Ruins of AdventureCREDITSWriting: Mike Breault, David Cook, Jim

Ward, and Steve WinterEditing: Scott HaringCover Art: Clyde CaldwellInterior Art: James HollowayCartography: Diesel, Dennis Kauth, and

David SutherlandTypography: Betty ElmoreKeylining: Stephanie Tabat

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Civilized Phlan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Reconquest of Sokol Keep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Kovel Mansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Mansions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Slums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19The Temple of Bane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Delving Into Kuto�s Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Mantor�s Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Stojanow Gate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Podol Plaza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31The Cadorna Textile House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Valhingen Graveyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Valjevo Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Sorcerer�s Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Zhentil Keep Outpost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Thri-Kreen Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Orcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Nomad Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Lizardmen Lair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Kobolds Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Hobgoblins Lair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Random Encounters Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2Grasslands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3River & Coast Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4Low Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 8Human Town Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87Unorganized Inhuman Town Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 8Organized Inhuman Town Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 9Outside Town Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 0S p e c i a l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1Evil Specials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2Humans.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3Inhumans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 4R a n d o m M o n s t e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5Swamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6

Ruins of Adventure is a module thatallows players of the ADVANCEDDUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game toenjoy the same adventure as playersof the AD&D® computer game, Pool ofRadiance, produced by SSI, Inc.Ruins of Adventure uses the sameplot, background, setting, and manyof the same characters as the com-puter game. In fact, players of Pool ofRadiance will find useful clues to thesuccessful completion of their com-puter mission in this module.

Ruins of Adventure is set in Phlan, asmall town on the northern shore of theMoonSea in the Forgotten Realms.Anyone running a FORGOTTENREALMS™ campaign will have no trou-ble fitting this module right into theirgame. While this module is designedfor beginning and low-level characterswho will grow in power as they take onbigger and bigger challenges in theruins of Phlan, it is also flexibleenough to accommodate player char-acters of nearly any level.

The module is divided into manyseparate episodes, some taking placeinside the city of Phlan, and someoccurring in the wilderness around thearea. Some episodes are crucial to ful-filling the ultimate goal of theadventure—freeing Phlan from theevil forces that have held it for 50years—and others have no specific tieto the goal at all, and are in the adven-

ture for a change of pace. Many of theepisodes will also lead off into tan-gents of their own if the DM wishes todevelop them, giving a party of adven-turers many choices throughout theplay of the module.

The DM should read through thevarious episodes carefully. Also, payattention to the descriptions of Por-phyrys Cadorna, Tyranthraxus, andthe various “stock” NPCs that appearlater in this introduction. Use theseNPCs liberally to encourage the play-er characters to tackle the variouschallenges of Ruins of Adventure onlyas they become strong enough to han-dle them. The PCs should not go afterValjevo Castle first, for example, and ifthey seem intent on it, find an NPCthat can guide them to an adventure

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more to their initial level.Many of the episodes in this module

can be lifted whole from the Phlan set-ting and used in an ongoing AD&D®campaign in a completely differentfantasy world. This is especially trueof the wilderness adventures.

So take the elements you like out ofthis module, leave the rest, and struc-ture an adventure that best fits yourpreferences and your players. Andmost of all . . . Have fun!

BackgroundIt has been 50 years since the city of

Phlan was a small but growing city onthe shores of the great MoonSea.Trade sailed into to Phlan, past the for-tress of Sokal Keep where the watchscanned the sea for pirates, into thesmall harbor at the mouth of the Sto-janow River. Galleys, pinks, cogs, andschooners came from the merchantsto the south, braving the sea to thissmall northern port. Townsmen off-loaded pungent spices, dark woods,reptilian leathers, filmy cloth, gnarledbarks, hammered steel, veinedmarbles—the riches of the southernshores. From the north came thick-bearded men—men of the bitterplains, granite mountains, and icyswamps beyond, leading caravansburdened with silky furs, heavy wools,rare ores, straight-beamed woods,and the ivories of beasts long-forgotten in lands further south. Slow-ly, with patience and endurance, thecaravans plodded to Phlan meetingothers, friends in the dwarves of theDragonspine and elves of the Quiver-ing Forest, foes in the orcs who camefrom the Tweenhill gap or the reptilianrace of the swamps. In Phlan north-man and southerner met, haggling,cheating, lying and drinking. Phlanwas well on its way to becoming aprosperous trading town.

And then the dragons and their arm-ies came. At first the men of distant vil-lages stopped trekking to Phlan. Notrader came back with tales of newdiscoveries. The distant outpostsslowly disappeared. Then refugeesbegan to arrive. At first they were soli-

tary survivors straggling in to losethemselves in the maze of the slums.Then families arrived perched onplodding wagons. They told stories ofneighboring villages set to the torch,the humans slaughtered—or worse.Trade dropped off. Fewer caravansarrived. Fewer ships came to collectthe scanty cargoes. The merchantswere concerned. Scouts were sent.They returned telling of hordes oforcs, goblins, ogres, and giants doingwhat they had never done before—marching as armies with order anddiscipline. It was the fear of their com-manders, fearsome dragons, thatheld them together. Towns closer andcloser to Phlan fell, the stream of refu-gees increased. Cautious merchantspacked their goods and left. Greedymerchants hurriedly amassed for-tunes from the frightened peoplewhile keeping one eye always on thedoor. The Council fretted and fussed.Some wanted appeasement, somefavored an army, and still otherspoured money into the walls of Phlan.But no strategy was ever agreedupon.

When the armies finally came,Phlan was simply not prepared. For aday the Council watched the linesdrawn up outside the walls—ranks ofleering, skull-painted beasts draggingobscene machines of war. They couldnot surrender, for they knew therewould be no mercy from thesecohorts. Valiantly, but futilely, theymustered their men. Their spearmenwere ready to meet the charge.

From the start of the attack, thehumans were defeated. They wereout-numbered, out-fought and out-generalled. The first wave struck fromthe air—wheeling flights of dragonsafter dragons swept over the rooftops,setting ablaze vast portions of the city.As the flames licked over the chim-neys, the attackers charged into thetrapped militia. The Battle of Phlanwas a massacre.

In 50 years, however, the dragonarmies have flowed and ebbed, leav-ing behind pockets of despair anddesolation. These isolated domainscannot withstand the unstoppable

flood of human dominance. Men havereturned north of the MoonSea andare determined to reclaim their losthomes.

Such is the case in Phlan. Althoughthe city proper—its districts and itsfortresses—are still held by the twist-ed offspring of the original conquer-ors, good men have managed to gaina foothold in the ruined city. Fired bythe feelings of destiny and progress,they have set their sights on reclaim-ing all of Phlan and restoring it to itsformer glory. To this end, they arebacked by a new Council, a consorti-um of the children of the original mer-chants of Phlan and new, eagerspeculators.

The Plot OverviewThe basic story is very simple. The

player characters are hired to helpclear the ruined city of Phlan of the evilcreatures that have overrun it. Thereward will be cash, although propertycan be taken instead. As the playercharacters begin the task of block-clearing, they hear rumors and threatsabout the “Boss” —the master brainsbehind the uneasy confederation ofevil creatures. It is clear that this“Boss” holds some special greatpower over the goblins, orcs, hobgob-lins, and others of the city, bindingthem to his will. All of them speak ofhim with hushed awe and fear, butnone know exactly what his hold is. Atthe same time, Porphyrys, the son ofCadorna the Cloth Merchant (one ofthe old families of Phlan), becomescurious about this “Boss” and thesource of his power. Using his positionon the council, he begins to send thecharacters on different missions,ostensibly to clear the city, but also togain secret knowledge for himself. Asthe characters complete these mis-sions, they bring back more informa-tion about the nature of the Boss’spower. Gradually, the son of Cadorna(and hopefully the players) learn of thePool of Radiance. This pool suppos-edly confers great power and leader-ship on those who bathe in its waters.However, the location of the pool is

unknown. The location of the pool is alost secret, now only known to theBoss. By now suspicious of themotives of the player characters, Por-phyrys leads his own band of adven-turers on a mission to extract theBoss’s secret.

However, reaching the boss is notan easy matter. It is known that heuses the fortress on the hill as hisbase. The only landward approach isheavily fortified—a small army wouldbe needed to penetrate the main gate.Along the river, the ground rises insteep cliffs (though not insurmounta-ble). Worse than this, the Barren River(once known as the River Stojanow)prevents anyone from reaching thisside. This river is a seething current ofacid and poison. Somehow the wateris steeped in acids so powerful theycan destroy a boat (or person), even ifthe deadly toxins don’t kill first. As ifthese two were not enough, horribleunknown creatures crawl the banks,looking for prey. Until the river iscleansed, there is no way to reach thefortress of the Boss.

However, the Boss has not beenblind to what is happening. As theplayer characters become more suc-cessful, the Boss tries to organize bet-ter defenses for the tribes under him.When these fail, the Boss goes aboutgathering new recruits. He makes apoint of having his agents avoid con-tact with the player characters, if at allpossible. The player characters willbecome aware of these movementsas they deal with those outside the cityand they pass information on to them.

In the final confrontation, if the partysucceeds in reaching the Boss, theydiscover the evil leader is a BronzeDragon. However, bronze dragons arenot normally evil. Instead the poorcreature has been possessed by a ter-rible and powerful being—the Pool ofRadiance was not all it was supposedto be. When the dragon bathed in itcenturies ago, a thing lurking thereseized its mind. Boring into its skull,the creature has controlled the dragonand through it the forces of the city.

However, the creature is not immor-tal and must find a new host quickly if

the dragon is slain. Thus, at the sametime as the player character arrives,so does Porphyrys and his party. Abattle may break out. If the playercharacters concentrate on defeatingPorphyrys, the dragon/thing will usethe diversion to escape. If the charac-ters concentrate on the dragon, Por-phyrys will try to stop them (since hedoes not want the dragon killed). Oneway or another, the spirit possessingthe Bronze dragon will transfer toanother character (Porphyrys, unlesshe is defeated, or another non-playercharacter) and, in a massive demon-stration of new power, make itsescape. The dragon, confused, willcontinue to attack, believing (perhapsrightfully so) that its life is threatenedby the player characters.

With their leader gone, the evilinhabitants of Old Phlan will becomedivided, disorganized, and easilydefeated.

Porphyrys CadornaCentral to the story of the Ruins of

Phlan is the rise to power (and treach-ery) of Porphyrys Cadorna, the lastscion of the Cadorna family. Althoughacting primarily behind the scenes, heis one of the central antagonists andmotivating factors in the adventure.

Given here is a complete descrip-tion of Cadorna, both his abilities andbackground. After that is a descriptionof how Cadorna would like to orches-trate the reclamation of Phlan, andhow he will try to manipulate the play-er characters and the other key NPCsto get his way.

Porphyrys CadornaNormal Human

Strength: 7Dexterity: 13Constitution: 8Intelligence: 15Wisdom: 9Charisma: 13

(Although statistics are given forCadorna, they should not be impor-

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tant to the adventure. Cadorna neveradvances in level, gains additional hitpoints or improves his abilities. Hispower is measured more in influenceand importance on the Council and inthe resources he has at his disposal.)

Hit Points: 3Armor Class: 10

Weapons: A dagger is concealedunder his robes and another wornopenly at his waist as is common forthe time.

Equipment: Robes, brown ororange in color, and a house in the set-tlement. No magic items or otherequipment of significant importance.

Appearance: Porphyrys Cadornais a short, gaunt young man of about22 to 27 years of age. His hair is darkblack, thick and straight. His cheek-bones are well-pronounced and hisnose is sharp and pointed. His brilliantgreen eyes sparkle with a keen intelli-gence. When he speaks, he speakssoftly yet his voice is penetrating. Asarcastic wit and urbane tone give hiswords impact.

Personality: Here is a man not betrusted, except that no one has fig-ured this out. At his core he is grasp-ing, venal, and obsessed with the ideaof achieving the glory his family onceheld. Thus he has rationalized allmanner of excuses for the failure ofhis family. The blame is always placedon others; conspiracy and treachery,he thinks, have robbed him of hisbirthright. Outwardly he appears intel-ligent yet lackluster, clever enough buta lazy dilletante. Others consider himharmless yet not perfectly trustworthy.However, this fault they ascribe to hislack of diligence rather than any directmalevolence on his part.

Background: Porphyrys Cadornais the son of Eugenia Cadorna, oncemaster of the Cadorna cloth mer-chants. Before the collapse of Phlan,the Cadornas had been masters of theleading cloth guild. But even by thetime of Eugenia, their power had beenon the wane for some time. Thencame the invading armies. Eugeniaand his family fled, taking enough of

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their wealth with them to live in com-fort elsewhere. The rest they carefullyhid, thinking the hordes would shortlypass and they would return. But thiswas not the case.

During this exile, Porphyrys wasborn and raised. All through his youthhe listened to the bitter stories of hisfather—stories of the stolen grandeurof the Cadornas, stories that madeexcuses for Eugenia’s failures. Even-tually his father and mother died,poorer than they had been, though byno means poor. Their dreams ofrestored glory died unfulfilled. Thus,Porphyrys has inherited their cup.

Then opportunity came as therecovery of Phlan began. Using hisfunds and the influence of theCadorna name, Porphyrys returnedand claimed a seat on the Council. Butit is a far cry from the old days. Hisposition is minor and his advice sel-dom sought. Porphyrys is determinedto change all that.

Cadorna’s PlanWhen the characters first approach

the council, Porphyrys holds the leastsignificant position.

Porphyrys’ first ambition is to regainthe lost fortune of the Cadorna family.He must find strong and capableadventurers who can do the job forhim. He supports the missions of theCouncil as a way of testing applicants.The first mission of significance to himis the clearing of Sokal Keep. If playercharacters accomplish this, other mis-sions (that meet his ambitions) will beoffered. If the player characters returnto the Council without clearing theisland, he will be quite sarcastic andgalling (“So, a bunch of frogs werejust too much for you?,” etc.). Hevotes against allowing any more mis-sions to the PCs until the island andkeep are cleared.

Once the characters clear the keep,Porphyrys will decide they are capa-ble of tackling the Textile House. Thismission will be offered, with the stipu-lation that payment will not come untilthe block is settled and not before.Therefore the characters will have to

clear the intervening blocks also. Therest of the Council will offer other,lesser missions. Cadorna will activelysupport the player characters in dis-cussions with the Council. His stockwith the other members will rise slight-ly.

If the characters have found infor-mation on the Pool of Radiance,Cadorna will become interested intheir faint clues. He will hire a thief tosteal any materials on the subject thatthe characters may have.

Once the characters clear the Tex-tile House, Cadorna will move in anddemand extra protection. This he getsin the form of extra watchmen. Thesewatchmen quickly become a privatearmy and reactions to all strangers inthe area are unfriendly. He alsouncovers the lost family treasure andbegins to use it buy influence. By thistime he has moved up a notch or twoon the Council’s ladder.

By now, Cadorna is greatly inter-ested in the Pool of Radiance andwants to learn its location. Under theguise of saving the city’s historicaltreasures, he offers the player charac-ters the mission to the Library. There,they are to gather various books andmaterials and return them to him.Cadorna hedges his bets by buyingseveral NPCs in the town, such that atleast one new NPC in the player char-acter party (if there is one) will secretlybe in the service of Cadorna. ThisNPC is to make sure that nothing iskept from Porphyrys and that certainbooks are taken without the player’snoticing.

After the characters have gatheredthe information from the Library,Cadorna decides he has no furtheruse for them. He believes he knowsthe location of the Pool and now wantsany possible complications out of theway. At first, he attempts to get rid ofthe characters by having the Councilonly post the most dangerousmissions—the storming of the gate,the cleansing of the river, etc.

If these fail, Cadorna will hire a par-ty of NPCs (of equivalent level to theplayer characters) to track and kill theparty. To avoid being implicated, he

sends the characters on a wild-goosechase. They are to act as emissariesto an outpost of Zhentil Keep on thefar borders of the lands of claimed byPhlan. This gets the characters out oftown. Cadorna can now prepare topursue the Pool unhindered and havethe NPC group hunt down the charac-ters. Just to hedge his bets, heincludes a message in the diplomaticpapers the characters are carrying toZhentil Keep that as a sign of goodfaith, the soldiers of the outpostshould slay the messengers (that is,the PCs) and return their heads.

By this time, if they’re still alive, thecharacters should know that Cadornais up to no good. He has become theHead of the Council and is ruling thesettlement. When the charactersattempt to return to the settlement,they will be treated as criminals (hunt-ed, attacked, and maybe arrested).Thus, they must return by stealth.Now, their mission (without beingassigned one) is to track downCadorna and expose him to the oth-ers. They should have the evidencefrom the outpost (and more will be atValjevo Castle if necessary). Theymust reach the Council chamber aliveand reveal the evidence before theCouncil. If they do this, Cadorna willflee. It is very important to the storythat Cadorna escape. However thecharacters, if they have not seen italready, will find Cadorna’s evidenceon the Pool of Radiance.

Tyran th raxusTyranthraxus is the leader of the

evil forces occupying Phlan (the Boss)Unknown to the players at the begin-ning, their main enemy is a dragon.However, the dragon (which is namedSrossar) is not the true enemy, for it ispossessed by an evil spirit from thePool of Radiance—TyranthraxusThus, Tyranthraxus has control overboth it and the dragon’s abilities.

SrossarAncient Bronze Dragon

Hit Dice: 9Hit Points: 72Armor Class: 0No. of Attacks: 3Damage per Attack: 1-6/1-6/4-24Size: Large

Abilities:Lightning bolt (100’ x 10’) or repulsioncloud (20’ x 30’ x 30’) three times perday (damage of lightning equal to cur-rent hit points).lnfravision 60’.Detect hidden and invisible things 80’.Fear aura (as per Monster Manual).Gains -1 on enemy chances to hitand damage caused from water-based attacks, but does not suffer anyextra damage from fire-based attacks(due to Tyranthraxus).Saving throw as a 18 HD creature.Polymorph self at will (no systemshock roll needed).

Spells: Charm PersonSleepInvisibilityHold PersonProtection from Normal MissilesMonster Summoning IIPolymorph OtherDarkness 15’ radius

Tyranthraxus(the possessing spirit)

Statistics do not apply to Tyran-thraxus, so there is no hit dice, hitpoints, armor class or damage. How-ever, Tyranthraxus possesses a num-ber of special abilities that can appearthrough Srossar.

Fiery Aura: As a sign of posses-sion, Tyranthraxus normally sur-rounds his host in an aura of flame.This flame does not hurt the host butcauses 2-20 points of additional dam-age to anyone hit by Tyranthraxus.

ESP: Tyranthraxus has ESP to aradius of 150 feet. Thus he cannot be

surprised under normal conditions.

Transference: Being a disem-bodied force, Tyranthraxus canattempt to abandon his current hostand leap to another body, providedthat target fails its saving throw vs.death.

Magic Resistance: Being extra-planar, Tyranthraxus bestows a flat20% magic resistance to its host. Thisis not varied according to the level ofthe caster.

Background: Nearly a centurypast, Tyranthraxus first appeared inthe Forgotten Realms, much to themisfortune of Srossar the Dragon.Deceived by agents of Tyranthraxus(who were in turn deceived), Srossarbathed in the Pool of Radiance believ-ing it would give him greater wisdomand understanding of the metaphy-sics of the universe (somethingbronze dragons find intensely inter-esting). It didn’t. What it did do wasallow Tyranthraxus to possess Sros-sar, for the Pool of Radiance was aportal to one of the darker planes(which one is currently unknown).Immensely pleased with his powerfulnew host, Tyranthraxus slaughteredhis agents so that the location of thePool might never be found.

Then, using the immense power ofhimself and his host, Tyranthraxus setout to fulfill his ambitions—to reduceall of the Forgotten Realms to wasteland or enslavement. Amazinglyenough, he has found willing victimsfor enslavement in the hobgoblins,orcs and other creatures. Believingthemselves to be flee, they are noth-ing more than his lackeys. So far hiswishes and theirs have workedtogether. But there will come a timewhen even they must be destroyed orchained.

With his armies raised, Tyran-thraxus has swept out of the icy northand stormed into Phlan. Here, theMoonsea posed a new difficulty whilethe forces of Zhentil Keep have heldhis hordes at bay. For 50 years he haslabored, slipping agents into the out-

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posts of the keep and coaxing piratesin hopes of carrying him across thewaters of the Moonsea.

But the resettlement of Phlan hastaken Tyranthraxus by surprise.Before he could marshal his forces,the colonists had claimed their toe-hold on his city. Now, he must destroythem before he can proceed. Whilethis is not an unpleasant task, it is adelay of time.

Tyranthraxus’ PlanTyranthraxus has its own priorities

in the conquest of Phlan. Here is howit is likely to react to the variousactions of the player characters:

The module begins with the settle-ment already established, but littlemore than that. The colonists can onlymove safely by sea, as the old roads inand out of Phlan are controlled byTyranthraxus and his minions. While itis possible to enter and leave the cityby land, it is very dangerous.

Fortunately for the settlers, Tyran-thraxus’ power is far from absolute.Currently, the chieftains of the varioustribes have fallen to squabbling. Thus,no coordinated action can be takenyet. However, Tyranthraxus has notbeen idle. He has placed a number ofNPCs in the settlement to act as spies.These can be hired to join the partyand will also keep Tyranthraxusappraised of the general progress ofany adventurers. Initially, these NPCswill only report. However, if accidental-ly hired by the party, they can be usedlater by Tyranthraxus.

Once the characters have raidedtheir first chieftain’s stronghold,Tyranthraxus will send new emmissa-ries to the remaining chiefs. Theseemmissaries are unique from thosefound in the area-fire giants: AC 3,MV12,HD11+,hp57,#AT1,Dmg5-30, THAC0 10, throw boulders 200feet for 2-20 points, immune to fire.(Some other suitable creature can besubstituted depending on the DM’swishes.) These giants will then befound in the different chieftain’sstrongholds. Each carries messages

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(in the language of that chieftain)demanding “...obedience or death.Unite with your brethren against theoutsiders or come into my presenceand explain your behavior.” Thesepapers are signed by Tyranthraxus.

After the characters have cleared 3-5 blocks around the settlement,Tyranthraxus will order an attack.However, his minions will respondonly half-heartedly. The chance of arandom encounter will be doubled inall monster-held blocks adjacent tothe settlement, but no attack willoccur.

It doesn’t take long for Tyran-thraxus to become vexed by the suc-cess of the player characters(provided they have had any). He willorder one of his NPCs working for theparty to lead them to the graveyard fora mission. Here he hopes the charac-ters will meet their end among thefearsome undead. Naturally, he willalert the inhabitants of the graveyardin advance. Furthermore, the NPChas orders to betray the party in a cru-cial combat.

After Cadorna flees the settlement,he is captured easily by Tyranthraxus.Tyranthraxus demands a ransom forCadorna (although he has no inten-tion of turning him over). If the Councilagrees, the characters are hired todeliver it to Valjevo Castle. This is, nat-urally, a trap.

If the characters have survived allTyranthraxus’ other attempts andhave continued to make progress,Tyranthraxus launches a final assaulton the settlement. The attack is madeat the front gate by 100 orcs and 200goblins. Tyranthraxus assists theattack from the air. He zeroes in on theplayer characters and the main gate.If wounded to half his hit points orless, he flies back to the castle to lickhis wounds and heal. This is wherethe player characters will find him forthe final mission. If Tyranthraxusdefeats the player characters, the set-tlement is conquered by his hordes.The reconquest of Phlan has failed.

The final encounter with Tyran-thraxus is described in the “ValjevoCastle” listing.

“Stock" Non-PlayerCharacters

There are many occasions in thisadventure that a DM will need a quickNPC to sit at the bar, work behind thecounter, or even meet in a dark alley.Here’s a list of NPCs, with shortdescriptions, ready for the DM to use:

DwarvesDwarven cleric: Doral is a 7th-level

dwarven cleric that was trapped herewhen all the boats of lsonzo shipyardwere burned. He has stayed behind tohelp the groups of dwarves that arestill in the city. He is a force for good,especially towards dwarves.

Dwarven fighter: Stonal is a fierce9th-level dwarven fighter who wasalso stranded by the burning of theport. He, on the other hand, has takento leading a small resistance groupagainst the forces of evil in the city. Heuses a magical dwarven throwinghammer in battle.

His group could very easily encoun-ter the PCs in battle, but after oneround of fighting the dwarf could askfor a truce, since he looks like the foeshe is facing aren’t the “usual sort.”

Dwarven thief: Phanal is a 12thlevel dwarven thief. He is high in theranks of the thieves guild. He has agreat deal of information about thetown, but charges in gold for the tell-ing.

Dwarven assassin: Shanal is a 9th-level dwarven assassin. He has beenhired by the forces of evil to seek outpowerful dwarves in adventurer’s par-ties. He challenges them to a duel inwhich he uses two poisoned magicaldaggers.

ElvesElven cleric: Silvanestri is a 7th-

level cleric charged to get into thelibrary of the city and acquire somevaluable elven parchments that wereloaned to the city before the attack. He

needs help to do this and will pay inclerical scroll spells only after thedeed is done.

