Minidungeon: Barbican of the Blaster Caster

A bright red beam of energy bursts out of the rock face above Hogman's Plain. You happen to witness this from the back porch of the forlorn Potion Addict in the shadow of the ridge. Looks like a magical accident, the kind that leaves arcane treasure up for grabs.

POTION ADDICT

The joint stock company Potion Addict sells supplies to adventurers in dangerous locations where the comforts of civilization are scarce. Their fortified outposts are combination general stores, bars, hotels and fences. They carry enough cash to buy treasure from tomb raiders, confident they can auction the items to interested buyers in more civilized climes.

 

The Hogman's Plain Potion Addict is built on an ancient Mastaba, adobe fortifications nestled atop the old step pyramid. A bar with a back deck looks out over a riverfront pier where boats unload supplies and adventurers bound for the funeral plains beyond.

Potion Addict is shrewder and more subtle than their chief rival Iron Cup, buying off local monsters rather than exterminating them. The shop is run by the Androgynosphinx Astarte, who once devoured travelers to the Mastaba but now feasts metaphorically on the flood of archaeological finds dug up by adventurers in the ancient graves that honeycomb the region. Per the Monster Overhaul the Sphinx can see through most dirty tricks and protect the shop's Type H treasure hoard. They don't like identifying magic items because it makes people less willing to sell them, but can be conned into doing so by appeals to their vanity.

The Sphinx buys exotic potions from the wizard who lives up on the ridge, paying him with reagents brought from more civilized climes by Potion Addict's continent-spanning supply chain. They aren't that concerned about his lair exploding but are curious what happened - and what he was working on. Enough to encourage an unoccupied party of adventurers to check it out.

(All this context isn't strictly necessary, you can start the journey at the entrance to the tomb).

 

THE TOMB

The laser blast came from an old tomb converted to a wizard lab by the mage Alejandro Vendren. He rendered down the mummies and used their bitumen to make alchemical lights that illuminate the place. The main entrance is hidden but the hole made by the laser allows entry.

As the players enter they hear a muffled shout from somewhere in the cave system, followed by the sound of an energy blast that shakes the mountain.

THE BLASTER CASTER

Making noise in the dungeon prompts the Blaster Caster to fire his disintegration beam at the source of the sound. If there are multiple noises he fires at the loudest one. Breathing isn't loud enough to set him off, walking in shoes or running in bare feet is safe. Chain is silent while walking, plate is only silent if the arm and leg protectors are removed (AC as breastplate). Slings, bows and thrown weapons don't make noise, the projectile striking the target or missing does. Attacking with a hand weapon is dicey. Loud talking provokes. Use common sense, reward clever solutions, when in doubt give the target a Save to dive out of the way.

Vendren wanders at random starting in D, moving to a new room every turn. When he fires his beam drop a die into the room he's in to determine the origin point, with the target the source of the noise. The disintegration beam is five feet in diameter and 50 feet long, penetrating any material and boring a new tunnel. Anything caught in the beam's path takes 8D8 damage. Characters protected by an antimagic shell or related artifacts get a Save vs Spells to ignore the beam. It takes Vendren a moment after firing to charge up again, enough for everyone to take a single action. The sound of the blast ringing in his ears prevents him from hearing during this cooldown.

ENCOUNTERS

Three groups besides the players are active in the dungeon. The LONG FACES, the HOGMEN and the MUTANTS. Roll a D20 every dungeon turn.

1-11: Nothing

12: Players encounter LONG FACES

13: Players encounter HOGMEN

14: Players encounter MUTANTS

15: Vendren fires at LONG FACES (random location, 50% chance target survives)

16: Vendren fires at HOGMEN (random location, 50% chance target survives)

17: Vendren fires at MUTANTS (random location, 50% chance target survives)

18: LONG FACES steal a random treasure

19: HOGMEN steal a random treasure

20: MUTANTS steal a random treasure

Random treasures are in A, B, C, D, E, M, P, Q, U, V. Nearby players may catch burglars in the act. Stolen treasures are worn visibly by NPCs.

If Vendren fires at NPCs, trace the path of the beam as though he fired on a player.

A: Potion storage. Slurry on floor of potions broken by mage's flailing, melts bones through flesh on contact. Unlabeled unbroken bottles hold Potions of Invulnerability, Heroism, ESP, Delusion.

