From that silent place fear flows in unseen waves, like white fog. The shadows are many, and the wind breathes cold through the broken battlements and casements. Through it's frowning walls and dark window openings there's a lantern of the spirit which none see by but those who bear it.

On a sprawling mound of steel and rust and hate sits a clockwork castle, the technological dread that is a machineâ??s delusion.

Trapped forever in the grip of the Sea of Jade, paralyzed by the Great Curse, the Fleet of Nazran has become a hellish prison of eternal torment, and the tomb of adventurers from across the Earth.

When want and famine stalk the land, a strange tower of ashes appears in the village common, a tower holding the sacrifices of the unworthy.  Those who have the courage may reclaim these treasures…

Then suddenly all your body paralizes and you hear a voice echoing in the distance "seems like another rat has been lured to my maze," this voice was terribly cold but playfull, "come on you are not already planning on leaving, the fun has only begun."

"Calm your mind"," the mage said. "I can’t" says Raygar. "It is like my thoughts are echoing in here. It is so loud!" The mage tried to shift the burly bandit, to drag him out of the room. "This is a prayer room, what to ..." The mage practically leapt to the dais. Sitting in the center he sank in a position of reflection and prayed. The mage heard the click. The bandit sighed slightly in the tiniest relief. The mage began to drag the bandit out of the room, heading to and opening one of the doors.

A Magical Puzzle Key for opening a door. Innocuous, somewhat simple, but fun to solve, if you like puzzles.

A combination lock, possibly to open a chest or door or other entry point. A magical puzzle, for those interested.

A magical barrier of acid blocks your path. Solve the puzzle to unlock the door.

Checkerboards on floors of dungeons… is there any greater bane to adventurers?

If the adventurers are smart, they can solve this riddle and get the information they need.

To be used for the final encounter, find the final treasure, or anything that needs to be hidden away better then normal. Typical “who the heck would ever spend the time making it” but it is fun and a mental challenge for a change.

In the land of Aviontix there are ruins. A lot of ruins. There are many sand buried cities, king’s tombs (They were a very religious people, focused upon their leaving to the afterlife), and huge statuary. However, Aviontix was a kingdom so long ago, that everything has been looted. (Figure there has been a whole historical epoch or two since then) There might be a hidden tomb or something somewhere in the lands, but it is unlikely. This does not stop people from selling maps to them all the time.

“It is a door,  a stout wooden door with its frame, just standing there in the middle of the field. Why would someone put it there? And the important question, does it actually open to anything?”

Journal of Thomas Mccannon.

We have all seen articles on how Dungeons don’t work. I’ve seen such articles before. But this time, an idea struck me: Why not do a dungeon that really works? Where creatures live their lives in harmony; just the right ecological way?

Dungeons, should make sense, in an ecological way. However, to have life, you need to have a physical place to use them. This expands upon the ecological dungeon, giving it a framework to exist in.

"That is one really big door"

Ettercaps (the spindly evil woodfolk) are always good for traps: their pine woods are so dense it’s difficult to see what’s a trap, what’s a branch and what’s an ettercap…

The unwitting players tromping through the swamp won’t know what hit them.

An elaborately worked door, carefully made to balance upright on a horizontal bar, containing a deadly trap.