Dungeon Room Index: Shrines

Last time I did armories.

(Sorry this one took a little longer than expected! I got images scanned and ready and realized I'd missed some of the coloring.)

Shrines. I'm using this term as a catch-all for any kind of chapel or temple. Holy places. Places of worship and veneration.

Here are the rooms:

Shrines

I started with "chapels", and just found that that term was too limiting. Constraints are good for promoting creativity, but "chapel" was a little too constraining for me. So I went with something that could give me a little more room to breathe.

Shrines are a wonderfully evocative kind of space.

Unlike armories, shrines are almost anti-utilitarian; not to say that they don't fill a function (we're not doing the classic archeologist bit: "we don't know what it's for; it must be religious!"), just that they are wide open to including features for mostly aesthetic reasons, and that's always fun. (They are, of course, also a great place for flavor.)

Focal points

The first rule of a shrine is a focal point. It exists to divert attention and reverence to something. Here are some common examples I used:

• Altar. This implies some sort of ritual was performed here.
• Statue. A simple memorandum, probably an important individual or entity.
• Relic. An actual object of great significance is here (in other words, loot).
• Lectern. Like in a chapel. Sermons were given here.
• Coffin. An actual person is entombed here. Much like the relic but with more undead possibilities.
• Fire. For ritual burning, or perhaps a focal point for ritual dancing.

Have some fun with this; come up with something less obvious to spark new ideas (I made shrines for each of these as well):

• Plant. Something very rare or unusual, though it doesn't have to be. Probably doesn't work if your shrine is underground... (Fungi aren't plants; though you could put a special mushroom at the center of a shrine, too!)
• Egg. Intact, or maybe just the shell is left... what came out of it, and where is it now?
• Pool. Fresh and fed by a constant stream; dried up; moldy; stagnant and poisonous; water, or something else entirely like acid. Perhaps this was used for ritual cleansing of some form.
• Pit. I don't know, maybe they ritually tossed people in. Maybe a dark being rose from the depths to receive worship. Where does it lead?
• Well. Like the pit, but with more water.
• Crystal. It probably glows. Maybe it speaks. Maybe it's just a chunk of semi-transparent rock.
• Portal. Like the pit, maybe something powerful once emerged from it. Maybe once a priesthood deems a practitioner worthy they were allowed to enter, never to be seen again. Where does the portal lead? Is it ruined or still functional?
• Pillar. Of course! Why not? I imagine a particularly thick pillar engraved with important words or images. A "pillar" would technically hold up a roof, but that's not strictly necessary. It could be monolith of some kind as well.

Of course, depending on your dungeon building ethos, you might think this is a very backwards way of going about it: surely we should start with an idea of who built this shrine and then decide how to represent their worship? Do what works for you. I've found that taste can vary pretty wildly on this point.

Other features

Rapid fire, shrines are a great place for:

• Pillars. (Is it a meme yet?)
• Reliefs, murals, etc.
• Pews. For sitting and listening.
• Raised or lowered sections. Either this shrine is auditorium style to allow visitors/participants the best view of its focal point, or it's more like a pyramid, elevating the object of veneration symbolically.
• Open space. For more active ritual participation.
• Terraces/balconies/"mezzanines". (Fun word, eh?) Perhaps for ease of partitioning viewers from participants.
• (Traps.) Not very much of a visual feature on your map, to be sure, but I don't want to neglect pointing out that if a shrine holds something sacred to someone, it may warrant special protections.

Room Notes

Altars

A simple room with a few pillars surrounding an altar. Please don't use it unless you have something interesting or secret to put in here.
Water powers from fountains east and west, down the tiers to swirl--as if in a drain--around the altar at the center. A single black vase with a tall, narrow neck rests on the altar. ...Ya I don't know, it's all about the layout with this one.

Statues

A statue of a Great Angel with it's six wings towers at the center of this chamber, holding it's golden spear, commemorating victory over Darkness. Six archangels raise hand and wing in praise.
A pair of fountain's flank a statue of a towering figure, shrouded in a many-eyed cloak. One fountain is water sweet, the other is certain death.
At the head of this chamber is a tall statue of an exceptionally beautiful person; the statue was apparently once dressed in a filmy sort of robe--made to scale!--which has mostly rotted away. Water dribbles from fountains on either side and flows out the south of the chamber.
(I confess, my own instinct whenever there's water is to put something gross and threatening in it. Algea or pond scum or slimy, slippery things. But sometimes water is just water, too.)
This expansive hall rises to the cross-legged statue of the Enlightened One at it's center. Pillars flecked with remains of golden paint spread like rays of light from the statue. A huge, cracked basin in their lap is filled by the steady drip of their tears, said to grant wisdom to all who drink them. The excess water flows across the profane ground in all directions, from the raised dais to the channels below.

Relics

Water flows from one side of this chamber to the other, a broken bridge leads to a small stone pavilion. A tarnished and ornate box adorns the pedestal.

  A stone pavilion is suspended in the air by four bridges, one now collapsed. Another ornate box on a pedestal. (I guess in my mind, a "relic" is always in a special box in a pavilion...) Below is either many more floors of a tall tower, like this one; or, perhaps a wide open pillared chamber. On the east and west are ornate staircases leading down, on the north and south are raised terraces where worshippers were seated to pay their respects.

