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Untitled
by Mars
At the end of civil war many Mercians
wanted peace, but there were those who would oppose it.
A powerful zealot named Velctor was not content to share
power with a heathen King. Velctor swore to rid Mercia
of all resistance to the church and prevent a compromise
of power.
Velctor raised an army of devout followers
and devised a plan. Velctor would slay King John IV and
imprison his essence with an ancient rune. The absense
of a King would allow the Lightbringers to become the
sole rulers of Mercia. With his most devout men, Velctor
set out under the guise of diplomacy to assasonate King
John IV and sever the blood line.
As Velctor's men approached, the King's
loyalists sensed danger and tried to call for reinforcements,
but it was too late. Velctor's men had passed the castle's
defenses and were quickly approaching the King's chamber.
In a desparate bid for time, King John IV was hidden away.
One of the King's loyalists disguised himself as the King
and fled the castle leading Velctor's army into a nearby
mine.
The King's men fought bravely, but
reinforcements never came. Outnumbered, the loyalists
were forced retreat into the very depths of the labyrinth.
Corpses littered the hallways and screams of agony rang
out as the last loyalist crumpled before Velctor's might.
Injured from combat and in haste to
carry out his plans, Velctor quickly carved his rune into
the blood soaked floor. Velctor began to mumble, "Finally
the land will be free of a heathen King... Finally the
Lightbringer will rule Mercia, and the heathen King will
be damned... forever an undead, never to be ressurected."
The magic proved to be too much for Velctor's weakened
body, and he collapsed onto the floor.
Damned were the loyalists who had
fallen to save the King. Damned were Velctor's fallen
men. Damned was Velctor by his folly.
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A once prominent mine is now the home to undead. There
are rumors that this mine is where the King's missing
men and Velctor had disappeared so many years before.
There are also rumors of the mines ability to produce
resources, ancient magics to be learned, Velctor's treasures,
and an ancient curse on any who would seek those treasures.
The Mine's Entrance:
The entrance is covered in vines that
must be hacked away to reveal a locked door. There is
no key for the lock, so the door's lock must be picked.
When door is opened a rush of wind blasts outward knocking
players to the ground and then inward draging players
inside and slamming the door shut. Wind prevents players
from escaping through the door, but can be stopped by
closing a nearby door. It's not meant to be a trap more
than to startle players into thinking that they have entered
a trap.
The Mine's Surfaces:
The mine's walls are rough and carved
from common stone. The hallways are wide and low with
wooden supports. Cob webs adorn the supports and even
cover entire corridors.
The Mine's Inhabitants:
Rats, bats, spiders... the usual...
and a few special inhabitants...
Undead loyalists and Velctor's devout
followers. Unable to respawn, yet still clinging to life,
the undead rise up from underneath the mine's floors.
Although the undead still wear rags that are representative
of their previous allegiances, they are confused, angry
and lash out at all living beings with equal hatred.
Velctor's Spirit. Disturbing the rune
that is carved into the floor in the deepest room will
summon Velctor's spirit to fight the intrudors.
[optional] Velctor, his army and the
loyalists. Destroying the rune will bring Velctor, his
small army and the few loyalists back to life. The loyalists
stay in the bottom of the mine offering information on
how to track Velctor, capture Velctor and return him to
the mine. Velctor and his army seek his unique stolen
treasures. He and his army hunt the players that own them,
and attack the towns where those players reside. Velctor
will only return to the mine once his possessions have
been aquired and returned to the mines (or if he is killed...
to respawn and continue hunting for his possessions).
Velctor announces the name(s) of the thieves and what
they stole during his attacks so that everyone knows who
he's looking for and why. He can then be defeated and
trapped by repairing the rune (loyalists tell how). Once
trapped, all loyalists, Velctor and his men return to
their undead selves... until the rune is destroyed, again...
to repeat.[/optional]
The Mine's Treasures:
Nothing too fancy... maybe some useful
ore from mining in such a dangerous place. Maybe a couple
of Velctor's items that could be relics, again nothing
powerful but at least interesting enough to want. Possibly
to learn a rune spell that will let players convert normal
spawns to undead in a limited area (similar to the one
that trapped Velctor, but only useful to change NPC spawns
in a small area to undead and easy to find and destroy).
The Mine's Features:
It's a maze that's easy to get out of, but hard to get
to the center of. The undead work as slaves to the rune's
magic. Velctor's rune does not want to be found, and does
everything it can to remain hidden. The closer adventurers
get to the rune, the more tricks the rune will employ
to keep them away. Walls move from time to time in an
attempt to confuse adventurers. Doors "warp"
players to different parts of the dungeon in an manner
that would make Escher proud.
For some of the rooms: A room
with 2 or more doors will only allow one door to open
at a time. You must enter the room, close the door, and
then open another. Going through a door transparently
"warps" you to another room. Moving forward
seems to go on forever (because you are warping to the
same room), but moving backword takes you immediately
to the beginning. Learning to navigate the deepest parts
of the mine is an ever changing challenge (maybe change
warp patterns every hour... ie: Left, Left, Straight,
Left... then the next hour Left, Right, Straight, Left).
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