"Bonus Rooms (The Crypts)"
Level 1 (JAN) – The Upper Works
Addition to Section 4 (1/29 – 1/31)
–While exploring the grid nodes near the edge of the collapsed sections, observant PCs might notice air currents pulling into the collapse—a clue to three open routes into this area.
–The routes are winding paths (5-10 ft. wide) that follow "natural" fissures through the collapsed ground.
Scale: Each square = 10ft. x 10ft.
1.4B.1 Green Cave (01/29)Cavernous space with 15-ft. high ceilings; illuminated by ghastly, lime-green glow. Large white moths (size of dinner plates; appear bright green in light) flutter around a glowing crystal shard in the middle of the floor. Several ruined cylinders lie about. Dried husks of dozens of long-dead moths carpet the floor.
–(6) camouflaged lash lizards cling to the ceiling and gorge on moths.
- Lash Lizard (ATWM I Dave Hargrave – AC 3, HD 4, HP 12,14,18,19,22,24; AT 2 claws/1 tongue; DAM 1-4/1-4/4-16; SA 20-ft. long tongue attack, saliva paralyzes (+2 save vs. poison); SD chameleon camouflage (surprise on 1-5))
1.4B.2 Voice in a Jar (01/30)
A mostly intact, pillared chamber (architecture reminiscent of the crypt nodes; collapsed wall/ceiling in one corner where tunnels come in). Dais at far end; body in jar is set into an ornate bronze stand.
–Body is typical pickled human (female), although this one wears a distinctive crown of thin platinum mounted with (3) lozenge-cut jewels (total piece = 1,750 gp).
–The bronze stand consists of a round, bowl-shaped base supporting the jar, several thin armatures holding it upright, and a small bronze box (10x10x12 in.) mounted on a 3-ft. pole standing at the rim of the base. The top of the box features...
- A 6-in. diam. circle formed of 12 thin slots.
- A 2x2x2-in. socket-like depression; the socket's back "plate" is a square made of yellow crystal.
- When the crystal block from 1.4B.1 is inserted in the socket...
- The room fills with blue glow (negates the green crystal's poison);
- The jewels on the crown begin to glow; the jar brine begins bubbling;
- A raspy, tinny voice emerges from the box.
–Her memory is faulty (she does not remember her name), but with proper questioning, she can relate the following information...
- She was once a scholar in a grand library at the heart of the "City of the Ancients"—a mysterious complex below the Old City.
- The Old City was founded to study the City of the Ancients and the machines of the gods buried in vaults deep beneath it.
- Too many egos and powerful conflicting interests created great tension in the Old City; hubris and recklessness doomed it.
- The machines below are capable of great wonders, but they are inscrutable and often dangerous.
- The gods possessed the secrets of the universe and could create life from base materials.
- Their devices operate with crystals, but even these can be dangerous to handle/use without the proper knowledge.
- The Throne of the Gods lies somewhere below; it is said to grant any wish to those capable of sitting upon it.
- The location of the throne was kept in the library but "CHIMERA" guards it.
SECRET: She doesn't know what it means, but "CHIMERA" is a password. It must be delivered in her language's word for it.
–Observant party members might notice the brine's bubbling increase in intensity over time.
- When a turn of questioning elapses, her body falls apart and dissolves.
Removing the green crystal from the socket forestalls this (she returns to an inert state; resets the turn clock).
__________
1.4B.3 Careful Descent (01/31)
Two wall cracks open into a cavernous space at the top of a deep sinkhole shaft sloping 45 degrees into the earth. A narrow ledge connects the two cracks, but the rest of the cave floor drops away into the shaft.
– The steeply-sloping shaft descends ~50 ft. to Dungeon Level 2 (2.2.2). The ground is loose and cannot be walked down.
- Anyone trying slides and picks up too much speed in the first 3d10 ft., then falls the rest of the way down (damage = pit of comparable depth.
–An observant PC might notice a semi-concealed ledge and small crack on the far side of the cave, across the shaft.
- The crack leads into a cramped alcove with the skeletal remains of a short (3 ft.) humanoid dressed in tattered remnants of leather armor and clutching a rusty dagger.
Hidden inside the leather armor is a pouch made of impervious blue metal fibers. Woven into it are dozens of tiny rhomboid shards of blue and lt. purple crystal. It is a Bag of Holding that contains 6,140 ep, 1,203 gp, and 1,145 pp (ancient coins).
"The Waterworks"
Level 2 (FEB) – The Caves Between
Section 1 (2/1 – 2/7)
–The river gorge is cavernous, 40–60 ft. wide in most places with a 20-30 ft. high ceiling covered in stalactites. The river is swift and strong, with many rapids.
–Tunnels are 5–15 ft. wide with 5–8 ft. ceilings; caves are half as high as wide, with stalactites and stalagmites. Walls/ceilings are rough, natural rock; floors are sand/silt.
