Tower of Zordaz: Shoggoth [AD&D 2E]

As the game gets closer (saturday, finally!!!) I'm working like a fool to get everything set down. Has been a hell of a month, and I'm surprised how much free time I wasted – Zardoz's lair could have been much larger! By the way, there's no time to complain. Here is a sketch I've just done for the Shoggoth:

"I'm a first level fighter DM SON OF A BITCH!!!"

And here is the same drawing after some Photoshop cosmetic surgery:

Groovy

It's not that awesome but it's cool anyway (yes, I love the sound of my own voice.) The following stats are totally stolen from the D&DG, and adapted to my second edition game.

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any (Underworld)
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any (never has to rest)
DIET: Supposedly Carnivorous
INTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)
TREASURE: Nil (C)
ALIGNMENT: CE
_____________________________

NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVEMENT: 9
HIT DICE: 20
THAC0: 5*
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3d10/3d10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Absorbing
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to weakness, paralysis and Charm, only hit by +1 weapons or better
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 30%
SIZE: L
MORALE: Fearless (20)
XP VALUE: 12,000

Appearance: "They were normally shapeless entities composed of a viscous jelly which looked like an agglutination of bubbles, and each averaged about fifteen feet in diameter when a sphere. They had, however, a constantly shifting shape and volume - throwing out temporary developments or forming apparent organs of sight, hearing, and speech in imitation of their masters, either spontaneously or according to suggestion." [...] "Formless protoplasm able to mock and reflect all forms and organs and processes - viscous agglutinations of bubbling cells - rubbery fifteen-foot spheroids infinitely plastic and ductile - slaves of suggestion, builders of cities - more and more sullen, more and more intelligent, more and more amphibious, more and more imitative! Great God! What madness made even those blasphemous Old Ones willing to use and carve such things?" – H.P. Lovecraft, At The Mountains of Madness

Combat: There are very few fools who would like to face such a creature of nightmare. Normal weapons don't affect its protoplasmatic body, and they are immune to most mind control spells. When attacking, Shoggoths use one of these long established tactics: smashing and absorbing. Smashing with tentacles causing 3d10 damage (and the Shoggoth may hit twice); Absorbing works exactly as the Gelatinous Cube's special ability.

Habitat/Society: Shoggoths were created by the Old Ones to serve as slaves. When they rebelled, they killed all their masters and destroyed their cities. Shoggoths have no organization of any kind, apparently, although is has been proven that they can team up, at least for a short time.

Ecology: Having no natural predators, Shoggoths are devastating to any ecosystem. Their only pleasure is destruction, either for fun or hunger.

COMING SOON: Conjure/Bind/Banish Shoggoth rituals.

Tower of Zordaz Sketch and Level 1

Rough sketch

Yesterday I made this rough sketch of how the awful Tower of Zordaz should look, and although it's not exactly what the tower itself actually looks like, I think it gives the idea. In particular, the tower is not set in the center of a lake, but only near one (and yes, that means there's a Watcher In The Water, of course!) Under the tower I drew the upper side of the stone door that leads down to Room 1 in Level 1. You may be right in thinking I was under some kind of weird Zak S. influence when I made this one, just don't say it loudly! All in all, my actual paramecium map style has been directly derived from the maps of Khunmar made by Stefan Poag, so I can honestly admit that I'm done with shame!

Level 1: The Ravaged Laboratories

And this morning I finally came up with the first map of the awful Tower of Zordaz! Some notes:

• This level has been inhabited by the most promising apprentices of Zordaz.
• This level has been ravaged by a Shoggoth, conjured by the apprentices who lived here (possibly a mistake.) The Shoggoth moved away, but there should be a very low probability of encountering it there (that means, RUN YOU FOOLS!)
• Room 2 contains a manhole, hidden under much rubbish. It leads down to a corridor, a room (3) and then to a slope down to Level 2.
• Rooms 4 to 11 are the proper laboratories. I figure most of these rooms to be empty, and only two or three filled with some weird encounter.
• Room 14 contains many broken vats. There should be amorphous monsters in there (simil-lemures, living molds, maybe mongrelmen.)
• Room 15 are some prisons for human guinea pigs.
• Room 17 contains stairs leading down to levels 2 and 3.
• Room 18 contains a huge mark on the floor. I plan on using similar signs to mark teleporting spots around the dungeon. The mark is actually The Eye of Zordaz, as players may discover during the game.