The players encounter an archway, and beyond it a long hallway with many doors. The hall extends beyond the furthest edges of their light source–no matter how far that light extends. About 60ft from the archway is a very strange statue. It appears to be carved in the rough shape of a man’s torso and legs, with no arms or head. The construction is very bulky, with flat surfaces and sharp corners. The body is turned away from the hallway entrance, but a large face has been carved on the statue’s back. Its eyes are deep cavities which appear black and dark. The mouth is large, and open. Upon the strange face’s tongue is a marvelous treasure, to be determined by the GM.

If the players pass through the archway, the statue will eerily come to life. The face and the expression on it will remain still, but the legs will walk further down the hallway, away from the players. Within this hallway, the statue will always match the lead player’s movement, step for step. No matter how fast the characters run the statue will match their pace, even moving at speeds which might seem impossible for a stiff creature made of stone. This strange golem is also able to detect magical travel, and has been equipped with the ability to use dimensional door at will. If the players attempt to get close to the creature using spells such as teleport, ethereal jaunt, or even dimensional door, the golem will sense their magic use, and activate its own dimensional door nearly simultaneously, keeping itself well out of reach.

In truth, this hallway is not very long at all. A few feet before the end of the hall, a powerful illusion makes it appear as though the hallway extends beyond sight. This illusion is nearly perfect. The hallway it displays will react correctly to any light sources the players may bring, or to any objects they may throw into it. Only inches in front of this illusion is a one-way teleportation portal, which warps anything that moves through it back towards the start of the hallway, near the arches. Like the illusion, this portal was crafted by a true master of the magical arts. It is completely invisible, without any light or sound to give away its position. Furthermore, those who pass through the portal do not feel any of the physical sensations which normally accompany magical travel.

The portal does not function in the opposite direction, however. Nor is there any illusion near the hallway’s entrance. If the characters look behind them, they will be able to accurately see their current distance from the archway, and they can easily leave at any time.

It’s important to note that the golem’s movements are always in reaction to whoever appears to be closest to it, but the golem can only detect creatures with the eyes of its face. As such, if one player remains still while another player pursues the golem, the teleportation will eventually cause the character who is remaining still to be behind the golem, where they cannot be seen. Additionally, the golem is not intelligent. It has only a very simple set of instructions which it will follow strictly. As such, it will not use dimensional door to escape unless it detects magical travel being used. And despite its fearsome appearance, the stone creature has no means with which to defend itself from an attack.

Once the treasure is removed from the golem’s mouth, all spells in the hallway are broken. The golem turns into a simple statue, the illusion disappears and the teleportation effect ends. Replacing the treasure within the golem’s mouth will not restore these effects. The treasure is not necessarily magical, but it served as the switch which kept the magical circuit active. Once the switch is removed, it would take a wizard of untold skill to reactivate it.

Somewhere, perhaps beneath the false bottom of a mysterious sarcophagus, the adventurers discover a twisting staircase. It’s width of 7ft would seem safe, if not for the dizzying drop to the ground below, and the complete lack of a railing. The steps are broad, and wind lazily around the edge of the massive cylindrical chamber. The outside edge of the staircase, where it drops off into open air, has become strangely worn. The stone slopes downward sharply, almost as though the stone had been eroded by decades of flowing water. The rest of the stairs show no sign of such wear, only the edge.

In the center of the chamber is a tall pillar which rises roughly half as high as the staircase does. Atop the pillar is a statue of a man, twice life sized. He is depicted as emaciated, starving, and in great pain. His arms are spread wide as if beseeching the gods to end his suffering, and his head is tilted back in a silent, eternal moan. At his feet is a stone feast: a roast bird, a cask of wine, numerous styles of fruit and fish which are so masterfully carved that they actually look appetizing. Like the stairway, the outside edge of the pillar is worn around the edges, sloping sharply down in a way which appears as though it might be erosion.

If the players position themselves on the stairs so they can look within the statue’s mouth, they will be able to see a glint of gold. Closer inspection will reveal that the statue has a tongue of gold within its mouth.

If an amount of gold equal to at least one gold piece is placed within the statues mouth, it will immediately melt and fuse with the golden tongue. When this happens, a click will be heard from the stone bird. If the players pull on the roast bird’s leg after they feed the statue, they will find that it twists off, revealing the fowl to be hollow. Within are are twenty brilliantly green emeralds, each worth no less than 50 gold pieces.

