Queen of the Demonweb Pits and other such

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Solomoriah
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Re: Queen of the Demonweb Pits and other such

Post by Solomoriah »

Buried deep below the fabled Blue Mountains is a huge cave system. The largest cavern is also the deepest, and holds a vast lake of cold fresh water fed by multiple waterfalls falling from the ceiling. Surrounding this largest cavern are various tunnels leading to other caverns, and one wide sloping tunnel leads up to a large cavern with a high ceiling. It is here that the subterranean elves called the Dulahdi have their capitol city, Moramorikeen. The Dulahdi have lived in this cave system for so long that they no longer remember why, though many legends tell conflicting stories of their arrival.

The King of the Dulahdi lives in a fortress-cavern, which opens onto the main cavern of Moramorikeen high up on the wall opposite the tunnel down to the sunless lake. A huge stairway leads up to the fortified entrance from the floor of the cavern, and archers stand ready at all times to shoot dead any commoner who would dare to set foot upon it.

Though the King is accepted as the ruler of all Dulahdi, the real power rests in the hands of the High Priestess, for she interprets the words of the gods and thus commands even the King himself. The High Priestess communes with the gods at the Temple of the Oracle which stands upon an island in the midst of the sunless lake, making a pilgrimage there from her home temple in Moramorikeen on a seemingly random schedule, and on each pilgrimage she brings sacrifices, Dulahdi who have been chosen because of their physical perfection to be given to the Oracle. Those who enter the mouth of the great stone idol are never seen again, ensuring the continued good will of the gods.

But all is not as it seems, for there is another cavern, lower down than even the sunless lake. An ancient barrier fitted with enchanted valves permits a controlled flow of water from the bottom of the sunless lake into this cavern, where it is guided by dams and levees to irrigate the fields of the inhabitants of this cavern. They are the Thulids, the legendary brain-eaters, who speak to the Dulahdi as their gods through the Temple of the Oracle. Those who are sacrificed to the Oracle become hosts for the Thulid larva, helping to maintain and increase their population. The Thulids maintain secret ways, hidden tunnels by which they can visit any of the caverns occupied by the Dulahdi, but they are careful never to be seen and always fight fiercely if they are encountered.

...

There you go... a start on the adventure that could have been.
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Tazer_The_Yoot
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Re: Queen of the Demonweb Pits and other such

Post by Tazer_The_Yoot »

The basic concept of "dark elves" goes back to Norse mythology and is certainly not anyone's ip, but the specific D&D flavor and their attributes, even if renamed, would be a tad suspicious used in this exact circumstance. If I were going to pay homage to the idea the Giants were riled up by some shadowy force, I'd have it be either a sorcerer working for a neighboring kingdom the Giants weren't attacking, or a demon or djinni who took control of the giant chieftains. That would be different enough IMO but still use concepts appropriate to Basic Fantasy.
Seven
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Re: Queen of the Demonweb Pits and other such

Post by Seven »

There already is a Giants series in BFRPG.

The current thread, however, is about converting the original AD&D material for play, which is fine, but obviously the resulting material can't be shared in a combined form.
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