Thursday, July 31, 2014





Wednesday, July 30, 2014


Wax Golem

FREQUENCY: Very rare
ARMOR CLASS: 10, but see below
MOVE: 12”
HIT DICE: 4 to 7 (15 to 30 hit points)
% IN LAIR: Nil
DAMAGE/ ATTACK: 1-8 or by weapon
SAVE: As non-intelligent monster
SIZE: S to L
15 hit points: III/ 145
20 hit points: IV/ 230
25 hit points: V/ 375
30 hit points: VI/ 590

Wax golems may be constructed by means of a magical tome or by a magic-user of 16th or higher level employing the following spells: enchant an item and polymorph any object. The cost in materials is 200 gold pieces per hit point, and it requires 6 days construction time. A skull from a human or humanoid and an ample supply of wax are both necessary.

The creator of the wax golem completely controls it, being able to have it follow simple commands (go ahead, stop, kill, etc.). The master of the golem can have it suspend its functioning until a set event takes place (such as someone entering its room).

Wax golems may vary in size from that of a gnome to troll-sized, although this does not correlate to hit points. Their appearance varies by the whim of the creator. Wax golems have an armor class of 10, which may be modified by wearing armor. A heavily armored wax golem can easily be mistaken for a man. They may strike with a fist for 1-8 hit points of damage or use a weapon.

Wax golems are immune to cold-based magic, as well as any spell which affects the mind, such as sleep, hold, and charm. They may be struck by normal weapons, and fire causes +3 on attack dice to them. For purposes of determination of hit dice, figure 4.5 hit points per hit die, with points being rounded up. Thus a 15 hit point wax golem has 4 dice, a 20 hit point wax golem 5, a 25 hit point wax golem 6, and a 30 hit point wax golem 7.

It is likely that with an expenditure of more wealth powerful magic-users would be able to create even more powerful wax golems.


13 GRANARY. This room is guarded by a wax golem (see NEW MONSTERS) resembling a green skinned man in black Triskelion livery over chainmail.

Wax Golem (AC 5; MV 12”; HD 6; hp 25; #AT 1; D Halberd; SD Limited spell immunity; Size M; XP 375)

The ceiling height is eleven feet and there are seventeen large barrels and fifteen large sacks. A skeletal corpse is near the west wall. A large hole is in the south wall.

The golem was used as a bodyguard by the quartermaster. Sometime during the last days of the castle's normal life, quartermaster was wounded and fled to this room ordering the golem to guard him. Unfortunately for him the wound proved fatal and so his skeletal remains are here. It wears black Triskelion livery and also wears torn and battered chainmail. There is a short sword, a hand axe, and a pouch holding 16 gold crescents, 43 silver spanners, 13 copper pieces, and a spare key to Room 5.

The barrels hold coarse ground flour and the sacks hold oats and barley. The flour is still good, but the sacks have been ravaged by rats and are now infested with crawling vermin.

The hole in the south wall is sized for a giant rat and leads to the Rat Warrens Area D. The giant rats and brown ratkin are beneath the notice of the golem, as long as they don't disturb the quartermaster's body.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014


12 ROOT CELLAR. This room has a ceiling height of eleven feet. Wooden rafters criss-cross at about ten feet and several strings of rotting onions and garlic dangle here. Wooden shelves line the north wall. There are swarms of large flies and a the room has an unpleasant small. A fireplace is against the south wall.

Bags of carrots, parsnips, radishes, and white and yellow turnips fill the shelves, but they are all rotten and turning to mush which is what is attracting the flies and causing the odor.

The fireplace has three vertical black metal levers on the outside, apparently to open and close the flue. All are in the 'down' position. What they actually do is open the secret door in the back of the fireplace. Putting any two of the levers in the 'up' position will cause the back of the fireplace to slide away to one side. The small corridor leading to Room 14 has a height of only four feet. The small door going into Room 14 is not concealed from this side.

Monday, July 28, 2014


11 WINE CELLAR. An orc guard is posted at the foot of the stairs to Room 16 of the Ground Level.

Orc (AC 6; MV 9”; HD 1; hp 4; #AT 1; D Scimitar; XP 14) 6 silver spanners, 2 copper pieces

This room is the hide out and treasure vault of the Red Legs. The following four Red Legs leaders are here, planning their next raid. If the party has been making hit-and-run attacks on the Red Legs, it is likely these members will have gone to the Ground Level in order to assist the other members, although they will always leave someone to guard this area.

