That little notebook is now full, and I have a new one. So I decided to copy all of those Specials into a document here on the computer to print out and have easy access to when I get back to stocking the dungeon. And of course, why not share? These are just idea prompts, not every encounter will be just like this when I stock them, so if by chance anyone who plays in my Megadungeon has read them, they won't necessarily be at an advantage. Feel free to use, modify, or mock them as you please (I fully admit some of these are stolen, and some are very cheesy).
Anyway, here are nearly 300 Specials, pulled from my little pocket notebook:
- X on ceiling marks the spot.
- Put correct wig on statue
- invisible and on high floating disk
- map/riddle on wall, “walk from X to Y without taking a step”
- mosaics of tarot major arcana cards on walls
- demon idol, waiting for blood to be spilt on it
- “chessmen” carved like dynastic kings
- tank with dangerous creature and a lever that opens a secret panel
- locked empty chest, work lock again once open to reveal secret panel
- statue of thirsty individual, empty water basin at feet
- 2 knight statues, talk, 1 always lies, 1 always tells the truth
- 3 levers: one drops (slow) crushing ceiling, one drops floor to secret safe area, one resets
- lever hidden in mouth of statue
- monster eats treasure then flees
- statue of St. George stabbing dragon but without spear
- alcove blocked by force field
- urn of a swarm of flies (curse)
- petrified (translucent) gelatinous cube blocks path (stone to flesh scroll nearby)
- epic poem inscribed on wall, lacuna, fill it in to reveal secret
- Indy Jones style golden idol on pedestal
- gorgon statue, breathe on IT
- statue of frog prince, kiss it
- magic beans/beanstalk (work like rope trick spell)
- nasty monster in a cage (shielded from spells/missiles?) with a big treasure
- wizard's test — proper sequence of spells cast to pass
- picture of monster, speak to it in its language to pass
- NPC in trouble has key to open a specific lock
- pool with negative magical effect, treasure at the bottom
- proper party composition (1 of each class, etc.) to pass
- carving of ape, riddle “What slew the beast?”
- Lever, 4 way, pair of buttons labeled A and B
- Panels with one bird, two birds, and three birds. Sling on floor.
- Treasure visible but ethereal
- illusion – junk looks like treasure, treasure looks like junk
- Louvre Pyramid/DaVinci Code sorta thing, good stuff in hidden lower pyramid
- Royal Court statues, king lacks crown, jester wears crown of thorns
- large movable (with some effort) blocks, spacial puzzle
- water drain, divert flow, floods room but washes out treasure
- Land of the Lost style crystal matrix
- Clay ducks and laughing hunting dog statues, break hunting dog
- various colored permanent flames around level, assemble in one room in right order
- nymph wants to be pleasured, will reward handsomely
- area with 'chaste knight' motif, naughty nymph tries to seduce, rewards those who resist
- sphinx guardian
- “Grendel” challenge – pull off a troll's arm
- spectral banquet – attend with decorum for reward with final course
- will-o-wisp or ghost whispers lead to location
- Poetic Fiend: match his rhymes to get reward
- reconsecrate defiled shrine/altar
- return missing cursed tiki doll
- “Maltese Falcon” gem hidden in cheap statuette
- valuable item used as totem of humanoid tribe
- secreted in cave at the bottom of a chasm
- at bottom of a lava pool (like Krull glaive)
- under plain, unmarked flagstone in corridor is well known treasure
- hidden inside tough golem, imitate its master and it will obey
- treasure hidden in extradimensional spot keyed to real world location
- teleporter leads to treasure, but doesn't lead back
- famous treasure belongs to Lawful creature who could be an ally if...
- appears in a mirror only, at certain location
- ride log flume to secret chamber
- everlasting flame burns in front of passage
- “You take the high road and I'll take the low road” 2 doors, slight tilt in floor (Dwarf detection)
- grid of holes in the wall, clue to correct pattern to fill holes nearby
- simple instructions written in plain sight but in incomprehensible language
- sword in the stone, each PC has % chance to pull it out, 1 try each ever
- floating upside-down on bottom of cloud of smoke on ceiling
- big item petrified with previous owner, owner will want to keep it if restored...