Elven fighter: Gilesestri is a 7th-level fighter that has been battling evilfor 900 years. He is loaded down withmagical weapons and armor and oth-er useful devices. He has come topunish the ones that have poisonedthe river and now looks for them. Hewill join a group interested in alsolooking for those that are polluting thewater.

Elven magic-user: Vilanestro is an11th-level female grey elf wizardress.She came at the magical summons ofRen, the white wizard, and is nowlooking for him. If the group will helpher find Ren, she will come along andadd her considerable magical powersto the group.

Elven thief: Taltonestri is a 10th-level elven thief posing as a low levelfighter. He wants to join the PCs’group and help himself to their trea-sures. With this character along, all ofthe gold and silver that is found will becut by 25% as the thief takes it beforethe party knows it was there.

Elven assassin: Eelzifestro is a 9th-level female elven assassin. She hasbeen paid by the forces of evil toattempt to kill elves in the PC partythat have gotten too powerful. Shedoes this first by trying to hire onto thegroup and then attacking after a largebattle. She only wants to kill the elvesin the party and then she runs. If sheisn’t allowed to join the party she willdirectly challenge the highest elf to aduel to the death.

GnomesGnome cleric: Dirtan is a 5th level

gnomish cleric. His quest is to get intothe temple of Bane to get some gnom-ish relics that are still stored there. Heis also aware of some valuable lawfuland neutral clerical relics that are stillhidden there if the party would beinterested.

Gnome fighter: Soilish is a 6th-levelgnomish fighter totally. under thecrazed control of a very powerful mag-ical neutral sword. The gnome neversheaths his weapon, and the bladeallows the poor little fellow to fight atthe 12th level of experience. But theweapon also insists that all gems go toits user in payment for its services.When the PCs protest, the weapontakes Soilish away.

Gnome illusionist: Eartha is a 7th-level female gnomish illusionist. Shecame into town to search for somehighly valuable spell components thatwere supposed to have been on oneof the ships that burned in the harbor.The components are such that theycouldn’t be destroyed in the fire andshe wants the PCs to help her.

Gnome thief: Dustin is a 10th-levelgnomish thief. He is a good old boyfreelancer that likes to thieve, andthere isn’t a lock in the world that hecan’t pick. He will go with the party forthe first pick of all treasure and Dustinalways picks the rings so that a partydoesn’t even get a chance to look atthese when found. If Dustin dies thereare two rings found on his body—feather fall and free action.

Gnome assassin: Groundla is an8th-level female assassin. She hasbeen paid to knock off gnomes in thePC party that get too powerful. Shefaces the group and tells them shehas an important message for thegnome(s) in the party; if they agree togo with her she tries to poison themwith a dagger. If this attack fails, shewill trail the party and fire poison dartsat the group (She can only be found ona 10% chance, unless there are rang-ers with the party).

Half-elvesHalf-elf cleric: Jade is a 5th-level

female half-elf cleric. She has comefor revenge. Her half-elf brotherAmber was reportedly killed by theinvaders and she is out to do as muchdamage as she can to the evil that has

taken over the town.

Half-elf druid: Amber is a 7th-leveldruid half-elf. He has been taken pris-oner and is held in the Valjevo castle.He instantly helps anyone who saveshim and will fight even better if Jade isthere also.

Half-elf fighter: Onyx is an 8th-levelhalf-elf fighter. He is huge and strongand uses a giant magical axe in battle.He works for any neutral or lawful thatpays him the most and joins the partyfor a starting fee of 500 g.p. There is a50% chance when dealing with otherneutrals and lawfuls that these partieswill offer Onyx more money to work forthem. At these times Onyx gives theparty a choice of matching the offer orletting him go. The offer is always dou-ble what the last offer was.

Half-elf ranger: Jet is an 8th-levelhalf-elf ranger. He has come to thiscity to sharpen up his skills in fightinggiant types. He works for little pay, butthere is a 25% chance that giant typeswill be found in all random encounterswhen Jet is with the group.

Half-elf magic-user: Carnelian is an8th-level half-elf magic-user out to getevery piece of magical equipment hecan lay his hands on. He works for thegroup, but only if he can have the firstpick of magic items; these items theparty never sees again or gets thechance to use. If and when Carneliandies he leaves behind a 22 chargestaff of power. He uses this staff him-self in battles up until his death.

Half-elf thief: Tozaz is a 5th-levelfemale half-elf thief of great beauty.She is young and new to the trade andtotally mercenary. She will join anygroup but insists on getting all the bestpieces of jewelry the group might find.

Half-elf assassin: Azurite is a 9th-level half-elf assassin. He has beenpaid to attack any half-elf that hasgained magic in any PC group. Thisassassin is so sure of himself and his+3 black hammer that he comes right

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up to the group and challenges thehalf-elves to duels.

HalflingsHalfling druid: Zelensha is a 6th-

level halfling druid. He has come tothis area to discover what is poisoningthe river. He extends his help to any-one that will also work on this quest.

Halfling fighter: Zolonsho is a 6th-level halfling fighter. His dexterity issuch that he can use two weaponswith no penalty. He rafted down to thearea in search of adventure and nowhas come to fight the evil that has tak-en over the city.

Halfing thief: Zilinshe is a 5th-levelhalfling thief. He is a searcher ofancient scrolls and has come toinvade the library of this city whilethere is so much confusion. If he joinsthe party he insists on taking all thescrolls that are found in the treasure.

Half-OrcsHalf-orc cleric: Mace is a 4th-level

half-orc cleric. He has a large follow-ing of orcs and has risen to someimportance in his area. He uses a +2mace in battle and will never retreat.

Half-orc fighter: Spear is a 7th levelhalf-orc fighter who appears quitehuman. He tries to join a PC groupclaiming to be a human fighter. If thegroup ever gets down to 3 or fewermembers he will turn on the group andtry to kill them all, thus revealing hisorcish nature.

Half-orc thief: Dagger is a 9th-levelhalf-orc thief who also appears quitehuman. He leads of band of fivehumans whom he calls freebooters.Their aim is said to be the destruction ofthe evil of the town, but actually they areout to get everything they can. If the PCgroup meets them, Dagger will suggesta raid on the Old Town, claiming to knowa secret passage. The passage is actu-ally well guarded, and Dagger and hisgroup drive adventurers into this area

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all the time to get them killed so thatthey can loot the bodies after the realguards leave.

Half-orc assassin: Quarrel is a 9th-level half-orc assassin with gauntletsof ogre power. He has been paid bythe bad guys to try and take out theleader of any PC group once the aver-age level of the party reaches 4thlevel. He does this by using poisonedquarrels from ambush. There is only a25% chance of finding him after suchan attack, higher if there is a rangerwith the PCs.

HumansHuman cleric: Anton is a 10th-level

human cleric. He is fighting a losingbattle against the undead of theValhingen graveyard. There is a vam-pire magic-user in there and it is work-ing hard to raise the dead. Anton triesto enlist the aid of anyone to help him.He does point out that many of thesemonster undead things have a lot oftreasure.

Human druid: Banyun is a 2nd-level human druid. All he has going forhim is a pair of gauntlets of ogre powerand a belt of hill giant strength. Hewants to work for the PCs, andencourages them to take up the mat-ter of the poisoned river.

Human fighter: Carlo is a 7th-levelhuman fighter. He is a sword for hire,but won’t work for females or groupswith females in them. He has knowl-edge of Sokal keep and the beingsthat live there.

Human paladin: Durendal is a 5th-level human paladin, a knight dressedin white armor with a plain whiteshield. He won’t work with a groupthat has thieves or evil members, butis happy to fight evil if the group ispure enough.

Human ranger: Evan of the Bow isa 9th-level human ranger. Discoveredin the wilds, he is on a quest headingfor the swamps. If the PCs care to go

in that direction, they can accompanyhim.

Human magic-user: Ren, the whitewizard is a 15th-level human wizard.He is trapped in the Valjevo castle. Ifthe group frees him, he leads them toa large treasure in the castle. He thenhelps them finish their quest in thecastle, but leaves the moment theyexit the castle. He has things he mustattend to in the wilderness.

Human illusionist: Fengor, theblack spell caster, is a 10th-levelhuman illusionist. He has risen topower in the ranks of the evil forcesthat hold the city. He lives in KovelMansion and has several sets ofhuman and inhuman guards in andabout the mansion.

Human thief: Galarrian is a 15th-level human thief. He is the second incommand of the thieves guild and inlove with the prince who has becomethe head of the guild. It is he that willhelp the PCs get into Valjevo Castle ifthey ask the guild’s help in doing this.

Human assassin: Harold is a 10th-level human assassin. He is a pris-oner in some area of the city and whenfreed he will help the PCs all he can.But several people will recognize himand be angry that he is about again.The characters will have to choose ifthey want these certain powerful peo-ple mad at them or they want Harold’shelp.

Human monk: lndel is a 7th-levelhuman monk. He lives in an area con-trolled by evil, but his house and thenearby area holds no evil beings. Hehas been regularly attacking anddefeating the evil forces in the area.He has been waiting for a group ofPCs to come into the area so that hecan take them on a raid to get backthree other monks, one of whom is thewoman he loves.

If the group helps him on this quest,he will come to the party’s aid threetimes during the rest of their adven-tures.

Bandit Cheiftain: Jurin the Bold is a3rd-level human bandit chieftain. Heworks in the wilds outside the city andhas been charged by the forces of evilto question any strange groups thatare roaming out of or into the city. Ifthese groups don’t know thepassword they are attacked by hisband. Jurin never dies in these battlesas he successfully runs off to be metagain and again with bigger and big-ger bands of bandits (he grows inpower as the PCs do).

Berserker Chieftain: Kantal O’ theAxe is a 4th-level human berserkerchieftain. He will work for the groupand bring members of his band intobattle if the pay is good enough. Healso insists on the largest portion ofany treasure found.

This is another NPC who comesback again and again, but this time onthe side of good. His force can betotally defeated, but Kantal will sur-vive and will be met again later with aneven bigger band of beserkers (grow-ing in power as the PCs do).

Buccaneer Chieftain: Lanyard O’the Sail is a 2nd-level human bucca-neer chieftain. He exists to encounterthose PCs that want to hug the coast-lines. He robs them and leaves themwith the worst weapons the PCs haveand no magic. He is another characterthat grows in power. If the adventurersget the best of his group, he can befound later with a larger group.

Merchant Leader: Mendacant themerchant is a 3rd-level human fighterturned merchant. He has a base ofoperations far outside the city. Hepays groups of PCs to enter the cityand follow his directions into the mer-chants quarters of the city. In theseevil-controlled areas there are lots ofsupplies that Mendacant wants. If thePCs bring them back, they can taketheir share of the treasure, and getmore work from Mendacant.

Pilgrim Bands: These groupsshould be found everywhere, andalways under attack. Their size should

be random and the larger the pilgrimband, the larger the reward for savingthem. Pilgrims usually reward PCgroups with gold, but 10% of the timethe bands give out magic items.

Pilgrims should also be a hugesource of information. The larger thepilgrim band, the better the hints theycan give to the adventurers.

RumorsThroughout the adventure, the

characters may wish to visit variouslocal hangouts and find out what theycan on a variety of subjects. What fol-lows is a list of rumors the DM canfeed the players:

Island KeepThe old keep held out longer than

any place in Phlan, all the powerfulfolks fled there. But, I’ll tell you, mybrother told me that place was just fullof undead. (True)

Ain’t nothing there. I been out there.Place has been picked over by theorcs. Took everything that wasn’tnailed down. (False)

Cadorna Textile HouseThat used to be the home of the

Cadorna family. Said there’s a big bur-ied treasure there. ‘Course, they saythat about most the old family housesin the city. Lot of folks have died chas-ing those stories. (True)

That place don’t exist no more. Iremember my daddy telling me itburned to the ground in the last daysof Phlan. (False)

The LibraryAh yes, I remember the library when

I was a child. It’s near the CadornaHouse. It had every book you couldever want. (True)

About ten years ago, some mer-chant cut a deal with the rulers ofPhlan. He paid them a lot of money forpermission to take the books out ofthe Library. They hauled them up tothe northeast, up to some place in themountains. (False)

Sorcerer’s IsleYou know, the Stojanow River

wouldn’t be in the rotten shape it’s in ifit weren’t for that crazy wizard wholives upriver. (True)

It’s a dangerous place to go. Tissaid a powerful band of wights is bur-ied in some strange powerful pyramidup there. I’d be ready for undead if Iwas you. (False)

Zhentil KeepHey, we here in Phlan have got no

love of them in Zhentil Keep. They’reevil all the way through. They’re tryingto expand and have got their eyes onPhlan. I don’t know anybody who’dwant to deal with them. (True)

The Zhentil keep fellows? Yeah, I’veseen them, they’re off to the east,teamed up with those bucaneers.(False)

The CastleThe castle used to have a wonderful

rose garden. I’ve heard since thatwhatever lives there has changed itinto some kind of horrible maze withpoisonous plants and everything. Butthat’s not your big problem. Firstyou’ve got to get past all the guardsthat surround the place. (True)

The whole evil army is commandedby a villian—a human who’s sold hisown race out. We captured one of hisguards and forced him to talk. He saidthe guy was unkillable because hedoesn’t have a heart, that it’s hiddenin a floating castle miles from here!(False)

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In Ruins of Adventure, the “civi-lized” section of Phlan is used only asa base of operations for the charac-ters, a place where they can heal up,buy equipment, sell treasure, and getnew assignments. There may besome negotiations and intrigue here,but there should be no violence—characters involved in “disturbances”within Civilized Phlan should be givena quick and none-too-pleasant intro-duction to the Town Guard and the jail.

This is not to say that nothing inter-esting will ever happen in CivilizedPhlan; the section below details someof the places and people the PCs willencounter.

Filling In The BlanksAs DM, you can use any sort of

“generic” city layout you want for Civ-ilized Phlan. Undoubtedly, you willwant to identify certain buildings asspecial places on your map (specificshops, temples, the Council Cham-bers, and the like), but most of thebuildings will fall into one of three cat-egories: Deserted, Residences, orWarehouses.

Deserted buildings (30% of thetotal) can be used for sleeping or tostore items, if the PCs are unwilling touse an inn. However, there is a 40%chance that a deserted building will be

occupied by thieves or ruffians duringthe night. Their reactions will rangefrom suspicious (only attack if threat-ened) to overtly hostile. There is also a10% chance the building is occupiedby an orc or goblin spy. A spy will try toflee, disappearing into the back alleysof town. The Phlan Council is paying a50gp bounty for the bodies of suchspies.

Residences (60% of the total) arethe most common of the unnamedbuildings. If the characters enter a pri-vate home, the reaction will be (under-standably) hostile. There will be muchscreaming and yelling, the characterswill be attacked and the Town Guardwill arrive in a very short time. Thecharacters will then get to discover thejail.

Warehouses (the remaining 10%)

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are locked; there is a 30% chance of awatchman appearing each turn.Watchmen call for the guard if thecharacters have broken into the ware-house. Warehouses are filled withthrilling items, like dried fish, bolts ofcloth, potatoes, lumber, tuns of wineand cider, barrels of salted herring,bags of salt, bars of copper and iron,baskets of lime, etc. There is a 1%chance of some valuable item beingamong all the junk—a silver plate, astatuette, gold ornaments. It is all eas-ily identifiable, and any PC carelessenough to flash it around is subject toarrest (if a guardsman is around) andgenerally poor reactions from thetownspeople.

Places of InterestThe Stockade Wall

Though not nearly as high, this wallhas the same kind of emotional effectas the wall in King Kong—dark,gloomy and built to keep out some hid-eous danger just on the other side.There are not a whole lot of happysmiling people along here.

The wall is constantly patrolled byteams of watchmen—four men alwayswithin sighting distance of the nextgroup. Each group is led by a corpo-ral. Watchmen tend to be very neutralin reaction and will not leave theirposts unless offered a very big bribe(1000 gp or more). If attacked, theteam will raise the alarm and a newteam will arrive each round until either52 watchmen have appeared on thescene or the all clear is sounded. Atthe gates are 20 more watchmen, ledby a sergeant. If attacked they willsound an alarm horn and 10 moreguardsmen will arrive from the settle-ment each turn until either 200 menhave arrived or the all clear is sound-ed.

During the day, the gates areopened to any bearing a pass from thecouncil (to keep spies from passing inand out). At night the gates are barredand are not opened to anyone.

The DocksThere are always 0-2 ships presentand 3 small boats that can provide fer-ry service to Thorn Island. The boat-men are always good for a generalrumor about Phlan. They also haveone piece of specific information:

“There ain’t no point in tryin’ torow up the river, lubber. ‘Tis poisonsure, through and through. Why’deat yer planking right out for sure itwould! It’s a most unnatural fouling,I’ll warrant ye.”

The shops near the docks actuallyform a small market. Just who or whatis there varies greatly. There will be 2-8 stalls or shops, all of a temporarynature. The table below lists whatmight appear.

2-15: Fishmonger16: Spice merchant17: Tinker18: Alchemist—can sell poisons

and healing potions.19: General merchant—can sell

most adventuring supplies at costsbelow those of merchants in town.

20: Itinerant cleric—neutral, but forthose willing to listen to his sermon hewill do minor healing spells.

The RiverOn the north edge of the settlement

is the river, reeking and poisonous.Near the river, 70% of all buildings aredeserted. Orcs from the oppositebank will fire occasional shots withshort bows (and the occasionalcrossbow—10% chance) at anyonevisible on the settlement side. Theseorcs (2-12 1st levels, with a 2d levelleader, appearing 60% of the time anyPC gets within 50’ of the river) firefrom cover that is the equivalent of AC-4; If attacked by magic or a vastlysuperior force, they will flee.

On some days (200% chance), theview across the river is blocked bysickening mists and foul vapors thatrise and writhe across its surface.

Rooms and InnsThe Cracked Crown

This inn is found in a relatively quietand peaceful part of town, and the innitself has a reputation for the same.This makes it popular with the morerespectable and settled elements ofthe town, including the council mem-bers who come and go at varioustimes. It is the most expensive of allthe inns, charging 5 gp a night. Thereare 12 rooms and most can hold 4people. The inn does serve meals andhas a small public house, although itdiscourages boisterous behavior. Thewatch generally responds quickly andin force to disturbances here. How-ever, because it attracts a wealthyclientle, the inn also attracts a largernumber of thieves and second-storymen.

Nat Wyler’s BellThis little place is in the heart of the

slum district, well away from the pry-ing eyes of the watchmen and thecouncil. Because of its location, it is afavored place of cut-throats, ruffians,swords-for-hire, and other desparatemen looking for a quick route to aneasy fortune. There are 8 privaterooms (sleep 6 or less, 12 sp a night)and a common room (that sleeps up to20, 8 cp apiece per night). In thecramped downstairs is the commonroom, always a popular place. Whilebusy, it’s not noisy as most everyonetends to mind his own business. Insuch a place, it is not good to nose intowhat your neighbor has done or mightdo. It is a good place to hire NPCs,although there is a greater chance ofgetting one of poor character, not sur-prising considering the place. Thereare frequent fights, and every NPCshould be considered neutral or suspi-cious while a few might even be hos-tile. However, there is little problemwith theivery, since the inn is theirsafety. It is not possible to cache itemsin the common room, but Nat Wylerwill hold anything for a fee.

The Bitter BladeThis inn has the advantage of being

located not far from the docks, makingit a good place to stay for those whowant to get out quickly. While it is notas seamy as the Bell, it enjoys a worsereputation. Outward appearancesmake it seem a well-run and respect-able establishment. However, it is thegathering den for the malcontents ofthe settlement, men and women whodislike the current government,secretly hope the conquest of Phlanwill fail, or are only in town to get richquick (by whatever means). NPCshired here tend to be shiftless anduntrustworthy, assassins, or naivefarmboys fresh off the boat. Due to itswaterfront location, the inn is fairlyspacious with 20 rooms (sleeps four tosix, 2 gp per night). The innkeeper,being a scoundrel, frequently rentsthe same room to two or more partiesat the same time. Thus, there are fre-quent fights and disagreements in theback, out of sight of most customers.Thieving is a problem, especiallysince the watchmen don’t protect themalcontents of the Bitter Blade toowell. One significant advantage of theBitter Blade is that a large number ofwayfarers stop here. Thus characterscan learn general rumors about boththe city and the surrounding territory.

OutfittersIan Cockburn, Grocer

This shop, located in the residentialdistrict, is much more of a medievalgrocer than a modern one. He sellsitems necessary for everyday life, onlya little of which is food. His prices arefair, but he is a tightwad when it comesto bargaining.

Matteo the SmithMatteo is an expert craftsman of

armor and weapons. However,because his work is quite good andtakes time to do, he seldom has any-thing immediately available. When-ever the characters visit the forge,there will be 1-4 weapons or suits ofarmor (or mix of both) available.These are always human-sized only.Any weapon or piece of armor can beordered from Matteo. The cost will be

1.5 times the normal price and there isa 1-3 week delay. Matteo will send amessenger to the character’s roomwhen the work is done.

Georg of VitkovA smith, Georg has a wide variety of

weapons and armor available, includ-ing leather armors. These come in allshapes and sizes. Thus, any weaponor piece of armor can be obtainedfrom him. However, his craftsmanshipis nowhere near that of Matteo. Hisweapons break on any “to hit” roll of1, and his armor is unusable after tak-ing 50 to 80 points of damage. Hisprices are standard to the rulebookand he will not dicker, since he knowshe usually has the buyer over a barrel.

Ernst the FarrierErnst is the stabler and farrier of the

settlement, although he doesn’t get alot of business. Characters can buylivestock (especially horses) and tackhere. Prices are double normal sinceall mounts must be imported. Gettinghorses out of the city alive is the play-er’s problem. (Horseflesh is greatlyprized among the various orc, kobold,and goblin tribes inhabiting Phlan andthe surrounding countryside.)

Jerome of MelvauntThis shop is very much like that of

Ian the Grocer. It has the same assort-ment of goods and the prices are gen-erally cheaper. However, Jerome notonly sells items, he buys them, mostlyin the form of stolen goods (hence hislow prices). Items can be fenced orpawned here. If characters buy stolengoods, there is a 5% chance per daythat they will be arrested by the watchas thieves. Protesting about Jeromedoes no good—it only gets himarrested and the shop closed down forgood. For obvious reasons, this shopis located in the heart of the slum dis-trict.

The Slum MarketA section of the slum district should

be given over to market stalls. Herethe characters can find an ever-changing group of merchants and

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goods, essentially a way to provideany other items they are going to needto purchase. Of course, honesty andquality are two things that are occa-sionally lacking here. There are also afair number of pick-pockets to relievethe overburdened shopper of a littleexcess weight.

Stalls that occasionally appear inthe market include:

1. Wollaeger the Chandler: Thisshop has all manner of weird knick-knacks. He also has from 1-4 potions,or so he claims. These potions arereal only 50% of the time. Even if theyare real, they are accurately labeledonly 70% of the time. Otherwise itcould be a potion of anything! Not sur-prisingly, he offers these potions atfabulously low rates, so it is buyerbeware.

2. Aldo the Wine-Seller: WhileAldo’s wine is not very good, his stallis a veritable fountain of information. Ifit is possible, Aldo can answer onesimple question about any given loca-tion (if paid enough—his starting priceis 25 gp, and the price goes up fast foranything above and beyond basicinformation).

3. Tauranus the Proselytizer: Thiswandering cleric (4th level) shows upevery once and while, sets up his port-able shrine and preaches to the mass-es. Those willing to make heftydonations can gain the use of hisspells.

4. Utos the Map Maker: This seedycharacter sells old and new maps(often passed off as old maps). Char-acters can get maps of the wildernessfrom him for varying prices. The priceis a general measure of the accuracyof the map.

The JailOne place the characters should

hope never to see is the inside of thejail. All characters captured by thewatchmen are taken here. Escapefrom the jail should not normally be

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possible. However, if you want, watch-men may be bribable for 2000 gp ormore. Otherwise the way to get out ofjail is to accept a mission from thecouncil. No payment is offered for themission. When accepted the charac-ters are immediately taken to thestockade gate and sent on their way.They cannot re-enter the settlementuntil they have attempted the mission(and if they fail, they should have avery good story to tell the Council!)

The Council ChamberThis is the main location for obtain-

ing missions. The general informationon missions currently available isposted on the door to the council hall,listing the nature of the job and thepay offered. Details can be obtainedby visiting the council when it is in ses-sion. If a character wants to take themission without seeing the council, heonly needs to take down the posting.At that point he has taken the job.

In the council hall can usually befound the four men of the council.They are:

Ulrich Eberhard: An ancient-looking man, head of the council atthis time. He is mean-spirited andhard, not likely to win friends amongthe player characters. He handlesmost money negotiations and is a veryhard bargainer.

Werner von Urslingen: A middle-aged man, he has been in the past afamous mercenary captain. If contact-ed away from the council chambers,he can offer advice on the actual plan-ning and fighting aspects of a mission.Otherwise, he just seems to be a mild-ly sympathetic character.

Bishop Braccio: The leader of thereligious community, he generally haslittle to say. If the characters have puri-fied the Temple of Bane(in the city), hewill have a good reaction to them.Their success in negotiation will beimproved because of this. He will alsoadvise them to seek aid at the templeif hurt.

