Dungeon23 Descent to the DeepWilds map

 

Dungeon23 Room 251 (Descent to the DeepWilds)

Welcome to the DeepWilds, we got traps and pain... LaDeDa...This area is just the end of the tunnel opening into the DeepWild. Beware smiling fungus...

Dungeon23 Room 250 (Descent to the DeepWilds)

The entrance to the Formian city is far into the DeepWild, but for now we have 39 Giant Ants (AC 3 HD 2 MM pg. 7) Followed by yet ANOTHER &%^^%## SPEAR TRAP! (DMG pg. 172) You guys should feel lucky I'm not going into the DeepWilds. That place is Grimtooths domain.

Dungeon23 Room 249 (Descent to the DeepWilds)

What the PCs should be asking themselves is: Why aren't there more dead ants skewered in spear traps? Because I don't know. In this chamber we have the usual collection of boulders and the usual collection of 43 Giant Ants (AC 3 HD 2 MM pg. 7) There are 5 warriors in this group. And because I felt mean this morning here's another Spear Trap (DMG pg. 172)

 

Dungeon23 Room 248 (Descent to the DeepWilds)

Surely spiders and ants don't build spear traps. SO WHO DID? Because yet again Spear Trap! Were you surprised, I was surprised... (DMG pg. 172)

 

Dungeon23 Room 247 (Descent to the DeepWild)

I say "why so many spear taps" because if they get past the spiders, there is ANOTHER SPEAR TRAP!! (DMG pg. 172) Then there is a medium chamber with 2 boulders and 53 Giant Ants (AC 3 HD 2 MM pg. 7) Their ant hill has 3 openings.

 

Dungeon23 Room 246 (Descent to the DeepWilds)

Now you've just dealt with Ants and 2 Spear Traps, whats the ONE thing you least want to be doing? Mabe it's fighting 4 Giant Spiders (AC 4 HD 4+4 MM pg. 90) The picture in the Monster Manual on page 91 is about the right size. Now fight 4 of those! The spiders' nest open up into the crevasse, the PCs can take this opportunity to notice that the tunnel descends. Still doesn't explain why so many spear traps...

 

Dungeon23 Room 245 (Descent to the DeepWilds)

Once across the really old, rickety, and in violation of several common sense safety laws bridge, there is a tunnel carved into the cavern wall. Should your adventuring party venture down the tunnel the first ting they will encounter is a Spear Trap pg. 172 DMG. Like the one that got Alfred Molina in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Only this 3 spears not as many as he got. Then they run into two large openings that are one end of a Giant Ant nest. At any time there will be 10 Giant Ants (AC 3 HD 2 MM pg. 7) There are 8 regular Ants and 2 Warriors (3 HD Dmg Att 2-8) Once the party has dealt with the ants, they will have to contend with another Spear trap. Now isn't this fun?

 

Dungeon23 Room 244 (A DeepWilds Crossroads)

 Once across the bridge the PCs will notice ahead mounted into the rock face are 2 large round copper markers. The left one has a three fingered hand pointing down the passage with strange writing under it. The other shows a crude outline of a shark. Across the very,very,very,very,very old plank bridge is  a tunnel opening the leads to the DeepWilds proper. I've always wanted to see a group of PCs fight giant spiders on a rope bridge...

Dungeon23 The DeepWilds Tradeway complete maps

 

Dungeon23 Room 243 (A Deepwilds Crossroads)

Built thru the living rock the bridge will take the PCs from the outer trade zones in towards the Demon Sea. Domain of the Sahuagin, Locathah, and Kuo Toa. And the Deeper Dark regions of the Drow and Duergar. A Cloaker (AC 3(1) HD 6 MM II pg. 25) has taken up residence in the middle of the bridge. Has anyone run out of torches yet?

