Introduction: Revisiting a Classic from Dungeon #1
Originally published in 1986 in the premiere issue of Dungeon Magazine #1, The Dark Tower of Cabilar was the brainchild of two aspiring game designers—Michael Ashton and Lee Sperry—both hailing from Fort Worth, Texas. Designed for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, this classic dungeon crawl captured the imagination of players with its deadly traps, arcane mysteries, and perilous descent into the unknown.
Michael, with a passion for economics, mathematics, and gaming, teamed up with Lee, a college senior majoring in industrial technology and business, to create this grim and magical descent into a ruined wizard’s tower. Their adventure was intended for a group of 4–8 characters between levels 4 and 7, with a party composition emphasizing fighters, magic-users, clerics, and thieves. Magical weapons were a must, and falling damage? Brutal. (1d6 per 10 feet—no mercy.)
Now, Nearly 40 Years Later…
We’re bringing The Dark Tower of Cabilar into the modern age with a fully updated conversion for the 5th Edition (2014) ruleset. This adaptation preserves the heart and soul of the original while ensuring it’s balanced, intuitive, and accessible for today’s players and Dungeon Masters. Our goal is not to rewrite or replace the original adventure, but to honor the vision of its original authors—Michael Ashton and Lee Sperry—by introducing their work to a new generation of adventurers in a format that fits modern play.
Whether you’re an old-school grognard revisiting this buried gem or a new adventurer ready to uncover a forgotten treasure of gaming history, we invite you to descend into the depths and uncover the secrets of Cabilar’s tower… if you dare.
Let the torches be lit—the tower awaits.
THE DARK TOWER OF CABILAR
A Adventure by Michael Ashton & Lee Sperry and adapted to 5th Edition (2014) by Cryptic Escape
You came for the vampire. You’ll stay for the nightmare.
Adventure Difficulty: 8/10
Estimated Playtime: 12–16 Hours
Adventure Background
Originally designed as a tournament module, The Dark Tower of Cabilar has been carefully adapted for modern play and can be easily integrated into any 5th Edition campaign setting with minimal effort. Whether your world is a grimdark homebrew, a classic like the Forgotten Realms, or something entirely new, the haunted remnants of Cabilar’s legacy fit seamlessly into any corner of your map.
This adventure begins as the player characters arrive at the crumbling ruins of Cabilar’s tower, a once-mighty spire now swallowed by time, mystery, and menace. For those who enjoy a deeper narrative arc, the adventure can be expanded to include:
A patron hiring the adventurers to retrieve a lost relic.
Rumors and legends about the tower whispered in nearby villages.
Dangerous travel through cursed lands or forgotten paths.
A haunted journey home, forever changed by what they found within.
However you choose to begin, the core experience picks up as the party stands before the ruined tower itself, staring into the maw of forgotten magic and buried secrets.
Read or Paraphrase to Players:
Four years ago, the peaceful city of Stoutwall fell in a single night of arcane terror. The throne was usurped by a ruthless wizard named Cabilar—his first act: to unleash a poisonous cloud that choked the city council to death, followed by a bolt of lightning that ended the king’s reign in an instant.
Only one man survived the massacre—an elderly royal attendant protected by a magical necklace. As chaos consumed the castle, he slipped through a hidden passage and raced to the young prince’s chamber. With death at their heels, the two fled into the wilderness, vanishing into the dark.
They found safety in the home of the prince’s godparents, but the escape came at a cost. The old servant, overcome by exhaustion and grief, collapsed. With his final breath, he entrusted the boy with a priceless heirloom—the jade crown, symbol of Stoutwall’s royal bloodline.
But the shadows were not done chasing them. Two days into their journey north, the prince’s godfather was slain, and the jade crown stolen by a vampire—one of Cabilar’s dark agents. The boy and his godmother barely escaped, finding refuge in a distant city, where they’ve remained in hiding… until now.
The prince has come of age. The time has come to reclaim what was lost. After years of searching, the vampire’s lair has been found. Twisted fate would have it nestled in the very tower where Cabilar once dwelled before his bloody rise to power.
The prince’s godmother has summoned you. She offers gold, glory, and a place in the pages of history. All you must do is descend into the cursed tower… and bring back the jade crown.
For the Dungeon Master This dungeon is dangerous, but not in a “save-or-die” kind of way. It tests your players’ caution, awareness, and cooperation. Traps are deadly, but often avoidable. Some encounters hit hard—especially when party order, preparedness, or inattention leave a gap.
Important things to track as DM:
Marching order matters. Several encounters trigger based on who’s in front, or how tightly packed the party is. If no clear order is given, assume a straight, single-file path.
Lighting and visibility are limited. Unless noted otherwise, the dungeon is shrouded in normal darkness. Light sources (or darkvision) will be essential.
Weapon readiness counts. If combat breaks out suddenly, players may not have their ideal weapon drawn. You can ask players to clarify what they’re holding at the start of each room or let it ride based on their habits.
Avoid giving away hidden information. Stick to the boxed text and descriptions from the party’s point of view. What they can’t see—or think they see—builds tension.
About the Monsters
The tower’s inhabitants aren’t typical dungeon denizens. Many are:
Charmed or magically bound to their rooms by Cabilar’s residual enchantments
Unaging and hungerless, with no reason (or ability) to roam
Wholly unnatural, infused with trace magical auras detectable through detect magic
There are no wandering monster encounters. Every creature has a purpose, a place, and a reason it hasn’t simply walked out of the dungeon. This isn’t a lair of living things—it’s a machine designed to kill intruders.
This is your domain now, DM.
You control the echoes in the dark. The traps behind the doors. The final flicker of torchlight before it’s swallowed by shadow. Run this adventure with patience, atmosphere, and precision—and your players will never forget their descent into The Dark Tower of Cabilar.
Boxed Text – Starting the Adventure (Read aloud to the players as they arrive at the cavern)
The journey to the vampire’s lair has been long, perilous, and strangely quiet. A narrow trail hugs the cliffside like a scar carved into the earth, winding its way ever upward until it abruptly curves inward—vanishing into the living rock.
Ahead, the stone opens into an enormous cavern—an ancient chamber nearly 500 feet long and wide, with a ceiling lost in shadow some 250 feet above your heads. The air is cool and still, thick with the scent of damp stone and something older… something wrong.
Your guide, who has said little during the trek, comes to a stop at the cavern’s mouth. Without a word, he turns and hastily retreats back down the trail, leaving you alone in the silence.
You step forward. At first, you mistake it for an enormous stalagmite—just another feature of this subterranean cathedral. But as your eyes adjust, you see the truth: it’s a tower, ancient and unnatural, rising over 100 feet into the air like a fang piercing the cavern floor. Rough wooden ledges cling to its sides, and narrow, slitted windows peer out like watchful eyes—some nearly 90 feet off the ground.
No doors. No visible entrances. Just the cold, smooth stone base of the tower, waiting. Watching. You approach from the south, every step echoing in the vast chamber, as the shadow of Cabilar’s tower looms above you.
Tower Exterior & Entry
The tower has no visible doors. Its only known entrances are four narrow windows, positioned high above the cavern floor—roughly 93 feet up, on the southeastern face of the structure. Each window is dark, shuttered, and ancient. Whatever lies within has remained untouched for years.
Gaining entry will require ingenuity and caution.
Reaching the Windows
Players can attempt to ascend the tower in a variety of ways:
Climbing with ropes, grapnels, or pitons
A character with a Climb Speed (or Spider Climb spell)
Using spells like Levitate, Misty Step, or Fly
Scaling the crumbling wooden ledges built into the tower’s exterior
These weathered 5 ft. x 5 ft. wooden ledges are spaced irregularly along the outside wall—remnants of some long-forgotten construction scaffolding. They’re the most obvious means of climbing but are far from safe.
Tower Ledge Rules
Each ledge is old, rotted, and dangerously unstable. Treat climbing the ledges as follows:
DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check to climb from ledge to ledge, using rope or without aid.
Each ledge can hold up to 200 lbs. safely. If a creature and their gear exceed this, it risks collapse.
Unstable Ledge Check: When 200 lbs. or more rests on a ledge, roll a d20.
Base DC: 10
Increase DC by +1 for every 10 lbs. over 200
Success: The ledge holds, but it creaks loudly, alerting nearby creatures.
Failure: The ledge snaps and the character falls.
A character who falls takes falling damage as normal: 1d6 bludgeoning per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6.
If a falling character crashes into a ledge below, that lower ledge must also make a DC 18 collapse check or it too will give way, sending the character (and possibly others) tumbling further.
Optional Flavored Warning Text: “The wood groans beneath your boots. Dust rains from the joints. Something splinters in the dark…”
Any sudden movement, shifting weight, or attempts to lift another character while on a ledge trigger a new check for collapse.
Incoming Threat: The Firedrakes Awaken
Once multiple characters are climbing or attempting entry, the noise and vibrations awaken the Firedrakes from Area 1. These winged, ember-scaled beasts swoop down from a hidden crevice in the upper cavern and attack the most vulnerable targets—those clinging to the tower walls.
This encounter turns the climb into a desperate vertical combat, with spells, ranged weapons, and fast decision-making keeping the players alive.
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When the Firedrakes Attack:
As your grappling hook lands with a metallic clink, or your boots touch the weathered wooden ledge, the silence of the vast cavern is shattered. A piercing screech echoes from above as four crimson shapes detach from the peak of the tower like falling embers. Wings outspread, scales glinting with heat, the creatures spiral down in a blur of rage and flame. Each one opens its maw—and a burst of fire streaks toward you!
Creature Feature: Firedrakes
These territorial draconic beasts defend their nest with a suicidal fury. Though not true dragons, they are born of fire and shadow—twisted by residual magic from Cabilar’s experiments.
Firedrake Small Dragon, Unaligned AC: 15 (natural armor) HP: 45 (6d6 + 24) Speed: 30 ft., fly 60 ft. STR 14 | DEX 16 | CON 18 | INT 2 | WIS 11 | CHA 6 Saving Throws: DEX +5, CON +6 Damage Resistances: Fire Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10 Languages: — Challenge: 2 (450 XP)
Actions
Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6): The firedrake exhales fire in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the area must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 4d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. A firedrake can use this ability up to five times total, with recharges between uses.
Bite:Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2d6 + 2 piercing damage.
Legendary Behavior (Optional if you hate your players)
Death Dive (1/Day): If a firedrake is reduced to 5 hit points or fewer, it unleashes a suicidal lunge:
It dives onto the nearest enemy or ledge.
The firedrake explodes in flame, becoming a living fireball.
Each creature within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage (no damage on success).
The ledge (if applicable) begins to burn and collapse after 5 rounds, unless the body is kicked off or destroyed.
Tactics & Behavior
Firedrakes are fiercely protective of their nest (hidden atop the tower) which contains four smoldering eggs.
They strike from above with fire breath before diving to bite.
They don’t coordinate or fly in formation—targeting climbers first, then ranged attackers.
If reduced to half HP or lower, they land on ledges to fight more defensively.
