5e_UJ_Marketing_Ancient Ruins

Uncharted Journeys will be coming soon to Kickstarter, bringing in-depth and elegant travel rules to 5e. We’ve already discussed the people you might meet along the way, so today we’re looking at the ancient ruins and forgotten sites you might come across on your journey.

Uncharted Journeys will be launching on Kickstarter soon, so be sure to follow the project here to be notified when it launches.

Ancient Ruins

Ruins are relics of the past, long since abandoned by their creators and slowly reclaimed over decades or centuries. Uncharted Journeys gives the GM tools and advice to create unique and memorable ruins and locations, asking a number of key questions and offering tables and suggestions for how to create your ruin. 

  • Who built it? Who constructed the ancient ruin? Was it built by elves, and designed with elegant sweeping arches; or by dwarves who favoured practical and sturdy architecture? Perhaps it was built by some unknowable being and defies the laws of physics? Determining who built the ruin gives a strong foundation (no pun intended!) for how the ruin looks and what it feels like to explore.
  • How old is it? Ruins can vary wildly in age, from ramshackle wooden buildings abandoned by the last generation of humans, to ancient masonry carved by dwarven stonesmiths, who believe that their work should last as long as their species shall endure in the world.
  • What was its purpose? Even after years of neglect, the original purpose of a ruin might still shine through. Was it once an intricate tomb built to house a royal dragonborn emperor, or a sturdy military outpost, still standing strong centuries after the war was lost? Do these ancient relics still hold helpful hints, or sombre secrets? Perhaps carvings of long lost stories remain inscribed on the walls, just waiting for your bard to revive its tale. Valuable loot may be coveted away in a secret cellar, now easily exposed due to the processes of time and weather.
  • What does it look like now? These ruins may have stood gloriously once upon a time, but the elements eventually whittle down even the hardiest of structures. Has the dwarven bunker been reclaimed by nature, with choking vines heaving bricks into their embrace, or has the halfling house began to sink into the ground below, leaving only faint traces of its upper level for intrepid explorers to discover?
  • What is it now? Have these ruins been forgotten completely, superstitiously abandoned by all and left squarely in the past? Or do these sites still teem with life, providing shelter to hibernating owlbears, or breeding grounds for giant arachnids? An unsuspecting party might not discover this renewed purpose until it’s too late…

Uncharted Journeys allows gamemasters to write their own histories, injecting life into their created worlds and giving their players mysteries to unravel and questions to ponder.

To be notified when Uncharted Journeys launches, follow the campaign here and keep and eye on Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss any news!