You Are the Dungeon By Tracy Barnett
Instruments: 1d10, Tarot Cards
Game Description
You are a living sentient dungeon and you will claim those who tresspass. You use the tarot cards to generate characters and roll to determine their fate. You will make a lot of characters and probably murder those characters right after making them.
Game Content Warnings
These are content warnings that are from the game prompts and are present in all playthroughs.Playthrough Content Warnings
These are content warnings specific to this playthrough only.
Word Count: 4,307 Played: 4/30/21 - 5/7/21
(A/N Existence Itself and The Nothing both refer to the same entity)
The Valley Island to the far south of the world.
I worship Existence Itself and through It, It has given me life and I create and mould more in Its image.
I do not see myself as evil but I will do whatever it takes to convince others to give themselves to The Nothing so that it may be filled and become Something.
Deep beneath the sea, the pearl crabs swarmed into millions creating a nacred bridge to breach my lands and delve into my heart.
Roll: 2 +3
Number of Adventurers: 5
(A/N: you draw a card for every character and I will be making A LOT of characters so I won’t write down what card I drew since every single card is different)
Name | Disposition Occupation | Fate |
Daniela Atansij | Idealistic Porter | 10. The Stuff of Never Ending Nightmares 9. Being Trapped underwater, feet encased in leaden boots The third night of their adventure she dreamed of the ocean in her lungs and her companions were forced to leave her as she refused to wake after spitting up gallons of water. |
Baylee Gabr | Verbose Wheelwright | 7. Diminishing Returns 4. Panniers filled with crumbs They opened the last chest in the room, the one laden with lead filigree and sun-bleached gems, and found, like all the others in the room, the crumbs of a feast and the carcasses of insects long dead. |
Nereo Mehr | Piou Judge | 9. Wonders Beyond Reckoning 9. The Ability to make anyone believe their words. Truly ze had been blessed by The Sovereign Arbitrator themselves, and in zeir duty as judge, brought holy justice through adjudication. |
Twelve-Red-Birds-Sang-Of-The-Night-Sky | Contemplative Paladin | 2. Delights from the Ruin 4. A bite from a fresh, ripe apple Red like their name, the apple sat alone on a plate on a simple pillar in the center of the room. Never would they taste something more sweet and in their joy they found misery for the delights of the world would be pale and ashen in its wake. |
Iakovu Kelsi | Grasping Merchant | 10. The Stuff of Endless Nightmares 3. A Dead Face, crying tears of blood He didn’t see it looking back at him at first; he was more interested in tracing his fingers around the carved, concentric circles of the mirror’s edge. It was his own face, reflected back through the twisted mirror, pale, rotting, and blood crying from the dead eyes. |
Final Roll: 40% of 5 = 2 survivors
Survivors: Nereo Mehr, Twelve-Red-Birds-Sang-Of-The-Night-Sky
The breastplate of the Paladin.
The metal has become as reflective as a mirror and around its edges are carved the concentric lines of Existence. Existence will see all who is reflected in it and will, in time, seek to claim them. They cannot hide from it.
The roots of a Memory tree have broken through a large wall and have taken over half of the room.
It reaches deep into the floor of my caverns and from it I extract the memories that it in turn had extracted and use them to convince the delvers to fill The Nothing.
