Sunday, July 9, 2023

Dungeon Floor Level 1: The nameless city

Pitch: There is this ruined city up a forgotten road, where the rumors say there is a tower that is only visible at night, but vanishes during the day. They say it was the work of a famous magician that lived there when the settlement was alive. It will surely be ripe of magical trinkets, wonders, treasure and dangers.

The PCs won't find the tower unless they delve during the night, and their vision will be greatly improved if they choose a moonlit one. This might increase the paranoia of lycanthropes or vampires amongst the players, but there is not a single one of such. YET. Still working on the tower levels.


KEY: 

1. This house has no roof and it's full of reeds. They hide a small pool with magical propierties: Whenever the moon shines on it, the water glows with moonlike light, until the next day. Anything soaked on that water will glow as a torch as long as its wet. 1 in 6 chance there is a treant bathing in the water.

2. Five hobbits are housed here. They are adventurers who come for loot just like you did. Three have bows, two have daggers. They will give information about a random room (d20 + d6) for free. They will expect something in return for any other help. 120 sp are hidden under a pile of rags. The door is totally blocked and they get in through the window.

3. Door to the city. The trees right in front of you can be crossed, but it takes a full turn to get through the naked, twisted branches. This works the same on any other tree concentrations. If you spend a turn trying to burn it with a torch, it catches fire on a roll of 2 in 6. The whole tree will be on fire on 1d6 turns. 

4. This tower is completely empty, no floors or inner walls. There is however a nest of killer bees, and the entrance is partially hidden under some wooden beams

5. An old temple is so overrun with trees that it has almost eaten all the usable space on it. Eight acolytes still worship a female idol, with the classic emerald eyes that are worth 300 sp each. Their leader is a 4th level cleric.

6. Six snakes (spitting cobras). Will attack if the PCs open any furniture or stay for more than three turns.

7. 158 sp hidden on a cupboard. There is a window partially blocked by a tree.

8. There is a lush jungle into this room. Plants seem to vanish like smoke when touched, but instantly reform. It is, obviously, an illusion. You can see an overture into the wall that can be accessed through a stairs and that leads to a small bridge/balcony. You cannot see, however, a box with 350 sp plainly put on the floor, because the illusion covers it.

9. This stairs lead to the top of the tower, Anyone fighting somebody who is downstairs has +1 to hit and +1 AC.

10. This is the floor over room (17) and it is accessed trough it. The door at north actually gets you in room (17) but I draw like that, so read it first. Anyways, room (10): A rope leads up into a darkened tower. If the players try to climb it, it will ring the bell of the old church instead (the rope leads only to the bell, which is worth 150 gp if somebody can transport it). The bell faint ring will last for fifteen minutes at least, and while its sounding, all nearby illusions will vanish. Also, four orcs from the guarding point at (14) will come to check who is touching shit at the bell tower. 

11. This bars can be bent just as a stuck door,  so you can access the sewer.

12. There are two guardians at each side of the door to room (13). They carry naginatas and no armor, just robes and a chinese-type wide hat that hides their eyes, no matter how near the PCs get. They have a very faint blueish hue. They are illusory, and its creator wasn't good at rendering eyes. They seem to breathe, but they won't talk or move otherwise. This encounter seemed stupid to me when I created it, but it's the one that my players struggled more with. They haven't made up their minds to cross that door, that is completelly unlocked.

13. There is nothing in this room of value, looks like an old granary.  However, there is very worn out illusion (each character has a 3 in 6 chance to actually notice it)  of a kid holding a woman's hand. Both walk through an illusory wheat field, and the woman holds the rein of an illusory horse.

14. Eight orcs guard the bridge: four have bows and are atop of the bridge itself. Other four have spears and wait beside the stairs.

15. The bridge leads into this tower, but orcs will avoid it. It has a spider crab on the roof, will fall over anyone entering the room by that entrance.

16. This is a mezzanine over room 15. You can see the spider from here. There are also some books on the shelves: searching for secret stuff will give you a magical book about birds that projects a faint flying hawk 40 cm over the pages when opened. Worth 200 sp to the right customer.

17. This was a church in better times. It is raining inside this room, but it doesn't actually soak you, because it's illusory. The old stairs are destroyed, but a rope will get you to the first floor (10). Use dex or str checks if you feel like it.

18. A stuck iron door will get you into the city through the sewers. Outside, there is a peaceful, rocky grassland.

19. A poisonous pink flower grows in here. 2 in 6 chance every turn for anyone to get sleepy: save or fall asleep to eventual death unless woken up. There is an iron door that will easy open, and will take you into the city.

20. Three lizard geckos live in this tower. They can access (21) easily by climbing, but PCs cannot do so. Its 10 meters high,

21. Stairs get into this inner balcony from the street. You find the body of a half- eaten adventurer. A silver dagger can be found with its point buried deep into the wooden floor. 
South of this tower, there is a bunch of trees that difficult access. It is scratched on the paper because my PCs burnt it.

22. This room is empty

23. A hobbit is hidden here, conveniently guarded by a door blocked by branches. He is devoted to paint the illusory tower every night, with a brush, a palette and a canvas. He is obsessed with the idea to capture its fleetingness, and its ethereal beauty. He is too hard on himself and his previous works (2d6 pictures stashed in a side of the room) but will trade them for any food supplies, or anything that can be made into pigments or a canvas. It's not related to hobbits at room (2). The window at south lets you watch all the panorama, with the tower in front of you. But you cannot see the orcs under it's shade. The hobbit will warn you they are there, though.

24. This room can be accessed by the bridge in the north wall. There is a trapdoor at the floor leading into (23). The wood around it is rotten and anyone approaching has a 2 in 6 chance to fall into said room. The fall will give you a penalty of -2 to hit and lower your MV by one unless you pass your save.

25. This part of the wall is easy to climb from the outside, but is is guarded by a treant. This is probably too big for the players to face but there he is. It should be obvious and scary

26. This room is accessed through the sewers. It contains a human corpse with 30 gp

27. Access to the tower. The ground floor of the tower has no walls, only columns. Amongst the darkness, there are some stairs hidden that lead to the first floor. There are also 9 orcs with spears and daggers and their leader (double HP, magical shield +1, spear and sword) 

28. Two orc lookouts will shoot with their bows to anyone that gets into their range, and blow the alarm horn if you manage to escape the first shots. Accessing this building is difficult because there are overgrown trees in the way.

29. Two more orcs with spears and daggers guard a big stash: 100 gp and 800 sp

WANDERING MONSTER CHECKS

1 in 6 chance of encounter for every turn the PCs are on the street, or 3 in 6 per rest assuming they rest in the city and make watch through a window or something. The first time the result is rolled, use the first noted encounter. All the other times, use the second.

1. A flock of blue illusory birds passing right through you // 1d6 Orcs
2. 1d4 Spider Crabs
3. Illusory princess, walking towards room 17, then dissapears // 1d6 Acolytes
4. 1d6 Antelopes
5. A Trader (human) // 1d6 Killer Bees
6. A small treant (5HD). Will not attack unless PCs scare him with fire, harm him or any plant on the city.

No comments:

Post a Comment