Encounter chance = 1:d6 (roll ea. turn)
- Common = [#2d3*] Giant Bats, Giant Rats, Giant Cave Frogs, Giant Ants
- Uncommon = [#1d3*] Gray Oozes, Morlocks, Piercers, Troglodytes, Aspis (+2d3* Giant Ants)
- Rare = [#1d3] Cave Fishers, Sandlings, Carrion Crawlers, Skeletons, Ghouls
- Unique = [#1] Crystal Basilisk, Gelatinous Cube, Wight (Vazimir's Lieut. – 1.4.7)
__________
SECTION KEY
2.1.1 Open Shaft (02/01)
–The fill basin is 20 ft. deep, but the water surface is 10 ft. down, so depth = 10 ft. The water is too murky to see through, but on the basin floor is a 15-ft. diam. drain cover (with 6-in. drain holes) made of impervious blue metal. Also on the floor near the drain is a "stainless steel" footlocker.
- The footlocker has a hasp of some kind and a 1/4-in. diam. "keyhole," but the mechanism to open it is not obvious. It can be battered open, but the force required will destroy the device inside. It can be safely opened using the "key" from 2.1.2b.
Inside is a delicate piece of ancient technology: a 3-ft. long conical tube made of brass, gold, and tin, with a handgrip in the narrow end. Above the handgrip is a protruding box with two thin slots (1-in. tall), each with a tiny crystal chip set just above it (one yellow, one amber). If crystal wafers of the right color (see 2.1.3a) are inserted into the corresponding slots, the device acts as a Horn of Blasting (using it consumes the set of crystal wafers).
2.1.2 Valve Control (02/02)
NOTE: Sub-map scale here is 1 square = 5ft. x 5ft.
This area controls a series of impervious blue metal valves located throughout this facility. Each valve consists of a bulkhead which is either open, or closed with an 10-ft. diam. iris of impervious blue metal.
(a) An open bulkhead ("Valve 2") in the wall of the tiled passage connects with another identical passage. Just inside the open valve is an open doorway, with stairs that ascend to a tiled room where (9) levers and housings made of impervious blue metal are mounted on the floor. Set into the wall behind the levers is a (4x6 ft.) onyx panel. A 2-ft. diam. cluster of translucent crystal "blooms" from the center of the tiled ceiling.
–None of the levers can be manipulated until power to the facility is restored (2.1.4).
- Powered up, the levers open (push toward wall) or close (pull away from wall) the various bulkhead valves. An impervious blue metal door also slides shut over the entrance to this room whenever water starts to flow.
When the party first enters this area: V1, V2, V3, and V5 are open; the rest of the valves are closed.
–The onyx panel is etched and inlaid with silver in a pattern resembling the Waterworks map layout.
- Each area is designated with a 2-in. translucent crystal. All the crystals are "dark" until the power is restored.
Powered up, the crystals glow a certain color that reflects the system's state...
- Pumphouse (2.1.4) crystal glows green (nominal) or amber (when pumps turned on).
- Cistern (2.1.3) crystals glow white (if empty) or blue (if full).
- Valve Control Room (2.1.2a) crystal glows green (nominal).
- Valve (V1–9) crystals glow amber (if open) or red (if closed).
–When power is restored, the ceiling crystal glows brightly and illuminates the room.
(b) The adjacent room is empty save for an 8-ft. long "stainless steel" bench that protrudes from the tiled wall. On the opposite wall is a door-sized panel of impervious blue metal.
–Careful searching reveals two peculiar wall tiles, each lightly etched with the image of a handprint.
- Pushing the handprint tile next to the doorway from (a) pops open a recessed cabinet with several empty hook. Dangling from one hook is a (6-in. long, 1/4-in. diam.) "stainless steel" wand capped with a formed tip of yellow crystal. The "key" is strung with a leather lanyard. (It feels like leather, but is it?)
Pushing the handprint tile on the opposite wall causes a section of the wall to slide aside. Beyond is a narrow access tunnel to the Pumphouse (2.1.4). Another similar tile on the other side closes (or reopens the wall panel). It closes on its own after 30 seconds.
–The impervious blue metal door panel has a 1/4-in. diam. hole in door frame at waist level. The cabinet "key" opens it, but only when power is restored. Beyond is a stairway down to Dungeon Level 3 (3.1.1).
__________
2.1.3 Cisterns (02/03)
These identical chambers are enormous silos with 40-ft. high shallow-domed ceilings. Each room is completely tiled in ceramic.
–Each cistern has three valves of impervious metal (some are open, some closed – 2.1.2).
–In the center of the floor is a 20-ft. diam. drain cover made of impervious blue metal (w/8-in. diam. drain holes). Both drains are blocked off by valves of impervious blue metal just 20 ft. below the drain cover (these are controlled elsewhere).
