Adventures in Dungeons
Adventures in Dungeons
\st Dungeon is user friendly. It’ **s just very picky about who its friends are. (anonymous)
The dungeon is tilted. The creatures are infuriated because they can’ **t play marbles (Dungeon Keeper 2, Video game, 1999)
Of all the strange places an adventurer can explore, none is more lethal than a dungeon. These labyrinths, full of deadly traps, hungry monsters, and marvelous treasures, test every skill and ability of the characters. These rules can be applied to any type of dungeon, from a ship wreck to a vast complex of underground caves.
Dungeon!: The dungeon, cave, catacomb, den, underground ecosystem… call it what you prefer, it’ **s a cornerstone of adventure!
| A dungeon is a recipe made of humidity, stench, stale air, dirt, mud, remains of creatures, traps, slimes, traps (be generous…), monsters, enemies, monsters (be generous!), darkness, sinister noises, fungi, creaks, yelps, screams, moans.. but also of fear, tension, thrill terror | horror, emphasis, anger, pain, disappointment and treasures!!! |
Your dungeon is never just a cave. NEVER!
Whether they’ **re caves, dens, mines, grottos, lairs, caverns, the Dungeons often represent the focal center of adventure, exploration, and survival.
Characters will spend a lot of time in these environments, and the Narrator must be prepared and ready for the environment they will encounter.
When preparing a cave, it is necessary to think intelligently about the type of cave and the creatures that will be encountered; every cave is a complex ecosystem. Putting a group of lizardfolk without thinking about what they eat, where they sleep, what kind of organization they have is dangerous, not to mention inserting a chimera. Will it have atrophied wings because the cave is 3 meters high and 3 meters wide and it struggles to move? What has it fed on during this period? Rather better to use a gorgon that feeds on minerals…
If designed with attention and care, a cave can become an excellent experience of encounters, situations, and adventure.
The Underground
The natural conditions of the underworld depend on various factors, but there are certainly some points common to all.
- No light to illuminate spaces. There may be sporadic fluorescent fungi, which radiate dim light nearby, but nothing that can illuminate the entire environment
- Humid environment
- Ambient temperature usually cool, rarely are there caverns with extreme temperatures in either heat or cold.
Illumination
In a cavern there are no artificial or natural light sources except those introduced by sentient creatures. There may be groups of fungi, lichens, which dimly illuminate the ground where they grow, within 1 meter, but nothing else around. Moreover, if torn from the ground, they lose their bioluminescence after 2d4 Turns.
Creatures that live in caves get accustomed to the darkness by developing some form of alternative vision, such as darkvision, earth sense, or blindsight.
Even a torch itself can provide limited relief since its light radius is 3 meters plus 3 meters of dim light and lasts one hour before going out.
Check the sections on Cover and Invisibility (p. ) for more information.
Movement
If you have no means to see the terrain, it is considered difficult, and pits, precipices, and various obstacles can be very dangerous.
In case of total darkness and in a natural environment, an Acrobatics check at DC 12 must be made for each Movement Action or trip and suffer 1 temporary damage.
Types of caverns
Several types of caverns can be identified:
- created by flowing water. In this case, the tunnel can be quite chaotic in its unfolding due to the types of rocks the water has encountered. There may still be underground rivers and lakes.
- created by erosion. In this case, water is probably no longer present except in minimal amounts, the resulting caverns can be very large with chambers tens if not hundreds of meters wide.
- they may have been created by a volcano with the flow of lava. In this case, the tunnel carved by the rock is often linear and somewhat smoothed, the lava once hardened has then crumbled over millennia.
- they can be arctic caverns, carved into the ice by water. In this case, carefully evaluate the surrounding environment and the freezing temperature.
- they can be artificial caverns, built by creatures of different types.
The four types of Dungeon
The four basic types of dungeons are defined by their current state. Many dungeons are variants of these basic types or combinations of several types. Occasionally, ancient dungeons are used by new inhabitants for different purposes.
