Downward Spiral of the Lost
low-levelDownward Spiral of the Lost · p.2 · downward-spiral-of-the-lost
Open source p.2The Quest
Vitouan Sylcorn, a wealthy elf from a long-standing lineage wants to hire the party to retrieve the Winged Tiara, an heirloom his father Volodar promised to him, but took to the grave. He drafts a contract for 500 gold with a deadline of one week, and adds a curious clause: for every day the party arrives sooner, they earn 100 extra gold; but for every day they are late, he deducts 100 gold. The family mausoleum is in a nearby old cemetery. He knows something is very wrong with the crypt, but won’t disclose it. He’ll leave the party with directions and a brand- new key for the door.
No extracted maps for this adventure — the map is in the source book: Open source p.2
Sections (7)
Rules of the Staircase Loop p.3
Rules of the
Staircase Loop
The mausoleum is cursed, and its main feature is an infinite and looping spiral staircase. The rooms appear seemingly at random and when traveling back, new ones have appeared. Steps are 10’ wide. Once trapped in the loop, the Entrance Hall won’t reappear (exceptions in How to Escape The Loop). There is a one-floor distance between each spawned room. (One full turn on the staircase). The DM rolls a when the party explores and arrives at a new floor. The result is the room that has spawned there. If you roll the same result as an already spawned room: Common rooms → take it (it’s a different one of the same type), Unique rooms → take the next result (20 loops to 11). The DM rolls and picks the result if: Zifa the grave robber travels with the group, the party has the Winged Tiara, or the party has obtained some building plans. In the PCs eyes, there is no discernible sense as to which rooms appear. Mapping is futile. Only the rooms on the floors the PCs are on, and one floor above and below remain spawned. Once the party is more than one floor away from a room, it despawns. If they go back, a different one has taken its place. If PCs become separated by more than one floor, they loop back to the party from the opposite direction of the staircase (coming down from upstairs if they were going down and vice versa). Thus, the maximum number of floors a party can encompass equals the number of members (if each one is on a different floor). Despawned rooms keep any changes the PCs made. Skeleton masons will start repairing damage to the stonework after one day. If a chase ensues and the pursued get a couple of floors ahead of the chasers, 2-in they get sent to different places. Digging a tunnel from a room makes it reconnect with the opposite side of the same room. Digging on the wall opposite from the door will need a very long tunnel, and any creature entering it will come out of it with no sense of having turned around. Find a printable tracking sheet on the inside front cover. Useful to roll on the room table and mark which rooms have been visited and/or cleared, with space for notes. A DM may also use tokens to track which rooms are active at the current time.
Denizens p.4
Denizens
Vindicatus Sylcorn the Ancestor
Distant ancestor of Vitouan. Vindicatus hired the famed architect Myrto d’Avernnes to build an opulent and massive family mausoleum. But, trying to save gold and predicting it would be a lengthy undertaking, he proposed a clause: the deadline for the construction would be 5 years, and if the architect could deliver sooner, the more he would pay; but if the deadline arrived, every late month would deduct from the agreed-on payment. Myrto d’Avernnes went missing, but Vindicatus got notice that a mausoleum had been built. He, and every descendant since, were disappointed and embarrassed at the sight of it, but all of them have somehow asked to be interred in it on their deathbeds.
Sorrowful Souls
Trapped spirits of dead adventurers that can’t escape the Mausoleum. They are looking for compassion, but might hurt the living doing so. Be respectful and they might point towards your current destination.
Myrto d’Avernnes the Architect
A couple of months into the project he made a deal with a genie to speed construction and become the designer of a mausoleum known for generations. The wish got twisted and he got trapped in the crypt, cursed to keep expanding it to house the bodies of every generation of Sylcorn until Vindicatus deems the work finished. Now a half-demented spirit, he still toils and draws, sharing his study with his corpse, which he ignores. Only when confronted with the current reality will he have glimpses of lucidity and lament over his predicament. The only way to break the curse is to stamp one of their two contracts with Vindicatus’ signet ring to close it. He doesn’t know where any of those are, or his crypt, but he says that despite his flaws, Vindicatus always tried to honor his lineage.
Skeleton Masons
A mix of races. The remains of the original workers, plus others salvaged from uninvited guests and turned into helpers. They carry pickaxes and mason tools and ignore everyone as long as they are allowed to work, but will become defensive and even violent if troubled or the work is compromised.
Panikos the Minotaur
Minotaur with a broken horn. Brought in chains to the mausoleum by a warlock as navigational help. The impossibility of the space disorients and enrages him (can’t use any innate wayfinding ability). Only knows primitive language, but isn’t prone to use it.
