Dungeon A Day: Keruxaphylax
Adventurers from across Altius have long dared the legendary dungeon known as "Keruxaphylax."
Arguably the most deadly entrance to "The Hollows," Keruxaphylax is home to many dangerous monsters and challenges, with each layer of its depths more arduous than the last. Heroes who aspire to greatness may find within untold riches, magical wonders, and ancient powers.
However, this place is not for the faint of heart. For once they enter, no one leaves Keruxaphylax without paying its toll...
Keruxaphylax Individual Dungeon Rooms
1 - Keruxaphylax Entrance
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You enter the great dungeon with a healthy hint of trepidation. Everyone knows that any entrance to "The Hollows" is fraught with danger, but among all openings to that yawning abyss, this particular chasm is known for its deadliness. It's simply fact that adventurers of all levels look upon Keruxaphylax with a mixture of awe and anxiety.
Clearly, at the very entrance to the great dungeon, a battle has long since been fought. Skeletons lie in the desert sand, their weapons rusting and forgotten.
Room Challenges
- Skeletons: as many skeletons rise from the desert sands as there are members in the party. They grab their forgotten and rusted weapons, and charge.
Enemy Stats
Skeletons: HP (25% of party Avg. each), Attack (same as party), Initiative (same as party), Defense (same as party)
2 - Shadowed Pallor
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
As you cautiously venture deeper into the treacherous depths of Keruxaphylax, the air grows heavy with an eerie stillness, and the walls seem to whisper ancient warnings.
This second room also reveals a branching choice of pathways.
Shadows dance ominously across the walls, casting an unsettling pallor over the room. The air is thick with a sense of foreboding, as if the spirits of the fallen are watching, waiting to exact their toll upon any who dare disturb their eternal slumber.
Room Challenges
- Shadowed Pallor: characters passing through this room make an "Easy" Resistance Check (75% success rate) or they gain disadvantage on perception checks (lasts for as long as they're in the dungeon, and one day afterwards), as the dim lighting and eerie atmosphere of this room make it harder for characters to spot hidden traps or lurking enemies.
3 - Veil of Eternity
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
As you press forward into the treacherous depths of Keruxaphylax, you come upon a chamber bathed in an eerie glow. The air is heavy with anticipation as eyes fall upon a collection of unknown oaken chests, each emanating an aura of potential danger.
The room is silent, save for the faint creaking of the chests' ancient hinges, apparently moving ever so slightly.
Your hearts quicken with the prospect of untold riches and powerful artifacts, yet you know all too well the price that may be paid within this cursed dungeon.
Room Challenges and Treasures
- Mimic: with a successful "Easy" perception check (75% success rate), players realize that only one of the chest's hinges was creaking, revealing the chest to actually be a mimic, in disguise.
- Veil of Eternity: within the second chest is a unique magic item. When worn, it grants the wearer the ability to phase through solid objects, making them intangible for a short duration. A coveted tool for stealth and evasion, but its power comes at a price. A successful "Difficult" magic knowledge check (25% success rate) reveals that the item has a 1/10 chance of temporarily turning the user into a ghost, with each use. As a ghost, the user cannot interact with the material plane, though they may freely explore the dungeon. Furthermore, they attract any undead within the dungeon, if they do explore, and other ghosts may attack them. This effect lasts for one hour.
Enemy Stats
Mimic: HP (50% of party Avg.), Attack (same as party), Initiative (same as party), Defense (150% of party Avg.)
4 - The Gaping Hand
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You find yourself in a room shrouded in darkness - no light from other reaches of the dungeon reach this space.
The air is heavy with a sense of foreboding, and the sand beneath your feet seems to shift uneasily. Suddenly, a monstrous hand bursts forth from the ground, its colossal size sending tremors through your body. The hand, covered in jagged, hardened scales, reveals a gaping mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. It lunges towards you, hungering for flesh.
The room echoes with the bone-chilling sound of its growls, a haunting reminder that in this accursed place, survival is a constant battle against the horrors that dwell within.
Room Challenges
- The Gaping Hand: once disturbed, this hand will chase the party until they leave the dungeon, or until it's slain. This is one of the eight hands of Deiza, an undead colossus trapped within the dungeon's depths, and cursed to guard its treasures. Deiza's hands each act independently of each other, and of the main body. Whenever the gaping hand deals damage, it heals 50% of the damage dealt. Finally, the gaping hand can only be permanently slain using holy or fire damage - any other type of damage that brings it to 0HP will only Paralyze the creature for 5-minutes, after which time it will heal 10% of its HP, then seek out and attack the party again.
