Tunnels Beneath the Earth — Week 2 (#Dungeon23)

"The Sewers"

Level 1 (JAN) – The Upper Works

Section 2 (1/8 – 1/14)

Scale: Ea. square = 100x100 ft.

A maze of muck-filled tunnels and cysts still twists under the city ruins, carrying surface water deep into the dungeon levels below. The sewers have collapsed in places, but the main channels and many other areas are still navigable.

–Drainage from the reservoir pond undermined the northwest sewer network, collapsing much of it. Water from the pond still drains into the sewers and dungeon.

–Water in the main channels flows into sewers via the Culvert (1.1.3)/Sluicehouse (1.2.1) and out via the drainage areas (1.2.3, 1.2.5, 1.2.7).

–Water in secondary and tertiary passages flows toward the nearest main channel.

–Flood Conditions (secondary/tertiary passages)
    Roll 2d6 for each new section entered...
                                    Disease %
    2 = submerged           90%
    3-4 = neck level         80%
    5-6 = chest level        60%
    7-8 = waist level        30%
    9-10 = knee level       10 %
    11 = puddles                0%
    12 = dry                       0%

• Conditions change frequently (reroll previously-visited areas every few days).
• Roll chance of disease ea. turn of exposure.

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–Sewer Encounters (1:d6 ea. turn)

• Common = [#3d3*] giant rats, gt lizards, gt. bats, galltrits (FF), sewer gas (10 ft. diam. cloud x # roll; see below)
• Uncommon = [#2d3] thieves (1.2.1), gray oozes, mudmen (MMII), green slime, gt. electric eels 
• Rare = [2d3] ghouls (1.2.4), [1] otyugh (1.2.5), [3d3*] morlocks (from level 2)
• Unique = [1] gt. boa constrictor, [1] wight (Vazimir's lieut - 1.5), [1] ghost of ancient watchman roams sewers w/spectral lantern (leads PCs toward 1.2.3, but passes through collapse in main channel).

• Sewer Gas Encounters (d6)

            1 = acidic (1d4 damage ea. round)
            2-3 = poison (save or nauseated for 10-40 min = (-4) to all rolls)
            4-5 = firedamp (cloud explodes for (1d6)d6 damage; save vs. breath for half)
            6 = sewer stench (camouflages PC's scent from critters for 2d4 hours = +1 Surprise)

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Sewer Key

(a) Main Channels (double-lines) = Ceramic* tile-walled passages, 30 ft. wide w/15 ft. high barrel-vaulted ceilings. Center of channel is a 10-ft. deep, 20-ft. wide watercourse w/3-ft wide walkways to either side (angled slopes down to murky water). 

(b) Secondary Passages (single-lines) = Ceramic* tile-walled passages, 10-15 ft. wide w/8-12 ft high barrel-vaulted ceilings.

(c) Tertiary Passages (dotted lines) = Formed stone tubes, 5-10 ft. in diam. (in 5-10-ft. joined sections). 

(d) Drainage Outlets = Formed stone tubes, 15-ft. in diam. (in 20-ft. joined sections); empty into river (underwater).

(e) Sewer Complexes (boxes) = Large chambers or clusters of cysts of unknown purpose. Most are "empty" (roll extra encounter check here; possibly new lair). Roll layouts from random dungeon generation tables.

(f) Access Shafts = Domed cysts (20-ft. diam., 15 ft. high) with secondary tunnel exits; 3-ft. diam. shafts in the ceiling ascend 20 ft. to surface locations marked (f). Roll extra encounter check here.

(x) Collapse = Further progress is impossible by normal means; is there something on the other side?

*The ceramic material encountered throughout the dungeon is impervious to mortal weapons, fire, acid, and lightning. Due to the ceramic's density, earth-based spells are only half as effective (area-wise). Teleport, passwall, dimension door, and other such spells have a 10% chance of failure through a ceramic barrier.

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SECTION KEY — WEEK 2

Scale: Ea. square = 10x10 ft.

1.2.1 Sluicehouse (01/08)
The lair of a gang of thieves, led by the desperado son of the former (deposed) lord of this land.

–He and his men aren't evil, but they are ruthless and will defend the hideout.

• "Deglen the Outcast" (F3/T2; AC 7 (+1 leather), HP 28; AT 1 (+1 short sword), DAM 1-6+1)
• Thief (T1-3; AC 8, HD 1-3d6; AT 1 (rusty daggers); DAM 1-4)

–PCs can pay the thieves 25 gp ea. to enter the Main Channel (1.2.2), but the gang is likely to rob the party when they exit (esp. if they are wounded).

Sub-Map Key 

(a) The water-filled Culvert channel (1.1.3) enters a 15-ft. high tunnel, then narrows before passing under a sluice gate made of impervious blue metal. The gap beneath the gate is 8-ft. high (2 ft. below the surface of the water). Broken steps descend the culvert slope from the plateau to a 3-ft. wide walkway running alongside the channel. At the bottom of the steps is a rusty iron gate (locked).

