Laboratory

Narrow passage. 5 feet wide. Roll on Passage Contents and Exits.

2 - 7

Passage. 10 feet wide. Roll on Passage Contents and Exits.

Wide passage. Roll on Passage Contents and Exits. For passage width, roll 1d4:

15 x 20 ft.

20 x 20 ft.

20 x 30 ft.

Large chamber. Roll on Room and Chamber Contents and Exits. For chamber size, roll 1d6:

30 x 30 ft.

30 x 40 ft.

40 x 50 ft.

50 x 50 ft.

1 - 10

Empty

Roll on Passage Scenery

Roll on Escalations

Roll on Obstacles

Empty

Roll on Small Room Scenery or Large Chamber Scenery

Roll on Novelties

Roll on Obstacles

Roll on Discoveries

Roll on Escalations and on Small Room Scenery or Large Chamber Scenery

Roll on Set Pieces

No Exits

One exit left

One exit straight

One exit right

Two exits, left and right

Two exits, left and straight

Two exits, straight and right

Three exits, left, straight, and right

Stone stairs down

Stone spiral staircase down

Trapdoor down (50 percent chance concealed under rug or furniture)

Floor tile inscribed with a red X. Anyone standing on it is teleported to the level below

Stone spiral staircase up

Complex illusions conceal the walls, ceiling, and floor so that a visitor appears to be in a snowy wilderness or an expanse of starry space. The room’s exits are clearly visible

Vaulted chamber with excellent acoustics. Every whisper can be heard by all creatures in the chamber

A creature that knows at least one language can understand every word spoken in this room, no matter the language

Library with floor-to-ceiling shelves and no ladders. A ghostly hand (as mage hand ) retrieves books on command (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Pristine ballroom floor being swept by dozens of animated brooms

The ceiling of this observatory mirrors the current state of the sky. Several telescopes sit in the center of the room

Shadowy, illusionary dancers perform an endless ballet in a dark and dusty theater

Huge, multilevel hall with wind tunnels instead of stairs

Tiles on the walls cycle through text as if displaying an unrolling scroll; you can touch a tile to temporarily pause it, or tap it with a new scroll to change the displayed text

Room like a large-scale alchemist’s kit. Fireplaces boil cauldrons, colored liquid races through coiled tubes overhead, and acids and poisons drip into cisterns on the floor

Model planets, each large enough to stand on, orbit a burning sphere

An enchanted scriptorium. Books float to tables and animated pens copy pages

Lock: From a locked stone door protrudes a carved lion head with missing eyes. The door unlocks if cat’s eye gems are inserted.

Key: A bag containing a pair of cat’s eye gems

Lock: Arcane locked stone door inscribed with the words “Knock to enter.” The knock spell opens the door.

Key: Wand of knocking, a wand topped with a stone fist, which can cast knock once per 24 hours

Lock: Translucent stone door made of blue crystal.

Key: A translucent blue crystal key

Lock: Arcane locked door bearing a riddle. The door opens when the answer is spoken.

Key: An ancient book, Jest Book of Infinite Mirth

Heavy stone doors (DC 18 + half dungeon level Strength check to push open), inscribed with “Magic prevails where might fails.” Any magical wind or force, including mage hand , pushes open the doors

An intensely bright white dot floats in the middle of this freezing, snowy laboratory. Touching the dot deals 3 (1d6) cold damage per dungeon level

Bookcase filled with books in many languages. (Examination or DC 15 Perception check: The only book in Common, New Directions in Architecture, has no dust on the top. Pushing it opens the door)

Segment of the wall is illusory and can be passed through effortlessly. (Examination or DC 15 Perception check: a slight draft)

Trap based on the dungeon level:

level 1–2 illusory balcony trap or invisible caltrops;

3–4 lightning-blast statue or sigil trap;

5–10 bookcase trap or reverse gravity trap ;

11–16 explosive runes trap or gas vacuum trap;

17–20 floating sphere of annihilation or necromantic bridge trap

Roll 1d4 on the Obstacles table. You find the key listed in that entry. Make a note of the matching lock. The next Obstacle encountered is that lock

Tea room populated by intelligent animated objects: walking tables, talking cups, lazy sofas, and the like. They are happy to gossip about other inhabitants

Familiar carrying a message

Guard patrol (roll 1d4 on Escalations table) responding to a magical mishap, such as an escaped monster or magical fire; they accept help from anyone, even intruders

Dressing room with a vanity with attached mirror. Once per day while sitting at the vanity, anyone can cast alter self

Bedroom with a luxurious bed, a vanity covered with perfumes, and a wardrobe full of clothes. The wardrobe contains a seemingly empty silver jewelry box containing an invisible piece of jewelry. The box is magical: any object placed inside the box becomes invisible while in the box

Comfortable office shielded by a private sanctum spell, blocking teleportation, scrying, sound, and vision (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Blazing fireplace with strange forms swirling in it: a permanent portal to the Plane of Fire

Machine room containing several pulsing crystals suspended in midair, a wall covered with clacking intermeshed gears, and a brass tube emerging from the wall at head height. Up to five times each day, a creature that speaks into the tube can cast sending through the device

