TSR 9573 - The Lost Shrine of Bundushatur

8/8/2019 TSR 9573 - The Lost Shrine of Bundushatur

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UNGEON CRD or four to six characters of levels 8-10The Lost S

by Michael DCreditsDesign: Michael D. WagnerEditing: John D. RateliffEditorial Assistance: Rhias K. HallBrand Manager Lisa StevensArt Director: Dawn MurinCover Art: Fred FieldsInterior Art: Arnie SwekelCartography: Todd Morasch

Typesetting Eric Haddockwith the author's special thanks to Brooke Crawford, Mark Nmch, and Randy Weidenhamer.

WGBOVSDWCONS,DWCEON WM,L,MO"ISIROUIOMPENDNM.LANUTIIPE,RPGA, the RPGA logo,and the Tsp\ logo me registered trademark3ow edby TSR, In


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12ising: Dark Dreams

L ~ S ILie 1-uwers ma1 siepr suuuia awaKen anaNow we fear They h. My people can hold them back no lo]Waking, you gather your group and begiy y u L L l c

a huge mass of rubble where of oldA heap of fallen stonese the grand temple of Moradin onceYou can find no livinp

ave comenger . . . "n the long,a. .,"ll -..-

~D~and feet sticking out fromath great stones that hide their bodies. A few smalltombed such of their kin as theyld-but where have those survivors gone now?The answer may lie in the strange flat island that

so much destruction, it looks like aon a sandbar-yet you know thei f notusands of feet deep. Resting for the night beforethe strange new island in the morn-vestments are tattered and bloody, and hisd angle as if the neck were bro-

a hollow, ghostly voice:"The Lords of Chaos return. The lost Shrine of Bun-the depths, foretelling theof the world as we know it. Our watch has. The fate of What Is is now in your hands. Bewareof Chaos. Seek the Chaos Key . . . ." the f ina lis drawn out into a distant wail as a sudden windof mist. You wake, chilled,f pre-dawn.

y not realize it at first, the player charac-e not the first to reach the newly risen Shrine. Unfor-tely, the person who beat them to it is not a potentialPerconius, a dual-class Cleric/Illusionist, heard ru-es and gain as much power as possible before the LordsChaos returned. Perconius is very skeptical aboutthe Lords will actually return after so long but, ifthis does occur, he plans to tell them he has comechaos (which incidentally he wouldn't mind

In the meantime, he has herded some m-into the place to keep others from exploring it.Perconius knows there is a lower level to this part of; he learned that much from research. He also

knows it will take the Chaos Key to get down there. Heeven knows what the Key looks like. But he does noknow that it is in sections. He will spot the player char-acters before they see him, following them invisibly to lethem dispatch some of the guardian monsters and makehis task all the easier. He plans to wait until they havefound the Key, then seize it and run, trusting to his mag-ics to make good his escape. If the player characters havefound parts of the Key, he is excited by their discoverythat it comes in pieces and monitors their progress morecarefully than ever. From time to time he assumes one ofthe disguises described below and attempts to infiltratethe group. Should they find the Key, he seeks to convincethem to entrust it to his keeping (for example, in dwar-ven form he stresseshis dwarven resistance to magics; intriton form he claims that guardianship of the Key is a sacred duty entrusted to his people, etc.). See the descrip-tions of rooms 10,16, and 20 for likely spots to insert himinto the adventure. He even helps the adventurers inbattle (the better for them to do his dirty work), takingcare to stay away from the greatest danger. If the characters capture Perconius in any of his guises, he continueshis ruse of being a dwarf or selkie or triton (as the casemay be) for as long as possible. He is very clever andgood at making up excuses (for example, claiming thahe was hypnotized and forced to steal the Key). At thelast resort he "comes clean" and offers them his servicein exchange for his life and freedom once the adventureis over, swearing any oath they please.Perconius (8th-level Clericl9th-levelIllusionist):AC 4 (bracerof defense AC S , Dexterity bonus); M V 12 ; 39 hp; THACO 1

(15 with changestaff; #A T 1;Dmg ld6+1 (changestam; SAspells; SD spells, ring of invisibility, necklace of disguise; SZ M(5'4");ML average (10);AL CN; XP 12,000. Str 9, Dex 18,Con10, Int 18, Wis 15 , Chi- 12. Spells:command, cure light wounds( X Z), sanctuary; aid, enthral1,find trapr ( X 3); dispel magic,feigndeath, prayer; cure serious wounds, free action/ /color sprayfriends, light, phantasmal force, unseen servant; improved phan-tasmal force, invisibility ( X 2 ), knock; flame arrow, monster snmmoning I, spectral force, suggestion; illusionary wall, improved invisibility, wraithform; Mordenkainen's faithful hound, shadowmagic. Special Equipment philter of glibness, oil of slipperinesspotion c$ extra-healing, changestafi (has the ability to assumethe form of any melee weapon, from a trident to a handaxebut always does ld6+1 damage). He carries 50 feet of ropethree daggers, and assorted rations in his leather backpack.

Plan A (in area 10):Perconius uses his necklace to appeaas an injured selkie. "She" tells the party she was injuredin a battle with some undead. She will beg to accompanythe party, claiming that she wishes to see the evil of thetemple destroyed but fears she may fail without companions, now that all her band are dead. She asks them tocure her if she thinks she can get away with it (she wantsthem to waste spells). She pretends to be very curious ina "wide-eyed wonder" sort of way, asking the adventurers many questions about how they got here, what they


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combat) then turns invisible and escapes.Plan C (outside room 20):Perconius is pretending to be atriton who ventured into this shrine out of curiosity Heacts surprised when he sees the characters, pretending tobe frightened of them. Dont kill me! Dont kill me! hecries in a strange bubbling accent. If they set his mind atease, he tells them that everywhere he goes in this horribleplace he keeps stumbling upon dead bodies, apparently inpositions of agony. He asks if they are responsible. He alsoasks them what made the Shriie rise from out of the lake(badly upsetting the underwater ecology, he will add). Hevolunteers to help them get rid of the place. If asked whata deep-sea creature like a triton is doing in a mountainlake, he looks startled, mutters something about theirbeing too clever by half, and tells them of a secret un-derwater channel linkiig this lake with the distant ocean.While in this guise he tries very hard to find out if theyhave the Key, perhaps dropping hints about a legendamong his people about the Key of Chaos that opens alldoors. If they assemble the Key, he reveals his true m i s -sion and claims that the Key must be returned to hispeoples guardianship. If this fails, he waits till they areoff-guard, turns invisible, tries to grab it, and runs.

etc. After a short time with the party shea comer, making aand then turning invisible with her ring.a mystery.

B (near room 16): Perconius will come upon thein the guise of a dwarf from Isar. He appeara party of seven dwarves. While he was up

gear had simply vanished. Heed of going anywhere alone. He willf they are here to defeat the growing Chaos and ifund the second level. One of his companionsa second level to the place and thought

to get some kind of key. Perconius will accom-16. He stays with them in histhey encounter a monster. He willard to fight it and act out a most dramatic deathmissing his blows, exaggerating anythe creature makes against him, and using feignto clinch the scene). f the party carries his body, he(to open a door or for some

Oirteen points to Remember:1. All doors require a Strength roll to open unless other-wise stated; all wizard locks are cast at 15th level.2. The entire ruin radiates magic, although magical itemswill radiate more magic than the walls.3 . The entire ruin radiates intense Chaos; paladins andother extremely Lawful characters will feel queasythe whole time they are within it.4. Unless otherwise stated, creatures will not follow theparty out of their encounter areas.5 . All integral parts of the Shrine are indestructible byphysical means.6. If the party turns a group of undead and then proceedsto disturb the area they were guarding, the turningwill be voided and the undead will attack. This willnot be the case with a D esult however; in such acase the undead are deanimated, like puppets withtheir strings cut.7. Undead will under no circumstances obey a playercharacter.8. All encounters, unless otherwise stated, should be con-sidered hostile.9 . There are no wandering monsters per se in theShrine. However, whenever the characters stop to

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entering the Shrineleep in order to regain spells or hit points, there is a10% chance each hour that they will be visited by agroup of six ghouls.Ghouls ( 6 ) :AC 6; MV 9; HD 2; hp 16 each; THACO 19; #AT 3;ld3/ld3/ld6 + paralysis (daw/daw/bite);SA successful at-

tack causesparalysis (savevs. paralyzationto resist)for ld6c2rounds; SD immune to sleep and charm spells; SW may beturned, kept at bay by protectionfrom ezd (unlessattacked);SZM; ML steady (12); Int low (5-7); AL CE; XI 175 each.0. Unless otherwise noted in the text, surprise situationswill not exist.1.Allow the davers to make all their own dice rolls ex-

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~~~~cept for t6e iollowing: Find & Remove Traps, MoveSilently, Hide in Shadows, Hear Noise, detect secretdoor, disbelieve illusion. Any special rolls will becalled for in the text (in the room description).Any chest which has not been unlocked can beopened in one of the following ways: a character mayattempt to tear the chest open by rolling his or herBend Bars percentage, or the characters can bash thechest open with their weapons by inflicting 15 pointsof damage on it.

13. Glyphs of warding are invisible unless a detect magic isused upon the surface on which they were cast, or ifsuch a spell is being cast in a radius (by a sword, etc.)

O e Chaos KeyKey, an item of major importance for the completionof the adventure, comes in twelve parts. Eight are quartzarrows, each two and a half inches long. Two are crescentsof adamantite which, when connected, form a wheel twoinches in diameter; the wheel has eight evenly spacedoles around the outer rim and a quarter-inch-wide shaftunning lengthwise through it. The final pieces of the Keyare two mithral rods shaped like dowels, each one inchlong and a quarter of an inch in diameter.The Key does not need to be assembled in any specificorder. The crescents fit together to form the wheel. Thearrows fit in the holes. The mithral rods fuse together,end to end, forming a two-inch-long pin which fits intothe shaft and holds its two halves together. When the en-tire Key is completed, the arrows curl and writhe likelimbs of a living thing. The parts fuse together and thewhole emits a blinding light. Everyone within ten feetmust make a saving throw vs. spell; failure means he orshe will be blinded for 10 turns, and the character is daz-zled for ldlO rounds even if he or she makes the save.

