Bringing you a taste from the dark pages of Warlock…
Down a mostly forgotten passage of the Undercity, behind a partially cleared rockfall, lies the arched chamber containing the Crimson Oubliette. Once known as the Depths, this wretched prison of narrow cell doors dotting the curving walls of a five hundred foot deep cylindrical shaft housed those who society wished to forget (including an entire tribe of scrags). Then a ground tremor collapsed the passages leading to the entrance and emptied an underground lake into the Depths. Those on the surface simply abandoned the guards, prisoners, and staff alike and, in time, the prison itself was forgotten.
The Crimson Oubliette: A 5e Adventure for 3rd-Level Heroes
Merging with the murky water flooding the prison, the prison’s semi-sentient ooze waste disposal system fed off of the imprisoned, and perpetually regenerating, Scrags and grew to fill the entire Oubliette. Tribes of underground dwellers worship the ooze as a god and throw treasure into it as offerings. Others have also used the Oubliette to dispose of dangerous items. For, as the legend goes, the Jade Tome rests at the very bottom of the ooze-filled oubliette, thrown there by a dying paladin convinced it was too dangerous for mortal men. The Crimson Oubliette has claimed hundreds of would-be adventurers. Protected by potions of acid resistance or using fire to hold the ooze at bay, adventurers continue to descend into the ooze, combating the twisted denizens who make their home there, risking death to delve to the bottom of the Crimson Oubliette.
Summary
The PCs arrive at the entrance to the Crimson Oubliette and interrupt a group of kobolds dumping an offering of silver into the opening of the pit. After dealing with the draconic worshippers, the PCs descend into the Oubliette either via potions or by carrying fire to keep the ooze at bay. With glittering treasure lurking below, the PCs make their way down and soon encounter the degenerated ancestors of the original guards and traps designed to thwart prison breaks. Unfortunately, the arrival of the PCs also attracts the Deepclaw Scrags who now act as extensions of the ooze’s will. At the bottom of the Oubliette, the heroes must overcome a pair of construct guarding the resting place of the Jade Tome.
Conditions in the Oubliette
Entering the ooze subjects a creature to the acidic nature of the ooze’s innards. An immersed creature takes 7 (2d6) acid damage at the start of each turn. Any item or effect that offers acid resistance or immunity negates this effect. Metal, stone and items of similar hardness are not dissolved by the acid.
Additionally, the ooze is vulnerable to and afraid of fire. A simple torch forces the ooze to withdraw or pull back to a 30 foot radius. This allows would-be explorers to descend into the oubliette. Once below 30 feet, the presence of a torch creates a 30 foot radius bubble around the source of fire. Luckily the ooze is permeable to air so breathing within the pocket is not an issue.
The reddish liquid of the ooze acts in most respects like normal water in terms of movement. It is very dark once the PCs descend beyond 30 feet.
Adventure Hooks
- The PCs are hired by Magister Varna, a noted archeologist, to recover the Jade Tome from the Oubliette
- A foe of the PCs has stolen one of their prized possessions and thrown it into the ooze
- To join an elite Adventuring Guild the PCs must descend into the ooze and bring back a prize
Adventure on in the Oubliette and read other great articles in Warlock, only on Patreon!
