Small Dungeon - the Seed Vault

[DangerousPuhson]

Thread for work on The Seed Vault. Lead: DangerousPuhson.

I'll be re-doing the map key from what I've done up so far. I tweaked the map just a bit from what I had up to date (https://imgur.com/jzauo7v), but my computer died before I could upload anywhere so I'll need to salvage the updated map and the raw .psd file from my old hard drive before I can tweak it further.

Ideas and feedback go here.

[DangerousPuhson]

I'm doing the puzzle for the seed vault and I had an idea for how to access different areas, while giving players something to figure out.

So, the actual seeds of the seed vault are stored Areas 5, 6 and 7 - respectively they are general storage, heated storage, and chilled storage Inside the three main areas of the vault are a bunch of strongbox-style cubby holes set into a metal cabinet - they are all closed and locked with no visible keyhole or way to open them. Living plants are grown in Areas 8, 9 and 10 (with 9 being heated) - because these plants are classified as not being able to be stored through seeds, but instead have an ancient lifespan. These rooms are likewise locked, with the door having no visible locking mechanism or means of opening it. There is an archive room, Area 4, in which are card-catalogue style drawers filled with files in the dead language of The Vanished - each file has a plant name and holds a small steel rectangle with little holes punched through it.

These metal plates act like keycards to the vaults, to guide workers to the appropriate type of seed stored in the appropriate place. In each locked area, there are little metal panels affixed to the wall that resemble a bed of nails, except the nails can be pressed down. By pressing the metal plate to the nail bed, you press down a certain number of nails in a certain configuration and it opens the appropriate area/cabinet relating to the plate. Since the plates correspond to qualities of the plants/seeds they are related to, players can use the plates they find in the archive room to unlock the different areas in the vault.

Here's a diagram of how the puzzle essentially looks to the players, along with some example plants - imgur.com/a/9qA3m4m

Essentially each "keycard" plate has 4 columns which identify how the seed is stored (thus giving access to different areas of the vault), how the seed is germinated (opens Area 9 for cards with both "Grown" storage and "Heat" geminated holes), what the use of the plant is (so players can find the good ones), and what part of the plant is used (cosmetic, irrelevant to the puzzle). A fifth column has a random configuration of bumps and holes that further identifies the very specific strongbox it opens and ensures the card goes in "face-up", but its configuration follows no reasonable pattern to use in solving the puzzle.

If players can't find what they're looking for in the archives, they can use a magic device in Area 2 (Testing Labs) to make their own punchcards based on whatever seed they feed into it. The device is a magic bowl that identifies any seed placed inside and some basic characteristics of the plant they belong to - it outputs that information into a stamping press that generates a steel plate for the seed so it can be stored in the vault. They can also try to manually depress the right nails on the plate (Sleight of Hand check or whatever), so long as they know what kind of configuration to aim for.

[The1True]

Amazing idea! What's cool about being able to make your own keycard is that there could be a card or cards missing from the library, so it benefits the PC's to figure out the coding so they can get to some of the more powerful seeds. The puzzle is pretty complex though, I'm not sure how you're going to lay down your three clues...

[DangerousPuhson]

The first column corresponds to the area in which things are stored, so I figure the doors to those areas will have the circle configurations stamped onto them. Should be fairly simple to figure out which keycard opens what area, and which ones the group needs to find to advance. It seems easy enough, but accessing areas is largely inconsequential anyways. If they want to actually take stuff from the vault strongboxes, they'll need the specific card for the specific plants, so they'll have to root around the archives and try to decipher a dead language, or figure out the symbols and make their own cards.

The hot live storage room (Area 9) will have the "live storage" symbol on the door, but not the one indicating to germinate in heat. They might try the "store in heat" card, but it won't work; they need a "germinate in heat" card. The players can feel the door to sense the heat, and hopefully can piece together from that. It's not an essential area though, just a bonus one.

