The Depths of Shadowmount
Dearest ____,
I write to you with a peculiar request, and I ask that you not condemn my forwardness too severely. I trust that your affection for me, though we have not seen each other since my mother grew ill, has not waned too greatly.
One of the servants was cleaning Father’s old study and came upon a shifted panel in the wall. It contained a journal with notes and sketches that must be a map, though not of any place I recognize. From the dates, I gather he wrote it before meeting mother. Perhaps it was the source of his good fortune. I have been confined to bed for several weeks, and cannot pursue this myself, but I beg you to come and see me; perhaps you could shed some light on the cause of my father’s disappearance.
I await your response, and remain
Your childhood friend and playmate,
Adelaide
A lost family secret, mysterious riches, and rumors of a lingering curse. Will your party survive The Depths of Shadowmount?
Table of Contents
Introduction
History
Rooms
Return to Adelaide
Treasure
Index 1: Items
Index 2: Miscellaneous Maps
Introduction
Relatively straightforward dungeon for low-level adventurers (I originally designed it as a one-shot for a level 3-4 party). I wanted a dungeon that was easily explored but still dangerous, with a gothic horror feel to it; not Lovecraft, but more Shelley/Wilde/Poe; a little cliché, but still creepy in the right hands.
Your PCs have received a letter in a shaky, flowing script, bearing the seal of a minor noble house. It reads:
The Depths of Shadowmount is a pretty straight-forward, gothic-horror-themed dungeon crawl balanced for approximately 4-5 players around levels 5-8. It features a mountain, cramped, claustrophobic corridors, a few creative problems to solve, and what is hopefully an interesting boss fight, with some snazzy loot to take home.
History
Exterior:
Shadowmount was an active volcano many generations ago, but there is no record of a recent eruption in hundreds of years. While the mountain itself is tall and steep, the old lava plains have decomposed into fertile soil, which has been farmed for many years. Although the lower slopes are often the site of blackberry pickers and hunters, the jagged cliffs and sharp rocks have deterred all but the most daring from ascending very far.
Interior:
Inside the mountain are a web of volcanic tunnels, curving, stretching, and plummeting through the heart of the mountain and exiting near the peak. Because of the hardness of the rock and the mildness of the winter, erosion has had little effect, and any local would tell you (wrongly) that there are no caves or tunnels in Shadowmount. In the last few years, a small passage has opened up between a cave on the upper reaches of the mountain and the old tunnels inside it.
Peoples and creatures:
Deep gnomes, drawn by the curious gems that could be found deep in the old lava veins, had established a small community in a massive grotto, but they have since abandoned the area for reasons unknown. In other rooms, enormous, sturdy mushrooms grew, snails moving over their surfaces, and other creatures with appetites for living things stalked or waited in ambush through the tunnels.
Rooms
1. Smuggler's Cave
Narration
A rough cave, probably used by a panther or mountain lion as a den, now seems to shelter a group of highwaymen. The entrance is well-hidden behind a pile of boulders, and the tunnel is small enough that even dwarves will have to stoop to walk through it. The tunnel opens into a larger room; more highwaymen sit around a fire, roasting a haunch of goat and some white fish. Casks and chests line one wall, and a pool of dark, still water fills the far end of the room.
Features:
The entrance tunnel is about 20 feet long, opening into a room about 40 by 15, with a 10-foot ceiling, roughly hourglass-shaped. Any medium creature will have to crawl on hands and knees (should count as Prone condition), while smaller creatures can only move at half speed.
The pool of cold, dark water in the back of the room is about 12 feet deep. At the bottom is a tunnel that will lead to a small cavern with a straight drop into the Sunless Sea. This drop is 40 feet (4d6 fall damage) into the Sunless Sea, where any hazards will immediately go into effect.
DC 20 to spot the hole while standing on the edge of the pool (automatically found if someone dives in).
Creatures:
A Bandit watches the exterior tunnel opening, while a Spy watches the interior. The other three highwaymen (the Knight, Apprentice Wizard, and second Bandit) are distributed throughout the cave at random.
| Monster | Address |
|---|---|
| Bandit x2 | MM, p. 343 |
| Priest | MM, p. 349 |
| Knight | MM, p. 347 |
| Spy | MM, p. 349 |
Rewards:
- Loot from the bodies of the bandits (a sample is detailed in the "rewards" section)
- A chest of assorted loot (see "rewards" section); roll 1d4, 1d4, and 3d10, then pick from the three provided lists.
