[BFRPG] AA1.4 Beneath Brymassen

[Solomoriah]

I've decided to start a new thread to develop the sample dungeon for the Core Rules. So, here it is:

http://basicfantasy.org/temp/SampleDungeon.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The entrance is by the narrow tunnel in room #1.

Here are the randomly generated room contents:

Room 1: Trap
Room 2: Monster
Room 3: Empty
Room 4: Monster
Room 5: Empty
Room 6: Special
Room 7: Empty
Room 8: Monster with Treasure
Room 9: Monster
Room 10: Trap with Treasure
Room 11: Monster with Treasure
Room 12: Monster
Room 13: Empty with Treasure

Note that we can shuffle the room order around if we need to.

So who wants to go first?

[thomaskolter]

Room #1

TRAP: The main door should have a standard locking mechanism if not unlocked and opened it trips a secret floor pressure panel well hidden on the floor. Stepping on this will fire four crossbow bolts each doing 1d4+1 damage with a normal chance to hit two at 2' from the floor and two at 4' above the floor. So two can hit halfling but all four could hit other races. Several fake panels are in the room to slow progress and activate warning devices to signal rooms adjoining it and up to two away.

Room #2

BATHROOM: Latrines and the like all very dirty, one skeleton per player plus two if any fighters are present armed with mops and these act as clubs. They will kill any non-monster entering the room and shove them in the latrines to a filthy chamber below. (Can use this for a level two monster location that is bad to visit. lol)

[Eldrad]

Room # 3

Here is a section of hallway that is dark and dreary. The hallway smells of death. There are two pits here in this section of hallway. The one to the north is open and must be somehow crossed. The pit is 10' deep and does 1-6 damage if one falls into it. The southern pit is covered by a very well hidden trap door that will spring back closed. Anyone falling into this 10' spiked pit takes 1-6 for the fall plus 1-4 damage from spikes in the bottom. There is a poor adventurer long dead. On his body is 3 g. p., a short sword, a potion of healing, and a very rough map of the dungeon.

[Eldrad]

Room # 5 needs to have the door leading off of the map that can only be opened with a special key in the very last room so that your players don't head down that way.

[Mak]

There is a poor adventurer long dead.

Alas, poor Yorick!

How long dead? How stinky? Still fleshy or skeletal? Human or demi-human? What was he/she wearing? Is there still hair and/or skin? Inquiring minds want to know.

I'll take a stab at a room, inspired by Eldrad's hinting at the fate of an earlier party of adventurers:

Room #9

The lock on the heavy wooden door leading to this room is visibly broken; only a few twisted, rusting pieces of iron remain. The door swings open easily. The place was once a storeroom but most of its contents have long since been looted. Now it contains a small patch of Green Slime on the ceiling.

[Boxed in paragraph to read to players:] Peering through the doorway, you see an unlit room, about 10' square, that is mostly empty. The remains of some broken barrels and crates lie scattered along the walls and in the corners. [End]

[Read if the PCs are using a torch, lantern, or other light source:] The light you're carrying produces a faint glint from some small objects lying in the middle of the room. [End]

Upon closer inspection these prove to be the badly corroded buttons and buckles from the clothing and gear of the last victim of the Green Slime that clings to the ceiling. It has been a while since the Green Slime has eaten. It occupies a 5' x 5' area in the centre of the ceiling and is easily visible to anyone who looks upward with a good light source or Darkvision. The creature will detect and attack the first character venturing into the centre of the room to examine or retrieve the metal objects on the floor. It will also attack any pole or similar object that is used to test the floor.

Green Slime: AC can always be hit; HD 2**; hp 5; #AT 1; D turns victim to slime in 6+1d4 rounds; MV 1'; SV F2; ML 12; XP 125.

