Turn Table Bridge

Scale: 10 ft.
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Dungeon Key

Z - Entry

In the center of this room is a circular pedestal from which for firm posts, 4 inches in diameter and 4 feet long, extend horizontally around chest-level. On the floor is a tiled track, extending roughly six inches from the base of the pedestal and six inches out from the end of the posts. To the south, a bridge extends into the darkness to the far wall; in all other directions are blank walls.

Outside the central space, and beside the bridge, is a chasm - deeper than torchlight will show. Optionally, if using this map as a side-segment of a bigger adventure, a referee might have this chasm lead to deeper level of the dungeon. It is suggested it be two-levels deeper - to keep in proportion the scale. 

In each non-cardinal direction is a double door, leading to different parts of the level. To the north is an opening leading to E - this opening is 20 feet below the level of the bridge: thus, discoverable by an enterprising character.

The pedestal is a focal point for the bridge mechanism. If a character or set of characters - up to eight - press against the poles, the track beneath them will move: twisting a giant leveraged gearbox below - when the track turns counter-clockwise, the bridge rotates clockwise; when the track turns clockwise, the bridge rotates counter-clockwise.

Notes regarding the bridge are as follows:

• 8 full "turns" of movement are required to move the bridge one full rotation. Thus, eight characters (or hirelings) working together could put the bridge into any position in 1 turn; where a single character (or hireling) working the track would take 8 full turns to do the same.
• In its south-facing position, the bridge is 1/8th rotation away from either door to B or C; any two doors - A and B, D and C, etc. - are 2/8ths rotation away from one another; the semi-hidden entrance to E is 1/8th turn from A or D, but if the bridge is lined up with it perfectly, it will block entry. If lined up imperfectly, a descent may be possible.
• The opening in the wall to the south of Z does not rotate. Thus, if the bridge is facing a non-southward direction, the south portal from Z will face an open gulf.

A - Geomancer's Wing

The door from the bridge in Z is warped (stuck, but the party gains a +1 on their chance to open it), but not locked.

A1 - A Damp Theater

The floor to this space slopes downward slightly, east to west; the ceiling slopes upward over the same run. Along the east wall is curved a pool of cold water and along the ceiling hang similar cloth, pinned at increment, but worn, hanging, and torn with age and wet. Along the north and south walls hang thick curtains; the tapestry to the south is wet: water seeming to permeate through the ceiling in the south-east corner. Candle-holders line the walls - six of them - worth 100 gold each. In the water on the far side can be found 360 silver pieces. The west wall is blank stone.

The door in to this room is stuck. The secret door in the south-east is comprised of damaged masonry, hidden by curtains and leading through a short tunnel to B2. In the folds of the ceiling-dressing nest 9 Stirges (B42).

A2 - A Room of Many Angles 

Within the octagonal space is a concentric hexagonal space - 6 feet shorter in diameter, rotated 45 degrees, and sunk 3 inches into the floor: within which is a concentric square, again 6 further feet shorter in diameter, 3 inches deeper into the floor, and rotated 45 degrees. 

In the ceiling is a decagon, followed by dodecagon, concentric and rotating in the opposing manner. The room is otherwise empty.

A3 - Guardhouse

Standing guard along the west and east walls of this room are 11 Skeletons (B42). Each skeleton wears an impossibly thin platinum chain around their cranium - connected and supporting a silver symbol, roughly the size of a quarter, hanging on their foreheads. These headdresses are worth 10 gold pieces each.

B - Sanctum to Order

The door to the bridge in Z is ajar, opening inwards.

B1 - Sanctuary

This room is rank with musty ammonia smell. The floor is soft and spongy with moderate amounts of guano. Five Giant Bats (B31) are roosting just out of sight in the stone rafters.

Four statues of figures - two armored male; one armored female; and one male in robes - stand in the center of the room, looking up. The ceiling is vaulted, 40 feet high in the center; 20 feet high at the walls. There appear to be mounts for large relief carvings on the south and west walls, but no artwork remains.

The door to B2 is locked.

B2 - Locking Hall

The door to B1 is locked, but can be manually unlocked from this side. The door to B4 is locked; the door to B3 is not.

To the north, the hall terminates into a curving offertory - a table cloaked in a graying white cloth and adorned with a dusty dagger and a desiccated lilac in a glass to the left, a purple plate in the center (empty), and a bunch of dry wolfsbane to the right. A character lifting up the white cloth will be able to see damage to the stone work in the floor and wall behind the offertory: this opens to the narrow, moist passage terminating in A1.

To the west, a 30 foot section of iron bars separates the main hall from an interior crypt: in which the walls are lined with a mosaic made of human (or humanoid) bones. The bone work depicts three scenes - a set of two figures dancing, a figure on a throne, and another set of three figures dancing. From the exterior, the areas marked as doors appear as gaps in the bars: an ingress with no door. Upon entry, however, a figure on the inside sees bars - which will prevent egress, as would be expected. When inside the barred area, a character can hear faint woodwind music playing a happy, somewhat lively tune.

B3 - Music Room

Antique instruments can be seen stored against and on the north and south walls. Several still work and can be sold for 120 gold pieces, as a group, to a collector - inside one of the non-functional instruments nest two Stirges (B42). Against the east wall is a square platform, wood, and six stools. Beneath one of the stools is a coin purse with 200 gold pieces in it.

B4 - Reliquary

The door into this room is locked. On the north, south, and east walls each are ornate cabinets. 

To the north, the cabinet houses a small bath, like a sink with no drain, in which can be found 400 silver pieces. This is obscured by a door panel which is not locked.

