Scrap and I's Ping-Pong Exquisite Corpse Dungeon continues.
Room #4
Here are the strange treasures and meditations of the hierophant of the monks of flame stored. In some ways a peaceful place, the spirit of the ruling monk still hangs out here.
BUT
Do you want to steal a bunch of cool stuff?
Or do you truly desire WISDOM??
Well it depends which key you use to enter the room; The AUTUMN KEY or the SUMMER KEY [presumably located somewhere in this dungeon yet to be decided].
THE DOOR
On the left, a silver device set with strange bezoars. At its centre the leaf-shaped hole for the Autumn Key.
On the right, a gleaming gilded apparatus set with bloodstones and polished red glass. At its centre a hole for the sun-shaped Summer Key.
You can only open the door with a key, you can only open it with ONE KEY (if you try both it won't work) and you can only open it ONCE. Whatever state you find the room in becomes its 'real' state for you.
THE AUTUMN KEY
The calm wood-panelled room of a wise ascetic. Harmless orbs of pale blue fire bob about in a soothing dark. It has the feeling of a warm room in an autumn storm. Strangely it feels as if rain is falling somewhere 'outside' and wind blowing distantly, but here all is calm and silent.
At the far end, the silvery spirit of a bearded man in simple robes sits floating in lotus position above the dusty time-eaten cushions of a decayed pavilion.
As you enter, his eyes open and he burns with blue fire.
"Ah. You have shown great wisdom to reach this place, (or else the fates have favoured you for their own strange reasons)" he chuckles a bit. "What boon may I give thee? Time? Transmutation? Vision, Memory or Resurrection? Ask what you will of each.."
The Guru of Siver Fire will describe exactly what each boon does, he has no intention to trick the PCs.
TIME
"I may transport you to any point in any previous time. With these limitations; firstly I can take you only to cities which are about to be consumed by fire, secondly I shall provide no way back, and thirdly, as with many of my boons, details of this place, its contents and how to reach it will be wiped from your mind."
TRANSMUTATION
"YOUTH! You will be refreshed and re-made, corruption and pain burnt away. Lost parts re-grown, madness, disease and scars removed and all curses lifted from you. But beware, you shall have a new name and your old life will seem much like a dream. Old friends and foes may not recognise you and even loved ones may not see you as the same person."
VISION
"I shall take thee on a balls-out vision quest into the deepest reaches of the multiverse! Though only moments pass in this world as your body is frozen in a kind of uninterruptable stasis. Your spirit is plunged into the very fires of creation and destruction, see all sides and shapes of time and knowledge and though your memory of this will fade, much shall remain - EXCEPT; detailed knowledge of this place and its contents, which shall be wiped from your mind. I warn thee! The wisdom I shall grant thee can change one more than any wound or curse!"
You get 2d4 points of WIS immediately. (The Guru will caution you that wisdom changes a person more than any other quality), also there is a 1 in 4 chance you will become a devotee of the Fire Monk religion. Also you recognise most major planar and outsider entities on sight. (Though you can't exactly remember why).
MEMORY
"Ah the subtlest of boons. You shall receive nothing, except you shall be one of the very few who knows the contents and location of the Hexahedron of the Monks of Flame, and you shall remember all that you have learnt and experienced within. What you do with this knowledge is entirely up to you...."
RESSURECTION
"Life from lifelessness! By the Eternal Flame I shall reach deep into the Cosmos and return one passed to this mortal coil. But I warn thee all, this shall come at a cost which shall be borne equally by all of you, and if but one of you should break the covenant then the flame shall die, and the one you seek shall still be returned to you, but perhaps not as you knew them...."
Like a reverse auto-de-fe the desired individual unburns themselves before the PCs. To restore them to their XP level when they died, XP are gradually drained from the PCs equally. [They can feel this happening].
Any PC can stop this process and if they do the process stops for everyone. The desired individual is still returned but only with the XP already drained from the PCs.
NOTHING
If a PC makes no response, or explicitly asks for nothing, the Guru gives them a cheeky look and says;
"Aah you pass like the wind across the valley, and that is true wisdom."
That PC can now meditate themselves into a state of True Neutrality with a moments preparation (unless they were already True Neutral, in which case they can meditate themselves into a state of ANY ALIGNMENT).
This effect requires concentration to maintain.
They will read magically and spiritually as this alignment, will interact with curses and items as this alignment and may also exhibit some behaviours and attitudes of it. They can stop any time but the longer they maintain a meditation the easier it is and the 'extreme' alignments are addictive if maintained over time.
The Guru also removes key details and elements from their memories of the Hexahedron.
..........................
This encounter being ended, the PCs come to their senses in the desert, with confused or absent memories of what happened and any evidence which could lead someone to the Hexahedron burnt to a crisp. (Unless they chose 'Memory' in which case they can find their way back, and lead others.)
THE SUMMER KEY!
Its a room of amber walls full of golden furniture sculpted into waves like fire glittering with rubies and the parts that aren't gold or amber are bloodwood, ceder and maple (all reddish hues).
Though the room is barely lit, every glimmer catches and blazes on a thousand pinpoints. Huge orbs hanging from the ceiling incandesce - they are full of the same flamey cloud as in room #3. with Glass-Body Butterflies in it flpping about their wings reflecting and intensifying the light like a bunch of flappy kaleidoscopes.
A rectangular pool of shimmering mercury nearly cuts the room in half. (Can be navigated to either side.
Brass pole stands along the walls holding pennants like tongues of descending flame embroidered with holy wisdom.
Two huge rug embroidered with golden thread on either side of the mercury pool.
In the centre of the second rug in the shimmering half-lit darkness on the far side of the room, his high monkship sits like a decayed corpse lounging on a maple and gold throne, but still alive, his silken pope-hat tips grotesquely over his sunken face and his eyes glimmer like the bottom of whiskey bottles.
A rasping voice...
"My treasures... my wisdom... YOU SHALL HAVE NONE!!!"
Burning phoenix wings erupt and a fight is on!
DUNGEONEERING MECHANICS
The two carpets are asbestos or flameproof and can be rolled up.
The pool of mercury is only an inch deep but but can be skated across, fallen into and slows action in it.
The big glass balls can fall, roll and slam into things, if they break open the flaming cloud gets out along with the butterflies.
The brass pole stands holding pennants like tongues of descending flame embroidered with holy wisdom, could maybe be used as a pole or whip. The Fire Monk will be unwilling to burn these words; "Nooo, the holy texts!" so they can be used as a temporary sheild.
THE FIRE POWERS OF THE FIRE MONK WHEN HE FUCKS YOU UP
(He can do three of these a round, but no other actions. On 2/3 hit points he can do two, and one normal action. On 1/3 Hit Points he can do one, and one normal action.)
> Firesnakes! A gesture and they spew from your clothes, hissing and burning!
> Fire whip! Lashes out and flings you about! balrog style.
> He speaks a command a 2d6 burning skeletons emerge from any fire in the room holding blades of liquid silver which cut like razors (they turn into liquid mercury if the Fire Monk dies).
> Smoke Breath! He breathes out a great gout of smoke and ash which blinds and chokes.
> Heat ray! A ray springs from the tip of his ruby staff and torches you like a war of the worlds Martian.
> Whirlwind Form! He transforms into a whirling tornado of fire and races across the room sending everything in his path flying and scorched.
> Furnace Hands! Super-glowy furnace hands melt swords and turn armour to trickles of molten liquid!
WHAT DO YOU GET?
A lot of it is pretty heavy but the whole thing should be worth a significant shitload.
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