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Episode Two: A False Tomb Into the Forsaken Temple's Crypt is a short adventure for four 10th-level characters. The adventure takes place in a buried temple crypt, which has been sealed for centuries. Dungeon Masters can adjust it for higher-level characters by widening the dead magic areas and increasing the number and power of constructs and undead that inhabit the complex. Adventure Background The PCs had just entered the Forsaken Temple's crypt in the last episode. Now they can begin to penetrate deeper into the crypt, discovering more of its hidden dangers. A False Tomb As the characters move onward, the air becomes even staler and the temperature drops steadily. This is not enough to injure them, but it could certainly make those susceptible to cold feel uncomfortable. The elves built this tomb to keep Ellowyn in and to keep grave robbers out. Therefore, they built a false tomb in area 3D, hoping to draw would-be looters away from Ellowyn's true resting place. They decorated the door with symbols and writing that, they hoped, would draw the attention of anyone who invaded the crypt. The elves did not anticipate the oozes and fungus that have taken up residence in this area. These creatures now serve as accidental, but effective, guardians of the Traitor's prison. Area 1A (EL 9) As the PCs enter this area, read the following text:
The black mass is an extremely large black pudding. It seeped into the crypt years ago, when it was much smaller, and it has been feeding on shriekers, and sometimes on the floor and walls. The pudding is hungry for real food, such as the flesh of the PCs. The drow, who have spent years studying the crypt through magic, circumvented this monster by teleporting directly into Area 4.
If the characters attempt to read what's left of the text on the wall, they gather only the following snippets:
Make sure the characters realize that it is very difficult to try to read ancient writing while a black pudding is trying to devour you. Area 2 (EL 7) As the PCs enter this area, read the following text:
The mushrooms are shriekers. They feed on the insects and vermin that get into the crypt over time, and the black pudding in turn feeds on them. The shriekers have grown at a rate sufficient to sustain the black pudding so far, but over time it is likely the pudding will outgrow its food source, devour all of the remaining shriekers, and starve. The sound echoes throughout the crypt. If the drow in Area 5 didn't know they had company before, they do now.
Should the PCs make it through the shriekers to the northern wall, read the following aloud:
If the characters attempt to flee from the black pudding into this area, it follows them. If they attempt to close the stone double doors behind them, the pudding burns through it in 3 rounds. Since the pudding is so large, it makes this room very crowded if it gets in. The pudding has tried to burn through the door at the north end of Area 2, but it couldn't due to the magic the elves used to reinforce the door, which makes it immune to acid and other corrosive damage. If the characters can get through this door and shut it behind them, they need not fear the pudding. The doors are locked (Open Lock DC 30). Magically Reinforced Stone Doors: 1 ft. thick; hardness 10; hp 60; AC 5; Break DC 45. Attempting to pick the lock triggers a trap that floods the floor of this room with a powerful corrosive, creating a puddle 10 feet wide at the base of the door. It seems the elves had a reason for making the door impervious to acid....
Should the characters read the barely legible script on the door, they get the following:
Area 3A As the PCs enter area 3A, read the following:
The northern door has the same statistics as the door at the entrance to the crypt. The doors are locked (Open Lock DC 30), reinforced with both iron (just under the silver) and stone (as another set of doors directly behind the silver/iron set). Crypt Doors: 1 ft. thick; hardness 10; hp 60; AC 5; Break DC 45. The other doors are strong wooden doors, but they are not locked. The elves hoped that by making it more difficult to enter Area 3D, persistent looters would be drawn to the false tomb they constructed. If they read the carvings on the door, this is what they learn:
Areas 3B and 3C If the PCs wish to advance beyond these empty rooms, they need to succeed at Search checks (DC 30) to find the secret doors in each room. Area 3D (EL 9) If the characters enter this area, read the following text:
Should the characters attempt to open any of the sarcophagi, the remaining five immediately open and the the mummies the elves left here as guardians assault the characters. The elves created these mummies from elven warriors who willingly gave their lives to guard the Traitor's resting place. As such, they are of lawful good alignment. Otherwise they conform to the statistics listed in the Monster Manual. The mummies in the sarcophagi against the walls are discernibly elven males, though they wear archaic and molded armor. The mummy in the sarcophagus at the north end of the room is discernibly an elven female.
The elves left no treasure behind in the false tomb. They hoped that any looters who came this far would be discouraged by having worked so hard for nothing and would leave the crypt without trying to proceed further. If the PCs wish to advance beyond these empty rooms, they need to succeed at Search checks (DC 30) to find the secret door. The carvings on these walls say the following:
Development: At this point, the characters may believe that they've found and destroyed some ultimate evil that inhabited the crypt. They may be put off or they may be misled by the carvings left behind by the elves. If they turn around and leave now, the drow proceed with their plan as noted in the last episode. If they want to keep exploring the crypt, the PCs may notice the secret doors that hide narrow passages that lead north from Areas 3B and 3C. These passages are so narrow that Medium-size characters must walk single file to get through them. At some points in these passages, Medium-size characters must turn to their side and squeeze through. Those with plate armor should consider taking it off, in fact. What lies beyond these narrow corridors is the subject of our next episode. Cliffhanger Have the characters found and destroyed Ellowyn Blacktree? Do they dare press further into the crypt? Or will they leave, confident of their victory and unaware of the horror that is about to be loosed on the world?
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