#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 26

 The passageway opens into a large circular room. In the center is a large fire. There are four alcoves spaced about the room walls.  The scene on the ceiling is though a sight out of a nightmare.

Near the top of the room, writhing on the thermals, are four (4) elemental fire Leeches. 

These creatures are native to the Elemental Plane of Fire where they are analogous to Giant Leeches. Instead of draining blood the drain heat.

There are also 1d4+4 Fire Opals found on the ground here, worth 100x1d6 GP each. They are from the Elemental Plane of Fire and are worth twice as much to an alchemist or wizard specializing in fire magic.

Mail Call: Enter the Creative Commons Era

 To recover from their massive PR screw-up involving the OGL, Wizards of the Coast swang the completely other direction and released the D&D 5 SRD under the Creative Commons License. 

I know much less about this license than I do about the OGL. I am pretty competent in the OGL and have been part of the Open Gaming Foundation since its beginning. So yeah, I have had nearly 23 years of practice with it. 

I got my copy of the new Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised via their Kickstarter recently and it looks fantastic.  It uses the CC 4.0 By Attribution license.  So I thought I'd grab some more Creative Commons books and see how they are made.

Not a bad collection, really.

The Arcanum 30th Anniversary Edition is an update to the venerable Arcanum and Compleat books from the 1980s.  I always have had a soft spot in my heart for this series. The 30th Anniversary Edition also does a good job of updating these rules and provides a nice history.  

It has been released under the CC BY-SA - Creative Commons Share Alike license. Sadly, Zila Games seems to be either defunct or at least lost their website. 

In a move I think surprises no one, Basic Fantasy RPG Core Rules 4thEd from Chris Gonnerman also has gone Creative Commons. This one was also released under the CC BY-SA - Creative Commons Share Alike license.

All three are worthy updates to their original versions. If somewhat thicker.

The rules have not really changed all that much. The presentation of all three is also better, with Swords & Wizardry inching out as the best-looking update.

This might be just what I needed to help get over my creative hump on my High Witchcraft book I have been playing around with for years.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 25

 Past the corridor there is a split going left and right. The right leads to a door that is locked, barred, and magiced.

Removing the bar requires a combined Strength of 28 to lift. After that a thief with need a successful remove traps roll. Then a magic-user (or witch) will need to cast a dispel magic or remove curse on the lock.

Inside the room is a bound Ifrit.

Bound in a Thaumaturgic Triangle is an Ifrit. Not just any Ifrit, but Princess Azadiha. She has been bound her for over 1,000 years.  

She will beg the PCs for her freedom saying she will grant each one wish (treat as a limited wish spell). She won't try to "twist" the wishes, but they will not be very powerful all the same. 

She is telling the truth and wants to kill the one her put in this circle. Not the Vampire Queen, but one of her chief summoners. (Insightful GMs can use the name of a local or personal NPC for the summoner here). 

The Princess is dangerous but honest. The Vampire Queen is not her interest, but if the PCs mention they are hunting for her, she will be inclined to aid them. 

For freeing her the PCs gain 3,000 XP.  She has no treasure.

--

Azadiha is an NPC in my games. She was painted by my wife. 

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 24

 Beyond the bridge, there is a cave filled with flames.

Inside the cave are two Flame Salamanders. They have maximum hp and attack on sight. 

Combined, they have Treasure type F x3.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 23

 The corridor goes on and on for several hundred feet. There are slight turns here and there and there is a gradual decline. 

The corridor open into a large, as in giant cave, the floor has fallen away as the volcanic activity of this level as gotten to this section.  Whatever room was here has fallen into the lava bed below.  

Ahead there is a bridge that leads to the other side. The heat and smoke in this room are great, characters must save vs. paralysis to keep from choking. A failed save means the character can't move and must rest for five minutes.  Characters need to make a save once when entering this chamber and once again at the bridge. Any character that fails also moves at a reduced half, rate of speed.

Lava flows in small "lava falls" from above.

It is 1000 ft from the opening of this chamber to the other side of the bridge.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 22

 The corridor beyond widens. The passageway is an art gallery with portraits of the Vampire Queen (you are unable to tell), each in what looks like a wedding portrait. In each one, she is with a different husband. 

There are dates under each portrait. The years are unknown to the party, but it seems every few years the Vampire Queen remarries. 

The ornate frames are guided and fitted with all sorts of gems. The frames with portraits are worth 1,000 gp each (x4). The pieces separated will only bring in 2,500 GP total.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 21

 Going back to Room #18 and taking the door behind Gzor'nak this leads to a long hallway covered in gravel. When the party reaches a large chamber (Room 21) the gravel begins to move and form itself into a giant monster.

The monster has the stats of a Stone Giant. It regenerates 2 hp per round. 

If it is reduced to 0 hp it will fall apart but reform when it reaches 10 hp.  

This can be prevented by mixing the gravel with volcanic ash (everywhere prior to room 10) and water.  OR by use of a Dispel Magic.

The corridor continues on.