UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 24 STAIRS.

24 STAIRS. These broad stairs descend twenty five feet to Area 1 of Level 3.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 23 CRYPT.

23 CRYPT. The four twelve foot deep pits in the western part of the room were used by the guards to hold overflow corpses. They contain desiccated bodies and body parts. Two ghouls are in the northernmost pit, while another ghoul (the 11 hit point one) is feeding on a few old bones in the southwest corner of the room. She will not wait for her fellows, but will attack as soon as she spots intruders. The other ghouls will be attracted to sounds of fighting and climb out to join combat.

3 Ghouls (AC 6; MV 9"; HD 2; hp 10, 6, 11; #AT 2 claws, 1 bite; D 1-3/1-3/1-6; SA Paralysis; SD Limited spell immunity; XP 85, 77, 87)

This room was used to store the bodies of the many prisoners who perished during captivity until the warden had the idea of using prisoners (living and dead) to feed the various monstrous guardians found on lower levels. Nevertheless, this crypt remains a repository for numerous dead bodies. The ceiling height of this 'L' shaped room is sixteen feet. Numerous loculi, or berth-like recesses used for holding dead bodies, are present. The loculi are slightly raised off the floor, seven feet tall by three feet wide by nine feet long (deep).

One of the ones against the west wall has been tunneled into by ghouls (Area “A”). This one should stand out because it is the only recess to have been completely cleared of remains. All of the other recesses have some body parts still present, although all have been sampled by the ghouls.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 22 ARCHWAY.

22 ARCHWAY. The archway to this narrow corridor is decorated with a skull head design upon the keystone on the long, wide hallway side only. If anyone tries to enter the archway from this side (the east), there is a 3 in 6 chance that its eyes will glow blue and it will spit 1d4 icicles. These strike as though they were attacks from a 4 hit die monster and do 1d4+1 damage.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 21 ARCHWAY.

21 ARCHWAY. This archway is decorated with sheep heads upon the keystones. Each is equipped with a magic mouth, which will “baa” and appear to chew cud. Recessed shelves are carved into the stones of the archways, and they contain shrunken heads. One of the heads is animated and can speak. It will ask to be taken with the adventurers and buried in The Grounds. If the adventurers do this it will immediately sprout (like a magic seed) and grow a bean plant that leads to a cloud with a giant shack and a fat yellow goose. The goose will lay one egg per month, worth 100 gold crescents. It is already sitting on 12 such eggs.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 20 CHAMBER OF THE HYDRA.

20 CHAMBER OF THE HYDRA. A five headed hydra squats in the center of this chamber. It is both new to the area and fiercely territorial. It will attack immediately.

Hydra of 5 Heads (AC 5; MV 9”; HD 5; hp 40; #AT 5 bites; D 1-6 X 5; SA 1-4 attacks on same opponent; SD All heads must be killed to slay; XP 330)

It sits on a pile of 3214 copper pieces and 432 gold crescents of mixed coin.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 19 FUNNY FUNGUS.

19 FUNNY FUNGUS. The floor is covered with green puffball mushrooms marked with purple spots. The dais sports a stone idol of a fat man with a smile on his face. If anyone approaches the dais, several of the mushrooms will release fluffy purple spores. Everyone in the room must save versus poison or experience one of the following effects.

1d100	Effect
01-10	Sleep for 1d20+20 minutes, experiencing pleasant dreams.
11-25	Good mood, giggle for 1d10+10 minutes.
26-30	Deep thoughts, gain 1 point of wisdom permanently but lose a point of constitution. This is a once per lifetime effect, re-roll if this is indicated for the same character more than once.
31-40	Happy but clumsy, -1 to hit for 1d2+2 hours.
41-45	Hyperactive, as a potion of haste, but no aging effect.
36-50	Talks backwards for 1d2+4 hours, cannot use spells with verbal components or trigger words for magic items.
51-55	Gains ESP, as the spell, for one full day. This is a once per lifetime effect, re-roll if this is indicated for the same character more than once.
56-65	Character sees pretty butterflies for 1d10+20 minutes, but they are not really there.
66-75	Character believes he or she is irresistible to members of the opposite sex for 1d6+4 hours.
76-80	Character acquires funky smell, -1 to Charisma for 1 day.
81-85	Character decides to change his or her name for 1 day. It is their choice as to the new name and whether to keep it permanently, but it must start with the letter 'H'.
86-90	Character feels invincible, add 1d2+4 hit points. These hit points will be the first to be lost. This is another one time effect, re-roll if this is indicated for the same character more than once.
91-95	Character has munchies and will consume a day's rations immediately unless stopped.
96-00	Character (and player) must speak in a little girl voice for the rest of the session.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 18 FOG ROOM.

