

- Intro -

This dungeon is intended to be a short and straightforward adventure for trying out Words of Power. It should provide opportunity to touch most of the systems (excluding Leveling Up, Rests, and Resisting Death). Everything herein is a suggestion and you should add or buff units as needed for your specific group.

- The Blade of Ilnuth -

Historians in Lum have received word that graverobbers have located and will soon attempt to recover the fabled Blade of Ilnuth. The party has been hired to intercept those graverobbers, stop them, and preferably retrieve the blade for their employers. Each player should be free to put their own spin on how that employment came to be. The Blade of Ilnuth is said to be a blade of legendary craftsmanship, blessed by the gods to blind any who gaze upon its wielder with malice. 

- Game Start -

The game begins with the whole party standing outside an ancient Reptilian tomb. It is overgrown with vines. Players should be invited to double-check their inventory setup and make any additional preparations before "really" starting. There may be opportunity for teaching Skill Checks at this time (ex: crafting a torch). 

When players are ready to advance, they will notice that the large stone door of the tomb is open. In the center of the open door is a large Onyx sphere. It rests in a stone socket. When removed, the door will slowly close. When put back in, it will open. 

- The Engraving -

The stairs of the temple descend down into the earth. It is overgrown and ruined, but definitely brick on all sides (walls/ceiling/floor). The path comes to a clear T. At the center of the T, two Pirate Grunts attempt to pry the eyes out of an engraving. This is an opportunity for either a Combat or Skill Check tutorial.

[Pirate Grunt]
Weapons : Cutlass (1d6/1d6)
Armor : 0/0/0/0
HP : 3/3/3/3
Tactics : Attack closest

The engraving here is the key to the whole dungeon. Do your best to nudge players to investigate it. The engraving depicts a Reptilian queen. Her right hand has as socket for an orb with an engraving of a tree on it. Her eyes hold two Red Orbs. Around her neck is an amulet with another orb socket and the shape of a shield. In her left hand, an image of a sword with yet another socket on its pommel. This one has the engraving of a sun. 

In total, this engraving depicts 5 orbs.
Missing - Tree
Red - Flame
Red - Flame
Missing - Shield
Missing - Sun

As we find each of these orbs in the dungeon, make sure to describe the shape that appears within each orb. If a player happens to know or decipher Reptilian, there is an inscription that reads :

"Here lies Yass, the Reptilian Queen who stole Fire from the Sun. She used it to Nurture and Shield yer young. Eventually, the spirits of Fire consumed her."

- The Left-Hand Path -

Around the left corner, we see that the entire hallway is flooded with water. A knee-deep path provides slow movement down the center. On either side, there are deep chasms of water. On the right side, an orange light flickers. On the left, a blue light flickers. On the near side of the water, three Pirate Grunts argue with each other about having "dropped them in the water". On the far side, two crossbowmen await.

[Pirate Grunt]
Weapons : Cutlass (1d6/1d6)
Armor : 0/0/0/0
HP : 3/3/3/3
Tactics : Attack closest

[Pirate Crossbowman]
Weapons : Cutlass (1d6/1d6), Crossbow (1d6/1d4, one action to reload)
Armor : 0/0/0/0
HP : 3/3/3/3
Tactics : Maintain distance and attack most armored

This room is a tutorial for Skill Checks, Armor (potentially), Ranged Attacks, and how the Battle Board might change to describe a room. If and when you set this combat up on the board, D7/C4/C2/D3 will all represent the deep chasms and be impassable, without a Skill Check to swim across. Pirate Grunts will begin combat in C3/B2/C2. Crossbowmen begin in D8/D2. Players will choose their entry points in D6/D5/D4. 

Once the pirates are cleared out, players may move on to the next room or go ahead and attempt to dive for the lights.

- The Lights -

Each of the lights is a missing orb from the engraving. Orange is the sun and Blue is the shield. They flicker because Shrieking Eels swim back and forth, infront of them. Players will require a Skill Check to determine whether they can get to the orb and back in one turn. It is likely they will fail and you will have to run this combat without the Battle Board at all!

[Shrieking Eels]
Armor : 0/0/0/0
HP : 6/6/6/6
Attacks : Bite (1d6/1d6), Screech (all adjacent units take 1 Head damage)
Can't leave water

- The Endcap Room -

In the endcap room, there are many well-kept plants all around the walls. Two robed Reptilians have been slain and lay on the floor. They appear to have been shot to death by the crossbowmen, whilst defending the Green orb (Tree). In this room, players can also find a plant that lets them temporarily breathe underwater. 

