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princesses-and-pioneers · 5 years ago

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Santicorn 2019: Tarot Dungeon

The OSR Discord is conducting its second annual Secret Santicorn, a Secret Santa event but with OSR creators and content requests. I’ve received a lovely dungeon, the Temple of Lethe, from SherlockHole at The Mimic’s Nest. In turn, my gift to AuraTwilight of Paimon’s Silver City is a dungeon based on tarot arcana.

To Aura: Sorry I couldn’t do the greaser! I’ll write some magical girl stuff to make up for it. Also sorry it’s so late, I got stuck a bunch of times so this is more a collection of ideas than a cohesive dungeon. Hope you enjoy it, and Happy Holidays!

The Hand of Fate

An ambitious scholar made it their life’s work to understand the secrets of fate, how to predict it, and how to change it. After years of collecting knowledge, they built a wondrous palace in the mountains and invited visitors from far and wide, both seeking new secrets to add to their research and offering their divination services for a fee. The palace is interwoven with their fate-altering magic, said to look different to each visitor. Now the scholar has vanished, but their palace still stands, home to invaluable knowledge and valuable treasure alike.

An idea for the dungeon entrance:

Bridge A pair of stone columns sit 10’ apart at the edge of a canyon, forming a doorway to a sheer drop. Between the columns lies a large bindle containing a statue of a small white dog, with a piece of paper attached reading “Seekers of truth, pay your toll, and let the light be your guide”. When fed money, the dog comes to life and glows like a soft flame (3 hours on 1 gp), shedding light that materializes ethereal things within 10’. The dog is friendly and will follow basic commands.

An ethereal stone bridge spans the canyon between the two columns, ending at an ornate wooden door painted with a white rose. The rest of the palace becomes visible when the door is opened-- a grand, lofty structure of stone columns.

(Buxian Bridge, Huangshan, China.)

A room idea for each major arcana card. Rooms can be rolled for randomly, either on a set map or in a nebulous, shifting space like the Gardens of Ynn.

Room Contents (d22)

Chasm. A bottomless pit bisects the room, too far to jump.

Workshop. A table inlaid with a magic circle. 4 paints sit next to it, each labeled with an element (fire, air, water, earth). Shapes drawn in the circle will transform into objects made from the chosen element.

Veil. A thin veil hangs between a white pillar and a black pillar, completely dividing the room. Both pillars are made of a chalky pigment that rubs off easily; the veil is intangible to anything marked with white pigment, and solid as stone to anything marked with black pigment.

Garden. Beautiful trees, crops, and running water. The garden has a calming, nurturing atmosphere, and here living creatures heal 1 HP per turn.

Throne Room. A grand room with a regal, gilded throne. While sitting on the throne, any command you give to another creature must be followed, but you must make a Wisdom save to stand up, with a -1 penalty for every command you have given.

A locked cabinet containing a golden staff and 56 keys, each assigned to a specific fateworker (4 models, 14 units each). The wielder of the staff sees through the eyes of every fateworker whose key is attached to the staff.

Fruit Tree. 2d6 delicious-looking fruits. Eating one gives you a random unusual sense, and encounters in the dungeon have +1 morale when fighting you specifically.

Palanquin. The size of a wagon, with solid walls and locking doors. The person in the driver’s seat can mentally direct the palanquin to hover 5’ in the air and move as fast as a horse. The driver takes 1d6 damage per turn from the strain.

Statue. A woman holding both hands out in a pacifying gesture. Any creature within 10’ of the statue must Save to do anything aggressive or violent.

Wasteland. A vast room shrouded in magical darkness. Takes 2 turns to cross.

Wheel of Reversal. A raised stone wheel with two pedestals on opposite ends, turned by a crank on the wall. When turned 180 degrees, anything on the two pedestals will have their most opposite properties exchanged. Ex: dagger and torch switch material, fighter and wizard switch classes, identical twins switch personality.

Scales. Each hanging pan is large enough to hold a person comfortably. Weighs contents depending on how moral they are.

Gallows. If you hang from them upside-down (the way that kills you slower) for a turn, you can ask the GM one question about the dungeon or something in it.

Graveyard. Several coffins containing a variety of perfectly preserved humanoid bodies. In the center sits a suit of black plate armor with the word “Rebirth” carved on the skull-shaped helmet. Anyone who puts on the armor drops dead, and their soul reawakens in a random one of the bodies.

Canal. A wide raft floats slowly down the deep channel. High ledges on either side are piled with treasures, but standing close enough to reach them will tip the raft and cause it to start flooding.

Altar. A sacrificial fire burns atop it, magically compelling anyone who sees it to throw themself in. Shadow copies of anyone who has touched the fire appear to drag others in.

Tower. Several stories tall, with a good view of several other rooms in the dungeon. Thunderclouds hover over it, and once per turn a lightning bolt strikes a random spot on the tower (4d6 damage, Save for half).