18 FOG ROOM. The floor is always bathed is harmless white fog to human mid-calf height. The fog can be temporarily removed by a gust of wind, air elemental, etc. but it will reappear almost immediately. Close examination will reveal that it rises through many tiny holes in the floor. The stairs ascend twenty five feet to Area 30 on Level 1.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 17 ARCHWAY.

17 ARCHWAY. This archway is decorated with the word “FORBIDDEN” upon the keystone on the side of the long wide hallway only.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 16 ARCHWAY.

16 ARCHWAY. This archway is decorated with the faces of male lions upon the keystones, complete with flowing mane.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 15 INTERROGATION CHAMBER.

15 INTERROGATION CHAMBER. This room was used for acquiring confessions from prisoners, either through violence or threat. Two ghouls have been attracted by the smell of old blood.

2 Ghouls (AC 6; MV 9"; HD 2; hp 6 each; #AT 2 claws, 1 bite; D 1-3/1-3/1-6; SA Paralysis; SD Limited spell immunity; XP 83 each)

There is a grimy rectangular table and three wooden chairs. A large candelabra is here, but no candles. Against the west wall is a metal contraption, fitted with hooks and used for holding implements of torture. All that remain are a few thumbscrews, some pliers and three rusty knives.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 14 SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.

14 SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. The door to this room is locked. Inside is the desiccated corpse of a man in gray prison garments. Above the corpse hovers a wisp of gray ash or dust. This is the restless spirit of the prisoner. It will follow the adventurers until they encounter sunlight, then it will dissipate. While it accompanies the party, they will enjoy +2 on all saving throws and all undead will strike at -2 on to hit rolls against them. However, they will unable to surprise any opponents, as all dungeon dwellers will be able to sense the presence of the restless spirit.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 13 STORAGE ROOM.

13 STORAGE ROOM. Although perhaps not originally intended to be a storage room this place served that purpose for the years the prison was functional. Here gruel and water were kept for the prisoners. Now the forty six remaining crates of foodstuffs have been invaded by rats and the sixty three casks of water are foul with corruption.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 12 PRISON.

12 PRISON. The door to this room is capable of being locked, but is not. Five men are here, wearing chain mail armor and great helms. Fat gray worms writhe from the vertical slits of their visors. 

5 Worm Face Cultists (AC 5; MV 9"; F2; hp 10, 12, 9, 12, 13; #AT 1; D Scimitar; SD Only surprised on a 1, see invisible; XP 65, 71, 62, 71, 74) 

These men are devotees of the Gray Worm and have received the kiss of the worm god. As a result, their facial features above the mouth have been replaced by worms. They are immune to blindness and are extremely sensitive to air currents, thus they can “see” invisible objects and are rarely surprised. They are away from the temple because they are searching for a thief who has stolen cult treasure.

Each carries between 7 and 12 (1d6+6) small gold cylinders, each equivalent in value to a gold crescent. In addition, each has a small silver holy symbol of the worm god on a chain around their neck. These appear to be worth 10 gold crescents each, but are cursed. If placed around the neck, they cause blindness in 1d4 rounds unless a saving throw vs poison is made. 

None of the cells are locked. A secret door in the northeast cell leads to the ladder that connects to Area 5 of The Sewers of the Inner Ward, thirty five feet up. The worm face cultists are ignorant about its existence.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 11 PRISON.

11 PRISON. The door to this room is capable of being locked, but is not. Beneath each grate is an oubliette, twenty five feet deep and ten foot square in area. The south oubliette has been tunneled into and is described in the key for Level 3, Area 124.

Castle Triskelion Inner Ward Ground Floor and New Materials II available at & Magazine

Well, its that time again. & Magazine has published the next installment of Castle Triskelion. This is the Ground Floor of the Inner Ward. Included are 67 encounter areas and some new illustrations by me.

Then there is New Materials Part II, where the monsters, magic items, etc. are explained. There are quite a few new monsters this time around and I did a bunch of illustrations.

Thanks go out to Bryan Fazekas and Handley Jackson for editing and formatting, Robert Irwin for the cover art, and Ron Redmond for public relations. Download the Inner Ward Ground Floor and New Materials II by following the link to & Magazine in the upper right corner of the blog!

