Level 7 Preview!!!

Public discussion of the extensive development of new levels in the Ruins of Undermountain.

Moderator: Thorn Blackstone

Post Reply
Doirche

Level 7 Preview!!!

Post by Doirche »

Here it is folks.... I am truly sorry that it took as long as it did to get to you.

I present to you ... Undermountain Level 7.....


Image



Room #19: Winter’s Kiss

Characters who approach the door to this room will notice frost on the outside of the door and an unnatural chill emanating from it. The door is wizard-locked and cannot be picked open. PCs wishing to enter will need to use a knock spell or successfully cast dispel magic on the door (vs. 16th level). PCs may also batter down the door by inflicting 50 pts. of damage against AC2.

When the PCs have managed to open the door, read the following text:

The chill felt at the door is almost warm in comparison to the frigid cold you feel as you enter this frozen room. Wisps of frost fill the air. Every surface of the room is covered in light blue, crystal clear ice. There are statues of armored creatures carved into the surrounding walls. In the center of the room stands a group of adventurers, embedded in a thick mass of ice as if literally frozen in the act of opening a curious looking chest. The dead silence here is almost as piercing as the cold that chills you to the bone.”

The intense cold in this room emanates from a magic item in the chest that was opened by the now-frozen adventurers. It is a globe of elemental ice (see the Magic Items of the Deadly Levels chapter). The cold is so intense that anyone in the room who is not immune to cold or magically protected from the temperature suffers 1d6 damage per round. Non-magical protection (heavy fur or hide coats, covering exposed skin, etc) merely reduces damage to 1d6 damage per turn.

The strange creatures carved into the walls are merely that…ice sculptures designed by an unknown sculptor.

PCs who attempt to chip through the ice to reach the imprisoned adventurers will find it a daunting task, as the ice is rock-hard. Those attempting to do so must deal the ice block encasing the adventurers 35 pts. of damage against AC0 in order to break through. The adventuring party in the block of ice is quite dead, although a speak with dead spell will enable the deceased to warn the PCs about “the sphere of terrible cold”.

Anyone who chips through the ice and reaches the globe of elemental ice is in grave danger. The globe radiates an intense cold, being linked to the Para-elemental Plane of Ice. Anyone touching it is immediately frozen as ice spreads from the globe to envelop the person. Anyone touching the encased victim suffers the same fate. Those who are magically protected from cold are allowed a saving throw vs. paralyzation to avoid being frozen. This saving throw is made once per round.

There is one other danger to this room, and that is the fact that the globe of elemental ice emits its frigid assault until all warmth is drained from an area. If the PCs leave the door open, the cold will cause the very moisture in the area to freeze, eventually forming an ice bank that seals the door. This process takes 2d6 rounds to occur, but it is silent and unless PCs are specifically watching the doorway they will not notice this gradual build-up of ice. Breaking through this ice block requires 35 pt. of damage vs. AC0.


Here are the characters that braved the early ventures into Undermountain: The Deadly Levels….

Jonathan – Paladin – 11th Level
Christopher – Paladin – 11th Level
Raydon - Magic User – 12th Level
Raysha – Theif – 14th Level
Clair - Cleric – 11th level
Jasmine - Cleric – 10th level

All actions by the Dungeon Master (Doirche) will be listed as the following … DM:
All of the actions by the player characters will be listed in their appropriate names.
All human reactions to situations will be listed as … Human:



DM: The door to this room appears similar to any other door you have encountered in this area…. with the exception that it is encrusted by a layer of ice. The air near the door is unusually cold, differing in temperature by tens of degrees as you get near it.

Jonathan: Do we notice anything else unusual?

DM: Only the difference in temperature and the fact the door is in encrusted in ice…. No.

Raydon: This is the effect of magic of some sort. The rest of the area surrounding us is not chilly but is damp. In my experience there is nothing natural that could affect this area this way. We should be cautious.

Raysha: I agree

Christopher: Well we need to penetrate this area… we are on the track of (omitted from this preview) and we need to discover the (omitted from this preview).

Jonathan: I agree. Myself and Clair will attempt to break the barrier of ice that covers the door while Christopher and Jasmine keep an eye on the corridor. Raydon will be vigilant with his “fireball spell” and Raysha will stand aside about 10’ south of the door in case of surprises.

DM: Fine… You both hack away at the layer of ice that covers the door and it seems like an eternity before the door is free enough of the icy tomb that it was in before you can attempt to open it.

Jonathan: Once we free the door of ice enough to seem like we can open it. I will stand guard in front while Raysha kneels besides me to my right, ready to leap in to get behind potential adversaries. Clair and Jasmine will follow up with Raydon behind them spells ready. Christopher will follow up in the rear of the party always watching for foes to our rear.

DM: Fine... the door actually shatters as you break through the ice layer and before you are a magnificent room that appears to be sheathed in ice.

The chill felt at the door is almost warm in comparison to the frigid cold you feel as you enter this frozen room. Wisps of frost fill the air. Every surface of the room is covered in light blue, crystal clear ice. There are statues of armored creatures carved into the surrounding walls. In the center of the room stands a group of adventurers, embedded in a thick mass of ice as if literally frozen in the act of opening a curious looking chest. The dead silence here is almost as piercing as the cold that chills you to the bone.

Human: W… T… F…

Human: Yeah ok… you did this on purpose because it’s winter time right?


Jonathan: Ok guys let’s concentrate… there is nothing that appears “alive” in the room so let’s go in…. if the room is frozen solid then maybe we’ll be ok…. Let’s be cautious.

Christopher: I don’t see anything behind us, with the exception of darkness so we’re ok to move forward.

Jonathan: We all move into the room, weapons and spells ready. Christopher will stay near the door but keep an eye on us inside the room. Raysha will move to the right of Christopher but near the wall and she will keep an eye on the door. The rest of us will move in a semi-circle pattern around the center of the room where the ice sculptures are.

DM: Ok, you make the necessary movements however you are all painfully stricken by the intense cold in this area. All of you experience extreme pain in your extremities.

[all PC’s lose 1d6 hit points at this point]

Christopher: Ok so we’re all cold, no big deal… let’s get on to that chest that these frozen unfortunates are looking at.

Raysha: Ummm… this really sucks.

NOTE: At this point Raysha notes that the door is beginning to freeze over but chooses NOT to say anything. For what reason only she knows.

Christopher: What is that in the center of the room… it looks like a frozen chest……?

Raysha: Frozen chest? Hell yes…. Let someone other than me keep our backs watched… I need some loot.

Clair: FINE! I’ll watch the damn door … the rest of you get on with it…. I HATE the cold and this room gives me the chills.. (Laughter breaks out at this point)

NOTE: ALL PC’s suffer 1d6 more damage this round

Raydon: OK this F****** sucks… I am freezing and I am unable to move my arms like I normally would. Let’s hurry this process up! I can’t accurately cast spells in this cold….

Jonathan: We are standing by the ice encrusted chest in the center of the room. What do we see?

DM: Surrounded by the glazed chest you see several humanoid creatures frozen in time looking as if they recently opened the very same chest you gaze at…. Their expressions are in wonder as if they found a lustrous treasure but were instead frozen in position soon afterwards…..



Will the PC’s escape? What lies in the chest? Only you and your PC’s will find out!!!!!!
Post Reply