Underdark
Encyclopedia
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons
role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt
series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterranean network of interconnected caverns and tunnels, stretching beneath entire continents and forming a literal underworld
for whichever surface setting it is added to.
s World of Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms
. The concept of a dungeon that spanned a planet was first introduced by Gary Gygax
in his D-series of game modules and at the end of the G-series
. The Underdark is described in detail in the 1986 manual Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
, by Doug Niles. It is also a part of the Eberron
campaign setting, in which it is called Khyber and is home to a host of evil beings driven deep into the caverns at the end of the age of demons
.
Much of the literary attention for this deep underworld setting was received in the sourcebooks and accessories for the Forgotten Realms setting. R.A. Salvatore's novels about the fictional character Drizzt Do'Urden originated much of this development. Some other sources of information about the Underdark are more generic; these may not specifically refer to the Forgotten Realms at all.
The Underdark is also the setting for the expansion pack to the computer game Neverwinter Nights
called Hordes of the Underdark, which features the port city of Lith My'athar, and the mysterious Seer.
s, aboleth
, and other strange, sinister creatures. It is a place where few humans go and from where even fewer return".
The Underdark is described as a strange, alien setting, entirely underground. Bizarre creatures and ancient races populate it, nearly all of whom are of hostile nature. The fictional Underdark's physical characteristics are based heavily upon conditions in real-world caverns deep underground, but there are differences, owing to its existence in a fantasy setting. One notable variance from hard realism is the sheer size of the Underdark in a typical setting.
, occasional poor air circulation, and getting lost. Cave floor and ceiling collapses are also a hazard.
There is no light
except for occasional patches of phosphorescent fungus
; most Underdark inhabitants either have highly developed sense
s other than sight
or have developed Darkvision.This was infravision before the 3rd edition of the game rules. Food
can be extremely difficult to find, and much of the natural vegetation
is poison
ous. In addition, potable water is seldom easy to locate in this setting.
In the Forgotten Realms setting, the Underdark is permeated with a magical energy the Drow call faerzress, which is used as a source of energy by the native plant life but which interferes with scrying and teleportation spells.
setting, Araumycos (Dwarvish
, literally meaning "Great Fungus") is a fiction
al enormous fungal
growth that lives in the Upper Underdark of the continent of Faerûn
. It is a single organism that exists in the region beneath the High Forest, beginning at a depth of one mile under the surface and ending at a depth of three miles. It is immune to magic and greatly resistant to psionic energy. Araumycos will sometimes attack intruders with poison, spores, and manifestations that resemble oozes and slimes.
Araumycos houses many fungal creatures of all varieties. Travel within Araumycos is difficult, as the fungus regenerates quickly. Many passages and caves are blocked by the fungal growths.
There is no unified underground government, although there are individual city-states, each with varying forms of rule. Thus there are cities ruled by an autocracy, magocracy, matriarchy, monarchy, theocracy, and so forth. The underdark economy primarily deals in armor, exotic goods, magic, slaves, timber and weapons. The ethical code of many indigenous races tends toward evil or indifferent behaviors; good natured sentiments are rare.
In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, R.A. Salvatore created the fictional city Menzoberranzan
in the Underdark for The Dark Elf Trilogy
. This city is controlled by a fictional race of dark elves (drow).
of computer games features journeys through the underdark, as did Icewind Dale II
. An expansion pack based on the Underdark setting was released as part of Neverwinter Nights
game series. It was titled Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
. The tilesets which came with the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack were utilized in several Persistent Worlds, most notably Escape from the Underdark.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt
The Dark Elf Trilogy
The Dark Elf Trilogy is a prequel to the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow, or dark elf, was originally written as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy to Wulfgar the barbarian. However, the author soon realized how popular the character was, and Drizzt...
series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterranean network of interconnected caverns and tunnels, stretching beneath entire continents and forming a literal underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
for whichever surface setting it is added to.
Use in campaign settings
The Underdark is featured prominently in the campaign settingCampaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
s World of Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
. The concept of a dungeon that spanned a planet was first introduced by Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
in his D-series of game modules and at the end of the G-series
Against the Giants
Against the Giants is an adventure module written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1981 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. It combines the G series of modules previously published in 1978: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, and Hall of...
. The Underdark is described in detail in the 1986 manual Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
Dungeoneer's Survival Guide is a supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was written by Douglas Niles, and published by TSR, Inc...
, by Doug Niles. It is also a part of the Eberron
Eberron
Eberron is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, set in a period after a vast destructive war on the continent of Khorvaire...
campaign setting, in which it is called Khyber and is home to a host of evil beings driven deep into the caverns at the end of the age of demons
Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
.
Much of the literary attention for this deep underworld setting was received in the sourcebooks and accessories for the Forgotten Realms setting. R.A. Salvatore's novels about the fictional character Drizzt Do'Urden originated much of this development. Some other sources of information about the Underdark are more generic; these may not specifically refer to the Forgotten Realms at all.
The Underdark is also the setting for the expansion pack to the computer game Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
called Hordes of the Underdark, which features the port city of Lith My'athar, and the mysterious Seer.
Features
The Underdark is described as "a vast subterranean realm inhabited by drow, mindflayerIllithid
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, illithids are monstrous humanoid aberrations with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark...
s, aboleth
Aboleth
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, aboleths are a fictive race of malevolent, eel-like aberrations with potent psionic abilities...
, and other strange, sinister creatures. It is a place where few humans go and from where even fewer return".
The Underdark is described as a strange, alien setting, entirely underground. Bizarre creatures and ancient races populate it, nearly all of whom are of hostile nature. The fictional Underdark's physical characteristics are based heavily upon conditions in real-world caverns deep underground, but there are differences, owing to its existence in a fantasy setting. One notable variance from hard realism is the sheer size of the Underdark in a typical setting.
