House of Stone Properties
Fog
Cloud
The House of Stone can not be seen. It is always covered by a thick
fog that never blows away. This is a magical field created using a
large number of permanent "Guards and Wards (Confusion)" "Solid
Fog" and "Gust
of Wind"spells. This has ensured privacy for the mad
inhabitants of the House. All together there are 30 of these spells
cast on areas surrounding the house. There are 20 in a circle around
another circle of 10 that are right up against the House. They
were all cast by a mage with a Int bonus of 4+1d3 and so will be
hard to dispel. A dispel magic will make 1 of the 3 spells in a
single area, so it will be hard to get rid of them. Each spell
requires a roll of DC 15 to avoid the effects.
The cloud surrounds the house to a distance of 150' East/West to
200' North/South. The slower this distance is covered the more
Saving Throws will need to be made against the Confusion spell.
Outside
Ventilation Holes
As any digger knows, the first thing you do to prepare for any
excavation is to provide a second way out that is built into the
plan. This may be removed when the digging is over, but it was there
none the less as is this case. Another thing that are always
ventilation holes.
They need to be large enough to put significant air through them but
secure against intruders (mostly water and pests & vermin). To
this end, they are all 4 of a similar design. They go steeply down
90' then there is a loop like a J bend that goes back up steeply
(70deg angle) for 60' to a point where it drops down again to meet
the dungeon area in the room ceilings 130' below. Each of the 4
holes has a different spot where it meets the open area below.
At the point where the tunnel drops down there is a grid designed to
keep the vermin out. This is only large beasts as it was considered
that the smaller creatures wouldn't be able to get up that far (or
have the motivation to do so!).
The grid is made of lead bars that won't rust or be easy to either
remove. Though the metal is easy to bend it is 1" thick which would
prevent animals from getting in.
General Conditions of the House Contents
The last time the HoS was opened to the air was 140 year ago.
The damage from the years of disuse or misuse has not been kind to
the cloth and leather items in the house. Although they have
been protected from the elements, they have been exposed to
air and in some cases a lot of use. The light fabrics like
cotton, hemp, flannel and linen will be discolored, thread broken
and easy to tear. Leather is cracking but still intact. Wood is
warped, paper is discolored, dry and very flammable. These
generalities are intended to cover situations where the room details
do not cover the conditions of the items in the room.
Walls and Floors
Properties
The House of Stone is a living creature imprisoned in the Wax Stone
that the house is made of. The wax stone is really stone, but it has
several unique properties.
Looks Like: White marble with very pale gray thin 'veins"
running through it. There are no square corners. At each place where
there is an intersection of walls (like floor and the walls or the
wall and the ceiling) the stone has a rounded, organic look. An
example of this is your hand. Make an "L" shape with your thumb and
forefinger. That's is how two walls come together.
Smells like: The rock has a subtle smell of it's own. The
party will notice it immediately on entering, but it is a smell you
get used to. The inside of the lower floors smells like a wet,
furred animal. This is caused by the Wax Rock and is present all
over the lower 2 floors. Anyone intentionally smell the wall will
discover this.
Feels Like: When you touch the wall you can see why it's
called Wax Rock. The stone feels like wax. It's kind of slippery and
not cold like rock. It is even possible to use a finger nail to put
a crescent shaped indentation in the wall or floor. This is
something below the consciousness level of the House and will not be
reacted too. However, these marks go away withing an hour as the
House repairs itself. Remember that wall damage more severe than a
small mark is strongly reacted to.
Sounds Like: It's very quiet. Most sounds are muffled by
these walls. Any sound quieter than a battle with the clash of
weapons can not be heard if the listener has a wall and/or a door
between the sounds source. Even loud sounds con only be heard with a
single wall in between. Sound can not pass through 2 wall/door
barriers. Some spells may be exempt from this (DMs option).
Rule Definition: These walls are rated "Hewn Rock" and
"Magically Treated". This give them: Thickness 3', Break DC 70,
Hardness 16, 1080 HP, Climb DC 25
If the walls or bottom level floors are attacked the House of Stone
will fight
back.
The Special
Magical Properties
Detect Magic: The stone the house itself is built from is
extremely magical. It has a number of effects detailed below. The
magic is so strong that casting a Detect Magic inside the House will
not work as everything is glowing with a magical aura. If a
character casts a Detect Magic spell inside the house, they must
make a Will save at a DC 20 or be blinded for 1d4 hours. An
additional save must be made every round the Detect Magic spell is
continued. The magical aura is so bright that the caster is forced
to voluntarily dismiss the spell as soon a possible. It isn't
unusual for a scream of pain and surprise can occur inadvertently
the first time a character experiences this effect.
