Dungeon23: Week 4

If you're new to the blog, please start here.  Today marks a major milestone as the first level of The Temple of the Snake Cult is now complete.  A followup post will have a full map of the first level, links to the four sections, and some "director's" commentary.

Level 1 - Area D

This map is created under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Area D has some of the more rough and unfinished chambers of the Temple.  It is split into two sub-areas.  The western area (Rooms 22-24) is mostly avoided by the humanoids of the Temple.  The eastern chambers (25-28) provide an exit into the gorge behind the temple, and is dominated by the kobb-men.

Room 22: The Hive

Anyone listening can hear buzzing before reaching this chamber.  It is an unfinished room with a cavernous ceiling.

There are 10 giant (killer) bees here, which defend the deeper hive above.  The oor-men habitually smoke them out to acquire their honey, which has curative properties (treat as a potion that heals 1d4 hp.)  Only one dose of this special honey can be acquired every 1d6 months.

Room 23: The Middens

This room splits between cavern and hall leading out of the Temple.  The northern cavern is unstable.  Any characters passing through have a 2 in 6 chance of being hit by a falling rock from above for 1d6 damage.  Yelling or fighting in the hallway may cause a cave-in (same 2 in 6 chance) for 3d6 damage (save against petrification for half.)  The tunnel exit is a steep drop 50 ft. down, where the Temple servants would dump chamber pots and other organic waste.  The southern room was used to store large and/or broken items such as pottery, tools, and furniture.  There is nothing of else of value here.

Room 24: Priests’ Crypt

The hallway before this chamber is trapped with a 10 ft. pit midway through.  Once activated, the north and south walls inside the pit begin to press against each other, with spikes slowly emerging from holes, at a rate of three (3) feet every 10 seconds (1 round.)  The process takes 30 seconds (3 rounds) to complete, at which time the trap will reset at the same rate, including the collapsing trap floor.

Beyond the hallway is a crypt where priests of the Cult, embalmed in their once opulent vestments, rest in faded, stone sarcophagi.  Five (5) suits of scaled Cult guard armor, complete with masked helms, shields, and spears, are propped up to stand guard in the chamber - two at the entrance, two halfway through the chamber on opposite walls, and one at the end opposite of the entrance.  These “guards” are skeletons that animate and attack anyone not wearing the Cult’s holy symbol.  The skeletal guard’s armor and shields grant them an AC of 5 [15].

 

There are 11 sarcophagi in total.  Opening a sarcophagus requires a tool (such as a crowbar) or successful Strength roll to open doors.  Roll 2d6 to determine contents (each sarcophagus can only be searched once):

2*     A small vial of dark, bitter liquid (invisibility potion)

3*      A sapphire worth 175 gold

4      Container of spice or fragrance worth 1d6x10 gold

5     2d10 gold coins

6     2d10x100 copper coins

7 – 9     2d10x10 silver coins

10*     A gem-studded dagger worth 117 gold

11*     Jeweled bracelet worth 138 gold

12*     A scroll containing unholy spells (detect magic, speak with animals, continual darkness, bestow curse, and locate object)

* Result occurs only once.  Treat as a 7- 9 result thereafter.

Room 25: Chapel of the Vermin God

The walls of this room have been painted over with mystic symbols.  A defaced, stone altar centered near the north wall has a small, stuffed fetish doll of an unidentifiable, insectoid creature (the Vermin God of the kobb-men.)  In front of the doll is a plate of organic offerings covered in roaches, which do not scattter even in the presence of light.

The back of the altar has an opening, which is also full of roaches.  Inside is a pull switch that opens a secret door in the north wall to Room 28.

The fetish doll itself has an aura of Chaos that is detectable by spell.  Anyone not aligned with Chaos that takes the doll becomes cursed with a -1 penalty to attacks and saves.  In addition, any food items such as rations in the victim’s equipment will be found covered in roaches.  Any attempt by the cursed victim to get rid of or otherwise destroy the doll will appear successful at first, but the doll will then reappear in or near their personal effects.   The curse can only be removed via holy and/or magical means.

Room 26

This room is lit by four (4) oil lamps hung on the walls.  In the center of the room is a stone block with a small, ornate chest.  The floor shines with wavy, iridescent color, (because it is covered in lamp oil.)  The kobb-men have rigged the middle area of the room with a set of tripwires (+20% chance to find) that cause one of the oil lamps to fall and light the oil on the ground when tripped.

Victims caught in the conflagration must save against dragon breath or suffer 3d4 damage and catch on fire, suffering an additional 1d4 damage every round until smothered.  The oil in the room continues to burn for 10 rounds (1 turn.)  Victims who succeed their save suffer half damage and do not catch on fire.  The small chest is empty.

Room 27: Hall of the Kobb-men

This is the true home of the kobb-men.  Approximately 40 of the creatures call this chamber and surrounding areas home.  However, there are about 2d10 present at one time, as the others are out skulking and scavenging in the other areas as well as outside of the Temple.

The hall has been effectively turned into a small fort, with crude barricades, palisades, and berms made of discarded wood and refuse.  The “fort” is built in a concentric manner so that the kobb-men can constantly harass and hopefully drive away or destroy invaders from above.

The kobb-men’s Hetman (2 HD, 9 hp) dwells in the central area with 1d6 bodyguards (1 HD each.)  The Hetman is a burn-scarred, one-eyed little tyrant who wishes death on all the other humanoids of the Temple, but is sadly not powerful enough to do so.  He is armored with mismatched pieces of Temple guard armor and fights with a ceremonial labrys (battle axe.)  If characters somehow manage to appease him, he is open to having his tribesfolk assist in any plans to ambush other creatures in the temple.  However, he is fickle and will abandon (or turn on) them if a battle doesn’t go their way.

The Hetman’s treasure is made up of coins (10 silver, 392 gold, and 7 copper) piled in a corner, as well as his labrys, which is decorated with serpentine etchings and small jewels, and is worth 130 gold.  Removing about half of the coins from the pile releases a wooden pressure plate that triggers a hidden crossbow (1d6 damage, save against death ray to avoid.)  The bolt is covered in kobb-man dung, and victims must save against poison to avoid the wound becoming septic (treat as a cause disease spell.)
A berm on the southeastern side of the hall conceals a small tunnel to the warrens in Room 14 (note: consider this a revision to that room.)

Room 28

Six (6) gnomes have taken refuge in this secret vault.  They were prospecting in the caves behind the Temple when they ran afoul of the kobb-men.  If characters help the gnomes by defeating and clearing the kobb-men lair in Room 27 (all 40 of them plus their Hetman,) they will gratefully offer to teach them some pointers about stonework.  This training takes one day, and the characters will then gain the ability to detect sloping passages, sliding walls, new constructions, and stonework room traps as a dwarf, but at a lower level of skill (1 in 6 chance when searching.)  This ability works for Levels 1-3 of this dungeon only.

With the kobb-men gone or driven off, the gnomes will establish a base camp in Room 27 for their mining operations in about a month’s time.  The player characters will thereafter be considered friends of the gnomes and welcome at the base camp.  Optionally,  the GM can devise further adventures with the gnomes as their operation can potentially expand and turn Level 1 of the Temple into a full-fledged gnome lair.