This week’s Wandering Monsters lead us below the fantasy classic of the inn. Last week, we paid a visit to an inn hiding dark secrets. Today, we continue our exploration of the peculiar place, traveling through the trapdoor in the storage room to the nefarious complex down below. Here we find the hideout of the strange inhabitants. These denizens are up to no good, but are the PCs up to the task of clearing out the complex below?
As always, many thanks to the Pyromancers dungeon painter tool for helping me create this week’s map.
BENEATH THE MYSTERIOUS INN
The stairs lead down to chambers with a stone floor. The strangely vacant halls are eerily quiet.
Click on the maps for full-size versions.
A large complex beneath the inn serves as the main headquarters or meeting point for the inhabitants making use of the inn above. This group’s intentions and motivations vary wildly depending on the group. Each group has a large number of members, each one of which is entirely loyal to the cause. None of the low-ranking members will give up any secrets about their group. It is assumed that the group only meets after the inn has closed for the night. During the day, the complex is attended to by 2d6 low-ranking members, cleaning and preparing the chambers for the night.
Complex Features
The walls are made of wood, each about 1 foot thick. The ceiling rises to 10 feet here. The rooms are all lit with torches. At any given time, any number of members are found roaming the halls of the complex. There is a 15% chance at any time that members are traveling between rooms. In total, there are low-ranking members. These members are either acolytesNPC (adept 1) or recruitsNPC (warrior 1).
1. Main Chamber
The largest chamber of the complex serves as the main meeting room for the group within the complex. All members attend these weekly meetings where the group discusses goings on, future plans, and performs any rites or rituals. Approximately one quarter of the active members are found here at all times.
2. Dormitories
The large dormitories hold a number of beds each with a footlocker. Searching the footlockers provides up to 2d20 gp worth of coins and other valuables. Approximately half of the members are in these chambers at all times. Each member has a 50% chance to be asleep.
3. Storage
Excess supplies are stored here. These can range from food, to weapons, to magical components, depending on the nature of the complex’s inhabitants.
4. Study
The room’s leader is usually found in this large study. The leader meets nightly with the officers to discuss furthering the goals of the group. The books in the study hold tomes on the local area as well as subjects relevant to the group. The tomes are worth 800 gp in total. Additionally, the area’s treasure is found in the chest here.
5. Mess Hall
A quarter of the group’s members are dining here. The food is cooked upstairs in the inn and delivered every four hours by one of the assistants.
6. Cells
Four cells hold the group’s prisoners. Prisoners are usually held up to a week before they are sold or sacrificed. A warden tends to these cells at all hours of the day.
7. Sewers
The complex connects to the local sewers here. The sewers are used for smuggling goods and people in and out of the complex. They also serve as an escape route for the group if the complex is compromised.
ENCOUNTERS
The following encounters can take place here.
| Encounter | Challenge Rating | Creatures | Treasure |
| Thieves’ Guild | CR 4 | Axe WarriorNPC, CharlatanNPC, 2 Novice ScoutsNPC, | 11 pp, 36 gp, 450 sp, jewels and gems worth 1,250 gp in value |
| Secret Society | CR 6 | Court PoetNPC, 2 Skulking BrutesNPC, Vigilant BodyguardNPC | 26 gp, circlet of persuasion, small figurine of wondrous power (silver raven) |
| Diabolist Cell | CR 8 | Adventuring BlacksmithNPC, Vivisectionist ClericNPC, 2 War PriestsNPC | 115 gp, +1 cruelUE sickle, wand of stabilize (16 charges) |
This week’s Encounter Table makes use of the NPC Codex.
Thieves’ Guild (CR 4)
Beneath the Cantor’s Ballad hides the headquarters of the local branch of the thieves’ guild. The leader of this branch is the charlatan, a man who has made a living by conning the citizens of small towns such as this one. His two lieutenants, the novice scouts, are up-and-comers sent over by a different guild leader to learn under the tutelage of the charlatan. The three are found in the study, poring over maps of the area to determine the next big hit for the guild. The axe warrior guards the prisoners dutifully as he knows selling them into slavery is worth a lot of money for his guild. He never leaves the cells unless asked to by the guild leader.
When the PCs locate the guild leader, he immediately puts his wit and charm to work, offering the PCs a chance to join the guild. He attempts to win them over long enough to get the jump on them. If the group seems capable, he may place a genuine offer. Otherwise, he signals to his lieutenants to circle around the group before trying to escape. He does his best to flee towards the sewers, passing the warden on his way out. The warden immediately flies into a rage upon learning of intruders and wildly attacks, attempting to destroy any evidence around him
Secret Society (CR 6)
The secret society meets beneath the Watcher’s Lamp. The enigmatic leader, the court poet, leads the group in hopes of eventually gaining enough power and sway to become the new mayor of her village. She employs the skulking brutes as her right-hand men. The two are always at her side, rebuffing any unwanted attention from the lesser members of the society. There is a 50% chance that the trio is either in the main chamber, leading the latest congregation, or in the study meticulously planning which local’s life to ruin next. The vigilant bodyguard watches over the undesirables in the cells, but always attends the society’s meetings.
When attacked, the court poet sics her brutes as well as all available society members on the PCs, hoping to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. If caught in the study, the leader tries her best to alert the complex and gather as many allies as she can before making her final stand in the main chambers. The warden does his best to protect the leader, never leaving her side once the alarm is raised.
Diabolist Cell (CR 8)
Dark rituals are a nightly requirement for the diabolist cult beneath the Dancing Devil. The leader of the cult, the vivisectionist cleric, is obsessed with the workings of the body and the soul. She uses the nightly sacrifice to watch the slow, agonizing deaths of her victims. She believes that with enough study, she can determine the exact moment that the soul leaves the body and use the knowledge to capture more souls. Her two trusted lieutenants, the war priests, always guard the doors to the main chambers during these rituals. The adventuring blacksmith serving as warden watches the cells from the sewer access room.
If the PCs attempt to interrupt the ritual, the war priests step in to block their access, warning their master of the intruders. The cleric watches the battle intently from afar, hoping to learn more from the pending violence. Once she attacked directly or after a combatant is reduced to fewer than half his hit points, she joins in the battle with a crazed passion. She savors every bit of damage dealt and drop of blood spilled. Once an attack starts, the warden guards the sewer exit, hoping to prevent anyone from escaping the complex.
That’s it for this week! Please let me know if you would like see some more large facilities, such as prisons or keeps. If you use the complex beneath the mysterious inn in your game, let me know! If you have any request for a future Wandering Monsters, please drop me a line at KnowDirection@hotmail.com.