Sandrina Nicostrato, Neutral Evil female human fighter (AC 4; MV 9”; F3; hp 17; #AT 1; D scimitar +2 and +1 more to damage due to strength; S 16, I 16, W 12, D 14, C 15, CH 17; XP 128)

Sandrina is the beautiful and charismatic leader of the Red Legs. She is greedy and plots for more in life, with her eye set on buying a station in society in a large city such as Sarcoy. She is using the Red Legs to advance her own cause and really cares nothing for the other members, though she does have a a soft spot for her brother Stefano. She wears chain mail and uses a shield. She is armed with a scimitar +2 and carries a silver dagger. She carries no money but wears gold earrings (2 gold crescents each) and a silver chain necklace (5 gold crescents). The key to metal iron box mentioned below is on her chain.

Stefano Nicostrato, Chaotic Evil male human magic-user (AC 9; MV 12”; MU 1; hp 3; #AT 1; D dagger or dart; S 10, I 15, W 8, D 15, C 9, CH 14; XP 71)

First Level Magic User Spell
Magic Missile

Stefano is Sandrina's younger brother. He lacks confidence and bravery but has no lack of malice and cruelty. He wears blue robes with white lightning bolts and carries two daggers and eight darts. He has a pouch with 13 gold crescents, 8 silver spanners, and 12 copper pieces. A second pouch holds three vials of soot and four vials of rock salt (for the Comprehend Languages spell).

Orfeo, Chaotic Evil male half orc thief (AC 8; T2; hp 8; #AT 1; D longsword or dagger; S 14, I 14, W 11, D 13, C 15, CH 8; XP 74)

Thief skills
PP 30%, OL 34% F/RT 30% MS 21% HS 15% HN 15% CW 91% RL -

Orfeo is desperately in love with Sandrina. Though he knows it is hopeless, he still does things to try to impress her. He wears leather armor and a black cloak. He wears a ring of feather falling and a backpack containing thieves' tools, a small glass bottle of mineral oil with a cork stopper, and leather bag with 22 gold crescents, 24 silver spanners, 5 copper pieces, and a gem (moss agate, 50 gold crescents).

Nevio, half orc half gnoll (AC 5; MV 9”; HD 2; hp 15; #AT 1; D Bastard sword +2 to damage due to strength; XP 50)

Nevio favors his gnoll parent and looks almost entirely gnoll-like except with a pig snout. He is stronger than most gnolls, having an 18 strength. He is the one who makes sure the other humanoid Red Legs stay in line, as they fear his strength and rage. He carries a pouch with 43 gold crescents and 17 silver spanners.

They are seated at a large rectangular table is in the center of the room. The south, west, and east walls hold wine racks and shelves. Spaced between the racks are torch sconces with lit torches. Eight straw mattresses and the Red Leg's loot are in the southwest corner. The ceiling height is twelve feet. The south door is barred from this side. The Red Legs know about the pit trap at Area 10 because they are the ones who built it.

The table holds three open bottles of wine, a pack of cards, several bone dice, and 37 gold crescents in loose change.

Originally there were thousands of bottles of alcohol, but now there are a total of eighty four bottles of wine and sixteen bottles of whiskey remaining in the wine racks and shelves.

The southwest corner holds the following items:

Wooden crate containing four hundred seventy three normal torches

Metal iron box with a lock on it containing :
   Set of thieves tools
   Flint and Steel
   Bag of 50 gold crescents
   Potion of frost giant strength (white and cloudy, tastes like peppermint) in
     a glass vial. It is labeled “strength”
   6 glass vials containing fine brandy (10 gold crescents each)

Small chest with a lock on it containing:
   Bag with 12 gems (6 are citrine, 50 gold crescents each; 6 are obsidian,
     10 gold crescents each)
   Bag with 77 Sealean silver lutes and 45 copper zithers
This chest was recently acquired by the Red Legs and they have not yet
tried to open it

Large chest containing:
   1433 copper pieces
   1 brass ring worth 1 silver piece

Long wooden crate containing:
   2 javelins of piercing, command word for both is “salentos”, these are
     decorated with lightning-bolt stylized heads and their command
     word is written on the shaft
   8 javelins, these are decorated with leaf-shaped heads and because of
      their high quality are worth twice normal value

Wooden box
   Stefano's spellbook holding Comprehend Languages, Magic Missile, Read
     Magic and Ventriloquism
   A clear piece of crystal for use with the Read Magic spell
   Twenty three sheets of parchment (each valued at 4 gold crescents) for
     the Ventriloquism spell.

