Loomslag Peak Border Crossing (a.k.a. The Fortress of the Three Pigs)

Loomslag Peak Border Crossing (a.k.a. The Fortress of the Three Pigs)

The Loomslag Peak Border Crossing straddles the mountain pass separating the Core of the Grimmlands from the Kingdom of Wonderland and is the only place that the border between the two countries can be crossed.  Attempts to climb or use magic to fly over the mountains cause the peaks to rise in relation to the observer, i.e., the higher one goes, the taller the mountains appear to be.

 Originally intended as a location where the Three Pigs would be safe from the Big Bad Wolf, the mountain pass was chosen to limit the available routes the Wolf could use to approach the Pigs undetected.  As the two countries grew in wealth, they sought to trade with each other and representatives from both sides of the mountains negotiated with the Three Pigs to use their fortress as a customs and tariffs office.  Gnomes flocked to the fortress and, using their technical expertise, installed numerous traps and defenses, offices, living quarters, and workshops. The gnomes have all been subjected to Geas spells that prevent them from disclosing any information about the fortress or its defenses.  Additionally, all of them are handsomely paid and well-treated by their employers.

The Pigs were pleased with the arrangement and agreed in exchange for a percentage of the generated revenue going into their own coffers.  Much of this influx of wealth was funneled into improving the traps and physical defenses of their home while the remaining income has placed them among the wealthiest of the Grimmlands' inhabitants.

Caravan traffic is charged a tariff based on the total weight of cargo transported through the mountain while individuals pay a fee determined by the value of the personal goods they are carrying.  Gnome appraisers, who use Identify spells to accurately assess the value of magical items, ensure that the maximum prices can be collected from travelers.  Those who cannot afford to pay, or who choose not to pay, are allowed to navigate the trap-filled fortress, which is then modified as needed to make the crossing more difficult for the next group, thus heightening the security of the Pigs' stronghold.

 Unless otherwise noted, ceilings are 10', doors are made of iron, and all interior areas are unlighted.

Level One

 

1. Scale: The scale is located outside of the fortress on the road approaching the caravan tunnel.  It consists of a large steel plate, 10' wide and 20' long attached to four 15' tall posts via chains. The chains are connected to heavy counterweights just below the surface of the ground. Wagons drive onto the plate, causing it to sink and pulling on the chains.  The chains' links are colored-coded in 100 pound increments, allowing the gnomes to quickly reference the weight of the cargo and assess the tariff to be charged (with special fees added for high-value items like gems, jewelry, and spices).

 

2. Toll Booth: Wagon drivers and caravan masters pay their tariffs here.  Individual travelers are escorted through this room into an inspection area beyond where their possessions are appraised.  A log book listing the names of the caravan drivers, the company they are employed by, and the amount of their tariff is kept here.  There is also a large chest containing the collected fees against the west wall of the office.  This chest is emptied nightly.

 

3. Inspection Room: Three tables run east-to-west in the 10' x 20' room.  Gnome appraisers greet travelers and ask them to fill out customs form (stating destination, point of origin, purpose of visit and so on) before assessing the value of personal items carried.  Each gnome is an arcane spellcaster who uses a combination of Detect Magic and Identify spells to accurately determine the cost of every item being transported.  Once this process is completed, the appraiser assigns a fee equal to 10% of the total value of the items.  The traveler can then pay at the toll booth, or, if the cost is more than one is willing to pay, attempt to pass through the fortress complex.  The gnomes wish the travelers the best of luck and ask them to stop in the inspection room at the far end of the complex to fill complete a survey regarding their experience in the dungeon.

 

There is a pair of double doors in the west wall of the room that leads into the dungeon complex.  Two slate boards hang on the door.  The first reads “Safety First: ___ Days Without an Employee Injury”.  The second reads “___ Days Without a Traveler Fatality”.

 

4. Tunnel Gate: These barriers block entry to the caravan tunnel and the elevator shaft that leads through the mountain.  The doors are made of fitted stone and sheathed in iron plate.  Each door weighs in excess of two tons.  A coded bell pull on the outside of the tunnel signals the guards inside to open the gate.  These guards, two Brick Golems, then lift the bar that seals the doors from the inside and allow wagons to enter.

 

                Masonry Door Sheathed in Iron Plate: 2” iron plate, 8” stone, 2” iron plate: Hardness 10/8/10; Hp: 60/120/60; Iron Bar (DC30 to break bar); Each half of the double door weighs approximately 9,500 lbs but are so well balanced on nested hinges that they can easily be opened by the gnomes once the iron bar is removed.

