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The dungeon below was inspired by GM Michael, who challenged me to write a dungeon for low-level characters with an aberration as the boss monster.

The map for this dungeon comes from Dyson’s Dodecahedron, which is a great source of maps for your games. You can view the original map with Dyson’s flavor text here. 

The following dungeon is written for Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition, and uses the following official and homebrew resources: Creature Codex, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, Player’s Handbook, and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.

Adventure Prelude 

The Library of the Silent Sanctuary is one of the largest and best-preserved collections of knowledge in the world. Dozens of acolytes from the sanctuary work to maintain the collection, communicating through hand signals to avoid disturbing the readers. Scholars visit the library from across the globe, and those with a talent for magic seek to conduct research in the Arcane Lore section, which is not available to the public.

Recently, valuable tomes have gone missing from the Arcane Lore section, but the library’s magical wards that prevent thieves from escaping with the books have mysteriously not been triggered, leaving security baffled.

A perceptive young acolyte has discovered a hidden passage behind one of the bookshelves, leading below to a long-forgotten basement of the library. Your party has been hired to explore the subterranean levels and return with the books believed to be hidden there.

GM Background 

Since then, Shiver has been sneaking up into the library at night and stealing books from the Arcane Lore section, hoping to find a way to reverse its condition. 

Shiver’s search has been unfruitful so far, but it has stumbled upon a tome detailing how to summon a powerful magical guardian. Even though the tome was destroyed in the process, Shiver used its newfound knowledge to summon a spectator (see Monster Manual, pg. 30) to guard its new lair, which it calls Stare. Shiver and Stare have been working together to continue to steal valuable books.

Roleplaying Shiver

As a nothic, Shiver prefers to observe potential threats (like the PCs) from a distance while hiding. If the PCs are particularly noisy while exploring the library’s sub basement, Shiver will carefully stalk them while occasionally using its Weird Insight action to gather information. As the GM, you can decide to either make your players roll Deception against Shiver’s Insight, or assume that Shiver learns particular secrets about the characters automatically.

Shiver also possesses telepathy with a range of 120 feet, which it uses to mutter the secrets it has learned into the minds of the PCs. The party will be even more nervous while this happens if Shiver remains in hiding.

The Last Archivist 

The nothic and its guardian aren’t the only creatures still wandering the halls of this lost wing. The ancient acolytes created a flameskull (see Monster Manual, pg. 134) to help guard this section before abandoning it, known as the Last Archivist. 

The Last Archivist will react to loud noises within the dungeon and will move to investigate. However, the light it gives off in the otherwise dark passages will alert the PCs to its presence moments before it arrives. 

Curiously, the Last Archivist acts more like an angry librarian than a vengeful guardian, and it will leave PCs alone if they don’t make noises above a whisper.

Recommended PC Level: 4

Number of Players: 4-5

Sessions: 1-2

Lighting: None

The passage behind the bookcase immediately opens into a long, pitch black hall. Part of the western wall has collapsed, but two pillars hold up the rest of the room. Three doors set into the eastern wall lead further into the basement. Ancient bones and swords litter the tiled sandstone floor here.

The hidden door in the north wall blends perfectly with the sandstone around it, and requires a DC 15 Investigation or Perception check to find. It is unlocked.

This storage room used to hold food and beer for the acolytes, but the food was consumed by rodents long ago, and the beer is past its “best by” date. 

There is a closed coffin in this room. It’s nailed shut, but a soft knocking can be heard from within.

The coffin contains the last skeleton (see Monster Manual, pg. 272) guard left in the library’s secret basement, affectionately known as Mr. Bones. Unlike most skeletons, Mr. Bones still retains the memories he had in life, as well as his alignment (lawful good) because he is attuned to a headband of intellect (see Dungeon Master’s Guide, pg. 173).

If you’re concerned your players will try to steal the headband, you can instead give Mr. Bones the stats for a martial arts adept (Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, pg. 172) and still use the skeleton’s vulnerabilities and resistances.

Roleplaying Mr. Bones

Despite being undead, Mr. Bones is quite friendly towards the PCs unless they wish to harm him. He cannot speak, but still knows the hand signals used by the monks of the Library of the Silent Sanctuary. A character proficient in Thieves’ Cant can easily decipher the meaning of the signals.

