Dungeon23: Week 36

 Area D: Builders District

Closest to the gates of the City is the Builders District, which is the home of the ennan population, their Guilds, and their loud or odoriferous workshops and businesses.  Ennan citizens shuffle to and fro their places of work unperturbed by the traffic entering and exiting the City.  The District is always ringing with the sounds of hammers, supervisors barking orders, and steam whistles, while dust, smoke, and acrid odors choke the air.  This controlled chaos is neatly separated into distinct sub areas: one for each of the four Guilds, a communal Guild Hall where their representatives meet, fields where slaves perform hard labor, and the aforementioned Main Gates to the City.

D1: Appraisers Quarter

The workshops and living places of the Appraisers Guild exist here.  Gem-cutters, jewelers, specialists in silver and gold bullion, and counters of coin make up the bulk of this Guild.  While moneylenders belong to this Guild as well, they do business in the Merchants Quarter (C2,) as this is a service provided only to non-ennan.  Ennan society is, theoretically-speaking, collectivist when it comes to wealth, but there is still a strict hierarchy (and adjoining privileges) within and between the Guilds.  All are equal in ennan society, but some are more equal than others.
A sample workshop the PCs may decide to patron (raid) will have about 2,600 gp in gems, jewelry, metal bars, and/or coin (3x weight.)  After hours, these valuables are protected by a mechanical, steam-whistle alarm system which also triggers bladed arms that whirl, slash, hack, and pierce at (typically non-ennan) intruders that cross  the workshop’s 10-ft. by 5-ft. threshold area.  The implements are so many that it is impossible to dodge them all, and cause 11d6 damage to everyone in the area.  A successful save against breath results in half damage.  The trap is active for 10 minutes (1 turn) then resets.

D2: Craftsmen Quarter

This area is where the majority of sounds, smells, and smog of the District converge.  Members of the ennan Craftsmen’s Guild: blacksmiths, leather and fungal wood workers, glass makers, armorers, and weaponsmiths ply their respective trades.
There are about 2,350 gp total in high-quality goods in the various workshops of District, and the ennan tend to be too distracted with their labors to notice filchers (3-in-6 surprise.)  However, they will react quite negatively to non-ennan appropriating the fruits of said labors, and there are plenty of strong arms (with tools) to deal with such thieves.

An ennan master inspecting a workshop (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

D3: Builders Quarter

The Builders Quarter is a microcosm of the services the members of the ennan Builders Guild (stonemasons, carpenters, architects, engineers, etc.) provide.  This part of the City is perpetually under construction as every new generation of ennan decides to improve on older buildings and designs.
Crossing this District holds a 2-in-6 chance danger of a demolished wall, faulty crane, or the like dropping massive loads of building materials on passersby.  A typical accident affects a 10-ft. by 10-ft. area and deals 8d6 damage.  A successful save against breath results in half damage.  Helmets or other adequate head protection provide a +1 or +2 bonus to the save depending on how sturdy they are (GM’s discretion.)

D4: Miners Quarter

This quiet neighborhood with modest buildings is the home of members of the ennan Miners Guild that work in the Howling Tunnels surrounding the City.  Half of the population tends to be away while the others are resting, which contributes to the peacefulness of the area.
The Miners Guild is considered to be the lowest of the Guilds, and despite the ennan’s collectivist culture, its members tend to have the poorest quality of life among them, as evidenced by not only the danger of their work, but also the proximity of their homes to the Slum (C6.)  As a result, a subset of the Guild engages in smuggling, transportation, and fencing of stolen goods, forming a sort of thieves’ guild.   
The leader of this operation is Dregg Pickhand.  Pickhand is stocky and strong (8+2 HD, 39 HP, 16 Str and Con,) even for an ennan, and has a mechanical prosthetic arm due to an old mining accident.  The prosthesis looks like a small pick (hence his moniker,) but it has multiple hidden weapons and other nasty surprises (being a creation of Grizz at Cavern of Curiosities in C2) to deal with any that challenge him.  They say his dark, russet cap turned that color because he uses it to wipe off blood after dealing with those who displease him.
Pickhand and the moorlocks (see C6) have an understanding where they assist his people through the tunnels for smuggling and in return, he doesn’t have a few tortured and killed (anymore) to make an example.  They also get the occasional treats and things they might want.  It’s not always the stick with Pickhand; he does provide the occasional carrot when he’s in a good mood (which is not often.)