 

                Brick Golem

CR: 7    Medium Sized Construct    HD: 10d10 plus 20     Hp: 70
Initiative: -1     Spd: 30 (can't run)     AC: 25 (-1 Dex, +16 natural); t: 9, ff: 25
Attacks: (BAB +7; Grap +13); +13 2 slams: 1d4+6 (20/x2)
SQ: Construct traits, Darkvision 60'; DR 5/magic or bludgeoning; Duplication; Low-Light Vision; Resist Cold/Electrical/Fire 15;  Limnomorphosis,
Align: N     Saves: Fort +3     Ref +2     Will +3

Str: 22 (+6)    Dex: 9 (-1)    Con: - -     Int: - -    Wis: 11 (+0)    Cha: 1 (-5)

Skills: - -

Feats: - -

Brick Golems resemble stone golems on the outside and clay golems inside. The exterior rocky crust varies in color with mottled grays and reds being most common. Lacking the magical immunities of their larger cousins, the brick golems make up for their weaknesses with much greater versatility and ever increasing numbers.

• Construct Traits (Ex): Immune to mind influencing effects, poisons, diseases, and similar effects. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage.

• Duplication (Su): Any attack which does not destroy a brick golem, but which does at least 5 points of damage, causes a new brick golem to be created. The new brick golem has as many hit points as its injured parent's current total, or as many as the attack that created it, whichever is less.
• Limnomorphosis (Su): The brick golem can shift its shape and permanently harden itself into that chosen form. Once this ability is used the golem cannot shift back and becomes normal stone. Each individual brick golem can create a portion of a stone wall five foot square and one inch thick, or any other similar sized shape.  Multiple brick golems use this ability to create massive stoneworks, bridges, castles etc. They will also use this ability to surround and entomb in solid stone those opponents they cannot defeat in battle.  A Passwall spell cast in an area created by hardened brick golems will free whatever golems are in the area of effect from their locked shape. Once freed the golems are stunned for 2d4 rounds before they are able to act normally.

 

5. Tunnel: The tunnel's curved ceiling rises 15' overhead. Torches with Continual Flame have been placed in sconces every 50' to provide light while passing through the mountain.  The tunnel extends 450' from the first gate to the elevator that raises wagons to the third level of the fortress.  Two more Brick Golems wait at the door in front of the elevator at the far end of the tunnel.

 

6. Elevator: This platform is located at the western end of the caravan tunnel.  It raises wagon traffic from the Grimmlands' side of the mountain range to a trail that emerges on the Wonderland side.  It rises 110' at the rate of 10' per minute.

 

7. Main Passageway: Once a traveler chooses to attempt a dungeon crossing, the gnomes wish him luck and open the double doors at the east end of the complex.  They give one last chance to reconsider before closing and barring the door behind him. 

 

The passageway extends west 100' toward a flight of stairs.  The hall is 15' wide with ten 5'-deep niches evenly spaced on alternating sides.  Each niche holds a Scarecrow that attacks anyone who does not provide the appropriate password.

 

                Scarecrow

CR: 4     Medium Construct     HD: 5d10 plus 20     Hp: 47

Init: +0     Spd: 20'     AC: 16 (+6 natural); t: 16, ff: 10

Attacks: (BAB +4; Grap +7); +7 2 Claws: 1d8+3 plus Fear (19-20/x2)

SA: Fascinating Gaze; Fear

SQ: Construct Traits; Freeze

Align: N     Saves: Fort +2     Ref +2     Will: +2

Str: 16 (+3)     Dex: 10 (+0)     Con: - -     Int: - -     Wis: 11 (+0)     Cha: 14 (+2)

Skills: - -

Feats: - -

 

• Fascinating Gaze (Su): Target is fascinated, 30 feet, Will DC 14 negates. Fascination lasts as long as the scarecrow remains within 300 feet of the fascinated creature. The approach or animation of the scarecrow does not count as an obvious threat to the victim of this particular fascination effect (although the scarecrow’s attack does count as an obvious threat and ends the fascination immediately). This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

• Fear (Su): A scarecrow’s touch infuses its target with overwhelming waves of fear. If the victim fails a DC 14 Will save, she cowers and can take no actions other than attempting a new DC 14 Will save at the end of the following round (and each round thereafter) to end this fear. A successful first save leaves the victim shaken for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

• Freeze (Ex): The creature can hold itself so still it appears to be an inanimate object of the appropriate shape (a statue, patch of fungus, and so on). The creature gains a +20 to hide in plain sight as this kind of inanimate object.

 

Trap 7a: 15' and 25' into the main passageway; there are metal grooves in each wall that meet in channels sunk three inches into the floor.  These grooves are hidden with flat black paint to make them harder to spot (Search DC20).  The ten feet of floor in between the channels has several tiny holes in the mortar and there are nine 2-½” openings in the ceiling.  Passing into this area, causes a pair of iron plates (Hardness 10, hp: 60) to fall from the ceiling, forming a ten-foot cube which begins filling with water at the rate of 1'/round.  A successful Ref save (DC22) means that a character has jumped clear of the area without harm.  Each iron plate is 2” thick (Hardness 10, hp: 60) and cannot be lifted without use of the winch in Area 12 on the second level of the dungeon.  The pressure plate that activates the trap can be located with a Search check (DC25) and disarmed with two Disable Device checks (DC30, 1 for each falling plate).