Enemy Stats
The Gaping Hand: HP (100% of party Avg.), Attack (150% of the party Avg.), Initiative (same as party), Defense (same as party)
5 - Towering Statue of the Divine Jackal
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
Your eyes are drawn to a towering statue of a divine jackal which stands proudly at the center of the room, its stone form exuding an aura of ancient power.
The intricate carvings depict the jackal with eyes that seem to follow your every move, as if it holds the secrets of the universe.
The room is filled with an otherworldly hush, broken only by the faint whispers of forgotten prayers. You can't help but feel a mix of reverence and trepidation, knowing that this divine presence holds both blessings and curses for those who dare to seek its favor in the depths of Keruxaphylax.
Room Challenges
- Towering Statue of the Divine Jackal: if characters stay in its presence and bow before the statue, they are granted temporary resistance to poison damage (lasts for 1-hour), while also gaining advantage on perception checks. However, attempting to touch the statue instead triggers a powerful curse on all party members, inflicting ongoing psychic damage (lasts until each party member has taken at least 25% of their total HP in damage).
- Shadowed Pallor: if any party members are affected by "Shadowed Pallor" from elsewhere in the dungeon, they automatically trigger the statue's curse effect on the entire party.
6 - Fissure
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
A massive fissure, like a gaping maw, stretches across the floor, its depths shrouded in darkness. The room is otherwise filled with an eerie silence, broken only by the distant echoes of unknown creatures lurking below. The cool breeze that emanates from the fissure carries a foreboding chill, hinting at the treacherous depths that lie beneath.
Peering into the abyss, you catch glimpses of flickering torchlight and hear the faint echoes of distant battles. Might those be the indications of another adventuring group, perhaps?
The decision to descend into the unknown is yours, but remember, the lower levels of Keruxaphylax hold even greater perils awaiting brave adventurers like yourself.
Room Challenges
- Fissure: using a large boulder nearby as an anchor, players may make a "Medium" athletics check (50% success rate) to scale downwards into the next lower level of the dungeon. *Note that Level 2 of Keruxaphylax is not shown on this page, and is its own upcoming dungeon! If you aren't ready to have players explore further you can have the passageway down blocked by boulders that are too large to move.
7 - Demonic Talon
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
Emerging from the shifting sands is what appears to be a demonic talon, its crimson hue pulsating with an unholy energy.
The air crackles with malevolence, and a sense of dread fills the room. The wickedly sharp claw drips with a toxic ichor, and its presence exudes a palpable aura of darkness. You can almost hear the whispers of ancient incantations and feel the weight of demonic power.
This room is a testament to the sinister forces that dwell within Keruxaphylax, a reminder that true bravery is tested in the face of such abominations.
Room Challenges
- Demonic Talon: the wickedly sharp talon inflicts poison damage on any character who comes into contact with it (10% of the party's Avg. HP, in damage). Its palpable aura of darkness also forces all nearby characters to make an "Easy" Resistance check (75% success rate), or it imposes disadvantage on saving throws against fear effects and casts a shadow of unease, reducing the effectiveness of healing spells and effects on the target by half (lasts for as long as they're in the dungeon, and one day afterwards).
- Shadowed Pallor: characters affected by "Shadowed Pallor" are automatically hit by the "Demonic Claw's" aura of darkness effect, and they are furthermore compelled to touch the Claw itself, becoming inflicted by its poison damage.
8 - The Colossal Hand
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
The room is dominated by a colossal hand. The hand, imbued with obvious dark energy, begins to twitch upon your entrance.
Its fingers curl into a fist and the air becomes heavy with an aura of death. The sound of rattling bones fills the room as skeletons rise from the desert sand, their weapons rusted and broken.
Room Challenges
- Skeletons: as many skeletons rise from the desert sands as there are members in the party. They grab their forgotten and rusted weapons, and charge.
- The Colossal Hand: once disturbed, this hand will continue to summon undead until the party leaves the dungeon, or until it's slain. This is one of the eight hands of Deiza, an undead colossus trapped within the dungeon's depths, and cursed to guard its treasures. Deiza's hands each act independently of each other, and of the main body. Every 5-turns, the colossal hand summons half as many skeletons as there are members in the party. Finally, the colossal hand can only be permanently slain using holy or fire damage - any other type of damage that brings it to 0HP will only Paralyze the creature for 5-minutes, after which time it will heal 10% of its HP, then continue summoning skeletons, which will seek out and attack the party again.
