Smuggler's Hallway

(This part continues from The Dungeon Below Merle's as part of the I Smell A Rat adventure!)If the players did Excavation, go to Twisting Tunnel, below.
If they did Examination, go to Smuggler's Den, further below.
== The Twisting Tunnel ==
If the PCs are excavating from the Junk Pile, they will discover a winding, rocky tunnel. It's just about a yard wide and two yards tall (some taller characters will find this inconvenient). It's not terribly long, but does wind quite a bit. The shovel marks show it wasn't dug by magic nor monster. On a Per-based Prospecting roll,defaults to Perception-5 a character can tell that this tunnel is... amateurish. The height and width vary, and the reinforcement is inadequate. There's old planks reinforcing the ceiling, walls, and holes in the floor, aren't up to code.
=== That's certainly not up to code... ===
While there are no monsters or traps here, the PCs may notice that the twisting tunnel itself is dangerous. 
Anyone walking through here may encounter a DX+4 roll to avoid stumbling over the ground, putting their foot through a shoddy board, etc. They get +2 if warned by the earlier Prospecting roll, +1 per level of Pickaxe Penchant. Counterwise, the heavier their load is, the more likely they are to make a mistake--they get -2 for Light encumbrance, -4 for Medium, -6 for Heavy, and -8 for Extra-Heavy (the last one is especially unlikely unless they're carrying something fairly hefty in their arms). 
These rolls can be modified to help match the adventure's difficulty--if the player's demolished the spiders with no problem, maybe this hallway could be slightly more treacherous. Likewise, if they players are already hurting, maybe any trips or slips in this hallway are near-misses--maybe allow an ally to catch another before they fall!
Failure means stumbling into a beam or rock, putting a foot through a board, etc. Roll on the hit location table or use whatever the player thinks sounds coolest (no one wants to cripple their hand from simply falling in a dark tunnel). A failure does 1d-3 crushing, critical failure (or any failure with Total Klutz) caves in the tunnel, doing 2d crushing as large-area injury. The person who failed (and anyone in front of them) can struggle on,DFRPG: I Smell A Rat, p.8 and those behind them can dig them out (or, for comedic timing, their digging is interrupted by the PCs on the outside discovering the Smuggler's Den door).
Feel free to adjust the amount of time digging to match the player's pace. If they're roleplay-heavy and like describing banter while both sides find a way back to each other, let them talk! Likewise, if they seem impatient, add some shenanigans to help them find the smuggler's den (and bypass the fallen debris). There's often a slight draft near secret doors. Both the tunnel and the Smuggler's Den are connected to the Cellar
== Smuggler's Den ==
=== The Boobytrap ===
Before anything else, note that these doors are boobytrapped--these are canny smugglers who don't want to get counter-robbed without consequence! The boobytrap is a sliding panel that lowers when stepped upon, which then uses the victim's weight to swing scythe-like blades at leg-level. a player coming from either side of the Smuggler's Den will be able to see part of the floor and the door on the other side of the room (the interior sides of the hidden doors are not camouflaged).
* Detect: Per-based Traps at -2 to spot loose floor stone. 
* Disarm: IQ-based Traps at -5 to find hidden deactivation lever. Failure means trap can’t be deactivated, only avoided. 
* Avoid: DX or Jumping to hop over the trigger, if detected. 
* Save: No. 
* Effects: 1d cutting to each leg. 
* Shots: Infinite (unless you put a crowbar or a ton of gravel in there, anyway)
* Rearm: Yes. 
* Steal: No
After this trap is activated, bypassed, sabotaged, etc, the PCs can get a good look at the room.
=== The Room Proper ===
Protected by hidden doors on both sides, (if you never found the hidden door from the cellar side, this is fairly surprising!). This underground den spans an area between the Smuggler's Hallway and the Inn's cellar. Its furnishings are cheap and sturdy, the minimal for what a couple of sneakthieves might need for waiting around between meetings and heists. Outside of the furniture, it's stripped bare (see One Lil Box below)
Dry torches are bracketed on the non-door walls, allowing the place some decent illumination.DFRPG: I Smell A Rat, p.9
==== Sidebar: Bad News for Lee ====
The good news is, Ms. Lee has more square-footage in her house than she thought. The bad news is, smugglers have seemingly had access to her cellar stock at any time. If Uncle Merle knew about the smuggler's den (or worse, and likely, was in league with them), it would explain why he wanted such a sturdy cellar door. If the smugglers ever tried to snoop around the Inn, they wouldn't get further than the stairs.
=== One Lil Box ===
Any loot that passed through this clandestine port of entry is long gone, save for one--a small, iron strongbox (DR 12, HP 10, 15 lbs.) with a good padlock (DR 6, HP 5, 2 lbs.; roll vs. Lockpicking to open). There's some sort of stain on it that might seem familiar. A roll vs. Streetwise+0 Heraldry-3 shows it's a Thieves’ Guild sigil.DFRPG: I Smell A Rat, p.10 Inside the strongbox is a silver flask (0.5 lb.)--it's sealed with wax around the stopper, implying it hasn't been opened.
The flask isn't overtly magical, but Sense Danger, Sense Evil, Sense Foes, and Sense Spirit spells can detect something vaguely unpleasant swirling in the bottle, It swirls harder when held, like it's excited to be released. 
The flask and its container are highly resistant to the History spell--this may be an affect of the strongbox has on itself and its contents...Fanon idea!
