House of the Hex Hammer

Scale: 10 ft.
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1 - Entry

A natural cave mouth gives way to hewn stone; a calculated sea of stalagmites disguising the entryway from the outside, but failing to provide protection from one spelunking betwixt them. A stale smell - the smell of natural re-use of an artificial context, an ignorance to purpose - greets whomever enters.

2 - Pirates Pentangle

In the culvert to the south of this room, a skeleton sits atop a pile of silver - 1,100 pieces total. Atop his lap, he has a trapped lockbox (poison needle, Save vs Death), containing a further 500 gold pieces.

Five Giant Shrew (B42) mill about the space.

3 - Riven Room

Six rivulets are cut into the floor, running south-west to north-east. They are difficult to move across quickly - but a character moving carefully will have no issue. Nearer to the door, the rivulets are stained black.

4 - North Hall

An armored skeleton - its equipment of foreign, advanced make - is propped against the north wall at this point. Its armor is as Chain, but weighs as Leather; its sword is mundane gains +1 to hit, but not to damage. Additionally, he carries a key - this will open the doors to either room 9 or room 11, determined randomly.

5 - Tophet

Six pillars of flame blow downward from and into matching cylinders 10 feet into the room from each of the points of the hexagonal wall. In the center of the room, a south-pointing triangle bears burn marks in the center; a studious eye will note a human shaped disturbance in the center; where the scorches are less intense. Hidden under some ash in this portion of the room is a gold-plated amulet worth 300 gold pieces.

The flame pillars will not ignite anything placed within them, but will instead cause what is placed in them to melt like wax, regardless of its consistency or make.

Inlaid in each of the sconces is a thick carnelian worth 10 gp. If removed, the flame will turn to a strange white-blue color. In this new state, the flames will no longer melt what is placed under them - but instead will lay a curse on whatever is placed in them on a 2-in-6.

6 - Guarded Horde

Three small chests, each locked, line the walls. In them can be found 500 silver, 500 silver, and 200 gold plus 100 silver. Just beyond the door is a depression in the floor in which resides a Grey Ooze (B36). The ooze is difficult to see, as it appears part of the stone floor: mechanics of which are at the discretion of the referee as to how to spot it, lest a character misstep.

7 - Statue

In the alcove to the north-west is a statue - a gargoyle (inanimate) - sitting amid a set of long-leaf ferns: fiery red and orange in their coloration. The statue overflows, a viscous, algae-choked water leaks from it, protruding halfway through the room on the northern side. The room is quite humid.

8 - Sauna

A spindly fixture hangs from the ceiling in the center of the room, dangling into a pool of water. The spindle is hot to the touch and constantly causes the water to steam - though it never seems to draw empty.

The room is uncomfortable to be in while in armor - but any character who spends at least 3 turns in it is subjected to the effect of a Cure Disease spell, same as might be cast by a Cleric of appropriate level.

9 - Slime Room

Behind the locked doors lies a pile of gold - stretching across the arc of the north-west wall. The gold is false, however - a thin and fragile veneer over a fragile container. A character handling this false gold has a chance to break it - exposing them to the Green Slime (B36) which is contained within. Due to its limited quantity, however, the timetable under which a victim might themselves turn to slime is doubled.

10 - Victims Past

Against the south wall of this dead-end hangs a skeletal corpse, held together primarily by its clothing and chained to the corners - up, down, east, west - of the wall. It has nothing of value and show signs of burns.

11 - Reliquary

Atop a pedestal is a perfect emerald the size of a fist - it is worth 500 gold pieces. Piled at the feet of the pedestal are 300 silver and 200 gold pieces.

12 - Sanctuary Hall

In the center of this wide hall is a steel candelabra - characterized by hanging razors which tinkle in the breeze if a door is opened, equalizing the pressure and humidity between this room and another. Any character which attempts to open the door to room 13 without deactivating a mechanism - which is accomplished by placing at least 50 pounds of weight on a touch-plate directly under the candelabra - will trigger a trap.

If triggered, the candelabra starts spinning violently, discharging razors in all directions. 2d3 characters within the room, but not under the candelabra, are randomly targeted - THAC0 18 - for 1d6+1 damage on hit.

13 - Hammer Home

On the east and west corners of the hexagonal space, each, are two large statues, sitting, with gems for eyes. The east statue's eyes are transparent opal; the west, iolite. From their eyes extend yellow and purple beams, respectively, which illuminate most of the floor: overlapping into a sick brown diamond in the center of the room. Two or three pillars - human-shaped - stand with looks of horror about them in the illuminated space.

• A lawful character which enters into the yellow light, or a chaotic character which enters into the purple, must Save vs Paralysis or be turned to salt.
   
• A neutral character which enters into either light must Save vs Spells or be turned ethereal - unable to enter daylight on fear of disintegrating, but otherwise retaining their faculties.
   
• A character of any alignment entering into the brown space must Save vs Death or suffer accelerated decay - as a corpse - being devoted and turned to mud, then ash, over the course of 1d6 rounds.

Hovering in the brown light is a warhammer: its face an equilateral hexagon. The warhammer is magical - +1, +3 vs Spell Users of any variety - and may, 3 times daily, be called to cast the spell Move Earth (X18). If pried free, each of the eyes - regardless of color - is worth 250 gp.

Hall Traps

T1) At this point in the hall is a pit trap, 30 feet deep, 10 by 10 feet across. Any character stepping over it has a chance to trigger it - and any character falling in suffers 3d6 damage.

T2) Along the bend in this hall, circular structures - wreath like - of black twigs form a series of hoops - almost a tunnel - leading southward. It is a tight fit - only one may pass at a time. Any character passing through the tunnel has a chance to brush against the twigs - and any character which does so accidentally or intentionally must Save vs Poison (re-rolling the first failure if wearing plate). Immediately - either way - the touch site suffers a burning, tingling sensation: on failure, the character will fall unconscious after 1d4 rounds. An unconscious character will stop breathing for 1d4 turns: resulting in suffocation - but can be kept alive by CPR or other equivalent therapy or appropriate healing magic.

Public domain and open license images retrieved from Pixabay, OldBookIllustrations.com, and the National Gallery of Art and adapted for thematic use. Attributions in alt text.