1
Entry room - Stairs descend to a landing then split in two. The floor
of the room is made up of brightly coloured tiles. In this room, the
few Medarians who made it in through the upper entrance were bought
to a halt by a wizard of the order, with a spectacular kinetic spell.
The walls, floor and ceiling are scarred by the weapons and armour of
the attackers, fragments of which were driven deep into the stone in
some cases. The railings of the stairs are just stumps from the
effects of the same spell. Unfortunately, the area of effect included
its caster. Little is left of his, or any other body besides dust and
some finely splintered bone.
2
Sentry room - A small stone box, quite empty.
3
Sentry room - This small stone room is covered in a fine yellowish
mould that covers the walls and floor. It sprouted from the body of a
dead warrior, reducing him to dust. His armour and weapons (corroded
into a single mass) make a small hump in the centre of the room. The
mould is dead, and harmless.
4
Sentry room - A small stone box, quite empty.
5
Sentry room - In this mall room, the wizard who died in room 1 on
this level left 2 servitors, - zombies. They were mummified, rather
than being left to rot and so are intact, although their garments are
but tattered threads. They move with quick, spider-like darting
movements
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6
Mirror room - This chamber was designed to confuse those who were not
authorised to enter the levels below the first. It is filled with
shimmering, reflecting illusions (Images, PER at 2) which obscure
normal vision. These move subtly, so that movement through the room
will take a winding course that is likely to lead randomly to any of
the doors (d8). It is of course possible to pass through the
illusions.
7
Spear Trap - Opening this door causes 5 spears to be hurled directly
out by a ballista (1 1/2 d6 Burst fire HKA @ OCV 0). Anyone not
taking precautions will be at DCV 0, taking some precautions at 1/2
DCV and active precautions (leaping aside and the like) at full DCV.
On a roll of 8- the aged mechanism will simply fall apart with a
horrendous noise when triggered.
8
Spear Trap - Opening this door causes 5 spears to be hurled directly
out by a ballista (1 1/2 d6 Burst fire HKA @ OCV 0). Anyone not
taking precautions will be at DCV 0, taking some precautions at 1/2
DCV and active precautions (leaping aside and the like) at full DCV.
On a roll of 8- the aged mechanism will simply fall apart with a
horrendous noise when triggered.
9
Spear Trap - Opening this door causes 5 spears to be hurled directly
out by a ballista (1 1/2 d6 Burst fire HKA @ OCV 0). Anyone not
taking precautions will be at DCV 0, taking some precautions at 1/2
DCV and active precautions (leaping aside and the like) at full DCV.
On a roll of 8- the aged mechanism will simply fall apart with a
horrendous noise when triggered.
10
Sentry room - A small stone box, containing nothing of interest.
11
Sloping Passage - A long stone corridor with rough walls and floor as
if unfinished. It slopes down at a gentle angle, then up again, to
pass under the passage above. Its roughness makes this difficult to
detect (PER roll, but only if the player's state that they are
checking the dimensions of the passage. The passage was another
subterfuge to mislead those seeking to enter the temple. The room to
the north is of bare unadorned stone.
12
Temple antechamber - Large (3 M tall) statues of armoured figures
line the walls of this room, their shields blazoned with the
lightning bolt symbol of Ventanach Cruach.
13
Priests Rooms - These rooms were relatively simple chambers, with a
bed, a table and a chest. In most cases, these have collapsed in
ruin, and the contents are an unidentifiable mess of shredded cloth,
dust and "stuff". Careful searching will turn up various rods of
precious metals amidst the trash - 112 copper (badly corroded), 106
silver, (also corroded), 66 gold and 2 of an oily-feeling black
metal. The latter are adamant, a very heavy metal imported from
another plane. Each rod is about 1/2 cm long and 5 cm long and is
worth about 1/2 the equivalent number of coins, except for the
adamant, which is worth about 15 gp to a sorcerer. There are a
variety of gold items still useful, 3 rings, a bracelet and a
necklace, worth 5, 11 and 12 gp respectively. Any other stuff has
corroded away. The walls still bear traces of frescoes, seemingly
showing scenes from under the sea. There is unidentifiable stuff on
the floor - once carpets.
