30 Minute Dungeon

I’ve seen The Bogeyman’s Cave’s 30 minute dungeon challenge floating around on /r/osr for the last few days so I decided to try my hand at it.

It turns out writing an entire dungeon in 30 minutes is hard! Mine blew out to about 45 minutes but I don’t hate it so here it is!

Hook:

An evil wizard has been terrorising the town with swarms of killer bees for long enough. The townspeople have pooled their money to pay someone to deal with the problem.

Approach:

The tower the wizard lives in may once have been stone. It is now a horrific mass of twisted flesh and stone and black honeycomb. Swarms of bees hang lazily in the air and fly out to do his bidding.

1: ENTRYWAY (T)

The tower can be accessed by a cyclopean doorway veiled by a translucent black honey-like substance. The veil could be parted with a shield to allow people to pass through without touching it. Anybody who walks through the veil without first parting it must pass a CON test or take 1d6 poison damage.

2: LIBRARY (E)

The library looks as though it hasn’t been used in decades. The shelves are in a state of disrepair and the books are largely rotten. If players search the room, they can find a small lockbox on a high shelf (DEX check at disadvantage to unlock, contains 4d10 gold coins). On the far side of the room is a curved stairwell winding upwards to 3: HOMUNCULUS LABORATORY

3: HOMUNCULUS LABORATORY (C)

The stairwell deposits you in a charnel house. Gore-coated bones cover the floor. Rusty instruments of butchery hang on the walls. In this room is 1d6 weeping homunculi. The only other exit in this room leads to 4: QUEEN BEE’S THRONEROOM

WEEPING HOMUNCULUS HD 1 (5 avg)

Wretched 4 foot tall golems. Made from the flesh of those taken from the village. They do their creator’s bidding, quietly weeping seemingly unendingly.

Melee – STR (1 close) 1d4 (2) damage

4: QUEEN BEE’S THRONEROOM (T)

This room’ walls and floor are made from dark, fleshy honeycomb which weeps black honey in places. In one wall there is a hole where bees may enter and exit. Take a hex grid and mark a path through it. Do not show this to the players. If players step off of the path, they must pass a CON test or take 1d6 poison damage. There is a shabby looking wooden door hanging off it’s hinges to the north (to 6: FLESH GOLEM HALLWAY) and an alcove to the east (to 5: ALCOVE).

5: ALCOVE (S)

On a pedestal in the center of this small room is a crown which appears to be made from the twisted flesh which makes up so much of this tower.

Queen Bee’s Crown

Wearing the crown makes the character immune to the black honey’s poison. Removing the crown is painful and causes 1d4 damage.

6: FLESH GOLEM HALLWAY (C)

This narrow hallway is guarded by a monstrous flesh golem. It stands in the centre, blocking the way but inactive. If anybody touches it, it snaps to life and attacks. Behind the golem is the doorway to 7: MASTER BEDROOM

FLESH GOLEM HD 5 (21 avg) A monstrous mass of twisted flesh. These golems don’t fear death and are unflinchingly loyal to their master.

Melee – STR (1 close) 1d12 (6) damage

7: MASTER BEDROOM (E)

Like the Library, the master bedroom appears to have been untouched for decades. The bedding is rotting and every surface is covered in dust. If players search under the bed they will find a book which will teach a magic user SUMMON WEEPING HOMUNCULUS. To the east is a doorway to 8: STORAGE ROOM. To the west is a stairwell to 9: THE APIARY.

**SUMMON WEEPING HOMUNCULUS ** requires a freshly murdered corpse to cast. Creates a weeping homunculus until dismissed or destroyed. (see definition above)

8: STORAGE ROOM (T)

The storage room is full of dusty crates. Prying them open reveals that they were full of fruit and vegetables once, but it has all long since spoiled.

9: THE APIARY (E)

As you approach the top of the stairs you can hear an almighty buzzing. As you reach the doorway, you see black bees swarming on every surface. As the hive notices the intruders, they seem to part and form a path to the door on the opposite side of the room. If players don’t do anything aggressive towards the bees, the bees don’t do anything. If they do, all bees in the tower will attack the players for 1 damage per turn until they die or flee. Fighting the bees is impossible, there are too many and how would you even go about it?

10: THE APIARIST’S QUARTERS

The Apiarist is an ancient human sitting on a throne of black honeycomb and flesh. His long beard touches the ground. Bees come and go from his mouth and nose and eye sockets. It is apparent that he has been dead for a very, very long time. If a character is wearing the crown, nothing happens. If not, the bees form an APIARY GOLEM and attack.

APIARY GOLEM HD 5 (21 avg)

Melee - STR (1 Close) 1d12 (6avg) damage

Split! If reduced to 0HP, replace with two LESSER APIARY GOLEMS.

LESSER APIARY GOLEM HD 2 (9 avg)

Melee – STR (1 Close) 1d6 (3avg) damage