Example Micro-Dungeon: The Basement of Old Man Hamsy

30 Apr, 2025

Hook

On the edge of town there’s the house of Old Man Hamsy, the swineherd known in all the valley; his basement is where he prepared his meat, and he was so precious about his ham-making family recipe that nobody but him was allowed inside. But it’s been three days and he hasn’t come out yet! And there were strange noises coming from downstairs… Gremma, his now-widowed wife, is begging you to go down there and find out what happened to Hamsy, and most importantly, retrieve the recipe!

The Full, Real Story

Hamsy’s ham-making art attracted the envy of Bubbox the Wizard, who decided to seize his secret recipe for himself and bring it back to his granny in the countryside. He snuck into the basement and summoned a monster, the Salamander Demon, to murder Hamsy; the plan succeeded, but the salamander, having slain its target, went rogue and turned on its summoner, who fled into the rats’ tunnels for safety. Bubbox is still cowering in the hole, holding the recipe and having subsided off pork products for the last three days, and the salamander is still rogue, having claimed the basement for itself.

NPCs

Bubbox: scrawny low-level wizard. Takes bad care of himself. Cowardly and scheming, no sense of morality. Loves summoning magic.
The Imps: similar to their creator in both looks and personality, except small and flighted. Will not hesitate to betray Bubbox. Armed with stingers and comically small pitchforks.
The Rats: as large as a cat and with sharp, gnawing teeth. Chitter constantly and unnervingly.
The Salamander-Demon: large and blubbery, but uncannily fast. Its bite can crumple steel. Will pursue blindly, and is easily enraged. All smaller creatures fear it.
Ghost of Archibald Pigg: Wise and ancient, but not very practical-minded. Knows everything about what’s happened in the basement, as well as the everlasting fire in Room 6, but will only answer if he’s absolutely sure that the players aren’t collaborating with Bubbox.

Wandering Encounters (d6)

One Imp carrying one stick of salami towards Bubbox’s room. Will deny being the servant of anyone unless the name of Bubbox is specifically invoked.
Six Imps collecting spiky things to throw at the Salamander in hopes of driving it out of the dungeon. Will throw them at the players.
Four Rats gnawing at a misplaced and rotten slab of bacon. They seek fresher meat.
A swarm of Rats dragging a piece of mite-filled wood towards Room 4.
The ghost of Archibald Pigg pacing through the halls and rambling to himself, searching for a particular book.
The Salamander, chasing a few imps out of its “territory”.

Spark Table (d6)

Map

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█ = Wall; ░ = Room/Hallway; ▓ = Secret Room/Hallway

1: Basement Entrance

type: empty - subtype: lair - prompt: ancient salt

A half-rotten ladder leads to a damp earthen room underground. Bags of salt are stashed against the walls.
3 of Bubbox's Imps are shoving all the bags into a corner. They attempt to shoo the players away, and will flee to warn Bubbox if physically overpowered; they work for him but are cowardly and weak.
Beneath the imp's pile of bags is the corpse of Hamsy. It looks like it has been searched.

2: Bubbox’s Cubbyhole

type: secret - subtype: treasure - prompt: rotten rats

A tunnel dug by the frenzied blood-rats in Room 4, now left empty. Bubbox is hiding here, crouching inside a box of candles, scared to death and hiding from the salamander. He has is his pocket Hamsy’s Ham Recipe.
The only valuable thing to be found is an unused Rod of Rats: once opened, all vermin in the vicinity will start to aggressively flock to its location. Cannot be shut down after activating, but can be picked up and moved.
If the Salamander ever enters this room, Bubbox will cast Fireball (centered on himself). He will never cast that spell otherwise.

3: Archie’s Tomb

type: oddity - subtype: empty - prompt: slimy flower

Burial Site of Hamsy’s late grandfather, Archibald Pigg. Light filters from above the floorboards and light a tombstone surrounded by daisies.
On top of the gravestone grows a large shimmering flower covered in glistening slime. Any surface rubbed against it becomes extremely sticky and emits and unpleasant chemical smell; irritates human skin to the point of not being able to wear clothing on the affected part till healed.
Opening the casket and lifting Pigg’s corpse reveals the passage to Room 2.

4: Rat Pit

type: trick - subtype: secret - prompt: bloody rats

The floor to this room drops 5 feet into a pit filled with frenzied bloodsucking rats.
There’s rafters under the ceiling, but they’re too high for an average adventurer to reach with a jump.
A tunnel is dug into the room’s eastern wall, close to the floor, leading to Room 2. Good luck getting past the rats swarming by it, though.

5: Salamander’s Summoning Circle

type: lair - subtype: trick - spark: muddy spider

Lined with empty bookshelves and dusty carpets.
The Salamander is sleeping here, at the center of the circle Bubbox used to summon it. Will wake up with sufficient noise.
Lit summoning candles litter the floor, they’ll probably set the carpets on fire if knocked over.

6: Smoking Chimney

type: treasure: - subtype: oddity - spark: greasy fire

A tall chimney in thick stone bricks. Legs of ham and sticks of salami and slabs of bacon hung from the rafters. Only a narrow hole, invisible from outside, connects the chimney to the air.
All the meats in here are deliciously greasy and tasty, but can be smelled from a mile away if taken out of the room.
Embers of Hamsy’s smoking fire still burn at the bottom. A piece of wood lit from these embers can never be extinguished. Archibald Pigg's Ghost knows this.

#adventure