The Box (D&D Module)
Written By: Jay Edwards
This adventure is aimed at a party of four 5th level adventurers of all ages. It contains no location-specific information, so it can be slotted in anywhere in a campaign as a quick side-quest. It can also be used as a jumping off point for some sort of cosmic horror storyline if desired.
Baron Von Carlston has put out a notice on a local notice board in town:
The House of Carlston seeks brave adventurers to seek a lost relic of their noble lineage. Interested parties should present themselves along with this notice to Jimson, head butler of Tweedbridge Manor on the outskirts of town.
Players may notice that there are a few pin marks at the top of the notice, indicating that this venture has been attempted multiple times in the past.
Upon arriving at Tweedbridge Manor, a tall elf in a suit greets the party at the door. He introduces himself as Jimson, the long-serving head butler of the Carlston household. Jimson is fairly adroit in his mannerisms, directing the party to avoid touching anything as the house had recently been cleaned. He leads them to the back of the house to a gigantic circular room lined with glass display cases containing various objects and an older human man hunched over a desk.
If anyone has Detect Magic active, all of the cases are magical, imbued with a sealing magic, including the empty ones. The cases are unaligned and non-divine, so attempting to determine their alignment or divinity does nothing. It’s impossible to divine information about the objects held inside the cases. The cases are made out of a thick crystal, giving a slightly warped view of the contents within.
Quickly, the older man looks up and warmly greets the party, already assuming that they are here for the posted job. He introduces himself as Baron Johann von Carlston, lord of the manor and collector of the arcane. The Baron wants the players to enter into the ruins of an ancient Tiefling compound that was recently discovered in a forest just outside of town. His research has led him to believe that there was something both fascinating and dangerous deep within the halls. Luckily, he also believes it to be sealed in an ornate box, so the party just needs to go in, retrieve the box, and return it to him still sealed. The Baron hands the players a map to the entrance just over an hour away by foot.
What’s in all the cases? The Baron’s collection of arcane finds, each sealed in its own case to protect both the object and the observer.
What’s the history of the ruins? The Baron believes that it is a temple to an ancient Tiefling deity from centuries ago. It was discovered when a local foraging party found the entrance on the side of a hill. Given the Baron’s propensity for studying “weird old things”, the locals brought it to his attention right away.
What’s in the box? Something great and powerful but also incredibly dangerous. The Baron’s research isn’t fully complete, but he can guarantee that it’s something that’s much better off staying in the box instead of coming out. Now that the ruins have been discovered, he worries that some dungeon delver will steal it and open it not knowing what’s inside.
What’s the reward? The Baron drops a bag full of coins on the table containing 500gp. If the party tries to negotiate, he is willing to go up to 600gp, depending on how persuasive the party can be.
Any further information? The Baron plays fairly coy and just wants the party to get going.
The entrance to the ruins have been partially cleared with tree roots dangling loosely in front of the small opening. Outside of the dark doorway breaking up the view, it doesn’t appear like there’s anything out of ordinary in the tranquil forest setting.
Room 1: Entrance
The room is dark, cold, and slightly humid. The entrance to this area isn’t through a door but rather a window with the actual original entryway being on the east side of the room. That passageway has long-since collapsed and is completely filled in. There are two wooden doors on the western wall; the northern one has been grown over by tree roots and is jammed whereas the southern one is barely hanging on due to rusted hinges.The walls appear to be simple granite block construction but now entwined with roots from the plants above.
The stuck door has 45hp, hardness of 5, and a Strength DC of 20 to break the door down. Otherwise, there is nothing of note here.
Room 2: Some Kind of Cloak Room
A long stone bench and a couple iron coat hooks adorn the northern wall of this area. The door to the east is unlocked.
Nothing of interest here.
Room 3: Cleansing Vestibule
The western wall has two stone basins on pedestals against it with some ancient text still barely visible on them. The northern door is made of steel and is locked.
The door’s lock is very simple, only needing a DC15 Dexterity check to open it. The text is slightly legible, but in a very old form of Abyssal called Primal Abyssal, so the only info that can be gleaned is with a DC25 Religion check to even know what the language is.
Room 4: The Chapel
The vaulted ceilings of this room disappear into the darkness due to their towering height. The stone pews still stand proud despite the layers of moss that have claimed them with time. Remnants of frescos dot the walls, depicting what appears to be some ancient religious stories of demonic-looking creatures and humanoids interacting in various ways. At the north end of the room sits the remnants of an alabaster altar and, to the west of it, a solid metal door that is slightly ajar.
