Friday, October 14, 2011

check this out

from Subterranean Design

I wanted to share this picture of a circular wall built in a pond because a similar structure figures prominently in the Paul Jaquays classic module Realm of the Slime God, a.k.a. Night of the Walking Wet.  This adventure originally appeared in two parts in Dungeoneer #6 and #7 and was reprinted in the Dungeoneer Compendium.  In my opinion the Compendium is one of the best products released for OD&D, ranking right up there with the Arduin Grimoire and Judges Guilds' Ready Ref Sheets.

Anyway, it's neat to see a real version of the weird reservoir-built-in-a-lake structure from that adventure.

9 comments:

  1. I saw one of these in the middle of a lake in the allegheny mtns. I did a double-take, thinking it was some kind of whirlpool, until I realized it was an overflow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In real life, where does that hole go?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I used a similar idea in a mini dungeon I designed. There was a lake above the dungeon with a large rock seemingly floating on the water's surface. Curious delvers would want to take a look and had little problem getting out to it. If someone pushed the rock from its perch, it would reveal a pipe about 2' across with the lip just below the surface of the lake. It also allowed the water in the lake to run down the pipe, thus flooding the dungeon. The entrance to the dungeon was hidden behind the waterfall which drained runoff from the lake, so careless muscle-heads might unwittingly drown their friends. It's cool to see this in real life!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Clearly Galactus is already on his way...

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks neat!

    It is ether a fountain-intake (seen in lakes) or a bell-mouth spilway (seen in dames). They are pipes that keep the water-level so high, so they dont flood an area or stress the wall of a dame. If the rim is level and smooth, it can appear as a strang hole in the water.

    In a fantasy world, they might be a magic hole in space, leading to some other world or dimension, or it might be some weird hole in the earth - its up to the characters to find-out. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. These look to be a similar idea to the intake towers in the Hoover Dam, but less fancy. A nice pic here:
    http://www.arizona-leisure.com/gallery/hoover-dam/hoover-dam-2-lg.jpg

    And constructed with more water behind the dam:
    http://www.sunsetcities.com/hoover-dam/hoover-dam-photos-intaketowers.html

    My guess would be if you paddle up to it in your canoe: Save vs. Being-a-Dipshit, or instant death is the result.

    But I'm no expert.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rowboat+bag of holding+portable hole= above photo.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A huge amount of our civil engineering has gone in to making sure dry places stay that way. That might be an interesting premise for a dungeon: whole or part of it is actually a storm drain, maybe one constructed by the old people then it's purpose forgotten. Among other things, it would carry the danger of drowning if it happens to rain after the party enters the dungeon.

    ReplyDelete