Task E: Small Dungeon - The Seed Vault

[DangerousPuhson]

In light of the whole "vanished civilization" thing, this is a small dungeon with the intention of developing player involvement with the slavers, the slaves, and exposing the players the lost civilization in a minor way. The intent is to have this dungeon serve as a node for side-quests issued by the factions, while at the same time showing some of the lore that the lost civilization has (not explicitly stated, but smart players will realize that you don't build a seed vault unless you're expecting catastrophe).

The outer part will be a dig-site built by the slavers (the Conglomerate, name pending) and manned by a small contingent of slaves (possible tie-ins to outside factions, new allies, branching sub-quests, key NPCs, etc.). So far the slaves have only cracked the outer vault, and are held at bay by a security system. There's a side entrance to the dungeon, but it requires fighting a dangerous plant creature that has broken out and upwards through the roof of the vault's quarantine area.

I envision this as a 12-area dungeon with rooms configuration as such:

1) Entry Hall - excavated and cleared-out. Filled with guards. Talk or fight through the entrance.
2) Inspection Checkpoint - filled with slaves and slavers trying to get through the main vault door. Branching off are the Testing Labs.
3) Testing Labs - thoroughly ransacked. A slave has found the key to the main vault door and hidden it (NPC interaction), slavers executing people in anger.
4) Cataloguing Archives - beyond the door, so yet untouched. Racks and racks of card-catalogues in dead language. Possible puzzle clue to access seed vault. Branches off to Area 5 (Outer Vault) and Area 11 (Storage).
5) Outer Vault - Strongboxes, inspection tables, testing equipment. Secure door (key in Area 11 - Storage) leads to Area 7 (Secure Vault), archway leads to Area 6 (Inner Vault), door leads to Area 8 (Germination).
6) Inner Vault - Another secure door leads to Area 7, but this one can be bypassed by solving a puzzle (clue in Area 4). Something dangerous here - encounter.
7) Secure Vault - the seed vault proper, the reward room. Extinct plant seeds worth a good amount to the right people.
8) Germination Room - beds of dry dirt, watering system, pretty empty room. Something to be found if searched, but also a danger to uncover (hibernating insects in dirt?). Door leads to Area 9 (Maturation)
9) Maturation Room - fully-grown, dead plants. Multi-level area with catwalks. Combat encounter. Doors to Area 10 (Harvesting) and one-way door (can't open) to Area 12 (quarantine).
10) Harvesting Room - Cut up plants, shrivelled fruits. Trap here (rot gasses?). Door to Area 11 (Storage).
11) Storage - Dusty crates, probably put some weird random lost civ curios in here and an encounter of some kind. Door goes back to Area 4 (Catalogue Archives)
12) Quarantine - Area taken up by some large, malicious, ancient plant. Burst through the ceiling into daylight (access to outside). Exit is one-way door to Area 9 (Maturation).

I think most encounters will be plants or some sort of ooze re-skinned as moss, as well as vermin. I need to sort out some sort of puzzle for access to the Secure Vault, but I have a few ideas. Also will sprinkle in an advantage that ties into the Big Dungeon (key or something).

 

[Ice]

The formatting is definitely on point but I am having a lot of problems picturing this in my mind's eye. Even a super rough map would make this a lot easier to work with.

 

[DangerousPuhson]

The formatting is definitely on point but I am having a lot of problems picturing this in my mind's eye. Even a super rough map would make this a lot easier to work with.

 

[Ice]

View attachment 39

That is a good start.

After reading your descriptions again, I am able to envision this seed vault a bit better. It still needs window-dressing, though. How are you envisioning the main door to look? Going through the main door seems like a notable encounter in itself.

In my brain, 'the seed vault' conjures a room hewn from stone filled with large wicker baskets that are overflowing with all kinds of seeds. Maybe some kind of unlit touches that use a strange, unknown material for fuel could line the walls. Maybe they could burn an odd color when lit.

