Gygath, God of Dungeons Deep and Labyrinths Dark.

[GameOgre]

Gygath was once a mortal Archmage of tremendous skill and power. During his long life Gygath and his band of heroic followers delved into many vast and ancient ruins and fought there way into dark labyrinths filled with powerful magics and lost peoples. It is believed that it was then that the foundations of his madness began.
As time rolled on he grew more and more fascinated with the delves themselves and obsessed with there very architecture and hidden beauty.He drew comfort from the darkness and the deep and came to appreciate the work and even art found within the deadly mazes. He began to delve into them alone so that he could study as he willed and even started his own black delve.

It was on one of these forays that he discovered The Iron Lich. A creature of such vast might and power that Gygath was over matched and forced to flee. Returning with his fellow adventurers again and again he was defeated. One by one all of his companions fell to spell or blade and eventually Gygath found himself alone in the deep dark and on the edge of utter ruin and defeat.

It was on this edge of total destruction that Gygath made his discovery and ascended to Godhood.It is rumored that he stole the very ritual needed from the Iron Lich and that to this day that dark entity rails against the injustice of the deed.

Whatever the case may be none may argue that Gygath became the God of Dungeons and Dark Depths and from that day forth has continually sought to turn the minds of the powerful towards the depths of dark delves and Dungeons. The number of such places in the world has exponentially increased and become far more deadly places. More and more adventurers fall to such places every year and many now speak of something new and sinister waiting in the darkness,watching.

[GameOgre]

I needed some way to explain the growing number of dungeons in my game that were started by Arch-mage type characters.

[Rikitiki]

(Good one, GameOgre!)

"I needed some way to explain the growing number of dungeons in my game that were started by Arch-mage type characters."

Well, that's an easy explanation...

y'see, there's really only one Arch-mage (his name is Ronald) and after he built his first dungeon, the rest are just franchises!. Their fear-inducing motto: "Over one billion adventurers served!"

[zarathustra]

Very cool.

[zarathustra]

Was thinking more about this guy and I like it more and more (although I think I will use it as more a dark, unknowable entity type thing than spell it out so much).

It is the kind of idea that fits in well with people running real old school dungeon crawl campaigns, where "realism" takes a back seat to wonder and strangeness.

I have a feeling that many people these days don't do "dungeon" dungeoneering dungeons anymore, they do versimilitude and "underground locations" that exist for a reason on the world (catacombs, sewers, underground cisterns etc). I am not sure those people have a need for Gygath.

I have been getting inspired by shams grog n blog lately and I think a Gygath fits in well with his kind of world where a dungeon is an almost mystical place where the laws that govern the world above cease to appy and they are more like portals into fey realms that real world locations with mundane reasons.

[clavis123]

A little levity never hurts. Cool idea.

In my Vaozum campaign world, I explained the existence of "funhouse" dungeons through Gnomish funeral rites. Respectable Gnomes were buried directly in the ground, in unmarked graves, wearing nothing but a simple shroud. The Gnomes believed that in order to keep wicked Gnomes from leaving their graves, however, they had to be distracted. So, the Gnomes built labyrinthine tombs, in order to confuse the wicked dead who might try to leave. They filled the tombs up with gold and treasure, in order to sate the spirit's greed. Lastly, the Gnomes put puzzles and odd constructions in the tombs, in order to entertain the spirit. Over the centuries many of these tombs were re-purposed by other creatures. Also, owning (and being buried in) a "Gnomish" dungeon was a status symbol for wizards, so they hired Gnomes to build replica Gnomish tombs. The Gnomes were only too happy to do it, in order to keep the souls of those wizards confined after death!