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Leliel
2011-02-03, 12:45 AM
Well, I just got the 4E book on the Underdark, and if anything, it seems more awesome then the concept of the earth itself being a dungeon (hard as that is to believe).

That said, I also noted the story hook of the once-human city of Refuge, where the "knotting" effect the Underdark has on souls (basically, adaptive insanity-it helps when trying to map the place) has morphed the inhabitants into friendly but somewhat creepy frog-people, guarded by the petrified forms turned golems of a party that tried to exterminate the "obviously monstrous" town...and offended a demigod who seems to like the place. Oops.

Now, they seem to be perfectly playable, if an RP challenge. Then again, I like challenges-they make life interesting.

So, how do you think I should play a born inhabitant of the Underdark, who is very much a horror of the deep realm (albeit a nice, geniunely friendly one)?

Leliel
2011-02-04, 11:01 PM
OK, edited the title to better explain what I actually meant.

Bibliomancer
2011-02-04, 11:10 PM
Cultivate enlightened claustrophobia. Always stand with your back to a wall, where possible, and a solid one at that. The underdark is, in essence, one large dungeon, and you want to be positioned correctly to avoid being outflanked. When in a large space (say, a room), act somewhat hesitant and furtive, without speaking much, as sound carries dangerously far in the huge caverns that contain much of the life of the underdark. When in corridors )or closets), be considerably more at ease, while still keeping a watchful eye on the door.

Avoid the sun whenever possible. Only do your shopping at night, regardless of how inconvenient it is. When outside at night or outdoors, much full use of your darkvision (I'm assuming you have darkvision) by not carrying any sources of light. In the Underdark, darkvision has a limited range, as does the illumination of a light source, but that light source can be spotted from the shadows at great distances. Given the fact that there are dozens of evil, xenocidal, insane, murderous or just plain desperate races in the Underdark, giving away your position shortens your life expectancy significantly.

Hoard food and water, since these items are rarely readily available underground, but act skittish in the presence of farm animals and running water, since running water in the underdark can easily drag you into an enclosed tunnel where you'll drown, while many food sources are dangerous in their own right (civilization is rarely well established enough to have fully domesticated animals. The fungus are feral for black's sake!

Replace references to light and sky in your speech with 'dark' and 'rock'. "For stone's sake!", "I have been endarkened", etc.

These are just a few things I thought of off the top of my head. Hope they help/are relevant.