Porphyrys Cadorna: The dille-tante son of one of the old families ofPhlan, he is the least influential mem-ber of the council at the start. As thecharacters rise in level, so will he, untilhe is eventually competing againstthem. (A complete description of Por-phyrys is in the Introduction.) Whileappearing charming, he is nasty,spiteful and downright unpleasant.

The council has specific informa-tion about each mission it posts (this isnormally given in the set-up for eachmission). Otherwise, they have a neg-ative reaction to unrelated questionsand demands. The high and mightyneed not deal with the lesser playercharacters.

The TempleThis is a small and rudimentary

temple, more or less holding its ownuntil the main temple (currently theTemple of Bane) is cleared out. Oncethis is done (and the surrounding areasettled), the clerics will move back inwith a vengenance. Before this hap-pens, however, the clerics will be cooltoward the PCs at best. For ampledonations, they will cast minor healingspells. They will offer any group of 3dlevel or higher the opportunity toredeem themselves in the eyes oftheir god (i.e., take on a quest). Thisquest is to purify the Temple of Bane—destroy the false images and drive outthe evil priests. Once the temple hasbeen purified, the characters canreceive minor healing spells for nocharge and powerful healing (and res-urrection) spells for an appropriatedonation. Even then, these powerfulspells are not going to be cheap.

There are 3 clerics here—the Bish-op (the one who is on the council) andtwo minor priests.

A major threat to the small settle-ment is that the humanoids of the citywill attempt to cut them off by sea.True, the monsters are not great mari-ners, but they do have war canoesand old skiffs they can use to boardincoming ships. To prevent this, theCouncil wants to rebuild Sokol Keep.With this tower once again in opera-tion, a garrison there could ensurethat humanoid pirates were unable tointercept an arriving vessel. However,the tower is filled with undead crea-tures and slimy things that crawled upfrom the sea.

Sokol Keep was the last strongholdof Phlan to fall before the dragon arm-ies. Thus, it has an abundance ofweapons and armor. Although normalitems have long since corroded in thesea air, and the victors looted theplace after its fall, the keep’s isolatedposition has allowed it to escape theworst of the ravagers. Old magic itemscan still be found there, carefully con-cealed and hidden away. Most ofthese retain all their old potency andcan be very useful to the player char-acters.

Furthermore, as the last point to fall,Sokol Keep contains a few old recordsof the attack. While much of therecords are partial or fragmentary,there is some useful information to befound.

As part of its final defense, the clericof Sokol Keep placed a mightyenchantment on the tower before hedied. Ever since the tower has beendefended by a corps of skeletons.Indeed, those who are slain within itswalls (and left there) will join thisundead watch, as skeletons, zombiesor whatever. However, there are aseries of passwords that will allowpeople to move around freely withoutarousing these undead. These arescattered throughout the keep andcan be used if found and deduced.

Mission OutlineThe council will propose this mis-

sion only after the bulk of the islandhas been cleared. Miles Dormans,Head of the Council, explains the

need to secure the keep. “It is the onlyway to protect ships as they come intoport,” he says as he jabs his finger at amap. “You must drive the scum out ofthe keep so we can send a garrisonthere.”

The keep is defended by a series ofmagical protections and undeadguards, leftovers from the final resist-ance in the fall of Phlan. Undead sol-diers regularly patrol the grounds,although they can be bypassedthrough the use of passwords. Themagical protections work such thatdead who remain overnight within thegrounds of the keep rise the nextmorning and join these patrols. Thus,slain characters left behind will beadded to the undead guard, alongwith the bodies of any humanoidskilled (and left) within the grounds.This lasts until the spell is lifted. Asmall number of vermin have man-aged to make their homes in some ofthe out of the way corners of the keepas well, and the characters will have toavoid or defeat them to get the thingsthey need.

Furthermore, the creatures of thecity, recognizing the danger if thetownspeople retake Sokol Keep, willattempt a counterattack if the charac-ters manage to get inside.

Player characters can learn the fol-lowing information at the inn beforegoing over to the keep, if they ask in afriendly way and buy a few drinks:

An old sailor will tell them, “Thatthere island was the last point o’ thecity t’ fall, yessir. Men held out therefer many a month. Had them some bigtime priest backing ‘em up. Didn’thelp ‘em in the end. Still, it’s funny nuno’ them nasty little buggers settled inthere.”

A guardsman recalls, “My grandfa-ther served in Sokol’s garrison. Gotout on the last ship, just before it fell.He used to tell how Ferran Martinezset up some kind of special defenseout there. Swore that it would last tillthe sounding of the Horn of Doom onthe Last Day. Don’t know if it’s true—Martinez never came out of the keep.”

Area DescriptionThe keep is a small fortified com-

pound. Once it sewed as a lighthouseand watchtower over the Moonsea.Now, as with most buildings in Phlan,it is in serious disrepair. Moreso herethan elsewhere, the walls are heavilycovered with slimes, molds, and crust-ed dried salts. Few vines grow, mostunable to withstand the corrosive seawater that mists up from the shore.The grounds are covered with a thingrowth of reeds, rushes and saltgrass. The area of the keep is fairlywindy.

Encounters1. Outside the Gate

Hidden in the reed grass and rocksis a crumbling elfin skeleton. Its weap-ons and equipment are badly rustedand corroded by salt, its leathersworm-eaten and crusted in dirt.

In a pouch is a crumbling parch-ment scroll with the words “Lux,”“Shestnik,” and “Samos...” The lastpart is eaten away. Around the neck isa bronze medallion, crusted in patina,of two seraphim intertwined.

2. The GateThe gate, made of rotting wood eas-

ily swings open, one of the doors col-lapsing at a touch. There is absolutelynothing here.

3. CourtyardThe courtyard is filled with the same

scraggly grass found elsewhere onthe island. The wind blows mournfullyand the characters can hear the bang-ing of some shutter, sign, or door.There is nothing of apparent interestin immediate sight.

This area is patrolled by undeadguards. Each turn, there is a 33%chance of running into an undeadpatrol. There are only 20 undeadguards in the entire compound.

Undead Patrol: 3 skeletons (AC 7,MV 12, HD 1, #AT 1, D 1-6, 1/2 dam-age from edged weapons) and 3 zom-bies (AC 5, MV 6, HD 2, #AT 1, D 1-8,immune to charm, sleep, hold, andcold, always attack last). Not all these

13

are human. Some are dwarves orhumanoids (hobgoblins, orcs, etc.).

If the password “shestnik” is usedon the way into the compound, theguards will not attack. If the password“samosud” is used on the way out(after the characters have been toRoom 13), they will also not attack.The undead fight to the death. Theydo not retreat or flee. They will pursueas long as the characters remain inthe keep. They have nothing of value,only battered weapons and armor.

4. StableA rotting building with weeds and

fungus growing in the darker corners.If the characters search this area,

they are attacked by a green slime. Theslime drops down from above where ithas been slowly eating the rafters.

Green Slime: AC 9, MV 0, HD 2,turns victim to green slime in 1-4rounds, can be burned, frozen, cutaway, or killed by cure disease.

If searched, the characters findnothing here.

5. GranaryA small bare-earthed floor, covered

with a thick growth of fungus. The fun-gus is beneficial. If eaten, it willimprove saving throws against fear-based attacks for 24 hours by +2.

6. SmithyThis is a collapsed and rotting

blacksmith’s shop. There is the usualassortment of crumbling tools in sight.A broken hearth and bellows domi-nates the back wall.

Upon entering the area, characterswill hear a “Croak,” the not overly omi-nous call of a poisonous frog. The frogswill attack if the characters remain in thearea for more than 1 round. They willnot pursue. They will remain alert forabout 10 rounds, instantly attackinganything that enters.

Tucked behind the hearth is thesmith’s +1 war hammer.

4 Poisonous Frogs: AC 8, MV 3,HD 1, #AT 1, D 1, +4 save vs. poisondue to poisonous skin.

7. StorehouseThe door to this building is smashed

in, apparently long ago. There is noth-

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ing of value here.

8. BarracksThese buildings are filled with bro-

ken and splintered wood, the remainsof the bunks and chests of the originaldefenders. It seems that everythinghas been pretty well looted already.

If the adventurers remain in theserooms for more than 5 rounds, a groupof haunts will appear before them.

Haunts: These creatures cannotattack or be attacked (although char-acters can try). On their first appear-ance, player characters must make asaving throw vs. spells or flee back tothe courtyard in fear.

The haunts will talk if the password“Lux” is given. At that they burst intoa chorus of howls, moans, complaints,wails, and other lamentations overtheir fate and the fate of their families.They were the original defenders ofthe keep, before the cleric’s spellsinadvertently bound them to thisplace. They want to be released.

In one of the buildings (randomlychosen) a haunt (if present) guides thecharacters to a secret floorboard. Oth-erwise it is found on a 10% chance. Init is a gem worth 500 gp and a few pag-es of a diary. This describes the lastdays, mentions the alarming controland cooperation the evil non-humansshowed (as if controlled!), anddescribes the drastic spells FerranMartinez used to prepare the finaldefense.

9. KitchenThis building was once the main

kitchen for the entire compound. Fromthe outside it appears to be a fairlystout building, relatively unmolestedby the ravages of time.

The interior of this room is coated inochre jelly—floors, ceilings, walls,everything. It will attack the instant thedoor is opened, gaining a +1 to sur-prise.

Once is has detected the charac-ters, the ochre jelly will follow themanywhere within the compound until itis destroyed or they leave. Doors andother obstacles cannot stop it, since itwill seep through anything.

If the characters destroy the jelly in

the room, they cannot search it. Thebody of the thing covers all and itsacidic juices prevent search. How-ever, if the characters return to theroom after the jelly has left in pursuit ofthem, they can search. All wood andorganic material is gone. Among theknife blades and bits of metal thecharacters can find a potion of hero-ism.

Ochre Jelly: AC 8, MV 3, HD 6, #AT1, D 3-12, lightning divides it in two.

10. Entrance HallThis was once the entry and main

staircase of the watchtower. Theupper floors have long since col-lapsed. The floor here is strewn withrubble. Rays of sunlight reach in fromabove.

When the characters reach thispoint, the main gate will be attackedby a band of 35 orcs and 15 hobgob-lins. These creatures secretly fol-lowed in canoes and now want toprevent the characters from reclaim-ing the fort. They do not have thepasswords, so any remaining undeadguards will automatically fight them.Unless the characters also use thepassword, the undead will fight themalso.

Once the attackers have suffered20% casualties, they will make a fight-ing withdrawal. If the attackers suffer50% casualties, they rout. If the char-acters flee, the attackers chase themall the way back to their boats.

Each body has 1-5 silver pieces.Searching four bodies takes oneround per person.

35 Orcs: AC 7, MV 9, HD 1, #AT 1,D 1-6

15 Hobgoblins: AC 5, MV 9, HD1 + 1, D 1-8

11. ArmoryThis chamber was once the main

armory of the keep. Now little remainsbeyond the empty wooden racks. Dis-colored patches mark where shieldsonce hung and a few broken weaponshafts litter the floor.

If the room is carefully searched, afew old arrowheads can be found.They are not worth anything. How-ever, one wall of the room is illusory.

Characters boldly walking throughthis can enter the secret spacebeyond. Just searching the wall is notenough to detect the illusion. In thissecret area is some of the magical equipment of the armory—a +1shield, +2 mace, +1 sword, and a +1suit of chainmail suitable only fordwarves.

12. Officer’s QuartersThis chamber is wrecked and

destroyed much like the barrackswere. There is much broken furnitureand scattered junk. There does notappear to be much of value here.

If the charcters enter the spacemarked by the X, the slithering trackerwill attack. Otherwise, it will wait untildark and then track the characters. Itcannot cross water, so if the charac-ters leave the island, it will return to itslair.

If attacked, the creature will attempt

to flee (but will not go outside unlessdark). Then it will track the charactersas noted above.

If not found, the characters will dis-cover the creature when someoneaccidentally touches it. Elsewhere inthe room is an old piece of parche-ment with the word “Samosud” writ-ten on it.

Slithering Tracker: AC 5, MV 12,HD 5, # AT 1, D 0, save vs. paralyza-tion if touched by tracker. Near invisi-ble, 5% chance to detect. Killsparalyzed characters in 6 turns.

13. The Old ChapelThis was once the chapel of the

keep, dedicated to Ferran Martinez’sdeity. Like the rest of the building, thisplace is in serious disrepair. Right atthe doorway are the dried husks of twoorcs, obviously long dead. Apparentlythe salt air has preserved them. Theyfaces are twisted into unmistakable

looks of fright. Along one wall is alarge, dusty altar. Faint shafts of light come down through a few points in theweak roof.

If the player characters approachthe altar, a spectre will appear.

If he is greeted with “Lux” or“Shestnik” he will greet them back. Inhis long, moaning voice he explainswho he is and how he is bound here.He goes on to describe the state of thekeep and wants to know if the city hasbeen freed. If the characters tell thetruth, the spectre will offer up what itknows—that the greatest cause of thecity’s fall was wrought by "unblessedcreatures imbued with the might of amagical pool. Chief among thesewere the great generals of the evilhorde, Tiryanthraxus, Edranka, andTorath. With their powers they ruledand united all else, driving forward todestroy us all. The sage Mendorworked hard to gather records of allthese things, but they are lost to younow, his library long since overrun.Now, we are freed, our duty done.”With that he fades away. The hauntsof area 8 also disappear. While theundead guards still remain, the spellover the keep is broken and no newguards will join them.

The spectre does not move toattack, recognizing the players as notbeing part of the evil confederationthat has overrun the city. If attacked, itwill fight with all its ability. If the char-acters run, the spectre makes noattempt to pursue.

The spectre tries to prevent anyattempt to search. If the spectre isgone, the characters find an old mapof the city. The map is faded and out ofdate, but it does give a general idea ofthe layout of the major streets andsome of the points of interest.

Spectre: AC 2, MV 15/30, HD 7 + 3,#AT 1, D 1-8,2 level energy drain, + 1or better weapons to hit. This is noordinary spectre in that it is not inher-ently evil. This is Ferran Martinez (orwhat is left of him). His lifeforce holdshim here, defending the keep.

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Kovel Mansion can be exploredwhenever the characters stumbleacross it, but this isn’t recommended.It is best kept until characters are atleast 3rd or 4th level.

If the characters reach 5th level andhave not yet cleared the mansion, thecouncil hires them to do so. Thieveshave been plaguing the settlement andscouts report that they are probablyusing the mansion as a hiding place.

Mission OverviewKovel mansion is headquarters for a

group of thieves. After looting themansion, they converted it into athieves’ fortress full of secret pas-sageways, traps, and treasure rooms.The secret passages in the buildingare unusable by the PCs; they are toowell hidden. Once inside the building,the party is beset by unseen assail-ants. The thieves always hold theirattack until they can stab a characterin the back. The longer the charactersstay in this building, the more they willbe worn down by these attacks.

Area DescriptionThe mansion and the surrounding

yard are in excellent condition. The lit-ter and dilapidation so common else-where in Phlan is not present here.

The outer yard (area 1) and the cen-tral courtyard (area 6) are open to thesky. All other areas are roofed.Encounter 1: Outer Yard

The outer yard is deserted. Nothinghappens here.Encounter 2: Auxiliary Buildings

Areas 2, 3, and 4 are the auxiliarybuildings. When Phlan flourished theywere the groundskeeper’s cottage (2),the kennel (3), and the hound master’scottage (4). They are not used for any-thing now, though the old kennel ishome for an outcast quickling.

This outcast quickling is an oddity inthat he is not malicious and hateful.What he wants more than anything isto be left alone.

If bribed with any amount of gold,the quickling warns the characters tostay out of the mansion because it is

16

filled with traps. If the characters donot bribe him, he simply asks them toleave. If the characters persist or sim-ply hang around, the quickling dartspast them out the door and is gone.

If the characters attack the quick-ling, he escapes out the door.

If the characters leave or flee, thequickling does not follow or pursue.Encounter 3: The Mansion

There are two types of encounters inthe mansion: traps and ambushes. Atrap or ambush is triggered whenevercharacters enter the room (or, in thecase of some traps, open the door).

The following rooms are ambushsites: 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18,20, 21, 24. The following rooms aretrapped: 11, 12, 14, 19, 22, 23.Rooms 5 and 6 contain neither trapsnor ambushes. They are empty.

The mansion contains 18 thievesranging in level from 1 to 6 (three ofeach level). All have the followingcharacteristics:

AC 10-level; Mv 12”; HD level; hp3xlevel; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; SA backstab;SD none; AL LE. XP (1st level): 13 XP(2d level): 32 XP (3d level): 62 XP(4th level): 108 XP (5th level): 165XP (6th level): 258

The characters probably won’t havethe opportunity to talk to any of thesethieves because the only time thethieves appear is when they attack. Ifone is captured, he reveals nothingvoluntarily (shielding his fellowthieves is of utmost importance).

Every time the characters enter anambush room, one character selectedrandomly is surprised and stabbed inthe back by a thief. These thieves aremoving via secret passagewaysknown only to them. A backstab givesthe thief a +4 modifier to hit, negatesthe target’s shield and Dexteritybonuses, and causes double damage(at levels 1-4) or triple damage (atlevels 5 and 6). If the thief’s attack suc-ceeds, the thief then escapes withouta trace. If the backstab attack fails, thethief is trapped in the room with thecharacters and must fight. The firstthree attacks are from 1st levelthieves, the second three from 2dlevel thieves, and so on. Another

ambush is sprung every time charac-ters enter an ambush room.

The first time characters enter atrapped room, they spring the trap(subject to standard chances to detectand disarm traps, if the charactersbother to try).

Room 11: A scything blade dropsacross the doorway, inflicting 1-6points of damage to the first characterinto the room.

Room 12: Pressure on the floorbreaks three fragile glass vials con-taining poison. Every character in theroom must save vs. poison or suffer 1-3 points of damage and be blinded forthree turns.

Room 14: The ceiling collapses.Everyone in the room suffers 1-10points of damage, but a successfulsave vs. death magic reduces thisdamage by half.

Room 19: The door slams shut andlocks behind the first character intothe room. Then the room begins flood-ing with flammable oil. At the begin-ning of the 5th round the oil is ignited.Anyone in the room at that time suf-fers 1-3 points of damage per round.The oil continues burning for 10rounds, even if the door is opened. Ifthe door is attacked physically, it hasAC 9 and 30 hit points.

Room 22: After four charactershave entered the room, a net dropsfrom the ceiling, pinning them to thefloor. The characters can slip free ofthe net with a successful save vs.spells, but each round spent tryingcauses 1 point of damage (the net islaced with sharpened bits of shell,bone, flint, etc.).

Room 23: A concealed, 10-foot-deep pit is just inside the door. Thefirst character through the door fallsin, suffering 1-6 points of damage.

If the characters leave the mansion,the thieves do not pursue. If the char-acters come back, all of the traps arereset. The ambushes occur the sameway, although any thieves who werekilled previously are not replaced.

Ambushes always are conductedby the lowest-level thief available. Forexample, assume that the first twothieves who attack (both 1st level) fail

their backstab attempts and are killed sack contains 100 silver coins. The thirdin the ensuing melee. The third attack cabinet is locked and trapped (poisonedis carried out by the one remaining needle, inflicts 1-8 points of damage). It1st-level thief. If his backstab suc- contains 18 sacks and each sack con-ceeds, he escapes automatically. He tains 100 gold coins.is still the lowest-level thief in the man- The far corner of Room 14 is filledsion, so he also conducts the next with rolled-up tapestries and rugs, 28attack. He continues backstabbing in all. Each is worth 300 gold pieces.until he fails (and, presumably, is However, each also has a 5 percentkilled in the battle that follows). chance to be extremely high quality

TreasureBeing a thieves’ den, quite a bit of

treasure is stored in Kovel Mansion.Room 11 contains a huge assort-

ment of everyday items: statues, din-nerware, oil lamps, furniture, etc.Altogether, the items here are worthabout 800 gp, but they are far toobulky to move easily.

and thus worth 5,000 gold pieces.Each rug or tapestry weighs as muchas 800 gold coins (80 pounds).

Room 19 contains a locked andtrapped cabinet (poison gas whichinflicts 2-12 points of damage). Insidethe cabinet are 12 scroll cases con-taining magical scrolls. The spells list-ed on these scrolls are:

Room 12 contains three cabinets. Magic-User SpellsThe first cabinet is locked. It contains 12 3d level: protection from normal mis-sacks, and each sack contains 100 cop silesper coins. The second cabinet is also 4th level: confusionlocked. It contains 15 sacks and each 5th level: teleport

6th level: invisible stalker7th level: power word stun8th level: mass charmCleric Spells1st level: light2d level: slow poison3d level: create food and water4th level: cure serious wounds5th level: dispel evil6th level: part water

If the trap in this room is triggered(flaming oil) and the oil ignites, thescrolls are ruined. Characters whoinspect the ashes can recognize thatthese were once magical scrolls.

Room 22 contains four small cas-kets on a table. All four are locked andtrapped. The first trap is a poisonedneedle (1-4 points of damage) and thecasket contains 12 small gems worth75 gp each. The second trap is a dart(1-3 points of damage) and the casketcontains gold chains, pendants, andbrooches worth a total of 3,300 gp.The third trap is a spray of noxiouspowder (save vs. poison or beknocked unconscious for one hour)and the casket contains three enor-mous, unmounted gems worth 800,1,500, and 4,000 gp each. The fourthtrap is beneath the casket. It is trigger-ed not by opening the casket but bymoving it. It looses 12 darts from thewalls (1-4 points each, random tar-gets). The casket is filled with tinypearls worth a total of 2,100 gp.

Room 23 contains miscellaneousmagical items: two daggers +1, ahammer +1, a morning star +1, a scim-itar +1, and a short sword +1. It alsocontains a shield +2, a shield +1, and afine suit of chain mail +1 sized to fit adwarf. Another weapon, this one acursed broad sword -2, is tucked inwith everything else. The entire collec-tion is trapped; moving the scimitarreleases a gas which acts in all ways asa stinking cloud cast at 1st level. If thistrap is triggered, the five lowest-levelthieves (with perfumed cloths tiedaround their faces) attack the partyimmediately. They fight until all thecharacters have recovered from theeffect of the cloud, then escape throughthe door and disappear.

17Scale: one square = 10 feet

Some of the richest and most pow-erful families of Phlan lived in this partof town. Today, it’s been ransacked,vandalized, and picked clean of any-thing of value years ago. There maybe treasures still in the Mansion Dis-trict, but after years of occupation, it issure that they are extremely well hid-den and carefully protected. It is alsocertain that whatever hoards are leftmay be the richest ones in all of Phlan.

Because the Mansion District is onthe other side of the river from Civi-lized Phlan, this is likely to be one ofthe last parts of town the adventurersget to. The Town Council has no par-ticular objectives here (other than thegeneral block-clearing that they spon-sor everywhere), but the PCs arelikely to be contacted by private citi-zens for work in this district, especiallyif the PCs have distinguished them-selves in other battles.

These private citizens are descen-dants of the people who used to live inthe Mansion District. In a typicalassignment, the party will be told of aspecial hidden vault in a given man-sion, and hired to recover the familyheirlooms stored there, if the orcs,hobgoblins, and such haven’t gottento it first. As an added complication,the person who hires the adventurersmay insist on coming along to “pro-tect his investment,” and the PCs willbe faced with the additional difficultyof protecting him from danger.

The encounters in the Mansion Dis-trict should come from the RandomEncounters Tables at the end of thebook-use Chart 8, “Organized lnhu-man Town Areas.”

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The Slum District was once a neigh-borhood of lower- and middle-classdwellings. Since the townspeople ofPhlan retook the section of the cityknown as Civilized Phlan, the slumshave become a buffer zone betweenthe evil forces that inhabit the rest ofthe city and the new settlers.

The Slum District is the next sectionof Phlan to be reclaimed—in fact,some of the braver, more pioneeringsouls have already begun rebuildinghomes and shops in the area closestto the gate. No organized groups oforcs, kobolds, or any other evil forcelives anywhere in this area. However,this area is still a haven for misfits andoutcasts from both sides, many ofthem hungry and desparate. Forencounters in this area, use Chart 7,“Unorganized Inhuman Town Areas,"in the Random Encounters Section.

1 9

The characters should be at least2d level before attempting this mis-sion. Sometime while the charactersare 3d or 4th level they can beapproached by Dirtan (gnome, 5thlevel cleric) who wants to get into thetemple to recover some relics.

Mission OverviewDirtan, a 5th level gnome cleric,

tells the characters that many clericalrelics and magical items were cachedin the temple of II-Mater before thecity’s demise. A few of these were ofgnomish manufacture and are sorelymissed by the gnomes. Dirtan wishesto get inside the temple (now convert-ed to the worship of Bane) and locatethe items. He knows approximatelywhere they are, but not exactly.

The temple is currently under thesway of Mace, a half-orc who is also a4th level cleric of Bane. He has a sub-stantial following of orcs who considerhim to be divinely guided and whoobey him slavishly.

Mace’s living quarters are in the oldmanor just north of the temple. Bothhis home and the temple are onlylightly guarded. Rather than deterintrusions, Mace promotes a strategyof ruthless retribution. His followersare scattered throughout the nearbyarea and ready to respond to his sum- mons on a moment’s notice. If thetemple comes under attack, Macecalls in his followers who then attackand overwhelm the intruders.

