Dark Continent Redux: The Opera House Part 1

Dark Continent Redux

A Fantasy Core Adventure

© Jerry Harris 2016

Published here as Open Game Content.

(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Playtest Rules.)

Dark Continent Index

Forbidden City Index

                            

The Opera House

2 XP for destroying the red crystal here. 

From Wikipedia: “In 1896, one of the counter-weights for the grand chandelier fell, killing one. This, as well as the underground lake, cellars and other elements of the Paris Opera House, inspired Gaston Leroux in 1909 to write his classic Gothic novel, The Phantom of the Opera.”  This is a titanic building with five levels of balcony seating, 200 dressing rooms, instrument closets, trapdoors, hidden staircases, secret passages, cellars for food and barrels of wine, as well as the scenery, props, and wardrobe. Frankly, this building alone is worthy of its own adventure setting.  (Dungeon Magazine#39 has a pretty good representation of a large theater.  9 Megs.)

If you can believe it, this is mostly a social encounter.  If they play along, the Characters will only have two foes to beat in the Opera House.  Failing that, it’s going to be a long night at the Opera. 

This massive structure is surprisingly intact on the outside.  The windows all glow with a red light from within.  The entrance doors are in place, but unlocked.  Inside, the place is in complete shambles.  It saw disaster within well before the coming of Kurtz, and the audience that night was overtaken by it. 

Virtually everything is ruined or destroyed inside, except for one particular class of item (described below).  The auditorium itself is a truly macabre spectacle.  The stage features a painted background of the ruined city.  In front is a well-used guillotine, well-used on the natives.  A large number of their heads are piled up around the stage as their decapitated bodies fill the seats in the audience in observance.  An altar is also on stage, but without the familiar red crystal on it.        

All that is intact inside is the lighting system.  In the Entrance Hall, all 8 of the delicate chandeliers are still working and pristine and glowing red.

As are all 8 of the red lights at the Grand Stairway. 

  

The stage and audience are lit by a single massive Grand Chandelier 70’ off the ground floor.  All these lights glow red and are linked by a thin red energy line, but the Grand Chandelier glows brightest of them all with the red crystal in the center.  Very simply, the Grand Chandelier needs to be destroyed (AC 10, 10 hp).  However, it will be impervious to damage until all of the other chandeliers are destroyed first (AC 10, 1 hp).  (If the Native Witch Doctor is with the group, he can suggest what to do.  Even the Spectres might be helpful.  Or perhaps the Players can figure it out for themselves.)

Oh, when the big one comes down, don’t be underneath it (DC 18 Ref Sv or death for anyone directly underneath) or anywhere near it (for anyone on the ground floor area 3d6 collateral glass damage, DC 12 Ref Sv for half damage).  Outside, the river island will be vaguely visible (though not enterable).  If this is the final altar, the island will be completely visible and can be entered. 

Opera House Part 2