Unfortunately, the tasks of feeding the starving statue and reaching its pillar, are not so simple. The room is under a strange enchantment. With the exception of the stairs and the pillar of the starving statue, the chamber is affected by ten times the normal force of gravity. Any item tossed or held over the edge of the stairs will suddenly become ten times heavier, and any character who falls from the stairs will suffer damage as though they had fallen ten times further than they had. (ex. In Pathfinder every 10ft fallen results in 1d6 damage, thus in this room, 10ft fallen would result in 10d6 damage). Note that the floor at the base of the chamber is not affected by this enchantment, and characters can walk on the floor there normally.

Beyond the archway is a short stone staircase descending 4ft into a large room filled with water. The water is three and a half feet deep, and all but the first step are submerged beneath its surface. The water does not flow, and a thorough examination of the room will not reveal any point at which fresh water comes into the room. Yet strangely, the water lacks any of the stagnant murkiness one would expect to find in still dungeon water. It is crisp and clear, allowing anyone standing at the stairs an easy view of the stone floor beneath the water’s surface. There are no deadly creatures lurking in this water, it appears to be nominally safe.

The main features of the room are the four large sarcophagi. spaced roughly 12ft from both the walls, and from each other. The lid of each sarcophagus is level with the water, such that it is obvious water will not pour into them the moment they are opened; but even slight movement would cause ripples large enough to splash the bodies within. Each of the sarcophagi is adorned with a large stone depiction of an object. Atop one is a large stone book which lies open. The writing on the exposed pages of the book is magical, and can only be read by casting Read Magic. The stones function as a Scroll of Knock which can be used unlimited times. Any attempt to remove the book from the top of the sarcophagus will cause the runes to crack, and become unusable.

Another sarcophagus bears a large stone depiction of a sword, while a third is topped with a massive stone rat who appears feral and hungry. The final sarcophagus is topped with an elaborate feast of stone. It depicts a roast bird, several piles of fruits, a large of wine, and a large fish on a tray.

The room is constructed of simple stone, and the ceiling is 15ft above the floor. The only other obvious feature of the room are three metal rods–one of gold, one of silver, and one of copper. Each is 3ft in length, and they hang down from the center of the ceiling in a triangle pattern.

Anytime one of the sarcophagi is opened, the copper rod in the ceiling will send a lightning bolt down into the water. Anyone standing within the water or who is anywhere near the rods is subject to this damage. [In pathfinder, 10d6 damage, Reflex save DC: 20 for half; in OD&D 6d6 damage, save v. wands for half].

Within the sarcophagus with the book on top of it, there is the dessicated body of a woman. On the underside of the lid is a fist-sized dial. When it is turned, a previously unseeable seam will appear amongst the pages on the stone book. The page will turn, revealing a blank page with three very thin strips of metal embedded into it. The first is silver, the second is copper, and the last is gold.  If, for some reason, the stone book’s pages are up against the wall or another hard surface, and cannot turn, then the player will also be unable to turn the dial on the lid’s underside.

Within the sarcophagus adorned with a statue of a feral rat, there is the dessicated body of a man. Immediately upon being opened, a blast of blue-grey smoke will be released. The  cloud will force anyone within 5ft to make a saving throw. (Pathfinder: Fortitude, DC 16; OD&D: Save v. Poison) Failure causes the victim’s muscles to become limp and unresponsive for a turn (10 minutes). If they fall into the water, they may drown if they are not rescued.

The sarcophagus with a sword atop it is deeper than the others, and packed tightly with bones. They have been neatly stacked according to their type (femurs with femurs, ribs with ribs, skulls with skulls…). There are exactly enough bones here for 8 human bodies. The bones are not undead. They do not have any aura, and will not react to turn undead. However, if the lightning bolt is ever activated while this crypt is open, the bolt will angle off to the side, striking these bones rather than the water. At this point, the bones will leap from the sarcophagus and form into 8 undead skeletons, where each bone is bound to the others with a tiny arc of electrical static. These skeletons fight as standard skeletons do, but have an additional 2 HD, and deal additional electricity damage in addition to their normal damage (Pathfinder: 2d6; OD&D: 1d6).

The sarcophagus with the feast atop it contains the dessicated remains of a woman. If the players choose to search for a false bottom, they will discover that beneath the body is a stairway which leads to the next level of the dungeon.

The rods on the ceiling can be removed easily enough. Once they are gripped, a simple quarter turn will release them, and allow them to be pulled easily from the holes they’re mounted in. However, the lightning will activate if the rods are not removed in the proper order. The proper order is silver first, followed by copper, followed by gold. Once removed from the ceiling, the rods have no magical properties. However, the copper rod is worth 50gp, the silver rod is worth 200gp, and the golden rod is worth 800gp!