If hit by area-effect spells like Fireball, roll a d10 to determine how many are caught:
1–4: One caught
5–7: Two caught
8–9: Three caught
10: All four caught
Treasure
If the firedrakes are slain and the players ascend the tower peak, they’ll find:
A nest of obsidian and bone, still warm to the touch.
4 firedrake eggs (each worth 200–300 gp to the right buyer or could be used for arcane crafting).
1 charred +1 shortsword embedded in the rock near the nest, scorched from a long-forgotten fight.
1.Firedrake’s Nest (Tower Rooftop)
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When the Party Reaches the Tower’s Roof:
The top of the tower is a scorched, windswept platform, slick with ash and the remnants of many meals. Charred bones lie tangled in twisted branches, feathers, and old scraps of cloth. The air is thick with the acrid stench of smoke and guano. This is no place of refuge—this is a nest, raw and feral, clinging to the top of the world like a crown of ruin.
Nestled in a hollow of broken stone and tangled refuse, you spot a cluster of leathery eggs—each one about the size of a small melon, pulsing faintly with residual heat. Their smooth surfaces shimmer with pink and ember-orange hues. Four in total, untouched and fragile.
DM Notes:
These are firedrake eggs, each weighing about 20 pounds and worth 200–300 gp apiece to collectors, alchemists, or arcane researchers.
Handle With Care: If dropped, a firedrake egg has a 25% chance of rupturing and becoming inert (or worse—hatching prematurely if exposed to heat or fire magic).
If incubated properly (via magic, alchemical methods, or a draconic caretaker), the eggs hatch in four weeks, potentially allowing for:
An NPC questline (e.g., raising or delivering the hatchlings)
Exotic pet or mount plot hooks
Rare crafting material (scales, blood, and fire glands)
Optional Lore Hook: A character proficient in Arcana or Nature who rolls a DC 15 check recalls that firedrake hatchlings imprint on the first creature they see… though that bond can be dangerous if mishandled.
2.Access Room (Window Entry)
Boxed Text – Read Aloud as a Player Enters the Window:
You hoist yourself through the narrow, soot-smudged window into a pitch-black chamber. The scent of scorched stone and something… earthy fills your nose. Before your eyes can adjust, you hear movement—heavy and fast. Two thick-bodied figures lunge from the shadows, their arms raised and clawed hands slashing through the gloom. Their skin glows faintly, like magma trapped beneath obsidian, and their twisted limbs radiate heat. But the most unsettling feature of all? Their faces—eerily childlike, wide-eyed and blank, as if carved from a wax doll’s dream.
Creature Feature: Lava Children
These guardians are lava children—elemental beings bound to this room by Cabilar’s ancient magic. Their loyalty is enforced by charm spells that have been renewed for decades. They attack the first intruder with lethal aggression, pursuing anyone who flees down the stairs… but they will not follow deeper into the dungeon.
Lava Children Medium Elemental, Neutral AC: 15 (natural armor; see Metal Armor Rules) HP: 44 (8d8 + 8) Speed: 30 ft. STR 16 | DEX 12 | CON 15 | INT 6 | WIS 10 | CHA 6 Saving Throws: CON +4 Damage Immunities: Fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical metal weapons Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhaustion Damage Vulnerabilities: Cold Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages: Understands Ignan but can’t speak Challenge: 3 (700 XP)
Traits
Metal Immunity. Lava children are immune to all damage from nonmagical metal weapons. Magical metal weapons deal +1 damage per +1 bonus, but deal no base weapon damage unless they are wooden, stone, or crystal-based.
Example: A +2 longsword (metal) deals only 2 damage per hit (for the magical bonus). A +1 wooden club, however, deals full damage.
Molten Flesh. Any creature that strikes the lava child with a melee weapon while within 5 feet takes 3 (1d6) fire damage, unless the weapon is magical.
Elemental Binding. The lava children are immune to fire and earth-based magic, but take +1 damage per caster level from cold or water-based spells (e.g., Ray of Frost, Ice Knife, Tidal Wave).
🐾 Tactics & Notes
The lava children strike immediately once a creature enters the room.
They attack with three brutal natural attacks: two claw slashes and one body slam (bludgeoning/fire combo).
Their preferred target is the first creature through the window.
If a character flees, they pursue as far as the staircase but will not descend to Area 3.
Multiattack. The lava child makes three attacks: two with claws and one with slam.
Claw.Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage
Slam.Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage + 3 (1d6) fire damage
Environment Features
The chamber is dark and 5 feet wide, with walls slick from condensation and soot.
A narrow 5-foot-wide stone staircase spirals down in the southwest corner, leading to Area 3.
The lava children will not follow down the stairs but will fight to the brink of destruction to block access.
3.The Painted Room
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Enter:
The air here is still—too still. Dust coats the stone floor, untouched for years, but the walls… the walls pulse with color and story. Faded murals stretch from floor to ceiling, each painted with disturbing clarity despite the passage of time. There are four scenes, each rendered in vivid strokes of enchanted pigment that shimmer faintly in your torchlight.
The first shows a young woman cradling an infant. Radiant, ghostly figures—clearly divine—look down on the child with reverence. Their expressions are warm… almost too perfect, their eyes unsettling in their adoration.
In the second mural, a teenage boy stands in a barren room, arm outstretched. From his fingertips blooms a glow of impossible light. In the background, an old man recoils in shock, his face a mask of disbelief.
The third painting shows a young man, now robed and solemn, leaning on a staff etched with strange, glowing runes. His gaze is fixed on a twisted tower in the distance—this tower, you realize—with darkness creeping at its base like mist.
And in the final scene, a middle-aged man, still clutching the same staff, stands face-to-face with a gaunt, white-haired figure wrapped in a black cloak. At their feet, rats, wolves, and bats slink and snarl in unnatural obedience. The deal is unspoken, but clear: something terrible was traded here.
DM Notes:
The murals depict Cabilar’s own life—an egotistical self-portrait carved into time:
Scene 1: His divine “birth” (self-aggrandizing fantasy).
Scene 2: The casting of his first spell.
Scene 3: The founding of his tower within this very cavern.
Scene 4: His pact with the vampire, cementing his fall into darkness.
The room is otherwise empty—no furniture, items, or exits beyond what the party came through and the stairs leading down.
Characters with Arcana or Religion (DC 12) may recognize that the gods shown in Scene 1 are generic composites, not real deities—supporting the theory that this is vanity, not truth.
If a character casts Detect Magic, the murals faintly radiate illusion magic, suggesting they’ve been magically preserved or enhanced.
4.The Spiral Staircase
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Approach the Staircase:
At the far end of the painted chamber, a narrow stone staircase coils downward like a serpent burrowing into the earth. The steps descend in a tight spiral around a hollow shaft, vanishing into a darkness that seems unnaturally deep.
No torches line the walls. No ambient glow leaks from below. The stone here is cold, smooth, and eerily uniform—making it nearly impossible to tell stair from wall in the pitch black. Even those with darkvision see little more than shapeless grey, with no contrast to judge footing. It’s as though the very air resists light.
DM Notes:
The spiral staircase connects Area 3 to the dungeon below.
The stairwell is completely unlit, and the environment negates the effectiveness of darkvision (there’s no temperature differential or contrast).
Characters without a light source must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to safely descend. Failure results in a fall down several steps, taking 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
Players quickly realize the risk—even those with darkvision feel disoriented after a few steps and instinctively reach for torches, lanterns, or magical light.
🔦 Tip: A character casting light, using a lantern, or even a glowing magical item negates the risk for themselves and others within its radius.
5.The Mimic Step
Boxed Text – Read Aloud as the First Character Reaches the Final Step:
As the spiral staircase narrows and flattens, the lead member of your party places a boot on the final step. There’s a brief moment of silence… then suddenly, the stone ripples beneath them.
A section of the step morphs into a grotesque, stone-colored pseudopod and lashes out with the force of a hammer! What appeared to be carved masonry was no stair at all—it was a monster lying in wait, part of the tower itself!
Creature Feature: Killer Mimic
This isn’t your average mimic—this one has grown fat and mean feeding on careless adventurers. It masquerades as the final stair, perfectly camouflaged, and strikes with brutal surprise.
Killer Mimic (Large Variant) Large Monstrosity (Shapechanger), Neutral AC: 12 (natural armor) HP: 84 (13d10 + 13) Speed: 15 ft. STR 19 | DEX 12 | CON 17 | INT 5 | WIS 13 | CHA 8 Skills: Stealth +5 Damage Immunities: Acid Condition Immunities: Prone Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 11 Languages: Understands Common but can’t speak Challenge: 4 (1,100 XP)
Special Traits
False Appearance. While motionless, the mimic is indistinguishable from the surrounding stonework.
Adhesive. The mimic adheres to anything that touches it. A creature hit by its pseudopod is grappled (escape DC 15) and restrained until the grapple ends. The mimic can have only one creature grappled at a time.
Surprise Attack. If the mimic surprises a creature, it deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage on its first hit.
Roll a d6 to determine surprise:
On a 1–4, the mimic gets 1 attack before initiative is rolled.
On a 5–6, the mimic gets 2 attacks and acts with total surprise.
Environment & Debris
The floor is strewn with cracked bones, dented helmets, snapped swords, and tattered cloaks. None of it is salvageable—broken, rusted, or burnt.
Five skeletal remains can be identified—former treasure hunters who fell victim to the mimic and the lava children a year ago.
There’s no treasure here—only the warning of what lies ahead.
A character who investigates the remains and succeeds on a DC 14 Investigation or Medicine check can determine that the bodies show signs of blunt trauma and acid burns—classic mimic leftovers.
Area Effects & Spell Danger
Spells like fireball or cone of cold will hit both the mimic and any grappled creature.
Spells like lightning bolt that target a line or ray have a 50% chance of hitting the restrained character as well (roll a d6: on a 4–6, they’re caught in the blast).
Creative use of Misty Step, Dimension Door, or Gust of Wind might help a stuck ally escape.
6.Dungeon Entrance
Boxed Text – Read Aloud as the Party Reaches the Bottom of the Staircase:
The staircase winds downward, tightening like a stone serpent before ending abruptly in a cramped chamber barely five feet square. Cold air seeps through the cracks, and the silence is absolute.
Set into the floor is a weathered trap door of heavy stone, its surface veined with age and dust. A thick bronze ring is mounted at its center—green with age but solid in your grip. The trap door is roughly 3 feet by 3 feet and radiates an aura of quiet menace.
DM Notes:
The staircase descends 60 feet from Area 5 to reach this unmarked dungeon entrance chamber.
The trap door requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to lift—unless the characters speak the phrase “Cabilar King” aloud.
If the phrase is spoken, the door swings open silently on unseen hinges as if compelled by forgotten magic.
This phrase may be revealed through Identify, Legend Lore, or clever deduction using lore found in earlier rooms.
If a character casts Detect Magic, the trap door radiates abjuration and transmutation magic.
Below the Trap Door
Boxed Text – Read Aloud After the Door is Opened:
Beneath the door lies a short shaft dropping down 10 feet into darkness. The edges are rough stone, and the air is cooler here—older. You see the outline of a four-way intersection below, faintly illuminated by your light source. The space appears empty… for now.
