Jacob Blackmon Blogs

 Another altar chamber in the temple of the evil cult! Area 9 The door to this room is closed and locked with an arcane lock spell. The door may open of its own accord, if the prismatic pillars are touched, as indicated in Area 4. This room is dark. Mosaics along the walls depict the Nine Hells and the Archdevils of each layer. An altar is set into the floor to the north of the room. The altar is decorated with carvings along is sides depicting scenes from the Nine Hells. Creature: There is a flesh golem in this room that serves as its guardian. The flesh golem will attack anyone who enters the room who is not dressed in the robes of the evil cult. Also, if the door opens as a result of the prismatic pillars in Area 4 being touched, the flesh golem will leave the room to attack any intruders it finds in the hall of Area 4. Flesh Golem Medium construct, neutral Armor Class 9 Hit Points 93 (11d8+44) Speed 30 ft. STR 19 (+4) DEX 9 (-1) CON 18 (+4) INT 6 (-2) WIS 10 (+0) CH...

 This room provides a chance for some wealth... and some danger! Area 8 This room is brightly illuminated by a trio of everburning torches set into wall sconces on the northern wall. At the center of is room is a small altar covered in a red velvet drape. If the drape is removed, the altar can been seen to be carved along it sides with scenes from the Nine Hells. A successful DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals that the top of the altar can be removed. A successful detect magic or DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that there is a magical spell placed upon the altar. If the top is removed without invoking the name of the Lord of the Nine Hells, an alarm spell is activated, silently alerting the cult leader in area 19 that the altar has been opened. Treasure: Inside the altar is a set of evil cultist robes, complete with an ornate porcelain mask inlaid with gold that has a fiendish appearance (50 gp value), a silver amulet depicting the symbol of the Lord of...

 More magical shenanigans in the Temple of the evil cult! Area 7 This long hall is illuminated by a pair of everburning torches located to the south of the hallway. Obviously, the south of the hall is filled with bright light while the hall north of the door is dim light. The door to the north of this room is locked. It requires a successful DC 16 Thieves' Tools check to unlock. Only the cult leadership have the keys to this door. The three stone statues in this hallway are of a fiendish-looking man. Creatures: If anyone attempts to open the northern door who is not dressed in the robes of the evil cult (complete with mask and amulet), the eastern door will close and lock into place, the everburning torches will burn out leaving the hallway in complete darkness (unless the PCs have their own light source), and the three animated stone statues will awaken and attack all the intruders herein. Animated Stone Statues (3) Medium construct, unaligned Armor Class 15 (natural armor) ...

Well, it's been a hell of a busy week for me, so this project fell to the wayside as I got things sorted out. But now that the weekend is here, I was able to catch up and get the new map section picked out and the first several rooms filled out for each day I missed. Here is the first section of the Temple Area! Map by Justin Andrew Mason . If you enjoy this content, please consider throwing me $1 a month on my Patreon . Or maybe buy me a Ko-Fi . Now that the PCs have passed through the Crypts under the Mausoleum, they have found a set of stairs that continues deeper underground into the lair of the evil cult itself! In this temple, the PCs will battle the cultists and their leadership in a desperate attempt to rescue the kidnapped prince before he can be sacrificed to the Lord of the Nine Hells. Area 1 The stairs deposit the PCs into this entryway. Facing you is a set of stone-carved steps leading up to a massive set of double doors that appear to be cast in iron. Molded upon th...

 Here ends the Crypt Area of this #Dungeon23 mega-dungeon... If you have been enjoying my progress on this project, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi . Or maybe support me for $1 a month on my Patreon . Area T The areas marked “T” on the map indicate tunnels created by the ghouls that exist in this region. The ghouls were drawn to the area after the evil cult established themselves; having excavated the Crypts and Temple under the existing Mausoleum. The cult's evil presence attracted the ghouls, who dug into the Crypts from their warren; pulling bodies from the nearby graveyards to feast upon. The Tunnels are filled with Ghoul Stench. Any creature that starts its turn within in the tunnels must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. If the PCs are in the specific areas marked T1, T2, T3, or T4 and are making excessive noise or having a combat, they will attract the attention of a ghoul encounter, as detailed in the Crypt Rand...

 Closing in on the final rooms of the Crypt Area. Area 23 The two doors into this chamber are both locked. The door lock can be picked with a successful DC 18 Thieves' Tools check. Smashing down the doors can also be accomplished: each door has AC 15 and 18 hit points (immune to poison and psychic damage). If the PCs have encountered any cultists due to a Random Encounter, one of the cultists will have a key that fits the lock to this door. The stairs to the north lead downwards into the Temple Area.

 The Crypts Area reveals a small worship chamber belonging to the evil cult: Area 22 The door to this room is closed but not locked. This rectangular room has cobblestone floors and plastered walls. Four heavy wooden pillars secure the ceiling at each corner. Across the room, facing the doors is a large stone statue of a male hellspawn holding an open book. The book is held in a way to be read by onlookers, not the figure in the statue. A pair of large iron braziers burn with a heavy flame, filing the room with light and heat. The statue is that of the hellspawn founder of the evil cult: Mormentos Darkhorn, as described in Area 3. This room was placed here in his honor and serves as a place of worship and defense for members of the evil cult operating in the Crypt Area. This room is filled with the power of evil. If any spell or magical ability is used to sense evil, such as the detect evil and good spell or a paladin's divine sense power, the caster must make a successful DC ...

