Im staging an abduction mystery for some level 3 players that eventually leads the players into the city’s sewers. End goal is getting to a cistern where a powered up Ettercap been nesting silently dragging citizens into the sewers to feed on them.
But before that I need some creative and surprising encounters, something more than the simple rats/wererats, oozes, and spiders, and sewer themed challenges along the way to provide intrigue to the location. Personally as far as enemies go I’m not too worried about how strong they are that can always be scaled up or down I’m just curious about things that fit into that atmosphere. I’ll be thinking of tons of fun ideas but this community is great so I wanted to see what interesting ideas other DMs had for this type of setting.
I DM'd my party through some sewers a few months back. I decided that the sewer water was very poison (or acid), which kept the party clinging close to the narrow walkways on the side. But, the brick walkways were slick from sewer slime. Anyone who ran (or Dashed) needed to pass a Dex or slip/fall potentially into the sewer. The sewer had several poison/acid immune alligators, which at anytime could lunge from the water to snap/grab a loud party member to try to drag/drown in the sewer. But wait, where did those giant man-sized leeches come from, which just jumped into the water, coming back up with the alligator upon which they feast? Who is that bloated, half-eaten corpse in the water, anyway to identify or pull it out? How is the party going to cross a 30 ft wide span of the sewer to get to the other side? There's no natural light source, does the party risk lighting torches and announcing their presence, or rely upon a lead member with darkvision? A heavy rain above ground is causing the sewer to rise as well, if the Party is moving too slow they could find themselves drowned or swept downriver in the sewer, so what's the "right" pace to find at any time? Why is there Another set of adventurers or citizens running past screaming run for your lives? A sewer seems a nice safe place for a secret room to hold a thug's horde of gold, too.
I had originally set-up the sewer to basically be any ol' dungeon like area wandering monster central (like you had said, rats, oozes, etc.). The crew likes fighting. But, then the Ranger cast Pass without trace, bc the party wanted to quickly and quietly get through to the end of the sewer away from danger. (Which surprised me). So, I had improvised many skill check opportunities which turned out to be a a Lot more fun than any of us could have imagined and let people really stretch their imagination and creativity.
I'd recommend little combat through the sewer but a ton of skill checks and barriers to creatively get through. After all, it's basically a kidnapper's lair which wants to stay hidden and hard to find. Don't even come up with predetermined solutions, the party is on their own and if it sounds reasonable let it fly.
**Edit. P.s. sewers can be gross, smelly, etc. I'd think occasionally asking for Con saves is appropriate. Possible results range from nothing happens, the player retching loudly, momentary blindness, or suffer levels of Exhaustion
"To William’s complete lack of surprise, the little cellar under the shed was much better built than the shed itself. But then, practically everywhere in Ankh-Morpork had cellars that were once the first or even second or third floors of ancient buildings, built at the time of one of the city’s empires when men thought that the future was going to last for ever. And then the river had flooded and brought mud with it, and walls had gone higher and, now, what Ankh-Morpork was built on was mostly Ankh-Morpork. People said that anyone with a good sense of direction and a pickaxe could cross the city underground by simply knocking holes in walls."
Steal that - there could be literally anything down there. Forgotten temples, crypts, old streets, you name it. All just covered over and forgotten. And a crew constructing sewers would likely just say "oh good, this part is already built. Let's just pick it back up at the end of this run."
A theives' den. An alligator someone dumped down there years ago that's grown big. A group of humanoids, like kobolds or something, that's actually the advance scouts for a larger planned attack/invasion. A group of kids playing at raising a demon, who actually do raise a demon. A non-combat encounter, like a hermit, but they live in the sewers instead of a cave in the mountains, and they are a sort of oracle the party can befriend and return to. A wedding ring someone lost down there ages ago, and owing to its inscription, the party can tell who it belongs to, do they return it, or sell it?
You could arrange it so that crossing certain areas would require solving a puzzle related to water flow. There are probably areas where the current is too strong for all the non-Athlete PCs to cross safely. You can use that to accentuate the danger or urgency of certain encounters.
