Crypt of the Tinkerer and Bard

Beneath the mist-choked graveyard lies the Crypt—a forgotten sanctuary of mythic engineering and sacred memory. Its entrance yawns like a wound in the earth, framed by rusted brass and whispering stone. Inside, the air hums with harmonic tension, as if the walls themselves remember the songs once sung within. Vault doors groan with age, gears tick in solemn rhythm, and every corridor seems to echo with the footsteps of those long gone. This is no mere tomb—it is a reliquary of legacy, where the divine war's echoes still resonate through brass and bone.

This dungeon reveals the hidden legacy of Fenwick and Liora, and the secrets of the Veydrathi. Players will uncover lost lore, recover vital relics, and face trials that echo the divine war. The crypt itself is a marvel of ancient fantasy engineering—its walls lined with intricate gears, rolling vault doors, and harmonic mechanisms that hum with forgotten resonance. Though the technology is far beyond what the village of Hollowmere currently understands, it retains a rustic charm, blending mythic machinery with the warmth of legacy craftsmanship.

Dungeon Objectives

• Learn the lore of the Bard and Tinkerer.

• Discover the truth about the Veydrathi.

• Retrieve the music box containing Liora's final hymn.

• Acquire the schematics for the Echo Vault to aid the current tinkerer.

Dungeon Rooms

1. Entrance Hall

   A wide stone chamber with brass gearwork embedded in the walls and a massive vault door at the far end. A note from Fenwick reads: "To my successor—I hope you're as smart as me." You can almost hear his good-natured laugh in the words.

   • Requires Tinkerer's Grave Key from the current tinkerer to open the massive mechanical door.

2. Pit Room

   A narrow stone chamber with a yawning gap across the floor. Brass chains hang from ceiling pulleys, and the pit below glows faintly with arcane circuitry. The riddle etched into the vault door pulses with soft light.

   • DC 12 to cross or descend.

   • The switch to open the door lies within the pit.

3. Bomb Chamber

   Copper-plated walls bear scorch marks and soot. Five cylindrical bombs sit in recessed alcoves, each ticking with a rhythmic hum. The ceiling gears rotate slowly, casting flickering shadows across the floor.

   • Once all players enter, the door locks.

   • Bombs explode in 1d4 rounds unless deactivated.

   • A monster attempts to block players from reaching the bombs.

4. Lore Room: Liora’s Hymn

   A domed chamber with resonant stone panels and a central pedestal. The music box rests atop a velvet cushion, but a faint barrier of moonlight shimmers around it, preventing any who approach from lifting it.

The Barrier

Across the front of the pedestal, seven shallow grooves spell out the phrase

Code

E _ _ E _ _ L   _ _ R _ A

but several letters have crumbled away. A silver thread of moonlight pulses, holding the box in place.

A whisper carved into the stone rim reads: “Only her final song can break this seal.”

- Contains the music box that teaches Liora's final song.

5. Broken Automaton Room (Revised Puzzle)

A cluttered workshop with scattered tools, cracked lenses, and half-finished gearwork. The automaton slumps against a wall, its chest cavity open and sparking. A half-burned schematic scroll lies nearby, its notes obscured by soot.

Determine which material and voltage setting each component needs to bring the automaton back to life without triggering its self-destruct.

Categories

• Components: Gear, Lens, Spring, Circuit
• Materials: Brass, Steel, Glass, Copper
• Voltage Settings: Low, Medium, High, Burst

Clues

1. The Steel piece runs on High voltage.
2. The component made of Copper requires Medium voltage.
3. The Gear isn’t crafted from Brass.
4. The Glass component fires at Burst voltage.
5. The Lens does not use Burst voltage.
6. The Circuit is made of Brass.

Empty Logic Grid

Component vs. Material

Component vs. Voltage

6. Dark Room

   A void-like space with no visible walls or light sources. The floor is smooth and cold, like polished obsidian. Any sound echoes unnaturally, and silence feels suffocating. Something unseen stirs in the dark.

   • Cannot be lit by any means.

   • If the party speaks or makes noise, the monster remains calm.

   • Silence triggers an attack.

7. Lore Room: Veydrathi Secrets

   A crystalline archive with floating memory plates suspended in magnetic fields. Light pulses between them in slow waves, forming dreamlike patterns. The air smells faintly of ozone and old parchment.

   • Reveals the history and dreamcraft of Thryss and the Veydrathi.

8. Boss Chamber

   A vast hall with trap mechanisms embedded in the floor—pressure plates, rotating blades, and collapsing walls. Statues of Fenwick and Liora flank the entrance, and a massive gear-driven altar hums at the center.

   • Features a high-defense, high-HP enemy.

   • Combat is puzzle-based: players must lure the boss through temple traps and reset them to inflict damage.

9. Trap Room & Exit

   A narrow corridor lined with shifting panels and rotating blades. At the far end, a brass lectern holds the Tinkerer's Book, its pages glowing faintly. The exit door is sealed with harmonic locks that respond to song.

   • Contains the Tinkerer's Book detailing how to seal the rift.

   • Leads to the dungeon exit.