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Dungeons
Cave · Large · Level 6 · Hard

The Surveyors' Cut

Pale crystal light pulses through the stone, and a locked door ticks in time with it.
Rooms
2
Foes
3, CR 1 to 5
Traps
2
Treasure
275 gp
12Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. Survey Entrance

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

The lair belongs to Oruva, a former mine researcher who believes the buried source of Investiture can be mastered through controlled violence.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    Crystal-Skinned StalkerCR 2

    When: A loud fight or repeated attempts to force the door between rooms draws it from a nearby crevice.A lean cave predator with reflective eyes and mineral grit clinging to its hide, drawn to the crystals' faint pulses.
  2. 2

    2× Ticking CrawlersCR 1

    When: The party spends more than ten minutes in the entrance chamber or makes bright light near the cave mouth.A pair of pale cave scavengers with long fingers and a habit of imitating the ticking sound of the crystal seam.
  3. 3

    Seam-Bound HuskCR 3

    When: A creature repeatedly uses supernatural abilities in the passage between rooms.A twitching knot of mineral growth and animated stone fragments that follows surges of Investiture through the cave.

Rooms

2
1

Survey Entrance

1 traptreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

The cave mouth opens into a squared-off chamber, its walls cut with the regular tool strokes of a survey crew. A heavy door to the north is locked, and a persistent ticking comes from beyond it.

Features

  • A rusted surveyor's tripod lies beside a cracked lantern.
  • The northern door has a narrow viewing slit and can be heard rattling faintly when the ticking beyond pauses.
  • Fresh boot prints cross older mining dust and lead to the locked door.

What the GM knows

Traps

Surveyor's StingDC 14 piercing damage

A concealed spring spike is fitted to the door's inner handle. If the door is opened without first noticing the hairline gap around the handle, the spike snaps into the opener's palm.Disarm. A character who examines the handle and succeeds on a Wisdom (Perception) check spots the mechanism. It can be disabled with a Dexterity check using thieves' tools, or triggered safely with a long object.

Treasure

Surveyor's Compass25 gp

The brass instrument is tarnished but still accurate enough to grant advantage on one check made to navigate or map natural tunnels.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

The door to is locked and sturdy. Picking it requires a Dexterity check with thieves' tools; forcing it requires a Strength check. The ticking is the crystal seam pulsing in the adjoining arena. A failed attempt to force the door alerts Oruva and gives her time to prepare.

1 door: N (locked)

The place

What it is

The Surveyors' Cut is a compact cave complex where an abandoned mining survey has been turned into a private lair.

Atmosphere

Cold mineral water beads on the walls, and the air tastes of iron and wet stone.

The threat

The lair belongs to Oruva, a former mine researcher who believes the buried source of Investiture can be mastered through controlled violence.

History

A crew of cave surveyors cut this chamber from the rock while mapping a new mine.

Rumors

1d4
Roll a rumor

  1. 1A miner swears the crystals in the old Cut brighten when someone uses a strange power nearby.
  2. 2The survey crew did not abandon their tools; someone stacked them neatly outside the cave after they vanished.
  3. 3A researcher pays well for samples from the Cut, but no one who takes the job seems to come back.
  4. 4There is a locked door in the cave, and people hear a clock ticking behind it even when no one is inside.

Plot hooks

3
Rescue and investigationThe Missing Survey CrewA prospector's crew disappeared after reporting that their lanterns shone without flame. Their employer asks the party to recover the crew's survey book and determine whether the mine is safe.From: A mine factor from the nearest settlementReward: A substantial purse, the recovered survey book, and first claim on any lawful mineral salvage
InvestigationA Light That Should Not BeA local ardent believes the crystal seam is disrupting nearby manifestations of Investiture. She asks the party to find the source and bring back a sample without allowing it to reach the black market.From: An ardent attached to a roadside shrineReward: Payment, healing supplies, and a written introduction to a reputable scholar
RescueThe Researcher's LedgerOne of Oruva's former assistants escaped but left a sibling behind. The party must enter the Cut, locate the captive, and decide what to do with the dangerous research.From: A shaken apprentice hiding in a nearby villageReward: A map of the lair, a useful gemstone, and the apprentice's help identifying Investiture-related phenomena

Corridors

2

  • Passage between and

    A narrow seam of pale crystal runs along the wall, brightening briefly whenever someone nearby draws on Investiture.

  • Approach to the locked door between and

    Old survey marks are scratched into the stone at shoulder height; several have been crossed out and replaced with tally marks.

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