Area Description

The area surrounding the templewas home to the wealthy citizens of

The temple itself was once quitebeautiful. It is built of large, close fit-ting stone, with square walls and adomed basilica. The interior is smoothplaster. The original creamy white ofthe plaster has given way to the dirtysmears and leering images favored byBane’s disciples, however. The build-ing itself is in very good repair (thanksto some rebuilding done carried out byMace’s followers), but is now a smelly,dark, dismal place.

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Phlan. The homes are large, sturdy,airy, and well apportioned. Half a cen-tury of orcish habitation has taken itstoll, of course. Rubbish is piled in thestreets and in the back rooms ofhomes, amateurish images of Baneleer at passersby, and orc brats frolicand bawl in the public filth.

Encounter 1: Orc PatrolsAll areas within 50 yards of the tem-

ple are patrolled by Mace’s followers.These patrols are quite small, how-ever, intended only to provide earlywarning of intrusions.

Any time a random encounter occurs within 50 yards of the temple,there is a 40 percent chance that it is

with one of Mace's patrols rather thanthe normal Organized Inhuman Areaencoun te r .

Each patrol consists of three orcsdressed in the livery of Bane, carryingshields and spears.

3 Orcs: AC 6; MV 9”; HD 1; hp 5each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; AL LE; Size M;XP 15 each; treasure see below.

These patrols have instructions notto fight unless forced to. Instead, theyare to send word to Mace that some-thing is afoot. So, if the PCs try to talkto one of these patrols, one of the orcswill converse with them (assumingsomeone in the group speaks orc). Asecond orc remains with the speakerwhile the third marches away toinform Mace.

The orcs on patrol carry no treasurewhatsoever. However, each wears the

If attacked, two of the orcs fight,covering the third’s flight. The thirdorc is attempting to warn Mace thatintruders are in the area. The two orcswho stay behind fight to the death.

If the characters flee, the orcs donot pursue. However, one of the orcsis dispatched with a report for Mace.

If one of the orcs escapes to warnMace, the remaining encounters willproceed normally, except there will beno chance of surprising any of thetemple’s defenders for the rest of theencounter.

holy symbol of Bane on a stringaround his neck. These holy symbolsare cut from leather, and so have nomonetary value. They can be useful inlater encounters, however.

Encounter 2:Mace’s Household

Mace’s home is directly to the northof the temple. (See accompanyingmaps.)

This encounter takes place inMace’s home, adjoining the temple.Mace himself is in room 3.

This encounter involves 10 orcs, allidentical to those described inEncounter 1. Two orcs are stationed ineach numbered room of Mace’shouse (four if Mace was warned of thePCs’ approach, for a total of 20).These orcs are not charged with warn-ing Mace of intrusions, but with pro-tecting his life. If any stranger (such asthe PCs) enters the house, they shoutthe alarm and attack immediately.

These orcs do not negotiate or par-ley with strangers. They attack unau-thorized visitors immediately. Theonly exception to this is if the charac-ters are prominently wearing holysymbols of Bane taken from slain orcs(see below).

As stated above, these guardsattack strangers immediately, unlessthe characters are wearing holy sym-bols of Bane. In this case the orcguards hesitate for one round. If thecharacters attack immediately duringthis round, they achieve surprise auto-matically. If the characters also hesi-tate, however, the guards call for helpon the next round. They do not attackuntil attacked, or until the first rein-forcements arrive.

The other orcs on guard arrive onthe scene after the alarm has beengrunted, two guards per round for fourrounds. They fight to the death. Maceslips out immediately, withoutresponding to the alarm. If the charac-ters entered his room, Mace escapesat the earliest opportunity—probablywhen six or more guards are involvedin the fight.

If the characters flee from the

house, the guards do not pursue.However, they are now alerted (if theyweren’t before), and will not be sur-prised for the rest of the encounter.

Under no circumstances shouldMace be killed or captured in thisencounter—he must escape to reap-pear later. Also remember that if Macehas been warned, the number of orcson guard is doubled in his house (fourper room, four reinforcements perround).

If the characters capture Mace’shouse and spend sufficient time thereto search it, they find:

Room 1: a tapestry worth 2,500 sil-ver pieces.

Room 2: jewelry and vases worth3,200 silver pieces.

Room 3: two clerical scrolls (ani-mate dead and know alignment) plus

Temple of Bane

three potions (extra healing, gaseousform, and oil of slipperiness).

Room 4: five jeweled and silveredmaces, each worth 1,800 silver piec-es.

Room 5: kitchen supplies, nothingof value.

Encounter 3: The Temple

The temple should be the ultimategoal of the adventurers; it is where therelics are believed to be hidden. Hisstanding strategy notwithstanding,Mace realizes that the adventurersare probably after something, and heis willing to hold off his counterattackuntil they find it (so he can take it).

The temple is very lightly guarded.Three orcs stand guard at theentrance. Six more stand guard alongthe rows of pillars, one orc in eachspace between the pillars. All of theseorcs are identical to the orc guards

encountered earlier.

Orcs: AC 6; MV 9”; HD 1; hp 5each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; AL LE; Size M;XP 15 each.

One of the three orcs at theentrance is the ceremonial doorkeep-er. He is an extremely old, bent, blindorc. It is his job to permit or denyentrance to the temple to all whocome to the door. His method forchecking identity is simple. The twoorc guards accompanying him bar theway with their spears. He then reach-es out and feels for the leather holysymbol around each entrant’s neck.Anyone who is wearing the necklaceis allowed inside. Anyone who is notwearing is barred from entering. Any-one who puts up a fight alerts theguards, and all of them rush forward todeal with the disturbance.

If the orcs have not been alerted tothe presence of intruders and all of thecharacters are wearing leather holysymbols, they can enter the templeunmolested. If the orcs have not beenalerted to the presence of intrudersbut some or all of the characters arenot wearing holy symbols, there islikely to be a row. If the orcs have beenalerted to the characters’ presence,the doorkeeper admits all of them tothe temple, regardless of whetherthey are wearing holy symbols. (Hehas been instructed to do this — it ispart of the trap.)

At this point, if a fight breaks out itinvolves only the eight orc guards inthe temple (and the blind doorkeeper,who is unarmed and does not attack).If the characters are admitted to thetemple and do not attack the orcs, theorcs continue to stand guard, withoutinterference, regardless of what thecharacters do. They can deface thewall, smash the doors, even set fire tothe temple —the guards will not inter-vene unless they are attacked directly.

If the characters try to leave thetemple, they trigger the final assault:see below. If the characters try to fleeafter the final assault has begun, theorcs pursue relentlessly, even to thegates of Civilized Phlan.

21

The characters have two hours (12turns, 72 rounds) to find what they arelooking for, If they have not found thetemple’s hidden treasure by then,Mace decides that the charactersdon’t know as much as he’d hopedand orders the attack. At that point, 40orcs (who were biding in surroundingbuildings) assault the temple. Theyare led by Mace, even though he doesnot actually get involved in melee. Theorcs charge headlong into the charac-ters regardless of casualties. Flushedwith fanatical zeal, every one of themfights to the death.

If the characters do locate the hid-den magical items, Mace triggers thefinal assault immediately. If the char-acters try to leave the temple beforelocating all of the items and before thetwo hours has expired, they also trig-ger the final assault.

Characters of 3d or 4th level havelittle or no chance to survive this battle

22

without the magical relics concealedin the temple. With the items, the char-acters stand a good chance to slaugh-ter the orcs as they charge forward.

The magical items are hidden inthree caches. These are located nearthe right front pillar, in the northernalcove, and in one of the southeasternvestibules (see map). All three cachesare in the floor, beneath the tile. Theycan be found the same as normalsecret doors. If Dirtan is with the party,he gives everyone a +2 bonus onthese checks.

Cache A (vestibule) contains:Six clerical scrolls —blade barrier;

flame strike, protection from evil 10’radius, dispel magic, spiritual hammer,and bless;

Five magic-user scrolls —conjureearth elemental, ice storm, fireball,web, and sleep;

Four illusionist scrolls —shadow

monsters, invisibility 10’ radius, blind-ness, and wall of fog.

Total value: 4,600 XP

Cache B (alcove) contains:Potions of flying, speed, healing,

and treasure finding;Wand of fear (4 charges remaining);Dust of Disappearance;Seven gold and silver statuettes of

seven gnome kings;The simple wood-and-tin holy sym-

bol carried by Narteflun, fabledgnome cleric and founder of the tem-ple.

Total value: 15,000 XP, 33,600 goldpieces

Cache C (pillar) contains:Eight magical weapons, each +1:

hand axe, dagger; hammer, footman’smace, morning star; scimitar; spear;and short sword.

Total value: 2,725 XP 17,850 goldpieces

If the PCs have not carried out thismission by the time the charactersreach 3d level, however, this missionshould be offered to them throughZolonsho (a 6th level halfling fighter—see the NPC list in the Introduction).Zolonsho suspects that something unu-sual is going on in the area of Kuto’sWell and he wants a group to accompa-ny him when he checks it out. He offersnothing but an equal share in the spoilsto anyone coming along.

Miss ion Overv iew Kuto’s well is a fresh-water well

located in the heart of old Phlan. How-ever, a mixed group of orcs, goblins,and kobolds, led by a half-orc, haveopened up catacombs in the area whichthey use as a base for raiding and scav-enging. The entrance to the catacombsis concealed about 16 feet down thewell (a few feet above the waterline).

Kobolds are always on guard in thebuildings surrounding the well. Thecharacters will get the action movingeither by entering one of the buildingscontaining guards, thereby triggeringan attack, or investigating the well tooclosely, also triggering an attack.

The PCs don’t get any informationabout this mission at all, unless it waspresented by Zolonsho. In that case,Zolonsho gives them this story.

“I’ve led a couple of forays out nearthe old city wall, up near the bend inthe river where the graveyard is.Twice I’ve run into trouble withkobolds, goblins, and orcs. That’snothing unusual, except that thesecritters were working together.That’s unusual. Kobolds and gob-lins, they don’t typically get alongtoo well. So I figure there must besome sort of organization there.Tribal renegades, maybe, who’vebanded together for mutual protec-tion. I’ve only seen or heard of themup by old Kuto’s Well, so I guessthat’s as good a place as any tostart looking for them. I say equalshares of whatever we find to who-ever comes along?

Area DescriptionThe area surrounding Kuto’s Well is

typical. Most of the buildings are intactbut are not used for anything.Because everyone and everything inthe city needs water, the area sur-rounding the well is a sort of no-man’sland; by informal agreement, none ofthe monster groups controls the wellor tries to deny its use to any othergroup. (Kuto’s well is not the only wellin the city, but it is the most reliable inall seasons.)

The well itself is simple. Four stonewalls, about waist high, encircle theshaft. Four buckets on stout ropes,one on each wall, allow water to bedrawn up. Rungs have been cement-ed to the sides of the well to allow peo-ple to climb down the shaft to retrievethings that have been dropped in (ofcourse, they also allow monsters toclimb in and out).

Aside from those buildings indi-cated as containing kobold guards,none of the buildings in this area con-tain anything of value. The characterscan poke through trash and brokenfurniture to their hearts’ content, butnothing of value will be found. Normalrandom encounters are still possiblein this area.

Encounter 1: Examining theWell

There are nine kobolds on guard.They are divided into four groups (3,2,2,2). Each building marked with an Xcontains one group (see the accompa-nying map). Each kobold guard isarmed with a short bow and a shortstabbing spear.

9 kobolds: AC 7; MV 6”; HD 1/2; hp3 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6 (bows or

Scale: one square = 10 feet 23

spears); AL LE; Size S; XP 8 each.

The kobolds rely solely on theirbows for as long as possible (until thecharacters close in and counterat-tack). Four rounds into the fight, otherkobolds begin arriving, one per round.They are climbing up out of the well.There are 18 kobolds altogether, sonine kobolds arrive as reinforcements(on rounds 4 through 12). If at anypoint there are fewer than threekobolds surviving in the fight, theremaining kobolds do not reinforce.Instead, they gather in room 1 of thecatacombs.

The characters escape if they flee.The kobolds do not pursue, nor dothey jeer or fire arrows.

It should be apparent that thekobolds arriving as reinforcementsare coming from the well. The koboldreinforcements are identical to thekobold guards in every way, includingtheir preference for short bows overtheir stabbing spears. Those koboldsinvolved in this fight carry it out to thedeath.

Regardless of how many koboldsare killed, searching the bodies yields21 silver pieces and nothing else ofvalue. The real reward from thisencounter is the knowledge thatsomething is going on inside the well.

The CatacombsThe only way to get to this point is to

fight through the kobolds on the sur-face. It is not possible to descend intothe well without triggering the koboldattack (unless the characters areinvisible, which is a whole differentstory—still, they have no reason toinvestigate the well unless they’vebeen attacked).

All of this encounter takes place inthe catacombs beneath Kuto’s Well(see map). This is an undergroundhideout for monsters—a traditionaldungeon. The walls are rough-hewnrock, with flickering torches on thewalls. Corridors are closed off withhanging curtains, both to preventvision into adjoining chambers and toreduce drafts.

24

The shaft of the well runs directlyalongside Chamber 1. A door con-nects the well to the chamber. Normal-ly this door is concealed, but becausekobolds just came out the door to rein-force the fight above ground, the dooris open and automatically spotted.

Any kobolds who did not reinforcethe fight above ground are waiting forthe characters in Chamber 1. The restof the band is distributed as follows:

Chamber 2: Four goblins.Chamber 4: Three orcs.Chamber 5: Two orcs, five goblins,

and Norris the Gray.

Norris the Gray: half-orc fighter, 5thlevel; AC 3; hp 25; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; MV9” ; AL -NE; Size M; XP 215.

Orcs: AC 6; MV 9”; HD 1; hp 5each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; AL LE; Size M;

XP 15 each.

Kobolds: AC 7; MV 6” ; HD 1/2; hp3 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4; AL LE; Size S;XP 8 each.

Goblins: AC 6; MV 6” ; HD 1-1 ; hp 4each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; AL LE; Size S;XP 14 each.

The kobolds (if any) in chamber 1 donot talk, negotiate, or parley. Theyattack immediately and fight to thedeath.

During the fight which follows,Norris the Gray will negotiate if thecharacters offer to surrender. He willaccept their surrender. The charac-ters are stripped of all weapons,armor, and treasure, and deposited inin the Slum District. No other offers oradvances to negotiate will be consid-ered.

Catacombs Beneath Kuto’s Well

Scale: one square = 10 feetAttack, however, is Norris’ preferred

strategy. After the fight in Chamber 1(if any) is finished, the four goblins inChamber 2 pop out, fire their shortbows at the characters, and then duckback into Chamber 2. One goblinwaits by the corridor to Chamber 3;the rest move into Chamber 3. If thecharacters follow the goblins intoChamber 2, they first encounter the pittrap between Chambers 1 and 2. Thistrap will not be triggered by anyone aslight as a goblin (i.e., a halfling orgnome), but anyone else triggers thetrap and falls 10 feet, suffering 1-6points of damage. Once sprung, thetrap is no longer effective.

again leaving one goblin behindblocking the exit.

When the goblins move into Cham-ber 4, the mixed group in Chamber 5moves through the secret door intoChamber 1 and then into Chamber 2and attacks the party from behind.Meanwhile the monsters in Chamber4 charge back into Chamber 3 andattack the party from the front. Thecharacters are now trapped betweentwo enemy groups and must fightthrough one or the other to get back tothe well.

If the characters flee before they aresurrounded, their retreat will be har-ried as much as possible by goblinswith short bows. Once they are sur-rounded, they cannot flee except byfighting completely through one ene-my group. If that happens, the othergroup pursues aggressively, pressingthe attack.

When the characters move intoChamber 2, the goblin who remainedbehind fires another arrow at the leadcharacter and then moves into Cham-ber 3 (if he can). The goblins in Cham-ber 3 move into Chamber 4, once

If the fight is going badly for themonsters (they are outnumbered 2 ormore to 1), Norris retreats from thefight, leaving his soldiers behind tocover his escape. He heads for thewell and climbs out, disappearing intothe city.

If the characters do not pursue thegoblins who fired at them from Cham-ber 2, the monsters switch to an alter-nate plan. The orcs in Chamber 4 jointhe goblins and move to Chamber 1 toblock the characters’ exit. The force inChamber 5 moves to Chamber 6 andthen to Chamber 8 in an effort toengage the characters and herd themback toward the waiting orcs and gob-lins in Chamber 1.

Searching the bodies of the defeat-ed monsters and the catacombsyields 92 gold pieces, 2,300 silverpieces, 20 gems worth a total of 3,000gold pieces, 14 short bows, and 14spears. The characters also have aplace of refuge in the city where theycan hide in emergencies.

2 5

As the adventurers continue theirprogress, Porphyrys Cadornabecomes more and more interested inthe Pool of Radiance and wants tolearn its location. Under the guise ofsaving the city’s historical treasures,he offers the player characters a mis-sion to Mantor’s Library. There theyare to gather various books and mate-rials and return them to him. Cadornahedges his bets by buying severalNPCs in the town, such that at leastone new NPC in the player characterparty (if there is one) will secretly be inthe service of Cadorna. This NPC is tomake sure that nothing is kept fromPorphyrys and that certain books aretaken without the player’s noticing.

Key to the Library1. Scholar’s Garden. This was once

a peaceful contemplation garden foruse by the scholars who visited themaster of this library. In the center is alarge pond, now swampy and thick.The rest of the garden is choked withweeds and only the small paths of ratsremain clear. The pond harbors 7green slime colonies. These are quiteactive and all move randomly (andvery slowly) about the garden. In theweeds they are very difficult to find,increasing the chance of surprise by2.

2. Library Stacks. These shelvesare filled with old and molderingscrolls and a few heavy, hand copiedbooks. Collected over a century, tworooms are devoted to each specificsubject. (Subjects can be randomlyassigned or the DM can choose whatgoes in which room.) The subjectsare:

PhilosophyRhetoricMathematicsHistory

Some of these rooms will havebooks useful to the player characters.

Philosophy. This section includesnatural philosophy, theories of art,

26

and supernatural sciences. Nearly all use to the characters here althoughthe material is dry reading, but there is there are many ponderous and biz-a scroll entitled Fyerdetha’s Discours- zare books on all forms ofes On Power. This scroll is a study of mathematics—geometry, calculus,supernatural sources of power. metamagical math, etc.Among all its dry text, it has this to sayabout the Pool of Radiance. History: This includes biographies,

“Fountains and pools hold greatpower that can only be reached byperforming proper ceremonies.Most sure of these is immersion, forin this way the bather surrendershimself to the spirit of the water.That spirit or some portion of itthereafter enters into the bather,whereby he gains great powers.Woe to the weak-willed whose spir-its are sure to be consumed bydemons that put even the strong atgreat risk. Yurax holds that theFalls of lxce are greatest of allthese. Morden writes that the Poolof Radiance is greater still.”

court histories, and geography. Thereis little or no distinction between myth,legend and reality, so the material isoften quite confusing. However, this isthe greatest source of information forthe player characters.

Among the useful books the playercharacters can find are:

Lex Geographica: This is a atlasdrawn by the great mathematicianTomarus. In the collection is a map ofPhlan and the lands to the north. Thework bears no date, but is over 200years old. Naturally since that time,there have been changes both naturaland man-made, reducing the totalaccuracy of the map.Elsewhere in the philosophy section

is Urgund’s Description of Darkness, agrim account of his imprisonment inthe lower realms. It is primarly a listingof names and palaces, the horrorsthere being beyond written descrip-tion.

“...and seated foremost in the Hallof Minor Courtiers were the lesserpowers: Maram of the Great Spear;Haask, Voice of Hargut; Tyran-thraxus the Flamed One; Borem ofthe Lake of Boiling Mud; and Cam-nod the Unseen. These too felldown and became servants of thegreat lord Bane.”

Other titles (of no particular use)include the Meditations, The Harmonyof the Rock, Strom’s Discussions ofPoetics, the Chronicles of Arram, anda Discourse of the Nature of Writing.

Rhetoric: There is nothing of valuehere. Most of it is speeches fromfamous murder trials, pronounce-ments, public debates, and the like.

Mathematics: There is nothing of

The History of the North: This is aninaccurate and highly colorful accountof the northern lands. Characters pag-ing through the book will find all sortsof colorful exaggerations, obviouslywrong. Other parts seem quite accu-rate. There is one passage of particu-lar interest to the characters.

“Ten days ride north of the Varm isa barren and dead country calledthe Lee-wai, land-in-pain or land-of-caused-pain. Further to the souththis place is know as the TorturedLand. It is said to be an evil place,shunned by the Riders. They speaklittle of this land but yearly duringChes they make a trip into its heart.Their they go to adorate the spirit ofa glowing. spring. This they havedone for ages and so shall they dofor years to come.”

The Grand Historian’s Records ofthe Arts of War: The binding on thismouldering old book crumbles at atouch. This is a single volume of amassive work dealing with the history

of warfare from before time was evenrecorded (such records being ofcourse possible through magicalmeans). In it there are innumerable lit-tle mentions of this group defeatingthat group and being attacked byanother group who in turn areattacked by a fourth, etc. There areaccounts of abductions, failed alli-ances, broken treaties, petty squab-bles, diplomatic intrigue and more.The book’s tone is strongly moralistic,attempting to set forth the proper prin-cipals of governence in times of war-fare. It is also very anecdotal. Fromthe crumbling pages comes the fol-lowing passage:

ed Ones was a powerful general"At this time their ruling the Twist-

named Tyranthraxus. He strodebefore his armies cloaked in flame

Mantor’s Library

and led the Riders out of the waste.At his hand the kingdom of Barzewas conquered. Turning south heled his army to conquer the Horreband the Vane. Tyranthraxus was acruel man and leveled all that hehad taken, murdering the princesof these lands. But the flame thatsurrounded him consumed him,destroying his body. Freed of itsshell, it flew among the men of hisarmy, lighting on each and claimingit. It was then when Baron Schodtimprisoned Tyranthraxus in a vialof water which shone like the lightof day. This he sank in the waterydepths of Lake Longreach, defeat-ing the armies Tyranthraxus hadraised.”

Finding these particular books willtake time, at least an hour search for

Scale: one square = 10 feet

each. The remaining books, while per-haps valuable, cannot be sold in thesettlement as there are none who willbuy such rare commodities there.

3. Master Librarian’s Chamber: Thisroom contains rotted furnture and littleelse. Here the master librarian died,refusing to abandon his books, whenthe invaders came through. He hassince become a spectre and willappear and attack any who try to takebooks from the library. Hidden under aloose floorboard, now quite easy tospot, is a jar of Keoghtum’s Ointment.

4. Reading Chamber: This chamberis filled with rotted tables and bench-es. It is otherwise empty.

5. Entrance Hall. The doorway hereis easily ajar, half-rotted off its hinges.There are no furnishings here, onlyfrescoes on the walls of learned menand the heavenly patrons of arts andlearning. All in all, the frescoes give afeeling of peace and contemplation.

6. Reading Chamber: This chamberis identical to room 4.

7. Scribes Hall. This hall is filled withrows of writing tables and high stools.Rotted mounds of parchment litter thefloor. A barred door opens onto thestreet. Huddled in the corner is a wild-eyed human, his clothing torn and tat-tered. This man was once a first levelfighter. Now he is quite mad. On see-ing the characters he scrambles backfurther into the corner, alternatelyscreaming curses at them and whim-pering for mercy. He will not attackunless the player characters try to hurthim, although if he fights he gains a+1 on all to hit and damage rolls. Hisgoal in fighting will be to break free ofthe player characters and run away.

If the characters are gentle, theycan try to talk to him. Being mad (inthe best Hollywood fashion), hedoesn’t make a lot of sense, babblingon about anything that comes into hishead. However (again in best Holly-wood fashion) he does have someuseful information. He will say things

27

like: “He is wrapped in fire and so cru-el!", “The big one, the evil one in thecastle of flowers—he is coming, it iscoming!,” "Don’t go there! Don’t goon the hill!” and “He is not human, Itell you, not at all.” In general he dropshints that the Castle Valvejo is a badplace to go because something bigand powerful and awful lives there,something behind everything happen-ing in the city.

The madman will reluctantlyaccompany the player character backto the settlement, but only if theyinsist. Doctors, surgeons, and clericswho examine him will concur that theonly effective way to cure the wretch isfor him to forget all that happened tohim, to totally blank his mind of his ter-rible experiences. If not cured, hebecomes a problem for the commu-nity, unable to control his actions orstay out of violent trouble.

8. Master of Scribes. This room wasonce furnished as a simple apartmentand study. It is now a shattered ruin.However, buried amid all the trash andgarbage is a Manual of Bodily Health.Apparently, the former master wassomething of a health nut.

9. Illuminator’s Carrels. These smallcompartments were the work areas ofthe most skilled illuminators of the

library. Naturally most of the equip-ment and gear here has fallen intodecay. Since illumination requiresprecious metals, each carrel has 1-3sheets of gold foil. Although weighingfar less a gold piece, each sheet isworth 3 gp due to its scarcity. Orcourse, the sheets can only be foundby careful searching.