Enemy Stats
Skeletons: HP (25% of party Avg. each), Attack (same as party), Initiative (same as party), Defense (same as party)
The Colossal Hand: HP (200% of party Avg.), Attack (50% of the party Avg.), Initiative (50% of the party Avg.), Defense (same as party)
9 - Shimmering Leaves of Etherea
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
Finally, you are greeted by a sight that defies the darkness around you.
Lush, vibrant plants of unknown origin fill the room, their leaves shimmering with an ethereal glow. The air is infused with a sweet, intoxicating fragrance, and a gentle breeze carries whispers of healing and rejuvenation.
These mysterious plants clearly hold untold power. As you approach, you feel a surge of energy coursing through your veins, a reminder that even in the depths of Keruxaphylax, hope and renewal can still be found amidst the trials that lie ahead.
Room Treasures
- Shimmering Leaves of Etherea: between the two plants, there are 18-total Leaves of Etherea. When eaten, these leaves each provide 3% of the party's Avg. HP, in healing. If a character consumes 10-total Leaves of Etherea in a single sitting, it also removes the half-healing debuff caused by the "Demonic Talon" in dungeon room 7. Finally, a successful "Medium" perception check (50% success rate) reveals that if the leaves are boiled in water ands its drank as a tea, the character also has 1-spell slot use restored for every 3-Leaves of Etherea used.
10 - Ancient Stone
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
As you cautiously step into the room, you are met with an eerie sight. Two pathways, seemingly empty, branch apart in this chamber. The room is shrouded in an unsettling stillness, and a sense of unease washes over you.
The hollows, carved from ancient stone, bear markings at the far end of the pathways that glow in the darkness. Something tells you there is more here than meets the eye.
Will you dare to peer more closely at the markings, risking the unknown? Or will you heed the warnings your unsettling feelings give you, and pass by?
Room Challenges
- Ancient Stone: a "Difficult" perception check , or related (25% success rate), turns the random-looking markings that glow upon this stone into legible text, that reads, "Touch the demon's talon with your left hand without fear of its poison. To conquer the dark powers of this dungeon, you must first conquer yourself." Deciphering the text lends the player who did so a temporary power of the "Demonic Talon" from dungeon room 7, allowing them the following benefits...
- Power Over the Demonic Talon: the player gains complete immunity to all negative effects from the "Demonic Talon." Additionally, should they go back and touch the demonic talon, they absorb power from it, giving them access to casting the "Life Drain" spell three times without using spell slots. Once the demonic talon's power has been drained, it cannot give access to the "Life Drain" spell, cannot cause any negative effects to characters, and it takes three days for that power to regenerate.
11 - The Scent of Damp Earth
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
Your eyes are drawn to a small fissure that cuts through the floor, its depths shrouded in darkness. The air is heavy with the scent of damp earth, which is a surprise in this desert-like dungeon.
The room is filled along the edge with large boulders, their rough surfaces gleaming in the dim light of your (torches). The ground trembles beneath your feet, hinting at the instability of this chamber. You can't help but wonder what lies within the fissure, beckoning you into its depths.
Room Challenges
- Small Fissure: every thirteen days, this room floods with waters from a river that cuts far above the dungeon of Keruxaphylax, at the side of the mountain. The water drains through the fissure in this room, but leaves the area smelling damp. The river waters are somewhat blessed, however, and are therefore anathema to the dungeon's creatures; no monster or undead may chase the party into this room.
- Flood: should you choose to have the players be unlucky enough to visit this room during a flood, they can escape before the waters become too terrible with an "Easy" athletics check (75% success rate), or take 25% of the party Avg. HP, in damage, trying to escape, while they're slammed into the room's boulders by the heavy flow of water.
12 - Flooded Gemstones
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
This chamber is adorned with sparkling gemstones, their vibrant hues shimmering in the dim light. The gemstones are scattered across the floor, creating a mesmerizing mosaic of colors.
The air is heavy with the scent of precious minerals, and the room seems to hum with a subtle energy. The allure of these gemstones is undeniable.
