Introductory Dungeon Crawl

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

toptomcat

Nov 22, 2004 23:40:02		Two weeks from now I'll be DMing three players: one mildly experienced, two new. I've put together a short dungeon crawl for them to learn the rules with: because it got such a good reception when I posted it in WADMTD, I'm reposting it here.

Because the group consists of two fighters and a rogue, I've thrown in an NPC cleric, specially designed to help the PCs without overshadowing them, as well as make roleplaying a necessity rather than just rollplaying. He is a talented eight-year old boy named Walter, a prodigy of an eight-year-old cleric of Pelor in training. He's rather useless in direct combat because he was 'ported into the dungeon with no armor or weapons...and because he's eight years old. The party will have to befriend Walter to make much headway, however, he is an excellent healer and support-spell caster, and his holy symbol (a crayon drawing of Pelor's symbol on cardboard) really works for turning, something they'll need. Obviously, the number and potency of creatures in the dungeon will have to be adjusted for larger groups, and Walter may need to be changed to a wizard, a sorc or whatever other niche left unfilled by the PCs, or perhaps even cut entirely. He helps serve as something of a DM's troubleshooter, though, so this isn't recommended.

Sections in bold are read to the players.

Room 1: central first room, 30' on a side: 10' long, 10' wide corridors lead out in each of the cardinal directions.
You feel a sickening lurch, and a sickly orange light seems to blind you for a moment. When your sight returns, you find yourselves in a featureless room of masonry, well-lit though with no apparent light source. A small child in white robes, apparently teleported here along with you, looks over your shoulder and his eyes widen in shock. With a yelp, he flees to hide in a corner of the room as you turn to face a pair of skeletons that walk like men…
The party here meets a pair of Human Warrior Skeletons: as three level-1 characters against two CR 1/3s, it shouldn't be too challenging.

When they look for Walter:
The child still hides his face in the corner, quivering with fright.
“Are the skellingtons gone?” he asks in a small voice."
The party will have to reassure the frightened child to get him to move. When they do, he will demonstrate his usefulness by healing any wounds the PCs took in the fight. Following that, Walter will introduce himself, saying that he's 'real good with magic' and that he wants to help them. If the party takes him along, Walter will become a useful NPC, serving as medic and support mage. Though he'll freak out during most combats, (80% chance) he'll still be very useful.
If they don't, Walter will still tag along, healing the PCs and hopefully acting cute enough to convince them to let him follow along. If the party does something crazy like kill him, that's fine: they'll just be without his help for the rest of the dungeon crawl. I may consider an XP bonus if the players can keep Walter alive until the finish.

When the players investigate the room:
On the floor are four depressions about the size of a baseball: one is warm, one is dirty, one seems to have a draft, and one is wet.
A chest in the corner holds 40 platinum pieces--a small fortune.
A very well-made greatsword hangs on hooks on the wall.
Just as an aside, all treasure in this dungeon was randomly rolled, and the players got pretty lucky.

The room to the north is another 30'x30' room: it holds two zombies, and has a wooden door leading further north. The fight shouldn't be very difficult, particularly if Walter doesn't wig out.
When the players investigate the room:
You find 100 gp in a small pile in the corner, with three flasks of holy water sitting on top of the pile. “Can I have those?” Walter asks.
Walter will become a little braver once he has these, with only a 60% chance of freaking out at combat.

When the players enter the further-north room:
A strange, blue, transparent face, with only the suggestion of eyes and a mouth, sticks out of an iron wall on the room’s far side. It speaks a riddle as you walk in. Presumably to proceed, you must answer it.
"I am always hungry,
I must always be fed,
The finger I lick
Will soon turn red."
The answer to this one is 'fire.' If the PCs have extensive difficulty with any of the riddles, I may use Walter to nudge them to a solution, but I won't tell them outright. If they really can't figure it out, they can hack through the iron wall with difficulty (it is only 1 inch thick) but they leave the face complaining bitterly about how its only reason for existence has been rudely bypassed :D
When and if the PCs figure it out, a door appears in the wall, leading further North.

Furthest North room:
A circular chamber 80' in diameter. In the center of the room is a small pool.
A small water elemental hides in it, and attacks when one of the players nears the pool. It will be a powerful opponent, but with two frontline-types it is very doable.
DC 15 Spot check:
The water is gently rippling, though there is no wind to cause it. Strange. This denies the elemental a surprise round.
DC 20 Spot check:
The vague suggestion of a figure seems to roil in tiny bubbles and whirls inside the pool. A creature of some sort? This allows them a surprise round on the elemental.
When the elemental is killed:
The round pool evaporates in a cloud of vapor, leaving the room uncomfortably humid. You spot a number of coins scattered across the pool’s bottom, as well as a slippery-wet leather ball.
(60 gp)

That's it for the North rooms. The four compass-point areas can be tackled in any order, not just the order presented.