10. Study Carrels. Having little morethan a bench and a small desk, eachof these alcoves is almost completelyempty. However, in these two the out-side wall has collapsed. A thickscreen of vines blocks the view to theoutside.

11. Study Carrels. These are identi-cal to 10 without the collapsed wall.

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12. Library Stacks. Here too, thewall has collapsed, allowing the ele-ments to badly damage the books andscrolls stored here. Fortunately for thecharacters this room is devoted toRhetoric. Unfortunately for the char-acters, a basilisk has made its lairhere. Littering the floor of the room area potion of strength, a potion of heal-ing, and a bag of holding.

13. Storeroom. This held all the writ-ing and illuminating supplies of thelibrary. Although there are stacks andstacks of things that look like theyshould be valuable here, they areeither worthless or crumble and splitwhen handled. The inkpots are dry,the quills brittle, etc. Living here are 5outcast kobolds. Faced by a larger orbetter equipped group, they will sur-render on the spot, pleading for mer-cy. Otherwise they will attackscreaming “Food!” If surrendered orcaptured kobolds are questioned,they can describe the surroundinga r e a .

The characters can get into thisencounter situation two ways. Thefirst is simply to walk up to the Sto-janow Gate during the course of theirexploration of the city. The second isto be hired by the Council to breachthe wall. The Council will not hire thecharacters for this mission until afterthe southern portion of the city iscleared.

Mission OverviewDuring the course of this mission,

the characters must get past the OldCity Wall into the Old City. This wall isheavily guarded and regularlypatrolled by monsters. A directassault is almost guaranteed to fail.Instead, the characters must try to findsome way to sneak past the guardsand capture the towers which over-look the gate. With the gate in theirhands, the adventurers have a clearpath into the Old City, Valjevo Castle,and the heart of the evil in Phlan.

If the characters are briefed on thismission, they should learn the follow-ing information. Whoever is in chargeof the monsters in the city uses Val-jevo Castle as his headquarters.Because the river is poisoned, theonly way into the Old City is throughthe wall. This wall has only one open-ing: Stojanow Gate. The wall itself istoo strong to be attacked in any con-ventional manner and too high to be ofany use if portions of it were captured.The gate provides the only usefulentrance into the Old City. If the gateand its flanking towers are captured,groups of adventurers will have a foot-hold from which they can graduallypush their way into the Old City.

Area DescriptionThe central action of this mission

takes place at Stojanow Gate, thoughother portions of the wall can also bethe scene of action.

Stojanow Gate is one of the oldestfeatures of Phlan. As the city grewaround the castle, the wall was addedas a first line of defense. Eventuallythe city expanded far beyond the area

enclosed by the wall and the river, butthe wall was maintained both for itsmilitary and its political significance. Itrepresented the power of the rulingprince much as the castle did. It alsoallowed the prince to raise revenue bytaxing merchandise brought into theOld City through the gate.

The gate itself displays imposingarchitecture. Likenesses of pastprinces, queens, deities, dragons,wizards, and military heroes adorn thewall and the double sets of massive,iron-bound doors which close off thegate. The walls are 30 feet high, withtwin 50-foot towers on either side ofthe gates.

While the wall itself is very wellmaintained, many of the buildingsadjoining the wall are in disrepair.Most of them were shops when thecity flourished, but the pillaging mon-sters damaged many of them.

Encounter 1: Wall PatrolThis encounter occurs if the charac-

ters try to cross the wall or attack thewall somewhere other than the gate.

The encounter can be triggeredmany different ways. An open attack,of course, automatically triggers aresponse from the guards. Trying tosneak across the wall probably willtrigger a response from the guards.Trying to cross the wall by magicalmeans (flying and invisible, gaseousform, etc.) may trigger a responsefrom the guards or it may work.

The wall is patrolled by a largegroup, selected for their toughnessand their ability to detect all sorts ofintruders. The group consists of:

Two evil magic-users, levels 5 and 6(6th level: fireball, slow, detect invisi-bility, ray of enfeeblement, detect mag-ic, magic missile, sleep, spider climb;5th level: hold person, detect invisibili-ty, strength, charm person, enlarge,magic missile, sleep); two evil fighters,level 3; two bugbears; two hill giants;and four duergar.

The wall patrol is not inclined to talkto anyone. They will not, under any cir-

cumstances, allow someone onto thewall or leave the wall to negotiate. Ifthey do talk, all they say is to warn thecharacters away from the wall andinform them that all business must beconducted at the gate.

If attacked, the wall guards defendthemselves and counterattack fero-ciously. Both fighters carry crossbowsand use them as long as possible.Both wizards cast their spells at thefirst opportunity. The bugbears, hillgiants, and duergar attack the charac-ters and try to keep them away fromthe fighters and magic-users.

If the characters flee to the south,there is no pursuit. If the charactersmanage to cross the wall and flee tothe north, the guards pursue as longas possible.

If the characters are flying, they willbe detected and attacked with cross-bows and spells. If the characters areinvisible, there is a 50 percent chanceat any given time that one of themagic-users can detect invisibility andwill see the characters.

All of these creatures carry stand-ard out-of-lair treasure.

Encounter 2: The Front DoorTwo groups of guards are posted at

the gate. The first is identical to thewall patrol from Encounter 1 and isstationed in the tower to the left of thegate. The second consists of a squadof 16 hobgoblins who mill around thegate, checking wagons passingthrough the gate and collecting tolls.

The leader of the hobgoblinsdemands to know the characters’business when they approach thegate. He will reject any answer theygive and tells them to leave.

If the characters attack, the hob-goblins try to hold them off at the gate.The fighters and magic-users in thesecond group attack with missileweapons and spells. If the hobgoblinsare defeated, the second group ofguards is waiting for the charactersjust inside the gate.

If the characters leave before a fightbreaks out, none of the guards pur-sue. If the characters flee after a fight

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breaks out, the second group (magic-users, fighters, bugbears, andduergar) pursue the group for 200yards, then break off.

The characters should be unawareof the presence of the second group ofguards until after the fight starts.

The guards have standard treasure.If the characters defeat all of theguards, they have accomplished themission.

Encounter 3: ContrabandThis encounter occurs if the charac-

ters spend any time observing thegate before trying to capture it.

The characters can buy from apassing driver a wagon and two mulesfor 250 gp. He won’t sell for less but, ofcourse, he will sell for more.

If the characters ride up to the gatein a wagon during the morning influx,one of the hobgoblins looks over the

Stojanow Gate

wagon and its goods and demands atoll of 15 gp. This is not negotiable.Any argument from the character justincreases the toll to 20 gp. Furtherargument causes the hobgoblins toblock the wagon’s passage into theOld City and turn it back with a warn-ing that the driver had better learn therules before coming back.

If the characters attack, seeEncounter 2. The hobgoblins have noreason to attack unless the charactersargue excessively or one of theguards discovers other charactershidden in the wagon.

Nothing pursues the wagon if itflees to the south. If the wagon breaksthrough the gate and flees north, thesecond group of guards pursues it aslong as possible.

When the characters watch thegate, they notice that every morning,several dozen wagons loaded with

food, livestock, and other tradinggoods drive through the gate afterpaying a small toll and being searchedhalfheartedly by the hobgoblins. Theadventurers can sneak past theguards and attack with surprise bypassing through the gates with thewagon train.

The characters can get a wagoneither by buying one from its owner orby attacking the owner and taking thewagon.

If the characters pay the toll withoutarguing, the hobgoblins have a 10percent chance to detect any othercharacters hidden in the wagon. Thistriggers an immediate attack. If thecharacters argue about the toll butpay it anyway, there is a 20 percentchance the hobgoblins find hiddencharacters. If the characters refuse topay the toll and are turned away, thereis a 5 percent chance the hobgoblinswill find hidden characters.

Once inside the gate, characterscan either continue on and explore thefar side of the wall, or attack the gateguards. Attacking from the Old Cityside of the wall automatically earnsthe characters two rounds of surpriseagainst the guards and lowers theguards’ morale by four points. Thebugbears and hill giants flee in panic,leaving only the magic-users, fighters,duergar, and hobgoblins.

The biggest reward for this missionis capturing the gate. If the characterssucceed, then a group of 20 humanand demi-human guards from the set-tlement immediately move into theguard towers to keep the monstersfrom closing off the gates again. Ofcourse, normal XP and treasureawards also apply. Characters whoattack the guards from inside the gateget experience points for the giantsand bugbears which fled even thoughthose monsters escaped.

Scale: one square = 10 feet30

This mission should not be offeredto the characters until after they havecleared the Cadorna Textile House.The player characters should be atleast 2d level.

Mission OverviewBefore the devastation, Podol Plaza

was the busiest marketplace in Phlan.Its proximity to the docks and ware-houses made it a natural trading areafor imports.

The monsters who now controlPhlan don’t trade across the Moonseabut they still use Podol Plaza as a trad-ing nexus. This is largely a matter ofconvenience. Some of the richestmonsters in the city are those whocaptured the wealthy banking housesaround Podol Plaza and they just nev-er relocated. Many of these took upmoney lending when things quieteddown in the city. Naturally, goods arebrought for sale to the area wherethere is the most cash.

If the characters have captured anyintelligent monsters recently, they canlearn about this opportunity from theircaptive. If not, this mission can bebrought to the PCs by a member of thecouncil.

One of the recent captives spoke ofa special auction to be held in PodolPlaza. A magical item of great powerwas discovered in a secret location inpart of the old city. It is to be offered forsale at Podol Plaza in three days. Thecaptive doesn’t know what the item is,only that it is very valuable. The Boss,of course is very interested in thissale. Rumors are everywhere that theBoss himself will be in the plaza,incognito, on the day of the sale to bidon the item.

The captive is telling the truth to thebest of his ability. Like most rumors,however, this one is based on truth butis largely distorted. There is to be aspecial sale, but the item in questionis not nearly as powerful as rumored.It is a simple wand of fear, and neitherits finder nor the dealer he sold thewand to know its command word. Allthey know is that the wand is magical.Like most monsters, they assume that

it is very powerful.The council is very interested in

having someone slip into the plaza theday of the auction to get a look at theBoss. Knowing what sort of creaturehe is would be a great help to thosewho must eventually fight him. Ofcourse, if an opportunity to kill himarises at the auction, it can’t be over-looked.

The Boss will not be at the auction,incognito or otherwise. He is, how-ever, sending an emissary: an evilmage, who is to examine the item anddetermine whether it is worth purchas-ing. The mage is accompanied by anogre bodyguard.

Area DescriptionThe Podol Plaza area is well pre-

served and was wealthy to begin with,so it contains nice buildings. Sincemost of them are occupied by orcs,hobgoblins, and goblins, however,they aren’t so nice anymore. Still, thisis one of the better preserved areas ofthe city.

The buildings are made entirely ofstone, except for the three centralbuildings, which are wood and thatch.The central courtyard is paved withbricks. The streets leading into thecourtyard are dirt.

The area is usually jammed withvending carts and hawkers, thoughless so on the day of the sale.

Encounters on the way to the plazaare normal, random encounters. How-ever, during the day, random encoun-ters could be stepped up and madesomewhat more likely (in the adjoiningareas only).

Assuming that the PCs come to theauction to get a look at the Boss, oreven to attack him, their best chancefor success is to disguise themselvesas evil denizens of the city and blendin with the crowd. This presents noproblems for humans, but is more dif-ficult for demihumans. Elves,dwarves, halflings, half-elves, andgnomes are not common in the cityand will attract interest.

Any group has a base 5 percentchance of being detected and

attacked. Each type of demihumanwith the party increases the chance by10 percent. A group of two humans, adwarf, and an elf, for example, wouldhave a 25 percent chance of beingdetected as spies and attacked. Alone elf, a group of all elves, or amixed group of humans and elves, onthe other hand, has only a 15 percentchance to be detected. This ischecked once, five turns after thegroup arrives. If the group is detected,the characters are attacked immedi-ately by 25 monsters: 10 hobgoblins,7 goblins, 4 orcs, and 4 ogres (withstandard stats-use the randomencounter tables). All other monstersin the plaza scatter. However, the like-lihood of random encounters is dou-bled until the characters get back tothe human settlement.

If the character’s group is notdetected, the characters can minglewith the crowd freely. Some businessis being transacted, but mostly thecrowd is discussing the upcomingsale and whether the Boss really willshow up. Some sample phraseswhich can be overheard:

“Do you think he’ll really show up—the Boss, I mean?”

“Ah, I’m not surprised he’s wearinga disguise. I seen him once, and I’dwear a mask, too, if I was as ugly ashim.”

“He won’t come, He’ll just sendsomebody, maybe a powerful wizardchanged into a goblin or something.”

“I heard that one of the merchant’shelpers melted into a puddle of lardwhen he touched the thing.”

“Disguise or no disguise, you gottaknow who the Boss is: he’ll be the guybidding the price up.”

“The Boss has to buy it. He can’t letsomething like this get into the wronghands.”

“Muldoog saw it, and he says it hasto be at least a thousand years old.”

Two NPCs figure prominently in thissituation—Garwin the mage andBuldwar, his ogre bodyguard.

Garwin and Buldwar do not staytogether in the crowd. They don’t want

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anyone to know they are together.Buldwar keeps his eye on Garwin andrushes to aid him if anything goeswrong. Being an ogre, it is easy forBuldwar to see Garwin over the headsof the crowd.

Garwin: Mage 4; AC 8; MV 12; hp15; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4; AL LE. Garwinwears striped pants, low boots, a longtunic, a pendant of a blazing star(made of tin), and carries a dagger inhis sleeve. He knows the followingspells: darkness 15’ radius, invisibility;identify, magic missile, and spiderclimb.

Buldwar: AC 5; MV 9; HD 4 + 1; hp20; #AT 1; Dmg 1-10; AL CE. Buldwaris uncommonly intelligent for an ogre:hence his ability to help in Garwin’srather complicated plan. He is alsouncommonly well dressed for an ogre,wearing a leather kilt, heavy belt, andsheepskin jacket. He carries no weap-ons, but has a sack slung over hisshoulder containing 500 gp (mixedwith rags to muffle the coins and dis-guise the bag’s contents).

An attack against the compoundduring the auction is suicidal. The pla-za will be filled with monsters at thistime. Any group large enough to winthe battle will be detected long beforeit reaches the plaza.

If this is tried, the plaza contains:150 orcs, 175 goblins, 28 kobolds, 50hobgoblins, and 5 trolls.

If the characters flee from the plazaafter being detected, they are pursuedby 10 hobgoblins and 5 orcs. Thesepursuers split into three equal groups,however—two of hobgoblins and oneof orcs. The orcs are in the lead, withthe first group of hobgoblins fourrounds behind, and the second groupof hobgoblins five rounds behind thefirst.

Garwin has instructions to examinethe item before the sale, determine itsstrength, and decide whether to pur-chase it for the Boss. Buldwar is carry-ing 500 gold pieces to use as a downpayment if Garwin buys the item.Garwin is authorized to bid up to 5,000

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gold pieces for the item.If Garwin decides the item is not

worth buying but is worth having, heand Buldwar will keep track of the per-son who bought it. After the personhas the item but before the crowd dis-perses, Garwin and Buldwar close inon him from opposite directions.When both are close, Garwin castsdarkness 15’ radius. Buldwar throttlesthe hapless purchaser and grabs theitem. Garwin then casts invisibility onhimself and charges out of the dark-ened area, creating as much commo-tion as possible. He wants everyone tothink that he has the item and is get-ting away. Buldwar, in the meantime,stumbles out of the darkened area,acts as confused as everyone else,

It isn’t likely that the characters willget much treasure from this mission;they will be too busy trying to stayalive to do much looting. However, thecouncil will pay 500 gold pieces perperson (to a limit of 2,500 gold pieces)for returning with the wand. Since theBoss was never there, there is noreward for information.

and then strolls away.

The primary objective of this mis-sion is to clear the invaders from theCadorna property. Unknown to thecharacters, Porphyrys Cadorna alsowishes to regain the family treasurehidden here, provided it has not beendiscovered by the current occupants.

Once the characters have clearedthe intervening blocks between thesettlement and the textile house, theywill have to clear the Textile Houseitself. Remember that even if the char-acters have been to the Textile Housebefore, they cannot complete the mis-sion until the block has been cleared.Just when they are ready to set out, anNPC arrives, bearing a message fromPorphyrys Cadorna.

“Respected Adventurers, I thankyou for undertaking this dangeroustask on behalf of the settlement ofNew Phlan and, in no small way, myfamily’s honor. In recognition ofwhat you do for myself and myancestors, I send you this man,Tarask. Once he was a youth in theservice of my father. He knows theold Textile House and will be aninvaluable guide to you. Further-more, his arm is strong and he willnot fail you in times of need. Pleaseaccept him on your mission, if onlythat through him the name ofCadorna may expunge some of theevil that has befallen fair Phlan.”

The man bearing the message is afighter, past his prime but still quitecapable-looking. He has the basicequipment needed—studded leatherarmor, shield, and sword. He stays outof the way and doesn’t whine or begfor the party to accept him, it seemsclear that he intends to prove himselfby his actions.

Tarask has two duties on the adven-ture. First, if he is present, he can pro-vide a map of the Textile house. This isin his head only and he will not write itdown for the player characters. If theywant it, they must bring him along. Ofcourse, it has been some years sincehe was last there, so there are someinaccuracies. Second, he knows the

location of the treasure and has beenordered to bring it back, preferablywithout the knowledge of the playercharacters. If the player characters dodiscover the treasure, he will reportthem when they return.

If Tarask does not accompany theplayer characters back from the Tex-tile House (either because he didn’tgo or was slain during the adventure),guardsmen will stop the characters atthe gate. They have a list of thoseitems that form the Cadorna treasure.If these are found, the characters willbe arrested and taken beforeCadorna. He, being reasonably clev-er, will be tactful, thanking the charac-ters for recovering the family treasureand rewarding them with 200 gp each,above and beyond their mission pay.The characters can protest this, ofcourse. If they do, the whole issue willgo to before the full Council. Not sur-prisingly, they will side with Cadorna(the Council generally does not crossits own). The characters must turnover the bulk of the treasure or faceimprisonment.

Area DescriptionGates. Each entrance to the Textile

House is blocked by a closed woodengate, about 7 feet tall. These are theoriginal gates and bear the crest of theCadorna Mercantile house (A handholding a threaded shuttle on a field ofyellow trimmed with squirrel). Severalskulls of unidentifiable creatures hangfrom the tops of the gates. The gnollshave painted their own barbaric sym-bol over that of the Cadorna house. Allgates are barred from the inside.

Central Courtyard. This was oncethe main garden and receiving area ofthe Cadorna villa. Now it is a rank,weedy mess. The grounds are strewnwith the litter of gnollish junk and gar-bage. A timber frame stands in themiddle of everything. Shackles andnails shine on its red-brown weather-beaten posts, a ghoulish reminder ofgnollish justice. During the day thereare 2-8 gnolls lolling in this courtyard.They are not paying particular atten-

tion to anything although they are sup-posed to be on guard duty. Ifcharacters enter quietly and usestealth, they can avoid alerting theguards. If the guards notice the char-acters, they will beat the alarm drum.

When the alarm is sounded, thegnolls from rooms 1,4,13, and 20 willrush into the courtyard, somewhatconfused. If any characters are in thecourtyard, the gnolls will spend around or two to form up and will thencharge in formation. Ideally they willtry to flank the characters on one orboth sides. If the initial charge cannotbreak the invaders, the gnolls willreluctantly drop back and attack withmissile weapons. If attacked by spells,they will spread out to avoid areaeffect spells. The largest of the gnollspresent will remain in the rear ranks,issuing orders. If he is slain theremaining gnolls will be without direc-tion. They will fight individually andwill be more likely to run (50% of thetime as opposed to 15% with a strongleader present).

The alarm also results in the gnollsat 3, 5, 6, 14, and 18 moving to thegate nearest their positions. They willwatch for attackers from outside.Intent upon their duties, they will notexpect an attack from the rear at first,although they will recover quicklyenough.

Finally, the alarm will prevent theplayer characters from gaining sur-prise on any other group within theHouse. The state of readiness causedby the alarm lasts 30 minutes or untilthe all-clear signal, another round ofdrumbeats, is given.

At night, the courtyard is lit by flick-ering torches and bonfires. 11-20gnolls fill the courtyard. They expectno attacks at night and foolishly do notpost any guards. Instead they spendtheir time eating, drinking, and tortur-ing any hapless victims they may havegotten that day.

1. Gnoll Barracks. By day, fourgnolls occupy this building. At nightthe building is empty. In diggingthrough the trash, the characters find20 sp and 38 gp.

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2. Collapsed Buildings. These build-ings are little more than ruins now,having long ago succumbed to acarelessly-built gnoll fire. The gnollsuse these buildings to dump their rot-ten garbage, when they bother to careabout it. Living here now is a greenslime. It will not be troublesomeunless the mounds of filth are dis-turbed. The buildings are good hidingplaces, since no random ecountersoccur here nor do the gnolls visit hereby choice.

3. Watchpost. Three gnolls man thisat all times. However, they are not tre-mendously diligent, prefering to tosscoins and argue most of the time.They do not sound the alarm if thegate is opened, but notice any charac-ters who move past their door. Theywill then attack from the rear. Eachgnoll has 4 cp and 5 sp.

4. Servants’ Quarters. This buildingwas once used by the household ser-vants. It is now the den of a gnoll lieu-tenant (HD 3). he is normally asleepduring the day. At night the room isempty since he is usually out leadingraids. He has managed to collect thesmall fortune of 20 gp.

5. Servants’ Quarters. This too wasused by the servants in days longpast. It is now the home of two gnolls,somewhat shunned by the rest of thegroup. One limps (but only slightly)and the other has a barking stutter.Together they have been assigned toguard duty. Neither is particularlyenthusiastic about protecting the restof the tribe, so they will break and runif either are hurt or faced by spellcast-ers. Their quarters are squalid evenby the standards of gnolldom. All theyposess is a small charcoal brazier and

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several pieces of rotten meat.

6. Main Hall. This building is thereception of chamber of the gnollchieftain. Present here at all times arefour guardsmen, the best of the gnolls(all have maximum hit points). Theyare armed with halberds, swords, andshortbows. They will never flee or sur-render. At night they are joined by thegnoll chieftain (4 HD), handling tribalduties from a large throne. In combathe will flee if things go badly, leavinghis guards behind to prevent any pur-suit.

7. Weavers’ Hall. This was once theliving hall of the Cadorna weavers.Then its walls were covered with richtapestries, examples of their work.Now they are little more than rottedfragments. The hall has been convert-ed to the use of the gnoll females andchildren. Day or night there are 2-5females (identical to males but armedonly with clubs) and 2-12 children(treat as 1/2 HD monsters doing 1-4points of damage per attack, AC 10).They will yip and bark if disturbed,their noise drawing in the mate-malesfrom room 8.

8. Hall of the Mate-Males. This roomis occupied by 2-4 male gnolls, currentmates of those in room 7. They arenormally asleep, but will respond toany cry of alarm from room 7.

9. Bedroom. This chamber is nowoccupied by the chieftan’s harem—three female gnolls. Since the gnollsnaturally breed for fierceness andwar-strength, these females are betterwarriors than most of the gnolls in thecompound. Each fights as a 3 HDmonster and is armed with a shortsword and spear. During the daytime,there is a 50% chance the chieftain(room 11) will be present. There are nochildren here since all cubs are caredfor communally. The room is fitted incrude and barbaric imitation of humancomforts—an algae-green bath, tat-tered finery, and old warped furniturepathetically set out to look impressive.During the day, all doors except the

one leading to room 11 are barred. Atnight, the door leading to room 6 isalso unbarred.

10. Cook’s Garden. This was oncethe working garden of the villa. It isnow totally deserted.

11. Bedroom. This is the chieftain’schamber. During the day he is eitherhere or in room 9. If he is here, he isasleep. The chieftain is the largestand most savage of the gnolls andacts accordingly. He is also the mostcunning. If hard-pressed, he willretreat into the courtyard or room 9,knowing he can find reinforcements ineither place.

This room contains the Cadornafamily treasure, as yet undiscoveredby the gnolls. It is hidden behind theplaster of one wall. A careful searchfor secret doors here will reveal itsniche. The treasure consists of a gem-encrusted golden statuette of adragon, a silver chalice chased with ahunting scene, a set of ruby-tippedivory soothsaying sticks, and a jadebottle carved like a sea-monster.Since these are works of art, theirexact value is difficult to place. How-ever, the player characters should notbe allowed to keep these items any-way, although they can gain a rewardfor finding them.

12. Armory. This room has a wideassortment of weapons that the gnollshave taken as part of the spoils of vic-tory. There is probably one of everykind of weapon available here,although none of them are magical.The weapons come in all sizes andshapes and are not glamourous oreven particularly valuable. Althoughbattered and worn, all are sharp and ingood repair.

13. Carders’ Hall. This is the bar-racks of the bachelor males, thosewho have not yet proved their man-hood (or, in this case, gnollhood) to thetribe. During the day there are threepresent. At night this group is alwaysout on patrol. Since they are trying toprove themselves, this group will

always attack, never hesitating orstopping to talk. Each in particularwants to claim the kill of a greateropponent.

