UNDEREARTH

The UnderEarth is an enormously wide-spread network of natural and constructed tunnels that run under the lands of Testoria. These tunnels and caverns are typically five to 20 miles below the surface, and have very few connections to either the deepest of those shallow diggings known as "dungeons," or with the surface of the realms.

DENIZENS OF THE UNDEREARTH

The UnderEarth is home to many horrid or fascinating creatures; most of these races of monsters and humanoids are ancient, dating from before any humanoids walked on the surface of Alith.

The most notorious race of UnderEarth humanoids are the Dark Elves. They are vicious and cunning enemies. They live in huge underground cities run by their nobility and led by the priestesses of the SpiderLords.

For centuries, Dwarves and Dark Elves have waged war beneath the realms. The dwarven halls are in decline, now, and several of their kingdoms are completely gone, their strongholds abandoned or taken over by hostile humanoids.

Other races making their homes in the UnderEarth include:


UNDEREARTH ECONOMY

The UnderEarth produces many goods that are marketable there and on the surface world.


Likewise, there are items that can only be imported into the UnderEarth:


These products are typically brought to the UnderEarth by trading companies run by surface-dwellers. Many trading companies have hidden and well-defended warehouses near connections to the surface. Acquiring and trading goods here can be a profitable business for someone with the courage and skill to survive in the savage depths of the UnderEarth.
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ADVENTURING IN THE UNDEREARTH

Air Supplies: Breathing in the UnderEarth usually isn't a problem -- unless you're around a wizard who loves to cast fire spells. Large fiery magic will quickly deplete oxygen in a small cavern, and worse, the smoke has nowhere to go! It typically takes 2-8 turns for an area to clear out once filled with smoke, and the smell can linger for months at a time afterwards.

Darkvision: Darkvision is the extraordinary ability to see with no light source at all, out to a range specified for the creature.

Darkvision is black and white only (colors cannot be discerned). It does not allow characters to see anything that they could not see. otherwise-invisible objects are still invisible, and illusions are still visible as what they seem to be. Likewise, darkvision subjects a creature to gaze attacks normally.

The presence of light does not spoil darkvision. If a character has darkvision with a 60-foot range, and he stands within a 20-foot radius of light, the character can see normally in the light, and 40 feet beyond the light because of his darkvision.

Most of the UnderEarth races have superior darkvision, which allows them to see in the lightless depths. There are limits to what can be accomplished with dark vision, however.

In general, beings with darkvision CAN:


In general, beings with darkvision CANNOT:


Day and Night, Calendar: The UnderEarth is a realm of eternal night. As such, it is very difficult for its inhabitants to follow the typical calendars of the surface world. As trade with the surface is so vital to most UnderEarth cultures, however, most cities of Dark Elves, Dwarves and Deurgar attempt to at least be aware of the passage of time in terms of surface calendars.

For those living away from civilization, however, accurate timekeeping is extremely challenging, if not impossible. UnderEarth travelers are frequently surprised when they reach a city and find that they've miscalculated the passage of time by days or even weeks.

Echos: Sounds travel far in the UnderEarth, as "echoes in the rock." Known trade routes, the passages most likely to be mapped, are closely watched by predatory creatures attuned to any sonic changes.

Movement Rates: Traveling through the UnderEarth is much more akin to dungeon-crawling than moving overland on the surface. However, most of the main tunnels of the UnderEarth are clear of debris, are fairly level, and are big enough for travelers to move a little more quickly than when carefully exploring dungeons. The movement rate in typical UnderEarth tunnels is the character's movement rate in miles per day (a "day" being a 10-hour period of travel in each 24 hours). A party of characters moves at the rate of the slowest character -- a Dwarf or Gnorl in the party can slow the movement rate to 6 miles per day! However, a Dwarf (including Deurgar) or Gnorl can perform a "double-time" march to double his movement rate. At the end of a "double-time" march, the Dwarf or Gnorl must make a DC of 15 (Dwarf with no penalty, Gnorl at +2 on DC check) example would be make a DC check of 15 to keep running while being chased and the Gnorl now has to roll 15+2 because of the penalty which is 17; a failure indicates that for the remainder of the day (the next 14 hours), the Dwarf or Gnorl is weakened and fights at -2 to hit and damage, a +4 to all ST DC (plus penalties for DC checks are bad) and CN DC checks, as well as suffering a -2 penalty to initiative (initiative negatives for check are bad also because you want to roll high, highest initiative always goes first).

The Radiance: Much of this subterranean realm radiates a type of magical energy called the Radiance by the Dark Elves. This energy is often responsible for glowing rock formations and is harnessed by the more astute inhabitants to enhance the magic items they create, often supplanting conventional enchantment methods in favor of the easier but more fragile creations possible with the Radiance. The Radiance also causes many creatures to mutate within a few generations, explaining how land predators such as panthers, wolves, and lizards can gain darkvision in such a short time, or how the short subterranean cattle called rothé could adapt so quickly to the strange fungi and often brackish water of their new habitat.

UnderEarth Random Encounter Table

Primary Passages

  01-20  No Encounter
  21-30  Obstruction
  31-33  Strange Noise
  34-38  Abandoned Campsite
  39-40  Rock Fall
  41-43  Geyser
  44-46  Dangerous Cliff
  47-50  Bat Swarm
  51-55  Dead Body
  56     Battle Scene
  57-58  Cryptic Scrawl
  59-60  Lost Monster
  61-63  4d6 Stirges
  64     Drow Patrol
  65-70  Orc Patrol
  71-73  2d4 Ogres
  74-75  1d6 Large Monstrous Spiders
  76-78  3d4 Bugbears
  79-83  1d4 Trolls
  84-90  3d8 Gnolls
  91-92  Bulette
  93     Hill Giant
  94-99  1d3 Wraiths
  00     Roll twice more

Secondary Passages

  01-15  No Encounter
  16-30  Obstruction
  31-35  Strange Noise
  36-40  Abandoned Campsite
  41-43  Geyser
  44-50  Bat Swarm
  51-55  Dead Body
  56     Battle Scene
  57-58  Cryptic Scrawl
  59-60  Lost Monster
  61-63  4d6 Stirges
  64     Drow Patrol
  65-68  Ochre Jelly
  69-71  Huge Gelatinous Cube
  72-75  1d4 Trolls
  76-79  Xorn
  80-81  3d4 Bugbears
  82-83  Basilisk
  84-87  Orc Patrol
  88-91  2d4 Wererats
  92-93  2d3 Shadows
  94     Ogre Mage
  95-96  2d4 Troglodytes
  97-00  Roll twice more

Tertiary Passages

  01-15  No Encounter
  16-35  Obstruction
  36-42  Strange Noise
  43-45  Abandoned Campsite
  46-51  Bat Swarm
  52-53  Dead Body
  54     Battle Scene
  55-59  Cryptic Scrawl
  60-63  2d4 Ghasts
  64-66  1d6 Wraiths
  67-68  Drow Patrol
  69-70  Spectre
  71-72  1d4 Vampire Spawn
  73-75  1d2 Xill
  76-78  Umber Hulk
  79-85  Orc Patrol
  86-88  3d4 Bugbears
  89-90  Ochre Jelly
  91-93  Huge Gelatinous Cube
  94-95  1d2 Phase Spiders
  96-98  1d2 Otyugh
  99-00  Roll twice more


See also:
UnderEarth
image © Goodman Games

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