Perusing, in recent memory, through the endless images that can be found on Old Book Illustrations, I found a striking image - Albert Robida's Aerial Rotating House, originally published in Le Vingtième Siècle in 1893 and pictured to the left. I saved the image and mulled on it - needing to find a place to incorporate it into my home game.
Resultant from that mulling, herein I present a short-to-mid-size adventure: suitable and designed for a B/X party of around level 3.
A Dead Wizard's Floating College
Originally designed as a laboratory, college, and retreat for a master of the arcane arts, this unique Victorian was impossibly balanced on an iron spindle of a foundation in the upper district. However - the immensity of the magic used in its externally clockwork construction was revealed upon the backfiring of a mystic experiment for its primary occupancy. Killing the magic user and shaking the foundation loose, the Floating College then began to drift, floating and bobbing on a breeze that no one can feel, along the countryside: occasionally hanging on a precipice or a forest or a building (when coasting over a city) for a few days before breaking loose, wafting off to a new unknowable heading. Ropes, chains, and grapples hang from the foyer level - the evidence of enterprising opportunists seeking to see what treasures its former master may have left behind.
- Spaces demarcated by dotted lines generally indicate railings.
- Spaces demarcated by stipples generally indicate windows or openings.
- The scale of all maps is 10 feet - click here for a PDF version of this adventure.
A - Foyer Disc
A1 - The Grate
This circular space is a metal platform, its floor made of grating, ringed by a thin railing. Along the south-west quarter are three lines tied or hooked on: the first two able to support a man-sized creature climbing, the third having a 2-in-6 chance of dislodging when used, causing the climber to fall. A tree branch is lodged in the railing along the eastern side, having been torn off some time ago, its leaves still green and thriving.
A2 - Spiral Stair
A solid metal silo ascends like a tin can, 60 feet tall, its wall lined with a steep spiral stair. The stair is 5 feet wide - starting at the northern wall - but after the first quarter turn around the silo, its oblong shape takes it through a smooth hole cut in the wall. After another quarter turn, it returns inside; after a third, outside; before terminating at the platform at A3. Transition points internal to external are at approximately 15 foot increments - that is, it is inside at ground level, goes outside 15 feet up, comes back inside at 30, and so on.
Sitting in the center of the silo is a colossal frog - 10 feet in diameter. This frog is a hit die 4+4 creature, saving as Fighter 4 but otherwise as Giant Toad (X40): its tongue affecting a man-sized creature or smaller within a range of 30 feet.
It is too fat to take to stairs - though it will try - and is trapped on the ground floor.
A3 - Underwell
A ladder provides a path upward through a tunnel of stone. Looking up, a character will see the underside of the well in B1 - complete with water: the light diffusing and distorting as it would looking at something outside a pool while swimming. Characters climbing upward to B1 will emerge from the well dry; characters trying to return downward will find a normal stone well with no egress at the bottom if they swim beneath. A Knock spell will open the way.
B - College Grounds
The level consists of a disc, held aloft by the silo from the foyer, and covered with grass. The disc is ringed by a waist-high railing, metal, and a stone pathway leads from the front door to the nearest perimeter. Shrubbery and bushes hug the walls of the building - with the shrubbery on the eastern side, between the train cars and the sun room, being particularly overgrown. The rest of the disc appears to be manicured grass. A Tuatara (B38) suns itself in the lawn: 2-in-6 chance of being on the eastern side, in view of B1; 4-in-6 chance of being on the western side.
B1 - The Well
This well is stone, circular, with a gable roof overhead. It is the outlet of the ladder in A3, but only works one way - characters coming from A3 to B1 emerge from the water dry; characters entering B1 from above will simply get wet. A Knock spell will allow climbing down, dry, to A3.
B2 - The Foyer
This space is luxuriously bedecked - a thick carpet in rich color leading to a tall room with a hanging (though empty) chandelier. Small lights flicker in the chandelier - these are the result of a fractured Continual Light spell and imitate the twinkling of many candles. On the east and west walls are mirrored crests of the original owner's personal brand.
