Catacombs

Catacombs are religious sites composed of a series of interconnected underground tombs. Often they house the skeletal remains of monks or other important figures for a religion. Fictional catacombs are often used in sword and sorcery worlds, or worlds with a slight horror element. Catacombs may feature walls of skulls, candles, altars, shrines, crypts, and relics. In game-oriented worlds they may function as dungeons. Catacombs are home to living skeletons, monks, and spirits.

Synonyms: underground crypts |
Example Mythonyms: The Deep Crypts, the Family Catacombs |
Designing Fictional Catacombs
Catacombs are often underground, labyrinthian mazes. Those that do not know the space or do not possess a map may become easy lost in their depths. When designing fictional catacombs, consider fostering a sense of claustrophobia. These narrow passageways may be jarringly interrupted by vast chambers containing altars or temples dedicated to a religion or god.

Additional Catacombs Elements
Element | Icon | Description | Sub-Elements | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Altar | ![]() | b, s | Simplified | For prayers, for sacrifices, for both? | Explore |
Archway | ![]() | s | An ornate stone or iron overhang | ||
Burial Chamber | ![]() | a, b | Who or what lies within? | ||
Candle | ![]() | s | Simplified | How brightly does it shine? | |
Church | ![]() | a, b | Simplified | A place of worship | Explore |
Coffin | ![]() | s | Is it empty or being used? | ||
Corpse | ![]() | s | Fresh or less fresh? | ||
Crematorium | ![]() | b | Simplified | To ashes we will return | |
Crypt | ![]() | a, b | Simplified | A burial chamber beneath a church or holy site | Explore |
Cult Chamber | ![]() | a | Necromancers? | Explore | |
Dead Graverobber | ![]() | s | Check his pockets | ||
Fence | ![]() | s | To surround the grounds | ||
Ferry Boat | ![]() | s, a | Some belief systems feature souls being ferried across a river | ||
Flowers | ![]() | s | What kind? | ||
Fog | ![]() | e | Simplified | An eerie grey mist | |
Fountain | ![]() | s, b | Does it still work? | Explore | |
Fresh Grave | ![]() | s | Who has been here? | ||
Gargoyle | ![]() | s | A stone carving of a monster | ||
Giant Monument | ![]() | b, s | Just how large is it? | Explore | |
Grave | ![]() | s | Simplified | Has it been disturbed? | |
Graveyard | ![]() | a, b | Simplified | An area of buried bodies | Explore |
Hallowed Ground | ![]() | a | A holy or revered area | Explore | |
Hedge | ![]() | s | To separate areas | ||
Hidden Passage | ![]() | a, b | Where does it lead? | ||
Iron Door | ![]() | s | What does it guard? | ||
Ivy | ![]() | s | A tangle of vines and leaves | ||
Mausoleum | ![]() | a, b | Simplified | An above-ground crypt | Explore |
Mist | ![]() | e | Eerie | ||
Obelisk | ![]() | b, s | Simplified | A stone monument | |
Offerings | ![]() | s | Simplified | Food, wine, flowers, or other items left to honor the dead | |
Open Grave | ![]() | s | Is it empty or is something in it? | ||
Pile of Bones | ![]() | s | Simplified | Rest in pieces | |
Pillar | ![]() | s, b | A stone column | ||
Portal | ![]() | b | To the underworld, to hell, or to somewhere else? | Explore | |
Pyre | ![]() | s | A funeral blaze | ||
Rain | ![]() | e | Like tears | ||
Rat Nest | ![]() | s | You call it a nest, they call it a home. | ||
Relic | ![]() | s | An ancient bit of bone from a prophet | Explore | |
Roots | ![]() | s | How extensive is the root system? | ||
Ruins | ![]() | b, s | Simplified | Of what type of structure? | Explore |
Sacrifice | ![]() | s | Human? | ||
Sanctuary | ![]() | b, s, a | Simplified | A holy, consecrated place | Explore |
Séance Circle | ![]() | a, s | To commune with the dead | ||
Skeleton | ![]() | s | Does it walk? | ||
Skull | ![]() | s | Nothing is connected to this head bone | ||
Statue | ![]() | b, s | Simplified | Of what? | Explore |
Summoning Circle | ![]() | a, s | To bring forth…something | ||
Tomb | ![]() | b, s | Simplified | For a prince, or for a pauper? | |
Tombstone | ![]() | s | What is written upon it? | ||
Torch | ![]() | s | Lit or unlit | ||
Tree | ![]() | s | Simplified | Willow trees are associated with death and dying | |
Underground River | ![]() | a | Where does it lead? | ||
Urn | ![]() | s | A vase of ash | ||
Vault | ![]() | b, a | What is inside? | ||
Wall of Bones | ![]() | b, s | Simplified | A wall of skulls and bones | |
Well | ![]() | b | Simplified | Well, well, well | Explore |