It is not a fully realized adventure location. While the map and room furnishings and contents are set, both treasure and monsters come as lists at the end that the DM is supposed to populate the dungeon with. Because of this, the monsters have no provided motivations or relationships with each other.
Overall, my impression is that it tries to emulate the original Greyhawk Castle, or at least, implement the guidance from the OD&D books that was derivative of the play in Greyhawk Castle -- it has the same kind of door labyrinth that the Old Guard kobolds later have in the Castle Zagyg version, it has the magical pools, the teleport rooms to confuse mapping, the sloping corridors with fake stairs, the pit traps, the labyrinthine layout with paper thin walls on level 1, and natural, hard to map caves on level 2.
To make this dungeon work, here is my populated version.
Backstory: I put DC challenges on each paragraph, so that the PCs could discover the story by spending half a day of research per check in the library or asking around in town. DC 10 for well known information, 15 for most, and 20 for obscure pieces. My players found a relative of the dwarves who built the dungeon, the cousin of another dwarf stonemason they had hired to tunnel into the vault at Tower of the Stargazer. This worthy provided some of the background to them, but no floor plans.
Dungeon Ecology: I have weird fungi and mushrooms growing all over the dungeon, and small insects and vermin feeding on them. The giant rats, spiders and caterpillars feed on those and the occasional kobold, orc or goblin. The ghoul preys on the orcs and goblins. Kobolds, goblins and to a lesser extend the orcs forage in the forest outside.
Factions
Each group of monsters controls part of the dungeon around where they are based. Due to the wandering monster tables, the overall groups must be a good part larger than the number of monsters that can be found "in lair", or those lairs would empty pretty quickly after 2-3 encounters.
Kobolds. "The Crookshank Gremlins". They look like Gremilins from the eponymous movie, use kobold stats, and have the added weakness that daylight damages them for d6 radiant earch round. They control the North of the upper level, including rooms 35 and 37. In the spirit of the "Old Guard Kobolds" from Gygax, they are quite cunning and if they survive they learn tricks from the PCs, like spiking doors. They use what ever equipment they can - traps, baskets filled with poisonous insects, sticky or slippery plant sap, and flaming oil, all to tip the fight in their favor. They trained the carrion crawler ("the grub") at the entry to let them pass and forage in the forest for slugs, snails and fungi to eat. They fear the "stinkies" (troglodytes) and avoid them. They also fear the berserkers, They have not been to the pool room or locked rooms, and do not know of any secret doors but #14. They torture captured orcs (20% chance) to learn more about the "rock spiders" that the orcs talk about, and their dream is to capture and train those as steeds. They know giant caterpillars are too stupid to train - they tried and got poisoned/eaten. They lock up foes in the door maze. They trapped 2 trogs in the "training room" (I rolled a random encounter for trogs there).
Berserkers. This small, all male group are based in 21 and control the South of the upper level and access to the fungus garden, one has the key. They eat the fungi and use luminescent ones as light sources. They know about the orcs and dangerous stinkers on the lower level and will not descend, and fight the kobolds. Due to the carrion crawler at the entrance they do not leave the dungeon. They are descendants form prisoners made in Roghan's and Zelligar's war against the barbarians and hate fighters and wizards - in their mind the two still live. They are brutal and rowdy but childlike.
Orcs. Former slaves of the two founders, the warband controls areas 49, 50, 51 and the large caves nearby. They have no females or young, so every man lost is irreversible attrition. Their main diet is bats from 53 if they cannot get by the carrion crawler at the entrance because it moved beyond the secret doors. They fear rock spiders, have a truce with the goblins, and war against the berserkers and kobolds. They avoid the troglodytes due to their stench and don't like to pass by the "blob" in 46 or "old hag" in 51. Unbeknownst to them, the 30' deep oubliette they use for prisoners has a secret door that connects to the caves of chaos, area 51.
Goblins. The Tonguesplitter tribe controls rooms 55 and 56, and are the only ones who know about the secret passage to 53 (but do not know 54). The bats in 53 form the base of their diet, and as they control the "back door", they also set traps and forage in the forest. They use the area to their advantage, sneaking and backstabbing, and use the pit in front of 56 to help protect against the trogs. They have an uneasy truce with the orcs.
Troglodytes. This extended family has several cousins out at all times to hunt for sentient food. They control areas 43-45 and the large cavern nearby. They prey on kobolds and goblins. The orcs warband are stronger combatants than trogs, so the trogs leave them alone and the orcs avoid their stink. One was snatched by the hungry black widow in 51 in spite of the stench, so now they feed prisoners to her.
Room keys
Cave of the Unknown. Weird mushrooms bloom in the shadows of the trees at the foot of the rocky knoll.
ENTRANCE The dungeon is hidden under a DC 17 Wisdom Save illusion.
In our game, the PCs failed it, then observed from the ruins of the tower above until a band of gremlins emerged for foraging. This dispelled the illusion for them. (They later ambushed the returning gremlins with sleep spells and slaughtered them all, the mage lying to the paladin that they were "demons").
