Riesending Cave, the Real Undermountain

David Skelector Fantasy, megadungeon, musings, Roleplaying Game, RPG, world-building

Here’s one of the most fascinating thing I’ve ever watched. Seriously. The top-notch production value and absolutely great soundtrack of this documentary makes it a unique experience. I don’t know much about speleology or spelunking but there’s something so strange, so visceral to these underground environments…

The Entrance at the top of Unterberg Mountain:

Sites translation:

  • Ursprungcanyon = Origin Canyon
  • Hochsammler = High Collector
  • Sammler = Collector
  • Lange Gerade = Long Straight
  • Sechs Schächte = Six Shafts
  • Auenland = Shire

The Sleeping Emperor’s legend:

I would be remiss not to mention that (like so many caves) there’s a legend attached to Riesending, of course! The Sleeping Emperor, sometimes Charlemagne, others Barbarossa. with their retinue of dwarves (Untersberger Mandln). When the Emperor will finally awakens, this will signal the end of the world as he’ll lead his army for one final great battle (presumably for the good guys but this is debatable imho).

Takeaways:

  • An arduous trek to reach the entrance and then days or even weeks of underground exploration, or logistical concerns cranked to 11
  • Semi-permanent bivouacs placed at safe (relatively) spots that need to be replenished regularly
  • The hugeness of the place would translate into a mix of point-crawling and proper dungeon-crawling into the megadungeon
  • The Underground Lake! (1:00:45)
  • The Really-Uncomfortable-You-Cross-it-Riding-Bridge! (58:25)
  • The Sleeping Emperor!

4 commentaires sur “Riesending Cave, the Real Undermountain”

  1. At every moment, when we see our cavers clip into ropes for safety (and the narrator reminds us of the years since discovery), I think: some poor fool had to manage this first without the same safety gear. Into the darkness, the truly unknown.

    Then I think: wait, how much gear is the camera crew hauling through these miserable caves?

    Of course, on the game side of it all, there’s no hook I adore more than the ropes, pitons, and other trad gear left behind by previous explorers. Who -obviously- didn’t clear out and take it with them, as real climbers do. My players, every time, look and think, « hey, don’t have to use -my- rope! » and delve into the darkness.

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