Finally I think for the room with the tree in it (Area 10), the room will be locked with no markings on the door. However, the party can find a mildly-toxic leaf half-slid under the door. A Nature/Survival check will identify the plant species - an Emerald Feverleaf Tree - and they can look it up in the Archives to get the card they need... or if they've deciphered the card symbols, they can custom make the right card knowing what they do about the plant (in this case, Germinated or Grown > Normal Soil > Poisonous > Leaves). The area is also largely optional, since Area 13 beyond can be accessed from the surface; it just saves them having the fight with the dangerous plant in Quarantine if they take this route.

[DangerousPuhson]

MAP KEY (pt1 of 2)

1 – Work Camp

A 15’-tall wall of jagged stones forms a courtyard around three burlap tents and the vault entrance. Access to the camp/vault is controlled by a repurposed barn door used as a gate (barred from inside), and a 20’ tall sentry platform. Alongside the tents and the vault door, the courtyard has two other features of note – a cooking fire, and a bloodied whipping post.

Encounter: The work camp consists of 6 armed guards from the Bloodrock Excavation Guild and their 10 captives. During the day, the captives and 4 of the guards are inside the vault, leaving behind one sentry at the front gate and another on patrol outside the perimeter wall. At night, everyone can be found sleeping in their respective tents, with only the gate sentry left awake. Uninvited guests are always turned away by the sentry atop the platform.

Guards(6): ##STATBLOCK
Captives(10): ##STATBLOCK

Tents: The southernmost tent holds a dozen bedrolls for captives, haphazardly strewn upon the trampled dirt. One bedroll holds a sharpened stone shiv, and a steel rod with a crescent-shaped cross-section (the key for the door in Area 2). The eastern tent has six neatly-ordered bedrolls and an equal amount of footlockers (clothing and mundane personal items). The western tent is the largest of the three; it has a proper wooden floor, a lunch line serving buffet, bags of dried vegetables and powdered bouillon, and stacks of cookware/cutlery.

Vault door: A stainless steel door, 20’ tall and built in the same style as a modern bank vault door, is set into the side of the mountain; it has been left ajar enough to allow passage for a medium-sized creature. It takes a combined STR score of 30 to move the door.

2 – Atrium

The floor is made of opalescent marble, and four square columns made of the same material support the ceiling. The marble double doors leading north (to Area 4) are locked; the keyhole is shaped like a crescent (DC 15 to unlock, key is located in the captives’ tent in Area 1)).

Encounter: During the day, 2 guards and 3 captives are here, arguing over a supposed theft. If undisturbed for at least 2 rounds, the argument turns violent as the guards act to beat one of the captives to death.

Order of Battle: The other 2 guards to the west (in Area 3) will move to react to conflict here (including the beating of the captive), arriving a round after any combat begins. Any able captives flee to the safety of their tent outside the vault.

Guards(2/4): See Area 1 for ##STATBLOCK
Captives(3): See Area 1 for ##STATBLOCK

3 – Testing Lab

This room is paneled in stainless steel, and features a pair of oval examination tables and a metal workbench which runs the length of the north wall. The workbench holds an assortment of lab ware such as glass flasks, Bunsen burners, and petri dishes. Upon one of the examination tables, a machine resembling a 20-key typewriter (the Keycard Punch, see ##SIDEBAR) rests next to a dozen blank steel plates, each roughly the size of a playing card; the machine has a front slot sized to fit one of these plates, and a metal bowl affixed to the top of it.

Encounter: During the day, 3 captives can be found here, sorting the glassware into piles according to size. 2 guards will also be here, berating the captives and fiddling around with the machine (provided they haven’t been pulled into combat in Area 2). The guards will use the captives as hostages to make their escape if it becomes apparent that they are outmatched.

Guards(2): See Area 1 for ##STATBLOCK
Captives(3): See Area 1 for ##STATBLOCK

4 – Keycard Archives

Rows and rows of wooden card-catalogue cabinets have been arranged around a long oval table. The doors to the north and west are made of reinforced stainless steel.

Cabinets: Each of the cabinet drawers contains between zero and twenty steel plates (identical to the blanks found in Area 3) with holes punched into them – these plates are used as keycards to open the doors here and in other areas of the vault (see ##SIDEBAR).