Empty barrel, smells like fish

3 casks of lamp oil (each equivalent to 50 flasks)

Large sack containing 331 gold crescents and 6 silver spanners

Large sack containing 415 silvers spanners

Sunday, July 27, 2014


10 PIT TRAP. This is a teeter-totter style covered pit. The surface has been painted to resemble the surrounding stone floor, but is made of plaster over wood. The first row of the marching order might succumb to this trap. A saving throw at -4 versus petrification allows one to pull back before falling in. It is ten feet deep and lined with broken glass from wine bottles from Room 11 (1d6+3 damage).

Saturday, July 26, 2014


9 STORAGE ROOM. This large room is has a vaulted ceiling like Room 4. The apex height is eleven feet and the height at the edges is seven feet. A large hole is in the southwest corner wall, about three feet off the floor. This room is crowded with hundreds of smashed and intact barrels and crates. Hiding in the mess are a pair of giant poisonous snakes.

2 Giant Poisonous Snakes (AC 5; MV 15”; HD 4+2; hp 18, 17; #AT 1 bite; D 1-3; SA Poison; XP 255, 250).

The bite is each snake is only weakly poisonous, causing an extra 2d4 damage, reduced by half if a saving throw versus poison is successful. Anyone suffering from the effects of the poison feels warm, as if flushed. The snakes are used to hunting rats in the rubbish and are at +2 to hit in this room only. Everyone else attacks at -4. The snakes will not reveal themselves unless the adventurers start moving across the room, from one exit to another. The snakes will then strike, possibly isolating a victim.

The area is so crowded that anyone attempting to walk through it does so at 1/3 their normal movement rate. Flyers can move normally. The snakes can also move at their normal rate.

In addition to the empty and broken containers, there are six huge wheels of cheese near the south wall. These have attracted the giant rats which the snakes feed upon. The cheese has been gnawed upon by generations of rats and is not fit for human consumption. The hole in the southwest wall leads to the Rat Warrens, Area I.

A pile of rat bones and snake excrement is in the northeast corner. Among the detritus is the remains of a dwarf. There is a black leather pouch holding 54 copper ganes, 7 silver khurams, 2 electrum lugdushes, 3 gold mabans, and 3 amethysts (base value 100 gold crescents). He wore chain armor and used a battleaxe. The armor is useless but the battleaxe is still in good shape.

Friday, July 25, 2014


8 SPICE LOCKER. The door to this room is locked. The room has a ceiling height of ten feet and holds dozens of wooden shelves. Numerous cooking spices are here in labeled glass bottles sealed with wax. There are peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, mustard seeds, coriander, sage, parsley, sugar, brown sugar, jellies and jams, nuts, and salt.

Thursday, July 24, 2014


7 MEAT LOCKER. The metal door to this room is locked. It has a coating of frost on the outside and is painfully cold to the touch. The room has a ceiling height of eleven feet and is extremely cold (staying in this room will cause 1 hp/round damage starting on the third round unless protected by warm clothing or magic). The room holds dozens of metal shelves, which in turn hold deep frozen poultry, venison, beef, and fish. Enough meat is here to feed 100 people for two months.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014


6 VAGRANTS. A man and three gnolls are camped here.

Loditch Sellsword, Chaotic Evil male human fighter (AC 7; MV 12”; F3; hp 15; #AT 1; D short sword or silver dagger; S 12, I 12, W 7, D 10, C 14, Ch 15; XP 120)

Loditch is small for a human at about 5'2”. He has a scruffy beard and his hair is turning gray. He wears leather armor and uses a shield. Loditch carries a backpack with flint and tinder, three torches, and two flasks of oil. He has twenty feet of rope on his belt. His belt pouch holds 3 gold crescents, 9 silver spanners, and 35 copper pieces.

Gorm the gnoll (AC 5; MV 9”; HD 2; hp 16; #AT 1; D Spetum + 2 to damage due to strength; XP 52)

Gorm is unusually tall (8 feet) and strong for a gnoll (18 strength). He carries a felt bag on a string around his neck. It holds 16 gold crescents and an eye agate worth 50 gold crescents.

