DUNGEON DRESSING: PITS M I N O R F E AT U R E S & D R E S S I N G

Pits are a lurking danger that have spelt the doom of 1. A crude painting of humans slaughtering orcs decorates
countless adventurers. Pits can be used to kill, injure one wall. It is done in blood and ink. Water oozing down
or trap intruders, block progress or prevent escape. the wall has effaced much of the image.
An explorer trapped in a pit with no way of getting out 2. Spikes once festooned the oor, but they now lie
is at the mercy of the rst creature or character to discover battered and scattered about the pit; several bear
their predicament. ominous bloodstains.
3. The air in the pit is musty. Mould and fungus grow on the
M A J O R F E AT U R E S oor and walls.
4. Bent and broken spikes jut up from the oor. Dried
blood coats many of the spikes, but there are no other
1. Small holes pierce the bottom few feet of the pit’s walls.
signs of previous victims.
They are too small for any character bigger than a
5. Rubble litters the ground; treat the pit’s bottom as
hal ing child to squeeze through.
dif cult terrain.
2. The pit intersects with a natural cave which can be
6. The pit’s walls are slightly moist, but are not wet enough
accessed through a narrow crawlway.
to hinder climbers.
3. The pit’s rough, uneven oor is dif cult terrain.
7. Small holes pierce the bottom few feet of the pit’s walls.
4. Several large boulders lie in the pit; a partially squashed
They are too small for any creature larger than a cat or
skeleton protrudes from under the largest.
other tiny creature to enter.
5. A pool of pure, cold water covers half the pit’s oor.
8. Several rotting rat corpses lie about the pit.
6. A narrow chasm pierces the pit’s oor; a cold wind issues
9. A skeleton of a human male is huddled in one corner;
forth from its depth.
both his legs are broken, and his equipment is rusted or
7. Seams of different rock cut through the oor.
rotten (and worthless—although this is a good spot to
8. The pit’s walls are rough and easy to climb.
place an item the characters might need later).
9. The pit has an overhang making it hard to escape.
10. Brackish water about one-inch deep lls the pit.
10. The pit is a cesspit. Many small holes, chutes and cracks
11. An upturned rotting table lies at the bottom of the pit.
in its walls ooze excrement. Characters in the pit may
12. Brackish water about ve-foot deep lls the pit.
contract sewer plague3.
13. Greenish, moist slime covers the pit’s oor and walls.
11. The oor of the pit slopes steeply downwards.
14. Iron spikes—serving as a rudimentary ladder—are
12. A shard of obsidian (or other sharp rock) rears from the
rammed into one wall.
pit oor. The shard is sharp and smooth; characters
15. Burnt torches lie scattered about the pit’s oor.
falling while climbing it suffer 2d6 damage as they slide
16. The dead, frozen remains of a large patch of brown
down the rock.
mould cover one wall; the mould is harmless, but the
13. The pit narrows; at its base, it is only 5 ft. wide;
temperature is slightly chilly in the pit.
characters falling into the pit slide down to the bottom
17. Iron spikes—serving as a rudimentary ladder—pierce one
and suffer less damage as a result.
wall. Several are loose, however; a character climbing
14. The pit once served as an oubliette. Four sets of rusting
them may fall back into the pit.
manacles are af xed to its walls.
18. A single bent and rusty iron spike protrudes from one of
15. A ring of crudely carved gargoyles leers down at the pit
the pit’s walls.
oor. Set 15 ft. above the pit oor their open mouths
19. Water oozes from the pit’s walls, making climbing out
connect to chutes elsewhere that can be used to pour
harder. Mud coats the pit’s oor.
burning oil, ef uent and other liquids down upon those
20. Thick mud covers the pit’s oor. The mud is four-foot
trapped below.
deep; characters excavating may nd treasure within.
16. Several small holes pierce the oor; a noxious foul-
smelling breeze issues forth from within.
17. A lurid painting of demons and devils slaughtering
humans covers one wall. Several pieces of the painting CREDIT
have been chipped away.
18. Niches carved into the walls about 6 ft. from the bottom This is a short system-neutral extract from GM's Miscellany:
of this pit each hold a leering humanoid skull. Dungeon Dressing. The book is available in 5e, System
19. The oor is made of different coloured cobblestones Neutral and Path nder 1 editions. The OSR edition will be
laid out in a simple geometric pattern. available in early 2023.
20. A stone shelf is cut into one wall. It holds several sets of
trail rations. They are all poisoned.

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