Astbrough Water Temple

Purpose / Function

This temple was built during The Confluence. It was built as a shrine to worship the elemental plane of water.

Design

Outside. In front of you lies the remains of a cream-stone stairway. Many of the individual steps have become chipped and crack over time and weeds have grown in to fill the gaps. As you climb to the top, you reach a long, wide cobbled path leading to a tall, domed building. Along each side of the path rest the remains of an elaborate aqueduct system, with arcades winding over and under one another which have long since dried up. Down the centre of the path, you see a series of beautiful fountains, also barren and broken from disuse. The large building, while superficially damaged, appears mostly intact with two large wooden doors facing you.

• Arcane Lock cast on door (AC 25, 5HP)

Entrance/Floor 1. As you move through the large, wooden doorway, you come into a single, cream-stone chamber. A single staircase 10ft. wide descends into the floor. As you make your way down this path, you immerge into a second circular room, about 120 ft. in diameter. A 10 ft. wide stone path circles the circumference of a large, sunken section of the room which appears heavily cracked and decayed at it’s base, about 10 ft. down. At the centre of this pit. A 40 ft. platform rises to your level and joins to the stone paths by the remains of a stone walkway. The chamber is lit by torches around the room, however the cold and damp of the ruin still lingers in the air.

• Weight limit on bridge = - if it breaks, DC 15 Dex Saving Throw or fall through the floor into the lake, suffering 2D6 Bl.
• DC 10 Investigation on the platform reveals a loose tile in it’s centre, concealing the ladder.

Underground Lake/Floor 2. As you descend down the iron ladder, you emerge into an immense cave which seems to go on forever in every direction. The air is quiet here, only broken by the occasional echo of water dripping onto rock. As you reach the base of the ladder you come to see a large body of deep-blue water, the depth of which you cannot discern. From where you stand, a wooden walkway extends 30 ft. to the south to a platform while to the north a second walkway extends for a further 80 ft. before reaching a rocky outcrop by the edge of the cave.
Rocky Outcrop. As you approach the rocky outcrop, you see a variety of discarded boxes and furniture. Upon inspection, the boxes appear to be empty, save for the remains of some straw or hay which pad a few small, empty, glass bottles. To the west, you can see an entrance to a cave.
Private Quarters. As you open the door, you enter into a room, approximately 30 ft. on each side. The air here is musty and damp and it appears nothing has been down here in centuries. On the left side of the room lies a large table with a chair, covered in dust and mould. To the right, you see a small, wooden plinth which houses an old tome. Finally, the remains of an old bookshelf extends across the entire back wall, it’s contents spilling onto the floor appearing in very poor condition.

• DC 15 Investigation reveals a diary partially intact on the shelf. Inside are details of the rooms ahead.
• DC 18 Investigation also reveals clues on room 1 and 3 (L to R; By the portcullis)
• DC 20 also reveals an ornate brown and gold key hidden in one of the books.
• The tome of the plinth is a Book of Prayers to the Elemental Plane of Water and is entirely written in Aquan.

Aqueduct Room. You enter through the door and are great by a well-lit chamber approximately 100 ft. deep and 150 ft. wide. The room is filled with another deep blue pool of water with no discernible depth. From the doorway you stand in, a stone bridge connects to a platform near the centre of the room, which houses a 3 ft. tall, stone column. From here, another (larger) bridge extends east into a large, cascading waterfall which appears from a gap in the ornate stonework which lines the walls and covers the wall this bridge connects to. Four smaller paths, two north and two south, extend from this and each lead to a portcullis. On the western wall, four finely-crafted aqueduct systems extend and weave throughout the chamber, each one passing over the top of one of the portcullises before disappearing into an opening in the wall. Whilst no water passes through these channels, they resemble those you saw outside, however of a much higher quality.

• Dial off angle (North-west) at first, DC 10 Athletics to turn.
• DC 12 Athletics to turn dial afterwards.
• North 1, east 2, south 3, west 4.
• When all valves have turned off the waterfall. The players will be attacked by two Giant Toads before they can reach the next chamber.

Puzzle Room 1 (Lever). As you pass underneath the portcullis, the path descends down a roughly carved, 10 ft. wide cave. As you continue your descent, the sound of rushing water echoes off of the walls. As this round the final corner, the source of this sound become clear. You emerge into a well lit room. Ahead of you, you see water gushing from a large pipe suspending in the ceiling 60 ft. above you. The water cascades down into a grating in the floor, wearing the once jagged stone walls smooth. You are not able to see past the water which takes up the entire width of the corridor. To your left, a small path winds onward. To your right, you can see a set of four large, rusted levers, each set into the floor with approximately 3 ft. handles.

• DC 10 Perception check reveal the sound of rushing water appear to be much louder than what is just coming from this one pipe in front of them.
• If a player goes up the side path, they must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 1D10 bludgeoning damage from a rock fall trap.
• DC 15 Perception check or Passive perception 15 reveals a 5ft. pressure plate on the floor. The left path leads to a rocky outcrop, 50 ft. above the floor. From here, they can see all four of these pipes with water pouring out into grates in the floor.
• DC 20 Acrobatics check to climb down the wet stones, landing in between any of the streams of water.
• If a player tries to push through the water, they must succeed on a DC 20 Athletics check or be pushed back and suffer 1D4 bludgeoning damage.
• The four levels shut of different pipes, the players must figure out the combination to pass: Level A: 1 and 2. Lever B: 1, 2 and 3. Lever C: 3 and 4. Lever D: 2, 3 and 4.

