Location: Lost Temple of the Lizard God

 Was playing around with chatgpt. It's pretty good at giving dungeon and spell prompts, even for the old-school games I favor. 

AAAAAAAAAAH

The Lost Temple of the Lizard God

Long ago and never, the Lizard King and his servants sealed themselves away outside of time but not outside of space. It is said the halls of their temple contain visions of other eras, and the accumulated wealth of all the past and all the future.

This dungeon features a handful of time rifts. Walking through one allows you to truly exist in another time, but you cannot stray more than a few miles before the world seems to break down for you. Let this time travel allow for clever plans on the part of the PCs, but don't sweat the details if they're confusing.

It's a short, fighty, pulpy adventure. 

Encounter Table (d6 outside the maze, d8 within)

1. 1d4+1 Lizardfolk guards (HD 1)

2. 1 Giant Centipede (HD 1/2)

3. 1d6+2 Velociraptors (HD 1/2)

4. 1d4+1 Troglodyte Saboteurs (HD 2), +1 reaction, hate the lizard king

5. 1d3 Rock Pythons (HD 5)

6. 1 Ankylosaurus (HD 5)

7. 1d3+1 Lizardfolk Shamans (HD 2)

8. The Lizard King (HD 3) and his retinue of 1d4+2 Lizardfolk Elite Warriors (HD 2)

1. Entrance Hall: The entrance to the temple is a massive stone doorway flanked by two towering pillars carved to resemble rearing cobras. The door itself is stuck shut, requiring a combined strength of 30 to open, but it bears a clue to the temple's secrets: a carving of a lizard with a glowing orange-white gemstone eye.

1. The gemstone is actually a polished heat sink crystal. When left in the sun, it is hot enough to burn.
   
   

2. Chamber of Traps: The next chamber is densely tiled with stone trapdoors, chutes in the ceiling, and pressure plates along the walls, which are themselves studded with hole housings for dart traps. In the far wall, there is a door next to an alcove with a lacquered red egg in a gilded stand. Running down the chamber is jagged, shadowy 25' slit in the very air.

1. Copious traps: Walking naively through the room leads one to fall down a trapdoor after 1d4 x 5 feet, landing in a 20' pit full of sharpened stakes for 3d6 damage. Any clever ideas, like balancing along the hinge-side of a row of trapdoors, triggering dart traps with a pole until they're exhausted, or filling pits with rubble falling from the ceiling chutes will work well, but there will necessarily come at least one point at which a change in strategy is required.

2. Time rift: Looking through the slit, one can see a distant future where the temple is completely looted. The trapdoors are either triggered or stuck, the dart traps are exhausted, etc. Passing through this rift takes you to that distant time, but reality falls apart if you go more than a few miles away. You can use the rift to bypass half of the traps in the present-day chamber, which combined with a good traversal strategy will risk no rolls.

3. The Egg of the Firebird - a large, flame-colored egg that contains a baby Firebird. When the egg hatches (1d10 weeks after exposure to sunlight, or half that if in fire/hot ashes), the Firebird will be loyal to the character who hatched it. Once it reaches adolescence (~3 months, 1 HD), it can breathe fire like a dragon every 1d4 minutes.

4. Door: one final trap. Careful inspection shows it lifts up like a garage door. Pulling the handle flips the handle out like the cover of a book, revealing a poison dart trap. Save vs devices or become afflicted with Gordonois. Upon failure and each week thereafter, permanently lose 1 constitution but get scalier and gain +1  to saves vs gas and breath. Cured only by magic or a medicine made from gas spores and boiled fur.
   
   

3. Sacrificial Altar: The centerpiece of this chamber is a stone altar surrounded by offerings of bones and fine boxes. A giant, lazy lizard (as Caecilla) resides here. In the back of the room looms an ornate, spiked suit of armor over 9' tall.

1. Giant lizard: expects intruders to make a sacrifice for it on the altar, which it will eat. Otherwise, it will probably attack.

2. Altar: high, wide table with darkly suggestive stains and scratch-marks. Murals along the table show scenes of mammals sacrificed on a table, and a portal to a cthonic underworld underneath it. On the near side, the face of the table can be pulled aside to reveal a tunnel leading down to area 4, and there is a faint scrape mark on the floor evidencing this.

1. Within the fine boxes laid around the altar are rare herbs and spices from throughout all time, in observance of a rite of respect in the lizard religion. These spices are worth $500 for cooking or their medicinal properties.

3. Giant, ornate suit of armor. It is not only beautiful, but also incredibly well-crafted. If a creature was the right size, this would function like +1 plate mail with sufficient spikes to be used like a +1 dagger. As it is, it is worth $1,000 to collectors, nobility, and servants of the lizard god (for whom this was nominal constructed).
   