[the expert]

Room10: trap with treasure.
the room is unlocked but if a player opens the door the trap is activated. some giant axes will start swinging.(four in fact) if the players walk foward each axe will do 1d4 damage arfter rolling to hit to each player.
the treasure is 20gp and two rust coloured bowls(look like there worth 20cp each. but the actual worth of them is 1000gp each as their ment to look that colour

[skisko]

Room 11: Monster with Treasure

This 20'x30' room is carved from greenish stone and layered with carpets, tapestries, and all manner of decorated pillows lay strewn about. A large, grizzled and apparently ancient Hobgoblin is seating among the pillows reading a large tome.

Grizzled Hobgoblin: AC16; HD 2*; hp 13; #AT 1 + Special; D 1d6+2 Pillow filled with gravel, ESP; MV 4'; SV F2; ML 9; XP 125.

The Hobgoblin wears an Amulet of ESP and has put it to good use over the years. The denizens of the dungeon routinely seek him out for information and they provide him with food and other luxuries. He will attempt to barter with the PCs, offering information that they may seek by using his Amulet of ESP. Since he genuinely knows little about the PC or much else beyond these halls, he will usually lie but offer enough hints at treasure and magic to be interesting. He knows some information about level two, and will trade it for gold coins (DM's discretion).

He will not be hostile unless outright attacked. The large tome is a cookbook (value 2g). The tapestries, carpets and pillows are worth 75g but very bulky, dirty, and difficult to move. A purse of 20g lay in a pouch under a pillow the Hobgoblin is laying on. The Amulet of ESP has a 1 in a 1d6 chance of backfiring and letting all around the user know their deepest thoughts. The Hobgoblin has owned the amulet for long enough to ignore this penalty.

[Solomoriah]

Thomas: Concerning room #1, there is no main entrance. The chamber has no doors at all, and the players arrive through the narrow kobold-excavated tunnel. Regarding room #2, why hide latrines in a secret room?

We can move your rooms around, if any space remains.

Eldrad: The tunnel east of room #5 is largely filled with rubble; my intent is to describe it as effectively entirely blocked, requiring excavation to enter. The GM can then add additional dungeon space beyond, and allow his players to enter that area in a later adventure after digging it out.

Later I'll edit the materials together, and post a copy for review and commentary.

[Eldrad]

The adventurer is some 3 weeks dead quite stinky! He is a male human. He has many tattoos and scars.

[Solomoriah]

I'm putting the edited copy together as I write this. I've had to omit Thomas' rooms as they don't fit the map properly (for the reasons I've stated above) and he hasn't posted a reply to defend, redesign, or move them. I've made some other changes also.

skisko, I love the hobgoblin idea... I thought at first it was overkill for a sample dungeon, but then I thought, heck, why not teach the newbies a little creativity?

the expert: Room 10 has two doors; which one is trapped? If both, we need to make that clear. ... never mind. I'm going to move your room 10 to room 6, which has only one regular door.

... more comments later, gotta take a break.

[the expert]

ok

[Solomoriah]

I've been thinking about this dungeon, and I don't think I'm going to put it in the core rules. Instead, I think I'll make it an Adventure Anthology mini-module.

I was reading a thread a while back about introducing new players to the game, and I saw several comments about newbies encountering goblins and the like and not being sure they should attack them. It made me think about the best ways to introduce newbies to the dungeon environment, and I think perhaps using a different mix of monsters might be a good idea.

What I'm thinking of is a small catacomb or tomb-type area, inhabited by verminous creatures (giant rats, stirges, etc.) as well as minor undead such as animated skeletons and maybe a zombie or two. Nobody facing a snarling giant rat or an undead monster should have any problem figuring out their motivations for the scene (so to speak).

Comments?

[Solomoriah]

Oh, and those of you who contributed, please PM or email me (or just post here if you wish) how you want your name to appear in the credits of the module. Thanks!

[Solomoriah]

The following rooms are unassigned as yet:

1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, and 13

Note that some of the above were used, but have been omitted as explained above. If thomaskolter turns up and replies to my comments, we may reinsert his rooms.

