The Altar Room

The True and Rightful King

Encounter 4:  The Altar Room

Level 1:  Hard Level 3

1 Wererat, Level 3 Skirmisher, 150 xp (1 player)
1 Hive Soldier, Level 3 Soldier, 150 xp (2 players)
1 Hive Warrior, Level 2 Skirmisher, 125 xp (3 players)
1 Hive Worker, Level 1 Minion Skirmisher, 25 xp (3 players)
6 Hive Workers, Level 1 Minion Skirmishers, 25 xp ea. (4 players)
1 Wererat, Level 3 Skirmisher, 150 xp (5 players)
1 Hive Soldier, Level 3 Soldier, 150 xp (6 players)

Setup

You creep down dark, narrow, steep, winding stairs until you finally reach the bottom and the stone walls open up to a hallway about 15 feet wide.  The ceiling seems to rise up into darkness.  The stone seems to seep water and everything is moist to the touch.  Somewhere you can hear the drip, drip, drip of water, but you can’t tell where it’s coming from.

At the end of the hallway there are three tall iron doors on massive hinges with what seem like oversized knobs.  When you turn one of the knobs, the door swings open easily, as if of its own accord.  The hinges squeal as if some animal were crying out in terrible pain.  Then all is silent, save for the distant drip, drip, drip of water.

Before you is a large room with a ceiling so tall you can barely see it.  The ceiling is supported by four massive columns set symmetrically in the room.  In the center of the room, centered in the middle of the four columns, is what looks like an altar, but it is obviously ancient and long unused.  Made of stone, there seems to be a massive crack on the top which has created an opening which could lead down into the altar large enough for a medium creature to pass through easily.  Around the base of the altar some sort of moss is growing which glows softly.

Out of the darkness at the far side of the room steps a man wearing ragged, dirty clothes and a long cap that is tattered and frayed at the edges.  At his waist he is carrying a short sword.  He is thin, perhaps emaciated from hunger, and his features seem incredibly sharp.  He shambles toward you, seeming to stagger as he walks, and reaches out to you imploringly with long, thin fingers.

“Oh!  Gods be blessed!  I thought I was trapped here forever.  Thanks be that you’ve come!”

Tactics and Development

If the Wererat reaches one of the adventurers without being attacked (he has a Bluff of +6), he immediately polymorphs into dire rat form on the surprise round.

As soon as battle is joined, the second Wererat (if any) appears from the darkness in dire rat form and attacks.  Also, the ants (if any) are alarmed by the sounds of battle and begin to swarm up out of the broken altar, one group per round, and attack the adventurers.  They are used to the presence of the Wererats and do not attack them.

The ants fight to the death, but the Wererats are venal creatures and as soon as one falls or they are both bloodied, they retreat to the darkness of the ceiling by climbing the walls or the columns.  If any of the adventurers climb the walls or the columns, the ants pursue them.

Features of the Area

Illumination:  Low light from the glowing moss.
Floor:  Stone.
Walls:  Worked stone, Climb DC 20.
Ceiling:  Slightly arched rising to 40 feet.
Columns:  Stone carved with circling vines, Climb DC 15.
Altar:  Filled with dirt.  There is a hole which obviously leads to an ant nest.
Secret Trap Door:  Perception DC 10.

Treasure

The Wererat(s) kept their things in the back corner of the room.  Most of it is junk and trinkets.  There are scraps of leftover food, partially rotten.  It is probably better not to imagine what it might have been when it was alive.  But, there is also a set of Skald's Armor +1 (chainmail) (level 3 item) which seems to be in good condition.  Someone of some stature obviously fought the Wererat(s) sometime in the past and lost.