 

Trap 7b: from 50' to 60' into the main passageway, there is a covered pit-trap (Search DC20, Disable Device DC25).  Anyone stepping into this area causes a trapdoor to open (Ref DC20 avoids fall), dropping them into a 10' deep pit (1d6 falling damage).  The trapdoor then closes above its victims.  After hitting the floor, the north wall begins to move to crush victims against the south wall (18d6).  The wall moves at the rate of 5' per round but can be disarmed with a Disable Device check (DC22), or slowed by 1'/round with a Str check (DC25).  People outside of the pit-trap can reactivate the trapdoor by stepping on it and then preventing it from closing with a Str check (DC25).

 

Trap 7c: A 20' flight of stairs leads up to a landing.  Anyone stepping on either of the top two stairs (Search DC20) causes them to collapse into a slide that sends them tumbling back down the stairs.  When the stairs collapse, a lever causes a trapdoor on the floor (Search DC25) to open, revealing spinning blades (Disable Device DC 25) that the victim slides into for 15d6 damage (Ref ½ DC16).

 

8. Access to Scale Maintenance: This small room contains a trapdoor that reveals a ladder leading down 10'.  A tunnel leads to the scale's counterweights.  The gnomes ensure that the gears and sprockets the chains ride on are in good repair and are well lubricated. 

 

9. Main Passageway Maintenance: These low, narrow (3' ceiling, 3 wide) tunnels provide access to the mechanisms that operate the hallway's traps.

 

10. Landing for Level Two: A 10' stairway leads up from trap 7c to a pair of iron doors leading into the second level of the dungeon.  A pair of Brick Golems is stationed at the top of the stairs. (see Area 4 for statistics)

 

Level Two

 

11. Access Tunnel to Winch and Cistern Room: This long passageway is hidden behind a secret door (Search DC30).

 

12. Winch and Cistern Room: This chamber is located directly above Trap 7a on Level 1.  It is hidden behind a secret door (Search DC30).  Within this 22' x 15' chamber, there is a pair of winches that raise the steel plates that block the passageway below with two thick chains each.  A 3000 gallon capacity cistern releases water into the room below to drown the trap's victims and a hand operated pump beside it draws the water back up from the space below the trap.  There is a scarecrow stationed in this room to operate the pump and defend the room from intruders.

 

13. Hall of Pillars: The roof of this octagonal room is supported by a veritable forest of pillars.  In total, eleven pillars, each carved to resemble the mythical beanstalk felled by Jack to slay the giant rise from the floor to meet the domed ceiling 15' overhead.  A stairway at the south end of the room leads up 5' into the next passageway.

 

14. “Dead End” Vestibule: This 25' long passageway ends is a 5' circular cul-de-sac.

 

14b. Access Tunnel to Main Passageway Maintenance: This low and narrow tunnel is only 3' wide with a 3' high ceiling.  It leads north 20' to a ladder that leads down to the Maintenance Tunnel on Level 1 of the fortress.  A secret door (Search DC20) conceals the entrance to this area.

 

15. Wood Golem Chamber: This 10' x 15' chamber holds a pair of wooden statues.  Both are carved from scented woods and are of excellent craftsmanship.  The floor is covered with a faded green oval-shaped carpet and there is a woodland mosaic on the western wall.  If anyone enters the room, the two statues animate and attack.

                2 Wood Golems

CR: 6     Medium Construct     HD: 8d10 plus 20     Hp: 64

Init: +3     Spd: 30'     AC: 19 (+3 Dex, +6 Natural); t: 13, ff: 16

Attacks: (BAB +8; Grap +12); +12 2 Slams: 2d6+4

SA: Splintering

SQ: Construct Traits; Darkvision 60'; Immunity to Magic; Low-Light Vision;

Align: N     Saves: Fort +2     Ref +5     Will +5

Str: 18 (+4)   Dex: 17 (+3)    Con: - -    Int: - -    Wis: 17 (+3)    Cha: 1 (-5)

Skills: - -

Feats: - -

 

• Immunity to Magic (Ex): A wood golem is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance, with the exception of spells and spell-like abilities that have the Fire descriptor, which affect it normally. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.

• Warp wood or wood shape slows a wood golem (as the slow spell) for 2d6 rounds (no save).
• Repel wood drives the golem back 60 feet and deals 2d12 points of damage to it (no save).
• A magical attack that deals cold damage breaks any slow effect on the golem and heals 1 point of damage for every 3 points of damage the attack would otherwise deal. If the amount of healing would cause the golem to exceed its full normal hit points, it gains any excess as temporary hit points. A wood golem gets no saving throw against attacks that deal cold damage.

