Page 65 - Tales from the Yawning Portal

The gas rises up and out of the ruins if the doors to These wanderer are extra and aren't from any of the
area 39 are opened. It takes one month for the lower lev- areas in the ruins. If an indicated monster doesn't fit the
els to clear completely. If the doors are closed again, the situation, check again or choose a different result.
lower chambers refill with gas in two weeks.
Dried Potions. In some locations, characters discover LOCATIONS IN THE LOWER
the remains of a potion in the form of sediment in the
CHAMBERS
bottom of a container. It is possible to mix this powder
with water or wine and restore the potion. Wine creates The following locations are identified on map 3.1.
a potion with full effect, but water shortens the potion's 1. THE VAULT OF CHICOMOZTOC
duration (if it has one) by half. If the powder is con-
(Chee-koh-MOZ-tok, the place of seven caves)
sumed by itself, there is a 1 in 8 chance that it acts as a
potion of poison; otherwise, the powder has no effect. The poisonous gas is present here, affecting fire and
Pressure Plates. Several areas have traps that are breathing.
triggered by the operation of a pressure plate, which de- Relate the following information to the characters
presses when a certain amount of weight is put on it. gradually as they examine their surroundings.
A character who succeeds on a DC 20 Wisdom (Per-
ception) check can find a pressure plate. The plate can You are in a long, narrow chamber, running east-west.
be blocked, preventing the trap from triggering, by
wedging it in the upper position with pitons or similarly In the center of this apartment is a domed shape on the
strong shims. Doing so takes one character at least 5 floor. In the east wall is a blank-faced stone door. The
minutes, and the character must make a DC 15 Dex- west end of the room is blocked by fallen stone and rub·
terity check using thieves' tools. If the check fails by 4 ble, apparently the result of a collapse. The two side walls
or less, the character knows the shims aren't properly appear to have several niches cut into them.
placed. If the check fails by 5 or more, the character
The shape in the center of the chamber appears to be a
doesn't realize the shims will fail to hold up the plate.
small alcove, protected by a half-dome with the open end
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS facing toward the door in the east wall. This alcove is set
Each hour the party is in the ruins, roll a dl2. On a roll in a recessed, shallow, tiled well, one foot deep and ten
of 1, an encounter occurs. Then roll a dlO and see the feet wide. The alcove itself is four feet high. The recess
following table to determine which monsters show up. contains some sort of display.
d l O Encounter The display appears to be a diorama depicting a hunt·
l d3 swarms of rats (diseased, as giant rats) ing party of Olman warriors, in feathers and deer-hide
2 ld3 swarms of bats garments, in a mountainside scene. Some have pulled
3 2d4 giant fire beetles down a stag with the aid of a dog, another group is clean-
4 ld6 zombies ing a small mule deer, and others have cornered a pan-
5 l will-o'-wisp
ther with their spears. A scout watches the panther from
6 2d4 baboons
an outcropping above. He holds a metal staff with a loop
7 l swarm of poisonous snakes
in its end. It looks like a shepherd's crook.
8 l d4 giant frogs
The three niches on both the northern and southern
9 l d2 panthers
walls are five feet wide and about three feet off the floor.
l O l d3 giant wolf spiders

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ABOUT THE ORIGINAL
The Hidden Shrine ofTamoachan, by mythology and society. In the orig·
Harold Johnson and Jeff R. Leason, inal publication, Dungeon Masters
was originally published in 1980 as were encouraged to research these
an adventure for the first edition of real-world background elements to
the D&D game. add depth and realism to the char·
The design of the temple draws acters' experience.
heavily on Mayan and Aztec/Toltec

CHAPTER 3 I THE HIDDEN SHRINE OF TAMOACHAN