Welcome readers! This weeks dungeon begins our exploration into the second level of The Crucible of Oxyus. I've fully switched to an all digital map from now on. This way as I add to the month's map I can continue to expand the image until a complete level is revealed. Starting out this week we delve into the lair of the Blood-axes, a fearsome group of orcs who make the second level their home. Players must beware though, besides these ornery orcs there are trapped archives of fell magic, water fiends and a tapestry of beautiful aspect. Read on to find out what else is in store below!
Month
Three
DM’s Note: All ceiling
heights are 20’ unless noted otherwise.
2/27: The Central Shaft
This room is 45’ square with 50’ ceilings. A large central shaft descends through 100’ of stone from the central chamber on the first floor down to this large chamber. Just like the first floor, there is a central shaft in the middle of the room that descends further into the earth. The distant sounds of hammering can be heard from down the shaft. Near the lip of this shaft there is a rectangular metal box with glowing buttons and a lever, although fiddling with them doesn’t seem to do anything. Two 15’ wide pillared hallways with 30’ high ceilings lead out of this central chamber to the east and west.
- North: There is a bronze door on this wall that is counterweighted to open by sliding up into a pocket in the wall. This door leads to room 2/28.
- East: The pillared hallway is 95’ long and 15’ wide. There is a 10’ corridor leading north about halfway down and large bronze doors with a frieze depicting monstrous humanoids lining up to praise a sitting wizard are found at the end of the hallway itself.
- West: A nearly identical pillared hallway leads further west from here.
2/28: The Sitting Room
This 15’ by 25’ room looks
to have once been a storage room but has since been repurposed into a sitting
room. There is an old mildewed couch with purple and red upholstery situated
across from a tapestry hung on the wall depicting a romantic woodland scene.
The tapestry depicts an idyllic woodland in which two dark-haired lovers
embracing before a host of woodland animals (worth 550 gp). There is also a
small table with a rusted lantern set atop it.
- North: A wooden door on this wall leads to room 3/1.
- West: Behind the tapestry a secret door is hidden. The door can be opened by lighting the lantern and shining its light on the wall itself. The corridor beyond leads to the other side of the dungeon.
3/1: Lair of the Water
Fiends
This dressed stone room is
25’ by 30’ with a large four-foot-deep pool of water in it. 5d10 platinum coins
sparkle in the water of the pool, and a Decanter Of Endless Water can be
found there as well. This pool is the lair of three Water Fiends who
will jealously guard the treasures of their pool. If the waters of the pool are
disturbed in any way, the Water Fiends will reveal themselves and
attack.
- North: A blue and red striped wooden door leads to room 3/4.
- East: A
brand new coffin-shaped wooden door leads to the hallway between this room and
room 3/2.
- West: A
stuck, scorched wooden door on this wall leads to room 2/28.
3/2: The Barracks
This finished stone room is 40’ by 30’. The smell of sweat and body odor is strong here. There are bunk beds throughout the room with moldy hide mattresses atop them. A table and chair in the corner are the only other pieces of furniture that can be seen. This is the barracks room of the Blood-Axe Orc tribe. They make their home here and use the dungeon as a base of operations to harass the countryside. No less than 20 Orcs can be found here at any given time as they attempt rest between raids. On the table can be found a barely-legible letter written in Orcish using the Dwarven script. The letter is a response to a status report, detailing the Orc’s struggle to overcome a group of Wererats that have moved into this level of the dungeon. The letter-writer asks for silvered weapons to help combat the lycanthropes in hopes of expanding the tribe’s foothold here. The letter is addressed to an Ahrkurgh Demoneyes.
- North: A short hall on this wall leads to a brass coffin-shaped door to room 3/4.
- West: A stout, iron-banded wooden door on this wall can be barred to block entry.
3/3: The Trophy Room
- North: The
door on this wall is made of brass, with a thick latch for a handle. This door
is Trapped. When the latch is rotated, the heads of the screws attaching
the handle to the door rotate too, revealing that there is a mechanism hidden
inside the door. If the latch is rotated completely to open, the mechanism will
crack a glass ampule of caustic liquid that will immediately leak out as a gas,
causing 2d6 damage to anyone who fails a Breath Save within 10’ of the
door.
- West: There
is an open corridor here that leads to the banquet hall in room 3/4 where
sounds of Orcish merriment can be heard.
- The
Trophies: The three armor dummies each bear different armors.
One torso displays an elaborately tooled Leather cuirass with orchids, lilies,
and violets worked into it (Leather Armor +1). Another torso bears an elaborately decorated elven
war helm with a tall, feathered crest. The third torso bears a round wooden Shield
+1 painted to look like a growling Orc face. The tables are covered in all
manner of shiny rocks, colorful bits of glass, and other sundry trophies the
Orcs have collected. There are several animal and humanoid skulls and femurs,
and if ten minutes can be spared to search, 400 gp worth of gold and silver
jewelry can be scrounged together from underneath the filthy mess.
3/4: The Banquet Hall
This 40’ by 25’ room has been furnished with two long tables and is lit by large torches attached with iron brackets to the walls. 10 Orcs can be found here eating, laughing, and drunkenly singing Orcish war songs with their War Chief (4 HD, +2 to damage). There are three malnourished human slaves in rags meekly serving the warriors.
- North: The door on this wall is made of brass, with a thick latch for a handle. This door is Trapped. When the latch is rotated, the screw heads of the screws attaching the handle to the door rotate too, giving away that there is a mechanism hidden inside the door. If the latch is rotated completely, the mechanism will crack a glass ampule of caustic liquid that will immediately leak out as a gas, causing 2d6 damage to anyone who fails a Breath Save within 10’ of the door.
- West: There
is a locked thick stone door on this wall with multiple metal locks.
The 3 keys needed to open this door can be found on the orcish War Chief.
Beyond the door, a long hallway leads further into the dungeon.
- South: A short corridor here leads to room 3/1.
3/5: The Black Archive
This 50’ by 25’ oval-shaped room has been cut from a vein of black karst stone and seems to drink light (the range of all light sources while in this room are halved). This room is filled with shelves of books, scrolls, folios, and manuscripts covering a variety of topics. These topics include demonology, the lower planes, dark gods, dungeon flora, geomantic magics, and herpetology. Atop many of the bookshelves are wrought iron oil lamps with purple crystal shades.
- East
and West: Either side of the room has a corridor
leading to either room 3/3 or 3/4.
- The Archive: The bookshelves are filled with too many books to list here. General information on the listed topics can be easily acquired after 1d6 turns of searching. Specific information on these topics takes 2d4 hours to find. Detailed information on demons, lower planes, or geomantic magic will take 4d6 hours to find. The information seeker cannot take any other significant action while searching the archive. This time may be broken up, however. There is a one-in-six chance that each search attempt will also uncover a random arcane or divine scroll hidden in a book. (50% chance of either.)
No comments:
Post a Comment