As you pass through the corridor, the occasional drop of water falling on you as you pass under the now-sealed pipes, you enter a 25 ft. square room. The room is featureless, save for an aqueduct, similar to the ones you have seen before, about 20 ft. above you and a large rusted valve embedded into a pipe which runs along the floor.

• Turning the valve shuts off some of the water flowing to the waterfall in the main chamber.
• When returning, the players must succeed on a DC 10 dexterity saving throw or take 1D4 bludgeoning damage as the backed up water, bursts through the pipes above them.

Puzzle Room 2 (Tank). The path before you descends deep into the earth, far deeper than any passage you have so far come across has lead you. As you travel, it seems to form into a broad spiral, still continuing downward. After what you guess to be about two or three full rotations, the path takes a sharp left, and opens up into a chamber.
Before you is a large, brightly-lit, cylindrical room, 70 ft. in diameter and almost 200 ft. tall. As you look up the towering structure, you see a large ball of light floating around the height of the ceiling as well as multiple arched, bridges-like structures which stretch across the chamber. The lower ones appear to be intact, each 10 ft. wide with a 5ft. square missing from their centre, while the higher once appear to have parts missing where they have broken apart over time. Various passageways appear to come off the main chamber, some near these bridges and others simply out of the walls with seeming random placement. In front of you, a dark brown platform with gold decoration sits at the centre of the room while a large, metal lever lies on the opposite wall.

• Follow the map for details on the puzzle.

Puzzle Room 3 (Slide). The passage leads into a malformed tunnel system which bends and turns very erratically. As you continue through it, the ground becomes very wet and it becomes increasingly difficult to walk. Continuing on, the cave opens out into a tall, narrow space. In front of you, a stone staircase descends deep into the earth for about 30 ft. before it continues round a gentle corner. The staircase  appears as sodden ad the ground you have just been walking on and as you turn  your vision up you discover the source. A large, metal pipe, approximately 30 ft. above you passes from one wall to another. At it’s base, a large, rust-covered  hole is expelling a large quantity of water onto the wall which then pours down your feet, soaking the ground and stairs, making the area very slippery.

• DC 18 Investigation check reveals some of the stairs to be raised slightly.
• DC 15 Acrobatics check with disadvantage allows a player to jump over the aforementioned stairs.
• Triggering any of the trapped stairs turns all the whole staircase into a slide which has no traction due to the rushing water.
• All traps down the stairs require a DC 15 Perception check to see and deal 1D10 slashing damage on a failed DC 12 Dexterity saving throw. Both have disadvantage if they players are sliding.
• Follow the map for more details on the puzzle.

Puzzle Room 4 (Flow). As you pass under the Portcullis, you enter into a short, 30ft. corridor which leads to a secondary room. The room is 50 ft. on all sides and has matching stonework to that of the main chamber. In front of you lies a large wooden table with multiple holes carved into it, each whole has pipes connecting it to the other before eventually coming to meet at a single point at the top of the room by the wall. Each of these pipes has slots carded along them and placed aside the table are two metal pieces which appear to be the same thickness as these slots. By the side of the table, a long, metal level protrudes from the ground.

• Show the party the pictures of the puzzle. O check the answer, they will need to pull the lever. On a fail, each creature in the room must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 1D10 fire damage from steam which erupts from the holes in the table. On a successful attempt of the puzzle, a large, stone tile rises from the floor, revealing a large, metal valve connected to a large pipe. As a player attempts to turn it, an Ochre Jelly attacks from the pipes on the table.

Treasure room. As you pass under where the waterfall once stood, you enter a passageway which curves to the left, the ornate stone carved walls of the previous room continue down her and you get the sense that leads to a room of great importance. As you continue a further 20 or so feet, you enter into a 20ft. square chamber. 

• Treasure. 1x Basic Water Aether, Scroll of Fog Cloud, Scroll of Create or Destroy Water, 1x Driftglobe (Command words in Aquan) and 4x art pieces: A painting depicting an underwater city embedded into a coral reef. A large, iridescent pearl. An ornate, ceremonial necklace with silver links depicting waves. A short sword with blue filigree inlayed over the blade.

Denizens

Occasionally, bandit group will use this are as a camp site for it's ability to be easily defended. Aside from them, the only other creatures to visit the temple are the local forna who use the grasslands surrounding it as part of their grazing grounds.

Architecture

The architecture appeared very Roman with a heavy emphasis on elaborate aqueducts and fountains to celebrate the 'grace of water'. At the centre, a large, domed build housed a circular pool with an island at it's centre which acted the main point of congregation.

History

The temple was erected during The Confluence shortly after the destruction of Astborugh. People from all over the province came to pray that the elemental forces would not take anymore land from them. The temple fell into disuse in the years after the conflict ended and was slowly worn away by time and vandalism from local bandits.

RUINED STRUCTURE
~100 AC

Type

Temple / Religious complex

Parent Location

The Newport Province

Related Report (Primary Locations)

• Session 3

Related Report (Secondary Locations)

• Session 2