Axley and Hrub, gnolls (AC 5; MV 9”; HD 2; hp 12 each; #AT 1; D Broadsword + 1 to damage due to strength; XP 44 each)

Axley has a pouch holding 4 silver spanners and 15 copper pieces. Hrub has a small sack holding 73 copper pieces and a ornamental ivory and brass pipe worth 13 gold crescents.

These troublemakers are defectors from the Red Legs, too lazy even for banditry. They have decided to become treasure hunters and are intent on exploring the castle. They are out for an easy score, and are more inclined to avoid or negotiate with the adventurers than to fight, unless they believe they can defeat them easily.

The room has a ceiling height of eleven feet. The walls are of unfinished stone and the place smells musty. Seven barrels are here, but six have been broken into and their contents removed. The seventh holds beer and it has been tapped. Four ratty bedrolls, pewter mugs, plates, forks, and half a roast chicken are also here.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014


5 QUARTERMASTER'S OFFICE. The door to this room is locked. This room appears cramped and the ceiling height is only seven feet. There is a large desk with accompanying chair, a key rack on the south wall near the door, a bookshelf filled with books on the east wall, and a large unlit candelabra.

The desk is rather plain and holds a wooden cup, several quill pens, and normal black ink. A drawer holds a piece of old bread about the size of a brick, which is so hard that it also feels like a brick. The chair is unremarkable.

The key rack holds the key to this room, the key to Room 7, the key to Room 8, the key to the locked door at Area 7 of The Sewers, and three other keys whose use has been forgotten.

The bookshelf holds red-bound ledgers decorated with the Triskelion crest. They are inventories of and requisitions for food and household supplies.

The candelabra holds six tall purple candles which give off the smell of lilac when lit.

Monday, July 21, 2014


4 STORAGE ROOM. This room is vaulted, with a ceiling height of eleven feet at the center and seven feet near the walls. The archway to the west is decorated with the bust of a bear. This room is filled with clutter, including broken pieces of furniture and ruined bolts of canvas. A quick search will reveal that there is also a sturdy twelve foot ladder, three empty casks, and two serviceable bullseye lanterns with three flasks of lamp oil.

Sunday, July 20, 2014


MOVE: 1”/9”
HIT DICE: 1-3 hit points
% IN LAIR: Nil
SAVE: As non-intelligent monster
SIZE: S (up to 3' long)
LEVEL/ X.P. VALUE: I/ 5 +1/hp 

These odd insects never attack on purpose. When startled, as can be caused by the sudden appearance of adventurers, they will take to the air, where they will have a 1 in 6 chance of colliding with a nearby individual, causing 1-4 hit points.

They have a healthy appetite, and are able to consume most organic materials, including fungi, cloth, leather, and books. 

Description: These huge beetles are black to dark blue in color with yellow or green striped markings. Their thick carapace is spiked and quite strong.



MOVE: 9”
% IN LAIR: 45%
DAMAGE/ ATTACK: 1-4/1-4 or by weapon type
SAVE: Fighter 2
INTELLIGENCE: Average to exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
LEVEL/ X.P. VALUE: II/ 28 + 2/hp

Creations of hideous sorcery and science, the cellar dwellers appear to combine the worst features of insects and mollusks. Their heads and upper body are octopoid but they have four great jointed legs. Their upper bodies sport many small tentacles and two great ones, which can be used to grasp weapons and tools. Combining the use of their great and small tentacles, they have dexterity equivalent to that of a man. These creatures always obscure their bodies in strips of black cloth and they hide their faces behind stylized white masks. Removing the mask reveals their horrific face of wrinkled flesh and multiple misplaced mouths. 

Once per day, the creature can squirt a stream of viscid ink up to 9”. This foul-smelling liquid is extremely caustic and does 1-6 points of damage on a successful hit. The next round it will do another 1-4 points of damage automatically before becoming inert. Cellar dwellers can see, even in complete darkness, up to 90'. They speak among themselves in low-pitched whistles and clicks, but can also speak the common tongue of men.

Cellar dwellers are quite canny and inventive. The most brilliant are known to modify their bodies to make them more effective in combat and to attempt to put fear into their brethren. There are no young, as these creatures emerge fully formed from the vats.

Description: The octopoid portion of their body is pale pink, with unwholesome pale or gray patches. The insectoid legs and abdomen are glossy black or vomit green.

