Escape the Fortress!
The Scorpion King (2002) was a real mixed bag of a movie, but it was undeniably full of great action sequences. In one particularly excellent sequence, the protagonist Mathayus (played by Dwayne Johnson) must escape from the top of the villain's citadel by running pell mell through a variety of unfamiliar rooms. This encounter was designed to capture that type of chaotic, fight-or-flight scenario.
Escape the Fortress!
You've completed whatever objective brought you here, but unfortunately you're at the top of the fortress, and soldiers are swarming like ants out of every doorway! It's time to go!
Guards
This fortress has an effectively infinite supply of guards, and they're all on alert! Unless the players have taken great pains to hide their whereabouts, 1d6-2 (minimum 0) guards arrive on the scene every round. If they have hidden themselves, roll 1d6 every round. On a result of 6, a patrol of two guards wanders into the area. Guards always act last in the scene. They are also weak as heck, so any damage done to them beyond what would kill them is transferred to another guard in the room.
Twice throughout this adventure the Boss Guard should show up. Boss Guard is much tougher than normal guards, and hits harder, too. More about that in the next section!
Traversal
The pell mell nature of this encounter means the players can't be sure where they'll wind up next. The DM should keep track of the players' Progress, a value that starts at 0 and increases by 1 every time the players progress through a room of the fortress. Once the Progress reaches a value of 5 the players arrive in the bathhouse.
Whenever the players leave a room, roll 1d6 + the current Progress value to determine which room the players wind up in next (reroll repeats). Have them arrive by crashing in through a window, breaking through the roof, or something else suitably exciting.
Each room features a door through which guards emerge, as well as two further exits. Roll on the Exits table twice to determine the nature of the exits.
Once the players reach Progress 3, the Boss Guard shows up. If/when they go down, they're not down for good - they come back in the Bathhouse scene with bleeding wounds and a grudge to settle!
Exits (1d6, twice):
- A locked trap door in the floor
- A window with a vine-covered trellis on the wall outside. Climbing is easy, but falling deals 1d10 damage.
- A window leading to a steep rooftop (Acrobatics check or take 1d6 damage).
- A door leading to an exposed battlement (guards shoot at you from afar)
- A locked door leading to a long hallway with no cover
- A balcony overlooking a sheer wall (hard climb or 2d6 fall damage)
Rooms (1d6 + Progress)
1. Inventor's Lab: A cluttered room full of contraptions. Contains loot. The inventor flees combat. Missed attacks in this room have a 50% chance of causing an explosion doing 1d6 damage to a random target. The room features a catapult which acts as an additional exit (1d10 damage upon landing). Fortunately it's JUST strong enough to launch exactly as many people as there are party members.
2. Signal Tower: A circular room featuring a thousand pound bronze bell suspended from the roof, and a good view of the city below. There are 1d4 guards here upon arrival.
3. Bedroom: This is a fancy bedroom for whatever fancy person lives in this fortress. There's a bed with fancy gauzy drapes, wardrobes full of fancy gauzy clothes, and expensive looking accessories. 20% chance that the fancy gauzy owner of the room is present and screams for 1d8 guards to rush into the room.
4. Lavatory: A spacious lavatory. Only roll for one exit; the other exit is down the toilet hole. Yuck!! If you fall while climbing down you wind up in a big pile of yuckiness making you easier to find by smell, and you leave footprints as you continue your escape, meaning more guards will pursue you!
5. Barracks: You enter this room through a window near the roof. A conveniently placed beam stretches across to the far window. There are 1d6+2 guards here when you arrive, but they're busy playing cards and haven't noticed you - but they will if you fall in amongst them! Bunks line the walls and tables and chairs are placed in the middle of the room. Nothing fancy, just tons of enemies.
6. Treasury: This room is full of fancy urns, chests of gold, and other wealth. Much of it is too big for your pockets, but a bit of rummaging would turn up plenty of coins and jewels. Only roll once for exits, and it's locked or barred as appropriate.
7. Kitchen: This room is busy with activity, so much so that nobody notices your arrival unless fighting breaks out. If so, the head cook will fight you with a big frying pan "hammer" and a cleaver "dagger." A huge fireplace contains a cauldron of boiling stew, and knives are all over the darn place. One wall features a number of large kegs. Smells great.
8. Library: A musty room full of books and scrolls. There's likely a book in here on just about any subject you might be interested in, but finding it would take time. There are ladders here for reaching high shelves. A number of walls feature large tapestries.
9. Great Hall: A fancy octagonal room for hosting guests. A huge brass gong suspended on one wall. Pillars arranged in a circle in the center surrounding a central fire. Musicians are playing drums and horns for a group of indignant nobles.
10. Laundry: This room is filled with hanging sheets which block line of sight. The air is filled with the smell of caustic lye, pots of which are dotted about (acid damage if touched). Fireplaces heat cauldrons of boiling water along the walls. There are two wheeled laundry carts here full of dirty clothes.
11. The Bath House: A big room filled with big pools of hot water. The air is full of warm steam which obscures your vision. The bathers flee, spilling soapy water on the floor. Dexterity checks to move on your feet are made at disadvantage, and failing such rolls cause you to slip and fall down. 1d6 burly naked (or toweled if you prefer) folks will engage in fistiuffs with you in the hopes of getting a reward.
The Boss Guard also shows up in this final battle, hoping to stop the players and bring them to justice (probably in a "judge, jury, and executioner" kind of fashion).
The room has two exits: the front door leading out onto the open street (where you might have to fight more guards and try to get to the main gate before it closes) and down the drains. The drains need Con saves or else you gain a level of exhaustion, but they lead to unguarded pools outside the castle walls and a clear shot to freedom.
Barricading the Door
If players wish to barricade the door they can, guaranteeing it holds for one round. Keep rolling for guards as usual, and describe pounding on the door as guards arrive. Once four or more guards arrive, the door breaks down and they all pile in.
Improvised Weapons
Characters may wish to use props from the rooms as improvised weapons. The DM might rule that these improvised weapons are single use and deal 1d8 damage. Examples might include buckets, hot pokers, wine bottles, or lobsters from the kitchen.
Questioning the Guards
If the players capture a solo guard and threaten them for info, the guard will reveal a secret passage in the room that allows easy access to the next room and a chance at gaining stealth for a bit. However, this likely only works if the captured guard is on their own - as soon as reinforcements show up the guard will try to struggle free.