What technology level is lost civilization supposed to be? I was imagining it to be more or less equal to a default medieval civilization, but drastically different in terms of architecture, iconography and material interests. More magical than technological. But we can run in any direction.

The plant entrance seems really cool, but how does it look? is it a hole that is covered with vines or a giant Mario-like piranha plant?

 

[DangerousPuhson]

It still needs window-dressing, though. How are you envisioning the main door to look? Going through the main door seems like a notable encounter in itself.

In my brain, 'the seed vault' conjures a room hewn from stone filled with large wicker baskets that are overflowing with all kinds of seeds. Maybe some kind of unlit touches that use a strange, unknown material for fuel could line the walls. Maybe they could burn an odd color when lit.

What technology level is lost civilization supposed to be? I was imagining it to be more or less equal to a default medieval civilization, but drastically different in terms of architecture, iconography and material interests. More magical than technological. But we can run in any direction.

The plant entrance seems really cool, but how does it look? is it a hole that is covered with vines or a giant Mario-like piranha plant?

Dressing is forthcoming - I have a few ideas already. I'm also constantly re-assessing the flow and map of the thing, and going to make some changes even based on what I did yesterday (think I'll nix the one-way door into Quarantine and make it locked instead. Also probably going to add an encounter in the Storage area, or move the trap in Harvesting there instead. Etc.).

The tech issue is being addressed in the Defining the Baseline thread now - I can make it work with either style, really. Haven't figured out specifically what I want for the main door beyond being just a big-ass hefty door. I was thinking steel bank-vault style, but that depends on what we decide for lost civ tech level.

The plant entrance is definitely going to be a piranha plant style thing (I was thinking carnivorous tree). The party has to scramble down its trunk to get inside.

 

[DangerousPuhson]

I've done up my map for The Seed Vault. The layout has changed a bit.

EDIT: MAP CHANGED, SEE BELOW

 

[The1True]

Pretty! Kind of an S3 vibe going on there. Have we figured out if the Ancients are Tech or High Arcana or Alien Arcana/Tech?

Maybe a couple more vertical challenges on the outside? (gantries, balconies, ladders and watch towers to make for an exciting entrance?)

 

[DangerousPuhson]

Pretty! Kind of an S3 vibe going on there. Have we figured out if the Ancients are Tech or High Arcana or Alien Arcana/Tech?

Maybe a couple more vertical challenges on the outside? (gantries, balconies, ladders and watch towers to make for an exciting entrance?)

I don't know, I just built the map - too many decisions to make, too much time to make them, so I went ahead and said "fuck it, they've got some steel-working skills at least". If we decide they are only advanced in a few areas, I'll liberally sprinkle some simple tech into the testing labs and storage crates.

I'll endeavor to add more to the outside (tents and scaffolding, likely). We can put the actual site up/down a cliff or something, but there's no need to map all that (switchback, a rope bridge, a broken ladder, and a watcher on a ledge) - I'll just describe it in the preamble and sprinkle a skill check or two.

 

[Grützi]

Love the whole thing ... awesome map, good concept, all well done

If they have some metal working skills why not kick that into overdrive and go a bit crazy with the metal parts of the dungeon.

Maybe the big ass door is made of liquid metal an can only be bypassed by venting the liquid elsewhere trough some arcane mechanism?
You could bring in metal themed guardians ... think T1000 from terminator.

 

[The1True]

Or the metal looking stuff is just plant-grown ceramic substance?

 

[DangerousPuhson]

Area 1 - Work Camp Courtyard

The work camp has been built around a now-ajar heavy steel door set into the rock face. A 15'-tall cobblestone wall (DC 10 to climb) makes a semi-circular perimeter around the complex, forming a courtyard of tents and old fire pits. Access is controlled by a wide oaken gate which bars from the inside. A 20'-high platform stands inside the courtyard, adjacent over the front gate. Of the three tents here, two are configured as four-man living quarters for the guards, while the third is an open-air mess tent with a serving line and buckets of gruel. Blunted dig tools and offal piles litter the ground.

