Skulls in the StarsOkay, who wants to see a thread of my #Dungeon23 rooms as I write them over the next year?
Okay, so my overall (vague) #Dungeon23 concept is that it is the massive main temple of an ancient and long dead god of mischief and chaos. (Gives me a little wiggle room to throw nonsensical stuff in.) All rooms are, of course, first drafts, which is the point.
Entry Temple Level
1. Door of Attitude. The door has the words “Say something friendly and enter” in Infernal and Draconic. Any direct statement to the door will open it, but will cause impacts further in the dungeon. Answers can be classified as: A. Sincere, B. Hostile, C. Sarcastic
1. Door of Attitude. The door has the words “Say something friendly and enter” in Infernal and Draconic. Any direct statement to the door will open it, but will cause impacts further in the dungeon. Answers can be classified as: A. Sincere, B. Hostile, C. Sarcastic
2. 2. Pool of Goo. The 10’ diameter circular pool is shallow and has what appears to be 50 gp scattered at the bottom. The pool is not filled by water, but a gelatinous cube. There are three decorative floor panels and three plain floor panels around the pool. Any vibration stronger than a coin disturbing the surface of the pool causes the three plain panels to catapult anyone standing on them into the pool. (Can aim to avoid falling into the pool if targeted with a DC 17 acrobatics check.)
3. Skeleton fencing club. When this room is entered, there are two skeletons involved in a fencing contest with rapiers, with another ten standing on the sidelines watching. If the PCs approach within ten feet without attacking, the two dueling skeletons turn and take up ready positions towards the PCs, waiting for opponents. (cont)
... If the PCs engage these skeletons one-on-one, and do not use anything other than melee weapons, the other skeletons watch until the PCs are victorious, and present bony applause, along with one of the skeletons presenting a rapier +1 to the party. If anyone attacks as a group, uses spells, or otherwise does not fight an honorable duel, the skeletons attack en masse.
4. Tunnel of flames. This tunnel has four pipes along its length, each of which periodically shoots out bursts of flame. The first is active one of three rounds, the second three of four rounds, the third 2 of 6 rounds, and the fourth 5 of 8 rounds. Each round that a player is caught in flame causes 1d6 fire damage. A player can in principle run through all four flame regions in a single round, if desired. (Want to work on the timing of this one, but put rough ones in to give the idea.)
5. Test of Pain. A magical case stands in one corner of this relatively small room. It contains a number of fancy items, and it is otherwise unbreakable. Two metal rods project from the ground in front of the case, and touching both together causes an electrical current pass through the character, causing 1 point of damage per second. As points are taken, increasingly more valuable items are illuminated in the case, up to a maximum for Boots of Elvenkind at 12 points. (cont)
... 1-4 points: 1st item, 5-6 points: 2nd item, 7-8 points: 3rd item, 9-11 points: 4th item, 12 points: boots. When the handles are released (and can be at any time, it is magical electricity), the item illuminated is magically deposited before the character. This case works only once, for one person, and then the entire case goes dark and inactive.
6. Temporal stasis chamber. This 30 foot diameter chamber has 6 hobgoblins in it, all apparently frozen in place. One looks like they are in mid-strike with their sword. In the center of the chamber is a small chest. The hobgoblins are in temporal stasis, and in that state are invulnerable to any attacks or damage. The stasis ends instantaneously when a PC enters the 20’ circle in the center of the room. (cont)
... The stasis reestablishes if all PCs leave the 20’ circle. The first time the stasis is broken, the hobgoblins are surprised (they remember fighting a different group of adventurers) but after the first break, they will attack readily in regular initiative order. Clever PCs could use the stasis to rearrange themselves and break stasis at an opportune initiative point. (cont)
... The small chest is locked and has a poison needle trap (DC 13 to detect and disarm, 2d6 poison, DC 13 save for half). Within are 23 sp, 10 gp, and a key seemingly made out of obsidian.
