Dungeon Magazine #001

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COVER: Every silverlining has its cloud,as Keith Parkinsonshows in his portraitof Flame from Into the Fire. Keithresearched thetreasures in Flame’shoard, borrowingfrom actual 14th-

through 18th-centurytreasures in Europe.The enraged Flame,of course, is pureKeith.

ISSUE NO. 1

Out of the dungeon, into the fire

On a forgotten summer day in 1976, a college friend told mebout a wild new game that she was playing in the local stu-ent center at the University of Kentucky. We use beans forur characters, Shelia said. Its hard to imagine that yourean is really a wizard, but we havent got any figures to play

with yet.Later on, I found a small boxed copy of this game in a local

hobby shop and brought it home. I read all three of the littlean booklets and didnt understand any of it. Such was myntroduction to DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® gaming. I madehelia Wise a halfling goddess in later years, in thanks for

getting me started in this mess. Now I have a chance to pass onhe favor to everyone else.DUNGEON Adventures is a new periodical from TSR; Inc.,

n which you, the readers, may share your own adventures and

cenarios from AD&D® and D&D® gaming with the legions ofther fantasy gamers. Each issue offers a number of fairlyhort (but often quite complicated and long-playing) modules,elected from the best we receive.What kind of adventures do you want to see? Were going to

ffer as broad a spectrum of material as possible: dungeonrawls, wilderness camp-outs, Oriental Adventures modules,olo quests, tournament designs, BATTLESYSTEM scenarios,nd more. Of course, what we have to offer depends on whatou send to us. (See our guidelines offer on page 60.)Write in and tell us what you want.

PUBLISHER: Mike Cook CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS:

EDITOR: Roger E. Moore James Holloway, Dave

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT:LaForce, Keith Parkinson,Roger Raupp, Jim Roslof,

Eileen Lucas, Karen Martin, Dave Sutherland, TimGeorgia Moore, Debbie Truman, Valerie ValusekPoutsch, Patrick Lucien Price PRODUCTION STAFF: LindaART DIRECTOR: Roger Bakk, Kim Lindau, CoileenRaupp OMalley, Gloria Szopinski,

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Ruth Carolyn Vanderbilt

Hoyer ADVERTISING: MaryParkinsonSUBSCRIPTIONS: HarrietMeacham, Pat Schulz

The Readers

Michael Ashton andLee Sperry

Patricia Nead Elrod

John, Nephew

Anne Gray McCready

Grant and DavidBoucher

Carl Smith

LETTERS A new magazine, a new

readership, and many new questions. .2

THE DARK TOWER OF CABILAR A vampirehas the royal crown and youve got toget it back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ASSAULT ON EDDISTONE POINT Whathappened to the signal tower? Whatwaits for you in the mistymountains? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

GRAKHIRT'S LAIR The leader of a norkeruprising is free. Go find him! . . . . . . .28

THE ELVEN HOME A brief encounter withan unusual dwelling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

INTO THE FIRE The solution to a15-year-old mystery lies in a volcanicmountain range. The last force sent inwas destroyed. Youre next. . . . . . . . .42

GUARDIANS OF THE TOMB A silent forest,a lonely shrine, and no survivors. . . .61

Sorry! I dont want any adventures, thank you. Not today.Bilbo Baggins

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien



Dear editor,I see in DRAGON® #107 Magazine

issue that you still lack a name for themodule magazine youre about to pro-duce. Why not call it Wyrm?

Wyrm, the old term for dragon, is seenin such classics as Beowulf and theNibelungenlied. A sister magazine toDRAGON magazine should have arelated name.

The name DUNGEON had been con-sidered as a magazine title for a longtime at TSR, Inc., because it was anobvious and perfect compliment toDRAGON Magazine (thanks to the

Wyrm gives a wonderful feeling ofantiquity, perhaps due to its unusualspelling. That aura of fantasy and

antiquity fits perfectly into the contextof the AD&D® game. Also, I assumethat a large part of the module maga-zines content is based on the AD&Dgame. Since DRAGON Magazine isAD&D-game based, it makes sense thata similar publication should be simi-larly named.

the legal department.Dozens of names were discarded in the

search, such as Chimera, Atlantis, Lab-yrinth, Tesseract, Voyager, Viking, HighAdventure, Quest, Oracle, Hoard, Para-gon, DM, Spectrum, Centaur, Arcana,Gateways, Multiverse, Orion, and Sage,as well as less serious ones likeUnleashed!, TMM, Dungeon EarsSurvival Guide, and Dungeon Propa-ganda. Wyrm and several variations onthat name were also considered, butthese because of trademark restric-

tions, previous usage, confusion in spell-ing or with other products, or unattractiveness were soon dropped.Perhaps 50-100 names were generatedThis brings up the next letter. . . .

Editor:After reading the editorial in the

latest issue of DRAGON Magazine

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game).Skip Williams was the first person whomentioned this title to your editor. Wehad also received several letters like theone above that all suggested the same

Wyrm can also conceivably save onmundane printing expenses, too. Afterall, its short, only four letters long, andeasy to remember. Plus, since it is soshort, it wont block out so much of thecover art, unless you print it in hugeletters.

name, and I have notes from meetings inwhich the name DUNGEON Adven-tures appears as a possibility. In time, it

was this name that was selected. Adungeon is an adventuring environment,and adventures are what this magazineis all about.

The main focus of DUNGEON Adven-tures is on modules, not on gamingarticles; the latter belong in DRAGON

Magazine. The letters column also serves

(#107), I am reminded of a letter I sentas a question-and-answer column for

to you about two years ago suggestingcorrecting errors in previously published

the very same thing, a separate maga-modules or for clarifying and detailing

zine containing modules and articlesways of handling certain situationsappearing in such modules. We have no

based on the subject of modules. other regular features planned, but we.The publication would be titled

Dungeon Magazine. I generated two

are open to suggestions.

columns to be in each issue: a Forum- Dear sirs:type column with help for the DM calledBlue Lightning and another with

I understand that changes in

help on constructing homemade mod-DRAGON Magazine may see modules

ules named Drawbridge. Your edito-published in a separate magazine. I donot favor this as modules are a feature

rial does not address if you plan to

Hope you take this idea under consid-eration. I cant wait for the new modulemagazine, whatever its name.

Alan StruthersLac du Flambeau, Wisconsin

One of my first orders of business aseditor of this periodical was to come upwith a name for it. Creating names waseasy; my own imagination was supple-mented by helpful letters and comments

from readers, friends, and coworkers atTSR, Inc. However, the names had tomeet the approval of the publisher and

include text in the new magazine, or ifof DRAGON Magazine that I enjoy. If

articles will be found in DRAGON Mag-they are published separately, I may beforced to choose between DRAGON

azine only. But, as your editorial alsosaid, decisions still remain to be made.

Magazine and the module magazine dueto the restrictions of my budget for such

Randy Bisig publications.Fulton, Missouri

DUNGEON Adventures (ISSN applied for) is published bimonthly by TSR, Inc. The mailing address for all material except subscription orders is DUNGEON Adventures, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva, WI 53147; the businesstelephone number is (414) 248-3625. DUNGEON Adventures is available by subscription throughout the United States and Canada. The subscription rate via second-class mail is $15 in U.S. funds for one year (six issues) sent toan address in the U.S. or Canada. Information on foreign subscriptions can be obtained by writing to: Subscription Department, DUNGEON Adventures, TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva, WI 53147. Payment in full mustaccompany all subscription orders. Payment should be by check or money order, made payable to TSR, Inc., or by charges to valid MasterCard or VISA credit cards, Send subscription orders with payments to: TSR, Inc., P.O. Box72089, Chicago, IL 60690. The issue of expiration of each subscription is printed on the mailing label for each subscribers copy of the magazine. Changes of address for the delivery of subscription copies must be received at leastsix weeks prior to the effective date of the change, in order to assure uninterrupted delivery.

All material published in DUNGEON Adventures becomes the exclusive property of the publisher, unless special arrangements to the contrary are made prior to publication. DUNGEON Adventures welcomes unsolicitedsubmissions of written material and artwork; however, no responsibility for such submissions can be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any submission accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient sizewill be returned if it cannot be published. Please write for our writers guidelines before sending a module to us; send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (9½ long preferred) to: Module Guidelines, DUNGEON Adventures, TSR,Inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.

DUNGEON is a trademark for the TSR role-playing adventure periodical published by TSR, Inc. All rights to the contents of this publication are reserved, and nothing may be reproduced from it in whole or in part, withoutfirst obtaining written permission from the publisher. Copyright ©1988 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

AD&D, D&D, DRAGON, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, GAMMA WORLD, GEN CON, STAR FRONTIERS, TOP SECRET, and TSR are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. BATTLESYSTEM and DRAGONLANCE aretrademarks of TSR, Inc. ©1988 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. CALL OF CTHULHU is a registered trademark of Chaosium, Inc. All Marvel characters and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of the Marvel ComicsGroup. MARVEL SUPER HEROES and MARVEL SUPER VILLAIN are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. Copyright ©1988 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. All Rights Reserved.TRAVELLER is a registered trademark of Game Designers Workshop. LANKHMAR is used under license with Fritz Leiber.

Secondclass postage paid at Lake Geneva, WI, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.

2 Issue No. 1



I am willing to try the new system, soplease reserve a copy of the new modulemagazine for me if it comes about. I willtry both magazines for one year and

then decide whether to get both, onlyone, or neither regularly.

A new magazine with only modules isa good idea but may be too expensive forthose of us on low budgets. If I may, Iwould like to suggest a few ideas for thenew magazine.

First, put it on the shelf as opposed toselling it by subscription only. It willthen be available to more gamers andwill allow people to review its contentsbefore deciding to buy.

In addition, perhaps you could sepa-rate the types of modules by issues. Forexample, if the magazine were to be a

quarterly, two issues could be for D&D®and AD&D games, one could be forscience-fiction games such as the STARFRONTIERS®, GAMMA WORLD®, orTRAVELLER® games, and one could befor others such as the TOP SECRET® orCALL OF CTHULHU® games. Combin-ing such a format with off-the-shelfpurchasing would allow a player of theTOP SECRET and MARVEL SUPERHEROES games not to get stuck witha bunch of useless D&D modules, andvice versa.

I know you have many other consider-ations to make, but I thought Id give

you my opinion. Thank you. J. G. Simpson

Victoria, British Columbia

Because DUNGEON Adventures isbimonthly, a yearly subscription shouldnot strain too many pocketbooks. We arealso offering a special subscription ratethat is detailed on the inside back cover of this issue. The possibility of distribut-ing it through stores is also beingexplored. After long discussions about the con-

tent of DUNGEON Adventures, it wasdecided that only AD&D and D&D

modules would be featured in it. Noother games share the popularity thatthese two have, and many gamers havetold us that they would prefer to get anall-fantasy publication, regarding cover-age of any other games as wasted space.In addition, running modules for thegames of other companies would be tootrying on the editor who would thenhave to be familiar with dozens of differ-ent games in extreme detail. Focusingthe scope of DUNGEON Adventures onthese two games alone is the best move.

LETTERS

We may eventually change our edito- We may not always use boxed text inrial policies if we receive enough feed- our modules, but the parts of the textback to justify it. We feel that meant only for the Dungeon MastersDUNGEON Adventures is very strong in eyes are noted in the modules as such.

its present form and well do our best to Your editor isnt a big fan of reading please our readers. sections of module text verbatim to play-

Dear editor,ers because it takes away from the spon-taneity of the game. Nonetheless, it is

I read with much joy that DRAGON important to know what to tell the playMagazine was planning to publish a ers and what not to tell them. Well makemagazine devoted only to publishing sure the distinction is clear.modules. I am planning to subscribe toit as soon as possible. I do, however, Sirs:have one suggestion. Please require It might be interesting readers tothat the modules label what the DM is see a blow-by-blow review of a previoussupposed to read and what he or she is module, as an article, in a subsequentsupposed to keep to himself. I have magazine.noticed that, in many of TSRs modules,which information the DM is supposed

Roger G. Allen

to read is not made clear. I realize this

Willowdale, Ontario

would take time, but I have found whenthe information is kept secret and is not

This falls outside the scope of our periodical. The retelling of old adven-

labeled, it is a lot harder on us poor tures is fun and can be instructive, butDMs. I would like for you to keep this inmind when this new magzine is pub-

we would rather present as many new

lished. I thank you for your time. I haveopportunities for adventures as possible.Readers can send in particular com-

enjoyed reading DRAGON Magazine ments and suggestions for altering theand look forward to the future. playing of a module, if a gaming session

David Robinson reveals some interesting alternatives toFultondale, Alabama the modules set-up.

DUNGEON 3



Michael Ashton and Lee Sperry, both from Fort Worth, Texas, were the co-creators of The Dark Tower of Cabilar.

Michael plans to major in economicsand mathematics at college this fall; henames a wide assortment of interestswhich include running, computers,

politics, and gaming. Lee enjoys water-skiing and is a college senior majoringin industrial technology and business.

The Dark Tower of Cabilar is anAD&D® adventure for 4-8 characters of4th-7th level. The party should haveseveral fighters and at least one magic-user, thief, and cleric. Magical weaponsare required.

Note that falling damage is calculatedas increasing by 1d6 damage per 10fallen. This should be adjusted if the

revised falling-damage rules in theDungeoneers Survival Guide are used.

THE DARKTOWER OFCABILAR

BY MICHAEL ASHTON AND LEE SPERRY

The vampire isthe least of

your worries

4 ISSUE NO. 1

Adventure Background

This adventure, derived from a tourna-ment module, may be easily droppedinto most campaign settings with a fewadjustments in names and places. Theadventure, begins from the moment theplayer characters reach the tower ofCabilar; it may be expanded by addingthe hiring of the characters, their tra-vels to this area, and their journeyhome again.

The following boxed informationshould be read or paraphrased to theplayers at the start of this adventure.

Four years ago, the sprawling city ofStoutwall was a haven for peoplewho wanted peace and quiet. Thenthe throne was usurped by a magic-user named Cabilar. The wizard slewthe entire city council with acloudkill, then blasted the king witha lightning bolt. However, the kingsaged personal attendant was wearinga necklace of adaptation and man-aged to escape the slaughter througha secret door leading to the kingschamber. Guessing Cabilar's motives,he hastened to the princes bedroom.and bade the adolescent heir come.Together they dashed through forgot-ten corridors and emerged outsidethe castle walls. The princes saviorbrought him by back roads to hisgodparents. At that point the strainbecame too much for the old loyalist,who had a heart attack and died.But; as he collapsed, he gave to the



THE DARK TOWER OF CABILAR

prince one item saved from the sackof the palace the symbol of thekingship, a jade crown.

When Cabilar discovered that the

prince was missing, he had the cityscoured but to no avail, as theprince had been spirited away withhis godparents accompanying him.However, after two days travelnorthward, the princes godfatherwas slain and the crown which heprotected stolen by a vampire. Theprince and his godmother foundshelter in a neighboring city, wherethey have remained these four years.

Now that the prince is old enoughto win back his city, it is time thatthe crown be brought forward. Aftermuch research, the lair of the vam-

pire has been found. The princesgodmother has commissioned you toget the crown. She has discoveredthat the lair of the vampire is interestingly enough in the sametower that was inhabited by Cabilarbefore his conquest. She promises topay each and every member of theexpedition a generous reward whenthe mission is complete.

For the Dungeon Master

The journey to the vampires lair hasbeen long and difficult. You are fol-lowing your guide down a windingpath which cuts across the face of acliff, when the trail abruptly swings

in toward the stone itself. The cliffgives way to an immense cavernchamber 500 long and almost aswide; the ceiling is about 250 aboveyour heads. The guide says that hemust leave, and he beats a hastyretreat back up the trail. After a fewmoments of staring into the cave,you see the vampires tower. At firstyou mistook it for an immensestalagmite. It rises over 100 in theair and is approximately 200 away.Slowly you enter the cave.

The party must be wary in this Now you see more clearly that the

dungeon. There are several lethal trapsstalagmite tower has wooden

and encounters, but many that can ledges high up on its sides, and sev-erode party strength or finish off weak eral small windows open outward

characters. In some places, marching perhaps 90 above the floor of the

order plays an important role in deter- cavern. No other doors or entrances

mining the success or failure of an are visible around the base of the

encounter; in others, it makes no tower. You initially approach the

difference at all. tower from the south.

The Dungeon Master should note thatthere are encounters that precludeattack by all members of the party, asthe assault comes as a door is opened,etc. Wandering monsters have beenomitted, as the creatures which dwellwithin the tower and dungeon are, for

the most part, charmed or trained toprotect an area, or have no choice intheir actions by the way their room isdesigned or by what is protecting theirexit. They are also enchanted to resisthunger and have no desire (thanks toCabilars magic) to leave the dungeons.All monsters radiate magic if this isdetected for, due to Cabilars spells.

The boxed text is to be read to the playersas the need arises. Care should be taken notto disclose any information which the partycould not know from its position.

The DM should ensure that he knows,

at all times, the marching order of theparty, its general path through variousrooms (assume a straight path if none isstated), and what weapons are in hand.

Weapons require time to draw. If aweapons speed is 3 or less, the charac-ter may attack at the end of the currentround; otherwise, he gets normal initia-tive dice for the next round.

Unless otherwise stated, all areas of thedungeon and tower are in normal darkness.

Starting the Adventure

Encounter Areas

No other entrances besides the fourwindows exist on the tower. Entry intothe tower is tricky. First, the playercharacters must find a way to reach theentry windows 93 above the ground.

This may be accomplished by grapnelsand ropes, a thief climbing walls, alevitation spell, or the like. No matterwhat method is used, it almost surelyinvolves the old, 5 x 5 wooden ledgeson the exterior of the tower.

Whenever 200 lbs. or more is placedupon a ledge, that ledge must make asaving throw of 10 or greater on a d20,with a -1 on the save for each 10 lbs.over 200. For instance, if a fighterweighing 223 lbs. (gear included) standson a ledge, the save for the ledge is a 12on a d20. Note that if a 150-lb. fighter

stands on a ledge and attempts to pullup a 70-lb. halfling, the effective weighton the ledge is 220 lbs.! If a ledge fails asave, it collapses, carrying all upon it

down, doing 1d6 hp damage per 10fallen, cumulative. There should beample warning for a reaction: Theledge creaks loudly under you, etc.). Ifthe ledge makes its save, loud creakingand popping noises are heard.

Even if the ledge survives its initialsaving throw, any shift or addition ofweight requires a new save. If a charac-ter tumbling from the ledge hits the onebeneath it (which he will if one exists),the lower ledge makes a save also,requiring an 18 or above on a d20 tokeep the character from falling to thenext ledge (or the cavern floor).

Once several characters are activelyclimbing the tower, the firedrakes fromarea 1 attack.

As you attempt to conquer your firstobstacle, four red flying reptiles,each 4' in length, glide off the top ofthe tower, turn, and dive-bomb you,belching flame!

The firedrakes live here (AC 5; MV6"/18"; HD 4; hp 29, 25, 24, 19; #AT 1;Dmg 2-8; SA fiery breath for 2-16 hpdamage, five times/day, save for halfdamage; AL N). They are angry at hav-ing their sanctuary violated and areprotecting the four eggs in their nest.They fight to the death. Breath weaponsare used first; then the firedrakes snapwith their teeth. They do not fly in anysort of formation, and an area-effectspell (like a fireball) might not encom-pass all of them while they are in theair. Roll a d10 and use the following tosee how many are caught in any area ofeffect: 1-4, one caught; 5-7, two caught;8-9, three caught; 0, four caught.

Any firedrake wounded down to halfits hit points or less must land, prefera-

bly on a ledge to do combat. Any fire-drake wounded down to 5 or fewer hprakes itself with its claws and hurlsitself onto the nearest figure. Firedrakeblood burns, as noted in the FIENDFOLIO Tome, making the creatureinto a living (suicidal) fireball for oneround. The target figure must save vs.breath weapon or take 1-10 hp damage.If the save is made, however, no damageis taken. If the burning firedrake fallson a ledge, the ledge burns and col-lapses in five melee rounds if the bodyis not thrown or kicked off of it.

DUNGEON 5




1. Firedrake's Nest. Read the follow-ing if the party makes it up to thetowers roof.

The top of the tower is cluttered withbones, sticks, debris, and droppings.In one pocket of the nest, you seefour small leathery eggs of pinkishcolor.

Other than the eggs, there is nothingelse of interest in the lair. The eggs, ifcarefully handled, hatch in four weeks,but they are rather fragile and weigh 20gp each.

2. Access Room. Assuming someone

in the party makes it into one of thefour windows on the outside of thetower, he or she runs into serioustrouble immediately.

As you clamber in the window, twostocky humanoids lunge out of thedarkness and charge you. Their pow-erful arms are extended before them,and you can see that their hands endin sharp claws! In odd contrast tothis, however, are their strangelychildlike faces.

Two unusual lava children arepresent (AC 4; MV 9; HD 4; hp 18, 20;#AT 3; Dmg 1-6/1-6/1-12; SD metal hasno effect (only wooden, stone, or magicalweapons have an effect; magical weap-ons do 1 hp damage per plus, unlessthey are wooden or stone), immune tofire and earth magic but take 1 extra hpdamage per level of caster from air andwater magic; AL N). They werecharmed by Cabilar to protect the entry-way to his tower, and the spell has beenrenewed at regular intervals. Theyattack after the first character stepsthrough the window, and woe be untohim if he has only an average broadsword! The lava childrens attacksnegate metal armor, so any metal armor(including metal shields, but excludingwooden shields) gives a bonus to armorclass according to any magical bonusbut not to armor type. For instance, afighter with average dexterity wearing

plate mail +3 and a large metal shield+1 would have AC -2 normally, butagainst the lava children he would haveAC 6. A fighter wearing splint mail +2and a small metal shield +2 would alsohave AC 6, but a fighter with plate mail+3 and a wooden shield +1 has AC 5.

A 5-wide staircase in the southwest-ern corner of the room descends to room3. The lava children follow anyone whodescends the staircase, but they wont

enter the dungeon levels.

3. Painted Room.

The walls of this room have paintedmurals depicting four scenes. In thefirst, a baby is held in a young ladysarms, while luminescent visages ofthe gods smile upon the child. In theesecond, a teenage boy is standing ina room illuminated by a sourcelesslight that he holds in his fingertips.An old man is in the background,seemingly startled. In the thirdmural, a young man in long robesleans on a rune-covered staff, gazingat a dark tower in the shadowy back-ground. In the last picture, a middle-aged man, holding the same staff asthe one seen in the third scene,greets a gaunt, white-haired man ina black cloak. Bats, rats, and wolvesprowl nearby.

The first picture is Cabilars egotisti-cal image of himself as a child; thesecond is the casting of his first spell,the third is young Cabilar at his towerin the cave, and the fourth is his pact

with the vampire. The room is devoid ofother detail.

4. Spiral Staircase. The spiral stair-case winds down the center of thistower, from room 3 all the way to thedungeon. There is nothing unusualabout this staircase except for the factthat it is not lighted, and any adven-turer venturing down the steps withouta light is 75% likely to take a fall for 1-6hp damage. This includes characterswith infravision, as there is no heatdifference between the stairs and thewalls to permit useful sight; characters

notice this problem at once and canlight a torch or lantern.

5. Mimic Step. As the charactersdescend the final steps of the spiralstaircase to this room, read this:

As the lead member of the expeditionsteps on the final step into this room,

character!

part of the stone forms a fistlikeappendage and lashes out at the

6 Issue No. 1




The killer mimic (AC 7; MV 3 ; HD10; hp 62; #AT 1; Dmg 3-12; SA gluelikesubstance which holds fast part of bodytouched, attacks either by surprise (1-4

on d6) or by total surprise (5-6 on the d6;AL N). In the latter case, the mimicstrikes twice before party membersreact; in the former case, once. Notethat although dexterity bonuses applyin determining surprise, the mimic getsat least one attack before the partymembers can react (unless party mem-bers are probing ahead then, surprise isdetermined normally). The lead charac-ter finds, in addition, that he is heldfast by the gluey secretion of the mimic,to be attacked each and every rounduntil the character or the mimic is fin-ished. The mimic is only semi-

intelligent, and the DM should keepthis in mind when controlling itsactions. It wont go for the most power-ful party member or the one who isdoing the most damage, instead goingfor the one who is closest.

Note: Area-effect spells such as fire-ball or cone of cold may affect the stuckcharacter as well as the mimic. Spellssuch as lightning bolt, which have aline-of-sight area of effect, have a 50%

chance of including the stuck characternot to mention rebound dangers.

This room contains an assortment ofold bones scattered across the floor,

along with other debris usually associ-ated with slain adventurers. None ofthe debris is valuable, being broken orused beyond repair. Only five humanbodies may be located, all slain by themimic and lava children a year before.They were treasure hunters who knewnothing of the crown or the vampire.

6. Dungeon Entrance. This room isnot actually depicted on the map ofdungeon level I, but the trap door is.The spiral stair descends an additional60 before reaching this room,

The staircase comes to an abrupt endin a room about 5 square. In thefloor is a large trap door made ofstone, with a heavy bronze ring setinto it. The door is 3 x 3 .

The trap door radiates magic andrequires a open doors roll to lift. If thewords Cabilar King are spoken, itswings open magically; this information

may be gained by a variety of spells(identify, legend lore, wish, etc.).

Below you, 10 away, is a four-way

intersection. It appears to be vacant.

The intersection is devoid of otherdetail. Characters peering to the left,however, may (50% chance) see thewritings at location 24, if a light sourceis present.

Dungeon Level I

7. Storage Area.

This area is full of crates, barrels, jugs, and jars of all sizes.

Included in the potpourri of suppliesare three jars of vinegar, a crate con-taining food sufficient for 10 weeksstandard rations, two one-gallon jugs ofale, a gallon jug half full of fine redwine, and a barrel of salted horse meatsufficient for five weeks feeding. Thisinformation should be disclosed onlyafter several turns of searching, pryingopen lids, etc. It should be disclosedlittle by little, not all at once.

DUNGEON 7



HE DARK TOWER OF CABILAR

8. Ettin Lair.

You open the door into a 20-talloom, about 15 wide and 80' long,

unning northeast from where youtand. It has a bend in the middle ofhe room, heading about 10 south

before continuing northeast. In thenortheastern corner are several largepiles of wood. In the center of theoom is a 13'-tall humanoid with two

heads. In each of its two hands isheld a spiked club. One head seemso be asleep. The other head sees

your party and bellows in a foreignongue. Immediately the other head

opens its eyes, and the creatureharges you.

The ettin, Fred/Ned, is rather stupid;a matter of fact, Fred continuallyrgets his own name (AC 2; MV HD 10; 42; #AT 2; Dmg 2-16/3-18; AL CE).

he ettin has a ring on its right hand,hich can be seen when the characterse in combat with the monster. This ise ring of night. It affords the ettinotection + 1, as well as having a sec-

ndary power: Whenever the ring isithin the dungeon limits, it can add 10p to the wearers hit-point total. If

Fred/Ned is seriously wounded, (15 hpor fewer), Ned then shouts, Powerone! (the command word for the firstpower). This can be done twice per day,but the ettin has never used it morethan once and knows of none of therings other powers. For more informa-tion on the ring of night, see the sectionat the end of this module. The DMshould make sure he is familiar withthe uses of the ring before attempting toreferee this dungeon.

Also, hidden in the northeastern cor-ner, behind the wood pile, is a small,empty chest with 500 gp crudely hiddenbeneath it. The chest closed when theettin was playing with the money; andFred decided to hide the gold withoutfooling with the lock (which is

unlocked).9. Perilous Squares.

The door opens onto an oblong 50 x110 room. Your door comes in at thecenter, of the wall, and there isanother door on the far left of thewall opposite you. In the corner toyour right, across the room, is a largeemerald on a gray pedestal.

The treasure is not as easy to obtainas it may seem at first. The room istrapped. So long as the party stays onthe gray squares (which, by the way, arenot marked on the floor of the room),they are safe. However, if a whitesquare is stepped upon, three green rayszip from the gem toward the offendingcharacter or characters. The targetmust make a save vs. paralyzation or behit by the ray and take 1 hp damage, inaddition to being paralyzed for 2d4 + 2rounds. If the square containing thegem is stepped upon, paralyzation isautomatic. The gem fires each roundthat someone is on a white square.However, only three rays are fired perround, regardless of how many whitesquares are stepped upon.

