132 lines
8.3 KiB
Markdown
132 lines
8.3 KiB
Markdown
# Summary: Sections of Castle Green
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## Overview
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Castle Green's ground floor has been destroyed by a chaos storm, leaving only the basement intact. The basement is connected to a magical labyrinth through shifting portals. Green and his employees are trapped inside. The PCs must navigate the labyrinth, rescue the trapped individuals, and locate the Deck of Many Things.
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## Key Areas & Encounters
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### The Ground Floor
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- **NPC: Rennick** - Fraternity of Order casino regulator and luck researcher. He's a business associate of Green's.
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- Rennick is open about his Fraternity membership and casino regulation work, but clams up about the Deck and his ability to predict random events.
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- He encourages PCs to descend and help Green's trapped employees.
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### The Basement Landing
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- Three hallways (N/W/E) lead to portals. Stone transitions to wood-paneled labyrinth walls.
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- Insight roll reveals the transition looks magically created, not man-made.
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### The Labyrinth
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- Victorian library-style wood paneling. Portals shift randomly, making mapping impossible.
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- PCs marking paths will find their own arrows pointing in contradictory directions.
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- **Presence: Omta** - WIS DC15 to realize the anxiety/dread is coming from an external entity in the labyrinth.
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- **Navigation:** PCs must reassure Omta and ask for help to navigate successfully.
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**Random Encounters:**
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- Borghan's fur scraped on woodwork
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- Single stone block teleported from a wall
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- Ant encounters
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- Portal anomalies (perception check to spot visual seams)
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- **Borghan encounter** (after PCs learn navigation)
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### The Sparring Room, Armory, and Cells
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- **NPCs: Bran and Inya** (gate guards) - Stuck here, provide complete inventory of missing people.
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- **Three cells:** Two dusty, one with shattered bar and coarse brown fur (Borghan's former cell).
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- **Armory trap:** Piano wire at shin-level. Perception DC15 to spot. 6HP damage (DEX DC15 for half). Note from "AV" (Alyssa Varn): "Get the &^$ out of my castle!"
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- **Info from Bran/Inya:**
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- Alyssa Varn drew "bricklayer" (created castle), sold it to Green, has seller's remorse
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- Borghan drew "bricklayer" (created labyrinth), now a grizzly bear
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- Green's a decent boss, hired mostly from his old Sigil casino
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- Hole in wall leads to armory (perception DC15).
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### The Kitchen, Pantry, and Dining Area
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- **Dining room:** Sparse decorations, potted plants, Outlands artwork. Missing stone block in wall (small creatures can squeeze through).
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- **Kitchen:** Taken over by fungus-farming ants. Spongy bed of rotting plant matter covers floor.
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- 10 worker ants, 4 soldier ants
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- Workers have plier-like mandibles, soldiers have sharp mandibles
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- Soldiers form barrier but won't attack unless PCs push through
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- Offering food rations earns trust; soldiers allow movement while PCs feed workers
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- **NPC: Zimmi** (cook, gnome) - Locked in pantry, scared but unharmed. Can be rescued once PCs demonstrate ants aren't hostile.
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### The Root Cellar, Wine Cellar, and Furniture Storage
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- **Root cellar:** Earthen floor, emptied by ants. Tilled ground with ant tunnels. Soldier-ant hole chewed through door.
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- **Wine cellar trap:** Bucket of urine on door. Perception DC15 to spot. DEX DC15 to dodge. Nauseated = disadvantage until cleaned. Bucket message: "This is my Castle! Get the $%& Out!"
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- Contains table wine and 5 bottles of good wine
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- **Furniture storage:** Packed with unused castle furniture (Green replaced cheap conjured furniture).
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- **Alyssa Varn's hideout:** Hidden behind bookshelves. Contains sleeping bag, nightstand with candle, two changes of clothes (very petite woman). Perception DC15 to find dust-free path leading to hideout.
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- **Secret passage:** Missing block in wall, mortar carefully carved away (differs from random chaos storm holes). Leads to Etienne's wardrobe. Must be small to pass through.
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- This is one of few ways to move between castle regions without using labyrinth portals.
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### The Bedrooms of the Bodyguards
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- Four bodyguards (Mikhail, Harkon, Siduri, Etienne), each has personalized bedroom. None present except Alyssa Varn (lurking).
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**Mikhail's Room:** Half-orc fighter. Tea sets, books on Sigil politics.
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**Harkon's Room:** Dwarf cleric of Helm. Shrine to Helm, writing desk.
