A-Z Desert Ruins

This has been written over several years so apologies for style inconsistencies. Let me know if any numbering glitches or repeated entries my fried brain might have made.

Soon
d100 secret contents in an ancient monument
d100 magic coins

Have a zine on the way patreon and GOATQUEST book is up now

This is for my Aegypt or Exilon settings and any setting with old desert ruins with a bronze age imperial flavour. Desert stuff is a long favourite and one of my original dozen dungeon zones was a ruined desert tomb. Any setting with sand and sprawling ancient ruins could use this. You could be medieval middle easter on European like people plundering the extreme ancient remains or you could be a later bronze age civilisation digging up a more familiar ancient civilisation they still share many features with. In a medieval expedition, the languages will be unreadable without magic or finding some rare library or scholar. For bronze agers, the script and style will be of an older tradition but the language is still in use by scholars, wizards, priests and scribes like Latin was in Europe. While this is inspired by dead middle eastern civilisations and the fantasies of ruins and exotic plunder it is also drawing on the weird fantasy of Robert Bloch, Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E Howard. This was part of my first dozen adventure zones and has merged with my bronze age campaign work.

Burial Rites, Undead & Society 
So this setting is a bit different from my gothic European ones for the classic cleric.
Some evil clerics think turning people into undead makes them live forever or is a possible punishment (leave undead to guard a rich real tomb). 

I'd like to in the long run have a cantrip to make a corpse undead proof as long as the corpse is not defiled. I like the idea that souls have physiology and different parts that do certain things.

The normal idea that sanctified ground covers an area say around a church or sanctified ground, the ancients or neutral priests preferred to place wards that acted as barriers to contain the undead. Thus undead could be used to protect graves. Angry dead could sometimes be appeased with gifts (possibly neutral priests of old could calm undead or with improved success make them return to their burial place or home to sleep). Neutral priests see undead not so much as things to be destroyed but as ancestors who would prefer to sleep and rest undisturbed. Undead roaming about killing people has a time and a place and protecting the dead is ok. When they roam too far it is time to fix the wards and try to placate the dead, find what makes them angry. Some types of undead may interact with people occasionally and will interact with other undead. Undead might bother someone and their ancestors may intervene to protect them. Necromancers speaking to the undead is tolerable but enslaving the undead to mostly do evil is wrong. Some peoples place idol barriers around communities trapping zombies inside so enemies must pass through them.

Druids would rather bodies be stripped of flesh and bones buried or entombed in stone or earth.  Some use spells like conjure swarms or bugs or worms to strip skeletons or allow vultures to strip them. Some plant an acorn or other tree in the corpse. This helps certain spirits and beings who use remain to create new animals with magic. These new beings don't have any continuity of personality. Reincarnation spells send dead on to their next form faster with some memories intact growing to adulthood in fairie land in a dreamlike blur. Even the old memories of a former life seem like a dream and emotional attachments are often diminished. Many don't enjoy it and it is natural to act done in desperation to return warriors and heroes to battle not just to live longer. Making undead interferes with nature and necromancers are dangerous foes of the life force. Making a few undead to guard a holy place or wilderness against destruction is more common in the past. People got really sick of necromancers claiming to have useful community outcomes for their powers.

A few things on Ruin Flavour
Ruins beg the question and are symbolic of mystery
-What happened to this obviously wonderous civilisation and the region over time?
-What people lived here? What were their gods? How did they fail?
-Were they entirely human? prehuman? demihuman? alien

To make these weirder more alien mix with some of my more elder god type ruins and mix in more prehistoric monoliths and monuments. Ruins should be older, more worn and more alien. Possibly mixed with fossils implying millions of years old rather than just a few thousand. 

d12 What Ruined This Civilisation?
1 Over irrigation and rises of salt made area a barren waste
2 Desertification as rainfall diminished, coastline or rivers might move and the city declined

3 Famine caused by weather and vermin followed by riots and destruction
4 Plague devastated the population and destroyed elites
5 Enemy nations besieged city and eventually destroyed it or moved trade routes
6 CIty cursed by the gods as punishment for hubris
7 Civil war divided the country into irreconcilable factions who destroyed the kingdom
8 A dangerous ancient faction caused decline d4 1=dragon cults 2=necromancers 3=elementalism 4=cult of the outer darkness

9 Continual war d4 1=expansion was unsustainable and collapsed 2=barbarian hordes destroyed the decedent civilisation and traces of magicians 3=goblinoids, orcs or beast folk invaded 4=demihumans united to avenge selves on humans for past grievances
10 Various neighbouring peoples united to destroy this land
11 Natural DIsaster d4 1=flood or tidal wave 2=earthquake 3=falling star from heaven 4=
12 Magical calamity d4 1=wizard 2=divine 3=demon 4=dragon plague

Decor
Spirits and deities are common in relief and statue art. The great deities get more impressive monuments but tiny shrines and art depicting lesser gods is common sometimes in mass or tucked into a bigger monument or in a quiet corner alone. Mythological creatures and scenes are common.

I have barrel tables for my euro fantasy dungeons and urns for my Exilon games as the standard container to smash in dungeons. 

Script and text praising a nation, ruler or goods is common. Sometimes poetry. Many bricks have inscriptions and tablets of text are common but mostly recepts.

Animal Motifs are very common in art and many gods and spirits have pets, riding beasts, chariot teams, animal masks or heads or beast forms. Some gods had their own abhuman beast folk servants. Heraldic beast of a city might appear often.

d12 Most Common River Beast Folk
1 Hippo
2 Cat
3 Rat
4 Minotaur
5 Sheep or Goat
6 Goose or Duck
7 Crocodile
8 Ibis
9 Fish 
10 Turtle 
11 Snake
12 Baboon

d12 Most Common Desert Beast Folk
1 Hyena
2 Lion
3 Eagle 
4 Jackal
5 Vulture
6 Hawk
7 Camel
8 Preying Mantis 
9 Scorpion 
10 Lizard 
11 Snake
12 Bat

d100 Building function key
01-04 A Armoury
05-10 B Barracks
11-13 C Cemetary
14-20 D Arena
21-24 E Shaft
25-30 F School
31-33 G Garden
34-36 H Procession Hall
37-38 I Inscriptions
39-41 J Counting House
42-45 K Trap
46-47 L Library
48 M Merchant
49 N Storehouse
50-54 O Open Square
55-60 P Palace
60-61 Q Monument
62-64 R Tomb
65-80 S Shrine
81-85 T Temple 
86 U Arcane
87 V Habitat
88-93 W Water
94 X Secret chamber
95 Y Museum
96-100 Z Animal Pens

A Armoury
Armouries are storehouses of ancient weapons that range from a locker in a house or ship or watch house to huge work halls for the military and produce more. Many weapon depots are manned with guards locked inside who dispense weapons through bars to men. Tablets record weapons were taken out of the armoury and repaired. Smithies and weapon-making armouries often have open areas and chimney stacks for furnaces.

