Machine Dungeons
Some adventures may take place inside a giant machine: an infernal mill, a colossal mechanical legged vehicle, a sprawling gnomish computer or an automated manufactory.
Examples from fiction include The Asylum (Shadowman)[1],.
Use this section in conjunction with DMG Chapter 5 (Building a Dungeon).
Roll once on the Power Source table to determine the type of power source and engine. If you have not yet decided what the machine does you can also roll on the Machine Purpose table; this will also tell you what to place in the "output" chambers.
- Power Source and Engine
| d10
|
Power source
|
Engine
|
| 1-3 |
Coal or timber stored in bunkers |
Steam
|
| 4 |
Elemental fire |
Steam
|
| 5-6 |
Electric cells comprising of vats of acid and metal rods |
Electric
|
| 7 |
Wind, captured from huge sails |
Wind shaft
|
| 8 |
Blood, stored in vats or living creatures |
Lifeforce
|
| 9 |
Souls trapped in soul gems |
Infernal
|
| 10 |
Rare crystals |
Arcane
|
- Machine Purpose
Output furnishings should be huge, filling the entire chamber.
| d10
|
Machine Purpose
|
Output
|
| 1 |
Chronology |
Orrery, planetarium, calender, clock or other horological or astronomical instrument
|
| 2 |
Weapon |
Roll d6.
1-2: Mechanical (catapult, cannon, ballista)
3-4: Arcane (beams of energy)
5-6: Divine (idols, radiant/necromatic auras)
|
| 3 |
Calculator |
Arrays of numbered wheels and gauges, or rolls of ticker tape
|
| 4 |
Manufactory |
Roll d6
1: Forge
2: Loom
3: Constructs
4: Living creatures
5: Refinery (food/drink, chemicals)
6: Exotic (puzzle boxes, weird dolls)
|
| 5 |
Sacrificial/Executorial |
Roll d6
1: Guillotines
2: Grinders
3: Gas chamber
4: Crematorium
5: Acid or lava
6: Beasts or swarms
|
| 6 |
Transport |
What does it move? Roll d6
1-2: Freight
3-4: Passenger
5-6: Military
How does it move? Roll d6:
1: Ornithopter (air)
2: Propeller (air)
3: Wheels (land)
4: Legs (land)
5: Oars (sea)
6: Propeller (sea)
|
| 7 |
Portal |
Roll d6
1: An arcane pentagram
2: A vertical ring of marble or obsidian
3: Huge brass doors
4: A black or mirrored sphere
5: A tesseract pit
6: A rapidly spinning drum
Where does it go? Roll d6
1: Material plane
2: Elemental plane
3: Outer plane
4: Through time
5: Far Ream
6: Into someone's mind
|
| 8 |
Artistic |
The machine is constructing an epic piece of art, which may take tens or hundreds of years. Roll d6
1-2: Statue
3-4: Painting
5: Tapestry
6: Mosaic
|
| 9 |
Excavator |
Bucket wheels, drills, abrasive discs or caustic jets; automated minecarts for moving rubble
|
| 10 |
Weather Control |
Emitters, aerials, smokestacks or pylons used to change the climate on a continental or global scale. Roll d6
1: Heatwaves
2: Rainmaker
3: Iceage
4: Darkness
5: Exotic (hot hail, hypnotic rainbows, rain of frogs
6: Variable (free alteration of humidity and temperature)
|
|
|
Chamber Purpose
Use this section in conjunction with DMG Appendix A (Random Dungeons)
- Chamber Purpose
| d20
|
Purpose
|
| 1-3 |
Storage for power source (see above)
|
| 4-5 |
Conduits for delivering power source to engine
|
| 6 |
Room containing heavy, spinning, flywheels
|
| 7-9 |
Part of the engine. Hazards might include deafening noise; blasts of steam, fire or electricity; moving parts
|
| 10-12 |
Linkage for managing force and movement. There might be giant cranks, cams, gears and other dangerous mechanisms; the whole chamber itself might move or rotate
|
| 13 |
Workshop for repairing damaged machine parts
|
| 14 |
Storage for replacement machine parts
|
| 15 |
Living quarters (usually quite cramped) for on-site engineers and loaders
|
| 16-17 |
Control room, filled with levers, dials, chains and buttons
|
| 18 |
Observation deck, overlooking an important section of machinery
|
| 19-20 |
An "output" area for whatever the machine does (see above)
|
|
|
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