The Under-Dungeon at the Watchtower Compound
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| Scale: 10 ft. PDF... still... forthcoming... |
This section of the map - unless otherwise specified - is only accessible at night. It is one level, but there are three points of entry: two from the compound grounds (the guardhouse and the well) and one from the Watchtower, itself, in the courtyard. The exact nature of these entrances are detailed in their relative entries.
During the day - the entire space (with a couple noted exceptions) is totally filled with sand, the walls dispersed into clay and fulgurite. If a party is caught underground in one of these filled spaces when the dawn breaks, they are inundated as the semi-extra-dimensional construct falls apart: their orifices and organs filled with silt and earth. A character consumed in this way will suffocate - but must roll for System Shock on the following moon-rise when the under-dungeon reconstitutes: at which point, if they succeed, they will rise again as an undead: bound to the dungeon, itself.
Wandering Monsters
While underground, the referee should continue to use the wandering monster table provided last August, however in lieu of rolling a D6/6, they should instead roll D3/6 - thus limiting the potential encounters underground to exclusively the "Angry Dead" or "Corruption of Nature" nested tables.
Entry
The walls of this section are made of coquina; the floor, earthen - packed clay.
E1 - The Sandy Stair
A stairwell leads downward from the courtyard (1W31) - each stair made of firm sand, eight inches thick, suspended in the air by an unseen force. The walls are coquina. Lurking beneath the stairs is a hostile Needler Golem (as Needleman, FF 67) - scratching at the wall as though looking for the secret door, which is a two-foot square set four feet off the ground, able to be pushed back and outward, as a window, if detected.
E2 - Skull Octagon
In the center of the space, a primitive skull has been etched into the floor. The way to E3 is not obscured - but there are post-holes in the floor and ceiling at the dots indicated.
- If the door to E4 is discovered and pulled open, the left eye of the skull rises as a touch-plate.
- If the door to E5 is discovered and pulled open, the right eye of the skull rises as a touch-plate.
- If the iron bars to E3 fall, the nasal openings rise as a touch-plate.
If any the touch-plates are depressed, the corresponding egress reverts to its initial state: closed for E4 and E5, open for E3. The nasal openings cannot be depressed unless a sword or equivalent mass is set in the its dais.
E3 - Sword Room
The entrance to this space is open, though there are post-holes in the floor and ceiling. At the rear of the room is a mosaic, blackened, that appears to depict a man in armor with a sword. In the center is a stone dais in which a rusty sword is set. The sword obviously does not fit in the hole. If removed, thick metal bars will drop into the post-holes, trapping any north of them inside. The current sword is mundane, belonging to a Thoul residing in E4.
E4 - West Horn
Five Thoul (B 43) occupy this space, mulling over one Potion of Speed and 2,000 electrum pieces. One of the Thoul is trying to figure out a +1 Sentient sword, profiled as follows:
- Intelligence: 11, Ego: 7
- Communication Mode: Speech (Lawful Tongue)
- Powers: See Invisible Objects, Detect Shifting Architecture, Detect Evil or Good
- Alignment: Lawful
Due to his undead nature and its affiliation to Chaos, the Thoul cannot use it.
E5 - East Horn
Several chains lie broken on the floor and some undefinable staining can be seen on the walls. Two Lemure demons (MM 23) occupy the space.
E6 - Hidden Atrium
The doors to the south are heavy, but not locked. The secret door to the north is stuck, if discovered. There are two black-purple curtains hanging, floor to ceiling, on the south-east and south-west walls. One Lemure demon (MM 23) occupies the space, sniffing against the door to E1 - which is hidden, approaching from either end.
E7 - Skull Altar
Starting ten feet from the door to E6, the floor in this space is gray tile. To the south, an altar stands as an island in a small recessed "moat." The recess is filled with silver - 5,000 pieces of it. Atop the altar is an obsidian skull and a stand for it, though it appears the skull has been shattered into multiple razor-sharp pieces. The obsidian, itself, is worth 400 gold pieces. The secret door to E8 is closed and hidden, but loose.