Reflecting Pool. The room is dark, but the pool reflects the light of 2d6 small stars and one large one. The stars are embedded in the ceiling; small stars are precious gemstones and the large star sheds light like a lantern and boosts nearby magic.

A stone well, with a dim, foreboding light suspended above it. Anyone who focuses on the light for more than a few seconds must Save vs. fear or fall into a deep sleep. Nightmares of sleeping creatures emerge from the well every round.

Sunflowers. A dense field of flowers, taller than a person. The heads face upward, allowing a careful person to walk across them. The flowers radiate uplifting energy, and eating one can heal a minor injury or curse.

Crypts. Rows of coffins in alcoves along the wall; a trumpet rests on a central one. When you blow it, the nearest body rises as an undead under your command. After the first use each day, you must Save or the undead will be hostile towards you.

Dungeon Map. A large spread of purple cloth with the dungeon layout traced by glowing lines. Two wands sit next to it; one draws on the map and the other erases. Any changes to the map manifest in the dungeon.

A dungeon denizen, based on the minor arcana. Fateworkers are the palace staff, meant to perform maintenance and serve visitors while the scholar is busy perfecting their research.

Fateworker 1 HD (5 HP), unarmored, move normal, morale 8, punch 1d4 OR attack varies by model Human-sized clockwork automaton. Wheels for feet, white sash with logo indicating model type. Tinny, synthesized female voice. Wants to assist guests and eliminate disruptions in the dungeon. Logical and calculating, but somewhat gullible.

W-model: red flame logo, carries wand, 1/day spells: firebolt, light, minor illusion P-model: gold coin logo, carries toolkit, can repair broken object or fateworker in 1 turn C-model: blue goblet logo, carries pump and internal tank that holds 1 gallon of liquid S-model: silver sword logo, armor as leather, carries longsword (1d8) and shield

(A cross between Light Hope from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and IG-11 from The Mandalorian. These shows are both very good.)

Bonus: Tarot Encounters

These probably don’t fit with the dungeon rooms above, but I also statted up a few creatures based on the tarot-inspired JoJo stands because that seemed like the kind of thing to do. Disclaimer: I knew nothing about JoJo before starting and know nothing about JoJo now, all information used to make these statblocks comes from the wiki.

Sand Guardian 2 HD (10 HP), unarmored, move 1.5x normal, morale 12, bite 1d8 Sand animated in the form of a quadruped wolf-like creature, with a feathered, beaked mask. Growls like blowing wind. Wants to be left alone and to protect its mask. Wolf intelligence and instincts.

Living sand: Regains 1d6 HP each round as long as there is sand or dirt nearby to patch its wounds. Mask bound: Dissipates into sand if its mask is removed. The mask can be used once per day to form a new sand guardian from a sufficient quantity of earth.

Scarlet Inferno 4 HD (20 HP), unarmored, move normal, morale 12, punch 1d6/punch 1d6 OR fire blast 2d6, 10’ radius, Save for half A muscular humanoid, barely visible like a heat shimmer. Roars like crackling fire. Wants to burn things. Near-human intelligence, but single-minded.

Pure heat: Invisible unless someone spends an action looking for it. Attacking it with things that would put out a fire, like water or smothering foam, turn it visible.

Sludge Shifter 0 HD (2 HP), unarmored, move normal, morale 6, bite 1d4 A fist-sized blob of gray goop with limbs and teeth. Cackles like a high-pitched garbage disposal. Intelligence of a malicious child.

Conglomerate: Can merge with others into harmless gray sludge piles. Mimicry: The pile can return an exact duplicate of any inanimate object submerged in it. The duplicate is actually one or more sludge shifters, waiting for the right moment to transform and bite someone.

Parasite Queen 0 HD (1 HP), unarmored, move none, morale 10, punch 1d2 A brown wart that grows into an ugly brown growth with a face and arms. Screams in an angry gurgle only the host can hear. Wants to find a new host and ruin the current one’s life in the process. Cunning but bastard intelligence.

Symbiosis: Forms where a spore infects a creature’s open wound and grows to full size over a week, reducing the host’s max HP by 1. After another week, buds off into dozens of tiny spores to infect new hosts.

Royal Revolver A sentient magic revolver with +1 to attack and damage. Wants to do impressive tricks and be recognized.

Trick shot: Once per day, its bullets can deflect off of or around objects.

Web Emerald 1 HD (5 HP), unarmored, move normal, morale 8, constrict 1d6, any adjacent targets, OR acid spray 2d6, Save for half A network of interwoven green veins formed into a humanoid mass. Whispers like sizzling acid. Wants to grow and discover new things (by pulling them apart). Predator intelligence, but plant-like.

Unravel: Can unravel itself to about 100’ of rope-like vein, or unravel further into thin strings. No movement speed and can’t spray acid when fully in these forms. Web sense: Can sense anything that touches it, in any form.

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