As for monsters, a lot of subterranean options exist. Kuo-toa, otyughs, water weirds, troglodytes, a non-treasure chest mimic, etc. Monsters don't have to be hostile, either. You could give nuance to them. Maybe one got lost during a scouting expedition. Maybe some of them are cursed members of a surface humanoid species forced into hiding for some religious reason.
That's a grand idea, I can imagine something fun like them having to block up a large sewage pipe to stop the rapids so they don't get washed away in the dirty and toxic waters. When the water drains at the pipes bottom are monsters that were under the water now angry having been beached blocking their path.
Water flows downhill. All the sewers are going to flow in a direction that is downhill.
Sewer lines don't bend. When sewer lines need to bend they are brought to a junction which is larger than any of the lines entering or leaving, and the outfall has to be lower than all the other lines.
Sewer lines get larger as they progress forward. So not only do the lines go downhill, they steadily get larger. If you need a narrower opening, it has to go back upstream from the place where you are.
The sewer has to drain to a major waterway, not just out onto the ground.
The water will get progressively more fowl as you progress, but with greater and probably more rapid flows the party may not notice this.
There are two kinds of "sewers". Sanitary sewers are the ones you are probably thinking of. But there are also storm water sewers. Back in the age of D&D they were usually the same thing.
Fresh water that come from cisterns do not mingle with sanitary or storm water sewers.
As for critters … crabs or amphibians that dwell in still waters, snakes, crocks, or possibly animals that dwell in caves including bats or other animals that are comfortable in low light. Water elementals or earth elementals could get energy in that environment.
Also, toxic and combustible volatile gasses fill sewers. They may want to be cautioned about torches and favor magical light instead.
Maybe there's a thieve's guild that operates in these sewers. Maybe the party happens across them smuggling some illicit materials. Maybe the party has to choose whether to fight the thieve's guild or join, or maybe just pay a hefty toll for passage and a promise to keep silent.
Maybe there's a little hidden chamber deep in the sewers where a demented elderly gnome lives. The Sewer Hermit! If you offer him something shiny maybe he'll talk. Maybe he's got useful information about the sewers, and maybe even the ettercap itself. But maybe he's also completely insane, so the party has to kind of sift through all the nonsensical gibberish and outlandish weltanschauung to try to figure out what's fact and what's the mad ramblings of an insane sewer hermit.
Maybe someone managed to survive an abduction by the ettercap, but the trauma has left them insane. Maybe this person now considers the ettercap some kind of god. Maybe he patrols the sewers protecting the ettercap. Maybe he's the one who lures people into the sewers to feed his "Master". (Think - the Reavers, from "Firefly").
Maybe the sewers have pockets of noxious fumes and vapors. Require a Constitution saving throw for every hour spent in the sewers. A failure could mean you get the poisoned condition, or a level of exhaustion, or poison damage, etc. Conditions are much harder to recover from than mere HP loss.
Of course all the surfaces will be slick and gross with water, and mold, and slime, and excrement. So maybe require Dexterity checks if the party moves faster than half speed. Failure means you fall prone and get covered in muck. Your stink could now give you disadvantage on stealth checks! Also - slowed movement means more CON saves for (see previous idea).
Maybe also drop something in the sewers that isn't directly related to the ettercap, per se, but that provides a bit of foreshadowing for whatever the next BBEG down the line might be. Something that connects the story arcs.
Maybe a player (or several players) begin hearing a voice in their head. A sweet, cheerful little voice giving them encouragement, and thanking them for trying to dispatch the evil ettercap from the sewers. The players might even find the flumph responsible for these telepathic messages, or maybe it will remain an unsolved mystery.
Have fun!
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Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
How about some swamp theme monsters that have adapted to live in the sewers the same way real-life animals have. But rather than an alligator, you could a juvenile black dragon or flail snail. Just an idea.
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Be Excellent to one another. Rock on dude.
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Im staging an abduction mystery for some level 3 players that eventually leads the players into the city’s sewers. End goal is getting to a cistern where a powered up Ettercap been nesting silently dragging citizens into the sewers to feed on them.
