Guy and Gax: Skeleton Cay manual

Guy LaMode and Gax Snapjaw present: Skeleton Cay, a piratical Module(TM) for levels 5-8.
* Fearsome pirates return from beyond the grave in search of their treasures!
* A flooded temple stands between you and victory!
* Voodoo Curses spread to creatures nearby- who knows how long that parrot's going to just sit there?

Guy's Foreward:
Aquatic challenges. Urgh. Ever since that blasted German DJ- Zelda or something- built that first Water Temple crawl, every DJ from here to Beijing has been fascinated with the idea of using the wet stuff to spice up their dungeons. While it's a great change of pace from the "Orcs with Big Sticks" design philosophy that was popular a few years ago, water is also frustrating for those of us who can't breathe it. And it's not easy to find a sufficiently large pool with an owner that's willing to let you put beartraps, locks, and sharks in it so your rogue can practice undersea trapsniffing. Ever on the lookout for a way to ensure Crawlers are at their best, Gax and I are proud to present Skeleton Cay. This crawl is our first attempt at a semiaquatic training environment. For more about the development, as always, check your issues of Dungeon Quarterly.

Gax's Foreward:
This was a real challenge from a trapper's standpoint. How does one convincingly trap a desert island? I don't want to spoil anything, but buried mimics would be obvious. No, I want to make sure the traps are thematic, and more importantly, fair. They're still just as vicious as my usual work, thank you, but it's worth noting that they had to be waterproofed. Good luck, and keep an eye out for Loot Vouchers.

Guy-Gax Dungeoneers, LLC, would like to give special thanks to Transylvania's King Dracul XIV for an inspirational tour of the catacombs of the ancient Castle Vanya; the Necromancer's Guild of America for providing the Summon Undead spells to populate the dungeon; and the Shipwright and Blacksmith's Guilds of Wisconsin for providing equipment for the dungeon's inhabitants. Good luck, and as always- Happy crawling!


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Assembly and Population Instructions: Skeleton Cay comes pre-assembled, as all our finest Modules do! However, the dungeon will need time to populate and fill water into the right places. Simply shout the command words included on page 5 of the manual into the opening and prepare yourself- in just an hour, Skeleton Cay will be ready to help you train for those pesky watery troubles! As always, once it's cleared out, the Loot Vouchers can be redeemed at your local sporting goods store. The dungeon can then be reset for further training, or left as a portable tropical getaway!

(Note: The calming sea-salty breeze and warm caress of the sun on this island is, of course, an illusion. You won't get a tan, and let's be honest, the water's going to be funky after a while with all the zombies and such. Probably best to just get a real vacation.)

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1-1: The Shipwreck Shore
The Shipwreck Shore will greet your players as they enter, and serves as a warmup. Here, they will find six skeletons in waterlogged clothing slumped over a broken treasure chest and a number of smashed timbers. Feral, diseased hounds (Scurvy Dogs) gnaw at the bones. These Scurvy Dogs, appropriately, can spread a disease upon biting. Adjust which according to the experience of your players.

Skeletal Pirates: 6, Summon Undead I
Scurvy Dogs: 5, Summon Monster I



1-2: The Parrot Path
The Parrot Path is, in the words of Gax, "Freaking Hilarious." This comes not from any immediate danger, but rather from pressure plates buried in the path. These do not set off any immediately apparent traps, but rather cause the trees nearby to drop overripe fruit on crawlers. They are entitled to a DC 12 reflex save to avoid the falling fruits.

The path is 15 feet wide and 80 feet long. 30 feet before the entrance to the next area, a tree in which thirty Red Macaws (Summon Monster 3) nest. Seeing the party members covered in fruit, they dive in to try to take a nibble. It's surprisingly painful, and of course being birds, they will be pooping constantly.

Red Macaws: 30, Raven statblock



1-3: The Temple Gates
The first puzzle of the Module, a quick-constructed lock (DC 25) blocks access to a door with six primitive carvings of a number of tropical animals and foods. In order to pass, they must connect the food chain.


            Mango
Pirahna             Seed
Tree                Shark
           Monkey

Once it is connected, the doors swing open, and rushing waters can be heard below in the darkness.

1-4: Feces, Meet Fan.
Here we go. The first actually horrible room. This room has four feet of water in it, enough to ensure that your humans have trouble moving and anything shorter needs a snorkel or a piggyback ride. There are a number of rat skeletons (Halaster's Fetch I (tm), Animate Dead) weighted to the bottom of the floor with iron ball bearings, allowing them to scuttle along the bottom and bite through their shoes. This is important, because there are caltrops hidden in the water.