Doors: The doors to the north and west are locked (cannot be picked). Instead, each door has a slot in it which fits the steel plates found in the cabinets. The west door to Area 5 can be opened with any steel plate keycard whose first column is configured for either “No Special Conditions”, “Stored Warm” or “Stored Cold”. The north door to Area 8 can be unlocked with any steel plate keycard whose first column is configured for “Germinated or Grown”.

5- General Seed Storage

Paneled in stainless steel, the room features two curving metal cabinets fitted against the east walls. Two steel doors allow access further in; the door to Area 7 is rimed in thick frost, and cold to the touch.

Cabinets: The steel cabinets each have 20 locked drawers, with no visible handles. Each cabinet has affixed to it a device resembling a playing card-sized bed of nails. This device is a reader for the steel plate keycards (see Area 4) - if a keycard is pressed to it, the relevant drawer in the cabinet opens to reveal a stockpile of seeds. These two cabinets will only open drawers for a keycard whose first column is configured for “No Special Conditions”. Use the table for Random Seeds to determine which seed varietal is found in the opened drawer.

Doors: The door to Area 6 is locked (cannot be picked) and has a slot sized to receive a steel plate keycard - it can be unlocked with any steel plate keycard whose first column is configured for “Stored Warm”. The door to Area 7 is identical (though covered in frost), and can be unlocked with any steel plate keycard whose first column is configured for “Stored Cold”.

6 – Heated Seed Storage

This metal room is sweltering hot, and features a long curving metal cabinet shaped to follow the west wall. A pool of water has condensed at the base of the door to Area 7.

Sweltering Heat: Every round a creature spends in this room, it must make a successful CON save (DC 5) or suffer a point of fire damage. If a creature fails 3 of these CON saving throws in a row, then they also suffer a level of exhaustion.

Cabinet: The steel cabinet is hot to the touch and has 25 locked drawers with no visible handles. A device resembling a playing card-sized bed of nails is affixed to the south wall next to the cabinet. This device is a reader for the steel plate keycards - if a keycard is pressed to it, the relevant drawer in the cabinet opens to reveal a stockpile of seeds. The cabinet will only open drawers for a keycard whose first column is configured for “Stored Warm”. Use the table for Random Seeds to determine which seed varietal is found in the opened drawer.

Doors: The door to Area 5 is unlocked from this side and can be opened freely. The door to Area 7 is locked (cannot be picked) and has a slot sized to receive a steel plate keycard – it can be unlocked with any steel plate keycard whose first column is configured for “Stored Cold”.

7 – Cryonic Seed Storage

This round room is absolutely frigid; the source of the cold is the hexagonal panels of the floor, made from some alien material that radiates coldness. Two steel cabinets molded to fit the room are completely frosted over. The steel doors leading out of this room can be opened freely from this side.

Frigid Cold: Every round a creature spends in this room, it must make a successful CON save (DC 10) or suffer 1d4 points of cold damage.

Cabinets: The steel cabinets each have 10 locked drawers, with no visible handles. A device resembling a playing card-sized bed of nails has been affixed to the column in the middle of the room. This device is a reader for the steel plate keycards (see Area 4) - if a keycard is pressed to it, the relevant drawer in the cabinet opens to reveal a stockpile of seeds. These two cabinets will only open drawers for a keycard whose first column is configured for “Stored Cold”. Use the table for Random Seeds to determine which seed varietal is found in the opened drawer.

8 – Live Storage

This room holds six long planter beds filled with dirt and living flora. Motes of pollen hang in the air. A glass orb hangs from the ceiling in the middle of the room, emitting very bright light (cool to the touch, but difficult to look at directly). The steel door to Area 9 is warm to the touch.

Planter Beds: The two longer beds in the middle of the room hold now-extinct species of mundane ferns and shrubbery, 11 plants in total. Each plant would be valued at 25gp by a gardener, botanist, or academic. The four smaller planter beds hold simple berry bushes (blackberries, blueberries and the like) – a total of 3 days worth of rations can be foraged from them.

Orb: The orb on the ceiling radiates light with the same properties as sunlight in a 60’ radius. If pulled from the ceiling, the device breaks.

