The Tower of Sacrifice

The Tower of Sacrifice

Welcome to Sacrifice. Thousands of homunculus servants assist the villagers with their everyday tasks. Most villagers never know a full day of actual work. Cooking, cleaning, farming, even a nearby iron mine; all tasks completely automated. Outside entities make use of the cheap ore prices, but otherwise find the village a bit creepy. Aside from the tower just outside the west end of town, almost every townsfolk over the age of 20 is missing a hand or an eye.
Villagers will freely inquire of visitors if they are there to "make a sacrifice" but in a pleasant excited tone, not the ominous tone one might expect. They openly explain that the tower outside of town has a cauldron on the ground floor. A sacrifice of a hand or eye to the cauldron will create a permanent servant for yourself and those of your bloodline.
The missing body parts are tied to the extensive population of homunculus. These 'Servants of Sacrifice' come in two varieties, Winged and Walking.
Walking servants are created through the sacrifice of an eye, which matches the fist sized eye that takes up the majority of this tiny servant's head. Useful for cleaning, gathering firewood, cooking, or really anything you can think of having a 1 1/2 foot tall flesh construct do. Some can even be spotted doing more complex tasks, such as sewing and farming.
Winged servants are created through the sacrifice of a hand. The finger bones of the sacrificed hand can be recognized in the wings of the fleshy construct. Quite useful for scouting, repairing the thatched roof of a home, or simply collecting berries and nuts from nearby forests. Once a group of bandits was harassing Sacrifice, but 1000 darts dropped by these little winged constructs discouraged that behavior.

The Tower of Sacrifice

The Tower of Sacrifice The simple stone tower is around 100 feet tall. A single tiny window can be seen from the ground. No occupant response from within the tower.

First Floor: Limb

A simple unlocked door allows people to enter the first floor of the tower. As you enter you see a series of iron tools hanging from the wall. Each more or less resembles a large spoon, though rough and rusted. A small black cauldron sits to one side next to a large butcher block with an old rusty cleaver stuck in it.
If you pause a moment, a townsfolk will enter and bid you all good day. He may explain that one of his family servants was crushed under a wagon wheel, and must be replaced. He will take a tool from the wall and proceed to dig out one of his eyes. He will scream in pain. It is not a pleasant process. When complete he drops his eye into the cauldron, and a walking servant will bubble into existence. The man will bandage his eye, and leave with his new servant.
The door to the second floor has no handle. In the center of the door is a hole with a mummified hand and a pressure plate at the back. An inscribed tablet reads "Limb" and depicts a hand being pushing the pressure plate and being chopped off. Pushing the plate will open the door but also snap two blades down onto the wrist, dealing 4d8 points of slashing damage and remove the hand.
You COULD try to fish that mummified hand out of the trap and reuse it, BUT you could set off the blades anyways. So be careful.

Second Floor: Sight

You can see a table covered in magical research gear, a cauldron with eye scoopers to the side, and the door to the next floor. The door is covered in 5 levers that can click into different numbered slots. A small hole can be seen in the center of the ceiling. Not big enough for even a gnome to fit, but a servant could squeeze up there to get a look. An inscribed tablet reads "Sight" and depicts a man scooping out an eye, putting it into the cauldron, then holding the servant up to see in the hole in the ceiling (where the combination to the door lies).
You COULD try to pick the locks, BUT each lock is tied to a room wide poison gas trap. So be careful.

Third Floor: Wealth

This floor contains a door with 4 large locks, each made from a different metal. Copper, silver, gold, and platinum. One side of the room has a set of magical smelting tools and a series of key molds. Comparing the molds to the locks, an investigation check will reveal which mold makes a key for which slot. An inscription reads "Wealth" and depicts the process of using a smelter on the table to melt down raw coins into the needed molten metal, then using the molds to make keys. Heavy, two pound keys each require 100 coins of the appropriate metal.
You COULD try to pick the locks and save some coin, BUT each lock is tied to a fireball trap. So be careful.

Forth Floor: Magic

There are two desks. The next door is flat metal, with burn marks around it. One with a more squat cauldron. One with a strange magical device... It's a fantasy flamethrower. An inscription reads "Magic" and depicts a man throwing an enchanted sword into the cauldron, then pouring the liquid from the cauldron into the canister of the magical device, and finally using it to shoot flames at the door.
You COULD try to cast your own fire spells at the door to open it, BUT the floor looks like it could arc some lightning around. So be careful.

Fifth Floor: Memory

This room has a large mirror where you would expect the door to be. One side has a table with papers in varying degrees of decay. Scribbled frantic notes cover the pages. Many have apparently lost their minds here. The other side has an inscription reading "Memory" and depicting a man thinking of his wedding day while looking into the mirror, and that memory disappearing. The mirror apparently eats memories, and needs a treasured one to allow passage.
You COULD try holding up a servant and telling them to think of you, BUT the two of you are linked. So be careful.

Sixth Floor: Attribute

This room contains a ceremonial dagger and 6 different cauldrons. Each cauldron has an inscription above it. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Sacrificing a bid of blood into a cauldron will permanently drain a stat point from that stat.
You COULD try bleeding out a servant/familiar or a druid's wild shape, BUT those are both linked to the actual character. So be careful.

Seventh Floor: Kal and the Sword of the Arclight

An ancient artificer, Kal, greets you as you entered. Kal has a winged servant with him, as well as a bronze enchanted hand. He is surprised to see people who've made it to the top of the tower. He has several magical items for sale. He will teach a wizard a custom 4th level conjuration spell "Hole in the wall." Hole in the wall creates a 1ft diameter hole in a wall which opens a portal to a known anchored location. Think teleportation circle, but just a hole in a wall for 30 minutes. Kal uses it for magic item trading with various locations around the world.
The Sword of the Arclight is on prominent display. Kal is willing to part with it for 20,000gp or an equivalent trade of random items. He can be convinced to hand it over for free if you agree to bring him back an "Arclight phoenix egg." Kal does have connections to basically every magic item shop in the world, so it would be unwise to simply take it and run.

The Sword of the Arclight

This magic rapier has a large sapphire at the cross guard and at the pommel. It absorbs elementals when it is used to reduce them to zero HP. Doing so boosts the powers of the blade. (0 elementals) +1 attack and damage +1d6 lighting damage on a hit 1/long rest can cast shocking grasp as a caster of your level using your attack bonus for the spell attack. (1 elemental) +2 attack and damage +1d8 lighting damage on a hit 1/long rest can cast lightning bolt as a 3rd level spell, Dex save = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier. (2 elementals) +3 attack and damage +1d10 lighting damage on a hit 1/long rest can cast call lightning as a 3rd level spell, Dex save = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier when you call down a bolt of lightning. (3+ elementals) Upon absorbing a 3rd elemental, the Sword of the Arclight will glow with immense power, then discharge in a flash of light. A massive lightning bolt can be seen in the distance striking down at the location of the master airship "The Arclight."

Purpose / Function

Series of tough choices or clever solutions to obtain a key item for the continuation of the plot. Consequences of less than clever decisions can be severe, so make it worth the players while.

Design

Each room is circular with a set of stairs leading to a door to the next floor. Doors close behind the party.

Architecture

Simple cylindrical stone tower. Roughly 100ft tall. One door at the base, one small window at the top floor.

Type

Tower, Mage

Connected Rooms

• The Tower of Sacrifice