1 Household armoury often kept in a cabinet or locker or chest for a large household or boat crew or warehouse with d4 knives, d6 short swords, d6 clubs and one d4 1=buckler shield 2=long sword 3=mace 4=hand axe. Often lair of a snake or scorpion
2 Watchhouse  armoury used by hunters or skirmishers or missile troops such as on walls or towers often in a chest or locker or small room with d6 daggers d4 short swords d6 bows d4x100 arrows, d4 javelins, 2d4 darts, d100 sling stones possible lair of tomb baboons
3 Militia armoury in a chest or cupboard with d6 helmets, d4 leather armour suits, d6 shields, d6 spears and a d4 1=short sword 2=hand axe 3=shortbow and 20 arrows 4=d4 javelins often a squad of skeletal undead soldiers arise here if disturbed 
4 A Two-person armoury with a strong door holding 30 weapons of local militia mostly spears, maces a few swords and axes pls several bows and 200 arrows only 1in6 haunted by spectral minions at work
5 A smithy with a dozen weapons and six suits in production under a weapons smith and an armourer with a d6 extra youth assistants. Often has some scrap and looters often take bronze ingots and anvil but 1in6 times the spectral minion of the smith defends it 
6 A Four-person armoury with racks of 100 spears 20 bows 500 arrows and 30 other weapons including an axe, mace or small sword, 12 suits of armour, 80 light shields, all bronze when not plundered. Tools for repair at workbenches are common too 1in6 bronze living statues of workers awake to defend the room
7 A great smith workhouse for a dozen smiths and assistants and two furnaces 1in6 is a lair for small elemental 2=hellhound 3=scorpion man 4=medusa 
8 Stables for military horses with tack and harness, smithy, leatherworker, and other craftsmen and stable workers once worked here with niches for animals and d4 chariots. 1in6 chance of an undead chariot crew with skeletal horses hostile to life
9 Funeral Armoury has elaborate relief wall art of soldiers in various uniforms fighting and executing kings enemies. A d4 spectral minion a round step from the artwork with a d100 more waiting to return to the living world to defend the tomb 
10 Warehouse for military field equipment like tents, bedrolls, uniforms, medical supplies, food ready for war often guarded my spectral minion's supply sergeants unwilling to release any goods without form and an authorisation seal on a tablet

B Barracks
Barracks are locations where troops and guards would rest and train in a state of readiness to deploy, including smaller watch houses and forts. Some are places where guards supervise an area others are housing for them. A parade ground is usually attached as well as an armoury, a doctor, supplies and other goods.

1  Guard post for one mostly a niche (1in6) skeletons will awaken if intruders pass
2 Two guards outpost with some records of patrols and two-person cell,  could be a tower outdoors, 1in6 are used as a lair d4 1=ghouls 2=beast folk 3=snake 4=mummified cat
3 Guardhouse for policing a district with four guards at all times, bunk beds, spears, 4 person cell and records of local area 1in6 chance of being lair d4 1=giant scorpion 2=clan of baboons 3=giant snake 4=sphynx
4 Squad barracks for 12 with bunks and footlockers and a stove, dining table and office. 1in6 chance a d12 skeletons arise here 
5 Militia hall with lockers of equipment, uniforms, loose d6 spears, d6 daggers and d6 javelin around. Mostly a hall with office, storage and washroom and stove. 1in6 chance a d6 zombie troopers here will arise
6 A watch house where several apprentice Lv d4 wizards and possibly 1in4 chance of a 4th level master were stationed here with 4-5 beds, familiar pens, and crumbling tablets of common military wizard spells and a well-equipped kitchen with magic ingredients. 1in4 have d4 skeleton wizards with d4 levels each
7 A military stockade where thirty troops and leaders based with bunks, kitchen, officers quarters, mess area, wash house, well, offices, cells for 4 and storerooms for armoury and supplies. 6d6 skeleton troops here, half use spears half use bows 
8 Military shrine with unit histories, honour roll, banners and flags, remains in urns with artwork on walls and a statue of a leader or hero or idol of a war god. Offerings provide a minor blessing for an hour d4 1=+1 to hit 2=+1 saves 3=+1HP 4=+1AC
9 Fire House for dozen guards and push wagon with buckets of water and sand. Includes barracks, well and charms preventing fire or fire elementals. Burning mummies might run here d4 1=water weirds in well 2=water elemental in well 3=salamander bound here where nothing burns 4=burning spectral minions of firefighters 
10 Royal guard barracks with wall art, finery and pools. D6 fancy helmets d6 shields d6 shortswords and some scraps of ancient bronze armour. 1in6 chance a d4 wights arise here angry at living wear bronze plate with swords and bucklers

C Cemetary
These locations are for the burial of the dead. They are designed to house the dead forever and provide the dead with supplies in the underworld to last forever. Headstones, crypts and tombs often are used by descendants as places to leave offerings for the dead to continue to live in the underworld. When ancestors run out of luxury or the essence of it from material goods or artworks they join the mass of starving beggars in the underworld eating nothing but dung and ash forever. This causes parts of the soul to sometimes return to the corpse and reanimate it. Some volunteer to become guardians of a location and are made into undead while buried alive. Certain wards contain undead in locations such as tomb or necropolis.

1 Stone sarcophagi with a wooden coffin inside often a d6 in number, 1in4 contain an undead d4 1=zombie 2=ghoul 3=wight 4=mummy 
2 Stone crypt dedicated to a wealthy person of the family with d6 grave goods and ad8-2 undead 1in4 contain an undead d4 1=zombie 2=ghoul 3=wight 4=mummy 
3 Small cemetery with 5d6 headstones and a d6 crypts, 1in4 have a wall and magical guardians d4 1=snake spirit 2=ghouls 3=spectral minions 4=mummy
4 Large walled cemetery with several shrines, 5d6 crypts and over a thousand headstones. A large area will have many undead plus d4 1=vulture beast folk scavengers 2=human graverobbers 3=cultists of unfathomable sect 4=priests here to guard dead and put undead to rest
5 Sprawling commoner cemetery with common graves, d6x10 crypts and a d4 large tombs often will have 2d6 ghouls lurking here
6 Mastaba tomb, a great slab of bricks with funeral shrine and shaft to a tomb chamber below or inside. Spiritual minion guards plus a mummy in a sarcophagus with treasure
7 Secret entrance shaft to d6 separate related tomb chambers deep underground with one tomb being the family head. A d4-1 mummies sleep per tomb in sarcophagi. Traps and other undead guard corridors and treasure d4 1=24 skeletons 2=2d6 ghouls led by ghast 3=d4 wights 4=spectral minions form from murals and tomb art
8 Vast tomb palace of the dead complex with the template,  vaults of grave goods from life, guarded by d4 1=d6 bone golems 2=d4 beast headed mummies 3=beast headed djinn 4=elementals
9 Mausoleum complex with hundreds of dead interred inside with personal grave objects mostly jewellery. Most undead are zombies, skeletons and ghouls but each complex has a boss monster d4 1=Greater mummy with priest levels 2=skeleton necromancer 3=deathknight 4=ghoul king  
10 Pyramid or huge stone or brick monumental tomb structure with various passages, sealed sections, secret doors, traps, treasures and guardian undead. Each complex has a boss monster d4 1=greater mummy with priest levels 2=lich 3=deathknight 4=ghost with wizard levels. Undead are very disciplined defenders having strict hierarchy and drills

D Arena
Arenas are places for public spectacles, events and entertainment. The larger the venue the more glorious the spectacle. Some use for public fights for the masses and the larger more dedicated ones are more brutal and cruel 