(b) The iron gate (-15% to pick) opens into a short passage with another iron gate (also locked, -15%) at the far end. A tripwire mid-passage triggers a crossbow trap (attacks as 2HD, 1d6+1 damage) and also rings an alarm bell in (d).

(c) On the opposite side of the sluice gate is the main sewer channel. A passage to left leads up a ramp to (d). Up ahead, a narrow bridge spans the watercourse to the opposite walkway.

(d) A steep ramp ascends to a stout (newly-built) timber door (locked and barred = -15% to pick, -2 to kick). A thief watches the area through a spyhole. Inside is the den of Deglen's (8) thieves, where the men eat, sleep, and plan their crimes.

(e) Deglen's private chamber; stout (new) timber door (locked -15% to pick). Comfortably-appointed room. Chest (locked -15% to pick/trapped w/poison needle) contains: 1,400 cp, 1,050 sp, 640 gp, gold and emerald necklace (400 gp), a gold signet ring (15 gp), and (2) vials of weak paralytic poison (+2 save or paralyzed for 1d4 hours).

(f) Storeroom full of gang's purloined loot: mostly trade supplies, food and water, tools, etc. Also some weapons, armor/shields, and tabards taken from soldiers' bodies.

(g) A ladder leads to a concealed trapdoor in the ruins, covered with a few inches of dirt (can't be found by normal scanning). This is a secret exit for the gang in case of attack.

(h) The thieves are unaware of this secret door (hinged slab slides open if pushed). Beyond is a hidden room containing the sluice gate controls (levers, chains, metal cabinet full of gears. etc.) If the master gear on Dungeon Level 6 is ever engaged, this machinery can be used to raise or lower the sluice gate. Opening it further won't have much impact on dungeon water levels, but closing it would lower water levels dramatically, exposing more areas on other levels for future exploration.

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1.2.2 The Valve (01/09)
The four main channels meet in the center of the sewers, where they merge and surround a steep-sloped pyramidal structure. There is an entrance on each of the pyramid's four faces, 6 ft. above the water level, but no walkway. The vaulted central chamber is 40 ft. high, and the pyramid joins the ceiling. 

–Each pyramid entrance is a ramp up to a closed portcullis gate made of impervious blue metal. No apparent way to open the gates, but the room's interior is visible.

–Beyond is a 30-ft sq. chamber with a 40-ft. high pyramidal ceiling. Embedded in the ceiling's peak is a cluster of translucent quartz crystal (6-ft. diam.) 

–Directly beneath it, a 3-ft. diam. pipe emerges from the floor, where it is capped by a valve wheel. Both pipe and wheel are made of impervious blue metal. A battered tin sign hangs from the wheel.

–The valve wheel cannot be opened by physical means (wizard-locked); a knock spell releases it, however.

• The sign reads (in a forgotten language): "DANGER – Do not open valve."
• Opening the valve releases a cloud of highly-toxic gas that fills all four central sewer channels in 1 turn (cloud moves 15"; -2 save vs. poison or die.
• Within 1 hour, the gas fills the entire sewer complex, killing every living thing down here save ooze-type creatures. 
• The gas takes 2d4 weeks to disperse; drifting toxic gas clouds now an uncommon sewer encounter.
• NOTE: The gas-filled chambers on Dungeon Level 3 are now clear and can be safely explored.

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1.2.3 Open Shaft (01/10)
The main channel to this area is blocked by a massive collapse. Water pools up here, but obviously still flows under the blockage. Anyone trying to swim under the collapse will become tangled in debris and likely drown.

On the other side, the channel continues on (watercourse depth = ~5 ft.). It terminates in 1.2.3, where the watercourse drains into a 20 ft. diam. shaft. 

–Heaps of debris (rotten logs, small boulders, sediment, etc.) fill the corners of the room.

–The shaft is made of formed stone tubes in 20 ft. long joined sections. It drops 50 ft. to the floor of Dungeon Level 2.1.1.

–A giant boa constrictor makes its nest among a pile of twisted roots and logs in one corner.

• Giant Boa Constrictor (AC 5, HD 6+1, HP 37; AT 2, DAM 1-4/2-8; SA constriction). Within its swollen gut is the half-digested corpse of a morlock (along with a flint knife and a glowing blue crystal on a thong around its neck).

–A skeleton is partially buried in the nest debris. It is quite old, however. A battered lantern is found among the bones, along with a handaxe inscribed with a war rune (+1 damage) and a leather pouch (52 gp, 112 sp, healing potion). 

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1.2.4 Ghoul Pit (01/11)
A sinkhole opened up beneath the crypts (1.4.), dumping a vault of old bodies down into a pit connected to the sewers. They were once decadent nobility who had their bodies preserved in large, brine-filled glass jars.

–Many of the jars broke open in the collapse, but more than a half-dozen remain unopened (their pickled bodies are still visible in the murky brine).

