Monday 28 August 2017

Sewers and Cesspits 2





So this is second post on this and i thought id go into bit more detail. This is intended to be underneath my campaign city Shadelport. It is a pirate city today but is also built of the ruins of the pre human monster empire's maritime capitol. it was where the great revolt broke out and a succession of human barbarians ruled then a dynasty of necromancer kings then the world was flooded separating the main continents. So Shadelport still has large sections of ruins and structures built by pre humans and necromancers. The upper levels of the sewer systems are the most modern built from red brick mostly in circular tube tunnels with liquid waste flowing through the middle. many are a trickle in dry season, others are larger with canals used for waste and goods transport. The older and deeper areas  tend to be trapezoidal or hexagonal with lower halves filled with waste or muck or water with walk ways on the sides. There are many deep levels unexplored by humans. The bridges also have many hidden internal spaces and levels going under the harbour and river. Some of these areas have higher air pressure, especially areas accessible through water locks.

This post includes a table for strange things to find especially on the deeper levels. Also a table of hazards including architectural and environmental risks. I might try and make some sewer geomorphs to print and rearrange. A later post will be for the sewers of hell which might connect Shadel Port to the drains between the layers of hell. Sewer rangers and druids might see warning signs of some hazards by observing roaches and rats.

Part 3+ will be sewer physical features and a tables for sewers in hell

d100 Strange Sewer Secrets and Surprises
01 Rats stacking d2000 copper coins into neat piles until they have 2000
02 Trail of loathsome slime disappears down hole or into water
03 Disc of carved stone with ancient calendar if rings rotated correctly opens ancient door
04 Something has opened burial niches scattering ancient prehuman grave items
05 A ancient long sealed iron bar gate crumbles to the touch
06 Glistening metallic  item just visible in bottom of the water 
07 Tentacle slides back into a pipe in a wall up ahead 
08 Huge graffitti of vampire bat goddess painted in blood
09 Ancient cut stone lined brick well drops into black salt water depths
10 Crude relief of tentacle faced god made from river clay covered in dried fish skin

11 Corpse of rat catcher impaled with harpoon trap and partially eaten
12 Man sized cocoon like skin, slimy on inside but dry and camouflaged with filth on outside

