Under Gallax Hall 13-23

Megadungeon Intro

Level 1 : 1-12

Under Gallax Hall - Level 1 - Basement

Made on Gridmapper by Alex Schroeder

13. "Caution: Grabby Floor"
   7-9: Custodian    9-7: Empty

Signs placed on music stands at either side of a 10x20 foot slick: "CAUTION: GRABBY FLOOR". A Custodian is occasionally by here to attempt combat-cleaning of this infestation by the dumping of copious amounts of acid.

TRAP: Grabby floor. Ghostly grabbing hands emerge from the carpet to snatch, grab, and pull at walkers. Anything the ghostly hands touch goes numb and loses all control. Normal Dex Check when traversing hall, or fall prone, followed by 1d4 psychic damage per round as the ghostly hands paw at viscera.


14. The GRUE - B08
   9-10: Custodian    10-9: The Grue

This room is dark. A GRUE lurks, waiting to eat curious students. The only time it isn't here is when a Custodian comes around, for even monsters fear Custodians.

A shuffling sound welcomes those who open the door. Shuffling and a drip-drip-dripping sound in the dark.

TREASURE: The light reveals three corpses of those eaten by the GRUE, lying on the floor cracked open and feasted upon like plucked game hens. Their bloodied robes contain 4gp, fifteen locks of various hairs, and a bloody-paged worn textbook "Psychoanatomy" (20gp).

The GRUE fears light. Provided some is carried, the GRUE will scurry into the spaces between floors and disappear. Otherwise, it strikes from the darkness with white eyes and long teeth.

GRUE
(Graduate Research 'Ugly Experiment')
AC Chain  HD 5  HP 26   2d6 Bite
Fears Light ; Advantage in the Dark, on everything.


15. Abandoned Office - B10
   9-10: Custodian    10-9: Empty

The doors are locked, but they have windows above the doorknobs. The western door's window is smashed right next to the handle.

A dark, abandoned professor's office. Dusty furniture: grand desk, mostly-empty bookshelves, upended and sliced open comforter-chairs. Papers scattered all over.

SEARCH: About two hundred papers with notes on academic discussions about the Dungeon Swan. It is a swan which lives in dungeons and feeds on hatred (see post for more notes). Reading these will provide insight on the Swan in Level 2 - Steam Tunnels.

SECRET: Desk has hidden back to bottom drawer. Can be found by careful searching or smashing the desk. Contains an Unregistered Key and a note written in childish script: "Be carfil Daddy!"


16. Equidistant Classroom - B12
   9-10: Custodian    10-1: Empty   1-3: Random Class   3-9: Empty

Strange spatial magic: everything in this room in equidistant from everything else in this room, and is considered adjacent, no matter where in the 20x20ft room it is. It's kind of uncomfortable, and very hard to keep things hidden from equidistant people.

Several chairs, bolted to the ground. There's one table.


17. Textbook Black Market - B17
   8-2: Black Marty   2-5: Black Marta   5-8: Empty, Trapped

The door is magically locked and barred from the inside. It has no doorknob - just a solid wooden slab. Knock (physically) between 8 and 5, and a Magic Mouth will appear on the door.

"How much do textbooks cost?" It asks.

Any variation on "Too much." will unlock and open the door. Any other response and the lights will go out in the hallway, and the Magic Mouth will be unavailable until tomorrow. This darkness will lure the GRUE from room 14 to attack the vulnerable.

Inside are rows of bookshelves containing very illegal hand-me-down and used textbooks. There should be one copy for textbooks for nearly every class. For any particular textbook, roll 2d20:
Usefulness: 1-5: Horrendously Outdated   6-12: Old Edition   13-20: Latest Edition
Discount: 1d20 x 4%   (A typical, legal textbook usually costs between 5-50gp.
1d10 x 5gp for random price generation.)

MAGIC TRAP: All the books are cursed. If they're taken out of the room without being de-cursed, they will either:
1) Grow a Magic Mouth and scream relentlessly
2) Activate an Acceleration Rune, causing the holder to accelerate at 1ft/s-squared, indefinitely.
3) Explode for 3d4 damage in 10ft. Save vs. Breath for half.
4) Melt into a hot sticky goo, burning for 1d4 damage for 3 rounds and adhering to anything it touches.

There are two dealers for the black market: Marty and Marta (Wizards, Level 2 w/ Sleep, Arcane Lock, and Knock). Their job is to take money and de-curse the books (by whispering the secret curse deactivation word). They could be brother and sister: dressed in 100% black with downer personalities and big wide-brimmed hats. They take any money and send it through an extradimensional pocket they carry, sending it to the 14 and 5/8ths Street Gang.

If either of them run into trouble, they'll shout into one of their extradimensional pockets, and 2d6 14 and 5/8ths Street Gang Pocket Wizards will emerge to threaten and restore order.

Pocket Wizards are Level 1 Wizards, with one random spell each, armed with clubs.

SEARCH 1: Rare Textbook: "SpellKraft" - Contains the Meat Men and Soul Broth spells.
SEARCH 2: Rare Textbook: "Invisibility for Beginners" - Contains Invisibility and Arcane Mirage spells.

If the Bookprinter's Cartel found out about this market, they'll pay the snitch a finder's fee of around 200gp, then send a squad of 2d10 wizard-thugs to incinerate it.


18. Timeloss Clock

Grandfather clock in the middle of the western wall of this hallway, facing East. It has this taxidermist cuckoo bird which pops out whenever it chimes, which appears to be constantly. Loudly.

