Draft:Rampart Sewers

Omega 0.90.4

The Rampart Sewers are an 18-level dungeon beneath Rampart. They contain the Great Wyrm and its sword Defender, connecting the city's hidden exploration to both the Duke's quests and the Oracle's advice. They are not merely a short tunnel between city buildings.

City location

The hedge maze occupies city columns 05-26 and rows 35-47. Each game uses one of these four fixed layouts: m is the northern entrance, O the Oracle and > the sewer stairs.

These are spoiler maps. Coordinates are (column, row), starting at zero. Letters and highlighted symbols are article keys for sites and initial placements, not a literal game screenshot or a promise that a creature remains there.

Maze layout 1

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5678901234567890123456

35 "m""""""""""""""""""""

36 "."...".....".".."..."

37 "..."."."-".".?"."""."

38 """""."."?".".".".."."

39 ".......""".""".""..."

40 "-""""".".....""."""."

41 "?".....".""""""?.."."

42 """.".""".""""""""."."

43 "..."..?".""O?....."."

44 "-""""""".""""""""""."

45 "?..?"".".""""""."."."

46 """"">?"-......."."?."

47 """"""""""""""""""""""

Maze layout 2

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35 "m""""""""""""""""""""

36 "...................."

37 """"""""""""""""""""."

38 "?-."............?."."

39 "?".".""""""""""""."."

40 """."."............"."

41 "..."."-""""""""""."."

42 "."."."?"..?......."."

43 "."."."""-".""""""""."

44 ".".?."???".........."

45 "-""-"""""""""""""""""

46 "?>"...............-O"

47 """"""""""""""""""""""

Maze layout 3

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35 "m""""""""""""""""""""

36 "...................."

37 ""."""-""".""""-""".""

38 "...".?."..."........"

39 ""."""""""."""""""""""

40 "........"..........."

41 ""-"""".""""""-"""".""

42 "...."..."......"...."

43 "-""-"-"-""-"""-""-""-

44 "?"..?.".".."..."..."?

45 """"""""."""""."""."""

46 ">?-?-?-.-."?-.?"O.-??

47 """"""""""""""""""""""

Maze layout 4

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35 "m""""""""""""""""""""

36 "."...".....-."..."??"

37 "...".".""""""?"".""-"

38 """"".".""""".".""."."

39 ".....".""O"".""."".."

40 "."""""."".""-""".""."

41 "...-..."."?"?-?".."."

42 """.".""".""""""".."."

43 "..."..?".".""..-"""."

44 ".""""""".."..".".""."

45 ".".".".""""""".""."."

46 ".."."."??">?-.."."?."

47 """"""""""""""""""""""

Map key

Key	Meaning
"	Hedge
-	Closed door
.	Floor or open ground
>	Sewer stairs
?	Random maze encounter
O	Oracle
m	Hedge maze entrance

Coordinates are city coordinates, so each symbol can be located on the full city map. Hedge identities and ? encounters are generated separately. The sewer levels beyond > have random terrain; these diagrams locate their city entrance only.

Entrance and return

Find the downward staircase in the hedge maze. Its position varies among the four maze layouts. Use the descend command, >, while on the stairs; walking onto the tile alone does not enter the dungeon.

Ascending from sewer level 1 returns to the city entrance you used, not the eastern gates. Entering the sewers dismounts a rider. Preparation for travel on horseback therefore does not automatically cover underground movement through water.

Exploring the depths

The levels are generated as rooms and corridors, with a mixture of drained and flooded sections. Before the bottom level, generation has a one-in-four chance to use the ordinary room layout instead of the sewer layout. The bottom uses the sewer layout. Ordinary dungeon monsters, traps, special tiles and treasure supplement these passages.

Water can drag an unmounted character under if they wear body armor or carry more than half their weight allowance. Breathing protection and levitation are useful preparations, with the usual distinction between crossing a tile and deliberately activating what is underneath you.

The Return spell taught by the Explorers' Club shuttles between the first and deepest explored levels of the active dungeon. In the sewers it does not directly send you to the surface or to a city shop. Keep enough mana and allow for its charging delay.

The Great Wyrm

The Great Wyrm is placed on level 18 until defeated. It carries Defender, the sword requested by the Duke after the Goblin King's corpse quest. The Wyrm can swim and makes three physical attacks. It is immune to cold, poison, fear and sleep, but has no functioning cold projectile or additional Wyrm special attack in this version's normal combat routine.

Killing the Wyrm completes the Oracle's sewer milestone. Merely obtaining the sword, or giving it to the Duke, is a different achievement. The Great Wyrm's head has no alchemical transformation at Ambrosias'; do not confuse it with the dragon remains that produce armor.

Strategy

Plan this as a descent with a route back, not an extension of the safe shopping district. Food, recovery and a solution to flooded corridors matter well before the boss. The nearby city can supply these, but the entrance remains separated from most services by the maze.

Keep Defender if still working toward the Duke's Knight promotion. Selling it immediately can turn a completed expedition into another search for the same quest item. Conversely, a player who wants to keep the sword as equipment should account for the fact that the Duke takes it when granting the promotion.

Background

Rampart's tourist guide admits that explorers sent into the sewers have disappeared. The dungeon's depth and Great Wyrm give that warning a concrete counterpart to the city's otherwise promotional description.