This week, as I approach the fifth month and fifth level of my Megadungeon, I’ve been thinking about death.
Specifically, whether or not anyone is still alive in this dungeon from when it was a properly functioning, high-tech facility. I already decided there would be friendlier NPCs mixed in with the monsters, to offer aid and drop nuggets of lore as the adventurers explore.
Now though, I’ve come to the decision that as the heroes delve deeper, they will see and hear from those responsible for this place. Old and wrinkly at first, in the first/older levels, but increasingly more spritely the more we descend.
Cascade Prophecy – Timeline
In a previous post, I outlined the nature of each layer and the work they were doing. This week, I’m setting out the time between each constructed layer. Whilst this is not integral to the dungeon as it plays out, it does help me to measure a sensible age for relevant NPCs, the state of the technology on each level, and how aged the halls and rooms will be.
131 Years Ago – Famine Prophecy revealed; construction begins on the Facility.
122 Years Ago – International Welfare Force declares Plenty Project a success.
114 Years Ago – Ice Prophecy revealed; construction began on Layer 2.
108 Year Ago – Solar Flare event; worldwide damage sustained is within favourable parameters.
97 Years Ago – Plague Prophecy revealed; construction begins on Layer 3.
92 Years Ago – The Pestilence is eradicated.
85 Years Ago – Ash Prophecy revealed; construction begins on Layer 4.
80 Years Ago – Project Earth’s Slumber is fully deployed.
79 Year Ago – The ‘extinction window’ passes, only minor seismic activity detected around Mt. Comotus.
66 Years Ago – Terror Prophecy revealed; construction begins on Layer 5.
64 Years Ago – The Magnus Ultores crush the last FreeThinker cell.
55 Years Ago – Shadow Prophecy and Anarchy Prophecy revealed; construction begins on Layer 6 and Layer 7.
46 Years Ago – The Shadow Revolution officially declared.
44 Years Ago – 337 Anarchist leaders executed at the Citadel of Reprisal.
38 Years Ago – Precog Prophecy revealed; construction begins on Layer 8.
31 Year Ago – Siniad Gorou, the Final Precognitive, executed at the Citadel of Reprisal.
27 Years Ago – Vanity Prophecy revealed; construction began on Layer 9.
25 Years Ago – The Modesty Program declared a success and shut down.
18 Years Ago – Mutant Prophecy revealed; construction begins on Layer 10. Elements of the Modesty Program recommissioned to support Layer 10.
15 Years Ago – The Remaining mutants identified and isolated.
11 Years Ago – Invasion Prophecy revealed; construction begins on Layer 11.
8 Years Ago – The last of the invading force withdrew; Celestial Prophecy revealed; construction begins on Layer 12.
6 Years Ago – The Celestial Event occurred before construction completed; the planet was destroyed; the Facility propelled into space inside its Atmo-Sphere.
Week 17 – 119 Rooms Complete
These are the new rooms added to Layer 4:
113. Medical screening
-partitions and plastic curtains
– medical test equipment scattered around
– 4 Host Technicians stand here. If the group appears strong and capable, the Hosts motion to the W door. “Please proceed” is all they are able to repeat.
– if the group appears vulnerable, the Hosts drag them off towards Host Zero
114. Host Zero’s Lair
– originally a room used to monitor the new arrivals going through medical
– two way mirror in the s wall
– Host Zero nests here, watching for new Prey. It understands the cameras in 25 and sends pheromone signals out too Hosts in adjacent rooms
– low on food, Host Zero commands is spawn with caution
115. Security Room
– most of the screen still relay images from the rooms across this level. Host Zero uses the screens to spot threats/prey
– a section of floor os heavily stained; ‘food’ would be piled up here by the drones, but supplies are running low…
116. ruined room
– an early attempt to kill Host Zero led to a detonation in this room that caused extensive structural damage and obliterated every object in this space.
– damaging this room further can lead to a complete collapse of the room and the connecting corridors (whether this be intentional or accidental is up to the player)
117. Accommodation admin
– arrivals were sorted into their designated bunkers
– A newly ‘erupted’ Grimworm Infant hides under a desk, feeding on the remains of the host. It attacks only if threatened
118. Bunker 1
– one home to several refugees that were also employed to work on the Project
– hole in the ceiling where Host Zero entered from Layer 3
– a Grimworm Adolescent nests in the S corner
119. Bunker 2
– accommodation for VIP families; double beds and bunk beds
– room has been adapted for the newer layer below: a ramp leads down into darkness
– two Grimworm Adolescents nest in the room of the bathroom, a third in the crater where the oven once stood
In Summary
Creating the timeline confirms and solidifies a few ideas I’ve had and gives inspiration for the lower levels. In the first three layers, the residents are all at least one generation removed from the original occupiers of each Project. By the time we get to this layer, constructed 85 years ago and completed five years later, we won’t be seeing many original surviving members, but it is possible that they be there.
To which end, next week, the remaining room on this layer will have an aging refugee from back in those days. Hanging on to work on subsequent projects, the resident sealed themselves away when the chaos happened, along with a couple of (marginally) younger residents who entered the Facility at a later date.
This will be the first chance to speak to original members of the crew, but it won’t be the last. There will be more people in here who remember what happened to this place, in some cases first hand.
Thank You For Reading
Want to see how my Dungeon23 journey began? Look here!
Please support this blog, if you can x
Gamer Peak 