B: Pantry of basic provisions. Preserved foods, 400 SP in fine Tobacco and 200 SP in Wizard Ale. Rock Hyrax in a cage grinds its teeth and grunts furiously at intruders, risking a blast.

C: Bedroom. Enchanted Mummy propped up in sarcophagus howls alarm if intruders spotted. Wardrobe holds +2 Robe of Protection and 500 SP in embroidered clothing. Nightstand holds two Potions of Sleep and gilt copy of Wonders of Urth and Sky worth 450 SP. Room collapses if one pillar is destroyed.

D: Burial chamber repurposed as dining room, sarcophagus used as table. Table set with a half-finished meal of Fireball Hyrax, cucumbers and melon on dishes worth 350 SP. Self-playing baliset makes music if disturbed, prompting a blast. Open copy of alchemical treatise RANDOM TRANSMUTATION: COULD IT HAPPEN TO YOU? worth 500 SP. Room collapses if half the pillars are destroyed.

E: Walls covered in murals of tomb occupants killing intruders with death curses. Shelf holds goggles, helmet, parachute, Broom of Flying (hard to control especially indoors), Loadstone crudely painted to look like a turquoise.

F: Corridor with murals of tomb occupants dying and rising for battle in future age. Heavy stone slab blocks access to Q, enchanted to respond to Vendren.

G: Curtained privy. Stone seat over Bag of Devouring.

H: Remains of books, zapped by the mage's beam.

I: Every surface is scorched. A burnt-out altar of Wild Magic on the east wall still shimmers with multicolored embers. A huge release of energy happened in this room. Columns damaged, could collapse if badly handled.

 

J: Cell sealed with stone door, responds to the Wizard's commands. Inside is his FAMILIAR, imprisoned with an Amulet of Silence whose 15' radius fills the entire chamber.

K: Cell sealed with stone door, responds to the Wizard's commands. The back wall of the chamber is open, allowing the Mutants formerly imprisoned here to escape.

L: Floor covered with pot and glass shards from shelves, mutated organs and pickled life forms. The shards crunch audibly under booted feet and slice up bare feet.

Guy Davis

M: Urns and vessels. Enormous jar knocked on its side, exposing feejee mermaid style mummy taxidermy studded with 450 SP in gems. If disturbed it wakes and screams, drawing a blast. One other jar holds a mummy with 350 SP and poisonous fluid. Room collapses if one pillar is destroyed.

N: Decontamination room. Blades swing out and chop anyone in the room to bits (Vendren survives thanks to his amulet of Protection From Normal Weapons). Wands of Prestidigitation, Neutralize Poison and Cure Disease fire from holes in the wall and clean up whatever's left.

O: Anatomy lab. Dissection slab with old bloodstains, restraints, surgical tools. Platinum manacles worth 500 SP attached to  slab with sturdy bolts. +1 Bonesaw which ape wields during experiments using superior strength. Room collapses if half the pillars are destroyed.

P: Refuse room. Stacked mummies and fresh corpses of mutants. Bones and beaks and slime. Shield +1, 211 SP and a +1 Lawful Sword of Trap Detection. Wading through the morass infects adventurers as per Cause Disease.

Q: Parlor for entertaining nonexistent guests. Low tables with silks and cushions worth 500 SP in total, plus a +1 Dagger of Daylight hidden under a pillow. Preserved brain connected to mummified head via Grell Tentacle reads out news psychically pirated off Rat King network if disturbed. Heavy stone slab blocks F, enchanted to respond to Vendren. Room collapses if half the pillars are destroyed.

R: Scrying chamber, kept away from inner sanctum to protect hideout from counterscrying. Crystal ball bolted to table can't be used for scrying until command word is cracked, but can deflect Vendren's beam in a random direction (D12 clock). Room collapses if half the pillars are destroyed.

S: Disused burial chamber Vendren halfheartedly renovated for apprentice who never arrived. Spartan furniture, empty journals and robes that look like little versions of his own.

T: Scroll storage. Charm person, fly, wizard lock, web, fire ball.

 

U: Locked strongbox with 1,002 SP in coins for alchemical research, also mummified finger which curses anyone besides Vendren who opens it.

