DUNGEON C LOC KS Creighton arrays a variety of time-keeping devices to keep you prompt for all your dungeon appointments
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or adventurers it is rarely important to know the exact time of day (or night). However, some important individuals – clerics, wizard and kings – may have need of this information for their rituals and services (both religious and secular). When magic is unavailable or undesirable such folk turn to a variety of mundane devices. These clocks can use water, the light of the sun or complicated mechanisms to measure time. This article presents 30 such clocks to add to your dungeon, town or temple.
Of course, not all clocks are used to measure a full 24 hours; some may measure only hours (or minutes) depend on the owner’s needs. For example, a religious ceremony may only last half an hour or the prisoner of an evil overlord gets but five minutes to beg for his life. Each section on the following pages comprises ten unique clocks and ten pieces of dungeon dressing to further modify their appearance. To determine a clock’s appearance and condition, simply roll 2d10 and consult the relevant tables.
Mechanical Clocks
Water Clocks Sundials
THE GAZEBO 12 days of Christmas
Tom Creighton Creighton lives in Torquay, England where, apparently, the palm trees are plastic and the weather is warm. He shares a ramshackle old mansion with his two children (“Genghis” and “Khan”) and his patient wife. Famed for his unending love affair with booze and pizza he is an enduring GREYHAWK fan. An Ennie Award winning designer (Madness At Gardmore Abbey) Creighton has worked with Expeditious Retreat Press, Paizo and Wizards of the Coast. He believes in the Open Gaming License and is dedicated to making his games as fun and easy to enjoy as possible for all participants. Reducing or removing entry barriers, simplifying pre-game prep and easing the GM’s workload are the key underpinning principles of the products he now releases through Raging Swan Press. You can read his thoughts on game design at raging-swan.livejournal.com.
MECHANICAL C LOC KS
D% Appearance 1 This large clock is set into the wall; its workings are accessed from a small antechamber behind it. 2 The face of this clock has been decorated with a sun’s face. 3 This white clock face has been inscribed with black numbers. 4 The face of this clock is lavishly painted with gold and silver paint. 5 This exquisitely painted clock face is decorated with circles of red and blue paint. 6 This freestanding clock has a metal face and long, slender hands of beaten iron. 7 This large, freestanding clock is composed completely of black iron. A soft clicking emanates from within. 8 This ornate, clock is covered in gold leaf and stands upon a wide, stout table covered in a red cloth. 9 Carved into the wall, this clock is surrounded by ornate carvings of wings. 10 This freestanding clock has no case – its mechanism is visible and moves slowly as the clock operates.
D10 Dressing 1 Lying on its side, this clock is smashed and broken; gears and other pieces of mechanism lie scattered about the place. 2 A loud whirring sound emanates from this clock. 3 One of the clock’s hands is bent out from its face, jamming the mechanism. 4 The ticking of this clock is particularly loud or quiet. 5 The mechanism of this clock is broken; it chimes at odd times. 6 Thick dust covers the workings of this clock. 7 One of the clock’s numbers has fallen off. 8 Setting the clock to a certain time opens a nearby secret door. 9 The paint covering the clock’s face is old and faded. Several of its numbers are missing. 10 A rat or mouse has been caught by the clock’s mechanism and has been crushed to death. Its corpse now jams the clock’s cogs.
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WATER
C LOC KS
D% Appearance 1 This clock comprises a cone-shaped funnel that drips water into a large basin below. 2 An ornate wooden cabinet holds this water clock. 3 A stone basin has been carved into one wall. A narrow channel leads to a trough cut into the floor below which has a number of lines carved into its sides. 4 This large, tapered pot hangs from the ceiling. Drips fall from it into a pool below. 5 This water clock uses red-hued water reminiscent of blood to mark time’s passage. 6 The water dripping from one basin to another echoes weirdly throughout the chamber. The clock itself is of copper and the upper basin has intricate wave-like patterns engraved upon its surface. 7 This high, thin clock reaches almost to the ceiling; the water makes its way down a complicated series of pipes to a large, shallow bowl. 8 Water oozes from a hole in the wall and falls into a large pool below. A closed sluice gate is controlled by a complicated series of levers and pulleys that open the gate when the water reaches a certain depth. 9 Water gushes from three stone skulls set high up on one wall. The water falls into a stone basin sunk into the floor.
Invented in ancient times, water clocks can be accurate to within 15 minutes over a 24-hour period. In most cases they harness the power of gravity to move a set amount of water from one container to another.
10 A complicated set of bowls, pipes and pulleys controls the flow of water into four large brass tubs. It takes the water six hours to fill each tub.
D10 Dressing 1 The clock is empty of water; dust chokes its vessels. 2 The channel between the clock’s two chambers is filled with wax. 3 The clock’s basin is cracked and water has leaked onto the floor. 4 Several silver and copper coins lie in the clock’s lower basin. 5 Leaves and small twigs float in the clock’s lower basin. 6 The rim of the clock’s basin is chipped and pitted. 7 The clock’s mechanism is rusty. 8 A wet blanket lies on the ground near the clock and water stains mar the floor. 9 The clock’s mechanism has been damaged; the water flows much too fast into the bottom bowl. 10 Slick green slime covers the clock’s workings.
THE GAZEBO 12 days of Christmas
SUNDIALS
D% Appearance 1 Intricate carvings of the sun, moon and planets cover this sundial’s face. 2 Large numbers cover the sundial’s face. Its gnomon is of plain metal. 3 An honorific prayer to the sun god decorates the sundial’s outer face. 4 The sundial’s face is of beaten bronze; it grows increasingly warm during the day. 5 Painted in swirls of green and blue, the face of this sundial is suggestive of a nearby stretch of coastline. 6 Standing atop a fluted stone pedestal this sundial is 6 ft high; its stone is different to that of the surrounding locality. 7 This small sundial is only 1 ft in diameter and it is attached to a low wooden plinth. 8 The gnomon of this sundial is ornately forged of plain iron to represent a shaft of sunlight. 9 Small fragments of gemstones pick out the numbers on this sundial’s face. They can be prised off (and are worth 50 gp) but doing so ruins the sundial. 10 A wide crack runs through this sundial’s face and its gnomon is missing.
Perhaps one of the oldest forms of clock, sundials harness the power of the sun to tell the time. Of course, cloudy days render them inoperable and if placed inside or underground they require magic to function.
D10 Dressing 1 This sundial’s face is pitted and weatherworn. When the sun shines upon it many small shadows cover its surface. 2 The sundial’s gnomon is bent over as if it has been struck with terrific force. 3 The sundial’s gnomon is of highly polished iron; it dazzles viewers in the hour either side of noon. 4 A DC 25 Perception check reveals a hidden compartment within the sundial’s base.
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5 Moss grows across much of this sundial’s face and covers its plinth. 6 A sundered dagger lies upon the sundial’s face. 7 The surface of the sundial is scorched and burnt. 8 The sundial is in pristine condition. 9 Two gold coins rest on the sundial’s surface. 10 The numbers on this sundial’s face have been deliberately chiselled away.
THE GAZEBO 12 days of Christmas