 Missed a day, so here are two rooms for make-up time. Area 20 The wooden double doors to the south of this room are closed but unlocked. The wooden door to the northeast of the room is locked. The door lock can be picked with a successful DC 18 Thieves' Tools check. Smashing down the doors can also be accomplished: each door has AC 15 and 18 hit points (immune to poison and psychic damage). If the PCs have encountered any cultists due to a Random Encounter, one of the cultists will have a key that fits the lock to this door. This room used to be used as corpse storage by the evil cult. The would store the bodies of the dead in the cold to preserve them until they could be animated or used in the creation of a flesh golem. There are currently no bodies stored in this chamber. This room is intensely cold, thanks to the ice storage in the chamber. Four large boxes contain blocks of ice that keep this room cold. The PCs should not have to worry about the cold too much, unless they sp...

Having played the Transformers rpg by Renegade Game Studios for a couple of session now, I am very happy with most of the functions of the system. It is very easy to play, learn, and teach. Most of the PC creation is automated, with only a few necessary choices on the part of the player. I am not particularly excited about the NPC builds they have in the back of the core rulebook. As such, I have been creating my own. Most recently, I have a finished my personal build for Big red himself: Optimus Prime. And yes, this includes a build for the Matrix of Leadership. As per my standard NPC builds, I base their Essence Scores on the Tech Specs provided by their action figures. Health is equal to the Endurance from their Tech Spec. "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." OPTIMUS PRIME Monolith Field Commander 23 Size : Huge, Extended Health : 20 Movement : 20 ft. (Bot-Mode); 45 ft. (Alt-Mode) Energon : 10 Strength : 10 Speed : 8 Smarts : 10 Social : 10 Toughness : 24 ...

 Happy Valentine's Day Area 19 The wooden double doors to the south of this chamber are closed but unlocked. During the creation of this crypt, this was used as the main resting area for the evil cult. They have since moved everything of importance from here to the Temple Area below. The walls of the chamber have empty torch sconces and a quick search of the room will find some stray bedding tucked into one corner behind a pillar. Treasure: A more through search of the chamber, requiring a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check will find a loose set of stones in the floor against the southwest wall. Under the loose stones is a hollowed out area containing a parchment-wrapped bundle of goods: a small coin purse with 17 copper pennies, 16 silver shillings, 13 gold pieces, and 1 platinum coin, and an embroidered leather belt pouch containing two vials of fluid: one is an antitoxin , the other contains midnight tears poison. Midnight Tears Poison (Ingested). A creature that ingest...

 A stinky respite may result in deadly encounters. Area 18 The door to the north of this room is unlocked. This chamber used to be a zombie storage room, like many others found throughout the crypt. However, the tunnels of the crypt ghouls have breached this chamber, exposing it to other rooms in the area. When the ghouls entered this room, they found a bounty of corpses to feast upon, resulting in a battle between the ghouls and the zombies interred within. Bones stripped of all remains of flesh are scattered about the chamber. The bones make stealth difficult in this area, as they crunch under the PCs' feet. All Dexterity (Stealth) checks made in this area have Disadvantage. This room, being in close proximity to the ghoul tunnels, is filled with ghoul stench. Any creature that starts its turn within in the room must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. Note: The PCs should not have to worry about the crypt spiders in Are...

More adventures in the Crypts! Area 17 The door to this room is closed but not locked. An inscription on the door, in Common, reads: “ Speak the Celestial Name of The Fallen and He will alight your path .” This is a clue to the magical effect that can occur in this room. Inside the room is a large iron brazier affixed to the floor in the northern alcove. The brazier seems to burn with a fire that emits bright light, but does not shed any heat. This is a permanent continual flame effect that was placed here years ago, as the evil cult was excavating the crypts. If a stick, pole, torch, or other wooden object is placed into the brazier and the name “Morningstar” is spoken, the object in the brazier can then be pulled out. It will shed light at though a light cantrip has been cast upon it for 1 hour.

 More undead crypts! Area 16 The doors to this chamber are closed but not locked. This room serves as another storage crypt for the evil cult's undead minions. They are stored in alcoves carved into the walls to the east and west of the room. Creatures: There are a total of six zombies in this room. They will crawl out of their crypt alcoves and attack anyone who enters the chamber. Zombies (6) Medium undead, neutral evil Armor Class 8 Hit Points 22 (3d8+9) Speed 20 ft. Str 13 (+1) Dex 6 (-2) Con 16 (+3) Int 3 (-4) Wis 6 (-2) Cha 5 (-3) Saving Throw Wis +0 Condition Immunity exhaustion, poisoned Damage Immunity poison Senses darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 8 Languages understands Common and Infernal, but cannot speak Challenge 1/4 (50 xp), Prof. Bonus +2 Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the zombie to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a su...

 It's been a busy few days for me, so I fell behind. Here are the rooms to make up for the last 3 days. Area 13 The door to this room is locked. It requires a successful DC 15 Thieves' Tools check to unlock the door. It can also be smashed down (AC 15, 18 hit points, immune to poison and psychic damage). If Cultists are encounters, thanks to a Wandering Monster encounter in the Crypt area, there is a 50% chance that one of the cultists in that encounter possesses a key to this door. Opening the door to this room, you see a small chamber filled primarily with a long table and two stools placed beside it. To one side of the chamber are a pair of cupboard shelves filled with glass jars. The interior of the room is filled with dim light, due to a candle sitting on the table with a continual flame effect. The shelves used to contain various ingredients for alchemy and spell components. Most of the important and wealthy components have either been used or taken to the storage room...