Room Treasures
- Gemstones: these gemstones have washed into the room with the occasional flooding. There should be enough gemstones here to fit your group's number of players and the party's average level. If players want to make a perception check, or related, a "Difficult" check (25% success rate) reveals that these gems interact with ghosts in strange ways, as if they each have their own sort of soul.
- Ghost Gems: any player using the Veil of Eternity may "consume" the soul of one of these gemstones to automatically destroy an undead of the player's level or lower.
13 - Ghostly Skull
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
At the edge of the room rests the skull of what could have been a rather large ram, its massive horns twisted and gnarled.
A haunting shriek emanates from the skull. Suddenly, the skull flies into the air as a ghostly demonic body fills out what must have been the creature's shape, in life.
You are suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to flee.
Room Challenges and Treasures
- Ghostly Skull: the ghost-ram does not attack the party, but still appears very threatening. As such, all players make an "Easy" Resistance check (75% success rate) or they are affected by Fear of the creature. However, if the party does not get aggressive towards the ghostly skull, it does not attack them. It takes a "Difficult" Linguistics check, or related (25% success rate) to be able to comprehend the skull's language, and converse with it. If the party does attack, the ghostly skull can fly, and uses its range advantage to cast wispish area-of-effect balls of ghost fire down upon the party.
- Colivil, the Ram god: this creature, it turns out, is not hostile, but rather a prisoner of the dungeon. Its spirit is held captive in the dungeon levels below the space where it died. If the party is willing to help free him, Colivil can send the party's spirits directly to him place of imprisonment in return for telling them where to find his fabled weapon, the demon halberd, Vakeld. *Note that Level 2 of Keruxaphylax is not shown on this page, and is its own upcoming dungeon! If you aren't ready to have players explore further, you can instead have Colivil offer to share the location of his weapon in return for promising to later free him, when the party's able.
- Demon Halberd, Vakeld: Colivil may share with the party that the demon halberd, Vakeld, is now located within the "Demon's Talon," in dungeon room 7. If players shatter the demon talon by touching it directly with their bare hands and speaking the words, "I invoke the powers of Vakeld," they will acquire the weapon. This weapon deals poison damage and halves all healing effects upon the target for 1turn after they take damage from the weapon.
Enemy Stats
Ghostly Skull:
HP (150% of party Avg.), Attack (150% of party Avg.), Initiative (150% of party Avg.), Defense (150% of party Avg.)
14 - Amulet of Shattered Time
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
Your eyes scan the chamber for signs of danger. To your surprise, the room appears empty, save for a single inconspicuous boulder nestled at the side.
Room Treasures
- Inconspicuous Boulder: a "Difficult" athletics check, or related (25% success rate) allows players to move the boulder, revealing the Amulet of Shattered Time in a small crevice. When worn, it grants the wearer access to both the haste and slow spells. However, the amulet's power is volatile, and its misuse can have dire consequences on the fabric of reality. If a player uses the amulet to cast both haste and slow within a 5-minute time period (such as during a single battle), they temporarily disappear out of existence, returning to the place they left after one day.
15 - Ghostly Passageway
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
A chilling sensation washes over you all. For the first of you to enter this space (determine who that is), an otherworldly force engulfs your being, transforming you into a ghostly apparition. Your body becomes ethereal, and your connection to the mortal realm fades away.
You are now trapped between realms, condemned to wander the depths of Keruxaphylax as a specter.
Your comrades watch in horror as you drift away. The toll of Keruxaphylax has claimed its price, turning you into a haunting reminder of the dungeon's relentless power.
Room Challenges
- Specter: this dungeon trap is unavoidable, but temporary. As a specter, the character becomes invisible to their allies until they either travel to dungeon room 16, at which point they remain as a ghost, but at least become visible, or until one hour as passed, at which time they regain their normal body.
16 - Power Over the Undead
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
The room is devoid of notable features, save for the pathway that continues on, leading to different parts of the dungeon.
However, the air does have a sense of interconnectedness, as if this room serves as a nexus for the treacherous paths of Keruxaphylax, fastening them in ways more than just the physical.
Room Challenges
- Power over the Undead: if any character enters this space wearing the "Veil of Eternity" from dungeon room 3, or while they are a ghost, roll an "Impossible" Resistance check (0% average success rate) or they are temporarily possessed by the powers of the dungeon.
- Possessed by Keruxaphylax: while possessed, characters try to convince other players in their party to travel to dungeon rooms 4, 8, or 22 - whichever is nearest and has not yet been cleared - saying that they found an important treasure in those rooms, from their ghostly explorations of the dungeon.
