Initial commit
This commit is contained in:
@@ -0,0 +1,610 @@
|
||||
## Sections of Castle Green
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
The following is a list of the areas in Castle Green, in the order that
|
||||
the PCs are likely to encounter them. Each section describes what’s in
|
||||
that section, and what encounters the PCs will likely have there.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Ground Floor
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs first arrive at the castle, they can see that everything
|
||||
above knee level is gone. All that’s left of the ground floor is the
|
||||
floor itself, the bottom few stones of the walls, and the stairs that
|
||||
lead to the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
Rennick is here. This might be a good time to reread Rennick’s
|
||||
description in the introductory chapter. This is the first time that the
|
||||
PCs will meet Rennick. He is standing at the top of the basement stairs,
|
||||
shouting, “Is anybody down there?”
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs will probably ask Rennick about who he is. Rennick volunteers
|
||||
he’s a business associate of Green’s. If the PCs probe further, here are
|
||||
the facts that Rennick is open about and will easily divulge with even
|
||||
the slightest prompting:
|
||||
|
||||
- Rennick volunteers that he is a member of the Fraternity of Order.
|
||||
> He points out the fact that he’s wearing their logo on his lapel.
|
||||
|
||||
- If asked, Rennick is happy to explain the Fraternity of Order, the
|
||||
> fact that they make most of the laws in the city of Sigil, and
|
||||
> that their real passion is learning the laws that govern the
|
||||
> universe.
|
||||
|
||||
- If asked how he knows Green, Rennick says he’s a casino regulator
|
||||
> from the City of Sigil, and Green was a casino owner there.
|
||||
|
||||
- If asked, he is happy to explain how casino regulation in Sigil
|
||||
> works - about how the Fraternity will sell “certificates of fair
|
||||
> play” to any casino that they can verify is legit. Rennick
|
||||
> explains that he manages a team of statisticians and undercover
|
||||
> investigators to make sure the casino is legit before he is
|
||||
> willing to sell a certificate.
|
||||
|
||||
- Rennick loves to talk about his passion, luck research. It doesn’t
|
||||
> take much to get him started: for example, if Lada introduces
|
||||
> herself as a luck researcher, Rennick is excited to meet another
|
||||
> luck researcher. He volunteers that casino regulation is only his
|
||||
> day job. He explains his real passion is studying how luck,
|
||||
> randomness, and chance work.
|
||||
|
||||
- If the PCs get Rennick to talk about his research, he will
|
||||
> eventually volunteer that he’s discovered a way to predict the
|
||||
> outcomes of random events, like a die roll.
|
||||
|
||||
Eventually, Rennick starts to feel like he’s said too much, and he
|
||||
starts to clam up. He realizes he shouldn’t be talking about his ability
|
||||
to predict random events. He also realizes he shouldn’t be talking about
|
||||
his relationship to the deck. He starts to be much more circumspect.
|
||||
Here is what he absolutely won’t tell the PCs:
|
||||
|
||||
- He won’t divulge that he has anything to do with the Deck. If asked,
|
||||
> he just says, “I prefer not to say.” However, the fact that he
|
||||
> suddenly clammed up is a dead giveaway that he does have
|
||||
> *something* to do with the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
- He won’t say why he’s here. He came to St Parnas to ask Green
|
||||
> whether or not he’s noticed anything weird happening with the
|
||||
> deck. However, because he arrived during the chaos storm, he
|
||||
> already has his answer, a definitive *yes*, a chaos storm is
|
||||
> definitely weird. He won’t talk about this.
|
||||
|
||||
In the light of the fact that there has been a chaos storm, and that it
|
||||
appeared to be centered on the castle, Rennick is worried about the
|
||||
safety of Green and his employees. He’s worried that there might be
|
||||
people trapped in the basement. He is right about that.
|
||||
|
||||
He says that earlier, he went to the bottom of the stairs. He says that
|
||||
at the bottom of the stairs are a bunch of weird labyrinth passages. He
|
||||
says that when he saw the labyrinth passages, he NOPED out of there: he
|
||||
says he isn’t an adventurer, he doesn’t want to get lost in a
|
||||
potentially dangerous dungeon. But he’s hoping somebody will go in. He
|
||||
encourages the PCs to try to help Green and Green’s employees.