The drop can be descended safely with rope, slow descent spells (Feather Fall), or by climbing (DC 10 Strength or Dexterity check).
The intersection is part of Dungeon Level I.
If characters look left (west) with a light source, there is a 50% chance they spot faded markings near Area 24.
A successful DC 13 Arcana or History check might identify the magical trap door as similar to those used in ancient fortresses—designed not to keep something out, but to keep something sealed within.
7.Storage Area
Boxed Text – Read Aloud Upon Entry:
The door creaks open to reveal a room stacked floor to ceiling with crates, barrels, jugs, and dusty jars of all shapes and sizes. The air is thick with the scent of old wood, moldy cork, and something sour—perhaps vinegar or spoiled wine. Everything is sealed tight, undisturbed for what might be years. It’s a hoarder’s trove… or a survivor’s stash.
DM Notes:
This room serves as a general supply storage chamber.
Most containers are unmarked or sealed with wax, requiring time and effort to open.
The players must spend several minutes (2–3 exploration turns) prying open lids, breaking wax seals, and examining contents.
Reveal the contents gradually, as they investigate:
On Investigation (Disclose in Stages)
First Turn:
Three large clay jars of vinegar (somewhat pungent).
A wooden crate filled with preserved food, equivalent to 10 weeks of standard rations.
Second Turn:
Two ceramic jugs, each holding one gallon of strong dwarven ale, still surprisingly fresh.
A delicate glass bottle (gallon-sized) half-filled with aged red wine—possibly valuable to a discerning collector.
Third Turn:
A wide, sealed barrel filled with salted horse meat, sufficient to feed a group for five weeks—though its odor and origin may unsettle more civilized characters.
Roleplay Opportunities:
Characters with proficiency in Survival or Cook’s Utensils may identify which foodstuffs are safe or valuable.
The wine may be used to impress an NPC, traded for information, or identified as part of a noble vintage.
8.Ettin’s Lair
Boxed Text – Read Aloud Upon Entry:
The heavy door groans open, revealing a massive, musty chamber—nearly 20 feet tall, 15 feet wide, and stretching nearly 80 feet into shadow. The room bends slightly at the midpoint, veering south for about 10 feet before continuing northeast. The air smells of sweat, smoke, and something far less pleasant.
At the far end, amid piles of cracked wood and splintered barrels, a hulking two-headed giant slouches beside a fire pit. One head snores loudly, chin drooping into its shoulder. The other blinks blearily—until it sees you.
With a thunderous bellow in a guttural tongue, it elbows its other half awake. Both heads turn toward you. Both mouths open in rage. And both hands—each the size of a grown man’s torso—tighten around massive, spiked clubs. The creature roars and charges.
Ettin: Fred & Ned
Ettin (Modified) Huge Giant, Chaotic Evil AC: 13 (natural armor) HP: 93 (11d10 + 33) Speed: 40 ft. STR 21 | DEX 8 | CON 17 | INT 6 | WIS 10 | CHA 8 Saving Throws: Wis +3, Con +6 Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10 Languages: Giant Challenge: 5 (1,800 XP)
Combat Behavior
Fred and Ned are both very dumb—one might forget his own name mid-fight. They fight recklessly, swinging wildly with their massive clubs, but become more dangerous when wounded.
Multiattack. The ettin makes two attacks, one with each club.
Club.Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
“Power One!” (Recharge after Short Rest): When the ettin falls below 30 HP, Ned shouts the command word “Power One!” activating the Ring of Night:
The ring instantly grants +10 temporary hit points and +1 to AC for the rest of combat.
A faint dark aura surrounds the ettin when this happens, and its wounds seem to slow their bleeding. (This feature can be used twice per day, but Fred/Ned only knows how to trigger it once.)
On each of the ettin’s turns, roll a d6. On a 1, Fred and Ned argue, causing the ettin to have disadvantage on its first attack that round.
The Ring of Night (On Right Hand)
If looted, this rare magical ring provides:
+1 bonus to AC
While within the dungeon, the wearer gains +10 temporary HP once per long rest (requires the command word: Power One!)
See the full Ring of Night section for lore and alternate powers.
Hidden Treasure
Behind the stack of wood in the northeast corner lies a small, empty chest, battered and scarred.
Beneath the chest, buried hastily in a shallow pile of sawdust and dirt, lies a cache of 500 gp.
No trap, no lock—Fred simply shoved it there and forgot to latch the chest.
A successful DC 13 Investigation check spots disturbed floorboards and sawdust trails leading to the cache.
9.Perilous Squares
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When the Players Open the Door:
The door creaks open to reveal a vast rectangular chamber, dimly lit and unnervingly quiet. The room stretches roughly 50 feet wide and 110 feet long, with your entrance set into the middle of the south wall. At the far end of the chamber, slightly to the left, stands a heavy iron door—sealed shut.
In the opposite corner, to your right, something gleams faintly in the gloom: a large emerald, as big as a man’s fist, rests atop a smooth gray pedestal. It sits in eerie silence, untouched, unguarded… or so it appears.
Trap Mechanics: The Hidden Grid
The room is rigged with a magical defense grid. The floor is divided into invisible squares, alternating in a checkerboard pattern of safe (gray) and trapped (white) tiles.
These squares are not visible to the characters.
Only the gray tiles are safe. Stepping on a white tile triggers the emerald’s defense.
The emerald fires up to three green magical rays per round. If multiple characters step on white squares in a single round, randomly determine who gets targeted.
Characters examining the room with a DC 16 Investigation check or casting Detect Magic will notice an arcane energy signature flowing from the pedestal into the floor—indicating the presence of an area-based enchantment.
Trap Effect
When a character steps on a trapped square, they must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw.
Failure: Take 2 lightning damage and become paralyzed for 2d4 + 2 rounds.
Success: Take only half damage (1 lightning) and avoid paralysis.
Automatic effect if the character steps on the tile directly beneath the emerald—no save allowed.
Allow clever players to test the floor with poles, tossed objects, or Mage Hand. When a trapped tile is triggered, it glows faintly green for 1 round.
Disabling or Claiming the Emerald
There are three main ways to bypass or disable the trap and claim the emerald (worth 5,000 gp):
Destroy the Gem:
A strong melee or ranged hit (AC 15, HP 5, immune to nonmagical bludgeoning) will shatter the gem, ending the trap but destroying the treasure.
Remove the Gem with Magic:
A spell like Mage Hand, Telekinesis, or Unseen Servant can lift the gem from its pedestal without triggering the trap, provided the caster remains on gray squares or outside the room.
Disarm the Pedestal Mechanism:
A character who succeeds on a DC 17 Arcana or Sleight of Hand check at the pedestal can disable the arcane mechanism (if they can get to it without triggering the trap first).
DM Tips
Let players puzzle it out through trial and error, deduction, or spell use.
Keep track of movement per round—only three rays can fire per round.
This is an ideal encounter to reward creativity, magical thinking, or cautious exploration.
10.The Secret Room
Boxed Text – Read Aloud Upon Entry:
A concealed door creaks open to reveal a hidden vault glittering with opulence—or so it seems. Five large iron-banded chests dominate the room, their lids flung open, gold coins spilling over the edges like a dragon’s hoard. Atop one of the chests sits a small black cat, its eyes gleaming with unnatural intelligence. It rises slowly to its feet, tail twitching… watching.
Rising from the center of the largest chest is a sword with a jeweled hilt and rune-etched sheath. The runes shimmer faintly, but you cannot read them at first glance.
Creature Feature: The Guardian Familiar
The black cat is no ordinary feline—it is a guardian familiar, a magical protector from another plane. It appears harmless until the treasure is disturbed.
It does not attack unless provoked or if the treasure is touched.
If killed, the familiar is reborn stronger, escalating its challenge and danger.
🐾 Guardian Familiar Tiny Aberration, Chaotic Evil AC: 12 (natural armor) HP: 5 (1d6 + 2) Speed: 40 ft. *STR 4 | DEX 16 | CON 12 | INT 6 | WIS 14 | CHA 7 Saves: DEX +5 Skills: Stealth +6, Perception +4 Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities: Poison Condition Immunities: Charmed, Poisoned Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14 Languages: Understands Common but cannot speak Challenge: Starts at 1/4, increases with rebirths
Rebirth Mechanic (Modernized from Table)
Each time the guardian is slain, it rebirths itself at the beginning of the next round in a new form—larger, stronger, and faster, based on the number of deaths:
At each rebirth:
It reappears within 10 ft. of its death site
It regains full hit points
Its magic resistance increases to advantage on saving throws against spells
The players should realize quickly: this fight escalates the longer it goes on.
The “Treasure” — A Time-Wasting Trap
Despite appearances, the treasure is a trick:
Each chest contains only 100 gp on the top layer.
Beneath the gold: 13,000 copper pieces, filthy rags, and rotten straw.
The sword is nonmagical, and the runes on the sheath? Total gibberish.
Insight Check DC 14: Characters may sense the room feels “off”—too staged.
DM Notes:
This encounter is not just a trap—it’s a psychological bait-and-switch meant to drain resources and lull greedy players into a false sense of success.
A clever party that chooses not to touch anything can avoid the fight altogether.
For dramatic effect, play up the guardian’s smug attitude—maybe it smirks, hisses, or taunts with its gaze.
11.Practice Room
Boxed Text – Read Aloud Upon Entry:
You step into an octagonal chamber roughly 60 feet across. The air carries the acrid tang of burnt stone, and the southern wall is scorched black with jagged blast marks—some still faintly glowing as if the stone remembers pain.
Etched in charcoal across the walls are several crude, humanoid silhouettes. They’re just outlines—no detail, no features—yet there’s something unsettling about them. Their posture suggests agony, like shadows frozen in their final moments.
Though the room is quiet now, the oppressive stillness carries the echo of past violence… and practiced cruelty.
DM Notes:
This chamber once served as Cabilar’s magical training room, where he honed his destructive spells.
The scorch marks and charcoal outlines are remnants of those practices—targets blasted over and over by fire, lightning, and force.
A successful DC 12 Arcana check reveals faint residual magic in the room, mostly evocation.
A DC 15 Investigation check reveals one of the outlines is partially burned into the stone rather than drawn—possibly a real person or creature used as a live test subject.
12.Missed Again!
Boxed Text – Read Aloud Upon Entry:
You step into a small stone chamber with doors on opposite ends. As your door creaks open, the door across the room swings open simultaneously with uncanny timing.
From beyond it, you hear the pounding of footsteps—hurried, desperate. A voice shouts something indistinct, as if someone is running toward you… then the door slams shut with a thunderous bang before anyone appears.
Moments later, the sounds come from behind you. The door you entered through opens on its own, and more phantom footsteps echo down the hall. Again—no one appears.
DM Notes:
This room is enchanted with a permanent programmed illusion—crafted by Cabilar as both a distraction and a cruel prank.
The illusion triggers whenever either door is opened. It creates the auditory and visual impression that:
The opposite door opens,
Someone rushes toward it,
And the door slams shut just before anyone is seen.
The effect loops endlessly as long as characters interact with the doors.
