Cynidicea - The Lost City (Sin-eh-dee-see-uh)
"The Lost City"
The Fall of Cynidicea1
Centuries ago, Cynidicea was a rich and fertile City-State located in The Wilds. Its people reclaimed much land from the desert, especially during the reign of King Alexander - the last and greatest king of Cynidicea. Upon King Alexander's death, a huge pyramid was raised in his honor. This pyramid was the largest and most important building in the city.
The fall of Cynidicea began on the day that workers, digging under the great pyramid, chanced upon the lair of a strange monster called Zargon. Zargon was roughly humanoid in shape, though larger than most humans. In place of arms and legs it had twelve tentacles. Its head was that of a giant lizard, with a large black horn in the middle of its forehead.
Zargon killed most of the workers, then began hunting prey at night through the streets of Cynidicea. The city guard was not able to kill the monster. At last, the city rulers began sending criminals from the jails into the pyramid for Zargon to feed on.
In time, a strange cult arose that worshipped the monster as a god. The cult viewed the monster's victims as religious sacrifices. Before the cult, most Cynidiceans worshiped Gorm, Usamigaras, or Madarua2, but they were forsaken in favor of the worship of the monster Zargon. Finally, most of the citizens of Cynidicea worshipped it.
The worshippers of Zargon began to look for strange pleasures. They sought oblivion in rare wines and bizarre drugs. Workers no longer repaired the irrigation ditches. Rich land turned into desert.
The army lost its discipline. People outside the city rebelled or moved away as chaos spread outward from Cynidicea. Later, barbarian and orc warriors stormed over the walls and destroyed the city. The only people of Cynidicea who survived its destruction were those who had fled underground to the vast catacombs under the city. There, led by Priests of Zargon, the Cynidiceans tried to rebuild the city.
The surviving people based their new life around a huge underground lake fed by channels cut through solid rock. Built in the reign of King Alexander, the lake had been the original city's water supply. On its shores, the people grew mushrooms and other edible fungi. They built houses using stones from the ruins above.
The new underground city was much smaller than the ancient capital, but it was safer because it was hidden beneath the desert sands. Above, drifting sands covered the original city, and Cynidicea was lost in the vastness of the desert.
The Cynidiceans
Generation after generation of Cynidiceans have lived out their lives underground. Though still human, their skin has become very pale and their hair is bone-white. The Cynidiceans have developed dark vision and, like Drow, have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when they, the target of their attack, or whatever they are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Every Cynidicean wears a stylized mask, usually of an animal or human face. Some are made of wood, some of papier-mâché, and some of metal. They are decorated with beads, bones, feathers, and jewels. Most Cynidiceans wear fancy clothes, flashy jewelry, and carry short swords. Some paint their bodies with bright colors.
The Cynidiceans are a dying race. Each new generation is smaller than the last. Most Cynidiceans have forgotten that an outside world exists, living most of their lives in weird dreams. The times when they seem normal, tending their fields and animals, are becoming fewer and fewer as the dreams replace reality. Their unusual costumes and masks only strengthen their dream worlds.
Government
No central government. Multiple factions vie for power
Factions of Cynidicea
A few Cynidiceans are nearly normal. These Cynidiceans are trying to restore the worship of the old gods Gorm, Usamigaras, and Madarua. They hope to stop the slow death of their society and regain the past glory of Cynidicea.
The Brotherhood of Gorm. Gorm is the god of battle, storms, and competition. The Brotherhood of Gorm are male fighters of Lawful Neutral alignment. All wear golden masks of the face of Gorm, a curly-haired, bearded man with a stern gaze. Each Brother also wears iron chain mail over a blue tunic. Under the armor, each has a small tattoo depicting four bolts of lightning radiating from the center point on his right shoulder. The Brothers believe in justice tempered by mercy. They worship Gorm on the fourth day of each week and consider lightning storms to be holy.
The Magi of Usamigaras. This faction worships Usamigaras, the goddess of magic, nature, and trickery. They are all Chaotic Good wizards/sorcerers, wearing silver masks of the face of Usamigaras, the smiling child. The Magi also carry silver daggers and wear rainbow-colored robes.
The right palm of each is marked with small silver lines in the shape of crescent moon strung like a bow. The Magi are usually friendly toward clerics, druids, rogues, and most other arcane magic users. They are also friendly toward elves, but look down upon martial classes, dwarves, and halflings. Usamigaras is worshipped on certain days when the heavenly stars and planets are in the right patterns. The Magi record the positions of the stars and planets so that they will know when their holy days are.
The Warrior Maidens of Madarua. The Maidens worship Madarua, goddess of life, nature, and the changing seasons. They are Neutral female fighters. The Warrior Maidens wear bronze masks of Madarua, a beautiful woman with a wild, tangled wreath of hair, leaves, and vines. They also wear bronze chain mail armor over green tunics. Each Maiden has a small, sickle-shaped scar on the inside of her left wrist. Madarua has a special holy day at the beginning of each of the four seasons.
The three factions do not get along well. Each faction is sure that only its members know the proper w ay to restore the lost greatness of Cynidicea. Often, when members of different factions meet, they argue or fight. It is possible for the three factions to cooperate, but such cooperation is rare.
The Priests of Zargon serve the evil monster Zargon and control the underground city. They are extremely zealous when it comes to recruiting for their god - join or be taken as a sacrifice tends to be their automatic reaction when encountering those not already given to their cult.
1This information has been adapted, edited, or re-written in part to fit into the Chronala homebrew campaign setting.
This material is taken directly from, with some edits, from the Basic D&D Module B3 - The Lost City by Tom Moldvay, (c)1982 TSR Hobbies, Inc.
2The Cynidiceans use the names Gorm, Usamigaras, and Madarua (original module to make this fit into Chronala I have kept the names but the symbology coincides with Kord, Sehanine, and Melora which should create some interesting opportunities for players to recognize slightly altered symbology for the current names of the gods but note that the Cynidiceans call them by different (wrong) names due to them somewhat forgetting theses gods and only just trying to reintroduce them after centuries of worshiping Zargon.
RUINED SETTLEMENT
45,000 BCE
- Session 10 – The Lost City – Snakes In A Pyramid
- Session 11 - The Lost City – Taming of the Shrews
- Session 12 – The Lost City – Snakes & Gargoyles
- Session 13 – The Lost City – A Surprising But Inevitable Betrayal
- Session 14 – The Lost City – Doppelgangers, Ogres, and Conmen
- Session 15 – The Lost City – Catatonics and Cubes
- Session 16 – The Lost City – Priest of Zargon
- Session 17 – The Lost City – Acid baths, Wine, and an Owlbear
- Session 18 – The Lost City – Ogres Revisited
- Session 19 – The Lost City – Heading Back Up
- Session 20 – The Lost City – Tier 3 Revisited
- Session 21 – The Lost City – Maidens and Magi
- Session 6 - Exploring Cynidecea
- Session 7 - Secrets of Cynidecea
- Session 8 – Factions of Cynidecea
- Session 9 – The Lost City – Zombies!
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