Megadungeon Island

I'm not sure if I'll use the weekly prompts, but may as well have them there for inspiration

Week 1: Ancient

Day 1: Hex 5,9

Terrain: Hills

Notable features: Rivers joining

Main vegetation: Evergreen cedars on the hills, acacia riverine forest by the rivers

Animals: monkeys, birds, the territory of the tamest and favourite hyena clan of gnolls?

Interesting locations: ruined fort, old entrance to megadungeon in the basement?, burial mound

Massive towering cedars cover the hills, creating an undulating open forest.

Burial mound

Gnolls who die in shame while ostracized by their pack are buried so that no creature will ever eat them (the worst fate for a gnoll).

Two entrances: one for those entering the tomb, one for those exiting (those who break tradition are attacked by the undead within, those who manage to slain an intruder disappear into a waft of ashes, pardoned of their ancient sins)

Crude caskets adorn the main room, each contains a mummy within

Altar to death god

Natural groto: pool of holy water,

Locked room: cruce caskets, reinforced with iron, welded to the ground; here gnolls bury gnolls who turned against their kind (dangerous mummies)

Stairs: lead into a pit, objects from the dead that served no purpose or were seen as unholy are thrown here.

(Dyson's map will work well for this)

Ruined fort

Use this map. Complete it during month 2.

Day 2: Hex 7,19

Terrain: Cliffs

Notable features: unstable rock formation/bridge in between its two tallest peaks

Main vegetation: almost barren rock, occasional shrub or herbs found in nooks protected from the sea wind & waves

Animals: kilpspringer, mountain zebra, Iberian ibex, vultures

Interesting locations: lighthouse

Looking impassable from the coastline due to the jagged, contorted peaks that form the coastline. However, invisible paths must make their way through the stringy peaks, in order to reach the lighthouse.

Day 3: Hex 5,25

Terrain: Beach

Notable features: ransacked pirate fort (used to be called jellyfort due to all the jellyfishes that wash on the beach)

Main vegetation: palm trees and xerophilic shrubs

Animals: crabs, seagulls, lizards, and the odd seal group

Hidden locations: weapon cache

Ransacked Pirate Fort

Dilapidated and burnt, little remains of the fort the pirates once used as a safehouse to retreat to in their island incursions. The pirate skeletons raised by the necromancer now roam free and act of their own will.
The skeleton encountered...
1 - will challenge to a duel anyone who uses the same weapons as them (scimitar or club the loser has to yield their weapons to the victor
2 - is digging holes in the ground (remembers there is a basement but has forgotten of the stairs)
3 - wears a patchwork of clothing covering it from head to toe; they are trying to convince the other skeletons they have regained life
4 - is sharpening their bones, convinced weapons work better than anything manufactured
5 - has a menagerie of skeleton pets, including a lizard, a parrot, and a turtle; they view groups without familiars or animals companions with utmost disgust
6 - is outfitted with a magical weapon and buckler, and is leading a patrol of 1d6 skeletons around the perimeter (they have forgotten why, but enjoy it)
The basement has heaps of rotten food, vermin, and a secret door that leads to the weapon cache.
Use this Dyson map.

Hidden Weapon Cache

The pirates secret beach cove contains their emergency stash, which the goblins never found. Use this dyson map.
Treasure: 555 gp in weapons plus 1d4 minor magic weapons; 900 gp in armors plus 1 minor magic shield

Day 5: Hex 4,6

Terrain: Craggy mountains

Notable features: sacred gnoll temple, altars throughout the climb to the sacred lighthouse

Main vegetation: shrubby, dwarfed trees

Animals: goats, klipspringers

Sacred Gnoll Temple

In the small valley between two mountains.

Sacred Lighthouse

According to gnoll legend, this "lighthouse" always was here. Their legends say this is how the gods warned mortals not to access the area, or be doomed to death (quite literally, as the light attracts ships into the rocky coastline, like moths to a candle).

Altars

13 altars, one dedicated to each deity. The altars are found on the side of the path that goes round and round the mountain, all the way to the top, where the sacred lighthouse is.
Common danger along the path: Rock caterpillars are abundant in this craggy mountain zone.
Rock caterpillars:

Consume bones as their main food source (osteophagous), other foods that they are known to eat are hair, nails, horns, and scales (keratophagous).

Can often be found accompanied by smaller animals (non vertebrates, like insects, spiders, etc), eager to feed on the meat they discard.

Almost went extinct during the years of the necromancer, who did their best to eradicate what was a horrendous plague in their opinion, but they are bouncing back up now that the necromancer died.

The rock caterpillars create lairs in caves or tunnels atop a pile of bones

They attach the eggs to the roof of the cave through a stringy silky substance

At the early stages, the eggs are geodes, full of a liquid substance which hardens and slowly becomes the body of the rock caterpillar.

Infertile eggs dry up, and are geodes which will get buried within when the caterpillar enters the cocoon phase.

