The Pit of Despair - The Flooded Mines

The gaol known as the Pit of Despair was an open pit mine now converted into a prison. But there used to be more extensive mines beneath it that were all collapsed when the mine was repurposed. Well, all but one. While the entry to this mine was indeed collapsed, the rest of this section of the mines remains. A group of prisoners recently reopened the collapsed entrance but then carefully “reblocked” it before escaping the pit and descending into the mines (where they all died).

The mines are prone to flooding, and once down from the drift, the majority of the mines are under 1-2 feet of water, with the darker shaded areas being deeper. The mines are a giant death trap now – the water is brackish and enters the mines through a number of very porous cave-ins between the deeper part of the pool and the nearby ocean. The water level rises and falls sluggishly, slightly behind the tides. At high tide, everything on this map is underwater, with some of the taller rooms having air bubbles trapped at the ceilings and room 10 having a four-foot-wide shaft that leads almost directly upwards above the old rusted and broken pumping mechanism.

One of the escaped prisoners died early from a collapsing archway, but the other three died here in room 10. They had tried to repair the pumping mechanism hoping to ride the column of water out the chimney above them. But even if they done so, the shaft is so narrow that they wouldn’t have been able to all keep their heads above water. All three finally drowned and are now floating around the shaded areas on the map.

In fact, this whole “escape” method is likely a death trap for most who descend down here. The regular flooding, trapped miasmic gases and collapsing walls and ceilings should be enough to take care of most interlopers. The presence of the massive turtle shell in the large cavern would also hint at some giant monster living in the deep water. The one chance the mines offer of escaping is the statue of the manifestation of the dwarven god of death in their form as the mother of suffocated and drowned miners in room 7. She will not allow desperate characters clinging to the statue to drown; instead, she will bring them to a small sea cave about 200 miles down the coast that contains another shrine.

*(Of course, you can add any number of escape routes out of here, as there is little chance of the god being in a position to assist like that – maybe just acknowledging the god statue is enough, and she protects the adventurers from drowning no matter where they are within the flooded mines.)*

*The Pit of Despair is one of a set of seven maps that were drawn for a pair of upcoming adventures for the “Ebonoc – Infinity’s End” series. These maps will be released here over the next few months. I will also announce when that adventure is released and how to get it. The description above is not from the adventure, but is my own interpretation of how to use the map in question.*

[https://dysonlogos.blog/2026/08/17/pit-of-despair-the-flooded-mines/](https://dysonlogos.blog/2026/08/17/pit-of-despair-the-flooded-mines/)