THE GROUNDS 14C UPPER LEVEL.

14C  UPPER LEVEL.  The stairs from Room 14A ascend about fifteen feet.  The ceiling in this room rises to a peak of about ten feet at its highest.  Three large metal devices are placed against the west, the north, and the south walls.  Heavy metal wires extend from each of the devices towards the peaked ceiling.  The spaces on the walls above them are transparent from this side only.  From the outside of the building they look like gray stone.  The flattened body of a man lies upon the floor near the south metal device.

The metallic devices are actually magical control panels used to affect the weather in the Grounds. They are decorated with green and red knobs, levers, and switches.  They are also marked by colorful pictograms and strange characters.  These devices were designed by a powerful druid and a wizard skilled in the elemental arts working together.  Each has some amount of precious metals worked into the surface display, necessary for its proper function.  The characters used can be read by any druid or an ranger who is capable of using druid spells.  Some sages who have studied druidical magic may also be able to operate the mechanisms.  A read languages spell will also allow safe operation.

The west control panel is used for controlling humidity.  From this site a user can send instructions the local clouds causing them to release water or to dissipate, see the cleric spell control weather for guidelines.  This has no effect on the Magic Cloud at Area 34 and the weather effects are limited to The Grounds, they will not greatly affect either the Castle or the Forest Perilous.  If the controls are used without understanding the pictograms, roll a 2d20 and add the user's intelligence score when checking on the following table:

Humidity Device Operation Table

2d20 + intelligence	Effect
up to 10	Critical malfunction, shocks user with 3d6 electricity damage
11-20	Power fluctuation deals 1d6 damage in electric feedback
21-30	Improper command subroutine confuses device.  It refuses to operate for 1d10 hours as it reboots.
31 and above	See Weather Change Subtable below

Weather Change Subtable

1d20	Weather
1-8	Very clear
9-10	Light clouds or hazy
11-13	Cloudy
14	Deep clouds
15	Fog
16-17	Mist/Light rain
18	Sleet
19	Heavy rain
20	Driving rain storm with lightning

Any weather effects created, either on purpose or by accident, will remain in effect for 1d6+6 hours unless the controls on the machine are changed.  This control panel is decorated with silver and platinum wires and knobs.  If these are pried off they will be worth about 650 gold crescents in total but will also make the device inoperable.  If any person attempts to remove this valuable material they must roll a 1 on a 1d6 or receive an electric shock for 1d6+3 damage.  This assumes a normal adventurer taking their time.  If a thief attempts the job they may substitute their pick pocket or remove traps skill instead.

The north control panel is for controlling temperature.  From this site a user can alter the local temperature of The Grounds.  As with the previous panel, if the controls are used without understanding the pictograms, roll a 2d20 and add the user's intelligence score when checking on the following table:

Temperature Device Operation Table

2d20 + intelligence	Effect
up to 10	Meltdown causes 2d6 heat damage (50%) or the unit freezes up causing 2d6 cold damage (50%)
11-20	1d4+2 small fires spring up spontaneously in the room, sprinklers engage from the ceiling spitting hail causing 0-3 (1d4-1) points of damage to everyone in the room
21-30	Machine overheats (50%) or freezes up (50%) and won't operate for another 1d6 hours.
31 and above	See Temperature Change Subtable below

Temperature Change Subtable

1d20	Temperature
1	Sweltering heat
2-3	Hot weather
4-10	Warm weather
11-17	Cool weather
18-19	Cold weather
20	Arctic cold

Any temperature effects created, either on purpose or by accident, will remain in effect for 1d6+6 hours unless the controls on the machine are changed.  This control panel is decorated with gold and electrum wires and knobs.  If these are pried off they will be worth about 750 gold crescents in total but will also make the device inoperable.  Use the same chances of success when trying to remove metal from this panel as with the west panel.  If failure occurs the victim will suffer 1d6 damage from intense cold (50%) or burning heat (50%).

The south control panel was used for controlling pressure and wind velocity.  A band of thieves entered here and removed the valuable metal from this device but one of their number made a mistake and was crushed under extreme localized pressure.  The device is currently inoperable.

Characters can get a reasonably good view of the nearby portions of The Grounds from this site.  If they attempt to map, the Dungeon Master should take into account the extra perspective gained from the height.  For example, they should be able to see the lake at Area 20 and the exit from the hedge maze to the west.