The First King's Cliff
On a lovely Discord server named the Discord of Many Things, I host a monthly prompt in exchange for a shiny badge. July's prompt was about dinosaurs - anything but writing up a monster block was a valid entry for the Archeologist role. I revived an old concept for a jam I wanted to do and gave up on, and I'm excited to run this some time and see if it's as nifty as I think. Note that I think the loot inside is kinda sparse, so if you are using this with a system that cares about money, consider sprinkling in some more prizes. Enjoy!
On the coast a few day's travel from the nearest town, a cliff overlooks the sea. Long ago, a necromancer was struck down here by a legendary hero, shattering the tower atop it - however, locals have never settled here, believing that the mage's spirit haunts the cliff and causes earthquakes and disaster. Who knows what that mage left behind here?
Forgive the blurriness. May or may not come back and actually scan or digitally draw this. You get the vibes, though.
1F
The floor of the necromancer's bastion, a 30 ft radius circle of red brick. Spiral stairs follow the wall, leading up to the top floor. A large hole in the ground descends to the cavern below (Room D), two thick iron spikes jammed into the ground with a rope ladder leading below.
Below the eastern window, three bundles of wool surround a pile of pink and tan leather bags and a smoldering bed of coals. Within their bags are lanterns, rations, torches, and among them is a pickaxe and shovel. This is the camp of the reptilians, attempting to mine for riches between earthquakes.
2F
The roof of the bastion, where he was struck down. It smells of pure alcohol and ash, even years later. A flock of dead ravens, their feathers falling out as they still cock their heads, guard a nest of dull blue and beige eggs almost as large as they are. (These eggs will hatch into larger, raptor-like ravens, a blessing from the First King. Someday their children may evolve scales and fangs.)
Room A
A small alcove, 15 feet across at it's longest point. Only accessible through the waterfall in D's inlet. Inside, a smooth fossil has been mostly excavated by erosion in the sandstone; 2 feet tall, it is clearly an egg made of stone. This is the egg of the last prince, the final ancestor of the First King. It is slightly embedded in the pool of water still.
Room B
This room is one of the wider in this cavern, worn down by two streams of water - one from an exit to the beach and bottom of the cliff in the northeast, and another near the southeast with a human-sized hole. A reptilian stands guard, though doesn't acknowledge anyone unless they speak to her first. She is Dourna, a hunter and fisher that carries a spear while her clutchmates dig. She was ordered to stand guard and not let anyone pass. She has a soft spot for children; her siblings and their hatchlings are very dear to her.
Room C
The inlet from B leads up a mined entrance to a pool of water - in the southwest corner, harder stone rises above it, where reptilians have brought down picks and started a tunnel down towards the sound of rushing water. They are about 3 days out from finding... something important, if undisturbed.
In the tunnel between C and the ceiling of F, there is a fossil of a plesiosaurus that has nearly vibrated free. When three earthquake encounters have occurred, the plesiosaurus skull is unearthed and awakens for blood, stretching all the way into C but running out of neck near the exit. Treat as a Skeleton Raptor which dismembers a limb when it deals Critical Damage.
Room D
The largest and most open of the caverns, spanning nearly 120 feet in a roughly round shape. Two streams of water rush from the northeast wall, forming a waterfall (room A), and to the east down rocky stair-like cliffs (room B). They join one another at the middle of the room around a brown and smooth stalagtite, flowing into more caves in the southwest. A rope ladder dangles from the ceiling about 2 feet from the ground.
Laying in the water on the way to the western caverns is a human skeleton. If it is moved, it will groan dramatically and ask to be put back down. It is the enduring spirit of the necromancer from decades past, bound here by his own magic. He is deeply embarrassed that this whole thing is going on.
The smooth stalagmite in the center of the room is not just a stalagmite - it is a tooth of the Ancient King, broken off in some battle before time and buried in peat beside him. A chip of it taken with the King's blessing may act as a relic.
Room E
Along the winding stream down to room F is a slightly elevated cliff. Astute climbers may poke their head in to find a 20 ft radius cavern with low ceilings. The floors are filled with bone and black, rotting viscera at the back edges, glass vials and books near the center. This is the lair of the Sea Hag, who is here unless it has been encountered and stuck somewhere else. It will ambush anyone attempting to climb over the cliff.
Inside the lair is a spellbook of Phobia (A nearby creature becomes terrified of an object of your choice.), 2 potions of Healing (Recover 3 STR), and 36 GP.
Room F
A cool pool of water where it all flows. A green spear crackles with light, showing the faint shadows of trilobite shells swimming in the pool.
The spear is the Black Mage Piercer, a magical weapon (d8) which slowly animates the dead around it. When impaled in the earth, the nearest skeleton, fossil, or other dead body rises from the dead over the course of a number of hours equal to it's HP in life. Once risen, it becomes an undead ally under the wielder's control. If another creature is risen in this way, the old one falls apart. (The fossils in the cliff's cave are not animated by the staff anymore; The First King has taken back his people.)
Encounter table
| 1d4 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | EARTHQUAKE |
| 2 | EARTHQUAKE |
| 3 | EARTHQUAKE |
| 4 | 2 Reptilian scouts |
When any Earthquake is rolled, replace the result with 1d4 skeleton raptors. When the second Earthquake is rolled, the rope bridge from 1F falls into room D. When the third Earthquake is rolled, the cliffside entrance in B crumbles on itself.
Skeleton Raptors
6 HP, 12 STR, 14 DEX, 8 WIL, bite (d8)
- Turkey-sized skeletons of reptiles. Obsidian-sharp teeth.
- All that remains of an ancient warband.
Reptilian
5 HP, 1 Armor, 14 STR, 12 DEX, 5 WIL, bone spear (d8)
- Amphibian humanoids that live in large tribes near swamps and jungles.
- Craft their armor and weapons from the bones of their prey. They will eat anything, including humanoids.
Reptilian Loot - Spears, ropes, grappling hooks, 2d10 GP, nets.
Sea Hag
6 HP, 11 STR, 15 DEX, 14 WIL, long claws (d6+d6)
- Ghostly, green-skinned hags that dwell in seaweed forests and warm shallow waters.
- Immune to magic from spellbooks.
- Hideous Gaze: A target is overcome with fear (HP drops to 0). WIL save each round to break the spell.
Sea hag loot - Reptilian teeth, hag eyes, small fossils.
The First King's Fang
A chip from the fossilized tooth from the lord of all dinosaurs. The relic can be used once; when impaled into a person, they join the King's guard. The person develops strong bones resistant to even time (+1 armor), reptilian eyes (heat vision), and they grow a random trait from his noble citizens. The fang then falls out, and can be recharged by burying it in a peat bog and letting it burn.
- Brachiosaurus Neck - Your neck can extend to twice your height. It doesn't fully shrink back down, but it looks mostly normal.
- Triceratops Horns - Unarmed attacks with your head do 1d8 damage.
- Archaeopteryx Wings - If you fall, your early wings can glide somewhat gracefully to the ground.
- Archelon Shell - Your back is leathery and stiff - when you retreat, you can make a STR save instead of DEX.
- Velociraptor Legs - You can sprint short distances easily if you aren't running for a long time; for example, in your first round of combat, you can move twice without taking an action.
- Haikouichthys Gills - You can breathe underwater.