Underdark WIP

The Underdark Jump
WIP
By: Manyfist, Stupid_Dog, & Toriko


Opening Blerb about the Underdark and the Jumpers Adventure here.

+1000 CP



Starting Locations
1: Menzoberranzan - One of the few drow cities located in the Upperdark. The city occupies an irregularly shaped cavern more than 2 miles wide at its widest point. The ceiling is 1,000 feet high, and stalactites, stalagmites, and columns litter the cavern. All of them have been worked or shaped, and the continuous effect across the entire cavern can be mesmerizing to the uninitiated. Some of the larger stalagmites have been converted to castles and homes for drow noble Houses. These sparkle with permanent faerie fire effects, creating a soft, multicolored glow that suffuses the cavern. Slavery is legal and socially favored in Menzoberranzan. The variety of slaves is astonishing. It is not legal to enslave other Menzoberranyr drow, but indentured servitude is practiced with gleeful malice.

2: Ched Nasad - This drow city is located in a large V-shaped cavern in the Middle Northdark. The grotto is nearly a mile high and half a mile wide at the top (narrower at the bottom). The city structure is built of layers of petrified webs that were bathed in faerie fire that’s usually purple, amber, green, and yellow. Hundreds of webs stretch across the cavern, with nearly vertical webs connecting layers; for ease, the city is generally split into eleven major horizontal levels. Dwellings on the webs resembled cocoons and are located on both the top sides and bottom sides of the layers.

3: Deep Imaskar - This city is all that stands of an ancient Empire. A lot is unknown about where it’s located other than it’s in the Underdark somewhere. Its people are Deep Imaskari, human stock with some minor mutations. Those interrogated about the location of their home, come up blank, as it’s a practice for those who wish to leave the city may do so. However the location, the history, and everything related to the city is cleansed from the mind of the traveller. So they may never return, a policy to keep outside ideas from reaching inside and from those like the Drow using their knowledge against them. You are no different should you leave the city.

4: Sloopdilmonpolop - The City of Pools is a series of hewn caverns in three rings that are worked to look natural on the walls and ceilings. Each ring has a large, square pool of water in the center, surrounded by a flat stone floor. A temple in the shape of a ziggurat rises from the center of each pool. Each pool is connected to the others by underwater tunnels. A holy city for kuo-toas the center of religious life for worshipers of the goddess Blipdoolpoolp. The city's pools are fed by freshwater from two sources. Lit by luminescent coral and fish, the ceilings reflect an eerie, watery light.

5: Mantol-Derith- This svirfneblin trade city is located in a twisted cavern 60-70 feet tall and twice as wide in Middle Northdark. The city was heavily guarded and protected by strong magic. The cavern was naturally formed by water due to its proximity to the Darklake, and was filled with waterfalls, pools, and streams. Its walls were filled with multicoloured crystals and gems. Bridges across the various streams were carved from crystal. The city itself primarily comprised trade caravans and campsites.

6: Dunspeirrin - One of the first cities founded by the duergar after they escaped their thralldom beneath the mind flayers, Dunspeirrin is an old and powerful city that dominates the Underdark for scores of miles in all directions. It lies beneath the Orsraun Mountains, carved into a thicket of massive stalactites that dangle high above a great subterranean chasm. Encompassing more than a thousand such dangling, hollowed-out speleothems, Dunspeirrin, (or "Underspires," as it is commonly known) is linked into a nigh-impregnable stronghold via a network of stone ledges and arching bridges. Four massive causeways link the city with apertures in the chasm walls. The City of Sunken Spires is one of the largest and wealthiest trade centers of the Underdark. Its citizens constantly seek slaves to fill the ranks of its armies and work in its mines.

7: Oryndoll - In the lowest depths of the Underdark, beneath the Shining Plains and somewhere between the surface cities of Lheshayl and Ormath, the City of Loretakers broods in unremitting darkness. Oryndoll is a city populated by mind flayers and their thralls, and it is known for its residents' insatiable thirst for knowledge. At first glance, Oryndoll appears as nothing more than a sprawling network of troglodyte warrens, and few non-illithids ever see more of the city than that relatively fair façade. Mind flayers who choose to engage merchants in trade do so in one of these upper caverns, amid the stench of troglodyte thralls. The rulers of the city dwell below, in caverns arranged around tubular ring-shaped tunnels connected to the thrall caverns above by well-hidden spiral staircases. Below even these ring caverns, and accessible only through teleportation magic, ethereal travel, or similar means, are the Undervaults where the city's Elder Brain resides and where its stores of knowledge are kept.

