The campaign began in 2016 as an ad hoc test of Roll20 and an introduction to 5th edition D&D for one of my long-time gaming friends. I never intended it to be a full-on campaign, but more people joined the "playtest" and before I knew it, we were gaming online every week. The party ballooned at one point to 7 players plus 3 NPCs, but by the end, after a series of interpersonal conflicts/meltdowns between some of the players (and, in one instance, between myself and one of the players), the group had shrunk to 3 PCs plus 3 NPC followers.
Most of the first half of the campaign was fairly free-wheeling, with several different, mostly unrelated adventures. By the second half, however, the party had discovered an evil idol with a curse, and became the quarry of a trio of mind flayers who were after the idol. The curse prevented the party from simply throwing the idol away (it reappeared among their belongings the next day), and also served as a psychic "homing beacon" for the mind flayers as they pursued the party.
The mind flayers already possessed one of the idols after the players missed an opportunity to retrieve it, and were actively using it to summon other aberrations from their alien realm. Working through their human proxies—the Cult of Khoss—the mind flayers harried the party across my campaign world, with the PCs barely staying one step ahead of their pursuers.
The party discovered the hidden location of a third idol (of three needed to open a dimensional portal), but a moment of carelessness caused one player's NPC follower to fall into the clutches of the cultists, who sussed out the idol's location and secretly implanted the NPC with an intellect devourer (a fact the party never discovered until it was too late). The compromised NPC was allowed to be "rescued," and he rejoined the party as an unwitting and unaware mole.
The party raced the cultists to find the third idol, but failed. As part of that failure—to the players' utter horror—the intellect devourer burst from the NPC's skull, killing him instantly. (Regrettably, this was one of my finest DM moments as the NPC was popular with the players and his grisly death really caught everyone off guard). The loss was even more painful because one of the players had innocently put the NPC in a position to be captured in the first place.
Having gained sufficient levels to take on the enemy, imbued with a burning desire for revenge, and gifted with some inside knowledge from rebel cultists seeking release from their thralldom to the mind flayers, the party decided to end their constant harassment by attacking the source.
Thusly, they came to these ruins and made their way through the secret entrance to the temple complex. Originally, these ruins were intended to be the setting for several low-to-mid-level dungeons, including parts of the Caverns of Thracia, but the party didn't glom on to the site early in the campaign, so I repurposed it for the high-level conclusion instead. The climactic battle would take place within the Temple of Oblivion, where the party would confront the mind flayers who needed all three idols to open the dimensional portal and bring through their elder brain master.
By this point, we were all feeling a bit fatigued. We were more than 110 sessions in when the party made it through the secret entrance shrines, and I was definitely ready to wrap up the campaign and move on to something new. So, I presented the players with a choice of entrances into the pyramidal complex via one of the two smaller pyramids. I then roughed out two gantlet-style point-crawls, rather than developing full-on dungeon levels that might have taken the players another 15–20 sessions (or more) to get through.
One pyramid was already opened by the mind flayers and full of their thralls. This was a route that was "cleared," but difficult to sneak through without getting noticed. The other pyramid was still sealed and could be opened with the idol the party possessed, but it would require them to overcome the monsters and perils present in the point-crawl dungeon.
They chose to navigate the unopened pyramid (the Temple of Death), so I designed a dozen or so encounters and a path with several detours so as to not make it a completely linear experience. Success in certain areas made it possible to avoid other encounters, whereas failure took them down side-paths that ate up valuable time and resources. The players were aware that the mind flayers' plans were underway, and that the longer the party took to resolve this situation, the more difficult the path forward would become.
I'm not going to post the full point-crawl write-up like I did with the secret entrance shrines, as I'm not terribly proud of using this method, but bits of it were good and I am fairly happy with the encounter design work. I will, however, post a summary of the point-crawl below the cut for those interested in what occurred.
The following is the map and general key for the temple ruins. I'm also including links to a full-sized "clean" version of the map, as well as a version with an isometric grid. I'm extremely proud of this map and regret that I was only able to use it for a short period at the end of the campaign. I hope to repurpose it for a future site, but hopefully it will inspire others to make something of it as well.