The DM should read the following passage to thplayers once they get close enough to be able to see thShrine in any detail, embellishing as he or she sees fitThe remains of the Shrine can be seen standing in thelake's center. It appears to be a fifteen-foot-talloctagon,two hundred feet across, carved from some sort of darkstone. The stone is remarkably well preserved for astructure so ancient. Except for a few cracks and theslime which covers much of its surface, the Shrine ap-pears untouched by the passage of time. The only vis-ible entrance,a fifteen-foot-diameterblack-metal portalwith a strange black and red symbol emblazoned on it,stands in the center of the north wall. A ten-foot-widesandbar appears to runaround the outsideof the shrine.

The main door appears untouchechme It is completely free of the mum m,,,-h ,4 &han l l n Tholy the passage ofc and slime that. rirrnlo.. Fi


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p of the ruins (because of the slime, a thiefds to make two successful Climb Walls rolls to reachroof) can easily find this entrance.If the center of the ruins roof, you see a ten-foot-er hole. Next to the hole is what appears to be aoid body. On closer inspection, the hole turns out

f stairs leading down into the heart of theof a seal woman or selkie. The

is Perconius in one of his disguises. If someonees the selkie, she gestures for the character tcf he or she docs, the selkie gives that char-ll quartz arrow (one of the pieces of the Chao:gasps out the words Beware the living statueting. If the selkie receives a cure serious woundsis able to convey the fol.

I thank you for your kindness, strangers thoughare. 1 am Gyffes, clan-chief of the selkie in thisweeks ago, a crack appeared in the floorthe lake. We sent five of our best scouts to investi-e had many council meetings after that to decideust be done. We decided to wait. Our wait was. My people started dying. The shades of thend the never born walked the village.I took eight of the finest warriors

I am all that remains. We killed two vile crea-of us and all we got in re-was this (she indicates the arrow). It was wellI sense it m a y be of importance. After find-we headed south. One of my warriors investi-a statue that suddenly came to life and attackedNone of our weapons could harm it. We fled andI am all that remains. It is still down there . . be-

muttering softly in some strange tongue.of this is a lie, of course, carefully calculated b]stir the mettle of any adventurers worthy ome. The selkie will accompany the party whilrore a room or two; for her behavior and later ac2-3.

Oe Outer Shrine (rooms 1-91, The halls in this part of the dungeon are covered withvarious natural slimes and growths. The rooms arc dampbut well preserved. None of the doors in this section aretrapped or locked. All are made of normal wood and canbe chopped through in two rounds.

1.Entrance HallThe bones of several adventurers litter this fifteen-

foot by twenty-foot room. The air is damp and foul.Two passages at the southern end of the room leadcast and west. Scrawled on the east wall, in the Com-mon tongue, is the message Flee, all is lost. A deadbody lies against the south wall. She seems to bewearing a golden necklace.The dead body is actually a ghoul. If anybody ex-amines the body, it suddenly reaches out and grabs thecharacter, trying to rip out his or her throat with itsgreenish teeth (roll for surprise). Twenty-four otherghouls lurk out of sight in the cast and west passages;

they also lie as if dead but leap to the attack when theyhear the sounds of combat. Otherwise, they suddenlycome to life and begin to bite and claw at the charactersif the intruders try to leave the room, waiting until thePCs arc in their midst before striking. Remember that thedoor to the outside will slide back into place five roundsafter the party enters; as soon as it closes, a magic mouthappears and laughs hideously for three rounds.Ghouls (25): AC 6; M V 9; HD 2; hp 14 each; THACO 19; #AT 3;ld3/ld3/ld6 + paralysis (claw/claw/bite); SA successfulattack causes paralysis (save YS paralyzation to resist) for

ld6+2rounds; SD immune to sleep and charm spells;SWmaybe turned, kept at bay by protection from evil (unless at-tacked); SZ M; ML steady (12); Int low (5-7); AL CE; XP 175each.If the players search the body after the fight, they findthat the necklace is of wrought gold with three pearl pen-dants-one white, one black, and one pink. It radiatesmagic; the magic is in the three pearls. The pearls glowsoftly when touched, becoming soft (like bath pellets)after being held for more than two rounds in a livinghand. If swallowed, the white pearl acts as a cuve seriouswounds, the pink pearl acts as a cure disease,and the blackpearl acts as a vemove curse. Unfortunately, this magicalnecklace did its former owner little good, as she waskilled by ghouls and later became one.The ghouls were put here by the cleric-illusionistPer-conius and were instructed to guard this entrance, keep-ing anyone from coming in; he believed twenty-fiveghouls would discourage anyone from exploring further.

2. An Empty RoomThis fifteen foot by fifteen-foot room appears empty.

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However, a gray ooze is lying in wait on the east wall.Due to the slime and moisture on the wall (residue fromthe place's recent immersion in the lake), the ooze cannotbe distinguished from the surrounding wall. It strikes outlike a snake, automatically surprising anyone searchingfor secret doors, detecting for sliding walls, etc. The oozehas no treasure. Note that weapons striking the ooze dofull damage but quickly corrode and break (item savingthrows vs. acid to resist); however, it is easy to simplyrun away from the ooze due to its slow movement rate.Gray Ooze:AC 8 MV1;HD 3+3;21hp;THACO17;#AT 1;Dmg2d8; SA corrosion (chainmail corrodes in a single round,platemail in 2 rounds, magical weapons and armor at a rateof 1 ound per plus of the item);SDimmune to fire,cold, andmost spells; SW lightning does full damage; SZ M (8' wide

but very thin);ML average (10);Int animal (1);AL N; XP 270.3. A Pressing Situation

This nondescript fifteen-foot by fifteen-foot roomappears empty except for what could be writing onthe southern wall.The writing is in an ancient tongue (said to originallyderive from the gehreleth tongue of Carceri), one of sev-eral once used as the ritual speech of Chaos in the shrine'srituals. The message says "Don't look now." Three roundsafter someone enters the room, a huge stone slab fallsacross the doorway, completely blocking the way out.One round later, the north and south walls begin moving

toward each other at the rate of one foot per round. Thus,on the seventh round the walls will only be one foot apart.Unless the people trapped in this room find some meansof escape, the walls crush everyone and everything in thechamber to death on the eighth round.This entire effect s a programmed illusion (and a verygood one a t that). Characters have a number of ways toescape this trap. They may attempt to disbelieve it. A dis-pel magic works normally, as does teleport, passwall, di-mension door, etc. If a sturdy object is placed so as toprevent the walls from moving closer together, it appearsto hold for a round or two, then breaks. Characters whotry to slow the walls' movement by sheer strength canhold a wall stationary for one round per twelve points ofStrength but take ld6 points of damage per round fromthe strain. Anyone "killed" in this room will actually dieif he or she fails a System Shock roll. Those who succeedon such a roll revive in ld6 hours.Once the illusion has run its course, it resets. Thoseoutside the room see the slab rise to reveal the pulped re-mains of any of their fellows trapped within. The trapwill not activate again for an hour, so they can enter andremove the bodies, If everyone entered and experiencedthe illusion, those who survived the System Shock even-tually awaken and can leave the room without difficultyIf they re-enter, however, the whole illusion replays, withthe same results as before.

This room was set up by the high priests of the Lordsof Chaos as a way to get information out of people. Thedevice proved quite useful in its time, and its potentmagics have withstood the centuries.4. Deserted Guard Room #1

This fifteen-foot by ten-foot room appears to havebeen once used as a guard post. There are torch sconceson the north and south walls, with a weapon rackholding two rusty spears beside each. Acollapsed tableand moldering chairs rot in the room's center. The mu-tilated bodies of three dwarves lie scattered about theroom. They are being gnawed on by the sharp teeth ofnine lean, gray-skinned creatures dressed in rags. Afoul carrion smell fills the air.If the party successfully listens at the door, they will

hear various chewing noises and can surprise the ghoulsand ghasts. The dwarves were former citizens of Isar, ascan be determined by examining their clothing. Lyingunder the ruins of the table (destroyed in the dwarves'dying struggle) is a jeweled bracelet dropped by one ofthe dwarves; it is worth 1500 gp. The spears are rustedand useless. There is nothing else of value in the room.Ghouls (6):AC 6; MV 9; HD 2; hp 14 each; THACO 19; #AT 3;ld3/1d3/ld6 + paralysis (claw/claw/bite); SA successful

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vs. paralyzation to resist) forrounds; SD immune to sleep and charm spells; SW maya t bay by protectionfrom evil (unless attacked);M; ML steady (12); Int low (5-7);AL CE; XP 175each,(3):AC 4; MV 15; HD 4; hp 27, 28, 29; THACO 17; #ATDmg ld4/ld4/ld8 + paralysis (claw/claw/bite);SA suc-ful attack causes paralysis (save vs. paralyzation to re-ffects even elves) for ld6+4 rounds, carrion stenchvs. poison or suffer -2 penalty on al l attacks due to

SD immune to sleep and charm spells,protectionfiomkeeps them a t bay only if used in conjunction with coldSW double damage from weapons wrought of coldSZ M; ML elite (14); Int very (11);AL; XP 650 each.

Room #2This fifteen-foot by ten-foot room appears to havea guard post. Torches burn in the sconces on theh and south walls. A rickety table and four chairscenter. An empty weapon rack

motionless in the room: two against the northng a jeweled amulet on a silver chain around hissparkles in the dim torchlight.

are actually juju zombies, who attack asy kmd of attack of their own.