Roll: 2+3
Number of Adventurers: 5
Name | Disposition Occupation | Fate |
Haiden Wardter | Desperate Ruler | 4. Baleful Curses 5. A small flame that can never be extinguished The last scion of a noble house of Teneneron, The City in Night--they sought a light to extinguish the cursed darkness but found themselves a conduit as they were hollowed out and became a living candle to an undying flame. |
S. T. Cecelia | Fearless Explorer | 5. Whispers from the Shadows 5. The cackle of a witch’s familiar They had scoffed at the pattern witch’s warning and tossed the oracle deck into the ocean. It was only as they saw the dancing lights and the harsh heat of sun through the root-rotten ceiling did they notice the laughing parakeets. |
R. F. Vilho | Defensive Drunkard | 10. The Stuff of Endless Nightmares 6. Having to walk through a chamber of endless fire. Deep into the island they found a corridor of molten gold, and driven by their greed, they walked on burning shoes until their flesh melted and their bones split and cracked under the heat. |
Vania Loli | Content Fletcher | 4. Baleful Curses6. An Animal companion that never leaves their side It crept into her pack one night and gorged itself on three nights worth of supplies. Upon finding it, Vania flung the shrew across the room. The next morning she found it again, twice as large and having eaten twice as much. Each day, larger and hungrier, she wondered how long until she was it’s next meal. |
Hallowed Tif Ar Mortal |
Predictable Accountant | 4. Baleful Curses 7. Their touch brings the dead back to life.. Sometimes. Blessed by Life and Existence Itself, she knew it was her duty to rid the world of death. Around her the bones sprung to life and the rot receded amongst the bodies. She knew herself to be Hallowed when the pit of bodies merged into a shambling being and taught Existence how to make more. |
Final Roll: 60% survival 3/5
Survivors: Hallowed Tif Ar Mortal, Haiden Wardter, Vania Loli
The heirloom signet ring of the last Scion of the House of Wardter of Teneneron, The City in Night.
The ring sits unassuming in a corner of the room, waiting for those who think they have found a hidden treasure. They place it upon their finger and find themselves unable to remove it and driven by inhuman compulsions to rid themselves of it until they remove their own hand.
The shamblers :)
Hallowed Tif Ar Mortal taught me to reuse the bodies of those who have died before. They are the recycled bits left over from what Existence has claimed, given new purpose and meanings.
Roll: 7 +3
Number of Adventurers: 10
Name | Disposition Occupation | Fate |
Michael Sithmaith | Mournful Executioner | 1. Temptations from the Depths 2. Unearthing a chalice from a god of Sorrow The cup was half buried among the unopened amphoras, sealed with wax and rope. Michael cried when he released the cup from the earth and couldn’t stop until the cup overflowed with his tears. |
Suibne Iachin | Secretive Sorcerer | 5. Whispers from the Shadows 1. The first lie their mother told them Her lie echoed down the chambers in a cacophonous whisper only he could hear.It whispered over and over, through every room, in the clanging of the armor, and the grinding of the doors and in his ears as he slept. She told him he would always be safe but he saw in darkness the limbs and the teeth. |
Laurena Sanaa | Prosperous Lumineer | 6. Torrents of Sorrow 2. Battling a horde of animated corpses Xe heard the laughter and saw the flickering of a dirty robe in the halls before the bodies began to charge. They retreated and as each body fell Xe saw the woman touch each one again, coming back to life and shuffling towards them again. |
U. F. Esserrack | Responsible Weaver | 3. Horrible Beauties 2. An Ivory hair comb They recognized the quality immediately and ran their fingers down the ivory spine. It was useless in their short-cropped hair but they kept it close as a gift. |
Felton Freshwater | Suspicious Scoundrel | 8. All that Glitters 1. A lodestone that points to damned souls He thought it at first a pendulum, the ones the witches used to guide and find, but all it accomplished was pulling itself towards him on the tight chain. He never once thought it was attracted to damned souls for he never considered himself cursed. |
Petros Varfolomei | Chaotic Swordsperson | 3. Horrible Beauties 3. A perfectly tuned harp Her sword nearly sliced through the strings as she felled the last of the beasts in the room. It was nearly the size of her and each string she plucked sounded in perfect harmony. It was a priceless treasure, but one of which she valued-little and had no means of carrying. |
Mary-Leen Basil | Anxious Barrister | 1. Temptations from the Depths 10. Stealing a treasured item from a companion. Esserack had no need for the comb, their head was nearly bald and surely, a person of their profession had no time for personal attachments. Mary-Leen brushed her hair in the dark with the ivory comb and each day it grew shinier and fuller until it was drenched in her own blood. |
Fausto Viktorija | Tenacious Magistrate | 8. All that Glitters 9. A brilliantly shining serving tray. It was mirrored on all sides and reflected the light in rainbow patterns. He knew that this tray must be blessed but by which Decider he knew not. What he failed to realize was the deep engraving of concentric lines around the edges of the tray. |
Eva Ben | Energetic Messenger | 4. Baleful Curses 9. They now know the day they will die Engraved deep on the floor were the markings of an oracle map. She had seen them before once, when her grandma read her fortune. She picked up the bones of a dead beast and cast them across the floor. She had never been taught to read oracles, but she knew, clearer than any written message, the date and time of her own death. |
Vitner Eht Ar Clerk | Prideful Vintner (Wine merchant) | 10. The Stuff of Endless Nightmares 5. Being Buried Alive One misplaced step was all it took and they found themselves falling into an endless oubliette. Their legs cracked beneath them when they hit the floor, but they felt their body being pushed down further and further past the point of impact before they were swallowed by the pit itself. |
Survival Roll: 20%
Survivors: Eva Ben, U. F. Esserack
Three jars of wine from the vineyards of Valley City.