- Wants the headache to stop.
- Remembers finding a gilded room once, but never again.
- Uses the Winged Tiara as a bracelet, which gives him a sense of calm in this place.
- He hides a crumpled and bloodied low-level spell scroll.
Crypt Gnome Tribes
Trapped in the mausoleum for generations, they adapted. Feral, resourceful and very hungry, they see any creature as potential food, and reside in crypt rooms they expand by digging small alcoves and looping tunnels. Divided in two motal enemy tribes: the Red Raiders and the Maroon Marauders. (Completely indistinguishable from each other for outsiders.) In constant struggle with the skeleton masons, who keep trying to repair the gnomes’ efforts of expansion.
Zifa the Grave Robber
Stat as a low-level role the party is lacking. Zifa doesn’t trust anyone but herself and pretends to be a lost adventurer. Stuck here, but too stubborn and greedy to relent, she wants to make the delve worth it and leave the mausoleum with a decent loot.
- Thinks a mad mage is behind the curse and will grumble about him.
- Can be convinced to work with the party, but won’t trust they can fix the curse and will likely ditch them after pickpocketing them.
- Uses an empty oil lantern with glowing mushrooms planted in it.
Common Rooms 1-10 p.7
There are many of them in the crypt. 1-in chance the party already visited a particular one.
Random Encounters p.7
1-in when traveling or in an empty room. 1-2 skeleton masons going or coming back from work. 3 crypt gnomes setting hunting traps or demanding a toll. 4 Mortar ooze sloshing down the stairs. 5 Adventurer’s apparition comes out of a wall. 6 Zifa carrying an item stolen from the party. 7 The minotaur, huffing and stomping through the staircase 8 Small reality fold. 2 feet by 3 inches. Remains in place. Sucks anything 1 foot from it and destroys it.
Unique Rooms 11-20 p.9
Only one of each exists.
How to Escape the Loop p.13
How to Escape
The Loop
Break the curse
Seal any one of the contracts with Vindicatus’ signet ring. Burning or destroying them does not break the curse. PCs can keep exploring, but the Entrance Hall spawns every two rooms, and there’s a cumulative 1 in 20 chance any other room is turning into a Reality Fold.
Ushered out
Overly damaging the sarcophagi and stonework and killing too many skeleton masons will make the Entrance Hall appear.
“Human” chain
Convincing a sizable number of dwellers to the PCs’ cause (a dozen at least), spacing the group in one-floor increments and walking up or down in unison will cause the mausoleum to eventually run out of options and spawn the Entrance Hall again. Eventually.
Leaving the
Mausoleum
When the PCs exit the Mausoleum, for every room they visited, the same number of Days (neutral), Weeks (mean), Months (severe) or Years (evil) have passed on the outside world. Nonetheless, Vitouan Sylcorn will still be alive, and they signed a contract. If the curse was broken, the extra dimension of the staircase starts to crumble. Dozens of crypt gnomes pour out in a panic. After a day, it vanishes into the void, and anything and anyone still inside is lost.
Bestiary & Conversions p.14
Bestiary
The following Guidelines can help convert statblocks to your system.
d20 Rolls
In games where NPCs roll their Checks and Saves, add their Hit Dice (HD) count to their roll if they are good with the Check. Save DCs: Use Normal Difficulties (12 to 13) for Save DCs forced by NPCs
Hit Points
Old School: Roll a number of s equal to its HD for Hit Points, or use the assumed HP in their statblocks. Contemporary: Use the assumed HP and add the HD number to it. For example, an HD: 4 (18 HP) Being would have 18 + 4 = 22 HP.
Attacks & Spells
Roll High: Result = + HD THAC0: THAC0 = 20 - HD
Damage
Old School: No change. Contemporary: Damage + HD
Saving Throws
Old School HD ERW 1-3 131516 4-6 111314 7-9 91012 10-127810 13-15558 16-18336 19-21224 22+ 222 You can use the following guideline to interpret how Endure, Reflex, or Will Saves should be interpreted: Endure: Death, Poison, Constitution, Fortitude, Toughness Reflex: Breath, Dexterity, Agility Will: Magic, Charm, Wisdom
Zone (ZNE)
ZoneDescription FrontMove Close to Melee attack. MiddleMove Close to Melee attack and fall back to Near. If at half HP or lower, act as Back. BackStay Far to Ranged attack and Cast. Contemporary E RW +4+3 +6+5 +8+7 +10+9 +12+11 +14+13 +16+15 +18+17
Speed (SPD)
TypeDescription ClimbCan move on walls at this speed. ClingAs Climb, but also on ceilings. SwimCan swim at this speed. PhaseCan move through walls. Speeds are indicated as either -, Standard, or Standard with a modifier (such as 1/2 Standard, 2×Standard, etc). Standard is the distance a normal human can move on a Turn in the system of your choice.