Structure in Ruins: Once inhabited, this place is now abandoned (completely or partially) by its original creators and is occupied by other creatures. Many underground creatures search for abandoned underground constructions in which to establish their lairs. Any traps that may have existed have probably already been removed or triggered; wandering beasts may be found.
Occupied Structure: This dungeon is still in use. Creatures (usually intelligent) still inhabit it, although they might not be the dungeon’ **s creators. An occupied structure could be a home, a fortress, a temple, an active mine, a prison, a headquarters…
This type of dungeon is less likely to have traps or wandering beasts, and more likely to have organized guards, both on watch and patrol. Traps and wandering beasts that may be encountered are often under the control of the occupants. Occupied structures have furnishings suitable for the inhabitants, as well as decorations, food supplies, and means for the inhabitants to move about.
The inhabitants may also have a communication system, and almost always control at least one access to the outside.
Some dungeons are partially occupied and partially empty or in ruins. In these cases, the occupants are usually not the original builders of the place, but rather a group of intelligent creatures that have established their base, lair, or fortification within the abandoned dungeon.
Safe Haven: When someone wants to protect something, they often bury it underground. Whether the object they want to protect is a fabulous treasure, a forbidden artifact, or the corpse of an important man, these valuable items are placed inside a dungeon and surrounded by barriers, traps, and guardians.
The safe haven type dungeon is the one that will have the most traps and the fewest wandering beasts. It is normally built based on functionality rather than appearance, although sometimes it is decorated with statues and painted walls, especially for tombs of important figures.
Sometimes, however, a treasure room or crypt is built to accommodate living guardians. The problem with this strategy is that one needs to keep the creatures alive between one intrusion attempt and another. Magic is usually the best solution for providing food and water to these creatures. Tomb and sepulcher builders usually place undead and constructs, which need no sustenance or rest, to protect their dungeons. Magical traps can attack intruders by summoning monsters into the dungeon that disappear when they complete their task.
Complex of Natural Caves: Underground caves offer shelter to any type of deep-dwelling creature. Created naturally and connected by a system of labyrinthine passages, these caves lack any semblance of order, logic, or decoration. Without any intelligent power having built it, this type of dungeon is the least likely to present traps or doors.
Multiple varieties of fungi live in caves, sometimes growing to form enormous forests of mushrooms and toadstools, where underground predators lurk hunting for those who feed on these plants. Some varieties of fungi produce a phosphorescent glow capable of providing the natural cave complex with its own limited source of illumination. In other areas, the use of Daylight spells can provide enough light for green plants to grow.
Often, a complex of natural caves is connected to other types of dungeons, having been discovered when the artificial dungeon was built. A cave complex can connect two independent dungeons, sometimes producing a strange mixed environment. A natural cave complex joined to another dungeon often offers a path that underground creatures can use to reach an artificial dungeon and populate it.
Exploration
Moving inside a dungeon requires attention and cool-headedness. Rough floors, sinister noises, trapdoors and traps, lights that appear and disappear make it not easy to venture safely into these dangerous environments.
The characters will have to be careful, actively look for traps, observe from afar, and maintain a cautious attitude. All this means that movement is halved if the characters take precautions to avoid problems, meaning having a minimum bonus to Awareness checks.
Describing what the character does to look for traps, passages… problems or requesting a check (Survival or Awareness) at DC 13 can give generic indications about the feeling that something is wrong.
Dungeon Terrain
The following rules concern the basic terrains that can be found in a dungeon.
Walls
Sometimes brick walls (stones stacked one on top of another and held together with lime) divide dungeons into corridors and rooms. Dungeon walls can also be carved into bare rock, resulting in a chiseled appearance, or they can be made of smooth, simple stone as found in natural caves. Dungeon walls are difficult to damage or break through, but are usually easily climbed.
