Dungeon23 - Week 3 - The Sun King's Palace

I continue to the northern part of the old fort. Here, we start a larger complex - the remains of the old palace. The design is starting to come together for me. The palace resembles more of a traditional dungeon. Here's my default layout for each level - how the four weeks relate to each other spatially:

W4 | W3

W2 | W1

I've been using this article on empty rooms, from I Cast Light, to give my empty rooms some more flavor as well as Tricks, Empty Rooms, and Basic Trap Design for additional inspiration and help with furniture and traps. I'm pretty happy with this week's designs compared to last week. The buildings feel more connected and 'alive' - every room had a past function as well as a present function by its new inhabitants. This provides multiple angles for the PCs to interact with each room. This week, there's a lot of Corvold and Goblin areas. I might reconsider their placements, as there are several rooms where they are adjacent to one another (and I already like the idea of them being warring factions of the dungeon). I might move the Goblins from 1-19 to 1-21. I'm also not sure how I feel about 1-22 being controlled by the Corvolds, but I like my use for the room. Honestly, there's no reason to change it until I actually run it with some friends, but these are the things I'm thinking typing it up.

1-16 The Trapped Tower - A guard tower in good condition - there are signs here of somewhat recent (~past 50 years) repair, including a new thatched roof. Hay is spread out around the tower on all sides. There is a 20' deep pit trap on the west of the tower (triggered by a lever inside the tower). There is a heavy locked metal door on the north wall. (I might make this pit trap connect to the next level down if I want another way down. At the time of writing this, I have 2 - areas 1-8 and 1-23).

1-17 The Old Prison - The door to this building is blocked off by rubble and its domed roof is still intact. There is a crack in the south wall, tight enough that a human in metal armor can't fit through. There are 6 cells in the building, their doors long rotted. The middle two cells are covered in carvings of stars and eyes - some very old and some newer.

1-18 The Profaned Temple - An old temple space. There is a large section of destroyed wall in the south with a lot of rubble covering the floor. There is a ancient smashed stone altar in the center of the room and in front of it a crude statue (7' tall) of stone and metal has been erected. The statue is quite crude and resembles a humanoid figure with a broken ram's horn protruding from its head but no other details can be made out. (The statue is of The Starless Night, a Chaos god of entropy. The goblins leave rotting animals and corpses here as part of their devotion) Seven dead Corvolds lie in the room, spread out between the southern wall and the statue. (If any Lawful or Neutral creature crosses the threshold of the room, poison gas will spray out from the statue, covering 10 squares every round. Save vs Poison or die).

1-19 The Burial Pit - The center of the room is a large pit, 10' deep in the middle, with a sheer drop off around the edge (easy for an unarmored person to climb in and out of, but someone in metal armor would have difficulty). Dozens and dozens of goblin corpses are in the pit - in various states of decay. This was originally a dumping ground for the Corvolds. After fighting the Goblins, they would dump the bodies here as well until the Goblins mistook it for a sacred space and began intentionally burying their dead here. 2d4 goblins are here ant any given time, either ministering to the dead or standing guard. They will avoid the southern side of the room if possible.

1-20 The Great Antechamber (Corvold's Nest) - A large room. The walls are covered in poorly preserved bas reliefs. Nine large pillars stand in the room - the southwestern one is collapsed. This is the main nest of the Corvolds who live in the old fort. Driving them out of here will reduce their numbers throughout the rest of the level. 6d10 Corovlds, a 2HD chieftain with a magic sword and 1d6 1+1HD guards live here. At any given time, 50% of the Corvolds are out, scouting, hunting, or performing other activities. If the Chieftain is killed, it is only a matter of time until the Goblins overrun the area. The remaining Corvolds will flee to the countryside or below ground if their escape is blocked.

1-21 The Old Scriptorium (Goblin Killing Grounds) - Numerous broken stone bookshelves dot the room. Scraps of parchment and broken pottery fragments are on the shelves. 2d8 dead Goblins are scattered around the room, having come from area 1-25.

1-22 The Priest's Quarters  (Corvold's Prison) - The walls of this room are not at all decorated, in stark contrast to the surrounding rooms. Five wooden cages are in the room holding the Corvold's prisoners. The contents of the cages are listed here:

Creature	Chance of Appearing	Number
Expedition Members	50%	1d6
Rogue Corvold	10%	1
Goblins	75%	1d4
Sloth Bears	100%	2

The Sloth Bears are being trained by the Chieftain to be attack animals and mounts, however they are of a generally friendly disposition and aren't interested in fighting.

Sloth Bear AC 7 [12], HD 2 (9hp), Att 2 x claw (1d3), 1 x bite (1d6), THAC0 18 [+1], MV 120' (40'), SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (2), ML 10, AL Neutral, XP 20, NA 1d4 (1d6), TT U. Bear Hug: If a victim is hit by both paws in the same round, the bear hugs for an extra 2d8 automatic damage. Easily Trainable: These bears are more easily trained in captivity than other bears. Resolute: Will not flee from battle unless severely injured, preferring to stand their ground.