D&D General #Dungeon23

[Hriston]

Day 17:

17. This 20’ x 40’ room is inhabited by 12 kobolds: Bruzzerk Shatterflaw, Shelda Leadflaw, Edin Stonebuckle, Strer Brownfall, Chroz Fistbuckle, Khneku Brickborn, Chirgirg Hornfeather, Grauk Flaskdigger, Chridne Plategazer, Stris Brewfist, Zidjees Wildmail, and Ding Skullflare. There is no visible exit. For every ten minutes spent searching a ten foot section of wall for secret doors there is a very hard chance of finding one. On a success, there is a 50% chance that a wandering monster comes in through the door from the other side.

 

[Reynard]

01.17: The Chapel

Access: the only door in this room is in the west wall, leading to the greater dining room (01.15). The door is locked and was hastily spiked closed with whatever sharp cutlery was at hand.

Description: This room was the Alastairn family chapel, dedicated to various gods of knowledge and esoterica -- good, evil and indifferent. Their images once graced the walls as paintings and tapestries, and their holy books once filled a shelf in the east wall. All that is destroyed, shredded and singed and so much confetti in the room. The altar against the north wall is marred by scorch and claw marks and covered in filth that stinks of the Pit.

The Prisoner: The perpetrator of all this vandalism is Mobulexon, an ash-mouthed rhymer that was summoned by the Alastairn in their hour of need. The demon broke free from its bonds and joined in the chaos that destroyed the family, but was driven into the chapel and contained there by the iron and silver cutlery that closed the door. For a century, the creature has raged, destroying the images and works of the gods in the room and swearing revenge on the Alastairn.
Mobulexon does not attack immediately when the door is opened. He perches, invisible, on the defiled altar and assesses whoever broke through the door. If they seem like people he can manipulate, he will speak to them in his weird sing-song rhymes, offering them secrets in return for the simple service of giving him an Alastairn soul to take back to the pit with him. He needs a fetish or other binding object for one of the haunts in the house. He is willing to answer three questions about hidden treasures and/or tricks on both Level 1 and Level 2 in return. PCs that take this bargain are condemning a soul to eternal torment.
If the PCs attack Mobulexon, he uses his fire breath and confounding rhymes to defend himself. If he is outclassed by the PCs he makes his escape by flying away invisible. He seeks revenge for such humiliation, though, and will stalk the PCs unseen and look for opportunities to turn the tide of a battle against them or lead them into a deadly trap.

Treasure: Nothing survived Mobulexon’s century long tantrum in this room except the altar itself. If it is cleaned and reconsecrated, the blessings of the gods of knowledge on the altar return: any miracle of divination cast at the altar is heightened.

 

[Reynard]

I have a lot of friends that are visual artists -- I even married one -- and this challenge reminds of the weird feeling i have as a writer sometimes when I lament that while the work is no easier, visual artists have an advantage in that their audience can experience their creations in an immediate way that writers' audiences can't.

 

[Cadence]

Room 76 - Home of the Gibber-Jabber

A 15' x 15' room with a grate in the center of the floor and doors in the center of each wall. Only the south door is locked.

The sewer grate in the floor leads to the ceiling grate in room 71.
The west door leads to north door in 72.
The north door leads to south door in 73.
The east door leads to north door in 75.
The locked south door leads to north door in 74.

The Gibbering Mouther in this room can see through the floor grating into the ceiling of room 71 below, but finds the metal it is made of uncomfortable and won't stand on it or pass through unless very motivated. It can't fit its eyeballs or teeth through the space under the doors, and so it is usually in this room.

If room 71 below has anyone in it with the trap door shut, or has at least four people in it, it will begin gibbering. If the Invisible Guardians in 71are slain, it will spit and then move through the grate. It will stop going through and pull back up if the party appears to be leaving the room before it gets down. Once down, it can't get back up (without someone to lead it through the doors.

View attachment 272794

Room 70 - A Brief Respite

This 15'x15' unlocked room is well lit by the continual flame spells cast on a pair of large decorative quartz crystals (worth 15gp each). They sit on the two wooden end-tables near the comfortable leather couch on the west wall. A solidly constructed wooden step ladder leans against the west wall, and it is just the right height to reach the obvious trap door in the ceiling. The door leads to the floor of room 71 and is locked (DC 18 to pick or break) from the bottom and a key is sitting in a small leather pouch affixed to the door near the lock. The pouch is labeled "Please Return After Using - If Possible".

A 3'x3'x3' glass cube sits on a 3'x3'x3' wooden table in the south east corner. It contains a mostly eaten humanoid head (bugbear?) that is being eaten by a Small Swarm of Rot Grubs (11 hp, 2d4 damage). The top of the case has a latch that allows it to be opened from the outside. A sign affixed to the table says "Please Feed if Needed. Do NOT Let them on the Couch!" in nice hand-writing.

Picus Rubro in Room 69 feeds the Rot Grubs, and will also sneak in and lock the trap door if anyone goes through it (the key only works from this side and not from the room above). He will not disturb the room if it is occupied.

The next room created (#72) is in post #328 D&D General - #Dungeon23
Note: Edited the name of who feeds the Rot Grubs on 24 Jan. It formerly said Cylex in room 69.