• Splintering (Su): As a free action once every 1d4+1 rounds, a wood golem can launch a barrage of razor-sharp wooden splinters from its body in a 20-foot-radius burst. All creatures caught within this area take 6d6 points of slashing damage (Reflex ½ DC14). The save DC is Constitution-based.

16. Idol Passage: This hallway leads north 20' and ends in a 15' x 10' room.  The room contains what amounts to a small shrine dedicated to the Big Bad Wolf.  The Three Pigs give the gnomes offerings to place here in hopes that the wolf will be kept at bay. 

 

17. Barrel Storage: A 20' x 20' room with a secret door (Search DC25) hidden in the west wall.  Barrels are stacked against the north wall of this chamber.  A hand-cart for moving the barrels is located by the door.  Each barrel is filled with salted water and is used to top off the cistern in room 12 (see above). 

 

18. Hall of Secret Doors: Three secret doors (Search DC25) are located in this hallway. 

 

19a. Slide Trap Hallway (South): A short stairway climbs 5' near the center of 25' long passageway.  Traveling more than 5' north beyond the top step triggers a trap.  The floor drops to create a slide.  The pressure of the floor squeezes a bladder filled with oil that makes the slope more slippery, causing anyone walking to slide down and drop into a 10' deep pit filled with water (no damage from fall).  When the floor has dumped its load, a counterweight causes it to rise back into its normal position. 

 

It is a 15' climb to the top of the slope (Climb DC30).  Victims of this trap either grow tired and drown or succumb to exposure and die if they cannot make it out of the pit.

 

19b. Slide Trap Hallway (East): A short stairway climbs 5' near the center of 30' long passageway.  Traveling more than 5' west beyond the top step triggers a trap.  The floor drops to create a slide.  The pressure of the floor squeezes a bladder filled with oil that makes the slope more slippery, causing anyone walking to slide down and drop into a 10' deep pit filled with water (no damage from fall).  When the floor has dumped its load, a counterweight causes it to rise back into its normal position. 

 

It is a 15' climb to the top of the slope (Climb DC30).  Victims of this trap either grow tired and drown or succumb to exposure and die if they cannot make it out of the pit.

 

20. Sitting Room: This large chamber is 25' wide x 35' long.  It is furnished with four comfortable padded chairs, several of winch have levers that can be pulled to allow them to recline, a fainting couch, and a large fireplace located in the center of the western wall.  The fireplace has an ample supply of wood on hand as well as a rack of tools for handling burning logs or cleaning out soot.  The smoke from the fireplace is vented out of the fortress via a number of small tubes.

 

A large sign hanging above the southern entrance to the room reads “Congratulations.  You have made it halfway through the second level of the fortress.  As a reward for your perseverance, you may rest here in safety.”

The sign is a lie.  Each piece of furniture in the chamber is a Mimic that will attack whosoever tries to sit on them.

 

                5 Mimics

CR: 4     Large Aberration (Shapechanger)     HD: 7d8+21     Hp: 52

Init: +1     Spd: 10'     AC: 15 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural); t: 10, ff: 14

Attacks: (BAB +5; Grap +13); +9 2 Slams: 1d8+4

SA: Adhesive; Crush

SQ: Darkvision 60'; Immunity to Acid; Mimic Shape

Align: N     Saves: Fort +5     Ref +5     Will +6

Str: 19 (+4)     Dex: 12 (+1)     Con: 17 (+3)     Int: 10     Wis: 13 (+1)     Cha: 10

Skills: Climb +9, Disguise +13, Listen +8, Spot +8

Feats: Alertness; Lightning Reflexes; Weapon Focus (Slam)

 

• Adhesive (Ex): A mimic exudes a thick slime that acts as a powerful adhesive, holding fast any creature that touches it.  An adhesive-coated mimic automatically grapples any creature that it hits with its slam attack.  Opponents so grappled cannot get free while the mimic is alive without removing the adhesive first,

                A weapon that strikes an adhesive-coated mimic is stuck fast unless the wielder succeeds on a DC16 Ref save.  A DC16 Str-check is needed to pry off a stuck weapon.  Strong alcohol can dissolve the adhesive but the mimic can still grapple normally.  A mimic can dissolve its own adhesive at will and the substance breaks down 5 rounds after the creature is killed.

• Crush (Ex): A mimic deals 1d8+4 damage with a successful grapple check.

• Mimic Shape (Ex): A mimic can assume the general shape of any object that fills roughly a 150 cubic feet (5'x5'x6').  The creature cannot substantially alter its size though.  Anyone who examines the mimic can detect the ruse with a successful Spot check opposed by the mimic's Disguise check.

• Skills: A mimic gains a +8 racial bonus to Disguise checks.