1 Small circular arena - for theatre, speeches, public assemblies. Also served as simple public arenas for fights with men and monsters. d4 1=spectral minion actors 2=spectral minion philosopher giving lecture really wants an audience to get ideas 3=revenant gladiators fight, regenerate and fight again for eternity 4=spectral minion wizard a villain from long ago
2 Large oval arena - for large public events including sports, gladiator teams, religious spectacles of the ancients. Many corpses lay about seating, some are really ghouls or minor undead d4 Spectral minion gladiator show may turn on audience 2=spectral minion religious procession statues of gods and chanting 3=dragon lives here with charmed minions 4=two gladiator ghosts want flesh bodies to fight to the death in
3 Gladiator school - barracks with training area, cells, gym and clinic for injuries and VD with owners office and a mess area for dining and wash house. Exotic armour and a few weapons often lay about and artworks dedicated champions of the school of past or patron gods. Undead gladiators with exotic weapons d4 1=zombie 2=ghoul 3=wight 4=spectral minions
4 Hippodrome - elongated arena for races and sports with shrines in the centre and stables complex. If you go on the tracks undead awake d4 1= 2=spectral chariot teams appear having a race 3=mummy chariot team with skeletal horses 4=death knight in a chariot with skeleton warriors
5 Hydrodome - arena flooded for battles with boats with arena seating d4 1=spectral minions reenacting famous naval battle with two bireme crews killing each other 2=hungry sea monster 3=kelpie lives here with some evil nixie familiars 4=were crocodiles live here and are hungry
6 A public square - where leaders spoke and great processions passed through d4 1=spectral minions of ancient ruler addressing the mob 2=spectre of executed traitor bound here 3=dozens of skeletons arise from sand and under cobblestones of plaza 4=booming voice of an ancient ruler rebukes living intruders
7 Fighting Pit - a grubby hole where illicit fights are held while that above scream cheers and place bets with several cages for contestants. A VIP area with bar gets the best seats. d4 1=spectral minion gladiators 2=skeleton sword fighters respawn daily 3=zombie wrestlers who never tire 4=malicious invisible evil imp uses suggestion to start fights 
8 Royal plaza - for parades and spectacles made before the ruler, lined with statues of kings, queens, gods and sphynxes around outside with great central throne overlooking the square. d100 1=hundreds of spectral minion dancers performing 2=
 3=Lich king ruler watching the military display of 60 skeletons in precision formation marching with spear and shield 4=two undead chariot teams battle each day from some ancient noble feud
9 Arena - where wizards battled and the audience raised well away from the battle. Wizard bloodsports were popular with duels and fights to the death here once common spectacles. Now daily battles still take place d4 1=spectral wizards battle with marvellous illusions and summoned creatures 2=demons are bound into arena  3=two opposite elementals 4=efreeti and a genie
10 Colosseum - huge arena for sport especially blood sports, haunted by voices of cheering crowds and screaming victims. Outer seating has some zombies, ghouls and gloomy spectral minions but the inner arena has a great spectacle 1=two spectral minion great monsters fighting 2=two spectral armies battle reenacting a famous battle 3=spectral minions torture and flails victims who refused to fight as mid-show spectacle 4=spectral minion spectacular sacred orgy with beast folk, satyrs centaurs and other hybrid creatures depicting some religious myth

E Shaft
These shafts are mostly for transporting items through the complex although some are traps or even filled in to block intruders. Some are hidden with secret doors and in architectural features and shadows. 

1 Air shaft connected to surface if buried complex or connected to a far deeper level or complex d3 x 100m long that average size humans can crawl through but larger might get stuck
2 Open shaft to a lower level with detailed wall art d3m square hole
3 Stair well to a lower or upper level
4 Service shaft a 1m square concealed shaft with a secret trapdoor entrance connecting levels
5 Shaft has been filled in with sand requiring labour or magic to remove or days work for a work crew with tools
6 Concealed pit drops 4 floors for 4d6, lid closes after victm falls in. d4 1=spikes +2d6, lid closes over pit once victim falls in 2=floor 4d6 save half, 3d4 1HD poison snakes slither out 3=floor 4d6 save half, giant scorpion sits on pile of bones 4=floor 4d6 save half, into a great pit full of dead tomb robbers now 3d4 undead zombies, also full of trash and old weapons
7 Concealed pit drops 4 floors, lid closes after victim falls in, d4 1=spikes pop out and walls close in d6 rounds until take 4d6 round crush save half, once dead resets 2=elemental or lesser demon or undead is bound into the pit 3=teleprts you ten floors up into sky to drop 4=drops a 6d6 slab on top of fallen victims save for half8 Well with d4 floor drop in water level with a ladder going down graffiti-covered shaft often home to some drowned undead or creature like a water weird
9 Sloped pit goes down towards lower level after a few stories down entry seals and d4 rounds and a 6d6 sliding stone slab on a sledge slides down crushing all in path and breaking through the wall into the lower level. A save allows you to leap over the stone slab
10 Bottomless pit after 40 foot teleports you back to top until you reach terminal velocity. Victims starve or try and catch themselves for 20d6 damage save halves. Something already falling d4 1=dried corpse of a tomb robber 2=angry skeleton soldier 3=bronze +1 weapon 4=cursed item

F Schools
These are places of learning and training used by the well off but also for administration and copying documents. Some specialise in particular skills. Scribes tended to start working as apprentices and some went to trade schools but the ones for the elites built of stone lasted better than the rude shacks and workhouses 

1 Schoolhouse for a dozen privileged youths learning basics of literacy. 
2 Large school with separate rooms or buildings for various ages with a hall and a courtyard
3 Scribal office where a senior scribe kept records, used abacus and a calendar for planning
4 Scriptorium where scrolls and books were copied by a dozen or more scribes
5 Academy where a great teacher and famous students would teach some religious or magical or philosophical doctrine and techniques used for political debates. Many have several small arenas or a plaza for open-air teaching and small rooms for students to contemplate and a hall
6 House of Eunachs where they are trained as servants, scribes or elite bodyguards of ruler depending on talents
7 Sages chambers where a great scholar worked with library and students from most important youths in private
8 University where scholars and wizards work to expand knowledge of the universe
9 Military academy where war is taught to youths d4 1=chariots 2=cavalry 3=sword fighting 4=unarmed fighting style with a few weapons as part of a martial art
10 Seminary where priests and monks have initial studies and training before appointments

G Garden
Gardens were used by ancients for pleasure and food but also medicine and for the sake of learning. Many herbalists used small gardens with exotic plants. Temples and palaces often har gardens and parks and even employed druidic priests to care dor them. 

1 Herbalist garden - small locked courtyard is often hidden with exotic herbs in ornamental pots some rare and exotic specialisation d4 1=healing 2=divination 3=poison 4=narcotic
2 Lotus garden - with pools of flowing water, where lotus flowers grow of several types but mostly hallucinatory blue lotus flower which is drunk in wine. Pleasant lounges and statues here make it a luxurious private place 
3 Kitchen garden - hidden away in gap or on a roof providing exotic garden ingredients for the cooks of the nobility. May have kept some birds and animals in cages.
4 Pleasure garden - pleasant hidden courtyard of scented flowers, songbirds, fountains and wind chimes and artwork depicting dancers and goddesses of love and pleasure
5 Courtyard garden - with meandering paths, several manicured fruit trees, a pool and several game birds and tame gazelle that can be eaten each day and return
6 Parkland - with a mostly intact wall. of large open grassland where holy herd of the ruler keeps favorite herd beasts d4 1=cattle 2=deer 3=wild ass 4=gazelle with a surrounding wall
7 Druidic Temple - an open area with a stone circle or artificial earth mound or even a grotto cavern with a natural luscious garden 

8 Garden of Delight - a small gated garden growing narcotics, perfume and incense ingredients often visited by nobility possibly operated by a cult or religion 
9 Water garden with pools, fish ponds, birds and trees. Small boats can ride on pools and streams and there are features including a hidden grotto only reachable by water
10 The Great Garden - a walled garden thick with vegetation, statues, rare fruits and herbs. Once druid priests grew rare plants here for royalty and temples. Some buildings have tiers with irrigated gardens now overgrown with trees. Exotic monkeys and lizards and animals from far away have gone feral here even some monsters. Cages and courtyards for rare creatures menagerie are a major feature. Fine statues some also from foreign lands are in their own courtyards some with altars and shrines. The outer wall may be breached with vegetation bursting out. In some places, without water, only certain hardy plants and animals will survive. Water screws and other impressive water moving devices remain most not working

H Procession Hall
A wide hall where soldiers marched or important delegates marched on ritual occasions to the palaces or great temples. Such areas are wide and decorated with relief art, tiled floors, banner poles and other features. Frequently they act like highways in the biggest ruins and are generally 4+d8m wide or more

1 Corridor well paved with stone slabs and walls have faded murals of soldiers fighting

2 Corridor with 1m high statues of seated mythical beasts along the way every 3m

3 Corridor with huge mythical beast shaped statues holding up the ceiling, brightly painted in red, black, gold and blue, scenes of palace life in stunning mosaic tiles

4 Corridor with great columns reaching to the ceiling carved in the shape of 1=lotus flowers 2=sacred trees 3=bird headed guardian genius 4=gods

5 Corridor had flowing water features and luxurious gardens, some are still green and overgrown with creatures living in them. Murals of gardens with tiles depict fabulous creatures and the celestial tree the axis of the universe

6 Corridor lined with hundreds of shrines to gods, kings, petty spirits and one to the unknown god in case they missed any and some space for more