1b. dummy room
Narration
The only thing filling this room is the plop....plop....plop sound of water dripping slowly onto growing stalagmites. There are a few broken casks thrown about here, mildewed and rotted beyond use.
Features
This room contains trash and refuse from previous bandits, but nothing of value.
2. Fungal Forest
Narration
A long, low-ceilinged room, filled with faintly glowing mushrooms. The small ones are soft and spongy, but the largest are tough, woody-stemmed monsters easily more than 2 meters tall, with caps broad enough to lie outstretched on without touching the edges.
There are millipedes longer than a man's arm feeding on the mushrooms, and sometimes you spy a snail the size of a fist sliding across the ceiling or over a mushroom. This room grows wider and wider until you find yourself suddenly standing at the edge of a lake.
Features
Per narration, the room is full of bioluminescent mushrooms (Amanita bisporigera is a good model). The room is about 40x70x15, soft dirt floor giving way to sandier textures at the water's edge, with rock walls and ceiling. The larger, tougher mushrooms are designed to float for about 30 seconds before they become too waterlogged and sink, which may be helpful in the next room.
Monsters: Nothing in this room is aggressive, however, the snails are venomous and will attack if touched or picked up.
Cave Snail
Tiny, unaligned
- Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 9 (3d4+1)
- Speed 5 ft, Climb 5 ft
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 5 (-3) 10 (0) 12 (+1) 1 (-5) 7 (-2) 3 (-4)
- Senses blindsight 10 ft, passive Perception 7
- Languages none
- Challenge 1/10 (10 xp)
Actions
Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft, one creature. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (3d6) poison damage.
Millipede
Small, unaligned
- Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 8 (2d6+1)
- Speed 15 ft, Climb 10 ft
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 5 (-3) 11 (+1) 12 (+1) 1 (-5) 7 (-2) 3 (-4)
- Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 8
- Languages none
- Challenge 1/10 (10 xp)
Actions
Dash, Dodge, or Disengage. If harmed, the millipede will attempt to climb the nearest wall or mushroom and hide.
3. Sunless Sea
Narration
The water here is so cold that it hurts, and rests against the shore without the barest hint of a current. It stretches farther than you can see to your right. To the left, you think you can vaguely see an opening in the otherwise smooth cavern walls.
Features:
The opening on the right-hand side is about 60 feet away. The water is between 15 and 20 feet deep, with the middle dropping to approximately 40 feet.
The water is painfully cold; immersion for longer than 1 round deals 1d4 cold damage per turn.
A fragile ledge of thin rock extends about 20 feet from the stable tunnel over the water (represented by the gray on the map). 25 pounds will cause the ledge to break; any creatures on the ledge will take 1d6 piercing damage and fall back into the water.
Creatures:
4 Quippers (MM. p 338)
1 Swarm of Quippers for every PC in the water below half health. Swarms will prioritize bleeding PCs, appear about 20' directly below the injured PC, and are added into the initiative order directly after whomever triggered their spawn.
1 Strangleweed (homebrewed plant)
Rewards: Some flavor rewards near the base of the Strangleweed, detailed in the Treasure section of this document.
Optional Rule
Since the PHB has basically nothing on struggling underwater, only on holding one's breath (p. 183), I ruled that each failed grapple escape subtracts 30 seconds of air from a player (not attempting to escape the grapple allows you to hold your breath as normal). I communicated this rule the first time someone was successfully attacked by the plant.
Strangleweed
Large plant, unaligned
- Armor Class 11
- Hit Points 52 (8d10+8)
- Speed 0 ft., Swim 0 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 13 (+1) 13 (+1) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 4 (-3)
- Skills Perception +4, Stealth +5
- Damage Resistances Bludgeoning
- Senses Tremorsense 40 ft., passive Perception 16
- Languages none
- Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Underwater Camouflage. The strangleweed has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while underwater.
Actions
Multiattack. The strangleweed may make up to 2 tendril attacks if those tendrils are unoccupied.
Tendril. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 20 ft, one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it is automatically grappled (Escape DC 16) and dragged 5 ft. underwater towards the strangleweed. Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the strangleweed cannot use this tendril on another target. At the start of it's turn, the strangleweed will automatically pull any grappled creatures 5 ft. closer towards it.
If both tendrils are occupied, the strangleweed cannot attack, though it can drop the contents of one or both tendrils as a single action.
