Stronghold of the Grey Beast

180 years ago, the Zereti kingdom managed to expand south-west from their mountains, into these lands. A great general of the kingdom, known as "The Grey Beast" - his actual name lost to time - led a successful military campaign against the cultists who lived here, hoping to hatch larvae from an egg-sac lain by an ancient, dead and dark god. This fortress has been turned into a tomb for him. Since then, a plague has forced the Zereti to retreat back into their mountains, and their kingdom has fallen into decline, and the fortress was abandoned.

In later years, the old magic that was placed here to protect the tomb of the Grey Beast has interacted in strange ways with the wildlife that entered the abandoned stronghold. The magical chants of the tomb's undead guardians caused a strange race of fungaloid creatures to form out of the enlarged mushrooms growing inside the ruins; wasps who made a nest in the ruins have grown to an alarming size; and a snake has been feeding on the petrification curse meant to punish tomb robbers - and its scales have turned to stone.

A few days ago I posted about a dungeon I designed in about fifteen minutes. I fleshed it out since (in another fifteen minutes or so), and here is the result, with some explanation about my process:

The map was generated using One Page Dungeon by Watabou. I tweaked the tags a bit to make it small, and more fitting of a stronghold (as that is what was listed on the hex). I also toyed a bit with the automatically generated notes. They said the place is overrun with wasps, so I ran with that; and changed the "dead elf", to a dead bandit as that fit my game better (I don't use elves in my world). Then I interpreted the "Grey Beast" to be an ancient warrior of some type. I took the stairs leading into room 5 to be stairs to a second level and made the entrance in room 1 instead. Then I just made an even smaller second level.

I opened up my copy of Maze Rats by Ben Milton, rolled on the dungeon generation tables to decide what each of the rooms is and got: Armory, Atrium, Oubliette, Tomb. When a result didn't make sense I just put it in another room (for example it was obvious tomb should be 4 as that is what the art there suggested). I got a "Petrification" theme (which went well with "Grey"), and "Fungus" as a hazard. My hex map already told me that music is heard from the fortress at night so I knew music had to be another theme. 

Thus, I had a dungeon with two main themes - Petrification and Music - and two subthemes - Fungus and Wasps. I used that to make some encounters, placed some simple treasure I found interesting, as well as a magic item with a fitting curse and abilities, and voila, after less than an of hour work I had: 

The Stronghold of the Grey Beast

 

Everything here is statted for the Black Hack, but can be converted fairly easily to any other system.

General Details:

  • Most rooms: made of sandstone, with 60 cm square blocks. Floor is covered in a thick layer of dust. Air is dry. 
  • Stairs leading down, south of Room1, and Rooms 3-4: Heavy grey rocks, uneven in size and roughly hewn.

 

Random Encounters:

1-in-6 chance every two rooms, or whenever party loiters

1. Stone Serpent (HD 4)

2. 2d4 tiny fungus chant-warriors (HD 1)

3. 1d4 singing skeletons (HD 2)

4. 1d6 giant wasps (HD 1)

 

 

Room 1: Armory

  • Shed skin of a giant serpent made of stone, brittle. Shed about 1 week ago.
  • Broken shelves and cupboard with weaponry (1 copper helmet, 1 great-axe, 3 hand-axes still in tact) 
  • Copper key hidden in loose ceiling tile. Opens stone door to west
  • Wooden doors leading east and south; stone door leading west (locked with a simple lock)

Room 2: Atrium

  • Collapsed seiling with soil and blocks pouring over half of room
  • Grey withered trees, growing without sun
  • Wasp nest constructed over half of trees
  • Corpse of a dead bandit, half of it merged with the wasp nest. Carries short-bow w/ some arrows (usage die 4); copper dagger; silver ring inlaid with sapphire (300 coins); map showing bandit camp to east
  • 3-5 giant wasps (HD 1); 1 Wasp Queen (HD 3); many smaller wasps (no HD, but see Queen stats)
  • Wooden door to west

Room 3: Soldier's Tombs

  • Bones buried in walls, visible; some portruding
  • Wide stone stairs leading east; Wooden door to north
  • 4 skeletal guards here (HD 2); dressed in blue robes, armed in spears. One has a jug full of acid. They communicate with each others by exuding strange white fumes from mouths that marge and form odd, ethereal music. Will try to lead intruders back and attack if they force their way in. If negotiated with, will allow one supplicant to enter tomb. 