7. Adventurer’s camp. The original purpose of this room is unknown, as it appears to have been stripped of its contents long ago. In its place right now is the recent campsite of a group of adventurers. Their lantern is still warm to the touch, indicating that the camp was very recently active. However, all the adventurers are dead, and completely skeletonized. (cont)
... Their clothes and equipment are intact, but their flesh has vanished clean to the bone. It appears that three were in the midst of a long rest, bundled in their sleeping bags, while the fourth was sitting on watch. The group included a fighter, a rogue, a wizard, and a priest, and the supplies that remain are the standard adventurer’s pack for each type, which can be scavenged by the PCs. (cont)
... The skeletons will not rise up, and there is no current threat in the room, but let the PCs wonder and play up the ominous nature of the scene.
8. “Bottomless” well. The center of this room has a circular well 10’ in diameter that seems to have no bottom. However, at the 30’ mark at the bottom of the well, there is a portal that transports anything that passes it to the 20’ ceiling above the well. PCs swimming down and through the portal (which is not visible; the well appears to continue down indefinitely) find themselves falling from the ceiling back into the pool, where they take 1-2 points of damage (DC 10 Acrobatics for half)...
... The well is made of tightly fitted bricks; anyone investigating at the 20’ mark and succeeding at a DC 13 Investigation check will notice a brick protruding from the side; if this brick is pulled out, a Ring of Feather Falling is found wedged behind it.
(Might do screenshots for future rooms, so I don't have to use multiple posts.) #Dungeon23
9. This perfectly circular room, 30’ in diameter, has doors on either side. After the whole party enters, the door closes and the room begins to spin rapidly within 2 rounds, creating a centrifugal force making the circular wall act as the floor. A DC 13 Athletics check can help a character make it to the center of the room before getting “pinned” to the wall, but on round 3 a gibbering mouther is teleported above the center and drops down. #Dungeon23 (cont)
... On the same round, 4 zombies are teleported to the wall-now-floor. Ranged attacks are at -2 due to confusion of the geometry. When all monsters are destroyed, the room spins down and the doors open. This encounter happens only once.
10. Contested altar. This 15’ square room has only one door, and an altar on the opposite wall. This altar is apparently contested by two gods, one of law, one of chaos. The image of the statue is divided by a flaming sword, with part of the image of each god on either side. A PC can grasp the hilt of the flaming sword, and force it to be pure Law or Chaos. If this is done, the opposing deity gets angry! cont
If Law is chosen, a chasme appears to attack the party; if Chaos is chosen, a Helmed Horror appears to attack the party. The overall dungeon mood, assuming a range -5 (hostile) to +5 (sincere), swings one direction positive or negative depending on whether Chaos is helped or hindered.
11. Priest’s vestry. This room holds old robes of the priesthood of the mad god. There are 6 robes hanging on the walls, and 3 benches around the room, and one cabinet. 4 of the robes have in fact become animated, sentient and evil after the centuries of exposure to the temple. Treat as shadows, but strength drain is replaced with a suffocation attack; once grappled, target takes d6 damage/turn. cont
... They will ideally wait for someone to try a robe on to attack (with advantage), but if anyone strikes at them or the party moves to leave, they will attack as one. The cabinet contains 5 miscellaneous liturgical objects that could be sold to a historian for 100 gp total, or 20 gp each object.
12. Priest’s bedroom. This chamber possesses ten bedframes, evidently the sleeping quarters of the priests when the temple was active. Most of the bedding has rotted away, but 3 appear in pristine condition. They are actually the dense webs of Swarms of Spiders, which will attack with advantage if anyone is foolish enough to sit on the bed without looking. (cont)
... The unlucky player must also make a DC 13 Dex save or be restrained as a Web spell, with a DC 13 Str save to break free. The spiders do not attack if the beds are undisturbed. In the center bed is the skeletal remains of a wizard; most of his possessions have deteriorated, but his +1 dagger remains. #Dungeon23
13. Interview room. This room has a fancy gilded door on the opposite wall from the entrance. However, when all PCs enter the room, the door vanishes and a Bearded Devil appears, sitting at a desk. In an interview voice, he asks the PCs to explain why he shouldn’t kill them. (cont)
... Any answer that makes an appeal to chaotic results of their actions will placate the demon, who will present them with a 50 gp emerald and then disappear. Any answer that does not satisfy the demon causes him to flip the table and attack. #Dungeon23
Richard Hendricks@drskyskull Trolly water basin. 🙂
Geoff 🏴@drskyskull That's just thermodynamics, surely?
TweetingTechno@drskyskull I have a deep fondness for Web. It was involved in the first really clever move I made in D&D.