NEW MONSTER: TWILIGHT DWARF

Twilight Dwarf

FREQUENCY: Very rare

NO. APPEARING: 40-400

ARMOR CLASS: 5

MOVE: 6”

HIT DICE: 1

% IN LAIR: 50%

TREASURE TYPE: Individuals M(x5); G, Q(X10), R, W in lair

NO. OF ATTACKS: 1

DAMAGE/ ATTACK: By weapon

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Save at +3 (or better) vs poison and paralyzation

MAGIC RESISTANCE: As above

SAVE: As above

INTELLIGENCE: Very

MORALE: 50%

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SIZE: S (4' + tall)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

LEVEL/ X.P. VALUE: Variables preclude a fixed number

Twilight dwarves are natives of the Dusk Realm, a parallel reality to the world of Castle Triskelion. These demi-humans will always be found in underground complexes and mines and they rely on trade with other creatures to provide comforts and most food.

Twilight dwarf lairs are very loosely structured compared to those of other dwarves. Therefore, dwarves with levels as fighters, thieves, assassins, and magic-users will be found, but not in specific proscribed numbers. Twilight dwarves are not pious and have no clerical members. Twilight dwarves are capable of operating in more than one class simultaneously, so fighter/thief, fighter/assassin, and magic-user/thief individuals may be encountered. Twilight dwarves who share similar interests (such as mining, gem-cutting, or practicing magic) tend to group themselves into smaller informal guilds to share experience and resources. Because of this arrangement, treasure in a twilight dwarf lair will not be found in a treasure vault, but rather spread out as the possessions of individual dwarves or as the communal treasure of small groups.

Like other dwarves, twilight dwarves are interested in wealth (especially gold and gems), alcoholic beverages, and their work. They are keenly interested in trade and not overly scrupulous about their trading partners. Most twilight dwarves will charge reasonable amounts for their services and goods, but there are always cheats and robbers in every twilight dwarf enclave. While the alignment of most twilight dwarves is neutral, there will inevitably good and evil dwarves in every community.

Twilight dwarves will use weapons that can be used in underground spaces. They use maces, hammers, axes, and especially military picks in large numbers. Swords, daggers, and military forks are also commonly used. Missile weapons are of limited utility in the spaces they inhabit, but they do employ heavy crossbows at times. Chain mail armor is typically worn by the average twilight dwarf when they are expecting trouble, and almost every twilight dwarf will have this type or a better type of armor available (excluding those whose class prohibits it).

Higher level fighters have a 10% chance per level of having magic armor and a 10% chance per level of having a magic weapon. Thieves, assassins, fighter/thieves, and fighter/assassins have a 5% chance per thief or assassin level of having magic armor and a 10% chance per thief or assassin level of having a magic weapon. Magic-users and magic-user/thieves have a 10% chance per magic-user level of having 1-4 additional magic items (potion, scroll, ring, wand/staff, misc. magic) usable by magic-users. Twilight dwarves can use magic rings without the 20% malfunction rate experienced by other dwarves.

Twilight dwarves do not share the hatred of humanoids as other dwarves, and have no “to hit” bonus against them. In fact, the twilight dwarves may rely on trade with such creatures. When in melee combat with ogres, trolls, and giants, these creatures must subtract 2 from their rolls to hit the twilight dwarves, due to the twilight dwarves relative experience and skill in fighting these much larger monsters.

Twilight dwarves have no intrinsic resistance to magic, but have a bonus to save against poison and petrification (such as by spell, gorgon breath, basilisk gaze, etc.) based on their constitution score. For characters with class levels, they have a bonus of +1 per 3½ points of constitution (minimum of +3 bonus). For twilight dwarves without class levels, use the +3 bonus.

Twilight dwarves are allergic to direct sunlight. In the Dusk Realm, this is of no concern, but on worlds that experience direct sunlight it is a significant disadvantage. When touched by direct sunlight, a twilight dwarf must make a saving throw versus paralyzation every round of such exposure or become completely paralyzed. Their usual bonus vs petrification does not apply. The twilight dwarf will remain paralyzed until the sun is out of view. Moving the dwarf to an area without sunlight or blocking the sun (including with clouds) will cause the dwarf to revert in a turn (as long as the sun is completely blocked for this entire time). While paralyzed, the twilight dwarf and his or her possessions will appear to be made of stone. Magic items have a normal saving throw allowed to avoid the effect. When the dwarf returns to normal, the items carried will always do so as well.