There are several ways that the gemmay be put out of commission. A heavyblow with an object causes it to saveagainst destruction as a gem vs. a nor-mal blow, but this destroys the gem.Disconnecting the gem from the pedes-tal also negates its powers. This may beaccomplished by a telekinesis spell orthe like, and this wont destroy the gem(worth 5,000 gp).

8 Issue No.1



THE DARK TOWER OF CABlLAR

4/1-6; SA grows larger and more power-ful after being killed; SD 70% magic

resistant; AL CE). The guardian famil-

iars pyramidina of powers is detailed inthe FIEND FOLIO Tome, page 49, but

the effects are given in the table below.

10. Secret Room.

This carefully protected room ispacked with treasure. Five largechests are overflowing with gold.Stuck upright in one chest is asword, its handle ornately decorated.Along its sheath are many runes inan unknown language. Nestled onone chest is a small black cat, whichcomes to its feet as it sees you.

No. ofrebirths

12345678

GUARDIAN FAMILIAR GROWTH TABLE

HD hP Speed AC Damage2 10 14 7 2-5/2-5/2-73 15 16 6 3-6/3-6/3-8

4 20 18 5 4-7/4-7/4-95 25 20 4 5-8/5-8/5-10

67

3 035

22 6-9/6-9/6-1124

37-10/7-10/7-12

8 402

26 1 8-11/8-11/8-139 45 28 0 9-12/9-12/9-14

The cat is a guardian familiar (AC 8;MV 12; HD 1; hp 5; #AT 3; Dmg 14/1-

DUNGEON 9



E DARK TOWER OF CABILAR

he guardian familiar wont attackess it is attacked or an attempt isde to get at the treasure.he treasure is just a time-waster. The

sts only hold 100 gp each; underneathgold are 13,000 cp in each chest, overs of rags. The sword is perfectly ordi-y, and the runes on the scabbard areberish. Upon finding this room, theracters may get the feeling that they

ve been had. They have!save for those found on the second level, magic-user; it wears rotting robes,which retain their properties upon pass- boots, and a dagger. So much as touch-ing through any curtain. Weapons in ing the skeleton (or any other of thehand lose their magical glow when the webs, for that matter) causes thousandscurtain is passed.) The term weapons of spiders to swarm over the intruder,applies only to items such as swords and inhibiting his vision, getting in his nosemiscellaneous weapons, not to wands, and mouth, etc., until all are shaken off,staves, and the like. which takes one turn. There is also a

This curtain cannot be removed, dam- 50% chance/round of the little nippersaged, or avoided, save by using spells inflicting 1 hp damage on the victim,

like dimension door to pass beyond it regardless of armor class.without going through it The curtain at The magic-user had attempted to find

1. Practice Room.

his room is octagonal, perhaps 60n diameter. There are scorch marksn the southern wall. There alsoppear to be several dark, vaguely

umanoid outlines sketched on thewalls in charcoal.

related. Whenever any magic weapon dangerous arachnids, but there arepasses through the curtain, it temporar- hundreds of thousands of harmless ones.ily loses its enchantment, which is The bookshelves hold nothing of inter-restored by a dispel magic spell cast

against 16th-level magic, by passing

est to anyone but a magic-user; each of

96 valuable books could bring a 100 gpthrough the curtain in the oppositedirection, or by passing through thecurtain at area 37. (Note: No magicweapon is usable on the second level

price on the open market.The mass of webs in the northwest

corner is covering the remains of askeleton. The skeleton is that of a

area 37 has the same properties.

17. Study.

2. Missed Again! The doors to thisom open either out or in. Whenever aor opens, the other one seems to open.e sounds of one or more people rush-g for the door are heard, after which

door slams. When the door is openedreturn to the hall, the same thingppens the other door opens and

This room appears to be a bedroom. A

otsteps seem to run from the hallwayThis is the permanent form of a

ogrammed illusion. If it is disbe-

A large desk rests along the northernwall. The top is littered with papersand books, as is most of the floorimmediately surrounding it. Alongeach other wall is a bench with manyflasks and elixirs with various liq-uids within. Five candlesticks arenear these benches, and there aremany wall sconces for torches. Thereare also chains hanging from theceiling, apparently for lanterns.

the crown for the young prince twoyears ago, but died of exhaustion andstarvation before completing his quest.He wrote the inscription at area 24.

These outlines were used simply forgical target practice by Cabilar. Them is otherwise devoid of detail.

ved, a saving throw vs. spells may beowed. Characters who successfully

drawers is on the northern wall.

believe are able to convince theirsociates that it is an illusion, but thiskes several rounds. If a character is inposition where he can see plainly thatere is no one passing through theor, he may save also, at +4. If there isly one character, he could theoreti-ly chase the illusion forever! Even ife characters never cease to believee illusion, they may break off pursuit

any time.

If the contents of a flask are tasted,each is 10% likely to be poisonous (savevs. poison or die horribly in five rounds,no other actions possible). All mixturesare extremely bitter or otherwise

13-15. Gardens. These three roomsed to serve as Cabilars main foodpply before he moved out.

distasteful. book, but it has explosive runes castHowever, if two hours are spent exam-

ining the books, three spells on scrollsupon it. Whenever the book is opened,the opener takes 6d4 + 6 hp damage, no

may be gleaned cloudkill, fumble, and save, and any within 10 takes theremove curse at the 16th level ofmagical ability. A magic-user is able to

same or, if a save vs. spells is made, half

tell after a cursory examination that

damage. The book is consumed in the

flames.the books may be of some value and One key, duplicating the one in roomthat it may take some time to searchthem all.

19. Bedroom. The door to this room islocked and wizard locked at the 16thlevel of ability. After the door is openedor circumvented, read the followingdescription:

cot rests in the southern alcove, and atable with one chair sits in the centerof the room. A leather-bound bookrests, closed, upon the table. A chest of

The book is just another lure for thosegreedy people who invade Cabilarstower for the loot. It is just a normal

18. Library.

22, is fastened to the bottom of the tablewith soft glue. Either key may be usedto open the door at room 25.

The Chest drawers is em pty save for

This room has several short tierslong each wall each filled with dirt

This room has shelves lining each

nd decaying plants. A continualwall, all of them literally covered

ight spell shines from the ceiling.

two daggers, a small leather pouch with20 pp, and a faded cloaks a cloak of deception. When donned, a cloak of

with webs. There is an especially deception makes a phantasm of a bluelarge mass of webs in the north- shield appear hovering in front of thewestern corner.

16. Beaded Curtain. This curtaind the curtain at area 37 are closely The webs in here are not spun by any

wearer. The character feels better pro-tected, as if the gods are protecting himfrom harm. Any tests of the device

10 Issue No.1




make it appear to be useful and good. The glint of gold is a key (needed toHowever, in the heat of battle, the cloak open room 25). The water is warm andactually bestows protection -1 to the not unpleasant. No heat sources

Dungeon Level II

26. Ordinary Hallway.

wearer, who also gets a -1 on all saving-

hrow dice (value: nil xp, 1,000 gp).20. Heating Room.

This parallelogram-shaped room hasa soft breeze blowing in throughseveral vents in the ceiling. Ashesare strewn about, sometimes in pilesup to 1' deep. The walls are charred.

The room is devoid of other detail. Itwas formerly used for heating the upperevel when it was too cold, as well as for

some ventilation when it was too warm.The vents lead back into the cave floor

ar above, but the vent shafts are each1 in diameter.

visible.

23. Heading Down. This staircasedraws the same penalties to charactersnot using light as the stair in area 4.When the bottom is reached after a 30drop, read the following:

Below you see the end of the stair-case, in a 20' × 20' room. There is anoaken door in the northern wall, butit appears to be fairly rotten.

The rotten door may be kicked in byany character with a strength of 12 orgreater. There is a pin trap on the knob,

but this can only be discovered if the

a

Beyond the door is a hallway running

alongside the room you just left.Directly across the 10 wide hallway isanother door, and at either end of thehall, both about 30 from where youare standing, are other doors as well.

Both doors at the ends of the hall arebsolutely normal. However, the door

door is smashed and the mechanism of

across the hall is trapped with the ever-popular spear trap (1-8 hp damage toopener, save vs. petrification for halfdamage). There is nothing behind thetrapped door other than the spear-trapmechanism.

27. Early Warning.

21. Utopia. As the door swings open, a shrieksounds immediately to your left. The

murals onThis room is colored withevery wall, depicting all sorts ofscenes from the life of a great wizard.Beautiful paper rose bushes areunder every pillar, of which there areten. The pillars are made of smooth,white marble. A lovely fountainadorns the southwestern corner,forming a little pool. Several reclin-ing chairs rest at various places inthe little Utopia. The ceiling appearsto be black obsidian studded withchips of mica, giving the impressionof a clear night sky.

the trap is revealed, or if someone opensthe door by the knob. The poison thatused to be on the pin has long sinceworn off, and the pin does only 1-2 hpdamage.

24. Cryptic Message.

sound comes from a large funguslike

On the wall are these lines scrawledahead!sound will warn whatever lurks

growth positioned just beyond the arcof the door. It is evident that the

in red chalk, in Common: To those Indeed, the shrieker (AC 7; MV 1;who come after me: The ring is the HD 3; hp 19; #AT 0; SD warning shriek;final key. I have learned this from AL N) has by now warned the neighbor-my spells, but am too weak to go hood, and the monsters in rooms 29-31back for it. May you fare better. I go are prepared for the adventurers. Theto seek my fate in Cabilars cham- poor little shrieker is a pushover for thebers on this floor. caliber of players adventuring here, but

was meant only as an early warningThis message refers to the ring of system for the following rooms, which

night. It was written by an intruder to would not have any effect if the occu-the tower long ago the same adven- pants were surprised. Note that the orcsturer who now lies covered with cob- in room 29 will warn those in room 32.webs in room 18. Also note that if the characters go to

open the door to room 31, the descrip-

This room was Cabilars favorite placeof rest and rightly so! The fountainsmist induces a kind of drowsiness on thePCs, and an unwillingness to leave. Eachcharacter must save vs. death magic orelse wish to remain for at least 24 hours(Cabilar was immune to this effect). Oncedragged from the room, victims recoverafter 2-8 rounds, though they passively

resist all such rescue by grabbing things,pushing rescuers away, etc.

22. Bathing Room.

This room is filled with steam, mak-ing it difficult to determine its exactdimensions. The southern part of theroom is filled with warm water, thefloor sloping down to form a sort ofbathing area. In the bottom of thepool, you see faintly the glint of gold.

25. Closed Portal.tion there should be read before thedoor is opened.

This door is of stone. It has an inden-The secret door to the north is oper-

tation in the middle, only 1" across,ated by pushing on a stone, whichrotates it out into the next room.

which looks like the letter C with alightning bolt through it, set in a 28. Back Door. If there is a thief inc i r c le . the party when it approaches this room

Upon investigation, the door is found tofrom the hall to area 27, and if he is in

be locked. The indentation is actually athe first rank or in some place where he

sort of keyhole. To open the door, one ofcould conceivably see the floor at the

the two golden keys found in areas 19 andend of the hall, roll percentile dice

22 must be pressed into the indentation.against his detect traps probability

The door then swings silently open. Oth-(secretly) to see if he spots the trip wire

erwise, the door wont open by any magicat the end of the corridor leading into

short of a wish, alter reality, or limitedroom 28. If so, inform him of this, and

wish. A knock spell nas no effect.allow the party to evade the trap.

DUNGEON 11



HE TOWER OF CABILAR

more than one person in the first rank, The door opens to reveal a 50' longhe person guarding the left flank takeshe damage. When the trap is sprung, a

room, 20' wide. A wooden door is

urved and rusty blade swings from thedirectly across from you, 50' away

wall at the left and slices just below the slits nine, to be exact.haracters kneecaps. The concernedlayer must make two saving throws.

The first, against paralyzation, deter-mines whether the character takes full2-20) or half damage, The second roll iss. poison and indicates whether or nothe victim is subject to tetanus from theusty blade. If tetanus is indeed indi-ated, the afflicted party member diesn 1-12 days unless his legs are ampu-

ated or a cure disease is cast upon him.When the characters are in the room,

ead this: 1 8

You are in a 20' x 30' foot room witha door on the northern wall. Anattempt to open it reveals that it is

The trap is triggered by the first per-, 29. Snipers!on stepping into room 28. If there is

30. Orcs Lair. Each orc in this areais armed with long sword and short bow

with 36 arrows in an enlarged quiver.The armor class and hit points of eachorc are detailed below. All orcs here arelawful evil and move at 9.In the west wall there are numerous

The door opposite the party is locked.The slits in the wall are arrow slits usedby orc archers. At such a time as thereis a target available, the archers openfire. Assume two arrows per orc, or 18arrows, are fired per round. Each orccommands a view of the entire room.

O R C S R O O M 3 0

Cabilar and his successor, the vam-pire, have treated the orcs well, as thisis a major defense area. Because of thestrategic placement of the peepholes,the orcs are never surprised by a visibleopponent and, because of the shrieker,never surprised at all. Remember thatorcs cannot use shields while firingarrows, but also keep in mind that if the

5 6locked.

7If the party does manage to open the

door, see encounter area 30.

12 Issue No.1

Orc # hp AC and how armored

2 82 (plate mail +1)4 (chain mail, ring of protection +1)

3 7 3 (chain mail, shield +1)64 4 (chain mail, shield)

6 55 (chain mail)6 (ring mail, shield)

58 4

6 (leather armor, cloak of protection +2)6 (ring mail, shield)

9 3 7 (studded leather)




characters attack from room 29, theattackers get -10 to hit the orcs becauseof the 90% cover afforded by the arrow-slits!

Note: During playtesting, it was sug-gested that the characters charge thearrow slits, drop to the floor, crawl tothe other wall, and dash for the door. Acharacter trying this has at least onearrow shot at him while running (up toa maximum of 9 arrows). When theother end of the room is reached, a likequantity is shot. However, once at thedoor, it takes a thief one round to pickthe lock or a magic-user one round touse knock on it (unless done from hid-ing). More arrows!

31. Beware of Dogs.

As you move to open the door, therecomes from the other side faintlyaudible snarling and growling.

The snarling is caused by the threedire wolves in the room (AC 6; MV 18;HD 3 + 3; hp 19,22,24;.#AT 1; Dmg2-8; AL N). They are pets of the orcs onthis level. When the door is finallyopened to the room, after any prepara-

tions have been made, read this

When the door opens, two direwolves crouching 10 away come into

view. They are preparing to pounceupon you to tear you to bits! Behindthem you get a glimpse of a roomcontaining another dire wolf.

32. Defended. Bridge. As soon as theadventurers stampede through thisadventurers stampede through thisdoor, the orcs on the other side of thechasm begin firing. Read this:chasm begin firing. Read this:

As the door swings shut behind you,a javelin imbeds itself in it! Turning,you see a 50 x 85 room, divided intwo by a large chasm. A door is visi-

ble on the other side of the room. Arope bridge connects the two sides ofthe abyss, defended by two sword-armed orcs. Other orcs stand behindthree large wooden shields through which are thrust ballistas.

The orcs are equipped thusly:

ORCSROOM32

Orc# hp How armed1 8 long sword +22 8 long sword3 7 short sword4 7 short sword5 6 short sword6 5 short sword78

5 short sword4 short sword

9 2 short sword10 1 short sword11 1 short sword12 1 short sword13 1 short sword14 1 short sword

AC and how armored0 (plate mail +1, shield +1)2 (plate mail, shield)3 (plate mail)3 (plate mail)5 (chain mail)5 (chain mail)6 (scale mail)7 (ring mail)7 (studded leather)8 (padded armor)8 (padded armor)8 (padded armor)8 (padded armor)8 (padded armor)

DUNGEON 13



HE DARK TOWER OF CABILAR

The troll has lived in this tunnel for along while, and though it cannot see, itshearing has been sharpened by eternalnight. It is also accustomed to fighting

in the dark. When the battle begins,subtract 4 from the characters to hitrolls, but only 2 from the trolls. Itstreasure lies immediately around thenext corner: 4,352 sp, 1247 gp, 131 pp, atwo-handed sword +1, +3 vs. regenerat-ing creatures, and an amulet of life

protection. Note that because of thedarkness, the party must spend six fullturns gathering up the treasure or leave20-80% of it behind.

Like most other creatures in thisdungeon, the giant troll is both charmedand unaffected by hunger. It isextremely ferocious, however.

34. Elevator Room. This room is theaccess room to the third level of thedungeon. Once anyone enters this roomand closes the doors (opening and clos-ing these doors requires no die roll toperform), the entire room slowly rises orfalls to the next level, as appropriate.Only a dwarf who detects shifting roomsnotes the slow movement. Note that,depending upon which floor is arrivedat, doors in the room that previouslyopened into the dungeon now open intosolid stone, and vice versa. The doorscannot be opened while the room is

moving, and even magic cannot help inthis regard. The elevator takes three

Orcs 1 and 2 are guarding the bridgend the rest are arrayed behind the

llistas. Orc #1 is, in addition, coveredy a permanent protection from magic

ell (see the scroll of the same name,suming a 1 radius of effect).The orcs immediately begin firingallistas at the party. (Ballistas firevelins, for 2-12 hp damage, once every

wo rounds; treat all targets as AC 10.hey require a minimum crew of two toperate. Information on the to-hit rollodifications are found in the DMG,

age 109.) If the party attempts a cross-g, the orc swordbearers at the north-n end of the bridge defend it while the

allista crews continue to rain missilesn the characters. If either orc defend-g the bridge is slain, the other uses

s next attack phase to cut the ropesupporting the bridge. The orcs then fallack to room 36 and make a standhere. The fall from the bridge is 260;oll 20d6 hp damage. Note that aoudkill spell wont work in this roomit has to cross the chasm, because the

umes are heavier than air and there-ore sink to the bottom of the gorge.

emotions seem to have a blanketover them.

If the characters do not turn back

now, proceed to lead them through thehallway, describing as graphically asyou can the thick, almost syrupy smoke.Do not tell them the length of the pas-sage or where the turns are until theyactually run into them. Be vague aboutdistances, giving all measurements tothe party as approximately so-and-sodistances. As a rule of thumb, add 5 tothe actual length on long passages,subtract 5 on the short passages. Whenthe party reaches one of the two notedencounter areas, read the accompanyingdescription:

A

Suddenly the lead charactershouts, and you all hear the thumpas he tumbles forward into a pit.

All orcs here are lawful evil inlignment and move at 9.

33. Corridor of Darkness.

The pit is only 6 deep, and the char-acter takes 14 hp damage. The realproblem is figuring out how far the pitextends. The easiest way to cross theobstacle is to climb into the pit and outthe other side, but whenever 5,000 gp ofweight or more is on the nit floor, athick, hardwood cover slides out overthe pit! To escape, the characters must

As you open the door, black wispyeither levitate someone in the pit to get

smoke of some sort slowly pours into the Weight under 5,000 gp force thethe hallway. It is cold, odorless, and

pit lid back by muscle or magic. A knock

does not seem to be harmful. When thespell releases the spring and opens the rounds to reach a new lever, and the

door is all of the way open, you seepit, and a bend bars/lift gates roll may

that there is a corridor of some sort inbe made by a character not less than 5

doors leading into this room on either

in height. A dimension door works anddungeon level cannot be opened while

front of you, and that it is filled with the room is moving, either. Dungeon

the smoke. You can only see the wallsso do several other spells, but if a tele-

for about a foot on either side before. port spell is attempted, remember that

level III is 200 below level II.

they vanish into the fumes.the hallway has never been seen, thusdrawing the appropriate penalties from

35. Barrels of Fun. Several barrels

The fumes are magically fed and can-the tables in the Players Handbook.

sit agains the wall at this point. Theyare filled with an assortment of mate-

not be dissipated. If the characters over-B Suddenly the line comes to an

rial, such as extra ballista javelins,

ome their initial forebodings and enter helmets, daggers, and the like. One

he hallway, read the following:abrupt halt, The lead characterexplains that he has come, up against

small barrel (2 high, 1 wide) appears

The smoke closes around you and a hard, barklike surface. It doesnt

to be empty, but acts as a bag of

devouring.

separates you from the view of yourfeel like a wall, the character says,

companions. Your torches seem tothen falls silent. In the sudden quiet, Dungeon Level III

have no effect in lighting the hall-everyone hears the distinct, rasping

way. The characters with infravisionbreathing directly ahead. 36. Vacancy. This room is vacant,

complain that the smoke must be The rasping breathing is caused by thesave for three movable mantlets. Any

masking heat differential somehow, giant troll that the characters have justorcs surviving the encounter in room 32

for they cannot see the hallwayflee to this point, take up a position

ahead nor even their companions.bumped into (AC 4; MV 12; HD 3; hp47; #AT 1; Dmg 216; SD regeneration 2

behind a mantlet, and fire until they

The smoke seems to have a dampen-are out-of arrows. When they run out,

ing effect on your other senses ashp/round but cannot rebond severed they continue fighting but they wont

well, and even your. thoughts andlimbs, at least 10 hp damage must be charge into battle against powerfulcaused by fire or the troll wont sink characters like idiots! They use thebelow 1 hp, 90 infravision; AL CE).

14 Issue No.1




mantlets to keep the enemy at a dis-tance while, perhaps, an associate runsaround and stabs from behind. Hit-and-run tactics are the rule.

37. Beaded Curtain, Jr. Much likethe curtain at room 16, this curtaintakes power from those magic weaponstraveling south, and restores them toones going north. This curtain, despiteits flimsy looks, cannot be damaged orremoved, and its effects cannot beavoided.

38. Rotating Wall. This wall rotates,allowing access to different rooms.When found, it is north-south, allowing

access to room 39. Pushing on the wall,which requires a bend bars/lift gates roll(one attempt per round) turns the walleast-west and allows passage to room40; the wall may be pushed back intoplace thereafter, or pushed completelyaround in a circle. Once the wall issuccessfully pushed, it moves of its ownaccord until it has made a quarter turn,then settles into position again, requir-ing a new attempt to push it.

39. Chimera Little Closer. This fear-some beast waits just inside the room. It

cannot be surprised. The chimerabreathes fire on the first person enter-ing the door, on the right flank (AC6/5/2; MV 9/18; HD 9; hp 43; #AT 6;Dmg 1-3/1-3/1-4/1-4/2-8/3-12; SA dragonhead can breathe fire five times per dayfor 3-24 hp damage (save for half dam-age), 50% chance/round that it uses itsbreath weapon; AL CE). This beastwont leave its room.

As the first party member enters thisroom, a sheet of flame engulfs him!You bound into the room to find that

the culprit is a creature partly goat,partly lion, and partly dragon. Themonstrosity rushes you, roaring andbleating with all three heads!

The chimera possesses some treasure:7,127 sp, 1,232 ep, a suit of dwarf-sizedfield plate armor, 250 pp, two rubiesworth 1,500 gp each, a tiara worth3,600 gp, and a dagger +1, +2 vs.goblins (value: 100 xp, 500 gp).

40. Wraithland. fall for it and go for the chest, the sixshadows in this room move in behind

them, sealing off the retreat, and attack(AC 7; MV 12; HD 3 + 3; hp 22, 21, 20,18, 17, 17; #AT 1; Dmg 2-5; SA drainone strength point per touch; SDimmune to many spells, 90% undetect-able unless in bright light, +1 or betterweapon needed to hit; AL CE).

The wall rotates to reveal an oddlyshaped secret room. Hovering in thenorthern part of the room is a shim-mering, vaguely humanoid shapewith glowing red eyes.

The wraith attacks at once (AC 4; MV12/24; HD 5 + 3; hp 27; #AT 1; Dmg1-6; SA drains one life level per touch;SD hit only by silver weapons (for halfdamage) or magic weapons, immune tonumerous spells and all poison; AL LE).Its treasure is in a small chest in thenorthern corner: 8,048 cp, 1,983 sp, amagic-users scroll (with dig, wizard eye,

infravision, and jump), a potion of extra-healing, and a footmans mace +1. Thewraith wont leave its room.

41. Shadow Play.

This 25' x 20' room appears to bevacant. A small chest, closed, restsalong the northern wall.

Smart characters may realize thatthis is a trap and avoid the room. If they

The chest contains filthy rags. Under-neath these in a secret compartment,however, are four flasks of oil, a sackwith 54 pp, and a potion of diminuation.

42. Spike Trap. When this pressureplate is stepped on, spikes spring out ofthe western wall at the corner and fly

down the corridor through the party,collectively doing 2-20 hp damage toanyone who fails to roll his dexterityscore or less on 3d6 + 3. Once the trapis triggered, the secret door to room 45opens (see area 43).

43. Secret Door. To open this secretdoor, one must either say Long liveCabilar, use knock on it, or trigger thetrap at the halls corner, in which casethe secret door slides upward.

DUNGEON 15




44. Master of the House. edge and stand there as the others is dispelled (although if several charac-

The secret door opens into the south-east corner of a 50 x 75 room.Against the opposite wall is an opencasket, upon which a gaunt, cold-eyed man sits leisurely. He looksvery much like the devilish mandepicted in a mural you saw earlier.He almost seems to be smiling.Against the western and northernwalls are ten more coffins setupright; in which can be seen humanskeletons adorned with shields andswords. The northeastern corner of,the room seems to have collapsed,and great heat and light come upfrom the pit so formed. As you surveythe scene for a brief instant, theskeletons in the coffins begin tomove. Seizing their swords andshields, they leap from their coffinsand rush at you!

The first 10 skeletons split into twogroups (AC 7; MV 12 ; HD 1; hp 8 (x3),7,6 (x2), 4,3 (x3); #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; SDimmune to numerous spells, sharp-edged weapons do only half damage; ALN). Four (the strongest) go to the pits

the battle. If brought to 0 hp+ he is notkilled but must return to his coffin in

gaseous form to reform his corporealbody (see the Monster Manual fordetails).

manent illusion. Any persons charginghim drop into a 30-deep pit, taking 3d6hp damage.

In addition, the pit floor slowly slidesaway to drop characters another 30

attack the party. The coffins are magi- ters are running side by side, they allcal and have a special function: When- tumble into the trap). Characters run-ever a skeleton is slain, a duplieateskeleton with the same hit points

ning 5-10 behind the lead attackerscan make a save on d20 by rolling their

appears in a random coffin and chargesback into the melee.

dexterity or less to avoid falling in, andanyone further than 10 behind is auto-

The gaunt, cold-eyed vampire, Yattel-Ettes, is indeed smiling (AC 1; MV 12/

matically able to stop in time.

18; HD 8 + 3; hp 49; #AT 1; Dmg 5-10Once the trap has been sprung, Yattel-

Ettes. changes into bat form, crosses theor by weapon type; SA drains two life pit, changes back into vampire form,levels by touch, charms by gaze, STR 18/ and attacks. He first uses his charm76 (+2 to hit and + 4 to damage); SD ability (keeping skeletons between+ 1 or better weapon to hit regenerates himself and the characters, if possible,3 hp/round, shape change into certainanimal forms, assume gaseous form,

while doing this). Then, when melee is joined, he attacks with a short sword

immune to numerous spells and to poi- +2 he carries. If wounded seriously, heson, takes half damage from electricity assumes gaseous form and returns toor cold; AL CE) The floor around hiscoffin, for 5 in all directions, is a per-

his coffin to regenerate while watching

Yattel-Ettes doesnt mind talkingwhile engaged in melee; in fact, heinto a bubbling pool of lava. It takes

four rounds for the pit to open wideenough to drop the characters into thelava (and instant death). Once the firstcharacter falls into the pit, the illusion

rather enjoys a certain level of reparteeunder pressure. He took the crownunder orders from Cabilar, but regretsthat he did not find and destroy the

16 Issue No.1




oung prince. He has lately thoughtat a magic-user, preferably a female

ne, would be a nice long-term compan-n. If such a character is present, he

oes his best to life-drain him or her.A chest concealed by the bottom of theoffin contains 2,000 pp, 15 gems worth00 gp each, a ring of temporal stasisauses wearer to go into suspendednimation as per the magic-user spellmporal stasis, no save), a ring of oneish, 12 nonmagical jeweled ringsorth 150 gp each), a two-handed sword2, two javelins of lightning, an arrow

f cleric-slaying, a magic-user, scroll ofur randomly determined fifth-level

magic-user spells, and an illusionistroll with one seventh-level spell.One possible way to destroy the vam-

ire (in addition to the normal methods)ould be to lock him in his coffin (eithern gaseous form or as a solid body) androp the coffin into the pit around him,

which would then drop the coffin intohe lava and instantly slay the vampireorever. This is also the only way to stophe skeletons from reappearing, byropping their coffins into the lava pitnd destroying the remaining skeletalodies. Each coffin in this room has a000 gp encumberance, possibly requir-

ng several people to move each one.The drop-off in the northeastern cor-er is a 60 fall to a pool of bubbling

ava. Only solid stone is visible acrosshe lava pit. The ring of night must behrown in the lava to complete theuest, as it so informs the wearer (seeection describing the ring, below). Ifhe ring is dropped into the lava, readhe following description:

When you throw the ring into thelava, a wondrous thing happens.Several rays of flashing light shootfrom the edge of the pit, hitting apoint on the opposite edge about 20northeast of your position. Beams oflight crisscross these lines in ladder-like fashion, forming a bridge oflight. A doorway of some sortappears at the other end of theluminescent path.

