Riverboat Gambler: Shrine of the Dragon

 

 

I swim in the water. I swim and eat the things that fall off the island. The island floats in the water. I gnaw the underside. The island tilts. The things on the island fall over the side. The rays burn me. The things fall in the water where the rays do not reach them. I eat them. I eat the island. The rays cannot harm me. I swim deep in the water. So deep the rays cannot reach me. I forget which way is up. I swim in a straight line. I breach the surface of the water and leap toward the burning eye. My jaws snap shut.

I am in the tomb. I am on the floor in the sand. There is a sound from the hall of reeds. A scraping sound from the floor painted like the water. Something howls.

I roll over and skate silently toward the sound. I imagine I am swimming.

SHRINE OF THE DRAGON  

The original rock formation was an unadorned sandstone outcrop with the tomb entrance cut into the face and buried beneath rubble and sand after the occupant was interred. A later lizardman culture carved the image of the dragon into the rock as a tribute to the tomb's occupant. They were wiped out after he refused to help them in a conflict with one of the other tribes of the Plain.

 

 

The heavy iron door below the statue still stands but the roof of the interior chamber has eroded away allowing explorers to climb the sand heaped on one side for entry. A large opening in the floor leads down to Room 1 of the Lair.

LAIR OF THE LINNORM 

The Lair is the tomb of a mummified Linnorm. The beast waits for adventurers to enter the columned hall at the center of the map, traps them inside and attacks. If he can't beat them he runs for one of the three wings of the dungeon, attacking again as the players get tarpitted by waves of monsters.

THE ENTRYWAY

There are no random encounters here, any attacks are coordinated between Apophis and his undead.  

 

1: The stone slab sealing this entry hall has been holed, large enough for a horse to walk through. On the wall is an image of a spirit holding up its eye to send rays of light across an abyssal waste. The image is heavily scored by large claws. Furniture and smashed urns are scattered around the room.

 

2: This chamber protrudes with spikes and corroded bronze blades, snapped off and tossed haphazardly to "disarm" the traps. On the wall, the rays of light now illuminate a giant worm swimming in the primordial waters. On careful inspection, a second stone portcullis recessed into the ceiling threatens to divide this room from 1. The trigger mechanism is not apparent.

  

3: A columned hall with enormous square pillars and a 30 foot high ceiling. The columns are shaped to look like reeds rising out of water. The floor is scuffed like linoleum in a house full of large dogs. Bones, linen and other detritus from embalmed corpses are scattered, some of them gnawed. A troop of three Baboon Mummies (CC1) lurk here, shrieking if the tomb is disturbed. This alarm prompts APOPHIS to pull the switch in 6, trapping the characters in the tomb before attacking.

 

4: A wooden boat. Wider than the Solar Barques typically found in tombs on the Plain, as if to accommodate something larger than a man. In decent condition, probably constructed on site since it can't fit through the doors. No jewelry but a suite of grave goods which resisted the decay of the vessel and finery. Book of Foul Corruption, Sandals of Dancing, Drums of Thunder and Incense of Obsession (All OSE Advanced).

 

5: Sculpted garden. Carvings of trees, bundled reeds, fruit. Dry fountain. Reliefs of animals on walls. Single column shaped like a huge worm rising above the nature scene. APOPHIS lurks here when the alarm is not raised, lost in a fantasy of devouring creatures. A 9,000 SP gold funeral suit (mask, gloves, breastplate) lies scattered around the chamber.

 

6: Attendant's chamber. Human size furniture scattered.  Lever on wall controls the stone door locking 2, wall scored by large claws. Floor hatch down to 9b was once secret but the furniture covering it is gone.

  

HALL OF SERVANTS

This area, on the right side of the map, is full of undead hordes in individual small tombs. Apophis can command them to shamble out and attack intruders, or retreat here and lure players into an ambush. A total of thirty four Mummies and fourteen Zombies answer the call.

 

There are no random encounters here, any attacks are coordinated between Apophis and his undead. 

7: Long gallery with enormous list of important enemies devoured by Apep. End of corridor has recent additions crudely engraved with broken weapons. 

 

7a thru 7p: Each chamber holds a minimally decorated stone sarcophagus. Each coffin holds a Mummy (OSE) and 300 SP in grave jewelry, for a total of sixteen Mummies and 4800 SP. These Mummies were ordinary slaves, which Apohpis insisted on rather than inert ushabti of clay.