|
||||
|
||||
So now the PCs have two reasons to descend the stairs:
|
||||
|
||||
- To find Green so that they can negotiate to purchase the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
- To help Green’s employees escape from the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Basement Landing
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs come down the stairs from outside, they find themselves at
|
||||
the bottom of the stairs, in the basement landing. There’s nothing in
|
||||
the landing but a few potted plants. There are three hallways leading in
|
||||
three different directions - north, west, and east. All three contain
|
||||
portals, so looking down any of these hallways, you see a few feet of
|
||||
stone wall, and then the hallway continues onward as wood-paneled
|
||||
labyrinth walls. The appearance is surprising:
|
||||
|
||||
\<IMAGE HERE\>
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs look at the transition, have them make an insight roll: the
|
||||
transition from stone to wood doesn’t look man-made, it looks like the
|
||||
artifact of a magical phenomenon of some sort.
|
||||
|
||||
Walking down any of the halls leads the PCs into the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Labyrinth
|
||||
|
||||
The labyrinth itself is a maze of passages, with the walls covered with
|
||||
decorative wooden paneling (a lot like a Victorian library). The
|
||||
passages don’t go anywhere except to more passages.
|
||||
|
||||
As the PCs walk around the labyrinth, they will unknowingly be passing
|
||||
through portals that lead to other places in the labyrinth. The portals
|
||||
in the labyrinth shift around randomly. As a result, it is impossible to
|
||||
map the labyrinth. The effective layout is constantly changing.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs will probably try strategies like marking the walls with arrows
|
||||
that point back toward the entrance. If they do, they will discover that
|
||||
the labyrinth seems to be shifting: they find their own arrows, but
|
||||
they’re now pointing in scattered directions, even pointing at each
|
||||
other. The labyrinth itself isn’t shifting, the portals are, but that
|
||||
has the effect of connecting hallways that weren’t connected before, and
|
||||
the labyrinth certainly *appears* to have shifted.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs stop for a bit, let them know that they are feeling a faint
|
||||
sense of anxiety and dread. Have them make WIS DC15 checks to realize:
|
||||
it’s not *their own* anxiety/dread: the sensation is coming from
|
||||
outside, from somebody else. Of course, the sensation is coming from
|
||||
Omta, but when you talk to your PCs about where the emotions are coming
|
||||
from, call it “the presence in the labyrinth.”
|
||||
|
||||
To get unstuck, the PCs need to first reassure Omta, and then ask him
|
||||
for help with navigation. See the previous section, “Navigating the
|
||||
Portals,” for detailed instructions about what is necessary. Once they
|
||||
do those things, Omta will probably take the PCs to the next basement
|
||||
area.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs may find interesting things in the hallways of the labyrinth.
|
||||
Space out the following encounters semi-randomly, throwing in a random
|
||||
encounter whenever things seem a little slow.
|
||||
|
||||
- The PCs find scraps of Borghan’s fur scraped off on some of the
|
||||
> labyrinth woodwork.
|
||||
|
||||
- They find a single stone block from one of the castle walls. This
|
||||
> just teleported out of a wall randomly during the chaos storm,
|
||||
> leaving a hole in the wall.
|
||||
|
||||
- They encounter ants (see the previous section on ants).
|
||||
|
||||
- With a difficult perception roll, they see an anomaly caused by a
|
||||
> portal. Show them the image below. The anomaly is hard to see, but
|
||||
> it is there. The reason for the seam in the following image is
|
||||
> that there is a portal stitching together two labyrinth hallways:
|
||||
|
||||
> {width="2.932292213473316in"
|
||||
> height="3.9265748031496064in"}
|
||||
|
||||
In the labyrinth, it is possible to encounter Borghan himself. This
|
||||
should not happen until after the PCs have figured out how to move
|
||||
around. Give them a chance to get their bearings before encountering a
|
||||
foe. For information on how to run the Borghan encounter, refer to the
|
||||
previous section, “Borghan: The Caged Beast.”
