D5: the Devouring Serpent Mural


 Another day, another room.

This room leading east from the winch room has been turned into a defensive chokepoint by the bandits laired in the tower. They've constructed chest-high walls behind the rubble, which provide cover and a good position to shoot from.

The room rises up in a gentle ramp rising toward the east. But the most distinctive feature of this room is a massive mosaic across the whole south wall. The mosaic focuses on a blue dragon which has been encircled by a massive serpent, against a background of flames. Snakes writhe in anguish around the central figures, and many are being tortured by strange figures (a DC 18 religion or society check or appropriate lore recognizes these as ancient depictions of demons).

Encounter (Moderate 1)

2x Ruffian Thugs, but armed with light crossbows and ten bolts instead of slings. One can cast Shield, the other casts Telekinetic Projectile.

1x Guard Dog, a fairly viscous and nasty one.

The thugs take cover between the firing positions; the dog rushes out heedlessly to attack.

Treasure

In addition to the thugs' crossbows and studded armor, one of them (the shield-caster) has an iron key, Key 1A. I'll let you know what that key opens as soon as I know (it doesn't open any of the doors leading west from 1-01 and 1-02; those are barred from the other side).

Happy dungeoneering!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

D19 - D23: more catchup

Image
 Back to the grindstone đŸ˜‹ 1-19: Siege wreckage This tower base has been badly battered by demonic siege weapons. The rubble has been scattered about ever since the siege, resisting the decay of time. The rubble is difficult terrain; in addition, any character who starts their turn standing in it takes 1d6 fire, 1d6 evil, and 1d6 chaos damage (basic reflex DC 19). Investigation reveals that this is the result of some kind of demonic activity (Religion DC 17), but more evidence is needed (for example, from the next level up). The room has stairs which lead up (north) and down (south), and unlocked doors in the south and east walls, leading to 1-24 and 1-18, respectively. The bandits haven't passed through this area, after discovering its dangers. 1-20: Corrupted Floor  The stone panel floor in this room is warped by some kind of demonic attack. Instead of the normal masonry, the whole floor apart from the corners appears to be like a glassy flat sheet of marble - but a purple m...
Read more

D2: The Spitting Cobra Chamber

Image
  A short, simple update for now. The Spitting Cobra chamber is a little more intact than the Collapsed Entrance. The recessed floor continues north to another closed portcullis. A door leads off both to the left and to the right. The door to the right will lead to tomorrow's room, 1-03; the door to the left and the portcullis will both lead further into the tower. To either side of the portcullis are two massive pillars, carved from the mountain stone to look like cobras, hoods flaring, fangs bared and tongs hissing. Between them lies a dead bandit, burned past point of recognition. Note that despite the map, there is no way between the pillars and the nearby walls; the pillars extent to the nearest point of the wall. Hazard (Low 1) Fire-spitting statues Hazard 3 Fire   Evocation   Magical   Trap   Complexity  Simple Stealth  DC 20 (trained) Description  Both status spit a stream of fire which creates a wall occupying the spaces between them. Dis...
Read more

D14: Eastern Courtyard

Image
  Today I'm kind of 'cheating' by filling in some negative space, rather than drawing a whole new room. This is the courtyard the party has been skirting around; it's important because it allows access to the west side of level 1, and eventually to the heart of the tower and the areas underneath. The door in the Northeast is opened by Key 1A. The door in the Southeast, from 1-06, is opened by a key which hasn't been discovered yet (would I surprise you if I said it was opened by Key 1B? Maybe not, though). The wall between this courtyard and Room 1-06 can be climbed over, as described in that entry. The western door, to 1-04, isn't locked. Incidentally, if a party rushes through the wall of fire in 1-02, they may find themselves locked into the second-level content I'm putting on the west side of this floor, since they can't easily get out of this courtyard or back through the Cobra trap. Reminder to myself to make the west side via 1-04 survivable (or a...
Read more