17 - Shimmering Etherea Plants
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You are greeted by a sight that defies the darkness around you.
Lush, vibrant plants of unknown origin fill the room, their leaves shimmering with an ethereal glow. The air is infused with a sweet, intoxicating fragrance, and a gentle breeze carries whispers of healing and rejuvenation.
These mysterious plants clearly hold untold power. As you approach, you feel a surge of energy coursing through your veins, a reminder that even in the depths of Keruxaphylax, hope and renewal can still be found amidst the trials that lie ahead.
Room Treasures
- Shimmering Leaves of Etherea: between the three plants, there are 24-total Leaves of Etherea. When eaten, these leaves each provide 3% of the party's Avg. HP, in healing. If a character consumes 10-total Leaves of Etherea in a single sitting, it also removes the half-healing debuff caused by the "Demonic Talon" in dungeon room 7. Finally, a successful "Medium" perception check (50% success rate) reveals that if the leaves are boiled in water ands its drank as a tea, the character also has 1-spell slot use restored for every 3-Leaves of Etherea used.
18 - Malevolent Wraith
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
As you enter this room, a chilling breeze sends shivers down your spine.
In the center of the chamber, a wraith materializes, its ethereal form radiating malevolence. Its eyes, filled with an unholy hunger, lock onto you, sensing your presence.
Room Challenges
- Malevolent Wraith: this wraith is quite powerful and generally tries to herd the party towards dungeon room 19. All nearby characters make a "Medium" Resistance check (50% success rate) or have lowered hit chance and speed, from the wraith's chill aura. Additionally, whenever the malevolent wraith deals damage, it heals 50% of the damage dealt. Finally, the malevolent wraith can use its special power, "Negative Burst" every 3turns, which automatically lowers the current level of all nearby characters by 1, for one day (can stack without limit). Any character reduced below Level 0 from "Negative Burst" automatically becomes a "Specter" of the dungeon, as if they entered dungeon room 15.
Enemy Stats
Malevolent Wraith: HP (200% of party Avg.), Attack (150% of party Avg.), Initiative (150% of party Avg.), Defense (same as party)
19 - Spiked Pit
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
This small passageway is shrouded in darkness. Through what you assume can only be a magically-created veil of shadows, you can just make out the other sides of the path, connecting you further into the dungeon.
Room Challenges
- Spiked Pit: players entering this room make an "Easy" perception check (75% success rate) or they fall into a spiked pit, as the floor suddenly gives out, dealing 25% of the party's Avg. HP, in damage, to each affected character. Climbing out of the spiked pit requires a "Medium" athletics check, or related (50% success rate, per attempt).
- Shadowed Pallor: characters affected by "Shadowed Pallor" automatically fall into the spiked pit, taking full damage.
20 - Crumbling Statue of the Divine Jackal
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
Your eyes are drawn to a towering, yet crumbling statue of a divine jackal which still stands somewhat proudly at the center of the room, its stone form exuding an aura of ancient power.
The intricate carvings depict the jackal with eyes that seem to follow your every move, as if it holds the secrets of the universe.
The room is filled with an otherworldly hush, broken only by the faint whispers of forgotten prayers. You can't help but feel a mix of reverence and trepidation, knowing that this divine presence holds both blessings and curses for those who dare to seek its favor in the depths of Keruxaphylax.
Room Challenges
- Towering Statue of the Divine Jackal: if characters stay in its presence and bow before the statue, they are granted temporary resistance to damage caused by the undead (lasts for 1-hour), while also gaining advantage on perception checks. However, attempting to touch the statue instead triggers a powerful curse on all party members, inflicting ongoing psychic damage (lasts until each party member has taken at least 25% of their total HP in damage).
21 - Scroll of Annihilation
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
Your eyes are drawn to a relatively small boulder sitting innocently in the room's center. However, something feels off about this seemingly ordinary rock.
As you approach, you notice faint, pulsating runes etched into the surface of the dungeon's floor, in a circle around the boulder. A surge of arcane energy emanates from the runes, hinting at its hidden power.