Disbelieving the Illusion
Characters who become suspicious may attempt to disbelieve the illusion:
Allow a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Insight) check to notice inconsistencies (e.g., dust not disturbed, no visible figures).
On success, allow a DC 13 Intelligence saving throw to disbelieve the illusion.
If the character can see clearly that no one is present (e.g., door opens while the character watches the other side), they get advantage on the save.
Once disbelieved, the character can convince others over the course of 1d4 rounds, unless they too disbelieve.
Roleplay Twist If You Hate Your Players
If only one character enters the room alone and doesn’t question the illusion, they may find themselves caught in an absurd loop—forever chasing echoes and shadows.
Optional Fun: Let this room be a humorous break or a mind-bending frustration depending on the tone of your game session.
13–15.The Abandoned Gardens
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Entering Any of the Garden Rooms:
You push open the door to find a strange, earthy scent lingering in the air—sweet rot mixed with stale humidity. The chamber is lined with tiered stone beds, rising in short shelves along each wall. Once, they teemed with carefully cultivated herbs, fruits, and magical vegetation… now, only withered stalks, blackened leaves, and patches of dry soil remain.
A soft, unnatural glow emanates from the ceiling—the result of a long-forgotten continual light spell, still casting life into a garden long dead. Dust motes drift lazily through the air, and the silence is thick enough to taste.
DM Notes:
These three adjacent rooms once formed Cabilar’s private food supply, magically enhanced to grow exotic plants underground.
The continual light casts bright, steady illumination, creating an eerie sense of artificial sunlight in an otherwise lifeless place.
A DC 12 Nature or Arcana check reveals that these were likely alchemically modified plants, grown rapidly with spells like plant growth, goodberry, or create food and water.
16.The Beaded Curtain
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Approach:
A shimmering curtain of dark crystal beads hangs across the passageway like a veil of starlight. The beads clink softly with the faintest breeze, though no wind stirs here. As your light plays across them, each bead briefly flashes with color—then fades to black.
There’s something deeply unnatural about it. A faint pressure tingles in the air, like your weapons and magic don’t quite belong on this side.
DM Notes
This is not a normal curtain—it’s a permanent magical barrier designed by Cabilar to restrict magical weapons.
🔻 Suppression Effect:
When a magic weapon (e.g., swords, daggers, maces, bows) passes through the curtain:
It loses all magical properties (e.g., +1, +2, special damage, etc.).
The effect is instant and unmistakable—the weapon goes dull, its glow fades, or its aura visibly flickers out.
Wands, staves, and rods are not affected.
This suppression persists until one of the following is done:
The weapon passes back through the same curtain in the opposite direction.
The weapon passes through the curtain at Area 37.
A Dispel Magic spell is cast on the weapon (must beat a DC 26 spell check—as if dispelling 16th-level magic).
Weapons found on the second dungeon level (below) are not affected by either curtain and retain full magical power.
Curtain Properties
The curtain cannot be cut, burned, moved, or physically removed.
It occupies the full width and height of the doorway—there is no way around it.
Magic such as Dimension Door, Misty Step, or Teleport may bypass the curtain entirely if the caster avoids touching it.
Player Clues & Lore
A DC 15 Arcana check reveals that this is anti-enchantment fieldwork, highly advanced and difficult to maintain.
A successful Detect Magic will reveal strong abjuration magic woven through every bead.
17.The Study
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Enter:
A heavy scent of mildew, scorched parchment, and aged candle wax lingers in this dark, cluttered chamber. A large desk sits beneath the northern wall, its surface buried under a chaotic scatter of papers, books, and dried ink. Torn scrolls spill onto the floor like fallen leaves, and dust-laden tomes are stacked haphazardly beside stained glass bottles.
The remaining walls are lined with wooden benches, each crowded with flasks, vials, and alchemical elixirs, their contents swirling in hues from dull ochre to sickly green. Five wax-streaked candlesticks stand nearby, and overhead, rusted chains dangle from the ceiling, swaying gently—once used to hang lanterns, perhaps… or something else.
DM Notes
Alchemical Mixtures
There are over a dozen flasks of unlabeled liquid on the benches.
Any character who tastes a random flask must roll a d100:
1–10: The flask is poisonous. Make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw.
On failure: The character is poisoned, incapacitated, and takes 4d6 poison damage over 5 rounds.
On success: The character gags, takes half damage, and suffers disadvantage on checks involving smell or taste for 1 hour.
11–100: The liquid is either bitter, sour, caustic, or flat-out foul-tasting, offering no benefit and possibly mild discomfort (RP only).
A DC 14 Arcana or Medicine check allows a character to identify a flask as harmful or inert without tasting it.
Spell Scrolls and Research Materials
A character who spends 2 uninterrupted hours carefully sorting through the desk and books can recover:
A scroll of Cloudkill (5th-level)
A scroll of Bestow Curse
A scroll of Remove Curse
A magic-user or character with Arcana proficiency can tell at a glance that many of the tomes may be valuable, though it would take more time (and possibly help) to fully catalog them.
The entire collection could be worth 250–500 gp to a collector, wizard’s guild, or university.
18.The Webbed Library
Boxed Text – Read Aloud Upon Entry:
A thick silence chokes the room as you push open the door. The scent of musty parchment and ancient dust hits you immediately—followed by the unmistakable tang of decay. Every wall is lined with sagging wooden shelves, stacked high with brittle tomes… and blanketed in webs so dense they droop like curtains.
In the northwest corner, a massive nest of tangled silk forms a pulsing, sticky mound, shrouding something slumped and long-dead beneath its veil. Thousands of tiny spiders skitter across every surface—industrious, harmless, and utterly unbothered by your intrusion.
Swarm Mechanics
The spiders here are not giant or monstrous, but they are legion. They don’t bite in masses large enough to warrant Swarm of Spiders stats, but instead act as a narrative hazard with the following mechanical impact:
If a character touches the massive webbing, skeleton, or accidentally brushes a shelf:
They are instantly swarmed by hundreds of harmless but horrifying spiders.
Vision is obscured, causing disadvantage on Perception and attack rolls for 1 minute or until they spend one full round (6 seconds) shaking off the swarm.
Each round, there is a 50% chance the character takes 1 piercing damage (no save or AC considered—these are dozens of tiny, unnoticed bites).
A Prestidigitation, Gust, or Create Bonfire spell clears the spiders in an instant. Burning Hands is overkill—but also very effective (and destructive to the books).
The Skeleton
Beneath the webbed mass in the northwest corner lies the skeletal remains of a long-dead magic-user, still clutching a rotted leather satchel and wearing decaying robes.
Items found:
A rusty dagger (nonmagical)
A moldy spellbook (spells illegible or destroyed)
A note stitched into the lining of the robes: “He must reclaim the crown… before the vampire awakens.”
This was once an ally of the prince—he entered the tower in secret and perished from exhaustion and starvation, unable to complete the quest.
The Books
Despite the webs, the library’s shelves are a treasure trove of arcane knowledge.
There are 96 rare tomes here.
Each tome is worth 100 gp on the open market to scholars, wizards, or guilds—9,600 gp in total.
However, collecting them requires:
Time: 1–2 hours of careful gathering.
Care: A DC 14 Dexterity check per batch (or Mage Hand / Unseen Servant) to avoid triggering additional spider swarms.
19.Cabilar’s Private Quarters
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When the Room Is Entered:
The heavy door creaks open—only after cracking a complex seal of arcane runes. Beyond lies a sparse but eerily preserved bedroom. A single cot rests in a southern alcove, the mattress sunken and the sheets faded with age. At the room’s center sits a simple wooden table, paired with a lone chair. Upon the table lies a leather-bound book, closed, its cover untouched by dust.
A small chest of drawers lines the northern wall, drawers askew as if hastily searched—or perhaps baited to be.
Entry Challenge:
The door is both locked and sealed with a magical ward:
Lock: DC 17 with Sleight of Hand
Arcane Lock: DC 26 to dispel
Spells like Knock or Dispel Magic must beat a DC 26 spellcasting check to bypass the seal.
The Trap – The Book with Explosive Runes
This leather-bound tome is a decoy designed to punish the greedy and curious:
Upon opening the book:
The opener is struck by explosive runes that detonate violently.
Damage: The opener takes 6d6 force damage, no save.
All other creatures within 10 feet must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage; half damage on success.
The book is consumed by flames, leaving only ash.
A Detect Magic spell reveals evocation magic. A DC 18 Arcana check confirms the presence of Explosive Runes.
Hidden Key:
Fastened with soft glue to the underside of the table is a rusty iron key—a duplicate of the one found in Area 22.
It unlocks the door in Area 25.
Chest of Drawers:
The drawers appear empty at first glance, but with a proper search, the following are found:
Two nonmagical daggers.
A leather pouch holding 20 platinum pieces.
A faded blue cloak—appears fine and well-made.
✨ The Cloak of Deception (Cursed Item):
When worn, it manifests an illusory floating blue shield in front of the wearer.
The wearer feels emboldened, believing the gods are protecting them.
However, the cloak is cursed:
It bestows no AC bonus.
In combat, it imposes a −1 penalty to all saving throws and reduces AC by 1.
The illusion cannot be pierced unless the curse is identified or removed.
Value: 1,000 gp (to a collector or cursed item enthusiast), no XP reward.
20.The Heating Room
Boxed Text – Read Aloud Upon Entry:
The door creaks open to reveal a room shaped like a slanted parallelogram, its air strangely warm and tinged with the scent of old soot. A faint breeze drifts through a series of thin vents high in the ceiling, rustling the thick layers of gray ash scattered across the floor. In places, the ash has gathered into low mounds nearly a foot deep.
The stone walls are darkened with long, blackened scorch marks—evidence of intense heat and flames that once danced here. Now, only silence and the soft whisper of air remain.
DM Notes
The room once served as Cabilar’s heat regulation chamber, used to warm the tower or draw out smoke and excess heat via 1-foot-wide ventilation shafts that lead far upward to the roof cavern.
These vent shafts are not climbable for Medium creatures and barely for Small creatures with magic or wild shape (e.g., gaseous form, shapechange, or spider climb with Tiny form).
There is no current heat source active, but the air retains a slight magical warmth from residual enchantments.
21.Utopia
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Enter:
You step into what feels like a dream made real. The chamber is drenched in colorful murals, each wall depicting scenes from the life of a triumphant archmage—vanquished monsters, celestial councils, conjured towers, and adoring crowds.
Ten smooth white marble pillars rise in elegant symmetry, and beneath each one, a paper rosebush blooms in perfect stillness. A glittering fountain bubbles softly in the southwestern corner, its waters feeding a serene pool. Reclining chairs—plush and inviting—are scattered about the chamber. Above, the ceiling glistens like the night sky, forged from black obsidian and studded with flakes of mica that shimmer like stars.
DM Notes
Cabilar designed this as his personal sanctuary—a magically sedative chamber laced with enchantments that dull the will and invite eternal rest.
🌫️ Enchanted Mist (Fountain Trap):
The fountain’s mist carries a magical soporific effect. Each creature entering the room must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed for 24 hours.