The door to B2i is locked. Neither of the other doors in this space are.
In each alcove to the south stands a Living Statue (B37) standing guard. They will attack on sight unless the party speaks a password: at which point they will return to their alcoves, not accosting the party again until they leave the college grounds, entirely - requiring the same password uttered upon a return trip.
One of the two Living Statues has a key ring. This key ring has 1d4 keys on it, corresponding to the following doors:
- B2i
- B3, South-East
- B3, North-East
- B2ii
Thus, if a 2 is rolled, the statue will have a key that will unlock the door to B2i and the south-east door to B3.
B2i - West Closet
A coat rack, a hat rack, and a shoe bench occupy this space. Rummaging through the coats will reveal 1,000 silver pieces, 200 gold pieces, and 35 platinum pieces spread between several pouches, a broach of azurite worth 450 gold pieces on its own. The broach is moderately reflective - but for some reason, if someone can pick up their own face in the reflection, the reflection looks happier.
B2ii - East Closet
The door to this tool shed is locked with an old padlock: it is rusted and can be forced. There is evidence that it was once open to B2, but it has been boarded up. Inside can be found gardening tools. The tools are magic: subjecting any garden tended with them for at least 3 days to a Growth of Plants spell at the next moon-rise.
B3 - Lounge
On the east and west walls are luxuriant divans. On the north wall, a painting of the exterior of the college. In the center of the room is a lush carpet, its palate matching the rich hues of the divans. Noticeable to someone who looks, it appears someone had drawn a circle of salt in the carpet, but the granules are partially obscured via the carpet fibers.
The two doors facing east are locked. The door facing west is not locked - however is trapped. When the door is opened, a pin is released, held in place while the door is closed - opening a hole in the floor. A character caught by the trap must save or fall through the Grounds Disc: landing on whatever is far, far below.
B4 - Mason Room
The door leading into this space is stuck. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the room are solid stone blocks. In the center is a circular depression, blood spattered along its side - browned as a stain with age. Arcane sigils are inscribed in the north wall.
B5 - Garden
The north-east section of this space has bene overgrown with massive flowering plants, pouring in from the window, which cannot be closed. 1d4 flowers - pitcher type - appear to be in full bloom. Inside is a nectar which, if drunk, grants the drinker 1 temporary experience level lasting 1d4 hours.
This nectar can be harvested if the party has a glass container. A leather or wooden container will leech the magic - revitalizing the container; a metal container will poison the material: impairing the drinker with 1 temporary level LOSS likewise lasting 1d4 hours, save vs poison to evade.
The door to B10 is not locked.
The door to B3 is locked.
The door to B8 has been spiked shut from the far side.
B6 - The Dining Car
The passenger car from a steam train has been wedged into the side of the building - its floor one foot above the floor in B5. Five Giant Centipedes (B33) mill about the car - migrants from the flowers. The car is richly decorated:
- A chair molding lines the north and south walls - it is comprised of a mosaic of silver coins, five tall, running the length of the car with breaks at the windows. These coins can be pried off the wall by a dedicated character, amounting to 1,200 silver in total.
- Two chairs flank an ebony end table on which an ornate chess board is set. The pieces have been scattered as though the table has been knocked, but if collected, the set is worth 1,000 gold pieces.
- A second, smaller table contains a flower vase - a flower similar to those from B5 held aloft by beads at the bottom. Concealed among the beads is a single Cat's Eye stone, the seam down the middle gilded with impossibly smooth platinum inlay. The Cat's Eye is worth 1,000 gold pieces. Rotating the Cat's Eye with a light behind it will show several different scenes in the refracted light on the far side.
- In the west end is an oval portrait of the magic user. In the frame are embedded four gems: three (left, bottom, and right of the face) emeralds (100 gp each) and one (to the top) diamond (500 gp). Below the portrait is another end table with a bowl on it, sitting on a purple table cloth. If the table cloth is lifted, the door to a secret hidden compartment is revealed: behind a simple lock can be found 200 gold pieces and a garnet worth 10 gp.