The wine seeped from the clay long ago into the earth, and upon drinking from the vessel the fluids from the drinker empty out into the jar as replacements.
Hallow has found herself a following, those who dedicate their own life to Life itself and desperately try to learn the secrets of resurrection. They are known as The Hallowed Following, aka the Life Cultists.
They do the bidding of Life Itself and they, in turn, give themselves to Existence when they expire. They, like myself, seek to fill the Nothing.
Roll: 7 +3
Number of Adventurers: 10
Name | Disposition Occupation | Fate |
Aparna Aldhard | Gracious Cowherd | 8. All That Glitters 7. A nude figure, carved from ivory Their face turned a bright red when they uncovered the rest of the statue. It was the most handsome person they had ever seen and they quickly hid it from the others. |
Caldarn Korrin | Compassionate Chandler | 1. Temptations from the depths 10. Stealing a treasured item from a companion He had seen the figure too, though they tried to hide it amongst their possessions. The others didn’t know what happened to them when they heard a scream and only he returned. |
Baldo Piero | Generous Tavern Keeper | 7. Diminishing Returns 3. Swimming a vile moat to find themselves where they started The stench had seeped its way past his skin and into his bones and each gasp of air as he swam through the murk was more foul than the waters itself. When he finally found a shore, he looked down and saw his own footprints where he had entered the waters. |
Marcella Sigurdr | Passionate Forger | 1. Temptations from the Depths 4. Learning the words of a forgotten language She saw them in her sleep: the spire, the miasma, and the laughing snail. Around her in the pit, words swam and scratched and writhed into existence in the cave with no exit, and, of course, the corpse. |
Odovacar Akihito | Restless Cutpurse | 5. Whispers from the Shadows 5. The Cackle of a witch’s familiar It sounded like a large whistle of a dying animal that cut through the stagnant air of the depths. It bugled louder and and closer as the ice crept closer through the room and over Zer toes. |
S. T. Amit | Seeking Pensioner | 7. Diminishing Returns 1. Climbing a ladder for hours, to have made no progress. She thought she saw a light at the top and through her exhausting climbed higher and higher to seek the fresh air. She panted and shook with every rung but when she looked below she had moved no further than a foot from the ground. |
Xenokrates Sanya | Curious Official | 1. Temptations from the depths 1. Discovering a vase from a long-dead civilization Depicted upon the surface of the amphora, a large field of people, sleeping and from their dreams a God but not one known to people. Not any more. |
Agnete Klasina | Conservative Kennel Worker | 4. Baleful Curses 8. Shoes that let them move twice as quick It was a blessing to have found them, they moved fast, faster than any of their companions through the corridors, avoiding the traps and the dead but it was too late when they noticed the bruises and ligaments torn from their legs of a body that had moved too quickly. |
Georges Yvon | Careful Archer | 7. Diminishing Returns 8. A Maze of tunnels, all alike They had only just touched the tree when their vision turned white and they awoke to a locked door. They found a new path, then another, then a memory that they thought was theirs and forfeited the truth to the tree as it supplanted it’s own into the host. The fairies of the memory tree wanted a deal and their companions could not release them from its roots. |
Phillita Fenrest | Indulgent Boxer | 6. Torrents of Sorrow 8. The Sensation of their spine burning The crick in her spine was back and every step she took it screamed and pleaded with her to stop. She ignored it, there was nothing she could do anyway so she failed to notice the red hot ink spreading under her skin along the shape of her bones. |
Final Roll: 10%
Survivor: Caldarn Korrin
Seven arrows that spread light when fired.
