iserith
Magic Wordsmith
THE COLD OPEN
The adventurers rush up the steep stairs, dashing heedlessly through rubble choking the landing. Behind them, the roper's strength-sapping tendrils flail in the darkness, reaching around the corner. The Underdark hunter, drawn from its slumber in the depths below, creeps nearer with each passing second.
Down a corridor whose crumbling walls are covered with stylized serpents a number of pits block their path. A musky smell and the odd hiss herald the presence of snakes in large number. The way the adventurers came is death, and the way forward is by no means safe.
But perhaps there is a light at the end of the increasingly chilly tunnel: A bluish glow emanates from what appears to be a hole in the ceiling beyond the snake pits from which a knotted rope dangles. A disembodied voice echoes from this space. "It is I, Phineas Lanyard! Join me if you wish to escape the madness of this place! This is no trick - hurry!"
What do you do?
BOLD ADVENTURERS
Lack-Toes the Intolerant
Rosemary Thyme
Chuck Dagger
Sacred Cow
Or whichever foolhardy 2nd-level adventurers you can scare up.
THE SITUATION
The roper Tendricles, starving after a long hibernation below, relentlessly pursues the fleeing PCs in hopes of catching and reeling in a tasty meal. Having used up much of its reserves in the pursuit, it does not give up easily and will risk its life to kill and eat at least one PC. However, Tendricles suffers from crippling ophidiophobia and will not move past the snake pits.
Phineas Lanyard is the ghost of a scholarly human conjurer who was known locally for delving this dungeon in search of lost magical relics about 50 years ago. He never did return to town though and speculation abounds as to his fate. In truth, he was murdered here by a group of rampaging quaggoths who captured him and hung him with his own rope of climbing.
In order to pass on from this world, Phineas Lanyard must do in someone else as he himself was done in - by hanging them. His goal therefore is to lure the PCs into the upper chamber, hide in the Ethereal until it can possess one of them, climb up to the crossbeam, tie a noose around his neck, and leap off. Phineas cannot leave the upper chamber, so if the PCs are able to flee from this area, he will not pursue. The ghost pursues this goal to the exclusion of any other unless it can't physically achieve it in which case it attacks with its horrifying visage and withering touch as appropriate.
FEATURES OF THE AREA
The adventurers start in inside the green box marked "PCs." Tendricles starts inside the green box marked "Roper." Phineas Lanyard is in the upper chamber, but prefers to remain in the Ethereal until he springs his trap. All should be in initiative.
Crumbling Walls. Earthquakes in the distant path have damaged this section of the dungeon. Plentiful cracks run the lengths of the walls in the corridor and the upper chamber. Because the stone of the wall is prone to crumbling under any significant force, climbing them is more difficult than usual, requiring a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. Failing this check means that each foot of movement costs 2 extra feet instead of 1 extra foot.
Fallen Beam. Part of the ceiling collapsed in this corridor especially at the western end where a sturdy oaken beam lay beneath a pile of rubble. The rubble is difficult terrain. The beam is 12 feet long, 6 inches wide, and 6 inches thick. It weighs 100 pounds. A creature could use this to successfully cross the pits if it is put in place.
Mysterious Remains. The corpse of a Medium-sized humanoid rest upon a dark stain on the ground. What were once this poor soul's fine robes are now just discolored, tattered rags clinging to bone. A backpack and its contents are scattered about - a weighty tome stained with putrescence, a shattered bottle of dried ink, an ink pen, a few sheets of parchment stuck together with dried gore, a bag of sand, and a small knife. While the items are mostly mundane, the tome is Phineas Lanyard's spellbook. All the pages are ruined save for two which contains the instructions for casting a rope trick spell. A spell component pouch and a belt pouch containing 15 gp, a 100-gp pearl, and some useful notes regarding a nasty trap found deeper in the dungeon can also be found among the remains.