Guards:
A pair of guards is always posted atop the platform overseeing the front gate to the courtyard; from their vantage point, they can see up to 100' in all directions (30' at night). Another pair stands guard by the steel door to the complex. The guards are annoyed by their posting here, and are susceptible to bribery (at least 10gp each). They can be fooled easily (DC 10 checks), but become violent if angered or intimidated.

Slaves:
Six slaves are here at any given time, sleeping on the bare ground or huddling together for comfort. One slave has been isolated from the rest and is presently being treated for a medical condition characterized by extreme pain and inflamed wounds - he generally howls in pain until the guards beat him into unconsciousness every half hour. If spoken to, he will lament how he was caught trying to sneak into the Side-Entrance (Area 14), and warns about the dangers of the tree there.

Area 14 - Side-Entrance
Along the rock face, about 50' east of the courtyard, is a treacherously narrow path upward. Navigation via this path to a point 40' above the complex is possible, where an alien tree emerges from a wide hole in the ground (leading into Area 13). The tree has the greyish consistency of dead wood, but it is covered in orange and red flowers resembling sea urchins. Touching one of these flowers causes an intense wracking pain and horrible burning sensation which persists for hours - DC 10 CON save or Poisoned; can repeat the saving throw each hour to negate the effects. Climbing down the hole without touching any of the flowers requires a successful DC 15 DEX save.

 

[DangerousPuhson]

Area 2 - Foyer

The floor of this room is a disorienting, pearlescent marble that clouds with vibrant colors shifting at each step. Four sturdy steel pillar support the ceiling, each inscribed with thousands of geometric symbols and indecipherable runes. In the middle of the north wall, a circular passage is obscured, draped with curtains of cascading liquid steel - emanating from them is a faint hum of electricity and the strong smell of ozone. The east and west doors are built of hefty steel, and cracked opened just enough for a person to squeeze through.

Guard and Slaves: Three slaves are lined up against the north-east wall, their hands clasped behind their heads. A lone Conglomerate guard stands over a dead teenage slave, his fists bloodied. He shouts profanities at the fallen boy and at the other three, promising "the same is gonna 'appen to you lot if ya don't gimme the feggin' lever, right now!". He speaks of the lever stolen from Area 3. His first reaction is to draw his weapon on any newcomers, threatening to "cut off ya bits!" if they don't leave immediately. Ensuing combat draws the 3 guards from Area 12 to his aid, but any guards outside won't help. The slaves won't do anything but cower unless they are offered a weapon (which they wield with a +0 modifier to hit/damage). If the guard(s) is killed or driven away, one of the slaves (a mute) offers the party a steel bar with a gear-shaped tip and 50gp platinum seed-shaped pommel; this is the lever required to activate the wall panel in Area 3.

Molten Door: The doors to the north are made up of liquid steel. While their flexible, flowing nature make them appear as curtains, they are easily as strong as tempered steel, yet immune to effects like rusting or being damaged. The "curtains" are charged with electricity to keep their form, so that even touching them gives off a moderate shock (1 point damage). Their origin - a pair of fitted pipes above the frame - leads visibly into Area 3, where they can be turned off using the wall panel.

 

[DangerousPuhson]

Area 3 - Inspection Lab

The walls, floors, and ceiling of this room are all made of stainless steel, as are two oval examination tables with dimpled indentations, and a counter which runs the length of the north wall. Crates overflowing with packing straw are stacked haphazardly around the room; inside, they hold delicate glassware and vessels filled with alchemical reagents. A metal panel set into the west wall has a lever sticking out of it, flipped in the "upward" position, as well as a gear-shaped slot.

Wall Pane: The lever in the wall panel opens and shuts the door to this room when flipped. The gear slot fits the stolen platinum-capped lever (Area 2), and using it toggles the flow of the liquid steel doorway in that room, allowing access beyond.

