ersatz esoterica

Beneath Bastion Library: a dungeon for INTO

THE ODD

August 18, 2015August 18, 2015 | archaism | archive, bastion, into the odd
For some time, the staff of the Bastion research library have refused to venture into the vaults beneath
where arcana are stored. This is proving quite awkward, so a hardy team of explorers have been
tasked with determining the nature of the unease downstairs and nullifying it. Their fee? Each
explorer may leave with a single arcanum that they can carry.

Welcome to Bastion library.

(h ps://archaism.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/bastion-library-archives.jpg)

Random Encounters
 1. one lernean serpent that’s crawled from a nearby duct (see Room 7)
2. a sentient swarm of beetles (STR 19, HP0, may a ack each player once with multitudinous bites d4);
they sca er if they suffer Critical Damage
3. a wandering archivist (if any remain – see Room 2)
4. the player with the lowest WIL shudders and loses d4 HP

What is going on?

The Book of Death in Room 8 is infecting the atmosphere of the archives. If it can be destroyed, the
strange feeling will dissapate and the archivists (see Room 2) will return to normal operations.

What are in the rooms?

ROOM ONE
The stairs descend into a long corridor. The atmosphere is dry and terse. All doors in this dungeon
are closed – there is a 50% chance any door will be locked, which are easy enough to open but will
make noise.

The point marked 6 on the map is an active Guardian Shield (see rulebook) that will push anyone back
that tries to move beyond the thinnest part of the corridor. It has taken six damage from some of the
serpents in the ducts.

ROOM TWO
This is the index of the archive – there is an elaborate card filing system detailing what object is where
and a full map of the dungeon on a wall. There will also always be at least one of the two archivists
here. The archivists are clockwork automata who (due to the proximity of the Book of Death)
incorrectly assume any living thing they encounter to be a collection of file-cards stuck together. If
they score Critical Damage they will tear off a limb of their target. {STR 12, DEX 5, HP 6, Arm 1; rend
& file d6}

The owners of the library do not want the archivists destroyed. For each one destroyed, deduct one
arcana from the successful players’ fees.

ROOM THREE
This room is a mess of unsorted arcana and dust-sheets. There are two arcana of note within the
room:

Hamper of Plenty: perpetually fills with dried food that restores d4HP even above the characters’
initial HP, up to a limit of 9 – if this limit is surpassed, the character vomits erratically, losing all HP
and taking d4 STR damage.

Conch of False Rest: if you take a short rest whilst in the same room as this arcanum, you feel perfectly
refreshed. However, as soon as you leave the room, you lose all HP.

ROOM FOUR
The rooms is empty save for a five-foot floating black sphere in the centre of the room. This has been
created by a Black Hole Collider (see rulebook) that is no longer in the archives.

ROOM FIVE
This room is perpetually chilled – an enormous refridgerator. There are drifts of ice in the room, but it
is otherwise currently empty. For every minute the players stay in here, they must pass a STR save or
pass out from the chill. The adjoining room (5a) is essentially an air-lock.

POINT SIX
A Guardian Shield pushing back anyone approaching from the left. See Room 1.
ROOM SEVEN
There are no doors into this room, though a network of air ducts join this room with every other
room in the location. Because of the rain in Room W, this humidity sink is actually waist-deep in
water. It is the home to lernean serpents – 2d4 will be present, and if either die shows a 1 that serpent
has four bodies (see beneath). The first time the players use the air ducts they will encounter a
serpent; there is a 50% chance subsequently.

Lernean serpents are strange beasts; whenever their heads are chopped off (if they receive 3+ damage
in a single a ack), twice the number of bodies they had before will regrow. The decapitated bodies
twitch and decay soon after. The flesh is actually quite tasty though smells of burned corn when
cooked. {x represents the number of bodies; STR 2x, DEX 3x, WIL 5, HP x; bite d6 (only one), body-
slam d4 (one per body, acts between players’ turns)}

ROOM X
This room “appears empty.” It is, in fact, completely empty.

ROOM EIGHT
This room contains the source of the dungeon’s curse – the Book of Death. If anyone touches the book
(a completely empty journal) with their skin, they suffer Critical Damage when they put it down. A
WIL save will recognise this after someone tries to put down the book. Anyone who damages the
book with a weapon suffers the same fate. If the book is forcibly removed, it will not kill the holder.
The simplest way to destroy it is to feed it to the black hole in Room 4.

ROOM B
In the centre of the room there is an inch-long beetle holding a Mind Probe (see rulebook). It tries to
read the minds of anyone in here. It won’t leave.

ROOM C
Set on a plinth on the middle of the room is a Curse Ring. If anyone puts it on, they are unable to
remove it. It may be removed from a sleeping body. If anyone curses within earshot of the ring, it
teleports onto their middle finger.

ROOM E
Atop the plinth in this room is a fabulous bust of an eagle. If any of the characters are women or if
any female names are spoken, the Misogynist Eagle will cry. It reminds you of something your
grandmother once owned.

ROOM F
In the centre of the room there is a three-legged stool that is perpetually on fire. The flames of this Fire
Stool cannot be extinguished but are otherwise as ordinary fire.

ROOM H
There was once a plinth in this room, though it has been burrowed down the middle and has since
split apart. Where it has split apart, it is possible to see deep hole the width of a fist. The hole is 10ft
deep, and at the bo om contains an Earth Stone (see rulebook) with a single mushroom on top. The
mushroom wanted to go down.

ROOM P
On the far wall hangs a painting of incredible detail, showing an elaborate pastoral landscape. As the
characters move about it, they can see further into the landscape, as if it were a window. There is no
way to pass through the canvas.
ROOM W
The walls of this room are lined with lead, for in the centre lies a Weather Altar (see rulebook). The
room itself is perpetually raining until somebody changes the weather. Because of this rain, the
humidity sink (Room 7) has filled up with water.

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One thought on “Beneath Bastion Library: a dungeon for

INTO THE ODD”

DIFFERENTLY VALUABLE LOOT – ERSATZ ESOTERICA SAYS: […] I’ve been recently
building dungeons for a secret project** and much of that has involved deciding upon various
1. things for players to […]
February 2, 2016 at 9:27 pm • Reply »

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