```col-mdflexGrow=2.5===# OutlineElevation ranges from-5 feet (below ground) to +65 feet (above ground)## 1. Sentinel Posts If adventurers approach the fortress from the north, they will be spotted by drow sentinels located behind concealed doors that are 10 feet above ground level. There is a secret door at ground level between the two sentinel posts.Characters approaching the tree will be fired upon as soon as they are within medium range if they do not give the proper signal, which consists of dropping one's weapons and continuing to advance empty-handed. If a party attempts to bluff its way into the fortress, the female elf at sentinel post (b) will use her detect lie ability to try to determine the truth of the characters' statements. If a full-scale battle breaks out at the base of the tree, the fighters at each sentinel post will fire their missile weapons at the rate of one shot per round. Meanwhile, the fighter/magic-user will go inside the tree and attempt to sound an alarm inside the bugbear barracks (area 2). The bugbears will arrive on the scene via the secret door in 10 rounds after the sentinels start their missile fire. When the bugbears engage the party, the two sentinels will drop down from their elevated posts and join the melee. **A.** This post is occupied by a ==3rd level male drow fighter== who benefits from 75% cover as long as he is at the post and protected by the half-open concealed door. He has a +1 buckler, +1 sword and dagger, and a light crossbow plus 10 darts coated with sleep poison. **B.** This post is occupied by two elves: ==a male fighter/magic-user of 2nd/3rd level== and ==a 3rd level female fighter== armed identically to the sentry at post A. The magic-user can cast magic missile, hold portal, and detect invisibility in addition to his innate magical abilities.## 2. Bugbear Barracks All of the bugbears in these three chambers who are able to do so will respond to a general alarm within 10 rounds, donning scraps of armor and taking up weapons as they go. All of the doors leading between these chambers and into the corridor are closed but not locked. **A.** These sleeping quarters contain eight sets of sturdy double bunks around the walls. ==Seven of the beds are occupied by sleeping bugbears== . They will awaken instantly if intruders enter the room without being absolutely quiet, and will fight fiercely, using their natural attacks. Each bugbear has the equivalent of 1-8 g.p. somewhere on its person or nearby in its personal belongings. **B.** This is a common kitchen and dining hall, currently occupied by three groups of bugbears, classified according to their states of inebriation: - ==five comatose bugbears== ;- ==six highly inebriated bugbears== (AC mod-3 and-5 to hit due to state of inebriation;- and ==four moderately inebriated bugbears== (AC mod-1 and-1 to hit due to state of inebriation)Those who are able to move will start a fight at the slightest provocation. If char-acters sample the drink the bugbears are consuming, they must save vs. poison to avoid suffering paralyzing cramps and sickness for 1-3 rounds thereafter. **C.** This is another sleeping area identical in configuration to **chamber A** , above. Nine of the bunks are occupied by comatose bugbears who will not awaken even under extreme provocation.## 3. Spider Lair This chamber, earmarked for possible future use as slave quarters, is presently the home of ==a giant spider== which hangs suspended from webbing attached to the 20-foot-high ceiling. It will scuttle silently along the webbing and drop down on any character who advances more than 10 feet inside the door to the chamber. The floor of the chamber, except for a 10-foot radius right inside the door, is covered with tough, sticky webbing that will entrap a character who comes into contact with it.## 4. Slave Quarters This “barracks,” nothing more than a hollowed-out area devoid of furnishings, is where slaves are quartered when they are eating or sleeping. At any given time ==11-20 slaves== [roll:d20+10] will be present, overseen by ==a pair of quaggoth guards== stationed at the opening in the southeast corner. If the guards are attacked or threatened, they will run outside, abandoning the slaves, and attempt to re-enter the fortress by way of the secret door at area 1 or the double doors leading to the storeroom (area 6).The slaves will not take any aggressive action and will not flee except in a life-or-death situation, realizing that their chances for survival outside in the forest are virtually nil.