Dungeon23: Week 37

 Level 8 - The Underwilds

The world below (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

Under the Northen Marklands and beneath the domain of Alkastra is a lightless world of winding tunnels and caverns, bioluminescent, fungal forests, burning magma deposits, immense, crystalline geodes, and cold, still bodies of water.  These Underwilds are the domain of strange creatures adapted to a realm of eternal shadow and glowing twilight.  The energies of Chaos permeate the lightless depths and subtly influence all who dwell within.

Area A: The Howling Tunnels

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

The caverns and tunnels surrounding the City of the Snake-Men stretch for several miles.  It is not known whether these were created by flowing water or lava, colossal, underground worms, or Tiama’at herself, burrowing under the City of Humankind.  Many creatures of the deeps call these tunnels home and hunt its depths or mine its riches.  Unnatural winds from multiple directions carry faint, constant sounds throughout the region.  While the denizens of the Tunnels are used to these sounds, they can be disconcerting to newcomers (or worse.)

A1: Warrens of Insanity

The faint, echoing sounds the Howling Tunnels converge into a highly-concentrated “symphony” in this hex.  The sound can quickly become unbearable, even to denizens of the Underworld, and passing through this area requires a saving throw against spells.  Failure results in a loss of 2d6 Wisdom, as the character begins to question their own sanity.  A successful save still results in a 1d6 point loss.  Characters with Wisdom scores of zero (0) or less go into a catatonic state, muttering to themselves and yelping in fright if touched.  Lost Wisdom points return at a rate of one (1) point per full day of rest away from this area.  Characters plugging their ears with wax or similar substances may have a +1 or +2 bonus to the save, at the GM’s discretion.  A field of silence (as the spell) negates the effect of the sounds.

The sounds of the Warrens can drive the unadapted mad (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

 

A2: Cacophonous Myconids

A copse-like thicket of multi-colored mushrooms and other fungal growths opens into a clearing.  Small, humanoid bones and the occasional broken pick can be found strewn on the cavern floor.  Shimmering at the far end of the clearing is a lode of gems surrounded by more fungal growths.
These fungal growths, 10 in number, are an advanced species of shrieker (HP 13, 15, 17, 15, 12, 16, 13, 8, 15, 17) with a more powerful shriek.  The first round characters hear the piercing sound, they must save against spells or become stunned and disoriented; unable to think or act for 2d8 rounds.  The sounds attract wandering monsters as for normal shriekers.
The rough gems, if mined, are worth 10,500 gp (6x weight); this process takes 2d6 hours.

The energies of Chaos in the Underwilds make for stronger shriekers (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

A3: Local Hillfolk

A large camp belongs to two (2) hill giant “bandits” (HP 42, 34.)  They roam the Howling Tunnels looking for stray travelers from the City to exact tribute from or capture for meals.  Due to stepped up patrols and better armed caravans lately, they have had to be more cautious.  As a result, they are penniless and hungry (-1 to reactions.)

A4: Clan Andryune Outpost

This outpost of 120 eunshiel from Clan Andryune gathers fungal materials for paints and dyes and quarries sculpture stone from the surrounding area.  29 of these are warriors that defend the outpost full-time, along with a contingent of four (4) Dragonsworn (4+1 HD, spells as 3rd-level elf.)  Two (2) of these Dragonsworn take shifts commanding the eunshiel warriors in the outpost while the other two guard the entrance to a small cavern that is the lair of the blue dragon, Plydreza (HP 41.)  

Her lair is essentially a gallery of hoarded artwork and jewelry pieces, some very ancient, from all corners of the world above and below.  Her prize pieces are her eggs, which were once destroyed, but have been reassembled with gold and gems at the seams.  She treats these as if they were real, and flies into a berserk rage if they are threatened.  They are displayed near her sleeping area of coins and gems, which is surrounded by scattered, copper coins (130,500 cp.)  This is a deliberate trap.  She can breathe lightning into the coins, which then conduct the electricity to multiple targets standing on them.
Her total hoard is composed of:

• The gallery of art and jewelry: 23 pieces, with a total worth of 10,300 gp
• Coins that form her bedding: 100,000 sp, 40,000 ep, 11,000 pp
• Gems in her bedding: 10 gp x 18, 50 gp x 21, 100 gp x 30, 500 gp x 14, 1000 gp x 6
• Her “eggs”: six (6) pieces worth 220 gp each

A5: Crystalline Lake

A kind of village exists here on the shores of an underground lake inside of an immense, geode-like cavern.  Barges carrying ores and gems from mines on the shores of the lake or Underworld merchants from beyond the Howling Tunnels dock here before moving on to the City of the Snake-Men.  Some snake-men Nobles keep pleasure barges here for the occasional, lakeside holiday.  The local denizens, which are mostly ennan, are unlikely to pay any wanderers much mind unless they bring attention to themselves.