==== They Opened It Anyway ====
Opening the flask releases a flaming skull which attacks at once, staying in close combat with its victim. Remember that it’s Diffuse and tricky to destroy! 
==== If They Don't Open It ====
Canny delvers won’t open the flask. It could be a miasmic spirit, a slime, an evil ghost, maybe a living stink cloud made from the sewer. At any rate, it's probably best if it's brought to someone more capable with... weird flasks. 
After the adventure, they can take it to the temple (for safe disposal) or the Wizards’ Guild for “examination”; either group pays $500, no questions asked. A group that saw the Thieves’ Guild sigil (or who knows the Thieves' Guild well enough) may bring it to that organization--the Thieves' Guild will offer $750 in credit toward any Covert Ops and Security GearAdventurers, p. 113-114 or PoisonsAdventurers, p. 115-116. If sold “as is” to merchants, use Getting a Good PriceExploits, p.15-16 with a value of $500.
=== Smugglers (or Not) ===
Unless you're planning on having the Smugglers show up later, the History spell will reveal nothing but absence, not even rats have been here (which makes sense, considering the tricky doors). If you are going to have the smugglers show up, they should be around the one-week time slot. For even more tension, let a caster use their full "one year" casting, and while they're recovering their energy with some snacks, the Smugglers can be heard wandering in from the hallway.
== Smuggler's Hallway, AKA the Sewer ==
The Twisting Tunnel and Smuggler's Den (see above) both lead to the Smuggler's Hallway, or as most people call it, the sewer. The vague, awful smell betrays its presence before the PCs see it proper.
It's two yards wide and over two yards tall, vaulted in the center, and bad, slow water on the ground. Prospecting reveals that the sewer's in safe condition for a bit of urban exploration, and Thaumatology can tell you that the arches were made with magic--likely the Mason's Guild or their predecessors. There's no clear dangers here, save for the nastiness of the water.
=== Bad Water ===
Anyone with common sense will test the water before just wading in! Using a weapon, a stick, even some chunk of debris from the cellar, the PCs can tell it's about calf-deep (worse for shorter characters). With the right magic (Levitation, Flight, Walk on Air, Walk on Water, etc.) or abilities (e.g., Spider Climb) have to wade through. Each wader must roll against HT – modified as usual for Fit (+1), Resistant to Disease (+3, +8), etc. – to avoid contracting sewer rot.
==== Sidebar: Sewer Rot ====
Sewer Rot applies -1 on all attribute and skill rolls until Cure Disease is received. The instant onset is odd; if anyone succumbs, success at Esoteric Medicine implicates black magic. 
=== Decisions, Decisions ===
Traveling west means heading back into town, while going east means eventually coming out in a fetid bog – neither of which is very interesting (though see Adventures in Waste ManagementDFRPG: I Smell A Rat, p.15). Even if the party doesn't find loot, the bounty on rat heads isn't necessarily limited to the ones in Lee's cellar, and there's always rats in the sewer. 
=== Dramatically-Timed Monsters ===
While in the sewers, you can check for wandering monsters: 
* Once per hour spent waiting or wandering around.
* Once per attempt to search for hidden doors, successful or not.
* Once per attempt to bash or force a door, or mine through sewer walls – or once per hour spent digging, if the twisting tunnel collapses. 
* The roll is 9 or less on 3d – but if the party deliberately tries to attract rats to hunt, it becomes 12 or less. Success means a roll on the Sewer Encounters Table.
=== Sewer Encounters Table ===
Table Roll 2d. 
* 2 – Jelly. SM +2, with ST/HP 25, and completely blocks the passage. If the delvers are experienced, so were the last ones the jelly ate: It absorbs abilities and has a few extra tricks, such as Luck and Magic Resistance! 
* 3-5 – Leaping Leeches A good-sized “school” – roll 1d to learn how many attack each delver. Heroes with unarmored legs or feet are hit automatically if wading in sewage! Otherwise, the leeches must leap for unarmored areas. 
* 6-8 – Giant Rats (p. 18). An onslaught that outnumbers the delvers 2:1 (3:1, for a tough group), charging four abreast in a rodent wave attack. Anyone wounded must check for sewer rot again. 
* 9-11 – Giant Spiders. A humongous spider, plus a number of huge spiders equal to group size skittering along the walls and ceiling. 
* 12 – Smugglers! They know their way around the sewers – half attack from either direction, putting the delvers in the middle. This encounter can occur only once; afterward, treat as 6-8.
=== Considerations for Sewer Combat ===
Combat in the sewer has poor footing--that's -2, -1 to defend, +1 movement per hex. Jellies, leeches, spiders, and ratsCounterpoint: Rats are good swimmers but I doubt they're expert dodgers in water won't suffer these effects. There's enough light from the sewer slime to see at -8, but lighting is definitely preferred.
== There's Got To Be More... ==
There's another secret door surprisingly close, almost directly across the sewer from the Twisting Tunnel. It's a wooden door with a thin layer of mortar to disguise it, and a layer of slime over that. If looking for hidden doors, roll Vision, Observation, or Per-based Traps at -2 to discover this.
Once spotted, it’s just a locked door: Roll vs. Lockpicking to open it. It can also be bashed or forced:Remember the suggestion for creatures showing up to investigate door-bashes! the door has DR 2, HP 29, while its lock and hinges have DR 6, HP 12. 
A History spell cast to reach a week or more back reveals that the door’s users were up to something evil...
Getting past this door leads to the Rune-Limned Gallery! Good luck!
== References ==
* DFRPG: I Smell A Rat, p.7-8