 

V: Mud room. Chandelier channels light from burning hand through 150 SP garnet to impress guests, casts Burning Hands if touched. Coat racks with three robes, one with Wand of Endure Elements in pocket. Stone head on floor sucks sand off boots, and siphons it into urns. Makes enough noise to provoke a blast. 

W: Tomb entrance, excavated and resealed with heaped stone by Vendren. Rocks respond to his commands.

X: A 5 foot circular hole in the rock face, bored through the stone. Dwarves and small sized beings can fit comfortably, everyone else has to crouch/crawl awkwardly.

  

DUNGEON DWELLERS

ALEJANDRO VENDREN

The mage Alejandro Vendren has been transformed by the God Wild Magic. His spell slots have been permanently filled with a destructive ray that he can cast whenever he pleases. The first shot blinded him and then the vultures descended. Vendren was already paranoid and is now convinced any noises around him are thieves and assassins.

Vendren is a Level 11 Magic User, with no spells but his infinite-use superbeam. He wears a Ring of Spell Turning with three charges and an Amulet of Protection From Normal Weapons.

 

 

 

THE LONG FACES 

The Long Faces are Level 1 demihumans. Their leader Red Yosif the self-serious Neutral Elf is stuck in a suit of cursed leather armor. Kokhba is a Chaotic Gnome engineer adept at spotting tricks and traps, unemployed after the collapse of the Tontes Elevator. Eliza is a Lawful Gnome sharpshooter who learned to cast spells in chainmail during her failed career with the Brickmountain city watch. Alejandro is too powerful to be Slept, Hypnotized or Charmed, so they're staying quiet while they rob him.

 

The Faces are quick with disabling spells but fastidious about not killing helpless victims. Loaded Dice (Gnome form of Moonshades, Halfling God of luck) loves swindlers and cheats, but killing a defenseless mark is too far. Self defense is a different story, they'll toss objects and make false sounds to bait the wizard into blasting dangerous foes.

THE HOGMEN

A hunting party of Orcs followed the Long Faces in, intent on ambushing them after they spent their spells. An energy blast killed two of them and the remaining three are keeping their heads down. Their chain shirts are a liability (they can't run without making noise) but they won't remove them because they expect they'll be stolen. They are clever but beset with a constant doglike hunger that prompts them to make bad choices.

The Hogmen are cowards but don't have the Long Faces' scruples. They know better than to start noisy fights but they'll throw objects to get explorers blasted - or threaten to do so if not given food and treasure.

THE MUTANTS

Vendren conducted illegal magical experiments on captured adventurers and monsters, creating mutants as part of his Wild Magic experiments. A trio of these unfortunate beings escaped when the same blast that annihilated the Orcs clipped the back of their cell. The Mutants don't want to return to civilization because they're worried about being mistaken for the Old King's brutes and killed. They're skulking around the dungeon looking for things that'll improve their odds of survival in the wilderness.

 

The Mutants are skilled pickpockets (stats as Mutoid/Mongrelman) and will steal valuables from anyone exploring the dungeon. If caught they run or hide, fighting only if cornered by merciless enemies. They can't speak or write but can understand language. They won't pickpocket Vendren without threats/encouragement, but if they stole his ring or amulet he'd be vulnerable to damage.

 

FAMILIAR

Alejandro's familiar is a winged ape. He locked the beast in the cell at J because it tried to stop him from building an arcane shrine to Wild Magic and plumbing the deep mysteries of the God. He tossed in an Amulet of Silence so the beast's distressed bellowing wouldn't bother him.

If freed, the Ape tries to communicate with hand signs, telling intruders to leave. He will gather a maximum of 250 SP as a reward if they seem recalcitrant, but insist on their departure. Any attempt to take the Amulet will prompt the monster to flee, and to harass the thieves with thrown objects so they get lasered.

Once the adventurers are dealt with (one way or the other) the Familiar hides the Amulet of Silence and returns to Vendren's side. The mage breaks down crying when he hears the beast grunting, babbling apologies and admitting the ape was right. His Familiar perches on his shoulders and directs his fire, compensating for his missing eyes.

Stats as White Ape but add the power of flight.

 

THE MAKING OF

I recycled The Ninepins to populate this dungeon, breaking them up into three groups of creatures. Think of this as their origin story. The dungeon map is a combination of the tombs of Ramses II and Horemheb, taken from Dariusz Sitek's page.