I built it as an homage to one of my fave AD&D modules: I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City, as well as the superlative Caverns of Thracia by Jaquays (which I renamed as The Caverns of Eternal Night). In the beginning, I wasn't certain what would go in the Halls of the Ancient Ones, but when I retooled the map for the high-level group, I determined that it would be the extended lair for a nasty beholder, another holdover aberrant god of the ancestors of the hillmen who once lived here. It also fit the eye motif well, which was kind of a happy accident.
The Temple Ruins
>> Full-size "clean" version (no grid)
>> Isometric grid version (scale = 20x20-ft. squares)
General Features
The interior of the temple mound is a squarish ravine, approximately 1,200 ft. across (E–W) by 1,400 ft. long (N–S). The ravine is quarried out into three distinct layers, the lowest of which is about 400 ft. below the ridge line.
- The eastern and western sections of the ruined Temple City are on this level, as is the Moat surrounding the Pyramid Platform.
The tunnels which pass beneath the causeway and connect the two halves of the ruined city are also on this layer.
The second layer is the terrace level, which partially rings the walls of the ravine, approximately 80 ft. above the ravine floor.
- The Temple Gates, the eastern and western Terrace Ruins, the Causeway, and the Pyramid Platform are all at this level.
The third layer is a steep, terraced slope rising to the ridgeline above.
- The sheer cliffs are draped with thick vines and scrub.
Numerous caves and dark clefts dot the cliff wall, most leading into empty or abandoned chambers, though some may be occupied by various creatures.
Notable Locations
Temple Gates
The entrance to the ravine is bottlenecked by two 60-ft. high cliff escarpments with a narrow pass between them.
- The mind flayers' hillman thralls have built a 40-ft. high timber palisade to close off the avenue, with two 20-ft. high doors providing ingress.
A dozen bowmen watch the entrance from atop the escarpments, which can be reached via stairs carved into the interior cliff.
Hillman Camp
Beyond the gates is a camp of four dozen hide tents and crude lean-tos occupied by up to 100 hillmen, all of whom are psychically-enthralled by the mind flayers and awaiting their ultimate fate as chattel to be devoured.
- Many fires burn within the camp, covering the area in a pall of hazy smoke.
Groups of zombie-like hillmen can be seen standing near the fires, milling listlessly about, or half-heartedly fighting for sport.
Terrace Ruins (East and West)
A wide shelf of natural rock is carved into the south wall of the ravine and continues along the base of the eastern and western walls. Both terraces are built up with clusters of multi-level structures, with courtyards and narrow avenues between.
- Vines shroud the cliffside ruins, forming a thick canopy above the avenues (which are dimly lit during the day, dark at night).
Various dark doorways and openings are cut into the cliff walls along both terraces. At the farthest point of each terrace is an enormous portal.
- The portal to the west is carved like a demonic face with a gaping maw; before it is a sacrificial platform. This is the entrance to a mystical underworld known as The Caverns of Eternal Night.
The portal on the eastern terrace is carved with a temple-like façade, with tall stone doors and an open eye in the lintel above—the entrance to a tomb complex called The Halls of the Ancient Ones.
- Carved into the terrace wall near each of the portals are stone stairs leading from the top of the terrace down to the ruined city below.
Causeway
The ravine floor is bisected by a 120-ft. wide stone avenue stretching from the temple gates to the pyramid platform. Rows of tall obelisks line a central path from the Temple Gates to the Pyramid Platform.
- The surface of the causeway is 80-ft. above the ravine floor.
Four wide stone stairways descend from each side of the causeway into the foliage-shrouded ruined city.
- Five wide tunnels pass under the causeway, joining the east and west sections of the ruined city. The pyramid moat passes through the northernmost tunnel.
The causeway is crumbling, and the surface has collapsed into a large hole at the midpoint which spans nearly the entire causeway. Broken passages and chambers can be seen in the collapsed levels below—mostly storehouses and slave quarters, but quite extensive.
Ruined City
To either side of the causeway are the ruins of the greater temple complex—religious buildings, dormitories, and shrines once used by the ancient denizens. These structures are now crumbling and overgrown with thick foliage.
- Remnants of the ruined city poke through the vegetation, but the true scope of the area remains mostly hidden by the heavy growth.
