Pandora's Vault

Pandora's Vault, also known as the Creeper Crypt, The Prison, or Idiotville, is a massive prison complex filled with complicated redstone contraptions built by Awesamdude with help from Dream, BadBoyHalo, Antfrost, and others. Many features of the prison are considered top secret and will not be revealed to the public. Sam himself, along with Bad and Antfrost, were installed as the guards of the prison.

It was used to house Dream as its primary prisoner in the maximum security cell, and more recently Ranboo and ConnorEatsPants, until Technoblade (who was also imprisoned in the prison from June 6 until September 14) broke in and freed the three on November 28, 2021. The prison was abandoned after the breakout until January 29, 2022 when Technoblade, Eret and Tubbo imprisoned Awesamdude for kidnapping MICHAEL and killing Ranboo.

Construction
On December 6, 2020, Dream paid Sam a stack of diamond blocks to build an inescapable prison. Dream only revealed that the prison was for someone capable and that they couldn't kill whoever it was. It was later confirmed that the person planned for the prison was Dream himself. Dream also wanted the prison to be finished by the end of the year.

The prison was constructed on a massive dirt platform built in the middle of the ocean behind the quartz mansion. It is mainly constructed out of obsidian and blackstone. Sam spent a massive amount of time building the exterior of it. On December 15, Sam finished the exterior of the prison. He also estimated that the interior of the prison is over 20,000 blocks.

On January 9, 2021, in a conversation with Eret, Sam estimated that he spent fourteen full days online and many more hours offline planning with Dream working on the prison.

On January 13, 2021, Sam showed Ponk the second room that was found on the other side of the nether portal found in the entrance hall. Sam also showed Ponk the prison guardian's key book consisting of three pages. However, Ponk was only able to see the first page with Sam explaining he would have to change all of the codes within the prison if the other pages were shown.

First imprisonment
During the Disc Confrontation on January 20, 2021, Dream said that the prison was originally not planned for Tommy, but he had changed his mind and decided to imprison Tommy. In a turn of events, a coalition of the server came to aid Tommy in fighting Dream. After losing two lives, Dream revealed that he had the power of resurrection, leading Tommy to decide to spare him. Nonetheless, Tommy did not want to allow Dream to escape. Awesamdude then proposed that they could lock Dream in the prison. The members of the coalition were satisfied with the plan, and Dream was escorted to the prison.

A joke
On February 7, 2021, George, vandalized the prison by breaking a block of blackstone. He joked about breaking Dream out of the prison and bringing him back to "freedom." Sam, infuriated with George's actions, replaced the block and made a threat, stating that if George was to commit the action again, Sam would take all of his canon lives.

Security breach and lockdown
Tommy went to visit Dream one last time to tie up remaining loose ends. However, during the visit, a series of explosions were set off somewhere in/near the prison. Tommy screamed for Sam to let him out, but Sam said that he had to check the security issue and that Tommy would be stuck in Dream's cell in the meantime. Later on during the day, Sam gave Bad and Antfrost tours as the new guards of the prison. He stated he was worried as something had happened earlier and that he needed them to be on high alert and constantly reporting back to him.

Tommy asked Sam to let him out after a week, but Sam said he still had to investigate more. Tommy and Dream found a cat that had teleported to Tommy inside the prison. Dream started to get attached to it so Tommy killed it. Dream responded that Tommy was giving him motivation to escape and that he would get his revenge on anyone who has opposed him. Tommy started to doubt the existence of the revival book, saying that Schlatt could not have had a book like that and no one else had seen the book. The two got into a fight which ended in Dream killing Tommy and taking his last canon life.

Tommy leaves prison
Dream revived Tommy three days later. He asked Tommy about how he felt and about the Afterlife. Tommy talked about the Afterlife, saying that it was a pitch black void and that it felt as if he was being grinded up. He also talked about seeing the other members of the Afterlife. Tommy said that the Wilbur in the Afterlife was worse than Dream himself and asked him to not revive Wilbur. Dream said that he would use the book to revive Wilbur to free him from the prison. Tommy asked him to burn the book, but Dream had already burned the book and memorized its contents. Tommy wanted to kill Dream, but stopped out of fear that killing Dream might lead to him being imprisoned again. Sam found out a few days later that Tommy was alive and quickly brought him back from the cell. Tommy was furious at Sam for allowing him to die and not freeing him after a week. Tommy left the prison, warning that he would sue Sam.