NOTE however that the final chamber is hidden from view by an Image
spell, which cloaks the last part of the passage behind an image of a
stone wall. This was done by the dead mage in room 17 on this level,
to hide the soul shield. To further protect it, there is a sigil
hastily chalked onto the floor. If this is crossed, it activates the
spell, causing black tentacles to explode out of the walls and floor.
This manifestation is merely an automaton, with Stat.s as below
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The spell-summoned tentacles will attack anyone in the hex or adjacent hex, ceaselessly until destroyed. It will, if possible attempt to grab a victim, then rend or batter it to pieces with the other tentacles. For each attack that penetrates its defences, the automaton will lose one tentacle, with a decreased number of attacks |
In the last priest's cell is the soul shield, a large ornate sceptre, almost as tall as a man. It is heavily ornamented with runes, twisting dragons winding up its haft and inset crystals. When in the presence of a Power Attack, these will glow with an eerie light. The object is enchanted to radiate 20 points Power defense (radius 2 hexes) at 0 END - but is a focus, so must be wielded by someone. It is too heavy and cumbersome to be carried one handed, so the bearer cannot engage in melee, or cast spells if they have a somatic component.
14
Sacrificial Trap - This room was an elaborate trap for sacrificing
foes in an appropriately warlike fashion - or alternatively to be
used as part of the defenses of the temple. The room has two elevated
walkways, reached by stairs on either side of the doors. The 3rd
door, to the south, enters beneath one of these walkways. The entire
centre of the floor is a giant teeter totter, which is braced so it
will not tilt if stood on at the eastern end, but once more weight is
past the centre, it will tilt and slide those on it down into a
gaping arch shaped like a devouring mouth, above which is wrought in
iron (for those who can read it) "Thus perish the enemies of the
order!". Once this arch entered a furnace, stoked up for the
occasion, but it is long cold now. People entering will be subject to
a 1d6 HKA (area affect, already on) from the teeth, but will only
land in a heap of coal dust. There are small vents, but not large
enough to admit a human, which go up to the platform above, for
feeding the fire and others for chimneys, which are anyway melted off
at the end. Of course, the lid of the trap will slam shut, if there
is nothing to prevent it, and will be difficult to pull down from
underneath.........
15
Temple of the Second level - This temple was dedicated to those
members of the order who fell in battle. Its lofty ceiling is covered
in a mosaic of Ventanach Cruach looking down on his chosen,
surrounded by fallen heroes, while the walls covered in scenes of
furious battles, featuring figures in strange clothes and armour -
prominently including men similar to those depicted in the upper
levels. The lightning bolt symbol is prominently displayed on may
figures, mostly robed in blue. A large altar dominates the west end
of the room. The treasures that adorned the altar were carried below
by fleeing novices, but a silver cup, decorated with amethyst (11 GP)
was dropped and has rolled behind the altar.
16
Funerary room - This room is dominated by a large ornate bier, on
which the honoured dead would be carried below. It is of wood, and
will fall apart at a touch (DEX roll to avoid falling top, which does
4d6 normal damage), but while intact, is enamelled blue and gilded,
with rich hangings and a large and imposing coffin, shaped like an
armoured warrior. Inside the coffin is the last hero laid to rest
before the sudden attack on the crag. His armour is corroded by his
own decay, but his battleaxe, held on his chest is still sharp. While
not magical, it is of fine make (+1 OCV due to lightness and balance)
and is decorated with gold wire and gold inlay in the head - value 30
GP)
17
Display room - In this room the embalmed bodies of fallen heroes
would be arrayed before the start of funerary processions to the
catacombs below. It is decorated in the same grisly fashion as the
Mortuary room. It is also the last resting place of a sorcerer
wounded in the fighting above. After setting some of the magical
traps on this level, he drew a pentagram around himself and took
poison. The reason for this is still present, for trapped in the
pentagram with him is his familiar, a small winged, extremely ugly
homonculus. The mage made a pact with a creature from another plane
for the service of the creature, and he believed the creature would
fly away with his soul at the moment of death, hence the pentagram,
and his suicide while it was safely trapped. The homonculus cannot
break out, so it will encourage others to break in, by tempting them
with the treasures to be found on the mage's body, or with promises
of information. Its stat.s are :