- inside talking treasure chest (riddle, password) is big loot
- basin of poison water must be drunk to get item (HP&HBP)
- Yule Tree – leave a present, wrapped box appears with magic item
- magic tree with fruit that act like potions
- 2 heavy identical statues in different rooms, bring together to pass
- loot encased in crystal stalactite
- inside djinni lamp – convince djinni to give it to you
- empty feast table with enchanted diners waiting for meal
- loot inside living rock statue (magma filled), he won't lie about where loot is
- talking hippo with a thorn in its toe
- white stag, appears to lead somewhere...
- Indy Jones style boulder trap
- “virgin sacrifice” on alter
- Kryptonian Council crystal wall room
- Sword of Power, Book of Knowledge, Hammer of Skill – which will you choose?
- Statue of elephantine beast, heart ruby
- chest of cursed Aztec gold
- locked, sealed, held door – what's inside?
- False map leads to monster
- gremlin in a box
- silence or light spell on victim of trap
- talking skull, gives poor council
- pool of magic water grants water breathing but takes away air breathing
- zero g trap
- false tripwire, disarming it sets real trap
- acid spray does no dmg but melts gear
- trap victim polymorphed into harmless small animal
- trap spoils food/water
- cursed shoes – switch 2 characters' minds
- portcullis trap to divide party
- treasure on pedestal in middle of lava pool
- inflict henchman/hireling/PC with lycanthropy to pass
- phantom hands pull victims ½ into floor
- contact poison on jewelry or gem
- room fills with water, answer riddle to stop it
- item puts geas/quest on possessor
- bone prison
- Throne of Hades – stick to seat
- large landmark feature, grants 1 wish or recharges spent magic, but drains 1 ability score
- twisted wishing well
- treasure dump – half of all treasure instantly teleported home, the other half... Who knows?
- Mine gasses, magical light safe, flames ignite
- civilians tied up in orc armor/helmets (Joker in Dark Knight)
- kobolds carrying bags of rats (rats absorb sleep spells)
- victim of trap turns gaseous
- slowly fade out (as dimensional hound)
- transformation – elasticity for a few days, then become doppelganger
- looks like ring of protection, but no AC bonus and gives save penalty (but not cursed)
- temporary contrariness (as ring)
- constantly gibbering old man latches onto back and can't be removed
- mark of the Frog Gods of Chaos branded onto forehead
- any slain PCs/hirelings animated as zombies (wights?)
- illusion on PCs makes them appear as orcs, gnolls, or worse
- Underworld Chariot appears, one PC hit must Save vs. Death or be taken along
- sleep gas, PCs wake up naked but unharmed
- normal looking water turns anything it touches to gold (Narnia)
- victim's ability scores switched, Str – Int, Wis – Dex, or Con – Cha
- monster reset button (for the level)
- mysterious portal to other site (weird cavern) with special treasure
- Serpent Man cultists, disguised as monks
- prisoner tormented but cursed to never escape – if helped in some minor way, gives gift
- normal, modern middle class family oblivious to setting
- 'holodeck' style illusion room
- Chaos Stone – worth $ but causes side effects while carried
- blink puppies – may latch onto Charismatic PC
- evil halflings riding undead serpents
- hapless adventuring party following PCs for 'sloppy seconds' on treasure
- devil swine information broker
- deities “leader board” Who's winning the Law/Chaos war?
- Spiderdragons (Wizards, Warriors & You)
- Mos Eisley Cantina/Cave Bar (a location here in Busan)
- recently unearthed mass grave
- Little Sisters of Eluria (S. King)
- Kingdom of the Spiders (Shatner)
- Golden Axe Chicken Dragon riders
- “Pit of Kharkhoom” style sacrificial pit with beastie
- einherjar style eternal battleground
- undersea pirates
- fire-breathing dungeon chickens (thanks, Jeff Rients)
- golden calf living statue
- Red Skeleton (Castlevania)
- Sleestak & talking skull shrine
- trolls playing guillotine game
- Fantastic Saurian Combat! (Verne)
- talking furniture/dungeon features
- giant venus flytrap
- sage & guards/entourage doing research
- unicorn trapped in crystal
- halflings selling bad shrooms
- 13 cowardly dwarves looking for a warrior, hero or burglar to get their stash back
- Pit of Despair type torture chamber, dead PC may be found here, alive and weak
- witches brew potions – for a price
- fishing spot – chance to catch wish-granting fish
- dungeon brewery – serves Cantina/Cave Bar, etc.