Zombies (4): AC 7; MV 9; HD 3+12; hp 30,22,26,21; THACO; #AT 1;Dmg 3d4 (fists);SAattack as 6-HD monsters;SD im-to nonmagical weapons, immune to psionics and some(sleep, charm, illusions, mind-affecting spells, electricity,

magic missiles), half-damage from tire, half-damage fromcleaving weapons do not apply;SW may be turnedspectres); SZ M; ML fearless (20); Int low (5-7); AL NE;

' 975 each. Special Abilities: ClimbWalls (92%).of value in the room; the amulettext. This appears to be a smallrtj-two small pearls, as well asall pits that apparently once held more of the tiny

The amulet is strung on a chain of platinum. Thisamulet functionsas a byooch ofshielding and has themagic missi lege. Each t i e t absorbs a point of magic missile dam-to nothingness.When the last pearlthe necklace and shield turn into worthless tincopper;until then it seems to be worth 900 gp.a secret door to the Inner Shrine. Thedoor will slide open if the northern torch is re-from its sconce. The door can also be opened by(a feat requiring a successful Bend Bars/Lift Gatesor a knock spell.

6. A Dead EndThis fifteen-foot by twenty-foot room is bare exceptfor a sheathed longsword lying on the floor in a pile oftreasure at the rear of the room. The walls are bare of theever-present slimes and fungus. As you watch, thelongsword begins to move across the floor towards you.

This room is really the lair of a huge gelatinous cubethat fills almost the entire room. The longsword is insidethe cube. Anyone who moves forward to take the swordsteps into the cube, taking 2d4 points of damage and re-quiring a saving throw vs. paralyzation. Perconius, thecleric/illusionist, knows of the cube and occasionallyfeeds it dwarves from Isar or monsters he has found andkilled in this place since arriving.Gelatinous Cube: AC 8; MV 6; HD 4; 32 hp; THACO 17;#AT 1;Dmg 2d4 + paralysis (digestive fluids); SA transparent (-3penalty to opponent's surprise rolls), anesthetizing slime(paralyzesall it touches for 5d4 rounds if they fail their savesvs. paralyzation); SD immune to electricity, ear, paralyza-tion, polymorphs, hold person/monster, and sleep; SW fire

causes normal damage, cold-based attacks slow the cube(MV 3) and reduces the damage it inflictsto ld4 per round;SZ H (15' cube);ML average (10);Int non (0); AL N; XP 650.When killed, the cube dissolves, leaving a mass ofsticky goo and its treasure: the sword, 250 g p , two dag-gers (one of them is a dagger + I ) , a golden ring worth 15gp with a permanent Nystul's magical aura cast upon it,and a vial of light blue, sweet-smelling liquid. Tasting thepotion will make the person feel lighter (it is a potion oflevi tat ion).The longsword is a cursed sword ofcowardice -2that forms a link with the first person to pick it up. Itcompels its wielder to flee from combat; he or she must

save vs. spell (at a -2 penalty) or flee to the rear of theparty and cower there. If he or she is trapped withnowhere to run, the wielder attacks wildly, gaining a +2bonus to attack and damage but sufferinga + 2 penalty toArmor Class as well as losing all Dexterity bonuses. Thewielder keeps the sword nearby at all times like a secu-rity blanket, gaining comfort from its proximity; if it islost or cast away, he or she curls up in a ball and whim-pers until the weapon is restored to his or her side. Onlya remove curse spell can break its link with a character.

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This damp fifteen-foot by twenty-foot room has adim light for the room. The pas-

de is partially blocked by a large pile of sea-A smaller pile of seaweed rests in the southwestof the room, and the glint of metal can be seenthis smaller pile.The two piles of seaweed are actually algoids, who will

blast until reduced to five or fewer hit points.(2):AC 5; MV 6, swim 6; HD 5; hp 35,26; THACO15;#AT 2; Dmg ldlO/ldlO (fists); SA psionic blast (once perday);SDedged weapons of less than +2 bonus pass throughdoing no damage (those with +2 or better enchantments dohalf-damage), immune to fire (including magical fire) andelectricity; SWblunt weapons do fulldamage,p a r t water andlower water inflict ld6 points of damage per level of caster;

SZ M (5 , 7); nt semi (2, 4); AL CN; XP 420 each. SpecialAbility: algoids can control trees (up to tw o at a time), whichthen animate and attack (M V 3, #AT 2, Dmg ldlO/ldlO).The algoids treasure can be found scattered on ther after the battle (they were lying on it). The treasuresists of 250 sp, 130 gp, 60 pp, two gems worth 30 gpof platinum worth 1250 gp.Thenes inhabitants do not know the algoids are here. Thef moving further into the Shrine.Deserted Guard Room #3

This fifteen-foot by ten-foot room appears to haveon the north andunlit torches. Four men sit around aof the room. There are emptyracks against both the north and south walls.The men are actually juju zombies. There are a total ofd one on each side ofor, out of the player characters line of sight.All six

with rusty @ut still sharp) spears, which theyrl before closing to melee.Zombies (6):AC 7; MV 9; HD 3 ~ 1 2 ;p 30,34,29,31,32,34;THACO 15; #AT 1; Dmg ld6 + disease (rusty spear) or 3d4(fists);SA attack as 6-HD monsters, anyone struck by a rustyspear must make a System Shock check or contract a blooddisease fatal within 48 hours unless cured by cure diseuse;

SD immune to nonmagical weapons, immune to psionics andsome spells (sleep,cham, illusions, mind-affecting spells, elec-tricity, and magic missiles), half-damage from f i ~ ,alf-damagefrom blunt and piercing weapons, magical damage bonusesfrom edged and cleaving weapons do not apply; SW may beturned (as spectres); SZ M; ML fearless (20); Int low (5-7);AL NE; XF 975 each. Special Abilities: Climb Walls (92%).

There is nothing of value in the room. The secret doorslides open if the northernmost torch is removed from itssconce. The door can also be opened by brute force (a featrequiring a successful Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll) or aknock spell.9. T h e Cocoon

A five-foot-diameter sphere of webs hangs from theceiling in the northeast comer in this fifteen-foot by ten-foot room. The desiccated bones of many creatures itterthe floor.The cocoon-shaped object is actually the lair of a giantwater spider which has been dead for many years. If thePCs can overcome their caution enough to investigate,oncloser inspection they can see a hole two eet in diameterin the bottom of the sphere. A bracelet is hidden in thewebs on the inside of the sphere. The bracelet is made ofsilver with two small emeralds set into it. When either ofthe emeralds is depressed, it will glow slightly for fiverounds. During this time, the wearer can converse withinanimate objects as in a stone tell spell, except that the ob-ject need not be made of stone-only inanimate. Evencorpses can be queried in this manner, although the bodycan only give information on matters that have occurredsince its death. Each stone works once per day and allowsconversation with objects in a five-foot by five-foot area.

Oe Inner Shrine (rooms 10-23)The Inner Shrine is very different from the Outer Shrine.The ever-present slime of the Outer Shrine is found hereonly in the stairwell (room 10) and the corridors. Thispart of the Shrine appears untouched by outside forcesover the centuries since it was submerged. The walls inthe hallways radiate a dim light, a faint purple radiance.Note that the secret doors from the Outer Shrine are allone-way and cant be opened (or indeed found) from theInner Shrine. Because of the unearthly light radiating offthe walls, infravision will not work here.The perimeter of the Inner Shrine is warded by fourten-foot-tall statues of black stone, one at each of the fourcompass points. They represent warriors wielding two-handed swords (each sword being a full eight feet long);their armor and weapons are of very archaic design andquite omate. The southernmost statue is actually a stonegolem which attacks anyone who approaches within fivefeet of it unless shown the completed Chaos Key (inwhich case it will step aside and allow entry into the areathat it guards, area 23). The golem is entrusted withguarding the door and thus will not pursue intrudersmore than thirty feet from its original position.Stone Golem:AC 3 (harder than usual stone);MV 6; HD 14;60hp; THACO 7; #AT 1;Dmg 3dR (fist);SA can cast slow on any

opponent within 10 (once every other round), attacks withsurprise;SDimmune to weapons of less than +2 enchantment,


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by transmute mud to rock, ignores all other spellsas noted;SWslowed for 2d6 rounds by transmute rock to

causes it to lose its immunities to damage-in-for 1 round; SZ L (10 all); ML fearless (20);Int(0);AL N; XP 8000. S ~ I2.

e four doors leading into room 13,16,19 and 22 area distinctive red metal that is warm to the touchan y attempts toknock has a 75%chance of failing.A seam

down the center of each door, with a small hole (actu-yhole) on either side of the seam. The quartz mo ws

s, the door splits along the seam and both halves swingy apart to allow entrance nto the room beyond.The Central StairA set of ornate stairs climbs upward from t

in thef light equal to torchlight. Five bodies lit-the hallway leading into it from thehe bodies appear to be furry but human. Oneem is moaning and moving slightlypossible to pry the stones out of the steps. Oner inspection, the bodies will be found to be those ofeal men. They are all heavily armed-bvi-

there is no sign of any foe. They have nothing oftwo of them carry crossbows usable un-

(see pages 2-3 for his description). If the partyfind another selkie, also dead (if, Perconius sadly claimsthis to be her sister). Her leftd is open, as if the fingers had been pryed apart; by herr, she appears to have been the leader of the party. Theone of the keys to rooms 13,16,19,and 22.

The Room of Draconus the CursedThis room is roughly triangular, thirty feet wide andtyfive feet deep. It appears to be a well-furnished,

A large rug covers theIna large canopy bed covered withk. A dining table and chair of oak occupy thethe room. Neatly placed on the table isempty place setting of silverand crystal. Silver candleers hold two white candles. Ahigh-backed red vel-in the eastem comer of the room, next to an-foot-high book shelf which covers most of the

and it Seems that it has been vacant for many years.

All Lawful characters will have a very uneasy feelingabout this place. The uneasy feeling is caused by a per-manent antipathy spell which affects all Lawful creatures.Any Lawful character must make a saving throw vs.spell or be unable to enter the room. Even if the save ismade, the affected characters each lose one point of Dex-terity per round while they are in the room, up to a max-imum of four points. The lost Dexterity will be returnedat the same rate once the affected person leaves the room.After a few minutes of searching, you feel a slightchill in the air. A whispery, forlorn voice cuts throughthe air: Who visits me after all these centuries? Thevoice comes from a shadowy form sitting in the vel-vet chair. The figure appears human. He is draped inrobes and wears a conical hat, the wide brim of whichhides his features.