|
||||
|
||||
### The Sparring Room, Armory, and Cells
|
||||
|
||||
When Omta finally allows the PCs to leave the labyrinth tunnels, this is
|
||||
where he takes them if they don’t ask for any place in particular. In
|
||||
this location, you can find three holding cells. Across from the cells
|
||||
are the sparring room and the armory.
|
||||
|
||||
All the cell doors have small windows that let you see inside. All three
|
||||
rooms are empty. All three rooms are held shut by bars across the doors,
|
||||
which are easily removed from the outside of the cell. Two of the cells
|
||||
are dusty and clearly have not been used recently. The third has had an
|
||||
occupant who managed to shatter the bar that held the door shut. The bar
|
||||
is in splinters on the floor, and the occupant is gone. A search of the
|
||||
smashed cell reveals bits of coarse brown fur. Of course, don’t tell
|
||||
your players this, but the occupant was Borghan, the “Caged Beast.”
|
||||
Borghan has been wandering the labyrinth for about a week.
|
||||
|
||||
The armory is full of weapon racks that are empty. This room is to equip
|
||||
an army, and Green doesn’t have an army, so this room is unneeded.
|
||||
Alyssa Varn has strung a piece of piano wire across the doorframe at
|
||||
shin-level. The wire has been there for quite some time, nobody tripped
|
||||
on it because nobody goes into the Armory. The wire is not connected to
|
||||
a mechanism: it’s just there to trip and slash shins. First person to
|
||||
enter the room must make a perception check DC 15 to spot the wire in
|
||||
time. Failing that, take 6HP damage, dex save DC 15 for half. Stuck to
|
||||
the wall inside the room, next to where the tripwire is anchored, is a
|
||||
tiny note: “Get the &\^\$ out of my castle! - AV”
|
||||
|
||||
The sparring room is actively used by Green and his guards. It is
|
||||
currently occupied by the two gate guards, Bran and Inya, who are stuck
|
||||
here. They are glad that somebody has come to get them out of here. They
|
||||
can explain the basic story of how Green and some of his employees ended
|
||||
up in the basement-labyrinth. They can also give an accurate inventory
|
||||
of who’s in the basement, though they don’t know exactly where these
|
||||
individuals are in the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
It is important that Bran and Inya provide a complete list of all the
|
||||
missing people. That gives the PCs a checklist to follow. Trying to
|
||||
locate everyone on the checklist is the main mechanism by which the PCs
|
||||
will find the rest of the areas in the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
If asked about people who drew cards, Bran says, “I’ll tell you
|
||||
everything I know, but I mostly don’t know. Green doesn’t tell us what
|
||||
cards people drew - privacy, you know? But, I guess I can tell you about
|
||||
Borghan and Alyssa, I know about them.”
|
||||
|
||||
This is what they have to say about Borghan and Alyssa:
|
||||
|
||||
- They know that the castle came into existence when Alyssa Varn drew
|
||||
> “bricklayer.” They know Alyssa sold the castle to Green, and they
|
||||
> know that Alyssa has “seller’s remorse” and that she’s causing no
|
||||
> end of grief for the castle inhabitants.
|
||||
|
||||
- They know that the labyrinth came into existence when Borghan drew
|
||||
> “bricklayer.” They know the labyrinth was originally a separate
|
||||
> place, but it got all tangled up in the castle basement when the
|
||||
> chaos storm hit. They also know that Borghan is in the form of a
|
||||
> Grizzly bear, wandering the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
Aside from the basic facts above, they don’t know anything else about
|
||||
Alyssa or Borghan. They can’t tell you what other cards those two drew.
|
||||
|
||||
Bran and Inya can also tell the PCs the following tidbit: Green used to
|
||||
own a Casino in Sigil, and Bran and Inya were guards at the casino. For
|
||||
this whole deck of many things venture, Green mostly hired people who
|
||||
used to work for his casino. Bran and Inya both agree that Green is a
|
||||
decent boss.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs try to leave the sparring room area, have them make a
|
||||
perception roll, DC15. If any PC succeeds, they notice a hole in the
|
||||
wall that leads into the armory. There is nothing interesting on the
|
||||
other side of the hole. It is just a hole that randomly appeared in the
|
||||
wall during the chaos storm.