[Maliki]

Kind of cliché but it is a sample dungeon.

Room 2) Sarcophagi Room

As you open the secret door you see a 20 X20 room, with a large, stone sarcophagus centered in the room. Four skeletons, (one in each corner of the room), stand in silent vigil. The skeletons each hold a ancient spear in their bony hand, but remain motionless as you enter the room. (The skeletons remain motionless unless they are attacked or the Sarcophagus is disturbed, then they will animate and attack)

The outside of the sarcophagus is covered with carved images of a mighty warrior battling various foes, always with a large sword grasped in two hands. A search of the sarcophagus shows no traps, and the lid surprisingly slides off easily. When the lid is opened a magic mouth activates and says (In common)

"As I plundered tombs in my life, now mine is plundered in my death. As I pried this sword from another’s bony grip so now you pry it from mine. If the sword had a name, I knew it not, but it served me well, as it shall you."

Inside the sarcophagus is a human skeleton dressed in what was once fine clothes, but now only rags. A fine looking Two-Handed sword rests in it’s bony hands. The sarcophagus is otherwise empty. The sword detects as magical, and if identified it is a +1 Two-Handed sword.

Skeletons (4) AC 13; HD 1, hp 5; #AT 1 Damage 1-6 (spear); MV 40'; SV F1; ML 12; XP 25
They take only ½ damage from edged weapons, and only a single point from missile weapons (plus any magical bonus). As with all undead, they can be Turned by a Cleric, and are immune to sleep, charm or hold magic.

[Maliki]

Room 13) Sarcophagi Room

The secret door opens to reveal a 20 X 20 room, a large stone sarcophagus rests in the center of the room. A skeleton stands in each corner of the room, each grips an ancient looking spear, but all remain motionless. (The skeleton only move and attack if they themselves are attacked or the sarcophagus is touched.)

The outside of the sarcophagus is covered with carved images a man in robes casting spells at an array of foes. A search of the sarcophagus reveals no traps, and the lid slides easily off. Once opened a magic mouth spell activates and says (in common).

"Many baubles did I plunder from the dead, now it is my turn to give up my baubles to the living, may they serve you as they have served me"

A single skeleton rests in the sarcophagus, dressed in the tattered remains of a once fine robe. A jeweled ring rests on its right hand, while a plain silver ring rests on its left hand.. Both rings detect as magical; the jeweled ring is a Ring of Protection +1 and the silver band is a ring of Fire Resistance.

Skeletons (4) AC 13; HD 1, hp 5; #AT 1 Damage 1-6 (spear); MV 40'; SV F1; ML 12; XP 25
They take only ½ damage from edged weapons, and only a single point from missile weapons (plus any magical bonus). As with all undead, they can be Turned by a Cleric, and are immune to sleep, charm or hold magic.

[Maliki]

There are two rooms #11 on the map.

[Nazim]

What I'm thinking of is a small catacomb or tomb-type area, inhabited by verminous creatures (giant rats, stirges, etc.) as well as minor undead such as animated skeletons and maybe a zombie or two. Nobody facing a snarling giant rat or an undead monster should have any problem figuring out their motivations for the scene (so to speak).

Comments?

I do think this is a good idea. This thread might be a little too big for a first time deal.

Maybe we can make a 5 room dungeon for the core rules?

[Arminath]

Room 13: Hidden Shrine [Special Location]

"The secret door opens to a brightly lit room that was turned into a makeshift shrine. The cold stone walls are decorated with chalk symbols and a makeshift altar made from a large wooden crate covered in a mouldering white cloth holds a simple golden chalice. On the far side of the room, there is a figure mostly obscured by the altar."