7 Walls are carved with scenes of gods, and paradise. Turns out to be quite erotic for gods and the worthy chosen

8 Corridor with funeral murals of a ruler being prepared for death and then rising to meet the gods in the underworld, undead guardians are often buried here to keep out thieves by night

9 Corridor with images of magicians working wonders and creating armies and workers, some radiate magic and figures can step from the art to attack intruders 

10 Corridor with arcane and astrological symbols especially on the ceiling with planar beings in the sky d4 1=haunted 2=time gate to past 3=dreamland 4=underworld

I Inscriptions
Many areas in the ruins contain inscriptions and names of rulers and officials and priests but some examples stand out as significant. These are often glorious and historic wonders and scholars would treasure seeing such places 

1 An ancient code of laws made by a king partly fair and familiar yet partly strange and cruel. Knowing it may help deal with beings living here by the old ways
2 A great relief carving of a king with lists of his great achievements d4 1=warrior king crushing enemies with piles of severed heads 2=king overseeing workers on monument or temple construction with lists of taxes collected for project and other great buildings 3=king being anointed by gods with lists of dynasties since time began
3 Bird headed geniuses sprinkling holy water from pinecones dipped in buckets on tree of life while others care for gazelle and will animals, text evokes protection of land spirits and guardian spirits
4 Ancestors arriving, settling and building a city and palaces, the text describes first inhabitants and their struggles with enemies and their superhuman heroes and gods that defended them
5 People worshipping the king who in turns worships at the feet of gods who ordain the king, prayers to the great gods and the kings patron god is praised the most
6 Gods battling monsters of mythology with prayers of gratitude d6 1=giants 2=dragons 3=fish demons 4=desert devils 5=scorpion men 6=wicked efreeti
7 Pastoral scenes with poetic prayers to the gods of beasts and pastures and forests
9 Scenes of athletes performing some wrestling beasts with lists of famous athletes names
10 Prophetic mural with words of some ancient seer, a good opportunity for future campaign threads (players might recognise a face)
  
J Treasure House
The great empires of old had wealth unimagined and such treasures were stored in special chambers and counting houses to record taxes and accounts and such. Many officials had these responsibilities and some such counting houses were luxurious indeed

1 A stone slab door sealing a small room with several locked chests guarded by a golem
2 Locked heavy door sealed by spells, guarded by sphynx with chests and accounting tablets
3 Sealed vault with a great stone slab. Inside are hundreds of boxes with ancient credit notices of money owed by some forgotten king
4 Bronze and wood door with winding stairs up or down into the locked tiny room with a table, chair, ledgers and stacks of thousands of coins 
5 Accounting scribe hall with desks, abacuses, scales and dusty empty money boxes, spectral minions or other petty undead spirits remain as counting incomplete
6 Great sealed door with the chamber of treasure chests guarded by living statues
7 Great open chamber with treasure chests on stone benches. If entered portcullis gate closes and the pit opens inside releasing ghouls
8 Barred chamber with chest on a pedestal, the bars can be lifted but requires several oxen and pulleys to lift bars. Once bars are lifted wraiths pour from cracks in the floor unless correct prayers are muttered   
9 Great mechanical bronze vault door with a complex coded lock that releases scorpions on any failed attempt to open the combination. Inside are chests of treasure guarded by a mechanical giant scorpion
10 Bricked up doorway with camber behind with a pit of coins and semiprecious stones some former ruler wallowed in for pleasure. A glaring statue of a god stands over the pit and contains a guardian spectre 

K Trap
Ancient traps are often cunningly incorporated into architecture but the best were enhanced with magic or can reset themselves with no repair crew. The shafts section has several more traps.

1 Narrow walkway over pit dividing area with of d4 1=spikes +2d6 2=pit of flaming coals 2d4 damage per round save for half 3=sand with d4 giant antlions 4=boiling oil 2d4 damage per round save for half. While balancing across a menace makes it harder d4  1=stymphalion birds shoot iron feathers 2=sphynx on other side push you in pit if you don't answer a riddle 3=harpies fling diseased faeces and attack 4=manticores in pit shoot at those crossing and fly up to push foe into the pit
2 A great bolt casting apparatus fires down a passage possibly harming several victims in a line firing and taking a turn to reset d4 1=baliastia bold 2d8 2=lightning bolt 4d6 3=fireball 5d6 4=dath ray
3 Pendulum passage with a d4 pendulums in a row save vs each or take 2d6 
4 The corridor ends sealed trapping intruders in and d4 1=secret door releases a d4 beast headed guard mummies 2=walls close in over 2d4 rounds then crush for 2d6 per round 3=drops in a rolling stone sphere save or crushed for 5d6 4=released an elemental
a secret door allows an exit from the hall
5 A pair of stone statues are living statue guardians
6 Phantasmal scorpion appears and stings who crosses ward save or paralysed for 4 turns
7 Fire sigil explodes 6d4 save for half if certain floor section touched but visible to detect magic or invisible (can replace with an electric sigil or a cold sigil)
8 Twelve poison dart launchers worked into artwork attack as 4HD with d3+poison
9 Deadfall if triggered drops a 4d6 stone save to avoid, block teleports back after a turn
10 Pit opens splitting a room, growing wider with a two floor drop into d4 1=spikes +2d6 damage 2=fire 3d6 per round for a turn then closes up 3=zombie jackal headed warriors with halberds 4=four crocodile lion hybrids run about growling hungrily

L Library
From small scribal archives to massive collections and specialist collections, papyrus scrolls and clay tablets in collections date back thousands of years in the ancient tongue and even older scripts. 

1 Chest or cupboard with a collection of a dozen scrolls and tablets mostly contracts, religious works with 1in6 chance of a spell tablet, guarded with a d4 1=snake 2=scorpion 3=curse 4=poison dust
2 Tiny personal library with floor to ceiling shelves of scrolls and tablets and a small desk
3 Scholars collection of great works and historical documents stacked in shelves 
4 Small library of forbidden lore with strange stone tablets, unfamiliar leather scrolls, collection of skulls, idols, maps, cult books, collections of fables and madmen journals. Many of the best books are locked and chained to cases or reading stands. Often some kind of guardian protects the chamber d4 1=vulture folk wizards with guards and vulture headed lion pets 2=fanatic cult led by evil wizard 3=sphynx or shedu keeping evil lore from humankind unless a quest taken to prove worth 4=Crypt keeper (looking a bit like a lich)
5 Scribal school library of classics, taxonomic lists on various subjects and encyclopedia of ancient lore. Clay styluses, tablets and papyrus scrolls are here many crumbling. 1in4 times a spectral school master scolds and whips intruders grumpily 
6 Noble house library with a collection of classics and worthy books in tablet and scroll form in attractive shelving that looks impressive. Works are in good condition and protected by magic in the ornate shelves. Household bookkeeping for business and family is often here too. Many works are chained to shelves d4 1=spectral minion librarian 2=shocking magic runes 3=protection from evil 4=summon a willow-the-whisp to protect them
7 Great Library - a collection of all worlds books and a great centre of learning. Including student records, various theses, reference works and account records. Vast and sprawling often with a guardian creature d4 1=dragon-scorpion hybrid 2=sand elemental (as earth) 3=sphynx 4=spectral librarian who sorts books and says "shhhh" attacks as a spectre if  angered too much
8 Wizard Collection is a tablet and scroll collection for spells and magic research. Find research notes on a d8-1 level spell per day searching. The cabinet is locked and guarded by a d4 1=Imps 2=d4shadows 3=spectral minion wizard owner 4=wraith
9 Temple Library collection guarded by four mummies in guided cases each with a flail and a crook. The tablets and scrolls are well ordered and the walls have spectacular inscriptions and paintings of myths. Magical lamps light the room eternally. A deity will take note of the mummies destruction or vandalism for later revenge
10 Divine Library - this luminous magic library with golden shelves, lapis tablets and golden scrolls is guarded by snakes, fire, a force wall and winged divine animal hybrid spirit noble is on guard. Mortals should not pass and the spirit hunts thieves to return the books. There is a 9th Lv wizard spell and other spells of a high-level wizard and biographies on thousands of gods and speculations of their lineages

M Merchant

Merchants can include small hole in the wall stalls to marketplace bazaars and merchant caravan stations. Many temporary structures like tents and wagons will leave some ruined areas empty spaces.