- In the east end, a small wooden structure has been built to connect B6 with B7: this is a claustrophobic space, only 5 feet high, but it is veiled by a curtain of hanging pearls. The curtain, if removed, is worth 200 gold pieces.
B7 - The Laboratory Car
This passenger car has been converted into an observatory. A large telescope looks out of the center-north window and a collection of books can be found in a case blocking the south-west window. The lens, if extracted, is worth 600 gold pieces, but weighs 40 pounds. The silver-mosaic chair molding from B6 extends into this car also, containing a further 1,200 silver able to be pried out. Hanging along the south wall is a visible brake line - the brake line is actually a Rope of Binding: an item, 25 feet long, which - if tied tightly, will become impossible to move in space, as an Immovable Rod might be.
The door to B7i is stuck.
B7i - Overlook
A wrought-iron chair is propped against an end table, overlooking the drop below. It is painted a pleasant color.
B8 - Dining Hall
A dining table has been cast to one side of this room, blocking a fireplace in the north-east wall. The door to B5 has been spiked closed from this side. No chairs are present. A party of five - an Elf (2), a Halfling (3), a Fighter (3), and two Thieves (5 and 4) - are frantic over the Fighter, who appears to be violently ill. He has been bitten by the centipedes in B6. The Elf knows the password to stand-down the statues in B2. The Elf had memorized Light and Magic Missile - one of which, determined randomly, she will have already cast.
The stairs to the south lead upwards to C1, but are trapped. One of the stairs is pressure sensitive: which will, if triggered, cause the stairs to rise together - the lower at different speeds, such that all will hit the ceiling at the same time - crushing a trapped character. It will reset after 2 rounds; a Save vs Paralysis is allowed to evade.
B9 - Sunroom
Along the many windows of this space are hanging ferns and other hydroponic plants. Against the wall is a work shelf and peg board with tools intended for delicate horticulture - plus a watering can that seems to be gently smoking out the top. The plants are all brightly colored. It is ice cold to the touch.
This coloration of the plants is a natural warning. If a character attempts to touch any of the plants without first pouring the cooling agent on them, they will burst, spraying an acid 1d3x5 feet in all directions. There is a 2-in-6 chance this reaction will chain between the plants if it occurs, covering the whole room. Characters in the zone of effect must Save vs Dragon's Breath or take 1d6 acid damage, followed by 1d4 acid damage per turn for the next 1d4 turns, rolled independently. A generous referee may allow further clues - such as the fire-ferns quivering if the character approaches them, or describing them as exuding tangible warmth.
If harvested, the severed portion of the plant will not explode - being removed from the central mass - and its acid can be weaponized: burning through even metal after a turn of exposure. There are enough plants for 2d4 doses of this material.
B10 - Veranda
The doors to this space are not locked. A rocking chair with a broken spoke lies on its side near the west railing; a grappling hook rests near the north-west corner, dangling 30 feet of rope beneath it.
C - Upstairs
The upstairs space is spatially distorted from the downstairs - it occupies the same footprint in reality, but the interior is around 50% larger. Any character who enters will not notice - scaling, themselves, to match. The floor is exposed wood, unless otherwise indicated, and the walls are papered.
All windows on this level are stuck tight. If a character does manage to open them - 1-in-6 chance, modified by Strength - they will be blown backwards by a sudden rush of air: after which, they will feel off: as one might just before a storm. There are no ill effects from this - though exiting through a window will result in an odd, dysphoric feeling.
C1 - Upper Hall
A small indentation is present in the floor - roughly 20 inches deep - in the north-west portion of the hall. On the walls are a series of cubbies - in which can be found a mundane set of canvas shoes, an umbrella, and what appears to be a sleeping cap.