Note that the below describes a single instance of a Skeletal Assembly Line room. It functions on its own, but if one of these rooms exists, then there are likely more of them. Hidden behind stone walls and false book shelves, producing the tools of war and sending them to who-knows-where for who-knows-what purpose. If this room is used, the GM is encouraged to hide several similar rooms. And don’t forget to add material gatherers to the random encounter table!

The secret door was more difficult to find than most; just a sliding section of wall in the middle of a corridor. The players never would have found it if they hadn’t seen a skeleton run by with an armful of old chains, then be gone from sight too quickly to have used any of the visible exits. Even with that to go on, it took the characters an hour to finally find the loose stone which, when turned, unlatched the hidden door and allowed it to swing open freely, revealing a short corridor leading to a room filled with the red glow of a fire.

Within the room was like nothing the players had ever seen. The soundproofing on that door must have been remarkably, because the characters were suddenly assaulted by a cacophony of sound once they stepped through it. Flames roared, hammers clanged, and the omnipresent clacking of bones against steel and stone. The room was filled with skeletons, dozens upon dozens of them, each repeating some mundane task over and over again. And not a one of them paid the intruders any mind.

Right in front of the players as they entered the room was the pile of refuse; dead adventurer’s armor,  a thousand goblin spear heads, countless belt buckles and chains and other detritus. All of it steel. Skeletons swarmed over the pile, disassembling each piece, discarding anything that wasn’t steel. Leather, cotton, twine, even gold and gems were tossed into a wheelbarrow held by another skeleton. When it was full, the skeleton would wheel it away down another corridor, out another secret door, to dispose of it. Another skeleton with another wheelbarrow was already there to take the place of the first.

The steel that was left over was piled into another cart on a small rail. Whenever it was full, it was rolled up a ramp and dumped into a boiling vat of liquid metal. When the steel was ready, the skeletons at the vat would tip it forward, spilling the steel into a mold where it was shaped into the component parts of blades. A half dozen skeletal smiths cooled these parts in a communal pool of water, and hammered each piece into the proper shape before other skeletons take them to sharpen on a whetstone, before finally dropping them onto the conveyor belt.

Still more skeletons standing on either side of the belt deftly assemble the swords component pieces into usable weapons. Leather strips for the sword handle is periodically carried in by a blood-covered skeleton who probably comes from a similar room elsewhere in the dungeon. Given the denizens the players have encountered in the dungeon so far, they can only imagine the leather comes from goblins, orcs, or human adventurers like themselves.

The belt is turned by a skeleton with crank in hand, who moves it at a perfectly efficient speed to allow all of the work to be finished before it reaches the end of the belt, where the completed swords are dropped into a mysterious chute. The swords can be heard sliding against the stone for a long while, descending to some unknown depth for some unknown purpose. Who, the players wonder, could possibly need so many swords?

At least they have one clue to that riddle. The final step before the swords are dropped into the chute is for a strange symbol to be engraved on each blade. The players don’t recognize it, but perhaps someone else will? At least it’s something to look out for as they delve deeper into the dungeon.

The skeletons will continue to ignore the players indefinitely. Even if the players attack one of the skeletons, it will do whatever it can to continue working at its task for as long as possible. A disruption in the production chain will be noticed, however. The skeletal assembly line is a well oiled machine. And the moment any given skeleton no longer has a task to perform, they will immediately attack any living thing in the room, whether it’s a rat, or an adventurer.

Each of the three “Against The Giants” modules, which I recently picked up as pdfs, serve the player with a similar task. Assault the fortress of some giants–be they of hill, frost, or fire variety. This presents an odd problem if the GM is attempting to portray the giants intelligently. What’s to stop every giant in the place from descending on top of the players, swarming them with more foes than they can handle? And if the players need to retreat to tend their wounds, why wouldn’t the giants fortify their positions against further invasion, thus making it difficult or impossible for the adventurers to return?

After all, a fortress isn’t like a dungeon. A dungeon is simply filled with monsters, who may or may not be working in conjunction with other creatures in the dungeon. But at best a given creature will control only part of a dungeon. A fortress is a different matter entirely. The nature of a fortress is that everyone within is working together to mount a singular defense against outside intrusion. Gygax recommends that, once the players have the giants on the defensive, the giants will set up ambushes and traps. I can’t help but wonder why the Giants don’t use their time to, ya know, lock the door. Maybe bar it from the inside.