The room was blessed as a sanctuary by a long-dead adventuring cleric. One of her companions (perhaps the one in the pit) has the key to unlock the secret door from the outside (it can be opened easily from the inside). The cleric is laying behind the crate in a kneeling position facing the altar, clutching her holy symbol. She is nothing more than barely held together skin and bones. Her gear is long gone, except for her holy symbol (a silver starburst worth 20 gp) and the tattered remains of her robes. The room itself will detect as magical and is under the effect of a permanent Protection from Evil spell (as a 5th level caster) from the symbols on the wall. The golden chalice (worth 100 gp) radiates a soft golden light that fills the room and if holy water is poured into it and then drunk it will provide the imbiber with a cure light wounds spell as if cast by a 5th level cleric, twice per day. The chalice will not function outside of the room.

[PapersAndPaychecks]

4. CENTIPEDE ROOM:

The stench from this room can be detected from up to 20 ft away (or 30 ft by elves). The room is about knee-deep in sludge and rotting detritus, but otherwise apparently empty.

The room can be crossed in perfect safety by simply wading through. However, a character poking around with a 10 ft pole, spear or whatever has a 1 in 6 chance per character per round of disturbing a nest of baby giant centipedes. If this happens, 1d20+20 baby giant centipedes will emerge. Owing to their blinding speed, they can move up to 10 ft before the player characters can react, and will climb up poles or spear-shafts onto the probing character if at all possible.

The baby centipedes are AC11 and have 1 hp each. Their bite does no damage in hit point terms, but is poisonous (save at +5). A character who fails his or her saving throw takes 1hp damage from poison.

Any centipede that survives the first round of combat may crawl beneath the player character's armour, if the character is wearing any. If this is done, the centipede gains the character's armour class, and may not be attacked without harming the character until his or her armour is removed. Meanwhile the wearing character becomes AC11 to the invading centipede, irrespective of any dexterity bonus.

Optional Rule: Any elven character with a baby giant centipede crawling beneath their armour must roll their wisdom or less on 1d20, or start to freak out. If they freak out they may take no action except standing still, shouting, screaming, sobbing, or begging their comrades to help them.

[Nazim]

Optional Rule: Any elven character with a baby giant centipede crawling beneath their armour must roll their wisdom or less on 1d20, or start to freak out. If they freak out they may take no action except standing still, shouting, screaming, sobbing, or begging their comrades to help them.

Lovely. But if it's a BFRPG mechanic, shouldn't it use the ability save table towards the end of the rules, modified by wisdom?

[Solomoriah]

As the Valley Elf would say, "Groddy to the max, dude!"

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Lovely. But if it's a BFRPG mechanic, shouldn't it use the ability save table towards the end of the rules, modified by wisdom?

I'm sure Chris will translate my vague and generic-system murmurings into BFRPG goodness.

[PapersAndPaychecks]

10. CATACOMB:

"The walls of this room are lined with small shelves. Each shelf is piled high with bones, and with shards and splinters and fragments of bone--as far as you can tell, mostly human. The ceiling is decorated with a stucco mural that appears to be of a religious nature. Judging by the steatopygous muliebrity of the deity depicted, perhaps she is some long-forgotten goddess of fertility and death."

There are literally thousands of bones on the shelves. A thorough search has a 1% chance per round of dislodging something from among the bones, determined randomly on the following table:

1d6 Roll Result
1 Tucked into a hollowed-out femur, a sceptre of healing. This sceptre resembles a wand with a thickened end, and may be used only by a cleric. When the cleric touches a creature with the wand, the creature touched will be healed 1d12-1 points of damage. If a natural "1" is rolled (i.e. the roll totals "0") then the enchantment of the sceptre has been exhausted and it will permanently cease to function.
2 Glued to the inside of a skull, a garnet worth 200 gp.
3 Wrapped around a child's ulna, a scroll of invisibility.
4 The searcher dislodges a tiny but extremely poisonous spider from a bone fragment, which will bite. The searcher must roll an immediate saving throw -v- poison or die.
5 The searcher cuts him- or herself on a fragment of bone. He or she must roll an ability score check adjusted for constitution or contract a blood-borne wasting disease; while diseased, the character loses 1d4 points each of strength, dexterity, constitution, charisma and hit points. Provided the character does not die from this, he or she will recover naturally in 2d6 days, regaining the ability scores and hit points lost.
6 The searcher disturbs a bone formerly belonging to the high priest of the death-goddess. He or she is immediately cursed. Until the curse is removed, that character may not refuse to perform any request made of them (no matter how unreasonable) in a language they can understand. Note that orders and instructions are not requests; the benchmark word for something to be a request is "please". The cursed character may not delay or procrastinate in fulfilling the request. A remove curse spell is the only way to lift this curse.

Each result may be found only once. If a repeat is rolled, reroll the d6 until the searchers give up or all the items have been found.

[Solomoriah]

Hey, good stuff, guys. I'll try to get this all snagged in the next few days... I have the Haunted Keep to get done just now.

[Solomoriah]

P&P... "steatopygous muliebrity?" Honestly, where do you get this stuff?

[hjmartin70]

Room #1 The tunnel you have been crawling through opens into a room about 4' from the floor. The room is 30'x30' with openings to the east and west near the center of the walls. If the PC's check for traps or otherwise exercise caution before exiting the tunnel they will notice a differently colored stone set into the floor near the tunnel exit. If not noticed somehow the first PC exiting the tunnel triggers a spear trap in the ceiling (firing straight down) d6 dmg by stepping on the stone. A kind DM might allow the triggering PC to attempt a dodge modifiying the chance for success for high dex.

[Solomoriah]

I never noted it here, but the Core Rules Sample Dungeon has been renamed "AA1.4 Beneath Brymassen," and will appear in the first Adventure Anthology book whenever enough mini-adventures are ready to print.

So I still need rooms. I've rearranged the descriptions, since I had two room 13's. Please go to http://www.basicfantasy.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and download the current PDF to see just how it all looks now. HJ, I missed your room 1 when I put the current release together; it'll be in the next release.

http://basicfantasy.org/downloads.html#aa1.4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AA1.1 is pretty well finished; AA1.2 and AA1.3 are receiving finishing touches now. So, it's time for this mini-dungeon to get polished...

ALSO: I've credited all of you using your DF handles, unless I was sure of your names. Please PM me your name as you'd like it to appear, if what is in the module now isn't acceptable.

[jdn2006]

8. Kobolds on the Run.

Listening to this door will reveal a lot of quick, whining speech coming from multiple voices. Opening it reveals six dog-faced reptilian humanoids sitting around a small fire in a circle discussing something. (Anyone who understands kobold can determine they are hiding from the big boss of their tribe after stealing the tribal treasure, and are arguing over where to go next.) The room itself features well crafted bust on pedestals (four against the north wall and four against the south) of old and venerable visages, a few of which can be recognized as more famous members of local clergy or government. There are ragged tapestries on each wall showing some of the past history of the local region but they are quiet ancient and rotten

6 Kobolds (AC 11, HD 1d4, #At 1 weapon, Dam 1d4 or by weapon, Mv 30', Sv NM, Ml 6)

HP 4
3
3
2
2
1

The kobolds are not wearing armor but five have clubs and one has a dagger; and three have slings with a pouch of stones. They are hiding out after having stolen what they believe was the tribal treasure but is only part of it. On the floor behind them are two bags, each tied to a four foot long pole for carrying between two people: one holds 1,000 sp (in one) and 400 cp (in the other). Each has and additional 3d8 cp and 3d6 sp on their person.

The busts are plaster with thick layers of paint, which itself is darkened and old. Their value is roughly 5 gold pieces each. They are just one of hundreds that were molded and painted cheaply to celebrate a founding father's day -- any long time resident of the area will likely identify them instantly.

[Solomoriah]

Snagged, thanks!