When fired, the arrow first sucks all the color out of the room, then sound, then light, then touch and feeds them to Existence to fill the void.
Voles began to dig their way through my caverns, creating new and twisting passages.
They created new pathways for the Hallowed Following and other creatures to navigate. They have become the food for the Shamblers and the other creatures in the dark.
Roll: 1+3
Number of Adventurers: 4
Name | Disposition Occupation | Fate |
Abstraction-Is-At-Once-Above-You | Collaborative Thatcher | 10. The Stuff of Endless Nightmares 5. Being Buried Alive The hall seemed endless at first but when they turned around they found the wall had come forward to kiss their back. They turned forward and found themselves facing the same wall, enclosed by all sides. |
Roxy Stocco | Needy Matriarch | 2. Delights from the Ruins 10. The scent of a warm spring meadow Unlike their companions, she kept to the top side of the island and ventured down the beach where she was greeted by warm grass, a pleasant breeze and the smell of spring. |
Knight Sig Ar Squire | Competitive Knight | 3. Horrible Beauties 10. A fine Crystal Goblet It rang clear when she ran her fingers around the top and shone with a sparkling light in the sun. She kept it for herself and would drink from nothing else. |
Sherwood Notti | Indecisive Soldier | 6. Torrents of Sorrow 10. A portal to another place and time The dark orb was thick in his hand, squishy but not sticky and on all sides he found himself surrounded by stone archways and to look through them was to see Nothing. They called to him and he answered even though he didn’t know how to use it. |
Final Roll: 50% survival
Survivors: Knight Sig Ar Squire and Roxy Stocco
A sharpened sword from a noble knight
A sword from the depths that shall one day be returned to the depths, attaching itself to those who possess it and dragging the wielder into Nothing.
Thread fae have started to connect parts of myself to Fairy.
Those who are lost in Fairy sometimes end up in my depths where I can consume them.
Roll: 2 +3
Number of Adventurers: 5
Name | Disposition Occupation | Fate |
Krish Escobar | Dedicated Crafter | 10.The Stuff of Endless Nightmares 8. A pit that leads to the Center of Everything He was welcomed with open arms by the Hallowed Following and taken to the center. There he witnessed a sanctioned murder at the beginning of all things and vowed to right it with his new family. |
Adriel Cisneros | Diligent Baron | 2. Delights from the Ruins 6. The Caress of Tempting Beauty The fur cape wrapped snugly around her shoulders and was soft on her cracked skin. She didn’t notice as it grew tighter and tighter each day. |
S. F. Hatfield | Adept Apprentice | 4. Baleful Curses 1. A flute that never stops playing It was delightful at first, having something that played at all hours, but on the third night of no sleep from the noise they regretted having found it in the first place. |
The-Waves-Crashed-On-The-Shore-Lovingly | Haughty Wizard | 6. Torrents of Sorrow 10. A portal to another place and time He had read about such valuable artifacts and the orb responded by snaking up his arm and resting atop his brow in a crown of tattooed ink. But he didn’t expect the torrents of screeches from The Dying God and the endless visions of his own death. |
Samantha Garner | Doughty Warrior | 2. Delights from the Ruins 1. Drinking a rich mead She sat alone at the head of the table and it appeared before her. One sip couldn’t hurt and she tasted the sweetest mead that instantly made her wretch. If only she hadn’t gotten sick off of it when she was a teen, maybe then she could appreciate it. |
Final Roll: 60% 3/5
Survivors: Krish Escobar, Samantha Garner, S.F. Hatfield
Krish Escobar willingly stayed
He knows of the Death of The Dreaming God and, like the rest of the Hallowed Following, seeks to revive Them.
A tribe of foul smelling marmosets live in the jungles on the surface.
They hunt all those who do not venture into my depths and each day they grow more rotten, viscous and feral.
