Tuesday 3 May 2011

More for fiddlers on roofs

Last week, NetherWerks made the Rooftop Encounters idea a living table at DM Muse.

The idea is to inspire adventures set in lofts and garrets, and up on the rooftops, developing the traditional 'dungeoncrawl' into the 'roofcrawl'.

Here are 29 entries to add to NetherWerks' base and the 20 last week, for a solid 90 altogether.

  1. Something large and heavy has crashed through the roof here, leaving a yawning hole rimmed with great splinters of wood.
  2. The microclimate in this nook is extreme compared to prevailing conditions.
  3. Cloud shrouds this high space, the domain of a Minor Deity.
  4. A slit-windowed minaret juts out, apparently filled with antique furniture and bric-a-brac, and containing 1D8 odd knick-knacks of possible use or value.
  5. The dust stirred up in this space forms startling images, coalescing, shifting.
  6. This stretch of loft echoes with sound, the creaking of timbers, rattling of windows, wheezing of the wind and fluttering of wings, almost as if alive...
  7. The branches of a tree overhang the roof here, growing in through skylights.
  8. 2D4 Dryads are administering funereal rites to the roof timbers.
  9. This section of rooftop belongs to a clowder of 3D6 Feral Cats.
  10. 2D6 Urbeavers are damming the rainwater in this valley between rooftops.
  11. A cracked pipe has leaked water across the path here, forming an icy surface in winter and giving off an odour of rot in summer, but also weakening the structure.
  12. The only way forward here is a shuffle along a narrow ledge running out of sight.
  13. A toll plank runs across an alleyway, guarded by a Roof Troll.
  14. This complex section generates gusts of wind which make crawling advisable.
  15. Here a chimney lies toppled, the heap of loose bricks making footing uncertain.
  16. An antenna of some kind rises high, with a coil of 2D10 metres of cable.
  17. In the floor ahead is a periscope, scanning slowly round...
  18. A muffled conversation can be heard coming up through a ventilation shaft.
  19. This dumbwaiter appears to be the only other route out.
  20. Standing abandoned is a dinner table set for 4D4 guests, dishes still steaming.
  21. In a broad space open to the sky 2D6 oddly dressed individuals are dancing.
  22. The strains of a violin are heard, carried across the rooftops on the breeze.
  23. This loft is filled with 2D6 large packing cases, free of dust.
  24. A paper aeroplane drops out of nowhere - with a message!
  25. Out of the blue a thunderbolt strikes 1D4 individuals - allowing a Save versus electrocution - tearing open the roof and hurling all to the ground for 2D8 metres.
  26. A fire burns here, throwing out choking smoke and sparks and spreading rapidly.
  27. This eyrie is a miniature laboratory, scattered with tubes, vials and jars containing liquids of unknown composition; movement within carries the risk of upsetting the vessels and the changed creature in the next room.
  28. Stacked in a corner are 4D4 ingots of a randomly determined metal, perhaps precious, perhaps near worthless, perhaps even radioactive.
  29. This dark, humid roofspace is home to a Pterosaur and brood of 2D4 Flaplings.

I've added the whole batch to the table so it should be possible to start rolling them up very soon. Feel free to add your own ideas or even start a new table.
_

3 comments:

Mark Siefert said...

TRADITION!!!

Porky said...

Think of it like a new tradition! It could be integrated with the more usual way of doing things even outside of urban areas, as the upper levels of a castle for example, or a tapering wizard's tower with a mass of turrets.

netherwerks said...

Exactly--Porky has the right idea. You can still go spelunking and mucking about in caves, just think about having to climb up vertical shafts, climbing mountains, and working through ruins from the bottom upwards...