Sunday 2 August 2020

d8: Dungeon! - Orc Temple


I made this map a few weeks ago, but didn't key it until now.

A - Entrance
A tunnel leads to this simple empty room. Crude clay idols with worthless glass eyes sit in alcoves along the wall, but one eye is actually a gem worth 10gp. The door to the east is locked, while to the south stone steps lead down to a hallway.

B - Store Room
Smoked fish, salted meat, dried Shrooms and other common goods are stored here in crates. The door is unlocked.

C - Commoners' Room
This unlocked, simple and cramped room houses the low caste pilgrims: 18 Orcs, a decrepit orc elder and 3 orc cubs (all four 1 HP non-fighters), as well as a distressed pet Boar (morale 7), waiting for the next celebration to offer their gifts to the gods: 43cp in coins, a silver mirror (worth 30sp), and various clay idols.

D - Guard Post
In this clean room, 5 Orc Warriors welcome important guests and guard their belongings: 350sp in coins, 200gp in precious stones, a ermine fur cloak (worth 100gp), 2 necklaces (worth 50gp each), and a +2 Ring of Protection. The door to the east is unlocked.

E - Kitchens
A shackled squad of 10 Hobgoblins work here, preparing food over a Smokeless Stove for the important visitors. Hidden in the stove there are 4 small ingots worth a total of 40gp. All doors are unlocked.

F - Guards' Room
The Temple Guard is stationed here, with 15 Orc Warriors always present. There is a +1 Spear in the weapon rack, as well as a beautifully decorated but incredibly heavy bronze +1 breast plate (requires STR 17 to wear). The door to the north is unlocked and guards use it freely. The secret door to the west can only be opened from inside, while the one to the south can be opened from both sides. The door to the east is unlocked, but the guards do not dare to open it unless alerted by a bell.

G - Elite's Lounge
This large, sumptuous room is decorated with tapestries, statues, and a pool. The upper class, 24 orcs, 3 elders and 14 orc cubs, is here, enjoying music, eating delicious food, taking a bath, smoking dried Shrooms, and having a great time in general. A spoiled and lazy group of 4 Mountain Lionesses (morale 6) is here too, getting pampered by everyone. The lionesses wear 150gp worth of necklaces, earrings, ankle rings and other such jewellery. At the bottom of the pool are hundreds of coins of every kind, worth a total of 300gp. The tapestries depict mythological as well as mundane scenes of opulence, and contain 100gp of gold thread. The statues have silvered details and gems for eyes, for a total of 200gp of pure silver and 16 gems worth 500gp in total. All doors are unlocked. At any time, 4d6 orcs will be high as kites and suffer a -1 penalty to all attack and saving throws.

H - Sanctum
The walls of the hallways leading to the Sanctum are covered in votive graffiti, hand stencils, and alcoves, some of which house small idols with worthless glass gems for eyes, surrounded by equally worthless and molding offerings of food and common items. However, among the garbage a total of 56gp can be found, as well as a dust-covered Efreeti Bottle.
The Sanctum itself is a huge hall where celebrations, hearings of supplicants, offerings and rituals take place. Tapestries hang from the walls, a huge idol sits on a raised platform in the eastern corner, and 4 pools of clean, transparent water shine eerily as illuminated from the inside. While the pools look empty, they are actually enchanted in such a way that any living being submerged into them becomes invisible from outside. The north-west pool is connected by a unseen, submerged passage to the room to the west, while the other three contain 3 Sea Snakes, one for each pool. At the bottom of each pool there are 100gp worth of coins. The idol has 2 huge gems for eyes, each worth 500gp, at its feet lays a sacred +2 Dagger and 200gp worth of gems, gilded idols, carved skull bowls, and offering vases. The tapestries contain 100gp of gold thread.
The doors north and south are alternatingly locked and unlocked: when a ceremony is performed, the south door is open and the north door locked, otherwise, the south door is locked and the north door is open. The hidden door to the west is covered by heavy curtains and can be opened pressing a hidden switch.

I - Priest's Lodging
The Orc Oracle (Stats as Orc Warrior + Cleric5 abilities, usually with spells such as Protection from Good/Evil, Remove Fear, Bless, and Speak with Animals) of the Temple lives here together with a pet Lion, though both transit freely between this room and the Lounge to the north. Nobody dares enter this room unless explicitly invited to do so by the Oracle, not even the lionesses.
The room is comfortable but modest, containing a large bed, a large bronze mirror, a small altar with an unadorned stone idol, a scroll bookcase, and a small pool for bathing. A rope allows to ring a bell in the guard's room when pulled.
The mirror is a Mirror of Scrying, but the Oracle does not know how to activate it yet. There is a Scroll of Protection from Magic in the bookcase, as well as a Cursed Scroll in a golden scroll case (worth 50gp), and 20 other scrolls on various esoteric subjects, one of which contains the correct activation method for the mirror. The oracle always wears a plain looking wooden medallion, which is actually a Medallion of ESP.
The secret door to the south is opened by a hidden switch on the plain idol.

J - Treasury
This room holds the most valuable treasures of the Temple. The treasury is protected by a vicious Fire Elemental, who will attack anyone opening the Treasury without holding the enchanted wooden medallion belonging to the Oracle.
There are 10000gp worth of coins of any kind shattered all over the floor, as well as a pure gold idol (worth 1000gp) in a corner, while in another corner there is a bronze brazier worth 50gp. A magic-user Spellbook containing the Reincarnate spell and many scandalous fiction is held by the idol, as well as a +3 Mace. On the wall hang 5 fearsome enchanted masks, each of which allows the wearer to cast Fear once daily. The masks are used as coathangers for 10 opulent silk dresses decorated with gold and silver thread, each worth 250gp.
The secret door to the south is hidden behind the golden idol and can be opened by simply pushing it, behind it a narrow tunnel leading to an underground cave, and from there, outside. There is a trap right after the secret door which will collapse the first section of the tunnel when triggered.

Random encounter Table:
  1. 1d8 Orc pilgrims, bringing offerings to an idol.
  2. 2d3 Hobgoblin slaves, fetching supplies or doing maintenance
  3. 2d6 Orc Warriors, on patrol
  4. 1 Mountain Lioness (morale 6), looking for attention and wearing 150gp in jewellery
  5. 2d6 giant rats, feasting on moldy offerings

Factions, interests, conflicts:
  • The lower caste orcs want to complete their pilgrimage, get their blessing, and then go home
  • The hobgoblins resent their enslavement and want to return to their clan, possibly with a few orc heads as trophies
  • The guards want to impress the Oracle and their gods, hoping one of them will become the Oracle's attendant and student
  • The high caste orcs want to enjoy their vacation far from politics, responsibilities and duties
  • The Oracle wants to maintain the status quo, enjoy the power of being the voice of the gods, and grow the Treasury
  • The boar just wants to get away from the freely wandering lions and back to it's muddy pen

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