Sewers
and Slime Beast
As a society
grows, so does it's need for Sewers. From getting rid of waste to the
various tunnels and pipes needed to support a city the size of
Freeport. Now add in things like magic and Dwarfs and a technology
level equal to Earth around the time of the last great age of piracy,
plus just normal bureaucracy, and you begin to get the idea that the
sewers under a D&D city are going to be just a little weird.
From simple wells and potty’s to brick lined viaducts to strange
Gnomish constructions the Sewer levels of Freeport are going to be a
twisting mess of a Maze.
I mean there are
still parts of the London Underground that are being rediscovered
every few years and look at those cave city’s they found in Turkey
recently? The sewer system of any large city is the closest we will
ever get to a Mega Dungeon in the real world.
Now there are not
going to be a lot of actual rooms in a sewer system, but it's safe to
assume there are junctions and maintenance shafts. Storage rooms and
forgotten corners, also a few basements that open up in to the Sewer?
In addition Freeport is a city built by adventures, pirates, thieves
and evil cultists. More then a few secret rooms and hidden passages
lie down in those sewers. Maybe a underground dock for that
mechanical Shark? And there are a few sinister secrets and dangers
that lurk down in those pipes. There is no real reason to describe
each inch of the Sewer system as they would all be about the same.
Wet, Stinky.
The greatest
danger in the sewer is the sewer it's self. It is a bubbling cauldron
of disease and foul rotted things. Vast alchemical nightmares made
out of all the stuff that has been dumped down the Privy over the
years and of course Alligators.
Sewer
wandering encounter chart.
Roll 1d6 for every ½ an hour
the party spends in the Sewer, on a 1 or 6-they have an encounter.
Also any loud noises the party makes will generate another check.
1: Alligator
2: Swarm of rats
3: Swarm of giant
rats
4: Dire rat
5: Giant insects
6: Giant sewer
crab
7: Sewer slime
beast (Insert favorite ooze or slime)
8: Zombies
9: Ghouls
10: Sewer
maintenance team composed. 1D6. 1=Dwarfs. 2=Halflings. 3=Gnomes.
4=Goblins 5=Humans
11: Sewer guard
patrol. 1D6. 1=Dwarf 2=Gnomes. 3=Halflings 4=Goblins. 5=Humans
12: Evil cultist
13: Drunk who got
lost in the sewer
14: Sneaky thief
types using the sewer to break in to a basement
15: Merchants
using the sewers as an shortcut to move there stuff about Town
16: Low level
adventures hired to “Clean up the rat problem”
17: Shambling
mound
18: Gill
men/Karo-Taro
19: Pack of feral
dogs
20: Some weird
alchemical/wild magic stuff: GM whim.
Fixed encounters
in the sewers of a large seaport city like Freeport would involve the
machinations of the various NPC's who use the sewers as a way to
maneuver about the city undetected or to hide things in the many
nooks and cranny’s of the location.
Four sample
fixed spots in the Freeport Sewer system.
1: Cultist lair.
Over the years many evil cultist have used Freeport as a base of
operations due to it's vast population of various races and it's
access to the ocean. This spot is currently being used by the Cult of
the Bane Lords for worship and sacrifice.
A small brick
alcove with straw mats on the ground to absorb the water Large
scented candles line the walls and provide some relief from the
sewers stench when lit.
A mural depicting
the symbol of the cult has been painted on the far wall. A alter of
sorts has been erected in front of the mural made out of hammered
together wood. Splatters of blood can be seen on the alter next to
more candles.
At any given time
there is a 1-6 chance that 1d6+1 low level cultist are in the shrine
preforming some foul ritual for there dark gods.
AC: 15 HP: 10 BAB
+1 Short Swords +1 1d6+1 or Tossed knifes +1 1d4+0 10 CP & 3 Sp
each. ECL 2.
In addition a
random zombi will appear in the shrine once every hour, sent by the
bane lords to cause mischief in the sewers.
2: Hidden loot:
It goes with out saying that in the long history of Freeport
more then a few things have been hidden in the sewers and some of
those left forgotten until today.
This is one such
buried fortune.
On a Perception
check of 15 the party will notice some of the bricks in this spot
seem lose. It is a simple task to remove them and expose a small
hidden room made out of crude stone. There are no light sources in
the chamber but unlike the rest of the Sewer it is relatively dry and
clean
A single humanoid
skull lies in the right corner of the room but other then that it
appears to be empty.
A careful search
of the room will expose a lose stone panel in the floor.
A DC15 Perception
check will tell the party that the panel is trapped, with a simple
but effective poison gas trap.
Removing the
bladder that holds the gas is a DC 17 disable device check. If
unsuccessful or if no one bothers to check for traps then the gas is
released in the room.
Poison Gas: DC 15
VS Fort. If make save lose 1d4 temporary Con points, if save is
failed then lose 1d8 temporary Con points.
Surviving or
disabling the trap allows the party to remove the panel and discover
the left behind treasure!
120 lose CP dated
75 years ago. 220 SP also dated 75 years ago. 80 GP again dated 75
years ago.
