5e Microsetting - Dungeonmancy
Originally written for this 15 minute challenge.
Dungeonmancy - noun
Dun·geon·man·cy
1: Abjuration, the creation and control of Dungeons.
2: Magic, Sorcery.
The king's advisor is a practitioner of divination, conjuration and Dungeonmancy.
In Dungeonmancy, dungeons are living things carved out of the land for various purposes. Liches create dungeons as strongholds for their conquests into the world. Kingdoms make dungeons to lure in greater and stronger monsters, preventing them from attacking villagers. Some dungeons move through the earth like great worms, raiding strongholds. Some stay still. Some are sacred sites, helping the druids of the world.
The act of creating a dungeon is Dungeonmancy, and there is no greater act of power and responsibility.
Dungeon Man Concept Art - Earthbound (SNES)
Background - Gaolwatcher
Gaolwatchers are people who study dungeons and map their movements across the planet. They might be a hobbyist, or a professional that has worked for kingdoms and powerful individuals. A cross between an architect and a biologist.
Skill Proficiencies: Nature, History
Language: One of your choice.
Tool Proficiency: Cartography Tools
Equipment: Traveller's Notebook, A nice pen, Common Clothes, a Pouch with 15 GP, Climbing Hooks.
Feature: Gaolwatcher Network As a gaolwatcher you know members of your field, where they gather and what they publish in. You can sumrise the history of a dungeon if it could be found in a library, academic journal, or some other public accessible text. In addition, you know where these Gaolwatchers might gather.
D6 Living Dungons
- The Great Tree Leyline - A vast oaktree with roots that stretch below into ancient tunnels. Made by a great druid in ages past, it's a proving ground for heroes and adventurers trying to prove their name, with monsters of the wood and treasures of the ancients.
- Plaguenest - In the form of a flying bat hewn of stone, Plaguenest is the flying bastion of the Lich Da'zii. It divebombs towns and settlements to fuel the wretched undead forces of the Lich Lord. Hides in ravines during downtime, travelling the world by night.
- Stonewyrm - A dwarven creation with a heart of precious stones, Stonewyrm is a roaming sandwyrm that burrows through the arid deserts. Consumes smaller dungeons into an almalgam of weird places.
- Shrine to Chaos - A Temple that shifts location, spawning wherever the most chaos and disorder happens. The shrine is a shard of the plane of chaos bound to a shrine from long ago, granting it sentience. It goes where the pull is strongest, providing sanctuary to outcasts and outsiders.
- Deepdown - The dungeon of deepdown lives below the ocean, waiting. Deepdown was once the home to a group of mages, in times past. They drank too deeply of the weave, took too much, and soon their minds were trapped within deepdown. They think, and think. One day they will surface, and enact their plans.
- St. Thanke - A wandering statue of some reknown, who roams about testing new adventurers. Heroes enter through it's left foot to fight through his insides. St Thanke is an easy track for Gaol Watchers, as you can simply ask the saint for his next location.
D4 Gaolwatcher Traits
- I have a favorite dungeon, one i always hope to visit!
- I one day hope to learn dungeonmancy of my own.
- I keep meticulous notes on every dungeon i visit.
- I am the descendant of a great dungeonmancer.