While charmed, the creature is unwilling to leave the room, seeks to relax in a chair or near the pool, and resists any attempt to remove them.
Attempts to forcibly drag the creature from the room cause them to mildly struggle or cling to nearby objects, though they take no aggressive action.
Victims remain passive but nonfunctional for 2–8 hours (roll 2d4), unless removed.
Creatures immune to being charmed are unaffected. Cabilar, being the caster, was naturally immune to his own enchantment.
Detecting the Enchantment:
Detect Magic reveals enchantment and illusion auras concentrated around the fountain and ceiling.
A DC 18 Arcana check identifies the mist as a custom enchantment resembling calm emotions crossed with geas.
Loot and Lore
The obsidian ceiling is a magical illusion; dispelling it reveals ordinary stone, but it can be preserved as a magical ceiling tile (300 gp) with the right tools.
The murals include a small hidden glyph of the vampire—foreshadowing the final encounter (DC 15 Perception to notice).
The rosebushes, while artificial, are each crafted from alchemical paper—fragile but beautiful. Each can sell for 50 gp, though most will crumble if touched without care (DC 14 Sleight of Hand).
22.The Bathing Room
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Enter:
A wave of humid warmth spills out as you open the door. The chamber within is shrouded in thick, rolling steam, making it difficult to gauge its exact size. The air smells faintly of lavender and something arcane.
Toward the southern end of the room, the floor gently slopes downward into a shallow bathing pool of warm, crystal-clear water. Through the mist, you spot something gold glinting faintly at the bottom of the pool—resting motionless beneath the rippling surface.
DM Notes
Environment:
Visibility is limited to 10 feet due to the magical steam.
The water is comfortably warm, yet there is no visible source of heat—a lingering enchantment from Cabilar’s time.
The pool is 3 feet deep at its deepest point, shallow enough to wade but wide enough to accommodate several people.
Hidden Treasure:
The glint of gold is a small bronze key (despite the color) lying at the bottom of the bath.
The key unlocks the sealed chamber in Area 25 (alternate to the one in Area 19).
Retrieving the key requires a character to enter the water, but the key is otherwise unguarded.
If you’d like to add tension, you may introduce an optional encounter (e.g., a water weird, a cursed mirror effect in the mist, or a heat-triggered trap).
Investigation Opportunities:
DC 12 Perception check reveals magical symbols etched subtly around the pool’s edge—evocation and abjuration runes meant to maintain water temperature and magical hygiene.
Detect Magic reveals a soft conjuration aura emanating from the pool.
23.Heading Down
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Reach the Bottom of the Staircase:
The spiral staircase winds down through the cold stone like a drill into the earth, its steps slick with condensation. After about 30 feet of descent, the passage opens into a 20-foot-square chamber. The walls are damp and streaked with mineral stains. At the far end stands a decaying oaken door set into the northern wall—its surface cracked and warped with age. The wood looks rotten, as if it might fall apart under a stiff breeze… but something about it still feels guarded.
DM Notes
Darkness Hazard:
Characters descending without a light source face the same penalties as in Area 4:
Without darkvision or a light source, a character must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or slip on the slick steps, falling and taking 1d6 bludgeoning damage and ending prone at the bottom.
Even those with darkvision have disadvantage on Perception checks due to the uniform cold of the stone masking features.
The Door
The oaken door is:
Rotten but still standing.
Can be kicked in with a DC 12 Strength check or higher.
If inspected carefully, a DC 14 Investigation check reveals an old trap mechanism inside the knob.
The trap is a hidden spring-loaded pin, once laced with poison, now long inert. However, the spring mechanism still functions.
Trap Details:
If a character opens the door by the knob without checking for traps:
The pin springs out, dealing 1d4 piercing damage.
There is no poison left—just a sharp jab from an ancient trap.
Characters using Thieves’ Tools may disable the trap with a DC 13 Sleight of Hand.
24.Cryptic Message (Placed at DM’s Discretion)
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Examine the Wall:
Smeared across the stone wall in faded red chalk are words written in a shaky, desperate hand—still legible despite the passage of time. In Common, it reads:
“To those who come after me: The ring is the final key. I have seen it in my visions and confirmed it through my spells… but I lack the strength to go back. May you fare better than I. I go now to meet my fate in Cabilar’s chambers, below.”
DM Notes
The writing was scrawled by a long-dead wizard whose remains lie in Area 18 – The Library, now entwined in webs and surrounded by spiders.
The “final key” refers to the Ring of Night, still worn by the ettin in Area 8.
A DC 12 Arcana check will confirm that the author likely used divination magic to reach this conclusion.
Detect Magic may reveal faint lingering traces of abjuration on the wall from the author’s magical protections.
25.The Closed Portal
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When Players Discover the Door:
You find yourself before a massive door of solid stone—cold to the touch, unyielding. Set into the very center of the slab is a curious symbol: a lightning bolt slashing through a C, all encased within a shallow one-inch-wide circle. The stone around it is pristine and seamless, giving no hint of hinges, cracks, or handles.
DM Notes
This is a magically sealed portal, a legacy of Cabilar’s paranoid enchantments. It cannot be opened by mundane means or most standard spells.
The Lock:
The indentation is not ornamental—it is a magical keyhole.
Inserting either of the two golden keys found in:
Area 19 (beneath the table), or
Area 22 (at the bottom of the bath)
…causes the door to shimmer briefly and then swing open silently, as though the stone simply chooses to move.
Magical Protections:
The door is immune to:
Knock
Dispel Magic
Teleportation effects targeting beyond it.
Only Wish can override the enchantment if the proper key is not used.
The keys are interchangeable, but both may be needed later in the dungeon, depending on your module adaptation.
26.Ordinary Hallway (From 23)
Boxed Text – Read Aloud When the Players Open the Portal:
The heavy stone door slides aside, revealing a long, quiet hallway that stretches 30 feet in both directions. The corridor runs parallel to the chamber you just exited, the stone floor coated in a thin layer of dust. Directly across the 10-foot-wide passage is a narrow door set into the opposite wall. Two more doors rest at each end of the hallway, standing closed in eerie silence.
DM Notes
This hallway may appear ordinary—but one of the doors hides a familiar hazard.
Door Details:
North and South Doors (ends of the hallway):
Unlocked.
Completely safe.
Door Directly Across from Area 25:
Trapped with a spring-loaded spear trap.
Trigger: Opening the door without checking for traps.
Trap – Spear Mechanism:
Trigger Type: Pressure latch inside the doorknob.
Trap Save DC: 13 Dexterity saving throw.
Failure: Target takes 1d8 piercing damage.
Success: Half damage (minimum 1).
Trap Detection: DC 14 Investigation check.
Trap Disarming: DC 13 Thieves’ Tools (Dexterity).
Behind the trapped door is nothing—just the mechanical spear system mounted into a wall recess. It was never meant to guard anything—just mislead and injure the curious.
27.Early Warning
Boxed Text – Read Aloud as the Door Opens:
As the stone door creaks open, a piercing shriek erupts from just inside the room. The source is a large, pale fungus clinging to the corner near the entrance—its cap pulsing rhythmically as the sound echoes down the halls like an alarm bell. Whatever lies ahead has surely been alerted to your presence.
DM Notes
The Shrieker
Creature Type: Plant
AC: 11 | HP: 19 (3d8)
Speed: 0 ft.
Challenge: 1/8
Actions:
Shriek(Triggered): When bright light or movement occurs within 30 feet, the shrieker emits a loud alarm for 1d4 rounds.
All creatures within 100 feet can hear it.
Creatures in Areas 29–31 are now alert and prepared for combat.
Damage/Combat: Shrieker does not attack. It is a stationary alert system.
Weakness: Fire, slashing, radiant.
Strategic Effects
Unless destroyed immediately, the shrieker alerts all occupants in nearby rooms. Once the shriek is triggered:
Creatures in Area 29 will notify Area 32.
Area 31 should be read before players enter (it may be guarded or locked down).
Consider granting surprised enemies advantage on initiative and hiding behind readied cover.
Secret Passage
Along the northern wall, a DC 15 Investigation check reveals a loose stone.
Pressing the stone triggers a rotation, revealing a secret door leading northward into the next chamber.
The shrieker isn’t just a trap—it’s a tone-setter. Its cry turns stealth into a sprint and tension into strategy.
28.The Back Door
Boxed Text – Read When Players Enter the Room:
You step into a dim 20-by-30-foot chamber. A heavy wooden door stands shut along the northern wall. When tested, it resists firmly—it’s locked.
DM Notes
Spotting the Trap
If a rogue or other perceptive character is scouting the hallway from Area 27, have them make a:
DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check if actively searching, or
DC 16 passive Perception if casually observing.
Success reveals a thin tripwire strung near ankle height across the entrance to Area 28. If spotted, it can be easily disarmed with a DC 12 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check.
Blade Trap (If Triggered)
If the tripwire is not spotted:
The first character who enters (or the leftmost in a group) is targeted.
A rusty, curved blade swings up from the left wall, aiming low.
The target must make:
DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 slashing damage (half on success).
Then make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw vs. infection from the rusty blade.
On a failed save, the character contracts a rotting wound (tetanus-like disease).
Unless cured within 1d12 days, they die—unless the legs are amputated or Lesser Restoration/Cure Disease is cast.
Symptoms include: fatigue, lockjaw, muscle cramps, and violent spasms.
The purpose of this challenge is to introduce tension and urgency with disease mechanics.
The Locked Door
The northern door is locked.
It can be picked with a DC 15 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check or opened with a key found elsewhere in the dungeon.
29.Snipers!
Boxed Text – Read Aloud as the Party Opens the Door:
The door swings open to reveal a long stone chamber, 50 feet deep and 20 feet wide. Another door sits directly opposite you, but what immediately catches your attention are the nine narrow slits carved into the west wall—perfectly spaced, and all ominously quiet… until arrows begin to fly.
DM Notes
Encounter Setup
Behind the arrow slits are 9 Orc Archers, each positioned with full coverage of the room.
These are specially trained snipers using shortbows and maintaining tight discipline.
Combat Details
Each orc fires 1 arrow per round (2 if using Multiattack, these orcs do not have this by default).
Because of their positioning:
They benefit from three-quarters cover (AC +5, Dex saves +5).
Characters have disadvantage on ranged attacks against them unless using magic or siege tools.
The arrow slits are too small to enter through, and not adjacent to the door.
Trap-Like Pressure
The locked door opposite cannot be opened without fully entering the room.
Any character inside is subject to the following until they exit or solve the situation:
Dexterity saving throw DC 13 per round or take 1d8+1 piercing damage from arrow fire.
Cover (crates, spells, illusions) can mitigate this.
Casting Fog Cloud, Wall of Force, or Darkness can break line of sight.
The Exit Door
Locked with an iron bolt.
Requires a DC 15 Dexterity check to open while under fire.
If a player hides or suppresses fire (e.g., a shield wall or smoke), allow the check without disadvantage.
Head’s up! In our playthrough we discovered that this could go south very quickly for the players if they are not clever enough or can’t handle pressure. Give the players a chance to spot the arrow slits before opening the door with a DC 15 Perception check. If successful, they might devise a clever plan before triggering the ambush.
