Build a Cave

[Minibit]

Caves are fissures in the land large enough for a human to enter. A cave can be a tunnel one must crawl through on one's stomach, or they can be cavernous openings in the earth

Caves are typically formed by the following forces:

• Man-made, by explosive force or meticulous mining
• Worn away by rivers or oceans in soluble rock such as limestone or sandstone
• Worn away by the elements, such as seasonal rain or disaster such as hurricane or typhoon

Caves can be living places for persons or animals, they can be storage facilities; in the days when buildings were made out of less solid materials such as clay, straw, or wood which was subject to fire and rot, caves were desirable for dugout houses and also for barns to house animals in, as the earth was more durable than the above materials.

Caves can have stalactites and stalagmites if there is moisture to drip materials from the ceiling to the floor, the deposits piling up, but dry caves in deserts and other arid ecosystems are far more likely to not have stalactites and stalacmites

In this exercise, invent a cave in your world.

Cave's Name (optional):
Cave's use:
Who/what lives there:
Does any plant life live inside:
Is there one exit or many:
Is it tunnels or a simple cavern:
Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough?
Are there stalactites/stalagmites?
Are there other materials built up inside (sand, gravel, soil, etc)
Are there water systems in the cave?
What formed the cave?
Is it recently formed, or older?
What kind of ecosystem (desert, swamp, mountain etc) is it in?

 

[Tanstin]

Cave's Name: Ursa's Den
Cave's use: Bear Refuge
Who/what lives there: Bears, usually North American Forest species
Does any plant life live inside: Mosses, and ferns
Is there one exit or many: One single entrance, the entrance is lined with ferns
Is it tunnels or a simple cavern: A simple tunnel like structure that leads into a large circular den, that is rather dim inside.
Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough?: Smoothened
Are there stalactites/stalagmites?: None.
Are there other materials built up inside (sand, gravel, soil, etc): A mix between soil and gravel, gravel being near the entrance, covered with ferns
Are there water systems in the cave?: As it is built into a mountain, a stream runs down a crevasse that leads into the cave, the water slides down the sides of the cave, collecting in a small pool in the far end of the cave
What formed the cave?
Is it recently formed, or older?:Older, Man-made, by Men of ancient times, due to the fact that they no longer live, it has become a popular shelter for bears.
What kind of ecosystem: Mountain/Forest

 

[York]

Cave's Name : Hells gates
Cave's use: Unknown
Who/what lives there: Strange creatures, ghost-like, violent, but rarely seen... Their victims are dragged away leaving no trace of them being there behind, except for a few scraps of clothing or occasionally stains of blood...
Does any plant life live inside: None
Is there one exit or many: Only one way in... One way out....
Is it tunnels or a simple cavern: It's a large nexus of tunnels leading deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth... They may lead deeper, after all; the spelunkers never returned once they dared to explore them..
Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough?: It varies, the entire cave getting rougher, especially at the ceiling as it goes deeper down.
Are there stalactites/stalagmites?: Yes, big ones at first but then they grow smaller in size, but larger in number, remaining the same size a few meters into the bowels of the cave...
Are there other materials built up inside (sand, gravel, soil, etc): unknown
Are there water systems in the cave?: If you consider the red, and bubbling blood-like substance water..
What formed the cave?: Who knows... They say it was a shift in the earths tectonic plates....
Is it recently formed, or older?: It's been there for a long long time...
What kind of ecosystem (desert, swamp, mountain etc) is it in?: Deep down at the base of the mountains, the land it's located is charred, barren, and nearly unrecognizable.