After two more rounds, the weaving ofhe bridge ceases, and the door is fully

outlined. At this time, and not before, its safe to cross the path. Crossing itarlier results in falling 60 to the

death of the adventurer. The two-roundperiod is restarted, with appropriatexplanations that the path was ruined

by the person falling through but thelight-bridge appears to be reforming.

The vampire wont cross the lightbridge or enter room 45, but the skele-

tons can and do.45. Crowning Glory.

The door opens to reveal a 10 × 10room filled with glittering treasure,piled in chests and stuffed in canvassacks all around. But the most fasci-nating sight that you see is the spar-kling green crown which rests on avelvet pillow on a pedestal in thecenter of the room.

The crown is made of an extremelyrare form of jadeite. This transparent

mineral is found only in minisculequantities in the creases of other rock.It is worth 25,000 gp, but attempting tosell it within 350 miles of the city ofStoutwall is 90% likely to result inrecognition of the crown and notifica-tion of the authorities.

The crown is not protected in any wayand can be taken from the pedestal atno risk. However, the first person touch-ing any of the other treasure in the

room must make a save vs. spells or be petrified (turned to stone). If the save ismade, no adverse affects are noted.

The treasure: 503 pp, 1,132 gp, 1,233

ep, 3,565 sp, 11,346 cp, an emeraldnecklace worth 1,200 gp, a mace of disruption, a suit of chain mail +4, astone of weight, a potion of heroism, awand of fire with 15 charges, and a bagof devouring.

Concluding the Quest

Once the characters escape from Cabi-lars dungeon with the crown, theadventure ends. The DM may create alarger milieu in which to set this adven-ture, detailing the trip to and from thedungeon, the princes war against the

usurper, and other subsequent events asdesired. The godmother pays each mem-ber of a successful mission a portion of atotal share of 30,000 gp.

In future adventures, player charac-ters may decide to take control of thetower and dungeon as their own base ofoperations, requiring (of course) that thewhole cavern around the tower and allthe surrounding countryside beexplored as well. If the player charac-

DUNGEON 17



E DARK TOWER OF CABILAR

s do nothing to ensure Cabilarswnfall and doom, the wizard mightme by to check on his tower again.bilars statistics may be generated by

DM as desired; he is hinted to be ah-level chaotic-evil magic-user, butmight be of higher level now andght also have had a prior class.

The Ring of Night

e ring of night is a magic item cre-d by Cabilar as his key to get tocrown of Stoutwall; it also serves as

rotective device. When he left, Cabi-gave the ring to a large, charmed

n named Fred/Ned. Cabilar knewettin was too stupid to use the ring

get to the crown and was too stupid

fact to even make full use of the ringelf making Fred/Ned the perfectardian for it.he ring of night is made from a dully metal and radiates magic. It has alike motif, with the following phraseitten on the inside of the band ingical script (requiring a read magic

ell to translate): Defend, deceive,stroy. It expands or shrinks to fit anye hand from giant to leprechaun.

The ring of nights powers increase asit gets closer to the base of Cabilarslair. Therefore, when the ring is ondungeon level III, it is more powerful

than when it is found on level I. Hereare its powers:When the ring gets within 50 of room

45, it glows bright red and becomeswarm. The bats head on the ring thenspeaks, in a hissing voice, in Commonto the wearer: If you would save thecrown, my life and yours are forfeit.

Carry me into the fires in the earth ifyou would aid Stoutwall.

The ring is lying. Hurling the ring of night itself into the lava is sufficient to

cause the light-bridge to form; thedestruction of a living being is merelyone of Cabilars ways of eliminatinginvaders by trickery.

Because the ring is limited in its use,it is only as valuable as a ring of protec-tion +1 if not destroyed.

P O W E R S O F T H E RING OF NIGHT

Power Where power functions Command wordProtection +1 Prime Material Plane None60 infravision (or to120 if wearer has

infravision naturally) 10-mile radius of Cabilars lair NoneNo need to eat orbreathe Cabilars tower and dungeon NoneAdds 10 hp to userstotal for 20 rounds,twice per day Dungeon levels I, II, III Power one.Burning hands at 16thlevel of ability, twiceper day Dungeon levels II, III Power two. Magic missile at 16thlevel of ability, threetimes per day Dungeon level III Power three.

18 Issue No: 1



The creator of Assault on EddistonePoint is a writer who is also from FortWorth, Texas. She makes her own chainmail armor and costumes, and is a long-time fan of the old television series DarkShadows.

This AD&D® game adventure is suit-able for 3-5 characters of 1st-3th level.A ranger, cleric, and dwarf would behelpful but are not necessary forsuccess,


The Old Crystols Mountains have longenjoyed a reputation of potential wealthas well as of certain danger, though thelatter has had little effect in deterring

adventurous souls. Populated largely bydwarves who mine for gems and valu-able ores, the Old Crystols are crossedby trade routes that thread their waythrough the passes and into the landsbeyond. In the cities that flourish oneither side of the range, the dwarvestrade gold and jewels for spices, expen-sive clothing, and certain other civilizedcomforts they do not choose to producethemselves.

ASSAULT ONEDDISTONEPOINTBY PATRICIA NEAD ELROD

What awaits you inthe lonely signaltower?

Elves are found in the valleys of therange itself, hunting the plentiful gameand fishing its streams. Though consid-ered an unspoiled wilderness, the moun-

tains are prowled by dangerous foes,and it is not unknown for small cara-vans to disappear in its forests vic-tims of roving bands of orcs and bandits.

Outside the range, the two mostimportant trade centers are the city-states of Untala and Strafferburg.About 50 years ago, each tried to layclaim to the mountain trade routes andtheir wealth. War followed and dis-rupted all travel through the moun-tains, depopulating the region: Thedwarves shut themselves away in theirmines, refusing to produce gold for anyconqueror and preferring to disappear

from sight. The elves suffered to a lesserdegree, but they were still forced todefend their lands against wanderingfreebooters, adding to the loss of life.

All was in chaos until a force of druidsunited and, with the aid of their com-bined magical powers, put a stop to thefighting. Treaties were drawn up andsigned, and for the last fifty years therehas been peace. Even now it is stillunlawful to draw a weapon along thetrade routes except for food or defense.At the same time, a brotherhood of

DUNGEON 19



SSAULT ON EDDlSTONE POINT

ngers was formed, sworn to watch the her fellows set off to their work.ails, keep them open, and generally Unfortunately, that magic-user and

Delea and her party stopped at Four

uard the peace.Trails six days before the arrival of the

her entire party have now vanished.One of the ways peace is preserved is

player characters. Delea rested a day

rough communication. Realizing this,

Foul play is suspected, and the mayor

must form a rescue team to track down

and, with Mayor Edmonds help, hired a

e two city governments agreed that local ranger named Shaador to guide

ey should have some reliable systemthe lost adventurers. It is at this point them up the mountain to the tower of

keeping in touch despite their greatthat the player characters arrive intown. . . .

Eddistone Point. Shaador rode a light

paration. The most successful of thewar horse with chain barding. The

methods tried was the establishment ofanimal was well-known to everyone in

series of signal towers built uponThe Missing Party Four Trails; it was all black except for a

white face, and half of its left ear wasmountain peaks, each about eight miles The magic-user was named Delea the

part. Though the cities are separatedonce cut off in a fight. Shaador was well

y fifty-five miles of rough country, eachWhite because, despite her youth, she

an now know the latest news in ashad startlingly white hair. The-mayor

armed as usual with a long sword, long

and townspeople remember a number ofbow, and throwing dagger. Shaadorhimself was a dark-haired man with

ttle as an hour, the time it takes to details about her from her conversa-ansmit on a clear day. Truly a miracle

modern technology!tions and from inferences they made

years of experience in wildernesssurvival.

Through the use of a flashing mirrorfrom her appearance and mannerisms.She wore a plain dagger in a belt sheath

The trip up and back from Eddistone

nd a signal code, each city keeps the and used no staves or wands. Aside

Point should have taken only three

her informed on current events from a little cooking and her magic, she days, but the mayor was not unduly

specially the price of gold and otheralarmed when Deleas group did not

recious metals. The prices are nowseemed to have no other skills. A silverring, possibly magical, was worn on her

return in that time or even the day

ompetitive but fair, and each city hasafter. Cullivan, the lesser druid who

n equal chance of attracting the dwar-left ring finger. She mentioned to themayor that her spells were kept in a

was manning the Eddistone Point

en trade. As expected, official observ- traveling spell book which was alwaystower, was known to be quite friendly

rs and spies ensure that all thenformation transmitted is the truth.

kept on her person. A large white crow,and eager for company, particularlysince his fellow druids had left for the

assumed to be her familiar (some say it midsummer festival without him.The eight mountain towers are main- was her personal demon) was usuallyined by the druids Grand Council and found riding on her shoulder. Delea

Mayor Edmonds complacency was

y local dwarves and townspeople along never called the crow by a personalshattered as panic literally flew into his

he trails. Money for the towers upkeepwindow just two days ago. Deleas white

name.provided by the city-states of Untala A dour dwarven warrior and several

crow landed on the mayors ample stom-

nd Strafferburg. Business has beenach as he lay asleep, giving him and his

men-at-arms came into town with her,

ood in the last few years so good

wife a bad fright. Lighting a lamp, he

hat the two cities decided to extend thebut no one found them to be as interest-ing as Delea since magic-users are rare

recognized the bird and saw that it had

gnal system beyond the daylighta small scroll of paper in its beak. The

ours. After some negotiations, it wasin these parts. The dwarf, named Haril, bird dropped the scroll and flew away

ecided to modify the system with thespoke with some townsfolk in the local

ddition of a shuttered box with a con-taverns before going up the mountain.

into the night. Unrolling the paper,Edmond saw a smudged message had

nual light spell placed inside it. Whenhe shutters open and close, the bril-ant light can be seen for miles in theear night air.The magic-user commissioned to do

he spell-casting work has successfullyisited the towers at Wyvern Peak andang Rock, and recently arrived at theown of Four Trails, at the foot of the

ddistone Point tower. She and her

Originally trained in masonry andcarpentry, with a good education in

been hastily scrawled in charcoal. InCommon, it read: Bandits in tower

engineering, Haril sought a moreadventurous life by becoming a fighter

help!

and he had enjoyed some success at it.Help is exactly what the mayor is now

looking for, as this trouble could notThe son of the engineer who designed have come at a worse time. All theand built the towers, Haril was hired to join Deleas party to inspect the towers

druids in the area are away in the south

and make any necessary changes tofor their midsummer festival, theguardian rangers are busy in the north

accommodate the new signal boxes. He

llow adventurers have traveled slowly,was last seen wearing ring mail with a

taking care of an orc uprising, and allthe local fighters-for-hire (or anyone

shield, and carried a short sword andining up with trade caravans for

else who might be useful) have been

reater safety as they head from towerlight crossbow.

The five mercenaries kept to them-hired away to protect the caravans. Any

o tower. When they finish a job, theywait until another caravan passes by

selves, as was the custom of their mer-adventurers are likely to be noticed assuch the minute they come into town,

cenary brotherhood, and spoke little tond move on to the next town. At Four local people. The mercenaries were

and the mayor takes swift action to hire

rails, the magic-user met with thethem to go up the mountain and investi-

armed with long swords and long bows, gate the trouble. Edmond is reluctant toocal mayor and gave him the details of wearing leather armor and using large

what was to be done to renovate thesend up-a detachment of city guards

ower. Since his town thrives on theshields. All seven in Deleas party were because they are not trained to handlemounted on mules with four more

ade coming through, he agreed to lendwhat may prove to be a sticky situation.

mules carrying supplies, totaling eleven Besides, if bandits have taken theer party all possible aid, and she and animals and their tack. tower, could they not be heading for the

20 Issue No. 1



town as well? (He wont necessarilymention this possibility to anyone hehires, however.)

The only good turn of events has been

the weather, for the mountains havebeen enveloped in a thick layer of fogfor the last few days. Mayor Edmond isin a great hurry to get a rescue party tothe tower before the fog clears, as fog isa normal hazard to the communicationsline. Neither Untala nor Strafferburg isalarmed at the break in transmission,since they were warned of the change inweather by druidic tower operators but fog wont last forever. The mayorfears that the bandits might damagethe tower or even send false messages tostir up trouble again between the twocities. No matter what could happen, he

sees it as a threat to the well-being ofhis people, not to mention his job.Mayor Edmond and the city offer the

party 2,000 gp for successfully recaptur-ing the tower, throwing in an extra 100gp for each member of Deleas partyrescued alive. The player characters areentitled to any booty they can take offthe bandits (excluding hostages andtheir goods). The mayor hints that thecities of Untala and Strafferburg mightalso be financially grateful for the saferestoration of their signal line, but theplayer characters who read between thelines may guess that, lacking witnesses

and evidence to support this, suchrewards might be difficult to get. Then,too, the cities might not pay greatrewards if aware that the adventurerswere already rewarded by Four Trails.

The Town of Four Trails

A thumbnail sketch of Four Trails isprovided below. The DM may developthe town more fully if desired, but it isnot necessary for this adventure to doso. The town is not particularly large,having a population of seven hundredadults at present.

From a few buildings set up as a trad-ing post at a crossroads, Four Trailsgrew quickly with the increase in com-merce following the end of the tradewar 50 years ago. The east-west Untala-Strafferburg road and the north-southElvenkings road became more heavilytraveled by large caravans. Four Trailsprospered greatly when the signal towerwas built nearby. The citizens, mostlyfarmers and herdsmen with a number ofmerchants, consider the tower a symbolof good luck for their town and extend

ASSAULT ON EDDISTONE POINT

1. Wyvern Peak 4. Trollight2. Fang Rock 5. Dragontooth3. Eddistone Point 6. Scar Ridge

whatever help they can to the rescueparty. The mayor tried to keep the story

of the towers capture quiet, but wordleaked out and spread. There is nowmuch conflicting gossip, and with eachherdsman or prospector who wanders infrom the vicinity of Eddistone Pointbeing questioned, the stories aregrowing.

done in this particular area, but anencounter with a lone prospector on his

business is not unusual. The townproper is protected by a broad, shallowditch with drawbridges crossing it onthe four main roads that lead into thetown. Within bowshot of the ditch is a20 -tall stockade of thick tree trunks.

Each townsperson thehas his or her own

partyopinion

questionsabout who or

To cross any of the bridges, one mustpay a toll. Locals are charged 1 cp per

what captured the tower. Rumors blameeverything from a battalion of orcs to alone black-clad figure that some claimto have seen riding a small dragon incircles around the mountain peak. (Con-sidering the tower is a good five miles

from the town and swathed in fog, theparty need not take this last rumorseriously unless it seems willing toswallow it.) Four Trails has its share ofstrange folk, and the DM can have lotsof fun stirring up the player characterswith these stories, as well as relievingthem of any spare change as they pur-chase this information.

Four Trails is surrounded by severalmiles of farmland, and the lower slopesof the mountain are rich grazing land

tle and goats. Little mining is

day, and visitors must pay 5 cp whether

for cat

horsed or afoot, or 1 sp if driving awagon. The toll is for the upkeep of theroads and bridges, and the bridgeguards will not let anyone pass unlesshe or she pays. Each bridge has fourguards (each AC 6; MV 9; F1; hp 6-9;

#AT 1; Dmg by weapon type; one spearand club each; AL LG). If forced into afight over the toll, the guards are joinedby 2-8 others from the city wall. Inaddition, 1-20 local boys and girls cometo their aid by pegging rocks at theparty. The children are zero level, butmost of them are used to scaring awayfarm pests by throwing rocks, so theyhave a +2 bonus to hit their targets.

Should the player characters get intotrouble with the bridge guards and bearrested, the mayor may use this situa-

DUNGEON 21



SAULT ON EDDlSTONE POINT

n to get them to solve his problemh the tower. He could (and would)

It is just across the street from the town

y a heavy fine on them, but be per-council house; the town fathers usually

ded to withdraw it if they take onhave their lunch at this convenient spot

job. In this way he doesnt lose any

and are likely to be talking business as

they eat (though Edmonds legendaryward money, and the player charac- appetite might be a bit off these days).

can still earn experience by defeat- The party, if it lacks a cleric, wont betheir foes in the tower.

Once inside the wooden town walls,able to locate one to accompany it. Thisis the time of year that Four Trails is

party should have no difficultyding its way around. Four Trails was

afflicted with its annual bout of spottyfever (a disease carried by ticks). The

up with travelers in mind. Inns and local clerics are too busy to bother com-houses abound, the largest of which ing with the player characters, but arehe Tower and Light, located in the willing to part a with potions of healing.

ddle of town along the east-west road. The supply is scarce, and the clerics

charge double normal prices (800 gp) forthe four such potions available.

Speaking of spotty fever, there is littlechance that any party member who

wanders into town can catch it. The DMshould roll a 1% chance (without modi-fiers) for each player character andhenchman or hireling thereof for thedisease to develop. It is not contagiousand is treated as a mild, acute skindisorder manifested by huge red-and-purple spots all over the body and ageneral lethargy lasting 1-3 weeks.Spotty fever, if caught, appears 1-4 daysafter the affected character has reachedFour Trails. A cure disease spellremoves the affliction instantly.

Eddistone Point

Eddistone Point is a large single moun-tain reaching an altitude of 6240 atthe signal-tower base not particularlyhigh as the Old Crystols go, but morethan suitable for signaling use. There isonly one easy path to the tower onEddistone Point, and that is by way ofthe original 10 -wide trail laid by dwar-ven engineers years ago. Still in verygood condition and maintained by thetown, it winds its way to the summit ofthe mountain. The rugged mountainterrain is sufficient to discourage allother means of getting to the tower byland transportation, though of courseflight is possible if the appropriatemeans exist.

The fog currently wreathing themountains helps the party remainunseen, cutting visibility to a quarter ofa mile or less in some areas. All thesame, if they wish to remain undetectedby any watchers in the tower, the char-acters must use silence and stealth.There is virtually no wind, and anynoise carries far in the still air (up to240 for normal conversation).

Two-thirds of the way up the moun-tain, the party may notice disturbingsigns in the hard earth of the trail.Obvious signs of a struggle have beenobliterated, but some crushed plantsand spattered blood may be found.Horses react unfavorably to the smell ofblood in the still-damp soil. If the char-acters search the area, there is a 50%chance of finding the bodies of the fivefighters who were known to be withDeleas party. The bodies were draggedoff the main trail and roughly coveredwith brush. They have been stripped totheir underwear and nothing of any

22 Issue No. 1




value is left on them. Two of the fight-

ers have no marks on their bodies, buttheir faces are distorted with horrifiedexpressions as if they had died of fright.The other three bodies have manywounds, and all of the mercenaries havebeen dead for at least three or four days.No other signs of battle exist along thetrail.

The Signal Tower

Standing 45 tall and 50 in diameterat the base, the signal tower sits at the

edge of an oval-shaped plateau on the

mountains summit. The northern halfof the tower rests along the edge of asheer cliff. From the trail approachingfrom the south, the tower appears to becompletely smooth all around, with novisible doors and only one large,wooden, shuttered window 30 up onthe south face. The shutters arecurrently closed.

On top of the tower is the mirror-signal apparatus, now covered with aheavy oilskin tarp to protect its silveredfinish from the fog. On the east edge of

the top is a 15 metal pole that usuallyflies a flag (there is no flag now) andalso acts as a lightning rod. If the partycan get close enough without beingobserved, figures may be seen standingat the top of the tower, apparently look-outs. Since visibility is about a quartermile, it is not likely that these figurescould be easily and silently picked offwith any missile weapon, even magicalones. Besides, the party cannot be cer-tain of the identity of the targets (seesection below on the signal towersinhabitants).

If the party opts for a night assault, ithas a better chance to get close to thetower, but it must be quiet about it. Afew short trees, scrubby bushes, grass,and rock formations serve as cover. On

the south face of the tower, almostunder the window, is a secret door lead-ing inside. Pushing the left side of thedoor makes it swivel inward on a verti-cal hinge the left side of the doorbeing 4 wide, the right side being 2wide. Made of thick oak disguised tolook like stone, the door is usuallybarred from the inside with a thickwooden beam set in notches in thestonework, as it is now. The door canonly be opened by a knock or forcedopen by a group. with sufficient com-bined strengths to lift 12,000 gp ofweight. Of course, this makes more

than enough noise to alert everyoneinside.No trees grow on the summit, though

a few pines grow nearby. Deleas whitecrow is hiding in the pine tree nearestthe tower, waiting for someone to rescueits mistress. The crow has acute sightand hearing, so it cannot be surprisedsave by a magically silent and invisiblebeing. If it spies anyone, it caws softlyto catch that persons attention, thenflies down to land beside, him. A speakwith animals spell works on the crow,who tells the party that its mistress isheld captive in the second floor of the

tower. Rescue is insisted upon. Whenpressed for details, the crow becomes toexcited and impatient to be very clear,speaking only of the bad men in thetower who shot arrows at it. Whenasked about Delea, the crow says thatits mistress is in a deep sleep and wontwake up (white crow: AC 7; MV 1/36;HD ½; hp 4; #AT 1; Dmg 1; SA 10% lossof opponents eye; INT low; familiar ofDelea; AL N). Note that killing the crowwill badly injure Delea for 8 hp, whichshe cannot recover or heal.

DUNGEON 23



SAULT ON EDDISTONE POINT

The Tower’s Interior

hould be noted that the floors insidetower are made from solid wood and

pported by four huge wooden pillars.e whole interior structure is veryong and stable, but also subject toe should someone set off a fireball ormilar magical spell. Floors are about

thick, making the actual floor-to-ling distances 9 6 (here called 10

convenience).

1. The Stable. There are 11 mulesd 10 light riding horses jammed intos area (including a black horse with a

hite blaze face and cropped ear). Thisea is extremely crowded and stuffy,d it smells like it has not been swept

t in a week (which it has not). Oppo-e the door, 40 across the chamber, ischicken coup with one bedraggled hent. Loose feathers cover the floor here.

he only fresh air comes from fourated windows not more than a handsan wide, looking out over a sheer dropseveral hundred feet. The grates are

movable from the inside by means ofwivel catches, and the mesh is spacedr enough apart for a small hand to gorough. A small piece of charcoal may

found in the westernmost window,hind its grating.East of the center of the stable is a

vered box serving as the water well.the ceiling just to the west is a 2-

uare opening leading to the floorbove, with an iron ladder securelyounted to it. The opening is currentlyvered with a wooden hatch. Whattle space remains in the stable isken up with bales of hay, bags of oats,

nd tack. The animals are restive froming shut up so long; if the party is notreful, the beasts make enough noiserouse the inhabitants of the floor

bove.On the floor to the right of the chicken

oup is a round grille-covered hole in

e floor. The stable wastes are usuallywept here, to fall down a 45° slopinghaft and out on the side of the moun-in. The grating is removeable and hasot been set flush with the floor. A lowoaning sound can be heard if anyone

uccessfully makes a listening rollithin 15 of the hole; the moaning

omes from within the hole itself. Ifhey investigate, the player charactersnd Haril the dwarf has been shovedown the hole and lies only 10 from

he grating, barely conscious and held

in the chute only by accident (his cloth- Shaador (AC 10; MV 12; R3; hp 24ing caught on a sharp rock just 5 from (currently 13); #AT 1; currentlythe open end of the chute). unarmed; S 14, I 14, W 15, C 15, D 13,

Climbing down the chute requires a Ch 12; AL CG; skilled with long sword,

thieves climb walls roll to perform long bow, dagger);successfully (if done without a rope); Alf, a 0-level hireling who works withfailure sends both the rescuer and Haril Cullivan, the druid in charge of thebouncing down the mountain for 20d6 Eddistone Point tower (AC 10, MV 12";damage almost certain doom. If the hp 3; #AT 1; currently unarmed; I 16;party rescues Haril, it finds the dwarf is AL N); and,in a bad way and cannot give any useful Clyde, another 0-level hireling whoinformation. He was badly beaten and works at the tower (AC 10, MV 12"; hpis delirious, muttering curses about 6; #AT 1; currently unarmed; S 15; ALhalf-orcs and demons. Stripped to his N).skivvies, he is blue with cold and near Alf and Clyde normally cook, clean,death. Only the healing of his wounds and perform routine maintenanceand bed rest for one week can bring him around the tower, but both have beento full strength (Haril: AC 10; MV 0 taught to operate the signaling mirror(unable to walk); F2; hp 15 (now 2); #AT to a limited extent by Cullivan (enough

0 (currently unarmed and incapaci- to signal for help or send weathertated); S 14, I 12, W 10, D 14, C 13, Ch warnings).11; AL CN). All the prisoners have their hands

2. Crew Quarters. Five beds line theand feet bound, with only very limited

walls here, with a small footlocker atmovement permitted. They had beenallowed to go downstairs briefly, but

the end of each. A large round table and when Delea was caught sending a mes-five chairs sit-in the center of the room. sage of some sort off with a white crow,A fireplace and a small woodpile rest in this practice stopped. The prisonersthe northern end of the room, and five receive slight amounts of food anddesks and chairs can be seen on thewest wall. Oil lamps hang from the four

water save for Delea, who has been

support pillars. Three 1-wide windowsdrugged into a stupor and is uncon-

with tall shutters overlook the sheerscious. Unless a neutralize poison spellis used, it takes 3-12 hours for Delea to

drop to the north, and the metal tube of regain consciousness and be able tothe chimney exits to the open airthrough the center window: A metal

move about normally.The chests contain only worthless

ladder rises from the 2'-square trapdoor (currently closed but not barred)

clothing, as the bandits who have takenthe tower have ransacked them. How-

near the middle of the room. The open-ing to the next floor is 10 above. Achamberpot rests under the middle

ever, two large code books and three logbooks may be found on the desks, where

desk. The shutters are left open by daytheyve obviously been well read. The

to let light into the room; at night, theyare closed and a fire is kindled to staveoff the chill mountain air.

This floor is usually occupied by threearmed bandits (each AC 7 (but seebelow); MV 9; F2; hp 15; S 15, D 14;AL CE; studded leather armor, shortsword, long bow, hand axe). One of thebandits stole Shaadors ring of protec-tion +2, and his AC is now 5. Guardedclosely are the following prisoners:

code books detail the signaling systemused for the signal towers. The logbooks detail the transmissions over thelast two months, abruptly ending aboutfive days ago. The value of these worksdepends on whether the DM wishes todetail the transmissions for the charac-ters and whether the PCs wish toexploit any unusual information inthem; such expansions on this adven-ture are left to the DMs imagination.

Delea (AC 10; MV 0; MU4; hp 9 (13 3. The Kitchen. The trap door fromwhile familiar is within 120 yards); #AT area 2 to the third-floor kitchen is 75%0 (currently unarmed and incapaci- likely to be open. As on the floor below,tated); S 9, I 15, W 12, C 8, D 11, Ch 15; there are three window slits about 1AL NG; skilled with daggers; knowsread magic, find familiar; magic missile,

wide, and the center window has theexhaust pipe for the fireplace-stove

ventriloquism, write, continual light, combination that rests on the northand levitate, but has no spells currently side. The east wall has a food prepara-memorized); tion area, with a once neat array of

24 Issue No. 1




knives and other cutlery lining the these, too, are in a condition similar towall. The kitchen is in disarray now, for that of the rest of the kitchen. The

the bandits are not very neat. Dirty metal ladder continues 10' up to thepots, pans, and dishes litter the place.The south wall pantry is a mess doorsgape open, food is thrown around, andthere are a lot of plucked chicken feath-ers on the floor. The barrels on the westwall are undisturbed; they contain onlycooking fat, save for one large water-filled barrel with a bucket near it. (Sig-nal tower rules forbid the presence. ofwine or spirits on the premises.) Thecenter of the kitchen is occupied by alarge wooden table and five chairs;

next floor.If characters spend time in checking

about, they note that about 12 person-days of food remain (enough for oneperson for twelve days, two people forsix days, etc.). All of the food was eitherbrought up by mules from Four Trailsor gathered from. the wilderness.