- Monstrous Seraglio – elves, nymphs, dryads, etc. Whose?
- Judgment of Paris type trap
- Frog Prince/Bog Beast type situation
- unhappy polymorph other victim (Dungeon of Dread)
- goblin festival around giant phallic symbol
- chalice grants spell effect once per day
- baptismal font full of urine
- pixies on dragonflies (Creature Catalog)
- evil sentient grimoire (Army of Darkness)
- painting of town square – teleports party home
- captive slave girls – just that, no trick monsters
- doomsday cult worshiping evil wizard
- The Great and Powerful Zo
- wolf trainer selling dungeon wolves
- crucible of black flame (Masters Set)
- heart stones – teleport back to dungeon room where found
- restless spirit generator (Gauntlet)
- fairy circle leads to Fae Realm
- ancient storyteller, stories provide rumors but charm/drain youth, etc.
- shimmering stairway – ascends endlessly
- 12 shrines to the horoscope symbols
- hill giants celebrating Festivus
- ancient totem pole w/ PC's faces
- woman wants to be petrified (was a statue accidentally hit with stone to flesh)
- humanoids on a diplomatic mission
- specimens floating in fluid filled jars – who collected them?
- Monster classroom (or 12 step program)
- skeletons/zombies endlessly turning wheels, walking on treadmills, etc.
- monstrous feast hall (Beowulf style)
- creature vs. creature arena – watch and wager
- Triple Goddess barge to Avalon
- Charon's skiff to Hades
- Scyld Sceffing's funeral longship
- Jules Verne style Victorian explorers with SCIENCE!!!
- Lost Boys style vampires
- crystal & lava palace
- golden chariot is actually planar gate
- Mimir's Well – sacrifice to gain Wisdom
- Round Table – feast day? Empty? Undead?
- Giant's Dance with dancing giants
- Underworld Judges (Chinese style)
- whirlpool in under-lake leads to sub-level
- sphinx with easy riddle 'guarding' deathtrap
- Power Source: solar cells on walls, continual light will power electric lighting in other zones
- Olympians statues, sacrifice to each appropriately to pass
- Ali Baba style oil jars carried by golems? Gargoyles? Hide in them to gain sublevel access
- devil with legal office (just sign here!)
- cannibals' abattoir
- Chaos Party Headquarters (vote early, vote often!)
- black lotus powder den
- hall of skulls on display
- cursed orb of hypnosis
- cursed ring of heaviness
- inferno room (magically sustained normal fire fills room)
- cistern with underwater access tubes to other zones
- living rock statue herding gorgons
- swampy, mucky black dragon lair
- portal to primitive culture's village, they're praying for a savior to apear
- summoning pot – with right recipe AND command word, creature serves, recipe works without command word...
