The Saltcut Galleries
- Rooms
- 40
- Foes
- 78, CR 1 to 20
- Traps
- 20
- Treasure
- 60,298 gp
At a glance
The threat
Below the last trapped galleries, the elder monstrosity called the Deep Sleeper is bound into the fault itself.
Wandering monsters (1d4)
- 1
Saltback bearCR 4
When: Rations are opened or a loud fight lasts more than three rounds.A salt-crusted bear follows the scent of food and attacks anything blocking its path. - 2
1d4× Shale husksCR 5
When: A loud metallic sound rings through the galleries.A cluster of mineral husks drags itself along the walls, scraping stone as it moves. - 3
1d3× Fault maulerCR 6
When: The party runs, argues loudly, or crosses a resonant floor.A blind cave hunter tracks vibrations with hooked forelimbs. - 4
Glass-fang drakeCR 7
When: A bright flame is carried through a passage with overhead fissures.A pallid drake with glassy eyes stalks torchbearers from the ceiling.
Rooms
40Mouth of the Cut
What they see
Read aloud
A broad cleft descends between two carved stone cheeks, their faces polished by generations of hands. Five exits open into the upper galleries, while a secret southern seam exhales warm, fetid air.
Features
- Old iron lantern hooks
- Five carved door lintels
- A secret southern seam
What the GM knows
Monsters
2× Cleft lurkersCR 3
Pale cave scavengers with humanlike hands and milky eyes.Tactics. They hide above the entrance and drop onto isolated intruders, retreating through cracks when injured.Traps
Welcome FallDC 15 bludgeoning
A loose ceiling shelf collapses when the central flagstone is stepped on.Disarm. Brace the shelf with timber or trigger it remotely.Treasure
Foreman's tally25 gp
A stamped brass tally token recognized by the old guards as proof of work.Notes
The western doors lead to rooms 1 and 4; the east to room 2. The locked north door opens with miners' tools or force. A faint rhythmic knock comes from below.
4 doors: W (normal), S (normal), N (locked), S (secret)
The place
What it is
The cave complex follows a natural fault enlarged into barracks, archive chambers, and a buried shrine.
Atmosphere
Cold mineral damp, sulfur, old lamp oil, and the copper smell of blood mingle beneath a constant drip.
The threat
Below the last trapped galleries, the elder monstrosity called the Deep Sleeper is bound into the fault itself.
History
The miners of the old salt-and-iron trade first widened these caves, then a secretive order took possession when they found an immense creature asleep in the fault.
Rumors
1d4- 1A miner who returned from the cave insists the stone itself whispered his childhood nickname.
- 2The old galleries were built to keep something below, not to keep thieves out.
- 3Blue fungus grows only where the floor has recently moved.
- 4A legendary hammer lies beyond the room where the cave breathes like a sleeper.
Plot hooks
3Corridors
3Between rooms 6 and 14
A waist-high groove carries reddish water downhill; touching it leaves a faintly warm stain that glows near the sealed depths.
Between rooms 19 and 23
Rusting iron rings line a narrow passage, each holding a length of snapped chain. Something heavy has dragged itself through recently.
Between rooms 21 and 27
Pale cave fungus forms a trail toward room 27, but its caps release choking spores if crushed.
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