Beneath Castle Everglory: LEVEL 4: The Garden

The stairwell opens up onto what looks to be a sunlit wilderness, housed in a great cavern. A blazing white sphere three yards across, located just beneath the cavern roof 30 yards above, radiates both heat and light. Long grass grows on the plain at the foot of the stairs, while further off is a broad pond and a forest of trees. In the middle of the plain stands what looks to be a white statue.

Closer examination of the “sun” by flying characters will reveal that it is a magic glass ball hanging on an iron chain that is bolted into the cavern roof. The ball has DR 5, but if DR is penetrated, it will be shattered and destroyed, plunging the cavern into darkness. Since all of the denizens of the cavern rely heavily on senses other than sight, this will not disadvantage them in combat. On the other hand, the loss of the sun is an ecological disaster and all of the plants will be dead within a week, forcing the animals to yield their territory and move upstairs somewhere.

1. Long Grass

The grass here is a lush green and grows from one to two feet high.

1A. Flowers

This small valley is covered in bright flowers in red, yellow and orange, and the air is fragrantly sweet. The flowers also radiate magic. The flowers are of no known type, but a roll against Botany -4, Naturalist -4 or any wilderness Survival -4 will suggest that living flowers will have a curative scent. The Analyze Magic spell will reveal that the scent of the living flowers will function as an Instant Neutralize Poison cast at level 16. The flowers will die if uprooted or planted elsewhere.

1B. The Statue

On a small hillock stands a sandstone dais, surrounded by a rock garden of arranged, black stones, overgrown with grass and weeds. On top of the dais stands a pocked and blank-faced marble statue, all features eaten away as if by a powerful acid. The statue is has been damaged over the entirety of its body, though the dais shows no signs of damage at all.

Unfortunately, all of the long grass within four yards of the statue is, in fact, part of a huge Demongrass plant lurking beneath the soil. Noticing the difference between long grass and Demongrass in time to avoid it requires a successful Perception based roll against either Naturalism or Survival (Plains)-4.

Monster

Demongrass

The Demongrass can make one grapple attack per turn and can have up to ST/5 grapples in effect at any one time (so up to 10 in this case). The first grapple will be to one of the legs. If that is successful, the Demongrass will follow up with a grapple to another limb, chosen at random. If the Demongrass has two successful grapples on a victim, it will attempt a Takedown. If a victim has been taken down, the Demongrass will grapple any limb that is damaging it. If the victim is prone, grappled in at least two places and not doing any immediate damage, the Demongrass will grapple for the throat. The Demongrass does not crush the throat, but it does cut off the air supply unless the victim has rigid neck armor of some kind. The Demongrass may grapple multiple foes and will do so to defend itself, but it must divide its strength between foes.

ST: 50	HP: 50	Speed: 1
DX: 11	Will: 0	Move: 1
IQ: 1	Per: 10	SM: 2
HT: 12	FP: N/A	DR: 0
Dodge: N/A	Parry: N/A	Block: N/A

Attacks: Grapple-15 Grab

Traits: Constriction Attack; Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Sleep; High Pain Threshold; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards; Indomitable; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous, No Blood); No Fine Manipulators; Unfazeable.

Skills: None

Class: Plant

Notes: None.

2. Scrub

The terrain here is a mixture of long grass and low bushes.

2A. Grove

There is a small grove of trees here. Hidden alongside it (Per-2 to notice it before it rears up) is a huge Diamond-Headed Tunnel Snake.

Monster

Diamond-Headed Tunnel Snake

The Diamond-Headed Tunnel Snake looks like a giant cobra with spines running down its back. When threatened, it will give a warning before going on the offensive, trying to scare the PCs away by rearing up and opening its hood, revealing a pattern like a white diamond. The snake may spit up to 15 feet, but the spit is a harmless, if disgusting, bluff.

