Dungeon Dressing: Strange Things I
Strange things abound in dungeons.
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Strange Magic Effects
Every statue, bust and portrait in the area turns its head to follow the movement of explorers.
All the portraits and paintings in the dungeon gradually change from one subject to another.
Torches spontaneous light when someone comes close and extinguish themselves once the person moves away.
Harmless cobwebs fill the area. Though they do not impede movement, they regenerate quickly after being broken or burnt away.
Within the area, all who speak find the pitch of their voice goes up two octaves.
Regardless of their fuel or source, all nonmagical fires within the area burn with a bright green flame.
There are no echoes in this location, no matter how loud the sound or how spacious the room.
A harmless grey fog, only about two inches deep, covers the floor. The fog is impenetrable to normal vision and sometimes moves in disturbing ways.
The ceiling is enchanted to appear as the night sky, complete with twinkling stars.
At strange intervals throughout the day, magical chimes mark the time.
Along the floor and walls, tiny colourful mushrooms sprout randomly. They last only seconds before withering away.
Strange veins of soft, pulsing white light run through the walls.
All food and drink within this area, no matter what it is, tastes like fresh oranges.
The entire area appears to be a living organism. The walls pulse steadily, and a steady breeze blows back and forth.
Strange but meaningless, glowing arcane sigils decorate the floor.
No living creature casts a shadow in this place.
Living creatures can see their breath condense in the air, no matter the temperature.
All shadows are mysteriously cast in the wrong direction; they point towards light sources instead of away.
Liquids flow uphill. They still fall to the ground normally, however.
Tiny whirlwinds of dust and small debris randomly sweep through the area, leaving trails in their wake.
Strange Growths
A group of black-stemmed, white-capped mushrooms turns toward the party and sprays them with spores.
A colony of bats claims the stalactites as their home; unless the party makes loud noises or carries bright lights, the bats ignore them.
A prominent stalagmite looks like a colossal stone club; it is composed of a different material than the surrounding stalagmites.
Stalactites form a natural chandelier; someone has wedged several unlit candles in the chandelier.
Fresh water pours from a stalactite.
A large stalactite is hollow; a fist-sized onyx worth 50 gp rests within.
A sheet of green flowstone appears to have a human’s face peering from within it.
A metal spike thrusts downward from the ceiling; rusty water drips from the end of the spike.
A set of soda straws sways in a slight breeze, which creates a delicate tinkling sound.
A stalactite and a stalagmite almost meet to form a column; a gap with the thickness of a sheet of parchment separates the two.
A clump of red-capped mushrooms shudder and shift when living creatures come within 10 ft.
Large icy stalactites continually drip water; they seem precariously attached to the ceiling.
Thin stalactites hold a rounded chunk of mineral in place, giving it an arachnid-like appearance.
Calcite deposits on the ground form brain-like objects measuring four inches in diameter.
A mushroom explodes in a seemingly harmless multi-coloured spray of material that splatters the surrounding floor and walls.
Blue-grey shelf mushrooms climb a wall, forming a zigzag staircase.
A rocky outcropping filled with tiny holes juts from the floor; wind passing through the outcropping creates a haunting, shrill whistle.
A low hum emanates from the nearest stalactite when a character enters this chamber; the sound randomly shifts from stalactite to stalactite.
A ball of brownish mould quivers when a character approaches it but does not otherwise move.
This complex stalagmite looks like a stony tree growing from the cavern’s floor.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing. The book is available in 5e, System Neutral and Pathfinder 1 editions. The OSR edition will be available in early 2023.
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