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Tag Archives: Temples

Ten Temples

March 19, 2012 10:02 am / 4 Comments / Chris

John on December 26, 2011 at 6:43 pm said:

If we’re allowed to make more than one request, I find myself in need of a bunch of weird-ass temples for the city I’m building. Ten of them, say. But only if you run out of suggestions; I wouldn’t want to be prioritised over someone who hasn’t made a request yet.

Temple of the Swarm

Billions of insects, centipedes, spiders and other crawling creatures carpet a large pit in the center of this temple. Supplicants make a donation and are given one of the insects, which they may take home, set free or even burn to make a wish. Worshippers may also sacrifice themselves to the swarm in order to purify bad deeds, end personal suffering or show devotion.

Temple of Boros

Worshippers are dropped into random points in this large, multi-storied maze. Those who make it out must have been blessed by the gods. Others are likely dead at the hands of monsters, traps and other men and women who have found a way to live there.

Temple of Dedication (Cult of Owrox)

Families who make deals with the cult of Owrox sometimes offer lifetime servitude of children or grandchildren in exchange for the release of souls the god has captured. In order to ensure a contract is honored, these young slaves are sent here to commune with the captive souls of their ancestors. There are over a hundred small alcoves throughout the temple where crystal balls can be ‘attuned’ to a specific soul. For most, merely speaking with the departed is enough to scare them into being faithful. Some of the kinder imprisoned souls manage to establish warm relations with their living kin. Others browbeat their descendants. In all cases, the servant must touch the crystal ball and ‘feel’ the helplessness and doom the captured spirit feels. This is the existence the contract breaker faces if the terms are not fulfilled. This is why Owrox has few defectors.

Temple of Batrubis

This temple is home to a 50 foot giant, who sits on a throne. Because he has magical talents that can be performed at will, and because he’s, well, a fifty foot giant who says he’s a god, he is worshipped as a living deity. Believers take great pride in the fact that their god, unlike others, can be seen and worshipped in person.

Temple of the Golden Bliss

A thousand monastics have found paradise here. They sit surrounding a golden ball of light and experience life in a perfect place. Their bodily functions slow to almost nothing, so that they may sit for days at a time. In their minds, this prayer/meditation takes them to a place of perfection. Corpses of those who die in this state are carried out by acolytes who hope to take their place someday. Unknown to the cult: The ball of light is an elemental from a positive energy plane. It has mass ESP and can cast flawless telepathic illusions. It feeds on the misdirected spiritual energy in its presence.

The Temple of Graves

The graves in this temple are smashed icons, idols and other religious artifacts. The acolytes here accept these for any reason whatsoever. Some are brought by those who have lost faith. Others are captured in foreign lands and are brought here by returning travelers and soldiers who want to dispose of the objects but fear supernatural reprisals. Some of the smashed artifacts are still quite valuable and possibly quite cursed. While presented to outsiders as a service, this temple is run by mages, who, being chaotic, seek to reduce the influence of gods in the world.

The Sunken Temple

The Sea God does not send major storms or red tides to the Island of Siros so long as his temple is packed with worshippers. When an earthquake sent part of the island into the sea a thousand years past, the temple was submerged. The local priesthood realized the only way to end a decade of storms that followed was to fill the temple with worshippers. Lots were drawn and the chosen drowned. Using a number of submerged air tents and caves, divers were able to chain these chosen to the pews. As these bodies decay, they must be replaced. When the supply of criminals and unwary travelers runs out, lots are chosen. Tritons and Merfolk sometimes interfere with this temple. What right have land creatures to even imagine a sea god?

Secret Temple of Yuchen-Domma

The fake temple is upstairs. It is dedicated to an obscure, harmless and minor goddess from some foreign land. The real temple is hidden below and is dedicated to Yuchen-Domma, goddess of the dirge. Members of her inner circle have quarters here.

In a cavernous inner chamber, followers and captives of her cult are wander about listlessly, singing a section of her dirge of hopelessness. This dirge functions as a protection from chaos and protection from good spell for all followers in the temple. It also delivers -5% HP per round (five percent of maximum HP, rounding up) to anyone in the chamber or areas immediately around it who is not also singing the dirge and has not plugged their ears (which only halves the effect). Anyone hearing it for more than a round will be able to join without knowing the words or the melody (no one knows the meaning). Clerics and paladins who join in will offend their patron deities greatly and must undergo a quest immediately after leaving the temple or face the wrath of their god. Mages and chaotic characters who join in will lose the ability to speak in 1-3 days (The DM should determine an appropriate cure). Elves vaguely recognize the tune but cannot remember where they might have heard it before.

Vantu’s Prison

The priests of the Confidence of Alaf have for aeons held poor Vantu prisoner. The pitiable god was captured by Alaf, companion to a great hero in epic days past. Alaf is not a god, but he, and through the ages his confidants, tortured Vantu until he granted divine powers and spells to the order.

Vantu appears as a frail, incoherent man shackled to a wall (or on rack or other torture device) in an obscure torture chamber in the basement of the temple. The temple above resembles a museum more than a temple. Tapestries, paintings and performances recount the Epic of Eidivir, inflating the role of Alaf, of course.