14. Kitchen. Although seldom used,this is the communal kitchen of thegnolls. Day or night, two gnolls arealways present, tending the fires orpreparing meals. That the kitchen ismaintained at all was one of the far-sighted actions of the chief. It is main-tained for times of famine or siege andis not used much during normal situa-tions.

15. Larder. This door is locked with alarge crude padlock. Inside are theemergency stores the chief has putaside. Most of these are molded, rot-ten, bug-infested, or rat-eaten. Thishardly deters the gnolls, however.

16. Well. In the center of this room isthe well that supplies the entire com-plex. The door is not locked.

17. Shrine. Once one of the ware-houses of the textile operation, thisbuilding as been converted into theshaman’s shrine and quarters. Livinghere, day and night, is the gnoll sha-man (3rd level cleric). He presidesover all ceremonies and shares theruling of the tribe with the chief. Theshaman and chief get along well andneither has aspirations of overthrow-ing the other. Aside from advice andspell-casting, the shaman is also therepository of all the old tales and leg-ends of the tribe. During evil weatheror long hot spells it is common formost of the tribe to gather here for asong ceremony. The shaman has a+1 mace and several potions. Theseare heroism, healing, extra-healing,and fire resistance. These potions aretucked away in his nest. Also there is asmall pile of messages addressed tothe tribe. Some of these grant titlesand favors on the tribe for past serv-ices. One is a demand for more trib-ute. All are stamped with theelaborate seal of Tyranthraxus.

18. Storeroom. In this chamber are

two young gnolls (1 HD each), trainingunder the shaman. Neither has yetgained any spell-casting ability. Theywill react to the alarm as describedabove. If there is any disturbance fromroom 17, they will rush to the aid oftheir master. Both are armed withmaces and war-hammers. They keeptheir small treasure in a stoppered jarin the corner—28 cp and 49 sp guard-ed by a poisonous snake.

19. Watchpost. One gnoll is on dutyhere at all times. However, this (forsome reason) being a position ofpride, the watch is always vigilant.Any who try to enter by this route willautomatically cause the alarm to besounded. There is no treasure or any-thing of value here.

20. Looms. This building is filledwith the wreckage of the textile houselooms. For the gnolls, it has just beentoo much bother to clear this away.Enough space has been cleared fortwo gnolls to move in. Attempting tomove further into the building than thefirst row of squares is difficult. Allmovement rates are halved, armorclasses are worsened by 1, andchances to hit decrease by 2. Thegnolls, knowing of these hazards, willtry to push player characters into thewreckage of the looms while theyremain in the clear area. This smalladvantage may be enough for them towin.

Each gnoll has carefully hidden histreasure in the room. One has 39 spand 30 gp. The other has 349 sp and asmall ruby worth 100 gp. These trea-sures can only be found by searchingfor secret doors.

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The first encounter the party has ontheir first outing, anywhere (exceptSokol Keep), is with a mixed band ofundead:

Skeleton: AC 7; MV 12; HD 1; hp 1;#AT 1; Dmg 1-6 +1; SA Nil; SDImmune to sleep, charm, hold andcold-based spells, edged weaponsonly do one-half damage; AL N; THA-C0 20.

Zombie: AC 8; MV 6; HD 2; hp 1;#AT 1; Dmg 1-8 +2; SA Nil; SDImmune to sleep, charm, hold andcold-based spells; AL N; THAC0 20.

Wight: AC 5; MV 12; HD 4 +3; hp7; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 plus 1 level energydrain; SA Energy drain; SD Silver ormagic weapons needed to hit,immune to sleep, charm, hold andcold-based spells; AL LE; THAC0 15.

Treasures: the skeleton is using a+1 short sword, the zombie is using a+2 hammer, the wight is carrying ascroll of three magic-user spells: fire-ball, lightning bolt, and hold monster.

DM’S note: The wight is not sup-posed to ever hit the party members inthis first attack. It should be apparentto the party that they are fightingundead and dealing with a wight.

When the party trashes the mon-sters, a ghostly whisper is heard, “Weare for you and will be back.”

Adventure Set-UpThe first thing the town council tells

the adventurers about is the dangerfrom Valhingen Graveyard. It seemsthe undead are rising out of theirgraves and starting to roam the cityruins. It is going to be a problem thatthe player characters will have to face,but they might want to become morepowerful before they tackle it.

After every successful mission andsubsequent return to the Town Coun-cil, the Council tells the party that thedanger from the graveyard is growing.Specifically:

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After the first mission, the Counciltalks to the party, telling them of skele-tons that come out at night and roamand destroy things.

After the second successful mis-sion, the Council talks to the partyagain, telling them about zombies thatcome out at night and roam anddestroy things.

After the third successful mission,the Council talks to the party yetagain, telling them about wights thatcome out at night and roam and kid-nap people.

After the fourth successful mission,the Council offers the group a bountyof 50 gold for every undead killed fromthe graveyard.

If the party still hasn’t gone after thegraveyard after the fourth mission theCouncil offers them a magical sword ifthey will go and take out the evil that isgrowing in the graveyard. The two-handed sword is +1/+3 vs. undead.

If the party still doesn’t take on theSpectre towers, theTown Council willconstantly complain to the group thatthe undead menace isn’t getting anybetter and the party had better dosomething about it.

DM’s note on the graveyard: As theweeks go by, the undead in the grave-yard grow more and more powerful inthe following manner:

1) After every other successful mis-sion completed by the adventurers,the number of undead in each outdoorsection of the graveyard is doubled.Figure one week for each mission(including preparation time, etc.), sothe number of undead will double eve-ry two weeks.

2) If the party goes to the graveyard,but doesn't complete the killing of thespectres, the undead in each sectionwill continue to grow in number. Thereis a spectre generating skeletons, aspectre generating zombies, and aspectre generating wights. The killingof any of these spectres stops theaddition of any more of the type ofundead it generates.

There is a vampire leading all of thisactivity. If the vampire is not killed it

has the ability to bring back any onedead spectre every five game weeks.

3) If all the undead in a section of thegraveyard are killed, but the spectrethat creates that type of undead is not,then the undead will return to that sec-tion, starting with one creature, thentwo, then four, then eight, and so on.(Again, doubling every two weeks.)

Area DescriptionThe party sees a large fence around

the graveyard. There are gates on thewest and east sides, and they havebeen burst open from the inside. All ofthe vegetation is withered and brokenand there are hundreds of gravestones that have been turned over.Several large stone structures can beseen about the graveyard.

When the party first steps into thegraveyard, the sky suddenly becomesovercast with thick dark clouds, Light-ning and thunder can be heard in thedistance. It becomes so dim thattorches and lanterns are needed tomake sure the way is clear.

This happens every time the partysteps into the graveyard area.

Section A:The smallest and poorest of graves

is in these sections of the four quar-ters of the map. This is also the areathat has the most ground erupted fromeach grave stone. At the beginning,there is one skeleton in each quarter.

If the party roams in any part of thisarea, they are attacked by the totalnumber of skeletons in that section.

Skeleton: AC 7; MV 12; HD 1; hpVariable, rolled depending on howmany there are; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; SANil; SD Immune to sleep, charm, holdand cold-based spells, edged weap-ons only do one-half damage; AL N;THAC0 20.

DM’s note: Remember to increasethe number of skeletons according tothe number of weeks the party took toget there.

A) Skeleton Enclave: There is only

one large crypt in the outer area of thegraveyard. The door is locked tight.When opened, 15 skeletons comepouring forth:

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Skeletons (15): AC 7; MV 12; HD 1;hp Variable; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; SA Nil;SD lmmune to sleep, charm, hold andcold-based spells, edged weaponsonly do one-half damage; AL N; THA-C0 20.

After the party defeats the skele-tons, and if they enter the building,they discover a huge skeleton of agiant. If the number of skeletonsroaming outside in Area A is greaterthan 16, then another 15 skeletons willbe found with the giant inside thechamber:

Giant Skeleton: AC 4; MV 12; HD5; hp 27; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 +5; SA Nil;SD Immune to sleep, charm, hold,and cold-based spells, edged weap-ons only do one-half damage, can’t beclerically turned; AL N; THAC0 15.

Treasure: There is a locked marblechest in the chamber that holds theformer valuables of the skeletons: 28sp, 69 gp, ten rings with gems of base100 gp, 12 pieces of jewelry each witha base value of 200 gp. The giant hasa +2 shield and is using a +2 mace inbattle.

DM’s note: If the skeleton-generating Spectre is not killed, thischamber will always be restocked in aweek (except for the treasure, ofcourse).

Section B:The party can see more stone build-

ings in this section and fewerupturned graves.

DM’S note: Remember to increase at the top of the stairs, a roughly circu-the number of zombies according to lar chamber 25’ across.the number of weeks the party took toget there. Juju Zombie: AC 6; MV 9; HD 3 +

12; hp 24; #AT 1; Dmg 3-12; SA Nil; SD5) The Zombie Enclave: There Immune to powers that affect the

stands a small tower made of white mind, poison, electricity, magic mis-marble. The entrance has been bro- siles, death and cold spells, fire doesken open and a quick look inside half damage, turned as a spectre onreveals nothing but a set of stairs up to the table, piercing and blunt weaponthe second level. If the party moves to attacks do half damage and cleavingthe stairs a band of 25 zombies comes attacks do full, AL NE; THAC0 13.pouring down to attack.

Treasure: Lying about the floor isZombie (25): AC 8; MV 6; HD 2; hp the following: 290 sp, 110 gp, a potion

Variable; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; SA Nil; SD of healing, and a wand of lightning (3Immune to sleep, charm, hold and charges).cold-based spells; AL N; THAC0 15.

DM’s note: If the zombie-If the number of zombies outside in generating spectre is not killed, this

Area B is greater than 16, then chamber will always be restockedanother 15 zombies will be found with (except for the treasure, of course) inthe Juju Zombie in the upper chamber one week.

If the party roams in any part of thisarea, they are attacked by the totalnumber of zombies in that quarter.

Zombie: AC 8; MV 6; HD 2; hp Vari-able, rolled depending on how manythere are; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; SA Nil; SDImmune to sleep, charm, hold andcold-based spells; AL N; THAC0 15.

Section C:This area is filled with small ruined

crypts. There is one wight per twoweeks that the party has spent awayfrom the graveyard. For example, ifthe party spent six weeks away fromthe graveyard, there would be threewights per outdoor quarter.

If the party roams in any part of thisarea they are attacked by the totalnumber of wights in that quarter.

Wight: AC 5; MV 12; HD 4 +3; hpVariable depending on the numberthere; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 plus 1 levelenergy drain; SA Energy drain; SD Sil-ver or magic weapons needed to hit,immune to sleep, charm, hold andcold-based spells; AL LE; THAC0 15.

C) Wight Enclave: There is a hugetower with black smoke billowing outin clouds all around. The smokeerupts from holes in the ground. Thesingle entrance is locked and stronglybuilt. When the party tries to enterthey hear a voice shout out, “We arethe spirits of those who fought thedragons. Leave us to our rest or sufferthe consequences of your actions.”

When the party crashes in, they areattacked by 12 wights:

Wight (12): AC 5; MV 12; HD 4 +3;hp Variable; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 plus 1level energy drain; SA Energy drain;SD Silver or magic weapons neededto hit, immune to sleep, charm, holdand cold-based spells: AL LE; THAC015.

If the party is successful in defeat-ing the wights, they discover a largechamber with a single crypt. Floatingabove the crypt is a wraith; it says tothe entering party, “I am the protectorof the paladin. I guard his remains foreternity. Leave or suffer."

If the party leaves, there is hoattack. If they stay, the wraith fights tothe death:

Wraith: AC 4; MV 12/24; HD 5 +3;hp 43; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6 plus life leveldrain; SA energy drain; SD Silver ormagic weapons needed to hit: AL LE;

THAC0 15.

Treasure: In the locked crypt liesthe skeleton of a mighty warrior andthe following items: +2 plate mail, +2long sword (lawful good aligned sothat any other alignment picking it uptakes 15 hit points of damage), +1shield, and a ring of Fire Resistance.

DM's note: If the wight-generatingspectre is not killed, this encounterwill always be restocked (except fortreasure) in one week.

Section D:A precariously-leaning sarcopha-

gous sits alone in this section of thegraveyard, its massive stone doorsslightly ajar. The entire structurestrongly radiates both magic and evil.If the doors are opened, they reveal aset of wide stairs carved out of solidrock, leading down into the blackness.There does not appear to be any endto the stairs, nor are there any otherfeatures of interest inside. No mannerof detection, magical or otherwise, willever reveal the bottom of the stairs.The characters are welcome to walkdown. the stairs, but they will neverreach the bottom—ever. They canturn around at any time and comeback of course; nothing will stop them.

Section E:A two-level tower of white marble

stands clearly above all of the ruinedcrypts in the area. When the partynears the area they find huge piles ofhuman bones all over the place.

Coming near the tower causes asmall army of skeletons to come out tofight.

Skeleton (30): AC 7; MV 12; HD 1;hp 8 each #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; SA Nil; SDImmune to sleep, charm, hold andcold-based spells, edged weaponsonly do one-half damage; AL N; THA-C0 20

The lower tower entrance has nox-ious fumes coming from the doorwayand the party can’t see into the tower.

When they try to go in they must

make a poison saving throw, at +3(failing the save causes 10 points ofdamage to that person). The chamberis filled with bones, and stairs lead upto another chamber.

The upper chamber has yet anotherpoison gas and a required save (fail-ing the save causes death). A spectreis here and the party surprises it as itputs bones together to make skele-tons.

Spectre: AC 2; MV 15/30; HD 7+3; hp 38; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 plus twolevels of energy drain; SA energydrain; SD Immune to sleep, charm,hold, or cold-based spells, also poisonor paralyzation; AL LE; THAC0 13

Treasure: 2,000 gp, 555 pp, 19gems (base 100 gp), 3 pieces of jew-elry (each worth 2,500 gp), and an iri-descent ioun stone (sustains a personwithout air).

DM’s note: If this spectre is defeat-ed, there will be no more skeletonsappearing as wandering monsters orappearing in the graveyard. If it isn’tdefeated, this encounter area is fresh-ly stocked the next time (as detailedabove).

Section F:A two-level tower of burgundy mar-

ble stands clearly above all of theruined crypts in the area. When theparty nears the area they find hugepiles of hair and fur all over.

Coming near the tower causes asmall army of zombies to come out tofight.

Zombie (15): AC 8; MV 6; HD 2; hp16 each #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; SA Nil; SDImmune to sleep, charm, hold andcold-based spells; AL N; THAC0 16

The lower tower entrance has pilesof dead roses strewn about the area.The door is solid and only a knockspell or the use of a thief’s talents willget the party inside.

The lower chamber is filled with use-less clothing and rusting armor andstairs leading up to another chamber.

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The upper chamber is filled withuseless scrolls. The party instantlybecomes aware that a spectre is hereand the party surprises it as it putszombies together.

Spectre: AC 2; MV 15/30; HD 7+3; hp 38; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 plus twolevels of energy drain; SA energydrain; SD Immune to sleep, charm,hold, or cold-based spells, also poisonor paralyzation; AL LE; THAC0 13

Treasure: 1 ,111 gp, 542 pp, 13gems (base 100 gp), 3 pieces of jew-elry (each worth 1,000 gp), and a deepred ioun stone (adds 1 point to dexteri-t y ) .

DM’s note: If this spectre is defeat-ed, there will be no more zombiesappearing as wandering monsters orappearing in the graveyard. If it isn’tdefeated, this encounter area is fresh-ly stocked the next time the PCs comethrough.

Section G:A two-level tower of grey lava rock

stands clearly above all of the ruinedcrypts in the area. When the partynears the area they find the aircharged with static electricity and balllightning. The party can see the hairstanding up on their heads and arms.

Coming near the tower causes a small horde of wights to come out tofight.

Wight (one per two weeks the partydelayed in getting there): AC 5; MV12; HD 4 +3; hp 32 each #AT 1; Dmg1-4 plus 1 level energy drain; SAEnergy drain; SD Immune to sleep,charm, hold and cold-based spells; ALLE; THAC0 15

The lower tower entrance has obvi-ous magical waxed seals covering thedoor. There is writing on the door inthe common tongue that says, “Donot open this door. A great evil hasbeen laid to rest here.” Further investi-gation reveals there are also large sil-ver holy symbols up and down thecrack in the doorway.

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DM's Note: The door itself is easyto unlock and open.

The lower chamber is filled withglass and fur objects of all types fromgoblets to rugs. The total worth is notmore than 10 gp. There are stairsleading up to the second floor, but themoment the party enters the first floor,all those in metal armor take 4 pointsof damage from the electricity that hascollected in the area.

The upper chamber is filled withcopper plates on the walls and floor.The party instantly becomes aware ofa spectre working on the summoningof another wight. The group surprisesthe spectre.

Spectre: AC 2; MV 15/30; HD 7+3; hp 38; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 plus twolevels of energy drain; SA energydrain; SD Immune to sleep, charm,

hold, or cold-based spells, also poisonor paralyzation; AL LE; THAC0 13

Treasure: 5,111 gp, 711 pp, 22gems (base 100 gp), 6 pieces of jew-elry (each worth 1,000 gp), a pink iounstone (adds 1 point to constitution),and a spear +3.

DM's note: If this spectre is defeat-ed, there will be no more wightsappearing as wandering monsters orappearing in the graveyard. If it isn’tdefeated, this encounter area is fresh-ly stocked the next time.

Section H:A two-story green marble dome

structure can be seen from a distance.When the party gets closer they cansee a huge set of brass doors at theentrance. The doors have carvings onthem of ghosts and ghouls attacking

townspeople. In the middle of the dooris a panel of a powerful knight fightingseveral types of undead. When theparty tries to open the door a pair ofspectres comes out to attack thegroup.

Spectre (2): AC 2; MV 15/30; HD 7+3; hp 59, 38; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 plustwo levels of energy drain; SA energydrain; SD Immune to sleep, charm,hold, or cold-based spells, also poisonor paralyzation; AL LE; THAC0 13

If the group defeats the spectres,the brass doors open up and the scentof meadow flowers fills the air. Theyhear a voice say, “Come in, braveadventurers. You must take my gifts tobetter fight the evil that has come tothe city.”

The party finds the magically littomb of a brave knight. The body risesup from its resting place and giveseach party member a magic itemaccording to what class they are:

Any Magic User/Illusionist: 1pink ioun stone and a scroll of threerandom third level spells.

Any Fighter Type: 1 pale blue iounstone and a potion of extra healing.

Any Cleric Type: 1 dusty rose iounstone and a hammer +3.

Any Thief: 1 pale green ioun stoneand sling of seeking +2.

New characters can always getsome type of magic item here if theyare willing to fight the spectres thatcontinually guard the door. There arealways three more spectres than therewere the last time a visit was made.

Section I:When the party reaches the center

of the graveyard they will discover theruins of a black marble crypt. Insidethey will discover a coffin filled withdust. Among the piles of dust are sev-eral broken crosses, vials of spilledholy water and a scroll.

The scroll tells the group that theremains of this tomb are a vampire’sthat a noble paladin and a clericdestroyed with the power of good.

From here the group should beasked if they want to scatter the dustin the coffin, leave holy water or holyrelics in the coffin, and if they want tosearch around. If they search, theyfind nothing. If they leave holy water orrelics and/or symbols in the coffin,they will kill the vampire when it isforced to return to this coffin that it hasprepared.

DM’s Note: All of the evidence herehas been faked by the real vampire. Ituses this place to return to whenalmost killed. If the party left some-thing dangerous to vampires in thecoffin the vampire is killed when itreturns. If the party didn’t, the vampireand all the spectres and all of theundead problems start all over, fivemissions after the vampire wasattacked and not killed. The vampirewill have set up again in Section J.

Section J:The group comes near this area and

is called to by a human magician.“Hail, noble adventurers. I can seeyou are people of great power. I wouldask you to help me get rid of this foulundead problem.” If the charactersagree, the magician continues withthe party and helps the vampire get ridof the party. If the characters refuse,the magic-user attacks immediately.

Magician: AC 9; MV 12; HD 6; hp29; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 (dagger); SASpells: SD: Ring of Protection +2; ALLE; THAC0 19

Spells: 1st level: magic missile(x2),feather fall, shield

2nd level: detect invisible,invisibility

3rd level: fireball, hold person

The PitThe vampire is located at the bot-

tom of a huge pit. There are woodenstairs down. If the magician is with thegroup, he secretly activates the stairtrap. This causes 1d6 players to fall onthe collapsing stairs for 1d6 points ofdamage, each. A dwarf or clerical findtraps spell can detect this.

At the bottom of the well is a corridordug into the raw earth that the groupmust follow to find the vampire. If themagician is with the group he acti-vates the falling ceiling trap (again,secretly). This hits 1d4 party membersfor 1d6 points of damage, each. Adwarf and/or clerical find traps spellcan detect this.

When the party enters the vam-pire’s chamber they hear a voice, say-ing, “I welcome you to my home.” Thevampire lights up the chamber andone of the patty members must makea saving throw against the charmingof the vampire. If the magician is withthe group he uses his hold personspell on the party and the fight is on!

Vampire: AC 1; MV 12/18; HD 8+3; hp 50; #AT 1; Dmg 5-10 plus a twolevel energy drain; SA energy drain,glare has the chance of charming avictim; SD Immune to sleep, charm,hold spells, and poison or paralysis,takes half damage from cold spells,requires +1 or better weapon to hit,regenerates 3 hp per round; AL CE;THAC0 12

DM's Note: When the vampire getsdown to 15 or less hit points it will turnto gaseous form and vanish. The partyshould be told that the vampireescaped. If they go to the center of thegraveyard (Section I) they will find it. Ifthey haven’t added any holy relics tothe coffin or made any other prepara-tions they have another fight on theirhands with a fully regenerated vam-pire. This time it doesn’t run. If theyignore the vampire’s departure, theycan collect the treasure here, but thevampire will raise up new spectres,who will, in turn, raise up new skele-tons, zombies, and wights, and theproblem will continue.

Treasure: 2 pale blue ioun stones, 1scarlet & blue ioun stone, 1 pale greenioun stone, 9,000 gp, 1 wand of magicmissiles (33 charges), 3 potions ofhealing, and a scroll to restore twolevels lost in undead draining attacks.

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This should be the final encounterof the adventure where the playercharacters confront and hopefullydefeat Tyranthraxus. To do so, theplayer characters must get to the cas-tle and penetrate the maze that sur-rounds it.

Area DescriptionValjevo Castle has been heavily

modified by Tyranthraxus’s minionsaccording to his commands. For secu-rity, the buildings surrounding the cas-tle have been cleared, so. that thereare no random encounters in thisarea. Now living in the outbuildingsare guards, servants, and advisors ofTyranthraxus.

The castle compound itself hasbeen heavily modified to match Tyran-thraxus’s bizzare tastes. At the center,visible from a distance, is the centraltower. This tower is clearly in badrepair, the roofs collapsing and thewalls just beginning to crumble. Thereare only very narrow arrow slits in thewalls of this tower. At the outer cornersof the castle wall are smaller towers.Although these are only a single story,they are connected to each other by aguardwalk that runs the length of thewall. Ogre guards can be seen patrol-ling this wall at regular intervals.

The bailey of the castle has beentransformed into a bizarre garden.

Hedges festooned with black nectar-laden flowers, saw-like leaves, andglistening 6” long thorns have beenplanted to form the twisting paths of amaze. These hedges are thick enoughto act as walls. The spikes are deadlypoisonous. Charcters can attempt toforce their way through any hedge bycutting and chopping, but fire willhave no effect. Chopping for 30 hitpoints of damage will cut a hole largeenough for a person. Each roundspent cutting, the character mustmake a saving throw vs. poison toavoid being accidentally poisoned bythe thorns. A failed saving throwresults in death. Likewise, charactersaccidentally walking into a hedgemust make a saving throw. Holes inthe hedge will regrow in 3-6 days.

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Teleporters: The four spacesmarked on the map are teleporterspaces. When entered, the trans-porter is instantly activated. The play-er is randomly sent to one of the 4locations, including the one he is cur-rently standing on. Thus a charactermay teleport to one of the other 3 loca-tions or not move at all.

1. Deserted Building.

2. Watchpost. This building is occu-pied by the current officer of thewatch, a task rotated every day. Thusthere is always an encounter here.The officer of the watch is a 5th levelfighter with 43 hit points. The officerwill notice any characters who walkthrough the space in front of his doorand sound the alarm, a ringing bell.Once the alarm is sounded, no crea-ture can be surprised by normal char-acters (i.e., ones not invisible orotherwise concealed) for the nexthour of gametime.

3. Mess. This hall has long tables,benches and a great hearth at oneend. In the corners are heaps ofgarbage-bones, broken crockery,and things much more disgusting—being picked over by a pair of scruffylooking half-wild dogs. If the dogs aredriven away by a few sharp blows, thegarbage can be poked to reveal noth-ing.

4. Deserted Building.

5. Officer’s Quarters. The building islocked, quite solidly. Opening it willattract attention (again no surprise foran hour) and an automatic encounterwith 2-6 ogres, demanding to knowthe business of the player characters.Fortunately, these ogres can be trick-ed into believing the characters havelegal business here (“The Boss sentus,” etc.).