Room Challenges
- Arcane Runes: a "Difficult" perception check, or related (25% success rate) reveals that the same magic around the ram skull/ ghost from dungeon room 13 (Colivil, the ram god), is present with these arcane runes, suggesting that he created them. An "Impossible" magic knowledge check, or related (0% average success rate) allows players to remove the arcane runes, without risk of harm. Any attempts to plain move the boulder, or failed attempts to disarm the runes inflicts poison damage on all nearby characters (10% of the party's Avg. HP, in damage, to each), and forces all nearby characters to make a "Medium" Resistance check (50% success rate) or become insanely afraid and try to flee Keruxaphylax, for one hour.
- Scroll of Arcane Annihilation: removing the arcane runes allows players to recover the forgotten scroll of Arcane Annihilation. When cast, it unleashes a devastating wave of raw magical energy, obliterating everything in its path. The scroll requires one minute to cast, hits an area of 2,500 square feet, and instantly kills anything it touches. Whoever casts the spell also dies with no chance for a saving throw.
- Colivil: if players didn't kill Colivil, they can ask him about this room. He will tell the party what's beneath the boulder, and offer to teach them how to get past the arcane runes, in exchange for a soul-pact with one player (details below). If they agree, he'll teach them how to remove the runes (dropping three drops of holy water on them, and speaking the words, "I summon the powers of Annihilation"). He also freely offers to tell the party that he originally planned to use the scroll to kill the colossus of Keruxaphylax, Deiva, with its might, by sacrificing a pawn who he'd have use the scroll. Beyond that information, Colivil is unwilling to share anything more about himself or Keruxaphylax without a player creating a soul-pact with him.
- Soul-Pact: if a character agrees to be forever soul-bound to Colivil, meaning that his death will result in their death, and vice versa, he will allow them to retrieve his hidden scroll. To complete the pact, players must travel to dungeon room 23.
22 - The Gaping Hand Two
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You find yourself in a chamber enveloped by darkness, isolated from the rest of the dungeon. The air hangs heavy with an ominous presence, and the shifting sand beneath your feet adds to the unease.
Suddenly, an immense hand bursts forth from the ground, its size causing tremors. Covered in jagged, hardened scales, the hand reveals a cavernous maw filled with razor-sharp teeth, lunging hungrily towards you.
The room reverberates with the creature's bone-chilling growl, a haunting reminder that survival in this cursed realm requires constant battle against the lurking horrors.
Room Challenges
- The Gaping Hand: once disturbed, this hand will chase the party until they leave the dungeon, or until it's slain. This is one of the eight hands of Deiza, an undead colossus trapped within the dungeon's depths, and cursed to guard its treasures. Deiza's hands each act independently of each other, and of the main body. Whenever the gaping hand deals damage, it heals 50% of the damage dealt. Finally, the gaping hand can only be permanently slain using holy or fire damage - any other type of damage that brings it to 0HP will only Paralyze the creature for 5-minutes, after which time it will heal 10% of its HP, then seek out and attack the party again.
Enemy Stats
The Gaping Hand: HP (100% of party Avg.), Attack (150% of the party Avg.), Initiative (same as party), Defense (same as party)
23 - Soul-Pact
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
As you step into the chamber, a mesmerizing sight unfolds before your eyes: the room pulsates with eerie red glows, casting haunting shadows that dance along the walls.
Strange energies crackle in the air, filling the room with a palpable sense of foreboding. The red glow seeps into your very being, igniting a surge of dark emotions. You feel a heightened sense aggression, as if the red energies are touching on dark parts of your psyche.
Room Challenges
- Soul-Pact: unless a player has agreed to a soul-pact with the demon Colivil, based on the quest chain from dungeon room 21, the red energies of this room do nothing to nearby characters. If someone has agreed to a soul-pact with the demonic ram god, an apparition of his true form appears before that character (see the main image for this dungeon - the character on the left). A series of red-black bursts fill the room, and the character is forever soul-bound to Colivil: if he dies, you die, and if you die, he dies. What he did not tell you is that the soul-pact also compels the both of you to forever seek out each others' best interests, which in this case, includes Colivil's freedom from his imprisonment within Keruxaphylax. You must now do everything in your power to free him, no matter the cost to you, as if his freedom meant your own.
- Colivil: with the soul-pact complete, Colivil will tell the party that he came to Keruxaphylax seeking to defeat an even greater evil than himself. He says that he was once one of the great demon gods of Altius, before the Eternal war some two-thousand years ago, before the age of the undead. When the Eternals were still young, he sought to ensure that death would forever be the end, and to stop the one who would eventually allow them to return. Beyond that, he will speak no more until the party frees him from his imprisonment (see dungeon room 13, "Colivil, the Ram god" for more details."