Perhaps an analysis of NPC “A.I.” is in order, but that’s for another post. Lets imagine that the players never left the fortress in the first place Or they did, but they’re very skilled at scaling walls and shuffling through air ducts. The giants can’t keep them out for whatever reason, so they’re forced to come up with a trap which will be effective, and can be ready to go before the PCs get back.

I came up with the fallback corridor, which doesn’t require much. The most important element is a hallway with pillars, or anything a sizable number of folks could hide behind. Everything else the trap requires should be easy to locate in any local: a large, thick tarp or blanket, weights, and rope.

The blanket, with as much weight attached to its edges as possible, is suspended from the ceiling. Ropes are used to form a crude trip line mechanism which will release the tarp from its suspension, dropping it on whatever unsuspecting interlopers are snooping about below.

Once the blanket falls, the adventurers will be blinded to anything around them, while remaining highly visible (as big lumps) to attackers. I would say that disorientation & the weights on the tarp will prevent the players from acting for at least 1 round. After that, they’re entitled to a dexterity check (In Pathfinder, DC: 14) to escape on the 2nd round. If that is failed, the players can automatically free themselves by the third round.

While the players fumble to escape from the ridiculous prison, the giants hiding behind the pillars will have ample time to step out, fire a round from their crossbows or hurl a boulder, then flee down the corridor and around the corner. Of course, there ought to be some chance for them to miss, but I don’t think it should be too high. Perhaps 30% concealment at most. The trapped adventurers should probably not receive a dexterity bonus to their armor class either.

The trap is stupidly simple, but should be an effective way of waging guerrilla war against the guerrillas who invaded your fortress.

Some options to make the trap more interesting or deadly:

• Secret doors behind the pillars allow the giants to escape quickly.
• Instead of using a tripwire, one of the giants has mounted a mirror high on the wall where it is unlikely to be noticed. It allows him to spy on the corridor without poking his head out, and if enemies wander by, he can manually release the tarp by tugging on the rope.
• Even if the players have a difficult time getting out from under the tarp, they will likely see the giants flee (assuming there are no secret doors). The giants would recognize this, and assuming the players give chase, they could be led directly into a second trap.

A long forgotten order of paladins used this circular room to inter their dead. For whatever reason it has remained largely undisturbed by monsters. Perhaps it can only be accessed through a secret door, or maybe the sanctity of the site has held monsters at bay.

The walls and ceiling of the room are simple, unadorned stone. The ceiling is 7ft high at the edges of the room, and rises in a shallow cone to a height of 9ft at the room’s center. The obvious focus of the room is a large terraced pit which dominates most of the floor. The pit has four levels, including the bottom. Each level is about three and a half feet lower than the one above it, and there are no stairs, forcing anyone who wishes to descend to climb awkwardly down the steep steps. Each of the three upper levels is roughly 7ft wide, with urns evenly spaced around them. The bottom level is bare, save for a 3ft diameter circular hatch of iron, with four bold red lines painted across its surface.

The urns are simple grey ceramic, and stand two feet tall. Each one is banded by 1-3 horizontal red stripes, similar to those on the hatch at the bottom. While there is no immediate way for the players to determine the function of the stripes, the GM should be aware that urns with 3 stripes contain the ashes of a great hero of the Order of the Gavel, urns with 2 stripes contain the ashes of those who led the order, and urns with a single stripe contain the ashes of a great evil doer whom the order brought to justice. Each of the urns contains 2 copper pieces, used in the burial rituals of the order.

Behind each urn, on the wall of the steppes, is an engraving memorializing the individual whose ashes are contained within. A hasty inspection will reveal that the urns on the lowest tier are the oldest, and the urns on the upper tier are the most recent. The dates cover a range of 150 years, ending about 300 years ago. I’ve included dates on the list below, though obviously, these will need to be modified to suit your campaign setting.  For players who inspect these inscriptions more carefully, they read:

1. [Three Bands] Senjar Okin / Fell in the year 702 / “None stood at The Citadel’s Gates more proudly than he. Fell to Orcs during the Seige of Lawund”
2. [Three Bands] Yendew Nidaa / Fell between the years 688 and 690 / “We know not why she chose to venture so far afield, nor what it is that she fought. But the monstrous remains found near her body say all that must be said of her boundless courage.”
3. [Three Bands] Custis Garret / Fell in the year 682 / “He stood before the sea and demanded it obey the laws of righteousness.”
4. [Two Bands] Mahraha of the Mithril Fist / Fell in the year 672 / “Taken from us even as she led us to victory over the prowlers of the southern lands. By her request, she is interred with the dagger of her assassin, that she may return it to him in the next life.” [Burried in the ashes is a +2 Keen Dagger, or other dagger appropriate to your campaign.]
5. [One Band] Revet Taroggaram / Slain in the year 660 / “There can be no quarter given to the unjust. No thief, no murderer, no inhuman beast can be allowed to profit from their evil.”
6. [Two Bands] Murraha Slevali / Fell in the year 654 / “Unjustly taken from us while held as a captive of the Okarum. Justice will be done in her name.”
7. [Two Bands] Torvil Brinebeard / Went to Rest in the year 653 / “The last to stand beside He Who Was First. The first to stand amongst the compassionate, the charitable, and the just.”
8. [Three Bands] Hukatee Bularus / Went to Rest in the year 644 / “Those who speak the words of peace must be recognized. They are heroes as much as any who wield a blade.”
9. [One Band] [Faint runes surround the edges of the urn’s lid] Erosm Muck / Slain in the year 643 / “Not all evil can be ended with fire and steel.” [If the runes current positioning is disturbed, Erosm Muck, a vampire, will become reconstituted.]
10. [One Band] [Top of this urn is sealed with flaking wax.] Donnorel Thinn, Wizard of the Black Gaze / Slain in the year 636 / “It is unjust that one who took the life from so many, only has one life to give in payment for his crimes.” [If opened, an ash monster, ghost, or other appropriate creature is released. It is hostile towards the party.]
11. [Two Bands] Shenwa Evacord / Went to Rest in the Year 628 / “When those who brought us peace were toppled, she steadied their triumphs. Interred with her is the Opal of Unariac, a gift from those who died in the wars she prevented.” [Burried in the ashes is a large opal mounted in a golden disk, surrounded with emeralds. Worth 3,000gp]
12. [Three Bands] Edinea Kodas / Fell in the year 619 / “Charge forth always, in battle, and in parley.”
13. [One Band] Uma Thistledown / Slain in the year 616 / “Let the east wall of the citadel remain forever cracked, as a reminder of the price required by faltering vigilance.”
14. [Three Bands] Vinn Drekos / Fell in the year 611 / “Even as the gnoll’s javellins pierced her body, she did not falter in her defense of those innocents she had sworn to protect. Interred with her are the ashes of, Gerek Haverock, whom she loved.”
15. [Three Bands] Hedsig Agham / Fell in the Year 591 / “Through the lens of Justice, truth can be found, and the good of all served.” [Urn contains a finely crafted monocle. Looking through it allows the wearer to see Good, Evil, and Untruth, as though they had cast Detect Good, Detect Evil, and Detect Lies.]
16. [One Band] “Let none speak the name of the one who was slain in the year 591; for it is they who to he who was first from us.”
17. [Two Bands] Karkis, Lady of the Hunt / Fell in the year 580 / “Justice is done by her grace alone.”
18. [Three Bands] Mmij Hippamus / Fell in the year 568 / “The Titan Slayer.”
19. [Two Bands] Amee The Bold / Fell in the year 555 / “Without her guiding wisdom and swift action, the order would never passed through those turbulent years after the fall of He Who Was First.”
20. [Three Bands] Horace the Watchman / Fell in the year 549 / “By the side of He who was First did he fight, and by His side did he fall. May we all know the courage of the Watchman.”

If the players inspect the hatch at the bottom, they will see an inscription in the iron which reads simply: “He who was first.” There is a heavy clamp holding the hatch closed, but it is not locked and can be removed with a bit of effort. When it is opened, the hatch reveals a mumified corpse standing upright. These are the remains of the founder of the Order of The Gavel; a human man named Hassid Gurtoch, The Clear Speaker. The body is still wrapped quite tightly, and seems well preserved. It can be fished out with minimal difficulty. Nothing else is apparent within this small tomb.

If removed from his tomb, Hassid will be temporarily reanimated by positive energy. If there are any non-good being present, Hassid will tear his wrappings off, revealing that he was burried with a sanctified longsword which glows a brilliant yellow. He attacks as though he were a mummy (though he is not of evil alignment, and lacks the Mummy Rot special attack). If only good characters are present, Hassid will question them thoroughly about why they have chosen to loot the tomb of his order. If the players cite sufficient need, Hassid will tell them of the false bottom to his tomb. If they cannot convince him that their need for treasure is mandated by a goodly quest, then he will ask them to leave. If they refuse, or if the characters are caught lying, Hassid will attack them as vigorously as he would attack non-good characters.

The bottom of Hassid’s tomb is false, and can be lifted to reveal an assortment of coins, gems, and at least 2 good-aligned magic items.