–The floor of the sinkhole is a gelatinous sludge with arcane properties that turned the pickled bodies from the broken jars into (8) ghouls and (3) ghasts.

• Ghoul (AC 6, HD 2, HP 6(x2), 8(x3), 10(x2), 12; AT 3; DAM 1-3/1-3/1-6; SA paralyzation; SD immune to sleep, charm)
• Ghast (AC 4, HD 4, HP 22, 24, 27; AT 3; DAM 1-4/1-4/1-8; SA paralyzation; SD undead immunities)

–The undead wear no clothes, but each wears various 1d3* pieces of jewelry worth 1d3*x100 gp ea. (ghasts add +1 to all d3 rolls). One ghast has an ornate gold and ivory tube (300 gp) containing a scroll of protection vs. elementals.

–The pit cannot be accessed from the Necropolis grounds (1.1.4), but the ghouls have dug a tunnel up to the cenotaph (exits to the surface).

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1.2.5 Cesspit (01/12)
The main channel deposits into a former drainage area, now completely blocked by muck.

–(4) lesser otyughs and (1) greater otyugh lurk in the slimy pool. One occasionally gets confused and wanders into the sewers or up into the city ruins in search of prey.

• Otyugh, Lesser (AC 3, HD 6, HP 30, 33(x2), 39; AT 3, DAM 1-8/1-8/1-4+1; SA grab, disease; SD never surprised) 
• Otyugh, Greater (AC 0, HD 10, HP 67; AT 3, DAM 1-12/1-12/1-4+1; SA grab, disease; SD never surprised)

–If a lesser otyugh is killed, the cesspit spawns a new one in 1 month; if the greater otyugh is killed, one of the lesser ones will grow to a greater form within 1d6+6 months.

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1.2.6 Aspis Nest (01/13)
Much of the stonework in this section of sewer is collapsed, forming a network of broken, cave-like tunnels. A hive of aspis and their giant ant servants inhabit the area.

–The nest is a winding series of tunnels (roughly 2-4-ft. diam.) Some tunnels ascend to the City Ruins (1.1.1) or descend to Dungeon Level 2 (2.3.1, 2.3.3, 2.3.7).

–The "outer" nest has many alcoves and cysts (food storage, drone cells); at the center of the nest (map) is a ring of defensive "caves" (a)—w/1-3 drones each—surrounding the egg chamber (b).

• (n#) Giant Worker Ants (MM - AC 3, HD 2; AT 1, DAM 1d6) - These are green-hued, glowing.
• (12) Aspis Drones (MMII - AC 3, HD 6, HP 24,27,29(x2),33(x2)35(x3); AT 2, DAM 1-4/1-4)
• (1) Aspis Cow (MMII - AC 7, HD 10, HP 59; AT 1, DAM 3-18; SD acidic skin (1-8))

–The aspis cow is a giant ant queen mutated by an open canister of glowing ooze. 

• She produces 2d4 eggs per day; 80% are not viable.
• Of the viable eggs, 90% are giant ants (docile unless provoked or commanded by aspis); 10% are aspis drones. While the cow remains alive, she can repopulate her hive.
  

–Anyone coming into contact with the acidic ooze (including melee combat with the cow) takes 1d8 damage and must save vs. polymorph or suffer a random mutation (2d6):

    2 = catastrophic physical defect (death in 1d4 days)

    3-9 negative physical/mental mutation (-2 to a random stat)

    10-11 positive physical/mental mutation (+2 to a random stat)

    12 = transformative physical or mental mutation (gain a random spell power 1/day)

    *could also use mutation tables from somewhere.

–The canister is made of impervious blue metal that was somehow cracked open.

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1.2.7 Trash Whorl (01/14)
The main channel empties into a wide chamber with a narrow ledge ringing a pool of water, which swirls in a strong vortex as it drains out of the room. An island of garbage spins rapidly in the gyre.

–The debris island looks solid enough to stand on, but the gap between the ledge and the island = ~15 ft.

–The water current is powerful; anyone who falls in or tries to swim across has a 75% chance (-5% x STR damage bonus) to be sucked into the whorl and "drowned" (actually swept down to Dungeon Level 3 – 3.4.1).

–When someone reaches the island, a skeleton (ruined chain, shield, longsword) rises from the debris and attacks. If a second PC reaches the island, the pile breaks apart in 3 rounds, dragging the island and everything on it into the whorl.

• Skeleton (AC 6, HD 1, HP 8; AT 1, DAM 1-8; SD undead). Around its bony neck hangs a "key" (a notched rectangle of impervious blue metal) on a long silver chain (75 gp).

–The hidden skeleton was laying across a locked box of impervious blue metal (the keyhole is a slender slot = -60% to pick; skeleton's key opens it). The box contains rotting leather bags (473 gp, 1,230 sp, 1,811 cp), a jeweled sheath (200 gp) with +1 curved dagger, and a fine +2 arrow.

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