Finally, a Dungeon...


I went over this map just a week ago, so you can see my initial thoughts on it. Today, I'm going to stock it up as a starting dungeon, with some broad strokes to get the overall feel of what's happening here. I'm freestyling this, so we'll see what I come up with. I'm not going to include monster stat blocks; those are easy enough to look up. I don't know how much I'll get done, but I'll at least get the first section completed.

So, the first section (upper left) is the above-ground portion of a castle/dungeon that is partially collapsed. Why? Dragon attack, most likely. Judging by the writeup of the adult red dragon in the Survival Kit, dragons are going to be extra-nasty in this edition. So, this castle got smoked (sorry) by a dragon at some point, collapsing part of the building. Rooms 1-6 are the original part of the castle; 7 and 8 are caverns dug out from the rubble that lead to the lower level that is 9-15.

1. Guard room. Empty now except for some vermin (the non-monstrous kinds), there are a few rusted weapons laying around.

2. Entrance hall. The back of this room is part of the collapsed section. The room is open to the sky, and there is a pair of medium-sized skeletons among the rubble. They will animate and attack if anyone disturbs the rubble. There is no treasure here unless you want more rusted weapons from the skeletons.

3. This wrecked room has a hole dug into the rubble that leads to the caverns in 7 and 8. The doors to 4 and 5 are swollen shut from moisture and have a DC of 20 to open.

4. This room is more well-preserved than the others. It is an old office; there is a desk and two chairs as well as a wardrobe against the wall and a couple of tables. There are a few knick-knacks around worth a total of about 20 gp. In the desk is a secret compartment. Within are hidden a sack of 50 gp and a tanglefoot bag.

5. Two guard corpses have been reanimated as Medium-size Zombies that will attack as soon as anyone opens the door to this room. They still have their swords buckled to their belts, but don't have the capability to use them. They are still wearing scale mail armor, giving them an AC of 15.

6. With a collapsed wall on the one side, there is nothing of interest here except a trio of dire rats that are looking for food.

7. This cavern has a noticeable downward slope. In the far corner there is a pool of water that has slowly collected. The water is brackish and not fit to drink.

8. The most dangerous inhabitant of this level lives in this cavern. A ghast holes up here, seeking to devour anyone foolish enough to explore this cave. It is bound to this cavern for some mystical reason, and thus can't chase those who run fast enough to get out of the cave. If it is defeated, its nest contains 127 gp, 48 sp, 2 small gems worth 25 gp each, and a filthy cloak that detects as magic; it's a cloak of resistance +1.

9. Another room partially collapsed. Nothing of interest here.

10. Two hobgoblins guard a staircase leading downward. They are armed with spears and battle axes, and will attack anyone who enters.

11. This old servant's bedroom is filled with tattered furniture that has been torn apart. No valuables are to be found within.

12. A pantry that has been trashed. A pair of goblins are looking for anything valuable, and will gladly attack intruders. They carry no treasure.

13. Two more goblins are in this room; they will aid their companions in 12 (and vice versa) if attacked. If explored, this room is a small kitchen. The goblins have found nothing, although there is a knife scattered among the debris. This knife is marked with the sigil of a rival kingdom, and is otherwise not more valuable than a dagger.

14. A latrine. A very old latrine that still lingers. Even if there was anything valuable here, it wouldn't be worth looking for it.

15. An old library, most of the books here have been destroyed by moisture or monsters. There are two writings of note that can still be found here. The first is a history of the region that is worth 200 gp to a collector or historian. The second is a scroll tucked in between some moldy pages of a book thrown on the floor. It's an arcane scroll with an obscuring mist spell inscribed.

That's all I'm going to do for now; I may return to this map later on if I have time. Tomorrow, though, there's a new Map-a-Week drop, so I'll see what happens next. And I'm still waiting for my package to arrive.

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