Dec/Feb '22 Lite Challenge: Hidden Temple of the Purple Master

[rdanhenry]

This is the final challenge of 2022 and once I complete it, I will have finished the personal challenge I set myself at the beginning of last year to participate in every Cartographers' Guild challenge for the entire year. This will be the twenty-first map in that effort.

After generating quite a few villages and dungeons, I have sorted through the ones that I thought interesting enough to save and selected the following:

hidden_temple_of_the_purple_master.png

The name suggests an unusual color scheme for a dungeon map. While the text incorrectly uses "specie" where "species" is meant, the presence of mushrooms provides an additional basis for elaboration of the dungeon with fungal growths. The layout is sufficiently large and varied to provide adequate scope for a two-month challenge, but not so big as to be daunting.* The apes are a reasonable addition, too, as long as one approaches the place with sufficiently pulpish attitude. All in all, it's a pretty cool place to start. In fact, it might even fit into the same world as the "Rivdanalli Port" and "Treehouse Island" challenge maps I did for the first two lite challenges last year. Gonna do some lore!

* - It is, however, of sufficient size that I think will want to stick to a digital format for this challenge. Making hand-drawn dungeon maps *artistic* is something I'm not going to begin attempting with something even this size.

[Bogie]

Welcome to the Challenge rdanhenry! Cool looking map you have selected there!

[rdanhenry]

This won't be the final style, but before I started in on a more prettified "competition piece" version, I wanted to make a clear layout (making some modification to and interpretation decisions about the initial generated map). It remains fairly close to the original, with some doors moved a little to where the positioning made a bit more sense to me.

This is my practical, old-school dungeon map style I'm developing to let me get crisp maps done in GIMP pretty quickly. I could take this to the table as is, and that's the goal with this style. It isn't keyed out yet for content, but the actual dungeon is mapped. As I said, I'll be working on a fancier version for my final entry, but it will be worked on from this as a base for reference, rather than the original map, so this is an important WIP point to share.

### Latest WIP ###
hidden_temple_of_the_purple_master.png

[Bogie]

Looking forward to seeing that final fancier version!

[rdanhenry]

Lore has begun:

The Hidden Temple of the Purple Master

The Purple Master is the leader of the Cult of Ylendrid the Sleepless, a god represented by an eye or as a great amorphous mass covered with many and varied eyes. Ylendrid is said to watch all points of time and space, ensuring that the universe cannot cease to exist when not observed. The cult is somewhat anarchic and produces disruptions and a moderate amount of property damage, but only rarely commits acts of violence. Its acts of worship are artistic, whether it be graffiti on the walls of a great city, the production of mosaics in obscure locations, interpretive dance, or grand theatrics (this last being the most likely to involve some form of spectacular and dramatically-timed bloodshed). They honor their all-seeing god by providing something worth observing.

The strength of the cult has always been in its own watchfulness. Where the cult grew strong, it had its eyes everywhere. Every cultist was a spy for the cult, gathering information that the leaders put together to form a comprehensive picture of the current situation throughout the civilized lands. Eight to six centuries ago, this was the situation. The cult was strong and readily out-maneuvered its enemies. It was a good time to follow Ylendrid. Then, Barkstraid rose to power.

Barkstraid was a priest of the Sky-Cult of Gavorna. After consolidating power within his own cult, he managed to merge it with several other cults to produce the Church of the High Heavens. As the first Advocate of Heaven, he began to look around for other cults, seeking to assimilate those which were similar to the new Church and to outright replace those that were not. By the time that the threat was recognized, Barkstraid had already uncovered the existence of the Cult of Ylendrid. Once Barkstraid was able to demonstrate that the followers of Ylendrid were turning over all sorts of information to their cult leaders, other religious groups and secular institutions became wary. Enforcement of rules about “defacing” public and private property began to be more vigorously enforced. Slowly, power was pried out of Cult of Ylendrid’s hands.

Four hundred years ago, a Purple Master known as Applex Kov-Stalm established a new primary temple for the cult on Waibul. Waibul was a large island covered in jungle, swamp, and mountain. It was sufficiently obscure to provide some security, but that was not enough for Kov-Stalm. He had the surface level of the temple build on the plan of a Fergillund temple and provided the accouterments and ornamentation of a temple to Skalgar, a common deity in the nearest archipelago. Beneath the earth, the true temple to the Sleepless God was carved out of the island rock. Here, the cult could conduct its business securely. Here, the cult had a last refuge, should the worst come.