 

20b. Slide Trap Maintenance Crawlspace: This hidden tunnel is 3' wide and 3' high.  It leads to the two counterweights for the slide traps as well as the oil bladders that are used to make the slanted floor difficult to climb.

 

21. Four-Doors of Doom: Four doors lead out of this room.  The door in the center of the south wall and the two in the west wall are trapped.  The door to the north is not.  The walls of this room have been blackened as if by fire.

 

• South Door Trap: Wyvern Arrow Trap: CR6; Mechanical; Proximity Trigger; Manual Reset; Attack +14 Arrow: 1d8 plus poison (Fort DC 17 2d6 Con/2d6 Con); Search DC20, Disable Device DC16

 

• South West Door Trap: Fusillade of Darts: CR5; Mechanical; Location Trigger (anyone stepping within 5' in front of door triggers trap); Manual Reset; Attack: +18 1d8 Darts per target in a 10' x 10' area in front of door: 1d4+1; Search DC19, Disable Device DC25

 

• North West Door Trap: Fireball Trap: CR5; Magic Device; Proximity Trigger; Automatic Reset; No attack roll necessary; Spell effect (Fireball, 8d6 fire, Ref ½ DC14); Search DC28, Disable Device DC28

 

22. Bales of Laughter: Two 3' x 5' bales of hay are stacked in this hallway.  It is possible to squeeze past them but the passage ends in a blank wall.  There is a dead body on the floor on the far side of the stack.  The body is wearing leather armor and has a shortsword and backpack lying on the ground beside it.  The backpack is attached to a steel cable.  Lifting the pack pulls the cable, triggering a trap.  A large scythe blade swings down from the ceiling to strike at whoever is standing there.

 

• Backpack Scythe Trap: CR8; Mechanical; Touch Trigger; Manual Reset; Attack: +16 Scythe: 2d4+8 plus Poison (Fort DC20, 1d6 Con/2d6 Con); Search DC24; Disable Device DC19

 

23. Fountain Room: The trapped doors in the west wall of area 21 both open onto hallways that lead into this area.  At its center, there is a pool of water surrounded by a 2' high wall.  A statue of a fish leaping out of the pool stands at the center of the fountain.  Flickering torches light this area.  There are several coins sitting in the bottom of the pool.  A plaque that reads “Wishing Well” is bolted onto the east side of the fountain.  Throwing a coin into the fountain summons a Large Water Elemental.

 

                Large Water Elemental

CR: 5     Large Elemental (Water, Extraplanar)     HD: 8d8+32     Hp: 68

Init: +2     Spd: 20', swim 90'     AC: 20 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +9 Natural); t: 11, ff: 18

Attacks: (BAB +6; Grap +15); +10 2 Slams: 2d8+5

SA: Drench; Vortex; Water Mastery

SQ: DR5/- -; Darkvision 60'; Elemental Traits

Align: N     Saves: Fort +10     Ref +4     Will +2

Str: 20 (+5)      Dex: 14 (+2)     Con: 19 (+4)     Int: 6 (-2)     Wis: 11     Cha: 11

Skills: Listen +5; Spot +6

Feats: Cleave; Great Cleave; Power Attack

 

• Drench (Ex): The elemental's touch puts out torches, campfires, exposed lanterns, and other open flames of nonmagical origin if these fires are of Large size or smaller.  The creature can dispel magical fire it touches as Dispel Magic (CL = HD).

• Vortex (Su): The elemental can transform in to a whirlpool form 1/10 minutes, provided it is underwater and remain in that form for 1 round/2 HD.

• Water Mastery (Ex): Gains a +1 attack/damage if it and its opponent are both touching water.  If the elemental or its opponent is touching the ground, the elemental takes a -4 penalty on attack and damage.

 

24. Hall of Statues: Twenty-foot tall statues of the Three Pigs are located here.  Each statue is made of brass and glows with continuous Faerie Fire spells, dimly illuminating the entire chamber.  The statue closest to the entryway is of a pig wearing overalls and holding a pitchfork with one foot up on a bale of hay.
                The second statue is of another overall-clad pig but this one has a bundle of sticks.  The last statue is of third pig in overalls, holding a brick in one hand and a trowel in another.  There is a circular staircase leading 60' up to the third level of the fortress.  It is guarded by 2 scarecrows, 2 wood golems, and 2 brick golems.

 

Level Three

 

25. Damaged Room: Scaffolding has been erected in this 20' x 15' chamber beneath a portion of ceiling that has collapsed.  There are two doors in this room, the closest is 5' west along the north wall and the second is in the center of the western wall.  A light coating of plaster dusts coats nearly every flat surface and there are trowels, thin strips of wood, several hammers, and a bucket of nails staged on the scaffold's uppermost level. 