History: Theses foul beings are vat creatures, fabricated by Valerian Triskelion in the dungeons below Castle Triskelion. When he saw what he produced, he was disgusted and scheduled them for termination. Before he had the opportunity to have his servants destroy them, however, a cataclysm struck the castle. In the confusion, the creatures escaped and fled, eventually finding their way to the cellars below the inner ward, founding a colony an d preying on anything unfortunate enough to fall in their path.

With the passage of time the cellar dwellers, as they came to be known, were unable to reconcile their rejection by their creator. In their own minds they recast Valerian as a god who would one day come back to lead them to a promised land of pleasure and slaughter of men. Now they bide their time. They have built new vats to replenish their numbers and seek men and humanoids on which to experiment and satisfy their lust for torture.

Inner Ward The Cellars Wandering Monsters

I pushed this entry back to two days because Friday and Saturday were so crowded with posts.

Roll for random encounters using 1d6 once every three turns. On a 1, there is an encounter. Double the odds if the group is making a lot of noise or in similar situations. 

Random Encounters
1     1d3 butcher worms
2     1 carver bug
3     1d2+1 cellar dwellers
4     1d3 cross worms
5     2d6 dementings
6     1 glutinous gunge
7     1d4+3 giant rats
8     1d6+4 slub beetles
9     1d3+1 trigintipedes
10    Dungeon Dressing
Dungeon Dressing
1     Puddle of spilled red wine
2     Human skull with a dagger stuck into it
3     Sound of clanking chains coming from far away
4     Chalk marks on wall “Lefty was here”
5     A loud “thud” somewhere in the distance
6     Rose petals scattered on the floor
7     Miniature stone tripartite Triskelion statue
8     Broken clay tablets with writing, legible are the words “help” and “they are all dead”


3 CAVE IN. This passage abruptly terminates in rubble. The passage once continued to additional storage rooms, but the way is now buried. The passage may be excavated by a determined party, of course, but the noise of such work will usually double chances of encountering wandering monsters. In addition, there is a real chance of further structural instability and crashing stoneworks. For every ten feet excavated, there is a 50% chance of falling stone doing 2-12 points of damage to workers unless a save versus paralyzation is made to get out of the way at the last instant. After about 120 feet or so, the passage leads to Area 8 of the Grounds.
Rules for mining can be found on page 106 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. The rock should be considered 'very soft' since it is really just the removal of rubble, and subsequent bracing of the tunnel.

Saturday, July 19, 2014



MOVE: 12”//6”
% IN LAIR: 10%
DAMAGE/ ATTACK: 1-4 or by weapon type
SAVE: Fighter 2
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (evil)

Huge brown-furred rats of average intelligence, brown ratkin are capable of controlling normal giant rats. Their front paws can be used to grasp and manipulate objects, including small weapons such as daggers. They can also bite and any individual bitten by a brown ratkin has a 5% chance per bite of contracting a severe disease if a saving throw versus poison is unsuccessful.

Brown ratkin are size small creatures, up to four feet from nose to tip of tail. They are voracious in appetite and will consume any available food source, be it grain, vegetable, meat, or carrion. They prefer fresh meat and can be aggressive. Their royalty are unusual in terms of size, strength, and intelligence, and often have unusual mutations.


2 STORAGE ROOM. Ten giant rats are clustered in the northeast corner of the room. Eight are standard size for giant rats, while the other two are brown ratkin, see NEW MONSTERS.

8 Giant Rats (AC 7; MV 12"//6"; HD 1-4 hit points; hp 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1; #AT 1 bite; D 1-3; SA Disease; XP 11, 11, 10, 10, 9, 9, 9, 8)

2 Brown Ratkin (AC 6; MV 12”//6”; HD 2; hp 13, 8, ; #AT 1 bite; D 1-4; SA Disease; XP 54, 44)

Excavation work (by humans or humanoids, not rats) appears to have been going on in the northeast corner, where the rats are. A large hole is present in the west wall. Fourteen large clay jars are in the southeast corner. This large room has a ceiling height of thirteen feet. Dozens of metal hooks hang from the ceiling. The archway to the east is decorated with the stone bust of a horned devil while the archway to the west is decorated with the stone bust of a medusa.

The stones have been pried loose from the floor in the northeast, revealing dirt beneath. Several picks and spades are placed casually about. Buried in the dirt in the northeast corner are seven human corpses, ranging from fresh to skeletal. These have attracted the rats. One of the corpses wears a gold armband worth 125 gold crescents.

The hole in the west wall is located about three feet above the floor. It leads to the series of tunnels known as the Rat Warrens, Area F.

