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The Burning Ironclad

The Burning Ironclad

The Burning Ironclad

Overview

This dungeon is highly kinetic and time-sensitive. The party has boarded a massive, heavily armored Syndicate dreadnought (an "Ironclad") in the middle of a naval battle. The problem: the ship has been critically holed by torpedo fire and is actively sinking into the abyssal depths of the ocean. The party must fight their way through the burning, tilted corridors of the ship to retrieve critical intelligence from the captain's safe and escape before the vessel is crushed by the pressure.

Environmental Hazards & Gimmicks

  • The Sinking Ship (Timer): The ship is sinking. The dungeon has a strict turn/time limit. The DM should visibly track "Water Level." Every 10 minutes of in-game time (or specific milestones/rounds in combat), the water level rises to consume the lower decks. Players caught in flooded sections must hold their breath and swim through pitch-black, freezing water.
  • The Tilt: The ship is listing heavily to starboard. All floors are treated as difficult terrain unless a character has a climbing speed or magnetic boots. At initiative count 20, the DM rolls a d20. On a 1-5, the ship lurches violently; everyone must make a DC 14 Dexterity save or fall prone and slide 10 feet toward the starboard wall.
  • Aether-Fires: Ruptured pipes spew jets of blue Aether-flame. These act as walls of fire that deal 3d8 fire damage to pass through. They can only be extinguished by cold damage or by finding the shut-off valves.

Key Locations/Rooms

1. The Breached Hull (Entrance)

  • Description: The party enters through a massive, jagged hole in the side of the ship's armor. Water is pouring in from the bottom of the breach.
  • Sensory: The roar of rushing water, the groan of bending metal, the smell of burning oil.
  • Mechanic: The party must climb up the tilted floor to reach the inner bulkheads.
  • Encounter: 3 Syndicate Marines (use Veteran stats) are desperately trying to weld the inner doors shut to stop the flooding. They will shoot the party on sight to secure their own escape.

2. The Engine Room

  • Description: A massive, multi-level chamber housing the ship's Aether-core. The core is cracked, leaking blinding light and radiation. The catwalks are severely damaged.
  • Mechanic/Trap: The room is filled with Aether-Fires. The players must navigate the broken catwalks.
  • Trap: Every 2 rounds, the damaged core pulses. Everyone in the room must make a DC 15 Constitution save or be blinded for 1 round and take 2d6 radiant damage.
  • Monsters: 2 Fire Elementals have spawned from the ruptured core and attack anything that moves.

3. The Armory

  • Description: A heavily secured room filled with racks of rifles, cutlasses, and explosives. Several weapon racks have broken loose and slid against the starboard wall.
  • Mechanic: A puzzle to unlock the reinforced door quickly. The party must find the keycard on a dead officer pinned under a heavy crate (Requires a combined Strength of 20 to lift).
  • Loot (Time Risk): The players can spend precious time looting the armory. Spending 1 minute (10 rounds) yields 3 Potions of Healing, 10 +1 Bolts/Arrows, and a Ring of Warmth. But doing so advances the water level tracker.

4. The Flooded Brig

  • Description: The brig is located on a lower deck, and it is already fully submerged.
  • Mechanic: If the party needs to rescue a prisoner or find a specific key here, they must swim. Visibility is 5 feet.
  • Monsters: A swarm of Quippers (or setting-appropriate carnivorous fish) has entered through the breach and is frenzying in the bloody water.
  • Trap: The prison cell doors are electronic and shorting out in the water. Opening them requires a careful DC 16 Thieves' Tools check; a failure electrocutes the water for 3d6 lightning damage.

5. The Captain's Quarters (Boss Encounter)

  • Description: The highest point of the ship, an opulent, wood-paneled room that is currently tilted at a 45-degree angle. Heavy oak desks, globes, and bookshelves have smashed against the lower wall. The large observation window looks out into the dark ocean as the ship descends.
  • The Boss: Captain Vane (Use a Champion stat block) and his 2 Bodyguards (Use Knight stats).
  • Boss Mechanics:
    • The Tilted Arena: Moving requires acrobatics. If a character falls prone, they slide down to the "bottom" of the room.
    • Heavy Debris: Vane uses his actions to kick loose the heavy furniture bolted to the upper floor, sending 500-pound desks sliding down to crush the players (DC 15 Dex save or take 4d10 bludgeoning damage).
    • The Water Rises: During this fight, the water finally reaches the quarters, bursting through the floorboards. The room begins to flood rapidly, creating a hard enrage timer.
  • Escape: After securing the intelligence from the safe (or looting Vane's body), the players must break the reinforced glass of the observation window to escape into the ocean before the pressure crushes the room entirely. They will need a way to breathe underwater or reach the surface quickly.