A Peer Beyond the Alchemical Aleph Null - a Poem-Dungeon

A dungeon (or dungeons) for False Machine's poem-dungeon challenge. 

I certainly found the challenge interesting, the poetic style is reminiscent of how I make dungeons for my own use; terse, personally evocative (unusable by others). Making a dungeon this way, especially for an audience is a very different experience. I found the limited space and a keen adherence to terseness, limited the text's utility and overall, holistic descriptiveness. At the same time the 'poetic language', while fun, used up that same space I lacked. I consider my effort an interesting failure (a critique I have of most things on my blog). 

With this is mind, the dungeon had to become binitarian; two dungeons constituting one whole. A LIGHT (more utilitarian, 'clearer' and 'useful') dungeon and a DARK (evocative and murky) dungeon. They should be used at the same time in concert with one another. Work will have to be done on the part of a DM running the dungeon to flesh it out but I hope the ideas within kindle imaginations.        

The Dungeon: Alchemists push their art beyond God's limits discovering unknowable elements. Disaster ensues. I tried to include standard D&D'isms, traps, treasures, magic swords and boss battles but it's all just a little odd and creepy.  

Aleph Null or  ℵ₀  is the mathematical term for the smallest infinite number.

DUNGEON (DARK)

DUNGEON (LIGHT)

Dark/Pulp Dungeon Name Generator

By Esteban Maroto

 A run-of-the-mill table for inspiration or fun. Roll 1d20 for each column. 

D20	Word 1	Of The...	Word 2
1	Cave(s)	Spectral	Horror
2	Temple	Demon-(ic)	Lord
3	Tomb	Eternal	Eye
4	Palace	Pagan	Throne
5	Prison	Impossible	Crown
6	Sanctum	Bleeding	Cult
7	Manor	Crimson	Sign
8	Citadel	Cerulean	Curse
9	Tower	Astral	Entity
10	Fortress	Infernal	Machine
11	Lair	Cannibal	Creature
12	Keep	Creeping	Thing
13	Barrow	Alien	Frog/Snake/Ape/Insect/Spider
14	Chasm	Nameless	Army
15	Isle	Elder	Phantasm
16	Realm	Cursed	Overlord
17	Altar	Dreaming	Queen
18	Domain	Hideous	God
19	Maze	Voodoo	Pit
20	Hall	Undying	Mage

Simple Magic House Rule for Low Fantasy or Pulp Setting Flavour

Low Fantasy. Magic is rare. Those that wield magic are burnt at the stake or revered as cult-lords. How to simply represent this through your game's mechanics?

Reaction Rolls.

Immediately reroll any NPC's reaction after a character uses magic in front of them for the first time. This means a group of initially friendly peasants can start to reach for their pitchforks when they see a PC casting spells or a gang of brigands can become hospitable (from fear of being obliterated by a powerful sorcerer). It is your discretion whether to include the magic-wielder's charisma modifier in this roll.

Rerolling reactions should only be done once and rolled only for appropriate NPC's. A group of hardened adventurers or the king's finest veterans probably wouldn't reroll reactions, they are too experienced or brave or loyal to do so. Likewise, non-sentient creatures (undead, automatons) are unaffected as are NPC magic-users and many (but not all) dungeon denizens. Cultists should only reroll reactions if the PC's do magic more impressive than their cult leader is capable of. 

To simulate more intensely inquisitorial, witch-hunting societies reroll reactions with a -2 or -4. An average reaction roll indicating a certain fearfulness or anxiety in the NPC's. Positive magic could mean the reaction roll is made with a +2; despicable magic with a -2.

If your game looks like this, don't use this house rule