Table: Walls
| Wall Type | Thickness | Break Through | Hardness | Hit Points | DC Climb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone bricks | 30 cm | 35 | 8 | 90 | 20 |
| Superior stone bricks | 30 cm | 35 | 8 | 120 | 25 |
| Reinforced stone bricks | 30 | 45 | 8 | 180 | 20 |
| Carved Stone | 90 | 50 | 8 | 540 | 25 |
| Rough stone | 150 cm | 65 | 8 | 900 | 25 |
| Iron | 7.5 cm | 30 | 10 | 90 | 25 |
| Paper | variable | 1 | – | 1 | 30 |
| Wood | 10 cm | 20 | 5 | 60 | 21 |
Table: Digging a tunnel
| Miner | Material to Dig (1 minute) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth | SoftStone | Hard Stone | |
| Human | 50 cm | 15 cm | 7 cm |
| Gnome | 45 cm | 30 cm | 15 cm |
| Dwarf/Orc | 55 cm | 45 cm | 20 cm |
| Stone Giant | 3 m | 1.5 m | 75 cm |
| Xorn | 6 m | 6 m | 6m |
| Earth Elemental | 9 m | 9 m | 9 m |
The distances dug indicated are assumed to be obtained with suitable tools such as shovels or pickaxes, otherwise reduce to one-third.
Stone Brick Walls: The most common type of wall for a dungeon, stone walls are usually at least 30 centimeters thick. Often these ancient walls have holes and cracks, in which slimes and small creatures can nest, waiting there for their prey. Stone brick walls can block all noises except the loudest. A Climbing check with DC 20 is required to move along a brick wall.
Superior Quality Stone Brick Walls: These walls are often embellished with paintings, bas-reliefs, or other decorations. Superior quality brick walls are not more difficult to damage than normal brick walls, but are more difficult to Climb (DC 25).
Reinforced Walls These are brick walls with iron bars on one or both sides, or inserted inside the wall itself to reinforce it. The Hardness of the reinforced wall remains the same, but the Hit Points are doubled and the DC to break through it is increased by 10.
Carved Stone Walls: These walls are generally found in rooms or passages carved into bare rock. The rough surface of a carved wall has tiny protrusions on which fungi can grow and cracks in which parasites, bats, or underground snakes can live.
Rough Stone Walls: These surfaces are irregular and rarely flat. They are usually wet or at least damp, as natural caves are generally the product of water infiltration. When a wall of this type has another side, the wall is usually at least 150 centimeters thick.
A Climbing check with DC 15 is required to move along a rough stone wall.
Iron Walls: These walls are placed inside dungeons around important places such as treasure halls.
Wooden Walls: Wooden walls are often found as recent additions to older dungeons, used to create animal enclosures, storage, or just to divide a larger room into a series of smaller rooms.
Magically Treated Walls: These walls are stronger than average, with greater Hardness, more Hit Points, and require a higher DC to break through. Magic can usually double the Hardness and Hit Points of the wall and add up to +20 to its DC to break through. A magically treated wall also gets a Saving Throw against Spells that might have an effect on it, with the bonus to the Saving Throw equal to 2 + half the caster level of the magic reinforcing the wall. Creating a magical wall requires the Create Wondrous Items feat and the expense of 1,500 gp for each 3 by 3 meter section.
Walls with Arrow Slits: Walls with arrow slits can be constructed with any resistant material, but are usually made of brick, carved stone, or wood. They allow defenders to shoot arrows or crossbow bolts at intruders while remaining behind the relative protection of a wall. Archers behind arrow slits enjoy superior Cover which gives them a +8 bonus to Defense, a +1d6 bonus to Reflex Saving Throws.
Floors
Just as with walls, there are many types of dungeon floors.
Flagstone: Like brick walls, floors can be made of stones fitted together. They are usually full of cracks and usually barely leveled. Slimes and molds grow within these cracks. In some cases, water flows through small drains through the stones or forms stagnant pools. Flagstone is the most common type of floor in dungeons.
Uneven Flagstone: Over time, some floors can become so uneven that they require an Acrobatics check with DC 10 to run or Charge across their surface. Those who fail the check cannot move during that round. Such dangerous floors should actually be the exception rather than the rule.