24 - Skeletal Ambush
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
As you cautiously traverse into this chamber, the sand beneath your feet stirs, unexpectedly. Suddenly, skeletal figures emerge from the shifting dunes, their bones creaking and rattling with unholy unison.
The undead rise, their empty eye sockets fixated on your party. With a cacophony of bone against bone, they lunge forward, driven by a malevolent hunger. You're beginning to feel that within the depths of Keruxaphylax, death is not the end; it is merely a prelude to eternal servitude.
Room Challenges
- Skeletons: as many skeletons rise from the desert sands as there are members in the party. They grab their forgotten and rusted weapons, and charge.
Enemy Stats
Skeletons: HP (25% of party Avg. each), Attack (same as party), Initiative (same as party), Defense (same as party)
25 - Yawning Fissure
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You stand at the threshold of a room that holds both promise and peril. This chamber is marked by a colossal fissure that yawns wide before you. Looking down, its depths seem to stretch into eternity, a gateway to the lower levels of Keruxaphylax.
As you approach, a wind brushes against your skin, carrying with it the distant echoes of monstrous cries. The fissure beckons, tempting you with the allure of untold treasures and ancient powers.
Room Challenges
- Fissure: using each other (or some other means) as an anchor, players may make a "Medium" athletics check (50% success rate) to scale downwards into the next lower level of the dungeon. *Note that Level 2 of Keruxaphylax is not shown on this page, and is its own upcoming dungeon! If you aren't ready to have players explore further you can have the passageway down blocked by boulders that are too large to move.
26 - Ornate Key of Frost
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You cautiously step towards a small, cramped room, where there's barely enough space to stretch your arms. Your footsteps echo in the confined space, creating a symphony that reverberates through your bones.
As you scan the room, your eyes settle on a peculiar sight - a solitary, ornate key hanging from a rusted hook on the wall. It glimmers with a faint magical aura. Perhaps this is a way to unlock a greater mystery of Keruxaphylax?
Room Treasures
- Ornate Key of Frost: as your fingers trace the intricate grooves of the Ornate Key of Frost, a mesmerizing dance of delicate ice crystals unfolds before your eyes. Its silver base is adorned with ethereal snowflake patterns, reflecting an otherworldly beauty. (Players may make any kind of check they'd like to learn more about the key, but up to this point in the dungeon, there have been no places to use the key. Furthermore, there are no evident powers to the key - it is simply ornate and beautiful).
27 - Blessed Space
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You step into the small, cramped room, but instead of the expected darkness and foreboding, you are greeted by an unexpected sensation. The air here feels light, almost as if it is infused with protective energies. It's as if the very space itself has been blessed with a divine presence.
The room glows with a soft, comforting light, casting gentle shadows that dance along the walls. You can't help but feel a sense of safety and tranquility in this otherwise treacherous dungeon. Perhaps there is more to Keruxaphylax than meets the eye.
Room Treasures
- Blessed Space: for reasons unknown, no monster or undead may chase the party into this room. This is a truly protected space within Keruxaphylax, where players need not fear any danger.
28 - Mirrored Walls
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You emerge into a room that seems to defy logic. Despite its size, the room appears to stretch endlessly, its walls adorned with countless mirrors. As you gaze into the reflections, you catch glimpses of alternate realities, each one showing a different outcome of your journey through Keruxaphylax.
The mirrors whisper secrets and possibilities, tempting you to touch their glassy surfaces.
Room Challenges
- Mirrored Walls: these mirrors are the only safe way to pass to the next lower level of Keruxaphylax. However, if a character touches the mirrors before unlocking their secret in dungeon room 31, they go temporarily insane, doing everything in their power to attack their own allies, who now appear as terrible monsters to them. This effect lasts for 1d10 turns.
29 - The Granite Throne
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
This room radiates an aura of divine power, a testament to the trials you have endured to reach this point. As you enter, your eyes are drawn to a magnificent sight - a towering statue of a golden jackal, its edges melded together with intricate designs of marble.
The jackal's eyes seem to follow your every move, its presence both regal and commanding.
Adjacent to the statue, an ornate throne of granite resides, adorned with symbols of ancient kingship.
