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D&D General #Dungeon23
- Thread starter darjr
- Start date
0X.13: Resonant Cave
Form: The inside of an immense geode.
Illumination: Unlit but even the dimmest light causes the chamber to be brightly lit as the crystals bounce the light all around.
At First Glance: This cave is roughly spherical and approximately 100 feet in diameter with the entrance two-thirds of the way up the north wall. It is dominated by massive crystals of all colors and different shapes and sizes. They point mostly inward toward the center of the cave. The room is, in effect, the inside of a massive geode.
On Further Inspection: The resonant cave can be explored, though the going is treacherous with so many sharp crystals at odd angles. If a character slips and falls or otherwise strikes a crystal, it vibrates with a unique pitch for a few moments.
Secrets: This chamber is excessively dangerous to the clumsy and curious. If more than one crystal is caused to vibrate as described above and they are within a few yards of each other, their tones match frequency shortly and begin to grow. Then other crystals near them start to vibrate at the same frequency. The effect spreads until the entire chamber is vibrating. Then, the crystals all explode, filling the chamber with razor sharp shards of crystal flying at furious speed.
Treasure: A fist sized chunk of crystal from this cave could fetch a fine price -- high enough to tempt characters into hammering off a few pieces…
Connections: There are no exits from the cave besides the one leading to the Helgate Chasm (0X.07).
Form: The inside of an immense geode.
Illumination: Unlit but even the dimmest light causes the chamber to be brightly lit as the crystals bounce the light all around.
At First Glance: This cave is roughly spherical and approximately 100 feet in diameter with the entrance two-thirds of the way up the north wall. It is dominated by massive crystals of all colors and different shapes and sizes. They point mostly inward toward the center of the cave. The room is, in effect, the inside of a massive geode.
On Further Inspection: The resonant cave can be explored, though the going is treacherous with so many sharp crystals at odd angles. If a character slips and falls or otherwise strikes a crystal, it vibrates with a unique pitch for a few moments.
Secrets: This chamber is excessively dangerous to the clumsy and curious. If more than one crystal is caused to vibrate as described above and they are within a few yards of each other, their tones match frequency shortly and begin to grow. Then other crystals near them start to vibrate at the same frequency. The effect spreads until the entire chamber is vibrating. Then, the crystals all explode, filling the chamber with razor sharp shards of crystal flying at furious speed.
Treasure: A fist sized chunk of crystal from this cave could fetch a fine price -- high enough to tempt characters into hammering off a few pieces…
Connections: There are no exits from the cave besides the one leading to the Helgate Chasm (0X.07).
M_Natas
Hero
Time for some empty rooms
Beginning…to lose…motivation…
Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
Also struggling a bit. Missed yesterday, can't blame the SuperBowl, I had all morning to work on it and just... didn't
Anyway, here's last week
Week 6 - an entirely water hex, punctuated by underwater volcanoes being mined by minotaurs. The ocean that surrounds it is a vast sargasso with kelp forests hundreds of meters tall from the sea bed to the surface. A community of Symic hybrids created for underwater life tend the forests and fish farms, while also keeping an ongoing incursion of aberrations at bay
Anyway, here's last week
Week 6 - an entirely water hex, punctuated by underwater volcanoes being mined by minotaurs. The ocean that surrounds it is a vast sargasso with kelp forests hundreds of meters tall from the sea bed to the surface. A community of Symic hybrids created for underwater life tend the forests and fish farms, while also keeping an ongoing incursion of aberrations at bay
81 - Bat Cave!
The entrance to this massive 150' x 100' cavern from the mine shaft is sealed with a thick metal grate that is barred from the mine-side. The air coming from it is heavy with the smell of decay and guano. In spite of that it appears to be in fairly good shape and was likely opened not to long ago (a month or two?).
The other side is dimly lit by the 6" to 5' tall bioluminescent purple mushrooms growing all over the cave floor. The entry hole drops down to a ledge with only a 5' clearance. A 10' drop brings it to a ledge surrounding a large central area that has another 10' to the ground.
The ceiling of the cave is covered with 100s of Bats that feed on the various insects living off of the fungus. The Bats will ignore those in the cave unless intentionally antagonized. Three Cave Fisher's have currently webbed the west corner of the cave to catch the bats. It looks like there are remnants of Cave Fisher filaments on the south-east ledge and some of the marks on the wall make it appear that something might have been hunting them.
There is what appears to be a decaying small wooden hut near the north side of the bottom pit. Looking closer shows the door is only loosely on its hinges. It radiates very, very faint transmutation magic (that is no longer effective).
Partially buried under guano and fungus outside the door appears to be the headless skeleton of a dwarf in chainmail with some thin sharp wire in a circle near where the neck used to be. The head shattered when it was sprung and the pieces are long since covered completely. A falling-apart portion of a 10' pole is also lying near the hut, with a piece of wire around the break in it.
The hut has one remaining razor wire trap in it - that can be sprung safely using a pole or the like to prod the hut entrance. If the door is moved in person (and not prodded from at least 6' away) it is a DC 18 DEX save to avoid the 15 (3d10) slashing damage. A natural 1 indicates the wire has wrapped around the character and is constricting them for an additional 5 (d10) damage per round until it is removed. A helper can do that easily, it takes a DC 11 DEX check for the trapped person to deal with it without taking an additional 5 (d10) damage.
The inside of the hut hasn't been disturbed except by the insects who stripped the corpses of the two apparently human sized rats. There are two Extra-Duration Potions of Diminution that last 3+d4 hours, a regular short sword, a brass key, and a Lesser Pipes of the Sewer that have only 1 charge each day. A bit more looking finds the remnants of a light cross-bow, clothing, and a bag that have been worked on by the insects.