Mr. Bones does his best to warn the PCs of traps within the dungeon, furiously pantomiming the potential danger. However, he’s not a fighter, and will stay out of combat.

Area 3: Training Room

This room used to be a place where the library’s acolytes trained in hand-to-hand combat. The walls are covered with dusty pads in some places, and wooden sparring dummies stand in a line along the east wall. More bones lay scattered along the floor.

A group of four dust mephits (see Monster Manual, pg. 215) lie in wait for the PCs in this room. If they successfully surprise the characters, they attempt to blind all party members with their Blinding Breath action. If they are unsuccessful, they attempt to escape and meet up with the other mephits in Area 4, using their 1/day sleep spell on PCs they are in melee combat with.

Area 4: Acolyte’s Mess

It looks like this room used to be a small mess hall, as tables and benches covered in cobwebs have been pushed to the south wall and the northwest corner.

A group of four dust mephits lie in wait for the PCs in this room. If they successfully surprise the characters, they attempt to blind all party members with their Blinding Breath action. If they are unsuccessful, they attempt to escape and meet up with the other mephits in Area 3, using their 1/day sleep spell on PCs they are in melee combat with. 

Area 5: Hidden Closet

The closet hidden behind the two secret stone doors between Area 1 and Area 6 holds a variety of supplies that have outlived their usefulness. Dusty robes hang on hooks, and half-eaten cheese wheels hard as rocks line the shelves. In one corner is an old mop and bucket.

One small chest on the top shelf looks promising. The chest is locked, and a poison needle trap has been set into the locking mechanism (see Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, pg. 115).

If the chest is successfully unlocked, it contains two ornate chalices (worth 50gp each), a notebook containing the annals of the library while the hidden section was in operation (worth 100gp to the library), and a scroll of reincarnate (see Spell Scroll in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, pg. 200).

Area 6: Abandoned Chapel

This large empty room was used for services and times of quiet reflection, but most of the tables and pews were removed long ago. 

There are two stone statues set in alcoves along the north wall, one of Lorcan (god of knowledge) and one of Ishme (god of craft and tinkering). Feel free to replace these with statues of important deities or historical figures in your world.

At the base of the statue in the northeast alcove is a locked wooden chest (DC 15). The chest contains several bags of coins (4d6 gp, 6d8 sp, 8d10cp), 2 ornate gold plates (worth 25 gp each), and a cloak of protection (see Dungeon Master’s Guide, pg. 159) styled like an acolyte’s hooded cloak. 

However, if the items are removed from the chest, the two statues come to life and attack the would-be thieves. This trap is magical in nature and requires a detect magic spell or similar magic to anticipate. 

The two statues use the stats for animated armor (see Monster Manual, pg. 19). If you want to challenge your PCs, you can describe the statues as made of bronze and use the stats for a bronze golem instead, which can be found in Kobold Press’s Creature Codex (pg. 196).

Shiver is aware of both the locked chest and the trapped statues, and if the players choose to negotiate with the nothic, it may choose to have them recover the contents of the chest in exchange for the books (see Roleplaying Shiver above).

The hidden door in the south wall is directly above a set of stairs that double as seating for the acolytes that lived here. It requires a DC 15 Investigation or Perception check to find, but it is unlocked.

Area 7: The Hole

It’s unclear what this room was once used for, as the majority of the floor on the eastern side has fallen in.
If the PCs attempt to skirt around the hole to get to and from Area 9, they must first make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall 30 feet down into Area 12 (and take 3d6 bludgeoning damage in the process).

Other PCs within 5 feet of the falling character can use their reaction and make a DC 10 Strength check to prevent their fall. Failing this check by 5 or more causes both PCs to fall.

Area 8: High Ground, Low Ground

This corridor seems to contain an unnecessary half flight of stairs, as the hallway along the west wall is only five feet higher than the hallway along the east wall. 

The worn sandstone tiles along the lip of the edge suggests the acolytes used this area to practice flips and other acrobatics.

Area 9: Acolyte’s Sleeping Quarters

This long room appears to have been the sleeping quarters for the acolytes living in this wing. The debris of several wooden bunks lay broken and scattered around the room. Some of the wooden debris looks charred and burnt.

