Falling from the Castle in the Sky

An enchanted castle - a dungeon - hanging from the path of the sun far, far above the earth. Inside the dungeon and the mind are intertwined. A visitor has no chance of falling, despite the constant precipitous drops and holes in the floor… provided they are sound of mind. As someone’s mental condition crumbles, so too does the castle, to them. If they ‘break’ at all (take a mental consequence, develop a madness, suffer a break, whatever way the system models it), they have a 50/50 chance to fall suddenly through a window, off a ledge, straight through the floor. This kills the adventurer.

If backstory and hints are required, thus: the castle’s original enchantment depended upon the willpower of its inhabitants to fly, moving under the collective direction of the citizens channeled through the Navigator (a large glass astrolabe) and its attendants. Over time the castle’s removal from the broader world led them to arrogance and xenophobia, and then to paranoia. As the jealousy, and anger, and fear grew, the collective ‘dream’ that kept the castle alive began to fail. Rather than falling from the sky the Navigator began to remove the most dangerous individuals, allowing them to fall alone. This phenomenon drove more paranoia, and thus, the society crumbled. Every citizen fell or died alone, leaving the castle abandoned. The collective unconscious dream of its people left the castle floating in the sky, drifting with the wind.