Much searching would reveal a very slow trickling spring on the south side of the bottom.
Edit: Renumbered 81 to make it fit better.
The next room created (#79) is in post #569 D&D General - #Dungeon23 .
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M_Natas
Hero
Day 45
I recklessly plunged into the depths of the Star of the North's cargo hold, never imagining the horrors that awaited me. To my dismay, I discovered what remained of the crew - their once proud and graceful elven bodies now fused and corrupted by a monstrous entity. This abomination had taken root in the hull of the ship, using the sailors as hosts to breed and propagate its kind.
Trembling with fear, I tried to keep my distance, but I could feel its dark presence bearing down on me. Its tendrils and vines crept closer and closer, as if sensing my presence. I knew I had to act quickly, before it was too late.
In a flash, my fears were realized as I witnessed a fish being dragged away into the shadows by tendrils I couldn't even see. That was all the impetus I needed to make my escape. I knew that I must find a way to destroy the horror, before it could spread any further. I would need to find a powerful magical flame, one that could penetrate the depths of the sea and burn even the darkest parts of the ship to ashes. Only then could I ensure that this evil would never again threaten the world above.
gorice
Hero
Time for my weekly update. So far, so good. We're still in the necropolis: the path bifurcates from the carved room into a labyrinth and a one-way door followed by a trap hall. Both paths lead down to the next section; neither is a pleasant path. I'd be twirling my moustache, if I had one.
8: Stone Stair
9: Bridge
10: Carved Room
11: Maze
12: Sealed Room
13: Tomb with a View
14: Hall of Coins
8: Stone Stair
- A broad flight of stairs, reaching down 20’ into the East quarter from the North. Dry and silent.
9: Bridge
- A decrepit bridge of bone held together with loops of brass wire, spanning a dark and echoing space. A faint draught of damp air from below(?) 40’ above the sump.
- (?) The bridge grinds and creaks when disturbed.
- (!) The bridge is safe if people pass one at a time, but excessive loads may cause a collapse.
10: Carved Room
- A cavernous beehive room, stone walls and floor carved with winged people. A blackened metal door blocks one wall; a blood-blackened altar stone against the other. 6 great red urns cluster around the altar.
- (?) The urns are sealed with wax, stamped with runes of command.
- (!) Breaking the urns or desecrating the altar wakes the sword-wielding skeletons within.
- (?!) The door is unlocked. However, it is one-way: it opens outward, with resistance, and will close on its own. There is no handle on the other side.
11: Maze
- Desolate tangle of identical winding pathways.
- (!) Danger of fear and disorientation in the suffocating dark.
12: Sealed Room
- Heavy metal doors, barred from the outside by a bronze rod with a snarling mouth on either end.
- A plain stone tholos ringed by skeletons in foetal position. Bronze wire once bound their hands and feet. Beside each is a ruined bronze tool: mallet, pick, chisel, etc.
- A narrow stair leads down to the South Quarter.
13: Tomb with a View
- A tholos tomb overlooking the great chamber, identical to #6.
- (?) The skeleton wears imperishable robes of gold thread and spider silk, and holds a curved dagger with gold inlay, enamel, and pattern-welded bladed. Each is worth 100 coins.
14: Hall of Coins
- A broad passage of gleaming limestone. The floor is smooth and inclines steeply to the south. A mass of uncanny stone faces glares from the walls and ceiling.
- Halfway down, a scatter of copper coins.
- (!) The floor is polished and slippery. Characters who run or fall must save or slide down the hall, over the edge and 10’ down into the poison jar room in the South Quarter.
- (!) A large pressure plate (slightly depressed stone) under the coins releases a torrent of copper coins from the mouth of the face directly above. Anyone directly under the initial spill must save vs. damage; anyone walking on the copper-strewn path must save or slide down the hall.
- (??) A face directly above the scattered coins has a stone stopper in its yawning mouth.
Room 79 - The North Mining Tunnel
This 300' long tunnel with side passages has been mined by many over the years, including before it was absorbed by the Vault. The current experts (Hjuldhor, Gostraen, and Thulgrami - in room #55) have decided it is mostly played out and moved their activities to the South Mining Tunnel (#82). Averaging 10' wide with 7' ceilings, there are hooks every 30' that could be used to hold a lantern.
The passages to A, D, and E still show signs of regular traverse. The entire length of the main hallway to D has Dwarven footprints and wheeled tracks. Those to A and E show drag marks (maybe a triangular stretcher being pulled?) and a variety of footprint sizes. The passages to B and C have accumulations of undisturbed dust.
A - This short 10' wide spur ends in tar covered double doors that are locked. (See #80 for more).
B - This spur ends in a cave that drops 35'down. There is a stone ladder carved into the side for anyone who would like to climb down, and a currently ropeless pulley in the ceiling. It seems as if no one has been in this part for quite some time, but that the sides were actively mined in the past.
C - This tunnel slopes up 5' along its length before opening into a 15' tall cave that was expanded through mining in the past. Like B, the dust indicates it hasn't been visited recently.
D - This cave was once quite deep, but has been used to dump much of the rubble into and now only goes down 10' below the passage, with the ceiling 15' higher than the passage floor. Some of the rubble piled in it looks fresh.
E - This natural cavern also appears to have regular foot traffic - and it smells of decay and guano. The odor comes from a thick metal grate in the floor that is heavily barred from the top. (See #81 for more).
The next room created (#82) is in post #579 D&D General - #Dungeon23 .
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Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
I did myself a favor this week - when I finally got around to building out my hex (yesterday, Sunday was my first blown day) I was in a creative state so I noted 6 of the 7 areas I wanted to detail later in the week
I may do that every week going forward
I may do that every week going forward
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