The worst did not come, in that while reduced in size and significance, the Cult of Ylendrid was never eliminated. It still gathers information and uses it for its own protection and profit. These days, it sells some of that information on, gaining much-needed resources and forming alliances of convenience. That this had led to the cult mingling more often with individuals who have little interest in art is perhaps to the distaste of some cultists, but it has been necessary. The cult endures.

However, a Purple Master known as Salrit Glass-blower gathered most of her followers from the Waibul temple for a mission to Nalbonna to recruit new members and establish an art school that would double as a cult base. This was successfully concluded, but upon return to the island, they were set upon by pirates and killed. The pirates had come in search of Astral Starcap, a mushroom found only on Waibul, which has powerful psychedelic properties and reputedly boosts both artistic inspiration and certain spiritual disciplines. The cult had certainly used them, but now what had been boon became their bane. A few followers who were left at the temple while the Purple Master traveled eventually escaped, but the temple has remained abandoned for a century.

Astral Starcaps can still be found on Waibul, and they are particularly abundant in the underground layers of the temple. Unfortunately for those who might wish to harvest them, the temple itself has been taken over by a tribe of Great Red Apes, who would not tolerate any intruders in the heart of their territory. There are undoubtedly other hazards, though likely other treasures as well.

[Bogie]

Cool Story!

[rdanhenry]

Added room numbers, fixed stairs that were going the wrong way, and provided a vertical schematic to place the level in the larger dungeon context. (The ? indicates that for this version, at least, I'm going with the old-school 'stairs blocked by rubble, GM may allow it to be cleared and develop lower levels if desired' approach.)

### Latest WIP ###
hidden_temple_of_the_purple_master.png

[rdanhenry]

And as I am building this into an adventuring scenario as well as a map (well, maps... I'll eventually have to do the surface "false temple" at the very least before I can call this complete), here's the section I've written on possible motivations to go here.


There are many reasons why a group might enter the Hidden Temple. Here are a few ideas for getting started in this locale, some of which require the group to have gained knowledge of the Hidden Temple’s existence, while others do not:

• The group is on the island under other pretexts. A storm is coming, and that old temple is the only hope of shelter.

• A Great Red Ape is being sought as a trophy or a biological specimen, possibly even a live specimen for a menagerie.

• Whether for historical research or as part of an intelligence organization, you are looking to learn more about the Cult of Ylendrid (or doing research on the Cult of Skalgar, with the Hidden Temple as a possible bonus find).

• The group represents a religious institution hostile to the Cult of Ylendrid, come to cleanse the temple of any remaining cult artifacts.

• The group represents the Cult of Ylendrid (possibly by proxy, and possibly unaware of their true patron), looking either to recover cult artifacts or to clear out the compound to allow for reoccupation.

• The group is exploring Waibul and, having found an old temple falling into ruin, will surely want to explore this structure as well.

• The group wishes to harvest Arcane Starcaps for financial profit. Which they are present in various locations around the island, they seem to be increasingly plentiful as one approaches this old temple.

• The group wishes to harvest Arcane Starcaps for scientific research purposes.

• The group wishes to harvest Arcane Starcaps for use in a magical or religious procedure.

• The group wishes to harvest Arcane Starcaps to get stoned out of their minds.

• Rumors of a ruined temple in the jungles of Waibul suggest possible profitable looking of lost temple treasures.

• The group is seeking a safe place to hide from their enemies, and they have learned of a promising location.

• After the group gets free of the wreckage of their dirigible, a half-overgrown temple is the only structure in sight.

• Some enemy/rival headed this way (for any of the above or for other reasons). Did the apes kill them? Did they have a way to get past them, requiring the group to descend into the Hidden Temple?

Of course, motives can be mixed and matched.

[Greason Wolfe]

Ah yes. Always gotta appreciate that classic look.

[rdanhenry]

Not much of an update, but I've created some "suggestion of surrounding rock" effect (there is surely a proper name for this) beginning the purple scheme. Looking for feedback. Is it too much? Too little? Too much of a mess?

And wow, did that up the file size. Probably the last time this will be .PNG format.

### Latest WIP ###
hidden_temple_of_the_purple_master.png