## 5. Armory This chamber is separated from the corridor by a thick wooden door bound with iron and closed with a large, ==intricate metal lock (-10% to any thief's chance to pick it)== . A ==glyph of warding has been cast on the door== ; anyone who picks the lock and attempts to open the door without neutralizing the glyph will take 1-10 1d10 points of damage unless a save vs. paralyzation is made.Inside the chamber is a storehouse of weapons and armor. The following are all of drow origin: - five javelins,- two light crossbows,- 30 crossbow darts,- four +1 short swords,- two +1 daggers,- two suits of + 1 chainmail,- three +1 bucklers,- and two packets of drow sleep poison, each sufficient to coat 10 crossbow darts. One of the packets is trapped with a needle mechanism that will be activated by anyone who handles the packet without first disarming the trap. The handler must save vs. poison at-4 to avoid being affected by the sleep poison.Also in the room are several sets of ordinary armor and weapons (chainmail, bucklers, short swords, daggers, light crossbows) used by the drow when they go outside the fortress.## 6. Storeroom and Sludge Well Stacked along the walls of this large chamber are various sacks and crates of foodstuffs and trade goods, but no gems or jewelry or other valuables. This material is booty from various raids that has not yet been transported back to the drow underworld. ==In an alcove in the northern part of the room== is a 5-foot-diameter hole that leads to the lowest depth of the fertilizer (sludge) pit located beneath this level. Slaves draw fertilizer up from the pit by lowering buckets into the hole on ropes and winches, then pulling them back up with full loads of the sludge. The buckets are then carted outside, and their contents dumped into the trenches that ring the northern edge of the fortress complex. ==The two sets of double doors between this area and the outside== of the fortress are wide open any time slaves are on duty. The slaves work in pairs, filling their buckets with sludge and then going out through the northern doorway, heading for the fertilizer trenches. Once every 1 1/2 turns, two different slaves return from the trenches, entering through the northern doorway, with buckets to be re-filled. It only takes one turn for a pair of slaves to load their buckets and leave again, which means that for five minutes out of every fifteen the northern end of this room is vacant. ==The southern doorway== opens onto a short corridor leading into the storeroom; directly across the room at this point is another corridor which leads to **area 7** . Once ==every 15 minutes or so== , two slaves enter the southern doorway laden with sacks of raw materials or buckets of water from the river and disappear into the long corridor.The slaves who work in this area are not strictly supervised or even necessarily watched over. ==However, bugbears and quaggoth are constantly roaming the rooms and corridors of this level== , and can be expected to rush to the scene if they hear sounds of excessive activity, or some sort of disturbance.## 7. Fertilizer Chamber This featureless room, in the exact center of the tree trunk, is located at the end of a steeply ascending corridor that rises to 65 feet above ground level. The corridor is separated from area 6 by a set of wooden double doors that (like the doors in **area 6** ) are only closed and locked during the few hours each night when the slaves are not working.The floor of the chamber itself is level. In the center of the room is a 10-foot-diameter hole that serves as a receptacle for the water and raw materials (dumped into it by slaves) that combine and decompose into sludge. It is this sludge, which settles to the bottom of the pit beneath this area, that is hauled up through the hole in **area 6** and taken out to the fertilizer trenches. (See the cross-section diagramat right)Pairs of slaves come up the corridor and into this chamber every 15 miuntes or so. It takes only a moment for each two workers to dump their burdens into the hole; the return trip down the corridor and into **area 6** takes only a round or two. Consequently, the corridor and the chamber are unoccupied more often than not. As with **area 6,** the slaves working to keep the sludge pit full of raw materials are generally unsupervised, but there are guards continually roaming around the area who might be (randomly) encountered, and there is almost always at least one quaggoth in **area 8** , which is adjacent to the fertilizer chamber.## 8. Quaggoth Quarters This chamber is “decorated” with large, strange-looking furs that cover most of the floor. The only other objects of note are two wooden chests on the westernmost wall. The larger of the two is unlocked and holds several more of the strange furs. The smaller chest is locked; it contains an abundance of wood shavings with 80 copper pieces and 50 silver pieces scattered throughout the pile. The chest can be unlocked with a key which is found beneath one of the furs on the floor. There are 10 such furs, and there is a 10% cumulative chance that the key will be found under any one of them.There will be ==up to 7 quaggoth== [roll:1d8-1], unarmed and asleep, in this room at any given time. The door to the chamber is always closed, but never locked. However, <u>it is a very noisy door</u> – if precautions are not taken by anyone opening it, the movement of the door will disturb any quaggoth inside the room. - If the creatures inside the room are outnumbered, they will try to flee into **area 7** and down the corridor.