E8 - Escape Corridor
The doors to E6 and E7 are obvious from this space. There is a bar against the wall which would allow easy blocking of the door to E7. Along the narrow hallway are six alcoves in the walls, alternating left then right, in 5 of which can be found a silver idol: each worth 500 gold pieces. In the northern part of the chamber can be found a skeleton stuck to the ceiling in roots. The skeleton is wearing rags, antiquated style, and has a pouch in which can be found some personal odds and ends - but more interestingly to the players - 600 gold pieces.
In the ceiling is embedded a Grasping Vines entity. Disturbing the skeleton will alert it; lingering in the room has a 2-in-6 chance to alert it per turn spent. The vines will attack, attempting to strangle characters beneath them.
Sunken Maze
The floors of this section are tiled in dark stone not native to the region; the walls appear to be likewise bricked. Ceilings of hallways and corridors are arched.
M1 - Maze Foyer
The octagonal space is cooler than E1, the air heavy. Neither the door to E1 nor to the north-west is locked, though the door to M6 is.
M2 - Holding Cells
This space is girded by iron bars, rusting but sturdy. Each door has a 2-in-6 chance of being locked, randomly determined at the start of each night cycle. In one of the six enclosed spaces - also determined randomly - is waiting some Grasping Roots. These roots function normally against enemies within the same room, but will also attempt to grasp enemies in adjacent rooms: if successful, they will deal 1d6 damage per round instead of their normal damage as they attempt to pull a grappled character through the bars.
The exit leading to M9 is open and obvious, 3 feet in diameter.
M3 - South Cell
The heavy wooden door to this room is locked. There are chains on the walls and a shallow tin on the floor. Two Shadows (B41) are lurking in the space.
M4 - Crumbling Room
The ceiling of this space drips and the north wall appears to be crumbling: the black stone seeming to be transforming slowly into wet sand. For each turn in the room, there is a 1-in-6 chance for the decay to progress, causing the ceiling to collapse and fill the space with earth.
M5 - North Cell
This room, like M4, is wet; however it is not crumbling. The walls buzz with unseen energy, but will radiate magic if a detect type ability or spell is used on them. There are chains, as in M3, but they will turn to sand if they are touched.
M6 - Angled Hall
The doors to M8 and M7 are stuck; other doors are not. Seven Manes (MM 17) are roving through this room.
M7 - Sinking Space
This floor to this room is differently colored than the walls, a gray-white swirl - but still tiled. The exit to section C is not visible at first - but if at least two characters enter the room, their weight will cause the floor to sink downward up to four feet, exposing the exit.
M8 - Ghoul Horde
Five Ghouls (B35) inhabit this space. Between them can be found 4,000 electrum. In addition, eight copper ingots (80 gp value each) are embedded in the north and west walls.
M9 - Escape Diamond
The tile floor in this room is loose, shifting as the characters step on it. Two short tables - suitable for a foyer hall - adorn the walls: one on the north east, one on the north west walls. In the west corner, the loose tiles will collapse, if stepped on: revealing the passage to M2.
M10 - Broken Diamond
The door to this room is stuck. Chains hang between the walls, but the links are square. Characters entering this space appear to shear sideways, much like looking at something half submerged in clear water - to no detrimental effect; they appear normal upon leaving the room.
M11 - Corner Crypt
The door to this space is locked. Two short end tables, suitable for a foyer hallway, sit against the north-east and north-west walls. In the south corner is a recess in the floor - two feet deep - large enough for a body.
M12 - Disorienting Cache
The door to this space is locked. When a thief attempts to pick the lock, it will always succeed: however, when the door is opened, a character will find themselves looking into M13, instead. Characters walking through the door will be deposited in M13 (with the door curiously closed behind them) - upon exit, they will exit facing the correct direction: potentially disorienting the mapper.