If the characters control their fear and talk to the ghost,he proves to be most friendly, actually enjoying the com-pany after so many years alone. He tells them that he isDraconus the Cursed, a former archmage and once oneof the greatest foes of the Shrine before the Lords ofChaos imprisoned him here for eternity Draconus knowsthere are other people wandering in this place, but hewill not reveal that information unless specifically askedif he has seen others. One of those people turned him theothers were some of the undead from this place, but hedidnt get a good enough look at them to realize that theywere undead). He knows little of the state of the Shrinenow. If the players ask him to tell them of the Shrinespast, he will say this:

What you are in now is but a remnant of the orig-inal Temple, the secret part that wasnt destroyed inthe conflict thirteen centuries ago. Ah, it was indeed asight to behold-o beautiful and yet so dangerous.The main chamber was so huge that even the mighti-est of castles could fit within it . So much wealth wasused in the decoration and construction of the placethat the mind reels. Undoubtedly such a great collec-tion of riches had never been seen before nor ever willbe seen again. But be not deceived: lovely it may havebeen, but also deadly-utterly deadly.Its power spread like a blight across this planet andothers, threatening the whole plane. Whole races wereenslaved or destroyed. The world cried out for release.Then came the time of the Great Alliance. All the crea-tures of Law and Neutrality joined forces to combat thetemple, its masters, and its minions. The battle lastedmany years, but in the end we were the victors. We de-stroyed the Temple, but this underground shrine es -caped our sight and survived. The Lords of Chaos werebanished-but not before they had destroyed many ofus. Me they imprisoned, a cruel fate for one who lovedlife and light and companionship.

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''I know little of this part of the temple, but I do-there is another level below this one. Thate power is. Waiting. Growing. Preparing tosummon the Chaos Lords again. Luckily,e lower level is warded by powerful enchantments.ay to get below, a key Here is partf that key"-he gestures, and a small quartz arrow ap-on the table-"May it serve you well. Find thef the key. Join the parts together. Go below. Armedfind the spells needed to crush thisurce of power. Cleanse it. Only thenI be truly free. Yet let me caution you not to be tooof Chaos left behind muchnd magic. Be careful what you take."t and 20th-levelWizard): AC 0, MV 9; HD 10;

50 hp,THACO 11;#AT 1;Dmg special (touch)or by spell;SAtouch ages target by ld4 x 10 years, sight ages viewers 10years and causes them to flee in terror on failed save vs.spell, magic jar; SD intangible; SW may be turned; SZ M(5'11"); M L fearless (19); AL LG (see below); XP 12,000.Spells: charm person, magic missile i Z), protection from evil,read magic: detect evil , ESP,forget, scare, web; hold person (xZ) ,lightning bolt, slow, suggestion; conJnsion, fumb le, polymorphother, wall offire, wall of ice; cone of cold, feeblemind, hold mon-ster, telekinesis, wall of force; geas ( x Z ) , globe of invulnerability,legend lore; limited wish , power word-stun, vanish: mass charm,maze, symbol-fear: Bigby's crushing hand, foresigh t. SpecialItems: ring of three wishes (one wish remaining).Draconus retains all of his power as a 20th-level wiz-nd also has all the normal abilities of a ghost. Unless

ed the first wish in his ringin uncorrupted when trapped in this evil placeLG alignment). Thanks to a second wish fromring before he died, he retained his spellcasting abil-h he can never change his spell selection.If the party attackshim, raconus calls out for them toat-

, he lets loose, beginning with cone of cold and poly-If severely injured, Draconus becomeslimited wish to heal himself. Evenethereal, he cannot leave the confines of the room.f his condition, he asks the adventurers to helpncourages them to use magic spells, items, any-of to help him out of his situation. Inhe insists on it, and threatens them if they do not t rytheir attempts are futile (and they will be), he beginsem about the outside world, wanting to knowt exists now beyond his small room.He tries to keep them talking to him for as long as pos-s that they give him something

, , .a book, a bauble . . . anything. HeI

If the party destroy the ghost, they can freely searchthe room. In the bookshelf they will find a small quartzarrow (this is the one Draconus would otherwise give theparty, one of the keys to rooms 13, 16 , 19, and 22). All ofthe books are written in an ancient and forgotten lan-guage. Anything taken from this room, except the arrow,will rot and turn o dust in six turns.12. An Unusual Door

This room is roughly triangular, thirty feet wideand twenty-five feet deep. A wooden door is situatedin the middle of the northwest wall. A small pile ofbones is in the southeast comer,The door is actually a mimic named Bevidere. He isquite intelligent and very hungry He speaks an old formof the Common tongue and is willing to trade his trea-sure, a "small pointy rock," for some food. The rock is, infact, one of the quartz arrows that serve as the keys torooms 13,16,19, and 22. If the party kills Bevidere, theywill find the arrow hidden behind him. He would like toleave this room but has stayed here because he has seena large group of ghouls walking through the halls and hedoes not want to fight them. The inhabitants in thisShrine do not realize he is anything other than a door. Hecame to this Shrine as an awesome "magic box" on theback of an Isar dwarf.

Bevidere the mimic:AC 7; MV 3; HD 8; 51hp; THACO 13;#AT1; Dmg 3d4 (door slam or pseudopod);SA surprise;SD cam-ouflage, glue (holds fast anything touching the mimic), im-mune to acid and to molds, slimes, and puddings; SZ L; MLchampion (15);Int very (12);AL N; XP 1,400.Bevidere's tactics are thus: if only a character or twoapproaches him, he attacks to kill. However, if the entireparty approaches the door (Bevidere), he pretends he isan awesome mighty portal and uses his mimic ability tomake the door change, looking in turn ike a stone door,a brick door, various wooden doors, part of the wall, etc.while he is changing, he explains to the party that he is a

mighty magic item placed here to guard the secrets of theShrine. However, he is willing to cooperate with the ad-venturers and help them on their quest. . . f they will ex-plain their quest to them. And if they also help him inturn. He explains that mighty magic doors need to befed, and he has not been fed for a while. If the characterstake his hints and give him lots of food, he cooperateswith them and does not attack. If the player characterstalk about keys or treasures, or anything that might giveBevidere the idea that they might be interested in hisbauble, the mimic tells them he has a great treasure theycould undoubtedly use. However, he demands morefood before turning it over (if the party appears menac-ing, the demand turns into a heart-rending request). Ifthey comply, he spits the arrow out of a key-hole that mo-mentarily appears and then disappears again. He even

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so far as to tell the party that he heard a man in redblack robes (Perconius) say something about search-or "the Chaos Key." The fellow seemed eager to findit fell into "the wrong hands." If the players arely to Bevidere, he asks that they take him along. Hef much use to them, as magic doors("a million and one uses! We. We close. We block halls and openings. . .").Surelyof great aid to them in timesver happens, he will not tell the ad-rers that he is a mimic. If they suspect he is a mimic,admit it, whatever the evidence. If the party

a char-

Pool RoomA softly glowing pool, ten feet in diameter, occupieser of this trapezoidal room (itself about twentynd fifteen feet deep). The pool seems to bet fifteen feet deep; the glitter of coins can be seen

pool" is actually a group of three water weirds.weirds (3):AC 4; M V 12; HD 3+3;hp 25 each;THACO 15;1; Dmg drowning; SA target must save vs. paralyzation

be pulled into pool to drown (save vs. paralyzation eachon any failed save);SD invisible in water, con-water elementals (50%chance), slashing and piercing in-a single point of damage per hit, half-damage from firedamage on successful saving throw); SW domed by in-

killed by purih water (one weird per spell),two rounds to form; SZ L (12' long); ML(13); nt very (11);AL CE; XP 420 each.

oom's real treasure rests in a secret compartmentm of the pool. Removing the stone that cov-

ped. A failed Remove Traps roll discharges the trap,the chest or attempting to pickut first disarming the trap. Five small poi-arts fires out of the chest: one each from the top,nt, back, and each side. The needles have a THACO of3 points of damage to anyone its, who must also make a saving throw vs. poison.indicates he or she takes 20 points of damage;uses death. The chest can be forced open on and Bars/Lift Gates roll. Inside the coffer isal rod. This is one of the pieces ofChaos Key.ius the cleric-illusionist knows of the waterkill them when he getsto it. But for now he has more important things

on his mind, like finding the Chaos Key, and so has ig-nored the pool so far.14. More Dead Selkie

This roughly triangular room is thirty feet wide andtwenty five feet deep. It is readily apparent that a battlerecently took place here. Three dead selkie lie on thefloor.They are heavily armed and obviously membersof the same ill-fated party that lies in the hall outside.A small iron box sits on the floor next to a block ofstone which has been removed from the wall, reveal-ing a hollow space.

Characters who investigate more closely will find thatthe bodies of two undead creatures lie on the floor amidthe dead Selkie. These are wights, the former defendersof this room, slain by the selkies. This is the only roomthat the Selkie got to on their foray into the temple beforedisaster overtook them. The box is not locked and nottrapped. It is also empty, except for a velvet cushion. Thecushion has an indentation in it as if something, approx-imately two and a half inches long and very thin, hadbeen resting on it. If the party has one of the quartz ar-rows they will be able to tell that just such an arrow madethis mark. The dead selkie on the top of the shrine (area10) had the key from this room until it was taken from hisbody by Perconius.

This room is roughly triangular, being thirty feetwide and twenty five feet deep. In i t are four statues,forming a square with one gargoyle at each of the car-dinal directions (north, south, east, west). The statuesare ten feet apart and have glassy eyes. They all depictfour-armed, eight-foot-tall gargoyles. Each figureholds a large gem. The north gem is deep blue, thesouth gem is blood red, the east gem is crystal-clear,and the west gem is tawny yellow.