But before that I need some creative and surprising encounters, something more than the simple rats/wererats, oozes, and spiders, and sewer themed challenges along the way to provide intrigue to the location. Personally as far as enemies go I’m not too worried about how strong they are that can always be scaled up or down I’m just curious about things that fit into that atmosphere. I’ll be thinking of tons of fun ideas but this community is great so I wanted to see what interesting ideas other DMs had for this type of setting.
I DM'd my party through some sewers a few months back. I decided that the sewer water was very poison (or acid), which kept the party clinging close to the narrow walkways on the side. But, the brick walkways were slick from sewer slime. Anyone who ran (or Dashed) needed to pass a Dex or slip/fall potentially into the sewer. The sewer had several poison/acid immune alligators, which at anytime could lunge from the water to snap/grab a loud party member to try to drag/drown in the sewer. But wait, where did those giant man-sized leeches come from, which just jumped into the water, coming back up with the alligator upon which they feast? Who is that bloated, half-eaten corpse in the water, anyway to identify or pull it out? How is the party going to cross a 30 ft wide span of the sewer to get to the other side? There's no natural light source, does the party risk lighting torches and announcing their presence, or rely upon a lead member with darkvision? A heavy rain above ground is causing the sewer to rise as well, if the Party is moving too slow they could find themselves drowned or swept downriver in the sewer, so what's the "right" pace to find at any time? Why is there Another set of adventurers or citizens running past screaming run for your lives? A sewer seems a nice safe place for a secret room to hold a thug's horde of gold, too.
I had originally set-up the sewer to basically be any ol' dungeon like area wandering monster central (like you had said, rats, oozes, etc.). The crew likes fighting. But, then the Ranger cast Pass without trace, bc the party wanted to quickly and quietly get through to the end of the sewer away from danger. (Which surprised me). So, I had improvised many skill check opportunities which turned out to be a a Lot more fun than any of us could have imagined and let people really stretch their imagination and creativity.
I'd recommend little combat through the sewer but a ton of skill checks and barriers to creatively get through. After all, it's basically a kidnapper's lair which wants to stay hidden and hard to find. Don't even come up with predetermined solutions, the party is on their own and if it sounds reasonable let it fly.
**Edit. P.s. sewers can be gross, smelly, etc. I'd think occasionally asking for Con saves is appropriate. Possible results range from nothing happens, the player retching loudly, momentary blindness, or suffer levels of Exhaustion
Boldly go
Stealing from Terry Pratchett:
"To William’s complete lack of surprise, the little cellar under the shed was much better built than the shed itself. But then, practically everywhere in Ankh-Morpork had cellars that were once the first or even second or third floors of ancient buildings, built at the time of one of the city’s empires when men thought that the future was going to last for ever. And then the river had flooded and brought mud with it, and walls had gone higher and, now, what Ankh-Morpork was built on was mostly Ankh-Morpork. People said that anyone with a good sense of direction and a pickaxe could cross the city underground by simply knocking holes in walls."
Steal that - there could be literally anything down there. Forgotten temples, crypts, old streets, you name it. All just covered over and forgotten. And a crew constructing sewers would likely just say "oh good, this part is already built. Let's just pick it back up at the end of this run."
A theives' den. An alligator someone dumped down there years ago that's grown big. A group of humanoids, like kobolds or something, that's actually the advance scouts for a larger planned attack/invasion. A group of kids playing at raising a demon, who actually do raise a demon. A non-combat encounter, like a hermit, but they live in the sewers instead of a cave in the mountains, and they are a sort of oracle the party can befriend and return to. A wedding ring someone lost down there ages ago, and owing to its inscription, the party can tell who it belongs to, do they return it, or sell it?
Include a den inhabited by four Tortle Monks and their adoptive Wererat Monk father. Totally original and creative idea.
You could arrange it so that crossing certain areas would require solving a puzzle related to water flow. There are probably areas where the current is too strong for all the non-Athlete PCs to cross safely. You can use that to accentuate the danger or urgency of certain encounters.
