The Great Blockage Variants

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T
he mud under the walkway is thick and black,
with each step you risk losing a boot. The city docks
loom above you, mostly grimy wooden warehouses
with the odd workshop and rough-looking tavern.
Checking the scribbled map the city official provid-
ed, you trudge along the shoreline towards the dark
opening of a storm drain. The wide brick and mortar arch is stained with
years of filth and grime, only partially washed clean by the high tide. A
stream flows out of the entrance, bits of detritus floating on its surface.

Your eyes begin to water, the smell coming from the sewer is so
strong you can almost taste it in the air. Behind you someone retch-
es, you know without turning it’s the Bard. “I’m good…” he gasps.
“Probably shouldn’t have eaten such a big breakfast”. For once you
can’t blame him, you are having trouble too.

The walls of the storm drain are caked in layers of filth, this place
is in desperate need of repair. The blockages only get worse as you
move further into the storm drain. Soon the accumulated mud, fat-
bergs, and waste are piled so high you have no choice but to climb
over sections to reach more solid ground. Moving deeper into the
storm drain you arrive at a pool of murky green water, fed by two
dark channels leading deeper into the sewer network. A rusty metal
walkway hangs above it, leading across to the far side. The Bard,
being the lightest in your party is volunteered to go first. Grum-
bling, he tentatively steps out onto the walkway. Halfway across he
turns to look back and gives you a weak thumbs up, just as a huge
alligator launches itself from the water. It bites down on his leg and
drags him screaming into the pool. Cursing, you draw your dagger,
take a deep breath and jump in after him.

Notes and Tips

• 60x35 grid map (30x35 cut size)
• Sewers are extremely unpleasant places to be. The smell alone
can be debilitating. Have particular sections of the map be so
wretched there are con saves involved.
• Sewer water is not nice either, being submerged in it may lead to
illness and more con saves!
• Anything could be hiding within the filth piles. Use an Otyugh
they are basically poop monsters.
• Standing water can hide a lot of things, mostly large creatures
that want to eat the party.
• Smugglers are using the storm drain to unload contraband into
the city. The party could come from the sewers and find them at
the storm drain entrance.
• A Lizard cult is taking citizens into the sewers to feed them to the
giant alligators that live in the pools at the top of the storm drain.
• Someone dropped their wedding ring down the toilet. Use detec-
tion magic to find it, how hard can it be?
• Add a society of sewer Kobolds that scavenge to survive. They
could need your help to remove a monstrous threat, or they could
be a nuisance the city wants removed.

The Great Blockage

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