If it hasn’t already been previously encountered, a flameskull sheds light in a portion of this room. 

Since its only goal is to prevent loud noises (see The Last Archivist above), the floating skull remains docile. However, any noise above a whisper will activate it and cause it to attack.

Underneath a loose flagstone, a long-deceased acolyte has left their hidden stash. In the small compartment is a very dusty bottle of vintage wine that is still sealed (worth 100gp to the right buyer), and a set of gloves of missile snaring (see Dungeon Master’s Guide, pg. 172). Finding the loose flagstone requires either a DC 15 Investigation check, or a passive Perception of 17 or higher.

Area 10: Cleaning Closet

This small alcove used to contain cleaning chemicals and other supplies, but most of them have degraded over the years. 

A PC proficient in Alchemist’s supplies can make 2 vials of acid (see Player’s Handbook, pg. 148) with the remaining chemicals.

Area 11: Pool of Tar

The center of this large room used to be dominated by a cistern of water, but the tank is now full of sludge and tar. 

A black pudding (see Monster Manual, pg. 241) lies hidden in the muck, and it attacks any characters that wander too close to the tank’s edge.

The alcove in the western wall is partially covered by torn curtains. It looks like it used to be a small bathroom, but part of the ceiling has caved in.

The hallway that leads to Area 13 is protected by a crossbow trap, firing east to west, to discourage intruders (see Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, pg. 114).

Area 12: Ruined Bathroom

Another set of ancient curtains leads to a large room that used to be a bathing area for the resident monks. However, part of the ceiling has fallen in (see Area 7) due to water damage.

Area 13: Lost Library

As evidenced by the ruined remains of several bookshelves, this room used to contain a portion of the library’s collection. However, the lack of books suggests someone removed most of them long ago.

Unless called away from its post by Shiver, the spectator (see Monster Manual, pg. 30) known as Stare guards the entrance to Area 14 in the northeast corner of the room. Stare won’t attack immediately, but also won’t willingly let the party pass into Area 14.

Area 14: Nothic Hideaway

This backroom also used to be a part of the library in Area 13, but the lack of shelves in here suggest that it likely had several purposes.

If not encountered elsewhere, the nothic (see Monster Manual, pg. 236) known as Shiver is located here. If forced into combat, Shiver will attempt to flee back through the hole in the foundation in the northeast corner of the room. 

Where this hole leads is up to you as the GM, but it is likely that Shiver has prepared some countermeasures to ensure its escape.

In the northwest corner of the room, Shiver has created a large nest for itself out of ruined books, crates and barrels of ancient foodstuffs, and other detritus. 

The nest appears to be utter chaos, but Shiver has cleverly hidden the stolen books within the nest. Finding the stolen books requires a DC 20 Investigation check if done quickly, or they can be found without a check if the PCs take 30 minutes to thoroughly search the nest.

Area 15: Three Old Paintings

This square room contains the portraits of the last three archivists to oversee this wing of the library, which are displayed on the western wall.

Behind the painting in the southwest corner of the room is an iron lockbox set into the sandstone brick. Inside the lockbox is a stack of books from the library thought lost long ago.

The lockbox can either be opened with thieves’ tools (DC 15) or the door can be ripped off with a DC 25 Strength check.

What the lost books contain is ultimately up to you as the GM, but you can use them as an opportunity to provide your players with a new quest hook, a critical piece of lore, or simply a one-time use of the legend lore spell (no material cost required).

Area 16: Additional Storage

This room looks like it was used for storage, but is mostly empty except for debris. There is evidence that several barrels and crates have been moved recently. 

A few bags in the northeast corner of the room contain various spices: 5 lbs of ginger (worth 5gp), 20 lbs of salt (worth 1gp), and 1 lb of saffron (worth 15gp).

Area 17: Southern Hallway

It looks like more paintings and other artwork hung in this hall, but they were eaten away by time. 

The area directly in front of the hallway leading north to Area 11 is protected by a fiery blast trap (see Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, pg. 114). Reduce the DC of the Dexterity saving throw to 13, and reduce the fire damage to 4d6.

We hope you and your players enjoyed this dungeon adventure! How do you feel about nothics? How do your players react to intelligent monsters? Please send your feedback to feedback@shatteredlabspress.com or message us on social media. Happy gaming!