Inside the true M12 is a cache: several period suits of clothing, somewhat aged but very formal and elaborate, valued at 300 gold total. Between them also can be found 600 pieces of gold specie and a pendant inset with Imperial Topaz: the pendant is worth 700 gold pieces.
The exit into section C is not affected by this hex.
M13 - Trick Diamond
A broken table lies against the north-west wall. Otherwise, the room is empty.
M14 - Hound Junction
A pile of straw lies on the floor to the west. Three Hellhounds (X33) are proceeding through the area - each wears a collar with a jeweled buckle: the buckle being an effigy in representation of the entity with which the dungeon's necromancer originally made pacts. These collars are worth 400 gp each. Hanging from the ceiling in chains is a skeleton, facing north - with a diamond (100 gp value) in its mouth and a chest (locked and trapped; it will spout a small flame gout at someone opening it without disarming the mechanism, Save vs Breath against 1d8 damage) containing 4,000 pieces of silver.
M15 - West Desecration
The door to this space is stuck. Inside, 11 Manes (MM 17) are tearing up what appears to have before been a plush study, comprised of a divan, a writing desk, a writing chair, and a book case. Each Manes is wearing a silver chain worth 100 gold pieces. In a locked drawer on the writing desk can be found 1000 gold pieces. In a vase on top of the book case - 2-in-6 chance that it will have been knocked to the floor - is a small sack containing six gemstones: one tourmaline worth 10 gp, three black pearls worth 50 gp, one royal sapphire worth 100 gp, and a large diamond worth 500 gold pieces.
M16 - South Desecration
The door to this space is broken. Inside is a shredded carpet and splinters: an article of furniture must have been here once, but it has been intentionally damaged beyond recognition.
M17 - East Desecration
The south and east walls are lined with crates containing rusted chains and implements. On the door, on the inside, is a desiccated corpse, nailed to the wood. Its eyes have been removed and the sockets, as well as the mouth and ears, are full of sand. If the head is turned, the sand will pour out and the floor. It will empty after 1d4 rounds, if allowed, after which point in the south-east corner will collapse, opening the way to section C.
M18 - Rooftop Trove
The door to this space is locked. Within, several chests and sacks of loot are visible... on the ceiling. Within a locked chest is 1,000 gold pieces and 2,000 silver pieces. Further, within a sack are 2,000 silver pieces. A glass case is on an end-table (likewise, ceiling), containing two gemstones; a dark and a light stone. The dark stone is a peridot, worth 100 gold pieces; the light is a semi-precious facsimile, worth 10 gp.
The space is a hazard. While it may appear that the room is reversed in gravity, entering the room will not cause the characters to fall up. Instead, the floor is undermined by a tunnel in section C: entering the room has an X-in-6 chance to cause a collapse: where X is the number of characters in the room.
If the floor collapses, characters therein take 1d6 damage as they roll into section C.
M19 - Skeleton Guard Storage
The door to this space is locked. Within, six Skeletons (B 42) stand guard. The tunnel to section C is open and obvious.
M20 - Sleeping Diamond
Chains made from glass hang from the ceiling in loose arcs. Moving through the space has a chance to trip a container above, to which the chains are affixed. If tripped, all characters in the room and any within ten feet of the door must Save vs Poison, those outside the room may re-roll one failure, or fall unconscious, as though affected by the Sleep spell.
M21 - Treasure Room
The door to this room is locked. Inside is a horde of electrum, loose on the floor - 7,000 pieces. In the center of the room is a golden pelvis - if melted, worth 1,000 gp - which houses a large pendant with a ruby inlay: the chain long and thick, as though intended to be worn as a sash or belt. The pendant is worth 1,400 gp.
M22 - Grasping Roots
The door to this room is locked. Two skeleton-shaped engravings are present on the east wall: they are eerily lifelike to bones. The egress to section C is obvious - the wall having fallen away in that corner; however a section of Grasping Roots is lurking just on the other side, hanging from the ceiling.
