Dungeon23: Week 42

Area B: Albumic Chambers – East

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

Room 8: Contained Infection

The sphincter-hatch to this chamber has been shut due to a fungal infection that came in from the Underwilds.  The handmaids have quarantined it until they can send cleanup organisms to deal with the infection.  There are six (6) patches of this sapient, colony fungus.  If threatened, the patches take on tall, vaguely humanoid forms and attack.

Fungal Infection (shambling mound): AC 1 [18]; HD 7; MV 60 ft. (15 ft.); ATK 2d8/2d8 (arms); SV fighter 7; ML 11; AL N; XP 60-1200 (or HD + one special)

Engulf: a shambling mound that hits a human-sized or smaller victim with two attacks absorbs them into its body.  The victim is suffocated and crushed in 2d4 rounds unless freed. 

Immunities: the shambling mound’s moist, outer structure renders it immune to fire and resistant to cold (half damage.)  The shambling mound also absorbs electricity, granting it an additional 1d6 hit points per attack of this type.

Foreign bodies that sometimes infect the Ovoid are quarantined and destroyed (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.)

Room 9: Specimens

This chamber has 10 recessed alcoves on the walls, each with a desiccated humanoid inside.  They are the remains of a previous “infection” (i.e. adventuring party) that have been kept for study.  The psychic projections of three (3) handmaids from Room 13 are present (treat as invisible stalkers: HP 46, 42, 34.)

If the PCs are carrying one of the Aboleth's eyes, they are entitled to a reaction check, and the handmaids will ignore them on a positive or neutral result.  On a negative result, the handmaids attack.  Furthermore, they animate the specimen's bodies as mummies (HP 26, 25, 23, 28, 27, 26, 20, 31, 19, 21,) and the Ovoid's alert level goes up by one.

While the corpses were stripped of weapons and armor, they retain their clothing, jewelry, and belt pouches with coins and some gems.  This amounts to 11,120 gp total in valuables and weigh five times the amount in coin.

Room 10: Pustular Barracks

The walls of this chamber are lined with several clear, gelatinous globes.  The globes on one side have yellowish-orange liquid inside, while the ones on the other side have dark liquid.  Piercing one of these globes releases an ooze.  The light-colored ones are ochre jellies, while the dark ones are black puddings.

Any missed attacks during combat in this room have a 2-in-6 chance of rupturing a globe and releasing an ooze.  Rupturing a globe also increases the Ovoid’s response level by one.

Room 11: Bilic Duct

This tunnel opens to a chamber saturated with a faint, wispy mist, that conceals multiple protrusions on the floors, walls, and ceiling.  There is a 2-in-6 chance that entering this area causes one or more of the protrusions to expel more of this bile-mist filling the 20-foot area.  The concentrated mist is caustic and deals 4d6 damage for 2d8+1 rounds (save against breath for half,) then it becomes thin enough to be harmless.  This is a defensive measure to keep the fungal infection in Room 8 away from the area’s brain-node in Room 13.  

Finding a way to float, fly or otherwise move through the room without making contact with the floor, walls, or ceiling keeps the protrusions from expelling the bile-mist.

The sphincter-hatch to and from this room is closed and concealed by protective, membranous growth.

Room 12: Nodal Atrium

This chamber has three, elevated levels.  There are four (4) handmaids present, blended into the walls: two on the lowest level, and one each on the higher levels.  They are here to guard the brain-node in Room 13 from the fungal infection in Room 8.

There is a closed, sphincter-hatch on the top level.  It is concealed by protective, membranous growth and leads to Room 11.

A handmaid has been alerted to the characters' presence (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

Room 13: Area Brain-Node

A brain-node like the one in Room 5 rests above another organic pedestal, which controls this section of the Ovoid (Rooms 8-14.)  There are three (3) handmaids tending to it.  For each psychic projection that the PCs destroyed in Room 8, there is one less handmaid.

Room 14: Cyst Vault

The floor of this chamber is lined with10 cyst-like buds about 2-3 feet tall.  The tops of the cysts have star patterned seams and are coated in a glistening slime. If touched by an organic creature, the seams open in a flower-like fashion to reveal inorganic, foreign objects (including treasure) inside.  However, the cysts' coating is highly toxic to the touch and causes 3d6 points of damage to a victim’s Constitution (save against poison at -5.)

The contents of the cysts are as follows.  The GM should feel free to roll randomly and reroll any repeated results:

1. Several inorganic, mundane items of little or no value.
2. A platinum belt buckle shaped like a wolf’s head with two gems for eyes; worth 105 gp
3. 2,684 gp, a gem worth 50 gp, and an invulnerability potion
4. Six rusty iron spikes, two gems worth 10 gp, and three worth 100 gp
5. An ornate dagger with three gems worth 50 gp each
6. An empty potion vial and 1,256 gp
7. A battered, pock-marked buckler (shield,) two gems worth 50 gp, and a gem worth 500 gp
8. 220 gp, three gems worth 10 gp each, and a potion of speed
9. A stone icosahedron with strange symbols, 31,500 sp, 341 gp
10. 3,500 sp and 80 gp

The cysts do not open if prodded by non-living creatures or objects, such as a wooden pole or weapon.  They can be cut open with 5 hit points worth of damage, but this elevates the Ovoid’s alert level by one.

Inorganic debris in the Ovoid is collected and stored for later disposal (AI image courtesy of Bing Image Creator.)

 

 

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.