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The homonculus is a small bandy-legged creature, with disproportionately long limbs and batlike wings. These are tipped at the joint with small sharp claws. The creature has a greasy clay-like skin, and enormous opalescent eyes. It will consent to become the familiar of any character who makes it an offer. However, it has one requirement - it requires human blood for feeding, and will drain 1/2 d6 per day. In return it will scout for its master, give advice (usually bad) and supply him or her with Mana for spell casting or healing (BOD), if it can find a victim to drain blood off safely. The creature has other bad habits too. It is a practical joker of a malevolent kind, although it will not offend its master. It has a decidedly nasty disposition and will often urge unpleasant actions on its master in its high whispery voice. If it gets the chance, it will attack and dispose of pets, and any other small animals that it can deal to without exposing itself to danger. It does however, know quite a bit about magic use and magic users, so could be a useful companion, if you could tolerate its company. It also knows of one other interesting item - the soul shield hidden as a last act by its master in the last room in 13 |
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The mage was carrying some items of worth. Under his dried corpse is an ivory wand. At the moment it is useless, but it serves as an END battery, capable of holding up to 50 END. It can be recharged by replacing the currently empty claw socket at the end with a small gemstone, which serves to contain the sorcerous energies, but is destroyed when they are called forth. A common gem of a size to fit the socket would cost about 40 GP (+/- d6). He also has a spell book, but the parchment is ruined by age. However, tucked in his robes is a magical dagger. It does no extra damage, but can be thrown and will return to the thrower's hand (ie, it can function as an HKA at range). The range is 100 M. If thrown at a target further than this it simply flies out and loops back to its owner's hand.
18
Mortuary room - In this room, departed heroes were prepared for
embalming in the crypts below. The walls are decorated with white
marble slabs, depicting the forms of dead warriors and a depiction of
the hosts of the dead. The god of death, Crom Cruach, is depicted as
a great throned maggot, being carried by a horde of dancing
skeletons, clothed as lords and ladies, poor peasants and everything
in between. The hands of some of the figures on the west wall hold
pots and tools used in the embalming (PER to notice). These are made
of silver or platinum, and are worth about 145 gp all up (weight
about 4 kg). In the middle of the room is a marble table designed to
hold the body undergoing the rites. It is designed as a pair of
cupped hands, tipped with large claws. The room is still defended by
it original guardian, another armed zombie.
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19
Sleeping Priest - In this room there is an apparently sleeping man,
lying on his bed with his hands folded on his breast. He is wearing
the same sort of armour as the figures depicted in scenes upstairs
and his clothes are smoke stained and torn, though rich. A successful
PER roll will reveal that his clothes, the bed, and 1 hex semicircles
of the wall fresco and carpet are brighter and in much better repair
than the rest of the area. The man, of course, is one of the
remaining priests of Ventanach Cruach, and has been held in stasis by
a time loop spell - careful examination will reveal a shimmering,
slightly distorting field about him. The spell is a transformation
attack (Minor effect, 10 d6, 1 hex area effect, continuous
uncontrollable @ 0 END) that changes everything in the area into
whatever it was 1 segment ago). The priest lay down to sleep, before
the spell took effect 2000 years ago, and is still that way. He holds
a sceptre on his breast that is the focus for the spell. The spell is
negated by breaking or damaging it (it has the Fragile focus
disadvantage), or draining its END (it has an END reserve of 10).
However, anyone who moves into the area of effect may be affected and
once in it, has only limited time to act. Once awakened, the priest
will be wary but not immediately hostile - he was expecting that he
might be asleep a while (maybe even 10 or 20 years....). However, any
threatening moves on the players part will trigger his strongest
attack, since he assumes that they are with the Medarians. If the
players can communicate with him and convince him of the time that
has passed, he will become (after a short while) suicidally rash,
seeking a fitting end for a priest of Ventanach Cruach. His stat.s
are
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Equipment
Magical Equipment
Spells
20
Hall of Heroes - This long arched hall is supported by a row of
pillars carved in the likenesses of warriors in archaic armour, some
holding strange, unidentifiable objects - perhaps weapons? The faces
are all different and lifelike enough that they are obviously
representations of actual people. The 3rd statue from the west, is
holding a carven medallion of some sort, engraved with a snaky
pattern - it is in fact the correct route to traverse the maze on the
level below. He was the designer of the maze, and initiates of the
3rd level could use it to refresh their memory before going
downstairs.
21
Stairs down to Level 3 - Fairly self-explanatory, really.
