| The path runs along a gaping pit chiseled
from the rock of the
bluffs. A stone guardhouse rises from the pit wall. The building has a mix of light and dark stones, giving it a mottled and de- caying appearance, though the stonework looks solid. The guardhouse is separated from the main
slope by a stony <slope=?>
About 10 or 12 feet above the bridge and
door, a crenellated
There doesn’t seem to be a soul in sight. |
No guards are posted at the door, but the
guards on the parapet
in area 22
watch the bridge and door while keeping out of sight.
If the player characters try to force the
door or scale the walls, one
guard from area 22 races to area
17
for reinforcements, and the
rest attack the party with arrows or with
rocks dropped through the
murder hole in area 22. If the guard
reaches area 17, a chain of
alarms is raised (see areas
6, 10,
17,
18,
19,
and 20).
The rocks stacked in area 22 weigh
15 pounds each, and the
guards can drop them through the murder
hole onto anyone stand-
ing in the map square directly below the
hole (shown as a shaded
area on the map for area 1). A hit
deals 1–6 points of damage.
If the rock misses, it bounces into an
adjacent space (use the miss
procedure
from page 64 of the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE).
If the rock bounces into a space where
a character stands, roll a
new attack against that character; if this
second attack misses, the
rock does not bounce again.
The murder hole grants 90% cover (+10 bonus
to Armor Class)
against any attack that has to pass through
the hole. The parapet
at area 22 grants 50% cover (+4
bonus to Armor Class) against
any attack that has to cross the parapet.
The crevice here has rough walls (see page
19 of the DUNGEON <Climbing,
WSG>
MASTERS GUIDE), which allows climbing
characters to descend
to the bottom in 2 rounds and ascend to
the level of the bridge
in 2 rounds. However, the crumbling
stone and moss are slightly
slippery, doubling the chance that a climber
falls. If that occurs,
the climber slides down the crumbling wall
and takes only 1–4
points of damage from the fall.
The guardhouse’s stone
wall is fairly rough, and a climber can
reach the parapet in 1 round, with the
normal chance for a fall
It takes an additional round to scramble
over the parapet, with
double the normal chance for a fall.
A fall when climbing the guardhouse wall
or the parapet results in
1–6 plus 1–4 points of damage as the character
plummets to the
base of the wall, then slides into the
crevice.
Entering the Guardhouse: Characters
can knock down the
door
here to enter the guardhouse. The door is barred from the
inside, effectively locking it. A knock
spell opens the door, but an
Open Locks
attempt does not because the door has no external
lock to open. A character can force the
door with an Open Doors
roll, but reduce the chance for success
by 1. A successful Bend
Bars/Lift Gates roll also forces the door.
Finally, the party can beat
the door down with weapon attacks; the
door can withstand 40
points of damage before splintering.
>>2.