Post/Author/DateTime	Post
lulzapalooza 09-25-07, 05:04 PM	I just watched the Descent, which was quite a bit better than I thought it would be. It inspired me to design a dungeon in a cave system, with a few new spins I think my players will freagin' hate! The following could be used as a challenge in of itself in a low-level encounter, or could be obstacles to overcome during a larger encounter featuring monsters or traps. I especially like the first one! There's nothing scarrier than being helpless. The Tight Squeeze: This narrow tunnel in the cave walls is just barely large enough to allow one medium sized creature to crawl his way through to the other side on his stomach, assuming that the tunnel stays the same size and doesn’t get any smaller, doesn’t collapse, or take turns too sharp for the character to coerce. The character is helpless while crawling through the tunnel, and moves at five feet per round if he succeeds on a DC 10 climb check. If he fails his climb check he doesn’t move this round. Characters wearing heavy armor can’t climb through a tight squeeze. Every round the character must make a will save (DC 8) or freeze with fear. He is unable to take any actions each round until he succeeds on a will save (DC 15) to ‘snap out of it.’ Failing the check by five or more will make the character shake, flail, and scream, unable to listen to reason. If someone within ten feet of the frozen character makes a diplomacy check (DC 15) the character frozen with fear receives a +3 morale bonus on his will save to ‘snap out’ of the fear effect. For every character passing through the tunnel there could be (DM’s discretion) a 5% – 35% chance that the cavern collapses. 1d4 five foot sections of the tunnel collapses, crushing anyone in the square, causing 1d10 bludgeoning damage, and trapping anyone underneath it. A strength check (DC 18) and one hour for every five foot square is needed to free a trapped character. A character thus trapped cannot free himself with a strength check, but an escape artist check (DC 22) can release him. A small characters move through a tight squeeze as their full base speed per round, and are not considered helpless, but still are subject to all checks and saves, and can only take half actions (either one standard or one move action). Phosphorescent Rocks: Some rocks that are exposed to light ‘soak up’ the light and seem to store if for a brief period of time. This causes shadowy illumination for ten feet, but it also has a more dangerous aspect. Down in the dark, where nothing seems more real than the even smallest trace of light, these phosphorescents can look a lot like sunlight. It takes a survival (DC 12) check to realize the source of light isn’t the way to the surface. Crags Underfoot: As natural stone floors (DMG pg. 60). Movement takes two squares and the DCs of Balance and Tumble increase by 5. Running and charging are impossible. The ground is unstable, and your weight could cause rocks and stones shift, depositing your ass squarely on the ground. Every round at the conclusion of the character’s action roll a d%, if the results are 25% or less the character trips and must make a balance check (DC 16) or be rendered prone. A character that falls takes 1d6 piercing or bludgeoning damage (DM’s discretion depending the type of stones present). A character that falls has a 50% chance of hitting his head and receiving 2d12 sub-duel damage. Characters with sub-duel damage equal his current hit-points are unconscious and helpless. The Earth’s Ichors: There is a substance that runs in the veins of earth beneath our feet, red like blood, known only as the Earth’s Ichors. It is a combination of mud and thin gravel, mineral deposits that make it red as the color of blood or more usually rust. Large hardy bubbles rise to the surface of pools and slow moving springs. The Ichors is as thin as water, but can not be drunk. It can be swam in as water. Water Breathing and other sources of the ability to breathe underwater don’t function. Nothing lives in the ichors and nothing gains sustenance from it. The ichors can be near freezing cold or near boiling temperature and it doesn’t change appearance, smell, or consistency. The ichors, which is unrefined oil, doesn’t explode if exposed to fire. The ichors smell terrible, and anyone leaving an area where ichor is present can be freely tracked for 1d6 hours by any creature with the scent ability.
Seeker95 09-26-07, 08:34 AM	Just wanted to say this looks good. Consider some of these snagged for my game!