Dungeon ‘23 - Week 2
Week 2 is complete and my map looks… even more insane. Here’s what I’m working with so far, which will definitely need some fixing up. I’ll simply the map when I get around to filling the grounds betwixt the walls next week. Still having a blast working through this project. The full map (so far) is below, but I’m only detailing the new rooms from Week 2. I must confess I wrote more than seven, but I’m sure I’ll fall behind in the future to even things out.
The first eighteen rooms of Zone 4. Again, I’m playing a little fast and loose with the rules of Dungeon' ‘23.
4H - The Southern Guard Tower, First Floor
80’x80’x30’ with thick stone walls made from well-fitted blocks placed without mortar. Double doors with portcullis connect to the training grounds to the north.
Tapestries of a tall, bearded man in robes (Ossifrage?) and several animal-headed knights and well-dressed nobles.
Weapon and armor racks and barrels along the walls.
3 beastfolk guards on duty at all times.
Guard by the door to the training grounds operates the portcullis, lowering it during emergencies.
2 guards watch over the trapdoor leading to the dungeon level.
Captain Nosewise (dog-headed guard) manages this garrison, serving under Syr Waltheof FitzAllen.
Stairs lead to the next level, snores can be heard at all hours.
4I - The Western Guard Tower, First Floor
80’x80’x30’ with thick stone walls made from well-fitted blocks placed without mortar. No door.
Gang of ratfolk (Leader is a woman named Taragon with 3 enforcers) and their “pet” cockroaches live here.
Hostile to intruders, worried about someone moving in on their turf.
Taragon is missing three fingers and possesses the Nine-Fingers Knife (below).
A desk with locked drawers contains ledgers and notes about a smuggling operation.
Hidden trapdoor leads directly to the Furnace level while an iron-runged ladder leads to the second floor.
Beastfolk Thief - STR 9, DEX 14, WIL 10 - HP 4
Dagger (d6), No Armor
- Swarm at opportune moments, never fight fair.
- Able to squeeze into tight spaces to escape or ambush.
- Always looking to strike a deal.
Giant Cockroach - STR 4, DEX 11, WIL 2 - HP 3Bite (d4) or Acid Spittle (d6), Chitin (1)
- The size of a small dog or large cat.
- Swarm and bite, use wings to fly around dizzily.
- Can spit globs of acid short distances.
Nine-Fingers Knife - d8+1 (Superior)An unassuming dagger with a razor edge and a notched bone handle stained red-brown with old blood. It can be used in place of a lockpick in a pinch without penalty. When called upon, the knife can bypass any lock, mundane or magical, regardless of complexity, but doing so takes 1 minute and requires the knife's wielder to cut off one of their fingers.
4J - The Northwest Guard Tower, 2nd Floor
80’x80’x30’ with thick stone walls made from well-fitted blocks placed without mortar. Doors on the southwest and northeast (beneath stairs) sides connect to the ramparts.
Stairs lead to tower top, normally blocked off by a currently open trap door.
Arrow slits in walls, each flanked by a barrel of arrows and bolts for castle defense.
An imp (named Koal) will try to get the PCs to follow him to the top floor.
“No guards to eavesdrop!”
A bull-headed guard stands by each door, seemingly oblivious to the Imp - they will notice if the PCs appear to be talking to “no one.”
“They don't see what they don’t like!” Koal says.
4K - The East Guard Tower, 2nd Floor
80’x80’x30’ with thick stone walls made from well-fitted blocks placed without mortar. Doors on the southwest and northeast (beneath stairs) walls connect to the ramparts.
Stairs lead to tower top, blocked off by a heavy iron-bound trapdoor.
Arrow slits in walls, each flanked by a barrel of arrows and bolts for castle defense.
Three guards stand behind a barricade of furniture with a cask of oil at the ready.
Guards are panicked, waiting for reinforcements. They cannot abandon their post lest the vines from below creep in.
4L - The Northeast Guard Tower, 2nd Floor
80’x80’x30’ with thick stone walls made from well-fitted blocks placed without mortar. Doors on the west and southeast walls connect to the ramparts.
Stairs lead to tower top, blocked off by a heavy iron-bound trapdoor.
Arrow slits in walls, each flanked by a barrel of arrows and bolts for castle defense.
A cat-headed knight (Syr Tibert Gyb) is interrogating a raven-headed beastfolk (Bartram) he has accused of theft.
Won’t stand to be interrupted.
Accuses PCs of theft if they interfere.
Bartram did, in fact, steal several sets of keys and signet rings under Taragon’s orders, but Syr Tibert didn’t see it.
A pair of horse-headed guards stand by the doors to ensure that no one interrupts Syr Tibert.
Will draw weapons and attack if their orders to stay away aren’t followed.
An animated broom (Goethe) and a dustpan (Dukas) skitter around the room cleaning dust, doing their best to avoid Syr Tibert and his guards.
Seemingly unbothered by the “interrogation” going on.
