Aethel, the Sunken Core Inner Earth Sword & Sorcery Campaign Adventure Using both Castles & Crusades (C&C) and Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars (NSW) Rpg - The Ruined Ziggurat

We pick right up from March 3rd's game session and we happened upon the Ruined Ziggurat tonight. This encounter happened randomly from the table below. 
This table is designed for a "Hollow Earth" or "Subterranean" campaign, blending the 19th-century scientific romance of Jules Verne with the high-adventure pulp of the 1930s and 40s. It features a mix of environmental hazards, bizarre life forms, and remnants of lost civilizations.

This blog post picks right up from 

Aethel, the Sunken Core Inner Earth Sword & Sorcery Campaign Adventure Using both Castles & Crusades (C&C) and Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars (NSW) Rpg

D100 Inner Earth Encounters

Roll	Encounter Type	Description
01-03	Atmospheric	Xenon Pocket: A low-lying fog of heavy, asphyxiating gas. Requires immediate ascent to higher ground.
04-06	Creature	Giant Albino Ape: A territorial behemoth (think Pellucidar) guarding a grove of bioluminescent fruit.
07-09	Hazard	Magnetic Storm: Compasses spin wildly; electronic equipment glitches or shorts out for $1d6$ hours.
10-12	Civilization	Sarkany Scout: A winged reptilian humanoid from a nearby hanging city, observing the party from the shadows.
13-15	Geological	The Glass Forest: A cavern of giant selenite crystals. Breathtakingly beautiful but sharp as razors.
16-18	Creature	Titanoboa: A 50-foot constrictor adapted to the heat of the inner crust, camouflaged as a fallen log.
19-21	Hazard	Flash Flood: A sudden wall of mineral-rich "black water" rushing through a narrow basalt canyon.
22-24	Discovery	Derelict Drill-Tank: A rusted "Iron Mole" from a failed 1920s expedition. May contain logbooks or old tools.
25-27	Creature	Saber-Toothed Tiger: A pack of three hunting through tall, prehistoric ferns.
28-30	Phenomenon	Internal Aurora: Shimmering curtains of light caused by the "Inner Sun" interacting with the cavern roof.
31-33	Civilization	Ruined Ziggurat: An ivy-choked temple dedicated to a forgotten sun god. Contains a d20 loot table of gold idols.
34-36	Hazard	Spore Cloud: Fungi that release hallucinogenic spores when stepped on. DC 15 Save or suffer "Deep-Earth Fever."
37-39	Creature	Megatherium: A giant ground sloth, peaceful unless provoked while eating giant moss.
40-42	Geological	Lava Tube: A stable tunnel providing quick travel, but the heat causes 1 level of exhaustion per hour.
43-45	Discovery	Fossil Graveyard: Massive skeletons of creatures unknown to surface science.
46-48	Creature	Swarm of Fire-Beetles: Their abdomens glow with a steady light; they are attracted to the party’s heat.
49-51	Phenomenon	Gravity Flux: A localized area where gravity is $0.5x$ or $2x$ normal due to the Earth's rotation.
52-54	Civilization	The Silent Monks: A group of blind humans who have lived in the dark for generations; they communicate via clicks.
55-57	Hazard	Tar Pits: Hidden beneath a layer of dust. Entrapped prehistoric animals may still be alive/struggling.
58-60	Creature	Pterosaur Nest: Dozens of Dimorphodons dive-bombing anyone who nears their cliffside rookery.
61-63	Geological	Singing Sands: A vast internal desert where the wind through the dunes sounds like a human choir.
64-66	Discovery	Golden Age Comic Cache: A water-tight metal chest containing 1940s comics (strangely, they depict this exact realm).
67-69	Creature	Stone-Back Engineer: A hulking, chitinous humanoid repairing a strange, ancient geothermal pipe.
70-72	Hazard	Electric Eels (Giant): Inhabiting a subterranean lake that must be crossed.
73-75	Phenomenon	The Reverse Rain: Water droplets "falling" upward toward the Inner Sun from a humid valley.
76-78	Civilization	Steam-Powered Outpost: A small colony of Victorian-era explorers who never found their way home.
79-81	Creature	Woolly Rhino: Wandering out of a pocket of "Eternal Winter" near a polar vent.
82-84	Geological	Obsidian Spikes: A field of volcanic glass that makes movement impossible without heavy boots.
85-87	Discovery	Ancient Mural: Depicts the surface world being "seeded" by beings from the core.
88-90	Hazard	Sulfur Vents: Corrosive gas that damages armor and clogs breathing filters.
91-93	Creature	The Night-Land Abomination: A shambling, multi-limbed horror that shuns all light.
94-96	Civilization	Automaton Patrol: Rusted but functional robots guarding a "forbidden" sector of the inner shell.
97-99	Discovery	The Symmes Hole: A direct vertical shaft leading 10 miles "up" toward the North Pole.
100	Legendary	The World-Worm: A gargantuan annelid that creates new tunnels as it moves. The earth shakes for miles.

