Post by ranzunar on Aug 22, 2008 0:30:18 GMT -5
They say that Dwarves could never build so deep and that the Duergar frighten their offspring with tales of those who venture but never return from its depths. This legendary intra-terrestrial landmark is considered to be the connecting point within any location in world. They are a deep maze of tunnels that actually go into the planet's crust and make connections with already established cave systems. No map has ever been done of the caverns or at least one that stayed useful for more than a few months. The caves are constantly changing due to tectonic shifting, volcanoes, earthquakes, delvers, and earth elementals that give them their treacherous nature. Since the caverns actually go under bodies of water, they can serve as a path of travel on foot from continent to continent. Many warlords have marched their armies through a cavern's entrance with dreams of conquering people's on the other of the world never to be seen again. Temperatures range from warm and humid to blistering heat, depending on how close you get to a magma plume, or how close one gets to you. Direction markers vary wildly from the normal method of finding North on the outside. Nothing short of DC 30 knowledge check in Nature, Geography, or Dungeenering can get you a path of where you are, where you are going, or where you've been. Just in case compasses don't work well since many of the rocks have magnetic properties. Getting in is hard, getting out needs magic. Divinations and intercession from your deity are the best ways of finding the nearest exit and how to get there, note of advice ask a god knows about caves or traveling like Moradin or Fharlanghn; they are usually impressed by people who get far enough in there while Corellon and many others seem bewildered by taking the long way but will help you if you are in good standing. Air is a commodity and travelers should bring the proper magical provisions. Some minor vegetation exists in the forms of fungi and mosses that add some oxygen but a DC 20 Know nature check clearly indicates that they have siphoned many metals from the area and are considered poisonous, Fort save DC 18 2d8 damage initial and a secondary at a same DC or take 1d4 strength and con damage.
If anything the Caverns of Turaypen serve as the perfect escape for PCs that need to leave a place, make sure that they are not followed, don't mind being lost for weeks, handle CR 7-9 monsters, and don't care ending up in any corner of the world. New entry points show up often and old one's disappear about as quick so even an epic ranger can't track his first favored enemy through there. Scrying or detecting anything from the outside tends to be impossible, since the dense rocks work like a lead shielding. Some countries use the caves as execution methods so captured PCs have an interesting option when it comes to encountering justice. Simply put, if there is a gaping hole where there used to be a wall when you are already several miles underground then prepare if you dare to traverse the Caverns of Turaypen. FYI a DC 30 Bardic Knowledge check says that Turaypen is an epic Dwarf ranger from centuries ago that escaped from an Antimagic island prison and appeared two oceans over on an Antimagic Island beach resort months later. Since there is no magic and no boats everyone actually believed his story. He says that his only salvation was to give every coin and gem he had to a wandering Delver he found to get him drunk enough to actually tunnel him out.
If anything the Caverns of Turaypen serve as the perfect escape for PCs that need to leave a place, make sure that they are not followed, don't mind being lost for weeks, handle CR 7-9 monsters, and don't care ending up in any corner of the world. New entry points show up often and old one's disappear about as quick so even an epic ranger can't track his first favored enemy through there. Scrying or detecting anything from the outside tends to be impossible, since the dense rocks work like a lead shielding. Some countries use the caves as execution methods so captured PCs have an interesting option when it comes to encountering justice. Simply put, if there is a gaping hole where there used to be a wall when you are already several miles underground then prepare if you dare to traverse the Caverns of Turaypen. FYI a DC 30 Bardic Knowledge check says that Turaypen is an epic Dwarf ranger from centuries ago that escaped from an Antimagic island prison and appeared two oceans over on an Antimagic Island beach resort months later. Since there is no magic and no boats everyone actually believed his story. He says that his only salvation was to give every coin and gem he had to a wandering Delver he found to get him drunk enough to actually tunnel him out.