Adventure Site Contest 3: Interdimensional Tunnels of the Sluggobs

​Written by Chomy
For S&W, levels 4-5
Interdimensional Tunnel Complex
these ancient tunnels were constructed by an advanced race of a long-forgotten time. They used the place as a shortcut between distant places. Now it is inhabited by the repugnant creatures called sluggobs - hybrid monstrosities with the upper body of a goblin and the eyestalks and lower body of a slug. Their leader and 'mother' is the Annis called Gran' Cursespitter, an evil being of significant power. Gran' Cursespitter provides safe haven for all manner of evil creatures who are willing to pay the price – her guests consider the tunnels a hostel and do everything they can not to slip the secret of its existence to creatures of Law.    
   Hey, check it out, it’s Chomy. Writer of the genius Webs of Past and Present, always great to see the Hungarian adventure-scribbler weigh in on one of these. In the case it’s a “hey we need a teleportation nexus” dungeon, which means there’s a purpose beyond loot n’ scoot. Interesting to see how it gets implemented.
   As you might expect for a place named after half-goblin, half-slugs who dwell within, the story is a little bit silly. Certainly, nothing’s wrong with that, but it’s something to note…one of our hooks is “elf prince spotted chasing orcs into entrance”, and said princess has been turned into an orc “because that’s the prince’s kink”. Strange. Easily ignorable, but the details often run along these lines. More generally, there are lots of little oddball rooms and visitors in this complex perched between realms, but it never falls into full “monster zoo” territory, because there are certainly reasons for why every weirdo is here.
   Our map is also a bit, um, odd-looking, but it’s got justification as an interdimensional travel nexus. Plenty of room to explore, with a subtle-but-present vertical component, this time paired with a water feature for added interest and a break to the linearity (it’s a pretty toxic liquid, though, so you’ll need a lot of protection if you use it). A player mapper should be able to grok this reasonably easily, which is important…this space is ideally somewhere that gets visited multiple times over a long campaign, ideally eventually leading to mapped nexus fragments linking up. For something so hub-and-spoke, this is a solid game map.
   Hazards within the tunnels are not merely limited to the water loop. Most of the inanimate hazards are of a distinctly boon-or-bane nature, like apples that resurrect the dead but petrify the living, curbed holy wells that need stagnant poison waters cleared first, or even the power source of the tunnels themselves, which needs to be fed a magic item to maintain them (180 days per item) but breathes out a 10’ poison cloud while it eats. Really only a seemingly-innocuous bucket-o-tar trap is simple…
   …which means even that has a kicker as the sluggobs toss torches at PCs doused by the flammable stuff. Nice. This whole “everything is a mixed bag” theme extends to the monster roster, with most of the individual rooms’ inhabitants willing to at least chat a bit before the killing. Quick, the gorgon demands a haiku about the meaning of life or he’ll breathe on you! The elf prince is a psychopath. The entrapped younger hag sister offers a wish for aiding her but she’s also mean. A ton of this stuff, every single encounter is a situation. Even the endboss herself has the animated head of one of her sisters on her belt, which offers some unique interactive potential. All of this is just that little bit extra.
   Loot, as you’d expect, is also nice. There’s a magic +3 intelligent sword that silences any magic users it sees. There’s a section with runes on the walls that can teach spellcasters new spells. There’s aforementioned apple. Cash money is a little lacking here, mostly just jewelry and gems, but another reward for this spot is as a transportation hub, that’s more than sufficient motivation for PCs right there. I like a site that keeps right on being used after conquest.
   In the end, this is a funhouse dungeon. Unlike many funhouse dungeons, there’s a good attempt as giving reasons for all the encountered oddities, so it doesn’t grate on my sensibilities like most will. Most if not all campaigns will find a place (well, five places) for this dungeon to go…and I think it’s a very worthwhile inclusion.