Adventure for a Level 10 Party

Overview: Petra Rhinestone, a young female dwarf, will approach the party with a quest to save her father who has been cursed by Dragon Gold. Her father, Elbenze Rhinestone, is now locked up in the family vault with all of the family wealth and has loaded it with traps and monstrous guards.

Setup: While the party lounges in their favorite inn, a young female dwarf in extremely expensive noble clothing approaches them. She will tell them her name is Petra Rhinestone and she will ask for the party to help her recover her father. 

“He has gone insane,” she says. “He has become obsessed that thieves are coming to steal our family fortune. He has even gone so far to accuse the rest of the family of trying to steal from him.  He has taken all of the family’s jewels and gold and locked himself up in the family vault. My brother tried to reason with him but there was a chimera at the entrance and he couldn’t get close. I will to pay you handsomely if you can extricate my father from the vault so I can get him the help he needs.”

Petra will pay the group 10,000 gold to help her father. She can’t pay until they get him out of the vault since all of the family’s wealth is there. If asked when her father’s odd behavior started, Petra will say that her father bought an expensive goblet from a store called Odrick’s Oddities and that’s when he began acting paranoid. He carries the goblet with him everywhere and refuses to let it leave his sight. If the party seeks out Odrick he will explain the nature of the goblet for a small fee of 10 gold. Odrick did warn the dwarf that the goblet was for looking and not touching but apparently Rhinestone didn’t listen.

The Rhinestone Vault (See Map)

Entrance: The Rhinestone Vault lies on a small hillock away from the main estate nestled between two small groves of trees that hide it from general view. It was clearly designed as a crypt for deceased members of the Rhinestone family. Two large stone dwarves stand at attention on either side of the large entrance. The massive iron door stands open. You hear the unmistakable growl of a large monster as you approach. 

There isn’t just one manticore here. There are three (see Monster Manual). One of them has a collar and a heavy chain that bolts it to the floor. If anyone succeeds at a  knowledge nature check (DC 15), they will be able to identify the chained manticore as female and the other two as male. Even if the female is freed the manticores fight to the death. Inside the crypt are the bones of a number of creatures, some of which are humanoid. Beyond the manticores is a second iron-bound door that leads into the crypt. It is locked and can be opened with a successful Sleight of Hand check (DC 16) or forced open with a successful Strength check (DC 18).

The Hallway: You see a 20 ft. long stone hallway. Chains hang from the right wall at irregular intervals. Pointy spikes jut from the hall on the left. At the end of the hall are two ironbound doors. One on the left and the other on the right.

There is a devious trap in the hallway. About halfway down the hallway is a pressure plate. A successful perception check (DC 16) will spot it. To avoid the pressure plate, the party can just walk around it. Disabling the pressure plate requires a Sleight of Hand check (DC 20). If pressed, a 10 ft. section of the hallway in the center begins to tilt counter clockwise. Anyone in the hallway at that time must make a Dexterity save (DC 12) to grab one of the hanging chains. On a failed roll, the victim falls onto the pointy spikes and takes 2d8 piercing damage. On a successful roll, the victim grabs the chain but this releases a cache of acid onto the victim causing 3d6 acid damage. The hallway makes a 90 degree turn before stopping. The mechanism that powers it will reset after thirty minutes.

Burial Chamber 1: This is a large room with six alcoves filled with coffins. Five sarcophagi sit in the center of the room. At the far end of the room is an ironbound door.

The door is an illusion. It requires a successful Perception check (DC 18) to see through it. If anyone disturbs the illusion, this will set off an alarm trap that wakes the creatures in the sarcophagi. Four brute zombies (see Monster Manual) and a crypt horror (see monster manual) will emerge from it and attack.

Burial Chamber 2: This a large room with six alcoves filled with coffins. Five sarcophagi sit in the center of the room. At the far end of the room is an ironbound door.

The door here is real but trapped. A successful Perception check (DC 15) spots that the handle is really a trap mechanism. A successful Knowledge Nature stonework check (DC 14) will also spot that this is a false door because the stonework suggests nothing but a wall on the other side. A successful Sleight of Hand check (DC 16) disables the trap mechanism. Opening the door reveals a gargoyle built into the wall. If the trap is triggered it blasts out a cone of fire in a thirty foot radius. Victims caught in the blast must make a Dexterity save (DC 15) or suffer 8d6 fire damage. Victims take half damage on a successful save.

The entrance to the next part of the crypt is actually inside one of the sarcophagi. A successful Perception check or Intelligence check (DC 14) will spot that the name of the coffin reads Elbenze Rhinestone, the name of the missing father. It requires a successful Strength check (DC 16) to open the tomb or a successful Perception check (DC 18) to spot the mechanism that will open it automatically. Inside is a metal ladder that leads down into the darkness.

Rough Passage: The dirt passageway is clearly new and hastily constructed. As you walk you can see that the wooden beams that are holding it up are very weak. Every now and then they shudder and groan. You realize with horror that if they break, you will be trapped at least fifty feet underground.

The Trove: You enter a large natural cavern that glitters with golden light. Several dozen large chests are scattered across the room practically over-flowing with gold coins and gemstones. At the far end of the room is a large regal chair. A dwarf in noble clothing that clearly has been worn for several days sits on a chair staring at you with wide-eyed fear. In his hands, you see that he clutches an ornate silver goblet encrusted with glittering gems. “Thieves! Assassins!” screams the dwarf. “Protect me!” and he turns to a large stone figure that rumbles to life and stomps towards you.

Elbenze is beyond reason and has fallen into madness. He cannot be magically charmed but he can be subdued and/or cured of his curse. He carries a longsword but has no idea how to use it. He will not leave his gold willingly. He has a stone golem (See Monster Manual) to guard him and his treasure. The golem has the potential to cause the rough passage to collapse with its powerful slam attacks. The first round it makes an attack while it or the enemy is adjacent to a wall or within 5 ft. of the entrance, the hallway will shake ominously. The second round it makes an attack with those parameters, part of the hallway will collapse making the rough passage difficult terrain. The third round it makes an attack with those parameters, the hallway will collapse entirely. The only safe way to fight the golem is to lure and keep it in the center of the room. 

It is possible to grab Elbenze and force him out of the room without defeating the golem but if the players take this route, the golem will proceed to destroy the entrance and cause the rough passage to collapse as it attempts to pursue them. If this happens, Petra can reward the players with 5,000 gold pieces but be unable to give the full reward until she can dig out the family fortune which will take about three months.