The Alchemist’s Repose In Dolmenwood

Here’s how I intend to insert the dungeon The Alchemist’s Repose, from Ben Milton’s collection of one page dungeons Summer’s End, into my Dolmenwood campaign. The use of clockwork automatons makes it very suitable as a precursor to one of Dolmenwood’s own adventures.

Naturally you will need to refer to the original dungeon for this to make any sense!

Books used & referred to:

• Summer’s End

• Knave, second edition

• Dolmenwood Campaign Book (DCB)

• Dolmenwood Monster Book (DMB)

• Dolmenwood Player’s Book (DPB)

• Old School Essentials Advanced Referee’s Tome (OSE)

Note that I use Knave second edition to run the game, with some house rules. I’ll post about that another time, but here the only effect is that I refer to ‘coin’ rather than gold, to armour as defined by ‘pieces’ and mention a lock-picking mechanic that give locks hit points. All of this is simple to ignore or change for any other D&D system.

THE ALCHEMIST’S REPOSE

• Sets up for The Fungus That Came To Blackeswell.

• This dungeoneering expedition can optionally follow a prior simple job for Johannis Klepp (still at this time residing at the Royal Institute in Castle Brackenwold). 

  • Transporting some of Klepp’s equipment to his workshop in Blackeswell will introduce players to the village, so that they notice the difference when they return for Fungus.

  • A previously lost shipment can be mentioned too, and placed in hex 1206, where the Baker’s Dozen have waylaid another delivery driver, or perhaps a rival party.

• When PCs go to Klepp at Castle Brackenwold for payment, he will have already moved on to Blackeswell, particularly if a number of days or weeks have passed while the party have been in færie. Give the Arcane Rescue & Retrieval hook from The Fungus That Came To Blackeswell.

Hook

• For J Klepp, artificer, Castle Brackenwold: “Agents sought to recover payment from a Mr Clementine of the White Way, Dolmenwood, for five commissioned Clockworkers. Reward: 3000 coin, from Mr Clementine’s funds.”

• Unbeknownst to Mr Klepp, Mr Clementine is an elf alchemist living on The White Way, a færie road reached from hexes 1201 or 1207.

• Research in Castle Brackenwold might reveal a reference to somewhere nearby called ‘The Mizzle Door’, close to Fog Lake (hex 1207).

• Once PCs enter the White Way, roll a d12 to find how many miles along the road location 8 is found (see DCB p 29). In the centre of the described plaza, a flight of steps leads down to the dungeon entrance.

DUNGEON TWEAKS

Punchcards

• [Elf]: Etching could resemble any small goblin-like creature, depending how the viewer holds the card in the light.

Constructs

• Each has a maker’s mark on the rear: A small metal plaque stamped with the inscription “J. KLEPP - Artificer - CASTLE BRACKENWOLD” and a serial number. 

• [Retrieve]: If programmed with [Elf], lumbers after any Barrowbogeys, Goblins or Redcaps loose in the dungeon, catches them in an oversized butterfly net & takes them back to the ‘pod room’ where they are crammed into giant crystalline alchemical flasks & sealed with corks.

  • All other items taken to the library as in the original dungeon. 

Potions & Scrolls

• All labelled in Sylvan.

• Those with titles in ‘apostrophes’ should be renamed as indicated.

• Control Plant: Colour of tree sap, consistency of cough syrup. Command plants up to 60 ft away to move, entangle, etc. (OSE Advanced Referee’s Tome p 197). 

• ‘Elasticity’: Thewing Gum. A gobstopper-style sweet in a wrapper, turns to gum when sucked, becomes revolting in taste at end of spell’s duration. As Knave spell ‘Elasticity’ - stretch body up to 10 ft × caster level, lasts 1 turn. 

• Lightning: A bolt of lightning jumps around inside a stoppered bottle. As Lightning Bolt, (DPB p 85) but must be aimed like a ranged weapon & if it bounces, does so in a random direction.

• ‘Might’: Wyrmsblood Elixir (DCB p 415).

• ‘Ooze Form’: Wereform Elixir (DCB p 415). Turns imbiber into a small level 2 Ochre Jelly (see OSE).

• Sovereign Glue: Clear, incredibly viscous liquid. Flask has a very thin spout that lets only one drop out at a time, d4 further uses after first application. Permanently sticks any two things together if held in pace for 3 rounds. 

• Silence: A red oven glove holds a leather scroll tube embossed with an ivy-crowned skull. Inside is a holy scroll of Abjuration of Saint Signis (Silence). Functions as aDolmenwood holy spell scroll - DCB p 419.

• Telekinesis: As the spell (DPB p 89).

The Alchemist / The Bedroom

• Elf Courtier (DMB p 37), in the service of the Regent Hador, known as ‘Mr Clementine’, real name ‘Violets-and-Clementine’.

• Elderly man, skin stretched thin over bones, but beard and hair still beautiful lustrous blonde, and incredibly long, covering the entire room.

• Cold iron dagger plunged into chest. Removing it causes a spray of golden blood & the alchemist dies in d4 rounds, fading away. 

  • Replacing the blade ‘resets’ this.

• Use stats as in Summer’s End.

• Optional extra treasure from Dolmenwood: Enchanted longbow with a quiver of 6 arrows hidden in a corner under the hair.

  • +2 to attack & damage rolls

  • If færy arrows (such as those in the quiver) are fired from it, they deal additional acid damage - d6 the turn after first damaging, plus a point of armour is lost (& associated armour piece destroyed).

Fungal Elves / Pod Room

• Broken crystalline glass crunches underfoot instead of knee deep water.

• Oversized alchemical flasks float in the air, each crammed with different ‘elves’ (see below).

• Disturbing them causes them to drop & smash.

• ‘Fungal Elves’ are instead (roll d4, also see their current activity in addition to avoiding the constructs, if randomly encountered):

  1. Barrowbogeys (stealing or looking for pies - perhaps in the VIP room - or trying on alchemical beakers in place of their pots).

  2. Goblins (appraising anything valuable & loading into baskets to take away & sell).

  3. Redcaps (smashing stuff up - one wears a red oven glove, this is the one who originally stabbed the Alchemist).

  4. Redcaps (as above).

Storage

• Also contains a large chest inscribed “Payment for J. KLEPP - Castle Brackenwold.”

• So heavy it requires two people to carry it.

• Locked (hard - 10 HP).

• Inside is as much coin as all PCs can carry, and then some. Coins turn into tasteless rubbery mushrooms d6 turns after leaving the chest.

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