# DUNGEON of DREAD



## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)

INTRODUCTION:

This was begun on another thread as a simple showcase of images.  It evolved into a loose story, and then congealed enough that i thought it warranted a new thread under Story Hour. I rearranged some of the earlier pictures and added new ones to make it flow better. If it's sort of bumpy in the beginning, it is because i never intended this to flow into a real narrative. The scenes and set pieces eventually come together.  

Without further ado...

DUNGEON of DREAD​
Enter if ye dare...


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## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)

*Dungeon of Dread*

It all started with a map.









But no normal map.  A _treasure _map.  A guide to a dwarven city that fell to ruin long, long ago.  Buried in a land of hostile rocky peaks and deep, undisturbed lakes, the dwarven hold has remained lost to civilization. 







Now, a hundred years later, several parties of valorous young dwarfs have come to this place to claim glory and gold!

They are willing to risk their lives, but first they'll have to deal with the dark things that fill the gaps and hollows since their forefathers left...and that WON'T be easy...


This is not the pristine, mighty citadel of yore...






...but a dank, EVIL dungeon, a place overrun by monsters, by hideous beasts and abominations that shy from the light.

For example...


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## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)

But the gricks are FAR from the worst thing here...


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## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)




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## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)




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## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)




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## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)

And guarding over this plethora of evil, loathsome beasts, an ancient relic the dwarves left behind...


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## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)

The statue of THORADIN IRONFIST has seen its share of creatures pass through the gates.  


Today is no different...

















Obviously, these adventurers have their work cut out for them!


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## Nebulous (Apr 30, 2008)

To Be Continued...


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## Cerulean_Wings (Apr 30, 2008)

I like what I see! Minis + dungeon floors = awesomeness.

Is this a story hour of sorts aided with pictures, I take it? An interesting idea 

Who's the owner of all those minis and flooring, though? That first batch of pictures probably equals to a 3 digit number of $ spent to buy 'em


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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)

Cerulean_Wings said:
			
		

> I like what I see! Minis + dungeon floors = awesomeness.
> 
> Is this a story hour of sorts aided with pictures, I take it? An interesting idea
> 
> Who's the owner of all those minis and flooring, though? That first batch of pictures probably equals to a 3 digit number of $ spent to buy 'em




I'm the owner of both minis and maps. Pricey yes, but i don't think the first batch of pics hit 3 digits. The commons and uncommons only cost me small change.  Altogether though, over the years (and as you'll see on this thread) oh yeah, i've dropped a penny on minis...


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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)

Oblivious to the demise of the Hammer Brothers, or the tireless tromping of LAVA BRUTES below, these three adventurers notice something ELSE as they navigate a passageway strewn with webs and bones.  The air is musty and stale, and they hear a rhythmic tap-tap-tapping from somewhere nearby, as if it originates from behind a WALL...


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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)

But they DON'T find out.   They continue shuffling down the corridor, waving torches into dark corners, pushing aside clinging webs as they trudge ever deeper into the home of their forefathers. 

Behind them, the TAPPING continues, and grows LOUDER, and eventually behind the WALL...


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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)

to Be Continued...


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## Cerulean_Wings (May 1, 2008)

Still lovin' it, don't you ever stop making those  Hammer Brothers, heh, good one...

Say, where do you buy the dungeon tiles, and for how much?


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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)

Cerulean_Wings said:
			
		

> Still lovin' it, don't you ever stop making those  Hammer Brothers, heh, good one...
> 
> Say, where do you buy the dungeon tiles, and for how much?




Amazon, for around $10-$12 i think.  This particular set is (mostly) "Dire Tombs" which is hands down the best i've seen yet from WotC.  Lots of variety, lots of detail, and they're very sturdy.   But there's a real mix of tiles here, lots of them are also from Skeleton Key that i've collected over the years and just printed out on thick stock paper. Lots of the tiles are also full sheets from the various DDM battlemaps, but you're only seeing very small portions which masks what they are. And, a few are handmade later on...Photoshop and i have a longstanding love affair.


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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 1, 2008)

Wisely, the drider makes a hasty retreat, searching for easier prey on which to exact her ire.  The search does not take long.  SOON ENOUGH...


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## Nebulous (May 2, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 2, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 2, 2008)

To Be Continued...


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## Nebulous (May 2, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 2, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 3, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 3, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 3, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 3, 2008)

To Be Continued...


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## Nebulous (May 5, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 6, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 6, 2008)

to Be Continued...


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## Nebulous (May 6, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 6, 2008)

to Be Continued...


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## Cerulean_Wings (May 6, 2008)

Poor Strom!

I sure hope Mr. Firebeard makes it out alive. That angry dwarf has a fighting chance, you can see that in his determined look


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## Nebulous (May 8, 2008)

Completely demoralized and saddened by the death of STROM, his companions
mournfully bury him beneath a stack of rocks, and pay their last respects. The
gnome watches for a short while, and then decides to leave them to their grief.

HOWEVER...


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## Nebulous (May 8, 2008)

So, if anyone is wondering, when i'm shooting these things in my game room, i have
only a very loose idea of what the scene might be.  I don't even know how all of the
pieces will fit together, so when i sit down to actually combine them into something
coherent, i'm often surprised at how it turns out. Which is fun, actually, like writing is.

I sort of hated to see that little carrion rider bite it, but at the same time i loved how the
angle of the attack turned out, and now i really loathe those ugly beholder kin.  They'll get what's coming to them later on, i already have that scene mapped out.


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## Nebulous (May 8, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 8, 2008)

In the first frame of this post, there was actually going to be a dracolich in that dark hole.
I snapped a bunch of pics of it, but scrapped that whole idea later and concentrated on the beholders, the main enemy now. 

That green disintegration ray is actually the blast from the
Death Star.  Somewhere along the line, i decided the gnomes were going to be fodder. 


TO BE CONTINUED...


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## Cerulean_Wings (May 8, 2008)

You're improvising the scenes as you go? Who would've thunk it? 

I'm still lovin' it, please don't stop!   


Note: get your dirty minds out of the gutter, those of you making jokes about the above sentence!


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## Nebulous (May 12, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 12, 2008)

To Be Continued...


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## Mathew_Freeman (May 12, 2008)

Aw! It's always a shame when you reach the end of the current posts!

Still, I'll be keeping an eye on the thread and checking back - I'm enjoying it!


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## Nebulous (May 12, 2008)

Tallarn said:
			
		

> Aw! It's always a shame when you reach the end of the current posts!
> 
> Still, I'll be keeping an eye on the thread and checking back - I'm enjoying it!




Well, I usually try to stop at a dramatic point, or a cliffhanger.  I guess that can be annoying when reading a new post takes all of 60 seconds!


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## Nebulous (May 16, 2008)




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## Nebulous (May 16, 2008)




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## Cerulean_Wings (May 16, 2008)

Orcballs. *chuckle*

Good going, it looks just like a super-sweet dungeon delving situation they've got: joining forces with monsters, setting traps, all very cool.


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## Nebulous (May 20, 2008)




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## Beren024 (May 21, 2008)

*Nice*

I loved the dust effects from the toppled pillars.  Very cool


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