L1-8. Store-Prep 'Hive Pantry'

Suel function & motif (ancient use)

• Original role: temple storage & staging for offerings and supplies; converted to prep in later centuries.
• Motifs to show:
• Bralm (industry/hive): faint hex-band borders cut into shelf uprights; tally notches on the table edge.
• Wee Jas (order/ledger): a tiny ruby-line glyph burned into every sixth shelf post—an inventory cadence.
• Checks: DC 12 Religion/History reads the Bralm/Wee Jas marks; success gives advantage on one check in this room (Investigation, Medicine, or Nature) by “reading the system.”

Features & checks

• Dead racks (east & west walls). Dust and neglect; DC 11 Investigation finds old iron pegs sized for polearms and broad-head tools rather than swords, matching a work-room rather than an armory.
• Scarred table (center). Grease-black cuts; DC 12 Survival shows fresh butchery within a day; DC 13 Medicine notes spoilage (fat sickly-sweet, mottling).
• Haunches (unwholesome). If eaten without proper cooking, a creature must succeed on a DC 12 Con save or suffer poisoned until a short rest (or receive lesser restoration). Properly boiled/roasted for 1 hour removes the risk.
• Root pile (unknown tubers). DC 14 Nature: under-deep sump-roots—edible only after triple-boil; otherwise as above (DC 12 Con vs. poisoned, advantage if diluted in stew).
• Drag marks across the floor. A heavy rectangular object was dragged from north wall to south recently. DC 12 Investigation identifies the path and embedded grit (coarse crate bottom). DC 13 Survival tracks it through the kitchen door—likely looted stores or a butcher’s chest. There’s no hidden hatch here; the marks are exactly what they look like.

Occupation (Howling Moon)

• Usually unoccupied except at mealtimes (two orcs on kitchen duty pass through every few hours). On noise, a pair of orc cooks from the kitchen arrive in 1–2 rounds; if the horn is up, add 2 more in 2–4 rounds.

Optional vermin complication

• Disturbing the haunches may loose a Swarm of Insects (beetles) from beneath the table (50% chance). They scatter if shown bright flame or smoked with a torch for 1 round.

Loot

• Practical gear only: two butcher’s knives (as daggers), a splitting cleaver (counts as handaxe), a roll of rough linen (5 sp if cleaned). No coin left here.

Read-aloud (short)

Map notes

• Place racks along the long walls; table roughly centered; root pile in a corner near the kitchen door.
• Keep a clear 5-ft aisle around the table for combat movement.
• If you’re using the Bralm/Wee Jas motif, etch a hex frieze waist-high and add a small ledger rune every sixth shelf post.

Running tips

• Reward players who “read” the motifs: let a successful Religion/History call out the triple-boil trick or the risk from spoiled meat.
• Use the drag marks to point traffic into the kitchen and to sell the Howling Moon’s routine here.
• If you need tension without a fight, let the cooks nearly step in—boots in the hall, a muttered complaint—giving the party a stealth beat and a choice.