|
||||
|
||||
To get Bran and Inya out of the labyrinth, the PCs need to ask the
|
||||
presence in the labyrinth to take them to the exit of Castle Green.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Kitchen, Pantry, and Dining Area
|
||||
|
||||
To get to the kitchen, the PCs pretty much have to ask for it
|
||||
specifically. The most likely reason that they would do so is to find
|
||||
Zimmi, the cook, who they know about because of Bran’s inventory of
|
||||
Green’s employees.
|
||||
|
||||
The dining room is a longish room containing dining tables and chairs.
|
||||
There are far more seats than are necessary for Green and his entourage.
|
||||
It is obvious that only the dining tables closest to the kitchen have
|
||||
been used recently. The walls are decorated with some colorful scenes of
|
||||
the outlands. This sort of decorative art is inexpensive in the St
|
||||
Parnas market square. There are also some potted plants. Despite the
|
||||
decorations, the room still looks a little sparse.
|
||||
|
||||
The only really interesting thing in the dining room is that the wall
|
||||
that separates the dining room from the hallway is missing a stone
|
||||
block. This is easily visible: no perception roll necessary. If you’re
|
||||
small, or very flexible, you can squeeze through. This is not at all
|
||||
useful, but it does hint at the fact that there may be other similar
|
||||
passages throughout the castle.
|
||||
|
||||
Across the hall from the dining room is the kitchen. The kitchen has
|
||||
been taken over by ants. They have covered the entire floor with a
|
||||
spongy bed of rotting plant matter (leaves, wood chips, etc). These are
|
||||
fungus-farming ants, and this is their new fungus farm.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
Inside the kitchen, there are 10 worker ants and 4 soldier ants. When
|
||||
the PCs open the door to the kitchen, the soldiers immediately cluster
|
||||
around the door and form a barrier. They do not attack.
|
||||
|
||||
This is a good opportunity to get a close look at the ants. Tell the PCs
|
||||
that the soldiers are considerably larger than the workers. The workers
|
||||
have mandibles that act like pliers: the tips are flat and can grab onto
|
||||
things. The soldiers, on the other hand, have mandibles that are sharp.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs stand and watch for a minute, they will see that the workers
|
||||
are crushing up bits of food from the kitchen and are kneading it into
|
||||
the organic matter on the floor. The ants know that human food makes a
|
||||
good substrate for growing fungus, so they’re taking advantage of the
|
||||
kitchen’s supplies.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs can hear a voice: “Help! Get me out of here!” The voice is
|
||||
obviously coming from the pantry, which is a walk-in closet in the back
|
||||
of the kitchen. The situation is that the cook, Zimmi, has locked
|
||||
herself in the pantry because she is scared of the ants. She shoved a
|
||||
doorstop under the door to keep the ants from coming in. The ants, for
|
||||
their part, don’t seem particularly concerned with Zimmi. They are
|
||||
leaving the pantry alone: Zimmi is scared, but her life is not actually
|
||||
in any danger.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs try to enter the room, a soldier will close his mandibles so
|
||||
that the points are touching each other, then he will use the “flat of
|
||||
the blade” of his mandibles to push the PC back toward the door. This
|
||||
action is clearly designed not to cause damage, but to send a message:
|
||||
you’re not invited.
|
||||
|
||||
One way to earn the trust of the ants is to offer them food rations. If
|
||||
the PCs do this, a worker ant will scoot right past the soldiers, accept
|
||||
the rations, and begin kneading the food into the floor. The soldiers,
|
||||
seeing this, will get out of the way. As long as the PCs are handing
|
||||
food to the workers, the soldiers will let them move around the room.
|
||||
However, the soldiers will stay close to the PCs, encircling them.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs shout to Zimmi, “it’s okay, unlock the door, don’t worry,
|
||||
these ants aren’t aggressive,” Zimmi will open the door. Zimmi is a
|
||||
gnome wearing a chef’s apron. If Zimmi sees that the PCs are standing in
|
||||
the kitchen unharmed, she will emerge. From there, the PCs can escort
|
||||
her out of the kitchen without difficulty, and from there, she can be
|
||||
led out of the labyrinth and to safety.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Root Cellar, Wine Cellar, and Furniture Storage
|
||||
|
||||
The most likely way to reach this area is if the PCs ask Omta about
|
||||
Alyssa Varn, the woman who drew the bricklayer card. This is the area
|
||||
where she lives.