Tentacle Mushroom. The dank tunnel is overgrown with weird fungi. Right behind the entrance door is a tentacle mushroom. It has fire red tentacles that extend in a star like pattern and grow out of a white, gelatinous "witches egg". They stink of carrion intensely in 10' r, and attract flies to their slimy mucosa. It is difficult (Acrobatics check DC 20) to pass without touching. Touching rubs off the slimy stink which will impose Disadvantage to stealth checks for 1d6 days.
1. ALCOVES A carrion crawler nibbles at the pile of corpses and will be alerted and atttack when the magic mouths trigger (As a nod to the deadly encounter at the beginning of the intro module in the basic red box).
2. KITCHEN. 7 giant rats. They do not attack if not distrubed.
4. LOUNGE. Crystal goblet GG on a bench.
5. WIZARDS CHAMBER. Zelligar was big into fungi and growing artificial live in vats. 6 skeletons guard the doors to 6, 7. Will attack if one enters the room but not pursue. Jeweled Dagger E under the pillow can be used to create an homunculus, see #9.
6 CLOSET. Book #4 has research notes on developing a control weather spell, making researching one 20% cheaper. Stack of papers lists the codes to boxes in #10.
8. WIZARDS WORKROOM. Fake Magic Wand T. Appears to be a Wand of Charm Person DC 13, d6+1 charges, recharge d3/day, but does nothing.
9. WIZARDS LABORATORY. A half-developed naked cadaver without skin in one of the vats will lurch out and attack if lid opened or it hears loud noise (use zombie with intelligence 4). Homunculus research papers / formula to grown one strewn about. Requires casting of mending, mirror image, arcane eye, each day over 5 full days of crafting, blood from mage cut with dagger like the one from #5 (100 gp Onyx set), material components worth 500 gp of clay, rare ashes, mandrake root. 1 alchemist supplies can be salvaged.
12. LIBRARY. Books of lore: each worth 25 gp weighing 5 pounds, d20 of each: nature (focus on fungi and mushrooms), history (of the north, barbarian lands), religion (undead, creation of artificial life). Can use value to self train in downtime activity to learn knowledge skill (250 days needed). Novels worth 10 gp, weighing 3 pounds, d20 each on: comedy plays, tragedy plays, erotic diaries/romances, heroic sagas. Scroll of sleep BB, spell book pages with Create Homunculus spell (from Xanathar's Guide to Everything, the final conclusion of the earlier research on how to craft one more laboriously).
18. SMITHY. Giant spider. The whole room and the corridors leading up to it are thick with webs. The doors is standing ajar. 1 set of smith's tools can be collected. Random encounters nearby can be Swarm of Insects (Spiders).
19. ACCESS ROOM. If PCs are noisy, they attract the spider from #18.
20. DEAD END ROOM. Any random encounter in this area will be berserkers.
21. MEETING ROOM. The berserkers have their base here, although all may be out. Roll for random encounter, any such will be berserkers. A leather pouch with 10 e.p. A lies under one of the benches, DC 15 perception to spot. Lokh (boss), Masst (fungus master), and Bred (speaker). Only Bred speaks broken common, the others speak a barbarian dialect.
22. GARDEN ROOM. 3 shiekers grow in the corner areas, shriek will attract wandering monsters 3 in 6. Poison is Constitution Save DC10 or d8 damage and cramps (poisoned condition) for d12 h. Also present are fungi that if squashed give off eerie blueish glow, bright in 5' radius, dim in 10' radius for a 8 hours. You can add other magical fungi, for example a rare kind that heals d4 hits if ingested.
23. STORAGE ROOM. 1 carpenter's tools.
24. MISTRESS CHAMBER. Silver mirror Y.
25. ROGAHN'S CHAMBER. +1 mace H, hidden under secret flat stone (DC 15 search check), 1 ft thick under cabinet, which has to be moved. The velvet bedding in which it sits also has empty forms for an axe, sword, crossbow. Brass dragon skin can be made into brass dragon scale armor, cost to manufacture 800 gp, takes a month for a smith with apprentices.
27. THRONE ROOM. 2 giant centipedes
28. WORSHIP AREA. Alms box with 35 g.p. D, with slit, padlocked DC 15 and screwed to the floor.
31. ROOM of POOLs. The centerpiece of this level. Each pool contains about 16 gallons of liquid. The acid is too diluted to be used directly in vials, would need to be distilled to higher concentration alchemically. Sleep pool DC 10 Con Save to resist.
32. ADVISOR'S CHAMBER. Elfin Notes mention: a teleporter to the great city of Greyhawk, nobly embellished, with another such-like at the other end; a guard room with a statue in the form of a beautiful woman, crushing unwanted visitors; a trap room with a pile of treasure luring thieves to their deaths at the bottom of a pit of poisonous snakes and stakes; a room full of unique pools with unheard-of properties (#31); a lavish throne room of noble grandeur, columned, with a secret exit behind the throne (#27); a privy in the men's barracks area is urgently needed; a store room near the kitchen, to minimize walking distance (#10).
