Nothing beside remains - a Ruins generator

 

Art Credit Ma-Ko

Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away. - Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ozymandias"

In yet another entry in my generator series, today we'll be going over ruins. What is D&D without some ruins to crawl through? Half of the game's title refers to the concept after all. That being said, the concept of every ruin or wrecked building leading downwards into the earth always seemed an artificial assumption to me. While miles of mine-shafts, network tunnels and subways crisscross our world, very few previous cultures actively built large subterranean complexes. What we have instead are things like ghost-towns, forgotten cities and buried ruins. Not every end is equal either; for every city wrecked by over-foresting, another met it's demise through climate change.

     To use this table, simply roll 4d8 and consult the relevant results below.

d8	What kind of ruins did they leave behind?
1	Effectively nothing—perhaps some scattered bits of masonry or timber.
2	A few foundations and some grave stones.
3	Some tumbledown buildings and walls that make up a few blocks.
4	A handful of largely intact structures, as well as several more dilapidated ones.
5	Some particularly robust structure like a fortification, catacombs, vault or tomb.
6	An extensive network of tunnels or other subterranean structure.
7	The majority of the settlement, town or structure is serviceable, but in dire need of repairs.
8	An eerily intact town, settlement or larger structure, still usable.

d8	What did them in?
1	Disease, pestilence and blight.
2	An economic or political collapse, leading to unrest and starvation.
3	War or some other sort of wide-scale conflict.
4	Some sort of natural disaster, like an earthquake or a volcano.
5	A climactic shift, such as an ice age or drought.
6	A magical catastrophe, such as everyone being turned into gold statues or being disintegrated by beams of light.
7	Malaise, ennui, depression. The place simply ceased to be important or upkept by the residents.
8	The wrath of an angry deity or powerful sprit. Roll again, ignoring this result if it comes up again. The second result is what form the being's rage took.

d8	How long ago did it happen?
1	Before recorded history. The details have passed into myth or legend.
2	Centuries in the past. Accurate details will likely be very hard to find.
3	A decade or more. All that is left are tumbled stones and painful memories.
4	A couple of years. It has faded into trivia for everyone but the survivors of those they left behind.
5	Several seasons ago, long enough that the situation has largely stabilized or fizzled out.
6	A month or two. Short enough that refugees may still be pouring from the area.
7	Quite recently. Days, perhaps a week at most.
8	It never ceased, or is currently ongoing. Roll again, ignoring this result if it comes up again. The second result is how long ago the place's decay began.

d8	Were there any survivors?
1-2	No.
3	Scattered handfuls, a mere fraction of the former population.
4-5	A sizable band, constituting a few families or a distinct organization.
6-7	Good portions of the populace escaped before being claimed by whatever took the rest.
8	By some miracle, nearly everyone survived or fled successfully.

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Thanks for reading!