"You enter the mines..." [3.5]

[TheCountAlucard]

The fifth-level PCs of my game are in the employ of a famous artificer (not the class, just a title) who calls himself "the Machinist." Basically picture Doc Brown from Back to the Future, except cover him in cyborg grafts and gear his obsession toward building golems and the like. He's currently working on some top-secret project, and the PCs are helping to gather exotic ingredients for him.

The current material he's having them seek is a relatively large amount of unworked adamantine.

Naturally, the obvious solution would be to find an adamantine mine and seize control of it. Of course, if said mine is being used by anything, that might make claiming it a little hard for the PCs... but then again, would it be fun if it was nice and easy?

...which is why I've come to you, the Playground, seeking ideas for interesting/challenging encounters to throw at them on this quest. Natural hazards, obscure-yet-oddly-fitting critters from the depths of the Monster Manuals, grumpy halfings, if you'd care to throw an idea my way, my ears are open.

The party consists of an Elven Evoker Wizard, a Half-Elf Fighter (worships Heironeous), a Gnome Rogue, a Halfling Rogue, a Human Ranger, and a Human Favored Soul of Bahamut.

Much appreciation to those who are willing to help!

[Jack_Simth]

Well, let's see...

Dwarves would likely be mining the ore if there wasn't a specific reason for them not to be doing so (AKA, monsters). And I suspect dwarves would be quite upset if someone were to come by to steal their vein of ore.

Maybe it's a haunted mine? Almost any undead will do for that (Ghosts, Ghouls, Ghasts, Zombies, Skeletons, Shadows, Spectres, Wraiths, whatever)

Pull out the Planar Handbook, and look through the assorted denizens of the plane of elemental earth - should give you some ideas (and anything that can go through stone like it was air or water would be rather annoying in an area where you'll be surrounded by it).

[BobVosh]

A dwarven mine, of course! Except they are a druid circle that believe you shouldn't corrupt the land by pulling the metal from the earth. No one expects hippy dwarves protecting a mine, rather than mining it.

Also on a completely unrelated note: I always thought your name should be TheTnuocAlucard

*edit* Mildly ninjaed!

[Beelzebub1111]

Kobolds. Kobolds are the best miners (only race that I can think of with a bonus to profession(miner)) so naturally they would be found in mines. Have them set up monstrously compex traps and have equipment from The Mechanist's previous employees to supliment them.

[BRC]

The party finds a Gnome very willing to sell them the Mine for a mere 10,000 GP (A Bargain for a find of this value!)
He fails to mention that the Mine in question, though it does contain alot of Adamantine, is sentient, and will attack miners with falling rocks, cave ins, summoned Earth Elementals, and gas.

[Atelm]

Xorns, so many Xorns it's not even funny.

Advance your standard twig blights (MM2) with a few HD, and have there be a colony of those lurking in the mines. The previous miners ran into them as they dug deeper, and now the twig blights are hungry again.

Perhaps there's a rift to the lower planes at the bottom of the mines, spewing forth various demons or devils.

[aivanther]

Ongoing three way war between dwarves, kobold, and duregar. Each side has different conditions they are willing to give the PCs on the condition they help defeat the other two sides.

The dwarves will give you whatever amount you want, they have the strongest forces but are near the surface and are not very entrenched.

The kobolds are willing to let you mine as much as you want for as long as you want, and have an item or two to give in addition. They are entrenched and have a series of elaborate traps, secret passageways, and leave maps lying around that are apparently accurate but are actually misleading.

The duregar will divide the mine up half and half with the PCs. They are invading, and are not entrenched at all. But they have a cadre of underdark type druids, psions, and psychic warriors as well as some very nasty allies to overcome before they'll be dissuaded from continuing attacks.

[TheCountAlucard]

And I suspect dwarves would be quite upset if someone were to come by to steal their vein of ore.

Can't argue with that.

Maybe it's a haunted mine?

Also not a bad option.

Pull out the Planar Handbook, and look through the assorted denizens of the plane of elemental earth - should give you some ideas (and anything that can go through stone like it was air or water would be rather annoying in an area where you'll be surrounded by it).

I'll certainly give it a look. Tactical advantages should certainly make things interesting - the party's won the last couple of fights in just a couple of rounds with minimal damage to themselves by getting the surprise round.

Except they are a druid circle that believe you shouldn't corrupt the land by pulling the metal from the earth. No one expects hippy dwarves protecting a mine, rather than mining it.

Druids? I don't wanna kill the party...

Kobolds are the best miners (only race that I can think of with a bonus to profession(miner)) so naturally they would be found in mines.