Break in with Drista

 * Note: The following event is considered non-canon, meaning that it is unrelated to the overall Dream SMP storyline.



On April 9, Drista, Dream's sister in real life, decided to play on Dream's computer. Because Dream had access to admin commands, Drista broke into the prison in creative mode with Tommy following her in. Tommy was amazed by the prison's redstone interior. However, Dream discovered what they were doing and yelled for Drista to get off his computer.

Technoblade's visit
On June 6, Technoblade visited the prison, as Quackity told him days before that Dream wanted him to visit and mentioned the favor. Upon reaching Dream's cell, Dream yelled at Technoblade, saying it was a trap by Quackity and Awesamdude to get him in prison. Despite trying to warn Technoblade, it was too late for Techno to escape. Sam told Technoblade that he was a major threat to Dream's escape, and that they have worked with each other in the past.

Sam then lowered the lava, trapping Technoblade in the cell with Dream. Dream began to panic and said that his only option of escaping the prison was gone. Technoblade, however, calmed him down and told him they still had some options left. Dream doubted Techno's words, saying that he had been stuck in prison for six months. However, Technoblade acknowledged that it must have been hard but added that he had friends who could help them. As Techno looked through Dream's few belongings, he saw that there were books and quills. Technoblade then asked Dream to write down everything he knew about the prison and how many guards there are, pointing out that Dream was the one who commissioned the prison to be built. Dream then proceeded to write.

Technoblade's stay
After the guards not visiting for two weeks, on June 21, Technoblade streamed a "podcast" inside the cell. Dream told Technoblade what goes on in the prison. In finding out what the revival spell would do without picking someone, after hypothesizing that it would clone Technoblade, DreamXD appeared and stated that he would grant one wish. Dream attempted to ask for an escape, but instead Technoblade asked for a bell. This was granted, and a bell was placed so Technoblade could sell out.

Another escape plan was arranged. Dream started breaking the obsidian block under the toilet area, and Technoblade kept watch. Technoblade boasted that he could defeat the elder guardian directly underneath the cell.

They managed to break a few blocks in the water hole, but progress was continuously interrupted by Sam's frequent checks.

Technoblade's escape
On September 14, Quackity visited Dream to try and get the revival book. He threatened to kill Technoblade knowing that Technoblade was Dream's only hope of getting out. After some conversation and Dream refusing to give up the book's information, Quackity decided to kill Technoblade. He pulled out a diamond pickaxe and attacked him, saying the same words that Technoblade had said during their duel. Quackity nearly killed Technoblade, but Technoblade was teleported into the Syndicate meeting room with an ender pearl stasis chamber by Philza who had coincidentally read Techno's Will around the same time. Technoblade quickly told Phil everything, and they prepared to destroy the prison in revenge.

After Quackity and Sam did a brief check around the prison to find out how Technoblade had escaped, they looked into the main cell to find that Dream appeared to have escaped as well. Sam put the prison into full lockdown, ringing sirens across the SMP, while Quackity travelled to Las Nevadas to inform its citizens and prepare for possible war.

After Quackity left, Sam continued his search for Dream. After searching around the prison, Sam entered the main cell, and upon searching inside the water hole, Sam found Dream hiding in the few blocks he had secretly mined. Dream begged Sam not to tell Quackity as he was sure Quackity would kill him. Sam relented and warned him to never attempt to break out. After Dream asked to visit the courtyard, Sam started pointing out that it was a security flaw, citing Dream's comments about it during construction. Sam then started pointing out how Dream had asked to make prison conditions miserable with changes such as serving raw potatoes instead of steak and not providing books. Dream started realizing how miserable he wanted the prison to be, and Sam continued pressing Dream about how he wanted to imprison Tommy. While leaving the main cell, Sam instructed Dream to write a book about his experience in the prison and to tell what he had discussed with Technoblade.