MAGIC TRAP: People in this room become temporally trapped, except on each and every hour, when the cuckoo is chirping. For people in the room, time skips ahead to the next hour instantaneously. You have until the cuckoo stops chirping to get out of the room before the next hour-skip. Looking from outside, the people appear frozen. To those in the room, the cuckoo is constantly chirping.

19. Old Gallax Bell Tower [Secret]

ARCHITECTURE: At least two hundred years old: decomposing wooden scaffolding and chipping, rusted paint.

SECRET: There is a solid wooden wall between the secret entrance and the adjacent hallway. Tapping on it hard will reveal its hollowness.

Every hour the bells of this submerged clocktower still sound, though weaker than they once were. Upon the hour in adjacent rooms (15, 17-22), one can hear the bells if ears are pressed up against the walls, or feel them vibrating through the floor.

There are five small bells (15gp each) and two large bells (2000gp each, extremely heavy). They are functional.

TRAP: The bells are supported above a narrow dilapidated scaffolding, leading down to Level 3. A Dexterity check will be required to traverse them, either to touch the bells or climb down the belltower.


20. Spare Clock Room - B20
   10-1: Custodian   1-7: Empty   7-9: Five Students   9-10: Empty

Piles and piles of broken clocks and other timekeeping devices, up to the ceiling in some places.The Custodian brings them here from various classrooms. It smells dusty and unkempt. There are footprints in the dust from six people.

From 7-9, five undergraduate students are here, performing a cult ritual: they wear the broken clocks on their faces, saying 'tick... tock...' in meditative poses for two hours. If disturbed, they'll get weirded out and try to bribe intruders to leave them alone with functioning clocks they've salvaged (1gp each). They believe that this ritual ensures that they'll never be late for anything, and they're actually quite right.

Names: Sam, Georgie, Malthusa, Tempest, and Zyan.

SEARCH: Plenty of scrap, wood and metal. 1d4-1 semi-functional clocks found in the heap, still ticking. Worth 1gp each.

SEARCH (3): Deep in the pile there's a gem-sequined cuckoo sticking out of a clock. Worth 400gp.


21. Stairs Down
   10-1: Custodian   1-2: Empty   2-3: 2d4 Black Magic Brothers   3-5: Empty 
   5-6: 2d4 Sisters of the Cell   6-8: Empty   8-9: Custodian   9-10: Empty

ARCHITECTURE: The floors become metal scaffold. The walls become unadorned concrete. It is distinctly moist and hot. An occasional echoed clank comes from the stairs. Goes down to Level 2 - Steam Tunnels.


22. Custodial Closet - B22
   10-1: Custodian   1-8: Empty, Locked   8-9: Custodian   9-10: Empty, Locked

A shrine to the Clean God - a Custodians' Closet. Various cleaning supplies: mops, buckets, towels, etc. Amongst them is an effigy: a ram's skull adorned upon a mop handle, soaked in blood, the mop heads forming eviscerated intestines spilling out of its mop bucket torso.

TRAP: If approached, the effigy springs to life. It lurks forward on broken mop-handle limbs for two steps, then sprays blood on anybody in the room. All in the room must Save vs. Breath or get sprayed. Success on the save means only one or two drops got on you. These blood stains never come out, and they permanently stain the skin for 1d4 damage.

If any Custodian sees a person with these stains, they will immediately become hostile and attempt to slay the intruder heretic.

TREASURE: There are 3 vials of Strong Acid on shelves, unlabeled, clear liquid. Application causes 1d12 damage, but it'll get out any stain.


23. Administrator Statue
   1-2: Custodian   2-3:  Frederick Miles   3-5: Empty   5-6: 1d4 Black Magic Brothers   6-1: Empty

ARCHITECTURE: This intersection has big 10x10ft white tiles that cover the floor. These tiles are secure, and will require tools, time, or magic to remove. (Exception: Pit Trap)

A statue of Zarlor - Dean and Administrator - upon a pedestal.  A stereotypical wizard in baggy robes with unkempt beard and pointy hat, one open hand tucked in by his chest, the other pointing to the ground at the base of the statue.

A cat statue sits obediently at his feet, licking one of its paws. It has a big fluffy tail sticking straight up.

The statue faces the southern corridor (by default). A bronze plaque containing "The Mighty, The Astute, and The Generous Zarlor" has been repeatedly scratched out at the statue's base.

TRAP: There is a 15ft concealed, counterweighted pit trap just south of the statue. Takes 2 normal-sized people to trigger it. A fall deals 1d8 damage.

TREASURE: At the bottom of the pit is an undergraduate student corpse, fresh. They have a legit (non-used) textbook worth 15gp (on the black market) "Identify: Advantages and Applications"

SECRET: Place a book in the hand near his chest, and the statue's other arm will raise to point horizontally, down the hallway that it is facing. (This points towards other secrets)

SECRET: The fluffy tail on the cat statue can be pulled down to either direction like a lever. If pulled left, the entire pedestal will rotate the face West. If pulled right, the statue will face East. (This points it towards Secrets down the Western and Eastern hallways, or the secret trap door just to the statue's East.)

SECRET: Under the tile just West of the statue will be a copy of the gazetteer The Waking Eye. The corner of this tile is chipped off, allowing an easy pry with any strong tool.

SECRET: Under the tile just East of the statue is a laddered pit heading down to Level 2 - Steam Tunnels. Removing this tile is near-guaranteed to cause a loud noise, due to its weight.

KNOWLEDGE: Zarlor was a huge donor to the university. Some  University Administrators herald him as a kind of wizard-god.

KNOWLEDGE 2: Zarlor's name is plastered all around various libraries. He's known for being quite the bookworm.