Morning Map: Crypt in a Cave

Scale: 10 feet
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The inspiration for this one: an inconspicuous cave, one which might tempt a wilderness traveler to take shelter in from the rain, turns out to open into a bigger space that houses and hides old magic and older bones. Also, I'm trying to be more brief in my written descriptions - in part to make the thing more readable; in part because, as a DM, a brief description is going to give you more leeway to be more evocative and to more readily integrate into your game.

Plus... everyone knows how to describe room shapes; I trust you don't need my help figuring out how to say, "20 feet, north to south, by 30 feet east to west, with a door in the center of the east and south walls."

A - Entrance

A wide cave mouth, 8 feet in height by 40 feet wide, quickly opens into two tunnels - one, to B, curving slightly downward; the other, leading to C, curving very slightly up, but rapidly increasing in ceiling height.

B - Grotto

The room is wet and the walls slimy. There are mushrooms and moss on the floor. The mushrooms can be harvested and are safe to eat - there are enough to feed 1d4 human-sized party members. If a character spends more than 1 hour in this room, however, they must save versus poison or start coughing from the spores: which will prevent natural healing for 1d4 days.

C - Three Pillars

The ceiling in this space is very tall - roughly 50 feet. In the center of the cavern, three massive natural pillars extend into the darkness.

A pair of Crab Spiders (B43) lurk in the shadows above. On the west wall, there is evidence of worked stone - and a stairwell leading up to a double door, ensconced in thick iron bars, to G.

D - South Cave The ceiling of this natural stone cave is around 20 feet in height. On the east side, there is a worked hall leading to a sealed stone door. Guarding this door are 2 Skeletons (B42) who will only act defensively - if the party leaves them and the door alone, they will stand silently. E - Workman's Crypt Inside this space are eight simple stone sarcophagi, sized smaller than a man, but larger than a dwarf. Between the lot of them, inside can be found 25 silver pieces, 14 electrum pieces - placed on the eyes of seven of the dry corpses, a gold chain worth 20 gold pieces, and a signet ring with an unknown symbol on it worth 10 gold pieces.

F - North Cave

The ceiling of this natural stone cave is around 30 feet in height. 12 Goblins (B36) have taken up temporary residence here along with three Dire Wolves (B44). Between them, they have 80 pieces of electrum as well as some traveling gear suited to their size and taste. The goblins are unaware of the ledges to the north and south.

On the north wall, there is a ledge roughly 15 feet in the air. An exit leads to K and three large amphora can be found on the eastern extent, wedged between some stalagmites. They contain parchments detailing a manifesto from the entombed occupant of K; they are worth 100 gp to a collector or museum.

On the south wall, there is a ledge roughly 20 feet in the air. Near the center is a leather sack containing 300 silver pieces and a locked chest containing 600 gold pieces.

G - Vestibule

This stone worked space contains a circular carpet in the center of the room - over which is a wide antler chandelier. The carpet is surprisingly rich in color and has a slick touch to it - like film atop pudding. A character who walks on the carpet must save versus Paralysis or get stuck in - as with quicksand. It will take 1d4 rounds for the character to sink entirely, at which point they will start to suffocate.

The doors to the east, west, and south are locked; the door to the north is stuck.

H - Tomb of the Sunset

The center of this room - defined as a sub-shape of the room, itself, where the edges of the center are 5 feet from the wall - is recessed 8 inches into the floor: with an altar near the western side and an iron plate in the floor between the altar and the door. On the altar is a femur, an empty pedestal - similar to as would be used to display a trophy, and three long-desiccated chrysanthemums.

If the bronze sun from room I is placed on the slot, it will cast a barely-visible glow onto the iron plate and the center of said plate - where the glow touches - will become mostly transparent. Characters can freely reach through this space: inside which are 9 pouches containing 100 silver pieces each and a gold laurel wreath - heavier than it appears - worth 400 gold pieces sitting atop a pile of 200 gold pieces in coin.

If the iron plate is removed by other means, underneath instead are found 4 Pit Vipers (B42).

I - Tomb of the Sunrise

The center of this room - defined as a sub-shape of the room, itself, where the edges of the center are 5 feet from the wall - is raised 8 inches: with a likewise raised altar platform near the eastern side. On the platform is a bronze emblem resembling the sun, a skull in the center, a goblet to the left, and a bowl with ashes to the right.

J - Winter's Crypt

The door to this space is sealed. When it is opened, a chill passes over the party, as though the room were much cooler than the hall. Inside, the east and west walls are lined with evergreen shrubs - oddly healthy; the center contains a bed of hard soil roughly 8 feet north to south by 3 feet east to west. If the party digs into the ground, they will find a layer of ash. It is ringed by poinsettia. Cones with seeds in them can be taken from the shrubs. The seeds will, if planted under a new moon, grow into tall conifers overnight; the seeds will, if exposed to sunlight, turn to soot.

K - Crypt of the Mason

The door to this space is stuck; it looks to have been sealed, but the seal has been broken. The edges of the floor, up to 5 feet from the walls, are a greenish stone; the center is marble - on the northern side, large tile; on the southern side, a random mosaic pattern the grouting of which appears to be stained a deep brown. If the party looks up, they will note the ceiling has a different texture above the mosaic; close inspection may reveal a seam.

A coffin is propped up on the south wall at a 60 degree angle - to its left, an end table with an unlit candle slightly behind the extent of the coffin's foot; to its right, another end table - knocked on its side in the corner. The coffin is open - a withered corpse staring blankly to the north west. It holds a tubular map case - which is attached to a hidden lever running behind the coffin into the wall. If a character attempts to move the map case, the ceiling drops - a massive solid block - and anyone standing on the mosaic must save versus Dragon's Breath to evade. On a failure, the character is crushed and killed. The map case is empty if successfully retrieved; the trap will reset itself after one round; sliding slowly back into the ceiling.

There is a hole in the floor near the south wall, just under and east of the coffin, damage from the trap having been set off in the past, which can be traversed to the north ledge in F.

L - Crypt of the Mirror

Opening this unlocked door, the party is immediately confronted by a treasure trove: inside is piled 900 silver pieces, 600 gold pieces, three gemstones - a golden-star sapphire worth 100 gold pieces and two tourmaline inlaid with electrum worth 250 gold pieces each, and single scroll containing the spell Protection from Undead. However, they are looking at a mirror - one around three feet in from the door and slightly larger than the door, itself.

The mirror is magic and will allow a character to step into it. If the party steps into the mirror, they will find the treasure - in addition to a dozen or so corpses that have been piled onto either side of the room, just out of vision before. Looking west, to where they came in, characters inside this space will see a mundane mirror, one which they cannot step through, looking back at them - behind which is a solid stone wall.

Any party members who have not stepped into the mirror space can see, but not hear, party members who have stepped into it.

If the party steps around the mirror into the room, there is a blank space - with a granite slab on the floor - eight feet east to west by three feet north to south - smeared with soot. Six rhodolite garnets are inlaid into the walls, casting an eerie purple glow; they can be pried out of their sockets, at which point their glow fades, and are worth 25 gold pieces each.


Public domain art piece, Man and Woman at the Mouth of a Cave, respectfully pilfered from the National Gallery of Art on May 30, 2020. Attribution in alt text.