4. King's Eye
Narration
After entering the tunnel beyond the sunless sea, it splits into two branches; the main tunnel going forward and down, and a shallower tunnel that slopes gently down and to the right. In front of you, slightly to the left, you see a massive, multi-faceted stone, partially protruding into the tunnel. It seems to cast dim yellow light in a small radius around it, and you begin to feel relaxed as you stand in the light.
Features:
The King's Eye, the tip of a massive Citrine crystal, gives off a calming aura around it. It does not register as Good or Evil to a paladin, but a DC 15 Nature or a DC 20 Religion will tell the players that the faint nature magic that seeps from it causes the creatures in the cave to avoid it.
Creatures:
None originally, as this was meant to be a safe spot for a rest. If you want to interrupt that, I suggest an Umber Hulk (MM, p. 292).
Rewards:
A nice nap in a calming light, free of nightmares or harassment. Should any PC sleep outside the light, they must make a DC 8 Wisdom Saving throw or suffer from visions of shadowy hands reaching from behind to strangle them, gaining only part of the benefits of their rest. (If the party took a long rest, affected PCs benefit from a short rest. If short rest, affected PCs may roll hit dice to recover health, but not recover racial/class abilities or spell slots.)
5. Dark Passage
Narration
In the right-hand passage, the light of your torches reveals a long hallway, lined with natural pillars that reach from floor to ceiling. Other stalactites and stalagmites in the process of growing together. You also see strange white and grey shapes lying on the ground several paces in front of you, scattered throughout the tunnel along the path.
Features:
Just cave protrusions per flavor text. A DC 18 Perception check will identify the piles as the digested leavings of some local creature.
Creatures:
The Roper is on the block covered by the Easternmost block dot, while the Piercers are distributed throughout the room. Fairly straightforward fight, if the players want to take it.
3 Piercers (MM p. 252)
1 Roper (MM p. 261)
Rewards:
A small, rusted mace, only slightly larger than a child might use, too rusted to be of any use.
6. Miner's tunnels
As you continue forward, the room widens into a chamber seemingly supported by a massive, twisted column of stone. Narrow, twisting tunnels branch off to your left and right, and they seem to grow more narrow the further in they go. In front of you, another passageway bends abruptly down.
rrow and twisting sharply backward and forward (though remaining about 8 feet tall) until they are only half a meter wide. Careful examination will show the faint marks of picks and chisels along the walls and floors; you appear to be standing in an old mined vein.
Features:
The tunnels on either side follow a vein of rock that was rich in gemstones. The tunnels are about 8 ft high, but only 3 ft wide at the openings, becoming gradually more narrow the further in you go. A DC 12 Perception check will identify the tunnels as not natural, and a DC 15 Investigation will show the marks of pickaxe and chisel, indicative of gemstone mining.
Creatures:
None.
Rewards:
The party may attempt to mine for gems; to do so, roll a straight Strength check and a Wisdom check. The combined total of these two checks must be greater than 30; for each number above 30, 1 gem may be found. Players can only make one mining check. Dwarves and Deep Gnomes have advantage on the Wisdom check, and advantage may be granted per the assisting rule of the DMG using the skill Survival.
7. Crossroads
As you move past the mining tunnels and down into the passageway, the tunnel broadens and you see strange grooves and marks in the dusty ground. Looking closely, some of the marks seem to be footprints, some child-sized, others that could have been made by a graceful adult.
Features:
DC 10 Perception will reveal the grooves and other markings to be from sledges or wheels, clearly made long ago.
As the party walks down the tunnel, the PCs should roll a DC 10 Wisdom Save. On a fail, they become frightened of the dark for 1 minute, and will light a torch or cast a spell to illuminate their surroundings. On a success, the PCs seem to sense malicious eyes staring at them, but no other effects.
Creatures:
None. However, if anyone has Divine Sense, or if Detect Evil and Good is cast, they register a noxious, oily presence on the air.
Rewards:
None.
8. Oldtown
Narration
As you emerge from the tunnel, the roof rapidly climbs above you, disappearing into the darkness perhaps a hundred feet up. The floor is smooth rock, with occasional masses of rubble dispersed on the ground.
As the party advances/sends lights forward
A few hundred feet away and slightly to your left, you see a low rocky wall with protrusions rising above it, like little steeples. A beehive-shaped tower, perhaps 5 meters tall, stands beside an opening in the wall.
When the players get near the town
You see what seems like a shadow detach itself from the tower, and glittering black eyes appear in it. You hear a breathy, whispering voice projected into your minds, saying "All this light....it shall be SNUFFED OUT!" You also see a pale, emaciated man with tattered gray robes stepping towards you, wielding a staff and charging a misty grey orb of energy in his hand.
