PDA

View Full Version : [4ed] Tomb of Buried Dragons



Grug
2008-07-02, 11:21 PM
Dan, Andrew, Corrinne, Sarah, Prasant, and John, don't read this.

My group just finished the Built-In adventure for 4ed, and now I'm prepared to make my very own. It's a relatively simple affair. After the kobolds were dealt with, the Players get invited to join an up and coming adventurers' guild. Their first job seems simple: While digging a well, a pair of farmers uncover an old staircase to an underground complex. They found some treasure in the first room, but could hear something moving deeper in the complex and fled. So to find more treasure (and what I'm calling "Historical Artifacts" for the Guild Leader), the PCs are sent. They will be level 2 when they start.

After descending, the first room is empty. The second room seems simple: four Zombies and a Corruption corpse. However, there are three doors leading out. One is barred with metal, and has an Iron Cobra inside that will attack any zombies or players it finds. The second door is locked, but a Zombie on the inside tries to break out every turn. this is bad because not only does it mean another zombie, but puffs of poisonous green gas escape with every bash. If the zombie escapes, the room will be partially flooded with poison (Cloud, +5 vs. Fortitude, Hit: Ongoing 5 poison damage and -2 penalty to attack rolls (save ends). However, once the gas clears, there is a 100gp pearl in the room.

The third door leads to a hallway that branches right as well as straight. This is where I'm a bit tentative, because I designed my own trap and not sure if it's too strong or not. When someone enters the 2 by 2 square intersection, a press drops down to squish. If there's a creature under it, the Press attacks at the end of the round and then retracts. (+12 vs. Reflex, 3d4+4 damage and knocked prone). It's meant to be a little overpowered, but that's because there are a variety of ways to avoid it. You can jump over the trigger area, or you can scramble around a corner with a DC 9 Acrobatics check. You can also choose to catch the trap bodily with a DC 22 Endurance check, where you take 2d4+4 damage and no one else gets hit. A perception check DC 22 lets the plaers see there is a small latch in the exact center of the slamming area. The problem is that if it is pulled, the trap will smash it back down. The original denizens would use a long hook to work the latch, but barring that the trap must be caught for the latch to stay up and deactivate the trap.

If the players go to the right, they had a further choice of rooms. to the south are a few zombies, but also some rubble, a chest, and two potions and a shield in the corner. If they accidentally trigger the rockslide by forcibly moving a zombie next to the wall, using a burst or blast, or killing two zombies, the potions are crushed and ruined. The shield, however, remains and with blast away any zombie forced onto it (it's a shield of Bashing for the fighter). the chest contains some money and Bracers of Perfect Aim (or whatever they're called) for the Warlock.

To the north lies an armory, and an Elite skeleton spars with two skeleton partners. Standard fight, although the sparring ring is a Ring of Blood, giving everyone inside +1 to damage and +2 to confirm crits. The Elite wields a Frost Greataxe, a treat for the party's Paladin.

There is a secret door in the north wall, leading to a hidden Wizard Lab. There, an Imp is willing to reveal the location of a magic item in the lab if they can entertain it. Once the location is revealed, the Imp attacks. The item is for the Wizard. The lab also opens to the west, leading to another secret door. However, if it is opened, water spews out.

To the North of the Press trap is a room with a large fountain. the other secret door ends up under this fountain. The room is a nest for Fire Beetles, which had tunneled in. If the players are in the water, they get a +2 bonus to reflex defense against the flames.

West from the Fountain room is a most insidious trap, again by me. The hall appears to lead south to a double door and north to a set of stairs, but the southern door is a fake, opening to reveal various sharp, whirling objects as the wall moves closer. In addition, the way back is blocked by a portcullis. The only option is to retreat to the north, but the hallway is blocked by about two dozen undead minions. the players must smash their way through the bodies before they are puree'd.

Safe on the stairs, the wall returns to it's original place, and a lever allows for deactivation. The next room is another fairly straightforward fight. Some amount of corruptors are on a pair of balconies with a wood catwalk between them, and some skeletons on the ground. The walls and floor under the catwalks are trapped with thrusting spikes. The players can wait for the zombies to go on the bridge and then blast it to make them fall/get trapped. They can also run through the spiked floor to get to the doors. In the hallway beyond are stairs leading up to the balconies.

