Wednesday, February 8, 2023

[ToM] Sky Theater

Large room dominated by three vertical windows. The floor is slanted very slightly upwards towards the outside wall, causing all casually standing or sitting to be looking upwards towards the sky- the horizon just barely not visible depending on how close to the window you are.

This was the Sky Theater, intended for their guests. The Mozz had their own way of doing their dances, a key element to the male element of their society, but for guests? It was made theatrical. Actors and dancers would fly in through the windows, disappearing into the sky to change into costume, and reappear again. The Sky itself was the backdrop of the performances; and plays would adjourn before continuing when the sky matched the action; the next time it rains, the scene of betrayal. The next sunrise- a hopeful journey begins. Thin lips, only about a foot across, jut out from the windows just out of sight for actors to rest and await their cue.

Stone blocks, which act as seats for the elderly watching the plays as well as stone tables for the people who have come to explore this place, sit about midway between the larger openings and the windows. On one block is a masquerade mask, made to fit a bird's beaked face, and a long red and black cloak faded with time, but still whole. If anyone claps, whistles, or speaks the line "But thankfully, they aren't here yet."- the mask and cloak will rise to take on its role as the threatening antagonist of this act.

Masked Stranger (2+2 HD, +2 To-Hit, +3 AC, Shadow Dagger at 1d4+1, Spells)
Morale- 9

Appears as a cloak and mask floating in the air. There is a tiny hint of a shadowy cloud beneath, animating it as a body. If killed, the mask will fall to the floor dramatically, cracked down the middle, with the cloak suddenly catching the wind and blowing out the window to places unknown.

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

[ToM] The Gallery

An ancient treasure room; shown to all guests of the Mozz. Only a short walk away from the living and sleeping chambers on this floor, it has no doors or locks. The room is designed with as much privacy, blind corners, and poor sightlines as possible- and has no place for guards to sit or stand. This was done on purpose- as any guests of the Mozz were given absolute trust and leeway to inspect some of the most valuable treasures of the Mozz at any time; if they were invited to stay in the Great Temple itself; then the even think they would be steal from their hosts would be an insult.

All of the treasures there are now gone.

If you hide in this room while being pursued or after escaping an opponent; you can get the jump on them and surprise them on a 5 in 6 chance.

Monday, February 6, 2023

[ToM] Guest Kitchen

The guests of the Mozz who were invited to stay at the temple were not merely peasants or hunter-gatherers, even of the lower races. Typically the great ones- the royals, the archmages, and those accustomed to luxury. The Mozz, never to be shown up, always tried to one-up them with showmanship.

The Guest Kitchen is an impressively large room once deemed to cook meals for hundreds of guests. Because of the differences in diets and cultures, those who came to the Temple and lived in the "Guest City" were expected to make their own food here- though the Mozz graciously would supply the ingredients or means.

Within this room are two large marble slabs, opposite each other. The slabs are engraved with a golden runic circle over the top. By placing ones hands on them and gently running your fingers along the circle, clockwise or counter-clockwise, you can generate heat or cold based on the rune. It requires no magical skill or spells to do this, but these slabs have not been calibrated for countless years, meaning that they are unpredictable.

If you touch a slab, it will emit a random amount of its elemental table. 50% chance to touch the Hot slab or the Cold slab at random until you know what each one does. Each slab can only be activated once per turn.

Hot Slab (Roll 1d6)

  1.  No effect
  2. Gentle warmth emits from the circle
  3. Candle-sized flame appears in the center of the circle. Open flame could be used to light a torch, generate some light to read by, etc.
  4. Pillar of intense heat appears in the rune circle; though its cool just outside of the engraving. Anything placed in the circle is cooked at a decent speed- in about a turn.
  5. Fire spews out from the rune circle uncontrollably. Someone has to run in to touch the circle to turn it off! As spell Burning Hands or 1d4 damage randomly fired to someone else standing in the room every round.
  6. The circle explodes with a hellish amount of heat and energy- though no flame is visible- it becomes hot enough to melt skin and fat and char bones to blackness. Deals 5d6 damage to the activator and 2d6 for anyone else in the room, unless they're touching the Cold Slab.

Cold Slab (Roll 1d6)

  1. No effect
  2. Stone feels oddly cool to the touch.
  3. Crisp cool wind emanates from the slab to the rest of the room. Heals 1 HP.
  4. Flash freezes any liquid inside the circle. Water skin or potion vial; frozen solid. If your hand is inside, deals 1d4 damage and a minor case of Frostbite.
  5. Strong cooling effect within the circle that chills and preserves any food item. Every turn it expands by 1 room and gets colder until the slab is touched again or it reaches the entire city- in which case it will start to fade away in an hour or two. This cold isn't strong enough to cause any effects it just feels weird and you'll shiver unless you have a coat.
  6. Circle releases freezing cold winds which lazily float across the room. Anything they touch is instantly frozen, and if touched again or fallen they explode into ice shards which deal 1d6 damage to anyone nearby. You can save to try and move past the clouds OR stand still away from them, but then you can't dodge the ice shards.