Inside is a well-appointed apart-ment containing items taken from oth-er parts of the city. The officer is notpresent since he is on duty elsewhere.Hidden in the apartment (under aloose stone) is his cache of 200 gp, a

potion of speed, and a scrap of a map.This map shows a region unknown tothe player characters but which linksto the section already found in theLibrary. Although it actually covers anarea away from the Pool of Radiance,it provides some small details whichhelp identify the location of the wholemap when compared against a map ofthe Forgotten Realms.

6 & 7. Lavoratories. Nothing of valueis here.

8. Guard Barracks. On the outside,this looks like a particularly rundownand deserted building. Inside arebunk beds for eight guards. Duringdaytime, there are four ogres present.At night, when more guards are onduty, there are only two ogres present.If the characters enter the room qui-etly, they can catch the ogres nap-ping. If the characters have madesubstantial noise or the alarm hasbeen sounded, the ogres prepare anambush. They have overturned sev-eral of the bunks around the door andare using these for cover. A bucket ofsand is rigged over the door to drop assoon as the door is opened. The firstcharacter through the door must savevs. dragon breath or be hit. The buck-et will cause 1-4 points of damage andwill stun the character for 1-4 rounds.

Throughout the room are thingsogres like to collect—broken skulls,bits of feather, badly tanned hides, col-orful rocks, and other charminglyworthless junk. Well hidden under aloose floorboard held in place by abedpost is a small collection of 300gp. This is the joint treasure of all theogres.

9. Deserted Room.

10. Gnoll Barracks. This chamber islittle more than a slovenly pit. Duringthe day there are eight gnolls present.If surprised, they are sleeping in apiled mass, dreamily scratching atfleas and picking lice. If not surprisedor alerted by the alarm, they are hasti-ly pulling their armor on while the larg-est barks out rude and pointed orders.

(Increase each gnolls AC by 1 or 2 for ting too dangerous. If the charactershaving partial armor.) If defeated, the refuse to let him go (and take his pos-characters can search through the sessions with him), he will be forced togarbage in the room. These fellows attack.make ogres look neat! The information Al-Hyam has gath-

Searching will only turn up 2-20 ered on the Pool of Radiance isgold pieces and will take several turns sketchy and mostly wrong, sinceto do completely. However, in addition Tyranthraxus has carefully misledto their meager treasure, those char- him. His notes and papers, hidden inacters that searched will have picked the room, suggest that the Pool, ifup a wonderful case of fleas and lice. imbibed, fills the person with anThe next day (and every day thereaf- extraordinary brilliance and vigor,ter until the character bathes) his increasing their powers of commandmovement rate on foot or horseback and charisma. He thinks it is possiblewill be reduced by 1/4 for the discom- the Pool may grant special magic use,fort. although he has not confirmed this

fact. He is at a loss to explain the fiery11. Castle Tower. This is the quar- radiance which surrounds those

ters of Al-Hyam Dhazid, an intinerant imbued with the Pool’s power. He hasmagic-user from Almraiven in the no idea that Tyranthraxus and theKingdom of Calimshan. He is here dragon are two separate beings. Heacting as an adviser to Tyranthraxus, also guesses the Pool of Radiance ishoping to learn how Tyranthraxus somewhere northwest of the Dragon-recieved his great power. However, he spine Mountains.does not know the true mystery of the Al-Hyam is a 7th level MU with 21 hitPool of Radiance, believing the points. He has bracers of defense (ACdragon to be Tyranthraxus. 3), a ring of shooting stars, a ring of fire

Since he is an advisor, he is only protection, and a wand of confusion.present in his quarters 40% of the He will use items in preference totime. He has survived all his years spells, due to their greater speed ofthrough guile and wit. If encountered, use.he will avoid the fight if possible, firstby being non-hostile, second by flee- His spells are as follows:ing, and third by surrender. He will not 1st level: identify, magic missile,fight unless he is forced or is positive sleep, spider climbhe can win. He carefully maintains a 2d level: detect invisibility, invisibility,non-hostile appearance. To save his webneck, he will tell a plausible story, 3d level: fireball, hold personalmost the truth. He is a traveller, serv- 4th level: wizard eyeing his greater powers to seek outknowledge and truth. (This is not too 12. Main Gate. The gate is locked. Itfar off the mark.) Since arriving in is opened if the right password isPhlan, he has been held under a type given (see 15 or 16) or it can be brokenof house arrest at Tyranthraxus’ down. It takes 150 points of damage toorders. Tyranthraxus wants to pump chop an opening large enough to gethim for all the information he can. In through. Obviously, chopping or cut-truth, Al-Hyam stays by choice, ting weapons must be used. Duringalthough there is the implied threat this time, the alarm will be automati-that Tyranthraxus would try to prevent cally sounded. The party will also behis leaving. subject to rocks (2-12 points of dam-

Al-Hyam will surrender if it looks like age) thrown by ogres over the gate.he can get mercy. He will not surren- These ogres can only be attacked byder to creatures normally considered missile weapons and they have theevil or untrustworthy (orcs, ogres, benefit of 50% cover (+4 bonus toetc.). Once he surrenders, he will their normal AC and saving throws).leave the city, figuring things are get-

13. Central Tower Room. This roomappears empty. However, the far wallis actually an illusion (making theroom appear one row of squaressmaller than usual). If charactersignore this wall (i.e., do nothing), theillusion will remain. If characterssearch this wall they will find nothing,and the wall will appear real. If charac-ters walk directly into the wall withoutfirst searching, the wall will disappear.Weapons thrown or shot at the wallwill disappear (passing through theillusion) without canceling the illu-sion.

Beyond the illusion is a staircasegoing up. There is nothing else in theroom.

14. Deserted Room. There is noth-ing here. The roof is collapsing, pre-venting the door from swinging open.

15. Watchman’s Post. One humanfighter, 6th level, armed with a +2two-handed sword, chainmail +1 anda javelin of lightning, is standing guardhere. He surveys the street through asmall slit in his door. The door islocked and he will only open it to thosehe knows or who give the properpassword when he demands it (“Har-rash,” known to the gnolls in 16).Since he is very watchful, he cannotbe surprised. If attacked he will ring abell for alarm. The gnolls in 16 willimmediately come to his aid. How-ever, the fighter has no desire to dieand if the attackers force their way intohis room, he will surrender. He carriesa note that says, “Rhodia.” This is thepassword to either main gate.

16. Gnoll Guards. Present in thisroom are six gnolls, although thereare accommodations for four ogresalso. Given its occupants, the room isa terrible mess.

The gnolls are not tremendouslybright, and can be tricked if the alarmhas not been sounded. Characterscan demand to be told the password,pretending they are on official busi-ness. The password can be gained inother ways too—goading them intoproving they really know the password

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Valjevo Castle

is quite effective. The gnolls are a per-verse group, however. Although theycan be tricked, threats of pain anddeath only make them obstinate andfatalistic. Pain and death they under-stand and stubbornly refuse to yieldto, since this would be weakness, atrait not tolerated in their culture.

In combat, the gnolls will attempt tomaneuver past the player charactersand make a break for the door. Theywill not do so foolishly, in ways sure toget them killed. Once out the door (ifallowed to escape) they will sound thealarm. They will not surrender, pre-fering to fight to the death over weak-ness.

If the gnolls are defeated and thechamber is (ugh!) searched, the char-acters can find a scrap of hide with alist of passwords. These are:

SandoRhodiaHarrash

17. Deserted Building. Just that andnothing more.

18. Provisional Armory. The door tothis building is locked. Inside are theemergency arms of the guards for thecastle. There is a large assortment ofarmor and weapons here. Althoughnone of it is magical, there is enoughhere that the player characters couldfully outfit themselves with a basic suitof armor and weapons. If all theseitems are returned to the settlement (agood trick considering the weight!),the flood of weaponry and armor onthe market will drive the price downuntil each item is almost worthless.On the other hand, if the items aresold off slowly and piecemeal, the val-ue of the goods will not drop. However,once the local merchants discover theplayer characters are competing withthem in the arms and armor market,they will become furious with the play-er characters. At first they will refusetheir own services to the player char-acters. If this shut-out fails, they willhire thieves to find and steal the goodsof the player characters. In the proc-ess the thieves will naturally helpthemselves to whatever they can find.

If all else fails, at least one of the mer-chants (the least scrupulous) hiresassassins to take care of the trouble-some player characters. All this woefrom a few simple suits of armor!

19. Collapsed Castle Tower.Although the ground floor of this toweris still intact, it is in such disrepair thatit is unusable. Abandoned by thelocals, it has been taken over by a bas-ilisk. The beast is allowed to remainunder direct orders of Tyranthraxus.

Basilisk: AC 4; MV 6” ; HD 6 + 1; hp37; #AT 1; Dmg 1d10; THAC0 13; SAgaze turns to stone; AL N

20. Kitchen. This open building pro-vides much of the miserable, nauseat-ing slop that is served to the guardsand workers of the castle compound.The kitchen reeks of smoke, rottenmeat, burned food, and sweat. Thereare always 3 cooks (human slaves)working here, minded by a gnoll fore-man (no armor, gnarled club for aweapon). If the slaves are freed, theycan offer the day’s password to theparty (“Rhodia”), since it was theirduty to carry the food into the castleeach evening. They know of thehedge maze in the castle, but do notknow the route through it. There isnothing of value in here.

21. Records. One of Tyranthraxus’secrets of his success are the meticu-lous records he maintains on day-to-day operation’s and plans. This roomcontains shelves and racks of oldledgers and scrolls. Written in thecrabbed hand taught to scribes, theserecords contain all manner of informa-tion. There are assessments on thestrengths of enemies, reports of spiesfrom the settlement and beyond, ros-ter lists of the army, disciplinaryrecords, account books, diplomaticpapers, and reports on the characterof various kings, dukes, counts, andother rulers. Most of these focus onthings suitable for blackmail. There isa lot of material here and assimilatingit will take a long time. For every hourspent pouring over this material, there

is a 10% (cumulative) chance ofdetecting a pattern. The records showa gradual increase of Tyranthraxus’power—moving from an unsophisti-cated horde of ill-organized inhumansto much more sophisticated and sinis-ter methods. Here, Tyranthraxus hasformed an alliance with the Red Wiz-ards of Thay; there, he holds damninginformation on a petty count, sure tocondemn that man in the eyes of hisking. The rosters tell of ever increas-ing numbers of better and better train-ed soldiers. The diplomatic lettersmake clear his ultimate ambitions—toassemble a great host and sweepsouth of the Moonsea, not just plun-dering but subjugating the lands heconquers.

For every hour spent among theserecords, there is a 15% chance ascribe from 22 will enter, bearing anarmload of books and scrolls. On spot-ting the player characters, the scribe(a 0-level NPC who is defintely a non-combatant) will drop his goods with astartled look and flee, sounding thealarm.

22. Scribes’ Offices. This brightly-litbuilding smells of tallow and leather.Inside are rows of high desks andstools. Any empty space is piled withvolumes, scrolls, sheets of parch-ment, inkpots, and goose quills. Pre-cariously balanced atop these areguttering candles and smoky oillamps. During the day and well intothe evening hours, six scribes sit atthe stools, hunched over the desks.Three officers or emissaries of Tyran-thraxus will be making reports whilethe other scribes copy orders or otherpapers of importance.

If the alarm has already beensounded, this building will be emptyand the most important papers will bemissing. Otherwise, the scribes willattempt to flee if attacked. They are allnormal humans, AC 10, with no partic-ular fighting skills. The emissaries,however, are fighter/magic-users (6th/5th levels) and will instantly fight.They are fiercely loyal to Tyranthraxusand are extremely competent. Onewill charge forward, attempting to

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engage the spell-casters white theothers drops back and casts spells.When their most offensive spells aredepleted, they will advance white theother breaks off to begin spell-casting.

Due to the highly flammable natureof the materials in the building, anycombat has a chance of setting thebuilding ablaze. Fire-based spells oruse of burning oil will automaticallystart a sizeable fire. Otherwise, thecombat has a 20% chance eachround of starting a small blaze from aknocked over candlestick or shatteredlamp. Sizeable fires cannot be con-trolled but small fires can be extin-guished if prompt action is taken. Ittakes one character one round to putout a small fire. If not put out, the firebecomes sizeable in the next round,filling one square. Sizeable firesspread one square each round. Anycharacter caught in a fire suffers 2-12points of burn damage for that round.When all squares are afire, the build-ing is ablaze. The alarm is automati-cally sounded and a group of guardsrushes to the scene—ten gnolls, fiveogres, and a human fighter (5th level)overseer. They will attempt to capture(if possible) or kill the characters. Ifcaptured, the PCs will be taken beforeTyranthraxus after having been strip-ped of their weapons and armor. Spell-casters will be gagged but not bound.Their only hope to escape wilt be torisk a hand-to-hand fight and make abreak for it, a difficult proposition atbest.

Regardless of events, the blaze willnot spread to other buildings(although it will destroy this one). Theblaze will last 6 turns (1 hour). If atnight, it will light up the surroundingarea.

If the papers are not destroyed, thecharacters can search through them.Among others, they will find a report ofCadorna’s activities in the settlement.Apparently, Tyranthraxus’ spies havebeen very thorough. This accountdescribes what information Cadornahas found, where he found it, and howhe has used the player characters todate. If Cadorna hasn’t yet beenexposed, this is damning evidence.

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The papers also have a series ofreports on a mission to the barbariansof the North. These describe how thebarbarians are ripe for takeover by astrong leader and the loyalties of vari-ous cheiftains. Of these, the Chief ofthe Raven Clan is firmly loyal to Tyran-thraxus. Apparently Tyranthraxusintends to set this Chief above all oth-ers to assemble a huge army. Onepaper in particular says, “Do not befooled by outward forms for you shaltknow me (Tyranthraxus) by my flam-ing sign.”

23. The Medusa’s Chamber: Thedoor to this chamber (from the tower)is locked and the room has been cun-ningly prepared as a trap for theunwary. Imprisoned here is a medusa,one graced with an incredibly poordisposition. She is chained to the farwall with chains that reach just shortof the door. The room is brightly lit atall times. When the door is opened,she will charge across the room. Allcharacters in the front rank mustmake a saving throw on the first round(-2 if surprised). After this, any char-acter looking at the creature to fight itmust make a saving throw everyround. Those fighting while avertingtheir gaze do not need a saving throw,but have a -4 penalty on to hit rollsand a -2 penalty on their ArmorClass.

Medusa: AC5; MV 9”; HD6; hp 39;#AT 1; Dmg 1d4; THAC0 13; SA gazeturns to stone, poison; AL-LE

There is no treasure in the room. Inthe ceiling is a small trapdoor for drop-ping food.

24. Laundry. Even disgustinghumanoids need their clothes washedonce in a while. During the day, therewill be 1-10 females of various races.They will flee or cower in the corners ifthe characters enter. Aside from laun-dry equipment, there is nothing of par-ticular value here. The clothing can beused to disguise the characters,increasing chances of surprise by 1and preventing the sounding of any

alarm until the characters actuallyattack.

25. Deserted Building.

26. Deserted Building.

27. Smithy. This building, once thestable of a courtier, has been convert-ed into a forge for the making andrepair of armor and weapons. Workingat the forge is a human armorer (Ftr Ivl4, AC9, hp 32, #AT 1, D 1-6 + 1-4 burndamage) and three bugbear assist-ants. Of these, one is working with thearmorer, another pumps the bellowsof the furnace and the third is sleepingout of sight behind the charcoal pile.The armorer will first assume the char-acters are part of Tyranthraxus’ armywho have come for new equipment orrepairs. Unless the characters dosomething suspicious (ask obviousquestions, threaten him, or attempt todamage any of the gear), he will notattack. If their true intention isrevealed, he and the bugbears willattack. The bugbears will use sledgesfrom the shop while the armorer fightswith a rod of red-hot iron (he hasgloves on). The third bugbear willawaken and join the fight after 3rounds. The armorer carries a purseof 20 gp. The bugbears have no trea-sure. There are no magical weaponshere, but there are good quality weap-ons and armor.

28. Charcoal Storehouse. The doorto this room is locked. The building isfilled with piles of charcoal used at thesmithy and by the troops for heatingand cooking. Random encounters donot occur here.

29. Ogre Guardroom. This room isoccupied by 2-4 ogres who work ascastle guards. They will demand thepassword of anyone who enters thetower; in fact, they will (with crudehumor) give three guesses (or four orfive, they don’t count too well). Thefact that there is no password doesn’tmake the least bit of difference tothem. In the end they will gleefullyshout that as they spring to attack.

There is one thing that will stop themhowever—the invoking of Tyran-thraxus’ name or his wrath. They aredumb enough to believe whatever istold them (so long as it doesn’t obvi-ously contradict what they can see) if itis backed by the word of Tyranthraxuswhom they live in fear of.

The ogres are guarding a great“treasure,” at feast by their standards.They will only reveal this if forced. Thetreasure is buried 3 feet under thefloor and will take about one turn to digup. It consists of 5 suits of rusty armor,a collection of sea shells (from some-where far away), and child’s jumpingjack toy.

30. Deserted Building.

31. Smokehouse. This is a standardmeat smokehouse, although the char-acters may not want to examine tooclosely the types and condition of themeats hung here. The room is filledwith cold smoke and is unpleasant(but not impossible) to remain in. It’sgreatest advantage is that no one willsearch here if an alarm is sounded.

32. Chapel. This was once a smallbarracks, now converted to a Templeof Bane. While it retains most of thecharacteristics of a barracks—barewalls, open-beamed ceiling, severalwindows, carved grafitti on theposts—a crude altar has been set upat the far end. Around the bend are thebunks of the priest and his two aco-lytes (Priest—5th level evil cleric, +1plate armor; +3 mace, necklace ofmissiles, one 6-dice, two 4-dice mis-siles; Acolytes—1st level clerics, nomagic items). There is a 20% chanceof 1-20 worshippers being present(each randomly chosen from the fol-lowing list):

1—Orc2—Goblin3—Hobgoblin4—Ogre5—Kobold6—Gnoll7—Bugbear8—Human bandit

9—Human fighter10—Human assassin

When the characters enter, the cler-ic automatically makes a Wisdomcheck (Wisdom 13). If he makes hischeck (his Wisdom or lower), he intui-tively knows the characters are not fol-lowers of Bane. If he fails, he belivesthe characters have come to worship.He will ask them to join him in prayerand offer his blessing upon them. Ifthey are not followers of Bane (whichis real unlikely), this is bad! Thosepraying will find their alignment shift-ed to evil. Those accepting the bless-ing will not have their alignmentchanged, however those not evil willbe wracked by unbearable pains,unable to fight or cast spells, barelyable to stagger along at half speed,until a remove curse is cast by a clericof their proper faith. While player char-acters whose alignment is changed toevil are still under the control of theplayer, any aligned magic itemsbelonging to the character will instant-ly know the difference. Furthermore,the character will not earn any experi-ence until the alignment change isrectified and clerics will lose all theirabilities. Clerics who suffer an align-ment change will never be able toregain their former status. Thesecharacters have just screwed up bad-ly. At best, they can become 1st levelfighters (if their statistics allow this).NPC characters who turn evil will notshow any noticeable change but willgradually grow to hate the group andwill betray them at a suitable opportu-nity.

The cleric will not suspect the char-acters until they give him cause to(such as refusing to kneel in prayerwhen he invites them to, or refusinghis blessing.). He will not immediatelybetray his suspicion, but will bide histime, waiting for an opportunity. Lateron, he will attack with his necklace ofmissiles at the first opportunemoment. His acolytes hasten to joinhim in this attack and willingly sacri-fice their lives to protect him.

Being a temple, there is naturally afair amount of treasure here. The altar

chalice and other appointments arehammered gold and silver, worth 30gp total. However, they are clearlyindentifiabte and can only be soldonce melted down for their metal.However, the person who takes theseitems incurs the displeasure of Bane (-1 on all to hit rolls until an appropriateatonement is made). The offering boxcontains 37 sp. Again, stealing thiswill arouse Bane’s displeasure (auto-matic negative reaction from all of hisclerics and a -2 on reaction dice fromall his followers). Behind the altar aretwo finely crafted swords. They are+3 swords of evil alignment. Any non-evil character suffer 2-12 points dam-age each time he picks up or drawsone of these weapons.

33. The Lair of Tyranthraxus. Thischamber is the main audience hall ofTyranthraxus, leader of the conquer-ors of Phlan. The ceiling to the roomhas been torn away, leaving this entiresection of the tower open to the sky. Astaircase decends into the chamberfrom the floor above. The walls aresparsely decorated, the main featurebeing a large map which dominatesthe far wall. This map outlines thelands to the North of Phlan and showsthe locations of most outposts, settle-ments, armies, and groups. (Thisshould be a reasonably accurate mapof the game area. If possible, move-ments of the player characters caneven be marked in red.) Sitting on asmall table underneath it is Tyran-thraxus’ seal. A great banner forTyranthraxus’ army hangs on anotherwall. Blazing torches light the room atnight.

Present in this chamber at all timesare 2 guardsmen (human ftr, lvl 8, AC0, hp 60, #AT 3/2, Dmg 1-10 +4, +2 onall saving throws) carrying +2 two-handed swords and wearing +2 platemail armor. One also wears a ring ofspell turning.

If the characters have driven offTyranthraxus in battle already, he willbe here, licking his wounds. He willnot be pleased to see them. On sight-ing the player characters he orders hisguards to attack and uses his breath

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weapon if possible. After this, he willfight to the best of his ability, using hisbreath weapon and spells in prefer-ence to physical attacks.

If the player characters have not yetencountered Tyranthraxus (and havenot visited this chamber before), thereis only a 50% chance that Tyran-thraxus is present. If he is not present,the guards (assuming the charactersare part of Tyranthraxus’ army) willbar passage, explaining that none areallowed in the master’s chamber with-out his orders. They will defend them-selves to the best of their ability ifattacked while attempting to drive thecharacters from the room. Once this isdone, they will bar the door.

If Tyranthraxus is present (either byluck because the characters have vis-ited the chamber before but have notbattled Tyranthraxus), he will notattack the characters unless theymake a hostile action (such asattempting to cast a spell). Instead, hewill greet them politely, inquiring oftheir business. If possible, he will con-verse with them in an ultra-genteelway. Once he knows of their purpose,he will try to dissuade them of anyhope of success. If the charactersdon’t run or attack, he will offer themthe choice of becoming commandersin his army. Each character is requiredto vote individually. Evil NPCs auto-matically accept the offer. Good NPCswill refuse. Neutral NPCs join if thosewho accept outnumber those whorefuse. The players must decide fortheir own characters. Those whoaccept the offer immediately comeunder the control of the DM. Tyran-thraxus then orders the destruction ofthe remaining characters as the firsttest. The guards and former NPCs willattack the remaining characters.Tyranthraxus will remain out of thefight until it is absolutely necessary.

In any case, Tyranthraxus inducesthe dragon to fight to the death. As thebeast gets low in hit points, Tyran-thraxus allows it to speak somewhat inan attempt to confuse the player char-acters. Although retaining completecontrol, he loosens his grip on thespeech centers. In the midst of battle,

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the dragon roars out, screaming foraid and mercy against the thing that isconsuming its mind. Tyranthraxushopes this will make the charactershesitate, givng him an advantage. Ifthe dragon is about to die, Tyran-thraxus will suddenly abandon thatshell and possess another. The orderwill be as follows:

Cadorna, if present.The NPC with the most current hit

points. (However, if all available NPCshave fewer than half their original hitpoints, Tyranthraxus will skip thisoption.)

A guardsman. (As above, if all theguradsmen have fewer than half theirhit points, Tyranthraxus will move onto the final option.)

The PC with the most hit points. (IfTyranthraxus is down to this option,he will take the healthiest PC availa-ble, regardless of how many hit pointsthey have left.)

For the purposes of the adventure,only player characters are allowed asaving throw vs. death to resist thepossession. For all NPCs (includingCadorna), the possession is automat-ic. As soon as the transfer is com-plete, all of Tyranthraxus’ powers areimmediately gained by the possessedcharacter including the flaming aura.With a scream of frustrated rage,Tyranthraxus curses the charactersfor their meddling in his plans. How-ever, he is far from defeated, heassures them, for he will return fromthe Pool of Radiance with evengreater power. Then he will exact hisvengance on all of the ForgottenRealms, not just the puny city ofPhlan. Once this little bit of theatrics isdone, whomever Tyranthraxus haspossessed flees. The characters canonly stop the possessed character bykilling him. If the character is slain,Tyranthraxus roars up into a vastflaming cloud, squealing in hatred,then rockets out through the ceiling ofthe room. The castle and everyone init suffers 2-12 points of flame damage.Note that this should be sufficient todestroy most of Tyranthraxus’ guards

and henchmen. If a player character ispossessed and Porphyrys Cadorna isstill alive but not with the party, theplayer character will attempt to flee. Ifsuccessful, he will meet Cadornasomewhere in the maze. Tyran-thraxus, sensing something inCadorna’s character more to his lik-ing, will transfer to him, leaving thecharacter unconscious. This charac-ter can be found by the others as theyleave. He knows that Cadorna is nowpossessed and that he has fled to thelands of the North. But getting to theNorth, beyond the mountains, shouldbe part of the next adventure.