Crates: The glassware and more mundane chemicals in the crates here comprise two full Alchemy Kits. The rest of the chemicals are inert, expired, or situation-specific, though there are two vials of identical green fluid in stoppered steel flasks marked with a spiraling leaf motif increasing in size; two potions of plant growth.

 

[Ice]

This dungeon is coming along nicely!

It think it would be pretty interesting if it has an 'upper level' that was just a set of empty ruins with the Piranha-plant creature hanging out in the middle. Maybe a dead slave or two to signal that the Piranha plant isn't very nice and also why the slaves and slavers at the entrance are avoiding upper area.

The concept of a seed vault is really growing on me. Some of the treasure could be seeds:

D7 random seeds.

1. Dreamseed: These are small purple seeds. when ground up and smoked, will have psychoactive effects, such as concentric circles, vivid colors, and an ineffable connection to an otherworldly being (system specific benefits to magic or creating a patron bond in DCC or something)
2. Fast flowers: Multicolored seeds. As soon as water is added, brilliantly colored flowers will spring forth from these seeds.
3. Magic Bean Stalk: Small brown seeds. Once planted and watered, a thick set of vines will shoot upwards, wrapping around any object in it's path.
4. Purple avocado: Large first sized seeds. Will grown into trees which produce purple avocados. (more valuable than the rest of the seeds)
5. Awakened Cacti Seeds: Black, shiny seeds. When planted and, they will produce awakened cacti who can converse in the language of their planter.
6. Flash Seeds. large nut-sized brown seeds. Close examination will reveal that they sound hollow when tapped. When thrown, they will explode and produce a blinding flash of light. (system specific saves, ETC)
7. Irredescent Cabbage Seeds. Small black seeds. Produces weird looking cabbage.

 

[DangerousPuhson]

D7? What the heck is a D7? You couldn't come up with one more example to round it out to a D8 roll? Heh.

Anywhoo, redid the map a bit.

 

[The1True]

This is an awesome mini-dungeon! Really well conceived! I'd love to see one more loop; a secret connection maybe?

 

[Ice]

D7? What the heck is a D7? You couldn't come up with one more example to round it out to a D8 roll? Heh.

Anywhoo, redid the map a bit.

This map is really great.

This dungeon is getting a lot more interesting each time you update it!

d7s exist. Here I made d5 more seeds for you:

1.Seeds of satiation: look like pumpkin seeds. Will grow into a big fat green gourd. Eating a handful of seeds counts as a full day of rations.
2. Seeds of power: White seeds covered in sap (extracted from pine-cone) Casts bless when crushed. Will grow into perfectly shaped sized bonsai fir trees.
3. Seeds of the Skyleaf: greenbean pod-like seeds. The seeds fall as if they were feathers or paper. Will grow into a magical flying bush that can carry up to 300 pounds and moves about randomly.
4. Glowing seeds. Small seeds that emit light. Will grow into glowing ferns.
5. Seeds of Vampiric roses. Black seeds with blood red veins. Will grow into brambles with dark red roses. Anyone attempted to move through the brambles will [save] or take 1d4 damage.

I have an incredibly rough draft for a spell called 'Accelerate growth' that would make seeds sprout on the spot, and make already -grown plants get larger or become dangerous, but I will finish that spell another day. I need to go to bed.

If you don't like the magic seeds, I'll stop. I had fun making them though.

 

[DangerousPuhson]

Magic seeds are fine; what's a seed vault without cool seeds, right?

Is your spell not the same as plant growth though?
If you cast this spell using 1 action, choose a point within range. All normal plants in a 100-foot radius centered on that point become thick and overgrown. A creature moving through the area must spend 4 feet of movement for every 1 foot it moves.
If you cast this spell over 8 hours, you enrich the land. All plants in a half-mile radius centered on a point within range become enriched for 1 year. The plants yield twice the normal amount of food when harvested.

I mean, as a DM, I'd rule that plant growth would cause what you're describing. Maybe instead, we get a minor magic item in the seed vault: a watering can of germination - makes any seed planted into soil sprout as if it had undergone a month's worth of growth. Only works on seeds.