Imprisonment of Ranboo
While Technoblade scouted Pandora's Vault on November 27, 2021, he witnessed Sam punching Ranboo into the prison. Techno attempted to stop Sam from imprisoning Ranboo, but failed.

Prison jailbreak
After obtaining blueprints of Pandora's vault hidden by Dream, Technoblade devised a plan to infiltrate the prison. Techno's plan was to enter the prison where there was a vulnerability in the Mining Fatigue protection measure deep under the ground. He also enlisted the other members of The Syndicate to aid him in setting up the escape plan before the infiltration and creating distractions outside after breaking Dream and Ranboo out.

On November 28, 2021, Technoblade executed his plan. Techno dug a tunnel into the spot where the vulnerability occurred. He then swam through the lava and reached the maximum-security cell. The original plan was to have Dream teleport over the netherite barrier with an ender pearl, but it had to be revised since the netherite barrier was replaced by a new construction of blackstone and glass blocks that was secured against tampering with observer blocks. Technoblade instead used TNT to blow up the barrier, triggering the alarm and alerting the guards.

After breaking Dream out of the cell and providing him with supplies, Techno led him towards the main prison cells to try to free Ranboo. However, upon entering the cell control room, the two were met by Sam, who fired arrows at them. Nonetheless, the two progressed towards the lava hallway where they met Sam and BadBoyHalo. After killing BadBoyHalo twice and blocking off the guard entrance to the room, Dream and Techno swam through the water hallway into the next room where the Sam blocked off the entrance to the cells. Stuck, Dream and Techno backtracked to the lava room to review the blueprints and find a way to reach Ranboo.

After reviewing the blueprints, Techno mined through two blackstone blocks and breached one of the cells. However, to Dream and Techno's surprise, they found ConnorEatsPants there, who was imprisoned for stolen valor. After a bit of confusion and questioning, Technoblade used levers to open the iron doors, and accessed Ranboo's cell. United, the four made their way out of the prison through the spot Techno infiltrated from.

While making their way through the tunnel, the four were met by Awesamdude, who chased them out. Met with the outdoors, the party of four encountered several other members who had heard the prison alarm. Seeing that Dream was broken out, members began to attack the group. Sam then took Ranboo hostage in an attempt to bargain for Dream, but after much refusal, Sam killed Ranboo. Technoblade initially attempted to kill Sam in retaliation, but after Phil and Niki spawned withers, the group fled on horses and lost the mob.

After the breakout, Sam closed Pandora's Vault. BadBoyHalo and Antfrost also quit their position as guards since Sam refused to take responsibility for the breakout.

Security measures
In order to secure the prisoner inside, there are many measures being taken to keep them from escaping.

General security

 * Walls - The walls are said to be multiple layers of pure obsidian, making breaking through nearly impossible. Meshed into the walls are observers that are able to detect someone attempting to break out or into the prison and either activate an ender pearl stasis chamber or send a text message to the prison guards.
 * Elder guardian Mining Fatigue - Elder guardians give level three Mining Fatigue, which makes it incredibly difficult for a player to break blocks by slowing down breaking to 0.27% of normal speed. With multiple layers of obsidian and other precautions being taken, the walls are hard to mine. Dream has mentioned that it would take nearly nine hours to break a single piece of obsidian in the wall.
 * Soon after the prison opening, It was shown that the Mining Fatigue area expanded far beyond the prison area, covering the Badlands mansion and the Prime Path. Several members alerted this to Sam, who investigated & rectified the problem.
 * Observer grid - There are layers of observers underneath blocks to alert guards using a redstone system when blocks are broken or placed.


