1
Entry to the burial level - Stairs descend into a gloomy antechamber.
The dark walls are covered with a much-decayed mural depicting the
judgement of the fallen by the great throned worm, Crom Cruach. A
warrior is depicted in battle in scenes near the stairs, and is
accompanied by a towering figure of Ventanach Cruach before the worm.
The two doorways out of here are flanked by seated figures in armour
- now much rusted.
2
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.
3
The shadow monster. In this room a sorcerer (aiding his battle
brothers in 4) conjured up a shadow monster - unfortunately, he was
too weak to control it and it roams this area seeking fresh
sustenance. His shrivelled remains lie in one corner. His only item
of worth remaining is his spell book. Various necromantic and
summoning rituals are described (if needed, the GM should select 5
necromantic spells from the Grimoire,
including at least one spell "Summon Shade" to summon the creature
below). However, the book is protected by a rune of decay - (1d6 body
drain, 1 hex area effect, 5 years delay on return, [essentially
destroyed], triggered by opening the clasp of the book without
speaking the owner's name, 1 use, won't affect living material) -
however, slitting open the spine of the book would not trigger it.
The pages are brittle with age (the book has only 1 BOD, so if it is
affected by the rune it will also decay into nothingness).
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This creature appears as a human-like, blurry shadow. It hungers ceaselessly to fill its unbeing with human life, so will attack and attempt to drain its target down to 0 STR - if its victim is incapacitated, it will seize him and feed on his life force (the HKA). The creature is susceptible to mental attacks and magic. Its first attack - suddenly seeming to materialise out of the shadows - can be terrifying, so don't forget its presence attack |
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4 Burial crypt - In this room, one of the priests prepared a hasty line of defence by animating the bodies of those who had fallen above and not yet been buried. There are 6 zombies with stat.s as below - they will attack any who enter.
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The priest himself is still here - he is in the room beyond, lying face down on the floor before an altar. He took poison after the animation ritual, and was thus included himself - his stat.s are identical to the Zombies above, but he has his armour (plate and chain, 7 PD/ED) and a heavy spiked mace (1 1/2d6 HKA with STR) and a shield (so he is DCV 6). On the altar in front of him are a small gold censer and large silver candlesticks, worth 5 and 4 GP each, respectively. He also has a scroll which casts a spell "protection from magical beings", which casts (one use only) a 10 PD force wall around the user, only affects magical beings, and which costs 2 END to maintain per phase once cast.
5
Dead warrior - In this room lies the mummified body of a warrior. He
is lying on his stomach with his hands splayed against the wall. The
stone he is touching is loose and can be easily removed - behind it
is a potion of invulnerability (+20 PD/ED, resistant, 1 use, lasts 2
turns). The arrows in his back attest to his need for such an
item.
6
Poison dart trap - When the door is opened, a fine spray of darts
will shoot from both walls. Once upon a time these were poisoned, but
that has long since decayed - now the darts do a pitiful 1 point RKA
(autofire and area effect in the 2 hexes before the door).
7
Spear Trap - A trip stone in the floor half way down these passages
causes a spear to be hurled directly out by a ballista (1 1/2 d6 HKA
@ OCV 0) through the false door. 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
The Wind Demon - In this roughly hewn chamber, lurks the final
summoning of one of the sorcerer priests, an elemental from the plane
of air. It will attack anyone who enters, throwing small loose
objects such as stones etc. The elemental has shattered the walls
over the centuries of its captivity, so it has plenty of ammunition,
but it is held here by the ritual used at its summoning. The
sacrifice used in the summoning was an unfortunate novice. His body
lies in the centre of the room, transfixed by the pointed end of the
staff used in the summoning. The staff is magical - it will summon
the elemental below, but it has an Mana (BOD) battery, that recharges
half as much BOD as is done with the business end. Treat it as a
spear (and the summoning requires 8 BOD to cast, making some sort of
sacrifice all but mandatory!). The passage re-enters this room higher
up, and crosses it on a slim stone bridge. Any knockback delivered by
the wind elemental will be sideways and the bridge is 10 M above the
ground floor (5d6 normal damage).