Guards: question intruders about their reason for being there

Level 1–2: apprentice mage with imp ; druid

Level 3–4: scout with hell hound

Level 5–10: mage with flesh guardian or ogre zombie

Level 11–16: archmage with grimalkin or water elemental

Level 17–20: archmage with chain devil or clay guardian

Guards: may attack intruders who don’t speak the right password

Level 1–2: 1d4 guards or flying swords

Level 3–4: apprentice mage with walking statue ; green hag

Level 5–10: mage with flesh guardian or any elemental

Level 11–16: mage with 2 flesh guardians or 2 chuul

Level 17–20: arcane blademaster ; 3 mages

Denizens: maintain an uneasy alliance with the local overlord (roll or choose from Set Pieces) but are on the lookout for betrayal

Level 1–2: cult fanatic

Level 3–4: 2 gargoyles

Level 5–10: 1 or 2 night hags or scorpionfolk imperators

Level 11–16: alchemist , mage , or shadow elf mage with shield guardian

Level 17–20: lich

Guards: unwillingly bound to guard a location, following the letter of their instructions

Level 1–2: 1d4 spark mephits or steam mephits

Level 5–10: ogre mage or chain devil

Level 11–16: 2 ogre mages or bone devils

Guardians: attack if approached

Level 1–2: 1d4 gear spiders or sprites

Level 3–4: bearded devil or scarecrow harvester

Level 5–10: chimera or ur-otyugh

Level 11–16: dead man’s fingers; 2 air elementals

Level 17–20: greater sphinx ; 2 guardian nagas

Guardians: attack on sight

Level 1–2: animated armor with flying sword

Level 3–4: rug of smothering with 2 animated armors

Level 5–10: elder black pudding ; 2 black puddings

Level 11–16: 2 salamanders or shambling mounds

Level 17–20: 2 guardian nagas or giant elementals

Roll 1d6 on this table to determine an encounter group. The group is nearby (in the nearest unexplored room) and may be detected by tracks, noises, flickering torchlight, or other signs

Arcane Academy. The magic school’s instructors have always educated young spellcasters responsibly—until the new chancellor arrived.

Level 1–2: doppelganger with 1 or 2 apprentice mages ; green hag with 1d6 guards

Level 3–4: mage with 1d4 guards

Level 5–10: mage or necromancer with 2 or 3 shadow demons

Level 11–16: vampire mage with giant earth elemental ; archmage with 2 or 3 elementals

Level 17–20: archmage with 1 or 2 horned devils

Setting: The luxurious office is filled with programmed illusions masquerading as the new chancellor.

Philosopher’s Stone. The laboratory’s spellcasters are dedicated to pure research—never mind that their new spells or concoctions drain life from the nearby countryside.

Level 1–2: goblin warlock or kobold sorcerer with gargoyle ; sea hag with 1d4 ice mephits

Level 3–4: merrow mage ; mage with 1d6 guards

Level 5–10: alchemist with 1 to 3 clockwork sentinels or scarecrow harvesters; mage with 2d6 animated armors

Level 11–16: alchemist or mage with 2 stone guardians or glabrezu

Level 17–20: lich with giant elemental or rakshasa

Setting: An alchemical laboratory. Any miss with an attack breaks equipment, causing an effect as if the attacker targeted the missed creature with a wand of wonder.

Summoning Gone Wrong. Fiends have killed their summoners and now threaten to wreak destruction far and wide.

Level 1–2: 2 or 3 shadows

Level 3–4: malcubus or shadow demon with 1d4 quasits

Level 5–10: cambion with 2 elementals of any type

Level 11–16: 2 or 3 horned devils

Level 17–20: balor with 2 or 3 vrocks

Setting: The floor of the room is marked with an error-ridden magic circle. A creature can use an action to fix the error with an Acana check (DC 10 + half dungeon level). After three successes, the magic circle binds fiends within it.

An archmage offers a test, such as the demonstration of a spell of each characters’ choice. In return, the archmage grants a boon, such as a scroll of the same level as the demonstrated spell, or acceptance to a spellcasters’ guild.

Scroll containing a rare version of a spell from the wizard spell list (such as amber prince’s shocking grasp)

Book of forbidden lore containing a rare version of a spell from the warlock spell list, such as Sebirus’s Imprisoning Skeletal Hands

Spell scroll containing a spell from the wizard list appropriate to the area’s tier (tier 0: cantrip or level 1 spell, tier 1: level 2–3 spell, tier 2: level 4–5 spell, tier 3: level 6–7, tier 4: level 8–9)

Rare book worth an amount appropriate to the tier (tier 0: 10 gp, tier 1: 100 gp, tier 2: 1,000 gp, tier 3: 10,000 gp, tier 4: 100,000 gp)

Rare book that imparts a (possibly false) cosmic or magical secret (such as the cosmic dangers of using psionics)

Research notes that allow a random cleric spell to be learned as a wizard spell

Research notes that include the true name of several powerful devils

Poetry or musical score containing a rare version of a spell from the bard spell list (such as Elvatar’s thunderous entrance)