Senses
Sense Description Allsight Isn't fooled by illusions or invisi- bility. Blindsight It can see even if it is Blinded. Darksight It can see in darkness. EcholocationIt can see by hearing. SeismicsenseIt can see anything touching ground it is touching. Telepathy It can see anything that can think.
Armor
By Type None as Unarmored as Unarmored plus Shield as Leather as Leather plus Shield as Hide as Hide plus Shield as Chain as Chain plus Shield as Scale as Scale plus Shield as Plate as Plate plus Shield as Splint as Splint plus Shield as () Plate as () Plate plus Shield as () Plate as () Plate plus Shield as () Plate as () Plate plus Shield Mit. DR Die 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 2 3 3 4 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 AAC DAC
- All attacks hit -
10 9 11 8 12 7 13 6 13 6 14 5 14 5 15 4 15 4 16 3 16 3 17 2 17 2 18 1 17 2 18 1 18 1 19 0 19 0 20 Shield 10+DEX 12+DEX 11+DEX 13+DEX 12+DEX (max ) 14+DEX (max ) 13+DEX (max ) 15+DEX (max ) 14+DEX (max ) 16+DEX (max ) 18 (STR 15 req.) 20 (STR 15 req.) 17 (STR 15 req.) 19 (STR 17 req.) 19 (STR 15 req.) 21 (STR 15 req.) 20 (STR 15 req.) 20 (STR 15 req.) 21 (STR 15 req.) 22 (STR 15 req.) Use the comparison in the statblock’s brackets to determine Armor Class. You will then need to know how your system of choice handles its Armor mechanic: Mitigation (Mit.): Vagabond, Into the Odd Damage Reduction Die (DRD): Mörk Borg Ascending Armor Class (AAC): Knave 2E Descending Armor Class (DAC): B/X, Old School Essentials Shield : D&D 5e, Pathfinder, Shadowdark
Morale (MRL)
Enemies make Morale Checks at the following times during a Combat:
- The first death in their Group.
- Their HP is at half or less, or half their Group is Incapacitated.
To check Morale, roll and consult the Group’s Leader’s statblock. If the result is higher than its Morale, the Group fails and either retreats or surrenders.
# Appearing
Indicates how many typically appear if randomly encountered.
Rooms (18)
A A. The Cemetery p.6
Countless headstones and graves. It takes the party 1 hour to get to the Mausoleum. Dry flowers in pots on the nearby gravestones. An elegant design in marble, withered by the elements and time. Small rectangular building with a two-story narrow tower attached on the back. Stained glass windows in the front building; not a single window in the tower.
- When near, 5 elven apparitions appear and start hindering the party as they approach the building. Getting in their way at first, but more forcefully and violently the closer they are (but won’t kill them). More and more apparitions appear through the surroundings.
- A beautiful unicorn bust above the door. (The horn is fixed).
- The rusted lock on the gated door of the Mausoleum takes a couple of tries.
- The apparitions won’t cross the threshold, but will remain around, watching and wailing. Passage Secret
B B. Entrance Hall p.6
Marble columns and four unicorn statues flank the room. A closed stone door at the back.
- The unicorns’ horns are set at different lengths, and can be screwed and unscrewed (one of them takes a bit to budge). Setting them at the same length as the horn from the bust on top of the entrance door opens the stone door.
- Beyond the door: a spiral staircase going up and down.
1-3 1-3 Empty Room C. The Staircase p.7
All rooms are based on these, unless specified. 25’ by 35’ and made of carved stone and tiled floors. Several sarcophagi in niches along the walls. Ornamental columns and family crest reliefs. Some of them gnawed on.
- Sylcorn family crest: Unicorn head and four stars of different point counts below it (left to right): 3, 6, 3 and 4. (Player-facing drawing on the back cover.)
- Lowly lit by wall sconces of continual flame. Most of them are snuffed out.
- Looting only yields a couple of pieces of dusty jewelry, not worth the time spent.
-
4-6 4-6 Room Under Construction C. The Staircase · The Architect p.7
Unfinished room with no sarcophagi.
- 6 skeletons chiseling and placing stones, carving motifs and making mortar (ooze in the mix).