The first room to the south, a 30x30 room with a door leading further South, holds a dretch, a difficult foe but if the PCs run into real trouble I can have Walter buff them a little. One or even two PCs might be sent to negative HP, but probably nobody will end up dying. If somebody does actually end up biting the dust, Walter will be inconsolable, particularly because if anybody in the family ever had any nasty accidents Grandpa always brought them back. A hidden panel in the wall holds gold bars worth 300 gp, just because I got bored of chests with coins in them. It's a DC 15 Spot check to find, or a DC 12 Search check if they're specifically looking for stuff.

The room further south:
A strange, blue, transparent face, with only the suggestion of eyes and a mouth, sticks out of an iron wall on the room’s far side. It speaks a riddle as you walk in. Presumably to proceed, you must answer it.
"I know a word of letters three.
Add two, and fewer there will be."
Same deal as with the first face. The answer is "Few."

The furthest-south room is another 30x30 chamber.
This room it lit with many torches. A roaring pyre of firewood stands in the center.
There's a fire elemental in the flaming firewood.
DC 15 Spot check:
The fire seems to dance with more than normal liveliness. And who keeps the fire burning in this deserted, lonely place? This denies the elemental a surprise round.
DC 20 Spot check:
You see tiny jets of fire in places where there is no fuel- jets vaguely suggesting hands and feet, with the central fire as torso. Could it be a creature made of flame? This gives the players a surprise round.
Again, quite doable with three combatants, possibly four.

The fire in the center goes out with a great puff of smoke as your weapon disperses the flaming creature.
DC 12 Spot: Inside the charcoal remnants of the fire is a small iron chest.
It holds 90 gp, but if the players don't wait until it cools, they'll burn themselves.
Also on the floor of this room is a small iron ball that always remains uncomfortably hot.
That does it for the North rooms.

East room: 30x30, door leading further East. You = picture get.
This one contains a lemure: not as hard as the dretch fight, but shares many of its characteristics.
When the lemure is defeated, it gives an awful cry and is returned to its hellish home in a blast of chaotic magic, a fantastic light show that entertains Walter to no end. 700 silver pieces rain down on the room, each coming through with a sudden BANG.
Again with the being bored with chests.

Further East room:
A strange, blue, transparent face, with only the suggestion of eyes and a mouth, sticks out of an iron wall on the room’s far side. It speaks a riddle as you walk in. Presumably to proceed, you must answer it.
"Me and my horse are going to the city.
On the way, I met five caravans:
each caravan had nine wagons, and each wagon had six horses.
How many horses were going to the city?"
Answer: "One." Mine. Again with the Walter-hinting, the wall-breaking and the depressed face.

Furthest East room:
A room 30' on a side, but with a 100' high ceiling. An air elemental is chillin' in the corner and, of course, attacks the PCs when they get near.
This room has a ceiling that is vastly higher than the rest of this place's rooms, and it seems breezy and open despite being closed in fact.
DC 15 Spot check: The wind's stirred up dust in funny shapes in one corner. Surprise round? DENIED!
DC 20 Spot check: There seems to be a maelstrom of dust roughly suggesting a figure in the corner... You got...SURPRISE ROUND! *Zelda music*
When the players defeat the air elemental:
A sudden whirlwind blows through the room when the elemental is defeated, making you all shield your eyes from its fury: you hear a sudden crash as a chest sails down and shatters on the floor, sending fragments flying all over the room. 200 sp is found in the debris, as well as a large pearl (160 gp value) and an elaborately carved wooden cudgel (masterwork club)
On the floor in addition to the treasury stuff is a metal ball filled with holes, like a whiffleball. Air is constantly breezing out of the holes.

The room to the West is slightly different. The door is trapped with a hail-of-needles trap.
DC 8 Spot check: The corridor leading to the West room is not quite as featureless as the rest- small holes line the walls.
DC 15 Search check: One seems to be jammed with a sharp needle…could this be a trap?
A hail of needles trap goes off when they open the door. (Area attack: corridor, Ref DC 13 for half, 1d10 damage.)
Inside the room is a large chest with 280 gp, and a scroll written in a strange language. Walter’s eyes bug out to the size of saucers when he sees it, and he gleefully tucks it into his robe. Just as well, really, none of you could understand it.
Walter just found a divine Scroll of Stone Shape, the lucky little guy. I rolled it up randomly, just like everything else, but he feels a little more confidant with this serious mojo backing him: he only freaks out 60% of fights, 40% if he's also got the holy water. He won't use it unless the party's gotten itself into quite a jam, but he'll be pretty creative with it when he does.

Further West room is another riddle-face, this one a little different.
An iron wall impedes your progress further. As you examine it, a transparent blue face suddenly winks into being, flickers tenuously for a moment, then explodes with a loud BANG and a flash of light. Despite its disappearance, you hear a riddle issuing from the scorched dent where it was a moment ago. Presumably to proceed, you must answer it.
"Who makes it, has no need of it.
Who buys it, has no use for it.
Who uses it can neither see nor feel it."
The answer to this one is "coffin." This, along with the mini wild-surge the lemure's death triggers, suggests to the adventurers that they may not be dealing with the most reliable of magics here. More of this will occur later.