 

A sign with the words “Please, excuse our mess. We are conducting repairs in this area. Thank you.”

 

The door to the north opens into a 5' passageway that leads north 20' before turning left and continuing another 5' to climb a short flight of stairs that leads to a landing in front of an iron door.  The entire passage is also covered in plaster dust.  The door is locked (Open Lock DC30) and the landing is trapped.  Stepping in front of the door, triggers spikes to shoot up out of the floor to impale anyone attempting to pick the lock.

 

• Floor Spikes: CR6; Mechanical; Touch Trigger; Repair Reset; Attack: +20 Spikes: 6d6 (20/x2), multiple targets (all in 5'x5' area); Search DC24; Disable Device DC20

 

26. Mirrored Room: Four mirrors hang from the north and south walls of this room. 

 

27. False Door at the End of the Hallway: This 30' hallway has three alcoves that open off of it in both directions.  The first two alcoves are occupied by Scarecrows, the second two by Wood Golems, and the final two by Brick Golems.  The door at the end of the passage is false, opening onto a blank stone wall.  The door is trapped.  Pulling it opens releases a trapdoor in the ceiling that dumps a load of bricks onto whoever is standing in front of the door.

 

• Bricks from Ceiling: CR2; Mechanical; Touch Trigger; Repair Reset; Attack: +12 Bricks: 2d6 (20/x2); multiple targets (all in 5'x5' area); Search DC20; Disable Device DC20

 

28. Pedestal Room: Two doors are located in the west wall of this room.  The south door is blocked by a portcullis.  There are two pedestals located at the north end of this room.  Each holds a small statuette of a knight.  Both knights are identical but when the party enters the room, one knight holds his sword point up and the other has the end of his sword planted in the ground.  A close inspection reveals that the wrist on each statuette's sword hand can be rotated.  Turning the point down sword so it is “up” will raise the south portcullis clear of the doorway.  Turning the point up sword so it is facing “down” will lower a portcullis in front of the center door.  Only one portcullis can be in the “up” position at a time.

 

29. Feral Bear: One group of travelers made it all the way to here before they were killed by the dungeon's defenses.  One of them had a pet bear that survived the battle that killed its master only to be trapped in here.  The gnomes, not wanting to waste a valuable resource, began feeding the animal and incorporated it into the dungeon.

 

                Brown Bear

CR: 4     Large Animal    HD: 6d8+24     Hp: 51

Init: +1     Spd: 40'     AC: 15 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural); t: 10, ff: 14

Attacks: (BAB +4; Grap +16); +11 2 Claws: 1d8+8 and +6 Bite: 2d6+4

SA: Improved Grab

SQ: Low-Light Vision, Scent

Align: N     Saves: Fort +9     Ref +6     Will +3

Str: 27 (+8)     Dex: 13 (+1)     Con: 19 (+4)     Int: 2 (-4)     Wis: 12 (+1)     Cha: 6 (-2)

Skills: Listen +4; Spot +7; Swim +12

Feats: Endurance; Run; Track

 

• Improved Grab (Ex): If a bear hits with a claw attack, it can start a grapple as a free action.

• Skills: Brown bears gain a +4 racial bonus to Swim checks.

 

There is another door on the north wall of this room.  The door is spring-loaded and anyone attempting to open it will be slammed by the door as it flies open.

 

• Spring-loaded Door: CR1; Mechanical; Touch Trigger; Automatic Reset; Attack: +5 Door: 4d6 (20/x2); Search DC22; Disable Device DC22

 

30. Level Three Main Passageway: This long room is the main chamber on this level of the border crossing.  It runs 60' from east to west and is 10' wide.  The hallway is dimly lit by torches mounted in wall sconces every 20'. 

 

31. Trophy Room: This 15' square room has the stuffed and mounted remains of three creatures positioned on a series of low daises. The first is the body of a muscular humanoid with a canine head.  The creature is covered in short brown fur and carries a large two-handed sword.  The second stuffed creature is a large cat with massive canine teeth and the last creature has the body of a bear with the head of an owl.

 

32. Not Really a Shortcut to the Next Room: This narrow hallway is 20' long and 5' wide.  It would be unremarkable except for providing a slightly longer method of traveling from area 31. to area 33.

 

33. Unintended Break Room: A wheelbarrow stands abandoned against the south wall of this room.  Several sacks of plaster powder are piled inside.  Buckets of water, trowels, and other tools are stacked beside the wheelbarrow.   A handwritten note atop the pile reads “Please Do Not Disturb – called away so travelers can pass.  We apologize for the inconvenience.”  The load is booby trapped.  Shifting any of the plaster bags will cause a spring-loaded dart to fire.