 

Dungeon23 Room 242 (A DeepWilds Crossroads)

Entering this area the PCs will feel the space open up into this immense chamber. Here the crevasse splits. One branch leads to the Demon Sea the other leads deeper into the DeepWild where the Deurgar and Drow cities are. Where the PCs enter the crossroads is the most perilous spot for the crossroads. Flying around in the dark high up near the cavern ceiling are 6 Mobats (AC 7 HD 4-6 MMII pg. 15) Now, off the right of the trail is the crevasse. What the PCs do ot know is on the wall opposite the trail is a nest of 4 Giant Spiders (AC 4 HD 4+4 MM pg. 90) Should the PCs stray to within 10' of the edge the Spiders will be curious to know if, whatever that is, is edible. Yes the spiders will have surprise.

Dungeon23 Room 241 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Behind some boulders in a recess in the cavern wall resides a Rock Trapper (AC 2 HD 8 MMII pg. 10 Reskinned Ant Lion) Across the cavern floor there is just Crevasse, deep, dark, and did I say deep?

 

Dungeon23 Room 240 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Akin to a roadside shrine in the surface world, here we have a shrine to the Void Father that has been corrupted by Egon's Queen. A further corruption is the 3 Gray Ooze (AC 8 HD 3+3 MM pg. 49) living in the shrine. There is a statue of the Void Father but it is disfigured and pitted from acid.

 

Dungeon23 Room 239 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

PCs will feel rather than see the cavern open up on one side into a deep crevasse.  On the left side next to the wall are 23 Svirfneblin Deep Gnomes (AC 2 and better HD 3+6 FF pg. 84) with a Giant Pack Lizard (AC 5 HD 3+1 MM pg. 61)

Additionally every 6 turns (60 minutes) there is a 30% chance that a swarm of bats (1-16) or giant bats (17-20) flying up out of the crevasse. Be glad its just bats, there are much worse things down here... in the dark...

Dungeon23 Room 238 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Whether they dealt with the bats or not, entering the area of of the loose rocks are 23 Giant Centipedes (AC 9 HD 1/4 MM pg. 14. Of course there is the crevasse...

 

Dungeon23 Room 237 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

I've often thought about deep earth structures and how they would appear. What their origins are, etc. I have made the executive decision not to try for logical this time. Hence we have multiple floor to ceiling rough rock columns. At the top of which 17 Giant Bats (AC 8/1-4 h.p. FF pg.14) And because I like to keep players on their toes, in the piles of guano at the base of the columns are 11 Rot Grub (AC 9/1 h.p. MM pg. 83) Aaaaaand a Scarab of Death. That last bit is just because I'm evil.

 

Dungeon23 Room 236 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Oh! Right, this is what is keeping the ant numbers down. Oscar the Tunnel worm (AC 4 HD 9+3 MMII pg. 128) At the end of Oscar's tunnel is a nest with 3 Megalopedes (AC 5 HD 3 MMII pg. 24) & 3 uncut gem stones approximately the size of a butternut squash. A topaz, an amethyst, and a fire opal. Each is worth 1000 gp. Considerably more to the M-U looking to become a Seer.

 

Dungeon23 Room 235 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

There seems to be a major ant infestation down here. 63 Giant Ants (AC 3 HD 2 MM pg. 7) So is anyone else wondering what is keeping the ant population in check? Jus sayin...

 

Dungeon23 Room 234 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Across the passage are the who and what the trogs were trading with, 10 Deep Twargs (AC 5 HD 3+1 Reskinned Bugbears MM pg. 12) Their pack lizards (5 Giant Lizards AC 5 HD 3+1 MM pg. 61) The Twargs are outside the cave, lizards inside.

Dungeon23 Room 233 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Once thru the trogwallows, the PCs ca resume their trek deeper into the tradeways. Along the left side of the passage, among some large rocks are 17 Troglodytes (AC 5 HD 2 MM pg. 97). They are currently packing up 6000 sp, 6000 ep, and 19 gems. Reasonable to assume they were trading with someone... or somethings...

 

Dungeon23 Room 232 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

After the PCs defeat the 17 Troglodytes (AC 5 HD 2 MM pg. 97) they might ask themselves why none of the trogs reached for the big shiney magic sword that is hanging on the wall of the cavern. Because the shiney +2 wsord is a Cursed Berzerker.

 

Dungeon23 Room 231 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

In the main nesting area of the Troglodytes there are 23 Trogs (AC 5 HD 2 MM pg. 97) and scattered among the nests PCs will find 18 gems and 4 scrolls. Mind the gap.