This room is actually a very elaborate trap. All of thegems radiate magic. If any gem is disturbed, it will shat-ter. At the same time, the door slams closed (consider itto have a Strength of 2 5 ) and refuses to open (treat aswizard locked).On the very next round, the statues beginto emit an acrid smelling, colorless gas. The gas causesitching on the first round, ld4 points of damage onround 2, ld6 points on round 3, ld 8 on round 4, andldlO on rounds 5-10. A successful saving throw vs.breath weapon at a -3 penalty results in half-damage.Note that the gas is corrosive: after eight rounds of ex-posure, all items in the room except the Key compo-nents, door, and statues must begin making item savingthrows vs. acid or crumble. The trap can be shut offbyreplacing the shattered gem with another of equal value(100 gp). The party can also escape by forcing the door,passwall, etc.

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. .

The real treasure of the room can be found in a secretartment in the floor in the center of the room. Theartment can be located just like a secret door (1-in-character making a thorough search ofroom; 2-in-6 for elves). Inside the secret compartmentsmall quartz arrow. Unfortunately, the arrow hassmeared with a contact poison; anyone who touchesmust save vs. poison or be para-or ld6 turns in addition to suffering 10 points off who checks for traps on the arrow has

of the keys to the,19, and 22..The Sword in the Stoneis trapped. When the door isfly out (THACO IO), inflictingon anyone they strike; rememberstruck make a saving throw vs. poison and note down(this is just to make the party nervous; there isy no poison on the darts).Any thief who succeedshis or her Find Traps rolls before opening the door au-ly finds and can disarm this false trap. However,or she detects for traps a second time, the char-es the second trap. If not detected and disarmed% penalty to the Remove Traps roll), the hidden trap

explodes when the door is opened, inflicting 10 points ofmagical heat damage to all within 10 feet.This is another spot where the PCs may encounter Per-conius; if so , he will come upon the party as they are outside this room just after they have set off the first trapThis time he is in the guise of a dwarf from Isar. Refer tohis character description (page 3) for more information.

A soft blue glow lights this trapezoidal room (sometwenty feet wide and fifteen feet deep) . The glowconies from a finely wrought sword of silver.only thejeweled hilt and base of the blade can be seen, however,as the sword is embedded in a block of black crystal.If a character happens to look up, he or she sees askeleton in rusted chainmail hanging from the ceilingthirty feet overhead. Closer investigation shows it is actually stuck in place; see the description below of thefinal trap protecting the sword.The Lords of Chaos put the sword here for safe keeping from their enemies until a new Champion of Chaoshould arise and claim it. All the Lords of Chaos had todo to get the sword was to approach it, say Bundushatur (which simply means Shrine of Chaos in theancient gehreleth tongue), and pull it free from the crystal. Lesser beings who tried to steal the sword would falvictim to the trap and be forced to gaze upon their losprize until they starved.If the sword is touched by a player character, the doorimmediately slam shut and lock very tightly (itwill take 50points of Shength to even budge them). The stone walls become transparent the next round, revealing a highly refleetive surface beneath the walls, floor, doors, and even thblock of crystal; only the ceiling remains unchanged, keeping the same soft amber color. The round after that, the jewels on the swords hilt begin emitting beams of light at therate of threeper round for three rounds (a total of nine in allThe beams have a THACO of 10but ignore armor (magicaand Dexterity bonuses to Armor Class do count); they reflecoff he mirrored walls and floors either until they hit a targeor until they dissipate (after the third bounce). A characte

struck by a beam must save vs. petrification at a -3 penaltyor be affected as if under a rmerse grmity spell, falling towards the ceiling. These characters cannot control or slowtheir rate of descent (although grabbing on to something likthe sword hilt would keep a character hanging upside downin place for as long as he or she could maintain the grip)Those who hit the ceiling take 3d6 points of damage fromthe fall and discover that the roof is soft and sticky In factthe entire ceiling has been coated with a n improved form osovereign glue. A character who stays in contactwith the ceiling for a full round becomes stuck like the unlucky souwhose boneshang here. Within that round the character caonly get loose if someone on the floorpulls him or her dow(forexample,with a rope).Thermersex/auity effectonly lastfor thirteen rounds, after which any character not stucplummets to the floor for another 3d6 points of damage.


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any part of the character's skm,mor touching the ceiling is perma-

f; those held by armor may have more difficultyDM should use his or her judgment, depending onof armor involved). Characters stuck by the skinhair can only escape by going ethereal, by applica-of universal so lvent , or by cutting off the relevantor even maimingroom at one time had a guardian, immune to thebeams, which dispatched any characters not levi-the ceiling. That guardian is long since deceased;t remains to hint at its presence are clumps of pur-d black hair in one corner.compartment in the side of the crystal blocky visible to anyone looking at it when the wallsblock turn transparent) contains a two-inch crescentfour hole5 evenly spaced on its outerrough it. This is part of the Chaos Key. Opening

magical sword, it only comes free of the blockd "Bundashatur" is spoken. Characters whoa jew-t worth 5000 gp.Should they extract it intact, theo chaos has a +4 attack and damage bonus againstlevitatea day. The sword is intended for Chaotics andands of a Chaotic charac-20f damage (save vs. spell for half-damage);char-with Neutral alignments take 10points of damager half). The damage applies each time a non-character grasps the sword.of the Wraith

This roughly triangular room has a very stronglike that of blood. Much of the stuff appears toA human or humanoid skele-a shortsword pro-g from its ribcage.

a number of wraiths into this room;as guards for the entrance to thevel once he has located the Chaos Key.(14):AC4; M V 12,fly 24 (B);HD +3;hp 35 each;THACO

#AT 1;Dmg Idb+level drain (touch);SA touch drains oneofexperience;SDimmune to normal weapons, half-dam-e from silver weapons, immune to poison, paralysis, sleep,and cold-based spells; SW holy water (2d4

f damage per vial), magical weapons cause fulldam-troyed by raise dead, can be turned; SZ M; ML(15); Int very (11-12); AL LE; X P 2000 each.

Perconius did not search this room carefully enough.A part of the key (a quartz arrow) is here, in the skull ofthe long-dead warrior; it is one of the keys to rooms 13 ,16, 19, and 22. The shortsword protruding from herribcage is made of cold iron. The rotted leather pouch ather side still holds a potion ofextra healing.18.Room of the Sandstone Statualy

This room has five statues in it that seem to becarved from sandstone. They all seem vaguely humanand appear to be facinga slightly glowing chest in therear of the room. On closer inspection, the statues looklike adventurers. The detail s poor and most of the fea-tures seem to have eroded away, but you can discernthe following: three are wearing platemail, one is wear-ing chainmail, and one is wearing robes. Three of thefigures are carrying swords-the woman has a two-handed sword and the two men broadswords. The manin chainmail has a mace. The woman in robes is carry-ing a staff. They appear posed as if frozen in mid-step.

The "statues" are actually minions of Chaos placedunder a temporal stasis spell; dust that settled on themover the centuries has hardened into a layer like sand-stone. Two rounds after the party enters, the minionsbegin to revive. Their stony eyelids suddenly lift, reveal-ing human eyes beneath. The sand starts to crumble offuntil the crumbling becomes a cascade. The entire reani-mation process takes three rounds, after which time theminions are fully functional. Characters can attack the"statues" before they are mobile, in which case theirArmor Classes are all effectively AC 0.Hjordeks (9th-level Fighter): AC 2 (platemail, Dexteritybonus); MV 12; 73 hp; THACO 12 (6 with two-handed sword

+3 , specialization, and Strength bonus);#AT 2; Dmg ld10+8(two-handed sword +3, specialization, Strength bonus); SAweapon specialization;SZ M (6'); M L fanatic (18);AL CN;X P2000. Str 18/70%,Dex 15, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 9, Chr 18.

Fontein (7th-level Fighter): AC 3 (platernail);MV 12; 59 hp;THACO 14 (11 with broadsword+Z and Strength bonus); #AT3/2; Dmg 2d4+3 (broadsword +2, Strength bonus); SZ M(6'3");ML champion (16); AL CN;X P 650. Str 17, Dex 14, Con18, Int 13,Wis 12 , Chr 18.Nezzi (7th-level Fighter): AC 0 (platemail, Dexterity bonus);MV 12;70hp; THACO 14 (12with Strength bonus);#AT 3/2;

h g d4+5 (broadsword, Strength bonus);SZ M (5'6"); MLelite (14);AL CN; X P 650. S h 18/97%,Dex 17, Con 15, Int 17,Wis 10,Chr 17.

Anselm (8th-level Cleric):AC 1(chainmail and shield, Dexteritybonus);MV 12; 49 hp; WAC0 16;#AT 1;h g d6+1 (mace);SA spells; SD spells;SZ M (6');ML fanatic (17); AL CN; X P1400. Str 15, De x 17, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 18,Chr 17. Spells: curelight wounds ( x3 ) , curse, sanctuary; aid, hold person (X2), know

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alignment, silence 15 radius; bestow curse, c a m e blindness, dispelmagic, prayer; babble, cure serious wounds, poison.(9th-level Wizard): AC 7 (Dexterity bonus);MV 12;23hp;THACO 18;#AT 1;Dmg 1d6 (staff);SA spells;SD spells,brooch

of shielding (34 points of protection left); SZ M (57);MLsteady (12);ALCN; XI 2000. St r 5, Dex 17,Con 13 , W 17,Wis12,Chr 18.Spells:charm person, color spray, magic missile ( x );hypnotic pattern, invisibility, Imitate; dispel ma pc , lightning bolt,slow; minor globe of inuulnernbility, polymorph other; chaos.Each of these characters is a former champion of Chaosted to the cause of the Chaos Lords, willingly placedefend the holy shrine against future in-rs. Should the player characters attempt to befriendampions of Chaosif one of the PCs carries the silver sword from16).Note that all five are highly charismatic, being

