Sunday, September 19, 2010

Dungeon Dressing: What’s that drawing on the wall?

I’ve begun designing a D&D or Labyrinth Lord adventure for my game group. The setting for the first encounter is in some ruins of an older civilization. I want the ruins to be interesting and too provide clues about the former inhabitants for the players. So, I’ll include statues, fountains, decaying manuscripts, pottery and murals among the artifacts for the players to explore.

I’m sure this idea’s been covered before in some published gaming text but here’s my take on twelve ideas for murals and, or cave paintings for rpg adventures.

Apply 1d12 and results are as follows:
1. A hunting scene
2. A battle scene
3. A ritual or other scene of shamanism (sacrifice)
4. A portrait of a deity, demon or other religious or mythic scene
5. A domestic scene; farming, crafting, pottery, weaving, cooking, metal working
6. A calendar
7. An educational chart; alphabet , math or poetry
8. A magic user practicing his art or magic related content
9. A dragon or dinosaur
10. A UFO or angels
11. Erotic art
12. Roll twice more and combine the results into one mural.

There's also the chance that the mural may be an advertisement from a forgotten and, or alien culture. The message may be as common as "Eat at Joe's" but this remains a mystery if the script is an unknown language to the players.

2 comments: