Dome of the Star Cult

A tiny dungeon for games set in the Land of 1000 Towers/ Anomalous Subsurface Environment campaign world.

Dome of the Star Cult
In the Sorghum fields west of Chelmfordshire, an anomalous hill juts like a massive goiter upon a rising crest of earth. A week ago during a terrible thunderstorm it was struck by lightning. Since then, farmer Jorml has been disturbed by strange whooshing and grating sounds by night. This morning he came to the fields, and to his surprise the grass covering the hill was gone. A dark dome 100 feet across, sheathed in overlapping black scale-like plates, loomed ominously where the hill once stood.

No visible way into the dome. Its surface is profoundly black, absorbing all light. This makes detecting any variations in the plated surface very difficult. Careful characters can detect one of the plates is a slightly different sheen (more reflective than the rest) about 20’ above ground at center on one side. If a charge of electricity is administered to the panel, it will automatically retract and produce a descending ramp. The plates themselves are an incredibly strong ceramic polymer, and cannot be broken by mundane means. They can be pried open with difficulty, but they are spring loaded and unless the character props them open somehow, they will likely snap shut inflicting 1d6 points of damage (roll a die to determine if the character is most of the way IN or OUT of the dome when the trap is sprung).

The dome rests upon an crest of earth. Below it, a stream is found rushing from the narrow mouth of a cave. An old grate blocks easy access into the cave, but it can be ripped out. The stream is hip deep, and gets progressively wider and deeper.  The stream leads to to a small underground pool, where a submerged gate leads to the much larger cistern beyond. 

Dome Interior Configuration
The dome is configured into four levels. Sublevel: cistern temple, 1st Level: catwalk & outer rooms, 2nd level: orrery, 3rd level: observatory.

Sublevel/ Cistern
An underground cistern, 6 feet deep, 50 x 50 feet in size. 20 foot columns rise up to the ceiling; the bases of which are giant blocks carved in the likeness of various God faces.  A crumbled catwalk lead out to a dais at the center of the cistern which is surrounded by a ring of obelisks, each has a heavily damaged 3 foot silver disk angled down at it’s height of 10 feet, with circuitry running down. One particular God’s Eye is undamaged but the conduits running up the monolith are torn out. A black box about halfway up the columns height is busted with red wires sticking out. It can be repaired with circuits harvested from the upper levels with a successful Intelligence check. Matte black metal spiral stairs wind tightly upward to the 1st level.

Blind White Catfish the size of a man swim in the water and are attracted to any distirbance. [AC 7,  HD 2,  Att: bite 1d6 + paralyzing stinger/ 1d3 rounds]. Catfish venom sacks can be harvested, and used to coat weapons or create potions, etc.

1st Level/ Catwalk & Outer Rooms
A black grill catwalk with stairs in a central column leading up and down. Broken screens punctuated with ornamental friezes of Star Cult mythology line the walls. Sliding doors can be pushed open into a series of connected rooms running in an outer ring. The inner rooms are filled with debris, scattered data disks strewn upon the floor, broken electronics equipment, and the bones of several dead bodies.

(4) Cave Crickets have nested into the piles of debris [AC 4, HD 2, Att: jumping slam (60') 1d4, or spit digestive juice (10') 1d6 acid damage, corrodes items]. Coins and broken electronics are scattered among the rubble.

2nd Level/ Orrery Room
On the top floor is a massive orrery. The circular room is dominated by a brass and composite model of earth and her orbital satellite gods. A six foot blue planetoid at center with several hundred metal arms protruding spoke like from center, each supporting a tiny complicated geometric metal shapes, each with a strange character painted on it. A control panel is broken, but if repaired, turns on a light diode that illuminates the blue orb, and sets the whole thing into a slow rotation. A ladder leads up to a higher level.

3rd Level/ Observatory
Here an 8 foot chrome and brass cylinder pointed towards the sky on a rotating dias, its delicate parts are ruined, but it’s 3 lenses are intact, and will fetch a good price from the Temple of Science (500 gp each). A massive angled chair is at its base. A leathery corpse is strapped in. Smells of dust and ammonia. Face is stretched in a disturbing grin. A reflective glossy black substance is pooled into its eye sockets. Wearing a robe with silvery embroidered stars and eyes. Carries a spellbook with a three-lobed eye on the face, spells as if a 3rd level Magic User.

Electrical tubes run along the walls here, and along the floor to the dias. Large spoked turning wheels and gears are visible. Several smaller reclined chairs create a ring around the edge of the room, each has a headrest that has an attached set of telescopic goggles that can be swiveled over a sitters eyes. All of the goggles are damaged, but a single pair can salvaged by using viable parts with a successful Intelligence test.

A Shadows from Space was drawn to Earth by the Cult of the Starry Wisdom, and now dwells in the eye socket of the corpse.  It manifests as a sphere of liquid blackness about 8 inches across, and emits a low humming sound. It has been dormant for a century and is eager to reproduce in a new host. It follows a PC stealthily, and attacks from behind, slamming into its victim and burrowing into their flesh with icy cold tendrils.

Shadow From Space [AC 5, HD 3+1, Att 1d6 (slam) + 1d3 point strength drain/ heals 1 point per day] With a successful hit, tiny black shadowy worms dislodge and begin to burrow into the flesh of its victim, draining away strength. For 1d6 hours after, the characters' eyes turn completely black, they are granted Infravision. Even when the effects wear off, the characters' eyes remain black for 1d6 more days. If the character reaches 0 Strength, they die, and a new shadow is immediately spawned within their body, and will exit out of any convenient orifice.

Debauched Elf Party Games

The social hierarchy of  Nosgoch's elf-nobility revolves around their culture of elaborate, days long elf-balls. At the center of these elf-balls are magically enhanced, and highly-competitive party games. The outcome of one of these games can make or break an elf's social standing. They are of the utmost importance, and gravity, but of course every elf makes a convincing show of being terminally indifferent to the whole affair.




Find the Thing- A valuable object, typically a magic item of some value, is hidden by the party host. The guests break up into teams of two, and an hourglass is set. The “looker” must carry a stone with a “Darkness 5’ radius” spell cast upon it, while the “helper” carries a stone with “Silence” cast upon it. The “helper” has to direct the looker to find the hidden object, without touching the darkened “looker” at all. He must do this in his zone of silence without hearing his own voice or the voice of the other competitors, shouting to their team-mates. When the hourglass empties, a bell is rung and the teams switch stones, and the “helpers” become the “lookers”. The first one to finds the valuable gets to keep it, and they become the hosts for the next party. A very prestigious award!

So Charming- This tame little game is basically an icebreaker. An anonymous guest is magically charmed by the party host to obey any command given to them. The guests break up into teams. One side is the “command” side, the other is the “obey” side. The member from the “command” side goes down the line and gives a simple order to each of the “obey” team. Each “obey” team member acts out their orders and tries to fool the “obey” team member into thinking they are magically charmed. After the “obey” team member goes down the line, they have to guess who was the charmed elf. If they guess wrong they are out of the game. If they guess right, they win a prize that likely includes quaffing large quantities of psychedelic cave orchid wine!

Mirror Bow- This crowd pleaser employs the use of the ever entertaining “Mirror Image” spell. The group randomly chooses cards that determine who are the “shooters” and who are the “images”. The unlucky one who draws the “image” card, has the mirror spell cast upon him. He stands in the center of a large circle drawn on the floor, surrounded by his magical duplicates. The “shooters” one by one approach the edge of the circle and must carefully choose who they think is the original. When they finally decide they fire a crossbow bolt at their chosen elf. After each shot, the room is darkened, so the mirrored-elf can secretly move the position of himself and his duplicates. The bolt has no no point, and the elf selected as the for the image spell is always wearing a leather shirt, so if the shooter hits, it’s usually not lethal- just hilarious! The shooter who chooses rightly, wins a prize!

Jump Stone. This game takes place out of doors. A team of elves gather at the edge of a crevasse dropping down to a river hundreds of feet below. Large stones are magically positioned across the crevasse. An elf team must hop from one levitating stone to the next until they reach the other side. The trick is, some of the stones are illusory, and an elf might step through a false stone and go tumbling down! So each elf chooses a magic ring from a bowl. All but one is a ring of “Feather Falling”. One ring is a normal ring. If the the elf wearing the normal ring hops on the wrong stone, he goes tumbling down to the cataract below and is out of the game!

Debauched Elf Nobility of Nosgoch

Remember back in the G+ days when everyone in OSR was writing up "weird elf" concepts? Well this was my induced-by-osmosis elf variant. A faction of  wicked, debased fae-nobles who lived in fading, luxurious decadence upon the Grande Steppe in the sprawling undercity of NOSGOCH. Inspired by Tudor court fashion, the Skeksis, and Vampire.

 DEBAUCHED ELF NOBILITY

• Social Outlook- Ancient, decadent elves, representing fading noble houses, squabble amongst themselves for social status. No elf has been born in centuries, so every living elf is centuries old, and at the very least, addled from years of debauchery- at worst, utterly insane. They are the single richest bloc in Nosgoch, although their influence is far less than it could be. Their insular nature, xenophobia inward looking traditions keep them isolated from much of the economic and political jockeying that occurs between the Guilds and the Tribunes. The elves much prefer to compete among themselves for social status determined through their baroque ball-pageants and sadistic parlor games.

