Creature Compendium Test Drive: The Flooded Forge

An underground temple of the Hammerer, Dwarven God of divine justice, has fallen to ruin and been infested with monsters.

THE SHRINE

The shrine is accessed from a branch of the underhighway, the old trade routes laid down before the time of the Ancient Empire, fallen into ruin and sporadically reactivated by the Mountainhomes as they struggle through cycles of decline and rebirth.

A: Flooded forge w/ 3' deep water. Elevated platform north with disused anvil, furnace and work area, Cyclorc corpse beaten to death. Channel in floor and broken sluicegate to the east once allowed for controlled quenching via river water. Two KAM WARRIORS beneath surface of water attack anyone who enters. One wears Leather Armor +1 and 310 SP in jewelry, one carries Hammer +3 w/ image of Hammerer on the head. Striking the anvil with the hammer summons two FIREWALKERS who help clear the dungeon of monsters.

B: Elevated dry chamber with altar for corporal punishment/executions. Altar piled with 2,100 SP in jewelry stripped from convicts, battered 1,000 SP silver hammer. Two BLOODBEASTS hide atop columns waiting to drop on intruders. Noise of battle attracts Kam Warriors from A. Engraved panels on west wall half-fallen down to reveal part of a Dwarven inscription. Reading aloud summons RAROG to help cleanse the temple.

C: Former dining hall, flooded w/ 4' deep water. Stone benches and chairs. GARGANTUAN RAT, pet of Cyclorcs, frolics here enjoying mist from water rushing in from D. 1,370 SP in coin, Potion of Delusion and Potion of Fire Resistance lost underwater. Rat refuses to go near A for fear of undead warriors. Any smell of blood attracts Bloodgills from E.

D: Underground river cascades down into a hole. A side channel feeds the dungeon at C. Anyone washed down the river can Save vs Paralysis to swim for the side channel, or be sucked down into the depths below.

E: Flooded chamber w/ 2' deep water. 10 BLOODGILLS (aquatic larval form of Bloodbeasts) lurk beneath the surface, waiting to hop on prey.

F: Flooded storage chamber w/ 3' deep water. Cyprian the CENTAUR is tied here by his back leg, delirious from pain but forced to stand to keep his stitches out of the mucky water.

G: Flooded office w/ 2' deep water. Ammonia stink. A PINK SLIME feeds on a dead Cyclorc. Another slime waits on the ceiling for more victims. 

H: Flooded chamber w/ 2' deep water. Detect Evil and Know Alignment carven on wall, can be cast as per scroll by reading without destroying inscription. Beneath water, floor carpeted with 50 LITHOPEDES that panic and scatter when stepped on. Bloodgills from E pounce on injured victims.

I: Flooded meeting room w/ 2' deep water. D8-4 Bloodgills swimming under water. D6 CYCLORCS hunting them with nets and spears.

J: Flooded chamber w/ 3' deep water. East wall knocked down. Any light reflects off bells on net trap hanging over entrance. Cyclorcs have darkvision and don't notice reflections.

K: Dry cave and CYCLORC camp. 2D6 Orcs here and a dozen children, preparing food and making handicrafts or tormenting Severa the Centaur. The Orc leader Bruce is here, broken leg immobilized in a handmade splint. Bloodbeast and Bloodgills in various states of butchery. Two dead Cyclorcs awaiting burial in suitably impressive resting place. 2,740 SP in coin and cabochons. Wall tapestry of One Eye. Three sturdy canoes for escape downriver if tribe is overrun.

L: Flooded room 5' deep, empty shelves and cabinets of stone. Stone chest underwater holds 1,054 SP, Eyes of Charming and Potion of Invulnerability. Adventurers who have committed atrocities are cursed by the Hammerer on opening, losing 50% of their highest ability score. 

M: Flooded chamber w/ 4' deep water. 9 Bloodgills wait underwater for adventurers to get in trouble at P before attacking from behind. 403 SP in sturdy gem handicrafts lost underwater.