Syr Tibert Gyb, Beastfolk Knight - STR 12, DEX 10, WIL 13 - HP 6
Sword (d6+1), Plate (2) & Shield (1)
- Archaic speech peppered with animal sounds.
- Finely crafted but antique armor.
- Fights honorably and to the death unless offered surrender. Will issue dueling challenges.
4M - The South Guard Tower, 2nd Floor
80’x80’x30’ with thick stone walls made from well-fitted blocks placed without mortar.
Two doors on the west and east walls connect to the ramparts.
Portcullises can be raised and lowered to block the door.
A northern door leads to a stone parapet with a drawbridge that connects to the keep.
A portcullis can be raised and lowered to block the door.
Stairs lead to tower top, blocked off by a heavy iron-bound trapdoor.
Arrow slits in walls, each flanked by a barrel of arrows and bolts for castle defense.
Ten beds with two bunks to sleep the outer wall’s garrison.
A wooden door connects to a smaller room with a garderobe (toilet).
4N - The West Guard Tower, 2nd Floor
80’x80’x30’ with thick stone walls made from well-fitted blocks placed without mortar. Doors on the northwest and southwest walls connect to the ramparts.
Stairs lead to tower top, blocked off by a heavy iron-bound trapdoor.
Trapdoor on the floor leads to a descending ladder to the floor below.
A simple pulley system allows for barrels and crates to be raised and lowered between floors.
Arrow slits in walls, each flanked by a barrel of arrows and bolts for castle defense.
A pair of guards mill about the room, both in the employ of Taragon.
40 - The Northwest Guard Tower, 3rd Floor
Two tiers, separated by ornate stone battlements and connected by a short staircase.
An iron-bound trap door, currently open, normally blocks access to the floor below.
Signal brazier ready to light rests within sight of the other towers.
Currently empty, save the imp Koal.
Loyal to Haborym, wants to see his master freed from Ossifrage’s control. Tries to recruit the PCs with promises of wealth and power.
Tells them to go to the Western Guard Tower to access the secret ladder on the first floor.
“Tell Taragon I sent you, she’s a friend to the Master!”
Koal, the Imp - STR 6, DEX 12, WIL 9 - HP 6
Burning Fangs (d6, Dex Save or target takes another d6), No Armor
- A flaming skull with bat wings, flits about chaotically.
- Speaks quickly with a voice that snaps and pops like burning wood.
- Turns invisible and flies away if it fears for its life.
4P - The East Guard Tower, 3rd Floor
Two tiers, separated by ornate stone battlements and connected by a short staircase.
An iron-bound trap door, currently open, normally blocks access to the floor below.
Signal brazier rests within sight of the other towers. It lacks wood and oil to burn.
A trebuchet operated by a team of three mole-headed engineers dominates the second tier.
Two guards remain at their posts by the brazier and the trapdoor, both nervous about the vines below and the Gardener but unable to abandon their posts.
4Q - The Northeast Guard Tower, 3rd Floor
Two tiers, separated by ornate stone battlements and connected by a short staircase.
An iron-bound trap door, currently open, normally blocks access to the floor below.
Signal brazier ready to light rests within sight of the other towers.
Three guards and one serjeant stand at their posts, order the PCs to go back down the stairs.
Beastfolk Serjeant - STR 11, DEX 9, WIL 13 - HP 5
Sword (d6+1), Mail (1) & Shield (1)
- Archaic speech peppered with animal sounds.
- Dressed in ancient livery with a pin denoting their rank.
- Issues orders to nearby guards but leads from the front.
4R - The South Guard Tower, 3rd Floor
Two tiers, separated by ornate stone battlements and connected by a short staircase.
An iron-bound trap door, currently open, normally blocks access to the floor below.
Signal brazier ready to light rests within sight of the other towers.
Three guards and one serjeant stand at their posts, order the PCs to go back down the stairs (unless Captain Nosewise is with them or on the floor).
A table littered with notes, journals, and maps sits on the second tier beneath a canvas canopy.
Captain Nosewise spends his mornings and evenings here before returning to the first floor to oversee the outer wall’s garrison.
Maps showcase an assortment of foreign lands, some of which may not even be part of the same universe.
Notes and journals are mostly daily logs and action reports.
4S - The West Guard Tower, 3rd Floor
Two tiers, separated by ornate stone battlements and connected by a short staircase.
An iron-bound trap door, currently open, normally blocks access to the floor below.
Signal brazier ready to light rests within sight of the other towers.
Three guards and one serjeant stand at their posts, more easy going than the other towers’ guards, but will escort the PCs downstairs if they bother Pierre the Scholar.
Pierre is a pig-headed beastfolk who serves under Syr Caden, an owl-headed knight stationed in Lips’ Tower.
He is busy studying the night’s sky, mapping constellations to add to the library’s star charts.
Is rather brusque and in a hurry, as the castle often relocates every few (2d4) days, which doesn’t give him much time to draw up his maps.
Will be quite friendly with a PC who shows aptitude for astronomy and/or cartography, offering them information about the castle in exchange for their assistance.