DM should present them asfellow adventurers who happen to serve the op-from the one the PCs espouse-the more thecharacters can identify with them, the better.If at any point the PCs arouse the guardians suspicions,know alignment. If the player characters dis-any signs of being opposed to the cause of Chaos,theintruders to leave this holy place,the injunction with force if necessary. If at-pions fight to the best of their abilities., ably flanked by Fontein and Nezzi. Reina levitatesout of harms way, protects herself with the minorglobe,foesas possible out of the fight. h e l m tays out offirst, using spells like hold person, dispel magic,silence to tilt the balance of the battle. When the fight-sanctuary upon himself andes to their aid with his healing spells, joining the battlef one or more of the warriors falls.If the player characters defeat them, any champion cap-alive faces his or her captors with all the courage of aan y PC with a Chaotic compo-his or her alignmentas a traitor to Holy Chaos.If,s defeat the player characters, theyp any survivors and begin an intense indoctrinationram to convert their captives o the cause of Chaos, bol-r native Charisma and conviction with as manyspells as possible ( cham person, enthrall, sug-etc.).The champions also begin to explore the Shrinecurrent condition and re-establish contactLords of Chaos so they canturn heu captives overlan a chance to escape. Remember, however, that theexperienced adventurers themselves andingly refuse to fall for any simple tricks.The glowing chest is locked and trapped. If the trap isa glass globe shatters on the inside of the

a cloud of poison gas. Anyone within tent of the chest when it is opened must save vs. poison or

lose 5 hit points per round until death occurs or the poi-son is negated. If the trap is disarmed,a character can takethe globe of gas and use it as a missile weapon (althoughcare must be taken in carrying it, as the globe is very frag-ile and could easily break prematurely).The chest holds aquartz arrow (one of the keys to rooms 13,16,19, and a)a gold ring with an hourglass etched on it, a pot ion o fe xtrahealing, 2550 gp, and a gem worth 9000 gp.19.Room of the Beholder

This trapezoidal twenty-foot by fifteen-foot roomseems quite empty However, as soon as you enter, abeholder appears, floating in its center, and attacks!If anyone remaim calm enough to take a careful look, heor she can see a dim, flickering beam coming from the farwall and striking the beholder. The beholder remains sta-

tionary in the beam, attacking with only its eyestalks.Thisflickering beam is actually the source of the illusion, andanyone who has noticed the beam and succeeds in disbe-lieving the beholder notices that the image of the creatureflickers a bit as well. Such a character has a 25% chance ofnoticing a small object floating within the im a g c a smallcrystal sphere about three nches in diameter.The illusionary beholder can be defeated by either oftwo means: by inflicting enough damage in combat tokill the creature, or by covering the flickering beam soas to interrupt the projection. In either case the beholdersuddenly vanishes, and in its place all the surviving char-acters can see the crystal sphere floating about six feet offthe ground. On closer examination, a small crescent ofadamantite can be seen embedded within the tinysphere. The crescent has four holes spaced evenly on itsouter rim and a quarter-inch shaft running through it.The sphere radiates protective magic and cannot beharmed until a dispel magic is cast on it, after which it canbe broken open by either a shatter spell or by inflictingten points of damage on it with a magical weapon. Theadamantite crescent is unharmed by the destruction of itscrystal case. This is another component of the Chaos Key.Illusionary Beholder: AC 0 (body) or 2 (central eye) or 7 (eye-stalks);MV stationary;75 hp (50 for body, 25 for centraleye)plus 12 for each eyestalk; WAC0 5; #AT 1(bite)or 4-10 ( e y ebeams);Dmg 2d4 (bite) or by eye; SA eyebeams (charm per-son, charm monster, sleep, telekinesis,flesk to stone, disintepte,fear, slow, cause serious wound, death ray); SD antimagic ra yfrom central eye (90-degree arc); SZ M (6 diameter); MLfearless (20); Int non (0); AL N; XI none.20. T h e Chest of Skeletons

This roughly triangular chamber has strangely darkwalls. Your light sources seem to dim when thrust intothis room. You can see a large iron chest, its lid securedby a large metal padlock, in the rooms far corner.

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f this room dampen all light. This serves noty aside from the chest, which isand trapped to boot. If the trap is notfirst person to touch the chest is squirteda glowing liquid. The glow is harmless but cannotoff; it eventually fades away after a week orDuring that time, the character glows in the dark withence, adding a +2 bonus to all oppo-ls made against him or her.f i f ty very small (six-

kly, and the round after the chest is opened they will beo attack everyone n the room, although no more thanleave the room, but they may distract the charactersms other inhabitant,a ghost imprisonedin the

nt to Lawful. Zuleika greatly fears oblivion and at-magic ja r into the body of a character (choosingractive female character present if given an op-). If successful, she begins trying to persuade her newding that the character has lost her nerve.f the others seem interested in turning back,off at the first good opportunity to return to civ-and begin enjoying her new stolen life. If her magic

fails, she appears and attacks, fleeing f the player char-

21.The Black RoomThis roughly triangular room is entirely black ex -cept for a three-foot-diameter circle, painted bloodred, in its exact center. Resting in the center of the redcircle is a small quartz arrow.

The floor of this room is strongly magical, but it ap-pears quite normal to the eye. True seeing will reveal thatthere is something not quite right about the black part ofthe floor (the circle itself is completely normal). Theblack floor is actually a huge black pudding which hasbeen placed in temporal stasis. It acts exactly like a normalfloor until someone comes within ten feet of the circle,when it suddenly revives and attacks the party. It natu-rally attacks those standing on it first, then those hover-ing over it, then those standing in the doorway It cannotattack anyone who stands in the red area, though it willpursue characters who leave the room with slow, inex-haustible patience. The quartz arrow is one of the keys torooms 13,16,19, and 22.Black Pudding: AC 6; MV 6; HD 10; 80 hp; THACO 11;#AT 1;Dmg 3d8 (touch); SA corrosion (dissolves flesh, wood, and

metal); SD immune to acid, cold, and poison, lightning boltsand physical attacks split the pudding in two (each smallerpudding does full damage);SW fire and magic missiles donor-mal damage; SZ L; ML fearless (20);Int non (0); AL N; XP 2000.

- . .tbb much for her.ooms 13,16,19, and 22.

Skeletons (50): AC 4; MV 18; HD 1R;hp 2 each; THACO0; #AT 1; Dmg ld2; SD immune to all mind-affecting pellscharm, hold, fear) and cold-based attacks, half-damageSW may be turned (asy water (2d4 points of damage per vial); SZ TML fearless (20); Int non (0); AL N; XP 35 each.

f the chest holds a quartz arrow, one of

the Ghost: AC 0 MV 9; HI) 10; 76 hp; THACO11;#AT; Dmg special (touch);SA sight ages viewer 10 years andthem to flee in terror on a failed saving throw vs.

by ld4210 years, magic jar; SD intan-SW may be turned; SZ M (57); ML steady (12); ALXP 7000.s the characters leave this room, they once again en-

this time in the guise of a triton whothis rnin in the lake. Perconiusat they seldom venture forth on the land. If con-d with this fact, he falls back on the story of being onet quest on behalf of his people. Refer to his descrip-page 3for information on his goals and abilities.

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Done with MirrorsThe walls, floor, and ceiling of this room are cov-

termined due to the confusion of images. The roomppears empty.Near the center of the room is a mirrored chest. Each

f spotting it (2-in-6 for an elf). Simply spottingt help the characters find it, however, ascreate such visual confusion that its actual lo-o determine without the use of trueor some similarly powerful magic. The best waych. Of course, its quite possible for a character who

en there.The chest is both locked and trapped; while the mir-mpts to pick the lock or detect/dis--25% penalties. The trap, if notejects a metal spike (ld10 damage) smearedconfusion on a failed save vs. poi-ring of invisibility (actually aof contrariness),a set of bracers of defenselessness,25005 gems which appear quiteough a successful Appraisal reveals them toThe real treasure of the room is hidden behind the mir-walls to the northeast and southwest.

twor rooms. The northeast room contains aof gold and treasure:300 gp, a small quartz fig-which resembles a ferret (actually afigurine ofwon-a wand of wonder with 12 charges (theis written on the side), and arod that is part of the Chaos Key.When placed on the ground, the statuette will becomell-sized ferret. This ferret is unusually intelligent and5, with 3 hit, a THACO of 20, and a bite that does ld2 points ofinfravision with a range of 60 feetthe following thieving skills: Move Silently loo%,95%,Pick Pockets 70%. It makes an ex-12). The ferret can be used six hoursto thrice per week.The southwest room contains an amulet which glowsa soft white light. The amulet is actually an agathi-werful good being from one of the Upper Planestake on amulet form in order to aid heroes benthe spread of Chaos. Any evil character touch-ulet takes ld12 points of damage (no save). Theinon speaks in a wonderful musical voice that onlydetect evil, turn undead (as a

cleric), and cast the following spells (each onceday, as if a 6th-level cleric):cure light wo unds, protectionail, and sanctuary. The agathmon will remain with

th e character until the Shrine is destroyed, after which shewill assume her natural form, congratulate the hero, anddepart for her home plane. Agathinon are fully described(under Aasimon) in the first PLANESCAPE@ONSTROCOMPENDIL%Pppendix.23. The Way DownThe statue in this area looks exactly like the other threewhich stand in similar nooks at the other three compasspoints. However, it is actually a stone golem and ani-mates to attack any who try to pass behind it. See page 8for the golems stah .Characters who defeat the golem and examine the nookfind the Sign of Chaos etched on the rear wall of the alcovethis should serve as a model for assembling the Chaos Key,once they have gathered all its component parts. Touchingthe sign causes the alcoves walls to slide apart, revealingthe passage beyond. At the end of the passage is anotherChaos Sign, exactly the size of the assembled Chaos Key,engraved in the floor. The only way to access the lowerlevel of the Shrine is to place the Chaos Key in this inden-tation.If the characters do so,the Key merges with the Signand the two begin to swirl in strange, unsettling patterns(characterswho fail their saving throws are affected as if bya hypnotic pa t t e r n ) . The Sign grows larger and larger, fillingthe whole end of the corridor. Then it seems to come apart,revealing a circular staircase in the floor. Characters whowish to reach the lower level must descend this swirlingstaircase one at a time (those whotry to hold on to ropes oreach other are soon swept apart).The journey down the Chaos Stair is a bizarre, harrow-ing trip wherein the character swiftly loses all sense oftime and direction-it is like climbing through an Escherlandscape. All the characters who attempt the passageeventually find themselves stepping into the Hall of theDark Lords (area 26) on the lower level. Since the journeyis so unsettling and disorienting, however, all the characters must make saving throws vs. spell or suffer the effectsof a chaos spell. Lawful characters suffer a 4 penalty totheir saves; Chaotic characters gain a +4 bonus. In addi-tion, Characters alignments may shift for the duration ofthe time they spend within the Shrine. Those who fail asecond saving throw (no modifiers) find their alignmentsshifting towards Chaos: thus Lawful characters becomeNeutral, Neutral characters become Chaotic, and Chaoticcharacters shift towards Chaotic Neutral. Moreover, char-acters who were already Chaotic find themselves hard-putto resist the constant silent voices that begin to urge themto commit themselves, body and soul, to the Chaos Lords.