8: Free Choice - It would seem that fate has smiled upon you. The gods have seen fit to allow you to choose your own destination within the Underdark.


Origins/Class

Drop In (0cp) - No memory, No history

Martial (50cp) - Martials focus entirely on the physical arts, they make up the majority of the people in the Underdark.

Caster (200cp) - Casters utilize the Weave of Magic, a weave of arcane energy that is maintained by the goddess Mystra. All arcane magic is the result of utilizing this arcane silk web of magical string and using it to create effects within material plane. However casters could utilize the power of the mind, unconnected from the weave they instead are much rarer and require an inborn talent for such magic.

Divine (200cp) - The gods are very real, they control their domains like jealous lords and demand worship from mortals such as yourself. Failure to worship them like they wish, not worshipping any god, or not being faithful enough will earn you a spot on the Wall of Faithless. You are part the faithful and part the church of your god. As an emissary of his or her word, your god has granted you divine magic. Unlike Casters, you require but just a holy symbol and faith in your deity.

Merchant (50cp) - The old saying is, “The Spice Must Flow”, is true even in the Underdark. The hottest commodity traded are slaves. Slavery while illegal above ground in most places, is a common and valued commodity in the Underdark. Frequently the races from below ascend at night to raid the villages of the defenceless. You belong to a merchant house or perhaps a sanctioned trader from your race. Welcomed in all cities, as long you have goods to sell and keep out of trouble you’re immune to most the laws of the city. However in the Underdark, it’s often your own kin you have to worry about.

Races of the Underdark
	As above ground the Underdark is rich in its own traditions, and numerous races that call the Underdark home. However most if not all the races are evil by the standards of the races above, a necessary adaptation to survive in the most dangerous places on the planet.

Goblins (+100cp) - No race is more numerous above or below ground than Goblins, they breed like rabbits, can eat just about anything, and they often are loyal to a fault when enslaved. Their only saving grace is that they’re small, making it harder to hit an individual goblin. Besides their odor which is unpleasant to say the least, they are nasty little creatures with very little going for them. The smartest goblin can count as high as ten, if they’re lucky. Their short stature has made them agile, but their frail bodies betray them. Which is why they utilize swarm tactics. As a Goblin you’ll be treated as a potential slave as worse, and second class citizen at best.
Abilities - Adept Climber: Goblins can scurry up just about anything you can imagine. They use this to their advantage, climbing up to areas where you can’t see them but they can see you. It’s also a useful to get away from danger.

Orcs (0cp) - What happens when you supersize a Goblin? You get an Orc. These massive humanoids are smarter than goblins, but still they’re no geniuses. Instead they more than make up for it in their hardiness and strength. It’s rare to see an Orc without an owner because of this. Treated a little better than most slaves, they often serve as bodyguards or hard laborers. Yet the most prized Orcs are in the pits, fighting for the entertainment of the masses.
Abilities - Brawny: Orcs are muscular to a fault, because of this they’re able to lift small boulders with ease. Their melee attacks are where their strength becomes more important as their muscle ripples underneath their skin. Any physical melee damage they do is increased.

Kobolds (+200cp) - Kobolds have the dubious honor of being the weakest race in the Underdark, so much that they make Goblins look like olympian athletes. However unlike Goblins, it has not robbed them of their minds. Looking like tiny wingless dragons almost, their reptilian bodies can squeeze through even the smallest cracks in the cave walls. This has allowed them to thrive even under the noses of the larger races. Their race is well known for their trap making abilities, but their memory isn’t the best so often times the trap maker is killed by his or her own trap. They seek out pure blooded dragons, no matter how big or small and throw themselves at the feet of their “Big Brothers”.
Abilities - Tight Fit: Kobold’s skeleton is semi flexible, because of this they’re able to squeeze their tiny bodies into places that other races of similar size couldn’t possibly try. They’re also adept at finding these cracks in the wall, it’s a handy survival tactic when everyone sees you as a pest to eradicate and everything sees you as a snack.