Cathedral of Crom’s Slumber (Eastern)

Here the Great Dreamer of the Eastern Order of the Holy Rest slumbers, stirring only every few days to eat and drink. In her sleep, she communes with the previous great sleepers who have passed to the underworld. She acts as the conduit for communication between the church and the underworld, relaying blessings, spells and status reports on events that might disturb Crom and wake him (and cause all nations and people to battle until hardly a man walks under the sun).

It is essential that no one make noise here. The floors and walls are covered with rugs and tapestries. The priests take vows of whispering and refrain from even casting silence spells   except in emergencies. If adventurers find their way in and make noise, wear boots, etc., the priests will do everything in their power to silence them first, then kill them if necessary (They are lawful neutral).

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Posted in: campaign window dressing, content, legacy D&D / Tagged: bring it, clerics, gods, temples

Dice Drop Table: Evil Temple of Evilness

February 8, 2012 5:16 pm / 2 Comments / Chris

Another dice drop table, the Evil Temple of Evilness and the Great God Orsobuffo (named for the guy whose request lead to these tables). If you haven’t followed by two previous posts (here and here), this is how they work:

You print these out and lay them flat on a table. Drop some dice on the paper and interpret the results. If you already have a map, this will help you populate it. If you don’t then you can let the results guide you.

Each die should land on one or more outer or inner hexes. The inner hexes have encounters in them. If a die lands partly on one, then the encounter and its surrounding items are present in the room. If a die lands on only the outer hex, then it probably is touching more than one. I tried to design this so that the trappings in adjacent large hexes are somewhat compatible, so see if you can put whatever the die touches in the room. I’d also suggest that whatever large hex the die covers more, put the encounter in that hex in the room as well.

Unlike straight-on tables, this allows for some interpretation and that is the key–do what makes a better scenario.

Here’s an example of a temple made from this table:

 

Dice dropped on the temple table

I have some acolytes, a mummy, an anti-paladin, the temple guards and a private sacrificial alter. I also have two dice on the head priest. I’ll take this to mean there are two priests/priestesses somehow.

The Secret Temple of Orsobuffo

Crypt: The previous high priests and saints of the past are buried here. There are several dusty crypts here and a list carved in stone details the occupants. It does not mention that one of the occupants is a mummy. Also on the wall is a mural of an unholy prophecy of the return of Orsobuffo. There is a giant nest of centipedes in place of a corpse inside one crypt. There is also a scroll of binding there, which details a ritual for enslaving a creature from an outer plane.

Acolytes Quarters: Here can be found the beds, trunks, books, correspondence and prayer books of the acolytes, who can be found throughout the temple (say there are 12, total). A careful search of the trunks will also reveal the accounting books used to manage the temple and a map of the outer and inner planes, including access points. One of the acolytes is a doppelganger. You might involve it somehow in the high priest succession mentioned below.

Sleeping Quarters of the Anti-Paladin: A bedroom, and privy. Here the party can find a whenstone, unholy books (yes, again with all the unholy this and anti-that), dishes on a table with the remnants of a fine meal and a whetstone. The anti-paladin is not present.

Temple Guard Quarters: Here you will find the living quarters of the guards, including bunks, belongings, sports equipment, dice and weapons of the guards. On the tables are the remains of an ordinary meal. There is some gold in the foot lockers. The guards are on duty or otherwise not present.

There are two dice on the ‘high priest’ hex. There would not normally be two ‘high priest’ quarters unless you wanted to have this religion require two for ceremonial purposes. I will go that way and say that this cult only has twin priests. A high priest is chosen by the Orsobuffo idol from the two twin priests. The chosen then sacrifices the other on the altar. If you are a big fan of coincidence in your adventure, the party’s entry to the temple is on the night of choosing.

High Priests Quarters: This suite has been temporarily set up into two sets of living quarters. In one quarters are the thangka collection and the flute. In the other, adjoining chamber, is a private shrine and the cat (a disquised and undiscovered efreet). Both quarters have access to the vestments closet and the privy. The high priests are a rotund pair, a twin brother and sister. Both are secretly hoping to find a way to manipulate the idol into choosing them.

In the main hall is the giant statue of Orsobuffo. He appears as a fat, horned devil with jewels for eyes. This statue will animate when the prophecy on the wall is chanted a thousand times and raise either the right or left arm to indicate which of the twin priests he wants sacrificed on the altar, which is at his feet. There are many drums and gongs that are played as the chanting commences.

PC’s might mistake this as choosing the one who lives. Use that. Also in this main hall the night of choosing will be the antipaladin, the acolytes, and most of the temple guard.

There is an on-off switch that animates the statue fully, allowing it to walk. It is surrounded by a poison dart trap, which is activated by all but a few floor tiles. The priests know the way, as does the antipaladin.  Also here is a self-destruct mechanism for the temple, which is also set off if the statue is destroyed (not deactivated). There is a secret door here as well, which leads outside.

(Note to Orsobuffo: I named this after you, but didn’t put it in the title so as to not interfere with SEO to your blog. Not that this blog is big enough to do that…)

Evil Temple Jpeg

The Evil Temple of Evilness JPEG (2.3 MB)

 

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Posted in: campaign window dressing, content, encounters, legacy D&D / Tagged: bring it, dice drop tables, tables, temples
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