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Characters who successfully negotiate the Chaos Stairsfind themselves stepping into a hallway of dark stone.Finally, without warning you come to the end ofthe bizarre stairway, stepping suddenly onto solidstone. When your head clears, yo u can see that youstand in a hallway of dark stone. There i s no sign ofthe stairs you just left. Ten feet ahead on either side ofyou loom wooden doors, age-darkened but verythick. Farther down the hall you see a dim multi-col-ored light that seems to emanate from the very walls.An unearthly chill fills the air.

Any paladin or Lawfully aligned priest feels very un-comfortable, as if an evil or Chaotic presence permeatedthe very stones of the place. The last character to negoti-ate the stairs finds the Chaos Key in his or her pocket, al-though he or she may not notice it at the time.24. Fire Mirage RoomIf characters listen at this door, they will hear nothing. Thedoor is neither locked nor trapped. There is, however, a spellcast on the room beyond activated when the door opens.

Unlike the chilly hallway, the air in this place i s hotand burns your nostrils. Flames leap up from littlepools of lava spread throughout this cavern. Geysersof hot mud erupt from time to time, releasing a sul-furous stink into the air. Steam rises from the floor ofthis inferno.A small path, about two feet wide, can bedimly glimpsed through the steam as i t winds its wayamong the lava pools. It leads to a golden door about90 feet away; the door glistens in the muggy heat.

The lava, geysers, and steam are all illusions createdby a miruge arcane spell which conceals the bare stone ofthe chamber. Only the path is real, threading its wayabove the true floor of the room 30 feet below, but the il-lusion conceals a ten-foot gap in the elevated causeway.The skeletons of creatures litter the floor, impaled uponthe many sharp stalagmites that cover the ground. Anycharacter who steps from the path, or who fails to checkahead for traps, plummets for 3d10 points of damage (totheir companions, it seems that the character has sunkinto a mudhole or disappeared behind flames andsmoke). Note that the illusion appears real to all thesenses and thus will be very difficult to disbelieve. Likethe rest of the room, the golden door is an illusion; noth-ing but bare stone wall lays beyond it.25. T h e Keeper of the Hall.If a thief or bard listens to the door of this room, he or shewill hear a strange buzzing which sounds like somestrange type of music.

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You open the door to a very strange scene. A veryand wrinkled man sits at a desk of black wood,. Hundreds of insects cover the room, many ofchirping in strange yet beautifulis provided by beetlesh crawl about on he floor, their abdomens glow-fiery red. Hundreds of tomes and papers lie scat-on thein some unknown language. A large barrel sitsA tube comes from the barrel and i sted to the pen the old man holds. He doesntto notice the party and continues to write, occa-y stopping long enough to grab an insect andit into his mouth. The noises as he bites down onturns your stomachs.When you enter, he looks up and says, So long, so1have had visitors. Too few nowadays seekult the wise. Almost do I forget the last to seekof the Hall. Ah, but I forget my manners. 1f the Hall. Who are you and what

If the characters detect for evil, everything in thisadiates evil, except for the old man. If they men-ck (see below). However, if they con-r to the following paragraphs.

Asm is very glad to have visitors. If the characters tell

him hey are here to destroy the Shine, he does not believthem and says something along the linesof Sure ou axe,ha. If someone asks about the hallway and statues outsidehe will say that thegreatest heroes of Chaoscame here to geweapons of power from the Lords of Chaos; here a petitionemay be granted wealth beyond the dreams of avarice. If thparty askshim o accompany them he refuses (No, no. Tobusy. Scribble, scribble, scribble all the time, eh?). If someone asks about hiswriting, he becomes quite pleased

Things. I write of things. Marvelous things.Hideous things. Unsettling things that no one has everknown or wanted to know. I write of futures and ofpasts, of whens and wheres and nows. Things unseenand unheard and unimagined, this is what I write.The DM should feel free to have him begin recitingvarious works he composed (T he Blood War s:An Unbiased Accoun t; Law: Wh at I s It Good For? [Absolutely Nothing l; W h y Did the Paladin Cross the Road? and other tripesIn Praise of Holy Chaos; 101 Things To Do W it h Dead Adventurers). Anyone who tries to read any of Asarus writings finds i t to be in some unknown language thacontinually changes and shifts; those who study iclosely via Read Languages or read magic are confused fold6 rounds and must make saving throws vs. dea thmagic or convert to Chaotic Neutral on the spot. Onlycharacters who are already CN can read the writing

without harm.If the characters question Asaru about the Shrinethey find that his information is woefully out of date; hedoes not even know that it was destroyed and sunk, nothat it has now arisen from the waters of the lake. If theypress him for information, he becomes peevish and saysGo away, I dont want to talk to you no more. If theparty continues to pester him after this warning, he begins to rant:I told them. Didnt I tell them? But they wouldntlisten, would they? No they wouldnt listen, and nowits too late. We didnt want to hurt them; we thoughtthey were nice and were so lonely. But they botheredus, and now its too late. We are sorry, but we didwarn you. While he is speaking Asaru begins toshake and his voice becomes deeper until it becomes alow croak. His skin splits open along the back and alarge green froglike creature emerges.

If the player characters attack, they automatically wininitiative. Asaru is a green slaad polymorphed to lookhuman. He attacks with ferocious bestial violencejoined by the insects who swarm over the character(treat as an insect plague spell). The ten fire beetles scurryinto the corners and under the furniture and papersonly fighting if attacked.


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Beetles (10):AC 4; MV 12;HD +2;hp 10,9,76,9,5, 10,5,THACO 19;#AT 1;Dmg 2d4 (mandibles);SZ S (2 %); ML(12); Int non (1);AL N; XP35 each.Green Slaad philosopher: AC 0; M V 9; HD 9+5; 64 hp;ACO 11;#AT 3;Dmg ld6+2/ld6+2/2d8 claw/claw/bite);spell-like powers (seebelow); SD immune to nonmagicalMR 50%; SZ L (7);ML elite (14); Int average (10);L CN; Xl 11,000. Special abilities (each once per day): dark-10 radius, delayed blast fireba ll, detect invisib ility, detect

E S P , fear, locate object, produce flame , telekinesis. Specialring of spell storing (dimension door).

the slaad is getting the worst of the melee, it wavesought to give player characters a hintsomething is going on) and casts its delayed blastfire-All the insects scurry out of the room (another hintvant) while the s had uses its magical ring toety The characters now have 5 rounds to getf the room before it is engulfed in magical flames.ad came here long ago in the hopes of chroni-the Shrines transformation of this world to the ser-If the characters leave Asaru alone beforeback into s had form, he ignores them.

y do not hurt the Shrine, attacking if necessary toa sack under the desk inld have time to grab this sackdelayed blast fireb all goes off. How-f they stop to search the room (checking for secretn drawers, sorting among the papers, etc.)5 gems (worth 30 gp each), a ring off ire resis-a potion of invulnerability (appears as a silver-grayscarab of protection5 charges of level-drain/death spell protection left,a lucks tone in the form of a slightly glowing rubybonus to all saving throws and checks for any-a Chaotic component in his or her alignment; itno effect on true Neutral characters and imposes apenalty for any Lawful character).

of the Dark LordsThis long hallway is strange indeed. The walls,or, and ceiling are all made of a quartz-like materialemits a strange scintillating light.A s you step intohall, the walls begin to sing-an eerie ululationseems to rise above and sink below your level ofYou feel almost as if you could see or taste the

anysilence (ld4+1 points per round for l d6 rounds,ch the wailing subsides unless the wall is struck

again).The eerie song is a hymn in praise of Chaos. Non-Chaotic characters must make a saving throw every turnthat they are in the hallway to avoid being cortfused (asper the spell) for one turn by the music; Lawful creaturesand characters suffer a -2 penalty to the saving throw.By contrast, Chaotic creatures and characters automati-cally gain a +2 bonus to all their rolls for one roundevery turn (roll randomly to determine which round thistakes effect in). Player characters who plug their earsneed not make saving throws, but the DM will no doubtderive much amusement from their attempts to commu-nicate thereafter.Three rounds after characters attack the wall, or oncethey begin to explore down the corridor, the PCs are at-tacked by three eight-foot-tallwinged apes. One appearsjust ahead of the lead character, one attacks from over-head, and the third flies in low from behind. The crea-tures speak in hissing rhymes; if one of them fails torhyme, the other two will become angry with it (but notdistracted enough to ignore the fight). If the charactersdisplay the Sign of Chaos, the winged apes draw backand ask if the player characters are gods, the very Lordsof Chaos, their wondrous creators in one of their manyguises. Clever characters who play along soon have thecreatures on their knees bowing humbly before them.The winged apes thereafter offer to accompany the char-acters everywhere, which could create an awkward situ-ation. Note that a false step on the player characterspart-for example, asking the creatures to attack one ofthe other minions of Chaos-makes the winged apes re-alize these are not the Lords of Chaos and attempt tocarry off one of the false gods.Winged Apes (3):AC 4; Mv 6, fly 18 (C); HD 9; hp 53,51,59;THACO 11;#AT 2; Dmg ld12/ld12 (claw/claw); SA if bothclaws hit, automatically rend for an additional ld8 points andcan bite for an addition ld4+1points (bite requires attack roll);