The next area is the climax: A large chamber consisting of a gaping pit, with a short catwalk leading to a large platform suspended by eight chains made of precious metals. The encounter is with a Dreadmist Wight and some undead flunkies. The players will certainly be shocked when they see the Wight bring back one of the zombies. If they are victorious, the Wight was a greedy adventurer who had been puzzling for centuries about how to get these chains without causing the entire platform to plummet. the treasure he already had is tucked in a pile behind a pedestal.

The pedestal is circular and divided into eight holes. A magic Dragon's Skullplate, given at the end of the last adventure, starts to glow if near. If the skull is put into the slot, a voice wells up. The voice claims to be Bahamut, and tells the party's Dragonborn Paladin that there are seven other dragons in the world that carry a mark on their very souls. The silver chain breaks off and floats to the players as treasure, while that part of the platform starts glowing, like levitation. If these dragons are slain and brought to the Tomb again, a great reward will appear.

Honestly, the voice isn't Bahamut but the spirit of a wizard, the last of the wizards that presided over the place. The "Dragons" are not all true dragons. One is a Dragonborne, another is a Vampire from a knightly order known as "The Dragons of Khel". The skullplate of each is delivered, with a greater and greater reward each time. When all eight are found, it is revealed that the platform descends far into the earth, eventually reaching the core, where the Slumbering Tarrasque is available for study, teasing, or harvesting of the diamonds on it's shell.

What do you think? Give feedback plz. Also, someone please tell Azerian Kelimon that we need to talk.

Grug
2008-07-03, 08:50 AM
No one is interested? Come on, you're breaking my heart.

Savageman
2008-07-03, 01:24 PM
It sounds fun. I just got the 4e rules so I can't say if it's an appropriate challenge (Wights? The Tarrasque???) but it seems like a good hook that will span your campaign.
Just don't be surprised if your players start wandering around in the mountains right away, looking for dragons.

AKA_Bait
2008-07-03, 01:27 PM
The Tarrasque seems to be a bit... much. Otherwise it looks ok.

Grug
2008-07-03, 03:10 PM
The point of the Tarrasque is that as the campaign goes on, the players will return multiple times, with more and more skulls/keys. It seems like a nice campaign-end reward to have infinite wealth/a doomsday weapon.

Grug
2008-07-04, 06:51 PM
BUMP! If you review mine, I'll review yours!

Colmarr
2008-07-07, 12:28 AM
Some feedback. When considering my input, bear in mind that I don't own the 4e DMG so some of what I have to say could be off-base.


The second door is locked, but a Zombie on the inside tries to break out every turn. this is bad because not only does it mean another zombie, but puffs of poisonous green gas escape with every bash. If the zombie escapes, the room will be partially flooded with poison (Cloud, +5 vs. Fortitude, Hit: Ongoing 5 poison damage and -2 penalty to attack rolls (save ends). However, once the gas clears, there is a 100gp pearl in the room.

How do you know when the zombie breaks out? What does "partially flooded" mean? Does it only fill certain squares, or is the whole room filled but you can try to avoid breathing the fumes?


When someone enters the 2 by 2 square intersection, a press drops down to squish. If there's a creature under it, the Press attacks at the end of the round and then retracts. (+12 vs. Reflex, 3d4+4 damage and knocked prone). It's meant to be a little overpowered, but that's because there are a variety of ways to avoid it. You can jump over the trigger area, or you can scramble around a corner with a DC 9 Acrobatics check. You can also choose to catch the trap bodily with a DC 22 Endurance check, where you take 2d4+4 damage and no one else gets hit. A perception check DC 22 lets the players see there is a small latch in the exact center of the slamming area. The problem is that if it is pulled, the trap will smash it back down. The original denizens would use a long hook to work the latch, but barring that the trap must be caught for the latch to stay up and deactivate the trap.

What is the perception DC to notice the trap (as opposed to the latch) before triggering it? Is it appropriate to have the attack roll so high (it's almost an auto-hit). It's also my understanding the 4e intends to steer away from stand-alone traps unless they are part of an encounter (like your "hall full of mooks" trap). If so, this trap seems out of place here. Is there somewhere else in the dungeon it would fit better?