Doors: The doors to Areas 9 and 10 are locked (cannot be picked). Instead, each door has a slot in it which fits the steel plate keycards. The west door to Area 9 can be opened with any steel plate keycard whose first column is configured for “Germinated or Grown” and whose second column is configured for “Heat”. The south door to Area 10 has a few loose green leaves peeking out from beneath it; a successful Nature or Survival check (DC 10) reveals these to be the toxic leaves of an Emerald Feverleaf Tree. The door can be unlocked with a steel plate keycard with the following configurations: first column configured for “Germinated or Grown”, second column for “Normal Soil”, third column for “Poisonous”, and fourth column for “Leaves” (these configurations match the characteristics of an Emerald Feverleaf Tree).

9 – Heated Live Storage

This small rounded room is kept illuminated and painfully hot by a glass orb attached to the ceiling. Three circular planters hold short palm trees with bright red fronds. The door in this room can be opened freely from this side.

Obscene Heat: Every round a creature spends in this room, it must make a successful CON save (DC 10) or suffer 1d4 points of fire damage. If a creature fails 3 of these CON saving throws in a row, then they also suffer a level of exhaustion.

Orb: The orb on the ceiling radiates light with the same properties as sunlight in a 10’ radius. It is extremely hot, causing 1d4 fire damage to anyone who touches it. If pulled from the ceiling, the device breaks.

Palm Trees: A successful DC 15 nature or Survival check reveals the three palm trees to be Hellfire Palms, a now-extinct species whose leaves cause irritations akin to sunburn if they come into contact with exposed skin. The trees will die if they are kept out of direct heat for longer than a day. If planted in a hot climate (such as the badlands), they thrive and become an invasive species very quickly. A fully-grown Hellfire Palm weighs 50 pounds, and would be worth 100gp to the right person.

10 – Live Tree Room

A metal catwalk 10’ above, accessible by a set of stairs, partially encircles a mature tree growing in the middle of the room. Two glass orbs affixed to the wall provide light. A door in the east wall, accessible by the catwalk, is crafted using heavily reinforced steel. Leaves, both fresh and dried, litter the floor of the room.

Encounter: Nested around in the tree canopy are thousands of venomous brown caterpillars (DC 15 to notice). If the tree is disturbed in any way, the caterpillars swarm down and attack anyone not on the catwalk.

Venomous Caterpillar Swarm: ##STATBLOCK (as Poisonous Centipede Swarm)

Tree: The tree is an Emerald Feverleaf – a plant whose leaves are toxic to most creatures. If fresh leaves are ingested, they cause abdominal cramping and dizziness, and failure of a DC 15 CON saving throw means that the eater is imparted with the poisoned condition for one hour.

Orbs: The orbs on the wall radiate light with the same properties as sunlight in a 30’ radius. If pulled from the wall, they will break.

Doors: The north and south doors can be opened freely from this side. The catwalk door to Area 13 is locked (cannot be picked) and has a slot sized to receive a steel plate keycard – it can be unlocked with any steel plate keycard whose first column is configured for “Quarantine”.

[DangerousPuhson]

MAP KEY (pt2 of 2)

11- Germination Room

Two long empty basins and a dirt-smeared countertop are the only items of interest here.

Encounter: During the day, 2 captives can be found here, meticulously going over every square inch of space. Though unsupervised, they are hesitant to talk to strangers if there are any guards still in the vault. One of the captives is planning an escape; he has shivs hidden in his tent bedroll alongside the key he stole for the double doors in Area 2. If the guards are eliminated, he turns the key over to the party as thanks (if they haven’t already found and taken it).

Captives(2): See Area 1 for ##STATBLOCK

Door: The door to Area 10 is locked (cannot be picked). The door has a slot in it which fits the steel plate keycards – it can be unlocked with any steel plate keycard whose first column is configured for “Quarantine”.

12 – Supply Storage

This long room is packed with metal kegs and steel crates; traversing the room requires crawling overtop of, and squeezing between, these containers (half movement). The doors are crafted of smooth marble and are unlocked.

Encounter: During the day, 2 captives can be found here, dumping out and sifting through the contents of the containers. The captives here bear worse whipping scars than the others, and have been broken enough to summon guards if they encounter any strangers. They are largely paranoid and supremely distrustful, opting to flee into the wilderness alone if all the guards have been killed.