Chancel of Lost Souls
The floors of this section are tiled in dark stone not native to the region; the walls appear to be likewise bricked. Ceilings of hallways and corridors are arched.
L1 - Lair Foyer
The ceiling to this space is domed. The floor is inlaid with a red-colored stone, paralleling the octagonal shape of the room. Exits to the west are covered by iron grates, but a door-less opening allows free passage on both sides.
L2 - Junction
The walls, at the fork, stop being bricked with stone and start being bricked with skulls of the same color. The floor is collapsed in the north-west, opening into a passage of section C, leading either north to L7 or south to C3.
L3 - Screaming Skull Phylactery of the Necromancer
The entrances to this space are guarded by green glowing bars of force. They cannot be bent, but can be dispelled. A chaotic Cleric who succeeds a Save vs Spells may pass.
On the floor is a wide red circle, with glowing green inlays in a Chaotic script. In the center of the circle is a pedestal - jet black - above which hovers a helmet which appears to be made from a human skull, but the eye sockets are widely distorted - double the size and too high - with ridges running down the temples and along the cranium.
The helmet is infused with Chaotic magic:
- The wearer may enter and exit the under-dungeon compound regardless of day or night.
- The wearer is granted control over the green bars to L3, L4, and L5.
- The wearer will no longer be targeted by "corruption" entities from the random encounter table.
- The wearer may expend a charge of the helmet to cast Lightning Bolt, Continual Darkness (2 charges for Continual Light), Invisibility (2 charges for Detect Invisible), Knock, or Charm Person.
- The wearer gains additional spell slots, based on the net number of charges therein:
- 0 Charges: No additional spell slots.
- 4 Charges or more: +1 first level spell
- 8 Charges or more: +2 first level spells, +1 second level spell
- 16 Charges or more: +3 first level spells, +2 second level spell
- 24 Charges or more: +3 first level spells, +2 second level spell, +1 third level spell
The helmet has 24 charges. It will regenerate 1d12 charges per evening, if exposed to the moonlight.
The helmet, also, is imprinted with the persona of the necromancer who built the under-dungeon: it will attempt to take control of anyone wearing it. At first donning the helmet, and subsequently at each new moon while in its possession, a Control Check must be made as an intelligent sword: the helmet has an ego of 6 plus half its current charges and is, as mentioned, Chaotic.
L4 - Horde of the Helmet
The entry to this space is guarded by a second set of glowing bars. Similar to L3, a Cleric who passed the save to enter must pass a second time to enter here and the bars may not be bent, but may be dispelled.
Two skeletons hang from the ceiling - one more north east, one more south west - both have golden spikes with topaz lined rings at the base jammed into their eye sockets. The spikes are worth 150 gold pieces each. An porcelain, gold-engraved idol hovers in the south-east alcove: it is worth 100 gold pieces. Four chests line the walls; each is locked, but each contains 4,000 silver pieces.
The Skeletons (B 42) are animate. They will attack with a +2 bonus, swinging themselves on their restraints, on the first round any character that does not first deal with them before interacting with any of the four chests.
L5 - North Skull Hall
At the curve, the wall stops being bricked with stone and starts being bricked with skulls of the same color. The door to L6 is stuck; the doors to L7 and L10 are locked. The entry to L8 and L9 are closed off by green glowing phantasmal bars - they cannot be bent, but can be dispelled. A chaotic Cleric who Saves vs Spells may pass.
Between the two doors to L8 and L9 is a trap - a large tile in the floor may depress if stepped on, which releases a gout of flame. Any characters caught in the trap takes 2d6 damage - a Save vs Breath is allowed to half the effect.
A character listening at the doors to L6 will automatically hear the soul walls.
