Describe A Room

[Jered Taikith]

This is just sort of a fun exercise in describing what you see in your mind's eye and setting it down in type. Describe any room you like that would be typically found in a fantasy campaign. One room per post.

[RelevantSky]

I wrote this in third-person singular; hope that’s okay.
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EDIT: Hmmm...I think I failed. This started out as a simple description, but then kind of took on a life of its own. I'm posting it because there's still a room description in here (somewhere!). I hope it’s still acceptable.
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The heavy, iron door groaned in protest as Kyle Spanloche thrust his weight against it. The little halfling beside him assisted, but Kyle doubted she was was actually making a difference. Finally, it gave way, and the two friends walked through and surveyed their newfound domain.

Thin cracks in the icy ceiling allowed sunlight to filter in; motes of dust glided gently in the air before them. The countless decades of ice buildup, combined with the random flits of light, cast the large room in a blueish hue; thick, frozen walls reflected light back and enveloped the area in a dull glow.

Kyle and Thyssy exchanged excited glances. “Lart!” she mumbled. “It’s even more beautiful than we dared imagine.”

He turned back and decided he agreed. “Even better, it looks like whoever resided here is long gone.” Kyle took a couple of cautious steps forward. The smooth floor, although it looked slippery, seemed quite stable beneath his feet. He stopped and looked around.

Along the base of the walls glowed a strange, green moss that sparkled as if lit by fireflies. It grew up and outward in fingered tendrils that gradually turned a deep, blood-red toward the tips. In the center of the room stood a large mass; beneath it lay several small bedrolls that were grey with dust.

“Is that -” Thyssy began, pointing at the central mass.

As Kyle stepped closer, the light shifted onto the structure and revealed it to be some sort of sculpture, carved from the ice. How long ago? he wondered. Standing beside it, the thing seemed massive, stretching well above his head and out of view. He heard a scuffle and saw that the halfling was beside him again, as she had been for many years.

“Not ice,” she muttered.

“What?” Kyle asked, and realized he was whispering.

“Beneath. Inside the sculpture,” Thyssy replied. “That’s not ice.”

He shifted his eyes; the second pair of lenses dropped down and easily allowed his perception to deepen. As his depth of vision increased, new colors came into view: Silver. Yellow. Red. No, pink. Yellowish-pink. Flesh.

He heard a frightened squeal and cracks began to appear in front of him; he whipped his head around just in time to see Thyssy yanking her hand back.

What have you done? he tried to yell, but there was no time. Shards of ice seemed to explode from all around them and sharp, metallic fangs and claws darted out. He scooped her up and began to run as the ice-metal-thing began its deafening shriek.

[Jered Taikith]

Thank you for making the first post in this thread!
I enjoyed reading your description.

Descriptions can be long or short, with or without characters.

[Karnos]

The hallway opens into a vast expanse of darkness. You can't see the walls of the room in any direction, and the ceiling is dark and featureless. The only thing directly visible is the floor, which appears to be worked stone and is mostly clear, except for some broken bits of what you guess are bones.

[party enters and takes some time to examine the room]

After taking a closer look, you realize that the room is actually a modest 30' by 30' square. The walls, which you couldn't see upon entering, are covered by some sort of pitch-black oily substance, making them impossible to distinguish from a distance.

[successful secret door search]

You notice that the far wall across from the entry has a roughly door-shaped indentation near the southeast corner of the room. While poking around, [character name] realizes that the indentation is apparently an illusion or gateway of some kind, his dagger passes right through the indention area of the wall, and comes back clean.

[E-Rawk]

My first attempt at anything remotely creative in over a decade, be gentle please.


The rough oak door pushes inward on hinges that move far too freely for the sheer size and amount of dust covering the door and hallway. Behind the door is something similar a dining hall. The walls are lined with tapestries of battles that appear to have been one sided bloodbaths with the victors being much larger than the typical human. The dining tables were made from what looks to be giant old growth timber cut in half with benches made out of trees at least as large around as a keg of ale.

The benches and tables are covered in a layer of dust so thick that it completely covers the oversize forks on the tables. From the end of the room comes a light that can only be from a fire. As you near the far end of the room you see a large fireplace that could hold one of the oversize tables with room to spare with a giant chair facing it. The chair, like all the other furniture in the room has been crafted from wood. Unlike the other furniture though, the chair is more akin to a throne. The wood has been worked with a level of detail that could only come from a master craftsman.

As you come to the side of the chair you can see that the mantle above the fireplace has also been worked with amazing detail, however fearsome it may be. The mantle tells the tale of a slaughter beyond comprehension. It barely registers that the fire in the fireplace is roaring like it has been freshly started. As you are drawn further into the details engraved in the mantle, you hear what sounds like an infant laugh from behind you. Startled, you turn around to see a grotesque baby laying in the chair swaddled tightly in what appears to be blood stained cloth.

[Solomoriah]

Nice stuff.

Want a contributor credit in an upcoming Basic Fantasy module? Describe the master bedroom of Pons III, Duke D'Angelo and his wife Maricella. It's area 74 of the Strongholds of Sorcery module; a 40' x 40' space, with eight windows arrayed around the room and a 10' staircase running along the north wall. Don't include magic items or traditional loot, or any encounters, but feel free to describe valuable artwork, nice furnishings, etc.

I'll give you all until the end of July, and then choose the best offering (according to my unbiased judgment) to go into the module. We'll check your spelling and grammar and add the magic items, other loot, and any encounters that belong there, and possibly make a few changes to suit the current status of the castle (it's being run by crazy people).

To be clear, it's an unoccupied room that you'll be describing. It may be occupied when I get done, but what I really want is a fully realized background to add stuff to, rather than an empty room with a monster and a chest.

[RelevantSky]

Want a contributor credit in an upcoming Basic Fantasy module? Describe the master bedroom of Pons III, Duke D'Angelo and his wife Maricella.

Great opportunity. Is there a character limit?

[Solomoriah]

No, so long as you don't overload the GM entirely.

I'd prefer a two-layer description... a cursory examination, suitable for boxed text, followed by more detail on anything that needs more detail.

[LibraryLass]

I've some ideas, but what, if any, are some established traits of its residents?

[Solomoriah]

There's not a lot, really. Pons III is a wizard and Duke, one of a line of Dukes who were mighty wizards. Maricella is a wizard as well, attractive but rather more interested in books than in other courtly pursuits. Both have been wealthy and powerful all their lives, though the Duke outshines his bride in both areas.

Pons is an honorable man and a good ruler, and is one of three Dukes chosen to sit on the Regency Council that rules Enterone.

Beyond that, I got nothin'. So feel free to make stuff up! If it's good, it may well get in.