Plane Travel
The Wax Stone the house is made from prevents any kind travel
through it and passage out of it to another plane. Any spell similar
to Plane Shift will fail without any negative effect. Any spell that
will create an extra dimensional state like Create Demiplane inside
the house will fail the same way. However any extra dimensional item
brought into the house will function normally. This includes items
like Portable Holes, Bags of Holding and so on will work.
Also spells that use outer planes to work like Contact Other Plane
or Gate will fail. This effect can be defeated using special spells
known only to the Norman/Normad family members. The spell is cast on
an item like a picture, mirror or something to work; they couldn't
make a spell work that was not related to a physical item.
Teleport
The magical property of the stone prevents any kind of teleport that
passes through a wall or other Wax Stone item. An attempt to do this
will not just fail, it will leave the caster in the Sickened state
for 1d12 minutes. This includes Teleport,
Interplanetary Teleport and even Blink. Any of these spells WILL
work as long as the destination is within line of sight.
Doors
The doors in the house are all of the same stone as the house itself
and are also "alive". As a decorative touch, all of them are made of
thickly blue veined stone and most are carved. The hinges are
"Barrel" Hinges. The post is part of the wall and the barrel is on
the door. The doors swing both ways. The barrel is slightly
curved so the door will always swing shut. It is possible to
unhinge them be opening them up all the way, then using great
strength or a lever to pop them over the top of the post. This is
not easy as the doors fit tightly and weigh 300lbs. There is 1/4" of
space between the bottom of the door and the floor.
They aren't as strong as walls. However when a door is attacked (not
just opened or used, but damaged) the house will begin to grow over
it as protection. This process begins in 1d4 rounds after the first
attack. It takes 4 rounds to grow the wax stone over a door that has
been attacked. Once the door has completely been covered over, it
the damage continues the House of Stone will fight
back.
House of Stone Door 4 in. Thick
Hardness 8 60 hp Break 28
Locks
Every door has a lock. But the lock is not engaged on all doors. The
type of lock and its state is specific to the room its in and is
detailed in the room descriptions.
There are 4 types of lock: simple (DC 20), average (DC 25), good (DC
30), or superior (DC 40).
Outside Lock: All door connected to the outside are Superior
Valuables Room: Any room used for storage of valuables (even
if the room was occupied) has a Good lock.
Store Room: Any room use for storage of less valuable goods
(like food or wine) have an Average lock.
Other rooms: All other rooms have simple locks.
Pillars
There are several types of pillars in the House. Some are a part of
the House of Stone creature (made of Wax stone). Others were added
to enhance either the stability of upper floors or as decorative
items.
Wax Stone Pillars: These are easily recognizable as the are
obviously made of the same stone as the walls. These pillars have
the same stats as the Walls of the house.
Statue Pillars: These are thick stone columns that have been
carved to represent a person, animal or monster. They are
usually made of marble which could be colored green, gray, white,
pale green, brown and gold.
Game rules - as Reinforced masonry Diameter 3
ft. Break 45 Hardness
8 180 hp Climb 15
Support Pillars - These are pillars that are here for
architectural reasons. They are not particularly attractive. They
are thicker than the other types of pillars and are made of granite.
They may be painted, but if they aren't they are a charcoal gray
color. There is often a wide "capitol" or pillar top where the
pillar meets the ceiling.
Game rules - as Hewn stone - 3 ft. Around,
Break 50 Hardness 8 540 hp
Climb 25
Fireplaces
There are many fireplaces and stoves around the House. All of them
are magical as they have a permanent "Wall of Fire" cast on them so
they will burn forever. The fireplaces in either residences or
formal rooms are all made of river stone like cobble stones. The
ones in kitchens or hallways are made of bricks. If the
fireplace is destroyed the flame will go out. All of the fireplaces
in residence rooms have metal shutters that block the heat. The
brick fireplaces never do. The fireplaces in the formal rooms have
glass shutters with fanciful etched designs on them.
Windows
Rainbow Diamond: Those on the ground floor are made of
Rainbow Diamond. They are about as thick as a normal window but
almost unbreakable. The are usually at eye height (5' up), oval
shaped about 18" high and 24" wide. Because of the thick fog, light
never comes through from the sun. However if someone goes outside
with a light, this can be clearly seen if the person watching is
within 2' of the glass. Further away than that and all that is seen
is the rainbow like diffractive pattern. Their stats are as
Iron 1/4 in. Break 30 Hardness
10 90 hp
Normal Glass: The windows on the upper floors are of normal
glass. While some are etched or colored or lead bound stained glass,
they has the normal stats of glass: 1/4 in. Break 10 Hardness
1 15 HP unless noted otherwise in the room text.
Fixtures
Beds These come in different sizes, but they are all made of
the same stuff. They are made of a wooden frame with rope net strung
between the wood parts. A mattress of straw with a layer of cotton
on top. The mattress is covered with material. This can be linen,
flannel, silk or satin depending on the place in the hierarchy the
user occupied.