As for monsters, a lot of subterranean options exist. Kuo-toa, otyughs, water weirds, troglodytes, a non-treasure chest mimic, etc. Monsters don't have to be hostile, either. You could give nuance to them. Maybe one got lost during a scouting expedition. Maybe some of them are cursed members of a surface humanoid species forced into hiding for some religious reason.
That's a hilarious idea 😂
That's a grand idea, I can imagine something fun like them having to block up a large sewage pipe to stop the rapids so they don't get washed away in the dirty and toxic waters. When the water drains at the pipes bottom are monsters that were under the water now angry having been beached blocking their path.
Just remember some facts about sewers ...
Water flows downhill. All the sewers are going to flow in a direction that is downhill.
Sewer lines don't bend. When sewer lines need to bend they are brought to a junction which is larger than any of the lines entering or leaving, and the outfall has to be lower than all the other lines.
Sewer lines get larger as they progress forward. So not only do the lines go downhill, they steadily get larger. If you need a narrower opening, it has to go back upstream from the place where you are.
The sewer has to drain to a major waterway, not just out onto the ground.
The water will get progressively more fowl as you progress, but with greater and probably more rapid flows the party may not notice this.
There are two kinds of "sewers". Sanitary sewers are the ones you are probably thinking of. But there are also storm water sewers. Back in the age of D&D they were usually the same thing.
Fresh water that come from cisterns do not mingle with sanitary or storm water sewers.
As for critters … crabs or amphibians that dwell in still waters, snakes, crocks, or possibly animals that dwell in caves including bats or other animals that are comfortable in low light. Water elementals or earth elementals could get energy in that environment.
Also, toxic and combustible volatile gasses fill sewers. They may want to be cautioned about torches and favor magical light instead.
Sewers are great! Anything can happen!
Okay. Just a few off the top of the head...
Maybe there's a thieve's guild that operates in these sewers. Maybe the party happens across them smuggling some illicit materials. Maybe the party has to choose whether to fight the thieve's guild or join, or maybe just pay a hefty toll for passage and a promise to keep silent.
Maybe there's a little hidden chamber deep in the sewers where a demented elderly gnome lives. The Sewer Hermit! If you offer him something shiny maybe he'll talk. Maybe he's got useful information about the sewers, and maybe even the ettercap itself. But maybe he's also completely insane, so the party has to kind of sift through all the nonsensical gibberish and outlandish weltanschauung to try to figure out what's fact and what's the mad ramblings of an insane sewer hermit.
Maybe someone managed to survive an abduction by the ettercap, but the trauma has left them insane. Maybe this person now considers the ettercap some kind of god. Maybe he patrols the sewers protecting the ettercap. Maybe he's the one who lures people into the sewers to feed his "Master". (Think - the Reavers, from "Firefly").
Maybe the sewers have pockets of noxious fumes and vapors. Require a Constitution saving throw for every hour spent in the sewers. A failure could mean you get the poisoned condition, or a level of exhaustion, or poison damage, etc. Conditions are much harder to recover from than mere HP loss.
Of course all the surfaces will be slick and gross with water, and mold, and slime, and excrement. So maybe require Dexterity checks if the party moves faster than half speed. Failure means you fall prone and get covered in muck. Your stink could now give you disadvantage on stealth checks! Also - slowed movement means more CON saves for (see previous idea).
Maybe also drop something in the sewers that isn't directly related to the ettercap, per se, but that provides a bit of foreshadowing for whatever the next BBEG down the line might be. Something that connects the story arcs.
Maybe a player (or several players) begin hearing a voice in their head. A sweet, cheerful little voice giving them encouragement, and thanking them for trying to dispatch the evil ettercap from the sewers. The players might even find the flumph responsible for these telepathic messages, or maybe it will remain an unsolved mystery.
Have fun!
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.
thanks, im putting together a sewer quest for my party, and i loved these ideas!!
Hmmm. I wonder wear this from…?
“Magic is distilled laziness. Put that on my gravestone.”
How about some swamp theme monsters that have adapted to live in the sewers the same way real-life animals have. But rather than an alligator, you could a juvenile black dragon or flail snail. Just an idea.
Be Excellent to one another. Rock on dude.