Carved Stone Floor: Rough and irregular, floors carved into stone are usually covered with loose stones, gravel, dust, and other debris. An Acrobatics check with DC 10 is required to run or Charge on such a floor. A failure means that the character can still act, but cannot run or Charge in that round.
Sparse Rubble: Small and scattered debris are present on the ground. A floor with sparse rubble adds 2 to the DC of Acrobatics checks.
Dense Rubble: The ground is covered with debris of all sizes. Rubble is considered difficult terrain. A floor covered with dense rubble adds 5 to the DC of Acrobatics checks, and adds 2 to the DC of Awareness checks against Stealth.
Smooth Stone Floor: Smooth, perfect, and sometimes even polished floors are found only in dungeons created by skilled and careful builders.
Natural Stone Floor: The floor of a natural cave is as irregular as the walls. It is unlikely that these caves have large flat surfaces; it is more probable that their floors are arranged on multiple levels.
Some surfaces might vary in elevation by just 30 centimeters, so that moving from one point to another is no more difficult than climbing a step of a staircase, but in certain points the floor might drop or rise more than 1.5 meters, forcing the character to make a Climbing check (p. ) to move from one surface to another.
Unless there is a path worn by time or well-trodden, the terrain is considered difficult and therefore movement is halved; for practicality, steps under 50cm are considered difficult terrain and those within 1.5m doubly difficult terrain. Charging and running in these environments are impossible, except on the paths in question.
Slippery: Water, ice, slime, or blood can make any floor described in this section more treacherous. Slippery floors increase the DC of Acrobatics checks by 5.
Grating: A grating often covers a pit or an area below the main floor. Gratings are usually made of iron, but larger ones might also be made of reinforced tree trunks. Many gratings have hinges that allow access to the area below (these gratings can be locked like a door), while others are fixed and created so that they cannot be moved. A typical 3-centimeter-thick iron grating has 25 Hit Points, Hardness 10, and DC 27 to break through or move it.
Ledges: Ledges allow creatures to walk above an underlying area. They are often arranged around pits, along the course of underground rivers, as balconies surrounding a large room, or to provide a position from which archers can lie in wait to attack enemies from above.
Narrow ledges (less than 30 centimeters wide) require those who move on them, using 3 Movement Actions, to make Acrobatics checks (DC 15). A failure implies that the character who was moving falls from the ledge.
Sometimes ledges have a railing. In these cases, characters get a +1d6 bonus to Acrobatics checks to move along the ledge. A character near the railing has a +2 bonus to their Opposed Strength Check to avoid being pushed off the ledge.
Transparent Floors: Transparent floors, made of reinforced glass or magical materials, allow observation of a dangerous environment from above. Transparent floors are usually placed above pools of lava, arenas, monster lairs, and torture chambers. They can be used by defenders to monitor an area.
Sliding Floors: A sliding floor is a type of trapdoor, created to be moved and reveal something that lies beneath. Generally, a sliding floor moves slowly enough that anyone on top of it can avoid falling into the opening, provided there is space to move. If a floor of this type moves so quickly that there is a chance that a character might fall into what lies below it (sharp spikes, a vat of boiling oil, or a shark-infested pool, acid…) then it is treated as a trap.
Trap Floors: These floors have been designed to suddenly become dangerous. With the application of the right amount of weight or the activation of a lever nearby, spikes emerge from the floor, flames or puffs of steam come from hidden holes, or the entire floor moves. These strange floors are usually found inside arenas, designed to make combat more exciting and lethal. This type of floor is managed as a trap.
Doors
- Blocked / Stuck: DC to Break Down (Fortitude ST with Strength, +1d6 if a crowbar is used). Breaking down a door with shoulders/kicks costs 1 Action, 2 Actions if using a crowbar.
- Locked: DC to Pick (Disable Device check).
- Not blocked: a door that is not locked or blocked requires 1 Action to open or it can be opened with the Movement Action used to pass through it considering the space oppede as difficult terrain.