|
||||
|
||||
The root cellar is a room with an earthen floor. Depending on their
|
||||
backgrounds, the PCs may know what this is: the soil floor creates a
|
||||
humid environment, which keeps turnips, parsnips, and other root
|
||||
vegetables from desiccating.
|
||||
|
||||
The root cellar has been emptied out of any vegetables: the ants took it
|
||||
all. The ground looks like it has been tilled, and there are multiple
|
||||
ant-sized tunnels coming up out of the soil. This is clearly how the
|
||||
ants have been getting into the basement. The door to the root cellar
|
||||
has a soldier-ant sized hole in the bottom of it. It looks like they
|
||||
chewed their way through.
|
||||
|
||||
The door to the wine cellar is open a few inches. Alyssa Varn has set up
|
||||
a booby trap: she put a bucket of her urine on top of the door. The PCs
|
||||
must make a perception roll DC15 to spot it before opening the door. If
|
||||
one of the PCs has a keen sense of smell, they may be able to smell it
|
||||
instead. If somebody pushes open the door without spotting the bucket,
|
||||
they have to make a DEX save DC15 to dodge it. If they fail, the PC is
|
||||
nauseated. The PC will have disadvantage on rolls until they can clean
|
||||
themselves. The bucket has words written on it: “This is my Castle! Get
|
||||
the \$%& Out!”
|
||||
|
||||
Inside the wine cellar there are several racks of wine. Most of it is
|
||||
just table wine, but there are a five bottles of the good stuff. The
|
||||
ants seem to have left this room alone. There is nothing else of
|
||||
interest here.
|
||||
|
||||
The furniture storage room is jam-packed full of unused furniture. When
|
||||
the castle was conjured, it was fully furnished, but the furniture
|
||||
wasn’t to Green’s liking, so Green got some better furniture. The cheap
|
||||
stuff has been shoved into this room. The furniture is piled to the
|
||||
ceiling. There is a thick layer of dust.
|
||||
|
||||
Hidden in the back of the furniture is Alyssa Varn’s hideout. She has
|
||||
arranged some bookshelves to make a little room within the big room.
|
||||
Inside her little bookshelf-room is a sleeping bag, a nightstand with a
|
||||
candle, and two changes of clothing. It is easy to tell from looking at
|
||||
the clothing that Alyssa is a very petite woman, and quite thin. There
|
||||
is nothing to indicate the identity of the person who is sleeping here,
|
||||
but if the PCs have spoken to Bran and Inya, they can probably guess.
|
||||
Alyssa is not here.
|
||||
|
||||
To find the hideout is challenging. The PCs must first ask some
|
||||
questions along the lines of, “is there anything hidden in the
|
||||
furniture,” or “does anything look like it’s been disturbed?” If they
|
||||
ask something like that, have them make a perception roll, DC15. If they
|
||||
succeed, they notice an area under a table that has less dust. This is
|
||||
the path that Alyssa takes to get from the door to her hideout. The
|
||||
dust-free path leads under a table, through a very narrow gap between a
|
||||
whole bunch of dressers, and from there snakes around until it finally
|
||||
reaches the hideout. To get through you either have to be small, or you
|
||||
have to move the furniture (which is not difficult).
|
||||
|
||||
Inside of Alyssa’s hideout is another missing block in a wall. Alyssa
|
||||
has concealed this passage by leaning the nightstand up against it. To
|
||||
see it, you have to move the nightstand. The opening looks different
|
||||
than the one in the dining room: in the dining room, the block was
|
||||
cleanly extracted, and the mortar is still there. This one looks like
|
||||
the mortar was carved away painstakingly with a sharp tool. To pass
|
||||
through the opening, you have to be small.
|
||||
|
||||
On the other side of the opening is Etienne’s wardrobe - Etienne is one
|
||||
of Green’s bodyguards. Alyssa has cut a hole in the back of the wardrobe
|
||||
so she can sneak into it. Again, to pass through the hole, you have to
|
||||
be small.
