1/3/26: Backstage

Props are strewn about. Many masks and festive costumes all alongside official looking podiums and tables and chairs. Boxes fill most of the rest of the chaotic space. On a central table there is a lone lantern that is glowing an ethereal yellow that fills the whole room. Clever eyes can discern a path through the chaos. Behind some boxes at the back of the room there is a hidden passageway into a cave system.

The lantern is the most interesting thing within the room. It magically deters any undead creature from moving within its space. Importantly it does not forbid them from entering the light it would just be something like a wisdom save if you are using D&D to be able to move through it. Either way, could be a very powerful item however stealing it would put you on the bad side of the denizens of the next room.

1/4/26 Kobold Cave

Torchlight faintly reflects off of the glistening stone walls of this damp cave. The light is cut off by a few massive wooden walls and peaking over these reinforcements is 2 guard towers of sorts. There are openings in the walls however they are offset so you cannot see what is beyond them. Fairly obviously there are fixtures for falling logs on top of each wall. Beyond these first 2 battlements are the guard towers and a small hut so that a guard may be posted here at all times. On top of that 2 near feral wolves sit in a pen nearby. Eldo is the captain of the Kobold guard and he is most often in this small guard post and tending to the wolves, Khan and Mako.

Beyond this small encampment is another wall and the rest of the village. Surrounding a large central fire is a handful of houses. The floor is matted with straw and leaves. On the north end of the room is a ladder that goes down into a deep dark hole. If the players are on friendly terms with the kobolds they will know Dakra who is in charge of the hunting efforts. She will tell the party that down there is their hunting grounds and the ladder leads to an as yet to be made room on the third floor. On the easter side up on a small cliff is the chief, Kubla’s home.

The idea with the hunting grounds is there will be a small, mostly cut off section of the third floor. The floor itself is fed by the bones and corpses above and is therefor overgrown somewhat. Animals can and do live there though most can defend themselves viciously. Plants grow abundantly and some are aggressive, some are poisonous, etc.

1/5/26 Library

A grand library is now in ruins. The shelves on the first floor are ransacked, some are even tipped over and broken. Their contents are strewn about the floor. A very unstable staircase leads up to more intact floors. It appears that this staircase was intentionally damaged long ago to deter people from using them. A dexterity check or similar might be required to climb these stairs.

There are some normal books here that speak of ancient legends of a place called Oathea with intimate detail. If players decide to spend time searching through these books they may learn that the god who granted the world immortality was from Oathea before it fell.

The other contents of the shelves are scrolls and paper scraps each containing spell components. Not material components but things like damage types, effects, ranges, etc. In another room there will be a Spell Crafting Bench where these components can be strung together or they can be cast alongside a spell you know to alter one aspect of it. Only one component may be used with a spell you know at a time.

There are Paper Elementals here too that use these spell components to alter their attacks. They will guard this place vehemently, especially the upper floors. A while ago I made a Papercut mechanic for a D&D 5e game that I will share here for inspiration should you make a paper elemental!

Each spell attack that deals damage applies 1 papercut. Applying 1 stack deals 1 psychic damage, applying a second stack deals 2, applying a 3rd deals 3, etc. You can apply up to 6 stacks and on the 7th the stack does 10 damage and resets. This leaves targets at 1 hit point and any damage from spells that apply papercut is non-lethal.

1/6/26 Fountain

Water flows from a square upper basin of a large 2-tiered fountain. Faint light like fireflies float in the air around where the water splashes. A nymph called Ismene is trapped in the upper basin and will call out to anyone passing through the room.

The lower basin is infested with serpentine Water Elementals. They feed on the Feylight Water produced by Ismene and the fountain. As a result, everything more than a few feet away from the fountain is shrouded in darkness.

In the darkness there are 4 braziers/receptacles. Each of them requires a specific spell effect to activate them and if done in the right order it will flush the water in the fountain, cleansing it and getting rid of the elementals. There may be someone else somewhere in the dungeon willing to help or who already knows the answer. As for clues one of the braziers is scorched and caked in soot. Ismene does not know the combination.

If the party can manage to help Ismene her Feylight water will light up a handful of rooms throughout the rest of the dungeon. On top of that she will give them a Feylight Flask that hold up to 10 charges and consuming a charge will light up a room. The lights look like tiny floating motes of light that flicker and move almost like fireflies.

1/7/26 Marrow Garden

What was once a prosperous community garden is now a twisted domain home only to carnivorous plants. Their roots and vines grow quickly allowing them to move through soft ground and also grasp onto bones to crush them and feed on their marrow. Most of the walls have collapsed somewhat but the large stone that emits sunlight 16 hours a day remains embedded in the ceiling, further nourishing these plants.

The southern gate to the town of Charnel is sealed shut. The way to the fountain is also locked leaving one exit allowing the plants to wander the rest of the dungeon. Anywhere there is a patrolling skeletal group there will be a chance one or multiple of these plants is nearby. Some normal plants still grow in the garden and can be harvested with some luck.

The passageway to the square is trapped crudely with a tripwire that causes an oil flask to fall and ignite.

1/8/26 Square

The historical town square has largely collapsed now. A dew buildings remain standing, one of which is the Cafe Tranquility. Peaceful skeletal townspeople still sit in the cafe and will not attack but they will attempt to alert any skeletal guards of the party’s presence. A small broken sunroof cuts through the rock above a central tree that is still clinging to life. Alchemists in Charnel may want something from this tree for a powerful spell or potion. Be careful who you trust however. Passage to the theater is blocked by rubble. It may be cleared with strength checks and or time.

1/9/26 Main Street

Streets lined in ruin. Homes and businesses left in stasis. What happened here? What could have caused the sudden disappearance of this whole city? The passage to the theater is blocked by rubble that requires magic or tools to clear. Carts remain in the street, their contents are untouched except by time. A skeleton called Grindy hides in one of these carts. He is very jumpy but will not fight. He gets his name from the sound his bones make when moving. He is hiding from both guards and he mentions the “Bone-Hunter Drake” that apparently stalks the streets of this town. Everyone is gone because it has been evacuated and the people were put into hiding but Grindy was left behind.

Closing Thoughts

Week 2 has gone well! This is a very fun process figuring out how all of these rooms fit together. Also this is a good time to touch on a few things. I am still unsure if I want to make stat blocks but what I will do is make roaming encounter tables for things like the skeletal patrols, plants, and the Bone-Hunter Drake. I am excited about that guy as a sort of roaming boss. I am imagining like the rock drakes from ark. Clinging to the ceiling and walls and sort of being able to glide down and it just hunts things to eat their bones.

Overall I am very happy with how this is going! Let me know if you have any suggestions for here or Instagram.