Nope Rope Pits. Each 10-foot deep pit contains a large nest of snakes which softens any fall. However, falling into the pit causes a swarm of poisonous snakes to lash out at anyone within reach. Two areas of floor on either side of the center pit are choked with difficult terrain, broken stone that fell from the ceiling. A creature leaping into the difficult terrain must make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to maintain its footing. On a failed check, the creature slides into a pit in the direction of its movement. The snakes are sustained by the foul magic of Dendar the Night Serpent which lingers in this part of the dungeon long after it was abandoned by the yuan-ti. They do not pursue any creature leaving the pit.
The Rope Upward. The rope leading into the chamber above the corridor is a rope of climbing. It is firmly tied to a beam 30 feet above the floor of the upper chamber. It has AC 20 and 20 hit points. If the rope is fastened around the neck of a humanoid and it falls, it ends that fall restrained a few feet above the floor of the corridor below, taking 6d6 bludgeoning damage and 3d6 bludgeoning damage at the start of each of its turns thereafter until freed from the rope.
The Upper Chamber. Accessible by a 5-foot-wide aperture in the floor, the ceiling of the 20-foot-square chamber is 40 feet above. Halfway up is a sturdy crossbeam which is all that remains of a wooden floor that long since rotted away. Phineas' rope of climbing is firmly attached to its center and dangles downward through the opening in the floor and into the corridor below. There is a locked door on the north and south walls at the level of the crossbeam. Both doors are locked (DC 15 Dexterity check after 1 minute of effort), but could be broken down with brute force (DC 20 Strength check or AC 15, 18 hp); however, there is only a few inches of space between the door and a 20-foot drop to the floor, so gaining leverage enough to break it down may prove difficult. Quaggoths still hunt in this area, and significant noise may draw them.
I bet you thought this was about the rope trick spell, huh? Well, APRIL FOOLS!
How would your 2nd-level PCs deal with this problem? What's the most optimal approach? What is the likeliest outcome in your view?
Thanks for reading. If you end up using this short-form scenario in your game, please tell us how it played out!
The adventurers rush up the steep stairs, dashing heedlessly through rubble choking the landing. Behind them, the roper's strength-sapping tendrils flail in the darkness, reaching around the corner. The Underdark hunter, drawn from its slumber in the depths below, creeps nearer with each passing second.
Down a corridor whose crumbling walls are covered with stylized serpents a number of pits block their path. A musky smell and the odd hiss herald the presence of snakes in large number. The way the adventurers came is death, and the way forward is by no means safe.
But perhaps there is a light at the end of the increasingly chilly tunnel: A bluish glow emanates from what appears to be a hole in the ceiling beyond the snake pits from which a knotted rope dangles. A disembodied voice echoes from this space. "It is I, Phineas Lanyard! Join me if you wish to escape the madness of this place! This is no trick - hurry!"
What do you do?
BOLD ADVENTURERS
Lack-Toes the Intolerant
Rosemary Thyme
Chuck Dagger
Sacred Cow
Or whichever foolhardy 2nd-level adventurers you can scare up.
THE SITUATION
The roper Tendricles, starving after a long hibernation below, relentlessly pursues the fleeing PCs in hopes of catching and reeling in a tasty meal. Having used up much of its reserves in the pursuit, it does not give up easily and will risk its life to kill and eat at least one PC. However, Tendricles suffers from crippling ophidiophobia and will not move past the snake pits.
Phineas Lanyard is the ghost of a scholarly human conjurer who was known locally for delving this dungeon in search of lost magical relics about 50 years ago. He never did return to town though and speculation abounds as to his fate. In truth, he was murdered here by a group of rampaging quaggoths who captured him and hung him with his own rope of climbing.
In order to pass on from this world, Phineas Lanyard must do in someone else as he himself was done in - by hanging them. His goal therefore is to lure the PCs into the upper chamber, hide in the Ethereal until it can possess one of them, climb up to the crossbeam, tie a noose around his neck, and leap off. Phineas cannot leave the upper chamber, so if the PCs are able to flee from this area, he will not pursue. The ghost pursues this goal to the exclusion of any other unless it can't physically achieve it in which case it attacks with its horrifying visage and withering touch as appropriate.
