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fourarmedandangerous
From the Horizon crater, Goro's lair can be located by finding a protrusion of black rock, like a piece of a mountain, carved out and dropped into the area of the Singularity. A pair of stone doors is flanked on either side by large statues of Shokan warriors. Despite the doors' apparent heft, they swing open easily to allow access. A set of wide stairs winds downward, the path illuminated by torches of green fire that lead towards...
A long hallway that leads down towards the throne room, dedicated to Goro's glory. Passing through the Great Hall will bring you to the primary space of the domain, where Goro holds court with visitors. Stone pillars line the room, often with mostly or semi-rotted corpses chained to them, or in cages that hang from the ceiling. Before the throne itself, there is a large circular arena for the staging of fights. Arranged in a semi-circle around the ring are long stone tables, piled high with food, a veritable feast in fact...provided you're an Outworlder, as all the dishes are made to appeal to the various monstrous races that inhabit that realm, and thus, much of the "food" is still alive, chittering, slithering, chitinous, or any combination of the above. The meat also tends towards the...reptilian side. There is what appears to be alcohol as well, but being made for Goro's tastes and enjoyment, most regular humans will find it goes down like broken glass and hits like a Mack truck (and not in the fun way). Goro will not deny anyone who wishes to partake, but he will not warn them away either, should he be present, unless the visitor is one who has earned his good graces or respect. It's also worth noting that in the throne room, as everywhere else in the domain, is sized for Shokan, not humans, meaning to comfortably use the furniture or take part of the feast, one must be at least eight feet tall, or approaching it.
Past the tables, the walls are lined with various cells with more corpses inside, or a domain denizen Goro has created, often of another Outworld race. People may find Tarkatan barbarians, Osh-Tekk warriors, Centaur raiders or Saurians among the cell's inhabitants. The whole room gives the uncomfortable impression of a place that is royal court, audience chamber, fighting arena, feast hall, and prison. Two halls branch out at the far ends of the room, and tucked away behind Goro's throne covered by a wall-hanging cloth is another, smaller hall that leads to Goro's private chambers, which include a bed (a pair of curled horns similar to that of a Centaur prisoner graces the sides of the headboards, a recreation of Goro's first-ever battle trophy), a small, comfortably-appointed living space with writing desk, and a bubbling hotspring for Goro's private enjoyment in the corner. The water is boiling dangerously hot to normal humans, whereas a Shokan would find it pleasant.
The passage to the right, leads to...
These two chambers lie down another hall lined by green torches. The armoury is well-stocked with sets of armour, built to accommodate Shokan frames, and racks of weapons, mostly spears and halberds. Even the shields are lined with blades. There is also a forge present, mostly for show as Goro himself is not a smith. Sets of Dragon Fang gauntlets can be found here as well, with deployable wristblades.
The treasure vault however, is larger, and not just a place for chests of gold and precious stones (although those do exist). There are also displays set aside for esoteric treasures, spoils of war and mementos of defeated enemies, topped off with a recreation of a bust of Goro crafted by one of Kuatan's greatest aristans in a place of honour because the real treasure is naturally Goro himself. Doubling back to the throne room will lead to the last passage, and perhaps the most disturbing inclusion of Goro's domain...
Goro's own personal torture chamber. It's about as ugly and vile as you can imagine a torture chamber might be, with blood slick on the floors and splattered on the walls, with practically every instrument of pain and suffering one can imagine included. Some of these devices will stiff have the corpses of a supposed victim strung up or otherwise imprisoned within, while those bodies not whole, have been left to lie in a trough carved into the floor, in which vitae drips into a grate set into the wall. All in all, the Chamber of Suffering more than earns its name, even if Goro has no one to subject to its many implements of agony.
A more recent addition to the domain, set further back in the caverns that make up the lair, and serve as a deadly training hall for Goro (or where he will retreat to if he really wants to be left alone). Death traps and lava combine to make this a very deadly training course indeed, or it would if you could actually die in the Horizon.
View 1
View 2
View 3Apart from Goro, any visitors to his domain, and the prisoners in the cells of the throne room, Goro has also created two groups of Horizon constructs to give the Lair a bit more life. These are primarily the Tigrar Guardsmen and Shokan Courtesans. The Tigrar are another, more common strain of Shokan than Goro's own Draco bloodline, and comprise the majority of the Shokan commonfolk. The Tigrar Guards are equipped with halberds and mostly just flank the doors of each room. The Courtesans, meanwhile are based on what Goro finds most attractive in the women who attend upon him, coupled with Shao Kahn's dress code for all female warriors (since discontinued under the reign of Outworld's current emperor, Kotal Kahn). Unlike the Tigrar Guardsmen, the Shokan Courtesans are less numerous and can really only be found lounging about at the foot of Goro's throne, or in his private chamber.
Other Lair aesthetic pics
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Image 2
Image 3, because you gotta respect the classics.