Grey Dwarf
	Dark Vision, stone sense, resistance to psionics

Drow (200cp) -- Long ago there was a beautiful Elven goddess named Lloth, she was the wife of the Patriarch of the Elven pantheon. However she was seduced by evil, out of jealousy. To mark her betrayal, her followers were marked with pitch black skin to mark their betrayal. Forced into the Underdark, they quickly adapted to becoming a great power below and great terror above the surface. Lolth have weaved a web of lies & deceit into the very fabric of Drow society, where Males are treated as second class citizens, and where assassinations, blackmail, and other underhanded techniques are only way to advance in social standing.
Abilities - Noble Birth: You were born with the power of levitation, allowing you to levitate vertically almost at will. This is handy for a favorite tactic among Drow Nobles, the ambush. Additionally you're afforded a natural grace that you inherited from your foremothers, far beyond that of a normal Drow. Lastly Lolth has blessed you with the ability to command light. From simple fairy lights that light up a target, to pure darkness that snuffs out even Infrared vision. Yet Lolth is a fickle goddess, allowing you to use her Darkness once per 24hrs.

Illithids (600cp) - Few things are as horrible in the Underdark as the Illithid. These parasitic race are all that are left of a once powerful empire that spanned several planes of existence for countless centuries. Cast down into the Underdark they are no less dangerous today as their ancestors were those countless years ago. These aberrations dine on brains of sentients, and are the only equal to the Drow city states in the slave trade. Resembling a four tentacled octopus with milky white eyes, and slimy skin on a humanoid body. Their forms covered in a form fitting leather robe to keep moisture in.
Abilities - Naturally Psionic: Illithids are "born" psychically gifted. They communicate solely through telepathy, which can easily be used to rip memories from the unprotected. Gifted in use of telekinesis they're able to lift 100kg with their mind alone. Lastly they can combine these into a deadly Mind Blast, stunning their prey as they snake their tentacles around the cranium for a meal of humanoid brains.

Perks/Feats
Drop In, Discounted 50% off

Bardic Knowledge (100 CP, Free Drop-In) -- You're a bastion of useful and useless facts. Maybe you you heard a rumor once, or looked it up in a book. At any moment you can recall an interesting fact, rumor, or lie and use it as you see fit.
Inspire Confidence (200cp) - As long as you are performing or encouraging those around you, your allies perform their actions better.

Bardic Casting (400cp) -- You’ve picked up a few tricks here and there over your travels. You’ve figured out how to cast a few cantrips and arcane spells, some minor and weaker Psionic powers, and even worked out how to channel your faith into some simple effects.

Bardic Music (600cp) - Music speaks to the very soul, for those that can hear it, even the most heartless monster can drop what it's doing with the right tune. As long you keep singing, and no one engages in a hostile act, those around you that can hear you sway back and forth to your music as if in a trance. Once you stop singing or engage in a Hostile act, the effect ends and those previously under your effects can't be affected again for quite some time.

Martial Class, Discounted 50% off

Martial Proficiency (100cp) - Skilled in the basic weapons and armors of the world along with racial weapons and armor.

Teamwork (200cp) - When working with at least one other being of at least animal intelligence, you have increased coordination. You can read each other more easily and pass simple messages with just a look.

Cleave (400cp) - Martial classes might appreciate some power attack or cleaving ability

Sneak Attack (600cp) - Sneak attacking fits the martial tree more closely than any of the other classes, on its own the added damage may not be good enough to warrant a capstone. But adding in popular martial feats like improved/bleeding/staggering critical or critical mastery could make it great. For all the sneaking going on in the Underdark there isn’t a lot of stealth option here.

Caster Class, Discounted 50% off

Cantrips (100cp, Free Caster) - You know the basics of magic or just unlocked your psionic might. You're capable of doing small tricks and utility effects, like cleaning or lifting light objects. These are non-combative techniques that never do serious harm or injury.

Spells & Powers (200cp) - Student of the arcane or initiate in path of the mind. In Faerun magic is fairly common place. Perhaps you studied in one the great halls of magic, or maybe you were just born with innate ability to shape magic. No matter the origin, arcane magic comes from “The Weave” an interdimensional plane of magic created by Mystra, Goddess of Magic. Or perhaps you tap into her sinister sister Shar’s own shadowy creation which mirrors the weave, called the Shadow Weave. You start weak but eventually given time and effort you could rival even the greatest Arch-Mages. To engage in magic here, or elsewhere you have to speak the magic words in the language of the Dragons, which you understand. Additionally the Weave is a very much physical thing, requiring you to grasp the strands of arcane energy in gestures, and knitting them together along with your words into a spell.

