Echoing Maw" Cavern Dungeon Map ---
[LEVEL 1: UPPER CAVES] [Chilled Cave Mouth (1) - Entrance] --- [Fungal Grotto (2)] --- [Twisting Passage (3)] | | [Desecrated Burial Niche (4)] | | (Descent) V [LEVEL 2: MID-LEVEL CAVES] [Subterranean Cascade (5)] --- [Bone-Littered Chamber (6)] --- [Skeletal Guard Post (7)] | | [Ritual Chamber Echo (8)] | | (Deep Descent) V [LEVEL 3: DEEP CAVES] [Abyssal Crevice (9)] --- [Whispering Labyrinth (10)] --- [Matron's Antechamber (11)] | | [The Beast's Lair (12) - Objective]
--- Level 1: Upper Caves ---
--- Area 1 (Chilled Cave Mouth - Entrance) --- Description: The air is thick with damp earth and the pervasive smell of decay as one steps into this cold, echoing cavern. Gnarled, root-like stalactites hang from the low ceiling, almost brushing the ground. A faint, unnatural chill emanates from deeper within. This is the primary point of entry. Exits/Connections: To Fungal Grotto (2) (East).
--- Area 2 (Fungal Grotto) --- Description: This cavern pulses with a dim, eerie light from bioluminescent fungi clinging to the walls and ceiling. The ground is slick with moisture, and the air carries a sweet, cloying odor. Strange, dark shadows seem to dance at the periphery of vision. Exits/Connections: To Chilled Cave Mouth (1) (West), To Twisting Passage (3) (North). Creatures: It has creatures (type: undead).
--- Area 3 (Twisting Passage) --- Description: This passage narrows significantly, forcing one to squeeze through tight, uneven rock formations. The walls are rough, and the path dips and rises erratically. The sounds of water dripping from unseen sources echo unnervingly. Exits/Connections: To Fungal Grotto (2) (South), To Desecrated Burial Niche (4) (East).
--- Area 4 (Desecrated Burial Niche) --- Description: This side chamber holds several crudely carved burial niches, now smashed open. Scattered bone fragments and tattered funerary cloths lie on the floor. A strong, metallic tang of stale blood hangs heavy in the air. Exits/Connections: To Twisting Passage (3) (West), Descent to Subterranean Cascade (5). Trap: It contains a trap (type: tripwire connected to a cascading pile of enchanted bone shards). Perception DC 13 to spot. Potential Damage: 1d8/T1, 2d8/T2, 3d8/T3, 4d8/T4 Piercing Damage.
--- Level 2: Mid-Level Caves ---
--- Area 5 (Subterranean Cascade) --- Description: The descent leads to a wider cavern where an underground waterfall plunges into a deep, unseen pool below. The roaring of the water is deafening, and the air is filled with fine mist, making the rocky path treacherous and slick. Exits/Connections: Ascent to Desecrated Burial Niche (4), To Bone-Littered Chamber (6) (East). Creatures: It has creatures (type: undead). Encounter Type: Battle Area
--- Area 6 (Bone-Littered Chamber) --- Description: This large chamber is strewn with countless skeletal remains, both humanoid and beastly, picked clean and scattered haphazardly across the uneven floor. The very ground seems to crunch underfoot. The air is still and heavy with the dust of ages. Exits/Connections: To Subterranean Cascade (5) (West), To Skeletal Guard Post (7) (South). Creatures: It has creatures (type: undead).
--- Area 7 (Skeletal Guard Post) --- Description: This crude guard post is formed by stacked boulders, with a few broken, rusted weapons lying about. A chilling cold permeates this section of the cavern, as if a perpetual winter holds sway. Faint, unnatural scratch marks mar the stone walls. Exits/Connections: To Bone-Littered Chamber (6) (North), To Ritual Chamber Echo (8) (East). Secret Passages/Areas: A cleverly concealed loose rock in the wall (Perception DC 17 to find) opens into a small, narrow crawlspace used for discreet observation or passage, potentially bypassing a small section of the deeper levels.
--- Area 8 (Ritual Chamber Echo) --- Description: A rough, circular stone altar stands in the center of this echoing chamber, its surface stained with dark, dried residue. Faint, unsettling symbols are etched into the rock floor around it, barely visible in the perpetual gloom. A low, unnatural hum vibrates in the air. Exits/Connections: To Skeletal Guard Post (7) (West), Deep Descent to Abyssal Crevice (9). Trap: It contains a trap (type: pressure plate activating a burst of mind-numbing psychic energy). Perception DC 15 to spot. Potential Damage: 1d8/T1, 2d8/T2, 3d8/T3, 4d8/T4 Psychic Damage.
--- Level 3: Deep Caves ---
--- Area 9 (Abyssal Crevice) --- Description: The descent leads into a vast, dark crevice, where the path narrows to a precarious ledge overlooking a seemingly bottomless abyss. The air is thick with a strange, sulfuric smell, and the only sound is the echoing drip of water into the unfathomable depths. Exits/Connections: Ascent to Ritual Chamber Echo (8), To Whispering Labyrinth (10) (East). Creatures: It has creatures (type: undead). Encounter Type: Battle Area
--- Area 10 (Whispering Labyrinth) --- Description: This section of the caves is a confusing maze of twisting tunnels and dead ends. A constant, faint chorus of spectral whispers seems to emanate from the very stone, attempting to disorient and mislead. The darkness here feels absolute. Exits/Connections: To Abyssal Crevice (9) (West), To Matron's Antechamber (11) (South). Trap: It contains a trap (type: illusory wall hiding a collapse trigger). Perception DC 14 to spot. Potential Damage: 1d8/T1, 2d8/T2, 3d8/T3, 4d8/T4 Bludgeoning/Disorientation.
--- Area 11 (Matron's Antechamber) --- Description: This large, relatively open chamber serves as a grim waiting area before the innermost sanctum. Bones are arranged in unsettling patterns on the floor, and crude, disturbing effigies of stitched flesh and bone hang from the ceiling. A pervasive sense of malevolence fills the air. Exits/Connections: To Whispering Labyrinth (10) (North), To The Beast's Lair (12) (East). Creatures: It has creatures (type: undead).
--- Area 12 (The Beast's Lair - Objective) --- Description: This cavern is dominated by a pulsating, bioluminescent growth that seems to be the very heart of the cave's strange life. Nestled amidst its glowing tendrils, or perhaps chained nearby, is the "sentient, magically attuned cavern beast," a creature of unsettling beauty and raw arcane power. Its presence subtly distorts the very air around it. Exits/Connections: To Matron's Antechamber (11) (West). Encounter Type: BOSS FIGHT! Objective: This area is designed for the final confrontation with the "sentient, magically attuned cavern beast." The objective is to "secure a fresh supply" of its heart for Matron Malice's potent curse. Whether the players are hired by Malice or racing to stop her, the primary goal here is the acquisition of the creature's heart, which is vital for the overarching plot to destabilize Narathzul's leadership.