- The Right-Hand Path -

Returning to the engraving (another opportunity to nudge players!), a few more Pirate Grunts litter the hallway. As players may choose to go here before the Left-Hand Path, there should only be two or three. When they turn the corner, they will see a closed stone door with an empty socket at the end of the hall. That door is opened by the White orb. Somewhere along the right wall, is a wooden slat door with light flickering out of it. 

[Pirate Grunt]
Weapons : Cutlass (1d6/1d6)
Armor : 0/0/0/0
HP : 3/3/3/3
Tactics : Attack closest

- The Wooden Slat Door -

Inside this room, players will see many lit braziers dotting the room. They will see more Reptilian corpses. The Navigator, of the Salted Bones pirate crew, is locked in mortal combat with a golem. She fights for her life but her ceaselessly smashes at her. The White orb gleams from the vines on his chest. One Pirate Grunt attempts to flank the golem.

This room is a tutorial in Counterspelling and special enemies. Both the Navigator and the Golem should fight each other AND the players at the same time. It's a three-way fight. 

For the Battle Board layout, have the Pirate Grunt start in D2. The Golem begins in D4. The Navigator begins in C3. There are non-movement-blocking braziers in D8/D2/D4/D6 that can be used for whatever. Players enter through the doorway into D7 and only D7. This will teach the importance of choosing a strong turn order. 

[Pirate Grunt]
Weapons : Cutlass (1d6/1d6)
Armor : 0/0/0/0
HP : 3/3/3/3
Tactics : Attack closest

[Navigator]
Inherent Words : Seeking, Shot, Slash
Drawn Words : Venom, Blind, Bleed, Stone
Weapons : Cutlass (1d6/1d6), Hand Crossbow(1d6/1d4)
Armor : 1/3/3/3 Leather + Monocle [Gaze]
HP : 4/6/6/6
Loot : Monocle [Gaze]
Tactics : The Navigator has access to many spells and a magic item. She should focus on using these, to give the players an opportunity to counterspell. She should also counterspell the players, if they attempt to cast something. Do not waste all her words on one counterspelling stack!

[Golem]
Attacks: Smash(1d8/1d10), Push(1d6, Knockback, deal 1d6 if the target hits a wall)
Loot : White Orb
Tactics : The Golem is immune to all damage, except Critical Hits. Any amount of Critical damage, a cool spell, or a pickpocket Skill Check, should immediately free the Orb and drop the Golem. 

- The Tomb -

ROGBR

Inside the actual tomb of Queen Yass, there is a stone sarcophagus. Along the lid are 5 stone sockets. None of them bare any engravings. The task at hand is to place the 5 orbs (that the party has hopefully collected at this point) into the correct order. For each orb that is in the wrong slot when they submit their guess, a Gargoyle will spawn and try to attack the submitter. 

The order can be discovered in a few different ways. Firstly, the inscription on the engraving capitalizes the order. Secondly, looking at the engraving top-to-bottom/left-to-right will be mostly correct. Thirdly, this is the order on a color wheel. Finally, this is a children's puzzle game known as Mastermind. Taking a few guesses and correcting never killed anybody!

One player MUST stand at C1 to make the attempt. Everyone else can stand wherever they want. Gargoyle spawns should begin with, "You notice stone faces rising out of the walls.", to give the party one round to reposition and prepare. Place the Gargoyles outside of the spaces they will join and act from. Roll initiative to see if they act, as soon as they join.

[Gargoyle]
Weapons: Claw (1d6/1d4)
Armor : 0/0/0/0
HP : 2/2/2/2
Tactics : Can fly, will target the person who submitted a guess first.

If players manage to submit a proper guess, it's time to check the clock. If you're over time, they get the blade and everyone goes home happy. If you have plenty of time, have Queen Yass rise and attack.

[Queen Yass]
Tags : Undead, Queen, Reptilian
Inherent Words : Acid, Spit, block
Drawn Words : Segment, Shell, Crystal, Lift, Steal
Weapons : Blade of Ilnuth (1d6/1d6) [Blind] (Attacks that would hit the Mainhand miss)
Armor : 1/3/3/3 Golden Laurels and Leather
HP : 4/6/6/6
Loot : Blade of Ilnuth, Golden Laurels
Tactics : It's the final boss, go all out! 