- Tools by the entrance. If PCs pick them up, the skeletons put them to work.
- Building plans sketched on parchment showing several rooms. The connections are nonsensical and change after looking away. Stealing or destroying the plans makes a skeleton go to the Architect’s Study for a replacement (it can be followed there).
- The Architect
C C. The Staircase p.7
7-8 7-8 Fungal Grove C. The Staircase · Crypt Gnome p.8
Room invaded by mold and fungi. No light.
- 5 yellow molds. 2 of them have spilled into the stairs and landing.
- 2-in: “Dead” crypt gnome with mold growing on his face inside a half-opened sarcophagus. Wakes up after 5 minutes with horrid hallucinations.
- Many fungi. Only a keen or trained eye can tell them apart.
Fungi , roll twice. Yields uses: 1-2 Edible. Half a dozen makes a ration. Tastes like flotsam. 3-4 Poisonous. Smells sweet. If ingested: pass an Endure Save or take dmg. 5-6 Glowing. Stroking it: Dim light for 10 minutes. Withers 1 hour after plucked. 7 Medicinal. Recover HP. 2-in: Allergic reation - heavy sneezing for 1 hour. 8 Weird. Cast a random Spell times today. Paranoid delusions after each casting.
- Crypt Gnome
9-10 9-10 Crypt Gnome Den C. The Staircase · Minotaur p.8
Entrance blocked by stacked sarcophagi; a stone lid used as a door. Small, shrewd eyes watch from a slit. A dozen or so crypt gnomes reside here.
- Staircase barred with a crude iron gate. Can be opened from their side.
- The gnomes demand a toll to pass.
- Can also be bartered with in their language or through gestures, but won’t take coin.
For Trade: 1 Broken minotaur horn Used basic gear 2 Fanged skull of a saint Building plans Fungi (on room 7-8)3 Cricket alarm Gnome shoes (worn)4 Amethyst whistle (only One unique item (): minotaurs can hear it)
- Minotaur HP 27 LV 6
11 11 Fake Entrance Hall C. The Staircase p.9
Nearly identical to the real Entrance Hall.
- The outside view is an illusion. (On close inspection: no wind or ambient sounds, fresh flowers on pots).
- Beyond it: 15-foot-deep spiked pitfall. Reflex Save (if cautious) or dmg. Pitch black and the crunching of bones.
12 12 The Fountain C. The Staircase p.9
Knee-high water pours out of the room, starts draining down the stairs, but loops around and pours back down from upstairs. Soon lowers down to ankle-height water.
- The stairs are now slippery. Leaving the room doesn’t cut the flow of water immediately (recedes after 30 minutes if left behind).
- Statue of a maiden. Drinkable water pours from her cupped hands into a basin below.
- Handful of coins float in the drain. They’re inside a small slime that clogs it. Harming it will make it retreat deeper, but can be lured out with more coin.
- If unclogged, the water level will slowly drop, but the staircase remains wet for 1 hour.
- After cleaning it, a prayer or small ceremony turns the water holy.
13 13 Dead Party C. The Staircase p.9
The corpses of four adventurers, decayed. Anything of value was looted.
- A contract similar to the one signed by the PCs can be found on one of them, dated 24 years ago and with the signature of Vitouan Sylcorn.
- A femur with tally marks. Depending on the orientation: 2, 6, 3 or 3, 6, 2.
II i IIII III or III IIII I II
14 14 Hanged Man C. The Staircase p.10
Dried corpse hanging from a noose attached to a hook in the ceiling.
- Old tatters. Among them: a tattooing set.
- Investigating the body reveals it is covered in a snaking and coiling tattoo of a spiral staircase with a myriad of rooms protruding from it.
- Anyone studying the tattoo: Will Check. Fail: Confused for an hour. Success: Choose one visited room; you may will it to spawn once.
15 15 Mirrored Rooms C. The Staircase p.10
Two symmetrical rooms joined by the back wall. A staircase beyond the second room’s door. One sarcophagus in the middle of each room, belonging to twins. The lid of the closest one is ajar. Going into the second room and exiting through the opposite door takes you to the next floor, upstairs or downstairs. Still the same staircase.
- Scratches on the floor and edge of the door.
- Contorted corpse in the opposite room (broken neck).
- Pressure plates along the sides of both sarcophagi. Ticking sound for 6 seconds after activation. Then, the steps of the staircase turn into a slide: Reflex Save or dmg per floor tumbled down. They reset after half a minute.
- The first coffin is empty. The second contains a pulsating sword surrounded by maggots (Rot).