Can't believe I didn't think of these! For extra fun, if I go with kobolds, they'll be worshippers of Tiamat.

Have them set up monstrously compex traps and have equipment from The Mechanist's previous employees to supliment them.

Not a bad idea, either. After all, the party shouldn't be the only ones that the Machinist hired...

The party finds a Gnome very willing to sell them the Mine for a mere 10,000 GP (A Bargain for a find of this value!)

Unfortunately, the PCs don't have that kind of money on-hand; I think setting too high a price might just cause them to decide killing the gnome would be simpler.

Xorns, so many Xorns it's not even funny.

They're certainly freaky enough, and the Earth Glide would give the xorns a nice tactical advantage...

Advance your standard twig blights (MM2) with a few HD, and have there be a colony of those lurking in the mines. The previous miners ran into them as they dug deeper, and now the twig blights are hungry again.

Refresh my memory, what are twig blights again?

Perhaps there's a rift to the lower planes at the bottom of the mines, spewing forth various demons or devils.

Devils could always use some more love.

Ongoing three way war between dwarves, kobold, and duregar. Each side has different conditions they are willing to give the PCs on the condition they help defeat the other two sides.

Interesting, interesting...

[Volkov]

The fifth-level PCs of my game are in the employ of a famous artificer (not the class, just a title) who calls himself "the Machinist." Basically picture Doc Brown from Back to the Future, except cover him in cyborg grafts and gear his obsession toward building golems and the like. He's currently working on some top-secret project, and the PCs are helping to gather exotic ingredients for him.

The current material he's having them seek is a relatively large amount of unworked adamantine.

Naturally, the obvious solution would be to find an adamantine mine and seize control of it. Of course, if said mine is being used by anything, that might make claiming it a little hard for the PCs... but then again, would it be fun if it was nice and easy?

...which is why I've come to you, the Playground, seeking ideas for interesting/challenging encounters to throw at them on this quest. Natural hazards, obscure-yet-oddly-fitting critters from the depths of the Monster Manuals, grumpy halfings, if you'd care to throw an idea my way, my ears are open.

The party consists of an Elven Evoker Wizard, a Half-Elf Fighter (worships Heironeous), a Gnome Rogue, a Halfling Rogue, a Human Ranger, and a Human Favored Soul of Bahamut.

Much appreciation to those who are willing to help!

So the machinist is essentially an Adeptus mechanicus techpriest?

[AmberVael]

I say combine some of these. By this, I mean: Kobolds riding Xorns.

Give them crossbows and mounted feats. Making them cowboys, but in mines, and the ability to burrow through rock.

It'll be awesome.

Edit: Maybe substitute Ashworms or Thoqquas for Xorns, though they'd need fire resistance to use the latter.

[BRC]

Unfortunately, the PCs don't have that kind of money on-hand; I think setting too high a price might just cause them to decide killing the gnome would be simpler.

Fine 1000 GP.

The point is, the mine should be sentient.

[ka_bna]

They enter the mines ... and it's empty! An other artificer, who wants the adamantium too, has sent an expedition/party to retrieve the precious metal.
Problem is, they have mined all the adamantium in what seems one day, which is of course magically fast!

So, there are two objectives.
1. Hunt and chase the other party, whose members are scrambling to get away, just as they are tucking the last adamantium in their bag of holdings. Both hunter and hunted must overcome hazards and creatures, while traveling. Which may lead to cut-down rope bridges, deceived duergar, and some monsters feasting on a party member of the hunted group.

2. Players may deduce that there is a magic device which can extract adamantium at an extreme rate (of course, the device may break down often). The Machinist may give players a most generous reward should they "acquire" this device. But where is it? Surely underground mining communities have heard rumors about this thing...

[TheCountAlucard]

So the machinist is essentially an Adeptus mechanicus techpriest?

...not a big player of 40k, I'm afraid.

I say combine some of these. By this, I mean: Kobolds riding Xorns.

Considering that Xorns eat metal, I can't see too much reason for either one to work with the other, but it'd nonetheless make for an interesting fight...

Maybe substitute Ashworms or Thoqquas for Xorns, though they'd need fire resistance to use the latter.

Mind reminding me where these are from?

[AmberVael]

Mind reminding me where these are from?

Thoqqua is in the SRD.

Ashworm is from Sandstorm (I think there are actually rules for riding them, too).

[JellyPooga]

I say have the mine infested with what I've lovingly dubbed "Cyst creatures" (because of a fluff thing about them growing within cysts in rock)...Half-Fiend Half-Shadow Dragon Thoqqua Mineral Warriors. I've stats for them in 4 stages from 3HD (newborn) to 9HD (elder) Cyst creatures, if you want them (though I'm sure you're capable of simply applying the templates yourself!).