13 Zombie nailed to the wall with iron spikes twitches and moans when anyone comes close
14 Corpses of a mutant family murdered and partialy burnt
15 Stone archway with serpent man symbols sealed with diferent more recent brickwork
16 Footprints in mud slowly change from bare human into huge rat feet
17 Strange coloured liquid pool dripping from alchemists lab on surface
18 Something large swiming in water by raised dry pathway
19 Severed hand holding sewer local map with several x marks
20 Several stitched together mismatched corpses with magical symbols on them
21 Sea trunk full of shrunken heads with sould trapped in them
22 Area frozen and what looks like normal muck is incredibly slippery
23 An ogre body floating in water with eels swimming into its gaping wounds to feast
24 A black billy goat steps from shadows twitching its tail an staring at you
25 Hear distant chanting then screams then silence
26 A crude basalt altar wet with blood and worn from millennia of use
27 Glowing naked corpse floating down stream 
28 Remains of a crude shack with chest of rations, rat jerky and bottle of rum
29 Crazed old naked man muttering about the city of monsters down here
30 Mummified remains of witch and her cat with bag of fetishes and knitting supplies 
31 Giant empty nest made of bones and cobwebs
32 Mummified giant bat wrapped with own wing membranes covered in arcane tattoos
33 Vampire hunters bag with steaks, garlic, holy water and holy symbols
34 Strange mist and noises like a busy marketplace chattering in non human voices
35 Remains of student necromancer with beginners book of d4 evil spells
36 Crumbling cult robes with beast mask and key on a chain
37 Bronze lion head with keyhole in mouth unlocks long sealed secret door
38 Chained skeletons half submerged in dank water
39 Hole dug through wall leads to ancient carved inscription in fishman script
40 Rows of slavers manacles on a iron bar bolted to walls 
41 Relief statue set in wall of vulture headed robed man standing on piles of human skulls
42 Tunnel filled with shacks of former gang home everything built from scrap and garbage
43 Collapsed ceiling with remains of long forgotten sealed basement storage
44 Trail of gore leads to pile of headless and limbless corpses arranges in circle
45 Strange golden fishman statuette arranged on a altar with human hearts
46 Flaming pit possibly of burning gas or magical connection to elemental fire
47 Huge mound of human teeth or fingernails
48 Ancient stone block used in wall shows pre flood world map with cities of monster kings
49 Pushcart loaded withs rags, bones, paper, scrap and several old maps
50 Fishman with missing legs crawling across the ground trying to get to open water 
51 Squat toad idol with pile of d100 silver coin offerings before it 
52 Remains of a black market with rotting stalls, skeletons and some unlooted goods
53 Stacks of coffins, some spilled open with half eaten bodies
54 Painting of underworld gods and devils tormenting sinners 
55 Graffitti from persecuted healer cult who once hid here from the law
56 Large scorched area with charred bodies scattered about
57 Shadows cast by explorers seem sinister at a glance making everyone uneasy
58 Moaning phantasm tries to communicate something then gives up in dispair
59 A scrying pool detects as magic and offers visions of the past when monsters ruled
60 Idol with incense burner, the incense causes nightmare visions of despicable cult rites
61 Bronze idol of a fly demon vomiting maggots into its cupped hands
62 Cascading waterfall of filth mostly covering chained human skeletons
63 Drain pipe in wall with blood from the surface pouring into waters
64 Fountain with gargoyle statues spitting filthy water into basin
65 Enormous serpentine mineralized skeleton decorating tunnel walls
66 Trilobite, sea scorpion and ammonite fossils in walls some huge 
67 Ancient wall with relief carvings of newt men with chained human slaves
68 Huge matted lumps of hair blocking drain pipes and clogged with filth
69 Sacks of sand some burst semi blocking ancient passage to cult sanctuary
70 Gallery of ancient humanoid statues with features and writing mostly worn away
71 Piles of broken statues seemingly of skeletal wizard kings
72 Stone plaque with names of forgotten kings and dynasties in ancient toungue
73 Piles of old boots with mummified feet still in them
74 A dozen rotting corpses hanging from ceiling by meat hooks on chains
75 Water is bubbling and producing strange mist that makes travellers feel woozy
76 Huge whale like bones and a enormous bronze oil rending cauldron
77 Piles of wrecked and worn out dungeon torture equiptment in broken heaps
78 Iron bar grill choked with rotten human and animal corpses causing a water level rise
79 Poetry written on walls with chalk either blasphemy or treasonous
80 Gigantic moulted exoskeleton of arachnid, bug or crustacean covered in years of grot 
81 Headless statue in serene meditative pose, stone head fallen behind is a rat man 
82 Tattered remains of book pages detailing leach points and lamprey therapy
83 Hundreds of broken clay figurines of a squid headed demon god
84 Fake sewer monster head costume and tail used by smugglers to scare away meddlers
85 A magic mouth appears on the wall  muttering abuse in long dead language
86 Carved symbols on stone wall actually a puzzle allowing a secret door to open
87 Riddle carved in wall if answered opens a magic doorway to lost relic
88 Demon fire altar with burned bones and ashes scattered around it and inside
89 Carved reliefs of non human races who ruled in prehistoric times before man
90 Huge sticky webs left by a giant spider with mumified remains of human thieves
91 Broken remains of awful tentacled petrified thing in stone wall
92 Piles of shed skins and clothing recognisable as belonging to popular missing bards
93 Box of scrimshawed sea monster teeth depicting awful scenes of depricity and cruelty
94 Crude shack built into hole in wall with elaborate conspiracy theory notes on walls
95 Hole in wall home of long dead serial killer with weapons, torture pit and victims faces
96 Corpse of mask wearing hunchback wanted by secret police for inspiring peasants
97 Glowing lights hovering ahead or behind casting eerie lights
98 Spirits from ancients swarm everywhere ignoring the living as if they still lived
99 Ancient crumbling fresco has spirit inside desperatly seeks help in a long lost cause
100 Lost citizen in night shirt wandered here in sleep dreaming of past life