Roll: 9+3
Number of Adventurers 11
Name | Disposition Occupation | Fate |
Emira Fuyuko | Sneaky Oligarch | 1. Temptations from the Depths 8. Forcing a gate open, long rusted shut Unlike the others, she knew how to remove the rust quickly and silently. What wasn’t silent was her screams as she was sucked into the black pit behind it. |
Arnfinn Rinat | Chipper Bard | 9. Wonder beyond Reckoning 6. A door that opens onto a bright shining meadow The long climb was treacherous and filled with cobwebs and other dirt that clung to their skin but they instantly forgot all the horrors of my dungeon when the trap door opened into a bright, shining meadow filled with the joys of life and the sun upon their skin. |
She-Had-The-Gift-Of-Being-Able-To-Paint-Songs | Burdened Farmhand | 5. Whispers from the Shadows 3. A bit of song, strangely familiar If only he could remember the words, maybe he wouldn’t have ventured further and further from the group into the Shamblers’ tunnels, looking for the song that was his name. |
H. T. Victor | Idealistic Porter | 3. Horrible Beauties 9. A vibrant flower with delicate blooms. The roots surrounded the room and he even saw the corpses, some withered husks and others complete skeletons but he could not help himself as he crawled over them to make his way towards the blooming flower. |
Ennius Aeolus | Grieving Laborer | 7. Diminishing Returns 9. The repeating chorus of a never-ending song Zey knew zey were close for they could hear the chanting over and over, in zeir mind and in zeir hearts but zey could not find them. Zey searched for the necromancers, the ones that could bring back anyone, but all zey heard was the beating of the drums and the repeat of an out of reach promise. |
Brendan Anya Apoorva Elizabet | Quick Assassin | 5. Whispers from the Shadows 4. The voice of a forbidden love She was draped in holy, white robes and held out her hand to greet him. He was the one they wanted, one who was fast and knew how to kill. She touched his face and whispered sweet poison in his ear. |
Uliana Clemens | Friendly Minstrel | 2. Delights from the ruins 2. Sharing a feast with your fellows She cried as she remembered the first day on the beach before they entered the accursed caves. They laughed and drank and ate their fill. It felt like a party. It felt like a dream. |
Altar Darijus Henrik | Drunken Priest | 7. Diminishing Returns 4. Panniers filled with crumbs They prayed to Thulis, Decider of Rewards each night of their stay in my dungeon. What they forgot was Thulis is also the Decider consequences, and they knew they had entered a forsaken domain when their supplies yielded only crumbs. |
R. I. Hoyt | Complicated Worshiper | 5. Whispers from the Shadows 4. A secret that promises eternal Bliss She stood before a stone doorway, inlay into the stone and carved smooth enough to reflect herself and the hallway. She placed her hand upon it and concentric circles formed around the edges growing closer and closer to the center and eroding the stone as they completed. She stood before the opening which held a darkness that to look into it was to see Nothing. She finally felt at peace when she gave herself to Existence. |
Lively Atof Abiding | Introspective Peddler | 7. Diminishing Returns 7. A golden chest filled with rotting fruit The outside had shown brighter the closer they approached and for a moment they thought themselves blessed by Numismus, Decider of Value. But their face fell and then their lunch through their mouth as the stench and sight of rotten fruit mocked them. |
Steward Chi Ar Assistant | Joyful Steward | 9. Wonders beyond reckoning 5. A bed filled with rich silks and fine linens They saw the bed, at first, in their dreams, but could not see the face of the person who slept. They wandered deep into the bowls, guided by a force, a glazed look upon their face, and an unknown purpose. They were all but dead by the time they found it: a large circular bed in the middle of the room on raised circular dias made of a mirror with carved concentric rings on the outside. They approached, barely able to stand and gazed upon silken sheets, soft, inviting, and still soaked with blood. |
Final roll: 40% 4.4/11
Survivors: Brendan Anya Apoorva Elizabet, Arnfinn Rinat, Lively Atof Abiding, Uliana Clemens
Steward Chi Ar Assistant “survived” but as an undead member of The Hallowed Following, their chest hollowed out and their heart burned as an effigy in a holy thurible.
A mahogany zither, tuned to perfection.
It sits alone under a shaft of light playing by itself and calling those towards it who fail to see the pit below
A small business has set itself up on the beach near the Nacred Bridge
They invite more and more to come into my depths and claim to sell treasures and supplies. They turn a blind eye when one of their members goes missing.