP in dropped coin and petty jewelry worn by dogs in former life.
8: Maw
Stone mouth with huge pile of masks for creation of dogs. When commanded by Medusa the mouth opens. Can drool masks to recruit new slaves to dogdom or open all the way to allow Dogs egress.
Stone mouth with huge pile of masks for creation of dogs. When commanded by Medusa the mouth opens. Can drool masks to recruit new slaves to dogdom or open all the way to allow Dogs egress.
9: Access Tunnel
Hole in statue throat leads to maze of corridors, dead end except ladder up to 9. Walls polished by gelatinous cubes crawling everywhere. 429 SP in modern coin left by slimy beings.
Hole in statue throat leads to maze of corridors, dead end except ladder up to 9. Walls polished by gelatinous cubes crawling everywhere. 429 SP in modern coin left by slimy beings.
MONSTERS &
The Medusa Komaweteja
The Ancients were paranoid warrior mages obsessed with control. The Medusa Komaweteja took it to a ridiculous extreme. She petrified the land and everything living in it so that nothing could move without her leave. She crafted masks of stone to magically dominate her legions of slave-soldiers. Born again from her womb of rock, she picked up where she left off.
Komaweteja sends the Dogs out to despoil towns and capture the strongest inhabitants, who are given a choice to don the canine masks themselves or serve as substrate to generate cubes. The slimes please her, that’s reason enough to wound people and let them slowly die of infection to make more. She would enslave or kill everyone but her appetite for luxuries forces her to engage in commerce. The [b]Guild[/b] brings her wine and spirits. When she deals with people she doesn’t want to immediately kill, she closes her eyes and lets the serpents in her hair see for her.
Komaweteja’s ring of Dominion Reap compels those who speak with her to use the Old Old Tongue, even if they don’t know a word of it. She refuses to learn any other language. Nothing of value could be spoken in any tongue but her own. Her jewels resist stoning and sum to 2,000 SP in value.
The Ancients were paranoid warrior mages obsessed with control. The Medusa Komaweteja took it to a ridiculous extreme. She petrified the land and everything living in it so that nothing could move without her leave. She crafted masks of stone to magically dominate her legions of slave-soldiers. Born again from her womb of rock, she picked up where she left off.
Komaweteja sends the Dogs out to despoil towns and capture the strongest inhabitants, who are given a choice to don the canine masks themselves or serve as substrate to generate cubes. The slimes please her, that’s reason enough to wound people and let them slowly die of infection to make more. She would enslave or kill everyone but her appetite for luxuries forces her to engage in commerce. The [b]Guild[/b] brings her wine and spirits. When she deals with people she doesn’t want to immediately kill, she closes her eyes and lets the serpents in her hair see for her.
Komaweteja’s ring of Dominion Reap compels those who speak with her to use the Old Old Tongue, even if they don’t know a word of it. She refuses to learn any other language. Nothing of value could be spoken in any tongue but her own. Her jewels resist stoning and sum to 2,000 SP in value.
The Gothrog Psolarkhos
Psolarkhos the Gothrog is a demon, summoned and bound by Komaweteja using the broken coin in her throne room. The Medusa ordered him to “protect my house”.. Anyone she doesn’t control is her enemy, so he’s going to be here a while. He paces like a caged animal in his room of the palace, seething with resentment but unable to lift a hand against his mistress. If the Stone Head was destroyed he could return home to the sulfur pits, but he can’t act directly against his lady.
The Gothrog can fly, his malformed wings are fully functional. He carries the Dogs to raid targets in the highlands above the cliffs. He vents his rage on anyone weaker than him and finds somewhere else to be the moment a fight turns against him.
Psolarkhos the Gothrog is a demon, summoned and bound by Komaweteja using the broken coin in her throne room. The Medusa ordered him to “protect my house”.. Anyone she doesn’t control is her enemy, so he’s going to be here a while. He paces like a caged animal in his room of the palace, seething with resentment but unable to lift a hand against his mistress. If the Stone Head was destroyed he could return home to the sulfur pits, but he can’t act directly against his lady.
The Gothrog can fly, his malformed wings are fully functional. He carries the Dogs to raid targets in the highlands above the cliffs. He vents his rage on anyone weaker than him and finds somewhere else to be the moment a fight turns against him.
The Dogs
Peasants, temporarily impoverished captains of industry, warriors, the Dogs gave them a choice: put on the stone mask and leave their humanity behind, or die. They wear no armor and bristle with weapons nobody bothered to remove. They stand motionless when not ordered to war. Their masks make them immune to the Medusa’s paralysis. They’re already stone.
Peasants, temporarily impoverished captains of industry, warriors, the Dogs gave them a choice: put on the stone mask and leave their humanity behind, or die. They wear no armor and bristle with weapons nobody bothered to remove. They stand motionless when not ordered to war. Their masks make them immune to the Medusa’s paralysis. They’re already stone.