The clay jars in the southeast corner contain olives in oil. They are sealed in red wax marked with the Triskelion symbol and are still edible.

The hooks on the ceiling were once used to hold hams and sausages, and if examined, the smell of the spiced meat can still be detected.

Friday, July 18, 2014


Well I promised a new fight night. This time it is a group of goblins cleaning out a part of the dungeon for living quarters. What! They find giant centipedes in that room full of rubbish.

Here are the giant centipedes.

NO. APPEARING: 2-24 (3-13 in dungeon DMG p 177)
MOVE: 15”
HIT DICE: 1 to 2 hit points
SIZE: S (1' + long)
LEVEL/ X.P. VALUE: II/ 30 + 1/hp

  • Weakly poisonous bite, add +4 to saving throw
  • -1 on die for all saving throws
  • Need a '15' to hit an AC 6 goblin

Now the goblins.

NO. APPEARING: 40-400 (6-15 in dungeon DMG p 175)
MOVE: 6”
HIT DICE: 1 to 7 hit points
INTELLIGENCE: Average (low)
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: S (4' tall)
LEVEL/ X.P. VALUE: I/ 10 + 1/ hp

  • Need a '11' to hit an AC 9 giant centipede
  • They need a '12' to save vs poison against the bite of a giant centipede. It is normally 16, but I adjusted it by the +4 bonus.

Now it is time to roll up numbers and hit points. There are 3-13 giant centipedes (2d6+1). I roll 8. Their hit points are: 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2

There are 6-15 goblins (1d10+5). I roll 7. Their hit points are irrelevant, since hit points don't matter when fighting giant centipedes. They will either poison you or not.

Randomly rolling up weapons based on the monster manual entry reveals:

Goblin 1 has a short sword (1d6) and military pick (2-7)
Goblins 2 and 3 have slings (stones, 1-4, entire room is short range, so no adjustments)
Goblins 4 and 5 have morning stars (2-8)
Goblins 6 and 7 have spears (1-6)

As noted this is a dungeon encounter. Goblins are level I monsters and giant centipedes are level II monsters, so the goblins were probably feeling their oats and went down a level to clear out some dungeon for habitation.

Next is surprise. The giant centipedes roll a 5 and the goblins do, too, so no surprise.

Next is encounter distance. I will say the room is 20 'X 20'. Going by DMG page 62, the rule is to roll a d6. 1-2 will be striking distance, 3-4 will be 10' distance, and 5-6 will be 20' distance. I roll a 4, so the giant centipedes are 10' from the door.

We have to declare intentions. The giant centipedes “are aggressive and rush forth to bite their prey” so that is what they do. The goblins with slings attack from a distance, while the others move to engage. Time to roll for initiative. The giant centipedes roll a 6 and the goblins roll a 6, too, so it is simultaneous combat. Because the distance is 10', the two sides can have melee this round. Since the giant centipedes do not use weapons, weapon speed factor will not be an issue.

Random allocation of targets.

Centipede 1 attacks goblin 1, rolls a 15 and hits
Centipede 2 attacks goblin 4, rolls a 1
Centipede 3 attacks goblin 1, rolls a 5
Centipede 4 attacks goblin 3, rolls a 13
Centipede 5 attacks goblin 5, rolls a 4
Centipede 6 attacks goblin 1, rolls a 9
Centipede 7 attacks goblin 4, rolls a 3
Centipede 8 attacks goblin 4, rolls a 19 and hits

Goblin 1 attacks centipede 4, rolls a 3
Goblin 2 attacks centipede 7, rolls a 2
Goblin 3 attacks centipede 7, rolls a 19 and hits for 3 points of damage, killing it
Goblin 4 attacks centipede 8, rolls a 4
Goblin 5 attacks centipede 5, rolls a 11 and hits, killing it
Goblin 6 attacks centipede 3, rolls a 16 and hits and hits for 6 points of damage, killing it
Goblin 7 attacks centipede 2, rolls a 17 and hits for 6 points of damage, killing it

There is no need to roll for damage for goblin 5. He has a morning star which does 2-8 points of damage. Since giant centipedes can only ever have 2 hit points maximum, any strike will kill it.

Goblins 1 and 4 need to roll against poison, needing an '11' or better. Goblin 1 rolls a 5 and dies. Goblin 4 rolls a 13 and is okay.

Ok, end of round 1.