Dungeon23 Room 230 (The DeepWilds Tradeway

If instead you choose passage number one, the fishing trogs passage, the PCs will end up in the entry to the trogwallows proper. And it just so happens that there are 19 Troglodytes here (AC 5 HD 2 MM pg. 97)

Dungeon23 Room 229 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

If the PCs go down the passage that leads from room 227 you will come upon the first of the Trogwallows. There are 16 Troglodytes (AC 5 HD 2 MM pg. 97) in this area.

Dungeon23 Room 228 (The Deepwilds Tradeway)

Continuing back into the passage, past the fishing trogs, the passage narrows and the PCs stand a 60% chance of running into 1d6 Troglodytes (AC 5 HD 2 MM pg. 97)

Dungeon23 Room 227 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Back across the cavern, the rest of the fishing detail awaits. 24 Troglodytes (AC 5 HD 2 MM pg. 97) The leader of this band carries a Philter of Persuasiveness and wears a pale blue rhomboid Ioun Stone as a pendant. Running out of the back of the cavern is a passage.

 

Dungeon23 Room 226 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Across the cavern floor from the fishing trogs, the PCs will find another section of crevasse. Living in this particular stretch of crevasse are 4 Huge Pedipalps (AC 4 HD 2+2 MMII pg. 100)

Dungeon23 Room 225 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Proceeding along the cavern the PCs will happen on a group of 18 Troglodytes (AC 5 HD 2 MM pg. 97) They appear to be fishing in the crevasse. For what are they fishing? Are you sure you want to know?

Dungeon23 Room 224 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Sticking up out of the floor are 3 spurs of rock, at the center of those spurs is a nest of 49 Giant Ants (AC 3 HD 2 MM pg. 7) Those parties brave enough to climb down into the nest will be able to find the ant's shiney gurglies Potions: Heroism x 2, Oil of Etheralness x 2, Water Breathing, Animal Control, Speed.

 

Dungeon23 Room 223 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Tucked away in this cozy little one bedroom is a rich vein of ferrous metal. Perfect starter cave for a pair of newly mated Rust Monsters (AC 2 HD 5 MM pg. 83)

 

Dungeon23 Room 222 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

To the left of the ruined shrine are 2 floor to ceiling rock columns, behind those another section of the passage wall have collapsed into the crevasse. Hanging out on the columns are 5 giant lizards AC 5 HD 3+1 MM pg. 61) Now these are the ridin' lizard variety 15' not the hungry 20' variety. At the base of one of the pillars is a well camouflaged set of 5 leather bags containing the tackle for the giant lizards. It is worth 3000sp.

And by the way Simon, NO you may not try to descend the crevasse...

Dungeon23 Room 221 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Unfortunately for the gibberlings, they would have soon discovered the lair of 4 Cave Fishers (AC 4 HD 3 MMII pg. 24) across the passage.

Dungeon23 Room 220 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

Exiting the ruined shrine the PCs will hear a commotion, a ruckus, if you will off to their right. Approaching the the sound they will discover a hoard? horde? Hodor? of 23 Gibberlings (AC 10 HD 1 FF pg. 43) The Gibberlings have just made the perilous climb out of the DeepWilds crevasse. In case you were thinking about it, they started that climb with 103 Gibberlings.... You have been warned.

 

Dungeon23 Room 219 (The DeepWilds Tradeway)

SO, if you turn left and don't go down to the Gully of Blue gas, this 20' wide passage was obviously carved thru the rock. The passage goes on for about 3000' ending in two heavy stone doors. The doors open inward, on the reverse side they appear to be coated in gold at first glance. Closer examination will reveal the doors to be clad in iron pyrite. Thru the doors looking to the left the PCs will see a mosaic of the Void Father, only this one has a bubbling pool with jagged sides and a foul stench emanating from it. This shrine to the Void Father has been corrupted by the Spore goo of the Fungus Queen. Sharing the pool are also 3 Gray Oozes (AC 8 HD 3+3 MM pg. 49) Across the threshold of the room is a mosaic frame made of iron pyrite, curious I feel...