SD cannot be surprised, immune to fear; MR 60%; SZ L (8);ML champion (16); In t low (5,6,7);AL CN; Xl 3000 each.Once the characters have dealt with the winged apesand gotten used to the confusion of light and sound,they can make out more of the hallway before them. Adark figure stands at the end of the hall, 120 feet awayfrom where they first appeared. Alcoves stand on eitherside of the hall. A closer approaches shows that eachcontains a statue of exquisite workmanship. Still closerexamination reveals that each statue appears to have

been carved from a single stone. All are fabulous trea-sures in their own right and each statues is described in-dividually below. These statues were created by theLords of Chaos; each in his or her own image (or, rather,in one of that Chaos Lords favorite images). If de-stroyed, they reform 26 hours later (any pieces carriedoff dissolve and disappear). The statues guard portalsinto the rooms beyond; each gift room can only bereached by complying with that statues request. Defeat-ing the statue does not activate the gate but merely seals


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xtra-dimensional spaces beyond the por-passwall, dimension door, teleport, or

. ShivThis statue, carved from a single block of amber,orrid creature. Approximately ten andn; patches of rotting flesh hang from its torso.hands.hing's head is a great stag's skull with a ten-foot

A pair of rotting bat-wings can hethe creature's back. The statue ra-yellow light.The statue is highly magical. If the party tries to harmstatue, it will attack. If the characters simply walk

them, animating and attacking if they fail to halt.and tilts to look down at them. In a slow, gravellye it asks who the suppliants are, why are they here,how goes the spread of Chaos. If the characters lie toare not of Chaos and attacks.

of Shiv the Chaos Lord: AC -2; MV 15; HD 10; 75 hp;THACO 11;#AT 2; Dmg 2d8/2d8 (claw/claw); SA each suc-cessful hit inflictsa disease identical to mummy rot on thetarget; SD immune to weapons of less than +2 enchantment,ignores all other spells except as noted; MR 50%; SW slowedfor 2d6 roundsby transmute rock to mud, stone toflesh negatesall its immunities to damage-causing spells for 1 round; SZL (10%'); ML fearless (20); Int exceptional (16); AL CN; XP8000. The statue is worth 90,000 gp but is very bulky andwould require the entireparty to carry it.If one of the party approaches to within five feet of theue, or asks it what it is doing here, it will say, "I am inf the Heart of Darkness, that which is called Shiv.in the image of He who is Lord of Pestilence, rotting,uption of the flesh.I am the image of Shiv, Giver ofI, who am master of all this, desire a sacrifice.who hast given the gift of death to so many, hastnd favor in My eyes. Give willingly some token of thyI shall give thee a token of power to makeIf someone gives a body to thene of the dead apes would do nicely), the statue

d consume it whole. It then speaks again, "As thefice was given, so shall the prize. Step into the alcoveIf someone stepsIf someone enters the outline, he or she

be transported to room 27. Any numher of people cane. See room 27 for further details on the "prize."

B. The Night LordThis statue is carved from a deep green stone. Thefigure it represents is quite strange: a six-foot-tallhumanoid with a completely featureless face. Thestatue radiates a dim yellow-green aura and seems toshift and flicker without actually moving.

If someone approaches within five feet of the statue, amelodious yet whispery voice fills his or her head,"Greetings, mortal. I am the image of the Night Lord, theNameless, the Unseen, the Silent, Lord of the hats and ofthe insects and of the cats. I am master of all that lurks inthe darkness and lives off the fear of others. 1 am dream-weaver, Lord of Nightmare. I feed on the thoughts ofothers. I, who am master of all this, desire a sacrifice.Givewillingly this token of thy love for Me, and I shall givethee a token of power to make thee strong in Our cause."If someone then approaches the statue, it reaches out,grasps his or her head, and begins to pulse slightly Thatcharacter begins to feel light-headed at the loss of ld4points of both Intelligence and Wisdom (roll for each).The statue then speaks again, "As the sacrifice wasgiven, so shall the prize. Step into the alcove and be re-warded." If someone steps into the alcove, the statue dis-appears, leaving only a glowing outline. If someone stepsthrough the outline, he or she appears in room 28. Anynumber of people may step through. See room 28 for fur-ther details regarding the "prize."Characters who wish to converse with the statue maydo so . It knows the deepest fears and desires of each andcan recount any nightmare a character has ever experi-enced; characters reminded of these nightmares mustsave vs. death magic (with a4 penalty for Lawful char-acters) or suffer the effects of afeav spell. Even more dis-concerting, it takes on the face of anyone it talks to,switching back and forth in an instant as it addresses dif-ferent people. Characters who try to pass without payingit proper homage are punished for the lack of deference;it points to each offender, who then relives his or her sin-gle worst nightmare. The DM should improvise eachspecific nightmare based on the characters' past histories(using as defaults such classics as friends turning out tosecretly he monsters, falling without being able to wakeup, and running in slow motion from rapidly approach-ing horrors).Statue of the Night L o r d THACO 12; AC -1; MV 15; HD 10; 70

hp; THACO 11;#AT 1;Dmg ld l0 + special (touch);SA touchdrains ld4 point of both Intelligence and Wisdom (roll sepa-rately for each-lost points can be restored by restoration,limited wish, or wish; anyone reduced to a score of zero dies);SD immune to weapons of less than +3 bonus, immune tomost spells; SW can only be affected by illusions; MR 50%;SZ M (6'); ML fearless (20); Int genius (17);AL CN; XP 000.The statue is made of chryosprase and is worth 65,000.

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of the Seven DarksThe statue in this alcove is carved from a single

is the figure carved from it: a man who ison the hilt of a great sword, apparentlyout of adamantite, held point-down before him.and sword alike glow with a faint red light.

someone approaches within five feet of the statue, aas beautiful as the image fills his or her mind:I who am in the image of thy lordBeautiful, Lord of the Seven Darks, Duke of theells, Chief among the Lords of Chaos,do seek afrom thee, My loving followers. Give unto meI ask and receive power most glorious. In return forsuch a small and trivial request, I shall give thee apower such as thou hast never known. Devote

ches the statue, he reach out for theor her head in his hands, and kisseson the brow. Both statue and character glowa n eerie red light and the character feels dizzy andshe revives in two rounds). That character noadow or reflects in a mirror. In addition,he can never benefit from raise dead, resurrection, orrnation. The statue releases the character, smiles, andso shall the prize.then phases out, leaving only the red outline. If a char-r enters that outline, he or she will be transported to29. Any number of characters can be transported inSee room 29 for further details on the prize.

, it punishes their inattention by castingfinger ofat the first three offenders.of Erok AC 4;M V 15; HD 12; 65 hp; THACO 9; #AT 1;g ld10+9 (sword)or ld6+10 (slap);SA soul drain,fingerdeath (thriceper day);SD immune to weapons of less than

bonus and all mind-controlling or life-draining magics;R 70%; SZM (54); ML fearless (20);Int supra-genius 20);CN; XP 9000. The emerald statue is worth 100,000 g p but

bulky and will take several people to carry.

This statue is made from a single deep-blue sap-at glows with a blue-black aura. The statue isery, very beautiful woman, standing only abouteet tall with short dark hair, arched eyebrows,d a seductive smile that gives a hint of dainty fangs.nd her neck is a medallion in the shape of an in--pointed star.

anyone approaches within five feet of the statue, i tak. Greetings, beloved. I am the image of KaraMistress of the Eternal Cycle, Lady of the

Dark Magics. My power is that of Life itself. All who liveare My playthings and subjects, to do with as I please, forwithout Me they would not exist. No life has meaningunless it is devoted to My service. I would bestow uponthee My favors, should thou prove thy devotion. In re-turn for a human life, I will give thee the key to greatpower. Only with a life can this be done, beloved, forthus is the will of Kara. If someone agrees to sacrificehimself or herself to the statue, she spreads her arms as ifto embrace that character. When he or she steps forward,the character is folded into her arms, whereupon statueand character alike fade from view, leaving behind aglowing blue-black outline. Any character who dares tostep into the gate finds himself or herself in room 30.Characterswho balk at the sacrifice or who simply passby the statue are greeted by Kara, which seeks to engagethem in conversation.She asks if they can turn her into acreature of flesh who can leave this place, claiming that bythe very nature of her maker she herself cannot be made toserve Chaos but is free to choose her own actions. Shouldthey accept her company and cast an appropriate spell,she assumes flesh-and-blood form and asks to accompanythem. Should they refuse, she weeps bitterly, real humantears coming from the statues stony eyes. If she is able toconvince them, she devotes herself to the character withthe highest Charisma, claiming that she must stay within30 feet of a living person in order to remain animate. Shewill promiseanythmg, even joining them in their attack onthe Shriie, for the chance to leave her post.Statue of Kara the Traveler: AC -3; MV 18, fly 15, swim 15; HD10; 70 hp; THACO11;#AT 1;Dmg 2d10 (electrical bolt) or 5d4(magic missiles); SA spells (see below), energy drain (touchdrains ld4 levels if she wishes it); SDinnatespell turning ability(a t will), spell-like abilities (see below); M R 50%;SW vulnera-bility to own spells (seebelow);SZ M (5); ML average (10);Int

genius (18);AL CN;XI12,000. Special Abilities:Kara ca n castany enchantmentspell once per round but the spell affects heras well as her target; she can also blink, dimension door, and tele-port without m or at will.Her statueform is worth 110,000g p butrrquires at leasttwo people to carry (threeis better); those whoremain in close contactwith it must save vs. spell or develop amurderous paranoia that the others are trying to steal it fromthem, actingupon this beliefat the first safe opporhmity

E. Arkady the ReaperThis

TSR 9573 - The Lost Shrine of Bundushatur

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