 

8: Kitchen for use in the afterlife. Pots, bronze vessels, jars, an enormous oven. Carcass Crawlers (OSE Advanced) ate all the undead here before they could rise. There are three left and they periodically venture out into the tomb, their paralysis doesn't work on the wakened Mummies and they are inevitably driven back.

 

8a and 8b have communal shelves for kitchen slaves, licked clean by the Crawlers. 8c belonged to the head chef and has a Potion of Fire Immunity on a shelf.

  

9: Brewery. Ovens for barley cakes, great vats, stores of palm sugar, clay jars and amphora for beer. Wall image of happy lizard drinking from enormous bowl.

 

9a through 9c: The Mummies immured here came back wrong.  Each room contains a Jenglot (CC1) who pretends to be a normal mummy until the opportunity arises to strike. The Jenglots don't take orders from the Linnorm and each carries 100 SP in jewelry for a total of 300 SP. 9b has a hole in the ceiling up to 6.

10: Royal guard barracks. Wall art of kilted soldiers with lizard crests battling horned men, dog faced men and hog faced men. Helms, armor and weapons largely corroded into uselessness. Single +1 Shield and +2 Hand Ax of Negative Energy (double damage vs Divine creatures).  

 

10a thru 10p: Richly decorated tombs of the champions of Apophis. Waiting for a chance to kill and kill and kill again. Each room has a tiny bathing pool (dry), a sculpted plant and a sarcophagus holding a Mummy (OSE) and 1,000 SP in grave goods, for a total of sixteen mummies and 16,000 SP.

 

11: Hall of the entertainers and attendants. Wall art of slaves playing music, polishing and sharpening giant lizard's claws, picking his teeth clean out of his open mouth.

 

11a thru 11p: Graves of the favorite entertainers. Two Mummies, the other fourteen slaves took poison that prevented them from being resurrected properly, uninterested in servicing the Linnorm in death. They came back as brainless Zombies (OSE). Either way each tomb holds 750 SP in jewelry and piercings for a total of 12,000 SP.

 

 

FLOODED GALLERY

This area is flooded with water, which is full of algae and water molds. The water is stagnant, so undead can cross it without issue. Apophis stays out because it takes him forever to dry without the aid of the sun. Also because the monsters here don't respond to his commands. He ventures here if injured to use the Thrifs' necromantic touch to heal himself.

 

Check random encounters with a D4

1. Algal Mummy (can summon more monsters with Animal Friendship)
2. D6 Curious Sentinel Crabs
3. Giant Catfish
4. D6 Tidal Ghouls  

12: Corridor flooded 3' deep. Images of magicians interpreting astrological signs, groveling as the lizard eats the moons and sun and stars.

 

12a through 12l: These chambers once held mummified priests but have been colonized by water creatures. Each holds 330 SP in grave goods.

• a: Three SENTINEL CRABS
• b: Giant Catfish (OSE)
• c: Three SENTINEL CRABS and a GIANT CLAM
• d: Two SENTINEL CRABS and an ALGAL MUMMY
• e: GIANT CLAM and THRIF
• f: SENTINEL CLAM
• g: THRIF 
• h: ALGAL MUMMY
• i: Two THRIF
• j: ALGAL MUMMY
• k: ALGAL MUMMY
• l: SENTINEL CRAB

13: Reading room. Remains of couches for Lizard to lounge on while Scribes handled his correspondence. Now flooded 5' deep. Five THRIFs here blocking movement through the room. Skeletons clad in mostly corroded gear twitch in their tendrils, not quite reanimated by necromantic energy, all that remains of adventuring party who fled Linnorm into this chamber. Worn by the bodies: Helm of Clarity, Sword +1 Nine Lives Stealer, Mirror of Life Trapping and Rod of Striking.

 

14: Library flooded 5' deep. Stacked shelves of clay tablets, engraved metal plates and papyrus scrolls. Mostly ruined by water. Four GRAVEYARD CRABS resent intrusion into this chamber, ornery in their old age. Highest stacked tablets and metal plates still hold spells.