d100 Sewer Hazards
01 Flammable oil on ground and surface of water with rainbow hued swirling patters
02 Pocket of flammable gas easily ignited will explode
03 Pocket of bad air may asphyxiate all air breathers in area
04 Plague ridden piles of filth highly contaminated
05 Dozens of gremlins having a horrible party with a tied up terrified human
06 Ancient runes if browsed makes looker save vs a curse 
07 Witch child will pretend to be lost abused orphan will try to charm and abuse rescuers
08 Roof cave in if any loud noises or walls struck
09 Flash flood of sewerage from burst blockage
10 Huge rat swarm floods area in panic
11 Walkway collapses dumping people into filthy river of liquid turds
12 Slippery walkway dumps the clumsy into water
13 Swarm of flies chokes and blinds travellers briefly
14 A strange occult symbol that seems to move if viewed causes otherworldly nightmares
15 Area of magical darkness
16 Area filled with coloured mist obscures vision and light
17 Water levels slowly rising from showers on surface
18 Water levels rapidly rise from rain on surface
19 Wind blows out candles, torches or uncovered lamps
20 Huge swarm of bats flies through area panicking and confusing everyone
21 Swarm of slippery crawling worms or maggots or leeches covers floor
22 Loose bricks fall from ceiling
23 Sewerage pours through drain pipe above explorers
24 Bridge over flowing excrement collapses
25 Cave in blocks behind or ahead
26 Cave in blocks behind then in front
27 Cave in opens passage sealed for aeons
28 Confined passage very craped
29 Steps worn smooth by flowing water and covered in slime
30 Path passes through flowing sewerage
31 Diseased leeches crawling everywhere
32 Mouldy surfaces produced chocking spores if disturbed
33 Dusty surfaces cause choking if disturbed
34 Poisonous gas slowly causes damage
35 Corrosive fluids or vapours
36 Slimy pipes from walls force you to climb over them
37 Rickety rotten wooden bridges over fluids
38 Stooping for long periods of time painful, crippling over years
39 Irritating mineral oils and tar cause rashes and burning skin
40 Toxic gas causes tearing and might harm eyes
41 Slimy pipe is used as a bridge over flows of fluids
42 Floor collapses into lower level
43 Tangled mats of roots block passage or cramp space
44 Forced to climb up or down to continue
45 Passage submerged for a section
46 Passage submerged and has a middle section with bad air
47 Water is thick with eels that will tear holes in anyone, swim inside and start eating
48 Water and air are chilling and there is a risk of hypothermia with long exposure
49 Junction or chamber has been taken over as a monster lair
50 Junction or chamber has been taken over as a gang lair
51 Junction or chamber has been taken over as a cultist lair
52 Large pipes have broken blocking walkways 
53 Cascading water blocks walkway making crossing dificult
54 Flow of water is fast and can sweep away people with current easily
55 Flow has become so slow sludged up with sticky tar like mass that can swollow you up
56 Flow is rapid and filled with dangerous debris that can injure anyone in water
57 A whirlpool in water can suck swimmer down to hidden depths
58 Pressure in depths causes illness particularly deep below waterline
59 Polluted with toxic but colourful chemicals from surface
60 Hot fluids poured down drain from surface
61 Sewerage rains from drains above backflowed from somewhere else
62 Damaged rotting wooden scaffolding walkway ready to collapse shortly
63 Walkway bricks collapsed forcing explorers to climb over loose rubble
64 Gigantic mass of froth from water covers walkways possibly hiding hazard
65 Traps left to catch giant rats
66 Walkway bricks collapsed and flimsy scaffolding made from scrap crosses hazard
67 Crude tripline setting of noisy alarm using old pots or breaking glass or a bell
68 Bricks of walkway have been crumbling inside and ready to collapse
69 Water flow has eroded brick walkway through leaving a jumpable gap
70 Deadfall trap drops pile of rubble left by gang
71 Trap drops iron portcullis blocking passage
72 Spawning grounds of giant frogs who remain to protect eggs and tadpoles
73 Thousands of cockroaches covering every surface, start moving if exposed to light 
74 Hundreds of plague black plague rats crawling about will bite if stepped on
75 Colony of giant spiders possibly of aquatic variety with underwater nest
76 Roof of tunnel has colony of cave fishers delighted by large prey in area
77 Piercer colony on ceiling among natural calcium formations on tunnel ceiling
78 Stalactites of ceiling fragile and sensitive to sound, prone to fall of noisy travellers
79 Sewernami flash flood of excrement usualy preceded by swarm of rats running away
80 Wererats shanty town built of scrap crawling in common rats, will hide in human form
81 Monster grown to big to escape trapped in section and very hungry
82 Area where monsters dumped from surface menageries, circuses and dungeons
83 Area has many phantom spirits wandering around ethereally unaware of mortals
84 Operating black market run by several gangs who don't want witnesses
85 Stone crypt sealed with magic holds a ancient undead necromancer or monster
86 A stone vault with arcane puzzle lock contains a enraged shoggoth trapped for aeons
87 Area covered in corpses crawling with dangerous grubs like rot grubs or kyuss grubs
88 Area infested by major gremlin colony who may attack, prank or stowaway in packs
89 Area contested by gangs and regular fights break out and strangers are attacked
90 Area connected to dungeon complex of secret police who use it to move about unseen
91 Magic wild zone makes spells and items behave chaotically
92 Magic null zone ruins active spells and prevents spellcasting or magic effects
93 Elder prehuman gods were once worshipped here and the place reeks of their taint
94 A cultist demon worshiping site here and evil essence attracts chaos horrors 
95 A tainted burial area here attracts undead and necromancers
96 A water elemental node attracts planar beings who delight in playing in liquid 
97 A earth elemental node attracts planar beings who delight in playing in sludge 
98 A air elemental node attracts planar beings who delight in playing in open space 
99 A fire elemental node attracts planar beings who delight in playing in burning gas 
100 A gate to hell is sealed but can be accidentally opened or have guards


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