N: Crevice in rock wall leads from natural cave to flooded temple. D6 Cyclorcs wait in the dark for intruders in Q. Poor eyesight, decent hearing. Weak looking intruders are ambushed. Tough looking foes prompt a retreat through I to warn the others, arming rockfall trap on the way. Card game pot holds 755 SP in Dwarven coins and Cave Silk Bills.

O: Swift underground river 5 to 10' deep, filled with cave fish and crustaceans. Anyone not tethered is swept downriver to D.

P: Dry former entry hall where collapsed staircase once led upward. Bloodbeast wedged between ceiling and rubble pile waits for prey. Bloodgills from M attack from behind when beast drops. Rubble pile conceals 2,250 SP in gold and gems plus Eyes of Minuscule Sight

Q: Natural cave. Signs of foot traffic. Cyclorcs observe this chamber from the darkened alcove at N, may give themselves away with gambling and arguments.

NPCS

CENTAURS

The Cyclorcs captured and enslaved a pair of Horned Centaur adventurers on an underworld raid. 

• They castrated Cyprian as punishment for kicking two of them to death during an escape attempt. The wound hasn't healed yet and he's delirious, but will participate in any plan to save Severa. He heard there were altars to the Dwarven Gods in the northwest of the dungeon, guarded by undead.
• They hobbled Severa and gave her to the children as a plaything, to help them become accustomed to blood and hurting other creatures in a safe environment. She knows the dungeon is full of creatures that hide underwater and atop piles of rubble.

CYCLORCS

There are 23 of these one-eyed Orcs in the dungeon, plus a dozen children aged 1 to 14. They traveled downriver in canoes to reach this point and set up a temporary camp to raid via the underhighway. They've lost several hunters to dungeon hazards and monsters. They worship One Eye, the demigod/culture hero who fathered the cyclops race.

The tribe leader Bruce got the group this far, but broke his ankle in a carpet of Lithopedes. The others respected him enough to bring him back alive and nobody has challenged him for leadership of the tribe, but if morale declines that could change. The tribe is used to harsh conditions but sloshing around in a perpetually flooded cave is a far cry from the slaves and plunder they expected.

In battle the Cyclorcs throw nets and bolas to disable enemies before charging into melee. Their massed spears let them all attack the same target even from a row back. They prioritize casters, anyone chanting and waving a book or symbol gets skewered. The Gargantuan Rat obeys their commands, either accompanying them on the front lines or swimming up the river to outflank enemies from behind.

HAMMERMEN

The Firewalkers who can be summoned at A and the Rarog at B are spirits from the Hammerer's Forge. The Hammerer's job is to punish evil in the afterlife before sending souls to be reborn, but sometimes he sends his children out into the world to settle scores.

The Rarog slaughters the adult Cyclorcs, but won't kill the children. If they want revenge once they grow up, they know how to summon him. The Firewalkers burn their enemies indiscriminately, counting on the Hammerer to punish them accordingly if they roast someone who doesn't deserve it. They also forge Cyprian new testicles out of steel.

When the Orcs are dealt with, any summoned spirits turn on the adventurers. If they've committed evil acts the Hammermen subject them to a single combat round of attacks before returning to the Red Hot Room. Except adventurers who have committed grave sins against Dwarvenkind, who are subject to the full might of their assault until one side is dead.

THE MAKING OF

The monsters in this dungeon are from the Creature Compendium. The Compendium was recommended to me by the SA traditional games board, and is the complete opposite of the Monster Overhaul. It's written to recreate the feel of the original Monstrous Manual, with all its useless trivia, meaningless tiny stat modifiers and excessively complicated subsystems. It certainly is "a book that is just as fun to peruse as use", in the author's own words.

I rolled a handful of D159s to choose which monsters to use. I rolled Psi Bats but decided not to use them because I don't care for the AD&D psionics subsystem, and because I already included obnoxious psychic predators in the C series of modules.

The dungeon map is the Flooded Dungeon by Neutral Party.