A Critical Failure in a Strength check (Fortitude ST with Strength) means having hurt oneself in the breaking attempt. Until at least 10 minutes pass, it is no longer possible to break down a door.
Doors inside dungeons are much more than simple entrances or exits. Often they can be actual encounters. Dungeon doors come in three basic types: wood, stone, and iron.
| Door Type | Typical thickness | Hardness | Hit Points | DC to break down | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (cm) | Blocked | Locked | |||
| Simple wood | 2.5 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 18 |
| Good wood | 3.75 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 21 |
| Strong wood | 5 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 28 |
| Stone | 10 | 8 | 60 | 31 | 34 |
| Iron | 5 | 10 | 60 | 30 | 33 |
| Wooden portcullis | 7.5 | 5 | 30 | 27 | 30 |
| Iron portcullis | 5 | 10 | 60 | 28 | 31 |
| Lock | - | 15 | 30 | - | - |
| Hinges | - | 10 | 30 | - | - |
Wooden Doors: Built with thick planks nailed together, sometimes reinforced with iron bars (also placed to prevent warping from dungeon moisture), wooden doors are the most common type of door. Wooden doors vary in hardness: they can be simple, good, or sturdy. Simple doors (DC 15 to break down) are not designed to keep motivated attackers at bay.
Good quality doors (DC 18 to break down), although strong and resistant, are still not designed to withstand a great amount of damage. Sturdy doors (DC 25 to break down) are iron-clad and are fairly resistant barriers against those trying to pass through them. Iron hinges support the door and usually a circular ring placed in the center serves to open it. Sometimes, instead of a ring, a door has an iron bar on one or both sides that functions as a handle.
In inhabited dungeons, these doors are usually well-maintained (not blocked) and unlocked, although important areas will probably be locked.
Stone Doors: Built from blocks of solid stone, these heavy and unwieldy doors are often designed to rotate on themselves when opened, although dwarves and other skilled craftsmen are able to build hinges strong enough to support the weight of a stone door.
Secret doors hidden along a stone wall are usually made of stone. Otherwise, doors of this type are designed to become resistant barriers that protect whatever lies beyond them. Consequently, they are often locked or barred.
Iron Doors: Rusty but sturdy, iron doors in a dungeon are equipped with hinges like wooden ones. These doors are the strongest non-magical type of doors. They are usually locked or barred.
Breaking Down: Dungeon doors can be locked, trapped, reinforced, barred, magically sealed, or sometimes simply blocked.
Everyone, except the weakest characters, will be able to knock down a door with a heavy tool like a battering ram, numerous spells and magical items can offer characters an easy way to overcome a closed door.
DC 13 or lower: A door that anyone can break down.
DC 13–15: A door that a strong person should break down with a single attempt, and that a person of average strength might have some hope of knocking down in a single blow.
DC 16–20: A door that practically anyone could break down, given the necessary time.
DC 21–25: A door that only a strong or very strong person has a hope of breaking down, and probably not on the first attempt.
DC 26 or higher: A door that only a person with exceptional strength can have any hope of breaking down.
Locks: Dungeon doors are often locked, and so the Disable Device skill is useful. Locks are recessed on the edge opposite the hinges or straight in the center of the door. Locks usually control an iron or wooden bar that extends from the door into the wall that supports it.
Padlocks secure between two rings, one on the door and one on the wall. More complex locks, such as combination locks or puzzle locks, are usually built into the door itself.
The DC to pick a lock with a Disable Device check often falls between 15 and 30, although there are locks with higher or lower DCs. A door may have more than one lock, each of which must be opened separately.. Picking a lock without thieves’ ** tools incurs a -1d6 penalty to the check.
A Critical Failure in opening a door or padlock causes the thieves’ ** tools to break.
Locks are often equipped with traps, usually poisoned needles that spring out to prick the thief’ **s fingers.
Doors, passages and openings
A special door might have a lock without a key, but requires that the right combination of nearby levers be guessed or that symbols on a panel be pressed in the correct order to open it.
