In the London borough of Bromley, twenty-two miles of tunnels crisscross the ground under the town of Chislehurst. The long interconnecting passages are actually three old mines, dug by miners searching for veins of chalk and flint. The cave’s depths range from 40 feet below the ground (near the entrance of what is known as the “Saxon” area) to 150 feet (in the deepest of the “Roman” area).
Although dubious legends of Druids and Romans using the mine date its start around 400 AD, a record from the 1200s is the first reference to the mine. After The Great Fire of London in 1666, new fireproof buildings needed lots of chalk for their mortar. The demand for chalk kept the mine lucrative and busy. In the 1830’s mining stopped and lime kilns were installed to make quicklime. Thirty years later, mushroom growers took over and turned the caves into a subterranean farm.
Interesting uses of the caves continues to this day (air raid shelter during the Blitz, a rock concert venue in the 60’s, LARPs), but any period of use could have been cover for an evil activity ready to be stuck in a Victoriana game.
The Chislehurst Caves are a ready made dungeon for an evil plot, a forgotten evil, or a monster’s lair. If you want an old school dungeon crawl to break up days of solving London society’s ills, this mine is a gold mine.
Here is some of the crazier lore of the Chislehurst Caves that could add texture to a dungeon crawl:
Druids
In 1903, an archeologist, named William Nichols, claimed Chislehurst Caves was used by the Druids as a temple. Supposedly, there is a stone alter with the outline of a child imprinted on it. The alter was used for blood sacrifices in their ceremonies. Most historians dismiss Nichol’s claims (and this description of Druidism in general), but what’s better than an ancient temple so close to London?
The presence of a past druidic ceremony could have catastrophic effects on mushrooms grown there. Or was it intentional?
Romans
Nichols also believed the deepest shafts and wells of the mines were dug by Roman slaves. The Romans would have used the chalk in the mine to build roads and walls.
Were all the lime kilns installed in 1830s real or was one a secret passage to a lower unexplored part of the tunnels? What did the Romans leave behind or what were they looking for?
Ghosts
Strange noises, footsteps, and shrieks have been heard deep in the caves. Most of these noises may be caused by the echoes and amplifications of the irregular cave walls, but it doesn’t have to be. Even if the spirits of druidic sacrifice or Roman slaves don’t wander the tunnels, cave-ins claimed the lives of many miners. Their ghosts may still haunt the passages that caused their deaths.
In the “Roman” section there is a reportedly haunted chamber, where a woman was killed in the early 1800s. She was pushed into pool of water and drowned. Supposedly, that chamber is the only place in the caves with no echoes following every sound.
Special Rule- Echoes
Down in the Chislehurst caves, sounds echo for miles and can last 30 seconds or more. This effect makes stealthy approaches unlikely, but it also makes searching by sound more difficult.
Any Hide and Sneak rolls while in the Chislehurst tunnels suffer a 3 black dice penalty. Attempts to find hidden persons using their echoes have a 5 black die penalty.
No comments:
Post a Comment