Copyright River Octopus Games & Frank Hudson 2020 | @OctopusRPG | acrypt.wordpress.com

The Boiling Well 4-6 Level 2 PCs Background: A pair of Azer and 5 Magmin slaves have travelled from the Elemental Plane of Fire to unearth a cache of fossils near an underground river. Other creatures followed and now pester his workers. Downstream, a well has been rendered undrinkable.

Hook: A villager tells the party that the well belches steam and smoke at random intervals, and it’s water is hot and sulfurous. Villagers must make long journeys to bring back water and the village may soon be abandoned if it is not restored.

The Dungeon: The dungeon’s walls are natural (bumpy) and carved (flat), mostly raw stone, with 6 ft ceilings. The river is 2 ft deep at it’s center and flows from the east. It is boiling hot, dealing 1d6 fire damage/round to anyone in it. The caves are dimly lit by Giant Fire Beetles (non-hostile) scuttling over the floors and walls. It is very steamy and smells of sulfur.

1: The PCs can safely rappel down the well (50ft.) using a rope. The water flows from the east. Athletics 10: Swing to land without touching the water.

2: A natural cavern filled with obscuring steam. The party is ambushed by 4 Steam Mephits if they enter. Defeating them clears the steam. To the north, a gap of a few inches affords a view of Area 3.

3: A natural cavern with carved walls and tunnels to the north. A pile of mining equipment (2 Miner’s Picks, Masons Tools, and a Warhammer) sits by the river beside some large grey cloths (fireproof asbestos cloths). The stone floor here is stained with black soot. 2 Magmin are screeching and pounding on a closed iron door.

Inside, 2 Rust Monsters are running amok, rusting a pile of mining equipment beyond use. The Magmin will attack the party if approached. The Rust Monsters are only hostile if provoked. Intimidate 12: Scare off Rust Monsters.

4: Exploratory tunnels have been expertly mined out in careful parallel rows. Infrequent iron supports reinforce the walls. Nature 10: Small (coin-sized) aquatic fossils are peppered across the walls.

5: A large (15 ft. domed ceiling) natural cavern. Along the northwest wall are the fossilized bones of a huge dragon, his head and ribcage jutting out from the stone. The bones of its tail wrap into a smaller cavern to the southwest. 3 Magmin are actively excavating and will attack the party if spotted.

The party can recover fossilized teeth from the dragon bones worth 300 gp. Excavating more would be incredibly time consuming and dangerous.

6: In the center of this room is a 10x5 grey mat (fireproof asbestos mat) and a pile of chalk. To the north is a small natural waist-high pocket filled with some uncut semi-precious stones and fist-sized aquatic fossils, weighing 25 pounds and worth 50 gp total. There is an iron door leading east.

7: This room is furnished with a heavy fireproof bedroll on the ground, and a number of iron items: a few heavy boxes, a chest of drawers, and a chair in front of at a squat iron table. Two hostile Azer are conversing in Ignan. They brandish Warhammers and Shields. One has an ornate gold war-horn (worth 100 gp) and a ruby-tipped wand hanging from his belt. The room contains assorted fireproof clothes and mining tools of little to no practical value.

The Azer will attack the party for trespassing. If any Magmin are alive (in Area 3 or 5), the Azer call out and the Magmin rush to their location.

Ruby-Tipped Wand: Open or close portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire targeting a point at a range of 60 ft. Every time it is activated, roll a d100. On a result above 50, the wand shatters. It is worth up to 500 gp intact to the right buyer (difficult to sell).

8: A massive, roaring vortex of heat. It produces only modest light. The walls here are rounded and look smoothed by erosion. Where the river passes nearby, it steams and boils, and is polluted by a thick ribbon of black soot. Arcana 15: This is a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire.

The party needs to close the portal to restore the clarity of the well water. Activating the ruby-tipped wand will close the portal. Entering the Portal will instantly transport a creature to a sea of flame in the Elemental Plane of Fire where they will take 6d6 fire damage per turn.

Copyright River Octopus Games & Frank Hudson 2020 | @OctopusRPG | acrypt.wordpress.com