• (conjure elemental, read magic, levitate, detect invisible, mirror image)
• (summon animals, hold animal, cure light wounds (cause light wounds), barkskin, water breathing (air breathing)) 
• (spectral force, shadowcast, shadowy transformation, detect illusion, maze of mirrors)
• (cloudkill, charm person, wall of fire, infravision, massmorph)

15: Special collection. Melted tablets and waterlogged scrolls have rendered the water mutagenic in this completely submerged room. It visibly sparks and glows with random colors. Immersion inflicts a random mutation.

  

16: Flooded gallery, water 5' high. Originally tombs for scribes who read and wrote for the illiterate lizard. Chambers packed with enormous crab shells, impairing all movement. GRAVEYARD CRABS come here to die. 10,000 SP in jewelry buried amid detritus that takes hours to excavate.

 

17: Stairs lead down to completely submerged room. Wall murals effaced by water. Five Tidal Ghouls (CC2) lurk here, periodically emerging to feed on rotten crab meat at 16. 200 SP in semiprecious stones from ruined decorations.

 

18: Flooded temple. Solemn statues to the Inert One looming over the room, personification of the primordial chaos from which the world emerged like an island out of the abyssal waters. Stairs descend to the next chamber. 

 

18a: Drowning room. Flooded chamber descends forever into the abyssal waters. As you sink it becomes increasingly hard to move. The bubbles no longer rise upward. 

 

19: Further scribe graves completely collapsed and flooded.

 

REPTILE HOUSE

This area has a mix of live and mummified animals. Narrow fissures in the rock connect it to surface dens, letting the live creatures hunt and feed on the surface. Eight Crocodile Mummies and Eight Snake Mummies muster to answer the call if Apophis orders it.

 

Random Encounters are either with groups of Snakes, the Amber Golem or Lihsusar doing a household task. The animal mummies may participate in coordinated attacks with Apophis. 

 

20: Menagerie hall. Statues of crocodile lions, Set animals and other mythical beasts. Doors to tombs sealed with stone slabs. They open when the floorplates at the chamber's halfway mark are depressed.

 

20a through 20l: Rooms sealed to stop animal mummies wandering. A through F hold Snake Mummies (CC1) while G through L hold Crocodile Mummies, one each. Each of the sixteen beasts is studded with 130 SP in trinkets for a total of 2,080 SP.

 

21: Wall images of primordial lizards fighting in abyss prior to creation of the sun. Stairs down marked with image of crawling servants. Wall mounted scythes swing out and strike at human neck level, allowing snakes and crocodiles to pass. 

 

22: Snake habitat. Serpent statue mouths lead to crevices up to surface. Water seeping in from cracks in wall into dishes, enchanted stones for warmth. Snakes crawl toward visitors expecting to be fed mice and rats. Sudden movement into massed reptiles provokes angry bites. 1d4 Giant Rattlers (OSE), 1D8 Pit Vipers (ibid), 1D3 Rock Pythons and 1D6 Spitting Cobras. 285 coins tossed in fountains. Commotion here draws LIHSUSAR out of her apartment.

 

23: Collapsed tunnel. Gaps in rock large enough for snakes only.

 

24: Temple with a translucent statue of a monitor lizard. Actually an Amber Golem (OSE Advanced). Lihsusar the Elf knows the command word to shout if she needs its help. Apophis doesn't speak the language of the vanished serpent civilization, despite considering himself its heir.

 

25: Apartment of the Great Royal Wife. LIHSUSAR the Elf lives here. Well furnished and maintained, no snakes or undead allowed (except her husband). 11,100 sp in coins, wall fittings, jewelry, furniture, incense and spices. Jug of Endless Liquid. Metal bowl on a shelf with a snake painted inside which Lihsusar and Apophis believe is his phylactery (it isn't).

 

25a: Toilet with shaft down to deep cave system. No running water.

 

25b: Slave closet turned into jerboa enclosures. The Elf traps them in the desert and breeds them to feed the snakes.

 

 

MEN AND MONSTERS

ALGAL MUMMIES

Dreamy and meditative solipsistic monks. Weak to air, confined to their flooded tomb. Stats as Mummy (OSE) but no longer undead in the technical sense, animated by a strange oomycete that functions like a distributed intelligence. This gives them power equivalent to the Druidic Animal Friendship spell, controlling animals in the flooded area (who are also infected with the parasite). Their goal is to maintain the delicate ecosystem of the flooded gallery, anyone stomping around killing things will draw a response from them and the monsters under their command.