L6 - Wall of Mourning
The angled walls defining the northern border of this room, as well as the alcoves in the south, house howling souls - a writhing mass of living spirits, bound to the place, trapped and long since insane from their captivity. They cannot reach further than a yard or so from the wall - being bound to it - but their moaning is incessant and maddening.
In the center-most alcove on the northern wall is a single sword, driven into an ever-bleeding flesh pedestal. The sword is a +1 Sentient sword with the following profile:
- Intelligence 9, Ego 1
- Communication mode: Empathy
- Powers: Detect Magic, Locate Secret Doors, See Invisible Objects
- Alignment: Chaotic
Although the souls will not touch the blade, a character coming close enough to physically remove it will be close enough for the souls to grasp.
Any character coming within five feet of a soul-wall - including the funnel-like alcoves granting entry to the space - must Save vs Petrification or be grasped and grappled to the wall. The souls have a vampiric quality - draining 100-600 XP per round until the victim is wrenched from their grasp. A character reduced to 0 or fewer XP is absorbed into the wall, becoming one more soul trapped in the wall.
Turn Undead will cause a five foot section of wall per HD turned to shy away. Thus, a character grappled by the souls, if a turn is aimed at them, will be released immediately.
L7 - Far West Angle
The door to this space is locked. The egress to section C is loosely covered by brick, which will fall away if touched. The walls seem to slowly shift, as though faces are brushing across them: but if a character examines them directly, the faces vanish as though illusions and the wall is clean brick... only to return in the character's peripheral vision when the investigation ceases.
L8 - Near West Angle
Naturally mummified corpses have been laid on the floor at angles, parallel to the east and west walls - one each. The door to L11 is locked.
L9 - Near East Angle
Naturally mummified corpses, four of them, have been piled in the rear of the space. Five Thoul (B 43) appear to be trapped inside. They are half mad - having been turned to sand and returned over and over, but regenerating due to their undeath - and there is a chance they will negotiate, trying to leave the room.
The door to L11 is locked.
L10 - Far East Angle
In the southernmost section of this space, there are three naturally mummified corpses - all three damaged and gnawed upon. One appears to have been on a slab in the center of the south wall, the other two, stood up as metaphorical guardians. The guardian corpses are each wearing an electrum helmet - worth 200 gold pieces each. The slab corpse has a gold tooth - worth 10 gold pieces - and has 900 silver pieces in specie piled around them. Behind the slab, having been discarded or knocked to the ground, is a magical Shield +1.
The door to L5 is locked; the egress to section C is an open hole in the wall.
L11 - Angled Crypt
Bones line this chamber, piled on the floor. The bones show signs of breaking and gnawing. The doors to this space are locked; the egress to section C is an open hole in the wall.
Fulgurite Halls
The caves have a shifting floor with walls of vitrified sand.
C1 - Well Chamber
The floor here is wet. In the south-east quadrant, there is a sinkhole - which a party may trigger if navigating that section. A character stuck by the sinkhole must Save vs Paralysis or sink - becoming stuck; the remaining party may try to rescue them, or the stuck character may attempt to exit, but each round thereafter until removed from the sinkhole, affected characters must Save vs Paralysis again or go under, suffocating.
There are no exits to this space during the day, excepting the north loop to C3. All other exits during the day are blocked by a solid wall of fulgurite. Attempts to dig through the space result in frustration, as the rest of the map is filled with loose sand in lieu of the listed contents.
C2 - Wish Receiver
Three skeletons are laid over a chest and satchel. Inside the satchel is 200 gold pieces and three gems - one worth 100 gp and two worth 50 gp each. Inside the chest is a single pearl, 10 gold pieces value, and 6,000 silver pieces.
C3 - Lair Passage
C4 - Tiger Beetle Nest
Three stalagnates of fulgurite hold up the ceiling in this space. Four Tiger Beetles (B31) occupy the alcove to the south, hidden between the pillars. 65 gold pieces are scattered on the floor.
