Dungeon Dressing: Pits
Pits are a lurking danger that have spelt the doom of countless adventurers. Pits can be used to kill, injure or trap intruders, block progress or prevent escape. An explorer trapped in a pit with no way of getting out is at the mercy of the first creature or character to discover their predicament.
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Major Features
Small holes pierce the bottom few feet of the pit’s walls. They are too small for any character bigger than a halfling child to squeeze through.
The pit intersects with a natural cave which can be accessed through a narrow crawlway.
The pit’s rough, uneven floor is difficult terrain.
Several large boulders lie in the pit; a partially squashed skeleton protrudes from under the largest.
A pool of pure, cold water covers half the pit’s floor.
A narrow chasm pierces the pit’s floor; a cold wind issues forth from its depth.
Seams of different rock cut through the floor.
The pit’s walls are rough and easy to climb.
The pit has an overhang making it hard to escape.
The pit is a cesspit. Many small holes, chutes and cracks in its walls ooze excrement. Characters in the pit may contract sewer plague3.
The floor of the pit slopes steeply downwards.
A shard of obsidian (or other sharp rock) rears from the pit floor. The shard is sharp and smooth; characters falling while climbing it suffer 2d6 damage as they slide down the rock.
The pit narrows; at its base, it is only 5 ft. wide; characters falling into the pit slide down to the bottom and suffer less damage as a result.
The pit once served as an oubliette. Four sets of rusting manacles are affixed to its walls.
A ring of crudely carved gargoyles leers down at the pit floor. Set 15 ft. above the pit floor their open mouths connect to chutes elsewhere that can be used to pour burning oil, effluent and other liquids down upon those trapped below.
Several small holes pierce the floor; a noxious foul-smelling breeze issues forth from within.
A lurid painting of demons and devils slaughtering humans covers one wall. Several pieces of the painting have been chipped away.
Niches carved into the walls about 6 ft. from the bottom of this pit each hold a leering humanoid skull.
The floor is made of different coloured cobblestones laid out in a simple geometric pattern.
A stone shelf is cut into one wall. It holds several sets of trail rations. They are all poisoned.
Minor Features & Dressing
A crude painting of humans slaughtering orcs decorates one wall. It is done in blood and ink. Water oozing down the wall has effaced much of the image.
Spikes once festooned the floor, but they now lie battered and scattered about the pit; several bear ominous bloodstains.
The air in the pit is musty. Mould and fungus grow on the floor and walls.
Bent and broken spikes jut up from the floor. Dried blood coats many of the spikes, but there are no other signs of previous victims.
Rubble litters the ground; treat the pit’s bottom as difficult terrain.
The pit’s walls are slightly moist, but are not wet enough to hinder climbers.
Small holes pierce the bottom few feet of the pit’s walls. They are too small for any creature larger than a cat or other tiny creature to enter.
Several rotting rat corpses lie about the pit.
A skeleton of a human male is huddled in one corner; both his legs are broken, and his equipment is rusted or rotten (and worthless—although this is a good spot to place an item the characters might need later).
Brackish water about one-inch deep fills the pit.
An upturned rotting table lies at the bottom of the pit.
Brackish water about five-foot deep fills the pit.
Greenish, moist slime covers the pit’s floor and walls.
Iron spikes—serving as a rudimentary ladder—are rammed into one wall.
Burnt torches lie scattered about the pit’s floor.
The dead, frozen remains of a large patch of brown mould cover one wall; the mould is harmless, but the temperature is slightly chilly in the pit.
Iron spikes—serving as a rudimentary ladder—pierce one wall. Several are loose, however; a character climbing them may fall back into the pit.
A single bent and rusty iron spike protrudes from one of the pit’s walls.
Water oozes from the pit’s walls, making climbing out harder. Mud coats the pit’s floor.
Thick mud covers the pit’s floor. The mud is four-foot deep; characters excavating may find treasure within.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing. The book is available in 5e, System Neutral and Pathfinder 1 editions. The OSR edition will be available in early 2023.
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