The Forgotten Smugglers' Cave #18: Green Grotto

This is an installment of a new dungeon adventure set in the Portown milieu, which I'm writing for Holmes Basic D&D. You can find the Introduction here: Area 1.

Each entry includes part of a "pointcrawl" map showing the area & any exits, including links allowing you to navigate the dungeon:

	Area 17   ||
Area 12 ==C	18. GREEN  GROTTO

18. GREEN GROTTO. Beyond the gate in the south wall of Area 17, a rough-walled natural tunnel slopes down to the south 120 feet to the north end of a large cavern (50' wide east-west by 500' long north-south). On approach, a dim light is visible, and within the ceiling glows, allowing natural vision without a light source. The air is humid and warm, water drips from a profusion of stalactites, and the floor is dense with shrub-height vegetation. 

Flora. The glow emanates from a massive colony of phosphorescent fungus, also known as foxfire, growing across the cavern roof. The lush vegetation includes a variety of oversized club mosses, ferns, horsetails, and mushrooms. A carpet of ordinary moss covers the floor and inactive stalagmites, and extends part of the way up the walls and active stalagmites.

Fauna. For centuries, a colony of iguanas have dwelled here, feeding upon the strangely fast-growing plant life, which has allowed a number of them to grow to enormous size.

If the party makes noise near the entrance, the largest of these lizards will slowly approach, as it is old enough to dimly remember being fed by the humans (smugglers) that once came here and used its brethren to pull carts up and down the tunnel from the sea cave. It will come disconcertingly close, sniffing for fruit or vegetables but will not bite or otherwise harm the PCs unless attacked, in which case it will defend itself and then attempt to flee. It will also let out a distressing hiss that will call several other elder iguanas to its aid. The iguanas can attack twice each round, by biting and whipping their spiked tail.

Otherwise, if the party enters the vegetation, there is a 1 in 6 chance each round that the largest lizard will approach. 

Grotto Iguanas (6) (DX 10, AC 2, HD 3+1, hp 24, 20 x 2, 16, 14, 12, #AT 2: 1 bite for 1d6, 1 tail whip for 1d6)

There are numerous smaller iguanas in the cave that may be spotted by the party but will immediately flee to the safety of small holes in the walls.

Concealed Tunnel. In the west wall of the cavern, 70 feet south from the north end, and concealed behind several large stalagmites, is the entrance to a tunnel heading 140 feet west to Area 12. This can be found in the west wall is carefully examined. The last 10 feet of the tunnel before Area 12 is mostly filled with a sloping pile of sand, and entry to Area 12 will require digging out a few feet of sand at the top of the pile. 

Hot Spring. Starting at 240 feet from the south of the entrance, there is a mild hot spring, 30 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep, in the center of the cavern. 1d4-1 of the large iguanas will be relaxing in its warm waters at any time.

The Statue. At the very southern end of the cavern there is what appears to be yet another moss-covered stalagmite; however, on inspection it will be noted that it is growing out of a square-shaped slab. Removing the moss will reveal that the formation is actually a grey granite statue, roughly carved into a robed figure with a distinctly reptilian face. 

The statue is enchanted, rendering it impervious to ordinary weapons or tools, and magic cast upon it will be absorbed as a rod of absorption without effect. The first five spell levels that are absorbed will serve to incrementally awaken a shade that dwells within, which will visibly manifest as the statue slowly becoming of noticeably finer quality; i.e., more lifelike.

Once awake, the shade within will attempt to communicate telepathically with the most recent caster. However, it only speaks a forgotten tongue and thus the caster will not understand it without assistance; a Read Languages spell cast upon self will suffice. The statue itself has a permanent effect allowing it to understand any language.

If understanding is achieved by one of the PCs, the shade will introduce itself as Thss'tk'tss, a sorceror who lived aeons ago in a now forgotten civilization. Thss will offer to instruct the caster in spellcraft in exchange for more spells cast upon it. Treat the statue as a 13th level wizard, and thus able to absorb up to 72 spell levels total, and knowing and able to cast any spell of levels 1-6 using the levels it has absorbed. If attacked, the statue can defend itself using such spells. It can only use absorbed spell energy for casting; it has no ability to memorize spells.

It can teach a magic-user a spell in an amount of time equal to one week per spell level. The magic-user must cast one spell level on the statue each day of study. The statue will eventually use the absorbed levels to cast strange spells that will allow it grow a new flesh body for the shade to inhabit. The DM can decide whether the reborn Thss will remain a beneficent mentor to the PCs or has another, more sinister purpose.

Troodontoid Statue: DX 18 (casting only), AC 0, MU 13, hp 46, #AT 0; SA spell-casting; SD absorbs all spells and magical effects; immune to normal weapons

See the full "new monster" write-up of the Troodontoid Statue here. 

Chronologically on this blog, the previous post installment was Area 17 and the next posted installment will be Area 19.