Shipments from the far reaches of the Underwilds arrive on these shores daily (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

A6: Lady Arachna’s Lair

Deep within the Howling Tunnels is the lair of the eunshiel sorceress, Lady Arachna (see Level 7, Area A6.)  She was a Clan Andryune artist whose works had distinctively arachnid themes.  In the throes of a niflaja bender, she came upon the idea of slaying rival artists who dared to criticize her art.  With their blood, she created eldritch pigments she then used to paint a self-portrait of her face on an arachnid body.  One day, the image began to speak to her, whispering spidery and sorcerous secrets in exchange for her worship (and further sacrifices.)  Her work then became popular among the eunshiel, and even snake-men Nobles.  This brought the concern of the eunshiel priests of Tiama’at, since the art had increasingly heretical themes.  Arachna was barely able to flee into the Howling Tunnels with eunshiel holy slayers at her heels.  She now dwells deep in the Tunnels, and supports herself and her work from winnings in the Arena, while publicly flaunting her continued existence to her former people.  She plans to eventually build a temple to her Spider God and lure young eunshiel into this cult.
Her lair, which has become a shrine to her Spider God with wall and ceiling frescoes in various stages of progress and the painting at its center, is guarded by two former slayers that were sent after her.  She polymorphed them into hideous, half-eunshiel, half-spider arachnotaurs that now serve her. Arachna is present in her lair (with her phase spiders) about half the time. Even if Arachna was slain in the Arena, her guards continue to watch her shrine and treasure.

Arachnotaur guards (driders): AC 3 [17]; HD 6+3 (HP 28, 30); MV 120 ft. (30 ft.); ATK 1d10 (polearm), 1d6+1 (eunshiel short sword), winged knife (1d4+1) or 1d4 (bite + poison); SV fighter 7; ML 8; AL C; XP 3,000 (or HD + three specials)

Spells: arachnotaurs are able to cast magic-user spells as 6th-level elf.  These have the following spells: (1st) magic missile, shield, (2nd) detect evil, mirror image, (3rd) fly, protection from (normal) missiles
Poisonous bite: arachnotaurs can bite with their spider-like mandibles for 1d4 damage.  Victims must save against poison with a -2 penalty or become paralyzed for 2d6 rounds
Winged knives: as former eunshiel, arachnotaurs who surprise their opponents can throw two (2) winged knives and strike unerringly as a magic missile spell
Light sensitivity: arachnotaurs fight at -1 in bright light

In an alcove near the shrine is a locked, fungal wood chest trapped with a needle coated in giant spider poison (save or die.)  Inside the chest are her collected Arena winnings (21,000 gp) and a case with her magical paints made from sacrificial blood.  There are currently three (3) full pots of Arachna’s marvelous pigments left.  These allow an artist to create three-dimensional objects by painting them in two dimensions. Each pot can cover 1,000 square feet of a surface, and create fully-functional, inanimate objects or terrain features—such as a door, a pit, flowers, trees, cells, rooms, or weapons— that are up to 10,000 cubic feet. It takes 10 minutes (1 turn) to cover 100 square feet.  The pigments cannot create magical objects or valuables worth more than 25 gp, and any depicted form of energy, such as fire or lightning, dissipates harmlessly as soon as the painting is completed.
At the GM’s discretion, the self-portrait of Arachna as Queen of the Spiders may contact Chaotic characters and attempt to corrupt them to her worship.  This may at times function as a commune spell.

Arachna's self-portrait; eldritch oils on fungal canvas.  (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.)

A7: Trading Post

A busy fort and caravanserai of the snake-men exists here.  Trade caravans going to and from the direction of the snake-men’s City stop here to rest from or prepare for the journey through the Magma Fields.  Due to the constant traffic, approaching characters will not be disturbed (if not exactly made to feel welcome.)  However, any shenanigans on their part may result in an overwhelming response.

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.