4. Storage Room. This room containsthe only large (8-square) window in thetower facing to the south. About 30 up

the smooth face of the tower, the shut-ters open outward on hidden hinges.

Just inside the window stands awheeled loading crane, used to haulcargo up for storage. The rest of the 23'-diameter room is filled with boxes andsacks of dried food, flour, sugar, and thelike, as well as items that might proveuseful for the maintenance of the tower.A spare signal mirror packed into onebox, piles of spare rope ladders, tools,and other equipment lay about. None ofthe boxes are exceptionally large sincethey had to be carried by pack animalup the mountain.

DUNGEON 25



SAULT ON EDDISTONE POINT

The Signal Platform. Measuringin diameter, the platform has a

ck, 5 -high wall all around. Theoden floor is constructed at a very

ght slope, with its high point in theter so rainfall runs to the outer wallough the small drainage holes there.

metal ladder opening has a 4 lipwhich the trap door rests, to prevent

n from draining to the floors below.e opening itself can be covered with aopy to keep out direct rainfall whendoor is open.he center of the floor is occupied bytarp-covered signal mirror, set on a

tform so it rests above the wall. Therror is 2 in diameter, firmlyunted to a strong metal frame with a

ndle attached so the mirror can be

veled and aimed. The mirror light iswerful enough in full sunlight to

mporarily blind opponents out to age of 120 from the tower for 1-4nds (-4 to hit and on savingows). A number of screws, wheels,d sighting implements make theror a complicated-looking thing, andy trained signal people know how to

e it. On the southwest wall are somepty barrels used as seats, and on thet wall is a 15 -tall lightning-rod

gpole firmly stuck into the stone.he visibility from the tower top is

out a quarter mile at present (1320).

yone serving as a lookout here can beprised on a roll of 1-4 by anyonelking around the tower base (if thatson is moving as quietly as possible

d taking advantage of local cover).

Major NPCs

e following major NPCs have no setation where they may be found in orund the Eddistone Point tower. The

M should read over these descriptionsefully and decide where these NPCsuld most likely be when the partyives, depending upon the time ofival. The most likely areas for thembe found are areas 3-5, particularlytower top.

Usually, five keepers are at the tower:ee druids and two apprentices. Ats time of year, the two higher-leveluids are away at the midsummertival to the south. Now manning the

wer is the druid Cullivan (AC 10; MV; D2; hp 7; #AT 1; currentlyarmed; AL N; S 13, I 14, W 14, D 10,11, Ch 15; skilled with dagger, club;dict weather; purify water, cure light

wounds (the bandits do not permit himto pray for other spells)). He plans topick up a knife from the kitchen or usea poker from a fireplace as a club if

necessary. Cullivan is allowed to movefreely so he can help translate signalmessages once the fog lifts, as well asget rid of intruders (pretending that allis well) and act as a servant for thebandits. Cullivan wont flee, as thiswould mean the deaths of Alf andClyde, but he is still watched closely. Hedoesnt know why the bandits are here.

The bandit leader is a hard-bittenhalf-orc fighter named Scalf (AC 4; MV9; F4; hp 34; #AT 1; Dmg by weapontype; S 16, I 13, W 10, D 14, C 15, Ch10; AL CE; chain mail and shield, bas-tard sword, mace, heavy crossbow, dag-

ger). With his 60 infravision, Scalf hasnormal chances of spotting anyone nearthe tower base at night (even in the fog)if serving as a lookout. He has been wellpaid for this venture of capturing thetower, but there is a 25% chance he willtake a bribe, provided enough money isoffered as a flat fee up front. He is of asuspicious nature, though; if the bribe istoo large (over 1,000 gp), he figures theparty is trying to trick him. Scalf hassix 50 gp gems sewn into the cloth gar-ment worn under his armor and carries45 gp in a belt pouch. Scalf attempts tokill all elves on sight.

Ungerd is Scalf's second-in-command,a very large half-orc fighter (AC 2; MV12"; F2; hp 20; #AT 1; Dmg by weapontype; S 17, I 7, W 7, D 13, C 15, Ch 5;AL CE; chain mail; ring of protection+3 stolen from Delea the White, shortsword, long bow, four throwing dag-gers). Ungerd is vicious, brutal, andunimaginative. He carries 27 gp and 42sp in a belt pouch.

The last member of this group is awizened little man, past middle age,named Voro. If captured and questionedby the player characters, Voro begs forsanctuary from them, telling how hewas captured by the half-orcs as he wascutting wood in the mountains andforced to be their servant. Half crazedwith fear, he wants only to be set free.

As far as the party can tell, he isspeaking the truth, for he is very fright-ened, but deeper examination bringsout the whole story. Know alignment,detect lie, detect evil, dispel magic, dispelillusion, and like spells may work here.There is also a 5% chance that anymember of the party may note thatthough he appears poor, filthy, and

ragged, Voro does not smell it.In actuality, the little man is a young

female illusionist named Voronia daCancri, in her old-man Voro disguise

(AC 9; MV 12; 15; hp 14; #At 1; Dmg byweapon type; +1; S 10, I 16, W 12, D16, C 12, Ch 15; AL LE; dagger +2;change self, phantasmal force, darkness,detect illusion, invisibility, hypnotic

pattern, rope trick). Voronia carriesanother six doses of the nonmagicalsleeping potion that she forced Delea totake, each dose granting 12 hours ofsleep (if a save vs. poison is Failed). Shealso has her own and Deleas magictomes. Deleas tome contains a spellscroll with wizard mark stuck in themiddle of the pages, and Voronias con-tains read illusionist magic and the

cantrips haze, mask, and noise in addi-tion to those spells she has ready.

Voronia hired the half-orcs and theirmercenary friends to capture the tower.Voronia herself was hired by a mer-chant family in Untala (the city fromwhich Delea started) to intercept aseries of coded messages from Untala toStrafferburg, detailing current goldprices and financial news. After inter-cepting this information, Voronia is tohave an altered message sent to Straf-ferburg which will subtly favor returnbusiness for the Untala family over allother merchant houses. Nothing has

been put to paper regarding this plandue to the inherent dangers of beingcaught at it, but Voronia might spill thetruth to save her life. The fog spoiledher plans.

If the tower is retaken by the party,Voronia tries to escape by any meanspossible. If necessary, she betrays herhired men or tricks them in order toescape. Voronia casts change self toappear as Voro should the opportu-nity appear. She usually wears a darkbrown cloak with a hood and some plaintraveling clothes, so if seen with herback to the viewer it would be hard todetermine her identity, let alone hergender. Deleas white crow does not likeVoronia and squawks rudely at her,whether Voronia is in disguise or not (ithas seen her change into Voro).

As her plans stand at present, Voroniameans to have Cullivan perform theactual message interception and trans-mission. When he is finished, he andthe others in the tower are to be slain,save for Delea and Shaador (who can beransomed from Four Trails by the half-orcs at a later date). Voronia knows

26 Issue No. 1




enough signal code now to detect anydistress-call messages Cullivan mightsend, and he is aware of this. He alsosuspects that he and his helpers will bedisposed of before long.

Additional Notes

If the captives are rescued or if ESP isemployed, the player characters learnthat Deleas party was surprised atnight on the mountain road by Voroniasmercenaries. Using her phantasmal

force spell, Voronia killed two of themen herself by conjuring the illusion ofa hoard of demons falling upon them. Inthe confusion that followed, the otherfighters were cut down quickly. Delea,Haril, and Shaador were captured, thedead stripped of their weapons andarmor, and the pack animals taken.Delea used her spells up defending theparty, and (since Voronia took away herspell book) she has been unable torenew them.

The attackers tied up their captivesand, disguised as Deleas party, trickedtheir way into the tower. Unfortunately,Haril the dwarf had a big mouth and astrong hatred of orcs and half-orcs; afterone insult too many, he was beaten andshoved down the stable drainage hole.After this, Delea got her crow (whichhad escaped the attack by hiding) to

carry a message away from the tower,for which she was promptly drugged byVoronia.

For the duration of the adventure, thefog remains around the mountain top(unless it suits the DMs purpose to dootherwise). The fog is a natural phenom-enon and not magical in nature.

Voronias half-orc and human merce-naries fight fiercely, but if the odds goagainst them they either surrender orattempt to make a deal; after all, theyare business men, and they cannot dobusiness if they get killed. If they sur-render or allow themselves to be bribed,

Voronia tries to escape, leaving the mento their fate. She has told them nothingconcerning her reasons for capturingthe tower, so they cannot answer. anysuch questions put to them about herplans. The DM may wish to continuethe adventure into the wilderness as theparty pursues Voronia. One good reasonto capture her can be put forward byDelea: Voronia has stolen her magictome, and Delea offers a reward for itsreturn. The chase is on but only ifVoro escapes!

DUNGEON 27



Readers of DRAGON® Magazine willremember John Nephews creative revi-sion of the pernicon in issue #108. Hemakes his first appearance here with anadventure involving the last stand of theremnants of a norker army. A resident of Duluth, Minnesota John has another module fated to appear in our pages inthe future.

Grakhirts Lair is an AD&D® adventuredesigned for 4-8 characters of 1st-3rdlevel. At least one strong fighter (above1st level) should be in the party toincrease survival chances in difficultcombat encounters. A balance of basiccharacter classes (fighter, magic-user,cleric, thief) is helpful for success.

[Note that the reference to the align-

ment of flinds in the FIEND FOLIOTome has been altered. The flindsencountered here are chaotic evil, as aretheir gnoll cousins. Editor]

GRAKHIRT'SLAIR

BY JOHN NEPHEW

The war is

o v e r — b u t

there 's oneba t t l e l e f t


In its scant fifteen years of existence,the town of Nolivari has had manyhardships and trials, but it has alwaysmanaged to pull through. It had to becarved out of a wilderness untamed bymankind for a thousand years (or sosays The Book of Dalayle, a local chroni-cle), struggle for independence from the

city-state of Ivirwylliw (far to the west),and mourn the loss of its leader, the oneto have been its first prince. Even so,Nolivari has been prosperous; growingon the abundance of raw materials onthe edge of the wilderness.

Recently, the town suffered repeatedraids of norkers from the foothills of agreat mountain range to the south. Theraids continued over a period of eightweeks, at which point the druidessAldrelle came from her hermitage towarn the prince of a great host of thehumanoids coming to surprise and burnthe town. Prince Corin assembled his

small group of men-at-arms and militiaand fortified the town as best he could,utilizing all materials available. Emptycrates were filled with rocks and set upas makeshift walls. Hunting bows werebrought out, old swords retrieved fromattics, and hatchets, meat-cleavers, andpitchforks were sharpened for use.

The great host of norkers didarrive, 150 strong. Though great gen-erals may sneer at such a small force, itwas almost three times the number oftrained warriors in the town. The battle

28 Issue No. 1



and lives. The humanoids were drivenback at a terrible price; nearly 250defenders lay wounded or dead, a greatloss for a population of little more than1,000 people. No one in the townavoided loss of family, friends, orproperty.

But Nolivari had weathered theattack. According to local trappers andrangers, there should be no more than50 norkers alive within 30 miles. Whatperplexes everyone is how the norkers,chaotic creatures by nature, could havebeen organized for battle on such ascale.

The druidess Aldrelle, who reap-

There have been rumorshumanoid tribes that the

peared after the battle, had some new

information.among othernorkers had a powerful leader namedGrakhirt. Little is known about himexcept the unquestioning loyalty thenorkers gave him; no other beings haveeven seen him. Before the battle, the

Arham achieved influence throughdeceit, threats, manipulation, andmagic, and he prospered in his evilways. Any man who opposed his plans,regardless of rank, would more oftenthan not be found stabbed, poisoned, orinexplicably dead with an expression

of supernatural terror on his face. Intime, even the Guildmaster dared notoppose Arham for fear of arcane ormundane retaliation, especially afterthe illusionist married the Guildmas-ters daughter and she gave birth to ason. The child was named Grakhirt.

support of other humanoid groups in theregion which sought to halt humancivilizations conquest of the wilderness.Such a movement in the wild landscould hardly go unnoticed. The druidessAldrelle, informed by her friends innature, warned Prince Corin. Antici-

pated and prepared for, the attack metwith defeat.Defeat at Nolivari may well have

been the fatal step in Grakhirt's career.He has withdrawn to his lair to fumeand plan his next move. It is the task ofthe player characters to stop him from

norkers were organized at the lair of the Arham had his son trained by the making any more such plans, thoughtribe whose chieftain is named Guild in the skills of stealth and mur- his capture or elimination and the

GRAKHIRT’S LAIR

was desperate as the towns commonfolk valiantly fought for their homes

story.Half a century ago, a stranger came to

across the lands. He would honor hisfather by being even greater and more

the city of Ivirwylliw. He was the illu- terrible than had been planned. Thesionist Arham, exiled from his native. norkers, manipulated by the clevercity in the far south. Powerful, cunning, Grakhirt (with help from his illusionsand cruel, the wicked illusionist became and from pliable tribal authoritiesassociated with the citys notorious eager for territorial dominance), wereAssassins Guild. organized for a military campaign.

Though unable to gain an official Raids were organized on farms to raiseposition in the Guild hierarchy because provisions and build morale. Then theof his class, and unable to become an great attack on Nolivari was set intoassassin due to physical weakness, motion, to attract the attention and

discipline the disorganized norkers likethis, what could be done with the law-fully aligned humanoid races such as

the goblins and hobgoblins? To preventfuture invasions of Nolivari, Grakhirtmust be eliminated.

This much the characters havelearned since they arrived in town, oneday after the great battle. Prince Corinhas posted announcements asking foradventurers willing to capture or slayGrakhirt. A reward of 250 gp is offeredto each member of such a party not avery great sum, but Nolivari is not avery rich town (especially now). PrinceCorin warns that Hragtam was notkilled in the battle, and there are likelyto be a fair number of norkers alive in

the lair.

Hragtam; perhaps this Grakhirt residesthere. The ambition and charisma ofthis person are apparent. If he could

destruction of the norkers.

power and influence, perhaps even withan official position as Guildmaster but this scheme never had the chance to

der, and by himself in illusion. Grakhirtwas intended to assume his father's

Town Personalities

Below are detailed some major non-be carried through. When the old Guild- player characters of Nolivari and its

master died, the new one brought great vicinity. Their personalities and statis-enmity towards the illusionist and his tics are presented for use in player-offspring. After several failed murder character interactions as well as forattempts and the loss of some of the ongoing campaign use.Guilds most talented assassins, Arham Prince Corin is the ruler of Nolivariwas slain while studying his spells. (AC 2; MV 12; P7; hp 47; #AT 3/2; Dmg

Little thought was given to the 19- by weapon type; S 12, I 10, W 17, D 14,year-old son of Arham as the Ivirwylliw C 10, Ch 17; AL LG; long sword of Assassinss Guild licked its wounds; sharpness, chain mail +3). He is wise,indeed, the assassin/illusionist was not compassionate, cautious, kind, andseen in Ivirwylliw after the slaying of respected by everyone in town. He willhis father. The few who noted his not seek out the norker lair himself forabsence assumed that he had fled for- a couple of reasons. At age 62, he thinksever, and Arhams missing journals and himself too old to fight and realizesspellbooks were thought to have been what bad shape the town would be in if

taken by opportunistic thieves. he did not return (he has no heir).In truth, young Grakhirt had fled Above all, he desires to rebuild the townsoutheast to one of his fathers wilder- physically and psychologically.ness sanctuaries, a small group of caves Princess Teliva is Corins wife (ACnear Nolivari that served as the lair of 10; MV 12; 0-level human; hp 3; #AT 1;a tribe of norkers. Grakhirt withdrew Dmg by weapon type; S 9, I 15, W 13, Dhere to meditate for a time and famil- 6, C 8, Ch 14; AL LG; amulet of lifeiarize himself with his deceased fathers protection, dagger +1). She has an intel-abode, books, and magical devices. . . . ligence superior to that of her husband,and to plot vengeance. but sometimes lacks his caution and

Grakhirt dreamed of raising human- common sense. Many times her clever-oid armies who would rise up at his ness has aided the town. Though shecalling and follow him in conquest and Corin have no children and she is

For the Dungeon Master

The following information may beuncovered by the player characters oncethey reach Grakhirts chambers in thisadventure, or by using charm person,ESP, or similar questioning uponGrakhirt, if captured. Certain otherspells, such as legend lore or commune,may provide fragmentary informationthat eventually produces the whole

DUNGEON 29



RAKHIRT'S LAIR

AL N)

eyond childbearing age, she is lovednd respected by the townsfolk as much

her husband.Aldrelle the Druidess (AC 4; MV

4; D12; hp 65; #AT 1; Dmg by weaponpe; S 12, I 13, W 16, D 12, C 10, Ch7; AL N; bracers of defense (AC 4),pear +2, hammer +2, boots of speed,umerous potions and scrolls) is a pow-ful figure in the locale, but a solitary

ne. She lives to the southwest, in aermitage deep in a forest, with threenitiates of the First Circle (3rd-levelruids) named Aldrin, Vellic, and

Maraz. Little is known about hermotives, and she only comes out in

ublic to warn of great danger In real-

y, she is not very concerned with theroblems of other humans but sherefers not to have humanoids ravaging

he area and harming the things withhich she is concerned. Though well-

rmed, she hates to fight and has noesire to kill anything, even norkers, worthless items.pecially if someone else is able to doIf the DM considers the party to be

o weak, Aldrelle may permit one ofer three Initiates to aid the party in

his adventure. The Initiate should beeshed out by the DM as desired, but he

or she uses no magical weapons andremains silent much of the time.

The Wilderness

If this adventure is used in an ongoingcampaign, the DM may fit it in wher-ever it fits best on his maps, alteringthe names of places and people as neces-sary. Otherwise, a map showing theroute to Grakhirt's lair is not an abso-lute requirement; one may be generatedquickly and easily if desired.

When the characters are equipped andready to go, they proceed south alongthe trail obviously traveled by the

norkers (the food scraps and tracks aretelltale signs). The lair is known to be22 miles south of Nolivari, and the tripcan be made one day (assuming nor-mal rest breaks are made) over normalterrain (see the DMG, page 58). Heavilyequipped parties may require two days.Wandering monsters are checked fortwice each day (morning and evening)and once at night (at midnight); anencounter occurs on a roll of 1 on d10.Roll d8 to determine what was encoun-tered, using the following section:

1: Bandits ( # 2-5; AC 7 or 8; MV 12 ;0-level humans; 1-6hp; hp 4 each; #AT1; Dmg by weapon type; AL NE). Two ofthese bandits have leather armor,

shields, and swords; the others (if any)have leather armor, short bows, anddaggers. If at all possible these menwill ambush the party.

2. Centipedes, huge (# 2-20; AC 9;MV 21; HD¼; hp 1; #AT 1; Dmg nil;SA save vs. poison +4 or take 4-16hp damage; makes saving throws at -2;

3: Flinds (# 3-6; AC 5; MV 12; HD2 + 3; hp 12 each; #AT 1 or 2; Dmg 1-6or 1-4/1-4; SA + 1 to hit, 25% haveflindbar which has two attacks perround,, does 1-4 hp damage; and theperson struck must save vs. wands or be

disarmed; AL CE). This group of flindsis hunting norkers, particularly thosewounded in the battle. The flinds havefought the local norkers for years, buthate humans with equal passion.

4. Leprechaun (#1; AC 8; MV 15;HD (1-1); 4 hp; #AT, 0; Dmg 0; SAbecome invisible, polyhtorph non-livingobjects, create illusions, and ventrilo-quism, all at will, and 75% pick packets;AL N). This mischievous little being,Larran by name, is looking for opportu-nities to play jokes, steal, and generallybe a nuisance. He has already bothereda couple of groups of flinds, but they

arent as much fun or as wealthy as a group of adventurers. Larran has afair amount of treasure hidden in ahollow tree nearby: 219 cp, 148 gp, fourbase 10 gp gems (moss agates), and twoQuaals feather tokens (bird and tree).

5. Minimals, cave bear (# 1-4; AC 8;MV 8; HD 2 + 2; hp 11 each; #AT 3;Dmg 1-2/1-2/1-3; SA hug for 2-5 hp dam-age; surprise on 1-3; SD save as 7 HDvs. poison and death magic, + 2 save vs.s p e l l s ; A L N )

6. Norkers (# 1-6; AC 3; MV 9; HD1 + 2; hp 6 each; #AT 2; Dmg 1-3/1-6;AL CE) These are stragglers from the

battle who managed to get away, butare still homeless and lost in the wilder-ness. Being very desperate, they attackanyone or anything they encounter.Each has a pouch with 1-6 sp, 1-4 ep,and a few miscellaneous and virtually

7. Spiders huge (# 1-4; AC 6; MV18; HD 2 + 2; hp 9 each; #AT 1; Dmg1-6; SA surprise on 1 -5 (d6), poison (saveat +1 or die); leap 30; AL N)

8. Wolf, dire (# 1-2; AC 6; MV 18";HD 3 + 3; hp 17 each; #AT 1; Dmg 2-8;

30 Issue No. 1



GRAKHIRT’S LAIR

AL N). These avoid well-armed groups,preferring to pick off lone stragglers.The eating has been good because of thenumber of wounded norkers who fled

the battle, so the wolves wont putthemselves out to attack healthy,dangerous characters.

Starting the Adventure

When the party reaches the lair, readthe boxed section below to the players.

Your party has followed the norkerstrail all the way to its source asmall opening about 4 high in arocky hill. The area you are in isdominated by the foothills of a greatmountain range visible in the dis-

tance to the south. To the west is adense forest in which Aldrelle isrumored to live.

Near the cave mouth is a pond, fedby a small stream that trickles downfrom the mountains. Next to thepond is a charred, dead tree with axemarks upon its trunk. Though thereare a few scrubby bushes, the land-scape is mainly clothed with short,sun-baked grass that is dead virtu-ally everywhere except by thestream.

Seeing the rocky path and manylimestone outcroppings on the hills,

it would seem that caves beneath theentrance occur here naturally orcould easily be hewn from the rock,which has at most only a thin layerof soil atop it.

Two norkers (AC 3; MV 9; HD 1 + 2;hp 6,7; #AT 2; Dmg 1-3/1-6; AL CE) areposted as guards on the hill, directlyover the entrance. They are only sur-prised on a roll of 1 on a d12. When theparty comes within 200 yards of thecave mouth, the norkers hide and moveto get behind the party as the charac-ters enter the cave. If such happens, the

party is surprised on a roll of 1-3 on d6.If the party inspects the whole hillsidebefore entering, it has the normalchances of being surprised.

On the bottom of the pond is the skele-ton of an elf whose party stumbled uponthe cave at a time when there was a fulllair of norkers around. Most of theadventurers got away, but the elf fellinto the pond after receiving his deathblow. The norkers never bothered tosearch for the body, so there it lies withits treasure: 3 gp, 7 tarnished sp, and a

platinum brooch worth 45 gp. Becauseof the rotting material in the stagnantpond, anyone who drinks the watermust make checks for both contraction

of disease and parasitic infestation,with a + 10% addition to each chance ofoccurrence. A parasitic infection occursin the intestines; any disease is acuteand gastro-intestinal in nature (DMG,page 13-14).

The cave goes forward into the hillabout 3, descends a bit, and opens to asmall room (5 x 6 ) with a wooden trapdoor in the floor. Going through the trapdoor and climbing down the ladderunder it leads to room 1 after a 9descent.

Unless otherwise stated, all norkersfound within this lair share the follow-

ing statistics: AC 3; MV 9; HD 1 + 2;#AT 2; Dmg 1-3/1-6 (bite/club); AL CE.Hit points are offered for norkersencountered, as well as any variantinformation on special individuals.Following their defeat, the norkers hereare very depressed and angry, and arebrooding over their immediate future(as well as their leadership, whom theyhold to blame for the disaster).

Upper Level

The ceiling height for this entire level(carved out by norkers) is not greater

than 5½, requiring taller characters tostoop and be less able to fight effec-tively, unless using thrusting or stab-bing weapons such as short spears,daggers, and short swords. Any charac-ter between 5½-6 in height has a -1 tohit on all attacks, save for those madewith thrusting and stabbing weapons.Characters taller than 6 have a -2 tohit penalty on all attacks of any kindand cannot use medium or large shieldseffectively (no armor class reduction fortheir use). All dwarves gnomes, andhalflings are completely unaffected bythe ceiling height with regards to

attacks they make, though they mustuse weapons appropriate to their size, ofcourse.

1. Entrance Room. The ladder goesdown to this room. Though the room isempty of traps and creatures, there aresigns that it recently held many beings.Discarded food scraps, an occasionaltrail of blood, a couple of broken weap-ons, and some discarded, bloodied ban-dages are scattered about. The door tothe south was crudely made and has

rusty hinges, so an open doors attemptis at one less in six chance to succeed(e.g., someone who opens doors on a 1-3must now roll a 1-2 to succeed).

2. Guard Alcoves. Each alcove isoccupied by a norker. The two guards(hp 8,7) both bear minor wounds fromthe battle against Nolivari (each beingdown 1 hp). They attack all intruderswith ferocity, especially humans, butwait for the party to come up the pas-sage so that they have a better chanceof gaining surprise (1-3 on a d6). Onewears an unadorned rusty iron medal-lion (worthless) around his neck on aslightly tarnished silver chain (10 spvalue).

3. Drunken Guard. Slumped againstthe wall of this alcove is a highly inebri-ated norker, unconscious (hp 5). Hecould easily be dispatched, and it takesquite a bit of stimulus to wake him. Hehas no items of value on his person.Lying beside him is an emptied wineamphora. As much of its contents are onthe floor as are in the norker.

4. Solitary Cell. This cell is particu-larly damp, having a trickle of watercoming in from its ceiling. Its occupantis a weak and starving half-elf (AC 10;MV 12 ; T2; hp 2 (normally 9); #AT 0

(weakened and unarmed); AL NG). Heis quite helpless at the present andwould be very grateful to the party ifrescued, but he cannot help the party intheir ventures here because of his weak-ness. He asks for food so he can surviveand get to Nolivari. Nothing else ofinterest is here.

5. Large Cell. Chained to the lime-stone wall here are five prisoners. Thisis where the majority of the prisoners ofGrakhirt and the norkers are put. Con-ditions are terrible, to say the least, andthe prisoners have been ignored since

the battle with Nolivari.Not counting a starved and dead gob-lin, and the bones of an old dwarvenprisoner, three prisoners remain:

1. A merchant whose entire caravanwas ambushed and destroyed by thenorkers (AC 10; MV 12; 0-level human;hp 2; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon type(unarmed); AL N). The norkers nowhold him here for a ransom that cannever come, since he has nothing ofvalue left in the world. If rescued, hehas no way of paying the party back in

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AKHIRT’S LAIR

uables or gold. This man is verypressed, feeling that he has nothingive for though killing a fewkers would appeal to him.

A flind that has been tortured forentertainment of the chieftain ande (AC 10; MV 12 ; HD 2 + 3; hp 1rmally 9); #AT 1; Dmg by weapone (unarmed); AL CE). He wont sur-e long without care. If a party nurses

m back to health and treats him well,voices his thanks but takes advan-e of any chance to get away. He hastrue sense of gratitude to the charac-. The flind has neither weapons nor

mor.A huge, battle-scarred norker

med Kargh (hp 10; #AT 1 or 2 ifmed; Dmg 1-3/by weapon type if

med). Kargh was recently imprisoneder protesting to the norker chieftain,agtam, about the tribes dominationGrakhirt. If released by the party

d questioned, he tells them as muchd offers to help them slay Hragtam.

will also show them the way to thewer level. He speaks a smattering ofmmon as well as Norker andbgoblin.

