Light Shafts

[jcstephens]

A light shaft is a shaft going down into the earth with a beam of light running down the center of it. I found the idea in my notebook and I want to use it for a new megadungeon, but I don't remember where it came from. does it ring a bell with anyone else?

[Chainsaw]

Real life?

I see you are from North Central Florida. I grew up in Ft. White, if you know where that is. It's the home of Itchetucknee Springs and near High Springs, home of Blue Springs and Ginnie Springs, all popular cave diving spots. Anyway, as I'm sure you know, there are also lots of empty caves in the area, some of which have these vertical shafts that lead straight back up to the surface. I am told the indians use to run wild pigs toward them if possible, so the pigs would fall through, down and break their legs. Probably just an old wives tale of the area.

Anyway, a buddy of mine had a few caves on his property with a couple of shafts like this. From the bottom, you could see light beaming down. They were only 20-30 feet deep though.

[Vile Traveller]

The problem with unenhanced shafts is that you only get light while the angle of the sun is right, and the angle gets smaller the longer the shaft is in relation to its diameter. So, it might work for a special effect that happens once a day (e.g. the first Indiana Jones movie), but not for general illumination. You can, of course, use arrays of mirrors to collect and direct the light down the shaft - examples are the film Legend and real life solar light tubes.

[Chainsaw]

I assumed his idea depended on magic...

[jcstephens]

Magic/alien tech. It's for a possible Carcosa game. But I'm sure I saw the original idea somewhere on this board, and a search turned up nothing.