FB05: Chamber of the Ruby Fish
You open the ornate, white coral door and enter a large, circular chamber entirely filled by a pool of water deep enough for its bottom to be lost to the darkness below. You stand on a small, red-stone, platform only inches above the water.
In front of you is a flight of stone stairs, leading to a narrow circular platform approximately ten feet in-front-of and above you. The ceiling of the room rises another ten feet above the platform. There is no rail on the stairs, though they are not uncomfortably narrow. Each of the twenty stairs has two symbols inlaid upon it - one on the left side of the stair, the other on the right side. One symbol is made with turquoise coral, the other with white. If the Ruby Fish is anywhere within this monastery, it is likely at the top of this flight of stairs.
The Ruby Fish is, indeed, at the top of the stairs. It sits atop a small, decorative white-coral plinth on the platform above. The fish is beautifully carved in an abstract, artistic style and made of polished red coral and is approximately 5 inches long, 3 inches tall, and 1 inch thick. It is indeed non-magical and worth only about 50gp on the open market, but holds special significance among certain religious sects.
In order to successfully reach the Ruby Fish and retrieve the treasure for the antiquarian who hired them, the characters will somehow need to navigate the trapped stairs leading up to the platform.
The Stairs
Each of the twenty stairs leading up to the platform holding the Ruby Fish is coded with two symbols. Placing weight on the side of the step that contains one symbol is safe, but placing weight on the side of the other symbol will trigger a swinging ax trap. The code of symbols to follow in ascending the steps is written around the circular base of the statue in The Chapel (5). Two visual representations of the stairs (one safe to share with players and the other keyed to show the correct path) are shared below. As the characters are 4th level, it is entirely possible that they may bypass the stairs entirely through magic or some other trick. In such an event, allow it. If they bypass the stairs on the way up, but must descend the stairs on their way out of the room, it is still possible to trigger the trap. If they bypass the stairs in both directions, good for them.Swinging Ax Pendulum
Non-Magical Trap Spot: Investigation skill check, DC 18Save: DEX Saving Throw, DC 16
Effect: When triggered, five pendulums tipped with sharp ax-blades drop from the ceiling, swinging across the stairs and causing 2d12+4 damage to anyone who fails their saving throw. Those who succeed in their saving throw take no damage. All characters on the stairs, whether or not they have succeeded in the first saving throw, must make an Acrobatics skill check, DC 18, or fall off the stairs and into the water below. The water filling the bottom of the chamber is roughly 15 feet deep. It does not contain any creatures or dangers, except for characters who are for some reason unable to swim (such as being reduced to 0 hit points).
Experience Point Possibilites
- Successfully navigating the stairs and retrieving the Ruby Fish -- 250xp / character
Player Map of Stairs |
Keyed Map of Stairs |
Comments