Furthest West room (40x60)
This room is considerably different from the featureless masonry the other rooms are composed of. A small, rocky cave greets your eyes, with a small pile of rocks in the near corner.
Three guesses what that is and what it'll do when the PCs approach, and the first two don't count.
DC 15 Spot check, success:
The pile of rocks in the middle roughly suggests a figure. Surprise = TEH NO!
DC 20 Spot check, success:
The pile of rocks in the middle isn’t entirely still- it sways gently…and its shape suggests a figure. It looks like this strange, rocky creature thinks it’s fooling you into thinking it’s a rock. SET pcSurp = 1
When they defeat the Earth elemental:
Half-buried in the dirt floor is a composite shortbow with a strong pull. On the floor is a small ball of compacted earth. The bow is masterwork, +2 Str.

The final encounter is triggered by placing each of the elemental ball dealies the players got when they defeated each elemental into the corresponding slots in the first room. I'll give hints in the form of the balls 'sealing' in place when put in the right place, maybe a magnetic-type attraction to their slots, and if all fails, Walter can figure it out. The following will be read to the players:
As the last ball settles comfortably into place, the entire room begins to glow with a soft blue light. A vaguely humanoid, see-through, illusionary figure forms out of thin air and speaks.
"Greetings, adventurers! You have passed the trials assigned to you by the Council, and as a rew-" It cuts off in mid-sentence, completely frozen in midair.
(When one of the players tries to interact with it...)
The figure speaks in a distorted voice, moving spastically.
"E-e-EeError. Core meMORY mod.......ule.....damaged!nowaccessingforrepairs...
A fantastically intricate structure of shining metal and glowing, many-hued energies suddenly lowers itself from a panel hidden in the ceiling- and the problem becomes immediately apparent, for it crawls with scorpions of unnatural size. The figure speaks again, abruptly interchanging its head with its right foot. "Damage i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-irepparable. Attem-" The structure shines with a light brighter than the sun, then detonates, showering the room with angry, gigantic scorpions. Walter completely freaks out, tearing out of the room screaming at the top of his lungs.
*evil grin* Roll initiative. This is a fight consisting of two medium and four small Monsterous Scorpions. I can have them kill each other if it looks like a TPK is imminent, or have Walter come back and use Stone Shape creatively to kill or disable a scorpion or two.
When this is over...
As the last scorpion falls, you hear a small but worrisome 'thump' in the stone above you. It's followed almost immediately by a pair of much larger sounds, this time recognizable as explosions. Walter sprints back into the room, wild-eyed, just as a third detonation sounds, knocking you all off of your feet and bruising you *point to someone* quite badly.
The room is filled with intolerable light, followed by blackness... At this point, I ask the players what kind of a game they want If they want to continue with a kick-in-the-door type dungeon-crawling game, I'll read the following.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake UUUUUP!” You wake up with every bone aching to a scene of considerable disarray. Walter’s been shaking you awake, and frantically hugs you babbling incoherently as soon as your eyes flutter open, relieved to see that you’re still alive. The room is in ruins, most of the ceiling has collapsed and chunks of masonry are everywhere. Your companions, though bruised and battered, seem intact. They’ve gotta calm Walter down before the next bit. He's almost hysterical, but it won't be too hard.
The rubble, it seems, is not entirely devoid of value: scattered with the wooden splinters of what you suppose was a wooden chest is a black pearl (400 gp), a small brown-green garnet (80 gp), a beautiful moonstone (70 gp) and, bizarrely, a mummified, shrunken hand on a chain. (Hand of the Mage) Though every doorway seems sealed with rubble too heavy for you to hope to lift, a scorched, molten hole in the floor leads further into the dungeon...
At this point I adjourn the session and come up with more, the gist of it being that this is some sort of ancient magical complex which traps adventurers every thousand years to have them perform some sort of task which has long been unnecessary, such as gladiatorial combat to entertain rulers long since dust. Food and refreshments, as well as magical equipment for the right price, they can acquire from occasional pockets of a group of wizards imprisoned here long ago, who have survived by slowing time to a crawl in certain parts of the dungeon and are waiting for the whole thing to collapse so they can free themselves.

If, however, they want a more roleplay-heavy, standard campaign, You awake to the sound of birds and the warmth of the sun. The ceiling, it seems, has been cracked wide open to reveal that the outdoors was only a few feet away during the whole of your nightmarish ordeal. You stretch your bruised and battered bodies, careful not to trip on the rubble- and rejoice in freedom.
The rubble, it seems, is not entirely devoid of value: a glint in the corner catches your eye, and scattered with the wooden splinters of what you suppose was a wooden chest is a black pearl (400 gp), a small brown-green garnet (80 gp), a beautiful moonstone (70 gp) and, bizarrely, a mummified, shrunken hand on a chain. (Hand of the Mage) As you pull yourselves and your companions out of the scorched hole in the ground that is all that's left of the strange place, you hear hooves and look up to see three men on horseback approaching at a full gallop, obviously alarmed by the titanic explosion that freed you. What do you do? At this point I come up with something to base a real campaign on. Possibly they have been imprisoned in the dungeon for thousands of years of real time and the mortal races have lost something vital in the meantime, such as their connection with the gods.