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Dungeons
Cave · Large · Level 6 · Hard

Hadrun's Measure

Red light trembles across the sand, and every footstep answers with a dull clang.
Rooms
31
Foes
41, CR 1/4 to 8
Traps
10
Treasure
3,179 gp
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. The Old Landing

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

The lower cave is ruled by a stone-blooded champion known as the Red Adjudicator, who uses the arena in to enforce bargains and harvest the strength of defeated challengers.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    2× Stonewing batsCR 2

    When: A party carries an uncovered flame or crosses the passages near rooms 8 and 16.A pair of pale bats with stone-hard wings glide silently above the passage, then descend on exposed faces.
  2. 2

    Carrion crawlerCR 3

    When: A fight lasts more than three rounds in the lower corridors.A hungry carrion crawler follows the scent of blood from the arena, dragging a scrap of leather behind it.
  3. 3

    2× Tally runnersCR 2

    When: An alarm sounds in , , or .Two cave goblin messengers hurry between the checkpoint and the forked hall, carrying a brass tally plate.

Rooms

31
1

The Old Landing

2 foestreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A broad limestone mouth opens onto a damp landing, its floor scarred by cart wheels that vanish into the dark. Three routes lead inward; a thin draft from the eastern wall betrays a concealed seam.

Features

  • Collapsed mine cart
  • Blue fungus lanterns in iron cups
  • Secret doors east and west

What the GM knows

Monsters

2× Cave beetleCR 1/2

Pale cave beetles the size of dogs nest beneath the cart and click their mandibles at light.Tactics. They rush the nearest creature, then retreat beneath the cart if badly hurt.

Treasure

Mine pay35 gp

A sealed leather pouch beneath a loose wheel contains old silver trade bars.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

The normal southern door leads to . A character searching the east or west wall can find the secret doors with a Wisdom (Perception) check.

3 doors: N (normal), E (secret), W (secret)

The place

What it is

The cave called Hadrun's Measure began as a mine, then became a hidden seat of power carved into a living limestone shelf.

Atmosphere

Cold mineral water ticks through the cave.

The threat

The lower cave is ruled by a stone-blooded champion known as the Red Adjudicator, who uses the arena in to enforce bargains and harvest the strength of defeated challengers.

History

The first excavators were miners working under Hadrun, a surveyor whose name survives only on a few old tally plates.

Rumors

1d4
Roll a rumor

  1. 1A clerk in the deep cave asks every visitor whether they have an appointment, even when the visitor is bleeding.
  2. 2The old mine is full of prisoners, but some cells hold people who have been dead for generations.
  3. 3The arena's champion can heal from wounds as long as the red stone beneath the cave still shines.
  4. 4A spring shrine near the entrance shows the face of whoever will next die below.

Plot hooks

3
RecoveryThe Missing TallyA miner's guild hires the party to recover its missing survey ledger, last seen in the storage wing. The ledger also records a passage that does not appear on current maps.From: Dena, a practical guild factor with a damaged handReward: A rare gemstone worth 500 gp and a permanent 10 percent discount on local mining supplies
RescueNames Behind the BarsA survivor escaped from the prison and insists that a relative is still held below. They know the reception office's brass plate system but fear returning alone.From: Omar, an exhausted former captiveReward: A rare healing potion and the gratitude of the rescued prisoners
ConfrontationNo More ChallengersThe Red Adjudicator has begun demanding tribute from nearby settlements. A village council wants the party to end the arena's blood toll before its next collection.From: Sahra, a village speaker carrying a blood-marked summonsReward: A rare weapon or shield from the village's sealed armory

Corridors

4

  • Passage between rooms 7 and 12

    A line of brass wall plates bears the same scratched tally marks, ending abruptly near the junction by .

  • Passage between rooms 14 and 15

    A narrow fissure exhales warm air in pulses. A creature can squeeze through with a successful Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.

  • Passage near

    A cracked speaking tube carries muffled announcements from the receptionist's office in to the lower passages.

  • Passage between rooms 15 and 21

    Fresh gouges in the stone point toward ; the cuts are deep enough to catch a fingertip and smell faintly of iron.

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