C2 - Theater
Along the west wall is a stage, running the central 20 feet of the room and elevated off the ground by about 12 inches. Along the east wall are three rows of chairs - in which sit several skeletons. Any character that sits down with the skeletons will see a group of translucent players on the stage enacting a short piece. At this point, the character must Save vs Spells or become transfixed: a transfixed character ages 2d8 years - or an equivalent number of years proportional to their natural life. Characters passing the save realize what is going on and may choose to watch anyway - in which case they will still age 2d8 years: but they may stand up and avert their gaze to avoid it.
The skeletons have nothing of value on their persons.
C3 - Halls
The secret door between C3i and C3ii in the north is in the form of a portrait. A character looking on it - from either side - sees a life-size portrait of the magic user who constructed the building. He is facing south in both portraits - so, from C3i, the figure appears to look to the left; from C3ii, it appears to look to the right. The portrait is an illusion - a character may pass through by simply walking through the area occupied thereby.
C3i - Darkened Hall
The walls of this hall are lined with candles every five feet - lit - providing dim illumination. These candles are secretly slowly burning off pathological fumes emanating from the floor near the south end.
- If the party removes over 2 candles, they will notice a strange smell.
- If the party removes over 4 candles, they must Save vs Poison every turn spent in C3i or feel nauseated for one hour - imposing a -1 penalty on all checks.
- If the party removes over 6 candles, they must Save vs Poison every turn spent in C3i or pass unconscious. A character left unconscious in the hall, unless the candles are returned, will die.
The door to C6 is locked.
C3ii - Windowed Hall
The walls of this hall are lined with candle holders every five feet on the east wall only. The candles are not lit.
C4 - Balcony
The railing of this balcony is lined with flower beds. The door is heavy - though not stuck or locked. When viewed from the inside, the door is 9 feet wide and 9 feet tall. From viewed from the outside, the door is 6 feet wide and 6 feet tall: an effect produced by the magical expansion of space inside this level. A character walking out onto the balcony will not experience the negative effect of exiting through a window.
There is a 2-in-6 chance that the Tuatara (B38) from B will have climbed to the balcony if it is still alive and not otherwise indisposed below.
C5 - Den
A basaltic stone path has been laid on the floor, leading from the north doors to the south door. On either side of the path is sod and a series of deciduous trees, arranged naturally (or, as naturally as possible in the limited space) rather than in rows, colored appropriately to the season. The ceiling is tall and colored according to the sky, light emitting from it as though it were outdoors - but no clouds nor sun are visible.
Among the trees scowls an Owl Bear (B40). It wears a plated electrum collar - non-magical, but sized for an Owl Bear: weighing 5 pounds - worth 1,100 gold pieces. Nearby, a small pouch containing two smooth jades (50 gp each) has been hidden in a nook in one of the trees to the north-east.
C6 - Lightning Room
The walls and floor of this room are a black, basaltic stone. In the center of the room is an elevated platform, flanked by three stone arms reaching up like spider legs. At the tip of each spider leg is a ruby worth 100 gold pieces. On the base of the platform, in between the stone arms, there is a white spot, as though worn by heavy feet.
The arcane mechanism for the device is broken. A character which approaches within 10 feet has a chance to set off the hazard; a character who stands on the platform, between the stone arms, will set off the hazard. A character thus triggering the device's effect must Save vs Dragon's Breath or take 2d8 points of lightning damage. If doubles are rolled on the damage roll, the victim is also immediately translocated to a random room within the compound.
Removing at least one ruby will disarm the apparatus. A magic user who knows Teleport can fix this device, disarming the hazard and then allowing it to be used to teleport flawlessly - that is, no chance of failure - to a location they are either familiar with intimately or that they can see via a crystal ball.
The doors to C3 - that is, the east and west doors - are locked.
C7 - Ballroom
The ceiling is higher in this room - pitched - and a dancing floor dominates it. There are some tall bar-style tables against the walls. Characters in the space for more than 1 turn will begin to hear music playing faintly, which will amplify over the course of 1 additional turn to a pleasant volume.