From the heights, the glimmer of water can be glimpsed in places, suggesting that areas of the ruins are partially-flooded.
- A constant din of croaking frogs, squawking birds, and other unidentifiable bestial sounds is heard from within the ruins.
Down in the ruins, at street level, the ravine floor is paved with cracked and weed-choked flagstones. Tumbled pillars and broken statuary lie everywhere.
The interconnected buildings, platforms, and gangways form a labyrinth of interior and exterior locations. Vines cover the exterior walls, forming thick canopies overhead and choking the narrow avenues.
- The northern sections of ruins on either side, near the moat, are flooded and marshy from periods of heavy rain when the moat occasionally overflows.
A tribe of predatory lizardmen claims the western side of the ruins as its territory.
- A catoblepas roams the marshy areas of the eastern ruins.
Pyramid Platform
Three massive ziggurats—a large central pyramid flanked by two smaller pyramids—stand on a raised platform, 80 ft. above the ravine floor. The platform is surrounded by a wide moat of brackish, algae-covered water, 20 ft. deep.
- Each pyramid has three tiers, with a steep stair that climbs the exterior to a pavilion-like shrine at the summit (see The Pyramids below for details).
The central pyramid is 300 ft. high, with a square base, 320 ft. to a side.
- The smaller flanking pyramids are 190 ft. high, with square bases, 160 ft. to a side.
Wisps of smoke waft from the pavilion at the top of the western ziggurat, but nothing can be seen within.
At the base of the western pyramid, near the stair, a modest but well-set camp has been established. The enthralled cultists dwell here (see below).
Cultist Camp
This closely-arranged collection of fabric tents is sufficient to house 50 or so cultists. In the center is a larger, pavilion-style tent.
- The camp is well-defended by zealots. Iron braziers burn at night to keep the main areas illuminated.
The Pyramids
These massive ziggurats were central to the ritual practices of the ancient people who inhabited this region. The pavilions at the top of the east and west pyramids conceal entrances into each ziggurat.
- Each flanking pyramid contains many passages and chambers across multiple levels, leading down into the platform, where there are even more levels and chambers.
The western ziggurat is the Temple of Sleep; below it are the Halls of Slumber. The ziggurat can be entered via the pavilion at the top.
- The mind flayers used one of the evil idols they possess to enter the Temple of Sleep, then moved into the Halls of Slumber. The dungeon was full of traps and guardian constructs, but the mind flayers sacrificed many hillmen and cultists to clear the way down.
The Halls of Slumber connect with the Halls of Entropy beneath the central pyramid, which leads to the summoning chamber inside the Temple of Oblivion.
The eastern ziggurat is called the Temple of Death; below it are the Halls of Silence. The ziggurat can be entered via the pavilion at the top, but it is currently sealed.
- The pyramid's pavilion can be opened with one of the idols. Within the Temple of Death are many crypts and tomb complexes.
The Halls of Silence also connect to the Halls of Entropy below the Temple of Oblivion.
The ancients called the central ziggurat the Temple of Oblivion; the dungeons below it are the Halls of Entropy.
- The pavilion at the top is sealed and there is no way inside the pyramid via that route. The
pyramid's interior can only be accessed from below.
There is a temple deep in the heart of the pyramid which can be entered from below, via the Halls of Entropy. Within this enormous vault is a dimensional portal to an alien realm, which now stands partially open, allowing the mind flayers to bring forth various aberrant minions to aid their cause.
- The three idols control the portal, and can be used to open or close it. Without all three idols present, however, the portal is unstable. The mind flayers are using their two idols to try to stabilize the portal, so that they may summon forth a great aberration (an elder brain) into this world. Their ceremony continues apace; the mind flayers' leader is also using the idols to amplify its power and transform itself into an ulitharid. The dimensional portal can only be fully opened (or closed) when all three idols are emplaced in the summoning chamber.
- Worse, the mind flayers have captured a legendary magical creature (a gynosphinx) that dwelled within the temple pavilion, which they intend to infect with their larvae once they can completely subjugate her, and then sacrifice her to the elder brain.
The Dungeons
Below the cut is a summary of the point-crawl dungeon I designed to bring this campaign to a conclusion.
