- Onderboven, a local god of reversal, is trying to bury the temple and its denizens as an act of revenge.
- The spirit of the Lake, Mother Superior, is trying to hint at the presence of the temple. No god likes a god that kills all other gods.
- The effect of the temple is so strong that water forgets which way to flow and the laws of reality come apart at the seams.
ONCE EVERY TURN...
Roll 1d12. On a 1, roll on 'Something Is Lost'. On a 2, roll on the 'Random Encounter' list.
1: Something Is Lost... Take turns with each character, starting with the character of lowest Intelligence. If the thing lost isn't present, move down the list until it works.
A Spell - Lose one prepared spell, Magic Die, or spell slot of lowest available.
A Skill - Lose random proficiency until retrained.
A weapon proficiency - Until you retrain in this weapon, gain no proficiency bonus (or take a -4)
Personal Memory - Cross off ONE NOUN on your character sheet. That thing never happened, and if it did someone else now has credit.
One Name - Cross off ONE PROPER NOUN on your character sheet or contact notes. That person will treat you like a stranger. If it’s one of yours, nobody in the party can remember it.
Item - Cross off ONE ITEM from your character sheet. Where did it go??
2: Random Encounter. (Roll 1d8)
The Juggernaut - Rumbling around in the next room over. May come crashing through the wall or door making a new passageway.
The Cauldron Spider - Doesn’t want to be seen unless in lair. It is shocked, abashed!
Unseen Servant - Appears behind a door with the sound of stones grinding together.
2d4 Feral Ratfolk - Looking for food
Passive Green Slime - Can’t attack, but it can occupy a space.
The Wizard BA-UL, he’s probably crying.
Stray Deer, Boar, or Badger. What is it doing here? (Going to the Chapel)
1d8 Ancient Skeleton Warriors, patrolling for intruders.
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| Made in Gridmapper |
Cave entrance leading into/out of the mountain. Where the Reverse River leads, flowing down a narrow passage. A great seal, now crumbled. Above the threshold, beside crumbling plaster there remains the word: “OBLIVION”
The full message, if the remaining plaster is removed: “May those who enter embrace OBLIVION.”
1-2. Epithet
A mighty 20ft-high statue of the Iconoclast dominates the center of the room. Hammer in hand, imperial beard, face seemingly melted away as if erased by the ages. The Reverse River from outside snakes around the following inscription on the floor before heading west:
RAZER OF TEMPLES
SLAYER OF KINGS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~ ICONOCLAST!
Crumbling stone doors to the west and east. The eastern door is locked by a bolt-lock mechanism. Standard door-breaking check to bust it down.
The walls are decorated in crumbling plaster depictions the same figure as the statue. In no depiction is his face visible. He burns the weeping priests. He enslaves their servants. He crushes idols and gods beneath his great hammer. The plaster on the northern face contains in bas relief a great leering demon face (the same as the Juggernaut’s). Its orifices are obviously hollow on inspection.
Inside the...
- Mouth: a dusty crawlspace leading to a hallway beyond. Dead bugs cover the floor.
- Nose: One hundred ancient scrolls, fused together by time and compression. They crumble in your hands. Thorough search reveals one good spell scroll of a Deconsecrate spell.
- Left Ear: hidden switch covered in spider webs. Seemingly doesn't do anything when flipped, but it will alert the Cauldron Spider in Rooms 1-15/18 that there are visitors.
- Right Ear: hidden switch unlocks the door to 1-19
- Eye Pupils: Aperture six inches across. Horrible endless void within. The space in here goes on forever in darkness. Anything tossed within will fall endlessly in a fathomless void forever.
1-3. Pit Trap
Somehow, the Reverse Stream goes down into the pit and back up the other side.
Walls depict soldiers leaping over a gorge to slay priests. A concealed plaster pit trap hides a spike pit. 10ft fall onto rusted metal spikes. The spikes are decayed to the point being unable to hold weight, but they can still give you tetanus.
1-4. Empty Chapel
Cold walls and a stone altar split in twain - by mighty blow sundered. Inside the cracked altar is but unremarkable-looking dust. This Saint Bone dust can be revealed by Detect Magic, or by a cleric putting their hands in it (gives them a holy feeling), and can be rubbed upon wounds to staunch bleeding and heal any single wound or disease.
1-5. Idol Dinner Torment
Smells like rot from one room away. The Reverse Stream traverses the room, flowing north.
Stone table eternally piled with rotting offal. Broken god-idols are placed around the table like a big dead propped-up family, indistinguishable from another save for vague anatomical forms. Like the barbarians came through and mockingly set up a pantheon dinner. Their eyes are all scratched out, and their ears torn off, but their noses remain so they can smell it.
One is not like the others - an Unseen Servant has replaced one - the replaced broken idol body litters the area behind it. The Servant will stalk those it can, for a way out.
The vessels on the table are made of good silver, obscured by the rot. Bowls, cups, knives, forks, plates: all together would fill up a potato sack and be worth 1000sp.
Western wall has a portion oddly bricked-up. A secret tomb behind. The eastern wall’s plaster is failing, revealing a room scattered with bones: Room 6.
Unseen Servant - Virtually indestructible. Weeping angel rules. Won't snap necks but it will block doors and arrest intruders by grabbing their limbs and holding still forever.
1-6. Bone Bins
(Note: Smell of rot from Room 1-5)
This room may be viewed from a peephole in the crumbling plaster to the east, the decomposing plaster from the west, or tunneled through the wall to the north.