	Psionics is the power of the mind and is not connected to the Weave/Shadow Weave like arcane magic. Instead it’s your own mind reaches out and affects the world accordingly. The way your mind affects the world is not unlike spells casted by the students of the arcane, and in many communities you are just another mage. Psionicist as they are referred do not require to speak magic words or gestures, instead just focus allowing your subconscious to do the mental math required to make your imagination become reality. You start weak but eventually given time and effort you could rival even the greatest Psionicist.
Mystical Crafts (400cp) - You've mastered the art of transference of magical effects into consumables. These consumables takes many forms, but most common are potions, and scrolls. However they can easily be different things, like baked goods or geometric shapes carved on stone. The exact form is up to you. With enough practice and experimentation you will eventually be able to impart magical effects onto permanent objects thus crafting your own magical equipment.

Meta Magic/Power (600cp) -- Casting spells is something any person can learn given enough time. However for true masters of either art, it's how you use it that counts. By applying metamagic/psionics you're able to change how the spell/power works. Common examples are casting silently, without moving and altering the shape for the arcane; furthermore, psionic powers can gain increased range, duration and output.

Divine Class, Discount 50% off

Channel Energy (100cp, Free Divine) - You can channel divine energy for a sort of effect. Common effects are Positive Energy for healing, Negative Energy for harming. For those in touch with nature, this effect can grow or kill plants.

Divine Spells (200cp) - You can channel faith and/or the power of a divine being into a spell.

Compel or Repel (400cp) -- Drawing upon the source of your divine power, you can enact a change on various creatures. The most common being those of Good alignment being able to destroy the undead and banish Evil Outsiders. Those of an Evil alignment can instead control the undead and command Evil Outsiders. Those attached to Nature find they can call upon wild animals to assist them and either banish or compel Elementals.

Divine Favors (600cp) - Your connection your deity or to nature has increased to a fundamental level. You've started to take on the aspects of your deity, selecting a domain held by your deity, granting you increased power related to that domain. For instance the domain of war, your melee prowess increases. Small at first but more within favor you are with your deity the Stronger it gets. Those who worship nature as shepherds of the flock you're able to take animal forms that are most familiar with you. Eventually you branch out into magical creatures or elementals as you grow in power and respect with nature.

Merchant Class, Discount 50% off

100 CP: Streetwise -- You have an easy time finding your way around populated areas, can always find someplace comfortable to sleep and have an easy time picking up rumors.

200 CP: Something like the ability to smell an opportunity when you see one? Works in and out of the market?

400 CP: Can invest time and resources into something to increase chances of success? Such as outfitting and adventuring party?

600 CP: Appraisal -- Can estimate something worth at a glance and with study can figure out if it’s magical/psionic.

General Feats

100 CP: Skill Focus - Repeatable - Gain considerable talent in a particular skill.

Items

Adventurer's Kit

Lesser/Greater Map of the Underdark? Artifact from FR that gives an updating map of your surroundings. Lesser is just tunnels, pockets and just 1 level. Greater is all 3 levels and a much higher level of detail. A certain exploration guild will pay out the ass for either.

Weapons?

Caster Equipment?

Divine Equipment?

Armor?

Rare Materials for Equipment? Living Wood and Drow crafted?

Potions/Scrolls/Wands

Companions

Import Option

Minions? Several lessers of your Race or a servitor Race to do your bidding?
Mercenaries? A single competent merc or a group of them?

Caster for Hire? A trained Wizard or something to assist you?

Drawbacks

Racial Stereotype? You are a filthy, stupid goblin? You are a fem-nazi Drow?

Lemon? You get sub-par and potentially dangerous items?

S.T.D? Stupid, Theatrical, Dungeoneers come exploring and ruin everything even if they don’t mean it. Makes doing anything extremely frustrating when they go around looting, killing and breaking stuff.

Drums from the Deep? Extremely high amount of frenzied and hungry goblinoids constantly pour from the depths.
Aboleths? They know you are here and know you shouldn’t be?

Elder Brain? Illithids want your brain? You are mind controlled by an Elder Brain who wants to bring his race back to prominence? To stop the coming disaster?

That Which Eternal Lies? The Far Plane gods are active and their cultists are everywhere? You are the catalyst to usher in the apocalypse?

Ending Options


Notes