Under the coins
the party finds a small platinum bar (100 GP) and 2 50GP Ruby’s but
the true treasure are the 3 bottles of a rare wine from 75 years ago.
It would easily sell for anywhere between a 200GP low bid to a 500 GP
high bid depending on how the party goes about selling it.
In addition there
is a very ugly non magic hat in the hole with the initials M.A on the
inside, you have no idea who that is.
3: Lair of the
sewer swamp monster.
Jinkys: Rumors of
a swamp monster haunting the sewers have existed for as long as
there has been a sewer. Zoinks, is it just a guy in a mask or is it
in fact an actual sewer monster.
It's both.
Much like a
character from a certain movie, the swamp monster is not One person
but a long history of individuals using the legend of the sewer swamp
monster to further there own ends. Every few years a new enterprising
criminal rises up and assumes the mantel of the sewer swamp monster.
The current sewer
swamp monster is a merchant by the name of David Keating. Keating is
using the sewer as a way to break in to the basements of his
competitor's and damage there goods so he can sell his stuff at
higher prices. He adopted the guise of the sewer swamp monster to
frighten any guards his victims might send to stop him. So far he has
been successful and even managed to put One merchant out of business,
but he has yet to run afoul of any “Meddling adventures.”
He stores his
costume and stolen loot in the basement of his own shop, which opens
up to the sewer via a hole he made in the wall.
If the party
investigates the sightings of the sewer monster, they will need to
make 3 successful survival/tracking DC 15 checks to follow the trail
to his lair.
Hidden in the
lair is also his latest collection of stuff he has stolen from his
victims. About 800GP worth of “product”
The sewer swamp
monster: David Keating.
2nd
level expert ( wine merchant)AC 15 HP 11 Intimidate +4 (jinkys its a
swamp monster). Movement 25 (that costume is heavy). Engineering &
disable device +3 (to better break in to basements). Profession-wine
merchant +4
Swamp monster claw
attack: +2 1d6+2.
Gear: crowbar, heavy mining pick, sacks, Sewer
swamp monster costume. 1 ever burning torch. 3 bottle of oil.
Flint,smudge pot and steal(Arson)
CR 1
What Keating, and
most others don’t know is that there is in fact an actual sewer
swamp monster in the sewers. With all the weird chemicals that have
been dumped into the sewers over the years, as well as just the ever
present ambient magic of a city like Freeport it goes with out saying
that inevitably something would rise out of the goop.
In this case it
is a shambling mound that has become attracted to the area of
Keating's lair due to all the noise he has made and the smell of the
wine stored in his basement lair.
Sewer swamp
monster: AC: 19 HP: 60. immune to electricity DR 10 vs fire Move 20.
2 Slams +11 2d6+5 . If both are successful can constrict target for
an addition 2d6+7.
The shambling
mound has no treasure.
4: Lair of the
Vampire Queen.
Every environment
has it’s alpha predator, the sewers of Freeport have the “Countess
Du Masq”.
The Countess is a
mysterious individual mentioned in a few of the early Freeport
publications, she has a history shrouded in rumor and gossip. She
runs “Theme” nightclub called the "House of Masks",
where all the individuals associated with it (both staff and clients)
have to wear masks. The Countess her self has long fed into her own
mysterious persona with an occasional hint that she is a assassin
from a far off land. A vampire. A demon queen and other story’s,
all to hide the fact that she is actually a Vampire.
She had long used
the Sewer as a way to get rid of bodies and traverse the city during
day light hours, so a entrance to the sewer lies in the basement of
the club.
She does not
bother hiding this entrance, in fact she has gone out of her way to
make it appear more frightening then it actually is. Including having
the door made out of a giant skull, and filling the room and the area
around it with various “Vampire” trappings .There is even a
coffin in the chamber.
She uses this
“hide in plane sight” to build up the image of her being a
Vampire to the point that no One takes it seriously because it's such
a cliche
Having a steady
stream of “willing victims”, she seldom has to hunt the sewers
for food. Though she is known to take a stroll about the sewers just
to keep abreast of the various going's on . She takes little notice
of the cultist, thieves and merchants that use the sewers, though
occasionally something will attract her attention-Something usually
involving adventures.
The Countess’s
sewer entrance lair is a good red hearing for a GM to toss at a low
level party. She might take sadistic joy out of tormenting them for a
day or Two before she either loses interest or just kills them. If
the party is interesting enough to keep her amused she could find a
use for them in some way and maybe even become a Patron of there
adventures-While constantly keeping them guessing, is she a vampire
or is she just playing the part.
Obviously the
Lair is not her real lair and the coffin is not her real coffin. In
fact she lost her real coffin in a ship wreck 80 year ago and her
actual “lair” is her bed room.
The Countess Du
Masq is a very powerful Vampire, she is a CR 15 encounter on her own.
So there are just
some examples of the goings on in our fair city’s sewers, the idea
behind this is that once you enter things like magic into the
equation Something as normal as a sewer system, suddenly becomes a
very interesting place.
A very stinky,
wet, gross place but still interesting
Till next time
be excellent
Freeport is
copyright Green Ronin Games
