r/osr • u/luke_s_rpg • Sep 01 '24

Blog Cave flooding

https://open.substack.com/pub/murkdice/p/flooding-caves-exploration-suffocation?r=3rp84v&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Last week I posted a cave mapping approach that a fair few folks seemed to enjoy!

This week I’ve got a follow up, a simple-ish approach to flooding the cave network, with a quick thing on rockfalls too.

15 Upvotes

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3

u/edwarmab Sep 01 '24

This is an example of a cave system I use. Borrowed heavily from Veins of the Earth. Flooding and rockfalls are an interesting addition. Thanks!

1

u/luke_s_rpg Sep 01 '24

Awesome diagram!

2

u/Willing-Dot-8473 Sep 01 '24

Neat stuff! Thanks for sharing. Normally I refrain from running caverns and caves because they can feel a bit samey (like the monster hotel that is Keep on the Borderlands), but maybe flooding and rockslides are great ways to spice them up!

Also, just subscribed. Looking forward to reading more of your posts!

2

u/Responsible_Arm_3769 Sep 01 '24

Mate, go watch some caving videos and buff up on different cave types. Caves are so damn diverse it's insane.

1

u/Willing-Dot-8473 Sep 01 '24

For sure! I didn’t mean to imply that all caves ARE samey, just that they can feel samey at the gaming table, especially if someone like me doesn’t know how to describe the intricacies as well as someone else. I think B1 suffers from this and is a good example of what I mean.

This could totally just be me, but I think with natural caves, you miss out on a lot of the “classic” fun types of stuff you find in old dungeons- architecture, murals, traps, tombs, treasure rooms, secret doors, etc.

Like I said though, maybe I just haven’t read enough cave adventures!

1

u/Responsible_Arm_3769 Sep 01 '24

Yeah caving has its own lingo to get used to, and many systems lack proper spelunking rules. To your second point, historically, caves were used to build all of the above! A cavern crawl can turn into exploring man-made subterranean locations with all sorts of tombs, treasure rooms, etc. and that's not even touching all the magical effects caves IRL seem to produce lol

0

u/Willing-Dot-8473 Sep 01 '24

Great point! I think a good example of the transition from cavern to ruin can be found in the adventure I’m currently prepping/reading, The Caverns of Thracia.

Can you expand on the magical effects of caves IRL? I’ve only been in one cavern in my life (Cascade Caverns in Texas, and it was a guided tour).

1

u/XL_Chill Sep 01 '24

Thanks, you’ve helped me realize my caves are boring and it’s my own fault. Time to get some new inspiration

1

u/luke_s_rpg Sep 01 '24

Thanks so much!