Thursday, May 10, 2018

Snake's Head Cave - a side quest for Tomb of Annihilation

INTRODUCTION
The following is a side-quest for Tomb of Annihilation. I originally wrote it back in 2014 for Dungeon Crawl Classics. The characters in my ToA campaign decided to go hunting pirates and they captured the Emerald Eye under the command of Captain Al-Saryak. Captain Al-Saryak had no treasure so I rationalized that of course he wouldn't keep his treasure on his ship, he'd keep it hidden somewhere. So I quickly found my old dungeon and updated it for Tomb of Annihilation. 

The adventure was prepared for four or five 4th level adventurers. Be warned that the Yuan-Ti Broodguard are tough and the Yuan-Ti section is intentionally designed to be difficult. My player characters were forced to retreat from Area 18 and I had the yuan-ti, who themselves were pretty injured, let them leave. It could have easily ended in a TPK. 

HOOK
The players come into the possession of a key and the following mysterious drawing. In my campaign the map was among the possessions of Captain Al-Saryak on the Emerald Eye and indicated the location of his hidden treasure. The map and key could just as easily belong to a dead explorer found in the jungle or sold by a desperate fugitive in Port Nyanzaru. 

The lines inside the snake represent the many branching passages inside the Snake's Head Cave, indicating which direction to take at each branch in order to find the hidden treasure. 


I located the Snake's Head Cave where a mine is indicated north of Jahaka Bay but the caves themselves can be located anywhere in Chult or anywhere in any setting really.


BACKGROUND
The cavern complex known as "Snake's Head Cave" was once a mine that served the Yuan-Ti city of Hisari. The mine was abandoned centuries ago and other creatures have since taken up residence within the chambers and passages.

A few years ago, a yuan-ti wizard named Eth-To took up residence within a part of the cavern. The wizard needed a safe location to conduct his arcane experiments. Taking human form, he struck a deal with the local pirates operating out of Jahaka Bay. He would manufacture and supply the pirates with magical sending stones in exchange for captured slaves. The pirates could use the sending stones to communicate over long distances in order to coordinate their activities. He would transform some of the slaves into Yuan-Ti Broodguard to act as guards while the rest would work to seal off his reclaimed portion of the caverns from the areas still inhabited by wild creatures.



KEY
1. Entrance. The carved snake’s head dates back thousands of years. A few harmless snakes slither about.

 2. Snake Pit #1. The entire chamber descends 20’ at a sharp angle like a funnel leading to a 10’ diameter pit of snakes at the bottom. A swarm of snakes occupies the 10’ diameter area at bottom of the pit. Anyone hugging the wall and inching their way around the outside of the pit at half-speed must make a Dexterity Saving Throw vs. DC 15 to avoid falling into the pit. Strength (Athletics) vs. DC 10 to climb out at half speed.

3 . Snake Pit #2. The entire chamber descends 20’ at a sharp angle like a funnel leading to a 10’ diameter pit of snakes at the bottom. A swarm of snakes occupies the 10’ diameter area at bottom of the pit. Anyone hugging the wall and inching their way around the outside of the pit at half-speed must make a Dexterity Saving Throw vs. DC 15 to avoid falling into the pit. Strength (Athletics) vs. DC 15 to climb out at half speed.

4. Crumbling Pylons. Crumbling pylons of stone rise from the foggy darkness of this seemingly bottomless chamber. Jumping to a pillar requires a success Dexterity (Acrobatics) skill check vs. DC 10. Failure results in a fall of 100 feet. The northeast edge of the largest pylon as well as the landing at the northeast exit is crumbling and will collapse under the weight of any medium-sized creature or larger. Anyone standing on the crumbling area must succeed a Dexterity Saving Throw vs. DC 10 or fall 100 feet. A nearby friend can make a Dexterity Saving throw vs. a DC 10 to catch the character and prevent their fall.

5. Falling Debris. The ceiling of this passage is dangerously unstable. For every 20 feet traversed in the passage, a character must pass a Dexterity Saving Throw vs. DC 10 to avoid 1d6 damage from falling rocks. Anyone with a Passive Perception of 15 or better may attempt the Saving Throw with Advantage.

6. Makeshift Barricade. The human slaves were forced to build this makeshift barricade out of sharpened sticks and rocks to keep the zombies out. It takes 1 hour minus 1 minute per Strength + Constitution to remove the rocks.

7. Slime Passage. Anyone entering this chamber automatically notices that the floor and walls are coated with slime. 2 ochre jellies lurk on the ceiling in the center of the passage.

8. Secret Door. A carved niche shows a blank wall, concealing a secret door that opens outward. No skill check is required to see the door. It is meant to allow an easy escape from the northeast corner of Area 22.

9. Spider Nest. 1d4-2  giant spiders lurking in the ceiling. If no spiders are present, they are out hunting the rest of the caverns (see Optional Encounter #2).

10. Goreto's Sword. An old rusty sword stands upright in an empty cavern filled with sand. Anyone attempting to remove the sword finds it difficult to move. Anyone who wants to remove the sword from the sand must make five Strength (Athletics) skill checks vs. DC 15. If they score three or more failures, they sprain a muscle and take 1d6 damage. If they score three or more successes they successfully remove the sword from the sand. The sword belonged to Goreto whose ghost inhabits Area 30. It is not magical and is useless as a weapon.

11. Pirate Treasure. 30’ deep pool of clear cave water. Captain Al-Saryak’s treasure chest lies at the bottom of water, guarded by 2 giant octopuses. Treasure: 1600 sp, 1000 gp, 40 pp, Box of Perfumed Candles (25 gp), Feathered Talisman (25 gp), Iron Brooch (25 gp), Fine Cloth Sash trimmed with Leopard Fur (25 gp), Copper Cloth Hunter's Cap (25 gp), Silver Cloth Hunter's Cap (25 gp), Spell Scroll (Ensnaring Strike) (common, dmg 200), Potion of Greater Healing (uncommon, dmg 187), 3 x Potion of Healing (common, dmg 187).

Note - The pirate treasure above was a level 4 random treasure hoard from the DMG. However, the initial results didn't seem adequate for a pirate treasure so I multiplied the coinage by 10. All the randomly generated copper became silver. All the randomly generated silver became gold. Gold became platinum. The gems and potions and scrolls remained the same. Generate your own.

12. Cave In. The cave ceiling has collapsed, resulting in a pile of debris. The daily passage of bats from area 13 has covered the debris in bat guano. A medium sized creature must squeeze through the gap. 1 swarm of insects emerges from the debris to crawl over and attack anyone squeezing through the gap.

13. Bat Cave. Floor covered in guano. A swarm of bats reside on the ceiling. They will emerge and attack each creature in the room once before fleeing through area 12.

14. Human Excrement. Floor covered in excrement, both human and yuan-ti, indicating habitation within. Anyone disturbing the excrement gains the attention of the otyugh that dwells within. The otyugh is friendly and will answer any questions about the yuan-ti and human slaves dwelling within. If left undisturbed, the otyugh minds its business and remains hidden.

15. Guard Post. 2 yuan-ti broodguard stand guard. If one reduced to half its maximum hit points, it will disengage to warn the others in area 18.

16. Transformation Chamber. Room where human slaves are transformed into yuan-ti broodguard. There are six writhing semi-humanoid maggot-like beings in mid-transformation, chained to the wall, begging to be killed.

17. Storage Chamber. Area where food and water is stored.

18. Yuan-Ti Chamber. 1 yuan-ti pureblood and 4 yuan-ti broodguard have orders to defend the lair from any intruders.

19. Slave Chamber.  7 Human slaves (commoners) chained to the wall.

20. Yuan-Ti Chamber.  1 yuan-ti anathema, 1 yuan-ti pureblood, and 2 yuan-yi broodguard have orders to defend the lair from any intruders.

21. Guardian Chamber. 1 shield guardian protects the entrance to area 22.

22.  Chamber of the Summoner. The chamber is squared like a proper civilized room. The walls are covered in silk tapestries. A work desk is located in the southwest corner. At the center of the room is a 10' diameter summoning circle containing a bound vrock. The yuan-ti mind-whisperer named Eth-To stands near the desk, in the process of performing a ritual that binds the demon to a rune stone on the desk. The Mind Whisperer summons demons and binds them into rune stones to create the stones of sending. Anyone standing within 5 feet of the vrock who makes and attack action or is attacked must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity Saving Throw to avoid accidentally breaking the circle and freeing the vrock. If attacked, the Mind Whisperer will call for help. The Shield Guardian will arrive and join the combat on the following round. The yuan-ti from area 20 will arrive and join the combat in 1d4+2 rounds. Once the Mind Whisperer loses half its maximum hit points, it will attempt to disengage and flee through the concealed door, hidden by tapestries in the northern corner of the east wall, into area 8. If that way is unavailable, it will attempt to disengage and flee through the entrance to area 21. Treasure: a matched pair of sending stones.

23. Mushroom Grove. Mundane mushrooms of prodigious size.

24. Mushroom Grove. 2 gas spores and 4 violet fungus hide among the mundane giant mushrooms.

25. Sandy Cave. Floor covered in harmless insects. 1 giant centipede lurks within.

26. Empty Cave. Nothing of interest here. See optional encounters below.

27. Giant Lizard. 1 giant lizard is munching on the corpse of a dead slave.

28. Dumping GroundDumping Ground. The bodies of dead slaves were dumped here. The Death Curse has caused them to spontaneously rise as undead. 6 skeletons and 4 zombies rise from the pile of decaying human remains to attack anyone who enters.

29. Dumping Ground. The bodies of dead slaves were dumped here. The Death Curse has caused them to spontaneously rise as undead. 2 ghouls, 2 zombies, and 4 skeletons rise from the pile of decaying human remains to attack anyone who enters.

30. Ghost Pirate. Goreto, a deranged ghost of a dead pirate killed by Captain Al-Saryak, haunts the chamber in which he was killed. His decayed remains lay on the floor. A successful Intelligence (Investigation) skill check vs. DC 15 reveals that Goreto was stabbed in the back over a year ago. Goreto's ghost will attack anyone that enters the chamber. Returning Goreto's sword from area 10 will placate the ghost. He will become friendly and will answer any questions about Captain Al-Saryak or the pirates of Jahaka Bay.

Optional Encounter #1. If the player characters find the treasure in area 11 and are making their exit from the caves without having previously defeated the vrock, they encounter the injured and lost vrock with half its maximum hit points and having expended its daily stunning screech action. The vrock is lost and looking for the exit. It is frustrated and enraged and will attack anyone it sees.


Optional Encounter #2. If no spiders are encountered in area 9, that means the spiders are out hunting and the player character may encounter the spiders elsewhere.


BY SPECIAL REQUEST
I was asked to include the original map with the snake head at the top, so here it is.



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