As the party looks through the hole, after the fight
Looking through the opening in the wall, you see short, thick stone houses with sharply angled roofs; there are perhaps 12, of varying sizes and facing all different directions. In the center of this cluster is a larger structure, similarly roofed, but tall enough for a full-sized human. It is in slightly better condition than the other buildings, which are almost all partially damaged or crumbling. Peering through the gloom, you can just make out what appears to be a smelter of some kind at the back of the town against the cave wall.
Features:
DC 12 to DC 16 Strength will push over damaged buildings or parts of the wall around the town (not the larger building or the smelter at the back).
Creatures:
Gray Mage
Shadow Walker
Rewards:
Nothing on the Shadow Walker, but the following can be found on the Gray Mage:
Quarterstaff +1, 1
Ring of Night* (homebrewed), 1
Black iron key, 1
Coin purse, containing a polished black onyx, worth about 50 gold, plus some assorted coins: 8 gp, 20 sp, 11cp.
-
In the central building, there is a locked iron chest (which the black iron key fits. Otherwise, it's REALLY hard to open), containing a collection of amethysts and yellow-orange citrines, many of them cut and polished. The approximate value of the contents in the chest is between 500 and 2000 gold pieces, depending on haggling, purity, grade, etc.
-
In the smelter, players can find a selection of cooled silver bars, hardened into molds inside the forge (evidently forgotten by the smith as he or she fled the town). About 8 of these bars can be chipped out, and by weight, they're worth about 200 silver coins each, though they'd have to be minted (and taxed) before they could enter circulation.
Gray Mage
Medium Human, Chaotic Evil
- Armor Class 12 (15 with mage armor)
- Hit Points 78 (12d8+24)
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 18 (+4)
- Saving Throws WIS +4, CHA +7
- Skills Arcana +4, Deception +7, Persuasion, +7, Religion +4
- Damage Resistances Non-magical slashing damage
- Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Perception (passive) 11
- Languages Common, Infernal
- Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Actions
Innate Spellcasting. The warlock's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma. It can cast the following spells without material components:
At will: Alter Self, False life, Hellish Rebuke, Levitate (self only), Mage Armor (self only), Silent Image
1/day each: Blight, Eyebite, Command, Confusion
Spellcasting. The warlock is a 17th-level spellcaster, with a spell save DC of 15, and a +7 to hit with spell attacks. It regains expended spell slots on a short or long rest, and knows the following spells:
Cantrips (at will): Eldritch Blast, Ray of Frost, Friends, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Shocking Grasp
1st-5th level (4 5th-level slots): Banishment, Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Counterspell, Create Undead, Greater Invisibility, Ice Storm
Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage.
Shadow Walker
Large Fiend, Lawful Evil
- Armor Class 15 (Natural)
- Hit Points 70 (10d10+15)
- Speed 40 ft., Fly 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 17 (+3) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) 16 (+3) 12 (+1)
- Saving Throws DEX +6, WIS +6
- Skills Arcana +5, Perception +5, Stealth +6
- Damage Vulnerabilities Radiant
- Damage Resistances Acid, Psychic, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from non-magical attacks
- Damage Immunities Necrotic
- Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Restrained
- Senses Blindsight 30 ft., Darkvision 120., Perception (passive) 14
- Languages Abyssal, Telepathy (projection only) 60 ft.
- Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Abilities
Devil's Sight. Darkness, magical or non-magical, does not impede the shadow walker's vision.
Magic Weapons and Resistance. The shadow walker has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects, and the shadow walker's attacks are considered magical.
Fragmented Mind: The first time the shadow walker drops below half health, it projects nightmarish visions of itself into the room. The PCs should make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw to avoid being frightened for 1 round, as the shadow walker spawns two more copies of itself. Both copies have all the stats of the shadow walker, but only 10 health. The two clones and the real one all act on the same initiative and attack the same target, but the clones do not do damage; they are distractions for the real creature.
Actions
Multiattack. The shadow walker makes two attacks: one with a claw, and one spell of choice.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Spellcasting. The shadow walker uses Wisdom as its spellcasting ability, with a spell DC of 16. It can cast the following spells at-will:
Acid Arrow, Command, Extinguish*, Shadow Step*, Scorching Ray, Touch of the Grave*
Extinguish: As a bonus action, the shadow walker can extinguish all sources of non-magical light within a 30' radius of itself. The shadow walker gains 1d4 temporary hit points for every source of light extinguished.