 

[Jennifer.exe]

Cave's Name (optional): Mirage Cave
Cave's use: Shelter in the hot desert
Who/what lives there: Many people come and go...
Does any plant life live inside: Some scrub grass, and a unique plant that only grows inside that cave, called Mirage Fruit.
Is there one exit or many: There are two entrances/exits on the left and right side of the cave, and a secret exit through the back.
Is it tunnels or a simple cavern: Its a simple cavern.
Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough? Its very smooth
Are there stalactites/stalagmites? Not really
Are there other materials built up inside (sand, gravel, soil, etc) There is a fine mix of sand and soil
Are there water systems in the cave? There is a small bubbling spring.
What formed the cave? Some say it was man made long ago by people who tried to make traveling across the fierce desert easier.
Is it recently formed, or older? Its been around as long as anyone could remember.
What kind of ecosystem (desert, swamp, mountain etc) is it in? Desert

 

[ThousandSwords]

Cave's Name (optional): Hyrmidr's Grotto
Cave's use: This cave is most commonly used as shelter from the many storms that wrack the land of the Ynglingr.
Who/what lives there: Usually no-one, however, the occasional bear or such take shelter within to hibernate.
Does any plant life live inside: Except for the occasional mushroom around the entrance to the cave, no.
Is there one exit or many: There is only one exit and entrance to the cave.
Is it tunnels or a simple cavern: It's a simple cavern, worn in through water seeping through the ground during summer melts.
Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough? The cave walls are smooth through water action.
Are there stalactites/stalagmites? Yes, both, due to water erosion.
Are there other materials built up inside (sand, gravel, soil, etc) There is quite a lot of gravel near the bottom parts of the cave, however, that is underneath a standing pool of water.
Are there water systems in the cave? The main water system is the standing pool of near freezing water near the bottom of it, where erosion continues to wear away at the mountain.
What formed the cave? Natural erosion over time as water seeped into a small crack into the mountain. Eventually, enough water ate away at the rocks to dig out a solid cave within the mountain.
Is it recently formed, or older? It is a rather old cave, due to the action of erosion.
What kind of ecosystem (desert, swamp, mountain etc) is it in? Mountains.

 

[Villainous_Chocolate]

Cave's Name (optional): Sheltered Spring
Cave's use: shelter, and a water source
Who/what lives there: different things come and go. But, mostly seen around are small animals. Fish live in the spfing inside.
Does any plant life live inside: some water plants grow in the water
Is there one exit or many: there's only one
Is it tunnels or a simple cavern: simple cavern
Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough? Farely smooth
Are there stalactites/stalagmites? No, not really
Are there other materials built up inside (sand, gravel, soil, etc) there's some sand in and around the water
Are there water systems in the cave? Yes
What formed the cave? The elements, and water
Is it recently formed, or older? Recent, but many have heard abou t it, because the few who have been there say the water's magic
What kind of ecosystem (desert, swamp, mountain etc) is it in? At the base of a rocky mountain, with a waterfall nearby.

X3

 

[Seth Bloodmoon]

Cave's Name: That one cave.

Cave's use: It is used as a hideaway and safe have by a thieves' guild called the Crimson Skulls.

Who/what lives there: A mix of humans, elves, and dwarves, the numbers varying.

Does any plant life live inside: Occasional patches of inedible fungi.

Is there one exit or many: There are at least three different exits.

Is it tunnels or a simple cavern: Many tunnels, a few small caverns, and one large cavern.

Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough?: They are rough.

Are there stalactites/stalagmites? Several of each in the largest cavern.

Are there other materials built up inside: No

Are there water systems in the cave?: One of the smaller caverns has a natural, freshwater spring.

What formed the cave?: It was formed naturally.

Is it recently formed, or older?: Older

What kind of ecosystem (desert, swamp, mountain etc) is it in?: It is in a temperate, mountain region.

 

[Sabofleur]

Cave's Name: North Hettin Pass

Cave's use: Transit underneath a mountain.

Who/what lives there: Aside from various species of blind carp, spirits and travelers.

Does any plant life live inside: Yes. Aside from six different species of moss, twelve ferns, three carnivorous plants, and eighteen different mushrooms, there are still many caves that branch off from the main tunnel. There could be dozens more that haven't been found. They're also unique to the cave itself.