 

[M_Natas]

Day 18

A tower in ruins, lost to the jungle and time. Vines and creepers strangle the crumbling stone walls, while tall grasses and ferns have claimed the broken cobblestone path leading to its entrance.
As you approach, you can't help but wonder about the history of this place. Who built it and why did they abandon it? And as you make your way inside, the mystery only deepens. The once grand entry hall is now nothing but rubble and debris. The broken stairs lead to nowhere.
But wait, what's that? A half-buried hatch in the corner catches your eye. It leads to the cellar, where the secrets of this forgotten tower may still lie hidden. But be careful, adventurer, for the jungle has claimed this tower as its own. The moss and mold that cover the walls may be the least of your worries.

 

[Hriston]

Day 18:

18. This 30’ x 40’ room is empty.

 

[Reynard]

01.18: Graveyard

Access: The Graveyard is outside the walls of Parenix Manor. The grave of Tobias Mofret leads to xxxxx (02.xx).

Description: This graveyard served as the final resting place of the most loyal servants of the Alastairn family that served at Parenix Hall. The two dozen headstones are all carved of polished granite, but are all weathered. The graveyard is overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. Some of the graves appear to have been recently excavated and then hastily refilled.

Death Blossoms: Any grave the characters examine has a 1 in 6 chance of being covered in black poppies, which if disturbed release a fume of intoxicating and deadly poison. Affected characters are slowed and confused for one minute before falling unconscious with an equal probability of remaining forever in a coma, waking after an hour, or dying.

Reaching Hands: There are six graves that appear to have been disturbed: [insert names here]. Characters investigating any of these besides that of Tobias Mofret wake the ravenous bones within. They reach up and grasp the offender and pull them down into the earth with unholy strength. They will not come out of their graves, so a character that breaks free or is pulled free can escape.

 

[Cadence]

Room 70 - A Brief Respite

This 15'x15' unlocked room is well lit by the continual flame spells cast on a pair of large decorative quartz crystals (worth 15gp each). They sit on the two wooden end-tables near the comfortable leather couch on the west wall. A solidly constructed wooden step ladder leans against the west wall, and it is just the right height to reach the obvious trap door in the ceiling. The door leads to the floor of room 71 and is locked (DC 18 to pick or break) from the bottom and a key is sitting in a small leather pouch affixed to the door near the lock. The pouch is labeled "Please Return After Using - If Possible".

A 3'x3'x3' glass cube sits on a 3'x3'x3' wooden table in the south east corner. It contains a mostly eaten humanoid head (bugbear?) that is being eaten by a Small Swarm of Rot Grubs (11 hp, 2d4 damage). The top of the case has a latch that allows it to be opened from the outside. A sign affixed to the table says "Please Feed if Needed. Do NOT Let them on the Couch!" in nice hand-writing.

Picus Rubro in Room 68 feeds the Rot Grubs, and will also sneak in and lock the trap door if anyone goes through it (the key only works from this side and not from the room above). He will not disturb the room if it is occupied.

View attachment 272943

Room 72 - The House of Boredom

A 15' x 15' room with doors in the center of each wall. Only the east door is locked.

The west door leads to west door in 73.
The north door leads to west door in 76.
The locked east door leads to west door in 74
The south door leads to west door in 71.

Inka Krigran is not amused to be stuck in here. He sits on his chair and pages fitfully through the books - a dwarvish book on accounting, a gnomish book on brewing fungus wine, and a history of the royalty of the kingdom of Cargood that makes the dwarvish accounting book seem exciting. He has apparently removed several pages and practiced folding them into various shapes that are able to glide through the air when thrown.

A Derro Savant, he is able to call his companions in 73 (and they the ones in 75) when in trouble. Alternatively, turning invisible and then luring the party to the thing in 76 could be fun (slipping past it by staying near the wall and covering his ears).

In any case, he could probably escape this set of rooms with his henchmen, but he is obsessed with Edyllin Fallshine in 74. He hasn't made his way in yet, but has convinced her to provide them with some food and water. He thinks the food and/or water might be slowly poisoning them. It isn't clear if he would rather kill anyone disturbing him or get them to go after Fallshine. Probably the latter followed by the former.

The next room created (#73) is in post #336 D&D General - #Dungeon23

 

[Cadence]

01.18: Graveyard

Death Blossoms: Any grave the characters examine has a 1 in 6 chance of being covered in black poppies, which if disturbed release a fume of intoxicating and deadly poison. Affected characters are slowed and confused for one minute before falling unconscious with an equal probability of remaining forever in a coma, waking after an hour, or dying.

I'm imagining the different kinds of DMs on here having very different reactions to the poppies... and taking very different views on what could cure different things and if the coma/sleeping/dying is locked in during the one minute or avoidable or not.

 

[Reynard]

I'm imagining the different kinds of DMs on here having very different reactions to the poppies... and taking very different views on what could cure different things and if the coma/sleeping/dying is locked in during the one minute or avoidable or not.

Good! That's the way it should be.
Note that this is all discovery writing first draft. My inclination is to clean stuff up once it is all done, preferably for a (non-existent) OSR style game without classes or levels or other D&Disms.