33. BARRACKS. Small gold ring 10 g.p. AA in a crack in the chest of drawers (Search DC 10).
35. GUEST CHAMBER. Home of the kobolds. North room: 4 kobolds, 2 female kobolds, 8 kobold children, shit bucket. Middle room: chief Krishnak (max hp), 8 kobolds, 2 female kobolds. South room: Locked DC 15, chief has keys. Treasure Room, sign with mirrored R on door says so, chest of 2450 cp N, cask of salted snails, sacks of dried fungi, hogshead of fungi-laced water, giant rat carcass on rope, jar of dried bugs.
37. RECREATION ROOM. Used by kobolds for training, before they trapped two trogs in there, who are now starving (exhaustion level 2). Break DC 24.
PIT TRAP. Will let characters fall into pool in 51, where the orcs will try to capture them.
Level 2 is difficult terrain unless you are used to the ground (as the orcs, goblins and trogs)
40. SECRET CAVERN. 2 forest gnomes. Ernest Glindigger & Ignatz Teldower in secret hide-out operations base. None of the monsters know of them. They search for gems, may help the PCs & hide them, as they see them as useful for clearing out the monsters. But they consider they were here first and the keep is theirs. Each have 4 gems of 10 g.p. value. Use scout.
41. CAVERN. Giant spider. (Black Widow, max hits; poison 4d8, Constitution Save DC 13), deep in webs, with spider swarm of young offspring. Emerges if webs at #42 are disturbed. Skeletons of a trog, several kobolds and goblins in webs.
42. WEBBED CAVE. Deep in the webs sticks a skeleton of a small creature (goblin) and a leather bag with 820 sp P.
43. CAVERN. 2 troglodytes. father max hp, mother. Noncombatant: 1 ancient grandfather, 2 young, 7 eggs. Onyx Statue 200 gp O, on shelf with burned down candles (depicting Lizard-Toad Demon Laogzed). They venerate it and will barter for candles.
44. CAVERN. 1 trogolodyte. guards family cave.
45. CAVERN OF THE MYSTICAL STONE. 3d20 chits left. If noise, trog from 45 investigates. Cavern is holy to them.
46. SUNKEN CAVERN. Ochre jelly sticks in wetness crevasse at the ceiling.
47. CAVERN. Noise attracts ochre jelly from 46.
48. ARENA CAVERN. The dried, desiccated corpses of 2 stirges lie on the floor. They are in hibernation, if provided with blood, they will revive.
50. WATER PIT. 7 orcs. Main lair of the warband. 1 orc is posted outside at g. as guard. Each has 4 gp in a mix of coins.
51. SIDE CAVERN. Bulrog the orc chieftain (called "Chainguzzler" by his men), in chainmail +1 Z, treasurer Ygg with 28 gp pouch C.
52. RAISED CAVERN. 2 giant wolf spiders ("rock spiders"), can not be distinguished from rock if hidden. They prey on the orcs and goblins that come to the bat cave for food. At far end of cave blinks a silver medallion 500 sp L, wedged half under a 30 pound rock.
53. BAT CAVERN. Ghoul (use ghast max hits) Inzericks the Old, lives in catacombs and maze and preys on creatures that come here to feed. Both goblins and orc have scare stories of the "eater monster" and fear him greatly. pouch with 15 gp B on a half-eaten orc carcass.
54. TREASURE CAVE. 2 vat-grown berserkers, count them too as items of value. 2 locked chests with 620 gp, R, 840 cp, 290 sp, 120 ep, 25 gp DD.
55. EXIT CAVE. Main cave of he tonguesplitter tribe. 5 goblins, noncombatant 4 female goblins, 8 goblin young. Chief Cugel (goblin, max hp) has a 80 sp silver bracelet CC denoting his status.
56. CAVERN OF THE STATUE. 4 goblins guard and raise alarm for reinforcement or flee to #55. One is the tribe shaman, Roach, minor illusion cantrip, 2 level 1 slots, command and hex. Will use minor illusion to make the statue appear to talk (which scares off the trogs), command to get people walk into the pit.
Wandering Monsters
Level 2
1. 1d4 Troglodytes. On raid for captives. 20% carrying tied up kobold to black widow lair.
2. 1 Crab Spider. (Use giant wolf spider, nearly invisible against rock)
3. d6+1 Kobolds. Reconnoitering to search "rock spiders" to capture & domesticate; have 2 nets
4. d8 Orcs. On their way out for food (1/3), checking caves for enemy movement (2/3)
5. d2 Zombies. failed experiments, mindlessly wandering the halls, craving ... something
6. d6+1 Goblins. exploring in search of treasure to steal, have empty canvas bag with them
No comments:
Post a Comment