One-Shot Adventures

6 it looked like this years ago when it was a newly built stronghold. You come to a stairway going downwards. e stairs are covered with a slick ice. Make a DC 8 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If you succeed, you carefully make your way down into a large castle chamber. Go to 33. If you fail, you slip down the steps and land hard on the hard stone. Take 1d4 damage. You curse your clumsiness and stand up. Go to 33. #26 You barely make out the form of the ice fiend at the far end of the cavern tunnel, but you know he's coming fast! You slam your weapon again and again against the ice and snow. Suddenly, sun- light rushes out to blind you. You leap through the hole you've created and scramble out. Your head hits against something hard! You look up and see a crumbled statue of an armored warrior in front of you. You look around... you found a way into the courtyard of the Castle of Madness! You shake your head and look around. e creature's roar seems to have died off, so you're safe for now. Dozens of statues – most broken – litter the courtyard. You see two doors beyond the statue graveyard. e smaller one looks to have been a a servant's entrance; the other door, more reinforced, seems to be a guardhouse door. If you search the courtyard, go to 43. If you go through the servant's door, go to 14. If you go through the guardhouse door, go to 11. #27 You slowly pad into the icy maze, trying to remember the turns you take. Every once in a while you hear a soft moan from ahead of you. To track the creature, make a DC 7 Wisdom (Perception) check. Rangers of the mountains may double their proficiency bonus. If you succeed, go to 37. If you fail, you soon hear the moans die out. You return to the slushy path and decide to turn around, rather than risk getting lost in this cold maze. If you head down the more trodden path, go to 9. If you head down the icier path, go to 22. #28 Unfortunately, most of the bedroom entries have collapsed and now lie blocked with rubble and debris. You go down the hall, pushing on doors until you find one that opens. Peering into the room, you quickly discover that this was once a child's bedroom. Old wooden toys lie on the floor. Many are broken, others are still intact. You pick up a finely-carved wooden chariot toy. It seems to be holding figurine of a white-haired queen. You take the chariot toy and figurine and place it gently into your sack. Your niece might like this one e small bed in the room is still intact, but as you come closer, you notice an oily and rancid smell coming from the mattress. If you return to the main corridor and go down it, go to 25. If you draw your weapon and lift the mattress, go to 58. #29 You carefully climb the steps, but suddenly some of the stone crumbles underfoot. Your chin hits against the marble railing hard as you slide down to the bottom of the steps. Make a DC 8 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or take 1d4 damage from the fall. If you're still alive, you can try climbing the steps again. Go to 50. Or, you can forget the cursed stairs and go down the main cor- ridor. Go to 25. #30 You push the door inwards and hear it slam against the wall sharply. Waiting for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, you look around the room. A dozen skeletons in tattered armor lie against the walls of the room. You swallow hard, and then quickly examine the skeletons. You see no injuries on them. Apparently, these men locked themselves in this room and died here. You let out a small cry when you see a pale blue rat scurry across the floor. You've never heard of ice rats before, but you chide yourself for having been startled so easily. Searching the room, you find that most of the weapons and ar- mor have rusted away a long time ago. Make a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check. If you succeed, go to 13. If not, go to 6. #31 You silently pad up the trodden path. e cave comes to a sharp turn. You peer around the bend and see a hulking, blood-covered ice fiend chew- ing apart a half-dead seal. He's licking his knife-sized claws and seems to be enjoying the pitiful squeals the seal is mak- ing. Make a DC 10 Dexterity (Stealth) check.

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