06/20/2022

Here is an Underdark ambush that you can use with your D&D game. I would suggest a party of 4 characters of 5th or 6th level.

As the group moves through the winding tunnels of the Underdark, they find a small section of the tunnel that opens up a bit. I would describe the cave as having a few big mushrooms spaced throughout the cave and the skeletal remains of a creature near the exit of the cave. As the party moves toward the exit to investigate, the two fungi near the exit attack. The fungus is Violet Fungus and will attack the closest creatures to the entrance (within 10ft since that is the range of their attacks). Now, I would place the UDT with the scatter terrain on it on the table. Allow the PCs to place their miniatures on the UDT anywhere they would like to be, except the PC that entered into the 10ft range of the Violet Fungus. They have to place their miniature somewhere within that range. Have the party roll initiative while you roll initiative for the Violet Fungus and the surprize monster. I would give the highest initiative roll to the violet fungus and save the lower roll for the other monster.

At the start of the combat, roll a d4 as a timer die and place it on the side of the UDT as a countdown. As the violet fungus begins the attack, have any PCs near the entrance of the cave make Preception checks (DC 25) to see the Roper move and attack the party. The roper should be a surprise to the party and will hopefully be near the back of the group near the party members that are trying to stay out of melee.

The other two mushrooms in the cave are harmless but might keep the PCs guessing, especially with the timer die counting down at the end of each round. The party might think the skeleton will rise up as well.

When the timer hits 0, if the roper is still alive, it will use some of its tentacles to reach back to the entrance into the cave and collapse it, blocking off any retreat.

The violet fungus is made from a wooden dowel and wooden spacers. It was covered with hot glue to give it texture then painted purples and pinks to go with the Underdark theme.

The roper was made from a plastic witch finger I bought around Halloween. I added some wire for the arms and then hot glue for the texture. I painted it gray to make it appear like it was a rock.

Keep on gaming!