Matan Thunder wrote:
I borrowed this idea from another site. Developing unique or interesting encouners to share with others.
I thought the minds here might be able to think of a thing or two to add.....??
Greetings From Undermountian / The Lab Room Entrance
Deep in the bowels of the undermountain near the labs of one of the major apprentices of Halaster himself lies this dank chamber.
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Read aloud: At Door: You hear splashes, smell mold and moisture, you can occasionally see blue/white flashes around the door jamb.
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The room is 80’ across with 10’ walls and a high ceiling that extends into the dark 40’ above. The ceiling is covered with stalactites and soda straws that shower and near continuous streams of droplets towards the ground. The walls are covered in black slime, with water slowly seeping down their surfaces. The walls have 6 sconces on them that shower up erratic sparks that offer poor and erratic illumination. The floor has water over it’s entire surface (3” depth).
There are 6 doors in the room, which appear normal, but on the far side of the room the farthest door has a mass of vegetation piled 4’ high. In that mass of vegetation first a 3’ strong chest will be visible buried in its depth, and then the limbs of several corpses will be visible. The room smells of decay in addition to the mold/slime odors.
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This room is an entrance test by one of Halaster’s little known apprentices Jarkahl the Changing. An early lab accident left Jarkahl constantly transmuting parts of his body at random. He has spent the rest of his career trying to find a cure, as well as becoming one of the most diabolical of transmutation specialists. This room is a test to determine worthy specimens to be “seen” later.
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Special Room Conditions: The room has the following challenges. Moving across the floor requires a DEX check for each 10’ traveled. The floor is slimy and hard to traverse without a fall. There is water everywhere so open flame light sources will have a 25% chance of being extinguished each round. The sparking sconces offer poor and deceptive lighting that will offer a 25% chance (each round) of incorrect sight information. Sometimes shadows appear to be leaping in such a way as to startle the PC’s. All sight is limited to 20’ due to the water and light issues.
Entrance into the room by a party member sets off a magical timer that expires 4 rounds after the room is entered. Until that time it just appears to be a waterlogged room with 5 exits and a high ceiling.
The four side doors are able to be opened, but each has as straight corridor with water covered floors, that go 60’ and turns right. After another 20’ a distance distortion spell will cover the fact that the halls end. All the walls and floors leech water excessively. When a party member turns a corner into the zone of the distance distortion the back wall shoots back up the hall. It is able to sweep around the corner carrying a small wave of water in front of it that causes a -4 DEX check or fall and be swept before it. NO damage in this process, and those caught are just dumped back in the main room. That exit is then sealed by that wall.
The pile of vegetation is just that 4’ high and 30’ in diameter. Under the center of the pile a 10’ x 10’ x 10’ chamber is concealed by a sliding stone door that is concealed until the 4 rounds have expired..
Initial Attitude/Tactics: On the striking of the last second of the 4th minute the following issues are revealed.
A very heavy (23 STR > move for one creature only) glass-steel portcullis slams in front of the entrance door, from above the door in a special recessed chamber concealed by a Permanent Illusion spell. The door first sweeps open than closed in rapid succession (thus no spiking open). The portcullis is covered in 2” glassteel barbed spikes that cause 2-8 damage until the creature is removed from them. (Causes an added 2-8) Those caught in the door as it sweeps shut (DEX roll to avoid) will take an added 3-18 dmg (each round) as the mechanism on the door crushes them into the portcullis. (There is 1pt of blood loss per round from the spikes until staunched). There is 3” of space so death isn’t instant.
The mechanism to release this door is inside the room in the chamber under the pile of vegetation. The only other way to open the door is to twist the door handle mechanism right then left twice, but that is likely to require luck at best. This opening sequence is also the only way that the far door (the exit) can be opened once the sequence is started.
During this sequence all the side doors to the chamber slam open with great clamor and act as an alarm for other areas in this section of the dungeon. The only way to close these doors is a brute STR of 24, but the wall movement trap will also seal these entrances if previously triggered.
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So the portcullis falls and the door slams shut…….
As this happens 4 cleverly concealed chutes (only detect enemy reveal them at all) will slap open from high above the room among the stalactites. These chutes have 4 specialized channels in each that divert equal flows throughout the areas of the room. The chutes emit a brief by heavy flow of water (DEX check to fall), that is 50% likely to extinguish any normal light non magic light source. The shoots are in the center of the vault and the water is emitted down and to the outer walls.
These panels release one of Jarkahl’s most clever creations. These are a animerged electric eel/vampire bat. There are 400 of them in the storage are above the room, but the panels are designed to emit them equally about the room. In the first round they simply slip to the water at the bottom of the room.
Once recovered from the fall, (or grabbed in their fall), they start to emit violent electrical shocks into the water and unfortunate handlers. (They are the power source for the sconces, so when the fall the sparking stops too). These shocks individually are only 1-3 pts per shock, but each creature in the room is subjects to 11-20 shocks per round. A save vs death (fortitude for 3.??) is allowed for ½ damage.
Another side affect though is that each successful damaging shock causes a 1 segment (6 second) stunning of the creature. There is no save, be some may be able to initiate some action during a round. So it is very hard to get anything done as you are constantly being stunned.
On the second round after their descent they also start flying around making high pitched squeaks that communicate where the feeding is the best. Each round in the swarm will allow 1-4 to alight on the creatures in the swarm and inflict 1 point of blood loss due to their vampiric feeding practices.
Bottom line: Shock affects 11-20 x 1d3 & 1-4 x 1 pt damage per round blood drinking.
Final Call: While all this is being reacted to the chamber below the vegetation slowly opens that allows its occupant to emerge 2 rounds after the panels open. Under the carpet of vegetation a mass of monsterous vegetation rises with utter silence. A shambling mound of the largest size rises from its home. This is very bad……..
As the chest clangs into the surrounding waters there is a deafening roar. And the party gets to see the (ahem) size of the problem. You see, the electric eel properties of the animerged electric eel/bats offers a spectacular added boost to the mounds size and performance. They grow in the presence of electricity.
Each round after the mound rises it gains 2 hit dice. If it takes no damage these hit points/dice totals are added to its performance. If it takes damage it is healed for 2d10 damage. It is a runaway if not stopped early.
You might ask how Jarkahl sees this as a test and not a simple death trap…..well simply put it is survival of the fittest genetic stock whether by using their mind or by using their brawn. The mound should be one of the first targets taken out…..before it is too late.
Treasure: The chest itself has 500 platinum, 4790 gold, and 10 diamond worth 2500 gp each.
The bodies of the unworthy 3 that preceded the party have 2 magic weapons, 1 magic armor, and 2 misc items, plus they have 300 gp between them in various coinage.
A heavy hitter, but a good one for the trap type of encounter that comes from messing in the depths of the Undermountain
So what type of encounters make it into your game??
Later
I don't ever recall hearing of this guy: Halaster’s little known apprentices Jarkahl the Changing.