FEATURES OF THE AREA
The adventurers start in inside the green box marked "PCs." Tendricles starts inside the green box marked "Roper." Phineas Lanyard is in the upper chamber, but prefers to remain in the Ethereal until he springs his trap. All should be in initiative.
Crumbling Walls. Earthquakes in the distant path have damaged this section of the dungeon. Plentiful cracks run the lengths of the walls in the corridor and the upper chamber. Because the stone of the wall is prone to crumbling under any significant force, climbing them is more difficult than usual, requiring a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. Failing this check means that each foot of movement costs 2 extra feet instead of 1 extra foot.
Fallen Beam. Part of the ceiling collapsed in this corridor especially at the western end where a sturdy oaken beam lay beneath a pile of rubble. The rubble is difficult terrain. The beam is 12 feet long, 6 inches wide, and 6 inches thick. It weighs 100 pounds. A creature could use this to successfully cross the pits if it is put in place.
Mysterious Remains. The corpse of a Medium-sized humanoid rest upon a dark stain on the ground. What were once this poor soul's fine robes are now just discolored, tattered rags clinging to bone. A backpack and its contents are scattered about - a weighty tome stained with putrescence, a shattered bottle of dried ink, an ink pen, a few sheets of parchment stuck together with dried gore, a bag of sand, and a small knife. While the items are mostly mundane, the tome is Phineas Lanyard's spellbook. All the pages are ruined save for two which contains the instructions for casting a rope trick spell. A spell component pouch and a belt pouch containing 15 gp, a 100-gp pearl, and some useful notes regarding a nasty trap found deeper in the dungeon can also be found among the remains.
Nope Rope Pits. Each 10-foot deep pit contains a large nest of snakes which softens any fall. However, falling into the pit causes a swarm of poisonous snakes to lash out at anyone within reach. Two areas of floor on either side of the center pit are choked with difficult terrain, broken stone that fell from the ceiling. A creature leaping into the difficult terrain must make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to maintain its footing. On a failed check, the creature slides into a pit in the direction of its movement. The snakes are sustained by the foul magic of Dendar the Night Serpent which lingers in this part of the dungeon long after it was abandoned by the yuan-ti. They do not pursue any creature leaving the pit.
The Rope Upward. The rope leading into the chamber above the corridor is a rope of climbing. It is firmly tied to a beam 30 feet above the floor of the upper chamber. It has AC 20 and 20 hit points. If the rope is fastened around the neck of a humanoid and it falls, it ends that fall restrained a few feet above the floor of the corridor below, taking 6d6 bludgeoning damage and 3d6 bludgeoning damage at the start of each of its turns thereafter until freed from the rope.
The Upper Chamber. Accessible by a 5-foot-wide aperture in the floor, the ceiling of the 20-foot-square chamber is 40 feet above. Halfway up is a sturdy crossbeam which is all that remains of a wooden floor that long since rotted away. Phineas' rope of climbing is firmly attached to its center and dangles downward through the opening in the floor and into the corridor below. There is a locked door on the north and south walls at the level of the crossbeam. Both doors are locked (DC 15 Dexterity check after 1 minute of effort), but could be broken down with brute force (DC 20 Strength check or AC 15, 18 hp); however, there is only a few inches of space between the door and a 20-foot drop to the floor, so gaining leverage enough to break it down may prove difficult. Quaggoths still hunt in this area, and significant noise may draw them.
I bet you thought this was about the rope trick spell, huh? Well, APRIL FOOLS!
How would your 2nd-level PCs deal with this problem? What's the most optimal approach? What is the likeliest outcome in your view?
Thanks for reading. If you end up using this short-form scenario in your game, please tell us how it played out!
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