Goblin 1 is dead.
Centipedes 2, 3, 5, and 7 are dead. The centipedes are non-intelligent and don't follow normal morale rules, otherwise they would take a morale test now.

New round and new actions. The centipedes bite. Sucks to be a goblin whose only weapon is a sling.  Goblin 2 picks up Goblin 1's short sword. Goblin 3 picks up Goblin 1's military pick. The other goblins melee.

Roll for initiative. The centipedes roll a 4 and the goblins roll a 2.

Centipede 1 attacks goblin 3, rolls a 11
Centipede 4 attacks goblin 6, rolls a 20 and hits
Centipede 6 attacks goblin 6, rolls a 10
Centipede 8 attacks goblin 6, rolls a 18 and hits

Goblin 6 must make two saving throws. He rolls a 1 and 9, fails them both and dies.

Goblin 2 can't attack, he is picking up a short sword
Goblin 3 can't attack, he is picking up a military pick
Goblin 4 attacks centipede 1, rolls a 10
Goblin 5 attacks centipede 8, rolls a 17 and kills it
Goblin 6 just died
Goblin 7 attacks centipede 8, rolls a 15 and hits, but it is already dead

End of round 2. We have 3 centipedes left and 5 goblins left. For actions it is all melee. Centipedes roll a 5 for initiative and goblins roll a 6.

Goblin 2 attacks centipede 6, rolls a 13 and hits for 2 points, killing it
Goblin 3 attacks centipede 6, rolls a 7
Goblin 4 attacks centipede 6, rolls a 7
Goblin 5 attacks centipede 4, rolls a 1
Goblin 7 attacks centipede 1, rolls a 8

Centipede 1 attacks goblin 3, rolls a 3
Centipede 4 attacks goblin 5, rolls a 13

On to Round 4. Same actions. Centipedes get a 5 for initiative and the goblins get a 3.

Centipede 1 attacks goblin 2, rolls a 9
Centipede 4 attacks goblin 5, rolls a 11

Goblin 2 attacks centipede 4, rolls a 16 and hits for 4 points of damage, killing it
Goblin 3 attacks centipede 4, rolls a 20 and hits but it is already dead
Goblin 4 attacks centipede 4, rolls a 14 and hits but it is already dead
Goblin 5 attacks centipede 1, rolls a 2
Goblin 7 attacks centipede 1, rolls a 19 and hits for only 1 point of damage, but that is enough to kill it.

Well it took four rounds and 2 goblins died to clear out a room of 8 giant centipedes. I figured it might go this way but I thought goblin casualties would be higher.

One of the reasons this fight intrigued me was that I suspected that giant centipedes are not as tough as the standard level II monster. Certainly other such monsters, such as gnolls, troglodytes, etc. would fare better against the goblins here.

A goblin can kill a giant centipede on a single attack just under 45% of the time. They hit on an 11 or better (45%) and they almost always do more than 1 point of damage. Even if they ALWAYS did exactly 1 point of damage they kill a giant centipede ½ of the time.

Giant centipedes, however, kill goblins only by hitting (needing a 15, or 25% of the time) and then having the goblin fail the save (which happens 55% of the time). That is only a 13.75% chance to kill in one round.

Giant centipedes do remain a relative threat as their opponents become more powerful, paradoxically. A single goblin is not a credible threat to a 5th level adventurer (unless they rolled all 1's for hit points) but a giant centipede can kill a 5th level adventurer in one hit, even though it is not likely.

If the 5th level adventurer is a fighter, he or she probably has an armor class of 2 or better and saves against giant centipede poison on a 7 or better. The giant centipede would kill in one round at a (10% for to hit AC 2 X 30% of failing save) 3.0% chance. This is much less than the chance to kill a goblin, but it is not zero.

If it is a magic-user, he or she probably has an AC of 8 or so, maybe better if the found some good magic items of protection. The centipede will hit on a 13 (35% chance) and the magic-user must fail the save (50% chance). That is 17.5 % (higher than the goblin!) Of course, this will go down drastically if the magic-user has a high dexterity and magic protection.

For level 5 clerics, (assuming AC 2 again), the chance of death is only 2.0%, and for level 5 thieves (assuming AC 6), it is 8.75%. When dwarves, gnomes, or halflings are the targets, survival rates increase dramatically, due to their excellent poison saving throws. I suppose when fighting giant centipedes, have clerics, fighters, and wee demi-humans  do it.