Into the Sewers
Level

This is an adventure designed for a party of 3-5 starting characters (level 2-3 maximum).

Background

A group of bandits (The White Star) have been troubling the city of Jurandar. The mayor of the city, Aldous Smith, has managed to track the lair of the bandits to the city's sewer system, but has gotten no further. He has offered a reward to whoever can clear out this lair: 500Gp for clearing the lair, and another 500Gp if he is presented with the head of Jacob, the leader of the White Star.

A wealthy merchant, Peter Stackpole, has had a magical ring stolen from him. He is offering a reward of 750Gp for its safe return.

The PCs have decided to enter the Sewers to try and claim the rewards.

Preparation

The city of Jurandar is quite large, total population approximately 10,000. As such, there should be easy access to all common mundane items (rope, lanterns etc.). Various supernatural aids can be sought, as there are several mages living within the city and temples to many of the Gods. It is possible to purchase a map of the sewers from the Mayor's Office, for a cost of 10Gp. This will not be offered unless asked for.

The sewers

The grid scale for the GM map is 10' per side.

This makes most of the available paths and walkways 2-3' wide, so only room to move single file, and thrusting weapons will have an easier time of things than things that need a decent swing.

The five main entry points are described on the player map: the three rooms to the top of the sewer system, the larger room in the middle, and the room towards the right hand corner. Each of there rooms contains a ladder which provides access to the city above.

The connecting tunnels are for carrying sewage and other waste, they are not pleasant to walk along, it's generally treacherous and slippery, it's not advisable to try interesting manoeuvres in them, the person attempting this may well fall over nastily.

The larger tunnels have a 10-12' channel running along the middle, and the flow is from North (the top of the map) to the South. The tunnels have domed roofs, which create a ceiling height of about 9' as the edge, rising to more than 15' above the middle of the channel. The walkways are slippery and badly maintained. The sections marked in grey (interest point 10) may well have crumbled away before the PCs arrive. As they move into sight of each section, roll a D20. On a roll of 1-5 the section has already collapsed, on a 6-7 is will collapse as the second PCs crosses it, 8-10 it will collapse as the first PC crosses, and 11 or more it is fine.

A weak section (that will collapse if crossed) can be spotted against a difficulty of 19 (15 if it is well lit with torches or lanterns). A PC on a section as it collapses will be dumped into the channel unless they successfully jump or dodge away.

Creatures in the sewers: If the PCs are checking for odd things, they might notice some movement against the flow of the liquid in the channel, if they spend more than 2 rounds in the channel; they will be attacked by some Sewer Beasts.

The largest drain room will be the PC starting point, unless they elect to enter via another entrance. The east and west exits slope down steeply, the northwards tunnel is less steep. The east/west tunnel that crosses the northern tunnel is almost flat. The northern exit is easier to walk along, but takes longer to reach the main channels.

In the southern chamber of the main sewers, the channels drain into a fast flowing underground river that passes underneath the level shown on the map. If does not rise to the surface for over 5 miles of travel underground in each direction, attempting to jump in and swim to the surface will probably lead to death in short order, if not protected by suitable magic or other methods.

It is possible to exit the sewers from one of the five rooms, and re-enter from a different point, but the city above is rather confused and does not follow the layout of the sewers themselves, it will take at least 10 minutes to move from one entrance to another using totally mundane means (magic and skills can speed this up).

Bandits and the bandit lair

The twisting irregular tunnels are home to the lair of the White Star , full of unsavoury type that leave the safety of their hideout to prey on the citizens of the city above. The PCs have taken on a contract from the Mayor of the city to root out this group and make the night safe once again.

Interest points one and two are lookouts from the group of bandits. They will flee if they spot the PCs advancing towards them through the Sewer. The bandits are aware of the weak points in the sewer, and will avoid them or cross carefully, they also know about the beasts that inhabit the main tunnels.

Interest point 13 is another lookout, stationed at the entrance to the main lair. He will also flee rather than fight.

If the lookouts are silenced, then the tunnels will be as described on the map and below, and the PCs will have a chance to infiltrate with guile and cunning, rather than fighting their way through. If the lookouts notice the oncoming party, and successfully flee back to the main tunnels, then they will warn Jacob of the oncoming threat. The card players will be armed and ready, the sleeping bandits awakened, and all prepared in the main cavern to draw in, surround, and kill the attacking party.

Hidden entrances are marked on the map where tunnels suddenly meet a solid wall. The entrances can be opened from either side, but are quite hard (Spot 22) to discover. One of these entrances is in the southernmost chamber of the main sewers.