30.Orcs’ Lair
Boxed Text – Read Aloud as the Players Enter:
You breach the door into a long, dimly lit chamber. It smells of sweat, leather, and stale oil. Along the walls, orcs sit behind makeshift barriers—sharpening blades, stringing bows, and snarling in readiness. One of them barks a guttural warning. The fight is already upon you.
DM Notes
Orc Defenders (9 total)
Use Orc stat blocks from the Monster Manual (MM, p. 246), but apply the following unique armor/loadout for flavor and scaling to a 5th-level party:
Orc
HP
AC
Armor & Notes
1
15
18
Plate Mail +1
2
13
16
Chain Mail, Ring of Protection +1
3
11
17
Chain Mail, Shield +1
4
10
16
Chain Mail, Shield
5
10
16
Chain Mail
6
12
15
Ring Mail, Shield
7
11
14
Leather Armor, Cloak of Protection +2
8
10
15
Ring Mail, Shield
9
8
13
Studded Leather
All orcs are Lawful Evil and act as a disciplined unit under vampire influence. They have darkvision and speak both Orc and Common. They are also very well equipped.
Combat Tactics
Each orc is equipped with a scimitar (1d6+3 slashing) and a shortbow (1d6+3 piercing), with 36 arrows.
If the party enters from Area 29, all orcs have full cover behind reinforced barriers (+5 AC). While using bows, they cannot benefit from shield AC.
The shrieker in Area 27 alerts them well in advance—they are never surprised.
Player Strategy Considerations
If PCs charge the arrow slits, apply this sequence:
1–9 arrows fired per round depending on visible targets.
Cover rules apply if PCs go prone (heavily obscured = ¾ cover or better).
A Sleight of Hand (DC 15) or a spellcaster can use Knock to open the far door. This takes 1 full round with no cover.
Environment
This room is reinforced for defense—wooden crates, overturned tables, and mounted barriers line the western wall.
Light sources are sparse, but orcs rely on darkvision.
31. Beware of Dogs
As your hand reaches for the door, a low, rumbling growl creeps through the crack like a warning. A second later, a chorus of deep snarls joins it—predatory and primal, just beyond the threshold.
Should the party proceed to open the door:
You push open the door, and the sound of claws scrabbling across stone erupts from within. Two massive, gray-furred dire wolves crouch just ten feet ahead, muscles taut, yellow eyes locked onto you. Saliva strings from their fangs as they prepare to lunge.
Beyond them, barely visible in the gloom, a third wolf stalks in the shadows, lips curled back in a vicious snarl. The room reeks of musk, blood, and old fur.
These three dire wolves are vicious and well-fed guardians, kept by the orcs as living security. They are trained to respond aggressively to intruders and have been taught to hold their ground until a target moves within pouncing range.
Pack Tactics. The dire wolf has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the wolf’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Keen Hearing and Smell. The dire wolf has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
These beasts fight to the death, trained not to retreat. If the party attempts animal handling or charm spells, increase the DC due to the wolves’ aggression and deep conditioning. Should the party defeat them, they may find claw marks all over the walls—clear signs that the wolves have been kept locked in this room for far too long
32.Defended Bridge
Read Aloud:
As the door swings shut behind you, a javelin slams into the wood with a loud thunk, inches from your head. Ahead, a vast chamber stretches nearly 90 feet long, bisected by a yawning chasm. Suspended above the darkness is a swaying rope bridge, its frayed ropes creaking with tension.
At the far end of the bridge, two brutish orcs in spiked armor grip rusted swords, growling and bracing for your approach. Behind them, hidden behind makeshift wooden barricades, several more orcs man crude siege weapons—ballistae fashioned from scrap metal and gnarly wood. As another bolt whistles overhead, it’s clear: this crossing will be anything but safe.
Tactical Overview
This is a deadly kill zone, constructed to repel invaders. The orcs are not reckless—they’re disciplined, cruel, and patient.
The rope bridge is 260 feet above a chasm. Any creature that falls takes 20d6 bludgeoning damage.
The bridge is narrow (5 feet wide), sways constantly, and requires a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to cross at full speed, or DC 5 if moving at half speed.
Orc 1 is protected by a permanent protection from magic effect within a 1-foot radius (functions as an antimagic field vs. spells targeting him directly; aura-style effects still work).
The orcs behind the barricades fire modified ballistas (see below).
If either orc defending the bridge is killed, the surviving one uses its next action to cut the bridge ropes, sending the entire structure plummeting.
Creatures
2 Orc Swordbearers (Bridge Guards)
HP: 30 each
AC: 16 (chain shirt, shield)
Weapons: Rusty longswords (+5 to hit, 1d8+3 slashing)
Tactics: Fight to the death, then collapse the bridge if needed.
3 Orc Ballista Crew (6 total)
HP: 15 each
AC: 13 (leather armor)
Weapons: Spear (melee if needed), but manning siege weapons.
Ballistae (3)
Mounted behind cover, AC 15, HP 50 each.
Requires 2 orcs per weapon.
Attack (every 2 rounds): +4 to hit, range 120/480 ft., 2d10 piercing damage.
Treat player characters as AC 10 while exposed.
Each ballista bolt has a 10% chance to knock a character prone (DC 13 Strength save to resist).
Environmental Features
Thick smoke and fumes rise from the chasm below. Cloudkill and similar spells will dissipate before reaching this chamber unless cast from within it.
The bridge is flammable, but requires 3 rounds of continuous fire to ignite (can be set ablaze with flaming arrows or spells like fire bolt or produce flame).
Tactical Options
A clever party may attempt:
Invisibility, silence, or distraction magic.
Flying or teleportation spells to bypass the bridge.
Drawing out the defenders with illusions.
Firing ranged weapons at ballista crews while under cover.
33. Corridor of Darkness
As the door creaks open, an unnatural black mist begins to spill into the hall, coiling like a living shadow. Cold, scentless, and impossibly dense, it swallows the torchlight whole. You glimpse a corridor veiled in black smoke, the walls vanishing barely a foot in.
The corridor is filled with magically sustained darkness (as per the magical darkness spell, but not dispellable by mundane wind or fire). The effect mimics both magical darkness and a psychic haze. No light source or darkvision pierces this veil, and those entering feel their senses dulled—sight, sound, even emotion muted as though behind thick glass. Infravision is useless.
Movement & Exploration:
Characters entering the smoke lose sight of one another and suffer the following while within:
Perception checks relying on sight or hearing are made at disadvantage.
Movement speed is halved due to the oppressive atmosphere.
Players cannot estimate passage length or detect turns until encountered.
You may describe movement using approximate distance only. Once inside, guide the party narratively through the haze until they encounter the following:
Point A – The Pit Trap
Trigger: The lead character shouts in alarm as the floor disappears beneath them. Mechanics: A concealed pit opens, 6 ft deep. The character falls, taking 2d6 bludgeoning damage. If the party weighs more than 100lbs. total, a pressure plate activates, sliding a solid plank over the pit and trapping the victim.
Escape: DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check to lift the slab, or DC 15 Arcana check with Knock or Misty Step.
Magic like Levitate or Dimension Door also work. Teleport is risky unless the caster is familiar with the hallway.
Point B – The Troll in the Dark
Trigger: The lead character bumps into a bark-like surface. A wet, rasping breath follows. The creature exhales—and then attacks.
Resistances: Fire & acid suppress regeneration for 1 round
Abilities:
Regeneration: Regains 10 HP at the start of its turn unless it took fire or acid damage.
Darkened Awareness: Troll is unaffected by magical darkness; suffers no penalties.
Savage Grapple: On a hit, it may attempt a grapple as a bonus action.
Actions:
Multiattack: 2 Claws (1d8+5) and 1 Bite (1d10+5)
Rage of the Abyss (1/day): Advantage on all attacks until the end of its next turn.
Treasure:
Beyond the troll lies a scattered pile of loot:
4,352 sp, 1,247 gp, 131 pp
+1 Two-Handed Sword (glows near regenerating creatures)
Amulet of Life Protection(Grants advantage on death saves; once per long rest, prevents being reduced to 0 HP and stabilizes at 1 HP.)
Gathering all this in the dark takes 6 turns; otherwise, 20–80% may be left behind unknowingly.
34. Elevator Room
As the last character steps inside, the heavy stone doors seal shut behind them with a grinding thud, and an unsettling silence follows.
Moments later, the entire room lurches—stone and all—beginning a slow, steady descent. The air grows still. There are no visible mechanisms, but a faint vibration hums beneath your boots. The walls tremble as the chamber shifts.
Only a character proficient in Mason’s Tools or a dwarf with Stonecunning can detect the subtle signs: the platform is moving—not by magic, but by an ancient, ingenious dwarven mechanism.
Mechanics: After the doors shut, the room takes 3 rounds to reach a new level (up or down). During this time, no doors can be opened—not physically, magically, or otherwise. Even knock or dispel magic will fail; the chamber is in flux between dimensions of solid stone and open air.
On Arrival: Once the elevator arrives, the doors that formerly led into dungeon corridors now open into solid rock—or back into navigable rooms, depending on the floor.
The elevator connects Dungeon Level II with Dungeon Level III, a vertical drop of 200 feet.
36. Vacancy
This barren chamber echoes with tension. Only three mobile mantlets—large, wheeled wooden shields—are scattered across the stone floor. These crude defenses bear the scars of past battles: chipped wood, embedded arrows, and smeared blood.
Should any orcs from Room 32 survive and flee, they regroup here for a final defense. Taking positions behind the mantlets, they fire arrows until their quivers run dry. Once they’ve loosed their last shaft, they won’t recklessly charge into death—they’re not mindless brutes. These orcs fight with cunning, leveraging the mantlets for cover, peppering the party with bolts, and relying on hit-and-run tactics.
If one orc can slip away unnoticed, it will attempt to circle around the battlefield for a flank or backstab. The orcs may not be heroes—but they know how to harass and frustrate invading adventurers.
Tactical Notes:
Orcs here use the Dodge action if pinned down.
Mantlets provide three-quarters cover giving advatage vs. ranged attacks and spells.
The orcs flee if reduced to half their number unless cornered.
The mantlets can be pushed 10 feet per round with a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check.
37. Beaded Curtain, Jr.
As you approach the southern exit, a curtain of shimmering, multicolored beads sways gently in the still air. They clack softly with a strangely melodic chime, despite the absence of any breeze. There’s something unsettling about them—each bead etched with tiny, unknowable runes that flicker faintly as you draw near.
This arcane curtain siphons the enchantment from any magic weapon that passes southward through it. The weapon’s magical properties are suppressed, rendering it mundane until it passes back through to the north, where the enchantment is fully restored. No amount of force, fire, or magic can destroy or bypass this barrier. Even dispel magic and antimagic field fail to neutralize its effect—it is part of the dungeon’s fabric.
Clarifications:
Weapons affected become nonmagical (lose bonus to hit and damage, and any magical properties).
Suppression is not a curse and cannot be removed by remove curse.
Magic weapons found on this level or beyond are unaffected and retain their properties when crossing.