Not one of the prisoners has any itemvalue. Other than their chains, therenothing else in the room.

6. Feast Hall. (The door to this roomis oiled and much used, so an open doorsroll is unnecessary.) This room is usedfor meals and celebrations, as well as

torturing of prisoners an activity thatthese norkers consider an art. It waslast used for a meal, so the four tablesand crude stools are set out rather thanpiled haphazardly along the walls.Upon the roughly-hewn dais is a large,intricately carved, thronelike chair(obviously not of norker craftsmanship).If somehow transported out and sold,the bulky, 750-lb. chair could commandas much as 2,000 gp on the open mar-ket. Behind the chair is a curtain ofcheap red cloth dividing this room fromthe next.

Seated on the chair is a massive

norker: Hragtam, the chieftain of thetribe (HD 3 + 2; hp 19; #AT 2; Dmg 1-3/by weapon type; STR 17). He has abroad sword, in a sheath slung over hisshoulder, which he wields with twohands in combat. He is, at the time thatthe party enters, in a heated argumentwith his two bodyguards, each of whichcarries a footmans mace (hp 9,9; #AT 2;Dmg 1-3/by weapon type). The topic isthe traitor Kargh (prisoner #3 in

room 5). If Kargh is in the party, hecharges forward and engages Hragtamin melee. The guards do not attackKargh (they openly sympathize with

him), but they will attack the partymembers and Hragtam. Kargh and thebodyguards wont fight each other, evenif it means that Kargh has to turn onthe party which happens if the chief-tain is slain before the guards are, andKargh is alive. If the party incidentallykills the guards in the battle, Karghstill shows them the secret door in room7 (his hatred of Grakhirt is very strong).

Each guard wears, as a symbol of hisposition, a jasper bracelet (red withgreen veins) worth 55 gp. The chieftainwears a gold ring set with a small, deepred spinel worth 92 gp. The ring is not

magical.Hragtam also has an item of value

strung around his neck: a small, finelycrafted, silver statuette of an Amazonwarrior. Unfortunately, the norkersdrilled a hole through its neck so that itcould be strung on a copper wire andworn by their chieftain. As a result, it isonly worth 155 gp; if the hole is some-how fixed, it could be brought all theway up to a 255 gp value.

7. Treasure Room. As well as beingused for the storage of most of thetribes treasure, this room is the sleep-

ing quarters of the chieftain Hragtam.He has a crude bed, stolen from ahuman cottage some years ago, that isslightly rotted and has no mattress, butis instead filled with moldy, dirty straw.

Beneath the bed is an iron-banded oakchest. The chest is locked and has apoison needle (save vs. poison or slipinto a coma for 2-20 days; a cure diseaseor heal brings a character out of thecoma, but the comatose state is 50%likely to be mistaken for death byeveryone present). The chest containsmuch of the tribal treasure: 430 cp,2,439 sp, 1,054 gp, 25 pp, three goldearrings set with small pearls (eachworth 160 gp total), a magic-user scrollwith the spells unseen servant, poly-morph other, and magic mouth within a jade map case (value: 435 gp), and arusty flindbar taken in a raid a fewyears ago.

There are some other items of poten-tial interest to the party scattered aboutthe room. On the southwest wall arehung a variety of weapons: a compositelong bow with a broken string, a shortsword with a rusty hilt and notched

32 Issue No. 1



GRAKHIRT’S LAIR

blade, three 5 spears with bronzeheads in good condition, and a quiver of0 arrows (four of which are silver-ipped). On the north wall, near the foot

of the bed, is a 5 spear which holds onts tip a mummified, severed flind heada war trophy of Hragtams). On theoutheast wall, just north of the secret

door, is a large, human-made shieldwith a beautifully painted coat-of-armsthree gold, rampant lions on a violetield). Though the front looks excellent,he shield is corroded on the back andffectively useless for battle purposes.If Kargh (prisoner #3, room 5) is alive

nd allied with the party, he showshem the secret door on the southeast-rn wall before he leaves. Under noircumstances does he willingly enterhe lower level. Kargh then leaves theair; he can see that there is little or no

hope for the tribe, and he seeks hisortune elsewhere for the cause ofvil, of course.The secret door looks simply like two

vertical cracks in the stone, with amall, thick wire protruding from the

wall by the southernmost crack. Inactuality, there are also cracks at theop and bottom of the wall (where they

are virtually invisible against intersec-ions of floor and ceiling with the wall),

and the cracks go all the way throughhe wall, making the door a separatetone. The middle of the stone is drilled

out and there is an iron cylinder there,et in the ceiling and floor, allowing the

door to rotate. Thus, as shown on theecret door diagram, pushing on theecret door near its southernmost partwhile pulling the wire, releasing theock) allows entrance to the passage

beyond. There is a slight incline to thisoom, and even more of one on the wall,owards the west; the door is alsohicker and heavier on its southern

part. This causes the door to fall shut bygravity. Someone must hold the door

open while the party passes through,and it pulls itself shut once releasedunless blocked or spiked open. A mini-mum strength of 9 is required to pushhe door open from room 7.However, the stone door has a lock on

he side facing area 8, preventing any-one from passing back through the doorrom the lower level without the keywhich Grakhirt possesses). The only

way to open the door from area 8,besides slamming ones body against itchance of success equal to bend bars/lift

gates roll) or using a knock spell, is to

use Grakhirts key. The thieves openlocks ability wont work because thecatch is too heavy.

SECRET DOOR DIAGRAMUpper level, room 7

8. Wet Corridor. This area of thecomplex is particularly damp. The slowtrickle of water from above makes thewall glisten almost as if it is sweating,as well as causing rippled lime depositson the walls. Because of the slipperinessfrom the water, any characters runningalong the passage or stairs must savevs. dexterity every 10 (roll dexterity orless on d20 to be successful) or fall,taking 1-6 hp damage if falling downthe stairs to the next level, 30 below.

9. Armory. This cave is used by thenorkers for the storage of weapons.Guarding the room is a single norker(hp 8; #AT 1 or 2; Dmg by weapon type(sling) or 1-3/by weapon type (club)). Henormally carries a club and sling forweapons, using the sling for fightingintruders coming along the corridor andthe club in melee combat. On each wristhe wears a leather band 4½ wide, eachset with 16 silver studs and worth 19 sp.

Stored in the room are five javelins,two light crossbows, a broken crate with94 normal arrows (of which 63 are inusable condition), 12 clubs of the sort

normally used by norkers, two ham-mers, a single short sword with a rustyblade,, an unopened crate with 120 rot-ting light quarrels (8 are still usable),three horsemens flails, and three shortbows without bowstrings.

There is also a human-sized suit ofplate mail (a war trophy) that, thoughoutwardly seeming to be of excellentquality, is corroded on the inside andrusted together. It would cost 150 gp tohire a smith to put the armor back intousable condition. At the DMs discre-tion, a character with the secondary

skill of armorer may be able to repairthe suit himself, if given the propertools and facilities.

10. Food Storage. The first thing onenotices upon entering this room is thatit is unusually chilly, especially close tothe crates stacked on the west side ofthe room. The crates contain enoughstandard rations to supply a singleperson for 40 weeks, though the foodtastes awful (but the norkers like it).Although there is another food storagechamber (room 13) on this level, thisone is used to store perishable itemsbecause of its cooling system asmall patch of brown mold on the westwall (AC 9; MV 0 ; HD nil; #AT 0; SAfreezing for 4-32 hp damage if beingapproaches within 5; AL N). The cratesare situated such that the norkers canput them in and take them outunharmed by the mold.

Beneath a section of the mold on thefloor is the frozen body of a carelessnorker. It has at its side a small pouchwith 3 pp, 1 gp, 14 sp, and 5 agates(value of 10 gp each).

11. Subchiefs Chamber. This is theprivate room of the sub-chief, Krekal,third in command of the tribe. Whilethe chief plans attacks and is in charge

of just about everything in general, thesub-chief holds the real power in thelair: he has the keys to the secondaryfood storage (room 13) and the winecellar (room 14), as well as the friend-ship and trust of many of the warriors.There has long been a power struggle sometimes open and physical betweenKrekal and Hragtam, the chief, but thewitch doctor, has managed to keep themin an uneasy truce. The defeat atNolivari has worsened the relationship.

Krekal, always wary for treacheryfrom Hragtam, has a warrior norkerposted at each door to his room 24 hours

a day: The two guards (hp 8,8; #AT 1 or2; Dmg by weapon type (hurled) or 1-3/by weapon type) carry two hand axeseach for duty at this post. They raisethe alarm throughout the lair (calling toother guards, leaders, and regularnorkers) if any non-norkers appear or ifanyone tries to enter by force. The sub-chief is informed if there is any matterof importance to the tribe. Each guardhas a pouch with 1-6 pp and 2-8 gp.

When the party enters, the sub-chiefis sleeping. He is off his bed and readyto fight one round after the guard calls

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RAKHIRT’S LAIR

ut, though he loses the initiative ifmmediately engaged in melee. Theub-chief (AC 2; HD 2 + 3; hp 15; #AT 1

2; Dmg by weapon type (hurled) or 1-

by weapon type; STR 17, DEX 15) isuite strong and agile (-1 to AC), and heields a footmans mace. He also has arowing axe at his side, which he usesan opportunity presents itself. On hisft arm he wears an ivory band (worth5 gp), and he wears a gold neck torcith a zircon gem on each end (worth14 gp total). Hanging from his belt are

wo small pouches. One is full of poisony leaves, and the other has 7 pp, 3 gp,ep, five garlic buds, a blue quartz (10

p value), two human molars, a dart,nd a 2 splinter of obsidian (3 gpalue).

The sub-chiefs crude bed is by theuth wall, consisting of a woodename supporting several boards, uponhich is a matted-down pile of straw.ost in the straw is a small violet gar-et (worth 250 gp); there is a 15%hance of finding it per turn of search-g (roll separately for each personarching). Beneath the bed the sub-

hief stores a small variety of weapons:sling with 19 bullets, a horsemans

ail, a club, a hand axe, and five darts.Hung by nails on the north wall, just

pposite the sub-chiefs bed, is a plushulticolored woven rug worth 160 gp. It

very bulky, though about 1,000 gpncumbrance (6 x 12 ).

12. Guard Post. A guard stands atis point, placed on watch to report anytruders to the chief (room 6), the sub-

hief (room 11), or the witch doctoroom 18) as the situation deems appro-iate. Intruders have rarely come, andere is only one guard(hp 9). Further-ore, it is 50% likely that he is asleephen encountered, unless the party hasade a lot of noise, in which case heises an alarm in the lair. He carries 2

p, 12 gp, 7 ep, a sling with 12 bullets,nd a large (16 gp) rhodochrosite.

13. Secondary Food Storage. Thisom is locked, and the only key is ine possession of the sub-chief (room 11);e lock can be picked by a thief at

ormal probability.Inside the room are many crates and

arrels filled with preserved food, suchdried meat, iron rations, meat soak-

g in salt water in the barrels, etc.here is enough to keep the norkeribe going through the winter when

food isnt as easily available on thesurface.

One of the crates, separate from therest and in the southwest niche of the

room, has rotting contents and contain-ers. Burrowing around in the rottingfood are 14 rot grubs (AC 9; MV 1; HDless than 1-1; hp 1 each; #AT 0; SA killvictim in 1-3 turns; AL N). Use commonsense with regard any rot-grub attacks.While they certainly try to burrow intoa hand probing the garbage, they can-not jump onto a passer-by.

There is nothing else of value orinterest in the room.

14. Wine Cellar. Filled with barrels, jugs, amphoras, and casks, this room isused for the storage of alcoholic bever-

ages. There are 50 pints of ale, 125pints of beer, 15 pints of mead, and 42pints of watered wine. Most of therooms contents were stolen from mer-chant caravans, hapless travelers, andan occasional farmhouse.

15. Common Room. Housed in thisroom are the surviving females, young,and elderly warriors of the tribe: fourfemales (HD 1; hp 4 each; #AT 2; Dmg1-3/by weapon type) armed with crudehammers, 10 young (AC 5; HD less than1-1; hp 1; #AT 0), and three retiredwarriors (hp 5,4,3).

A large female, the chiefs mate, isalso present (HD 1 + 2; hp 10; #AT 2;Dmg 1-3/1-6). She wears the following

jewelry: two earrings (gold, set withtiger eye gems) worth 11 gp each, afox-skin sash (dyed red) around herwaist (value: 25 gp), a lapis lazuli brace-let on her left arm worth 21 gp, two goldbracelets with platinum inlays (worth12 gp each) on her right arm, and alarge pouch at her side. The pouch con-tains the following items: 3 pp, 5 gp, 15sp, 35 cp, two small cat teeth, about anounce of pepper in a rolled-up wad ofleaves (1 gp value), a half dozen slingbullets, a red-brown spinel (100 gpvalue), and three marble-sized balls ofhardened clay. She uses a club in battleand also has a sling for situations whenmissile fire is necessary.

Distributed among the others are 17ep, 96 sp, 214 cp, and 1-10 bandedagates. The floor is covered with manyworthless animal pelts for comfort.

16. Warriors Room. This room con-tains all the norker warriors left afterthe battle, besides those on guard.

Many are wounded and not fully healed(only current hit points are given). Onlyeight warriors are present (hp 7,6 (x2),5 (x3), 4,3), of whom five are awake and

ready for combat. The others will beready for combat by the second round ofany fight.

On the persons of the warriors are thefollowing items in total: 5 pp, 11 gp, 21ep, 52 sp, 17 cp, three moonstones (val-ued at 55 gp each), two hematites (10 gpeach), and a silver neck-chain (worn bythe 7-hp norker) worth 3 gp.

17. Witch Doctors Guards. In thisroom are two elite guards, those of thewitch doctor. The norkers (AC 2; hp 10,10; #AT 2; Dmg 1-3/by weapon type;each STR 16) use footmens maces and

carry small shields (hence the AC 2).They let no one into the witch doctorsroom. These quarters are very spartan,and the norkers have no treasure.

18. Witch Doctors Room. The witchdoctor, Shum-Valka, is present when theparty arrives (AC 3; MV 9; HD equiva-lent to 2; hp 15; #AT 2; Dmg 1-3/1-6;MU2/C3 in effect). He will be ready tofight the party if he hears a battle withhis guards in room 17. Shum-Valka hasthe magic-user spells affect normal firesand push, and the clerical spells curelight wounds, protection from good, and

resist fire. Before the party enters theroom, he casts resist fire and protection

from good on himself, and uses otherspells (especially cure light wounds) asneeded. He also wears a medallion of ESP (30 range) that has made him oneof the most powerful norkers in thetribe. The witch doctor is highly intelli-gent and should be cleverly played.

This room is rather messy and clut-tered, filled with all sorts of things,useful and not, that Shum-Valka lovesto fiddle with. His bed is by the westwall and is of rather good human make.Under the bed is a small open cratefilled with seven blocks of wood, eachcut with strange symbols and runes.The blocks have worn, smooth surfacesfrom the touch of fingers for over acentury; they form the traditionalspellbook of the witch doctor, havingcarved upon them the spells affect nor-mal fires and push, as well as ventrilo-quism, dancing lights, audible glamer,invisibility, and scare. There is one spellon each block. A read magic deciphersthe blocks for what they are, though onemust also know the norker tongue.

34 Issue No. 1



GRAKHIRT'S LAIR

They are worth up to 400 gp to inter-ested magic-users or clerics in the area.

Covering the floor are, three rugs ofpredominantly gray and green designs

(#1gray-and-green checkered, thread-bare, 5 x 12, worth 20 gp; #2gray-and-black striped, thick and plush, 3 x6) 14 gp value; #3 solid green, thinand worn, 4½ x 9', 9 gp value).Despite different sizes, each rug has anencumbrance of 200 gp. Scattered on,under, and around the rugs are 23 pp,20 gp, 2 ep, 64 sp, 44 cp, several goblinand orc teeth, some crumpled pieces ofparchment with illegible scrawls, somebroken feather pens, and any otheruseless small items that the DM canthink of.

On the north wall are three shelves.

The lowest shelf contains a variety ofherbs and plants, both fresh and dry;though most are harmless or possiblyuseful, there is also some poison ivy anddeadly nightshade. (For possible herbs,look in the DMG's Appendix J, pages220-221, and include wolvesbane). Themiddle shelf contains 31 vials andflasks of various sizes with liquid con-tents of many colors and texture. Mostare worthless (colored water, syrup, orsap), but some are of interest: two vialsof unholy water, one of holy water, apotion of sweet water, two flasks withpoison, and five of oil. Anyone who

drinks the poison must save vs. poisonor die in 1-4 rounds, with no prior warn-ing symptoms save for a warm flushedfeeling through ones skin. The highestshelf has writing materials: five sheetsof good parchment, a blank 35-pagevellum book, three unopened jars of ink,and an open jar of ink that has spilledover (and ruined) some papers withunintelligible writings.

In the center of the room is a bronzebrazier (value: 10 gp) with a block ofincense burning in it. Scattered aroundare 37 more incense blocks.

19. Shrine of Maglubiyet. Thischamber is a shrine to the deity Maglu-biyet (see the Legends & Lore book; heis worshipped by norkers as well asgoblins and hobgoblins). Directly oppo-site the entrance is an altar on whichmonthly sacrifices (every new moon) aremade of the hearts of creatures withsouls. The altar is carved from lime-stone and rudely sculpted with theforms of fighting norkers. Leering overthe altar as if studying the figures is alarge, stone statue of Maglubiyet, with

rubies as eyes. On either side of thealtar is a dull gray iron brazier withsmoking incense.

The ruby eyes on the statue can be

removed with little difficulty. They arecursed, however; any being possessingone or both of them behaves as if inpossession of a cursed berserking sword(see DMG, page 166). The wish or exor-cism is needed to be rid of them only ifthe possessor has been affected by them,by carrying them into battle. If thegems are handled, the handler becomesuneasy and has a disturbing urge tobecome violent for any trivial reason. Inthe unlikely situation that the partyattempts to sell the gems before againengaging in combat, they seem to havea 5,000 gp value; any NPC of semi- or

better intelligence, when he touchesthem and experiences the uneasiness,automatically refuses to purchase them.In a superstitious area, word may getaround and the PCs could find troubleor banishment for trying sell devilstones.

There is a secret compartment in theback of the altar. It contains 32 sticks ofincense (two of which are incense of meditation) and 110 pp.

Lower Level

Most of this level has walls, ceilings,

and floors glistening with condensation.The moisture drips down to form rivu-lets of water on the floors. Most of thislevel slants slightly towards cavern 20,allowing the rivulets to drain into thesubterranean stream. This normallyhas no effect on characters (other thanmaking thieves climb walls skills virtu-ally impossible: -70% chance of success),except at the fork in the passage out ofroom 20, wherein conditions are asthose described in room 8 of the upperlevel.

The ceiling height on this level is 9,making all combat as normally

performed.

20. Underground Stream. Thisstream travels off to a surface lake 17miles away; anyone trying to swim thisdistance must be able to breathe under-water at will for hours on end, or elsedrowns within minutes of starting.Several white, blind fish flit about inthe slow current.

Lying on the river bed is whatappears to be a golden staff of supremebeauty, encrusted with gems and inlaid

with platinum. In actuality, it is a per-manent illusion hiding the corpse of awitch doctor who opposed Arham,Grakhirts father (see area 27, tomb 7).

There is nothing of value on the body.

21. Garbage Room. The walls of thisdamp room are covered with fungus (notmonster-types), and the floor is strewnwith assorted trash discarded byGrakhirt, Arham, and the norkers thatinhabited this level before them. Livingin the trash are five scum creepers (AC8; MV 3; HD 1; hp 5 each; #AT 1; DmgNil; SA attaches to victim and does 1 hpdamage per round thereafter; AL N)who viciously defend their hoardagainst intruders. There is nothing ofvalue (in human terms) in the room.

22. Torture Chamber. This currentlyunused room is strewn with an assort-ment of tools for inflicting pain uponcaptives. On the south wall is a rack,and next to it a large stone table withan assortment of huge whips drapedover it. Three of the nine whips are real;the other six are actually the tentaclesof a kampfult (AC 4; MV 3"; HD 2; hp12; #AT 6; Dmg 1; SA surprise on 1-3;AL NE). The main body of the kampfultis hidden under the table, looking likean extra leg.

It was common custom for any trea-

sure found on torture victims to begiven to the chieftain. However, there isa secret compartment in the floor (theloose stone covering it is held down by aleg of the stone table) in which a dishon-est torturer hid some loot for himself. Itcontains a pouch (holding 7 pp, 4 gp, amoonstone worth 50 gp, and a ring of sustenance), and a knife (gold-inlaidblade and pommel; worth 12 gp).

23. Auxiliary Cell. This room wasused to hold prisoners for the torturechamber or if the upper-level cells werefilled. A flind skeleton is chained to the

wall, as it has been since Arham firsttook over the lower level. There is noth-ing of value here.

24. Torturers Room. This chamberwas the residence of the tribalinformation-gatherer and entertain-ment specialist. The room has beenabandoned since the lower-leveltakeover by Arham and now is empty.

26. Enchanted Mud. This chamberfilled with mud, kept from drying by a

DUNGEON 35



RAKHIRT’S LAIR

ak in the magical fountain in room 22.ying dormant in the muck are six

crystal ball if a drop of any sort of bloodis placed in it and the desired location is

ud-men (AC 10; MV 3; HD 2; hp 9,8; concentrated on. From here, GrakhirtAT 1; Dmg nil; SA mud-throwing; SD was able to watch the battle at Nolivariagical weapons required to hit, and has even seen the characters travel-

mmune to certain spells see page 93 ing through the dungeon. There is athe Monster Manual II; AL N). Know flask of fish blood hanging from a rusty

is monster well before refereeing the iron spike in the wall. The fountain isncounter. The mud-men get up one mildly evil, as it always attempts tound after someone enters the mud portray scenes which incite trouble.The

nd attack on the second. Clever charac- crystal ball power doesnt work outsiders should be able to get across alive, of the tub, and the waters lose evenough they cannot directly destroy the their radiance of magic if taken moreonsters without magical weapons. than 30 from it.

When all other beings are out of the The fountain is on a natural spring,ool, the mud-men sink back below the but the enchantments were placed byurface. Arham. It took a great deal of work to

Arham brought the mud-men here make it, and it is a major reason thatears ago, and Grakhirt sees no need toave them removed.

Grakhirt chose this as his hideout.

27. Burial Chamber This room was26. Magical Fountain. This room has used by the norkers before Grakhirt

mooth walls, and its only feature is a came as the burial place for their witchuntain in the middle. Water wells up doctors; Each of the seven niches in theom deep below, filling a rock outcrop-ng that was carved into a circular tub.

walls contains a stone sarcophagus, anda norker witch doctors body often

he enchanted waters overflow, and with a small bit of treasure. From left torm a small stream into the chamber right on the map, the contents are:ith the mud-men, room 21. The foun- #1: The body is quite rotten, but onin has the magical power to act as a the skull is a simple copper crown,

worth 2 gp, and at its side is a rustyhorsemans mace.

#2: All contents are little more thandust; if sifted through, 1-4 pp may be

found.#3: During the lifetime of this witchdoctor, the process of embalming waslearned from human merchants whothus profited from the purchase of theitems necessary. The body is wrapped instrips of linen and mummified but is notundead. On its fingers are six rings ofpure gold, each set with a different gemand worth 20 gp: the first, obsidian; thesecond, blue quartz; the third, eyeagate; the fourth, azurite; the fifth,turquoise; and the last, hematite.

#4: In this sarcophagus is a witchdoctor who was less than entirely

devout in his service of Maglubiyet; histransgressions were not too serious, sohe was only cursed to be a ghoul ratherthan be sentenced to eternal torture(AC 6; MV 9; HD 2; hp 12; #AT 3; Dmg1-3/1-3/1-6; SA paralyzation; AL CE). Hehas been promised a place in the armiesof Maglubiyet in the afterlife if he per-forms a quota of evil acts. He has beensomewhat inhibited, though, by thesarcophagus, in which he has beentrapped for over half a century. Anyonecoming within 10 of the sarcophaguscan hear scratching, thumping, andhowling noises within it.

#5: This body is poorly adorned androtting; the only valuable item placedwith it was a silver dagger (20 gpvalue).

#6: At first glance, this embalmed,mummified body would seem to be with-out treasure or valuables, but inside thenorkers mouth is a tourmaline worth100 gp.

#7: This sarcophagus is empty exceptfor a couple of mildewy shrouds. It usedto hold the body of the witch doctor whoopposed Arham. Arham permitted thenorkers ceremonial burial to gain thehumanoids good will (the norkers did

not know that Arham killed him) beforetaking the entire lower level as his own.He then moved the body (see encounter#20) and disguised it under an illusion.Arham was perhaps overly vengeful attimes.

There are sconces and torches on thewalls, but none are lit. Inscribed on thelid of each of the sarcophagi is a shortphrase, in Norker, such as Gone toserve Maglubiyet or In the Land ofEternal War.

36 Issue No. 1



28. Meeting Room. This room isunadorned and unfurnished, save for aectangular oak table and four chairs,

one side with one and the other with

hree. Arham and Grakhirt would meethere with the norker leaders. There isnothing else in the room.

29. Grakhirts Inner Quarters.Grakhirt himself lives in this room,which is comparatively well furnished.There is a nice feather bed, an oak desk,a book case, and a dresser with a largemirror.

Grakhirt is well prepared (AC 3; MV12; A2/I4; hp 11; #AT 1; Dmg byweapon or spell; SA assassination,pells, poison; SD spells; S 13, I 16, W

15, D 18, C 12; Ch 17; AL CE; blur,

chromatic orb, darkness, invisibility,phantasmal force). He wears a red silk

unic with sable trimming (value: 160gp), a brown leather belt with gold wiredecorative stitching and a gold-inlaidsilver buckle (worth 55 gp total), and amink cape (worth 2,700 gp).

As the party has progressed throughhe dungeon, Grakhirt has watchedhem in the magical fountain, paying

careful attention to the strengths andweaknesses of each character. Beforehe party enters his room, he castsnvisibility and blur upon himself. Heries to assassinate the character who

seems to be the most powerful (i.e., theone who has performed best so far), andhen uses other spells and his dagger as

appropriate, If he is seriously hurtunder 4 hp left), he casts darkness and

attempts to escape,In the dresser are other clothes,

mostly of average quality. On the desks an inkwell, a feather pen, and several

pieces of parchment detailing thenorker forces, the Nolivarian forces, andhe outcome of the recent battle in a

play-by-play style with many angrynotes.

The volumes on the book case are

mostly the journals of Arham andGrakhirt, imparting all the informationn the For the Dungeon Master section

at the beginning of this module. Alsoncluded are details on the structure,

operation, signals, passwords, and keymembers and contacts of the IvirwylliwAssassins Guild. Though the materialis from eight years ago, much of theinformation is still valid. These journalswould be safest in the hands of PrinceCorin (see Afternotes below). One ofthe volumes deals entirely with the

GRAKHIRT’S LAIR

customs, culture, and nature of the dangerous. The assassins dont trust thenorkers and other humanoids of the characters and would just as well haveregion. In some of the books are maps them out of the way along with theshowing the locations of Arhams other document.

wilderness hideouts.Also on the shelves are Arhams first- For along-term campaign scenarioand second-level spellbooks (Grakhirt

(maybe after the characters get tohigher levels), the PCs may be hired by

hid the others, which he doesnt know Prince Corin or the Grand Duke ofhow to use yet, in other hideouts). The Ivirwyliiw to eliminate the Guild. Thisfirst-level spells are audible glamer, would take a great deal of work on thechromatic orb, color spray, dancing DMs part and would be very dangerouslights, darkness, detect illusion, hypno- for the player characters even moretism, phantasmal force, spook, and wall than the previous adventuring possibil-of fog. The second-level spells are alter ity. But the Assassins Guild is at leastself, blindness, blur, detect magic, fasci- as wealthy as dangerous, and the Grandnate, improved phantasmal force, magic Duke would certainly look favorably onmouth, mirror image, ventriloquism, the party and reward them accordingly.and whispering wind. Even after the document is in safe

hands, there are still opportunities

Afternotes opened by the adventure; perhaps theparty could learn from Arhams journalsIf the DM is willing to do a little more the location of other wilderness hide-work, and the players are shrewd aways most of which have sinceenough (and play characters of a non- become the home of monsters.good alignment), an arrangement maybe made with the Assassins Guild ofIvirwylliw; the document made byGrakhirt has information potentiallyfatal to the Guild. It goes without say-ing that such a deal would be extremely

DUNGEON 37



The following Basic D&D® adventurecan be inserted into any campaign inwhich characters travel through wilder-ness areas. The adventure can also beplayed as a short session. It is bestsuited for 1-4 characters of 1st-3rd level,though it can be used as a side trip formost any level to relieve the boredom ofa journey through the wilderness.

