Death in Depth Within the Mythic Underworld

One of the signature motifs of the OSR genre is that the dungeon is the mythic underworld. What if it is also the literal underworld?

If a PC dies within the dungeon, their soul is banished to the underworld… which is to say, a deeper part of the dungeon. How deep? Take the character’s current level, round down to the closest standard die size used in the game, and roll that die. That’s how many levels down they go from where they died.

For example, say a fifth-level character dies on the third level of the dungeon. The player rounds down from five to four. They roll a d4 and the result is a 3. The current level plus three means their soul is now trapped on the sixth level of the dungeon.

The soul might descend straight down, or they may be sent to some random part of the new level. The character’s soul cannot do anything about their predicament on their own. They are a shade, lacking the physicality and ego to alter their situation. They will drift endlessly down here… unless their companions decide to come rescue them.

"Babe please come back you were only 30 XP away from leveling up"

Complicating Rescue 

Exploring the dungeon is a dangerous idea. Attempting to save a soul trapped in the dungeon is much riskier. The additional danger can take a few forms.

Bargain

The rescue party has to make a deal with someone to take the rescued soul back up to the surface. The doomed soul is literally bound by high magic (ninth-level equivalent or greater) to the dungeon floor they’re on. But there’s someone on this dungeon level who can make an exception. This might be a literal lord of the afterlife, gatekeeper, or psychopomp. Or it may be some ordinary dungeon faction or monster that has been gifted this authority by the dungeon’s gestalt consciousness. Either way, this is no ordinary jailbreak. The PCs should be expected to do something difficult or give up something precious to bargain for the lost soul. 

Fade

The lost soul is fading. Shades only last so long before their consciousness dilutes into the ambient fabric of the underworld. If you want to rescue them, you’re on the clock. It is at the DM’s discretion how much time the PCs have, but it should be known to them (or discoverable), and the more powerful the lost soul, the shorter the clock. 

Exchange

The soul can be returned to the surface, but another soul must take its place. It must be a willing soul, not some innocent or random dungeon denizen kidnapped from an upper level (or at least, it can’t be without serious consequences for this crime, which is not just an ethical and moral issue, but also a violation of the rules of the afterlife). It must be a member of the party, or someone they care deeply about, and the sacrificed soul can’t later be rescued in turn; they’re gone forever.

Geas

The rescued soul can leave, but only because Death has found a greater purpose for them. Perhaps some far greater transgressor is out there in the world – a lich or another immortal whose soul, so long withheld from the reaper’s rightful grasp, has become a rich prize. The rescued soul is bound to pursue whatever quest Death gives them. As with other consequences, this is high magic, and is (almost) impossible to subvert or cheat.

Next Week: Worldbuilding Implications of the Megadungeon as Literal Underworld