Geode presence is a good indicator of past rock caterpillar activity.

As the rock caterpillars grow within, they get heavier, and eventually, the string breaks, the egg plummets and breaks, releasing the caterpillar.

The rock caterpillars find the closest source of bones, and start eating at them quickly, as there are often more eggs than bones.

After the eggs leave their lair, the rock caterpillar creates a cocoon as their final life stage.

The cocoon hardens and becomes a literal rock.

This is why caves can disappear in rock caterpillar territory.

Rock caterpillars are an essential part of the ecosystem, as they seal the burrows other creatures such as purple worms make.

As rock caterpillars depend on the presence of caves and tunnels, they are often on the move, since their last life stage deprives future rock caterpillars of a denning zone.

Tiny caterpillars skulk around predators, waiting for them to consume the flesh and leave the area until they can consume the bones. Few rock caterpillars survive this stage.

Young rock caterpillars pose no dangers to humans or their animals, as they do not start preying on animals until they become medium creatures.

Day 6 (6, 16)

Lake: has an eel fishing spot (nets, spears, and baskets)
Random wall made with a collection of rocks, sticks, and thorny dried shrubs, all held together by mud.
Around the wall there are many traps (mostly towards the west, but also some towards the eastern portions)
Eel fishers and smokers: a gang of goblins live here semi-permanently (until they get tired or pushed away by more interested parties). Because the goblins at the fort love eels, they often get a few guards to protect them against gnolls. Gnolls watch eel fishers with worry, because those damn maniacs keep getting in the water despite being afraid of it. When a party of goblin fishers gets too comfortable with water, gnolls typically come in and murder them (or try to). They often then steal the eels, too, free food.

Offerings tree

A tree bound with all manner of objects. The objects are tied, plastered, and sometimes forcefully inserted into its bark. It is somehow still alive.
Some are bound to be special or even magical. Grabbing one, however, will curse the individual. 1 - The object is glued to the part which grabbed it permanently.
2 - Their soul now lives in the object; if it breaks, the creature dies, if it is stolen, the thief can control that person
3 - The creature becomes a kleptomaniac (each day will try to steal something; DC to resist equals 1 + 1/2 cost of the item in gold coins)
4 - The creature becomes a magnet to goblins and their kin while they have the object in their possession (each random encounter triggers goblinoids in addition to whatever else was rolled) 5 - Every time a creature wakes from its sleep, they have lost 1d100 coins 6 - The creature has an inherent and strong fear of water (save to get on boats DC 20 ; save to enter water DC 30)
Goblins fighting in the area are emboldened by the sight of the offerings tree. They gain a +2 to their attack and damage rolls and will fight to the death to protect it.

Day 8 (3, 19

Terrain: Mountain

Notable features: full of engraved poles, the density of which increases the closer to the Great Matron Tomb (as much to honor her as to keep her spirit bound)

Main vegetation: Evergreen cedars on the lower part of the mountains, shrubs, moss and lichen the further up one goes

Animals: jackals, badgers, caracals, and eagles

Interesting locations: Great Matron Tomb

Great Matron Tomb

An elderly bugbear secluded herself here. In life, she was a druid of great power, and absolutely everyone in the island feared her. For better or worse, most do not recall her now, and think her dead.
In reality, she is undergoing the metamorphosis to become The final goblin. Once there is an encounter with a goblinoid in this hex, the goblins find out about the Great Matron being not dead, as long thought, but in her final stages of metamorphosis, and raise forces to protect this site against whatever may come against it.
This increase in goblin forces alerts the pirates, and triggers off their rebounded efforts to deal with the menace.

Interlude: Factions

Gnolls:

Surface

Deep

Characteristics: same goal, despite differences in culture and how to achieve the goal
Internal conflicts: Deep gnolls position of power (pissing off surface gnolls), deep gnolls began to demand slaves for underground (which is a new demand the surface gnolls do not want to accept)
How to differentiate them: ?

Humanoid slaves:

Captured by gnolls, forced to work on the surface (mostly)

Rogue skeletons that replaced slaves during the necromancer years

Characteristics: can be found in the surface few farms
Internal conflicts: separated, groups are not kept together, sometimes people in the same group don't even speak the same language so they cannot communicate
Goals: to leave the island, a few enterprising slaves have discovered a secret cave that only is apparent during low tide; thanks to the gnolls fear of the water, they are free to use this place (using fishing excursions as an excuse to visit)

Goblins:

Lake

Mountain

Megadungeon (several?)

Characteristics: equally wild and chaotic
Internal conflicts: abundant, goblin wars are ongoing, and rarely come to terms with one another; they usually want to either overtake the dungeon, or have devised a mad plan to set out to the sea (which often requires lots of stealing from each other)
How to differentiate them: ?

Pirates:

Anarchist pirates that enjoy the megadungeon island as a challenge

Secret pirate society that knows the dangers that the island harbors

Type

Island