Inbetweeners 40- Xalatra Questline Part 2- The Gutworks
Once the players located Tock-Tock, it led them to a non descript grey wall in an industrial section of Sigil with minimal activity/residents. The wall was once an entrance to the inner workings of Sigil, but was since closed off by the Dabus, as they have the ability to remake the city at will. Tock-Tock is able to undo this with glyphs of reversal, revealing an entrance to the Gutworks.
The Gutworks are a series of bio-mechanical-magical-industrial processes that keep the city running. The first room the Inbetweeners encountered was the Spiracle Engine. This was essentially the recycling/waste processing hub for the city, where anything that goes down the gutters or is thrown out in waste disposal or plumbing is separated. Biological material is sent to be incinerated, water is reclaimed, and metal/other more valuable materials is scrapped and reused. From here the Inbetweeners had three main paths they could follow. Ventilation tunnels, the refuse conveyors or wade through a stream of what is essentially sewage and waste water. They opted to avoid the waste water and explore the refuse conveyors.
The Refuse Conveyor, as it was titled, was actually fairly dangerous. If a player without flight doesn't balance on it properly, they can fall through and get caught in the gears, taking 8d6 damage every turn until they can either free themselves or have someone free them. There are also black puddings present under the conveyor, feeding on whatever comes through that serve as an everpresent threat. One the Inbetweeners passed through this section they reached the Sorting/Processing center. Here they encountered Giant Scrap-Eater Termites. Creatures of my own invention, these large beasts sort through the materials on the conveyer belt, consuming any metal that comes through with a special type of acid that breaks it down so that they can consume it. Once the Giant Scrap-Eater Termites consume their fill of metal, they move over to another chamber where they regurgitate it so that it may be reused in other structures within Sigil. Any organic material like wood, paper, excrement, etc is left on the conveyer as it is sent to the Organics Digester.
The Inbetweeners managed to capture a Giant Scrap-Eater Termite. Using a combination of Thogg's animal handling abilities and Rotlog, the half-orc druids magical abilities, the party was able to tame and take control of one which Rotlog could then summon. He would actually use this as a sort of animal servant for the remainder of the campaign. It's high HP (85) and acid abilities made it quite useful. Letting him pull of this shenanigan was little outside of the rules, but I allowed it because rule of cool. Later on, as the group became more established in Sigil, we assumed he could summon more of these creatures from the Gutworks as needed.
From the sorting room the characters made it to the Organics Digester, which was the first boss fight in the Gutworks. This massive creature does not move, but instead can pull creatures towards it with its peristaltic pull. Once creatures are in range, it can swallow them and dissolve them in its potent digestive acids. For particularly nimble or strong creatures that it can't pull in, it had a potent acid spray which deals 10d8 damage to those it hits. The Organics Digester is a semi-sentient biological machine whose purpose is to break down any of the organic materials that come from the Refuse Conveyer. I envisioned hundreds of such creatures throughout the bowels of Sigil, this was just one of them. I gave it an antimagic field to prevent spells from neutralizing it. I figured this worked diagetically because the digester would need to be protected from dangerous magical items or creatures that somehow ended up on the conveyor.
The Inbetweeners were almost killed by the Organics Digester, but the players who passed their checks to avoid getting pulled in were able to rescue the others and escape into the Ventilation Tunnels. These massive tunnels cycle air throughout Sigil. They are patrolled by Pipebound Hounds, large mechanical constructs, between the size of a very large dog and a small horse. They navigate the tunnels via echolocation and travel in groups of three to five, hunting down anything else living in the tunnels and removing any obstructions. Basically, if the tunnels aren't clear, the Pipebound Hounds will discover the obstruction and rectify it, regardless of what it is. They are pretty sturdy in fights, each one sporting 105 hitpoints and have vibrating claws that deal 17 damage per claw and can deafen an opponent. The Inbetweeners fought off a few of these and made it to their den, where the next boss fight of the Gutworks was located: The Pipebound Alpha Hound, which is much larger, and has roughly twice the hit points and damage output, with several special abilities and legendary actions that make it much more dangerous. The players were able to destroy the hounds and their alpha. The chamber where the Pipebound Hounds made their nest had many of the items that previously obstructed the tunnels. The hounds seemed to bring it back here to store, almost by instinct. Most of it was refuse, like broken barrels, carriages, nets, etc. However, some of it was valuable.
After searching, the players found a sack of silverware (from a thief who must have gotten swept up into the Gutworks), Gloves of Greasewalk, a wand of counterspell, and most importantly, the deed to a defunct zoo in Sigil. This abandon Zoo would later become the nesting grounds for the Beeple Queen when the group relocates her hive and the fledgling Harmonium to Sigil. From here, the players were able to cut across to the lift to reach the lower levels of Sigil. In this moment I realized my failure as a DM, I once again designed a dungeon where the players were able to bypass the majority of the content I prepared. So, technically this is the end of this leg of the quest, but let's review some of the treats I had in store that they summarily ignored:
The Cistern Flow/Sewage Rapids/Reclamation Vortex- Basically an escalating series of environmental hazards involving rapids of sewage from Sigil. In retrospect, I should've realized the players wouldn't wade through poo if they could avoid it.
Amicus the Vuplin- They discover the ghost of a courier who drowned after Dabus knocked him down a storm drain while street sweeping. I planned on playing him as a very friendly, marginally helpful ghost. He would have led the players to the Gristle Rest if they hadn't been there already.
Gristle Rest- This was supposed to be a lynchpin of this part of the dungeon. There were three different ways to end up there, and the players somehow found the one path that avoided it entirely. An absolutely putrid tavern/flop house run by a Night Hag. This investigated the idea... who would willingly live in the Gutworks? An environment that probably smells horrific, and everything in it is designed to break you down into raw materials. The answer— those who have nowhere else to go. There were mercenaries who escaped the Faction War and would foreshadow Vecna's cult deeper underground. People dying of a plague that would eventually be made into stew and served to the rest of the patrons. The entire establishment was covered in mold, and some of this mold itself was sentient. The mold colonies actually had the most information on Xalatra and if the players discovered they could communicate with it telepathically and either rizzed up the mold or offered something, could get a direction she headed in.
The food available was particularly fun. The common patrons could order sewage stew... sewage that has been heated up enough to kill... most of the bacteria while leaving the protein intact. Warp rat skewers, whiskey that is just engine coolant, and fermented fungus wine. All things that are available locally. If the players showed wealth and wanted a real meal, the Night Hag has a halfling tied up in the pantry that she would cook up. There were endless fun roleplaying options I could improv on as a DM, but unfortunately the players skipped it entirely. The campaign is almost over, but I think I may recycle this for another one.
In addition to the aforementioned, there was also a biomechanical nervous system that is part of Sigil's power grid. It would have been an environmental hazard puzzle for the players to rigure out. An abandon war machine construct would have also attacked the players. However they skipped all that.
Once they reached the lift to the lower levels, they discover a glyph left by Xalatra that will cast prismatic spray on them if activated. I forget if the players tripped it or found a way to avoid it. The lift itself is used by Dabus to head to the lower levels, which is where we will go with the players in the next post!