 

• Spring-loaded Dart Trap: CR1; Mechanical; Touch Trigger; Manual Reset; Attack +5 Dart: 1d3 (20/x2) plus Poison (Fort DC20, 1d6 Con/2d6 Con); Search DC22; Disable Device DC22 (device can also be disabled by knocking over the wheelbarrow)

 

There is a door in the southwest corner of this room that opens onto a 20' long hallway with two doors in its northern wall.

 

34. Dickory’s Lair: This room is 15' and 5' wide and stops at a blank wall.  The walls of this room are festooned with a wide variety of timekeeping devices – cuckoo clocks, sundials, water clocks, and so forth.  All of them are synchronized to the same time.

 

35. Empty Room: This 15' long x 10' wide room has a single door in its west wall and another in the south.  It is otherwise barren of features, although after navigating this far through the labyrinth tunnels of the fortress, it is likely that travelers will search for non-existent traps and monsters.  The west door leads into a gently sloping hallway that rises 5' over the length of its 35' run. 

 

36. The Octagon: There are doors in the center of both the east and west walls of this room.  Brick Golems flank both entrances and six more Brick Golems stand against the remaining walls of the room.  (see Area 4 for statistics)

 

37. The Homestretch: This is the last room of the Border Crossing's dungeon (or, depending on your point of view, the first if you are passing from Wonderland into the Grimmlands).  It is 55' long and 10' wide with 4' 5' deep alcoves set into opposite sides of the room.  Three of the alcoves contain animated defenders – one scarecrow, one wood golem, and one brick golem.  The west end of the hallway climbs 20' up a flight of stairs to a large set of double doors.  These doors open onto an inspection room identical to the one travelers use to enter the dungeon.

 

To the left of the double doors, there is a secret door (Search DC35).  The secret door opens into a narrow passageway that leads back to the vault and the stairway to the living quarters on the Border Crossing's Fourth Level.  Just beyond the secret door is a hatch that can be opened to reveal a ladder that leads down to this level's maintenance tunnels.

 

38. Inspection Room: Three tables run east-to-west in the 10' x 20' room.  Gnome appraisers greet travelers and ask them to fill out customs form (stating destination, point of origin, purpose of visit and so on) before assessing the value of personal items carried.  Each gnome is an arcane spellcaster who uses a combination of Detect Magic and Identify spells to accurately determine the cost of every item being transported.  Once this process is completed, the appraiser assigns a fee equal to 10% of the total value of the items.  The traveler can then pay at the toll booth, or, if the cost is more than one is willing to pay, attempt to pass through the fortress complex.  The gnomes wish the travelers the best of luck and ask them to stop in the inspection room at the far end of the complex to fill complete a survey regarding their experience in the dungeon.

 

There is a pair of double doors in the west wall of the room that leads into the dungeon complex.  Two slate boards hang on the door.  The first reads “Safety First: ___ Days Without an Employee Injury”.  The second reads “___ Days Without a Traveler Fatality”.

 

39. Toll Booth: Wagon drivers and caravan masters pay their tariffs here.  Individual travelers are escorted through this room into an inspection area beyond where their possessions are appraised.  A log book listing the names of the caravan drivers, the company they are employed by, and the amount of their tariff is kept here.  There is also a large chest containing the collected fees against the west wall of the office.  This chest is emptied nightly.

 

40. Maintenance Tunnel: A ladder leads down 25' to the maintenance tunnels that provide access to all of the traps on the fortress' third level.  The ceilings are 3' high and the tunnels are only 3' wide. 

 

41. Vault: The custom fees collected by the gnomes as well as “lost and found” items recovered from the bodies of travelers who failed to safely navigate the fortress are stored here.  There are three keys that are needed to open the large hardened iron door (Hardness: 20, Hp: 120).  All three keys must be turned at the same time to open the door (or three simultaneous Open Lock checks must be made, DC30).

 

The vault currently contains:

 

15,985 gp; 1,300 pp (all other coins are transferred to another location in the Grimmlands and used to purchase food, water, and other consumables as well as construction materials for the fortress)

5 red garnets (90-gp value each); 1 aquamarine (500-gp value each); 5 violet garnets (700-gp value each); 2 black pearls (800-gp value each); 3 blue sapphires (1,100-gp value each); 6 fiery yellow corundums (1,100-gp value each); 4 star rubies (1,200-gp value each); 3 blue-white diamonds (3,00-gp value each); 2 blue diamonds (4,000-gp value each); 2 canary diamonds (5,000-gp value each); bright green emerald (6,000-gp value each); 4 jacinths (7,000-gp value each);

 

A set of four intricately inlaid pens (200-gp value each); tapestry of tress blowing in the wind (500 gp value); obsidian mug (500 gp value); horn of cachelot whale ivory with a seascape carved on its side (700 gp value); heavy bronze mirror with detailed filigree (750 gp value); gold drinking straw inlaid with inlays of lapis-lazul (1,500 gp value)

 

Divine Scroll of Restoration, Control Winds, Fire Seeds, and Word of Recall (CL15)

Wand of Ice Storm (CL7, 37 chg)

Chaosfang (Silver Keen Anarchic Dancing Scimitar +2)

Breastplate +4 of Spell Resistance 15

 

42. Control Center: This chamber is a large meeting room where gnomish work crews are given their daily assignments.  There are notes posted on the north wall listing repairs that need to be completed, requests for supplies and tools, listings of classes where veteran employees will provide instruction in spellcraft, trap-making, golem-building and repair, requests for days off, and other events that may be of interest to the gnomes working in the fortress.