|
||||
|
||||
This hole in the wall is one of the very few ways that it is possible to
|
||||
move from one castle region to a different region without passing
|
||||
through the labyrinth. The portals to the labyrinth are all in the
|
||||
*hallways*. But if you go through holes in the walls, you bypass all
|
||||
that.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Bedrooms of the Bodyguards
|
||||
|
||||
The most likely way the PCs will reach this area is through the hole in
|
||||
Alyssa Varn’s hiding place.
|
||||
|
||||
This region contains the bedrooms of all four of Green’s personal
|
||||
bodyguards. Each one has his or her own bedroom, and each one has
|
||||
personalized their space. From looking at the clothing in the wardrobes,
|
||||
you can pretty easily tell which clothes are male or female, and which
|
||||
ones are for humans, half-orcs, or dwarves. If the PCs have a good
|
||||
memory, they may be able to identify which room belongs to which
|
||||
bodyguard, but it’s not important that they be able to do so.
|
||||
|
||||
None of the bodyguards are actually present in the bedrooms, the only
|
||||
person present is Alyssa Varn, who is lurking.
|
||||
|
||||
*Mikhail’s Room:* Mikhail is a male half-orc fighter. Bedroom contains a
|
||||
wardrobe, a bed, a shelving unit full of decorative tea sets, and a
|
||||
reading desk with some books about Sigil politics and factions.
|
||||
|
||||
*Harkon’s Room:* Harkon is a male dwarf cleric of Helm. Bedroom contains
|
||||
a wardrobe, a bed, a shrine to Helm, and a writing desk.
|
||||
|
||||
*Siduri’s Room:* Siduri is a female high elf duelist. Bedroom contains a
|
||||
wardrobe, a bed, a nightstand, and a collection of ornate curvy swords
|
||||
on the wall. On the nightstand is a collection of books containing
|
||||
diagrams of fencing maneuvers.
|
||||
|
||||
*Etienne’s Room:* Etienne is a male tiefling diviner. Bedroom contains a
|
||||
wardrobe, a bed, a writing desk, and a number of books mainly about
|
||||
hunting mushrooms in the outlands. The desk has an unsent letter.
|
||||
|
||||
Etienne’s unsent letter is as follows:
|
||||
|
||||
> Dear Magert,
|
||||
>
|
||||
> I hope you’re doing well! As for me, I’m doing fine. Living in St.
|
||||
> Parnas is quite a change from Sigil: there’s not much of an art scene,
|
||||
> and the restaurant options are limited. I’m looking forward to
|
||||
> returning when this is all over.\
|
||||
> \
|
||||
> I’m writing to ask your opinions about two people who drew cards from
|
||||
> the deck. One is named Asatya. She drew the “void” card, and she
|
||||
> immediately fell into a coma. My divinations tell me there’s nobody in
|
||||
> there - she’s not “locked in,” she’s just gone. The doctors at the
|
||||
> local hospital don’t have a clue what to do.\
|
||||
> \
|
||||
> The other is a man named Borghan. He drew the “beast” card, which
|
||||
> turned him into an oversized grizzly bear. I can talk to him using
|
||||
> “speak with animals,” he’s fully animal intelligence now.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Deck curses don’t respond to simple spells like “restoration.” I’m
|
||||
> looking for powerful artifacts or individuals, anywhere in the planes,
|
||||
> that might help these two. Are you aware of anything that might help?
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Your dear friend, Etienne
|
||||
|
||||
Alyssa Varn has a trap that she is waiting to spring if some of the
|
||||
weaker party members find themselves in a room with only one exit: she
|
||||
will jam a doorstop under the door, then she will nail the door shut.
|
||||
Getting out should be a 10 to 15 minute project, involving finding some
|
||||
way to get the nails out.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs enter Mikhail’s bedroom via the hole in the wall of the
|
||||
furniture storage area, this may result in an opportunity for Alyssa to
|
||||
pull her little stunt. She won’t try to trap the PCs in Mikhail’s
|
||||
bedroom, because that bedroom has two exits (the door, and the hole).
|
||||
Instead, she will wait until a few of the weaker party members are alone
|
||||
in a room with only one door.
