Background for my #Dungeon23 Megadungeon

Historians and bards speak of the great empire of Uraiawakiraia, a true meritocracy, and the wonders its inevitable collapse left behind.  Wonders that are envied and coveted to this day.  

A curious fact about this meritocracy is how the ruling class - the most meritorious of them all - demonstrated and tested their merit through constructing clever gauntlets and proving grounds, filling them with the finest traps, treasures, and creatures that money could buy and magic conceive, then challenging one another (but mostly aspiring sorts) to survive them.

These gauntlets and proving grounds typically ran no more than two or three levels deep, and many still exist on ancient baronial lands, mostly repurposed now that their creators are long gone - a few have become (or were purpose-built) tombs for their creators.  

The greatest of these gauntlets is Askorun - the Challenge.   Constructed during the reign of His Eminence Jumbe, Seventeenth Emperor of Uraiawakiraia.  At his command Mount Gora was hollowed out and rebuilt; potent artifacts of great beauty, wealth, and magical power were crafted; terrible monsters were captured and bred and created to lair within; entire tribes of humanoids were enslaved and forced to populate the dark halls; and the greatest artificers, trapmakers, poisoners, wordsmiths, artisans, dreamweavers,  ghostcallers, demonbinders, spellshapers, beastwranglers, fleshcrafters, and more contributed to the stocking of Askorun, technically by Imperial decree, but also through pride of purpose, because only the best would be appropriate for the Imperial Gauntlet.

Taking over 50 years to construct, Askorun was and still is the pinnacle of the gauntlet-builders' craft.  The parade of the final stocking is said to have stretched over 10 miles, beginning at the docks of the capital city, then winding through the streets past the palace and into the foothills where the massive doors stood open and waiting.  

Songs and tales claim it took more than a year to actually place the final guardians and treasures.  One thing the tales agree on is that final entry to Askorun was His Eminence Jumbe, himself, carrying the Crown and the Ring, proclaiming that whosoever should recover both items would inherit the Simhisana Throne and the Empire of Uraiawakiraia.  The doors sealed themselves behind Jumbe and refused to open, despite the determined efforts of citizens of the Empire and freebooters alike.

But that was centuries ago.

Today, the port city of Skara Brae is built on the bones of the Imperial Capital, and the sewers and hidden passages beneath the city are the streets and buried buildings of the Capital and other cities that rose and fell in this location over the centuries.

Askorun still remains, unconquered, and the Imperial Throne unclaimed, and perhaps lost. The ancient magics of the Empire linger still, sealing the great doors for 49 out of every 50 years, then remaining open for precisely a year before closing for another generation.  

This year is a year of opening.  A temporary city made of tents, wagons, and a few more permanent structures has sprung up around the entrance.  A carnival-like atmosphere permeates this place, and almost everything a delver could want or need can be found here - for a price. What cannot be found here can be found in Skara Brae proper.

Will your adventurers find glory and treasure, or only blood and death?

Erol Otus, Dungeon Stairs

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Over the course of a year, inhabitants of the tent city change, and this post from Iron & Ink is a grand way to go about showing this. In addition to lantern-bearers, there are all sorts of would-be camp followers to be hired from among the riff-raff living among and within the tents.  Like these followers, from Coins and Scrolls, or mercenaries from Meatshields.

That said, you might also encounter less savory sorts, such as these from Elfmaids & Octopi.  In truth, lots of ideas can be mined from the Murderhobo posts at Elfmaids & Octopi, as well as his free pdf from here (Murder Hobo Manual, but they're all inspirational, with Shadel Port, Goblin Mine Zone, and Long Stairs Compilation are worth a quick skim for most #Dungeon23 participants, because you can find inspiration anywhere).

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With an intro like this, I am either setting myself up for success or failure.  Only time will tell.  As might be noticed, I am terrible with names, so had some fun with Google Translate.