To the south, the cabinet houses two rosaries on silver chains - at the end of one is the bone from a foot, at the end of the other, what appears to be a mummified ear. The chains are worth 10 gold pieces each. This is likewise obscured by a door panel which is not locked.

To the east, the cabinet has a chalice - gold and bedizened - worth 200 gold pieces: in which can be seen 400 more gold pieces resting. In addition, a sword with an ornate handle hangs. This sword grants a +1 bonus (+3 versus Undead). The door to this cabinet is a wire lattice - it does not obscure the view, but is trapped. A character attempting to open the cabinet without burning incense beneath it first will be subjected to a vitality-draining trap: save versus death, aging 2d10 percentage points of your natural life on success; drying into a lifeless, desiccated husk on a failure. Lawful characters may re-roll one failed save.

C - The Trickster's Wing

The entrance door from Z is stuck.

C1 - Guard Room

The door into this room is not locked.

The walls of this room, except the north-east, are lined with pole arms: their bases obscured by a wooden rail, seeming to contain them, around foot level and their hafts held in place by bronze receivers around chest height. This is a ruse, however: a character which attempts to remove any one of the polearms will trigger the trap. When triggered, a lever action causes the racks of polearms to tilt, chopping downward, and affecting all characters in the room. This is counted as an attack, THAC0 15, for 1d10+1 damage. The trap resets itself after 2 rounds.

C2 - The Ogre King's Throne Room

The north and west walls are draped in large tapestries depicting what appears to start as a celebration near the entrance hall, but then devolve into open battle termination of the tapestries at the corner of the curved south-east wall. The south east wall is made of stacked stone.

In the center of the space is a throne - heavy, crude, and stone, directly mortared into the floor. It is sized for a creature of an ogre's stature. If a character sits on the throne, a trap may activate. An affected character must save versus spells: on a success, they gain a permanent 2 point increase to their Strength score; on a failure, they permanently lose 2 points of their Intelligence.

C3 - Trickster's Quarters

A broken bed frame and some straw adorn the north-east side of the space; along the south wall are two chests: one broken, one open, both vacant. Along the rest of the floor, paint has been spilled and smeared. On the west wall, a large polychromatic face, smiling smugly, has been drawn. The room is otherwise empty.

D - A Concept in Miniature

The door to this space from Z is neither locked nor stuck.

D1 - Turn-Table

Upon closing with this space, the party feels a slight elevation of temperature, as when an oven has been left on in a home. The rotation mechanism is a miniature version of the rotating bridge in Z. A similar track, a similar pedestal with posts, excepting that only four characters may - at a time - maneuver the track and that the total turning time (as the mechanism is smaller) requires 4 "turns" instead of 8 to perform a full rotation. In its initial configuration, it is off-kilter, requiring an enterprising approach to gain access to the turn-table hub.

This miniature, however, is trapped. An observant character may notice a peg, 10 feet below the bridge line, that will be depressed if the bridge passes between D2 and D3. When the trap is triggered, the section of the bridge attached to the hub falls while the section against the far wall remains: producing a steep incline and exposing a gaping hole belching heat. Characters on the bridge when the trap triggers must save or fall into the hole: wherein they will be incinerated.

To reset the trap, 3 "turns" worth of rotations in either direction are necessary: slowly leveling the bridge surface. Once leveled, the bridge will continue turning in the corresponding direction to the movement of the operator in the hub.

D2 - North Chamber

Cobwebs choke the corners of this room. Several broken boards and a bead necklace - costume or toy jewelry, no value - can be found pushed to the walls.

D3 - South Chamber

Dust and some cobwebs can be found along the south and east walls. A body - a week or two dead - is sitting, clutching a map case. Inside is a crude map of this dungeon: it shows layout, does not show secrets nor traps, but does have section C scribbled over in charcoal. The corpse carries a shield, a lantern, no oil, no rations, but wears magical chainmail armor. The armor is a brass-color and grants +1 AC, +3 to saves to resist or evade flame attacks, -3 damage from flame sources that do hit.

A group of 15 Cave Locust (B32) has been feeding on the corpse. They will startle if approached.

E - The Trove

E1 - Mystic Egress

The door to this room is locked.

The flagstones are smooth; on the west wall there is a large, heavy dial. If the dial is turned - treat as stuck door - and the bridge does not block the way, a shimmering stairwell appears going down into the chasm. A character traversing this stair will find themselves having walked into the central chamber, Z.

This is a one-way trip: a character walking into Z will, if they attempt to walk back, walk up and out of the dungeon level instead: into wherever they were when they entered.

This mystic stair lasts 1 turn before the dial resets itself and the stairs disappear.

E2 - Treasure Horde

Four ravenous Ghouls slink about this space amid a horde of treasure, as follows:

• 2,000 copper pieces
  
• 10,000 silver pieces
  
• 4,000 gold pieces
• Ring of Djinni Summoning (X49)

Wandering Monsters

The following table should be used to determine type when a wandering monster is encountered:

2d6	Result
2	1-4 Rhagodessa (X38)
3	1-3 Carrion Crawlers (B32)
4	1-8 Troglodytes (B43)
5	1-8 Oil Beetles (B31)
6	2-20 Cave Locusts (B32)
7	3-12 Skeletons (B42)
8	1-10 Stirges (B42)
9	1-10 Giant Bats (B31)
10	2-8 Zombies (B44)
11	1-6 Ghouls (B35)
12	1 Wight (B44)

Public domain art downloaded from OldBookIllustrations.com. Attributions in alt text.