Dungeon23: Week 10

Level 3 – Area B

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

Area Note: This area is divided into two sub-sections: vaults with traps (and treasure) in the eastern section and the baern-men’s living chambers and "kitchen" in the western section.

Room 8: Vault Guardians

This chamber is carved from the cavern rock in a style of architecture markedly different from the levels above. The walls have been painted in faded scenes which can no longer be made out.

There are three (3) statues carved from crystal, similar to the one in Room 15 of Level 2.  One statue is of a man with a snake head (somewhat different from the aforementioned room.) The other two are a jackal-headed man and a coiled snake.  These are special, living statues that animate and attack intruders in the absence of the High Priest’s holy symbol.  Each statue can cast a different spell as a magic user: magic bolt (jackal-man,) charming (snake-man,) sleeping (snake.)

Crystal Guardians: AC 4 [16]; ATK 1; DMG 1d6/1d6 (humanoid arms,) 2d6 (snake bite); HD 3 (HP 15, 17, 12); MV 12; SAVE 14 (or as warrior); SPECIAL spells (1/day); AL L; XP 120 (or HD + specials.)

Room 9: Ball Maze

This vault has been fashioned in to a type of maze with 5-foot wide corridors (see diagram.)  A large, stone ball rests on the west side of the entrance corridor.  The floor tilts in the direction of any weight, causing the stone ball to roll in that direction at a top move speed of 120 feet per round.  The ball causes 3d6 points of damage if it rolls over a character or smashes them against a wall.  A saving throw against breath allows a character to dodge out of the way of the ball if there is room to do so.
 

A secret, locked door next to the ball allows access in and out of the treasure area (star symbol.)  It can be opened by inserting the High Priest’s holy symbol in a slot from the south side near the giant ball.However, it can be opened on the opposite side by pushing on the door.
 

There is a shallow pit on the western side of this corridor that can hold the ball in place and keep it from rolling again.
 

The treasure, which is on a pedestal, is a wooden box with 600 silver coins and a magic ring that turns the wearer invisible (as the spell.)

Room 10: Library Vault

The walls of this vault are smooth, with alcoves holding well-preserved books and scrolls.  However, all the writings seem to be gibberish (not just an unknown language.)  This is because he magic the room was enchanted with to preserve the books is failing.  Any written materials that enter this room (including magical scrolls and spellbooks) and linger for longer than ten minutes (one turn.) become garbled like the other writings in the room.  Magic for comprehending languages is necessary to read these works thereafter.  This is in addition to spells necessary for reading magical works.

If any original books or scrolls are removed from this room, they will age rapidly and crumble to dust.

Room 11: Vault of the Death Pearl

This vault is plain, worked stone with the exception of a dais and altar combination on the western wall carved in the likeness of a bizarre, fish-dragon statue emerging from the wall.  Its open mouth forms the base of the altar, with its “tongue” holding a cloudy, pearlescent ball of glass. A small pile of treasure can barely be seen through the cloudiness inside.

Smashing the ball frees a magical gas that causes anyone in a five-foot radius to save against magic wands or become paralyzed.  In addition, their skin takes on a jaundiced, deathly pallor with flaking skin. A sickening odor emanates from the flaking areas, prompting anyone in a ten-foot radius to save against poison or become unable to act due to nausea.
 

The paralysis and sickening odor lasts for 10 minutes (1 turn.)  However, the victim’s skin condition and a mildly unpleasant odor persist for 2d6 days.  The odor is off-putting, and results in a -1 penalty to reaction checks.  

The treasure inside the ball amounts to 1,000 silver and 300 gold coins.  
There is a secret panel bolted under the altar.  Inside is a valve that turns the gas inside the crystal ball on and off.

Room 12: Ghastly Larder

This chamber has a large pile of bodies in various stages of decay.  Characters may have landed on the pile from the chute in Level 2.

Disturbing the pile of bodies causes four (4) of the corpses to rise as zombies (HP 5, 7, 12, 4) to rise and attack the living.

There is nothing of value in this room.  A small tunnel with a crude conveyor belt is the only other exit out of this room.  The belt is stained with dried blood.  Putting any weight of 50 pounds or greater on the conveyor belt causes it to activate and move towards room 14 (see Room 13.)

There is a shutoff lever for the conveyor in Room 14.

Room 13: Pendulum sans Pit

This small tunnel has a conveyor belt connecting Room 12 and Room 14.  While the belt is moving, a sharp pendulum blade swings back and forth to slice any corpses on the conveyor in lengthwise, like sides of cattle.  It causes 2d10 points of damage to anyone foolish enough to ride the conveyor (save against breath for half.)

Room 14: The Flesh Pit

The Cult’s degenerate tradition of consuming sentient, humanoid flesh is alive and well, as the baern-men continue to butcher and process corpses for their own consumption and trade with the denizens of the Temple’s upper levels.  
 

This chamber is a pit-like with multiple ingress/egress points: the conveyor (Room 13) with a small pile of corpses at its end, the northern entrance, which descends ramp-like into the pit, and an upper ledge, accessible from a tunnel to the northwest and a wooden ladder in the chamber itself.  There is a two-in-six chance of the baern-man Overseer (HP 20) being present and barking orders to the other baern-men from this ledge.  Otherwise, he is in the pit with five (5) others (HP 15, 7, 10, 15, 16) and a Pit Master (HP 19.)  Four (4) of the baern-men fight with various butchering implements (1d6 +1 damage) while the Overseer and Pit Master fight with a large, bone-studded club and two-handed cleaver respectively (2d8 damage for both.)
 

The pit itself has all the accessories associated with this gruesome processing: a stone block where the corpses are butchered, body parts hanging over smoke, and the barrels, water, and salt used for preservation.   There are also drying racks where skins are tanned next to piles of bones – nothing is wasted.

The Overseer and Pit Master each carry pouches with mundane trinkets, disgusting charms made from humanoid bones, and 1d6x100 silver coins.