It is not a good sign when Pickhand takes off his cap (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

D5: Ennan Guild Hall

The ennan Guild Hall is a fortified, square stone building where the heads of the ennan Guilds meet in council, and after hours, feast and drink strong, fungal brews.  It is also the home of their elected Chairman, Kanx Verd (7+1 HD, 28 HP.)  His position is chosen by vote from among the Masters of the various Guilds.  However, the Chairman of the ennan Guilds is not just a political position.  He is expected to be commander-in-chief of their forces during times of war.  As such, the Chairman is entrusted with the Guildmaster’s Medallion, a strange accessory the ennan claim was made by the Elder Builders.  It looks like a badge of office made from a mysterious alloy with lines like a jigsaw puzzle.  When the Chairman presses a gem-like button and speaks a command word (a secret passed from Chairman to Chairman,) the medallion quickly and systematically covers the wearer in a suit of armor plates over a mail-like mesh made from the same alloy.  The suit has a retractable arm sword with a glowing, neon edge and forearm shield.  These function as a magical, +1 sword and shield respectively.  The armor provides AC 0 [19] in total with the shield.  Once per day, it can activate a magical field that functions as a protection from energy (resist fire) spell.  The arm sword’s glowing edge provides illumination as a light spell.
In addition to Verd, there are 20 ennan present in the Guild Hall.  They will defend the Guild Hall fiercely, employing high-quality, serrated and spiked weapons and crank-operated crossbows that can fire a bolt every round without reloading.  20% of these can fire at two adjacent targets simultaneously at a -1 penalty to hit.
The Guild Hall treasury contains 20,000 gp in locked chests.  There is also a smaller chest with various scrolls that contain diagrams and schematics said to originate from the Elder Builders.  Most of these are beyond the skills of even the ennan Grandmasters.  Grizz at Cavern of Curiosities (area C2) may be able to craft some of these, but they require special materials found in the Underwilds and beyond (Levels 8-10.)  These devices tend to function as a spell-like power and have a once-per-day use or charges like a magical wand.  Examples include:

• A girdle that allows the wearer to levitate, or even fly
• A torch that casts darkness
• Spectacles that can read languages or read magic
• A lamp that promotes growth of plants (or mushrooms)
• A device that opens doors and locks with a concentrated, sonic blast as a knock spell
• A set of twin, metal hoops, about three to five feet wide, with red and blue lights respectively.  When placed on the ground and activated, these allow one to teleport from one to the other.
• A hemispherical, crystal ball that projects an illusion over the party, making them appear as fungal “trees” (as a massmorph spell.)
• A necklace that, on command, projects the processed pheromones of a specific creature, and works as a charm person spell.  Processing the pheromones might also require the services of Ven’dra the alchemist at the Obsidian Vial (also in C2.)

The details of the devices’ costs and special materials are left to the GM’s discretion.  Even with Grizz’ genius expertise, the device may fail (sometimes spectacularly) 20% of the time.  For example, the pheromones in the necklace above might have spoiled, causing a stinking cloud spell instead.

The Chairman girded for war in armor of the Elder Builders (adapted from AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

D6: Main Gate

This impressive gate was rebuilt and re-sculpted from the original structure into one befitting the majesty of the snake-men, displaying serpentine likenesses and hieroglyphs with verses from snake-men scripture.  A winding, ramp-like hill leads from the gate to the Howling Tunnels in the Underwilds (Level 8.)
 Leaving the City without incident is easy (typically 0-in-6 encounter chance,) but reentering means waiting in a long queue, followed by an encounter with flesh-crafted gate guards, their snake-men Myrmidon commanders, and Emissary customs officials ready to collect taxes on goods entering the City (as well as confiscating any contraband.)  Those friendly with the moorlocks (C6,) may enjoy other ways into the City which bypass the main gate.

D7: Work Fields

This vast field is where slaves and sentenced criminals of the City (not much different, practically speaking) perform hard labor.  This typically involves processing quarried building materials and mined ores brought in from the Howling Tunnels.  There is also a fungal farm where a variety of edible mushrooms are grown and harvested, with an adjoining ranch of Underwild creatures raised for mounts and meat.  There are 2d4 minotaur overseers in this area at any one time.  They typically wield whips, but also have side arms to deal decisively with any workers who (very rarely) decide to riot.

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.