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Encounter Mechanics Tip

When using this table for systems like Cepheus Engine or Hostile, consider the lighting:

• Inner Sun Zones: No artificial light needed; visibility is infinite (save for haze).

• The Deep Crust: Pitch black. Use a $d6$ for battery life on torches—on a 1, the light flickers out.
  
  

• The Ruined Ziggurat is a massive, crumbling stepped pyramid that stands as a silent sentinel within a vast, light-drenched cavern. It serves as a remnant of a pre-cataclysmic civilization that once mastered the geothermal energies of the inner world.

  Physical Description

  • Architecture: The structure consists of five receding tiers built from polished black basalt, now cracked by seismic shifts and overgrown with phosphorescent creepers. Each corner of the base features a weathered statue of a robed figure holding a different astronomical instrument.

  • The Golden Capstone: The very top of the ziggurat originally held a massive gold-leafed dome. This has partially collapsed, creating a jagged "crown" that glints under the rays of the Inner Sun.

  • The Inscriptions: Faded bas-reliefs wrap around each tier, depicting a great exodus from the surface "above the clouds" down into the "womb of the earth" following a celestial disaster.

  Interior Features

  1. The Echoing Atrium: The entrance leads to a hollow central shaft. Acoustic engineering causes even a whisper to carry to the top tier, but the sound of heavy boots triggers a rhythmic, low-frequency vibration that can cause structural instability.

  2. The Orrery Chamber: On the third tier, a massive mechanical model of the solar system sits frozen. The gears are made of brass and star-iron. If manually restarted (requiring a difficult Technical or Mechanics check), it reveals the location of other hidden vaults within the Deep Crust.

  3. The Scriptorium: A library of clay tablets. Most have turned to dust, but a few remain legible, containing coordinates for "surface vents" or early blueprints for geothermal "Stone-Back" technology.

  D20 Loot Table: Ziggurat Artifacts

  If the party spends time excavating the debris or searching the hidden wall-alcoves, roll a d20:

  Roll	Item	Description
  1-4	Crushed Jewelry	Tangled gold chains and lapis lazuli beads. (Value: $2d10 \times 10$ Credits/Gold).
  5-7	Ceramic Canopic Jar	Contains preserved "Star-Seeds." If planted, they grow into bioluminescent ferns within 24 hours.
  8-10	Solar Lens	A polished crystal disc. When held in the light of the Inner Sun, it can ignite a fire or be used as a high-powered signaling device.
  11-13	Obsidian Ritual Dagger	Ignores the armor of reptilian creatures. The hilt is carved like a feathered serpent.
  14-15	Star-Iron Ingots	Extremely dense, non-magnetic metal. Highly valuable to engineers or blacksmiths for crafting "unbreakable" tools.
  16-17	The Chronometer	A pocket-sized brass device that tracks time based on the Earth's rotation rather than the sun. Essential for navigating time-distortion zones.
  18-19	Orichalcum Battery	A glowing cylinder that can power a piece of high-tech equipment for $1d100$ hours.
  20	The Map of Piri Reis (Inner)	A leather scroll showing a map of the Hollow Earth as it was 10,000 years ago, including secret tunnels to the surface.

  Potential Hazard: The Guardian

  The Ziggurat is not truly empty. A Guardian Automaton—a four-armed construct of bronze and jade—remains in the apex. It is programmed to allow entry only to those who can present a "Seal of the Sun." Without it, the construct activates, using its multi-lens eyes to fire beams of concentrated thermal energy.

  Adventure Hook: A rival expedition team is already at the base of the Ziggurat, trying to blast their way into the lower vaults. The party must decide whether to stop them, join them, or use the distraction to slip into the upper tiers.

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