In this series of slowly adding to the dungeon and encounter The Murky Cellar I’ve added descriptions of the first area. The cellar itself.
Theme & Intro
I did design the cellar to be used as an introduction to my new players and to give them an easy way of getting into roleplaying games and a first taste of combat. It is intended to be old school dungeon crawling.
The Murky Cellar should feel like a dungeon encounter that makes the player feel like an uninvited guest exploring a cold murky cellar. It is rather low fantasy – and intended for new players needing to get their first combat encounter going.
The encounter is system agnostic, so use stats and mechanics from whatever system you are using.
Also adjust the number of goblins to suit your group and your level of difficulty. For my group of players I aimed to have 2 goblins per player at the most.
The Manor of the Silvermanes
For many years the manor was the home to a noble family, The Silvermanes. They ruled the area surrounding their manor and for a long time they ran several farms and even a profitable silver mine. Some decades ago a terrible disease plagued the region causing most of the people left the region in fear of the disease. The Silvermane family unwisely decided to stay braving the disease. One by one they contracted the deadly disease. The family head buried their dead in the family crypts below the manor. Finally the last lord, Ruric Silvermane, locked himself down in the crypt as he felt the disease take hold of him.
The Silvermanes and their land was soon forgotten and as time passed the manor decayed and crumbled. In the last decade various goblin clans moved into the cellars below the manor. They have been unable to open the entrance to the family crypts. The goblins have dug a passageway from the cellar into the nearby cave system.
Room Descriptions – The Cellar
1. The Stairway
The stairs spirals down into the darkness, the only light comes from whatever the players bring. The stairway leads down to an old wine cellar. The narrow passage east is lined on the north and south by inset shelves. The stone walls are damp and slimy.
Trigger – as soon as the player reaches the bottom of the stairs, roll 1D4. That is how long they have before 1D4 goblins turn up from their lair to investigate. I suggest you roll the D4 openly to add a little suspense. Something will soon happen…
If the player sneaks or moves stealthy, they will remain undetected. If they cause any ruckus the goblins will be prepared for them and spring an ambush…
2. The Manor Wine Cellar
From the narrow passage it opens up into a larger cellar. Two large broken ale barrels dominates the center of the room and the broken remains of wine shelves line all four walls. A large double stone door sits in the eastern wall. Wooden debris is scattered all over the room. Several unlit oil lamps hangs in chains from the domed ceiling. There is a strong musty smell down here of sweat and possibly urine.
As the players move further into the room, they will also become aware of stairs in the western wall leading down. It is only a couple of steps down, half a floor or approx 5-7ft.
Creatures:
Depending on the trigger in the previous room, the goblins is likely to appear from the stairs. It is a generic fight with the goblins having a low damage output and health (max dagger damage). Combat here will alert additional goblins (In 1D4 rounds another 1D4 goblins arrive).
In my initial play test I let the goblins spawn until the players moved down into room 3, to put a little pressure on the players. They quickly realized they needed to advance quickly. This makes the encounter a little bit more than just a standard combat.
Treasure:
Most of the wine in the cellar has already been looted but a persistent search could yield results. Difficult perception checks required to find 1D3 bottles of fine brandy. Could be valuable to the right buyer.
3. The Goblin Lair
The small staircase leads to a large room. It is unclear what it was once used for as there are now debris and straw mats all over the floor. A number of chests and barrels is in north east corner contains goblin supplies. Lines are strung across the room from which various small dead animals are hung. The smell of goblin is prevalent in this room. A closed heavy wooden door is in the western wall.
The smell of urine and feces is stronger near the hole. The smell comes from the goblins privy (area 10).
The wooden door is blocked from the other side (see area 4)
Creatures:
The goblin clan sleeps and eats here.
5 filthy flea ridden goblins is in here and when they heard the combat from the wine cellar they prepared for a fight. They will attack en masse and try to swarm the first player that enters. When half their number are killed or incapacitated they will either try to flee towards the cave tunnels or beg for mercy.
Note that regardless of the amount of goblins spawned in the previous room there are 5 goblins left.
Combat twist – the lines that the goblins have stringed across the room to dry meat will act as hinder for a human sized character, only half movement allowed. Goblins, halflings, dwarfs and other small folk moves as normal.
Treasures:
Scattered around the floor are 3D6 copper coins, lizard and rat meat. The goblin supply crates contains:
1D4 Contents
- A small weapon – dagger, club, short sword etc
- A light piece of armor – leather boots, leather cap – smelly and nasty
- Goblin Rations – dried mystery meat (most likely rat or lizard)
- Treasure – A potion, some coins or a cheap gem.
4. Goblin Chieftain’s Room
The door is barred from the inside. The spineless chieftain Olegg Birdmuncher and his bodyguard blocked the door with debris. The players will have to manage a strength check to force the door open. Two characters will fit working the door at the same time.
Creative players might use debris to create a battering ram or similar. Reward creativity!
As the players bash down the door, the two goblins that barred the door are flung to the floor (giving the players initiative).
The smell of decaying meat in here is almost overpowering. Like the previous rooms the floor is littered with debris and broken shelves. Along the west wall are three big cadavers strung up on the wall in various state of decay. A big meat cleaver is stuck into one of them. Slabs of cut meat are piled around them, A rather fat wide eyed-goblin wielding a metal staff watches the players in horror as they enter. Some makeshift furniture are arranged in the northern part of the room, including the chieftains treasure chest.
Creatures:
The Goblin chieftain Olegg Birdmuncher will fight to the death if the player’s attack along with his two bodyguards. Give Olegg double HP and double damage compared to normal goblins. His two body guards should also have a slightly higher damage (+1?) and 20% more HP.
Treasure:
- Olegg’s Staff – A long 1.5m iron staff. Closer examination reveals that one end is cut as a hexagon. Leather straps and bird feathers adorn the top. Olegg found this staff in the cellar when they moved in. It is actually the “key” to the double door in area 2.
- Olegg’s treasure chest – It is trapped. If a player opens the chest without succeeding with a perception/detect traps it will trigger. As the lid is opened rusty nails spring out from the lid doing 1D3 HP. Metal gloves fully protects the opener. Inside are a dozen small colored rocks that Olegg found pretty. An ebony flute, two empty but beautiful wine bottles. 4D6 copper coins and 2D6 silver coins.
And that is all for today. The caves and the crypt will be added to next…
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