ST: 35	HP: 50	Speed: 8
DX: 14	Will: 12	Move: 4
IQ: 4	Per: 10	SM: 2
HT: 12	FP: 12	DR: 3
Dodge: 10	Parry: N/A	Block: N/A

Attacks: Bite-16 4d Impaling

Traits: High Pain Threshold; Infravision; Striking ST +3 (ST 13); Temperature Tolerance 10 (-135° to 40°); Vermiform; Wild Animal.

Skills: Brawling-16; Stealth-14.

Class: Giant Animal.

Notes: The bite of the Diamond-Headed Tunnel Snake is highly venomous. A character bitten must make a HT roll or suffer 1 HP of damage a second until they reach the point of death. At the point of death, they may make one final roll against HT. Success will cure them of the poison. Failure means death.

3. Stream

Clear, clean water flows in a stream through the middle of the cavern in a stream three yards across and one yard deep.

3A. Stream Source

The stream flows directly from a hole in the cavern wall here, half a foot in diameter. The tunnel is not deep and ends in a magical opening to a distant lake.

3B. Stream Bridge

An ornamental, though practical, wooden bridge crosses the stream here. It is painted in bright red, yellow and green and shows no sign of degeneration.

3C. Pond

The stream empties out into a weed-choked pond some 30 yards across. Fragrant white lilies grow on the surface, somewhat masking the scent of wet vegetation rotting. A population of eyeless, grey frogs sits on pads or swim in the water and small insects skip across the pond’s surface.

4. Swamp

For about three yards from the surface of the pond, the water has become soft and marshy, causing feet to sink into the muck and halving movement.

4A. Mushroom Ring

A ring of large, white mushrooms with red and brown caps grow in a ring in the mud. A roll against Botany, Naturalist or Survival (Swamp) will reveal that the mushroom is likely to be poisonous, but may be the sort of poison that some cultures consume to heighten their magical senses.

If a mushroom is eaten, the eater must roll against HT or take 1d toxic damage for each point by which they fail their roll. If they do not fail their HT roll, they gain one point of ST and regain 1d of Fatigue for each point by which they succeeded. ST will return to normal within an hour. If a subject eats the mushrooms three times within twenty-four hours, they will be cursed with the Gluttony (Mushrooms) Disadvantage until subjected to a Remove Curse. Taken five times within 24 hours, the mushrooms should cause the PC to develop a mental Disadvantage that the GM rules is an appropriate outgrowth of their personality. The Disadvantage need not have anything to do with mushrooms – it simply represents the character getting a little bit crazier. The GM decides whether the disadvantage can be lifted with a Remove Curse or whether a personal quest of some kind must be undertaken. The mushrooms can be picked, but picked mushrooms become merely poisonous at the next sunrise.

5. Forest

The trees here are common surface species for the area, somehow growing green and healthy deep underground.

5A. Pagoda

An ornamental wooden pagoda, painted in greens, blues and golds stands before a pebbled courtyard, overgrown with weeds. In the middle of the courtyard grows a tree with twisting branches. Mounted on the tree is a human skull, branches growing through its mouth and eye sockets.

Inside the pagoda is an octagonal wooden table and a warped old rocking chair. On the table is a red clay mug and a white china teacup painted with tiny blue flowers (the cup is worth about $200 but is very fragile).

The Pagoda and courtyard are areas of High Sanctity for clerics of Death or the Wilderness. Furthermore, Spells cast by a cleric of Death or the Wilderness are cast at +4, but if cast by a cleric of a god of Good, at -4. Spells from the Colleges of Body, Healing, Plant, Meta and Necromancy are cast at +4, while spells from the elemental collages are cast at -4. The total bonus or penalty cannot exceed 4. Removing the skull will eliminate the sanctity of the area but the character who does the removing will be the subject of a Curse spell, cast at level 20.

5B. Forsaken Statue

The marble statue of a naked woman with flowers in her hair lies on its side here, covered in weeds and with both arms broken. Her right arm holds a snake, wrapped around her forearm. The hand on the left arm seems to be holding fire, rising up from her palm. Standing directly over her is a Peace Blossom Tree.