The adventure starts as the party istraveling off-road through forested hillsin the early afternoon. The DungeonMaster should read the boxed text tothe players or paraphrase it as desired.

The Elven Home

As your party rounds a bend, you seea strange cluster of unusually large

trees on the side of a low hill. Huge,green leaves extend from gnarled,gray branches, and the tree trunksare almost half again as wide andtall as surrounding trees. A bed offine grass dotted with fallen leavescarpets the hillside, and a wisp ofsmoke floats on the wind. Fromsomewhere ahead come the sounds ofshrill screams and splashing water.

THE ELVENHOMEBY ANNE GRAY MCCREADY

A Basic D&D® W i l d r e s s

Scenar io

Regardless of what the player charac-ters may think at first, they have actu-ally stumbled across a secluded elvenhome in the wilderness. Nothing is

wrong; the sounds come from a group ofyoung elves playing in a nearby pond. Ifthe party investigates the noises, go tothe section below on the bubbling pool.If the party investigates the hill, it firstfinds a narrow path that circles the baseof the hill and leads to the source of thewispy smoke.

Following the rough dirt path thatleads around the hill, your partyfinds a clear, cold stream, shallowand easily fordable. The stream flowsfrom a source within the hill, exiting

beneath one huge trees roots. Thesmoke among the trees emanatesfrom an hole in the ground up theslope from that particular tree.

The stream does not initially seemunusual, except that it flows frombeneath the large tree. However, if theplayer characters watch the stream forlonger than a round, they notice thatlarge bubbles are carried along in therunning water. The bubbles constantlypop with a fizzing noise.

The bubbles are filled with a gas

38 Issue No. 1



which mixes with the water at itsource, deep within the hill. Calledenergy gas by the elves who live in

his area, the gas causes anyone who

reathes it to instantly feel a surge ofool adrenaline rush through his body.The elves have learned to capture bub-

les in tightly woven, cloth sacks keptn the water; they then breathe the airrapped in the sacks. The elves, whoive in a hollowed-out section of the hilleneath the characters feet, also bene-it from the gas as the undergroundtream surfaces in the middle of their

home, giving them a constant supply ofhe gas. The elves cannot control theupply of gas and do not know where itomes from within the hill.The gas affects anyone who breathes

t, giving him extra energy and vitality.One deep breath of gas adds 1-4 hitpoints to the sniffers own hit points and

ne point to his strength. This effectnly lasts for five rounds once the char-cter stops breathing the gas. A charac-er can temporarily gain more hit pointshan his normal amount in this manner,

but strength scores cannot exceed 18.Characters can attempt to bag some ofhe bubbles, as noted above, but the gasecomes dispersed in the air and ineffec-ive after two turns.

Vegetation growing around the sourceof the stream has also been affected by

he gas, which is captured by the rootsof the trees and causes them to growxtremely large. As noted below, theree over the source of the stream is not

a true tree at all, but a treant (which isaware of the party and is remainingmotionless and quiet).

If the characters investigate theource of the smoke, they find a circular,

1-diameter opening in the ground. Themoke prevents them from seeing downhe hole. Any character with infravisionan see a fire burning at the bottom ofhe shaft. If the characters pour several

gallons of water down the hole, read. theollowing:

As the smoke subsides, your partycan easily see down the hole to anopen area about 5-6 below. Immedi-ately beneath the hole is a pile ofhalf-burned logs and ashes containedin a black pot. Beside the pot is asmaller black pot filled with liquid,

If the party searches the top of the hillor an entrance, read the following:

THE ELVEN HOME

Your party finds no door on the top ofthe hill, but you do discover a clearslab of glasslike material embeddedin the hill near the smoking hole.

The slab is approximately 3 x 6.Through this substance, you can seethat a dwelling of some sort liesbeneath, the hillside, The dwelling islit by natural light (through theceiling glass). Thick, grayish candlescan be seen scattered throughout theroom; none of them are lit atpresent.

On one side of the room is a small,smooth, pale wood table surroundedby three chairs. The chairs are beau-tifully crafted, apparently made fromthe same wood as the table. Near thefire pot is a fourth chair. In thesoutheastern corner of the room, nextto the table, is a large, curved cabi-net carved of the same pale wood.Both cabinet doors are closed.

The other side of the room is hid-den by a heavy blanket that appearsto serve as a room divider. The ceil-ing is covered by a network ofexposed roots from the trees above.Near the curtain is a pile of firewoodand a table on which rest severalbowls of dark liquid, berries, andedible leaves and roots.

A grass mat sits along the wallnear the stream. Next to the mat is apair of small, worn, leather shoes.The floor is covered with a larger,round grass mat that nearly reachesthe walls. A strip of the mat is cutaway where a spring bubbles up fromthe earth and runs through a hole inthe wall near the shoes. A pile ofcloth sacks lies by the spring.

If the characters attempt to enter thedwelling by chipping away at the glass,they discover the material is extremely,hard in fact, it has the consistency ofsteel and cannot be penetrated by ordi-

nary weapons or strength. In addition,the party will be automatically sur-prised by a treant who attacks underthe assumption that the characters arethieves which may, of course, be trueenough). The treant is the tree stand-ing over the source of the stream,slightly downslope from the skylight.

The treant has exceptional powersfrom its long exposure to the gas in thestream; if the treant moves away fromthe area for longer than half an hour,

all of its heightened scores drop to thegiven lower levels. The higher levelsare received once the treant returns,plants itself again, and waits for a fullday (one treant: AC 2; HD 8; hp 45 (64with gas); #AT 2 branches; Dmg 2-12/2-12 (3-18/3-18 with gas); MV 60'; SaveF8; ML 9; AL L).

The treant first only tries to pushcharacters away from the glass pane,doing 1-6/1-6 hp damage to anyone itstrikes. It does this reduced damageonly if no one strikes back at it or dis-plays fire. If attacked with weapons, thetreant fights back at full power, but it

wont leave the area unless attackedwith fire.

The treant has no treasure. If thecharacters manage to escape the crea-ture, it does not pursue them off thehill. The treant is an old friend of theelves and all of them enjoy the benefitsof the unusual local gas supply.

The characters may also try to findthe door which is on the westside of thehill. A root extends from the dirt toserve as a door handle. The door itselfrequires a check to locate concealeddoors because it is cleverly disguised toblend into the grassy hillside. It is

almost invisible from the outside exceptfor a hairline break in the groundssurface surrounding the door.

The sod-covered door slants back withthe natural shape of the hill, and, whenopen, is only 5 high. The ceiling insideis only 5½ high in most places. Rootsin the ceiling curl down into the roomand snake back into the ground.

If the characters manage to find thedoor and enter (the door is neverlocked), they see the same room as wasviewed through the skylight.

The air inside the small home isthick with wood smoke and the smellof damp earth. A natural springbubbles out of the ground into asmall pool beside the door, giving offa fresh, misty odor that fills the air.The air also has a peculiar cool tingeto it that is hard to identify; it seemsto make one feel better just bybreathing it.

Anyone breathing the air in the roomfor longer than one round receives all

As you strike the glass for the firsttime, the ground rumbles slightly.Before you can react, a flurry of leavesand branches descends upon you.

the benefits of the gas but the DM

DUNGEON 39



HE ELVEN HOME

hould not tell the characters this.nstead, he should secretly note any

The liquid in the pot by the smol-

hanges to player character attributesdering fire is about enough to fill a

nd apply them as necessary.wine skin. The liquid is dark andlooks thick.

Behind the curtain are two sets ofrope hammocks, one pair above the

The curved doors of the cabinet areplain except for a small carved bor-der around the edge of each door.

other, on either end of the room. Handles are carved into the doors atThey are supported by knobby the center of the piece.

wooden poles which are anchored inthe ground and the ceiling. A small,folded blanket lies in the center ofeach hammock, and a silver dagger

The hammocks are what they appear

sleep. The liquid in the pot by the tire isto be simply the place where the elves

(worth 20 gp) is hidden within each a special elf brew. The sweet, dark liq-blanket. uid, no stronger than beer, has no magi-

cal properties. The elves brew smallpots of it at a time using various berriesfrom nearby bushes. Although the brewhas little effect on human characters,

elves-are greatly effected by even smallamounts (-2 to hit for 1-4 hours as aresult of drinking a mug of the stuff).

Inside the cabinet, the characters canfind the usual array of blankets, eatingand writing utensils, and other smallpersonal belongings. Four spell books,containing all spells used by the elveswho live here (as given below), are keptbeneath the false bottom of the cabinet(a roll to detect secret doors is requiredto find it). Note that each spell book hasthe spell read magic in addition to allother spells.

Behind a pile of blankets is a vaseabout 1 high. Its white surface iscracked and aged. Circling the vase arethese words etched into its surface.

When day is night And night is dayThe sun and moonShall pass this way.

The elves dont know what the writ-ing means. The vase has been passeddown through the generations for ages;during that time, the meaning of thewords was lost. The elves think that thevase was used in some ancient elvenritual. If the characters take the vaseout of the elves home, it changes coloras soon as bright sunlight or moonlighthits it. The elves will trade the vaseaway, but theyll accept no less than 100gp or another item of similar value.

If characters trade for the vase orsteal it, they discover that it changescolor each day in natural light. Thelight of a fire or magical light causesthe vase to become white again. Thecharacters will discover that the vasechanges color in regular manner, with adifferent color each day for seven days

(red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet,black) before it begins the color rotationagain. Intelligent characters soon dis-cover that they can tell the day of theweek by the color of the vase. The wordsengraved into the surface of the vaseremain visible through each colorchange. A typical merchant will buy thevase for 40-240 gp.

Buried in the earth beneath the smallsquare mat is a leather pouch with 39gp, 115 sp, and six gems, each worth 20gp. No other coins or gems are in theelven home.

40 Issue No. 1



THE ELVEN HOME

The Bubbling Pool

Characters who head for the source ofe shrieks and splashing water soon

ome across the following scene:

The stream winds its way around alow tree-covered hill for about 80yards. The shrieks grow louder withevery step, when suddenly you findyourselves upon a clear pool of waterabout 80 across. Splashing about thewater are two young elves. Suddenly,from a tree by the pond, anotheryoung elf jumps in the water, almoston top of the other two.

If the characters have not yetbserved the bubbles in the stream,

hey do so as they watch the elves. Theubbles which have not surfaced nowurst in the pond with a soft poppingound.The elves are surprised on a roll of 1-unless the characters have made a

reat deal of noise around the under-round home or while approaching theond. If not surprised and if the partyasnt yet arrived at the pond, the elvesee into the woods, heading for aiends home a mile away.The elves eventually notice the char-

cters watching them if the party sim-ly stands there. They are momentarily

rightened, but if the party takes nohreatening actions, the elves smile and

wave shyly, crouching down in thewater so only their heads show. If the

arty contains elves and seems friendlynough, the swimming elves can bealked out of the water and will intro-uce themselves as Derrim (male), Atlee

female), and Yanna (female). Thoughhe elves wont mention this, a fourth,

Repo (male), is off retrieving a diggingool that other elves have borrowed.

Their statistics (heightened by exposureo energy gas in the pool) are:

Derrim: AC 7; MV 120 (40); E2; hp 8

12 from gas); #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 (dagger)+ 2 (from gas); S 15 (16), I 10, W 11, D7, C 12, CH 12; AL L; dagger; detect

magic, magic missileAtlee: AC 8; MV 120 (40); E3; hp 12

15 from gas); #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 (dagger)+ 1 (from gas); S 12 (13), I 15, W 6, D4, C 11, CH 14; AL L; dagger; charm

person, sleep, ESPYanna: AC 6; MV 120 (40); El; hp 4

7 from gas); #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 (dagger); S9 (10), 19, W 16, D 18, C 13, CH 10; ALN; dagger; shield, sleep

Repo (not present): AC 6; MV 120 If the characters try to cut the conver-(40); E3; hp 14; #AT; Dmg 1-8 (long- sation off before an hour has passed, thesword) + 3; S: 18, I 13, W 11, D 14, C elves again become upset at the charac-13, CH 12; AL L; long sword, leather ters rudeness. Only after an hour are

armor; light, magic missile, invisibility the characters able to politely excuseAs few monsters have ever been seen themselves. The elves offer to let themin this part of the country, few weapons spend the night with them but are notare carried or used. Repo carries his offended if the character refuse.sword to impress his friends, but he If the party has previously ransackedknows how to use it, too. Repo will the elven home, the elves will bereturn to the elven home at sunset, greatly angered and will demand theusing his invisibility spell to surprise return of all stolen items (and are will-his friends (and the player characters ing to fight to get them back, unless theif they are still around). party is obviously too dangerous to deal

If the player character party appears with). If the party has entered the elvenhostile, the elves are not as vulnerable home but has not harmed anything, theas they may appear. Aside from their elves wont mind at all (Everyonespells, a number of sharp metal daggers drops in.).(8) have been left on the bottom of the About two hours after the party

clear pond, and these may be retrieved, arrives on the scene, a number oftwo at a time, in a single round by each stirges fly past the area in search ofelf. The daggers are balanced for throw- nourishment i.e., live beings likeing. The elves can also dive underwater elves and humans. The stirges attack atfor a full round each. A small underwa- once, but may be detected (with a sur-ter cave exists, only 10 square with a prise roll) before they are upon the4 ceiling, near the southern edge of the party (three stirges: AC 7; HD 1; hp 7,pond; the elves will flee to the cave, 7; 6; #AT 1;,Dmg 1-3; MV 30 (10)/ 180which has a large air pocket continually (60); Save F2; ML 9; AL N).freshened by the oxygenated gas in the If the party helps the elves fight offwater, and will remain there for as long the stirges, the elves will be the partysas necessary to escape attackers. friends for years to come. The elves are

If the elves are treated well, they offer not crass enough to actually offer mate-to take their guests to their under- rial rewards for their safety, but may beground home, of which they are quite more than willing to offer free room and

proud. If the characters decline the board for several days as a result.elves offer, the small beings becomerather offended, saying, See if we arenice to the likes of your kind again! We

Future events

get so few visitors as it is, and theyhave to be so haughty! If the charac-ters accept the offer, the elves talkalmost continuously. The characters canhardly squeeze in a single word. Theelves are so pleased to have visitors,they forget their manners and monopo-lize the conversation.

The elves explain that years ago, theirancestors settled here because of thegreat beauty of the setting. Through the

years, however, it has become slightlyless attractive to the elves (the treeshave grown gnarled, the stream hasbecome smaller aesthetic concernsthat are of great importance to these

Depending upon the partys conduct inthis brief encounter, a number of futureadventures and scenarios may be con-structed. The theft of materials or thedestruction of the elves property maybring retribution as the elves (includingthe absent Repo) track down the guiltyparties involved. Player character elvesmay, at some future date, wish to settledown in this area and construct homesof their own. The mystery of the colorful

vases origins and purpose remain to beresolved which could lead to a higher-level task later in the campaign.

beings). They have sent out expeditionsof elves to search for a more suitableplace to live, but have found nothing totheir liking so far. The elves reveal thatthere are several other elf dwellings inthe area, but decline to identify theothers homes in order to preserve theirprivacy.

DUNGEON 41



INTOTHEFIRE

BY GRANT AND DAVID BOUCHER

A lost prince, a silverneck lace , and adangerous journey

Grant and David Boucher bring us thecover module for this issue. A senior atthe University of Florida, Grant is study-ing physics and astronomy, with particu-lar interests in optics, soccer; andcomputer programming. His brother David has just finished high school andenjoys art, writing, street hockey, andhalf-ogres. Grant credits the Lemmings

gaming group for his affliction, andDavid credits Grant for the same.

This is an AD&D® adventure for 6-10characters, each of 6th-10th level. Theparty should be of good alignment andshould contain at least two well-equipped fighters. The adventure isdesigned to fit within any campaignworld, and the DM can easily modify

the names, persons, places, etc., detailedherein without seriously altering thetrue nature of the adventure.

A small kingdom with a mountainouswestern border is assumed to exist; theDM should name the kingdom, its king,and its capital as desired, to fit his owncampaign circumstances. (Note that thekingdom could easily become a largebarony.) The player characters shouldbe in good standing with the currentmonarch, possibly known to him byprevious deeds or petitions.

This adventure occurs in the earlywinter. The Dungeon Master can use

weather charts to simulate the effects ofsnow, wind chill, and other phenomena,if such charts are available. No majorstorms are anticipated.

Background for the DM

Many years ago, a young prince namedLomaran was sent by his father to aforeign university across the sea. Theboy never made it. A cutthroat band ofpirates, led by an infamous reavernamed Jalussa the Merciless, attackedhis ship, and the crewmen of the ill-fated craft were killed or captured in

the ensuing battle. The prince hidbelowdecks and escaped the initialonslaught, only to be discovered laterduring the pirates search for booty. Theboat was burned and, as Jalussa neverransomed his captives (prefering moredirect ways of acquiring cash), PrinceLomaran was sold into slavery with theother survivors. His silver necklace,engraved with the royal seal of hisfamily and his own name, was cast intothe ships treasure pile.

The pirates eventually met their own

42 Issue No. 1



INTO THE FIRE

orrible fate when a great red dragonnown as Flame, a beast of incredibleower, attacked their ship. After slayingl those on board with claws and teeth,

r blasting them overboard with strokesf its wings, the dragon tore away themasts, dug its massive claws into the

ull, and carried the entire pirates shipnd treasure back to its lair high in the

mountains.Fifteen years later, after many more

uccessful raids (mostly against theations and tribes north and west of the

mountains), Flames sleep was dis-urbed by a group of knights looking forefuge from a winter storm outside hisakeside haven. The knights proved toe of little challenge, but a few days.ater, as the dragon was preparing to

at the last of them, it found that theuman had escaped, having onlyeigned death. Worse yet, the knightven had the gall to steal one of theragons treasures an attractivelver necklace.Flame was enraged, although theragon was more upset over the loss ofs prospective dinner than the loss ofhe necklace. The dragon left to hunt forhe man when another blizzard camend forced an end to the search. Whenhe storm ended, Flame could find norace of the missing knight, and it sub-equently dropped the matter.

Besides, the dragon mused, thatmiserable human isnt likely to have

ved through the storm. But if he did,e might lead a few more tasty morsels

o my cave as he did before. I hope henows some elves; I havent had a sweetttle elf in a long time. . . .Meanwhile, the burned and batterednight, Sir Hujer, staggered down thereezing mountain and began his slow,etermined trek home. Dazed, disori-nted, and suffering from frostbite, heventually entered a cave for shelternd collapsed. Fortunately, he hadtumbled into the entrance to a large

olony of svirfneblin (deep gnomes). SirHujer, realizing the importance of thenecklace he held and his own approach-ng death, promised the gnomes a sub-tantial amount of treasure would comeheir way if theyd agree to return his

body and the necklace to Fort Silan, anearby outpost. Unable to heal his inju-ies and always interested in morereasure, the gnomes agreed. Within aew days, they arrived at the fort withhe knights body.The acting captain of the guards at

the fort, Sir Uiler, interrogated the newarrivals. When he was finally convinced

of their honesty and intentions, heallowed them to leave with an amplereward. Sir Hujer was buried with high-est honors and the necklace was sent onto the capital and the king.

The Mission

The DM may gather the party at thekings castle in the capital, individuallyor as a group, but the general scenarioshould be as follows:

A royal messenger arrives with ascroll and hands it to a party member. Itis a summons for the party members (all

named and described within the text) toa royal audience with the king, effectiveimmediately. The messenger waits forthe characters and escorts them to thepalace when they are ready. Severalmessengers may be dispatched if thecharacters normally live apart.

Once in the presence of the king, theparty is addressed in a special closedsession of the hall. Only the king, hisbodyguards, and the party are present.The following passage (spoken by theking) should be read aloud to the party.

Fifteen years ago, my only son,Lomaran, then only nine years old,set sail for the east to begin his finalschooling in preparation for his even-tual succession to the throne. Hisship never reached its destination.After a search along our coasts, Ipresumed the ship and my son to belost at sea. I was without an heir andwithout hope until now.

Ten days ago, the body of one ofmy knights was returned to FortSilan by a group of strange, gray-skinned gnomes. He was a memberof a seven-man squad patrolling highin the mountains along our westernborder. These men were some of thestrongest and bravest in the realm present company excepted, of course.The other six men have been missingin action for over a week from theirpatrol, which was to have taken amonth to complete. The dead knight,Sir Hujer, had died of burns, expo-sure to cold, and many terriblewounds. Stranger still was what hebore on his person a silver neck-lace bearing my royal seal. The kinglifts a tanished necklace from his lap

DUNGEON 43



NTO THE FIRE

and holds its aloft. This is the sameto deputize assistants. encountered. Each group may only be met

necklace I gave to my son, just beforeIf the characters bother to detect for once; ignore further rolls of the same

he disappeared so many years ago. Tomagic on the necklace, they find none. encounter. These encounters are not

say the least, it is extremely odd that

A legend lore or other divinatory spell detailed and should be fleshed out by the

it should be found so high in the only tells the story revealed earlier.

mountains, when by all rights itUnder no circumstances can the party

DM before the start of play. Humans andother humanlike beings wear heavy cloth-

should now be lying at the bottom oflearn anything about the dragon Flame ing and furs to protect themselves from

the cold winter weather.the sea.

or its lair, as Flame is protected from all

Im not only interested as to myscrying spells and devices. by a magical

sons possible whereabouts, however.item (see area I-4) .Too many people

Im also gravely concerned about thishave handled the princes amulet for too

Foothills and Plains, Day (d4)

new threat from the west and theshort a time to make any furtherimpressions clear.

1. Frontier patrol. These men are from

possibility of. . . well, of whateverFort Wheelan and are routinely patrol-

foreign threat slew my knights andThe capital lies 170 miles from Fort ling the plains and hills along the fron-

possessed my sons necklace. WeSilan, over low grasslands and rollinghills (normal terrain, DMG, page 58). The

tier. They stop the party and inquire as

know so little about these moun-to the purpose of their journey. If satis-

tains, and absolutely nothing about Itravel time from the capital city to the

what lies beyond them. This is why Ifort should be calculated from information

fied, they wish the party luck and pro-ceed onward. If not, they take them to

have commanded your presence. Igiven in the DMG, supplemented by

would like you to find out who orwhatever maps the DM wishes to create

the nearest fort (area A or N) for furtherquestioning:

what is behind this attack, whatfor the local terrain. Military highways These men are all mounted on

happened to the rest of the patrol,exist and are in good condition. medium warhorses. The lower-level

and, if possible, what all of this hasfighters wear chain and shield (AC 4),

to do with my long-lost son. The Adventure and the other fighters wear plate mailand shield (base AC 2). They are all

If the party decides to help, the kingThe party should be allowed to ridehorses and use other pack animals

armed with long swords and crossbows,

rovides them with this additionalare of neutral-good alignment, and are

nformation:throughout this adventure. Without completely loyal to the king.them, it would take much longer than A frontier patrol consists of forty 1st-the party would tolerate to carry provi- level fighters, twenty 2nd-level fighters,

Since the gnomes wouldnt reveal sions, treasure, etc. eight 3rd-level fighters (guards), seventhe location of their lair, or evenwhere they, found Sir Hujer, youmust begin where the original patrolbegan and follow its path until youdiscover what happened. The gnomessaid that Sir Hujer's last words werea warning about fire or flames. Hewas not very coherent at the end,may he rest with the gods.

Should the party possess the means tofly (by flying carpet, trained griffons,etc.), the DM should hint that the partyshould remain close to the ground, orelse run the risk of missing vital cluesand evidence. The path taken by thepatrol is not very manageable by nor-mal standards, but it is relatively easyto follow.

4th-level fighters three 5th-level fight-ers, two 7th-level cavaliers (lieuten-ants), and a 9th-level cavalier (theleader). Distribute magic items asdesired to, warriors above 1st level.

2. Pioneers (moving south). Thepioneer group consists of 30 men, 30women, nine male children, and sevenfemale children. These people are on

The partys map of this area is not their way to try and settle in the foot-The king then gives the party direc- accurate enough to permit safe telepor- hills to the south before severe winterons to Fort Silan and descriptions of tation, and scrying should be almost weather hits. Six men and four women

he six remaining lost knights, as well impossible. In any case, Flame is pro- are fighters of various levels (1st-3th),s a detailed description of the prince, tected from scrying magics by an amulet armed with various weapons ands he looked 15 years ago. He also proof proof against detection and location. mounted on light horses. The otherides horses and equipment as neces- No rumors of dragons are circulating in people are zero level. They fight to theary and within reason. The king sends the kingdom at present. death to protect their loved ones. The

n escort of men with the party, but Random encounters occur on a roll of children and supplies can be found innly until they reach the fort. He can- 1 on a d6, checking twice each day (at covered wagons behind the mountednot send any men or magic items into morning and evening) and once each leaders. The zero-level men and womenhe mountains with the party, because night (right after dusk); or at the discre- are all armed with various bows and

he must gather all of his remaining tion of the DM. No random encounters slings (useable from within the wagons).orces and fortify the outpost forts, in occur while the party travels from the 3. Six giant eagles. These beings dohe event that Sir Hujers death is a capital to Fort Silan (area A), and none not bother the party unless fired upon.

prelude to an invasion from the west. are found within a five-mile radius of 4. Group of 12 trolls. These trollsThe next morning, he sends the charac- Flames Mountain (area I), but the DM attack any group of beings theyers on their way, each bearing a signed should roll the die anyway to keep the encounter in a direct charge. Only fire

document noting that the bearer is on a party guessing. in large quantities can keep them away.mission for the king and should not be Roll the indicated die if an encounter The trolls have wandered up from adelayed. The documents do not autho- is indicated as shown above. Then con- swamp to the south in search of moreize the bearer to receive free goods or sult the following to see what was human prey.

44 Issue No. 1



TO THE FIRE

oothills and Plains, Night (d6)

Force of 20 ogres lead by an ogremage. This force has come down from

eep within the western mountains toid for slaves and booty. Some of the

gres have seen a huge flying beast inhe mountains (actually the dragon

ame), but have no idea of what it was.2-3. Bandits. This force consists ofxty 1st-level fighters, six 2nd-levelghters (guards), three 3rd-level fight-rs, two 4th-level fighters, a 5th-levelghter, a 6th-level fighter, a 7th-levelghter (lieutenant), an 8th-level fighterieutenant), and a 9th-level magic-usereader). These bandits have just arrived

n this area after being chased by royalorces to the south. They specialize inttacking helpless pioneers and pil-rims during the midnight hours, but

he winter weather has made pickingscarce.The 1st-level bandits wear leather

rmor and use shields (AC 7). All otherghters wear chain mail and usehields (AC 4). All the bandits arermed with a variety of weapons. The

DM should determine magic items andeasure for all NPCs before the adven-

ture begins.4-6. A giant owl. This beast is merelylooking for food.

Mountains, Day (d6)

1. An ice troll. This creature is hidingin a snowbank, waiting for prey of anykind.

2. A storoper. This beast lairs justslightly above the pass. It has eatenwell but doesnt mind catching extraprey.

3-4. Two mountain lions. These arehunting for food, but they will avoidlarge and loud parties

5. Ogre raiding party. See encounter1, under foothills and plains encounters(night) above. If this forces has been metand dealt with, ignore this roll.

6. Bandit group (camped). Seeencounter 2-3, under foothills andplains encounters (night) above. If thisforce has been met and dealt with,ignore this roll.

lords who lived centuries ago.2. A haunt. This spirit is that of a

woman looking for her missing husbandwho was slain by Flame sixty yearsago.

3. Three will-o-wisps. These aremerely looking for human prey totorment and slay.

4. A band of 21 ghouls and 4ghasts. This force of undead attacksany living group with a certain, crudedegree of stealth. These monsters nevercheck morale.