(a) Sound echoes in the empty cistern, yet seems dampened at the same time. Anyone investigating the drain automatically stirs a hibernating (and quite hungry) gelatinous cube of enormous proportions lurking in the drain pipe below the cover!
- Huge Gelatinous Cube (AC 8, MV 6, HD 10, HP 61; AT 1; DAM 2-8; SA paralyzation, surprise on 1-3; SD cold ONLY slows it (50% move, damage = 1-4) if it fails save, immune to electricity, fear, hold, paralyzation, polymorph, sleep)
When the gel. cube takes 25% damage, it splits into (2) separate cubes (divide remaining HP between them).
It has no treasure, save for (14) translucent crystal shards perfectly-cut into 1x2 in. rectangular wafers (2 red, 1 amber, 2 yellow, 2 green, 1 blue, 2 dk. purple, 1 lt. purple, 3 clear) that float inside its body
–Even if no one approaches the drain, activity in this room has a 1-2:d6 chance per turn to rouse the monster. Once roused (but not killed), the gelatinous cube begins spawning a standard gelatinous cube every 6+1d6 days, which then begins roaming the dungeon.
(b) All valves in this cistern are closed when the party first enters this area. It is completely filled to the top with water.
2.1.4 The Pumphouse
The main control room (a) is ceramic-tiled (all surfaces) and has a 30-ft. high vaulted ceiling. Three massive (10-ft. diam.) pipes made of impervious blue metal emerge from the floor and bend into the wall. A 2-ft. diam. cluster of translucent clear crystal blooms from the tiled ceiling. A panel of onyx (4x6 ft.) is set into one wall. Facing it is a "stainless steel" podium protruding from the tiled floor.
–When the facility is powered on (2.1.4c), the ceiling crystal glows brightly, illuminating the room.
–The onyx panel is identical to the one at 2.1.2a.
–The podium features a switch (pointing left) with a crystal rectangle above it (translucent clear). Next to the switch is a covered button (have to stick finger into socket). When powered on...
- The switch crystal glows red; if the switch is turned right, it glows green and the room hums as sealed pumps beneath the facility come to life.
If the button is then pushed, the room vibrates as water begins flowing through the system. An operator can now use the valve controls (2.1.2a) to fill or empty the cisterns, or send river water down to levels 3 and/or 4.
 |
(b) Equipment room with empty wall racks (for tools or perhaps weapons?). Several footlockers (identical to 2.1.1) are scattered on the floor, but these are open and empty.
–A stairway down to (c) is concealed from the doorway by a wall.
–The "key" from 2.1.2b can be used to lock/unlock these footlockers as well.
(c) Three massive (10-ft. diam.) impervious blue metal pipes emerge from the floor and rise to the ceiling. In the center of the room is a stand made of impervious blue metal (a circular base with two armatures that curve up like an elongated 'C'). Each armature holds a bowl (one inverted above the other and separated by a 4 ft. gap). The inner surface of each bowl bristles with yellow crystal shards.
–(6) crystal statues of morlocks in "action poses" stand around the room (crystal color = random).
–In the far corner, a (3 ft. long x 1 ft. diam.) chunk of yellow crystal lays on the floor, surrounded by a thick "fringe" of scintillating crystals of various colors–actually a crystal basilisk! It has curled around the crystal chunk to nap. When someone approaches, it uncurls and uses its gaze to turn the prey into crystal (treat as normal petrification).
- Crystal Basilisk (AC 0, HD 6, HP 34; AT 1; DAM 1-10; SA gaze turns to crystal; SD crystal hide acts as Ring of Spell Turning)
Among a pile of detritus and cast-off basilisk moltings behind the pipes is the basilisk's treasure: a spool of silver wire (worth 600 gp) and (4) electrum rods (worth 500 gp ea).
–When the chunk of yellow crystal (100 lbs.) is placed between the bowls, it floats in place and all the crystals light up, here and throughout the Waterworks. All controls can now be operated normally.
(d) Stairs descend to a stone pier 5 ft. above the subterranean river. The pier wraps around the outside of the Pumphouse and passes beneath three massive (10 ft. diam.) impervious blue metal pipes that bend into the river to intake water.
–Two pipes connect to the cisterns; the third (middle) one connects with a shaft down to Dungeon Level 4.
- A character with Water Breathing could travel into the middle intake pipe and swim down it to reach Level 4.
–From the far end of the pier, the party can possibly see a gravel beach across the river gorge, and some nearby rapids that could be crossed (2.1.5).
- NOTE: The party also comes under the observation of cave fishers high on the gorge ceiling. They move into position to snag anyone crossing the rapids.
__________
– END OF WEEK 5 –
No comments:
Post a Comment