C5 - Shifting Space
During the day, this junction smells like fresh cut grass. At night, there is an odd glow, as though the moonlight is shining down through the sandy ceiling. A character which exits through the north-east exit at night must Save vs Spells or emerge from the closet, 2B3, in the Barn on the compound grounds. The transition is mono-directional.
C6 - Three Pillars
Two stalagmites flank a stalagnate holding the ceiling in this space. The smell of marsh emanates from the south and west passages - but there is no marsh to produce it. Some chitinous material resembling a Tiger Beetle can be found spread on the floor.
C7 - The Glow Worm's Hole
The floor in this space becomes softer and a slight glow radiates from the ceiling. Worm-like creatures have taken habitation there, occasionally leaving droppings that rain down. Characters spending a turn or greater in this space will be splattered: the glowing material will provide as much light as a candle (depending on how much is gathered/splattered) - its radiance lasting for 2 hours.
C8 - Dressing Cave
A structured dress, no one to wear it, is propped in the corner of this space. A locket - rusted through such that no picture can be seen - lies nearby.
C9 - Bone Hollow
Along the walls of this space, as it proceeds south to north, are ridges. These become more and more defined, resembling human skeletons: but if they are touched, they crumble - nothing more than sand.
C10 - Corpse Hollow
Two corpses - rotted and old - are sprawled on the ground. They are fellows to the Ghouls in C18: a character interacting with these corpses will potentially paralyze themselves: but are allowed to re-roll a failed Save vs Paralysis, representing the decay of the strange paralytic force exuded thereby.
The Under-Sand
C11 - Tiger Cranny
A Tiger Beetle (B31) is rooting through an empty wooden chest in this space. The iron bands have rusted and largely come loose.
C12 - Reading Chamber
The hallway to the south-west opens into a carpeted room. There is a velvet divan, a comfortable chair, and an end-table with candelabra, lit - it is surprisingly clean. In the space is a Poltergeist (FF 73), endlessly reading a long-faded manuscript.
The carpet can be rolled and removed. It is worth 1,000 gold pieces, but weighs 1,500 worth. The candelabra is worth 200 gold pieces. Under the carpet is loosely buried a solid oak chest - in which can be found 7,000 silver.
C13 - Failure of Egress
Five skeletons - two in the kit of a fighter, one with a holy symbol, one in robes, and one in leathers - lie on the floor, their cavities filled with sand. Sitting behind them, as though dragged, are two sacks with 5,000 silver pieces each, two tourmaline worth 50 gold pieces each, and satchel full of pearls worth 200 gold pieces, net.
C14 - Pillar Narrows
This space is accessible during the day. Several pillars, all stone, hold up this narrow space. The exits - however: south and east - are walled off by solid fulgurite. As with C1, attempts to break through are frustrated, as the space is filled with sand unless under the moonlight.
C15 - Guardhouse Basement
A ladder leading up to a trap door provides an egress to P1. 50 feet of rope, a hammer, and 24 iron spikes - partly rusted, but still perfectly usable - lie in one corner, alongside a lone tooth.
C16 - Artesian Pool
The floor of this space is wet and murky. The depth of said murk ranges from three to eight inches - but is otherwise safe to pass and does not impede movement. Consequences of rapid movement through water on equipment are at the discretion of the referee.
Eastern Narrows
C17 - Hanging Silver, Hidden Gold
Suspended from the ceiling in the southern reaches of this space in heavy iron chains are three locked chests - 2,000 silver pieces each. Buried against the wall, somewhat non-descriptly, on the northern bend is a crate - nailed shut - in which can be found a further 1,000 gold pieces.
C18 - Ghoul Burrow
Three Ghouls (B35) are digging at the wall on the north-west quarter of this space. They look confused, almost dazed. They are hostile and hungry.
Public domain artwork downloaded from the National Gallery of Art and OldBookIllustrations.com. Attributions in alt text.
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