Stuck Doors: Dungeons are often damp places, and in some cases doors remain stuck, particularly if they are made of wood. It is usually assumed that about 1 in 6 wooden doors and 1 in 10 other doors are stuck. These values can be doubled (to 2 in 6 and 2 in 10 respectively) in the case of long-abandoned or neglected dungeons.
Barred Doors: When a character tries to break down a barred door, it is the quality of the bar that makes the difference, not the material of the door itself. Breaking down a door closed by a wooden bar requires a Fortitude Saving Throw with Strength with DC 25, and the DC rises to 30 in the case of a metal bar.
Characters can attack the door and destroy it, leaving the bar hanging in the cleared passage. Using a crowbar to force a stuck/blocked door grants a +1d6 to the check.
Magical Seals: Spells placed on a door can make crossing a door difficult.
A door on which a magic lock has been cast is considered locked even if it doesn’ **t physically have a lock. A spell that picks locks or dispels magic is needed, or a successful breaking check to pass through a door closed in this way.
Hinges: Most doors are equipped with hinges. Obviously sliding doors are not (these rather have grooves in the floor, which allow them to slide aside easily).
Adventurers can remove hinges one at a time by passing various Disable Device checks (only if, of course, they are in front of the side of the door on which the hinges are located). Such an action has a DC of 20, as many of the hinges are rusty or stuck.
Breaking a hinge is difficult. Most have Hardness 10 and 30 Hit Points. The DC to break a hinge is the same as that needed to knock down the door
Insertion Hinges: These hinges are much more complex and are found only in areas of excellent construction. These hinges are built into the wall and allow the door to open in both directions. Characters cannot reach the hinges to remove them unless they break through the door support or the wall. Insertion hinges are usually found on stone doors, but sometimes are also seen on wooden or iron doors.
Pivots: Pivots are not true hinges, but simple pegs that protrude from the upper and lower side of the door and fit into holes in its support, allowing it to turn. The advantages of pivots is that they cannot be removed like hinges and that they are easy to make. The disadvantage is that since the door turns on its center of gravity (usually in the middle), nothing larger than half the width of the door can pass through.
Doors equipped with pivots are usually made of stone and often quite wide to overcome the disadvantage. Another solution is to place the pivot towards one end and make the door thicker on that side and thinner on the other, so that it opens more or less like a normal door.
Secret doors within walls often rotate, as the lack of hinges makes it easier to conceal the presence of the door. Pivots also allow objects such as a bookcase to be used as secret doors.
Secret Doors: Camouflaged as a common portion of wall (or floor or ceiling), a bookcase, a fireplace, a fountain, a secret door leads to a secret passage or a room.
Someone examining the area can find a secret door (if one exists) with a successful Awareness check (with DC 20 for a common secret door and DC 30 for a very well-hidden door).
Many secret doors require a special method to be opened, such as a hidden button or pressure plate. Secret doors can open like common doors, pivot, slide, sink, rise, or even descend like a drawbridge.
A builder might place a secret door very low near the floor or very high on a wall, to make both finding and using the door more difficult.
Magical Doors Enchanted by the original builder, a door may address explorers inviting them not to proceed. It might be protected from damage, with increased Hardness or more Hit Points, as well as an improved Saving Throw bonus. A magical door might not lead to the space behind it, but actually be a portal to a very distant place or even to another plane of existence. Other magical doors might need a password or special keys to open. Magical doors can only be opened through a specific command or by nullifying the magic that pervades them, very few have a lock. In such a case, the Narrator might decide to increase the Disable Device check by 10, bringing it to 30 or more, and it might be necessary to have some points in Arcana.
Portcullises: These special doors are made with rods of iron or thick reinforced wood that descend from a recess in the upper part of an arch. Sometimes a portcullis has horizontal bars forming a grid, other times not. Usually raised with a winch or similar machinery, portcullises can be dropped quickly, and the bars end in spikes to discourage anyone from passing underneath (or from trying to cross them in a rush while they descend). Once down, a portcullis closes, unless it is so large that no normal person would be able to lift it. In any case, lifting a typical portcullis requires a Fortitude Saving Throw with Strength with DC 25.