If the slabs of stone and marble are removed from the temple their magic remains active. Because they seem to draw power from the elemental planes themselves and are an essentially limitless magic item; they could be sold to a wizard or nobleman for a very high price. Essentially 30k gp at least per slab. Both slabs are very heavy and will activate multiple times if you try to carry them without very special precautions.

Also; in one corner of this room there is a crudely drawn arrow that points to the Bath Chambers.

Sunday, February 5, 2023

[ToM] Crossroad-Room

Four way intersection built in a small chamber. Stonework is symmetrical along the diagonal axis, giving a sense of unreality. Somebody has scratched a big arrow in the floor that points along to the guest kitchen.

Saturday, February 4, 2023

[ToM] Summer Room

This room was kept hot. The walls are painted to appear as a luscious outdoor grassland- green and plenty- a start contrast to the actual savanna that now exists outside of the temple. The ceiling is also painted bright yellow and blue- the color of sky and sun. The paint on the ceiling glows softly and radiates heat; giving this room an unnatural comfort to desert-dwelling peoples and animals. In the many centuries the paint has faded and chipped, leading to a comfortable though still above-average temperature compared to the rest of the temple.

If you break off bits and mortar of the ceiling here you can carry it around as a heat source. If anyone in the party is a skilled alchemist; a thinner could peel the paint off and potentially let you paint it on something else; making even the thinnest garments or walls winter-proof.

There's no treasure in this room, but it would be great to take a nap in.

Friday, February 3, 2023

[ToM] Winter Room

This room's floor is coated in a thick layer of snow and sleet. The walls are thicker and the doors heavy, with metal bands. It was designed to once house the guests of the Mozz who were from the arctic regions of the world; or who were more comfortable in a place as cold as the grave.

It's also been a very long time, and since the previous ice-age of the world, this room is very out of tune for the winters of today. Whenever you enter this room, roll a 1d6 to see how cold it is. For each point above 3, take a point of temporary Maximum HP damage until you can warm up.

In one corner of the room, a sheet of permafrost covers the corpse of a few would-be explorers, clutching something shiny in their hands. It would take either a powerful fire spell or several hours with ice-picks to break it open. Inside is a sack of golden marbles worth about 400 gp.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

[ToM] Flower Hallway

An inviting long hallway, once filled to the brim with flowers from far away lands. Huge carvings along both walls stretch in the manner of avian wings; a pedestal in each feather in which the flowers would fill. The hall is carpeted in the same material that hangs in the grand entrance; being filthy and ancient and yet still uncut or worn from time.

This hallway was once used to welcome the most honored guests of all; leading to the best accommodations. It is also suspiciously flat, which is unusual for the temple's interior; floors were never a priority in its construction. There are thin stone rafters above which once held Mozz' children to sprinkle flowers or sacred oils on the heads of those who came. If a skilled climber and a grapple hook went up there; you could easily ambush someone pursuing you as this hallway has only one entrance and exit, though it is quite wide and spacious.

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

[ToM] The Grand Entrance

This massive, bowl-shaped entrance hall is designed to both welcome as well as impose the power and strength of the People of Mozz. It is dominated by the Skydoor, a massive hole in the floor that opens to the earth beneath the tower's base. It is wide and large enough that sunlight pours in from the ground's reflected light, given this room an eerie glow. Naturally, at this height, falling back down through the Skydoor means certain death.

Chest high stone basins once flowed with clean water, collected from the rain, and splashed majestically down the Skydoor. Now fetid mushrooms grow there, cringing away from the light below. Huge filthy standards displaying the symbol of the Mozz' warrior caste still hang- made of a material nigh impossible to cut- if you could somehow work it into shape, it would easily make something as soft of and pliable as a cotton robe but tough as chainmail. (Magic cloth armor at AC 14)

The Entrance Hall also has several large rows of stone seats arranged around the hole. This place was very significant to the Mozz- as the special hatchlings raised in the temple would make their first attempted flight here. This death-defying feat was not as dangerous as it seemed- as the ground would be covered in very soft and fine dust during these flights- it was purely for the crowd to see the Peacock Emperor's chicks soaring back up through the Skydoor for the very first time.

Around the seating arrangements and banded support structures for this large inner chamber- scrapping marks and trash can be seen that is much more modern then from the temple's ancient times. Many adventuring groups have taken a rest here after the exhausting climb up into the temple; besides the hole is a long coil of rope left here by another adventurer. Above it are scratches in the stone-

If I take this, I will return it
On my honor.