Chests
There are 6 basic kinds of chests still remaining in the house.
Although the size is variable. The size of the chest should be
determined by the size of the contents. Any kind of decoration may
appear. Most beds have a c hest at the bottom even if one doesn't
show on the map. These are always the wood chest with no lock.
Steel Lockbox - Integrated lock Disarm DC 26 Break 40, HP 65,
Hardness 10
Iron footlocker - External Lock - Disarm DC 22, Break 25,
Hardness 6 HP 45
Stone Chest - External Lock - Disarm DC 20, Break 30,
Hardness 10 HP 60
Iron Bound Wooden Chest - Integrated Lock - Disarm 18, Break
15, Hardness 3 HP 25
Locked Wooden Chest - External lock - Disarm DC 15, Break 10,
Hardness 2, HP 20
Wood Chest W/No lock - Break 10, Hardness 2 HP 15
Magic Items
Dark Skull - Unholy aura
Eyes of Charming - Glasses that cast a Charm spell on one looked at
Serpentine Owl Figurine - Flies and telepathic connection allows
sight through its eyes
Mage Hand - A mummified hand that casts Mage Hand
Hat of Disguise - Casts a Disguise spell on wearer
Mask of the Skull - Files to attack on command
Phylactery of Undead Turning - Turn at +4 levels
Robe of Eyes - The wearer sees in all directions
Silversheen - A treated weapon has silver properties
Paintings
BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
Appearance: This is a watercolor painting done on parchment. The
artwork depicts a beautiful dryad shyly peeking out from behind a
tree to see a handsome male centaur bathing in a forest pond. Many
of the technical aspects of the painting are wrong.
Appraise Information: DC 10. The actual artist of this piece is
unknown, because it’s one of hundreds sold through a now-defunct
College of Fine Arts. The piece contains nothing noteworthy, and
it’s unlikely to interest anyone but a peasant or lower class
merchant.
Value: 1 gp
Special Notes: None.
FULL MOON TERROR
Appearance: This is a crudely done oil on birch wood painting two
feet on a side depicting two terror-stricken gnome girls running
from a werewolf along a moonlit road. The background shows a moon
and stars. The gnomes, werewolf, and moon are painted on cutouts of
wood that stand off the painting. This painting is as much a
mechanical device as a piece of art. Awinding wheel on the side of
the canvas controls a series of cogs and wheels at the back of the
painting. When the wheel is wound, the gnomes and werewolf move
toward the left side of the painting until the werewolf catches the
gnomes while the moon moves right. This creates a unique three
dimensional effect. Turning the winding wheel in the opposite
direction returns the cutouts to their starting positions.
Appraise Information: DC 15.
A gnome village exported these clockwork paintings several hundred
years ago as novelties. Most have been destroyed over time and only
a few that still exist even work. Value: 225 gp (25 gp for the
craftsmanship, 200 gp as a collector’s item).
Special Notes: Each time the painting is wound, the clockwork
mechanism has a 5% cumulative chance of breaking. Repairing the
painting requires a successful DC 20 Craft (clockworks) skill check.
SEDUCTION
Appearance: This is a series of three paintings, enamel on ceramic,
each one foot in length and width. In the first image, a succubus
transforms into a beautiful elven maiden wearing a thin dressing
gown. The second image shows the succubus in elven form flirting
shyly with a cleric of a god devoted to the destruction of demons
and devils. The final image shows the cleric and the succubus
embracing in a passionate kiss. One of the succubus’s hands has
reverted to claw form and is poised near the cleric’s exposed neck.
Appraise Information: DC 20. More famous for his glazed plates than
his paintings, the dwarven artist Olstral Verthan nevertheless
painted this series in his early years. Twice in history the pieces
have been separated, only to come together again up to thirty years
later.
Value: 650 gp for the set (150 gp per painting, 200 gp as a
collector’s item).
Special Notes: None.
THE RULERS
Appearance: A 6-ft. by– 4-ft. oil painting on wood, this artwork
depicts a tall crenellated stone tower. Standing at attention atop
the battlement are serious guards holding pikes and crossbows.
Playing on the crenellations are a litter of kittens of various
markings. One of the kittens hangs by its front paws from one of the
crenellations while two others engage in a playful fight on a
merlon. Another stands on the shoulder of one of the guards, playing
with a tassel hanging from her pike.
Appraise Information: DC 12.
Scholars scoff at the works of the human artist, Daelma Ter, calling
it crass and commercial. Nevertheless, her works were and still are
very popular with the merchant class.
Value: 1,000 gp (200 gp for the craftsmanship, 800 gp as a
collector’s item).
Special Notes: None.