5. Bandit group (raiding). Seeencounter 2-3, under foothills andplains encounters (night) above. If thisforce has been met and dealt with,ignore this roll.

6. A lone gray elf. This ranger/druid(R9/D11) is looking for shelter from theelements and some companionship. Hehas heard rumors of a dragon in themountains, but believes it to be a whitedragon. He might join the party if elves,druids, or rangers are present.

Mountains, Night (d6)

1. Two wraiths. These are thedoomed spirits of two human bandit

The following encounter key applies tothe DMs map on the opposite page.

46 Issue No. 1



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Encounter Key

A. Fort Silan

The forts along the western frontier are

usually only lightly manned, but arenow in a state of constant alert. Nor-mally only a few patrols enter the foot-hills, and rarely is a force sent high intothe mountains. Now patrols scan thefoothills much more frequently, butnone have been sent beyond until moresupplies arrive. Mountain patrollinghas always been the most hazardous of

C. Avalanche

This is the home of four newly arrivedgaleb duhr, two on each side of the pass.When the majority of the party comes

within their spell-casting range, theyfirst turn the rock below the party intomud, and then start an avalanche whenthe party has just begun to sink in (fourgaleb duhr: AC -2; MV 6 ; HD 10; hp 45each; #AT 2, Dmg 4-24/4-24; SA spells,animate boulders; SD, immune to light-ning and normal fire; MR 20%; AL N).

The characters and their horses moveduties, as these mountains are volcanicn nature, and the knights must face

natural disasters as well as monstersand bandits.

Fort Silan (manned by 240 soldiersand numerous support personnel) was

the starting point for Sir Hujers ill-fated party, and it was where thegnomes later returned his body. Theparty has full access to the fortsrecords, and the DM should give them

at half-speed in the mud, and the DMmust determine if they are capable ofescaping before the avalanche hits. Therock creatures have an unlimited sup-ply of rocks and boulders with which toattack. The rock creatures treasure lieshigh in the rocks, and consists of 10(base 2,500 gp) gems, a jar of oil of sharpness +2 with four applications,and a short sword of quickness +2, all

from previous victims.he players map (shown on page 45) at

this time. The people at the fort knownothing more than what has been toldto the party already, although theyalways vouch for the bravery and hon-esty of those lost, often toasting and

D. Lake Deriun

Lake Deriun is a beautiful mountainlake formed from the melting snow,blue as the sky and perfectly clear. A

singing songs of high praise in their wide, natural path follows the easternhonor. Rumors of the mens fate are edge of the lake, hugging the foot of thediscouraged, but it is generally believed steep mountain slopes. Part of the lakethat a wizard is behind their loss. is frozen over; if weather conditions are

Under no circumstances should the severe, the entire lake is frozen solid.party be allowed to dig up Sir Hujers The lake is about three miles long andbody. He has been buried with great around half as wide. Although the lakeceremony and dignity, and no one, by is perfectly clear, the party cannot seekings order, is to disturb his final rest the bottom. The slopes of the mountainsin any way.

The gnomes have long since left fortheir homes, and their tracks lead toRoaring Peak Pass (area B) and nofurther. No knights will accompany theparty any further, as they must remainat Fort Silan as reinforcements. Theknights recommend starting the jour-ney at Roaring Peak Pass.

determine its boundaries, and it is verydeep. No source for the lake is seen, noran obvious means of drainage. Actually,the lake drains through an under-ground fissure at its deepest part, intothe areas main water table.

The water is cool, refreshing, andperfectly safe. While the party is withinone mile of the water, however, the DM

should double the chances of randomB. Roaring Peak Pass

This pass; easily located by travelingsouthwest from the Roaring Peak vol-cano, was discovered long ago, butexploration wasnt officially begun untilrecently. The missing patrol was thefirst major force to be sent into thisarea, though scouts had mapped out thepath through the mountains severalyears before.

encounters (i.e., 2 in 6), due to thecreature-drawing effect of the water.

If the path is searched near its west-ernmost point, a camp site is found. Aranger or barbarian is able to determinethat about 6-8 humans and their horsescamped here at least a month ago. Thisis, of course where the missing patrolknights spent a few days enjoying thelake and its accompanying scenery.

Immediately north of the lake is theimmense shape of Mount Torch (area E),

its peak capped in smoky orange fire.Although not as large as the RoaringPeak volcano, it still appears quitedangerous. The air is occasionally filled

with light ash, and low rumbling noisesare constantly heard.

E. Mount Torch

Mount Torch and Roaring Peak (seearea B) are the only active volcanos inthis area of the mountains. RoaringPeak erupts regularly (every two orthree years), but little is known aboutMount Torch.

If the characters are on any pathwithin two miles of Mount Torch, thereis a 10% chance/day that the mountainerupts. This always occurs at night.

Should an eruption be indicated, readthe following to the party:

You are awakened by a great rum-bling, coming from deep within theearth below you. Your first suspicionsare confirmed as you gaze in horrorupon Mount Flame. Red fires riseinto the night sky, and the mountainslopes appear ready to split asunder.Glimpses of molten lava can be seenoozing down from the snowy slopestoward you. . . .

The party cannot outrun the lava by

following the paths (unless they arecamping at area F after defeating thefire giants there), but must climb tohigher ground. The party actually has8 + 1d12 turns before the lava reachesthe very bottom of the mountain, andshould have enough time to get to a safelocation. This is not an explosive erup-tion, nor a particularly dangerous one,but the DM should certainly try to scarethe players.

The eruption lasts for only an hour,and the hardening lava is cool enoughto travel on by the next evening. Thevolcano does not erupt more than once

during this adventure.

F. The Crossroads

A group of fire giants from the northhave made camp at the junction of fourmountain paths. Theyre new to thisarea and are looking for a suitable placeto build a fort, despite the cold. Thevolcanic activity has attracted theirinterest. All are males and the largestwields a giant sword + 1 that is 10long and does 8d4 + 1 hp damage (six

48 Issue No. 1



INTO THE FIRE

re giants: AC 3; MV 12"; HD 11 + 2-5p; hp 85,70,70,65,64,64; #AT 1; Dmg-30; SA hurling rocks; SD imperviouso fire; AL LE). The giants have brought

heir pets as well (eight hell hounds: AC; MV 12; HD 6; hp 40 (x3), 35 (x2), 30x3); #AT 1; Dmg 1-10; SA breathe fire;D detect invisible or hidden objects

50%), surprise on 1-4 on d6 and onlyurprised on 1 in 6; AL LE).The circumstances surrounding this

ncounter depend on what time of dayr night the characters arrive at therossroads. Should the party arrive justn time to camp for the evening, the

giants are cooking a young roc over aery large bonfire, throwing the scrapsnd bones to the hounds. The houndsnd the giants are not on the lookout.

This gives the party an increasedhance of surprising them (i.e., +1 tohe die).

If the party arrives during the day-ight hours, the giants are either leav-ng or returning from scouting (40%hance for each) or resting in the camp20% chance). If not resting, they are.rmed and ready for immediate battle.f resting, the hounds are on guard, buthe giants require a round to get theirwords before entering melee. There is a0% chance per giant that instead of

grabbing his sword, hell throw rocks,There are 14 large rocks near the camp,

all suitable for throwing.The giants possess the followingtreasure:

Giant #1 a belt pouch containing300 pp and a ruby (3,000 gp base), twogolden armbands worth 800 gp each,and a giant sword +1;

Giant #2 a belt pouch containing200 pp and a ruby (2,000 gp base), two,golden armbands worth 600 gp each,and a scarab of protection +1 (six levelsemaining) as a brooch on a silver neck-ace (worth 100 gp) around his neck;

Giant #3 a belt pouch containing200 pp and a diamond (2,500 gp base),

and two golden armbands worth 500 gpeach;

Giant #4 a belt pouch containing100 pp and an emerald (1,500 gp base),wo silver armbands worth 200 gp each,

and a scroll of protection from water lementals in a hollowed-out bone hang-ng from his waist;

Giant #5 a belt pouch containing100 pp and a diamond (base 1,000 gp),and a pair of silver armbands worth 200gp each; and,

Giant #6 a belt pouch containing

100 pp, and two iron armbands worth50 gp each.

The square camp contains large bon-fires in each of its four corners and one

giant bonfire in the very center. Sixrough beds lie within the confines of thefires. Some backpacks contain the curedflesh of various creatures, kegs of verystrong ale, and regular clothing. If theparty tries to determine whether thegiants are, responsible for the disappear-ance of the patrol, it is noted that thegiants have obviously been here for onlya very short while two weeks at themost. They would never have encoun-tered the knights at all.

G. The Wolfwere

The pass here is watched by a wolfwereand his pack of eight winter wolves. Themost likely scenario is as follows:

From far ahead of you, the usuallystill mountain air gives way to thesounds of music. As you carefullyround the next bend, a young mandressed in brightly colored fursdances down the trail towards you.Strumming a small lutelike instru-ment, hes oblivious to your presence.

The wolfwere, Liscales, is a wander-ing soul, constantly in search of inno-

cent victims. He has control over a packof winter wolves and always has themfollow within whistling range (itrequires only one round for them toarrive). If the party obviously appearsgood in alignment (e.g., displays numer-ous good holy symbols prominently) orvery powerful, he does not stay butdances right on past. He then followsthe party and returns during the night,singing while the wolves attack.

If the party appears vulnerable todeception, he masquerades as a wander-ing bard and tries to join the party. Hetires to steal as many magical items

and wreak as much havoc as possible. Ifallowed a watch duty during the night,hell sing the characters to sleep andslip in his slow song to boot. He thentries to kill the sleeping adventurersand, if discovered, lets the winterwolves do the rest.

If the battle ever begins going badlyfor Liscales, or he is discovered, hellslow the party and change into wolfform, hopefully outrunning any pursu-ers, never to return (wolfwere: AC 3;MV 15"; HD 5 + 1; hp 40; #AT 1 or 2;

Dmg 2-12 and by weapon type; SA sing-ing ,brings on lethargy; SD cold-iron or+ 1 (or better) weapon required to hit;MR 10%; AL CE). His follower will

take after him if he leaves (eight winterwolves: AC 5; MV 18"; HD 6; hp 40each; #AT 1; Dmg 2-8; SA frosty breath;AL NE).

Liscales possesses a long sword +2,which. hangs from his belt, and a potionof fire resistance. He carries 100 pp anda base 4,900 gp gem in a small pouch.He is actually a very fine musician andhis lute is made of the-finest woods,inlaid with silver (up to 500 gp value toa collector or bard).

If captured, Liscales can only be, madeto talk if threatened with death. Herecalls seeing the lost patrol, but did not

follow them out of a sense of respect forthe military or so he says. In actual-ity, he saw a large flying shape in thedistance to the east, in the direction inwhich the patrol was heading. He pru-dently let the patrol leave. This infor-mation can only be gained by ESP.

H. The Rocky Pass

The party comes to an intersection withanother small, rocky, snow-covered passthrough the cliffs, winding steeply upthe face of a mountain to the north Flames Mountain. The main mountain

path continues to the east, bypassingthe mountain. The narrower path leadsdirectly to area I. If the characterssearch here for one turn, they find adead horse (with a broken leg) in thesnow. The horses packs contain food,tools, and a carefully drawn map show-ing the patrols route. The writing issmeared and blurred by the meltingsnow, but it is definitely similar to themap the party received at Fort Silan.The horse was killed when the storm hitthe knights, several weeks ago. Theknights, having lost their map, subse-quently took a wrong turn and found

themselves at the Lake Haven (area I).

I. The Lake Haven

This area is depicted on the map onpage 51; numbered area references areshown on the map itself.

Flames home is in a crater at the topof a long-dormant volcano (calledFlames Mountain by the dragon, ofcourse). The crater contains a lake filledwith magma-heated water rising fromold lava vents (see area 6). This hot

DUNGEON 49



TO THE FIRE

rings keeps the air within the crater amid but comfortable 75° F, while theow-bound slopes surrounding theountain peak usually remain well

ow the freezing point. There is noance whatsoever that Flames Moun-n will erupt.

One hundred forty years ago, beforeames arrival here, a young wizardmed Uthion built a tower in the cen-of this crater, using the lake as a

oat. He lived happily and bothered noe except those evil enough to warrant

attention. Most of his experimentsalt with creating larger versions ofherwise normal creatures (see area 3).Twenty years later, while Flame wast searching for food, the dragon founde secret lake and decided to lair there.

ame watched, waited, and afterrning enough about Uthion acked. Flame landed in the lakeside the tower and used the considera-

might dragons possess to push theucture over into the eastern crater

all. Unfortunately for Uthion, Flamesan succeeded and the wizard wasled by falling debris, believing to thed that the volcano had erupted.ame decided that it was now time toake this crater into a new home.Shortly, Flame found an old lava vent

the western slope of the mountaind followed it down into a large set of

cient magma chambers. With someort, Flame turned this into a new lair.ter, a few unfortunate gnomes wereed to expand another vent on thener side of the crater into a human-ed tunnel, and to build the portcullis/trap found there (see area 4a). The

ant creatures in the water serve as anundant source of food, and Flame isite satisfied with this new home,eferring to remain here until Tiamatls.

detection and location which preventsall scrying, etc.

1. Between the Cliffs. Read the follow-

ing passage:

Passing between the cliffs, the sting-ing cold gives way to pleasant,humid warmth. Before you lies alarge lake, mist rising from itsunbroken surface. Around the edgesto the west of you, a black beach ofvolcanic sand leads to a path risinghigh into the cliffs. Somethingcatches your eye to the north and youstrain to see through the fog. As themists part along the water, a disturb-ing sight is revealed. A solitarytower is lying, off its base, againstthe east wall of the crater its oncesmooth stone walls cracked andcrumbling in a lake that must haveonce served as its moat. The remainsof a drawbridge lead from the beachto the ruins.

If one of the characters should ascendto get a better view of the crater, heshould be told of the hot springs to thenortheast (area 6) and the cave in thecliffs to the northwest (area 4). There isa 20% chance of spotting movement inthe lake (area 3), and there is also a

65% chance that Flame spots someoneand begins setting the trap (area 4).If anyone bothers to check for tracks,

he finds enough to indicate that about6-8 humans (or humanoids) and asmany horses were here some weeks ago.These are the tracks of the missingpatrol knights. The tracks abruptlyscatter in all directions near area 2 andshow signs of flight and struggle, butthe prints are unclear and have beendamaged by an unknown agency. Bloodstains cover the area, but no bones orother remains are left. (Flame was verythorough in cleaning up after the

knights.)

3. Crater Lake. This is a beautiful

heated lake formed when hot waterforced its way up through the old lavavents and filled the crater. Uthion foundthis lake many years ago and chose tosettle in this spot for its seclusion andbuilt-in protections. He filled the lakewith crocodiles and fish to provide pro-tection for himself, and he performed anumber of experiments on them. Char-acters who take the time to investigateits depths find many enlarged, reduced,and mutated fish, all harmless. How-ever, there are, also a large number ofregular and giant crocodiles which arenot harmless in the least. These include20 normal crocodiles (AC 5; MV 6"//12";HD 3; hp 15 each; #AT 2; Dmg 2-8/1-12;

Flame originally came from far to theest of these mountains, and oftenurns there when in the mood forlaging. Until recently, there wasntough food (i.e., people) to the east toworth raiding. Now now that men

ve arrived on the frontier, Flameans to become a major threat to thetire eastern kingdom.f any characters fly in the vicinity ofea 4a, there is a 65% chance per turnat Flame sees them and learns of thertys presence. Note, too, that Flames a rod of alertness to tell of anyeves in the vicinity (see area 4) andssesses an amulet of proof against

2. Fallen Drawbridge. The drawbridgeis relatively sturdy, though it is parti-ally covered with slime and a bit slippery. One character may travel to thetower every three rounds, but must rollhis dexterity or less on a d20 to avoidfalling into the water (5 below). If morethan one character tries to cross at thesame time, the DM should warn themthat the bridge appears to be givingway and begins to wobble. If the othercharacters dont withdraw, the draw-

bridge collapses into the lake on thefollowing round.

Any character who falls into thewaters draws the attention of the croco-

diles, which attack immediately (seearea 3). Otherwise, there is only a 5%chance per character crossing that thecrocodiles notice them.

Characters may, if able, fly acrosswithout worrying about the crocodiles,but Flame may see them instead (seearea 4). Remember to inform the charac-ter doing so about the other visiblefeatures of the crater.

Characters who use the drawbridgearrive on the outer surface of towerlevel 3 (adjacent to area 5j).

AL N) and six giant crocodiles (AC 4;MV 6//12; HD 7; hp 35 each; #AT 2;Dmg 3-18/2-20; AL N).

If anybody enters the water, he isattacked by 2-5 assorted crocodiles perround, with a 20% chance that one is ofthe giant variety. Note the problemswith underwater combat and spell use(see DMG, pages 55-7, and Unearthed

Arcana, pages 81-2).The depth of the lake varies from 30

near the tower to 90 at its greatest

depth. The depth near the drawbridge isa smooth gradation from 5-30 , from thesouthern shore to the tower. At thebottom of the lake, just to the west ofthe towers base, two large oval depres-sions can be seen (if one is underwater).These were made a 120 years ago byFlames rear feet when Flame pushedUthions tower into the eastern wall.

Also, at the deepest part of the lake(near the northwest corner), there is asmall pile of treasure that has fallenfrom Flames cave above (see area 4).The treasure includes a ring of warmth,

50 Issue No. 1



NTO THE FIRE

This entrance was shaped by captureddeep gnomes many years ago. A dwarfhas a normal chance of detecting thatthe corridor slopes downward slightly,

and a dwarf or gnome can immediatelytell the shaft is similar to gnomishwork. The corridor contains one combi-nation portcullis/pit trap which is acti-vated by a lever found in the main cave(area 4b). The pit is 20 deep, but tiltedto the east so characters only take 1-6hp falling damage. The portcullis has abuilt-in jamming mechanism that acti-vates when it has fully fallen. Thismeans that a lift gates percentageagainst this portcullis is at -15% to theroll. A thief may use his climb wallsskill with his find/remove traps skills toremove the locking mechanism. The

a small ivory statue of a unicorn(100 A rod of alertness (21 charges),gp), six gems (100 gp, 134 gp, 200 gp, planted securely under a ledge inside500 gp, 500 gp, and 2,000 gp), 67 pp, 156 the cave; and,gp, 403 sp, and 4,476 cp. An ioun stone (iridescent: sustains,

4. Flames Lair. This area is the actualwithout air), made invisible and whirl-ing around its head.

lair of Flame, a huge, ancient spell- Flame has learned how to use all ofusing red dragon. Flame is very intelli- these items through many years ofgent and has had-much experience withmagic. An encounter with this monster

magical research. Many of these spells

wont be the usual hack-and-slash battleand items formerly- belonged to Uthion(see area 5).

(AC -1; MV 9 /24; HD 11; hp 88; #AT 3; Flame's lair is further detailed below.Dmg 1-8/1-8/3-30; SA fear aura, breathweapon, magic use; SD magic use, sav-

Refer to the maps on pages 53 and 54.

ing throw bonuses, detect invisible and 4a. Western Lair Entrance. Assuminghidden opponents within 80; AL CE; that the scenario below is in effect, readspells (at 11th level of magic-user abil- the following description to the playersity) magic missile (x2), ESP, haste, when the characters reach the top of theinvisibility, hallucinatory terrain, poly- path and look into the cave.morph other, slow).

Flame possesses the following magicalitems:

A necklace of frost resistance (as per aThe cave you saw from below is obvi-

cube of frost resistance) worn as a ringously nothing of the sort. The smooth

on a left foreclaw;walls and squared corners indicatethe work of skilled craftsmen. A

A broach of shielding (54 charges)worn as a ring on a right foreclaw;

shiny, black stone corridor leads deep

An amulet of proof against detectioninto the mountain. It extends, per-

and location around its neck on a plati-fectly straight, as far as the eye cansee.

num chain (value 2,500 gp);

52 Issue No. 1

player characters attempting to pass bythe portcullis should declare whetherthey are attempting to bend bars (atnormal chances for success) or lift thegate, since there is a definite difference.Every action made now is likely to bevery important. . . .

It is unlikely that the party learns ofFlames presence before Flame learns oftheirs, due to the numerous advantages(magical and otherwise) that he hasover them. Flame is 20% likely to beasleep when the party arrives, butawakens at the sound of any noise inarea 4a (or any extremely loud shouts,explosions, horns blowing, etc.). If notasleep, Flame is 65% likely to be look-ing out from area 4b, wishing for asnack, and 15% likely to be elsewherein the lair or in the immediate vicinityof the lake. The DM may, of course,determine Flames location beforehandwithout die-rolling. If Flame can actbefore the characters enter the cave, thefollowing scenario is suggested:

1. Flame first casts the hallucinatoryterrain spell in order to make it appearas though the corridor (area 4a) con-tinues on past its normal bounds. Thisshould allow any light source used bythe party to reveal nothing but corridor,corridor, and more corridor. Flamemight also cast ESP at this point.

2. When a few party members havepassed by the portcullis trap, Flamepulls the trap activation lever (area 4b).The portcullis then falls, and the frontcharacters must declare whether theyare jumping ahead or behind the port-cullis. They must also roll their dexter-ity or less on a d20 or be spiked by thesharpened gate for 2-16 hp damage,becoming pinned beneath the portcullis.



INTO THE FIRE

A pinned character may free himselfwith a normal lift gates roll since thelocking mechanism can only activate ifthe gate reaches all the way to theground.

At the same time that the portcullisfalls, a pit opens up underneath thosemembers in the middle and rear (DMsdiscretion) of the party. Characters overthe pit area fall down the shaft and take1-6 damage. Characters near the rear ofthe party might be allowed to jumpbackwards (requiring a roll of dexterityor less on a d20) when they hear theportcullis falling, thereby avoiding thepit trap by sheer instinct.

3. The next round, while the partymembers are recovering and ponderingtheir respective predicaments, Flame

sends a blast of fire (breath weapon)down the corridor (dispelling the hallu-cinatory terrain spell). All party mem-bers are affected, since the corridor andpit were specifically designed for such amaneuver. (DMs option: Those in thepit take only half damage from theblast, saving for one-quarter damage).

4. What happens next depends on thesituation after the first two rounds, andthe relative strengths and motivationsof the party members. Should the char-acters in front of the portcullis (mostlikely the fighter-types) battle thedragon immediately and risk death, or

should they aid their fellow party mem-bers and risk another breath weaponattack in the following round? What can

least one round of movement); or,c. to use a fly spell or other magical

means.Meanwhile, Flame acts. If the charac-ters in front remain together and still

is Flames most powerful attack, andFlames life is the dragons most prized

possession. If Flames life is severelythreatened, another escape attempt ismade by flying over, past, or through

the characters in the pit do but escape? appear to pose a major threat (e.g., the characters and into the sleepingWhat can the party members in the Flame sees three armored knights with cave (area 4c). The dragon then blocksrear do?

Assuming that there is at least oneglowing weapons), Flame uses a breath the entrance, casts invisibility on itsweapon again. If the characters have body, and escapes out the back door

cavalier in the party, the fighters might split up or appear weakened, Flame (area 4e). Flame has no problem forcingattack Flame. This is initially very good casts haste on itself and attacks physi- a way through the characters unlessfor the party, because Flame retreats to tally. Also note the possible uses of they are capable of holding back manythe rear of the main cave (area 4b), Flames other offensive spells: slow, tons of flying monster flesh. However,grabbing the rod of alertness with a magic missle, and polymorph other. each character is allowed one freeforeclaw and holding it there during the If Flame defeats the first group, and attack at + 2 to hit (if within meleebattle. This means that the characters the rest of the party attacks and range) or one spell attack of less thanin the pit and beyond are unaffected by appears powerful (e.g., lots of magic is three segments casting time as the

any further melee for now. used, incredible strength is displayed in dragon flees.But the fighters, on the other hand, raising the gate, etc.), the dragon will Should the fighters remain to aid

must defeat Flame alone, and this is retreat to the sleeping cave (area 4c), their party members, and the party isvery difficult. Their first problem is how block up the-entrance with a large rock obviously very powerful, Flame uses ato get within attack range. The only and the weight of the dragons own breath weapon again. Flames intentionways of reaching the rear of the cave body, and recuperate there. No amount is to split the party up and deal withare: of physical force exerted from the other each group individually.

a. to jump or fall 30 down to the side could possibly clear this entrance. If the characters happen to give up,chamber floor and run to the dragon Flame remains on guard, however, they are instructed to drop all their(note falling damage and at least one against any magic-users who breech belongings over the edge, including allround of movement); this barrier (remember ESP). clothing. The dragon then casts haste on

b. to run along one of the two ledges Flame is very intelligent and itself and eats them anyway. Flamealong the north and south walls (at extremely cunning. The breath weapon wont breath on them again unless

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TO THE FIRE

ecessary (It spoils the taste). If theseharacters are somehow able to defeatame bare-handed after their items aremoved, they will have accomplished

uite a feat.If the characters win, the treasure iseirswith a few hitches, of course. It

ossible that Flames body blocks thentrance to the rest of the lair, requir-g many hours to remove. Even aftermoving the body, the amount of trea-

ure is tremendous and requires manyeeks to catalog, identify, and haul

way.

4b. Main Chamber: This rather largechamber was formed when the volcanocooled. The charcoal-black walls arerough in places and glasslike in others.

A relatively large hole lies to the southand leads to Flames sleeping chamber

floor of this chamber. Indeed, charactersare unable to see the lever at all untilthey advance further into the room.

4c. Sleeping Chamber Read thefollowing:

(area 4c). A ledge runs around thechamber at the same level as the smalleastern entrance (area 4a). The floor ofthe chamber is 30 below the eastentrance and the ledges. A lever thatoperates the portcullis/pit trap in area4a is placed about 10 below the east-ernmost ledge, out of reach of normalcharacters either on the ledge or on the

You enter the chamber to see whatwas obviously the sleeping chamberfor the great dragon. Tons of assortedclothes, furs, and cloth lie heaped onthe ground, fully 20 thick at itsdeepest point. You cant help butthink about all the beings that havebeen slain just to make this beasts

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Flame was able to learn a number ofspells, unlike other dragons, thoughstill restricted to a total of eight spellsper day (two each of first through fourthlevels). Flame created and kept regularspell books containing the followingmagic-user spells: magic missile, light,ESP, invisibility, audible glamer, haste,slow, phantasmal force, hallucinatoryterrain, polymorph other, identify, pre-serve, dispel magic, write, read magic,and polymorph self. These four books(one per spell level) are wrapped in amammoths hide (worth 3,400 gp) andtucked safely in a niche 12 off the cavefloor. Each book is made from carvedwood plates (designed by a woodcarverthat Flame later ate) and weighs about10 lbs. per spell-plate. The value of thiswork to a sage or magic-user variesfrom 5,000-30,000gp.

Also present are 15 assorted potions,eight scrolls (six clerical/druidic, twomagic-user/illusionist), 60 gems (of atleast 1,000 gp base value), and 20 piecesof jewelry (determine all values andidentities randomly), Lying in a mas-sive heap, mixed together with dragonscales and teeth, are 122,976 cp,141,727 sp, 41,117 ep, 59,540 gp, and3,363 pp. Human, dwarven, elven, orc-ish, ogre, goblin, and animal boneslitter the entire room, indicating that

Flame was responsible for the deaths ofover a thousand sentient beings in thelast few hundred years alone, nearly allfrom the areas west and north of themountains. The dragons ravaging oflocal wildlife can only be imagined in adruids worst nightmare.

In addition, hundreds of valuablemundane items, such as normal weap-ons, helmets, shields, rock crystals (1-4gp each), unusual skeletons and skulls,assorted papers, spell components, rid-ing equipment, boxes and crates, bodyparts of assorted monsters, clothing andfootwear, rare woods, religious items,

and miscellaneous adventuring equip-ment, also litter the cavern room. Thetotal value of such material is suggestedto be about 10,000 gp, but catalogingand hauling such material away couldprove to be too enormous a task for anyadventurer.

The DM may add or delete from thishoard as he or she sees fit, in accordwith the campaign structure and thedifficulty of the quest. Remember thatevery item, valuable or not, has a past.Feel free to let your creativity loose andgive the players a sense of over 400

years of campaign history.The only entrances to this chamber

are to the east (unblocked) and to thewest (blocked by massive boulders). To

the east lies the sleeping chamber (area4c), and behind the boulder is Flamespersonal entrance and exit, a largevolcanic shaft (area 4e).