Room Challenges and Treasures
- Kingly Statue of the Divine Jackal: if characters stay in its presence and bow before the statue, it unfurls its crossed arms, revealing the "Torch of Holy Light" within its chest cavity, which the players may take. However, attempting to touch the statue instead triggers a powerful curse on all party members, inflicting ongoing psychic damage (lasts until each party member has taken at least 25% of their total HP in damage).
- Shadowed Pallor: if any party members are affected by "Shadowed Pallor" from elsewhere in the dungeon, they automatically trigger the statue's curse effect on the entire party.
- The Granite Throne: a "Medium" perception check (50% success rate) reveals a chest of silver and gold coins hidden underneath the back side of the throne. The coins should have enough worth to fit your group's number of players and the party's average level. If a player wearing the "Veil of Eternity" or the "Amulet of Shattered Time" sits upon the throne, if the statue of the divine jackal had not yet revealed the "Torch of Holy Light" to the players, it will do so now, and give the additional benefit of cleansing all characters of their "Shadowed Pallor" effect, and giving them all the benefits of a short rest (HP, spell slot recovery, etc.).
30 - Malevolent Wraith Guardian
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
Stepping into the room, an icy gust sweeps across you. The heart of the chamber unveils a wraith, materializing from the shadows, its spectral essence pulsating with a sinister aura.
Its eyes, brimming with a hunger born of darkness, fixate upon you, piercing your very soul with a malevolent gaze.
Room Challenges
- Malevolent Wraith: this wraith is quite powerful. All nearby characters make a "Medium" Resistance check (50% success rate) or have lowered hit chance and speed, from the wraith's chill aura. Additionally, whenever the malevolent wraith deals damage, it heals 50% of the damage dealt. Finally, the malevolent wraith can use its special power, "Negative Burst" every 3turns, which automatically lowers the current level of all nearby characters by 1, for one day (can stack without limit). Any character reduced below Level 0 from "Negative Burst" automatically becomes a "Specter" of the dungeon, as if they entered dungeon room 15.
- Torch of Holy Light: if players wield this torch from dungeon room 29, it instantly sears the wraith with its divine fire, reducing it to 50% remaining HP.
Enemy Stats
Malevolent Wraith: HP (200% of party Avg.), Attack (150% of party Avg.), Initiative (150% of party Avg.), Defense (same as party)
31 - Brazier of Holy Light
Room Description (Read the Following Text to Your Players)
You stand in awe at the threshold of the final room of Keruxaphylax, a space clearly forged by the eternal of holiness, Hy-Rasyl - for his markings are all about the room.
The air crackles with divine energy, bathing the space in a radiant glow. Before you, a magnificent brazier, crafted from purest gold, awaits.
Room Challenges and Treasures
- Holy Brazier: if any character who is not a paladin, cleric of a god of good, or otherwise a follower of Hy-Rasyl, touches the holy brazier, the room shudders as the "Aspect of the Holy Dragon" is summoned in dungeon room 28. Otherwise, this Brazier does nothing unless a character lights the brazier using the "Torch of Holy Light" from dungeon room 29. Once lit, the holy flames open the way for safe travel in dungeon room 28 to lower parts of Keruxaphylax, and if the aspect of the holy dragon was indeed summoned, it will dispel that creature.
- Aspect of the Holy Dragon: if players activated the "Aspect of the Holy Dragon" in dungeon room 28, it is a divine dragon that seeks to slay the dungeon's intruders at all costs. It is immune to both holy and fire damage. Furthermore, it will breathe "Divine Fire" onto anyone who has a soul-pact with Colivil, dealing double damage to them because of their pact. It will also primarily focus any character wearing the "Veil of Eternity" or "Amulet of Shattered Time." Finally, the aspect of the holy dragon heals 10% of its HP every turn, through divine healing magic.
- Passage to Lower Levels: if instead, players successfully lighted the holy brazier, then all the mirrors of this room simply show one long path that spirals downward. Once players touch the mirrors, they are able to pass through unharmed, and continue on to the next lower level of Keruxaphylax. *Note that Level 2 of Keruxaphylax is not shown on this page, and is its own upcoming dungeon! If you aren't ready to have players explore further you can have the passageway down blocked by other magic that the party must first solve through some other means in your campaign.
Enemy Stats
Aspect of the Holy Dragon:
HP (350% of party Avg.), Attack (200% of party Avg.), Initiative (150% of party Avg.), Defense (150% of party Avg.)
Overall Dungeon Layout
Dungeon Layout Hex Version