Captives(2): See Area 1 for ##STATBLOCK

Containers: Most of the kegs contain water, though three of them are filled with oily green liquids (see Plant Tonic below). The crates hold spoiled seeds, dried soil, and hundreds of blank steel plate keycards.

Plant Tonic: The oily green liquid is a special plant longevity tonic - a single keg's worth of tonic, when applied to a plant, extends the lifespan of the plant by 1d4x1000 years. A keg of tonic weighs 200 pounds, and is worth 500gp to a buyer who can confirm its potency. It would undoubtedly be even more valuable to a sentient plant creature.

13 – Quarantine Room

A 60’- tall cylindrical room bathed in daylight thanks to a massive hole punched through the ceiling. A colossal tree/beanstalk hybrid spreads its roots across the floor and reaches up through the hole in the ceiling, bursting out of the seed vault. A steel catwalk emerges from the west door and hangs 30’ above the floor, which is covered in a tangle of roots and bright red flowers; the flowers all have hardened petals like the spines of an urchin. The room’s only door is unlocked from this side.

Giant Plant: The tree/beanstalk hybrid is covered in red flowers bearing sharp spines, which burn with a wracking pain whenever they pierce flesh. Climbing either up or down the plant requires a successful Athletics or Acrobatics check (DC 12) – a failure of 5 or more means that the climber has fallen off the plant down to the floor below. For every 10’ of the plant climbed or 5’ of the floor traversed, a creature must make a DEX save (DC 12) or be jabbed by one of the plant’s spiny flowers, causing an intense pain; creatures afflicted by this pain are unable to take a Long Rest and suffer Disadvantage on all skill and attack rolls until the wound is treated, either via healing spell or with a successful Medicine check (DC 12).

Dead Body: Careful observation from the catwalk (a DC 18 perception check) can spot a translucent dead body on the floor, buried under a tangle of roots and fiery-red flowers (the body is automatically spotted by anyone standing on the floor of the room). The corpse is that of a glass grippli, a hunter who felt into the quarantine a few months ago. A search of the body yields a sharp flint spear (see Flint Spear, below), as well as a drinking gourd filled with bark and dried herbs – this concoction, when mixed with water, makes a poultice which can be smeared on wounds to heal 2d6 points of damage (the gourd holds enough mix for three poultices).

Flint Spear: The flint spear is non-magical, but it adds +2 to its damage rolls. If the wielder ever scores a critical hit, the spearhead shatters after it deals damage.

14 – Quarantine Breakout

At the top of a narrow switchback trail, a colossal plant resembling a hybrid between a tree and a beanstalk has burst through the side of the mountain, opening passage into the quarantine room below (Area 13). The plant is covered in bright red flowers bearing hardened spiny petals.

Giant Plant: See the Giant Plant entry in Area 13 for details regarding the plant.

[The1True]

Nice! Could we get a sidebar summary of the keycard system for quick reference? <<hup. never mind, I just saw the ##SIDEBAR comment in room 4. I will shut up and wait patiently, lol>>

Why hasn't the guild explored up to 14 yet (it's awfully close to their camp)? Is the path hidden?

[DangerousPuhson]

The plant at 14 is painful and dangerous - captives are ill equipped to scale it while clothed in burlap sacks, and the guards don't want to touch any of it themselves. In short, they know about the path and how it could be a side entrance, but they haven't exhausted their efforts to crack the main entrance yet, so they aren't using it.

I see this camp as a sort of "probing" excavation by the Guild - they've only just arrived at the site and set up in the last day or two, which is why there's such a small contingent of them there. If we wanted to press a time limit, it would be fitting (plot-wise) to say that the Guild main force is on its way to properly lock down the vault, so the party has incentive to move swiftly while the window of opportunity is still open.

[The1True]

Ah, that makes sense.

That makes for a nice hook actually. A large force is mustering in town, causing a stir, buying up all the 10' poles, trying to corner the market on pack-animals etc. Investigation reveals their objective and that they've almost cracked the seals but thanks to gosh darned (bureaucratic incompetence/foot-dragging slave labour/supply/equipment shortages) it's going to be another x days at least before they can move out!