A Naiad named Dasani (d23 Week 2)

 

A bizarrely fitting and disturbing stock image

The Sunset Palace of the Starry Sultan overview.

Week 1

I am a little behind this week, but here are the next completed rooms.

9: The Fountain

The floor is a tile mosaic of flowers and greenery all coming out from a decorative fountain in the center of the room, in the shape of angelic trumpeters. 

If you look in the fountain, it’s bottom is covered in gold coins: 100gp in total. If you put another gold piece into the fountain, your reflection begins to speak to you and will answer you three questions about the palace. If you attempt to take from the fountain, your reflection will turn on you, sneak attacking from the water and climbing out to make battle. It has your exact stats and abilities.

There is a wall of moss with purple flowers that was once decorative and is now entirely overgrown. Bringing this moss to the Moss Mother will not only open a way to this room, but also to the Cells in room 26.

There is a breach in the wall leading into a tunnel in the obsidian caves in the west wall.

10: Blaw and Gor

Two towering, lumpy figures sit in this cavern. They are the cave trolls Blaw and Gor, who sit around all day, playing little games of their own creation and complaining about wizards. Apparently, some wizard made them and now they attribute most negative things in life to the machinations of wizards. Most recently, they are complaining about how their friend Ogl was taken captive and altered by the “wizards” residing in another cave.

They are not prone to violence, but will be enraged unless you play their games and pay for a copy, insisting you play their games instead of the “wizards’ game.” You will gain a lot of good will with them if you play games with them involving strange dice and rules they are constantly updating and even more good will if you spend even a single gold piece purchasing one of their games.

They know the wizard's password is Bluebeard and they have used this knowledge to throw poop into his living quarters as they are too big to fit through the door.

Blaw and Gor: +4 Polyhedral Smash (1d12+1), 30HP, 10AC, Saves: -1. SP: Rules Rewrite: Each round, all targets engaged in combat with Blaw and/or Gor are subject to new rules for how the game works for example (1d4):

1. New method for Initiative, see Troika bag-drawing, rolling a d6 every round, 5e style initiative, ect.
2. Critical Hits change, max damage, see DCC for Crit Charts, roll to confirm, ect.
3. Main rolling mechanic change: Apocalypse World style 2d6, Blades in the Dark d6 pool, Troika 2d6 opposing rolls, ect.
4. Something Wacky, ala FKR no rolls, break out the Tarot Cards, Rock, Paper, Scissors, the whole thing briefly becomes a dating sim or Maid RPG, ect.

11: Massage Room

Byzantine tile. The wall is a mosaic of the sea with buxom mermaids. The floor is covered in tiles marked by seashells. Raised massage tables. The gentle trickle of a decorative waterfall. Two naiad masseuses, Aquafina and Dasani, lounge here in absolute boredom. They were bound here in the days of Emperor Naximus. They will gladly give you massages in exchange for setting them free from their bindings although they don’t know how to do that. There are many plastic water bottles in an ever-cold box here. Apparently the Akavasians knew the secret of producing plastic but it has been lost to time.

Their massages give +2d4 temporary HP and give you Advantage on Saves for the next hour.

The binding mechanism is a runic seashell that is hidden behind the waterfall. If it is broken, the naiads will be freed. If the players have been nice to the naiads, the naiads will simply flee. If they have been unkind or held their imprisonment over them, the naiads will attack them after giving them a non-magical massage.

Naiad: +3 Webbed Claws (1d6+1), 16HP, 12AC, Saves: +2. SP: Watery Form: Once per round, the Naiad may, in response to a melee attack, transform into a watery form. The blow passes right through them and deals no damage, however, electrified attacks actually deal double damage.

Drowning Gaze: The Naiad fixes a target with her gaze, suddenly the target feels like their lungs are filling up with water. Each round, the target must make a Mgt Save. If they fail three times, they die. If they succeed three times, the effect ends. While this effect lasts, the target cannot cast or concentrate on spells.

12: Well

This small, rough obsidian cavern has a well dug into the middle of the floor. The water is icy and deep, but at the very bottom there is a metal box locked to a chain attached to the ground with a padlock. 

The water is deeper than most people can hold their breath both going down and up. If you could free the box and then rise very quickly, you would manage to stay conscious. 

In the metal box, is a Blade of Daring Deeds. This is a magic blade that deals 1d8 damage. You may add 1d3 to attack rolls and damage with this weapon. If you roll a 3 on this d3, you may perform a Mighty Deed ala DCC’s Warrior. (If you are already using DCC, this gives a first level Mighty Deed Die to a class that wouldn't otherwise have it or allows a Warrior to roll their Deed Die with Advantage once per combat.)

13: Wizard's Quarters

If you approach from the eastern hall, there is an out of place wooden door here with a peep hole. A single eye appears behind the hole, saying, "Password?" The password is Bluebeard. 

The door is actually a Mimic that the wizard feeds Cliff Slugs and the occasional intruder. It doesn't like the taste much and might be enticed with better meat. It feels under appreciated for its work and might be convinced to turn against the wizard. The Mimic is also marked with some runes which might be identified as Lightning Ward, Knock Reversal, and Alarm.

If anyone touches the door without speaking the password, whatever they touch it with sticks mightily. The Lightning Ward then activates, dealing 2d6 Mgt Save to halve or 3d6 if the person is using a metal weapon or wearing metal armor. The Lighting Ward only goes off once and the wizard has to reactivate it. The Alarm rune goes off blaring out loud noise that provokes an encounter check each round it can be heard. The Mimic then attacks.

If anyone attempts to open the door by means of a Knock spell or similar effect, the Knock Reversal goes off, throwing back the caster, knocking them prone, and dealing 2d6 Agl Save to halve. The Alarm goes off. The Mimic then attacks. 