Three gleaming golden bins full of miscellaneous crumbling bones. Upon being touched they will jumble as if animating, but they are too tangled to do anything but rattle the bin. They will continue to rattle loudly for 1d4 Turns. For each Turn this is happening, Encounters happen on a roll of 2 to 6 on the d12 Once Every Turn.
If any bins are emptied or turned over, their bones will spill out and animate into a horrible bone amalgamation, which will vengefully try to end anything it sees.
The gold can be stripped off of the exterior of the bins. Each bin's gold exterior is worth 200gp, and can be stripped off with appropriate tools (like a chisel) in 1 Turn, or 4 Turns without tools. Up to four people can divide this required time amongst themselves.
7. High Priest Sarcophagus
(Note: Smell of rot from Room 1-5)
Lead sarcophagus, sealed weakly with plaster. Inside: skeletal remains of a high priest, with an obsidian dagger impaled within a desiccated heart and an all-encompassing iron vessel placed on his skull. Ancient wound still stains brown the ceremonial robes, which depict a skeletal hand. If the dagger is removed the heart will beat again, and the flesh will regrow. Replacing the dagger will require an attack roll or skill check and will arrest the regrowing process.
High Priest Mithrum was so devout to the god of undeath that he could never truly die. For him but a moment has passed since the forgotten dagger BLASPHEMY was plunged into his heart. He believes the Iconoclast and his servants are still before him, though now his body has rotted away and he is blind and deaf from an iron helm placed on his head. He will cast dangerous spells (lightning bolts, cloudkills, marks of death) purely randomly, with a 20% failure chance due to his deafness.
BLASPHEMY causes those its strikes to blaspheme, losing the favor of their gods. Very effective against angels, clerics, priests, and those that made dark pacts with godlike beings, robbing their powers unless they can atone.
If the iron helm is removed before the dagger, Mithrum will only cast one killer spell in confusion.
If his initial onslaught is survived... He will apologize curtly in a strange tongue and quickly come to despair at his surroundings. If by some odd chance there's an expert in dead languages present, he'll ask what year it is. Whatever the answer will be an unfamiliar system to him. In a panic, he'll expedite to the east, and seek to exit the temple. He horrors at the scene in 1-5. If the pit trap in Room 3 is yet unrevealed, he'll fall right in an impale upon the spikes, but of course it won't kill him (he can't die). He'll just be stuck there forever, fixed by the spikes, until someone comes along.
8. Falling Statue
(Note: Smell of rot from Room 1-5)
Giant statue of the Iconoclast overlooks the hall. He wields his great hammer high above his head, as if he might strike the ground before him.
Concealed pressure plate activates the hammer: it swings partially down, but gets stuck before it can hit the ground. A great sundering of stone can be heard where the ankles of the statue break. Two rounds later the whole statue will topple into the hallway, crushing anything underneath.
Retreat or dash forward, a decisive maneuver is required to avoid getting smooshed. (Note: there's a good chance the way back will be blocked by the Unseen Servant, if eyes haven't been kept on it.) Being within the hallway but not within 20ft of the statue's original position does the damage equivalent of a Fireball instead of instant death.
Once the statue has fallen, the hallway will be completely blocked. It will require 10 Turns with tools, or 30 Turns without, divided among all the working people to excavate the blockage. Double that time is needed to excavate anything crushed beneath the statue.
9. Strange Docile Ooze
Natural caverns appear oily, as if the walls were sweating. Pools of docile Grey Ooze linger about. They will corrode metal if touched and burn skin if in prolonged contact. The ooze has forgotten its aggression and will not react to anything. If brought outside, after 1d4 days it will gain its animating spirit again and start ravenously consuming metal.
Navigating around the ooze will require a climb check to not fall in it. Failure means falling down, taking a menial amount of acidic damage and saving for each metal item that's exposed (armor, weapons, belt clasps, etc.).
10. Crawling Bats
The floor is covered in crawling guano-covered bats. They scurry around like rats, and will peep and scatter if approached. Guano litters the floor. Moving through it faster than a crawl requires a dexterity check. Moving on a slippery slope likewise.
If handled, they bite! Bite means 1 in 6 chance of contracting rabies.
A set of slippery guano-covered stairs in an alcove leads directly to a dusty red-bricked wall. A solid hit will bust it open, revealing more slippery stairs down to 2-7 - Slippery Moss.
11. Dark Pit
A black pit whispering multitudinous madness. Compulsion emanates from it, powerful and wanting. It wants libations - alcoholic drink poured down into the well. If not spirits, it will take oil. If not oil, it will take blood. The compulsion gets stronger and stronger the more one resides in the room.
If their patience runs out: it will attempt to enchant all those in the room to jump down the pit, spilling their blood upon the cthonic deities within. The last thing you'll see after plunging 200ft down is a horrible face.
With the giving of spirits or blood, the Nameless Excess God will give its blessing to all those around. When next they do something incredibly excessive, it’ll be incredibly successful in an excessive way.
12. Idol Hands and Idle Heads
Piles of severed stone idol limbs, heads, fingers, and noses lie in heaps beside a large pit. It’s clear that they were here to be cast down, though the pit is now jammed up with so many.
Searching among them carefully, or with magical detection, or having found one of the other fingers reveals the Black Thumb, embedded in a stone eye.
A narrow way can be navigated down this jam, but it will require a squeeze. The jammed chute is not so stable either. A dexterity check is required, or one will be trapped. A stable way can be cleared in 6 Turns. Only one person can work at a time on this. It will be tiring.
Awesome little dungeon. Thanks. Straight into the sandbox
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