Shadow Step: As a bonus action, the shadow walker can teleport up to 50' to a point it can see. This area must be in Dim light (neither bright nor dark).
Touch of the Grave: Melee Spell Attack. 2d8 cold + 2d8 necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be unable to regain health by any means until the start of the shadow walker's next turn.
Return to Adelaide
The party will be asked about what they found, if anything, by following her father's maps and journals. After they recount their story, Adelaide will give the party her thanks and offer her friendship as the representative and heir of her house.
The Grey Mage is, of course, her father, and while the players may attempt to shield Adelaide from the truth, she has suspected something like this for a long time. Should the players attempt to lie to her about not finding anything more than bandits in Shadowmount (and she has a very high perception), her favor and thankfulness will be diminished.
Questions from Adelaide
- Did they find her father? What state was he in, was there any humanity left, etc.?
- Did they discover the source of his wealth?
- Did they determine what he had bound himself to?
- Did he seem at peace when they left him? Was there a proper burial?
Treasure
Smuggler's Cave
-
Any gear deemed recoverable from the bodies by the DM. I allowed the following: 3 daggers, a damaged spellbook with the Shield spell recoverable from it, a mace, a light crossbow, 30 bolts, 1 leather armor, and assorted coin from all pouches totaling 38 gold, 12 silver, and 22 copper pieces.
-
Chest of Assorted Loot
(Note that the uncommon bracket contains a selection of items for a low-magic or a high-magic setting.)
| 1d4 | Expensive |
|---|---|
| 1 | Silver pocket watch with family crest carved on it |
| 2 | Delicate gold ring |
| 3 | Mother-of-pearl hair broach |
| 4 | Ivory drinking horn |
| 1d4 | Uncommon |
|---|---|
| 1 | Very nice, fur-lined, calfskin boots or Boots of the Winterlands |
| 2 | Embroidered silk scarf, color of choice or Robe of Useful Things |
| 3 | Lady's silk parasol, color of choice or Cloak of the Manta Ray |
| 4 | Cloak of Billowing or Rope of Climbing |
| 3d10 | Interesting |
|---|---|
| 1 | a pair of steel spectacles |
| 2 | a set of false teeth |
| 3 | a locket with a picture of a beautiful man inside it |
| 4 | a small ring of steel keys |
| 5 | a satchel of tea |
| 6 | a packet containing salt and dried herbs |
| 7 | a nice quill pen |
| 8 | a pair of nice red handkerchiefs |
| 9 | a letter addressed to "Ogden, Master Farrier" and requesting the bearer of the letter be taken in as an apprentice |
| 10 | a small jar of aromatic salve for sore muscles |
Sunless Sea
- A citrine, which is a small, semi-precious yellow gem, worth between 10 and 20 gold.
- A few triangular silver coins of indeterminant value.
Miner's Tunnels
Gem-mining per the details in the section. Raw, uncut citrines are worth between 5 and 25 gold, depending on haggling skill, merchant demand, and quality of the stone.
Oldtown
Gray Mage: Quarterstaff +1, Ring of Night, Black iron key (to open chest in 1.), coin purse with onyx worth 50gp, plus 8gp, 20sp, and 11cp.
-
In the larger building, the players will discover a pile of mildewy rags and rotting furs where the Grey Mage evidently slept. Careful searching will also find a locked iron chest (which the black iron key fits. Otherwise, it's REALLY hard to open), containing a collection of white-and-purple amethysts and yellow-orange citrines, many of them cut and polished. The approximate value of the contents in the chest is between 500 and 2000 gold pieces, depending on haggling, purity, grade, etc. (that is to say, DM fiat).
-
In the sock-shaped building, which was a smelter, players can find a selection of cooled silver bars, hardened into molds inside the smelter and evidently forgotten by the smith as he or she fled the town. About 8 of these bars can be chipped out, and by weight, they're worth about 200 silver coins each, though they'd have to be minted (and taxed) before they could enter circulation.
Index 1: Items
Ring of Night
Uncommon, requires attunement. A twisted, black-iron ring with two small citrines set in it.
Once per day, recharging at sunset, this ring can cast the Darkness spell at a point the wearer can see within range (60 ft). The sphere of darkness persists for 1 minute and does not require concentration to maintain.
Index 2: Miscellaneous Maps
Map of Dungeon
Oldtown
Smuggler's Cave
Sunless Sea
Dark Passage