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Storm spirits are (depending on which sage you consult) animations caused by the excess mana generated in the heavens during a thunderstorm, or elemental spirits attracted to our plane by the wild excesses of such storms. Either way, people have long heard shrill voices in the wind and occasionally mages have been able to trap such creatures. They are fickle, boastful beings, with a rather childish mentality. As servants they are unpredictable and dangerous, needing to be entertained and presented with new things to play with or do. If frustrated or bored they can become quite homicidal. |
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9
Dangerous footing - In this room one of the priests stopped some
invaders who had teleported in with the same kinetic spell used in
room 1 on the level above. Shattered stone statues mingle with
fragmented pottery and crushed armour. Of the combatants, only dark
stains remain. However under all this junk, the floor has been badly
cracked. More than 200 kg weight will cause it to collapse,
precipitating the people thereon into a rubble slide down into the
5th level (taking a 4d6 HKA area effect, reduced penetration, from
all the falling rocks etc).
10
The Crypt Cathedral - This small chapel guarded the way down to the
crypts and was only used for the farewell rites for the bodies of
heroes that passed this way on their route to burial. Below, the
bodies were given into the care of the priests of Crom Cruach. The
temple has an octagonal altar of black stone in the centre, with
seats for a vigil lining all the walls. On the altar is a coffin
lying across two spears. Both coffin (which is empty) and spears are
ceremonial, made of wood and gilded. The spears are too light to bear
any load, but the coffin is more or less intact and can be carried -
although it will disintegrate if dropped. The outer passage around
the shrine is carved with bas-reliefs depicting the life of a warrior
- from his birth to death in battle and ascension into the ranks of
the winged warriors who fight with the Lord of the Skies.
11
The Well room - In this room is a shaft running down into the
cistern. It once held a archimedes screw, but that was made of wood
and has vanished utterly. The bronze crank that powered it remains
and makes a precarious ladder by which one could ascend the shaft
(DEX roll required). The mouth of the shaft is at the bottom of the
cistern and is roughly a metre in diameter. At both ends of the room
are two huge basins which once held consecrated water. Though black
with corrosion, both are of solid silver - a prize for any who can
carry them away - since each weighs about 100 Kg and is worth 160
Gp.
12
Priests' cells - The marked cell contains a dead priest and his last
remains - a poltergeist. Treat it as a continous SPD 3, area effect
selective 3d6 EB - using loose objects in the room, that can be
cancelled by either destroying the priests body or casting a spell
(any spell) banishing summoned creatures. The others are bare, except
for the sort of litter that fills the cells in room(s) 13 on the
second level.
13
Guard room - From this room a secret door (plainly visible from this
side) gives access from behind the fountain into the cavern on the
path up the crag. This door was breached by the Medarians and they
fought a pitched battle with the guards, which no one survived -
although they got the door closed again.. The fire spell which ended
the fight has left only charred bones and melted armour, but two
items remain. The first and most obvious is a large contraption. It
has a cart-like body, with spiked wheels, an upright armoured torso
somewhat like a man's, but with spiked flails instead of arms and
with a silver skull for a head. It is a Medarian siege machine, and
when its opponents fell, it ground to a halt. Lacking further orders,
it is simply waiting for new foes.
NB: This creation has currently only 3 BOD left after the fire spell that ended the combat. It's an evil enough opponent as it is! |
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14
Great cistern - Now half full of green, unpleasant looking water -
but nothing really dangerous in it. Access can be gained to the well
room from a balcony overlooking the cistern - but it is about 3 M
above the current water level, and the water is still 2 M deep.
However at the bottom of the pool, invisible in the green stagnant
water, is a shaft that once carried water up to the well room. It
could be negotiated with a DEX roll.
15
Stairs down to Level 4 - Not at all unusual, except that the third
step from the top is cracked and broken. If stepped on, make a DEX
roll or tumble to the bottom, taking 3x2d6 normal attacks.
16
Dead priest - In this room one of the dead brethren was laid to rest.
Within the area of the Timestop spell his wounds are still red, and
the blood on the floor still wet. The carpets within the area of
effect are still vivid and hangings cover half the wall. Outside the
area of the spell, the walls are bare, the hangings having long since
perished.
17
Area of the Timestop Spell - The spherical effect of the timestop
spell cast on the level below has reached up as far as this. Within
its area of effect, everything looks as fresh as new. Once this area
is broached, however, anyone in it is subject to its effect, which is
the same as the one cast on the priest in room 19 on the second
level. However, anyone in the area of effect of the soul shield
sceptre has a good chance of escaping its effects.