Walls, Doors and Detection Actions
Stone walls, iron walls, and iron doors are generally thick enough to block most Divinations. Wooden walls, wooden and stone doors generally are not thick enough to do the same. However, a secret stone door built into a wall and as thick as the wall itself (at least 30 centimeters) will block most of these Actions.
Dangers in the Dungeon
In dungeons and caves, besides monsters, there are also other dangers including collapses, molds, fungi, and more.
Collapses and Cave-ins (Challenge Rating 8)
Collapses and cave-ins in tunnels are extremely dangerous. Not only do dungeon explorers run the risk of being crushed by tons of rock, but even if they should survive, of being trapped under a pile of debris or being unable to reach an exit.
A collapse buries anyone who is in the middle of the buried area, and the debris that rolls away will inflict damage to all those in the areas around the buried area. A typical corridor subject to a collapse might have a buried area with a 3 meter radius and a debris flow area with a 1 meter radius at the end of the buried area.
A dangerous ceiling can be identified with a Knowledge Engineering check with DC 20 or Profession Mason with DC 20.
A dangerous ceiling can collapse under the impact of a large force. A character can cause a collapse by destroying half of the pillars supporting the ceiling.
Characters in the buried area suffer 8d6 damage or halved damage if they pass a Reflex Saving Throw with DC 15 and are buried. Characters in the edge area suffer 3d6 damage or no damage if they pass a Reflex Saving Throw with DC 15. Characters in the edge areas are also buried for 1 square if they fail the Saving Throw.
Buried characters suffer 1d6 nonlethal damage for each minute they remain under the rubble. If a character in these conditions falls unconscious, they must make a Fortitude Saving Throw with DC 15; if they fail the check, they begin to suffer 1d6 lethal damage per minute until they are freed or die.
Characters who have not been buried can extract their companions from under the rubble. In 1 minute, a creature, using only its hands, clears a quarter of a square of rubble; if using suitable tools, such as a pickaxe, shovel, or spade, they can dig half a square per minute. A buried character can try to free themselves by passing a Fortitude Saving Throw with Strength with DC 30, once per minute.
Slimes, Molds, and Fungi
In the damp and dark recesses of dungeons, molds and fungi thrive, fear the columns of mold! Regarding spells and other special effects, all slimes, molds, and fungi are considered plants. Like traps, dangerous slimes and molds have a Challenge Rating, and characters earn Experience Points for having encountered them.
A shiny organic slime covers anything that remains too long immersed in the darkness and dampness of dungeons. This type of slime, although it may be repulsive, is not dangerous. Molds and fungi abound in dark, cold, and damp places. Although some are as harmless as normal dungeon slimes, others are quite dangerous. Edible mushrooms, toadstools, yeasts, molds, and other types of fibrous, bulbous fungi, or entire expanses of fungal spores can be found in most dungeons. They are usually harmless and often even edible (although most are unappealing or have a strange taste).
Shrieker: These human-sized purple fungi emit a penetrating sound that lasts 1d3 rounds whenever there is movement or a light source within a 3 meter radius. This scream makes it impossible to hear other sounds or noises within melee range. The sound attracts nearby creatures that are willing to investigate. Some creatures that live near shriekers have learned that the noise very often means food.
Green Slime (Challenge Rating 4): This dungeon hazard is an insidious variety of normal slime. Green slime devours flesh and organic materials that come into contact with it and is even capable of dissolving metals. Bright green, wet, and sticky, it spreads in patches on walls, floors, and ceilings and reproduces by consuming organic material. It drops from walls and ceilings when it detects movement (and possible nourishment) below it.