• Resources- Elves being nearly immortal, have accumulated a vast amount of wealth, through investment and savings. They are easily the wealthiest faction in Nosgoch, although they lack the political and social ambition of the other two. However, what they lack in outward action makes up for it in their vast amount of resources. They control much of the financial market, and own portions of almost every major new construction, including mining companies, etc. Few projects can be funded without the help of an elf-loan, and the elves make a tidy profit from the interest paid. The great bank of Nosgoch is elf-owned.

• Noble Houses- The elves live upon the Grand Steppe. Each noble house inhabits a sprawling complex of towers, ballrooms, maze-like hallways connecting dozens of private chambers to hidden courtyards and fungus hedge mazes and gardens. The highest tower rooms are reserved for the eldest Fae, who are even more insular than the rest, spending almost all of their time devoted to the occult arts.

• Fashion- The elves live in decadence unmatched. They wear the most ornate and decorative clothes and jewelry. The lack of functionality, utility, comfort etc. is considered a symbol of status. The more impractical, decorative, and ostentatious- the better (rings that disallow a hand to grasp an object, hats so large that they require servants to hold them upright).

• Elf Servants- A houses status is reflected in the quality of servants kept. “Servant” is a generous term. “Slave” is a closer descriptor to what these unfortunates truly are. The elves universally employ Charm spells upon their servants, which not only keep them docile & compliant, but creates a great sense of love and devotion in the servant. Through years of magical conditioning this way, most servants have become so devoted, that even if the magic were to run out, it’s likely they would still willingly serve their masters. Rumors among the people of Nosgoch abound of family members who went to work for the elves, only to become a “different person” and never return. The elves have an especial fondness for halfling servants, and value their halfling servants more highly than the rest. They detest dwarves and never keep them around. Humans fill out the remaining ranks. Half elves are avoided for the scandal they would inevitably cause. The value the elves put upon their servants makes their parlor games, often played with servant proxies, that much more high-stakes. The loss of, or humiliation of a valuable servant is a painful blow to a House, and usually creates its own logistical difficulties in addition to the loss of social standing that accompanies the defeat. But “not playing” the games is certainly not an option.

• Pathologies- The Elves of Nosgoch are of a debased genetic line. Having inbred for centuries, many have all developed certain psychological pathologies ranging from mild phobias to wild delusions. The elves are no longer able to bear children, and no one is quite certain why. The old scholars believe age or addiction to cave orchid may have a sterilizing effect- but this is just conjecture. Half-elven progeny are still born from time to time, usually the result of affairs between the elf nobles and human servants- but no full blooded elf has been born of elf-woman in over a century.

• Elf Balls- The elf Nobility spend most of their days living in the private theater of their own egos. Their chief social custom is the Elf-Ball, and each noble house competes with one another in order to stage the most elaborate, surreal and immersive party as possible.These balls are so intricate, and the production cost and effort is so great, that they rarely go on for less than a 4-5 days at a time. A week is the average length of time that most significant balls might take. Some balls are staged to last as long as three weeks, with one noble’s event segueing into another’s. The elven ability to exist without sleep, and to quickly process alcohol and psychedelics allows for these hedons to exist in a perpetual state of immersive twilight.

• Social Heirarchy- The party games that play out during the balls calibrate the social hierarchy of elf-nobility. Those who have poorly conceived costumes, or who perform poorly at the games, are kicked down the social ladder. The elves often will not compete themselves in the most dangerous games, but will use their servants as proxies. It’s quite common for the servants to be profoundly humiliated, injured and occasionally killed. Since an elf’s servant is essentially a stand in for the elf himself, if the servant suffers a catastrophic humiliation or death, it reflects poorly upon the elf. His peers begin to pivot against him, and his status among the Houses begins to slip. He might get conveniently ignored or excluded by the other houses, invited late to a ball. A stigmatized elf is in a desperate place, and will often take extraordinary measures to get back on the good foot. This usually includes backstabbing or sabotaging his peers' own standing in order to make them look worse off than themselves

• Occultism- Occultism is rampant within these circles, and a major part of the elf-ball rituals. Cabals of summoners have long been involved in spirit summoning and binding. Seances and channelings, as well as liturgical/ ceremonial components are part of ball-culture. More serious occult endeavors occur in magicians private sanctums. The driving goal of almost all of elven occult inquiry and spirit summoning is to penetrate the secrets of Gysgodol.

• The Spire- Gysgodal is the primary concern of the most ancient elf-scholars. They ascertain rightly that the spire is the primary source of power in Nosgoch. For centuries, these magicians have toiled with spells in order to unlock its secrets. They have made progress too, bypassing protective wards, and learning the rudiments of the rune-magic that powers the living engines of the whole city. The true extent of their knowledge is kept a careful secret. In fact, they encourage the younger elves to continue in their debauchery, as a useful smokescreen to the public, diverting their attention away from the eccentric House elders. If the elders can unlock the higher tiers or magic and open the inner sanctums of Gysgodol, they will have power far greater than any other faction in Nosgoch.