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**Siduri's Room:** High elf duelist. Ornate curved swords on wall, fencing maneuver books.
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**Etienne's Room:** Tiefling diviner. Mushroom hunting books, unsent letter revealing:
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- **Asatya** drew "void" card, fell into coma (nobody inside, not locked-in)
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- **Borghan** drew "beast" card, now oversized grizzly with animal intelligence (Etienne can communicate via "speak with animals")
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- Etienne seeks powerful artifacts/individuals to break deck curses (simple restoration won't work)
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**Alyssa's trap:** Will jam doorstop under door and nail it shut if weaker PCs are alone in single-exit room. 10-15 minute escape project.
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Worker ants may pass through carrying eggs, ignoring PCs.
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### The Barracks of the Castle Staff
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- **Men's barracks:** Tommel, Wim, Bran live here. Nothing remarkable.
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- **Women's barracks:** Taken over as ant egg incubator. Many workers and soldiers present.
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- **NPC: Penny** (teenage tiefling) - Helping ants move eggs. Already learned rudiments of ant-language despite only a few days. Exceptional at language learning, can help decipher messages.
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- Ants trust Penny. She wiggles arms like antennae to signal safety to ants.
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- Can translate basic phrases like "people not dangerous" but limited vocabulary.
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- Cheerful, grateful for rescue. Useful for deciphering scrolls later.
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### The Lounge, and Green and Edric's Quarters
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- Omta keeps PCs away from this area initially (contains his steel door). Last area found.
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- **Lounge:** Furniture upended by chaos storm, piled in SE corner hiding hole in wall to Edric's room (small creatures only).
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- **NPC: Edric** (bariaur steward) - Manages paperwork, books, orders, moneybox. Won't leave without lockbox.
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- **Hallway east of lounge:** Jam-packed with soldier ants guarding door to Green's bedroom (ant queen's lair).
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- **Green's bedroom:** Nothing interesting except ant queen.
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- **Edric's office:** Wardrobe, bed, writing table, vault.
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- **Treasure: Vault** - Closet with wooden door, mundane padlock (lockpick DC15, can bash). Contains lockbox (lockpick DC13) with:
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- 3500gp in gems (conjured by Deck)
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- 500gp in gold
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- Ledgers and records
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- Accessible via hole in lounge wall (bypasses soldier ants).
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- If PCs steal gems, Edric makes impassioned plea about Green's fair dealings. Theft earns disapproval of all employees, no cooperation.
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- **Trapdoor:** In lounge floor, leads down to labyrinth physically underneath basement (not a portal).
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- **Soldier ants at queen's chamber:** More aggressive than elsewhere. Will fight if PCs push into hallway. Only way past: Penny can ask permission to see queen (limited access: one PC + Penny).
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- **Hallway north of lounge:** Contains steel barrier. Behind it: latrine, laundry room, cistern. Green and bodyguards are sealed inside with the Deck. Barrier later becomes steel door.
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### The Latrine, Cistern, and Laundry
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- Currently inaccessible (steel barrier).
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- **Cistern:** Rainwater collection tank for fresh water.
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- **Latrine:** Watertight relief boxes, not emptied since seal. Odor seeping out.
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- **Laundry room:** Steel tubs for laundry and bathing, hearth for heating water, towels, folding tables.
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- **Green and his four bodyguards** are trapped here.
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- Omta portaled them here and sealed the hallway to protect the Deck (people are collateral damage).
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## DM Notes
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**Missing People Checklist (from Bran/Inya):**
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- Green (with bodyguards in laundry)
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- Four bodyguards: Mikhail, Harkon, Siduri, Etienne (with Green)
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- Zimmi (cook, in pantry)
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- Penny (in women's barracks)
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- Edric (in lounge/office area)
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- Borghan (wandering as grizzly bear)
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**Key Progression:**
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1. Meet Rennick, learn about trapped people
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2. Navigate labyrinth by befriending Omta
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3. Rescue employees one by one
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4. Deal with Alyssa Varn's traps and sabotage
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5. Negotiate with ant colony
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6. Eventually deal with steel barrier to reach Green and the Deck
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**Recurring Elements:**
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- Holes in walls (chaos storm and Alyssa's carved passages) provide alternative routes
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- Ant colony is not hostile if approached correctly
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- Alyssa Varn is sabotaging via traps and harassment
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- Omta (presence in labyrinth) controls navigation and created steel barrier to protect Deck
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