Inside the main bandit tunnels, there are several points of interest.

Point 3 is a cavern, containing five bandits, playing cards. They have stacked their weapons to the side of the room, and have been drinking heavily.

Point 4 is a dormitory Cavern, there are four bandits in the cavern, sleeping off various amounts of drink, there are no weapons directly to hand.

Point 11 is a small cavern containing two alert crossbow armed bandits, on the lookout for anyone attempting to enter the tunnel system via the nearby hidden entrance.

Points 5 and 7 are sections of tunnel manned by guards who are stopping anyone entering the main cavern.

Point 6 is the main cavern of the bandit lair. The bandit chief is meeting with a small delegation from a different group of lawbreakers, hence the heavy guard on the entrances to the cavern.

Point 14 is the stockpile of the loot that has been taken by the bandits. Behind this stockpile is a very well hidden exit, known only to the bandit leader.

Point of interest 9 shows a section of tunnel that has been rigged to collapse when triggered by one of the bandits. The other sections marked in yellow have been set-up in a similar manner. The sections can be triggered from either side, and take a second or two to fully collapse. Anyone caught underneath a collapse will be crushed to death if they fail to move out of the way in time. It should be possible to clear the collapsed stone and rubble within an hour or so.

The monsters
Swamp beasts

The swamp beasts are small water elementals (As described in the monster manual), they have been corrupted by the sewer sludge, but this only alters their appearence.

Lookouts (Points of interest 1, 2 and 13)

The lookouts are 1st Level Rogues, armed with short swords.

Guards (5, 7, 11)

The guards are 2nd level rogues, armed with crossbows and daggers. One of the Guards has a masterwork Crossbow, one has a masterwork set of leather armour. All the others have basic leather armour (AC +2)

Bandit chief and advisors (6)

The Jacob is a 2nd level rogue, 1st level warrior. He carries a rapier, and has a brace of throwing knives in each boot, and one up each sleeve. He will use the knives in preference to the rapier, and flee if the situation appears to be going out of control. His advisors are 2nd level rogues, armed with daggers.

Visiting delegation (6)

The visiting delegation consists of "Red" Mark, head of a gang from Panadour, a neighbouring town. He and his two bodyguards have travelled here to negotiate with Jacob of the White Star, to ensure that both groups can grow and prosper without coming into conflict. If Jacob flees, he will take Mark with him. Mark is also a 2nd level rogue 1st level warrior, and his chosen weapon is a magical flaming dagger. His bodyguards are 1st level warriors, armed with cheap swords and studded leather armour (AC +3).

Drunken card players (3)

The drunken card players are either 1st level rogues or warriors (select randomly), they all carry knives on their belts, and there are swords, crossbows and spears racked up on the wall farthest from the game.

Sleeping bandits (4)

The sleeping bandits are all 1st level warriors or rogues (select randomly); they have daggers and throwing knives sheathed, on belts hanging over the end of the bunks they are asleep in.

Loot (14)

In the bandits' loot area, there is the missing magical ring (A ring of Climbing), 3000Cp, 900Sp and 300Gp. There are also various crates of food and goods, with a value of around 100Gp in total. Hidden in one of the chests of goods is a stash of 15 Platinum pieces. Each bandit has a 5% chance of carrying a random gem, a 15% chance of carrying 5d6 Silver pieces and a 10% chance of carrying 5d4 Gold pieces.

Monster stats
Level 1 Rogue
Level 2 Rogue
Level 1 Warrior
Attacks
WeaponDamageCriticalL1 RogueL1 FighterL2Rogue
Dagger1d419-20/x2+0 (+1)+2+1 (+3)
Sword1d619-20/x2+0+2+1
Rapier1d618-20/x2+0 (+1)+2+1 (+3)
Spear1d820/x2+0+2+1
Quarterstaff1d6/1d620/x2+0+2+1
Crossbow1d819-20/x2+0 (+1)+2+1 (+3)
Jacob of the White Star - Level 2 Rogue / Level 1 Fighter

Hit Points: 7

Jacob is armed with a Masterwork rapier (+1) he also carries a set of thieve's tools. He is lightning fast, but below average in appearance, and quite sickly looking.

"Red" Mark - Level 2 Rogue / Level 1 Fighter

Hit Points: 10

Mark carries a flaming dagger (+1 to attack +1d6 damage). He is tougher and more intelligent than Jacob, but also incredibly ugly, and very blunt and straightforward. He's not particlarly wise, and will tend to make bad decisions, and to fight on even when any other rogue would have long ago fled.