1 Small stall built into the wall with a simple counter was used for a small common stall most likely an eatery with a stove and shelves in a tight space for a shopkeeper
2 Small shops for some speciality, a bedroom above, a back storeroom office and small yard
3 Large shop with a large area for goods, a counter, a large storage area and an office area. A medium partly covered yard with a stable and a well
4 Small market square with walled niches where carts and wagons of goods were set up and tents would have been erected. An old well is in the centre. This was a small common market mostly for common food items

5 Large walled markets with gates where people once met and guards watched. Inside area is an area for tents and stalls and numerous small shops are in a part of the market. A few shrines are common and a well or water feature like a fountain

6 Market complex with multiple gates, watch posts, covered from elements with over 1-- stall spaces, multiple small shops and often some speciality of the market d6 1=metalwork 2=ceramics 3=fabric and rugs 4=leather goods 5=jewelery and trinkets 6=spice. Water troughs and at least four wells and a water feature are in here in varying condition

7  Merchant warehouse with office and a large open room with remains of amphora, boxes and ruined common goods. Sometimes there is a locked chest in the office and some have a small yard with a well and stables 

8 Small Caravanseraia a square courtyard where merchants enter by gates and park with wagons and livestock and camp or pay to stay in an inn within the complex. Smaller ones have 4+d4 spaces. Some were operated by merchants or the crown. Similar complexes are found all along lands trade routes 
9 Large Caravanserai found at the busiest places a fortified courtyard with inns and areas over a dozen caravans can stay in. Larger ones often have more floors and permanent residency areas and several merchant warehouses

10 Auction house with a display area, auction room, storerooms, a vault and offices. The largest deal in livestock 

N Storehouse

Many important goods are sealed away for emergencies like famines or as investments. Other goods may include documents and records, ritual paraphernalia, festival supplies and other goods. Some are also workhouses where craftsmen make products

1 Granary  - conical or cylindrical brick grain silos. Sometimes in groups of d4+1 but larger complexes may have a hundred 
2 Jar House - huge clay jars used for shipping that sit in depressions in secure square buildings. Each has a heavy door with a wooden bold lifted into place by several people. Wine, oil and dry goods are most often stored. 1in4 have been mostly emptied by treasure hunters
3 Warehouse - large high ceiling structure with huge bolted doors and smaller doors for regular access. A small guard station and a scribal room for stock records are included. Goods are in shipping crates or racks of jars and wooden shelves
4 Scribal Records Hall - tall open structure with shelves for the storage of tablets and scroll cases, mostly d4 1=civic records 2=reciepts 3=court records 4=taxation and census. A scribal office has a filing system and the main chamber has a normal size door only with a locked bar

5 Procession Storage - attractive warehouse decorated with relief artwork, inside are stored palanquins, sacred waggons, floats, pantomime monsters and performer costumes for a specific yearly festival. Well sealed with the main gate with a heavy bar and a smaller locked door. Statues of gods are often carried through the streets. Some may also have a sacred barge or chariot. The chambers are sanctified vs vermin and unholy things. Sometimes small shrines or mummified cats guard the chambers.

6 Construction Storage - Warehouse with tools and equipment with a courtyard holding great stacked stone blocks, glazed clay bricks, mounds of sand or gravel and great tubs or other raw materials. Used for building, remodelling, repairs and monument work 

7 Workshop - of a specific craft specialist or artisan making a type of art object, fashion accessory or decor. Each small workshop has room for a master and apprentices. Tools, benches and raw materials can be found in the rubble

8 Workhouse - a huge warehouse complex where many craftsmen work of some large project d4 1=procesional barge 2=statues of rulers or gods 3=border stelae with legal codes 4=sphynxes, griffons or mythical monsters 

9 Clay House - large potters workshop with kiln making household items and art objects. A clay pit is worked for raw materials

10 Brew House - great brewery complex with ovens for barley cakes, great vats, stores of palm sugar, clay jars and amphora for beer on shelves and in crates. Most have a well also 

O Open Square
1 Triumphal archway - with relief text, art and sculptures of a great victory over enemies

2 Waterfall - with statues often of fish, sea goats and marine gods

3 Fenced garden - a memorial with a small tomb, stelae, statue or monument

4 Parade ground - where soldiers and militia and guards performed drills. The great tiled ground has some image 

5 Statue - of a military hero or famous king, damaged with worn inscriptions

6 Stelae with carved inscriptions

7 Small VIP tombs - various styles and sizes with ornate statues and relief art 

8 Shrine - building of lesser cults with an idol, alter and a priest room

9 Plaza - for public spectacles with mozaic decorated scenes on the floor

10 Garden area - with trees, benches and a well, animals often dwell here 

P Palace
Luxury houses for elites, nobles, royalty and priests. Ornate decor, statues, relief art and more. Many such palaces have idols to household protective spirits and lesser divinities to protect from thieves and intruders.

1 Wealthy merchant house - luxurious but not above the standards of nobility. Large home with family courtyard, caravan warehouse, large stables and lodgings for workers and servants

2 State official house - for an important minister or courtier. Includes statues and fittings fit for occasional royal visitors. Garden courtyards and relief art depicting past officials 

3 Priest palace - an important church leaders house with luxury art and sculptures depicting the god and priestly servants in worship. Includes several shrines

4 Noble warrior palace - for a military leader and war hero includes decor depicting military victories and heroic massacres of foreign people. Includes a chariot stable and chambers depicting looted objects like exotic weapons and armour. Such houses are often haunted by malicious spirits of the owners

5 WIzards palace - artwork depicts otherworldly beings and wizards performing miraculous feats. There are remains of libraries, laboratories and courtyards devoted to pleasure. May have magical guardians active 

6 Harem palace - where some important noble keeps scores of wives guarded by eunuchs with pleasant bathing chambers and luxurious kitchens and feast hall and a room for the master. There are secret passages connecting bedrooms and for spying. There is also a nursery and school for children. Magical guardians may attack non-eunuch males other than the rightful owner or specified guests

7 Eunuch palace - where various court scribes, officials and soldiers live is a comfortable shared palace for eunuchs. New eunuchs are operated on here in a ritual chamber, some were even royalty. Many at the time were concerned the eunuchs had too much power and influence. In secret chambers that have records for blackmail and various schemes to win court influence. Some palaces have guardian spirits that challenge non-eunach males

8 Astrologers palace - decorated with celestial and zodiac themes and ready to receive important guests and to impress them with a mystical environment worthy of their fees. Many include a scribal office, an astrolabe, a library and rooms of records. There were also ornate luxurious pleasure chambers for guests where the astrologer entertained nobility. Secret chambers contain blackmail documents and spy reports on clients  

9 Temple palace - a palace around a temple for royal and noble use but also includes a cloistered monastery and nunnery and various shrines. This operates as a temple for VIPs only but is also a retirement home for nobles dropping out of politics to live in peace. At times this temple acts as a secret government or influencer with their own agents. There are often secret chambers for espionage and secret rites and training rooms, even a trapped death maze for tests

10 Royal Palace - the residence of a local ruler or a seasonal palace for the royal court of an empire. A vast and sprawling citadel like a small city of its own. Ruins often appear labyrinthian and are often destroyed by fire and attacks from enemies but some are phased out and handed to a local noble who can try to afford to operate it. Many other a-z structures can exist inside this mega palace. The great throne room is especially impressive but there are many lesser rooms for officials who ran the country from here 

Q Monument
A great stone monument erected my royalty to last forever. Many required generations of labour using slaves or religious obligations. Some monuments were never completed or were built on an earlier structure even using some of its materials. Many have the best bits plundered like quality marble or metal capstones. Most have inscriptions on them and other art. Many have a public shrine out the front and possibly a temple within for more important visitors. Some contain tombs or are used for public events like sports or ceremonies. Secret chambers are inside some even whole magical murder mazes to keep some relic. Some have been plundered or had attempted breaks inside. Some monuments get stripped of material by later people and religious art of ancients may be defaced