Monster

Peace Blossom Tree

Whenever the Peace Blossom Tree is struck or an animal passes within 10 feet of the limbs, it releases a white cloud of spore twenty feet in every direction. Any creature caught in the cloud who is not holding their breath is affected as if by a Sleep spell cast at level 21. Touching a sleeper within 20’ of the tree will automatically trigger another burst of spore. Those sent to sleep by the Peace Blossom can be woken up, but will never wake up without help – the tree keeps them in peaceful slumber until they die and feed the soil.

The Peace Blossom Tree is covered in broad green leaves and small yellow flowers. It has grown to 20 feet in height, with branches reaching 10 feet from the trunk. Characters may recognize the trees for what they are before blundering into them on a successful roll against Botany, Naturalist or Survival (Forest)-4.

ST: 20	HP: 30	Speed: 1
DX: 14	Will: 0	Move: 1
IQ: 2	Per: 10	SM: 2
HT: 12	FP: 20	DR: 4
Dodge: N/A	Parry: N/A	Block: N/A

Attacks: Sleep-21 Respiratory Agent

Traits: Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Sleep; High Pain Threshold; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards;Indomitable; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous, No Blood); No Fine Manipulators; Unfazeable.

Skills: None

Class: Plant

Notes: None.

6. Jungle

The lush trees here are heavily hung with vines. Movement is halved if the front row characters are hacking through the undergrowth with blades, quartered otherwise.

6A. Funganoid Territory

Characters with Discriminatory Smell who make a Perception roll will notice the vague scent of lemon in the air and will be able to trace it back to transparent slime on some of the trees.

Monsters

Sooner or later, characters wandering the area will run into 1d6 Funganoids out of the 12 who roam the jungle here.

12 Streaked Funganoids

The Funganoids are magical plant creatures shaped like an elongated barrel, with a mass of fern-like feelers at the top and a manipulative foot at the base. Brightly colored in reds, oranges and browns, they are limbless and fly magically. Hundreds of tiny black eyes are arranged around the center of the body, swaying on short stalks. Funganoids have no known mouths.

Funganoids are murderously xenophobic and will attack the PCs as soon as they become aware of them, calling out in ultra-high frequency to attract all other Funganoids in the jungle. For simplicity’s sake, assume that five seconds after the call goes out, 1d6 Funganoids will arrive each second from a variety of directions. The Funganoids will pursue the PCs but will not leave this level of the dungeon.

In combat, a Funganoid is likely to cast Invisibility followed by Great Hallucination. The hallucination will take the form of large slavering mouths appearing in the ground, trees and walls, trying to bite the subject.

The Funganoid attacks by firing seeds from somewhere inside its body. The seeds are as hard as stone and as sharp as glass and make a buzzing sound as they cut through the air. The Funganoid can fire them in any direction.

When a Funganoid dies, it releases a cloud of red gas, which will affect everyone standing within Reach 1 who is not holding their breath. The gas stinks of decomposing plant-life and functions like a Sleep spell cast at skill 15. The gas will dissipate after one minute.

ST: 12	HP: 12	Speed: 4
DX: 12	Will: 9	Move: 4 (flying)
IQ: 7	Per: 12	SM: 0
HT: 12	FP: 16	DR: 2
Dodge: 9	Parry: N/A	Block: N/A

Attacks: Seed Spit-15 1d-1 Impaling, Acc3 Range 10/20

Traits: 360 Degree Vision, Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Sleep; High Pain Threshold; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards; Indomitable; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous, No Blood; Unfazeable.

Skills: None

Class: Plant

Notes: Too alien to communicate or negotiate with.

Spells: The Funganoids all know the following spells at level 21: Great Hallucination, Hallucination, Illusion Disguise, Invisibility, Mage Stealth, Perfect illusion.

Treasure

Funganoids have no treasure as most humanoids understand it, but what they do have is a great pile of leaves heaped around the trunk of an oak old tree. The leaves on the ground are of no value, but the holes in the tree are packed with various herbal concoctions. There are 5 doses of Paut ($135, 0.5 lb each.), 2 Anti-Toxins ($20, 0.5 lb. each) and 2 Invisibility Potions ($2,250, 0.5 lb. each). Identifying them will require a roll against Herb Lore.