Fighting their way through a hundred or so of these beasties shoulf be challenge enough to obtain a large quantity of adamantine.

[Eldariel]

Thoqqua is in the SRD.

Ashworm is from Sandstorm (I think there are actually rules for riding them, too).

Yeah, and there's even a PrC for it - Ashworm Dragoon. They're pretty good.

[Admiral Squish]

Oooh! Instead of those other worms, use Thrum worms! They're sorta domesticated burrowing rides with a light sonic attack. Gnomes use them, but I could see kobolds as having more fun.

[Schylerwalker]

I like the three way war idea. However, each group should be manipulated/controlled by some other force that wants the mines for their own nefarious purposes. Like the duergars are secretly cultists of Tharizdun who want the mine because there's an earth locus (Or whatever they're called) at the bottom, the kobolds are simply trying to claim the mine for their deep dragon overlord, while the dwarves are on a holy crusade for their lord Moradin...though the high priest leading them is actually a rakshasa with a ring of mind-shielding, and he wants to use the portal hidden in the depths of the mine to return to his home in Sigil...or, perhaps, bring a few of his friends into the Material Plane. None of these secret rulers really want the adamantine for themselves, though it would certainly be an added bonus.

[deuxhero]

An army of ghosts that turns out to be old man Jenkins in a mask.

[Escheton]

There is a dwarf subtype that can walk though stone and grab gems straight from the earth without mining.
Great hippie druids.
Might be dreamdwarfs, not sure.

[TheCountAlucard]

An army of ghosts.

Unfortunately, the Ranger's Animal Companion is a hawk, not a Great Dane.

[arguskos]

Why has no one suggested the Lodestone Marauder yet? It's a burrowing monster that eats metal and is from MM4. It's basically perfect for stuff like this.

[Neon Knight]

Because the Lodestone Mauler is... rather silly. The idea of a magnetic creature is solid, but less so when it pulls the party's weapons out of their hands, which then promptly stick to its body, making it look like a rather hilarious pincushion. The imagery isn't precisely conductive towards the monster being taken all that seriously.

[deuxhero]

Unfortunately, the Ranger's Animal Companion is a hawk, not a Great Dane.

Though the idea of Druids (as suggested above) with a Ghost Wildshape (you are the DM, make the needed ACF/feat up) doing it is pretty interesting. If you don't want to kill your PCs, make them wildshape (mystic) Rangers and call them Druids.

[Flickerdart]

Their guide did not lie: the mines are enormous, and positively chock full of adamantine. Adamantine that's already refined, even, and smelted. And in the form of Clockwork Horrors.

Alternately, the mine is a tiny, cramped place, unlike the massive caverns the guide made them out to be. This is because Earth Elementals have settled in, and latched themselves to the mines, blocking passageways and sucking dry the sweet, sweet adamantine to enhance their own power. Adamantine Elementals ho!

[arguskos]

Because the Lodestone Mauler is... rather silly. The idea of a magnetic creature is solid, but less so when it pulls the party's weapons out of their hands, which then promptly stick to its body, making it look like a rather hilarious pincushion. The imagery isn't precisely conductive towards the monster being taken all that seriously.

When it's munching on your face, you might take it a bit more seriously. You can laugh if you want, but I don't for the same reason I don't laugh at Rust Monsters: they hit you where it hurts.

[deuxhero]

Two(+three?) mad artificers that focus on making stuff blow up called Hyneman the Barbarian and Adam the Savage. They are using the mine as a test place for their new explosives.

[Squark]

Their guide did not lie: the mines are enormous, and positively chock full of adamantine. Adamantine that's already refined, even, and smelted. And in the form of Clockwork Horrors.

Isn't there only 1 or two of those things in existence, IIRC?

[Rising Phoenix]

Red Dragon: Did someone say adamantine? Free for the taking? Guess what I'll be doing...

[Raiki]

Suffering from tl;dr, but I do have a suggestion.

Are your players old hands at 3.5? Old enough to be familiar with the Epic Level Handbook? If they are, throw a (highly malfunctioning) Adamantine Golem at them. Hell, you could even make that be the source of the adamantine they were sent to obtain.

I know that my players just about crapped themselves when I threw a wyrmling prismatic dragon (CR14, but they didn't know that) at them, so I can vouch for its effectiveness.

Edit: Yes, there is only ever 1 adamantine horror, and it is, well, horrifying. Your party would die in about 2 rounds. And that's only if it stopped to chew.

~R~