- If the quaggoth outnumber the intruders, they will fight ferociously until and unless the battle seems to be going against them, and the survivors will then try to escape the area.## 9. Stirge Nests This chamber is reached after passing through a locked door on the south wall of **area 6** , going up a narrow, curving corridor, and opening an unlocked door in the northwest corner of the chamber. ==The door in the southwest corner of the room is locked== .The holes also open onto the outside surface of the tree, as indicated on the map; however, the passages are so twisted and convoluted that no light gets through them from the outside world to the inside of the chamber. The northern wall of this room is littered with holes about six inches in diameter each. These are the nests of ==a swarm of angry stirges== . - Every round that at least one character or creature is in this room, 1-3 stirges will come forth from their nests and attack the nearest target.- Any character bold (or stupid) enough to thrust an arm into one of the holes will have equal chances of finding a stirge, 1-3 gems of 20 gp value each, or both.- If a nest is occupied in such a case, the stirge therein gets an immediate attack and automatically hits the intruder.## 10. Water Trap This irregularly shaped chamber is located behind an unlocked door and at the end of a curving, gently descending corridor which is very smooth and has a thin film of water over most of it, making it even more slippery. The walls of the corridor are covered with a mass of thorny material. Characters who attempt to negotiate the sloping passageway without taking some precautions against the slipperiness must roll their dexterity or less on d20 every round to stay on their feet. Failure to make this roll means the character has lost his balance and hit the thorns for 1-4 points of damage 1d4. The corridor levels out over the last half of the distance between the door and the chamber, so that movement becomes considerably easier: In this section of the corridor, a character must fail two consecutive saves vs. dexterity (as described above) in a single round to take any damage from the thorns. ==If characters travel to the end of the corridor== , they will see a chamber of no special note, except that the floor is covered with a semi-transparent membrane. Hung on a single large thorn, just above the floor right at the end of the corridor, is a pouch which will be spotted by anyone who examines the wall. The pouch contains a ring of swimming.This chamber is relatively close to the river, at a spot where the water table is exceptionally high. The membrane is holding back a large pool of water. - If any character weighing more than 120 pounds (including his or her possessions) steps onto the membrane, or if it is hit or punctured with a weapon, the membrane will rupture. Water will cascade out, filling the chamber and quickly rising to inundate the level part of the corridor nearest the chamber.- Characters must pass a ==DC10 STR check to avoid being swept off their feet and back down the corridor== . Failure to save means that the victim takes 1d10+2 damage [roll:1d10+2] from contact with the thorns.- A character wearing the ring of swimming when the membrane is ruptured will be able to swim to higher ground (further back in the corridor) without taking any damage.## 11. Drow Barracks ==All of the doors leading off the corridor to this three-section area are closed and secured with simple latches – not locks. Opening any one of them, or making any measurable noise anywhere near a door in the level part of the long corridor, will alert all of the occupants of the section in question.== **A.** This is a barracks for drow females. Six living areas, each containing a cot and a wooden chest, are along the walls, partitioned off from each other with silk curtains. One curtain, in the northwest corner of the room, is open. Sitting on her cot preparing to go on guard duty (if the party achieves surprise) will be ==a female dark elf. She is a 4th level fighter== with +1 chainmail, a +1 buckler, and +1 weapons.- ==If she is not aware== of the party's presence before they open the door to this chamber, she will immediately scream an alarm which will be heard by the occupants of **section B** .- ==If she has been alerted== to a possible disturbance, she will be poised for battle when the party opens the door.- The elves from **section B** will ==arrive to assist her== on the round after the party enters the barracks.Each wooden chest that is investigated will be found to contain ordinary (non-magical) clothing, personal items, and the equivalent of 2-12 platinum pieces. **B.