Rot. Magic sword. You can understand worms. When you kill a living creature with it, a fat maggot under your command crawls out of the wound. If you die holding the sword, a human- sized maggot devours your corpse.
16 16 Zifa’s Cache C. The Staircase p.10
Zifa the grave robber huddled in a corner, terrified and shivering (if alive).
- 3 apparitions looking at her and wailing.
- A loose pearl bead in a corner.
- Trapped sarcophagus: Toxic gas (Endure Save or dmg in 10’). Zifa set it.
- Secret cache: Zifa’s stash under a loose tile. 5 engagement rings, 7 silver earrings (non- matching), 18 gold fillings, a platinum flask (strong brandy, one swig left ).
17 17 Echoing Hollow C. The Staircase p.11
A deep dark hole with the silhouette of a person in the back wall of the room. Faint echoes from within.
- Words spoken close to it will echo loudly, but in eerie ways: a different voice (a child’s, someone they’ve met, another PC...), the echo grows louder instead of weaker, words come back in reverse order, the sentence changes to a plea for help or a cryptic phrase...
- If asking a question into the hole, no matter the magnitude, the asker will feel lured towards the hollow. Will Save or walk into it, and later exit it while reciting the answer.
- If walking into the hole: come out a Scene later with Fatigue and having aged years.
18 18 Volodar’s Crypt C. The Staircase · Minotaur p.11
Debris and destroyed sarcophagi around the room. One lit torch in the back corner.
- The sarcophagi offer some cover.
- A piece of stone close to the door has “…dar … orn” inscribed. Another chunk with “Vo… Syl…” is among the rubble.
- The minotaur. He murmurs, thrashes about and stomps on a corpse in robes, his former master. (If already dead: Broken manacles in the rubble).
- Wears the winged tiara Lullaby as a bracelet.
Lullaby. Elegant silver winged tiara. Hums and lulls the wearer when resting. Recover + HP after each rest, but they are always surprised if ambushed and take an extra Turn to respond.
- Minotaur HP 27 LV 6
19 19 Reality Fold C. The Staircase p.11
A third of the room is being folded, crumpled and turned into nothingness. No color escapes. Dust and pebbles are drawn to it.
- The air is thin. Static noise.
- Reality fold: 10’ by 20’. Will Save when first seeing it or can’t benefit from a Breather for the Shift. Sucks anything 1 foot from it and destroys it.
- 2-in a skeleton comes fix it and gets sucked into it.
20 20 Architect’s Study C. The Staircase · Mimic,The Architect p.12
Mummified corpse of Myrto D‘Avernnes sitting on a chair behind a messy and enormous stone desk. Nonsensical plans and drawings litter it. The drained corpses of 2 crypt gnomes by the entrance. Two architect’s cabinets in the back.
- 3 skeletons repairing tools and looking at building plans.
- The ghost of the Architect apparates soon after. Nonviolent, but will defend himself. He can’t leave this room.
- The right cabinet has unintelligible characters labeling the drawers. (It’s a mimic). The Architect will warn that it’s alive right after someone awakens it.
- The left cabinet hides a scroll tube with the Architect’s copy of the contract under a false bottom.
- Mimic HP 22 LV 5
- The Architect
D D. The Gilded Crypt · Flying Sword,Gilded Ancestor p.12
Secret room that is part of the loop, but won’t spawn unless a code is followed. PCs need to follow the clue of the stars on the family crest: Travel 3 floors one way, 6 the opposite way, then 3 in the first direction, and finally 4 in the opposite one. A faint rumble can be heard after each step of the code is completed. 40’ by 60’. Gilded columns, family crests, statues and sarcophagi with effigies.
- Vindicatus Sylcorn’s sarcophagus in the middle.
- 4 gilded unicorn-headed statues of knights, one in each corner of the room.
Disturbing Vindicatus’ sarcophagus: Statues awaken (1 per Party level) and soon after Vindicatus’ armored corpse and longsword rise to fight (Gilded Ancestor and Flying Sword). He’s still dead inside the armor. If close to the sarcophagi along the walls, the tomb effigies animate and try to grab and Restrain PCs. Once per round, the floor opens up under a PC’s feet (pass a Reflex Save or fall 20 feet from the ceiling onto a random quadrant of the room).
- Vindicatus’ signet ring is in his right hand.
- Under Vindicatus’ sarcophagus: Scroll tube with Vindicatus’ copy of the contract and a pile of gold.
- Flying Sword HP 1 LV 1
- Gilded Ancestor