A character that opts to dance - especially with a partner - will be invigorated: gaining a +2 bonus on all subsequent Saving Throws made until they fail one or until they fall asleep.
C8 - Bar
The north demarcation indicates a bar, waist height to a human. Behind the bar waits a single Living Statue (B37). It will not attack, but will defend itself or the bar if a character becomes aggressive. Likewise, if a character knows the password from B2, it will make that character a drink. It has finite mixing knowledge.
C9 - The Master's Tower
This round space has stone walls and is ringed by magician's equipment. On the west wall is a bunk with soiled blanket on which a Blink Dog (X28) had been napping; on the south-east wall is a writing desk; along the north-east wall is a series of alembics, test tubes, and similar unused supplies. In the ceiling is an opening to D - there is no ladder nor an obvious way up.
Under the bunk has been piled a horde of coins - 8,000 in copper plus 2,000 in silver.
In the north-east section are three scrolls - one Scroll of Knock, two Scrolls of Locate Object - and alchemical ingredients and equipment worth 1,200 gold pieces.
In the writing desk can be found a ring-post with two rings: one of Spell Storing, one of Spell Turning. Also in the desk can be found a key ring with four keys: the doors to which they apply are determined by rolling 4d6, consulting the following:
- C6, West Door
- C6, East Door
- B3, South-East Door
- B3, North-East Door
- B2ii
- Miscellaneous Key
If a duplicate is rolled, the duplicate stays - the key is simply duplicated on the chain. The miscellaneous key does not open any doors - but may open a chest or lockbox, at the discretion of the referee - elsewhere.
In the north-west wall is a window, complete with flower-bed, facing C7. The window to C7 is open; the window facing outside is closed. A character attempting to enter C9 from C7 through the window must Save vs. Spells or be deposited instead facing South in the corridor beyond the secret door in the south wall.
The secret door - from the south - appears as part of the wall; from the north, it appears as a wooden section ringed by stone. It is activated by a control word: the password for the Living Statues from B2, spoken in reverse. When spoken, the portal slides into the floor, rising again if the word is spoken again.
C10 - Reverence Chamber
The wood floor is exposed in paths from the two doors - the south door being locked, the north door being ajar - to the walls of the turret to the north-west. Along the rest of the main space, firm kneeling cushions criss-cross the floor, straw-woven mats lining the alleys they create. The turret to the north-west is raised - requiring two steps to enter. Inside is a telescope, pointed at the wall, and an old but copious blood stain on the floor. Inside the telescope - in lieu of a lens can be found a large black sapphire - 500 gold pieces in value - suspended by taunt gossamer lines.
Light sources - including magical ones - flutter and dim while in the main space. If a character stands still too long, they begin to hear a faint chanting from throats not present in the room.
There is a secret compartment under the stairs - accessible by sliding a thin article between the face of the stair and the wall so as to jimmy it out. A character crawling into this space will find two locked chests and a case bolted to the wall containing, in order of appearance:
- 3,200 silver pieces and a pouch with two fire opals (100 gp each)
- 2,800 silver pieces and a case containing a further 800 gold pieces
- A Wand of Negation with 5 charges remaining
The telescope can be used as a crystal ball by a skilled magic user if the sapphire is not removed; projecting the image targeted into a 10 foot tall by 5 foot wide space like a screen.
D - Attic
From below, the entry to this space is ten feet in diameter; from above, it appears to be 5 feet in diameter - the spacial dilation continuing, such that this space is again much larger than the space beneath it indicates it should be.
In the attic is stored spare furniture, spare linens, and several scroll cases. They contain two blank parchments and one map to a treasure trove; thematically, the treasure should likely be esoteric in nature. Hung on a coat rack can be found an Elven Cloak.
A flock of 8 Stirges are hidden among the rafters.
Public domain artwork downloaded from OldBookIllustrations.com and the National Gallery of Art and adapted where appropriate for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.
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