 

43. Elevator: This is the top of the elevator shaft from the fortress' first level.  It faces a pair of massive iron doors and is protected by a pair of Brick Golems.

 

Level Four

 

44. Entry Room: The room at the top of the stairs is a 15' x 15' chamber with a set of double doors in the west wall.

 

45. Main Hall: This hallway is the central location of this level.  Directly ahead, a pair of double doors leads into the mess hall and kitchen.  To the left are the workshops where the gnomes build the fortress' defenders and to the right is the passageway that leads to the gnomes' and the three pigs' living quarters.

 

46. Privy (x3): There are three jakes to either side of the main passageway.

 

47. Brickwork Shop: Three large racks made of wood stand against the west wall.  Each of these racks is used as molds for the bricks that are then fired in the kiln at the back of the room.  Chain falls hanging from the ceiling are used to move the filled racks from the tables they rest upon the massive walk-in oven.  Two worktables on the east side of the room hold trowels, chisels, hammers, and other tools that are used in either brick-making or golem-building process.  One large wooden table, reinforced with steel bars, holds the golems while they are being built.

 

48. Kiln: This 5' x 10' oven is used to cure the bricks that go into the construction of the fortress' brick golems.

 

49. Straw-Weaving Shop: Bales of hay are stacked against the west wall of this room.  There is a spinning wheel located to the far south.  Two work benches piled with twine, shears, and scraps of clothing stand against the east wall.  A single table near the center of the room holds a half-finished scarecrow.

 

50. Woodworking Shop: Bins holding pieces of wood sorted by size stand against the west wall.  A large lathe is located in the center of the room, just south of a table where carved pieces of lumber are used to assemble the fortress' wood golems.  A cabinet in the southeast corner of the room holds jars of glue, resin, and varnish as well as numerous woodworking tools.

 

51. Mess Hall: Six large round tables fill the floor of this large room.  Each table has four to five short benches.  There are two doors in the west end of the room.  Two large chandeliers hang from chains in the center of the room.  Instead of candles of lamps, the points of the fixtures are enchanted with Continual Light spells.

 

52. Kitchen: The large room has four large tables for food preparation, a huge sink for washing plates and cutlery, a huge oven and fireplace.  A team of gnomes toil in the kitchen cooking from an hour before sunrise until well after midnight cooking meals for their fellow gnomes and the three pigs.

 

53. Pantry: Dry goods, root vegetables, jams, jellies, and fruit adorn the shelves.  There is enough food stored here to last for a month even if the fortress is besieged by outside forces.

 

54. Cold Storage: Meats, cheeses, butter and other perishables are kept in this room.  As with the pantry, there is roughly a month's worth of food stored here.

 

55. Living Quarters Passageway: This long wide hallway leads to the Three Pigs' living areas and the gnomes' shared quarters.

 

55 a. thru f. Gnome Rooms: Three bunk beds each stacked three high are located in each of these room, providing sleeping quarters for up to nine gnomes in each room.  A bank of cabinets stands against one wall in each room so the gnomes have a place to store their personal effects.

 

56. Pigs' Court: This triangular room is a common area the Three Pigs share as a common area.

 

57a. Straw Pig Living Room: This room is essentially a lounge for the Straw Pig.  It has a large wicker chair and side table as well as a writing desk.

 

57b. Straw Pig Bedroom: This room holds a large bed and a dresser that contains the Straw Pig's clothes.

 

57c. Straw Pig Private Bath: This room has a huge tub for bathing.

 

58a. Stick Pig Living Room: This room is essentially a lounge for the Stick Pig.  It has a large wooden rocking chair and side table as well as a writing desk.

 

58b. Stick Pig Bedroom: This room holds a large bed and a dresser that contains the Stick Pig's clothes.

 

58c. Stick Pig Private Bath: This room has a huge tub for bathing.

59a. Brick Pig Living and Dining Room: This room is essentially a lounge for the Brick Pig.  It has a large throne and side table as well as a writing desk.  Additionally, there is a large dining table and buffet that contains a 100-piece stoneware dining set.

 

59b. Brick Pig Bedroom: This room holds a large bed and a dresser that contains the Brick Pig's clothes.

 

59c. Brick Pig Private Bath: This room has a huge tub for bathing.