If the players go to the right, they had a further choice of rooms. to the south are a few zombies, but also some rubble, a chest, and two potions and a shield in the corner. If they accidentally trigger the rockslide by forcibly moving a zombie next to the wall, using a burst or blast, or killing two zombies, the potions are crushed and ruined. The shield, however, remains and with blast away any zombie forced onto it (it's a shield of Bashing for the fighter). the chest contains some money and Bracers of Perfect Aim (or whatever they're called) for the Warlock.

I like this room :smallsmile: But: Is there a perception or dungeoneering DC to notice the risk of landslide? What happens to PCs or monsters caught in the collapse? And why include the potions at all if killing the enemies means that the potions are lost?


There is a secret door in the north wall, leading to a hidden Wizard Lab. There, an Imp is willing to reveal the location of a magic item in the lab if they can entertain it. Once the location is revealed, the Imp attacks. The item is for the Wizard. The lab also opens to the west, leading to another secret door. However, if it is opened, water spews out.

What happens when the water spews out? Does it do damage? Does it completely drain the fountain?


To the North of the Press trap is a room with a large fountain. the other secret door ends up under this fountain. The room is a nest for Fire Beetles, which had tunneled in. If the players are in the water, they get a +2 bonus to reflex defense against the flames.

The +2 reflex vs flames is great use of terrain and really highlights the core concept behind 4e.


West from the Fountain room is a most insidious trap, again by me. The hall appears to lead south to a double door and north to a set of stairs, but the southern door is a fake, opening to reveal various sharp, whirling objects as the wall moves closer. In addition, the way back is blocked by a portcullis. The only option is to retreat to the north, but the hallway is blocked by about two dozen undead minions. the players must smash their way through the bodies before they are puree'd.

Safe on the stairs, the wall returns to it's original place, and a lever allows for deactivation.

What happens if the PCs go north first? Are the minions there? If not, where do they come from? How fast does the wall of doom move. What does it do if it catches a PC (or if the PCs push/pull/slide a monster into it?)


The next room is another fairly straightforward fight. Some amount of corruptors are on a pair of balconies with a wood catwalk between them, and some skeletons on the ground. The walls and floor under the catwalks are trapped with thrusting spikes. The players can wait for the zombies to go on the bridge and then blast it to make them fall/get trapped. They can also run through the spiked floor to get to the doors. In the hallway beyond are stairs leading up to the balconies.

Another good use of terrain.

General comments

I like a lot of what you have done, especially with keeping the terrain interesting and relevant. I also like that you've included some non-undead in the dungeon to keep things fresh.

However, you do seem to have fallen into the "trap" of using homogenous enemies. "Room A is full of zombies. Room B is full of skeletons." I think it's more interesting for your PCs if you mix and match wherever possible. Eg. Zombies strike me as better sparing partners for the elite skeleton because they can take more punishment "without going to pieces". An added bonus is that the PCs face two different types of enemies in the same encounter.

Grug
2008-07-07, 02:47 PM
About half of the traps and rooms aren't statted yet due to time constraints.

The zombie makes an attack against the door every round to break it. A player can brace the door as a move action, giving the zombie a -2 penalty to it's stegnth attack. The gas fills up a certain number of squares. If you start your turn in the square, it attacks you.

The trap itself is a small encounter. I forgot to mention that, in addition to deactivating or dancing around it, it also breaks when triggered 5 times. It does more damage than usual to reflect this weakness. I have to yet to write the DCs.

The point of the potions is that if the players notice the slide with a Perception or Dungeoneering role, they should be able to realize they need to grab the potions before the slide.

Yes and Yes

Thank you :smallsmile:

Thanks for bringing this up. You've inspired me: Instead of the choice being minions to the north or door to the south, it will be only south. When they open the door, the wall swings, opening the way north and closing the way back, also revealing the mooks. The wall hurts and pushes, but if the pc can't move they get critically hit. The minions are zombies as well as skeletons.

Thanks again :smallbiggrin: again there are skeletons as well as Corruption corpses.

Thanks for the input!