   

4. Maze of the Lizard King: The maze is a twisting, turning series of corridors patrolled by the Lizard King's minions. The walls are decorated with murals depicting the Lizard King's triumphs, and the maze itself seems to shift and change as adventurers progress through it. If mapping is attempted, backtracking will always succeed. Every 1d2 Turns of exploring, uncover a random location. The DM should adapt odds and results based on strategies employed.
   
   d8 Maze Features
   1. Time rift: returns to a period when the temple was under construction. Imperious lizardfolk architects plan out the maze with chalk and wands, the treasure vault already constructed, though currently empty. The forebull wields the Heart of the Earth, a large, glowing gemstone that can shape stone at the user's will. If using the plans to navigate, may roll d6+2 on this table instead.
   2. Dead-ends in an alcove containing a small, reptilian crystal skull. Allows the wielder to spend 1 intelligence to cast ESP. Any spent intelligence returns after a day of rest.
   3. Tracks. Give evidence of a random encounter, and the next roll is 1d4+3
   4. Dead-ends in a chronoographic library, flush with maps of cities and complexes from the forgotten past and the far-flung to-be. Can be used to find lost treasures, untapped resources, and any dungeons the DM wants to hint at, or can just be sold for $1,000.
   5. Time rift: returns to a time of crisis in the temple, where lizards fight lizards in a religious schism. The lizard god comes to curse the Lizard King with the killing sight, and all his servants and mammal slaves are frothing with fearful rumor.
   6. Major intersection, d4 (1. fountain, 2. graffiti, 3. nest, 4. skeleton) Make an extra encounter check.
   7. Obstacle, d4 (1. pit, 2. cave-in, 3. illusory wall with mural clue, 4. obvious dart trap) If retreated from, roll d4+2 for next maze feature.
   8. Treasure Vault entrance. See area 5. This is in the center of the maze, so parties following the "left-hand-against-the-wall" trick will never find it.
   
   

5. The Treasure Vault: 40x40. Puzzle-door of concentric circles that must be arranged to complete a picture of the lizard god. Reveals a chamber full of shallow piles of gold and silver coins, draped fineries, and opposition. If not already slain, the lizard king is here with his retinue

1. Hoard of precious metals: The Lizard God's treasure chamber contains a hoard of gold, silver, and other precious metals in various forms, including coins, ingots, and jewelry worth $3,500.

2. Cache of valuable trade goods including silks, spices, and precious gems. These goods could be sold for $1,500.

3. The Fangs of the Spider God, taken from a rival deity's servants. Pair of wickedly-curved +1 daggers that deal 1d8 damage to reptilian creatures. If used in concert, deal 1d6 damage and 1d10 to reptilian creatures. One can have its attack and damage bonus expended for a week to cast spider climb. One can have its bonus expended for a week to cast web.

4. The Crown of the Lizard King - a golden crown set with large emeralds that provides the wearer with immunity to fear and allows them to speak and understand the Lizardfolk language.

5. Motorcycle, a metallic mount that moves at the speed of a tireless riding horse. Must be fed a cubic foot of dinosaur every two days or it will whine and seize up.

Stats

• Lizardfolk guards (HD 1) as orc

• Giant Centipede (HD 1/2)

• Velociraptors (HD 1) as giant shrew

• Troglodyte Saboteurs (HD 2)

• Rock Pythons (HD 5)

• Ankylosaurus (HD 5) as stegosaurus, but 5 HD, trample only deals 1d6. In maze, attacks may be limited.

• Lizardfolk Shamans (HD 2), as acolyte, but 2 HD and cast 2 random spells from the following list:

• Dino Call: This spell allows the caster to call a nearby dinosaur to come to their aid. The dinosaur will arrive within 1d6 rounds and will be friendly to the caster for the duration of the spell.

• Solar Flare - This spell creates a powerful burst of energy that can be used to power various devices or to stun enemies for one round (save vs spells).

• Stone Shape - This spell allows the magic-user to shape and manipulate stone and rock formations. The spell can be used to create shelters, fortifications, or tools.

• Reptilian Missile - deals 1d6+1 damage and leaves the affected area scaly for the next few days.

• Lizard King (HD 3) as medusa, but 3 HD and instead of poison, stone executioner's sword for 1d8+1 damage. Eyes shine like a gem. Once, can lose a tail or limb to parry 1d12 damage.

• Lizardfolk Elite Warriors (HD 2) as lizard man, but, once each, can lose a tail or limb to parry 1d12 damage.

PS: The kickstarter for the Realm is well underway. We are completely funded, and now I'm just trying to get the domain rules for sagas and romantces in the hands of as many people as possible. If it seems interesting, I hope the art by skilled illustrator Thorø Larsen settles things for you.