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The Occasional Dungeon: Shrine, Upper Level


The upper level of the shrine is mostly empty space. The corner towers of the external structure have a single floor at a second level. The stone staircases leading to them are intact, but the walls are crumbled and uneven above about ten feet; there used to be taller towers, but those have fallen into rubble. However, there's a ladder in the southwestern tower. Bandits occasionally use it to climb high enough to see over the ragged wall and keep a lookout for potential threats.

The statue of the god in the cave shrine is a little over twenty feet tall, so it extends into the space of the upper level. The face used to have jeweled eyes, which have long since been removed. However, the top of the head has a hollow compartment (anyone who climbs up can roll against Search to see that it can be opened) containing a prayer wheel (see below).

The remains of the shrine are occupied by a group of orcish bandits; see GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Adventure 1: Mirror of the Fire Demon for stats and definition of N. They're are a lot of them, though they're not particularly tough relative to the average DF adventurer and they completely lack magical support (which is how they've failed to notice the secret door at the back of the cave). They consist of N orc soldiers, N tough orc soldiers, N/3 orc sergeants, N/2 ogres, and two pixie thieves.

When adventurers first arrive in the vicinity of the shrine, roll 3d. On a 9 or less, the bandits are out raiding or looking for something to raid, leaving behind tattered, smelly bedrolls, dried meats of questionable quality, and a few cooking implements. They'll return 2d6 hours later.

If they're at "home," about half of the band are inside the ruined temple, while the other half are scattered outside but within the area outlined by the old wall. There's essentially no natural cover, though adventurers may use Camouflage to approach the old wall without being seen. However, essentially all the bandits have Infravision, so approaching under cover of night provides little or no benefit (though inexperienced heroes may not know that; d'oh!). After that, Stealth becomes more important.

In addition to their arms and armor, the bandits each carry $2dx5 in mixed copper and silver. The orc sergeants are armed with orcish sawtooth blades (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Treasures 1, p. 20), but they're also cheap quality, for a total CF of +0.4.



Prayer Wheel: This device is a metal or wooden cylinder a bit bigger than a large fist, thickly inscribed with prayers, set on a handle on which it can rotate. It's a bit like a portable shrine (Dungeon Fantasy 8: Treasure Tables, p. 23), but requires an active user. When the wheel is spun, it creates an area of one higher level of sanctity than its surroundings with a radius of 1 yard the first turn, 2 yards on the second, and 3 yards on the third and subsequent turns as long as it continues to spin. However, somebody has to keep spinning it (magical automation does not work). It requires one hand to hold and other hand to keep it moving. $350, 2 lbs.


Comments

Unknown said…
The prayer wheel is a kewl magic item. It fits with your Silk Road GURPS book. I also like the idea that it can't be used by animation with magical power, it keeps holy Sanctity separate from mana. Hopefully your dungeon has a lot of monsters and magic items that can be used with your Silk Road book.
Unknown said…
Is there good and evil in this dungeon? If so then was the shrine devoted to a good or evil god? Is the God human or humanoid? Does the prayer wheel grant sacntity to all religions?

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