- Duplicator – copies one non-unique magic item, once per PC ever
- door opens upon void, another door visible if you can fly/teleport to it
- Chaos Casino – try your luck to get reward
- Hall of Indifference – ignore any threats or rewards to get real reward
- Court of Law – organize, clean, sort, categorize contents to get reward
- vampire and ghoul's feast
- lesser chimera – snake tail instead of dragon head
- alligator infested sewers
- Augean Stables – otyugh (of course) and buried treasure
- temporary magical spring, filled waterskins become random potions with 1d4+1 doses
- Thief and Lobbers (Gauntlet)
- aggressive samurai and ashigaru
- superhero riding wyvern
- goblin horde and balrog
- gnome or kobold spins gold into straw
- bullywugs w/ battle toads
- invincible golem, 5 diamonds in head, destroy or remove to stop it
- Zulus vs. Aztecs
- djinni home delivery – will carry loot out to your home, for a 10% comission
- sasquatch kidnappers
- heart stealing mummy
- tempting unicorn
- Wayland's Forge – use to create magic items
- holy relic of saint so-and-so, auto destroy any 1 undead creature
- express elevator to Hell, going down! (planar gate)
- Stairway to Heaven (planar gate)
- invisible stalker princesses (Lankhmar)
- old guru telling fortunes with stones, stones are key to puzzle elsewhere
- caged cricket – released it turns into monster and obeys opener
- enter room, all gear disappears, reappears when room left
- Time Master (Wizards, Warriors & You)
- walls of living human skin, 3” deep and bleeds when cut
- Bealzebub (SOTN style hanging giant corpse demon)
- a beautiful bunch of ripe bananas hides the deadly black tarantella
- moon men collecting specimens
- jabberwock, bandersnatch and jub-jub birds
- vats producing slime monsters
- ice caverns, torches make chunks of ceiling fall
- dino-riders vs. ice age animal riders
- League of Chaos Magicians official guild hall
- mummy & gnolls & manscorpion
- head-hunting manticore
- cultists summoning demon, demon kills cultists then rampages
- puzzle door – match heraldic crests to pass
- password “by the power of Greyskull”
- password “Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?”
- password “As you wish”
- cannibal babies attack
- “doctor's office” mad scientist/insane wizard type
- used magic item salesman
- guide claims to know location of $, but actually... (releases monster, trap, etc.)
- magic gem-setter, chance to enchant item but also chance to ruin it
- dwarves excavating colossal dragon bones
- directed teleporter – if destination name is known
- giants with hammers, must be defeated to pass (Golden Axe)
- “natives are restless” drums, increase Wandering Monster chances
- The Rose (Dark Tower), Lawfuls compelled to protect, Chaotics to destroy
- Monster Gym – train physically
- Monster Library – train mentally
- Room of Lost Socks
- floor tiles with various animals and monsters, step on right pattern (Zodiac, etc.) to cross
- Black Cauldron & Cauldron Born (Prydain)
- Sorceress polymorphed into harmless talking animal (like Fin Raziel in Willow)
- Merlin in his Crystal Cave
- Demonic Tutor – teaches spells for a price
- brand new sailing ship, but expensive to extract
- knee-deep water slowly saps strength/spellcasting/something
- water/fruit/oil of stealth, increases Thief skill % for a short time
- colony of giant insects with a hive mind
- heretical manuscript, worth big $ but harmful to Lawfuls
- sudoku puzzle, solve to pass
- blank altar – effect granted depending on alignment and who you pray/sacrifice to
- pair of rhymed verse, one true, one false
- semi-intelligent powerful creature with $, flatter it and it will drop $ (Aesop, Fox & Crow)
victim's ability scores switched, Str – Int, Wis – Dex, or Con – Cha
ReplyDeletealex would lose his mind
Greetings,
ReplyDeleteNice list. I enjoyed the "monster eats treasure then flees" and "trolls playing guillotine game", good times.
The "Classically Trained" Elmore picture at the bottom of your blog amused me, so I thought I'd touch it up a little for you. It's at the bottom of my blog for now. I'll leave it there for a couple days if you want to grab it.
http://quibish.blogspot.com/
I just reworked some pixels around the picture elements sticking into the blue, and removed the stuff under the E and D since I couldn't read it. I thought about touching up the Elmore signature too so that it was more legible, but my "skill" has limits. I hope you like it.
Josh--or be totally pleased, if I had forced him to roll 3d6 down the line and he didn't get what he wanted!
ReplyDeleteQuibish--thanks, that looks a lot better. I just made that (and the others, look around the blog) quickly and threw them up.
http://www.goblinscomic.com/
ReplyDeletea cool monster
josh
That's cool, I'd like to be able to make pictures like that. My graphics skills are limited to pixels.
ReplyDeleteVery cool list! Saved for later...
ReplyDeleteGreat list! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete