22
THE BURIED HOUSE. There is a 50% chance that 1d4 worker thermites
will be coming to or leaving the buried house at any time. They will
ignore any person who does not approach within thirty feet.
Thermite
Workers (AC 4; MV 15”; HD 2+2; #AT 1 bite; D 1-6; SA +4 to hit with
blistering spittle for 2-8; XP 50+3/hp)
The
buried house has descended into the ground (by action of earthquake,
a magical spell, a burrowing monster, or a malefic diety?) so that
just the tip of the gray roof shows, looking like a tiled
square based pyramid.
There
are two entrances that the thermites use to go in and out of the
house. The main entrance is in the north face, it is fairly large,
about six feet wide and six feet high. The thermites have
constructed an earthwork ramp down to the floor of the attic (Room
22A). The east entrance is smaller (three feet wide by four feet
high) and has no ramp, instead there is a drop of eight feet to the
floor of Room 22A.
The
thermites that inhabit the buried house are actually being
parasitized by another species. A group of evil dwarves led by the
wily hunchbacked dwarf Rogi is holding the thermite queen hostage and
mingling among the thermite population disguised by thermite
pheremones. Rogi killed the thermite king and has taken his place.
He is using the thermites to mine for gold.
Meanwhile,
the thermite princess in Room 22U is doing her best to resist the
dwarf. She is undermining Rogi's attempts and plotting a way to free
the queen from him. However, since the thermites are so
single-minded and limited, she cannot persuade them that the dwarf is
not a real thermite king. Her only protection lies in the fact that
Rogi and the other dwarves haven't realized that she is actually
different from the others.
Exterior
rooms will have thick glass windows with black earth pressed tight
against them. The wooden construction of the original building is
rotting, but the thermites have used mud and nymph silk to
strengthen the walls and ceilings.
Substitute
the following table for random encounters.
Buried
House Encounter Table
d%
|
Description
|
01/01/55
|
1d4
thermite workers
|
56-70
|
1d3
thermite workers and 1 thermite warrior
|
71-80
|
1d2
thermite warriors
|
81-85
|
1d2
thermite slashers
|
86-90
|
1d2
thermite bursters
|
91-00
|
1d2+1
dwarf fighters
|
Thermite
Burster (AC 4; MV 15”; HD 2+2; #AT 1 bite; D 1-6; SA Suicide burst
for 4-24; XP 90+3/hp)
Thermite
Slasher (AC 3; MV 15”; HD 4+1; #AT 1 bite; D 2-12; XP 90+5/hp)
Thermite
Worker (AC 4; MV 15”; HD 2+2; #AT 1 bite; D 1-6; SA +4 to hit with
blistering spittle for 2-8; XP 50+3/hp)
Thermite
Warrior (AC 3; MV 15”; HD 3+3; #AT 1 bite; D 1-8; SA +4 to hit with
blistering spittle for 3-12; XP 85+4/hp)
For
encounters with dwarf fighters, use those from 22R and 22Y. Thus
only five dwarves can be encountered total.