|
||||
|
||||
This hallway is a perfect place for a line of worker ants to suddenly
|
||||
show up, walking through carrying eggs. They ignore the PCs.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Barracks of the Castle Staff
|
||||
|
||||
TODO: How do people reach the barracks?
|
||||
|
||||
There are two barracks: one for the men, one for the women.
|
||||
|
||||
The men’s barracks do not contain anything of any great interest. The
|
||||
men who live here are Tommel, Wim, and Bran. Nobody is present in the
|
||||
barracks. Feel free to invent personal effects for these men.
|
||||
|
||||
The women’s barracks, on the other hand, has been completely taken over
|
||||
by ants: they are turning it into an incubator for their eggs.
|
||||
|
||||
There are many worker and soldier ants present. The worker ants are
|
||||
busily creating safe little earth pockets for the eggs, and installing
|
||||
the eggs inside them. The soldier ants are insistent that the PCs cannot
|
||||
come inside: they will push back any PCs who try to enter.
|
||||
|
||||
However, there’s a female teenage tiefling here: Penny. She’s helping
|
||||
the ants move the eggs around. The ants already trust her. Like Green’s
|
||||
other employees, she hasn’t figured out how to get out of the labyrinth,
|
||||
but she is completely safe, the ants have been providing her with food
|
||||
and water. When the soldier ants try to repel the PCs, Penny raises her
|
||||
arms above her head and wiggles them around in a manner similar to how
|
||||
the ants move their antennae. In response to this, the ants make a path
|
||||
for the PCs to approach Penny.
|
||||
|
||||
Penny has already learned the rudiments of ant-language, even though
|
||||
she’s only been with the ants a few days. This is a clue that Penny is
|
||||
exceptional at language learning: she is good at helping out with any
|
||||
task that involves deciphering messages or languages. If asked about
|
||||
this, Penny downplays it: “Oh, I’ve only learned a few words. I’m
|
||||
basically at the ‘where is the bathroom’ stage of learning their
|
||||
language.” Despite this modesty, she is indeed very good at languages.
|
||||
She can translate, but it is true that she only knows a few words. She
|
||||
can translate very basic things like “people not dangerous,” but
|
||||
anything more complex is impossible.
|
||||
|
||||
When Penny sees the PCs, she is cheerful and friendly. If the PCs say
|
||||
they’ve come to rescue Green’s employees, Penny is grateful: she likes
|
||||
the ants, but she’s tired of being stuck in the basement. She comes with
|
||||
the PCs willingly. She is a useful resource for deciphering the scrolls.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Lounge, and Green and Edric’s Quarters
|
||||
|
||||
The lounge contains Omta’s steel door. Because of that, Omta
|
||||
deliberately keeps the PCs away from this area until Omta has a little
|
||||
time to get used to the PCs. This is therefore the last area that the
|
||||
PCs will find by traversing the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
This area contains two large sofas, several comfy chairs, and a few
|
||||
reading tables. All this furniture has been upended during the chaos
|
||||
storm, and much of it is in a pile in the southeast corner of the room.
|
||||
The pile is hiding something important: there is a hole in the wall to
|
||||
Edric’s room. Like the other holes in the wall, it consists of one
|
||||
missing stone block. To get through, you have to be small in size.
|
||||
|
||||
Edric is here. Edric is the bariaur steward of the castle. A “steward”
|
||||
is responsible for paperwork: he keeps track of the books, he’s
|
||||
responsible for ordering deliveries of food, he guards the moneybox, and
|
||||
the like.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
To the east of the lounge is a short segment of hallway which is
|
||||
jam-packed with soldier ants. They are guarding the door to Green’s
|
||||
bedroom. Green’s bedroom is the largest bedroom in the basement, the ant
|
||||
queen has taken it as her lair. There is nothing interesting in Green’s
|
||||
bedroom other than the ant queen.
|
||||
|
||||
Directly across from Green’s bedroom is Edric’s bedroom and office.