A DC25 Religion check can make an educated guess that these are depicting some sort of ancient Tiefling god, one that’s completely lost to history.
As the party approaches the altar, a skittering sound can be heard. A passive Perception of 15 will immediately locate the sound as coming from the ceiling. The ceilings are around 80 feet high, so conventional darkvision reveals no information. In the darkness, a pair of mechanical guardians watch the party. The Sword Golem is equipped with a pair of rusted swords while The Shield Golem holds two shields. They will follow the party around from opposite sides of the room until they are noticed or until the party goes near the altar. Once either condition is met, they will drop down from the ceiling and rush the party from either side, aiming for the person closest to the altar. When they are both near the altar (within 5ft) or under half health, the two golems will attempt to stand next to each other. If they are able to do this with no party member within 10ft of them, they will spend their activations to combine and be replaced by the Guardian Golem with HP equal to the combined total of the two component golems.
The altar is pure alabaster, only slightly yellowed on the edges from age. Running a hand over it reveals barely noticeable carvings in the surface, written in an ancient language and seemingly arranged in an equidistant grid arrangement. The back wall of the room is tall and covered in more frescos done in the same style as the others. A single window stares down on the entire area, long dark from the dirt that now covers the building. At the base of the wall lies the remnants of a long (25ft) metal pole with a hoop on the end.
The language is Primal Abyssal, just like on the basins in the entryway. If there is a scientifically-minded party member, they may want to try to work out what the altar is for. If they succeed in a DC20 Intelligence check (or if they figure it out themselves), they can determine that the altar is a solar calendar, with the sun’s beams coming through the window and illuminating a specific square on the altar each different day when focused through the lens on a stick found at the end of the room.
Behind the altar, the party can find a stash of damaged and broken adventuring equipment, indicating that the golems have previously dealt with any would-be dungeon delvers that came before them. If you are feeling generous, you can provide the party with 2d10 GP and a random low-level potion if they sort through the pile.
Room 5: Southern Sleeping Area
The area to the south of the passageway is raised slightly compared to its northern counterpart. There are slight divots in the stone, roughly the size of a humanoid, arranged in rows along both walls. Scraps of cloth litter the area as well.
This is an old sleeping area. Nothing fun to see here, but it is a safe place for the party to rest should they want to.
Room 6: Northern Kitchen
The area to the north of the passageway is about 2 feet lower than the passageway itself, with the floor gently sloping downwards towards the north side of the area. In the middle of the area are the remnants of a firepit with a cauldron dangling from a tripod above it. The walls have the skeleton of cabinets and counters, the wood having rotted away a long time ago. The ceiling has a chimney, but it appears to be filled in with tree roots from the hill on top.
The cauldron isn’t suitable for cooking, but the firepit is completely serviceable.
Room 7: The Onyx Chamber
Inside the massive chamber lays a floor of extremely polished black glass, giving the room the appearance of a bottomless pit. The floor itself feels foreboding and dreadful, like it is part of something much bigger than what mere mortal minds could perceive. Four thin silver cables run from the walls to the center of the room, binding a small lacquered box to the alabaster plinth that it’s resting on. A strip of parchment wraps around the box, sealing it shut, with ancient writing scribbled on it.
The party can move across the room easily and retrieve the box by untangling the wires. If a player wants to open the box, they feel an extreme feeling of dread as they move to break the parchment. The ancient writing is the same as the text that has been found around the temple, these strips appearing to have ancient religious scriptures on them that don’t make much sense out of context. A DC35 Wisdom save is actually needed to take any kind of action to open the box in any way, whether by opening it, burning it, or smashing it. Staring at the floor for too long will require a DC10 Wisdom save to avoid being fascinated by it and require another party member’s assistance to break their concentration. A player with Detect Good and Evil active will be able to detect faint hints of… something deep under the glass.
The party cannot see it, but the glass contains the mortal body of a dead god, long sealed by the ancient people that lived in this area. The box contains the key required to unseal and revive the god, itself sealed with ancient magics, hence why the party cannot open it themselves without insanely strong willpower.
When the party returns to Tweedbridge Manor, Baron von Carlston himself refuses to touch the box. Instead, he asks the party member that is holding it to place it on a plinth in his gallery, after which he covers it with a thick crystal casing and thanks the party. He doesn’t know exactly what’s inside the box, but further research that he did while they were away indicates that it was nothing good and it is best to keep it under lock and key here to protect everyone.
