Umomkegeth, 1-1 to 1-7

 

Map created using Dungeonscrawl.

Okay, a day later than promised, but let's do this!

Actually, wait -- first let me briefly talk about what's on the surface, above the entrance.

The dwarves established the colony on a plateau and digging down, as opposed to in the side of a hill or mountain. That entrance was within a simple but solid stone structure, just four walls and a set of double-doors. Beside this, they erected their trading depot, to more easily transact business with merchants from distant lands. (Better that than inviting them in.) 

Today, the depot is all but gone. Whatever wasn't obliterated by the undead was worn down by time and the elements. The stone edifice still stands, but the formerly impressive double doors are now just two slabs on the ground, half=buried and overgrown with weeds. Without them, nothing prevents any creature so inclined from just waltzing in and descending the stairs within. Despite this, only adventurers are foolish enough to do so.  

Okay, now let's--

One other note: Unless otherwise noted, at least for this first level, the doorways are all devoid of doors, either because they're broken, lying in the doorway, or missing entirely. I may decide later to figure that out on a doorway-by-doorway basis, or just roll 1d6 (1-3: broken, 4-5: in doorway, 6: missing). Those few doors that remain after the multiple sieges are either especially sturdy (and stone) or barricaded on one side or the other.

Okay, so now now let's do this.

1-1 Entry Hall

Stairs descend south in this bone- and debris-strewn room that once served as the grand entryway to the dwarven stronghold. Signs of the dwarves' repeated defensive efforts against the undead are apparent, from scorch marks to chunks taken out of the walls. Corridors exit to the south, east, and west.

1-2 Antechamber #1

The rubble in this room includes remnants of the wooden furniture that once provided honored guests a place to put their feet up while waiting for an audience with the baron. The tactically minded can discern an overturned table among the wreckage that seems to have been used as a barricade. 

1-3 Antechamber #2

This room bears a striking resemblance to the other antechamber, with the exception of a trapdoor set into the floor against the east wall. Character knowledgeable in masonry can tell it's not part of the original construction. It opens into a chamber beneath (14).

1-4 Panic Room

The masonry in this chamber is nowhere near the fine quality of the rooms above. Even those who know next to nothing about stonework can tell it was dug out hastily and without aesthetic regard. Initially intended to be an emergency shelter in the last wave of undead (after which this level was abandoned entirely), it ended up serving as a makeshift prison for four zombies, who are still here. Three of them were once human, but the fourth is clearly a dwarf. The dwarf still wears a chalcedony bracelet that was made right here in Umomkegeth.   

1-5 Junction Room

Six corridors diverge from this room. A stairway down in the south wall is choked with rubble and impassable. In the middle of the room is a stone fountain, bone-dry and sporting a wide crack down its middle that's home to a giant wolf spider. It normally feeds on whatever vermin it can catch here, but will happily lunge from its hiding place to attack any creature that comes near the fountain.

1-6 Craftsdwarves' Studios

These rooms were once the workplaces of Umomkegeth's finest craftsdwarves, and still contain detritus indicative of their function. Determine randomly for each studio in what medium its occupant worked (bone, stone, wood, or metal) and what trappings it contains. (I'd use the Dread Thingonomicon or the ol' Ultimate Toolbox, but dealer's choice.) One of these eight rooms is home to another giant wolf spider; determine that randomly, too.

1-7 Materials Stockpile

The door to this room is intact, locked, and barricaded from the inside. Getting it open is a matter of time and effort, but it can be done. Most of its square footage is taken up by a variety of chests full of raw materials for the craftsdwarves, including a handful of uncut gems, bars of iron and silver, bones of exotic creatures, and the like. To the east, a spiral staircase descends to a lower level. A series of seven rune-inscribed slabs have been set into the floor against the north wall. Each is dedicated to a dead dwarf, and briefly describes their fate -- all were killed in the undead sieges. A short distance away from them, a blank slab lies on the floor. 

If the characters come near these slabs, a dwarven ghost will materialize before them and silently shout at them. It won't attack if the character backs off, but won't hesitate to defend itself if necessary. This is the ghost of the last surviving craftsdwarf, who barricaded themself in here and memorialized their fallen comrades. Without a memorial slab of their own, though, they found themself imprisoned here upon their eventual death, unable to move on until their name too graced the final slab. As a ghost, they are unable to complete this task, but if a character can, the ghost will vanish, finally put to rest. If reduced to zero hit points, the ghost will likewise vanish, but will reappear here in 2d12 hours.