1 Pyramid tomb - vast stone tomb complex often surrounded by lesser tombs and a public and VIP shrine. Many people shun them by night as ruins attract cults and the angry living dead. Graverobbers long to break inside and they conflict with strange cults preserving the tomb secrets

2 Ziggurat - vast brick temple of the most important deity of an age where kings were crowned and new year ceremonies were held. Some had irrigation and vegetation to be like the cosmic mountains they represented. There will be a temple at the top and the entrance and inside and many shrines n the complex. Many of the oldest are badly eroded by wind and resemble a rock formation. Ones in boggy land where once a river flowed have older bricks melt back into clay and sink into the month

3 Colossus - enormous statue of d4 1=sphynx 2=ruler 3=god 4=monster often with chambers inside or underneath. Many have collapsed and are in a huge mound of broken pieces. Many include a shrine or a secret chamber

4 Colosseum - an enormous arena for performances, processions, chariot races, gladiatorial fights. Often crumbled and broken or overgrown. A labyrinth of chambers are underground and inside the walls as a backstage area for cages and storage. More elongated hippodrome styles are more suited to horse racing or sports. Some games might have a square court and some theatres might have less than 360 degrees of stadium seating with only half or a third facing a staging area. Such places are often haunted by spirits from events here long ago

5 Mausoleum - an enormous tomb palace complex for a mighty ruler and their family and servants and descendants. Often used as a site of local processions until eventually abandoned. Plunderers have taken some sculptures and building materials and some areas have collapsed but most shun the haunted spirits especially by night. Many have a gatehouse and surrounding wall where there were once perfumed gardens  

6 Mighty Fortress - a great castle complex with a garrison, storage and the heart of the forces of the empire in the region. The sprawling complexes include huge barracks and training areas for new specialist and elite troops. Many suffered the wort damage when the area fell to ruin 

7 The Wall - a vast sprawling wall surrounding part or whole city or even larger area, also used as a military road for chariots and wagons. For aeons, it kept the city safe until the age of siege weapons 

8 The Great Baths - vast bathing complex with heated pools, shrines, steam rooms, cold rooms, common baths, healing pools and VIP areas. Various guest rooms, medical practitioner suites and administrators offices are common. Many servants and staff worked to maintain the bath and sanitary conditions. Underground access to sewers, the river or huge cisterns as well as furnaces and cold rooms for the various special bathing areas. Many began as a natural spring and their may be a grotto pool or underground waterways beneath. Certain creatures will be attracted by the water 

9 Great Tower - a wonder reaching to the heavens, a citadel with chambers inside. Might be used as a lighthouse or for making signals in a crisis and to see far away. Mostly they collapse into a huge pile of rubble possibly with some chambers intact inside

10 Divine Statue - for an age this city was a wonder of the world and had the personal attention of a great god. A wonderous statue in a huge temple was a famous oracle and visited by kings. Eventually, this favour fell and the temple collapsed. Magical and mechanical marvels in the temple were on display to prove the god's greatness, now all are shattered and flickering broken illusions. The ARt depicts rulers and heroes speaking with the statue directly. Cursed creatures haunt this place d4 1=harpies 2=manticores 3=peryton 4=lamia

R Tomb
Tombs are commonplace even in market squares, city streets, inside bridges or walls. Most are for the wealthy or officials. Some for individuals and others for the whole family for generations. Frequently haunted and shunned, for experienced grave robbers only. Many are trapped and dead robbers remain can be found inside. Many tombs are robbed according to past plundering so try use 1in4 odds or being intact

1 A simple brick slab often pertly buried with a single burial chamber 

2 A brick slab with a sealed entrance into a trapped entrance then a sealed grave chamber

3 A brick slab with a sealed entrance drops into a deep shaft with a tomb chamber

4 A brick slab with a shrine on one end to leave offerings for the dead and another sealed entrance into a grave chamber

5 A brick slab with an open shaft into a grave chamber d4 1=ghoul family 2=cultists 3=madman writing blasphemous lore in a book 4=an angry wight with a d3 thralls former robbers

6 Catacomb tunnels with niches for dead or coffins, with stone crypts and human remains worked into artwork. Some areas collapsed, others sealed with possibly many tomb doors within it

7 A sealed or buried doorway opens into a 100m sloping corridor with an entry shrine and a d46 tomb chambers

8 Beehive Tombs - mostly dry stone stacked strictures d3 stories high with small archway doors from very ancient times. It's rare to find above ground with a sealed door, most are plundered but may be occupied by d4 1=wight 2=ghouls 3=cultists 4=mad blasphemous hermit

9 Small Pyramid Tomb - a small pyramid or a cluster of several together often inspired by older larger ones. Highly visible to plunderers ones with sealed doors are rare and often covered by sand for ages. Sealed ones will have a hostile mummy. Open ones may have d4 1=mummy 2=werejackals 3=fierce barbarian onager-folk warriors serving the mad desert war god 4=giant lizard 

10 Funeral Palace - a palace built into a cliff or mountain with a professional road and tombs of lesser officials in front many of which are plundered. If the doors are exposed and not buried ods are this had been partly plundered. Often haunted by angry nobility

S Shrine
Shrines are smaller temples often the best a local deity can provide for their favourite deity. Shrines can also be dedicated to ancestors, animals, trees, water and land spirits of nature. They can also include servants and family members of more important gods. Sometimes a shrine might worship an older or variant cult that appears strange and different over time. A shrine might have a caretaker priest or a travelling priest caring for several. Valuables may be stolen and idols smashed but the powers still appreciate a sacrifice. Some people even left idols of themselves preying in a temple

1 Humble ornamental pillar - with an altar stone with a few worn marks to some forgotten petty deity d4 1=ancestor 2=nature spirit 3=servant of deity 4=specialised petty god 

2 Small covered shrine - with pillars holding a single slab, with a bench for travellers and a stone fireplace for cooking or making a burned sacrifice

3 Folk shrine - raised floor with steps into a small chamber with many small folk idols

4 A small chamber with a well shrine and art depicting water spirits

5 A small chamber with a shrine and meditation area and a priests chamber

6 A raised dais with an altar and crude worn animal-headed idol

7 A fearsome idol, stone altar and two large stone brazier bowls on a dais with steps

8 A small courtyard with a simple idol, altar and many small stone seats for ceremony attendees longs ago. Humble folk priests were buried in the ground here

9 Statue of a popular god on a sone block with inscribed text and an altar, often damaged 

10 Shrine of Deified King - statue with name and title, with an altar people give the former king sacrifices. 1in10 has a spirit that will appreciate gifts

T Temple
Temples are larger buildings dedicated to the worship of gods. Often highly ornamental with relief art, ornamental columns and murals depicting mythology. Temples stand out and many are protected by cults or magical beings who serve the gods

1 Royal Temple - great ornate temple often with a collapsed roof but intact outer walls and columns. Walls have rich relief art and text carving and a worn statue of the patron deity of the kingdom and statues of royalty. Most have an altar and stone benches, some have a sacred pool for ceremonial bathing. Various shrines of the gods family members, servants and past rulers are common within the temple. Smaller idols of worshippers in prayer are left as guards. Many have a secret ritual initiation chamber or might have a speaking tube in the statue's mouth so priests can talk through it to impress commoners 
2 War Temple - war god temple with fierce statue, includes a blacksmith, armoury, guard barracks and some fortifications. Often these are destroyed and haunted or occupied by bandits 

3 Love Temple - love goddess temple with depictions of her favourite beasts, symbols and art depicting attractive youths. includes a bath, luxurious priestess chambers and opulent lounge areas. The upper windows were used by priestesses to wave at passers-by to entice them to enter the temple

4 Earth Temple - earth goddess temple art depicts plants and animals and distant mountains and clouds. There are large areas where sacred animals were blessed and pampered and garden courtyards and an underground grotto for secret ceremonies