DM Tip: Give players hints—a weapon losing its glow, runes dimming, or a sense of weightlessness in the blade—as their enchanted items cross the threshold. It adds mystery, and gives observant players a chance to piece together what’s happening.
38. Rotating Wall
You step into a narrow chamber, where one of the stone walls stands out—a slightly discolored surface with a faint groove tracing a perfect circle around it. Dust has been cleared away in an arc, as though something massive has moved through here recently.
There are no obvious hinges or handles, but a perceptive adventurer might notice faint scuff marks on the floor. A gentle push reveals that the wall gives slightly, as if balanced on an unseen pivot.
Mechanics:
This is a rotating wall mechanism. When aligned north–south, it allows passage to Room 39.
Pushing the wall requires a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. Only one attempt may be made per round per character.
Once moved, the wall rotates 90 degrees on its own, aligning east–west to grant access to Room 40, then locks into place again.
The wall can be rotated further by repeating the Strength check, cycling access between connected rooms.
A successful DC 13 Investigation check reveals worn floor grooves and scratch marks on the ceiling, suggesting the wall’s function and movement direction.
Tactical Note: The wall’s movement is noiseless but can trap or separate party members if timing isn’t coordinated. If multiple creatures try to pass through as it rotates, use contested Dexterity checks to see who gets through before the passage seals again.
39. Chimera, Little Closer
As you push open the heavy stone door, the air ahead grows hot—too hot. A low rumble echoes through the chamber, followed by a sudden roar of flame.
A sheet of fire erupts across the threshold, searing the first adventurer to step inside. Through the smoke and smoke-scorched haze, you see the monstrous form: a grotesque, three-headed beast—a lion’s fury, a goat’s mad bleat, and a dragon’s burning wrath. Its leathery wings beat furiously, kicking up embers from the scorched floor.
The chimera has been waiting for intruders. And now, it’s hungry.
Chimera
Type: Large Monstrosity (chaotic evil)
AC: 14 (natural armor)
HP: 114 (12d10 + 48)
Speed: 30 ft., fly 60 ft.
STR 19, DEX 11, CON 19, INT 3, WIS 14, CHA 10
Saving Throws: Dex +3, Con +6
Skills: Perception +6
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages: Understands Draconic but can’t speak
Multiattack: The chimera makes three attacks: one with its bite (dragon head), one with its horns (goat head), and one with its claws (lion body).
Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6): The dragon head exhales fire in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 31 (7d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
Tactics: The chimera always opens with fire breath, targeting the first creature through the door. It will remain in this room, fighting to the death, roaring with all three heads in a terrifying chorus.
Treasure Hoard (scattered around the lair):
7,127 silver pieces
1,232 electrum pieces
250 platinum pieces
A dwarf-sized suit of Field Plate Armor (AC 18, non-magical, pristine condition)
2 rubies (1,500 gp each)
A jeweled tiara (3,600 gp)
Dagger +1, +2 against goblins(glows faintly when near goblinoids)
40. Wraithland
As the rotating wall grinds to a halt, it reveals an oddly shaped, hidden chamber shrouded in an oppressive cold. In the northern corner of the room, a shimmering humanoid figure floats inches above the floor. Its form flickers like smoke in moonlight, and its hollow, glowing red eyes lock onto you with malevolent hunger.
With a shriek that echoes through the stone, the wraith lunges forward—its spectral claws outstretched, reaching for your soul.
Encounter Wraith:
AC 13 (natural armor)
HP 67 (9d8 + 27)
Speed 0 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)
Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Incorporeal Movement. The wraith can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain.
Life Drain.Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (4d8 + 3) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by the amount taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.
Treasure: Hidden in a dusty stone chest in the northern alcove are:
8,048 cp, 1,983 sp
A wizard’s scroll containing Move Earth, See Invisibility, Darkvision, and Jump
A Potion of Superior Healing
A +1 Mace, engraved with the crest of a forgotten order
Note: The wraith cannot leave its lair, bound by the curse of the chamber itself. It fights until destroyed or driven off with radiant magic or divine power.
41. Shadow Play
The stone door groans as it opens, revealing a dimly lit chamber measuring roughly 25 by 20 feet. Dust hangs in the still air like a breath held too long. A small wooden chest, sealed and unassuming, rests against the northern wall, half-bathed in shadow.
Something feels… wrong.
If any characters enter the room and approach the chest, read:
As your fingers brush the lid of the chest, the air chills. Shadows thicken unnaturally, coalescing into six twisted, wraith-like figures that slither silently from the corners of the room. They move to block your escape, their hollow eyes glowing with malevolence.
Encounter: Six Shadows, drawn to the lifeforce of the living, silently attack. They target any character within reach and attempt to cut off escape routes.
HP: 16 each
AC: 12
Attack:Strength Drain — +4 to hit, 2d6 necrotic damage. Target’s Strength is reduced by 1d4 on a failed DC 10 Constitution saving throw. Reduction lasts until a short or long rest. If a creature’s Strength drops to 0, it dies.
Traits:
Shadow Stealth: In dim light or darkness, the shadow can take the Hide action as a bonus action.
Amorphous: It can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing.
Sunlight Weakness: Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks in sunlight.
Undead Fortitude: Immune to poison, exhaustion, charm, prone, and more.
They are nearly invisible in dim light or darkness unless magical light is used.
Treasure: The chest is a decoy, containing only musty rags. However, a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals a hidden compartment beneath the false bottom. Inside:
4 flasks of oil
A small leather sack containing 54 pp
A Potion of Diminution(reduces size for 1d4 hours.)
42. Spike Trap
As you round the corner, the floor subtly shifts beneath your lead adventurer. A soft click is the only warning before thunk-thunk-thunk!—a rapid barrage of iron spikes launches from concealed slots in the western wall, screaming down the corridor like death on wings.
Trigger: Pressure plate in the corner.
Mechanics: Each creature in a 5 ft. wide, 30 ft. line originating from the wall must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, they take 4d6 piercing damage. On a success, they take half damage. Once triggered, the trap resets only by magical means or manual repair with a successful DC 20 Dexterity (Tinker’s Tools) check.
Hidden Mechanism: The pressure plate can be found with a DC 15 Investigation (Int) or Perception (Wis) check. Disarming it requires a DC 15 Dexterity check using Thieves’ Tools.
Narrative Effect: Immediately after the spikes fire, the party hears a grinding of stone—the wall at the end of the hall slides upward, revealing a hidden passage beyond.
43. Secret Door
At the northern end of the corridor, an intricately carved wall panel bears the faint impression of a crest—now barely visible due to dust and age. This is no ordinary wall.
Accessing the Door:
Speaking the phrase “Long live Cabilar” causes the wall to shudder and slide open magically.
Casting knock will also open the door instantly.
If the spike trap in Area 42 has been triggered, the door opens automatically with a grinding rumble, revealing a shadowed passage leading deeper into the dungeon.
Once open, the door remains that way for 1 minute before sealing again unless held open by magical or physical means.
44. Master of the House
The secret door grinds open, revealing the southeast corner of a grand, eerily silent chamber — 50 feet wide and 75 feet long. Lining the western and northern walls are ten ornate, upright coffins. Opposite you, seated upon an open casket like a king on a throne, is a gaunt, cold-eyed man. His pale, angular face is disturbingly familiar — identical to the devilish figure from a mural you saw earlier. He regards you with a faint, unsettling smile, as if he’s been waiting.
The moment you take in the sight, a cold rush of air fills the chamber. The coffins rattle. Then — with a sharp clatter of bones and iron — ten skeletal warriors spring forth, shields and rusting blades in hand, eyes glowing faintly with undeath.
Encounter Begins
10 Skeleton Warriors leap from the coffins and divide into two flanking groups. Treat them as Skeletons with increased hit points (between 3–8 each) and wearing shields and splint armor. Four of the strongest rush toward the collapsed northeast corner — a yawning lava pit crackling with ominous heat. The others attack on sight.
Skeleton (CR 1/4 50 XP each up to 10)
Medium Undead, Lawful Evil
Armor Class 13 (armor scraps and natural agility) Hit Points 13 (2d8 + 4) Speed 30 ft.STR 10 (+0) | DEX 14 (+2) | CON 15 (+2)
INT 6 (–2) | WIS 8 (–1) | CHA 5 (–3)
Saving Throws
Damage Vulnerabilities: bludgeoning
Damage Resistances: piercing
Damage Immunities: poison
Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned
Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
Languages: understands languages it knew in life but can’t speak
Actions
Shortsword.Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Shortbow.Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Twist: Each time a skeleton is destroyed, a magical copy (same stats) reanimates from one of the upright coffins, seemingly fueled by dark energy. These duplicates keep coming until the vampire is dealt with or the coffins are destroyed.
Yattel-Ettes, Vampire Lord
Medium undead (shapechanger), lawful evil
Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 180 (customized; standard vampire has 144) Speed 30 ft.
STR 18 (+4) | DEX 18 (+4) | CON 18 (+4)
INT 17 (+3) | WIS 15 (+2) | CHA 18 (+4)
Saving Throws Dex +8, Wis +6, Cha +8 Skills Perception +6, Stealth +9 Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities radiant (homebrew) Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16 Languages Common, Infernal Challenge 13 (10,000 XP)
Legendary Resistance (2/Day)
If Yattel-Ettes fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Regeneration
Yattel-Ettes regains 10 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in sunlight or running water. If he takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn’t function at the start of his next turn.
Shapechanger
As an action, Yattel-Ettes can polymorph into a Tiny bat or back into his vampire form. While in bat form, he can’t speak or cast spells. His AC becomes 15, he gains a flying speed of 30 ft., and he can’t use weapons.
Misty Step (3/Day)
Yattel-Ettes can innately cast misty step as a bonus action.
Charm (1/day per creature)
One humanoid Yattel-Ettes can see within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed. The charmed target regards Yattel-Ettes as a trusted ally and is under his control until he harms the target or the charm is broken. The effect lasts for 24 hours or until dispel magic, remove curse, or greater restoration is used.
Actions
Multiattack. Yattel-Ettes makes two melee attacks.
Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, the vampire can grapple the target (escape DC 18).
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, grappled target, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. Target’s HP max is reduced by necrotic damage taken.
Short Sword +2. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) +2 magic bonus = 10 (1d6 + 7) piercing damage.
Legendary Actions (3/Day)
Yattel-Ettes can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn.
Move. Yattel-Ettes moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Unarmed Strike. Yattel-Ettes makes one unarmed strike.
Misty Escape (Costs 2 Actions). When reduced to 0 HP, Yattel-Ettes can turn into mist and retreat to his coffin instead of dying (see below).
Mist Escape (Vampiric Survival Mechanism)
If reduced to 0 hit points outside his resting place, he transforms into a cloud of mist instead of dying, provided he isn’t in sunlight or running water. He then returns to his coffin and reforms after 1 hour. If his coffin is destroyed or he cannot reach it, he dies permanently.
Roleplaying Yattel-Ettes
Yattel-Ettes is cold, cunning, and aristocratic. He prefers theatrics and charm to raw violence, only striking when assured of advantage. He delights in psychological warfare — turning allies against one another, offering bargains, and stalling for time while his minions whittle the party down.