Twilight dwarves can see, even in complete darkness, to 90'. Nevertheless, they prefer to have fire or another light source on hand. Twilight dwarves are competent miners, able to determine grades or slopes in passages, to detect sliding or shifting walls or rooms, and detect traps involving stonework 25% of the time. They can tell their depth underground 75% of the time. Twilight dwarves who are mining specialists will be even better at these skills.

Description: Twilight dwarves are usually pale tan to dark brown with pale blue or green eyes. Hair and beards are normally black. They wear long dress-like garments of single colors, and twilight dwarves practicing the same professions usually choose the same colors. Armor, if worn, will also be extra long, extending to the ground, to cover their feet. Twilight dwarf women are very uncommon, but do not have beards.

Twilight dwarves almost always suffer a deformity of the feet. The type of deformity varies by the individual, but examples include unusual numbers of toes, animal feet, and feet facing in the wrong directions. Twilight dwarves are very self-conscious about their feet and never show them to others, even other twilight dwarves.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 10 PRISON.

10 PRISON. The door to this room is capable of being locked, but is not. Beneath each grate is an oubliette, twenty five feet deep and ten foot square in area. Within the north oubliette is an injured and very hungry twilight dwarf who stumbled into the oubliette while fleeing from ghouls. The locals goblins later replaced the grate.

Gundberg Skarllson, Neutral male twilight dwarf Fighter/Thief (AC 8; MV 6”; F3/T4; hp 8 (normally 19); #AT 1; D Bone knife for 1d2; S 15, I 13, W 12, D 14, C 16, CH 11; XP 170 (normally 225))

Thief skills

PP 45%, OL 47% F/RT 50% MS 33% HS 25% HN 15% CW 78% RL 15%

He wears leather armor and a long, kilt-like garment (that hides his foot deformity: he has but two large toes on each foot) and possesses a makeshift knife (damage 1d2) made from the sharpened shinbone of a fellow prisoner “in case those ghouls come a-callin”. He also has a nearly empty waterskin.

Gundberg is the only survivor among a group of twilight dwarves exploring the area to satisfy their curiosity and looking for loot. He tends to be abrasive and rough, but will be sincerely grateful for a rescue and will be willing to lead adventurers to the Twilight Gate (see Upper Dungeons Level 3, Area 44). If given the means he will happily visit revenge on the nearby hobgoblins and goblins who come by occasionally to jeer at his misfortune and throw rocks and spoiled food.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO 9 PRISON.

9 PRISON. The door to this room is capable of being locked, but is not. Beneath each grate is an oubliette, twenty five feet deep and ten foot square in area. Each contains bones, rags, and similar garbage.

UPPER DUNGEONS LEVEL TWO: EXCAVATED AREA

8 EXCAVATED AREA. This room appears to have been clawed into existence out of bare rock. The sinkhole from Room 11 of Level 1 deposits its contents onto the sandy floor of this room.

NEW MAGIC ITEM: GREEN DREAM

This magical substance can be either concocted as a potion, or rendered into a paste which can be smoked in a pipe. In either case it will last for 5-8 (1d4+4) hours (unless noted otherwise), and its effect will become noticeable 2-5 (1d4+1) segments after it is taken.

Green dream always causes mild auditory hallucinations, green skin discoloration, and feelings of intense well-being. In addition it will cause one of the following effects:

1d20	Effect
1	Believes self to be rat (50%) or owl (50%)
2	Develops impressive mustache
3	Must sing instead of talk
4	Grows mouth tentacles, can now eat without hands
5	Breath smells of sweet peaches (50%) or sewer sludge (50%)
6	Eyes glow bright green (acts like bullseye lantern)
7	Heals 1d8 hit points*
8	Extra green eye-beam attack for 1d4 damage
9	Save vs poison or lose a point of constitution
10	Invisible for 1d3 hours
11	Bad trip, save vs poison or die
12	Save vs poison or sleep for 1d6 hours
13	Experiences effect as maze spell**
14	Chance of listening at doors improves by 30%
15	Mellow vibes, intelligent living monsters won't attack you unless you attack them first 75% of the time
16	Undead taint, mindless undead won't notice you unless you attack them first
17	Intense visual hallucinations, hard to distinguish real enemies, -6 on “to hit” rolls
18	Grow 1d12 new teeth***
19	Stats as ogre, including size
20	Roll again on this table, using only a 1d6, and the effect is permanent

*Treat this as a regular cure spell or healing potion.

**This effect will last as long as described under the listing for the maze spell, not 5-8 hours.

***Teeth gained are always permanent.

Goblins consuming this substance always immediately and permanently turn a deep green color.

XP VALUE: -

GP VALUE: 100 per dose