Dungeon23: Week 32

 Level 6, Area D: Sanctum

 

This map is released under terms of the  CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

 

Activity Hours

The time of day may affect some of the rooms in this area.  See Area C.

 

Room 21: Hall of the Ancestors

Not so much a hall as a natural cavern where the snake-men believe Tiama’at burrowed under the City of Humankind and let in her creations to corrupt it.  Due to its symbolic value, the snake-men have left the cavern stone unworked save for some stalagmites which are carved into the likeness of their honored ancestors, and lit by glowing fungus.

Hidden in the darkness of the 40-ft. high, cavern ceiling are 24 giant bats (HP 10, 5, 12, 10, 6, 13, 5, 14, 9, 12, 7, 13, 12, 10, 11, 6, 13, 4, 12, 7, 5, 11, 14, 8.)  Noise in the cavern will rouse them (along with their vampiric hunger.)

 

It is not know whether this cavern is a true or symbolic place of origin for the snake-men (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

Room 23: Trapped Corridor

The corridor leading to Khan-Ni-Tet’s personal chambers (Room 24) from their audience chamber (Room 21) is designed to confuse, delay, or kill intruders and pursuers.  One-way secret doors allow quick ingress and egress from the chambers, and the center of the corridor in front of the entrance is trapped with angled javelin launchers that fire from holes in the north and south ceiling areas.  Attempting to open the doors to the chambers activates the trap.

Everyone in the trapped area ("T") must save against breath weapon or be hit by 1d6 javelins for 1d6 damage each. 

 

Room 24: Ruler’s Chambers

These are the gilded living quarters of the ruler of the snake-men's City.  A lounging area is dimly lit by glowing fungus, and has been neatly arranged with intricate furniture designed for snake-men anatomy.  Carefully-tended, fungal blooms decorate accent areas.  Silken curtains divide Khan-Ni-Tet’s sleeping area.  A nook to the southwest serves as a place for the ruler’s personal, Emissary servant and advisor to be at the beck and call of his liege, and secret doors leads to his personal room and out to the hall.

Depending on whether the Palace is in activity hours, Khan-Ni-Tet may be present in these chambers.  See Room21 for details on the snake-men ruler(s) and their entourage.

When the ruler is absent, there are two Myrmidon guards present, and 2-in-6 chance of an Emissary directing 1d4 normal human servants in tending to the chambers.

The chambers contain several valuables (vessels, artworks, and utensils, as well as some loose coinage) of silver and gold.  These are worth 2,700 gp in total and weigh 1.5 times as much.

Khan-Ni-Tet’s sleeping area also has a secret, one-way door that allows egress to the cavern beyond (Room 22.)

 

Room 25: Chamber of Ascension

A foyer to the Sanctum serves as a gathering area for the snake-men Nobility to assemble before proceeding through the double doors to the south to worship in the Inner Temple (Room 27.)  The room has an intricately tiled floor pattern:

 The stone door to the north leads to the Palace’s Treasury Vault (Room 26.)  It is locked and has eight (8) buttons with various shapes:

Only four (4) of these must be pressed to open the door.  The shapes for the correct buttons can be seen within the tile pattern on the floor: 3, 5, 6, and 8. They can be pressed in any order.  When a correct button is pressed, the shape on that button, as well as on the tile, glows.

Each time an incorrect button (1, 2, 4, 7) is pressed, an arrow will launch from a wall in one of four cardinal directions (1-N, 2-E, 4-S, 7-W) towards individuals at the door (save against wands to avoid.)  The arrow inflicts 1d6 damage and the victim must save against poison or die.  In addition, the “arrow” in reality a rigid, magically held snake, which then reanimates and attacks as a pit viper (HP 2, 10, 9, 8.)  A snake-arrow that misses its target the first time takes 2d6 damage from impact on a wall, which may kill or seriously injure it.

 

Room 26: Treasury Vault

The treasury vault houses mundane wealth the True Temple uses for trade in the City.  It currently contains 24,000 sp and 3,000 gp in bags of 50 coins each.  A small, gilded coffer contains gems: a green alexandrite worth 100 gp, two, tiger eye agates worth 10 gp each, and a red-violet garnet worth 500 gp.  A scroll, which may be used as payment for mercenary sorcerers, contains magic-user spells: hallucinatory terrain, passwall, mirror image, magic missile, darkness (reversed spell.)

 

 Room 27: Inner Temple

The inner temple is of an older, rougher architecture than even the rest of the ancient, True Temple.  Although the chamber has several, lit braziers and candles, there is an unnatural dimness that increases as one gets closer to the north end.  Another obvious feature is that some of the carvings on the walls and columns have been defaced.  These rough areas become covered over with textured, organic surfaces that become more pronounced towards the north end.  The surfaces seem to pulsate subtly if one gazes at them for long enough.

The inner temple is empty and quiet unless Khan-Ni-Tet is here (see Room 21.)

                                                             

Room 28: Tabernaculum of the Snake God

This enclosed area once housed a statue of Tiama’at the Many-Headed Serpent, which was destroyed.  Steps lead to the statue’s former base at the center.  A cracked depression where the statue once stood is now filled with a black, semi-viscous fluid.  The surrounding area is almost completely covered over in the same organic texture in the inner temple. 

The fluid is highly corrosive, and any living creatures or organic matter touching it suffers 3d8 damage.  Furthermore, disturbing the pool will cause a dark, writhing mass to surface and levitate above the “pool.”  A large single eye, emerges from the mass to observe those with the temerity to disturb it.  This is none other than the Snake God - the ultimate power behind the Snake Cult and the True Temple of the Snake-Men.

Behold His Chaotic magnificence! (adapted from AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

If Khan-Ni-Tet is in the inner temple (Room 27,) they will summon the Snake God and beseech his aid.  However, player characters (PCs) aligned with Chaos may receive an enticing new offer in their minds: destroy the disgraced ruler and serve the Snake God as His new champions above and below.

Under the organic masses that cover the Tabernaculum are the still substantial remnants of a ceremonial hoard that once surrounded the statue of Tiama’at: 4,000 pp, three (3) amethysts worth 100 gp each, four (4) pearls worth 100 gp each, a pair of boots of striding and springing, a ring of wish (two wishes,) a ring of protection +1, a potion of flying, and a magic-user scroll (protection from evil 10-ft. radius, teleport, transmute rock to mud, wall of ice, feeblemind.)

 

 

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.