Help Me Flesh Out the "Teeny Tiny Dungeon"

[jayoungr]

I've long been a fan of this entry from the 2015 One Page Dungeon contest:

https://campaignwiki.org/1pdc/2015/Ulo%20Leppik%20-%20Teeny%20Tiny%20Dungeon.pdf

I run a world-hopping campaign in D&D 5E, and I'd love to slot this in there. The characters are currently level 13, so I thought this would be a fun way to let them fight simple things like rats, with a twist.

But I know my group, and I know they won't be satisfied with a simple "kill everything in sight" dungeon crawl. They're going to want to talk with the tiny people who live in the walls. Maybe negotiate for the return of the rings. Maybe there should be multiple factions within the Ahjualused? Could there be an excuse to go into the rat tunnels?

I just can't find a "way in" to start fleshing this out, so I thought I'd throw this open and see if anyone has any good suggestions. How would you go about expanding this adventure into an actual storyline that would include social opportunities?

 

[R_J_K75]

Make the rats "Super Duper Cranium Rats"

 

[uzirath]

This looks fun. I'm just brainstorming here in no particular order:

My first thought is to send them in without their stuff. The potion shrinks their bodies, but not their gear. This adds the extra challenge of arming themselves with gear found in the tunnels (or improvising ... toothpick swords?).

I might tie the missing items into the ongoing story of the campaign. Maybe the party is after some special ring (or another magic item) in the possession of an eccentric wizard who tells them that the rats in the wall took it. If there's a political angle with the Ahjualused, maybe you can introduce them into some earlier adventures in a minor fashion. Lay some seeds for the future.

Regardless, the particular items should be adjusted to match the challenge level. I don't imagine that 13th level characters will be super-excited about a ring of warmth. (Though it is personally one of my favorite items.)

What prevents the party from just breaking into the wall while full-sized? Maybe it is stone. Or enchanted? Maybe this is a fae or extra-planar realm where the rules of reality are different. Maybe the wizard is powerful enough (whether in magical might or level of importance as an ally) to prevent them from tearing down his walls.

Similarly, it's worth thinking about what spells the party might have access to. Passwall? Teleport? Dig? (Of course, maybe the spell effects scale downward too... Dig affects cubic centimeters...)

Maybe the Ahjualused are engaged in some sort of demon-worshipping cult thing. Add a temple to the map. The wizard has been noticing ominous signs and isn't sure why. Maybe he thinks it's due to a magic item that was taken by the darn rats. Maybe this is true. Or maybe it's a red herring and the Ahjualused are in the process of summoning Great Cthulhu or whatever.

I like the idea of the ashes from the fireplace having some special significance. Is the fireplace where the wizard brews his magical potions? Maybe the ashes have powers. Maybe it's not about magical potions but about the wood that the wizard (or his servant) harvests from Yazor's Grove...

As far as factions go, this might depend on how you want to link things to your wider campaign. As a mini-adventure, it could just be something about the line of succession (riffing off the throne room). If you go with the cult, there could be another group with different ideas.

I'd love to hear what you eventually come up with!

 

[jayoungr]

This looks fun. I'm just brainstorming here in no particular order:

Thanks a ton for brainstorming with me! Some thoughts and responses...

My plan is for the PCs to return the rings, or most of them, to the questgiver. I might sprinkle in some more powerful rings or other small items, though.

As for why they don't break the walls ... hmm, a very good question! I imagine that if they broke the walls, the Ahjualused would just take the stuff and scurry deeper into the labyrinth, and then it would never be seen again. I'm definitely open to the idea of expanding their settlement.

I'd have the area effects of all spells fill the usual number of squares--it's just that the squares would represent one inch instead of five feet, or something like that.

I was thinking of putting the fireplace in a magic shop, and the wizard/questgiver needs the rings back because they are an important part of his inventory.

As for the storyline, I'm tempted by the succession idea, but I worry that it might swing too close to another adventure I'm planning to run soon. I like the detail about the secret recipe for making candles out of ash. Maybe there could be some industrial espionage going on? Or the king of the Ahjualused controls the secret of how to make them? The cult angle also has possibilities, but I'm not sure how it would tie in with the story of retrieving the rings.

Hmm ... the PCs arrive in the dungeon and meet someone who offers to help them/trade them a ring if they will get the ash candle recipe, maybe?

 

[Bohandas]

Potentially relevant: According to google translate "Ahjualused" is estonian for "oven trays"