7. Side Cavern

The rock of the cavern wall has cracked open, creating an opening into another large cavern, this one devoid of soil and plants, and lit only by the “sunlight” that spills through the cave opening.

Monster

Great Worm

Lying on the rocky cave floor is what looks to be a gigantic pink earthworm, about eight feet wide and thirty feet long. When it detects intruders, it will open its mouth, revealing a ring two yards wide filled with shining, knife-like teeth. The worm is blind but it can detect movement on the ground through vibration and it will mindlessly pursue and attack anything that it detects.

ST: 70	HP: 70	Speed: 4
DX: 9	Will: 10	Move: 4
IQ: 1	Per: 8	SM: 4
HT: 12	FP: 20	DR: 4
Dodge: N/A	Parry: N/A	Block: N/A

Attacks: Bite-16 6d Cutting

Traits: High Pain Threshold; Infravision; Striking ST +3 (ST 13); Vermiform; Wild Animal.

Skills: None

Class: Dire Animal

Notes: None.

Treasure

The ivory of the worm’s teeth is quite valuable. It weighs 10 lbs in all and is worth $10,000. However, PC’s are unlikely to recognize this unless they have a suitable Connoisseur specialty that might give them experience with different kinds of ivory.

8. The Stairs Down

An opening in the southern wall of the cavern leads to a broad stone stairway 5 yards wide, spiraling downwards. The stonework is particularly fine, with the smooth blocks fitting perfectly together, but the walls are mossy and grow progressively mossier as the characters descend. After descending 10 yards, the PCs will arrive at the landing where the Chest Monster lurks. 20 yards lower than that, at a depth where the walls are thick with moss, is the arched entryway to Level 5, Room 1.

Monster

The Chest Monster

On an otherwise empty landing sits the silent Chest Monster. The Chest Monster would look like an ordinary large wooden chest with an iron lock, were it not for the three large round eyes and the grinning gash of a mouth, full of sharp teeth. The Chest Monster’s large eyes will make it clear that it is watching everything the PC’s are doing and the closer they get to touching it, even if with an attack, the wider it will grin.

An unusually stupid member of its species, the creature is physically capable of perfectly impersonating a chest, but doesn’t have the sense to do it properly. It is waiting patiently for the PCs to come over and touch it, at which point, it will attack. It has no idea that it is telegraphing its intentions with its highly expressive face. If the monster starts to feel ignored, it may make a sound in its belly like muffled change ringing, not realizing that chests don’t do that.

If spoken to by someone making eye-contact, the creature will assume perfect chest form for three seconds or until touched, during which time it is blind and deaf. After that, one eye will re-appear, then the other two, then the mouth with return. The creature will not otherwise acknowledge having been spoken to.

The creature has a very simple inner life but the GM should feel free to express it all on the face in a very human manner. The monster may emote that it is angry to be ignored, or sad to suffer damage, or surprised by a feat of magic, or whatever else the GM feels is warranted.

If bypassed, the chest will look miserable and jingle as it watches the characters go. As soon as they are out of eyeshot, it will then stalk them with intent to ambush whoever looks smallest.

In its natural form, which it assumes once it is dead, the Chest Monster looks like a cube of pinkish meat, with three large round eyes and a huge mouth.

ST: 20	HP: 20	Speed: 5
DX: 11	Will: 8	Move: 3
IQ: 3	Per: 14	SM: 0
HT: 11	FP: 20	DR: 2
Dodge: 8	Parry: N/A	Block: N/A

Attacks: Bite-12 2d Impaling

Traits: Infravision; Vermiform; Wild Animal.

Skills: Brawling-14; Stealth-14.

Class: Mundane

Notes: Too alien to negotiate.

Treasure

In the depths of the Chest Monsters gut are two empty bottles, a ceramic cat, and a fuzzy toy bear that squeaks if pressed. They are in poor condition and none of them are worth anything.

Table of Contents

LEVEL 5: The Palace