5 Water Temple - contains baptismal and healing pools and aquatic creatures in ponds. Often flooded and you might find basking crocodiles in the central courtyard. Various images of water gods and goddesses are here often with fish masks and scaled armour

6 Fire Temple - sparse temple with a courtyard with a great fire pit and idol. Once the clergy here burned offerings or even wicked unlawful spellcasters. Once the fire altar was always lit now it is abandoned and hyenas and jackals live here now

7 AIr Temple - has a tower or spire above the building and a large open courtyard for worship. Many birds seem attracted here especially the type sacred to the main sky god here. Once evildoers were thrown from the tower as punishment. Images of god and animals and singing priests are common in artworks and ornaments. There are some detailed maps on the walls of the kingdom 

8  Trickster Temple - dedicated to a dwarf who helped gods build the world, helps ancestors and childbirth and entertain commoners. Popular folk religion nobility gove fine temples to appease the masses. Trinkets of the god-like medallions or rattles or drums are commonplace. The temple is crawling with monkeys  

9 Underworld Temple - mostly a funerary cult lived here with chambers duplicating the stages of death and entrance to the underworld. Some may have had secret chambers for certain rituals and tests in a fake grotto cave passage. Some had darker secrets and even demon shrines in the catacombs to underworld demons or more evil versions. The rulers of the underworld are depicted in much of the art as well as skeletons and souls being dragged by demons to hell

10 Reptilian Temple - many lands long ago had various reptilian cults with snakes being the most famous and dragon cults being the most common sorts. Crocodiles and turtles are popular on some rivers. These temples have depictions of their preferred pet species with idols and relief carved art. They also have pools, cages and basking spots for their pets and areas dedicated to breeding them. Some of the art is very old and some cults were tyrannical and interested in blasphemous wizardry

U Arcane

Practitioners of magic often leave impressive ruins and leave strange structures. 

1 Broken tower partially collapsed with strange symbols and stone relief art. Badly damaged but may contain some valuable

2 Blasted remains of a tower that exploded with sand around it melted into coarse glass

3 An intact wizard tower or sorcerers pleasuredome, long abandoned but fine art and magical residue in the rubble. Such places may be inhabited bt d4 1=bandits 2=ghouls 3=beast folk 4=succubus/incubus

4 Magician Battle Arena - from smaller private VIP chambers to larger stadiums. Magicians would put on spectacles, watch realtime scrying of adventures in a dungeon and summon creatures to battle for sport. Behind the scenes were stage makers, writers, craftsmen and animals and monsters used in the drama. Animal cages and a magical vivisection laboratory for making orcs and beast folk are on one level possibly inhabited by resentful monsters created here long ago or their heirs

5 Arcane Academy - a place of literacy and learning where many chosen students studied under learned masters of magic or at least their personal assistants. More public areas are scribal with courtyards, study halls, meditation chambers and secluded gardens. There is a main scribe library and a secret magical one that might be intact. Many secrets might be buried here. Such places are often haunted and popular places to loot

6 Strangely shaped tower - of wizards of a strange sect or school with a peculiarly shaped tower 1in4 are sealed but haunted by d4 1= crypt keeper 2=elementals 3=nightmare demon 4=shoggoth. Strange furniture, weird artefacts and magical murder mazes are common features

7 Necromancer Tower - often with bone motifs and death symbols. Guarded by undead the master is d4 1=long dead now dust 2=mummy 3=vampire 4=lich

8 Intact sealed wizard tower - doors and all wards and defences intact long sealed. Inhabited by d4 1=lamia 2=ghost 3=Vampire 4=Lich

9 Stately Pleasure Dome - was once here where a sorcerous cult grew to temporary prosperity. Statues of long-forgotten patron planar beings and murals, a bath, lots of pillows where the elites came for strange pleasure and magical feats. Some areas may still be covered in illusions but the food and water only give the illusion of being beneficial so there are lots remains of lone travellers from aeons. These places are popular to plunder but might have a few hidden secrets d4 1=desert spirit with beast folk minions live here 2=lesser demon 3=elemental 4=cultists on pilgrimage

10 Eerie supernatural tower - properties d4=glowing aura 2=secret elder runes that alight when touched 3=only opens certain times or when right constellations visible 4=normally hidden by a magical veil. Inside the tower is d4 1=temporal stasis bubble of elder wizards 2=pocket dimensional strange kingdom 3=gate to the land of death 4=gate to faerie land

V Habitat

These are locations where persons or creatures have established some kind of lair or community or microclimate environment.

1 Campsite - used regularly by suspicious person d6 1=bandits 2=slavers 3=cultists 4=grave robbers 5=adventurers camp 6=nomad tribe

2 Goblinoid Village - tribe of goblins have an outpost here d4 1=burrows full of fungus and bug farmers 2=famous goblin market on full moon 3=goblin walled stockade village of huts and wolf and giant bat pens 4=fortified dungeon complex 

3 Gargantuan Monster Corpse - remains of some mega monster d4 1=skeleton 2=petrified 3=mostly buried in rubble 4=buried long ago and a space was made to contain it in later era, the body is intact, frozen in stasis and could be revived with the correct magical keys 

4 Strange crater - a crater made up of rubble from some great feat of destruction. d4 1=elemental node 2=remnants of a divine being 3=haunted by spirits of rulers who offended the gods 4=weird bubbling portal of chaos slime protected by mutant cults 

5 Sinkhole Grotto - a sinkhole has collapsed into an ancient cavern system with water features and prehistoric remains. These caves go into to great deep

6 Great Crack - a canyon-like crack in the earth is an awkward obstacle. d4 1=has a crude rope or log bridge 2=stone pillar or stelae has fallen across 3=fallen tree or vines 4=stone bridge with an encounter or a guardian. In the bottom of the crack is d6 1=giant fungus and bugs 2=slime and oozes 3=undead 4=vegetation and animals 5=fortified cliff houses and tunnels ruined or inhabited 6=thermal vents and fire salamanders

7 Dragons Lair - a great dragon, the mightiest in the area has a spectacular lair which receives dragon cultists who implore it to rule again. Entrance in a d4 1=ruined temple 2=burrowed out cave in a vast rubble mound 3=lake 4=pit shaft into the deep

8 Great Pit - a quarry, clay pit, crater from destruction, construction site or even where someone tied to dig up a tomb with a large force of workers. There may be ladders and steps and the bottom may be flooded and occupied. Used as a trash pit with all kinds of objects

9 Secret Caverns - a sinkhole has collapsed into an ancient cavern system with d4 1=flooded 2=holy shrines 3=ancient tombs 4=marketplace where Sunderland traders once came

10 Sunken Bog - possibly a former river bed, clay pit, quarry or spring. Large dangerous occupants have attracted d4 1=giant frogs 2=giant turtles 3=crocodiles 4=giant dragonflies live off giant rats and bugs and fish. The water 1in4 times tainted by 1=fever 2=mutagens 3=salty 4=decayed corpses. A tribe live here d4 1=swamp folk 2=frog folk 3=lizard folk 4=fish folk 5=goblinoids 6=halflings. They worship a large water monster of some kind 

W Water

Waterworks and water features were popular demonstrations of power for the ancient desert empires and managing it meant power. Mostly these features may seem incongruent with the modern climate. Instead of water, some have seasonal bogs, choking weeds or sand 

 

1 Sewer System - efficient underground sewer pipes may be used to travel around ruins and often inhabited and may still have water

2 Canal - channel connected to the water where boats could move goods or for irrigation. Mostly are dried out or boggy but hold some water in rain. Some even went underground 

3 Aquaduct - a great structure of stone and brick to transport water great distances for crops, people and transport. Some civilisations build tall bridge-like structures or make tunnels through mountains

4 Well - where citizens reached water often with line ups. A deep shaft connects to the underground reservoir and other wells in the city that could be used to move around

5 Cistern - great underground reservoir for storage under a city for emergencies. Some are so vast you can ride a boat as a secret way to move in the city