** This is a cooking and eating area containing two large tables and a total of 12 chairs. The doors leading to **sections A and C** are closed but unlocked. Seated around one of the tables are ==three male dark elves== , two of them wearing black chainmail and the third one more casually dressed. - The ==two elves in chainmail are 2nd level fighters== (+1 sword / dagger). If they are intruded upon, they will immediately draw their weapons and attack.- The ==third elf is a fighter/sorcerer of 4th level== . At the first sign of any sort of disturbance, he will shout an alarm. Instead of getting into the melee, the third elf will attempt to stay away from the action and cast spells. In addition to the innate magical abilities possessed by all male drow, this magic-user can cast *forget* , *shatter* , *burning hands* , *shield* , and *push* .- Any alarm raised will be heard by the occupants of **sections A and C** , and those elves will join the fight on the second round thereafter.This room contains little of value – some miscellaneous foodstuffs and ordinary utensils, plus a set of dinnerware spread out on the table the elves are occupying. The plates and cups are made of hammered silver and are worth a total of 75 gp. **C.** This is a barracks for drow males, identical in configuration to the female barracks, except that there are no partitions separating the sets of cots and chests. Sitting on a bed in the southeast corner of the room is ==a 3rd level fighter who is unarmored== , but with his weapons close at hand. He will shout for help if the room is broken into, and then will attempt to hold off the invaders until the ==elves from the kitchen area arrive to join the fight one round later== .Each of the chests in this room contains ordinary clothing and personal items, plus the equivalent of 1-10 platinum pieces.## 12. Anteroom The corridor leading to this chamber is sealed off from the main corridor by a locked door. The passage slopes gradually downward until opening onto a room that is little more than an extension of the corridor. The chamber is empty and featureless.## 13. Sludge Chamber The door leading to this room is securely bolted. It also happens to be watertight – a fact that will become obvious when anyone lifts the single bolt. This room was the original outlet for the sludge pit, where slaves went to fill their buckets with fertilizer for the trenches. The outlet was poorly engineered, however, and the sludge backed up into the room, making it necessary to block the chamber off from the rest of the complex and build another outlet (in **area 6** ).- ==As soon as the door is freed== , it will burst open, releasing a stream of thick, black liquid that will cover the floor of room 12 to a depth of five feet before the flood subsides.- The sludge is not harmful in itself, but the stench of such a large quantity of the stuff can be overpowering. A character of ==five feet or less in height will be submerged in the sludge== within 1 round after the door bursts open, and will suffocate within a number of rounds equal to their CON modifier, unless the victim can get back to the sloping corridor in time, or unless his or her head is lifted above the surface of the liquid by a taller companion.- ==A character who is not immediately submerged== must make a DC 15 CON check or be overcome by the stench. Failure to save will cause the victim to become dizzy and keel over into the liquid, with the same chance for suffocation thereafter as for shorter characters who become submerged.## 14. Tentamort Lair If characters stay on the main branch of the long corridor and do not notice and pass through the secret door, they will attract the attention of ==a tentamort== (see FIEND FOLIO Tome) that resides in the chamber to the south. Statblock: ![[1526575]]- This chamber is separated from the adjacent corridor by a curved wall running the length of the corridor at this point – except for a two-foot-high opening between the wall and the floor. It is through this opening that the tentamort will attempt to attack with its tentacles.- To attack the body of the monster, characters must slide themselves through the slot and carry the battle into the room. The tentamort will not try to move through the slot to escape an attack, and can draw its tentacles back into the room if it desires to attack an intruder.If characters detect the secret door, move through the passage that leads off it, and exit through the other secret door, they can avoid the tentamort and gain access to a small, empty chamber with a locked door on its west wall. This doorway leads to an ascending passageway that spirals up inside the trunk and eventually leads to the second level of the fortress.``````col-md![[table-of-contents]]---![[images/tree-cross-section.jpg]]---![[images/first-level.jpg]]---![[images/sludge-pit.jpg]]---**Completion Date:** <br>**Parent Plot:** **Related Characters:****Related Organizations:****Related Locations:**---### World Anvil Metadata**Id:** 929de3fc-6875-4969-a7c5-3964465b4954<br>**Entity Type:** Article / plot<br>**Category:** <br>**Tags:** FoD-plot```