 Room 4: Tomb of the Grey Beast

  • Large stone sarcophagus. Inside is the corpse of the Grey Beast, nude and preserved by divine magic, made to look as though he died within a day. Holding Stone-Song (anyone attempting to take the song without conducting the proper ritual must test CON or become petrified)
  • 11 intricately detailed sculptures of men in various poses, but all with shocked or horrified expressions along walls (Petrified adventurers)
  • Writing on wall behind sarcophagus written in ancient Zereti (test INT to see if understood): "Here lies the Grey Beast; who drove the God-Grub cult from these lands"
  • Wide, stone stairs leading west 

 Room 5: Guard Hall

  • Half this room is flooded, filled with brackish black water (Searching yields 6d10 old coins, and piece of blue chalk)
  • Large grey mushrooms block path west. Cutting stalk in random location has 5-in-6 chance of releasing poisonous fumes (CON test, or 2d6 damage. Dead characters are subsumed by the fungus). Someone who recognizes mushrooms can know where to cut (still needs to test DEX to avoid releasing poison though)
    • Cutting any cap reveals a settlement of tiny grey fungaloids (12 chant-warriors, HD1; 50 non-combatants, will run away to another mushrooms)

 Room 6: Oubliette

  • Runes drawn in blue chalk along line going from wall to wall at entrance of room. Slightly faded
  • Manu-Kapu (HD 3) a small demon, is held prisoner here. Will try to negotiate with party to get them to break the seal of blue chalk. Can offer knowledge of the God-Grub cult or about the Stone-Song ritual; can teach an occult spell; can reveal location of hidden treasure in a nearby hex; can cast a ritual to keep stone serpent in 7 asleep. Might lie
  •  If one crosses the line without breaking seal, Manu-Kapu may take them hostage.  

 


 

Room 7: Shrine to Dovrul

  • Ruined stone benches
  • Statue of Dovrul (dog-headed god of plague and medicine, holds staff in one hand, snake in the other)
    • worth 500 coins if party can move it (takes up 10 slots)
    • Rituals or prayers to Dovrul (healing spells, for example) conducted here are empowered (for example affect an extra target; or heal more)
  • The Stone Serpent rests here most of the time. Usually it is asleep. 3-in-6 chance of waking up if someone makes noise in neighboring room; automatically wakes up to noises in this room; DEX test to try and sneak past it to get to statue 
  • Locked copper door to northeast; broken bead curtain to southwest

Room 8: Priest's Quarters

  • Broken bed and desk
  • Hidden compartment in wall Scroll of heretic scripture (200 coins for right buyer); 1 vial of anti-venom; 5d10 coins; 1 bronze key to door in room 9
  • 1d4 coins directly underneath hidden compartment
  • Broken bead curtain to northeast

Room 9: Sacrificial Chamber

  • Triptych mosaic: Dovrul at center, blessing The Grey Beast in his youth; left: Grey Beast driving back cultists into caves in cliffs; right: Grey Beast in tomb, with sword, inscription over it: ". Only those with the blood of heathens on their hands may carry, Stone-Song, the sacred blade"
  • Small, square sacrificial altar. Heavy but valuable (5 slots; 1,000 coins)

 

 Stone-Song

+1 bronze sickle-sword

When this blade cuts through the air, it seems to howl in song. It's wielder can use it as a magical instrument

 

  • Petrifies foe on natural 20 (powerful foes may require PC succeed on a CHA check, GM's choice)

 

  • Once per Day: Roll CHA to perform an ethereal song, and entrance undead equal to wielder's level to do your bidding for Ud6 minutes.

 

  • Anyone trying to take the blade from its owner (the last person attuned to it), must test CON or be petrified. 
    • Can avoid petrification curse if covering hands with blood of heathens
    • Blade can be destroyed to undo a petrification curse it caused

 

Monsters

Giant Wasp  - HD 1

  • Stinger (vs. 1 close foe) - STR - 1d6 damge 
    • If hit roll CON or take ongoing damage (CON test ends)
  • Flying
 

Giant Wasp Queen  - HD 3

  • Stinger (vs. 1 close foe) - STR - 1d8 damge 
    • If hit roll CON or take ongoing damage (CON test ends)
  • Flying
  • Protective Swarm: Anyone hitting it it must test CON or be distracted for 1 turn

 

Singing Skeleton - HD 2

Undead

  • Spear (vs. 1 close foe) - STR - 1d6 damge
  • Bony: Half damage from piercing/slashing attacks
  • Acid (once per battle per battle for entire group vs. 1d3 nearby) - DEX - 2d4 damage
  • Song of Stone: 1 random foe must test STR or be Stuck (rock softens and rehardens around against feet, until succeeding on STR test); automatically sung at end of every round if at least 2 skeletons are alive

 

 Fungaloid Chant Warrior - HD 1

  • Tiny Sword (vs. 1 close foe) - STR - 1d4
  • Tiny Bow (vs. 1 nearby foe) - DEX - 1d4
  • Fungal Chant: every other round; one fungal warrior can sing to summon a spore cloud. All non-fungal living creatures nearby must test CON or start choking (ongoing damage and weakened for 1 turn)
    • Any creature that dies while choking on spores will grow mushrooms and a new fungaloid colony

Stone Serpent - HD 4

  • Crush (vs. 1 close foe) - DEX - 1d10
    • Natural 16+ roll: target is stuck until it can succeed on a dex check as an action (instead of fighting). The serpent can't attack anyone else so long as it's keeping someone like this, but it hits the stuck target automatically.
  • Stone scales: 2 armor (takes two less damage from every strike)
  • Death-Thrash: Triggers the moment of death. All creatures in room must test DEX to escape into nearest nearby room or take 1d10 damage and be buried in debris

 

 

 

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