(For Infinigrad Freelancer: http://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2020/10/infinigrad-freelancer.html )
The Vat Garden: A muddy, black silt plain housing four, several storey high, drained, empty and cracked vats once used to house leviathans. Aggressive outbursts of lurid green ferns and vines choke the space between the vats. The bottom of each vat is a jumble of bizarre bones, dust and sand.
- Muddy paths are just barely maintained in the jungle thick vegetation between the vats. A thin canopy of ferns keeps the paths even gloomier than the surrounding city.
- The paths are maintained by Gardener Sentinels, Health 4: Golems of organic chitinous material, crafted as a scarab beetle-like suit of armour. A fleshy mound of pinky jelly sits atop of the armored torso, housing a retractable, swiveling worm of an eye stalk. Several pink tentacles splay from blunt pincers. Their chitin is dark green and dully iridescent. The Gardeners will largely ignore all visitors to their garden unless they too close approach, or in any way tamper with, the emptied, disused vats.
- Where does the Vat Garden path lead? Roll a d6 three times:
1 | A netweb of vines explodes out of a soggy crater of black mud - grasping and attaching to canopy, ferns and vats. | Five skull sized metal orbs, cracked like eggs, are strewn about. Each erupts with a mass of ferns and vines. | A shambling octopus mass of whipping vines and ferns (Health 2). Animated by a central Leviathan Bone. |
2 | A several storey high stone statue of a leering, bent over figure - completely covered in moss, vines and ferns. | Two rows of shed Gardener exoskeletons, feetclaws sunk in mud. Vines and ferns erupt from cracked exo shell. | A lithe stalking bear of strangling vines gashing fern jaws (Health 4). Animated by a central Leviathan Bone. |
3 | A stone, circular staircase, moss encrusted, pokes out of the canopy and ascends to a platform above the vats. | Tree trunk thick cabling leading from closest vat. These lace through oppressively soggy ground leaking squirming vines. | A Gardener sadly staring into a puddle of vat juice (drinking restores Health to maximum, Test Body to avoid tiny vines sprouting from pores). |
4 | A large sludgy pool of grasping mud - bobbing with the skeletons of several humanoids. Test Body of those fallen into mud to avoid being sucked deeper. | Enormous and aminated red fronds, slowly swaying, curling and unfurling. Bubbling with confusing, choking spores which release when approached. Test Body to avoid all Tests being Hard until leaving the garden. | A heavy booted rogue, hunting the garden for Leviathan Bones (Health 3). If stays with party, next area explored will have a vine mass (results 1 and 2 of this table). Will steal Leviathan Bone if opportunity arises. |
5 | Several spikeshards of blue crystal are embedded in the mud. Vegetation shrinks away from these freezing crystals, causing a cold clearing in the canopy. | A mound of very slow squirming vines, topped with a massive fleshy flower. A stench of ozone and mist of sparks pervades. The flower sparkwhips with fey energy those that approach (Test Body and Health to avoid losing 1 Health). | d6 Gardeners clearing heavy vegetation around a pond of murky green vat juice (drinking restores Health to maximum, Test Body to avoid tiny vines sprouting from pores). |
6 | A field of swirling mud, about a foot deep. | A metal cable from the closest vat splays and frays in sloshy mud, exuding grey vines. Will awaken as a slicing metal tipped vine hydra if approached (Health 4 - Regenerates 1 Health a round.) | d6 Gardeners clearing extremely heavy vegetation blocking the path. |
D6 Leviathan Bones (all vaguely femur shaped, several feet long):
- 1: Craggy, ferric, hot to the touch and sometimes oozing droplets of magma. Its touch vivifies, allowing two actions in a round if holding.
- 2: A shining, latticework of geometric chrome that grasps and clasps those that hold it - imbuing them with an unnatural and otherworldly grace and beauty.
- 3: Grey and vaguely rubbery, emitting a soft pulse. Will heal up to 4 Health a day if held.
- 4: Molten, frozen and clumped granules of twinkling bronze. Test Luck once per day if held, if successful bone repairs any broken equipment on person.
- 5: Dull silver riddled with bulbous growths. Test Luck once a day, if successful all other sentient beings become slightly mind fogged in the holder’s presence.
- 6: A spiky conglomeration of fangs, festered with petrified eyeballs. Once per day can slice through metal, the teeth and eyes happily consuming and growing slightly.
