The Occasional Dungeon: Crypt, Ground Floor, Part 3

6) A group of monsters have collected near the hidden doorway and antechamber leading into the crypt. Roll twice on the wandering monster table. As ugly as this might seem, if adventurers retreat a bit, the pursuing monsters will have to come after them through two separate doorways, making them relatively easy to isolate and overwhelm, and it's still fairly close to the cave shrine, so spellcasters can stay in an area where they can speak, if they need that in order to cast spells.

7) This niche is set off from the corridor by a set of sturdy iron bars. Treat as X-Heavy metalwork (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2, p. 18); the bars are permanently fixed in place and cannot be unlocked. The area beyond is blacked out with the Darkness spell. It's also difficult to use magic to pick out what's in the space; it's protected by a variant of the Pentegram spell (cast at level 20, if it becomes important). Breaking the bars breaks that spell.

The space contains N/3 Demons From Beyond The Stars (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 1, p. 9). One of them is a spellcasting leader with IQ 12, Power Investiture 3, and all spells listed for P1 and P2 at level 15. There is also, in the center of the floor, the skeleton of a long-dead necromancer, wrapped in a shroud and heavy iron chains. The bones themselves, for obscure mystical reasons, have been plated with gold leaf which has been elaborately in red lacquer with prayers and incantations. The leaf itself is worth about $200 and has negligible weight if scraped off, but the intact skeleton, weighing 15 lbs., can be worth up to $5000 to magical professionals in town.

8) A number of members of the sect which built the shrine were laid to rest here. They have become N undead karatekas (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Adventure 1, p. 43 for the karatekas, DFM1 p. 38 for the undead lens; they're half-and-half flails and staffs) plus one undead artillery mage and one undead support mage (also DFA1). In addition to their personal gear, there are 1d+3 manuals lying around the room or on the bodies. The GM may select their topics at random, but one of them is a theology text (a guide to enlightenment used by the sect which built the shrine).

9) This room is filled with N+2 swarms of undead stinging insects (zom-bees, if you will; or even if you won't). Treat as insect swarms from GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 5, p. 9. However, each swarm has 18 HP, Doesn’t Breathe, Doesn’t Eat or Drink, Doesn’t Sleep, High Pain Threshold, Immunity to Metabolic Hazards, No Sense of Smell/Taste, and Temperature Tolerance 10. In addition, anyone who is stung must roll against HT - (total damage taken) after the fight is over or lose 1d-2 FP (minimum 1) for an hour to their enervating toxin.

The walls and ceiling are encrusted with sandstone hives. Some of them are dripping with a thick, black, sweet-smelling liquid. This necromantic honey is largely of interest only specialized magical researchers ($50/dose in town). However, it also acts as a minor healing potion for undead. Industrious delvers can recover a maximum of 6 doses (1.5 lbs.).

10) The corridor is lined for five yards with prominent panels of filled with rusty 5" iron spikes. A forest of spears trap (see below) is at the far end. Normally, spotting the trap is at -3 to a Per-based Traps roll. However, with the distance involved, spotting the trap is at -8 from the far end. Anyone attempting to leap through the passage with visible spikes (which are not themselves a trap) will land on the tiles triggering the forest of spears.

Forest of Spears

Roughly two dozen sharpened metal rods lurk behind a set of tiny holes in the wall, set in a vertical line. When someone steps on a triggering tile on the floor, the rods shoot out to impale whoever is standing there.

Detect: Per-based Traps at -3.
Disarm: No.
Circumvent: Automatic (don’t step on tile).
Evade: Dodge.
Effects: Treat as an attack with a skill of 15 and a RoF of 6 + the target's SM. Every attack that hits does 1d+1 impaling.
Shots: Infinite. The spears withdraw into their holes after about five seconds.
Steal: No.

11) A series (N+4) of statues stands around the edges of the room. They remain still and silent unless attacked or if anyone approaches the passage to the north. If someone attempts to leave the room through the north passage, the words "Make the signs of the eight hands" appear in light before the doorway. Clever delvers may realize that that's linked to the eight-armed statue in the shrine, and if they've been through room #8, they'll have a text on the sect's doctrines. This book opens with a picture of the eight-armed god whose poses are easily reproduced, getting the party safely through. If someone fails to do so and does not then come back the way they came, or if anyone tries to damage the statues, they all animate as stone golems and attack.