|
||||
Edric’s office contains unremarkable items such as a wardrobe, a bed,
|
||||
and a writing table. It also contains the vault, which contains a
|
||||
lockbox with 3500 in gems (conjured by the Deck), 500 gp in gold, and a
|
||||
bunch of ledgers and records which are important to Edric but which
|
||||
serve no purpose for anyone else. Getting into Edric’s office is
|
||||
difficult because the soldier ants won’t let anyone come into the
|
||||
hallway with the doorway. However, it is also possible to enter Edric’s
|
||||
office through the hole in the wall in the lounge. The vault is
|
||||
basically a closet with a solid wooden door with a mundane padlock
|
||||
(lockpick DC 15). It can also be opened (slowly) by bashing. The lockbox
|
||||
is inside, with its own lock (lockpick DC 13).
|
||||
|
||||
Edric isn’t willing to leave the lounge until he has the lockbox. Once
|
||||
he has it, he’s glad to get out of the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs steal the gems, Edric will be angry. He will make an
|
||||
impassioned plea: “When you drew from the Deck, we dealt with you
|
||||
fairly. We paid you the gold you were owed, and when you went to a
|
||||
Donjon, we didn’t just keep your money, we made sure it went to your
|
||||
next-of-kin. We were fair to you. Are you really going to steal from
|
||||
us?” Doing this will earn the disapproval of all of Green’s employees.
|
||||
The PCs will get no cooperation on anything if the PCs treat Edric this
|
||||
way.
|
||||
|
||||
The lounge floor has a trapdoor that leads down into the labyrinth. This
|
||||
is not a portal, it’s a plain old trapdoor, the labyrinth actually is
|
||||
physically underneath the basement. The trapdoor has been here ever
|
||||
since the labyrinth was conjured.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs enter Edric’s bedroom via the hole, then emerge via the door,
|
||||
they will pop right out in front of the door to Green’s bedroom - the
|
||||
queen’s chamber. This will annoy the ants, and they will very
|
||||
aggressively push the PCs back into Edric’s bedroom. Then, they will
|
||||
form a line barring passage through Edric’s door. The PCs will have to
|
||||
exit via the hole.
|
||||
|
||||
The soldier ants in the lounge are very strict - whereas the soldiers in
|
||||
other parts of the castle are assertive, but rarely aggressive, these
|
||||
ones will fight if the PCs push their way into that hallway. They are
|
||||
quite serious about defending the queen. The only way to get past them
|
||||
is with Penny’s help: she can ask for permission to see the queen, and
|
||||
the queen will grant limited access (just one PC, plus Penny). For
|
||||
information about what the queen says, see the section on the ants.
|
||||
|
||||
To the north of the lounge is a hallway that in more normal times led to
|
||||
the latrine, the laundry room, and the cistern. When Green and his
|
||||
bodyguards entered the basement to rescue Green’s employees, Green was
|
||||
carrying the Deck. Omta portaled this group to the laundry room, then
|
||||
sealed them in by conjuring a big steel barrier in this hallway. Of
|
||||
course, Omta isn’t really trying to trap these people: he really only
|
||||
cares about protecting the deck. The people are collateral damage. Of
|
||||
course, the group tried to escape, but Omta thwarted them.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs first arrive in the lounge, they see the steel barrier in
|
||||
this hallway. Later, this barrier will turn into a steel door. See the
|
||||
upcoming section, “The Steel Barrier becomes a Steel Door.”
|
||||
|
||||
### The Latrine, Cistern, and Laundry
|
||||
|
||||
This area of the castle is inaccessible, because of the steel barrier.
|
||||
We include it for completeness.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The cistern is a big tank where rainwater from the roof is collected. It
|
||||
is the castle’s supply of fresh water.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The latrine is basically a room with some watertight boxes that you can
|
||||
use to relieve yourself. When the castle was functioning normally, Zim
|
||||
(the janitor) would take those boxes outside and dump them in the woods.
|
||||
Now that the area is sealed, the boxes haven’t been emptied in some
|
||||
time, and the odor is seeping into the surrounding areas.
|
||||
|
||||
The laundry room is an area containing some big steel tubs which are
|
||||
used for both laundry and bathing. There is a large hearth with a pot
|
||||
that can be used to heat water. There is a rack full of towels, and a
|
||||
few tables for folding laundry. This is where Green and his bodyguards
|
||||
are staying now that they are trapped.
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user