The main floor is completely separated from the relic's pedestal above. Presumably whatever it is was so holy that those below weren't deemed worthy even to look directly upon it; only to stand below, comforted in the knowledge that it was there above their heads.

Lecterns

Statues of the Teacher preside over the east and west vestibules, welcoming congregants to the chapel, and channeling their minds to the Sermons from the Teacher's book that are recounted here.
Almost an amphitheater, this chapel is an expansive chamber with excellent acoustics, where hymns were sung under the watchful eyes of Saints, engraved around the room. The Twins, pre-eminent among them, loom behind the lectern, passing judgement on the words that were spoken here.

Coffins

The Fallen One is entombed here, protected by a cage around the sarcophagus. Legendary episodes from their life are carved into the walls of this long chamber.
The body of a mythical, celestial creature is entombed at the top of a high dais. Four towering statues of the Titans hold the high ceiling aloft, keeping their silent vigil over the tomb. Maybe when the tomb is disturbed they shake the dust from their limbs to intervene.

Bonfires

Worshipers danced hand in hand around this wide chamber, to the light of open flames. A statue of their Seer stands in the middle of a large fire pit, and huge animal representations of the Four Seasons guard each corner of the room.
In the middle of this room is the Great Flame, a representation of the animating force of the universe. The room is tiered, rising gradually to the Flame. Only after proving themselves worthy in the eyes of the community were worshippers allowed to ascend ever closer to the Inner Circle.

Plants

Locked safely behind three barred doors is a glowing flower. It is not known how it can survive this deep beneath the earth. It is not known why it gives off it's own light. Surely it has some sort of magical (and valuable!) properties.
A tree has stood in this sanctuary for centuries. Status of winged creatures spread their feathers as if in flight to perch on its ancient branches. Perhaps the tree is of a rare and unusual variety, or perhaps it is common, but obviously incredibly old. Or perhaps the tree is rotted, petrified, or inexplicably shattered and scorched as if struck by lightning.

 

Eggs

At the end of this simple hall is a raised altar with a single golden egg amongst a bed of straw.
A large fire pit of long dead coals bears the remains of a great, pale egg. Something has hatched. Where is it now?

Pools

Water drips steadily down from the cracked roof of this cavern, filling a pool that is crystal clear. The drip is so gradual that the pools surface is like glass. The wearing away of the path suggests that many have come to this pool, but what were they seeking? Maybe the pool is a magical mirror that grants visions.

  This two tiered shrine bears a golden basin of water at it's head. But the water has turned entirely opaque, black as tar. Oily tendrils emerge at the edge of the bowl from its surface, reaching up the walls, and wrapping around nearby pillars.

  Shallow stairs descend into the pool at the center of this chamber. Light from above shines down on the pool, illuminating motes of dust in the air. Perhaps this pool was renowned for it's healing or transformative properties.

 

Pits

Gargoyles carved in jagged onyx loom over the path to a great, black pit. Torches dropped into the depths eventually snuff out unexpectedly in the darkness, and soot cakes the ceiling of this cavern.
A tiered descent is punctuated by a deep pit--at least the bottom is not visible--spanning the width of the chamber. The protrusions look like a bridge, yet they don't appear to have ever joined in the middle. Perhaps observances here involved passing something significant over the pit, or demonstrating bravery by jumping the gap.

Wells

Hidden deep in the lowest level of a forgotten temple is the Well. Water flows into its depths from four directions, splashing down to a larger body somewhere far below. A platform stands, elevated over the center of the Well. Cracked murals in black and faded red depict sacrificial offerings to this well, and a scaly, many-toothed beast devouring them deep below.

  Water crashes from a wide opening, high up on the wall, down into this well. Smaller pipes spill into channels on the floor, and out either side of the room. Carvings on the wall depict people of all races coming to the Well, and carrying away jars and vases overflowing with water.

  This well sports large wheels, like the steering wheel of a ship, attached to a pulley mechanism with great chains. The chains are rusted and broken, and the aquifer below has long since dried up.

Crystals

A rough hewn crystal on a pedestal glows and hums with a dim purple light. Those who enter the room feel a gentle brush on their mind. The believing hear a soft and distant voice.
I imagine worshippers entering the outer hall, bearing candles, and walking for miles around the central chamber in prayer. Those in the outer circuit walk clockwise, those in the inner circuit walk counter-clockwise. Each time they pass one of the cardinal entries to the central chamber, they observe the reflections of their light in a huge, intricately and flawlessly cut crystal, divining meaning from the illumination of it's many facets.

Portals

At the head of this room is a crumbled archway. From the remains of depictions around the room you gather that it must have led somewhere beautiful. Far more impressive than this wasteland...
At the head of this chamber is a portal of rippling grey mist, softly illuminating the room, like reflections off of water. It becomes gradually more agitated as living beings approach it.

 

"Pillars"

Three monuments stand on a raised platform of this hall. Each carved with runes and simplistic depictions of human-like figures. A life history? A genealogy?

  At the intersection of four long, wide hallways is a towering obelisk, inscribed with cramped, uniform lines of text. At the base of each face is a bed of glowing coals.

The focal point is a lie

As a final note, I have lied to you. Or at least "all rules are meant to be broken". While it's true that a shrine should be a shrine to something, that certainly doesn't mean there has to be one singular object in the middle that everything points to. So pick a subject to be revered, and then try thinking how to disperse that veneration for a space that breaks my mold.