Pit Trap & Lava Path
A permanent illusion hides the lava pit before Yattel-Ettes’ coffin. Any character charging the vampire must succeed a DC 15 Dexterity (Perception) check to notice the edge. If not, they fall 30 feet into lava, taking 6d10 fire damage, and begin burning (1d10 fire per turn unless extinguished).
The pit’s floor slowly opens 4 rounds after combat begins, revealing a deeper lava trench 60 feet across. A massive drop-off gapes open. Nothing lies across it — until a certain item is sacrificed.
The Lava Trap & Yattel-Ettes’ Ambush
As the battle with the skeletons intensifies, the floor beneath Yattel-Ettes’ coffin shudders, then begins to slide open. Beneath it: a 30-foot-deep pit, filled with bubbling lava, its heat warping the air above. The motion is slow at first—subtle enough to be missed—but it grows more ominous with each passing moment.
If the players remain on the platform, they have four rounds before the floor fully parts, threatening to plunge them into the magma below. Any creature falling in instantly dies, no save. The illusion masking this danger fades the moment someone plummets into the pit.
Dexterity Saving Throws:
Characters within 5 to 10 feet of the fall must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or also stumble forward, sliding in.
Anyone beyond 10 feet automatically halts just in time.
But Yattel-Ettes has prepared for this.
With a sneer, he transforms into a bat (no action required due to his Shapechanger trait) and flits across the pit to the far ledge. The vampire then reforms in a puff of dark mist—his eyes glowing crimson in the dim light—and launches a sudden attack from behind.
If engaged directly, he tries to charm a magic-user in the party (DC 17 Wisdom save) or uses his Misty Step (3/day) to teleport into a vulnerable position. His preferred target is any female arcane caster, whom he views not just as a combatant, but as a potential eternal companion.
Should combat turn against him, Yattel-Ettes will:
Use Gaseous Form to retreat into his coffin to regenerate.
Engage in taunting banter, laced with veiled threats and seductive offers.
Attempt to divide the party, letting his skeletons screen him while he targets the weak or isolated.
Despite his charm and smug demeanor, Yattel-Ettes is a tactical mastermind. He has no intention of dying today—and if forced to flee, he will.
Ending the Cycle
To destroy Yattel-Ettes permanently, he must be forced into his coffin and the coffin dropped into the lava pit. Doing so ends the resurrection of skeletons — their magic tied to his cursed immortality. Only then can the party truly stop the horror haunting this tower.
The Ring’s Purpose
If a player casts the Ring of Night into the lava, a magical bridge of light begins to form. In dramatic fashion, glowing beams crisscross into a lattice of energy, bridging the chasm. After two rounds, the bridge solidifies — safe to cross. Attempting to cross prematurely results in falling into the lava.
Yattel-Ettes will not cross the bridge — either from fear or magical limitation — but his skeletal minions will.
Treasure Hoard (in a concealed chest)
2,000 pp, 15 gems (300 gp each)
Ring of Temporal Stasis (cursed; see DMG or homebrew)
Ring of One Wish(expendable single wish spell)
12 jeweled rings (non-magical, 150 gp each)
Two-Handed Sword +2
Two Javelins of Lightning
Arrow of Slaying
Scroll of 4 random 5th-level spells (Wizard)
Scroll with 1 random 7th-level Illusionist spell
Ring of Temporal Stasis
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)
This blackened platinum ring hums faintly with stillness. The air around it feels unnaturally calm, as if time itself refuses to stir.
While wearing this ring, you may activate it as a reaction or bonus action to enter a state of suspended animation.
Activation: You may choose to enter stasis willingly, or it may activate automatically upon reaching 0 hit points (DM’s discretion). When stasis begins, your body becomes encased in a shimmering crystal shell and you are effectively frozen in time.
Effects of Stasis:
You are unconscious, cannot be moved, damaged, targeted, or perceived except by true seeing or wish.
You do not age, do not require food, air, or water, and are immune to all effects.
Your body cannot be destroyed by normal means while in stasis.
Spells and abilities have no effect on you except for dispel magic, wish, or a remove stasis ritual (homebrew or DM ruling).
Ending the Stasis: The stasis ends if:
A creature uses wish, dispel magic (DC 20), or another form of powerful time magic (DM’s discretion).
The ring is removed or destroyed (requires a DC 25 Arcana check and a specific ritual).
A pre-set trigger determined at attunement is fulfilled (e.g., “awaken after 100 years,” “when the kingdom falls,” “if touched by sunlight”).
Lore
Crafted by an archmage obsessed with immortality, the Ring of Temporal Stasis is the ultimate escape hatch for those wishing to avoid death, capture, or the consequences of time. Many who have used it became forgotten relics of a previous age—perfectly preserved, but utterly lost.
45. Crowning Glory
As the heavy door creaks open, a hush seems to fall over your group. The chamber beyond is a perfect 10-foot square, but it glows with a light all its own — a reflection of the treasures piled high in chests, scattered across the floor in velvet pouches and gleaming canvas sacks.
In the very center of the room, atop a silken pillow of deepest crimson resting on a black stone pedestal, sits a jadeite crown unlike any you’ve seen. Its surface catches the light like liquid emerald, its translucent facets almost seeming to pulse with an inner life. This is no ordinary treasure — it is the Crown of the Young Prince, lost for generations. Anyone with proficiency in History or Jeweler’s Tools recognizes it as an artifact of ancient royalty, worth no less than 25,000 gp. But be warned: within a 350-mile radius of Stoutwall, attempting to sell this relic carries a 90% chance of recognition — and royal authorities will not take kindly to thieves or tomb raiders.
Unlike the traps and illusions that haunt much of this dungeon, the crown is unguarded. It may be taken freely without magical repercussion. But the other treasures in the room? That’s another story.
The Curse of Greed: The first character to touch any of the other treasure must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be petrified — turned instantly to stone, their hand still grasping their prize. If they succeed, they feel a strange tingling, but suffer no ill effect. The trap does not trigger again.
💰 Treasure Hoard:
503 platinum pieces
1,132 gold pieces
1,233 electrum pieces
3,565 silver pieces
11,346 copper pieces
Emerald necklace (1,200 gp)
Mace of Disruption(DMG, p. 179) (Ideal for clerics or paladins hunting undead)
Chain Mail +4(very rare magic armor)
Stone of Weight(Cursed item, DMG p. 205 – halves the wearer’s speed while carried)
Potion of Heroism(Grants 10 temp HP + bless effect for 1 hour, no concentration)
Wand of Fire(15 charges, DMG p. 210)
Bag of Devouring(Cursed item, DMG p. 153 – not actually a bag of holding!)
This room marks a final moment of triumph — or potential hubris — for those who have dared the depths of Cabilar’s legacy. Will your players reach for glory? Or will their greed be their undoing?
The Ring of Night
Forged in shadow and bound with ancient lies, the Ring of Night is a sinister artifact crafted by the archmage Cabilar as both a key and a trap. Its dull gray band is cool to the touch, etched with batlike wings that curl around a faintly glowing red gemstone. Along the inner rim, barely visible even with a keen eye, an inscription in arcane script reads: “Defend, deceive, destroy.” (Requires comprehend languages or a successful DC 15 Arcana check to decipher.)
The ring adjusts magically to fit any hand, whether halfling or giant, and radiates strong abjuration and illusion magic. Cabilar entrusted the ring to a magically compelled ettin named Fred/Ned, believing the brute too dimwitted to misuse its power — or to understand its deeper purpose. In truth, the ring serves one ultimate function: to lure intruders to their doom.
Base Item Type: Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
While attuned, the wearer gains a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws (as per a Ring of Protection).
The ring cannot be removed without a remove curse spell or equivalent effect once attuned.
Tiered Powers (Based on Dungeon Depth)
Level I (Surface Level)
Grants darkvision out to 60 feet.
Allows the wearer to cast disguise self once per long rest.
Level II
Gains all Level I abilities.
Allows the wearer to cast mirror image once per long rest.
The wearer is under a constant non-detection effect.
Level III (Near Room 45)
The ring begins to glow red-hot and vibrate faintly.
The bat’s head animates, whispering in Common to the wearer:
“If you would save the crown, my life and yours are forfeit. Carry me into the fires in the earth if you would aid Stoutwall.”
This is a lie. Throwing the ring into the lava alone activates the light-bridge that spans the molten pit in Room 44 — no sacrifice required. The ring’s voice is merely a failsafe enchantment, another of Cabilar’s traps, meant to manipulate noble hearts into self-destruction.
Final Fate
Once the ring is hurled into the lava:
It melts in a flash of crimson light.
Arcing beams of light form a bridge of illumination across the molten chasm.
A hidden doorway at the far side reveals itself, completing the path to the Crown of Stoutwall.
Lore & Value
Outside the dungeon, the Ring of Night is little more than a cursed relic — a Ring of Protection +1 in function and market value. Yet to the wise, it is a symbol of Cabilar’s arrogance and cunning — a deadly whisper wrapped in steel.
Concluding the Quest
With the Crown of Stoutwall in your hands and the horrors of Cabilar’s dungeon behind you, the journey feels far from over. As you emerge from the gloom of the ancient tower, blinking into the daylight (or moonlight), a wind of change seems to blow across the land.
Word travels fast — faster than your weary boots can carry you. Whispers of your triumph reach the godmother, who greets you with pride, relief, and gold. She bestows upon each of you a generous share of 30,000 gold pieces and, more importantly, her eternal gratitude. The prince will wear his rightful crown once more, but the price paid in blood, fire, and shadow may linger far longer in memory than in coin.
Yet even as the story closes… the dungeon below stirs.
The Tower of Cabilar, though emptied of its current evils, remains a place of immense arcane power — a fortress of dark history and ancient secrets. Should you choose, it could be claimed and reforged into your base of operations: a bastion carved from madness itself. But doing so means more than decorating empty halls. The surrounding valley, caverns, and forgotten ruins will need to be cleared, mapped, and defended. Rumors speak of other forces watching — some coveting the tower’s return, others fearing it.
And what of Cabilar himself?
The ancient wizard who built this place — whose name still echoes in murals and in the breath of undead horrors — may not be gone forever. If he learns that his sanctum has been disturbed, defiled, or claimed… he may return. And he will not return alone.
Should he rise again, the tale may become legend — or your final chapter.
The quest is done, but the adventure… has only just begun.
Thank You for Playing! From the depths of shadowed halls to the fiery glow of the crown chamber, we hope The Dark Tower of Cabilar brought your table laughter, suspense, and unforgettable moments.
Thank you for daring to descend into the darkness with us. May your dice roll high, your courage never falter, and your stories echo beyond the dungeon walls.
See you at the next adventure!
This adventure module is an original fan-made conversion inspired by Dungeon Magazine #1 and designed for use with the 5th Edition rules of the world’s greatest roleplaying game.
This work is published under the terms of the [Open Gaming License v1.0a]. Dungeons & Dragons and associated trademarks are property of Wizards of the Coast. This document is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Wizards of the Coast.
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