Room of Trials (2.5e Equipment)

Story

"You open up the trap door and all of a sudden, turn to red smoke. A few seconds later, you appear in a whole different room. The first thing you notice in this area is the face of a stunningly beautiful woman. Her hair is long and dark, her eyes almond shaped and inviting and her complexion dusky and risk. As your eyes take in the rest of her, however, you cannot help but gasp in horror. As you move toward her and the shadows slip away from her perfect skin, you realize that she has three pairs of arms. In each of her six hands, she holds a short black rod with a human skull mounted on it. As you draw nearer, you see that she has no legs, but stands upon the coiled body of a snake. With a sigh of relief, you realize that this is nothing more than an incredibly lifelike statue. From several feet away, however, you cannot help but feel that it has locked gaze onto you. It seems almost impossible to take your eyes away from hers, they seem so kind and concerned. But there is something more, a spark of danger and evil that cannot be denied."

Room Of Trials

Once the characters have had a few seconds to adjust to the shock of this unusual creature, they will be able to take in the rest of the room. At this time they will notice that there are three alcoves in the section of the room behind this foul woman. The ones on the north and south walls contain smoking urns, with the alcove on the eastern wall is filled with bones.

There is no way to leave the chamber except for picking the right skulls. Each one has a different effect. Only a few will allow you to leave.

As soon as they have looked around the room, a voice (which is apparently coming from the statue) says, "Choose with an even head, the skull of your destiny".

The voice is a form of Telepathy originating from the statue. The skulls can be taken from the statue's hands and will clearly have something inside of them. In fact, they are a form of arcane rattle. Any attempt to break them open will fail, and all damage that might have been inflicted upon them will rebound and strike the person attacking the rattle. Have each player announce which rattle they are going to shake and then read the following to see what happens to them:

Skulls in Arms

Upper Left Arm

When this rattle is shaken, the smoke from the two urns will well up, dissolving all but the bones of the victim. This can be quite a painful and lingering death, for the smoke inflicts only 1d4 points of damage per round. The only way to escape this death is to leave the chamber, a difficult thing to do at best.

Upper Right Arm

As soon as this rattle is sounded, the smoke from the urns will swirl around the character. He will gradually (over the course of 1 round) evaporate into smoke and reappear outside of the chamber, above the trap door.

Center Left Arm

• The statue will animate and attack the character who dares to rattle this skull.

Statue

Climate/Terrain:	Room of Trials
Frequency:	Very Rare
Organization:	Solitary (Only one statue)
Activity Cycle:	Any
Diet:	None
Intelligence:	Very
Treasure:	None
Alignment:	Chaotic Evil
Number Appearing:	1
Armor Class:	-5
Movement:	12
Hit Dice:	7d8 + 7
THAC0:	13
Number of Attacks:	6
Damage/Attack:	All do 2d4
Special Attacks:	None
Special Defenses:	None
Magic Resistance:	Nil
Size:	L
Moral:	Statue
XP Value:	3,000 xp

Center Right Arm

The smoke from the urns will race around the character who shakes this rattle like spectral snakes. After one turn of this frenzied behavior, the smoke will return to normal. The character will feel no different, but the DM should note that he or she has now gained one of the common benefits of being undead. Roll on the following table to determine which one:

• 1: Immune to Fear.
• 2: Immune to Cold Based Attacks.
• 3: Immune to Sleep spells.
• 4: Immune to Charm spells.
• 5: Immune to Hold spells.
• 6: Always walks without making noise.

As soon as the dancing mist recedes, the character will evaporate into smoke and appear outside of the chamber, above the trap door.

Lower Left Arm

The smoke from the urns will race toward this individual and envelope them like a shroud. Like a chilling wind, it brushes along their skin and sends shivers through their body. After a minute or so, it fades away and the smoking urns return to normal. This individual has now gained one of the common penalties of being undead, roll on the table below to determine which one:

• 1: Damage inflicted is always 1d6.
• 2: Can be turned (Hit Dice = Level).
• 3: Holy Water does 2d4 points of damage.
• 4: Character becomes mindless.
• 5: Can be affected by spells that affect undead.
• 6: Suffers 1d4 hits/turn in sunlight.

Lower Right Arm

As the sounds from this rattle die down, the statue speaks again. This time, it asks a question. "What is it that you wish to know".

Once the question is posed, the statue will answer with God-Like knowledge. However, the answer may (25% chance) be obscure or in the form of a riddle. As soon as the answer is given, the character will evaporate into smoke and be transported outside of the chamber, above the trap door.

Any Final Information

Once a skull has been selected, no other skull will cause any special effects if shaken by that particular individual. Also, others will always see anyone selecting a skull appear to choose the one in the Upper Left Arm.

Anyone killed in this room will be dissolved to mere bones by the smoke. Their remains will then rattle across the floor and squeeze into the south alcove pushing all the other bones up a chute.

Anyone touching the urns must save vs. death magic or have their life force sucked into them, making the character forever dead. Those who save will evaporate into smoke and appear outside of the chamber, above the trap door.

Anyone attacking the statue will cause it to animate, (See Center Left Arm Above). In addition, anyone who does not select a skull in a timely fashion (DM's decision) will also suffer the wrath of this stone horror.

Once a skull has been selected and shaken, it will transform into smoke and reappear in the statue's hand.

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