Valuables: 1d4 × 100 gp worth of gold coins, jewelry, or alchemical equipment

Magic (30 percent chance): brooch of shielding or wand of the war mage +1

Valuables: 2d4 × 100 gp worth of gold coins or rare books

Magic (40 percent chance): boots of levitation or headband of intellect

Valuables: 1d6 × 1,000 gp worth of gold coins, jewelry, or powdered gems

Magic (50 percent chance): robe of eyes or wand of the war mage +2

Valuables: 1d4 × 10,000 gp worth of gold and platinum coins, jewelry, or rare books worth 1,000 gp each

Magic (60 percent chance): mantle of spell resistance or wand of lightning bolts

Valuables: 1d4 × 100,000 gp worth of platinum coins,diamonds worth 5,000 gp each, or components for making magic items

Magic (70 percent chance): robe of the archmagi or staff of striking

Wall-mounted scarab or butterfly collection

Wall-mounted diagrams of various magical circles

Bookshelves along the walls

Thick carpet (grants advantage on Stealth checks made to move silently)

Dozens of everburning candles or torches

Wall rack containing nonmagical staffs, wands, and other focuses. 50 percent of a magical wand, such as a wand of secrets , among them

Hatstand hung with flamboyant hats

Rack containing pipes and snuffboxes

A table of dusty alchemical equipment

Unlit braziers filled with coal

Scrolls in labeled vases (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Library under a permanent silence spell. Entrances bear a sign that reads “Silence!”

Wizard’s study with books on lecterns, candles inside skulls, and an empty birdcage (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

A desk with locked drawers contains papers of no importance (50 percent chance of a false bottom concealing a Minor Treasure)

Pinned to the walls of this cluttered study are dozens of pictures: maps, anatomical illustrations, and sketches of renowned figures (possibly including the adventurers). The pictures are connected by a cat’s cradle of red string

Den with mounted monster heads, comfortable chairs, sherry, and stacks of books on arcane topics

Bedroom cluttered with wizard staffs, monster skulls, figurines, books, crystal balls, and the like (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

A dusty bed chamber contains a bed with a rotting canopy and a wardrobe of moth-eaten clothes

Kitchen where sumptuous dishes are prepared. A locked trapdoor leads to an alcove containing vintage wines worth several hundred gold pieces

Dining room with comfortable chairs around white-clothed tables

Pantry stocked with flour and beans and hung with herbs

Cellar with a wine rack and several beer barrels

Latrine containing a book of forbidden lore. Half of its pages are torn out (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Luxurious bath with pipes that deliver heated water

Dressing room with a vanity, mirror, and wardrobe. Two unseen servants stand ready to obey any orders

Bedroom with a single canopied bed. The canopy depicts fairies sprinkling dust. The first time each day anyone lies on the bed, the bed casts the sleep spell on them

Bedroom that appears to be on fire. Bed, tables, chairs, books, and bookcases all have harmless continual flame spells cast on them

Bathtub containing toy galleys and sailing ships engaged in an endless sea battle; the vessels ram each other and fire illusory ballista bolts but do no damage. Bathrobes and soaps fill one corner of the room

Library with scrolls in latticed shelves (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Charred library; all the books’ spines are burned beyond recognition (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Library of forbidden tomes, each chained to the bookshelf (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Library of drearily cheerful children’s literature with titles such as Happy Bear’s Jolly Day, The Sunshine Bunch, and The Postman Always Leaves Cake. In fact, each book is a forbidden tome with a false cover (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Luxurious lounge containing comfortable chairs, sofas, and game boards, as well as a fully stocked bar

Common room with bookshelves, mounted trophies, and a set of shabby chairs drawn around a fireplace

The walls are pitted and black. The charred remains of practice dummies lie on the floor. Against one wall are buckets and barrels half full of rank water

Workroom with scarred wooden tables stacked with magical texts, vials of colored liquid, and strange magical instruments such as dowsing rods and distorting magnifying glasses (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Half-completed ritual circle of no obvious use

Laboratory containing alchemical equipment and bars of lead beside identically sized bars of soap, ivory, and matted hair. Notes indicate that lead-to-gold experiments have repeatedly failed

Scriptorium in which a single book is being copied a dozen times. It may be an autobiography of a local archwizard, a book of forbidden lore, or a recently discovered book of ancient knowledge (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Magnificently comfortable bedchamber. Every wall and sharp corner is padded. Doors can be locked only from the outside

Richly furnished bed chamber containing a four-poster bed, a desk, wardrobes, and a painted wooden chest (50 percent chance of a Minor Treasure)

Two beds on either side of the room. A piece of string runs down the middle of the floor. The room on one side of the string is messy

Active kitchen where all the work is done by invisible servants

Dining room with every place set. When anyone sits down, a meal appears on their plate

Dozens of taxidermied monsters in lifelike poses

Crated telescopes, alchemical glassware, and other breakables

Guardroom containing benches and tables, cards and game boards, wine jugs and plates of half-eaten food

Chapel containing a statue, an altar on a dais, and hangings bearing religious symbols