Mimic: +3 Vicious Claws (2 Attacks, 1d6+2), 25HP, 13AC, Saves: +2. SP: Sticky: The Mimic's body is sticky and things tend to sink into it harmlessly. Non-magical melee or missile attacks made against the Mimic deal half damage and, in the case of melee, the attacker must make a Mgt Save or the weapon gets stuck in the Mimic's body. Creatures stuck to the Mimic are attacked with Advantage.

Within the room, there is an uncomfortable cot on the obsidian ground. There are a few filthy robes, a bathroom bucket, and a desk on which Umma has several drafts of vitriolic letters being sent to various magical schools, public institutions, and children's authors. 

There is also a locked chest within which there are the following Spell Scrolls and there is a teddy bear there that appears to have a blue beard. This is precious to the wizard, Umma Al-Desar the Disgraced, and he will do almost anything to protect it.

• Flame Sickle: A sweeping blade of flame spreads out in a circle from the caster. Enemies within 10ft take 2d6+2 damage, Agl Save to halve.
• Seal Portal: A door you touch becomes magically enforced and can only be opened once the magic is dispelled. Lasts 1 hour.
• Silence: Cast upon an object or point within line of sight. All sound is magically nullified within 20ft of the target for 1 hour. 

14: The Wizard's Workshop

If you enter this room from the north or east entrances, you will find the way blocked by circular metal rings built into the tunnel walls emitting an electrical buzz. If anything tries to pass through, lighting lashes out, dealing 1d6. If you can short out the current, the gates will shut down. Sticking a metal rod in the middle of a gate and then touching the rod to the edges of the gate should do it as would overloading the gate with an external electric charge. 

The Workshop itself is a cave in the side of the obsidian cliffs. The maw of this cave overlooks Itarra with a stunning view of its domes and minarets. Umma Al-Desar the Disgraced is here working on altering Ogl the Ogre. Ogl is chained down to a metal slab. Umma is facing a work bench bearing a strange silver device to the eastern wall, working on a new organ for Ogl that is something like a cross between a pig's anus and a shark's mouth and it goes in the abdomen. If an alarm has not been triggered, she is concentrating hard. If an alarm has been triggered the same thing appears to be true but it is an illusion and Umma is under an invisibility spell waiting to strike.

Umma the Disgraced: +0 Staff Whack (1d4), 15HP, 13AC (Amulet of Mage Armor), Saves: +0 Mgt, +1 Agl, +3 Mnd. SP: Staff of Spell Strike: Each round the wielder of this staff casts a spell, they may make a free Mnd attack against a target within 30ft, dealing 1d6.

Umma has the following spells:

• Mirror Image: Create 1d4+1 illusory images of the caster. Each illusion takes a hit for the caster before vanishing. Lasts 1 hour.
• Force Bubble: Up to two targets within a 10ft radius within 30ft are trapped in a large bubble kind of like a human-sized hamster ball. Nothing can pass through the barrier. The bubble is super bouncy and elastic. Moving within it takes a Mgt Save.
• Invisibility: The caster turns invisible until they make an attack or cast a spell. Lasts 1 hour.
• (2) Magic Missile: The caster creates three magic bolts of force that unerringly hit targets within 30ft, dealing 1d4 each.
• Electric Pulse: A sphere of lightning appears in a space within 30ft. Everything within a 15ft radius of the sphere takes 1d6 damage each round they begin their turn in the radius. Lasts 1d6+2 rounds.

Ogl is under a mind control spell powered by a collar around her neck, covered in runes. Attacking the collar with missile weapons is very difficult (20AC), but if you climb on the But she will fight the effect instead of attacking for a round if she is shown polyhedral dice from Blaw and Gor's games.

When combat begins, Umma will speak a command word on her turn that undoes the chains on Ogl and she will join the fray.

Ogl the Altered Ogre: +4 Hulking Fists (2 Attacks, 1d12+1), 40HP, 10AC, Saves: +4 Mgt, +1 Agl, -2 Mnd. SP: Each round, instead of attacking, Ogl can use one of the following alien organs:

• Flame Belching Belly: 20ft cone, dealing 2d6, Agl Save for half. Flammable things light on fire.
• Secondary Tongue: 20ft range, entangles and drags a target, Mgt Save to resist.
• Stink Sack: All creatures within 50ft, must Save or be sickened, unable to cast or concentrate on spells and making all attacks with Disadvantage as their eyes water.

Things of Value:

• Umma's Staff of Spell Strike: Allows the wielder to make a free Mnd attack against a target within 30ft, dealing 1d6 after they cast a spell. Worth 500gp.
• Umma's Ring of Mage Armor: Gives a Magic User +3AC. Worth 200gp.
• The Organ Fabricator: A silver device made of spinning spheres, interlocked in an otherworldly organic fashion. This is a device stolen from the Cult of the Star Seekers. It can be used to transform biomass into particular organs. Giving one Spell Tumors is a basic function. More on this device in another post. It is worth 1000gp. The Cult may also thank you for returning it, for 1500gp.
• Umma's Notes: Umma's spell book and notes on how to use the Organ Fabricator.
• A Vat of Biomass: Gross, but perhaps useful for the Fabricator.
• Umma's Roc, Wilfred: A giant red bird is tethered outside the cave, capable of carrying two riders. Umma must have stolen him from the Grand Rookery of the Feathered Fellows. This would make for a quick way to and from the city although the Roc is far too large to fit into most of the passages of the palace.

Outside the mouth of the cave is a thin ledge that leads to the treacherous rock wall in area 32 and you can see the stair going down to the lower levels in area 31.