Environment
Within the context of a game, the Underdark is extremely dangerous, especially to characters or other fictional creatures that are not native to it. There are the usual dangers associated with caverns: claustrophobiaClaustrophobia
Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms...
, occasional poor air circulation, and getting lost. Cave floor and ceiling collapses are also a hazard.
There is no light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
except for occasional patches of phosphorescent fungus
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
; most Underdark inhabitants either have highly developed sense
Sense
Senses are physiological capacities of organisms that provide inputs for perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, most notably neuroscience, cognitive psychology , and philosophy of perception...
s other than sight
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
or have developed Darkvision.This was infravision before the 3rd edition of the game rules. Food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
can be extremely difficult to find, and much of the natural vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
is poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous. In addition, potable water is seldom easy to locate in this setting.
In the Forgotten Realms setting, the Underdark is permeated with a magical energy the Drow call faerzress, which is used as a source of energy by the native plant life but which interferes with scrying and teleportation spells.
Araumycos
In the Forgotten RealmsForgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
setting, Araumycos (Dwarvish
Dwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
, literally meaning "Great Fungus") is a fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al enormous fungal
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
growth that lives in the Upper Underdark of the continent of Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
. It is a single organism that exists in the region beneath the High Forest, beginning at a depth of one mile under the surface and ending at a depth of three miles. It is immune to magic and greatly resistant to psionic energy. Araumycos will sometimes attack intruders with poison, spores, and manifestations that resemble oozes and slimes.
Araumycos houses many fungal creatures of all varieties. Travel within Araumycos is difficult, as the fungus regenerates quickly. Many passages and caves are blocked by the fungal growths.
Inhabitants
The Underdark is home to many predators and a wide array of races and fantasy monsters. As noted above, most of these are hostile to others. These races include, but are not limited to:- AbolethAbolethIn the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, aboleths are a fictive race of malevolent, eel-like aberrations with potent psionic abilities...
s - BeholderBeholderThe beholder is a fictional monster in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It resembles a floating orb of flesh with a large mouth, single central eye, and lots of smaller eyestalks on top with deadly magical powers....
s - DerroDerro (Dungeons & Dragons)The derro are a fictional species of monstrous humanoids in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. They were first devised for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition adventure Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth...
- Drow (dark elves)
- DuergarDuergar (Dungeons & Dragons)In Dungeons & Dragons fantasy, the duergar, or gray dwarves are a cruel and evil subrace of dwarves.-Publication history:The duergar are named after the dvergar of Norse mythology, who were the builders of Gleipnir...
(gray dwarves) - DwarvesDwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
- IllithidIllithidIn the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, illithids are monstrous humanoid aberrations with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark...
s (Mind Flayers) - Hook horrorHook horrorIn the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, a hook horror is a bipedal, subterranean monster that looks like a vulture-like humanoid with bony hooks in place of hands.-Publication history:...
s - Kuo-toaKuo-toaIn the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the kuo-toa are fish-like monstrous humanoids that dwell in the Underdark, and in the sea.-Publication history:...
- MyconidMyconidMyconids are a race of intelligent roughly humanoid fungi found in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.-Publication history:The myconid first appeared in the first edition in the adventure module A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords , and then the original Monster Manual II .The myconid ...
s (Fungus-men) - Pech
- SvirfneblinSvirfneblinIn the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, svirfneblin , or deep gnomes, are a sub-race of gnome.-Publication history:The svirfneblin first appears in first edition in the adventure modules D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa , and D3 Vault of the Drow , and then in the original Fiend Folio...
(Deep Gnomes)
There is no unified underground government, although there are individual city-states, each with varying forms of rule. Thus there are cities ruled by an autocracy, magocracy, matriarchy, monarchy, theocracy, and so forth. The underdark economy primarily deals in armor, exotic goods, magic, slaves, timber and weapons. The ethical code of many indigenous races tends toward evil or indifferent behaviors; good natured sentiments are rare.
In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, R.A. Salvatore created the fictional city Menzoberranzan
Menzoberranzan
Menzoberranzan, the City of Spiders, is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. It is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills...
in the Underdark for The Dark Elf Trilogy
The Dark Elf Trilogy
The Dark Elf Trilogy is a prequel to the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow, or dark elf, was originally written as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy to Wulfgar the barbarian. However, the author soon realized how popular the character was, and Drizzt...
. This city is controlled by a fictional race of dark elves (drow).
Computer games
Parts of the Baldur's Gate seriesBaldur's Gate (series)
Baldur's Gate is a franchise of action role-playing games released under the Dungeons & Dragons Video Game Licenses. It is set in the fictional campaign setting of Forgotten Realms and takes place in its fictional continent of Faerûn. It takes place mostly in the Western Heartlands, but has also...
of computer games features journeys through the underdark, as did Icewind Dale II
Icewind Dale II
Icewind Dale II is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment, released on August 27, 2002. Like its 2000 predecessor Icewind Dale, the game is set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting in the Icewind Dale region...
. An expansion pack based on the Underdark setting was released as part of Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
game series. It was titled Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark is an expansion pack for the role-playing video game Neverwinter Nights produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames Entertainment...
. The tilesets which came with the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack were utilized in several Persistent Worlds, most notably Escape from the Underdark.
Further reading
- Pramas, ChrisChris Pramas-Career:His works for Dungeons & Dragons include: Slavers , Guide to Hell , Apocalypse Stone , Vortex of Madness , as well as some work on the third edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide .He has also done work for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.He quit Wizards of the Coast in 2000 to...
. "Underground Scenarios." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#294. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.