4e. Volcanic Vent. This is the entranceto Flames lair that Flame often uses. Itis almost perfectly smooth; the length isabout 200 and its diameter varies from60 to 80 . The lower entrance isalways blocked from the inside (area 4d)by two gigantic boulders. Three peoplemust simultaneously roll their bendbars/lift gates scores in order to moveonly one of these boulders enough topass by it (only three such attemptsmay be made per hour).

The upper hole is covered from aboveby an old rocs nest that Flame acquired50 years ago. The hole is detectable as asecret door from above.

5. Uthions Tower. Many years ago,Uthion, a young wizard, was killed byFlame when the great beast used itsawesome might to knock the tower over.Now Flame has firmly established ahome in the cliffs and has spent manyyears pillaging the tower by using cap-

tive humans and demi-humans (alleaten later). But, even after 120 years,some of the treasure remains.

The tower is now partially underwa-ter. Levels 1-2 (5a-g) are completelysubmerged while level 3 (5h,i,l) is onlypartially so. No natural light sourcesexist on levels 1,2,3, and 5, so charac-ters must use other means to see. Therest of the tower is still lit by continuallight spells which remain active untildispelled (vs. 14th-level magic). Theparty may enter through the secretwindow in area 5n, underwater(through the trap door on level 1, or

through the portcullis and doors onlevel 2), or through the hole in the roofin level 7. If the characters enter thewater, the crocodiles in the lake attack(see area 3).

The following room and floor descrip-tions refer to the mans of Uthions toweron page 58. All the stairwells are filledwith varying amounts of debris; andeach requires 1-6 man-hours to clear.

Tower level 1

This level was formerly used as adungeon. It contains five cells (5b-f, all

open and empty. There is a trap door inthe floor (5a) which leads out to thelake. It was formerly used to feed thecrocodiles. There is also a set of stonestairs going up to level 2, located in thecenter of the room.

If the party enters from above (area5g) and has not already dealt with thecrocodiles in the lake (see area 3), thereare 1-3 crocodiles in the water. The DMshould then amend descriptionsaccordingly.

Tower level 2

This level was the main entrance hall(5g). The remains of a massive pair ofdoors lie against the bottom of thechamber. The portcullis is still intact,but bent. A character may attempt tolift the portcullis from the outside if asuccessful lift gates percentage is made(at -10% to the roll). Flame oftendropped prisoners inside this room andthen watched them drown, while hold-ing the portcullis closed. Flame subse-quently ate them.

There are three entrances to thislevel: up the stairs from level 1; downthe stairs from level 3; or, by removing

the portcullis.

Tower level 3

This level was used as the barracks andguest rooms for Uthions guards andvisitors. It has remained completelyuntouched since the towers fall.

5h. Gathering Room. This room is com-pletely submerged. It was once a smallgathering area for the guests, completewith a table and four chairs, all rottedwith time and merely shells of theirformer grace. A silver candelabra (200gp value) rests on the low end of thechamber.

5i-l Guest and guard rooms. Each roomis identical and contains a bed, smalldresser, wooden chest, and a small mir-ror, magically attached to the stairwellwalls. Rooms 5i and 51 are underwater,while the others remain dry. The guestrooms (5i,j) are soundproofed (notsilenced!)

If the party enters room 5j, read thefollowing:

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INTO THE FIRE

As you enter the door, an eerieglow is revealed. Lying beside a longdead soldier, armored in full plateand shield, is a brightly glowing longsword.

Here lies the skeleton of a long deadknight, Sir Frederick of the Wolnars,

the bodyguard of Uthion. His body isstill wearing a set of full plate armor +1; a shield +1 and a long sword +3(see below) lies at his side. Note that thearmor and shield will glow if worn by aliving being able to use said items. Thesword, however, glows brightly whetherit is held or not. The body is partially

buried under rubble, where Sir Fre-derick was trapped and died. No otherpersons besides Sir Frederick andUthion were present when Flameattacked, those who returned later wereeaten.

The long swords name is Mironus andit is intelligent (IN 14), with a neutral-good alignment and the ability to speakthe languages of dwarves and gnomesas well as its alignment tongue. It hasan ego of 8 and possesses the followingabilities: detection of traps of large size

Fredericks armor and shield, but knowsnothing about how the tower was toppled or exactly how long the sword hasbeen lying there (i.e., hell answer

forever).Should the party wish to resurrect SirFrederick, remember that hes beendead for 120 years. The DM shouldassume that he was a neutral-goodcavalier of 12th level, with very highability scores (create all statistics asdesired). If brought back to life, he asksfor the return of his magic items(including Mironus) and, offers to aid theparty for the duration of their mission.He would especially like to find Uthion,his liege and friend.

Tower level 4

5m. Dining Room. The stairway opensinto a dining area. A very large, ornatetable lies toward the bottom of thechamber, with a number of brokenchairs scattered amongst the wreckage.There is an open door on the left. Noitems of value are present.

5n. Kitchen. The kitchen is choked withrubble. The only important aspect ofthis room is the secret window near the

in a 10 radius; detection of evil/good ina 10 radius; and, detection of gems,

kind, and number in a 5 radius. Thesword can, see through a gem set inits hilt, above the handgrip.

When someone approaches Mironus,the sword shrieks piercingly for rescue.If a dwarf or gnome holds it, the sworduses the appropriate language (dwar-ven, by preference). If not, Mironus willuse an alignment tongue.

ceiling. Uthion used to watch the crea-tures of the lake from this window, andit doubled as an emergency exit and

entrance. The secret window can onlybe detected by normal physical means(as a secret door); no magical means ofdetection works. The door leading toarea 5m requires five man-hours ofwork to clear away the debris. A fine setof silverware (worth 5,000 gp in total) isscattered around the room.

Theres one major problem withMironus. It has been trapped alone in

Tower level 5

this room for over 120 years and is a bit This was where Uthions new appren-screwy. Should it be rescued by a party tice was to live. Uthion had just fin-member, the sword never, ever allows ished equipping the rooms when Flamethat character to leave it alone, any- attacked.

where, anytime, for any reason (includ-ing taking baths, etc.). The sword is 5o. Display hall. In this room are sixvery worried about being deserted again disoriented paintings hanging on theand screams as loudly as possible until outer wall, depicting various scenes ofbrought along. Its also afraid of the mighty good mages battling the forcesdark, and always glows at full strength of evil. The paintings could be sold for(equal to a light spell) at night or in 200 gp each.darkness even in a scabbard.

The DM should have some fun withMironus and not make it too much of aliability. A well-played sword adds a lotof flavor to a characters treasure hoard.

Mironus knows the exact nature of Sir

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INTO THE FIRE

5p. Apprentices library and workroom.Read this to the party only after it firstenters this room.

bottle (providing, of course that his handsare free to do so). If he fails, the potionsaves (as crystal) vs. crushing blow orsmashes on the ground. The potion is oil

The door is unlocked and gives way of slipperiness and should provide someeasily. Suddenly you are struck by an comic relief for the DM. It is impossible to

stand up in the room until the oil isavalanch of books, glassware, andfurniture. Colored smokes and removed (see DMG, page 127), and the

liquids pour from every crevice. DM should modify any attempts at get-ting into area 5q accordingly.

The party is not harmed in any wayby falling debris. Note any possible 5q. Apprentices quarters.

effects on personal protection spells(e.g., stoneskin). The party enters the The door opens to reveal what mustroom to find: have once been a quite beautiful

bedroom. Remnants of silk sheets

A door is obvious to the upper left of and fur-lined pillows lie under athe chamber. Lining the walls of this toppled oak-framed bed. A large

chamber are rows upon rows of chest remains sealed shut on top of a

shelves and benches. They are now small bureau. A fallen closet lies at

completely empty, except for one the far side of the room.

small bottle precariously balanced onthe edge of a table leg. It begins to The sheets are damaged and worth-

wobble and . . . less, but the fur in the pillows can beremoved and is worth a total of 100 gp.

The DM should determine which of The bureau contains nothing of value,

the first few characters the bottle falls and the closet contains normal robes

toward. If the character rolls his dexter- and cloaks of varying colors (no value).

ity or less on a d20, he can catch the The chest contains nothing at all but

is locked. The key was formerly on topof the chest, but is now buried under thecloset. The chest itself is worth 5,000 gpand can be used for a Leomunds secretchest spell if the replica is possessed (seearea 5u).

Tower level 6

5r. Display hall. This room appears to bethe same as, though smaller than, theroom below it (area 5o). All the paint-ings have been crushed by fallingdebris. The stairs end on this level.

The door on the south side of thisroom is a trap (see area 5s) and the realentrance to Uthions former quarters is

a secret door on the left (see area 5t).The secret door can only be detected bynormal physical means. No magic what-soever reveals its presence, although x-ray vision or a similar spell worksnormally.

5s. Trap room. If the door leading tothis room is opened, all characterspresent are affected by a symbol of pain.Uthion cast this spell using a scroll hefound, so the magic is at the 19th levelof ability.

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INTO THE FIRE

5t. Uthions quarters. The secret doorleads into a magnificent bedroom. Theroom, however, has been searchedalready by Flames slaves. Tattered

sheets lie on the remains of the bed, andthe rest of the furnishings the closets,chests, and bureaus stand empty.There are no items of value in here.There is a secret trap door in the ceilingwhich leads to level 7 (area 5u). As withthe other secret doors in the tower, it isdetectable by physical means only.

Tower level 7

5u. Uthions library and workroom.

You climb through the trap door andenter a massive library and work-

room, occupying all of this level.Rows of shredded, crushed books once priceless lie on the floor. Pilesof glassware and spell componentshave been swept into the corners. Afew large chunks of crystal clearglass lie on a piece of red velvet clothin the middle of the floor. A woodenstand lies beside it. A large hole is inthe ceiling, opening through thewooden roof to the outside.

Flames slaves, dropped in throughthe ceiling, have removed most eve-rything of value from this roomalready.

Under a pile of rubble, the brokenbones of man wearing white robescan be found, with a small replica ofa chest in his hands (under his body).The chest is the matching componentto the chest in area 5q. The commandwords are on a small slip of paperinside the chest.

The shards of glass in the center ofthe room are the remains of a crystalball with clairaudience. Only a wishspell (or similar magic) can restore itto working form.

6. Hot Springs. This is a old lava vent

that serves as the heated water sourcefor the crater.

J. The Big Valley

This long, lush valley is heated by astream from a hot spring that flowsfrom east to west. It is a safe haven, butas with Lake Deriun (area D), thechance for wandering monsters shouldbe doubled (i.e., 2 in 6). The DM maywish to add his or her own personal

A small cave is loc

touch to encounters here.

K. Deep Gnome Settlement

ated here. It is appar-

ently empty, but a secret trap door canbe found in the rear of the cave after acareful search. The door opens into adeep shaft with a ladder mounted onone side. The ladder is made of someunknown metal, and the shaft descendsfor hundreds of feet below the earthssurface. If any character climbs downthe ladder, he arrives at the lair of ahuge colony of svirfneblin, or deepgnomes. The DM should discourage thisdiscovery or else prepare this under-world ahead of time.

This is the cave in which Sir Hujerdied after the deep gnomes found him.The gnomes know nothing about Flamebut buried deep in their ancient recordsis a metal tablet which describes how agreat fire beast came from the skyand snatched a group of svirfneblinworkers. They were never heard fromagain. The tablets date (when trans-lated into the local calendar) indicatesthis encounter occurred about 110human years ago.

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NTO THE FIRE

L. Statue of the Child

A 30'-tall statue of a young girl, sittingdown and crying, rests on a ledge about

50' above the pass. The workmanship ishuman and very old. For more on thisstatue, see area M.

M. Pass of the Parents

At the entrance to this pass into themountains stand two gigantic statues.A 100 man (to the west) faces anequally tall woman (to the east), theirarms reaching toward one another withpalms up, obviously distraught. Theworkmanship is human and the style,an ancient one, fits that of the childsstatue in area L. All of the statues have

been carved from living rock and arewell supported by surrounding rock.The statues are non-magical. Theseworks are so old that not even the elvesknow anything about their origins ortheir purpose.

N. Fort Wheelan

This is another frontier outpost, identi-cal in almost all respects to Fort Silan

(area A). No one here knows anythingmore about the missing patrol, and allare busy making preparations for apossible invasion from the west. This

would have been the final stop for thenow-missing patrol.

The post commander, Sir Erikksun,orders an escort for the characters backto the capital if the group has completedits mission. The commander may alsosend a force to investigate the dragonscave if the dragon has been slain. Anyextra treasure found by the investiga-tive patrol will be recovered andreturned to the fort, to eventually besent to the capital.

Concluding the Quest

Should the party successfully defeatFlame, determine that there is no realinvasion, and recover the documentsdetailing the fate of the young prince,the king is incredibly grateful and veryreceptive to any requests from the char-acters. It is highly unlikely that theparty members will ask for money afterfinding so much in Flames lair, butspells and magic items are always oncharacters minds. Remember that the

kings reach and influence far exceedshis actual supplies and resources. Thesages of the royal library are perhapsthe most knowledgeable in the land; if

information exists on a certain topic, itcan probably be located among thenumerous tomes and scrolls in thesages keeping.

There are a number of spin-offs possi-ble after the characters finish theirmain task, the most obvious of which isto track down the missing prince, now24 years old. This could be developed asa detective story or a rescue mission (orboth).

The characters may also have recov-ered the false treasure map from Jalus-sas private papers (area 4d). This waswritten long ago with the intention ofsending his enemies or any mutinouscrewmen into a deadly trap as paymentfor their treachery. This adventurecould be quite dangerous, but the tripitself might prove profitable.

Jalussas personal papers also providethe DM with an ideal medium for clue-dropping and adventure prompting. Awandering group of pirates could haverecorded the location of hundreds ofinteresting objects, places, and eventson the high seas which could lead toprolonged voyages if the partys in themood.

If the svirfneblin were discovered, anumber of related adventures can bedesigned including the establishing oftrade with the deep gnomes, allianceswith them, quests to help, them againsttheir enemies, etc.

Finally, the encounters listed in thesection entitled The Adventure maybe expanded into adventures in theirown right. are more trolls on their waynorth? What will become of the banditgang? What of the ogres and undeadbeings? The characters may find thatthey have much to keep them busy inthe Western Mountains.

60 Issue No. 1



Though his true love lies in Westerns,Carl Smith has been active in fantasyand science-fiction gaming for years. Hewas a part of the DRAGONLANCEdesign team for TSR, Inc, and workedon CA1, Swords of the Undercity, an

AD&D module set in the LANKHMARuniverse. He is currently a freelancewriter and contributing editor for ModelRetailer magazine.

This AD&D® game encounter takesplace at an abandoned shrine to a for-gotten thief, possibly an avatar of someevil, well-known god of thieves. A groupof 2-6 characters is recommended, eachof 3rd-5th level. A cleric would beextremely helpful, and an assortment ofmagical weapons is necessary. This

scenario may be dropped into an ongo-ing campaign, as the player charactersare traveling along a minor road in aforested region. The time is late in theday.

The Path

A fluke of the afternoon suns raysreveals a narrow trail, partiallyovergrown with straight, younghardwood saplings and a multitudeof weeds, leading off the road youtravel. Under other conditions, youwould have walked past it.

GUARDIANSA successful examination by a ranger,

barbarian, or skilled forester shows themanmade trail to be unused by men orlarge manlike creatures for several

O F T H Emonths. The saplings took at least fouryears to reach their present height, and,though they do not block the path, theirunbroken state shows that nothing ofany size has passed this way for years.Any player character successfullychecking finds no evidence of traps or

T O M B birds are seen or hearda fact that a

other beings in the area. In fact, nowildlife inhabits this area at all, and no

BY CARL SMITH druid (and possibly a ranger or barbar-ian) would notice at once.

Vengeance awaitsbeyond the grave

The Swamp

If the player characters follow the over-grown path for a mile, they come to aclearing in the woods, in which stands adilapidated shrine on an island in ashallow marsh. The marsh is approxi-mately 200 yards across, but only 5deep. It functions as a moat for theshrine.

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GUARDIANS OF THE TOMB

does no damage. Those attempting torun across the stone walkway automati-cally fall unless they are unencum-bered, have dexterities of 17 or greater,

and pass the saving throw noted above.A falling runner has a 40% chance ofhitting a stone step in the fall, doing 1-3hp damage and damage from therazorweed is automatically raised to themaximum possible on the first round ofsuch damage taken.

Anyone attempting to fly or levitateacross the lake discovers unexpectedturbulence. Warm air over the lakecontacts the cooler air from the sur-rounding woods, causing sudden drafts.The chances of turbulence disturbing aflight over the lake is 75% on warmdays only.

The overgrown path is not difficult to

follow, although overhangingbranches need to be chopped away.Ahead lies a clearing with a stag-nant, algae-choked marsh. In thecenter of the marsh rises a small isleof land with a building almost aslarge as the island. Climbing vinesand moss cover the building, conceal-ing most of its decorative stonework.An entrance to the building is visibleon one side of the structure. Nobridge crosses the swamp to theisland. There seems to be an odd chillin the air as well, one difficult todefine; the air temperature is cer-

tainly warm.

Characters find that maintainingflight (by animal, spell, or device) isdifficult but not impossible (flight speedslowed by 1 per 6 normal speed, soflight at 12 becomes 10). However,those levitating across may find them-selves at the mercy of the winds, evenbeing pushed into trees at the lakesedge or into the shrine itself (causing1-4 hp damage per round) or downinto the lakes razorweed.

dark, featureless human form in a shad-RAZORWEED

owy part of the undergrowth but the FREQUENCY Rarefigure then moves away, and no other NO. APPEARING: One patchfigures can be seen. A clerics attempt to ARMOR CLASS: 0 on dry land, 4 inturn undead produces no noticeable the water effect at this time. A detect evil spell M O V E : N i lproduces a vague reading of evil all HIT DICE: 2 HD per square yardabout the characters; a detect magic % IN LAIR: Nilspell also produces a vague reading. TREASURE TYPE: Incidental only

An exploratory probe of the murky NO. OF ATTACKS: See belowgreen water around the small lakes DAMAGE/ATTACK: See belowshore reveals that three inches below SPECIAL ATTACKS: Destruction of the surface of the water lies a bridge of armor stepping stones, leading out from the SPECIAL DEFENSES: Diffraction of shore directly across from the northern water causes -1 to attackers to hitentrance in the overgrown structure. roll; see also below

Each stone is about 1 square, and MAGIC RESISTANCE: 5%approximately 2 separate each stone. INTELLIGENCE: Non-Slime and aquatic residue coat each ALIGNMENT: Neutral

stone. Player characters may cross at a SIZE: L (2d20 x 10 square yards)slow walking speed, but characters with PSIONIC ABILITY: Nildexterities under 13 and those who are Attack/Defense Modes: Niltraveling at a lower-than-normal speeddue to extra encumbrance must check to Razorweed looks like normal aquaticsee if they fall in the water. A check grass, but both the sea and freshwaterconsists of a saving throw vs. paralysis, varieties are more blue in color thanwith failure indicating a fall. The water their normal counterparts. A playeris only 5 deep, but it is filled with character has a chance of noticing itsrazorweed (see below). No other animal saw-toothed, sharp edges by casuallife exists in the lake, and a fall in itself inspection; this chance is equal to a

A good-aligned cleric has a 5% chanceper level of sensing, without use ofmagic, the presence of profound evilnearby. This presence seems to comefrom all directions. Any character whoroll a percentile score equal to his intel-ligence, expressed as a percentage,gains the further feeling that he isbeing watched though no watcher canbe detected. The use of a detect invisibil-ity spell has a 5% chance per level of theuser of gaining a brief glimpse of a

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GUARDIANS OF THE TOMB

percentile roll of 5% per intelligencepoint of the character. Anyone whodeliberately examines the weed or whohas encountered razorweed before has a95% chance of knowing it for what it is.

Razorweed occurs most often in tropi-cal seas and lakes, though occasionalpatches appear in temperate climates. Adry-land species that resembles a Spanishbayonet in size and shape is known aswell.

Anyone falling or walking into apatch of razorweed suffers immediateslashing damage from the hundreds ofbladelike leaves on the plant. This dam-age varies with the size and surfacearea of the victim. Human-shapedbeings take 1d4 hp damage if they are3 or less in height; for every foot ofheight over 3, an extra 1d4 hp damageis taken. Four-legged beings take 2d4hp damage if 3 high or less at theshoulders, and an extra 2d4 hp damagefor every 1 over that height.

All cloth, leather, and paper goodsexposed to razor-weed attacks must savevs. normal blow each round or else becut to pieces. Ropes and items of thinwood (½ or less in thickness) must alsosave or be destroyed. Leather and pad-ded armor are reduced in AC value onestep for each round exposed to thisgrowth, and ring, scale, and studded-leather armor are reduced one step

every three rounds they are in razor-weed. Other armors are immune to thiseffect, as they cannot be so easilyslashed apart. Any damaged armorremains in damaged condition untilrepaired by qualified armorers, tailors,and leather-workers (see page 29, DMG).Magical armor loses its magical powersif the saving throw noted above isfailed.

protect a humanlike being from furtherattacks (unless a new patch of razor-

weed is entered). A horse-sized quadru-ped can be affected by up to 10 squareyards of razorweed, or by lesseramounts if smaller.

The Shrine

The island in the swamp is only 140across and basically circular in shape.Though the ground is soft, it is strongenough to support anyones weight up to

Anyone checking for traps as thebuilding is entered notes none aroundthe doorways, though the floor on theinside of the shrine by the doorwaysappears to have been scratched andmarred in the past. Interestingly, thestone forming the door frames is per-fectly smooth, unlike the rest of thebuilding.Any treasure found in a patch of this

material is purely incidental, left over one ton. Creatures weighing over thisfrom previous victims. Treasure types J- amount must move at half-normalN (x5), Q, and C (magic only) are sug- speed. Weeds grow to a depth of 3gested. Patches of strangeweed (see the around the isle.

Monster Manual) often grow in and The building is an ancient tomb to aaround razorweed, making for a deadly legendary thief, born many hundreds ofcombination in certain oceanic areas. years ago, named Kholum the Swift.

Razorweed burns easily if dry, but wet The shrine is blocklike, 90 to each siderazorweed takes only half damage from and 30 high, and each side has a doorfire. Submerged razorweed is, of course, 10 high by 6 wide in the middle of it.immune to fire. Razorweed is immune The granite walls are 4 thick. Thereto lightning and electrical effects, but it are four open entrances, one for eachcan be chopped apart by bladed weap- point of the compass. Carved above eachons. Blunt weapons do not affect razor- door is a name: (North) Pride, (East)weed at all, and it cannot be affected by Hate, (South) Treachery, and (West)bare-handed attacks. Destroying a Greed. The player characters may entersquare yard of this weed is sufficient to through any entrance they wish. Light

enters the building through four 5 x 5windows covered with rusted steel grates

which are set in the roof. The spacesbetween the bars are each 1 across.

DUNGEON 63

The inside of the building makes itapparent that the structure is ashrine of some sort, possibly a temple

or tomb. Huge, twin statues, set backto back with their arms raised, standin the middle of the huge room on astone platform. Each statue depicts athin, narrow-faced human malewearing belted robes and sandals.The eyes of the statues seem to glowwith light and follow your every,movement. No weeds grow betweenthe flat stones making up the floor,and no sign of life can be seen inside.Odd bits of debris litter the area.



UARDIANS OF THE TOMB

Words carved on the northern face man in rotting robes, with dried, dark

of the stone platform say, in an old skin pulled over his features like fragile

variant of the common tongue: paper. The body is that of Kholum the

KHOLUM THE SWIFT

Master Thief though by now charactersmay believe Kholum to be a lich, vam-

Lord of the Night pire, magic-user, etc. The skeleton is notundead. Clutched in the skeleton's left

Of the best I was, but you must putaside the old ways and see that every-thing here has a place. If you stealfrom me, I steal from you. Why temptfutility and disturb my sleep when allthings must be where they are?Things taken will come full circle, for though the day calls you master, myservants rule the night.

This inscription is an oblique reference to

hand is an old steel dagger with a cleanblade. The dagger, like the skeleton, isnot magical. An old cloth pouch contain-ing 47 gems (each of 100 gp value) lieson Kholums ribcage. Also in the pouchis a slip of paper, reading I STEALFROM YOU in ancient Common. Thepaper is very fragile and breaks apartwith rough handling, requiring a mend-ing spell to reassemble.

The, skeleton does not respond to ae traps and the guardians of the treasure. speak with dead spell, nor does move

The odd debris, upon examination, under an animate dead spell (due toroves to be bits of armor, weapons, andquipment, from many years ago, left

past protective enchantments). Thegems radiate magic and evil.

ying on the floor of the building to rustnd rot. No bones are present, however

In addition, treasure may be found in

he owners were turned into undeadthe palms of the double statues hands.Each palm holds a colored glassteel

hadows). Most of the debris is clusteredear the four doorways or in corners of

crystal statuette of a man 8 high, col-

he shrine's interior. None of the debrisored blue (northeast), green (southeast),

magical.red (southwest), and amber (northwest).

The two statues, standing with widelyThe statuettes, because of their work-

eparated feet and joined at the back formanship, are each worth 750 gp. Eachalso radiates both magical evilauras. None of the four statuettes isupport, are of Kholum, the thief buried

n this tomb. Each figure holds its armsut at shoulder-height, palms up; their

alms correspond with the median com-ass points, (northeast, southeast, south-west, and northwest). The statues are

0 tall, their palms 16 from theround, and they rest atop a single 3 -ll, 12 -square stone platform. Theatues are cast from solid bronze andre now covered with verdigris. Theatues have eyes of engraved glassteel

rystal (500 gp value) which catch allght and reflect it, giving everyone

nside the shrine the impression thathey are being individually watched.he eyes radiate faint magic.Anyone making a detect traps or locate

immediately visible from the ground.

ecret doors roll discovers that several ofhe engraved words on the stone are onections of stone that may be pressednto the platform as either a trap or

The moment that either the gems on

the body or the statuettes in the handsof the twin statues are handled, each ofthe four entrances to the tomb isinstantly sealed by a wall of stone spellcast at the 18th level of magic-userability. These walls of stone can only beremoved by a dispel magic or disinte-

grate spell, each spell affecting but onedoorway. These walls remain in placefor but one day, disappearing again atdawn on the day following that onwhich the treasures in the tomb weredisturbed. Anyone caught in the door-way as the walls appear is hurled intothe tombs interior, taking 2-16 hp dam-

age from the blast.Within 2-5 turns following sundown,

or within 2-5 turns if the theft occurredat night the guardians of the tomb

bright light; AL CE). These shadowswere originally followers of Kholumwho were slain as thieves and reincar-nated by their deity as shadows to

guard their former guildmasters tomb.Over the centuries, these shadows havebeen joined by the spirits of grave-robbers, wanderers, and others whowere trapped in the tomb, until a smallarmy of these creatures lurks in thearea. By day, the shadows hide in theforest and avoid all contact with livingcreatures, though their presence drivesaway all wildlife. At night, the shadowsgather at the tomb if summoned bymagical triggers on the gems and statu-ettes mentioned above. There, theshadows attack intruders mindlesslyuntil slain or until dawn comes, at

which point they leave again.The shadows float over the water ofthe lake as they approach the shrine,then rise into the air and enter thetomb through the grated ceiling win-dows. The DM should count the numberof PCs and NPCs inside the tomb, dou-ble that number, and add a randomnumber from 1-12 to get the total num-ber of shadows who will attack. Theseshadows will pass by anyone who is notin the tomb unless they are attacked, inwhich case they counterattack.

Not all shadows present in the areacome with each visitation; perhaps 100

shadows are present in the area aroundthe shrine to Kholum, each new groupappearing only at dusk if summoned bythe magical traps in the tomb. If awhole group of shadows is slain, and ifthe gems and statuettes are left behindwithout being further molested, thesurviving characters (minus any whowere turned into shadows to join theunliving guardians) may escape atdawn when the walls of stone vanish.

Anyone who levitates up to the ceilingbars may attempt to bend bars toescape, but note that strength-drainingby the shadows may harm this escape

method unless done during the daytime.These magical traps can be activated

any number of times, even if the wallsof stone are continuously destroyed The

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