 * Text messages - Using an undisclosed method, the prison guards are said to be able to get warning texts when certain portions of the wall are broken into, meaning that a night escape is futile because the guards can always be warned of any undergoing escape attempts.
 * Nether portal grid - In order to enter the main cell, visitors must enter through a series of different nether portals that are controlled by the warden. The portal system has been built in such a way that it is impossible to build any other portal in the nether to gain entry.
 * Spawnlocking - When the prisoner enters the cell, they are forced to click a bed before being catapulted with redstone back into the cell. This method would also work if they were to die and respawn, as they would be pushed back into the cell and making it impossible to escape by dying. According to Dream, the spawnlocking mechanism is sufficiently sophisticated enough that once a prisoner is detained, they are unable to break the bed to respawn at the world spawn.
 * Item-specific keycards/item sacrifice - In order to enter certain places, books with specifically generated code that cannot be replicated ("key cards") must be dropped into a hopper system. There are many points that need special keycards to pass through throughout the system. In the case that the warden gets killed and someone collects the key cards, the warden can push a button at their spawn to disable all key cards.
 * Guard spawn - The prison uses an ender pearl stasis chamber that would teleport guards if an ender pearl in a bubble column were to hit a block. The stasis system is hooked up to activate if the prisoner were to escape or set off an alarm. The method would teleport them into a chamber that would splash them with harming potions, killing and respawning them in a place that would equip them with full enchanted netherite and weapons, and splash them with many buff potions. Personal items of the guards are collected upon their death, protecting them and securing the prison.

Guest security

 * Item/effect check - Guests are ordered to stand in a series of rooms to be checked for potentially dangerous items or potion effects that would not allow them to let the prisoner out.
 * Weakening - Guests are given harmful effects before entering maximum security rooms or cells. If anything is to go wrong, visitors can be easily be killed.

Maximum security cell
The cell consists of an obsidian box with one side open for access in a large chamber surrounded by lava. The lava can be cut off for access to the cell, and a retractable bridge separates the cell from the rest of the prison. Inside the cell is a cauldron filled with water, a lectern for reading books, and a chest filled with book and quills. Netherite blocks that can be retracted split the cell from the entrance. There is also a small pool of water under the spawn mechanism of the prisoner. The pool is also used by the visitors as an exit. To exit, potions of harming are dispensed above, killing the visitor and respawning them outside the cell. Later on, it was revealed that some of the obsidian blocks had been replaced with crying obsidian as a security measure. There also used to be a clock in the cell, but Sam later stopped allowing clocks into the cell since Dream was constantly burning them to annoy Sam. The maximum security cell was holding Dream until November 28, 2021. Currently, due to TNT Technoblade had placed, part of the maximum security cell is broken.

Prison entry protocol
To visit the prison, the guest must summon the warden by clicking the button at the entrance hall and travel through the nether portal grid controlled by the warden. Upon entering, the warden at the desk has the visitor sign waivers waiving the prison's responsibility and gives the prisoner the responsibility for all risks. (A transcript of the waivers can be found on the Dream SMP books page.) In addition, the guest is vetted through interrogations with questions regarding the visitor's visit history, relationship with the prisoner, and the location of residence.

After questioning, the visitors are reminded by the warden that anything the warden or guards say must be followed. After the vetting process, the visitor must deposit all items into a locker. They are provided a key that must be stored in an ender chest. To visit a normal prisoner in a normal cell, the visitor will only go through one security check before being allowed to see the prisoner. If they are visiting the prisoner in the maximum security cell, the prisoner will go through another security check, a water hallway, and a lava hallway before allowing to set their spawn. After that, they are put on a flying machine that takes them to the prisoner's cell.

Name
The name Pandora's Vault refers to the Greek Myth of Pandora's Box. In the myth, a titan by the name of Prometheus stole fire from the sun to gift to the humans of Earth-- In some versions, the fire was stolen back from the Gods after Zeus was tricked by Prometheus. After Zeus found out, he became furious, and in vengeance, he presented Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother. Pandora was said to be the first woman on earth, being created from the gifts of the gods. Epimetheus gifted a box to Pandora and was told to never open it. However, curiosity got the best of her, so she opened the box. This small action released all the evils of humanity into the world including disease, malice, death, and many others. Eventually, she managed to close the box with only hope remaining inside. Today, Pandora's Box is often used as an idiom for something that holds an unexpected or endless amount of problems.

The name could also be a reference to the prison, The Pandorica, in the British TV series Doctor Who (which was also a reference to Pandora's box). The Pandorica was designed as the perfect prison to contain The Doctor by the alliance of all the major antagonists of the show. As 'perfect prison' implies, this prison was also meant to be inescapable and even death wouldn't release the prisoner due to a restoration field.

Blueprints
After the jailbreak, Dream shared the prison's blueprints drawn by @camruna.