6 Sacred Pool - a large public sacred pool where some sacred animals wallow in peace, there may be stelae with inscriptions or a statue of the beast in the pond

7 Bathhouse - a public bathhouse with certain days and times for men or women or just one or other if many in the city. The remains of a pool may attract aquatic creatures or it could be filled with dust and sandworms

8 Washhouse - where locals washed clothing in this house where good well water is drawn up then goes out into sewerage with stone slab for beating clothing on. Often a small shrine to a water divinity might be here. Some have remains of scenes of washers at work in the river with friendly fish spirits

9 Boat Shrine - usually on a canal or near water a shrine with a ceremonial boat is kept and available for viewing. Used to transport a statue of a god of a priest or noble to some important ceremony or water procession. Usually, these boats crumble or are used as firewood after the gold scraped off

10 Warf - usually on a canal or near water but possibly now just bog or weeds or sand. A stone-lined shoreline with possibly some remains of boats or fishing paraphernalia.  A stone pier with a small stone booth for an official juts into the ancient waterway  

X Secret chamber

Many secret chambers are maintained by all kinds of people for many reasons. Escapes and treasure are the main ones but some are worse. Many of these remain intact and unlooted

 

1 Spyhole chamber - allows you to see through the eyes of statues and art in another room

2 Speaking chamber - where a priest can speak through a tune amplifying his voice through a statue of a god to impress common folk. There are also spy holes and often priest robe or ritual costume might be here or some intelligent shapeshifter using the tube as a trick

3 Secret treasure -  a chest and some urns of valuable goods 

4 Secret scribe chamber - with legal, tax and financial documents with a set of clean and a set of cooked books

5 Oubliette - a secret prison cell where a prisoner can be kept for years in secret, often a pit with a hidden trapdoor on the floor to access

6 Torture chamber - secret chamber with cages and chains and various torture tools and a bench

7 Cultist Shrine - hidden demon or evil god shrine with treasure including d4 magic items, half cursed

8 Escape Tunnel - goes to d4 1=sewers 2=cistern 3=temple 4=fortified wall

9 Secret Tunnel - goes to d4 1=wilderness 2=alley 3=secret cult temple 4=secret ghoul cult tunnels 

10 Magic Room - magician kept a secret study and lab here with some minor magic items and possibly notes from a spellbook

Y Museum

The various treasures and wonders of the world were drawn to this ancient city and were put on display. Most were for the ruling class only but some items were also displayed for the commoners for propaganda. Such places are heavily plundered and damaged unless hidden or buried.

 

1 Botanical Museum - includes a courtyard garden, overgrown with vegetation often but maybe drowned in the sand. Living ones may include plant creatures the dead sort may have scorpions or desert rats or sandworms. There was a display of petrified wood and strange seed pods that might be recoverable. The fungus filled cellars are intact also

2 Zoological Museum - a museum with skeletal and stuffed exotic creatures are kept with statues of mysterious beasts from afar. Mostly for the rich and often the property of a collector for private viewing only while some might charge. Most animal remains will be dust or scattered bones but strange things could happen

3 Royal Museum - strange objects like iron star stones that fell from the sky land, stone dragon bones, exotic foreign art objects taken in war and ancient found objects the museum builders discovered. There will be some strange items from the forbidden ruins of the old ones

4 War Museum - where captured loot from enemy lands was displayed, with artworks depicting the ruler trampling the enemy and their people enslaved. There may even be severed heads of enemy leaders which make the museum haunted

5 Tribute Museum - where tributes to the rulers are displayed from occupied foreign lands or just diplomatic gifts from allies. There is a wall of relief art featuring foreigners with their distinctive regional hats and clothing paying tribute

6 Captured Gods Temple - where foreign god idols are taken so their tithes came to this temple as tribute. The gods are treated well and fed by ritual priests and the priests of the god may see their god and perform rituals but cannot stay outside approved times. Some gods were ransomed to their people of their followers came to rescue their god by force. Often such places were the first looted and destroyed by the gods true followers

7 Temple Reliquary - where holy orders keep various holy and blessed trinkets like saint body parts or things their god might have touched. Many were encrusted in gems but many on display were fake and a secret basement has some real objects still only priests were permitted to touch or risk curses

8 Astrological Observatory - where the latest in astrological study and technology was employed. A simple telescope and astrolabe and some simple computational machines (hand-cranked adding machines and cog worked calenders predicting celestial phenomena). Biographies of the stars above and their celestial citadels and astrological data are stored in a great library. Such places are both haunted and popular with cultists and adventurers working for scholars

9 Magical Monument - great wonder that amazed the world by a blatant display of wondrous magic but now in ruins. Type of monument d4 1=archway 2=gatehouse 3=monolith or stelae 4=statue. Purpose d4 1=gateway to another world 2=commune with and call a god 3=could fly under own power with crew 4=a weapon of mass destruction like a juggernaut or crystal mirror solar ray. In the present day, this is no longer a magic ruin. Was involved in the final fall of the city.The monument has interior shrines and secret rooms and other chambers

10 Alchemist Foundry - an industrial scale alchemical and metal smelting factory with workhouses for armourers, metal workers, potions, golems, abhumans and magic items for war. Most amazingly of all are the remains of huge jars they grew monsters and dragons inside. Some modified existing fetal creatures to modify them others grew them from the proper chemicals reproducing the act of creation. Such places are often poluted by valuable rare minerals and many creatures here are mutants. Generations of mutant survivors here live in ruin and even inside great fleshy growths that envelop buildings from proto flesh life forms gone wild. There are various labs and samples of ancient and foreign writings and relics in vaults. Mutant filled poison drains in the lowest levels are horrifying messes of slimes, oozes, cave clams and shoggoths. This structure might have contributed to the fall of the ancients city

Z Animal Pens

Animal holding areas are common in a muscle-powered world. Many ancients used chariots but the horses of the day were unfit for riding especially with armour. Onagers (wild ass), donkeys, camels, oxen are more common. Some experimented with other stranger beasts of burden and war. Many rich liked to keep animals in menageries also, some were just a pet some were private zoos.

 

1 Wagon Stables - for beast of burden including donkeys, camels and oxen

2 Chariot Stable - private accommodation for nobles beasts, chariot team and crafters required to maintain the working chariot. Animal pens and quarters for the personnel and workshops are all inside. Mostly looted but might be some tools or trinkets in rubble or a spirit

3 Elephant Stable - rare and single elephant in places were rare, larger for many in country were common in industry or war. Huge structure with pool and feeding area. Possibly some elephant equipment or armour or statues also might remain

4 Monster Pit - a huge pit and beast were kept here for hurling the wicked into or even a security measure (possibly also guards a drain outflow pipe). Most often a great skeleton is all that remains but sometimes some behemoth creature still lives somehow

5 Nature Park Courtyard - an enclosed area with a once pristine garden or raked gravel, pools, sculpted fruit trees and manicured bushes. In such parks nobles kept d6 1=deer 2=lion pride 3=terror birds 4=carniverous apes 5=crocodiles 6=giant lizards or dinosaurs

6 Monster Pen - a large bronze and stone display cage often for a single type of monster often alone for the rich to look at from safety. A keeper has a cottage and work area for food prep and cleaning equipment. Some required magic to keep creatures inside. Sometimes some creature though long free inhibits this ruin as a lair

7 Monster Colosseum - a fighting pit for exotic monster that fights for the rich. Tunnels underneath access cages and training rooms and a laboratory for making new monsters

8 Dragon House - a pampered dragon was kept in a beautiful temple and worshipped by draconic templars. A dragon may well remain here despite the worshipers all gone. The greatest dragons had their own ziggurats

9 Zoological Menagerie - a zoo with courtyards of cages for exotic creatures and statues of mysterious beasts from afar. Mostly for the rich and often the property of a collector for private viewing only while some might charge. Most of these also had underground service tunnels that make excellent monster homes and have water and bugs and slime

10 Monsterous Menagerie - a highly secure magical zoo for creatures beyond nature like dungeon monsters and trapped planar beings. Often intact and maintained by golems