In the downs above the city of Eldbrook is the sleepy village of Breaklight, which sits at the entrance to the warren of tunnels and caverns known only as the Breaklight Cliffs. The true extent of the tunnels – carved in aeons long forgotten by some gargantuan rock-eating creature – is unknown. 

At some point in the distant past, a temple – possibly of yuan-ti origin, but the truth is difficult to decipher with the desintegration of the carvings over time – was buried within the rock, and the tunnelling creatures found there way into it. Since that point, the temple has attracted defenders to itself, responding to some long-forgotten magic left by its creators. Now, the tunnels teem with unnatural, deadly threats. 

The villagers of Breaklight keep the cliff entrance boarded up, but occasionally something strong enough will break through and escape to wreak havoc. Mercenaries and adventurers who have patrolled Endon for long enough are inevitably contracted by Breaklight for whatever horror has appeared next. 

The inside of the caves are a danger in themselves: not only is the rock dim and slippery, but mundane threats exist as well as bestial. The ceilings are not always solid, poisonous mould grows in the damp chambers, and in those tunnels exists the very real possibility of becoming lost. Add to that the native breed of spiders that dwell in the dark, the undead that patrol in defense of the old temple, and whatever traps have been set by the more sentient of the servants, and the place becomes a true death-trap. 

Layers of Danger

The diagram opposite is only a small segment of the type and style of the tunnels that weave their way through the rock above Breaklight: they are a mix of natural, artificial, and burrow. In some places, some creature has attempted to hide out in the caves, hiding their lair with cunning doors and traps, while others have wandered in in an attempt to hide their treasure and lost their lives in the attempt. Old artifacts are laid in forgotten shrines, and some of the floors are wont to give way, revealing chasms that reach down into the darkness in the bowels of the world.

Rule of Three

As the locals say, there are three types of creature that roam the tunnels within, and it is crucial that anyone wandering unwarily to that darkness knows the difference. The first are the mundane creatures: the spiders, the crawlers, the bears that den in the outskirts. The second are the mindless creatures, drawn and puppeted by the artifacts in the forgotten shrines and temples. The third are the creatures from the deeps: those drawn from the rock beneath by the activity above, ravenous and furious, waiting for their chance to break out into the surface world…