Emilio, a guano collector and the first man turned by the Medusa, leads the pack. He represents her in negotiations with outsiders (like the Guild) but prefers to make people wait. He didn’t like merchants when he was human. He is a direct vassal of the Medusa, if she dies he goes free. He carries the Proven Sons, a quiver of enchanted arrows which bring swift death to dragons and their ilk. Her servitors tell her that the wyrms of the Commonwealth are dead or sit on the boards of its largest corporations. Komaweteja will believe that when she sees it.
The rest of the Dogs carry a mix of hand weapons and throwing weapons. Most of them received their masks from Emilio and his death would free them. They generally don’t mind being the Medusa’s Dogs. Being skewered with weapons is painful, but the blood and injuries don’t rate when weighed against a life without fear.
The rest of the Dogs carry a mix of hand weapons and throwing weapons. Most of them received their masks from Emilio and his death would free them. They generally don’t mind being the Medusa’s Dogs. Being skewered with weapons is painful, but the blood and injuries don’t rate when weighed against a life without fear.
The Wyvernmen
The Wyvernmen are a warrior society, voluntary pariahs from the Leg Horses who live apart from the tribe. The final rite of their order is autocastration followed by a journey to the top of the Marble Cliffs to transform into a wyvern. The apparition of the Stone Head right in the middle of their traditional territory has prevented them from making any new worms. Raids by the Dogs have slaughtered many of the Leg Horses and a handful accepted the stone mask as an alternative to death by open wounds.
The remainder of the Wyvernmen have declared war on the Medusa and her slaves. They’re divided on the best way to proceed. Some want to sneak up on the Medusa and assassinate her, the others want to run the gauntlet and become Wyverns at the top of the cliff so they can attack her in a swarm. All Wyvernmen are skilled ambushers. Their signature weapon is a net weighted with ferret skulls, woven with claws and teeth, which scurries onto the target and entangles them even on a miss.
The Wyvernmen are a warrior society, voluntary pariahs from the Leg Horses who live apart from the tribe. The final rite of their order is autocastration followed by a journey to the top of the Marble Cliffs to transform into a wyvern. The apparition of the Stone Head right in the middle of their traditional territory has prevented them from making any new worms. Raids by the Dogs have slaughtered many of the Leg Horses and a handful accepted the stone mask as an alternative to death by open wounds.
The remainder of the Wyvernmen have declared war on the Medusa and her slaves. They’re divided on the best way to proceed. Some want to sneak up on the Medusa and assassinate her, the others want to run the gauntlet and become Wyverns at the top of the cliff so they can attack her in a swarm. All Wyvernmen are skilled ambushers. Their signature weapon is a net weighted with ferret skulls, woven with claws and teeth, which scurries onto the target and entangles them even on a miss.
The Guild
Iron Cup is an Adventurer’s Guild. They supply luxury goods and adventuring essentials at the ends of the earth and buy treasure extracted from dangerous locations so they can auction it in the imperial core at a significant markup. They hold a lot of cash in dangerous areas and the guards tend to be “retired” adventurers themselves, trading the freedom of the open road for a guaranteed paycheck and a secure logistical tail.
Iron Cup is an Adventurer’s Guild. They supply luxury goods and adventuring essentials at the ends of the earth and buy treasure extracted from dangerous locations so they can auction it in the imperial core at a significant markup. They hold a lot of cash in dangerous areas and the guards tend to be “retired” adventurers themselves, trading the freedom of the open road for a guaranteed paycheck and a secure logistical tail.
Manny the Fighter and Pilar the Wizard sell imperial luxuries to Komaweteja. Wine, liquor, tobacco. They’re on the same side, see? They worship Iron Hand and Oil Lamp, the twin Gods of civilization. They wear necklaces of ears taken from primitives who couldn’t get with the program. They’re practically her cousins. Their plan is to get her addicted to ghost lotus or black honey or something harder that they control. Pilar’s pearl eye rotates in its socket of her own accord, letting her scry any place she has seen or heard described to her.
WHY ARE YOU HERE?
- The Medusa killed a lot of people when she stoned everything in line of sight. Her Dogs killed more. She’s annihilated virtually all life out to the horizon and will continue to do so as long as she’s alive. Stop her from doing that.
- The Ancients’ aptitude for demonology puts modern mages to same. Go get the broken coin from the throne room so the College of Wands at Brickmountain can reverse engineer it and harness hellpower for a demonic industrial revolution.The people of the Cliffs like the Wyvernmen because Wyverns are good hunting. Their bodies yield many magical reagents. Remove the obstacle from the Wyvernmen’s ascent so they can make more flying lizards.
- The Dogs kidnapped the son of a rubber baron from the lowlands. The boy refused Doghood and was lacerated to hang upside down for his trouble, wounds slowly seeping gelatinous cubes. Rescue him before he dies of sepsis.
- Take the Medusa’s head so you can stone people with it.
THE MAKING OF
This is a dungeon I made for the FATAL and Friends thread to show off Monsters &. The thread chose five monsters.
- Gelatinous Cube
- Gnoll
- Gothrog
- Medusa
- Wyvern
I used &&&&&&&&& Treasure to stock the dungeon, and it was a lot better. That one I recommend.
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