 

APOPHIS

He will eat the sun he will drown the world your daughters' bellies will burst with his seed and in the sky you will see him dancing fuck you fuck you fuck you die die die die. A huge mummified lizard, resurrected with some of his former intellect. Smart enough to retreat from a losing battle using his burrowing ability. Heads for one of the three wings of the tomb to lure attackers into hordes of monsters. The undead do what he says, at least. He can speak but isn't much of a conversationalist.

 

Apophis is an undead River Linnorm (CC1). He's Old, giving him Four Legs, 10 HD, and spells as a first level Magic User. He's undead and can't use his Lightning Toss attack. His breath attack is now a cloud of diseased dust which, in addition to dealing damage equal to half his HP, inflicts the same poison as his bite attack if inhaled. As an undead he gets the usual undead immunities and weaknesses. He believes he's a Lich but his counselors lied to him about the resurrection magic. The "phylactery" held by his loving wife is just a metal bowl with a snake painted on it. If injured he retreats to the Flooded Gallery and pokes the Thrifs, using their Finger of Death ability to heal himself up to full.

 

His tattered wrappings hold 10,000 SP in grave goods.

 

GRAVEYARD CRABS

Tottering giant crabs. Rumored to have grown huge on a diet of ancient corpses, but just the natural end of the Sentinel Crab lifecycle. Too big, too fat, cannot sustain the necessary feeding and shedding. They go to ancestral grave sites, where - amidst great drifts of fragile, demineralised remains - they topple over and die. Giant Crab but double HD and add an extra D6 to the claw attack.

 

LIHSUSAR

Lihsusar the Wood Elf is Apophis' only surviving wife. The marriage is strained because the undead Linnorm is totally uninterested in sex. At least she enjoys feeding his snakes and long walks in the desert. Evil in the sense that she enjoys the benefits of being a tyrant's wife, or at least did while he was alive. Not insane and unreasonable like her husband. Wears just a transparent cloak pinned at the neck and jewelry, only adding a hat and robe if she has to go out in the sun.

 

Elf Level 6, spells Hold Portal, Read Magic, Detect Invisible, Phantasmal Force, Invisibility 10’ Radius, Hold Person. Bracelet of Invisibility to Undead, Potion of Invulnerability, Potion of Gaseous Form, 450 SP in gems. Can scream to call her husband the Linnorm and the Amber Golem in 24.

  

MARSH CLAMS, GIANT 

Edible bear traps.  Easily dispatched while their mouths are open (no roll to-hit necessary). Only dangerous beneath the waterline where you can't see them. Stepping in one immobilizes the leg and takes a Save vs Breath Weapon to avoid falling over and being submerged. STR 10 to pry it open, or 13 if trying to lever it off your own leg.

  

SENTINEL CRABS 

About the size of a dog; shells make cheap, short-lived shields. Signal to each other with rhythmic claw clicking, gathering in greater, louder and more intimidating numbers around whatever their current interest. Normally non-aggressive scavengers and opportunists, will defend their space or pick on wounded characters. Stats as Giant Crab (OSE).

 

THRIF 

Elemental anemone-urchins that spawn in places with heavy necromantic fetor. Absolutely loaded with dark mana. Respond instinctively to stimuli, casually lethal. Stats as Shrieker (OSE) but replace the Shriek with Finger of Death, cast instinctively when touched or damaged.

 

 

LOCAL ENCOUNTERS

By night, APOPHIS rampages across the landscape.

By twilight, LIHSUSAR traps jerboas and other small animals for snakes to eat.

By day, Snakes from the Reptile House.

THE MAKING OF

This one's got a lot of tedious chopping through undead and instant death effects, too much of which can kill a megadungeon. Without the Linnorm you could solve most of it by just kindling a really big fire. Ideally the combination of filler monsters and the semi-intelligent beast hunting the players through the dungeon will add some texture to the encounter.

 

The surface map is by Dyson. The dungeon map is Valley of the Kings 5: the Tomb of Ramses' sons. It's the most elaborate tomb in the Valley of the Kings, maybe in all of Ancient Egypt. Monsters from the Necropolis River Delta by the same guy who did the Biblepunk creatures. Room details from the Elfmaids blog.