Is there one exit or many: Many. There's the main openings which allow the Hettin River to run from the sea to the city of Delfayn, as well as some that were created by stray streams of water.

Is it tunnels or a simple cavern: Tunnels.

Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough?
Most of the surfaces are smooth to the touch due to millions of years of erosion.

Are there stalactites/stalagmites?
In the lower cave systems, yes, but the main tunnel has none.

Are there other materials built up inside?
There are plenty of gems that could be harvested from the lowest cave system, but the conditions are far too hazardous for normal travelers. Aside from that and random deposits of sand littered throughout the caves, it's mostly a cave made of limestone and various igneous stones.

Are there water systems in the cave?
Yes, the Hettin River passes through the cave.

What formed the cave?
While scientists say that the cave was created by erosion at a well placed crack in the base of Mt. Felrys, some people seem to be under the impression that it was either the Faceless Lady, the Man in the Mirror, or some other spiritual being with a thing for hammers.

Is it recently formed, or older?
Older than civilization, most people think.

What kind of ecosystem is it in?
It goes from the fertile soils of the Heartlands to the cold, desolate tundra that lies North of the mountain range.

 

[The Watch Dog]

Cave's Name (optional):
Subway Tunnel #9

Cave's use:
Originally blasted out a decade ago, the cave's initial planned use was to serve as, like the name suggests, a subway tunnel. However, heavy moisture and smooth, unstable dirt floor rendered the cavern improper to use and quite dangerous. The cave was abandoned.

Who/what lives there:
Tunnel rats.

Does any plant life live inside:
Moss

Is there one exit or many:
A small, footlong hole, serves as entrance to the rat packs residing into the tunnel.

Is it tunnels or a simple cavern:
A simple, straight away cavern.

Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough?
Rough. The explosion and unpolished drill dig-through left quite a lot of scars and holes on the walls.

Are there stalactites/stalagmites?
No.

Are there other materials built up inside (sand, gravel, soil, etc)
Some man made columns placed by the crew that worked on the subway can be found here and there, made out of concrete or steel. The rest of the cave is made out of rough stone, and the floor is composed of soft sandstone.

Are there water systems in the cave?
It is suspected that the moist comes from some underground waterbank somewhere above the tunnel. Such a thing hadn't been discovered though.

What formed the cave?
Explosions and drill.

Is it recently formed, or older?
Recent, modern.

What kind of ecosystem (desert, swamp, mountain etc) is it in?
Urban.

 

[Sheridan]

Cave's Name: Cave of the Screeching Watchman
Cave's use: This cave is the home to the guardian of this section of the world
Who/what lives there: The Screeching Watchman is a giant bat the size of a house. He is as black as night and as rough as stone. He lives inside this giant cavern.
Does any plant life live inside: Other than algae in the water? No.
Is there one exit or many:The entrance is a giant tunnel in the size of an ocean cliff high above the water but there is no other way in or out,there is no need for another way out,only he would ever go into the cave.
Is it tunnels or a simple cavern: The entrance is one long tunnel but at the end of it is a monstrous sized cavern.
Are the cave walls/floor/ceiling smooth or rough? The walls and veiling are very rough but the floor is smooth since the entire place is covered in eight feet of water with forty feet of open air between the water and the ceiling.
Are there stalactites/stalagmites? There are no stalagmites but there are indeed stalactites,all over the veiling in fact.
Are there other materials built up inside: There is nothing inside the cave other than the stone,water,and the giant bat.
Are there water systems in the cave: Yes,when large waves come along the tops of the waves splash into the cave and over time they have made a lake in the cavern.
What formed the cave: Back during the apocalypse when the demons had bombed the world they had placed a bomb in the mountain,thinking it would collapse once they were gone but instead it made this giant beautiful cavern.
Is it recently formed, or older: It was formed about two hundred and fifty years ago.
What kind of ecosystem is it in: The cave is on a steep cliff face by the ocean. Above is a city named Arfell on some plains that extend for miles then comes a pine forest.