Bridge Over Oblivion
RoomDCC ATG · p.3
Open source p.3Area 1-1 – Bridge Over Oblivion
The cavern stretches upward to a 30-foot-high ceiling marked by stalactites, its width
devoid of any color of life. Only a monotonous spectrum of grays and browns from the jagged earth that dominates the terrain yields any attempt at challenging the imagination.
Respite from the unchanging conditions arrives as you ascend a weathered trail to the sight of an ancient, dilapidated village. A solemn silence hangs over the crumbling structures interrupted only by the occasional gust of wind. Amidst the surrounding ruins, only a modest temple at the center stands out as having survived the ravages of time.
Adjacent to the village, the yawning entrance to a cavern beckons. Flanking the cavern entrance, two imposing statues stand sentinel, each carved meticulously from marble. Both statues depict female priests donned in humble headscarves. While their features are exquisitely rendered, the intentional absence of their mouths evokes a profound sense of awe tinged with unease.
The characters may decide to search the village for information. There is little here that hasn’t already been looted or deteriorated with time. However, a character searching the chapel who succeeds a Luck check will find a leatherbound tome with a symbol embossed in its cover underneath some rubble. The symbol is three interlaced circles surrounding a pair of closed lips. All the pages are blank, although a candle held beneath reveals its text. A character who succeeds a DC 14 Intelligence check can identify this as a ritual book for worshippers of a god devoted to silence and secrets, and the judge can summarize the information in the sidebar regarding Amun Tor for the players.
reaching a span of forty feet. A one hundred-foot-long chasm cleaves the space in two. Suspended by sturdy wires anchored to the ceiling, an iron bridge offers a pathway across the gaping divide. Gazing into the chasm below, a bottomless void of darkness looms.
Lyria placed this first challenge to tease her former friend, although it was easily bypassed by Dara when she first arrived decades ago. Characters inspecting the cavern walls who succeed a DC 12 Intelligence check discover small indentations on the cavern’s northern wall. These marks were made by pitons Dara used to scale the cavern wall to cross the chasm, bypassing the bridge. A character using similar gear may attempt to scale the wall. Doing so requires three successful DC 14 Strength checks. Characters who discover and intentionally use the already present piton holes gain a bonus on these checks. Failing a check by less than 5 results in no forward progress; a failure of more than 5 causes the character to seemingly plummet into the depths of the darkness below. In truth, they are teleported behind the shifting walls in area 1-2.
A character searching the cavernous ground near the bridge will spot a symbol of an upside-down triangle with two X’s intersecting it. A character who understands thieves’ cant deciphers it as a warning that the area ahead is trapped. The second X implies it is advised to turn away.
Detection: A thief searching for traps at the edge of the bridge can easily see that it is not actually connected to the floor on their side of the chasm (no check required). A thief checking for traps near the middle of the bridge and succeeding on a DC 15 find trap check spots the pressure plate in the middle of the bridge. Dwarves, thieves, or characters with appropriate occupations (such as blacksmiths and trap-
“I CHECK FOR TRAPS”
As adventurers navigate the Labyrinth of Oathsworn Silence, searching for traps is an essential task for survival. The following guidelines will assist the judge in managing a trap-laden environment and help clarify the process for players as they search for traps.
Time to Check for Traps
Checking for traps is a methodical and time-consuming process. As a rule of thumb, inspecting a 10’ section of a hallway, room, or single object (such as a chest or door) should take about 1 minute of in-game time. This time increases with the complexity and size of the area or object being inspected. If players wish to check an entire room, use the room’s size to determine how long it takes (e.g., a 20’ x 20’ room would take approximately 4 minutes).
Disarming Traps
Disarming traps is a method of removing a threat but comes at a risk of triggering the trap. Unless otherwise noted, disarming traps require thieves’ tools. A failure on a disable trap check of 5 or more below the DC triggers the trap in question.
Unskilled Checks
While thieves have specific skills for finding and disabling traps, other classes may be at a disadvantage when attempting these same tasks. Whenever a skill such as find trap or disable trap is attempted by a nonthief, the roll is made using a rather than a to account for this lack of proficiency.
pers) who examine it and succeed on a DC 12 Intelligence check will realize that the bridge can fold up.
Trigger: The trap is triggered when a character crossing the bridge fails a Luck check. On a failure, they step on the pressure plate at the center of the bridge. Once triggered, roll for initiative.
Effect (Init ): The bridge folds at its joints, fully forming a solid cage on its turn in the initiative order. Any characters on the bridge before this occurs can attempt to jump off it (if near the edge) or scramble to the outside of the forming cage with a successful DC 13 Strength or Agility check (player’s choice). Failing this, the character is trapped within the suspended cage.
After the pressure plate has been stepped upon, a permanent magic mouth spell triggers and appears upon the pressure plate, saying in Lyria’s voice: “You aren’t Dara. The trials ahead are beyond your capabilities. Sadly, your fate is to wither in this cage, forgotten and alone.”
The cables holding the suspension bridge draw together as they form a cage around the center section containing the
pressure plate. The motion of the bridge’s reconfiguration aggravates 15 stirges quietly roosting within small crevices in the ceiling. They are instinctually drawn to whatever prey is stuck within the cage. The stirges are small enough to easily squeeze through the cage bars.
Stirges (15): Init ; Atk latch (attach to victim, DC 12 Strength check to remove), blood drain (see below); Crit M/ ; AC 9; HD (hp 4); hp 4; MV fly 30’; Act ; SP infravision 60’; SV Fort , Ref , Will ; AL N.
Blood drain: A stirge that has latched onto a target automatically succeeds on an attack with its blood drain, dealing points of damage. A stirge that has drained a total of 12 points of damage becomes bloated; it detaches from its victim and flies off.
Countermeasures: After the trap has been sprung and trapped any of the characters who were standing on the bridge, it’s possible to break out of the cage. The metal bars have an AC 19 and 20 hit points. A character succeeding two DC 20 Strength checks may be able to bend the bars enough to allow a character to slip through.
Characters who have freed themselves can shift their weight and attempt to swing the cage to one of the ledges on either side of the chasm. A character choosing to time their leap and safely land on the other side must succeed in a DC 13 Agility check. On a success, they safely leap to the landing where the bridge originated. On a failure, they plummet into the void below and are teleported inside one of the sectioning chambers in area 1-2.
Reset: A lever on the opposite side of the chasm can be pulled to reset the pulley system that allows the bridge to spread and retract.