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Dungeons
Ruins · Medium · Level 1 · Medium

The Beacon Cut

Smoke threads from two fires beneath the broken beacon stones, while a heavy snore rolls down from the mound.
Rooms
12
Foes
11, CR 1/8 to 1/2
Traps
2
Treasure
142 gp
123456789101112Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. Rain Court

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

A bandit captain has claimed the central mound as a bed and throne, sleeping through much of the day while the crew keeps watch around the ruins.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    1d2× Bandit patrolCR 1/8

    When: The party spends more than ten minutes in the ruins or makes a loud disturbance in a corridor.A pair of bandits patrol with damp cloaks and a shared whistle, looking for food or stragglers.
  2. 2

    Ruin dogCR 0

    When: The party opens the storeroom or leaves food unattended.A lean stray dog noses through the rubble, growling at anyone who approaches its hidden scraps.
  3. 3

    Bandit runnerCR 1/8

    When: The captain is disturbed, or an alarm whistle sounds from .A bandit runner carries a warning between the two campfires, then ducks into the nearest doorway if spotted.

Rooms

12
1

Rain Court

2 foestreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A roofless square vestibule opens to the rain, its paving stones worn into a shallow bowl. Four ordinary doors and two locked ones lead into the ruins; fresh boot tracks circle the center before splitting toward the occupied rooms.

Features

  • Rain pools in the middle of the room.
  • The south and north locked doors have simple iron hasps.

What the GM knows

Monsters

2× Bandit lookoutCR 1/8

Bandits in patched cloaks use the stone doorframes as cover and keep a whistle ready.Tactics. One whistles to warn the camp, while the other shoots from cover and retreats toward .

Treasure

Lookout's purse6 sp

A canvas purse tucked behind a loose entrance stone, likely hidden by a lookout.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

This is the main entry point. A loud fight here can alert bandits in or ; the whistle takes an action to use.

4 doors: W (archway), E (secret), S (archway), N (locked)

The place

What it is

The ruins are the remains of a hilltop signal station and its stone storehouses, now occupied by a ragged bandit crew.

Atmosphere

Cold rainwater ticks through cracked roofs.

The threat

A bandit captain has claimed the central mound as a bed and throne, sleeping through much of the day while the crew keeps watch around the ruins.

History

Stonecutters raised this small signal station above the road, with a shrine and store rooms for crews who maintained its beacon.

Rumors

1d4
Roll a rumor

  1. 1Two campfires glow among the ruins at night, but some travelers claim they have seen a third light moving across the hill.
  2. 2The bandits' leader sleeps through daylight and wakes furious if anyone touches the mound.
  3. 3A cracked shrine holds a record that can guide a lost caravan along the old road.
  4. 4The ruins are haunted by the signal keepers, though the only voices anyone has heard were men calling warnings.

Plot hooks

3
RecoveryThe Missing DispatchA courier vanished on the road, and a dropped dispatch bears the signal station's old mark. The party must search the ruins for the message before the bandits sell it.From: A road warden named Bruk asks the party to recover the dispatch.Reward: 15 gp and a local guide who knows the old road.
ClearingSmoke on the HillA nearby hamlet wants the bandits driven out before they raid its winter stores. Their leader may be taken alive, but the two campfires suggest the gang has lookouts and companions nearby.From: A miller named Sesi offers what little coin the hamlet can spare.Reward: 25 gp pooled by the hamlet and free lodging for a week.
ExplorationThe Beacon LedgerA shrine keeper believes the ruins hold a record of the old beacon routes. Find the record in the library and return it before damp and scavengers destroy it.From: A shrine tender named Hroth asks for the beacon ledger.Reward: A healer's kit and a small silver charm worth 10 gp.

Corridors

3

  • Between and

    A line of shallow boot prints passes through the dust, then vanishes at a blank wall concealing the secret entrance to .

  • Between and

    A broken stone gutter channels rainwater toward the lower rooms; scraps of bandage and a few drops of blood mark the flow.

  • Between and

    A narrow crack in the masonry carries the sound of a slow, heavy snore from the hilltop chamber.

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