Green slime inflicts 1 damage to Constitution for each round it devours flesh. In the first round of contact, the slime can be scraped off a creature (with the likely destruction of the object used to scrape it off), but after the first round it must be frozen, burned, or cut (inflicting damage to its victim as well) to be removed. Anything that inflicts fire or cold damage, sunlight, or a remove disease spell destroys a patch of green slime. In the case of wood or metal, green slime inflicts 2d6 damage per round, ignoring the Hardness of metal but not that of wood. It does not damage stone. Defense 10, Hit Points 30, Saving Throws F 3, R 0, W 1.
Phosphorescent Fungus: This strange underground fungus emits a faint purplish luminescence that illuminates caves and underground passages like a candle. Rare patches of this fungus illuminate like a torch. Torn from its environment, it goes out in 1d4 turns.
Yellow Mold (Challenge Rating 6): If disturbed within a 3 meter radius, it releases a cloud of poisonous spores. Everyone within a 3 meter radius of the mold must pass a Fortitude Saving Throw with DC 15 or suffer 1d3 damage to Constitution. Another Fortitude Saving Throw with DC 15 is required once per round for the next 5 rounds or to avoid suffering another 1d3 damage to Constitution. A successful Saving Throw stops this effect. Fire destroys yellow mold, while sunlight renders it inert. Defense 10, Hit Points 25, Saving Throws F 3, R 0, W 1, Vulnerability to Fire.
Brown Mold (Challenge Rating 2): Brown mold feeds on heat, extracting it from everything around it. It usually appears in patches with a diameter of 1 meter in size and the temperature around the mold is always cold within a radius of 3 meters. Living creatures within 1 meter of it suffer 3d6 nonlethal cold damage. If a fire source is brought within 1 meter of the mold, it immediately doubles in size. Cold damage, such as that inflicted by a cone of cold, instantly destroys it. Defense 10, Hit Points 12, Saving Throws F 3, R 0, W 1, Vulnerability Cold, converts fire damage taken into Hit Points.
Examples of Dungeon Traps
The name of the trap is indicated, the DC for the Survival check to find the trap, and the instructions for its use. See also Traps (p. ).
Flooded room, DC 17: if the characters do not notice the pressure plate on the floor, it will seal the entrance door and the room will begin to fill with water. The room fills with water in 10 rounds. A Survival check at DC 15, combined with a Swim check DC 13, reveals the plate that activates the water outflow.
Crushing room, DC 15: if the characters do not notice the pressure plate on the floor, it will seal the entrance door and very loud noises of grinding and gears will fill the room. The walls will begin to approach each other as the ceiling approaches the floor. If the characters do not find the hidden tile (DC 17), they will suffer 10d6 crushing damage. The trap is easier to detect than others because the walls are thicker, making the room smaller.
Crushing ceiling, DC 18: if the characters do not notice the activation system (pressure plate, cable, interrupted light beam…) a 3m x 3m section of ceiling will fall on the characters with 3d6 damage.
Web tunnel, DC 12: this tunnel is evidently full of thick, dense, robust webs. If the characters enter, they are considered Entangled. After 1d4 rounds of staying inside, an activator will generate a spark, setting fire to the webs for 1d4 rounds. Each round inside the tunnel, 2d4 fire damage is suffered.
Pit, DC 15: the careless character will collapse a 3m x 3m section of floor into a pit. This can be a simple pit (1d6 falling damage), with spikes (1d6+2d4), with acid (1d6 per round), with undead…
Garrote, DC 14: this trap can be very insidious. A magically sharpened wire is 1 meter from the ground, between one wall and the opposite one, and runs towards the players. A Reflex Saving Throw DC 14 is required or suffer 2d6 slashing damage.
Crushing door, DC 16: this door, as soon as touched, rotates on central hinges and rotating hits the character (or characters if it’ **s a large gate). It causes 1d6 bludgeoning damage and continues to rotate for 1d6 rounds.
Finger Slicer, DC 14: this trap is very subtle. It presents with a hole about 1 cm in diameter and 7 cm deep. Anything that touches the bottom will trigger the trap, causing 2d4 damage to the finger/object inserted. The blade might also be poisoned.