Once Tyranthraxus is defeated, thecharacters can continue to clear thecity if they desire. Without their leader,however, the evil creatures of the cityare disorganized and weak. They aremore likely to flee or surrender thanstand and fight. The task of clearingwill become easier. However, the set-tlement will also be in chaos, since it islikely that Cadorna will be absent (per-manently) from the Council. If youwant, one of the player characters canbe chosen to hold a seat on the coun-cil. The benefits of this should includemore control over the block-clearing,automatic access to guardsmen asNPCs, and greater respect within thecommunity. It may also be useful inlater adventures as a set-up device.

34. Deserted Building. There isnothing but very large cobwebs here.

35 Deserted Building. The door isjammed, but not locked. It can bebashed open; however, doing so willbring down a large section of the ceil-ing just beyond the door. Anyonecaught under this suffers 2-12 pointsof damage.

36. Barracks. Same as room 10.

37. Deserted Hall. Nothing of inter-est here.

38. Ogre Guardpost. This building isboth the quarters and watchpost oftwo ogres. They alternate shifts. Whileone is on duty, the other sleeps or pre-

Valjevo Castle 2nd Floor

pares meals. The ogre on duty spendshis time watching the street alongside(not in front) of the building through asmall peephole. When any characterenters the area, the ogre rushes outthe door to meet them, rousing hiscomrade as he goes. Outside, hedemands the password. If given, thecharacters are allowed to pass. If notgiven, the ogre attacks while the otherraises the alarm. The password is“Harrash.” The ogres can be trickedby a brave character forcefully insist-ing that “Tyranthraxus sent us!”Indeed, they will be visibly cowed atthe mention of this name.

39. Enclosed Well. There is nothinghere but a bucket for drawing water upthrough a hole in the floor. It is 80 feetdown to the water level. The water is20 feet deep. At the very bottom of thewell is a long-lost sword +2, flame

tongue. It was thrown here to keep itfrom falling into the hands of thedragon army a long time ago.

40. Cadorna's Cell. In this smallroom is Porphyrys Cadorna, if he hasfled from the settlement. Attemptingto learn more about the Pool of Radi-ance, which he mistakenly thoughtwas in the castle, he was captured byTyranthraxus’ minions. He is chainedto the wall and has been horribly beat-en and abused. He is weak, barelyable to stagger along. He pleads to bereleased in the name of mercy and thevarious gods of the Realms. Ifreleased and allowed to accompanythe characters, he will tell them thepassword to open the castle gate(“Rhodia”), but not until they need touse it. He furthermore claims to knowthe route through the castle maze,which the characters don’t even know

about. All he actually knows is how toavoid going through the loop (i.e., heknows to take the left path on enter-ing, followed by the next two rights). Ifnot released, he will, threaten toscream and shout to sound the alarm.If Cadorna has not fled the settlement,then this room is empty.

41. Barracks. Same as 10.

42. Deserted Building.

43. Deserted Building. A colony ofpoisonous frogs (five total) have madethis their home.

44. Ogre Barracks. This corner tow-er is occupied by four ogres in rathertight quarters. As a result, they are irri-table and quarrelsome. Assuming thecharacters to have proper business inthe castle (unless the gate guardshave raised the alarm), they will askthe “smart humans” to settle an argu-ment for them. The burliest one of thegroup says that “Frogs and toads notsame t’ing. Dey not same, dey dif-...dey not same! Me right?”

If the characters agree with him, theother three ogres become enragedand attack. The big ogre, thumpinghis “new buddies” on the back willfight on their side. If the charactersdisagree, the three other ogres willburst into howls of laughter. Growingangry and red in the face, he willattack the characters, chasing themuntil he is slain. The other ogres willnot intervene unless he is being killedright before their eyes.

Of course if the characters attackwithout waiting to hear or answer thequestion, all the ogres will fightagainst them. Enraged, they will gaina +2 on all to hit rolls.

45. Same as 12.

46. The False Tyranthraxus. Thischamber is lavishly appointed withhangings, carpets, and furniture. Sit-ting on a throne on the far side of theroom is a powerful looking man,decked out in barbaric splendor. Hedoes not wear any armor, but carries a

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wicked looking sword. When the char-acters enter, he demands to knowwhat their business is with Tyran-thraxus, lord of Phlan.

This man is a 8th level thief posingas Tyranthraxus under orders. Hewears a ring of protection +2, givinghim an AC of 6 (the rest is from hisdexterity of 16). He carries a +4Defender sword (randomly determineeach round how much he applies toattack and defense) and gauntlets ofogre power. In addition, hiding in theshadows to each side of the door is a6th level thief. These thieves will waituntil they have the opportunity tobackstab the party members whilethey are engaged with the false Tyran-thraxus. Each of these thieves iswearing an elven cloak and carries asword +1.

If the fight goes badly, the thieveswill try to escape by the main door orthe secret door. If cornered, there is a10% chance the false Tyranthraxuswill confess the masquerade, hopingfor mercy.

In the chamber, the characters canfind 5000 gp worth of gems and jew-elry, as befits a ruler. There is also alarge seal, supposedly that of Tyran-thraxus. If the characters have anypapers bearing his seal, they can seethat this is not the same. It is only puthere for window dressing.

Tower: Second Floor1. Genheeris’ Quarters. Otavius

Genheeris is Tyranthraxus’ second in-command and normally handles theadministrative affairs of the army. Heis a 7th level magic user equippedwith a wand of cold and ring of invisi-bility. For practical reasons, Tyran-thraxus doesn’t trust him any morethan necessary (i.e., not at all) andGenheeris has no abiding love ofTyranthraxus. The room is furnishedas the apartment of a wealthy, ifeccentric, merchant. Genheeris is inhis room almost all the time, relying onrunners to carry messages to andfrom his office. When the player char-acters first enter, Genheeris assumesthey are runners sent by Tyran-thraxus. He will ask what message

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they bring. If the characters can think Spells:quickly, they can bluff their way out of 1st level: burning hands, magic mis-any fight, saying things such as “Our sile (x2), shieldlord demands that report as soon as 2d level: detect invisibility, stinkingpossible!” or “He inquires as to cloud, webwhether you have taken care of that 3d level: fireball, hold personmatter as instructed,” etc. If the char- 4th level: fearacters stumble or hesitate, Genheerisbecomes suspicious, believing them 2. Genheeris’ Antechamber: Thissent by Tyranthraxus to get rid of him. room is furnished with chairs andIf attacked, he believes the characters benches. It is used as the waitingare doing so under the orders of room for messengers that carryTyranthraxus. To save his life, he orders throughout the city. Waitingoffers to make them generals if they here is one human thief (3rd level).will eliminate their master instead of Unless attacked, he will not attack,him. He promises to aid them in this, assuming the characters to also beand will accompany them if allowed. messengers. He greets them non-Once with them, he will probably real- commitally and then goes back to hisize that he was mistaken about their own business. After a few rounds, apurpose, especially if the characters voice calls him into Genheeris’ office.search other rooms, get lost or get After one round he emerges, stuffinginvolved in fights with other creatures. some papers into his doublet andIn this case he attacks the party when leaves the room. The voice calls outhe can gain surprise, using his most again on the assumption the charac-effective area effect spell. He then dis- ters are messengers.appears using his ring. Invisible, he If the characters fight the messen-

ger, Genheeris automaticallytries to arrange for the characters toreach Tyranthraxus (opening secretdoors for them to find, etc.), figuringthe characters might possibly defeatthe dragon. Once the charactersencounter Tyranthraxus, he will hoveron the edge of the battle. If the charac-ters are going to win, he will attackthem in their weakened state, hopingto destroy them and gain control ofeverything. If the characters are los-ing, he will appear as reinforcementsfor Tyranthraxus. All told, it could bevery bad for the player characters.

assumes the characters are sent toget rid of him.

3. Empty Chamber. This room isdevoid of all furnishings. In the centeris a small trapdoor. This opens ontothe medusa chamber below and isused fur feeding the creature. If thetrapdoor is opened by an unwary char-acter, that character must make a sav-ing throw to resist the medusa whenlooking through. Otherwise nothingwill happen.

If Genheeris cannot convince thecharacters to join him and they attack,he will use whatever spell he can, andthen disappear with his ring. Unlessstopped, he next alerts Tyranthraxusand leaves the scene. Once alerted,Tyranthraxus cannot be surprised.

4. Tyranthraxus’ Chamber, 2ndFloor: The floor to this room has beentorn away, as has the ceiling, leavingeverything open to the sky. All thatremains is a staircase down to the firstfloor.

Otavius Genheeris: AC 10; MV12”; MU 7; hp 22; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4;THAC0 19; S11 I 18 W 15 D 16 Cn 14Ch 12; wand of cold, ring of invisibility;A L L E

After the player characters havecleared the greater part of the city,they will be ready to make the assaulton the Old Town hidden behind thecity walls. This is the stronghold of theenemies of Phlan, particularly Tyran-thraxus. However, characters will dis-cover that getting into and out of thisarea is far from easy. A direct assaulton the Gates should prove suicidal, asthe characters will probably learn.Another way into the Old Town mustbe found.

present themselves before theHigh council.

"By Order of _________________"

At the same time, the player charac-ters should have become a problemfor Cadorna, enough so that he wantsto get rid of them. Therefore, he pro-poses what seems a hopeless missionto the Council, one that is quiteappealing but virtually impossible.Once the characters accept, he issure he will never see them again.And best of all no one, not even theadventurers themselves, will have anyreason to blame him! He loves thisplan, for it so fiendishly elegant.

Thus, the Town Council posts thefollowing proclamation:

“Citizens of New Phlan!“Great has been the success of

those brave and true souls whohave joined into the service of ourRepublican Army. Through theirmight of arms and our generalshipwe have regained much of whatwas lost. Great our success hasbeen and great it shall be.

“Still however a blight remainson our fair city. In years past, the riv-er Kuto flowed pure and cleanthrough the heart of Phlan. Now itsbanks are swept with contagionand death. Seven times men havetrekked to find the source of thispollution. Seven times we havewaited in vain for word of their suc-cess. Now the auspicious number-has been reached, so surely suc-cess is within our grasp. To any whosucceeds in purifying the river Kutowe bestow the title Knight and ayearly stipend of 100 gold piecesfor life. All seeking this claim must

If the characters ask around formore information, they can learn thefollowing things:

1. The most learned NPCs in towndo not think the contamination isrelated to the conquest of Phlan. Theriver ran pure for many years after thesack of the city.

2. The contamination, while notmagical in itself, is definitely derivedor related to some magical process.However, no one has been able todetermine just what this process is.

3. Brave travellers from the far northhave said the river is pure at its head-

waters. Therefore, the cause of thecontamination is somewhere betweenhere and there.

4. The pollution has resisted allattempts to purify it. It is somehow tru-ly bound into the soul of the water. Theonly choice is find the source and stopit there.

Outside the Sorcerer’s IsleThe Sorcerer’s Isle is a low, barren

island in the center of a lake. Towardsthe north end of the lake the shorelineis lush—carpeted with tall grassesand spreading trees. At the upper-most end, the Kuto River, sparklingand unpolluted, flows into the lake.The southern end is a direct contrastto the north. The water is black andbubbles and reeks of death. Theshoreline is blighted. No grasses ortrees grow. Only the weathered skele-ton of a few foolish or unfortunate

55

creatures dot the banks. In manyways it looks like a poisoned oasis inthe middle of the desert.

The island is dominated by a singlefeature, a large smooth-sided pyra-mid. From the top of the pyramidcomes a gushing fountain of black,oily reek. This contamination flowsdown the east and west faces of thebuilding and cascades into the lake.There is no doubt that this is thesource of the river’s poisoning.

Crossing the lake is a dangerousaffair, for the water of the southern halfand directly around the isle is instantlydeadly. Touching or drinking it resultsin an immediate saving throw versuspoison. If the save is failed the charac-ter dies (in intense pain). Further-more, the lake is stocked withYarash’s experiments. Each turnthere is a 1 in 6 chance of somethingattacking the characters (treat as ahalf strength sahuagin that is horriblydeformed or mutilated). Again, duringthe fight the characters must take careto avoid contact with the deadlywaters.

Once on the island, the charactersare free from any more bother byYarash’s experiments. No randomencounters of any type occur on theisland. The pyramid itself is feature-less, showing no signs of doors or win-dows. However, if characters examinethe ground closely near the center ofthe north and south sides, they dis-cover the faint traces of a worn path.These paths lead to the secret doorson each side.

ated his demons, Yarash intends touse them to dominate the Moonsea.

The core of Yarash’s experimentsrevolves around the alteration of thewaters of the Moonsea throughalchemical processes. To this end, hispyramid is spewing forth contami-nants that in a few more decades willalter the subtle balance in the waters.In the Moonsea this solution is muchdiluted. Here, in the lake and river thathe uses as a breeding ground, the poi-sons are lethal to most creatures.

However, contamination, while key,is not the only step in the process. Theactual creatures are being developedthrough lizard-man stock. Throughtrial-and-error, Yarash has developeda series of alchemical and surgicaloperations to alter the lizard manbreed. However, the success rate isfar from certain. Many creatures dieand many more are deemed unsuit-

able. These he casts off to live in thedeadly waters of the lake. To date hehas had no satisfactory success.

Recently Yarash has been wonder-ing if he is using the wrong stock.While he understands sahuagin to belizard-like, they may not be derivedfrom the same root as lizard men.Thus, he welcomes the arrival of newspecimens (the player characters) toconduct his research on.

Area DescriptionTeleporters: To ensure his privacy

and trap intruders, Yarash has pre-pared a simple, but puzzling series ofteleports. These teleports work inseries. On the map, each teleport ismarked by number/letter code. Thenumber indicates the teleport. The let-ter indicates whether this is the entryor exit point—A is the entry point, B isthe exit point. 1A sends the character

Inside the PyramidThe pyramid is the home of Yarash,

a wizard with a bent towards alchemil-cal biology and a desire to be a Beas-tlord. For over three decades he hasbeen attempting to create a breed offreshwater sahuagin, an ocean-dwelling race memorable for their cru-elly passionate intelligence. AlthoughYarash has never seen such a crea-ture, he has read much of theirexploits (some of it quite exaggerated)so he is confident of recreating thisrace in freshwater. Once he has cre-

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to location 1B. However, 1B neversends the character anywhere—it isonly where the character is droppedoff.However, Yarash didn’t leave it as

simple as all this. First, there are twodistinct teleport groups. The firstgroup, 1-4, will eventually allow char-acters to reach Yarash’s apartments.The second group, 5-8, will send thecharacters to a small cell as Yarash’sprisoners.

Secondly, Yarash has built a specialfeature into the first group of teleportsto keep strangers from accidentallypopping into his home. This string ofteleports works either forwards orbackwards. When working forwardsthe teleports send the characters asnoted above. When operating back-wards, the teleporter sends the char-acter to the beginning of the previousnumber. Thus, a character enteringthe 2A teleport would be sent to the 1Alocation when the series was runningbackwards. Each use automaticallychanges the setting of all four tele-ports.

Characters unfamiliar with Yarash’sprovisions would thus find themselvesunable to break out of an endlessloop. This loop would go as follows:

Character teleports (forward) from1A to 1B. All teleports in the series arenow set backwards. The characterwanders around and finds the 2A tele-port and pops to 1A. All teleports arenow set forward and the characterusing the system would be sent from1A to 1B again. And so the cyclewould endlessly repeat.

Yarash himself gets through thecycle with a supply of small stones.First he enters 1A and goes to 1B.Finding 2A, he throws a pebble into it(which goes to 1A). The teleporterresets forward and Yarash goes from2A to 2B with no trouble. At each tele-porter he repeats this performanceuntil he reaches his apartments. Neareach teleporter point is a pile of smallstones that observant characters willnotice.

This strangeness only applies toteleports 1-4.

Bottom Level1. Spiral Maze. This area is one of

Yarash’s traps for the unwary. Oncethe characters have teleported in,there is virtually no way to escape.The floors are thickly coated in dustand it is obvious that no one has beenhere in some time. However, a certainnumber of creatures have beentrapped here for some time. Theirnumbers are slowly dwindling as eachstrives to hunt down and kill the othersfor food. Due to this perverse foodchain, none of the creatures will listento reason in any way. Some of themtried when they first. arrived in themaze, but they have learned the hardrealities of the situation since then. Allhave accustomed themselves to thetotal darkness. There is a 2 in 6chance of an encounter each turn (notround). Once a creature has beenslain it cannot be encountered againand that result should be treated as noencounter.

1 Human fighter, 4th level, +1s w o r d .

2 Goblin, +1 to hit for frenzy3 Dwarf, chain and shield, war

hammer +14 Lizardman5 Hobgoblin, +2 to hit for magic

sword and frenzy6 Human thief, leather armor,

wand of magic missiles

2. The Master of the Maze, Upongetting in sight of this point the char-acters will see a light ahead. Gettingcloser, they see an old man sitting inmeditation. The light comes from aglowing stone in front of him. The manis a 2d level cleric. He has survived bycreating food and water, barelyenough for himself, although he alsoshares it with the others when theycome near. In addition, he heals theirwounds and tends to their needs asbest he can. Although not mad, he isnot quite all there, having been a pris-oner of the maze now for severalyears. If the player characters talk tohim long enough (and he tends towander off into incoherence) he willreveal that he has been chiseling at

the rock of the wall behind him. Hethinks it will give way, but he is notstrong enough. If the player charac-ters push against the wall, they cantumble down a section large enoughto crawl through. This allows them toslide down the outside of the pyramidto safety.

3. Second Maze. This maze holdsthe ‘graduates’ of the first, as it were.Those who have gotten this far aretougher or luckier than the rest. Asbefore, the occupants, faced with star-vation, are quite prepared to kill any-thing or anyone they encounter. Thechance of encounter is the same andonce a creature is defeated it can nolonger be encountered.

1 Goblin, -1 to hit for hunger2 Lizardman3 Human thief, 5th level4 Lizardman, +1 to hit for fierce-

ness5 Elf magic-user, 3rd level6 Hobgoblin

4. The Dead Writer: At this point, thecharacters find the body of a human,long dead. Most of his gear and cloth-ing are missing, long since pickedover by the other occupants of themaze. However, under his dried outbody is a small bound book—his jour-nal. This journal contains a crude mapof this maze with a deathshead at theteleporter location. In addition, thejournal describes in sketchy detail theplans and intentions of Yarash. Whilenot all the facts are right, the journaldoes give the characters an idea ofwhat Yarash is up to.

Middle Level1. Lizardman Cell. This large room

contains five lizardmen Yarash is hold-ing for his experiments. While they donot know what is going to happen tothem, they all assume it will be bad. Atfirst they assume anyone enteringtheir cell is the enemy. Even if thecharacters can convince the lizard-men they mean them no harm, thelizardmen will remain suspicious.They feel that all non-lizardmen are in

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league with Yarash unless proven oth-erwise. In the end, they can be con-vinced not to attack, but they will notaccompany the characters.

2. Surgery. This chamber is a crossbetween a Grand Guignol torturechamber and Frankenstein’s labora-tory. Everything in it seems to bedesigned to restrain or cause pain.The walls are lined with bottles andflasks filled with bizzare powders, oils,ointments, and draughts. Any magicuser can tell that whoever uses it hasan alchemical background. There aresigns of recent use.

3. Hospice. This is where Yarash’sexperiments recover from his work.The room is filled with large vats filledwith the same oily black stuff thatflows from the fountain. The chamberstinks. In three of the four vats areexperiments—enraged by their horri-ble fate and their great pain. Any char-acter poking too closely will beattacked (+1 on the chance of beingsurprised) by the occupant, a double-strength lizardman. Again, the wallsare lined with shelves of powders andliquids all used in the creation of thebath.

4. Mixing Room. This room mostresembles an ordinary alchemist’sshop. The walls are lined with shelvesfilled with all manner of concotionsuseful to the magical and alchemicalarts. (Characters can easily obtain allbut the most valuable spell-castingcomponents here.) In the center of theroom is a table littered with more pow-ders, flasks, reports, a scale, andpapers. The papers are covered withalchemical formulae and experimentnotes, such as “Subject 213: Pro-gressing well, scars healing, unable totalk yet. Subject 214: Died when treat-ed, failed again," etc.

5. Secret Storerooms. These cham-bers can only be reached by teleportor passwall spells. The floor of each isdecorated in a unique pattern of tiles(to aid in teleport memorization). Eachholds a vast collection of magical junk.

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However, hidden among all this junkare 400 gp, 1200 sp, and 1-4 magicitems (randomly determined).

Top Level1. Guard Post. This is the guard post

of Yarash’s one moderately success-ful experiment from long past. Hiddenin this secret chamber is a ogrish-lizardman (a green-skinned, slightlyscaley ogre in appearance). Whenanyone (including Yarash) walks pastthis point, he must say “Hello,” greet-ing the creature. If this greeting is notgiven, the creature will open thesecret door (automatically gainingsurprise) and attack. The creature hasno treasure of note, only a few paltrybaubles and bones that it finds amus-ing.

2. Fountain Chamber. In the centerof this room a column of black foulwater jets up through a clear pipe andout the roof. Another pipe (runningfrom room 4) enters at the base of theclear pipe, pumping in streams of thefoul liquid. All about the room arevalves, gauges, petcocks, hand-wheels and other examples of arcaneplumbing. Any given piece of equip-ment must suffer 20 or more points ofdamage to break, either from a singleattack or several repeated attacks.When something breaks there is a10% cumulative chance of causing anexplosion which would spread theblack poison all about the room andcause 3-30 points of damage to allwithin 20 feet. Fortunately, the explo-sion will not be immediate, beginningfirst as a bang-clunk followed by sev-eral rounds of an ominous whine asthe pressure from whatever builds up.Keen-thinking characters should haveadequate time to escape.

3. Yarash’s Apartment. There is a50% chance that Yarash will be here(if not, he is in room 4 on this level).Yarash is a 10th level magic user. Atfirst, Yarash will see the player charac-ters as valuable new subjects andcast whatever spells he has that inca-pacitate or capture but do not kill. Ifthis fails, he will use purely offensive

spells, hoping to eliminate his opposi-tion. If he is wounded to 1/4 his hitpoints or less, he will cast defensivespells and attempt to reach his tele-port pad (which takes him to 5A on thelowest level of the pyramid). If allthese fail, he will use the secret door inhis chamber to get to the outside ofthe pyramid, where he can slide or flyto safety.

Yarash: 10th-level human wizard;AC 5; MV 12” ; hp 34 ; S 10 I 18 W 13 D17 Cn 17 Ch 10; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4;THAC0 19; AL CE; Yarash carries awand of paralyzation with threecharges, two potions of healing, apotion of speed, bracers of defense AC5, and a Quall’s Feather Token of aswan boat (which he uses for crossingthe lake).Spells:1st level: affect normal fires, magic

missile, protection fromgood, spider climb

2d level: detect invisibility, invisibility,locate object, wizard lock

3d level: fly, lightning bolt, waterbreathing

4th level: polymorph other, polymorphself

5th level: teleport (x2)

4. Pumping Room. Working asslaves in this room are three lizard-men. Two are dumping barrels of theblack contaminant in a large vat. Thethird is working a bellows pump whichforces the fluid into the fountain. Allare shackled and fastened by longchains to the wall. All have cuts from alash across their backs.

When the characters first enter, thelizardmen will recoil in fear, thinkingthe PCs are part of Yargash’s tyrrany.If the Characters foolishly attack or getto close to the lizardmen without mak-ing their good intentions known, thelizardmen will attack. The two willheave the barrel of poisonous gunk atthe party while the third wades in withhis bare fists. Once the fight beginsthey will not stop until one side is slainor the characters free one of them. Ifthis happens, they will stop fighting inamazement.

If the lizardmen are freed or con-vinced of the good intentions of thecharacters, they fall at the feet of thePCs in gratitude. They knew full wellthe fate that awaited them and arequite thankful to be saved from it.They will blurt out the story of whathorrors Yarash was trying to perpe-trate. Furthermore, although they willnot fight now (they only wish toescape) they will pledge the assist-ance of their tribe in the swamp to any-thing the players request. Theirchieftain is a wise old lizard who hasseen many things and knows manythings forgotten by the puny humans.(Indeed, he may have information onthe Pool of Radiance if the playercharacters go there and ask.)

Scale: one square = 10 feet

The lizardmen are suprisingly moreobservant that Yarash expected andthus know most of his secrets. Theyknow the location of the teleport pad inhis apartment along with the secretdoor to the outside. They also knowthe location of the other lizardmenprisoners and the general proceedureYarash uses to get through the tele-p o r t e r s .

Before leaving, the lizardmen willgive the characters directions to thehome of their tribe and repeat theirpromise of the tribe’s aid. (See the out-door adventure on p. 70 for moredetails.)

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Assuming the characters have sur-vived all previous missions, Cadornais truly alarmed at their growing suc-cess. Where previously he hadattempted to passively eliminate thecharacters (by sending them into dan-gerous situations), he now feels hemust take an active hand. Therefore,he has arranged for the player charac-ters to carry a message to the mastersof Zhentil Keep. Ostensibly, this mes-sage concerns the opening of treatiesof trade and friendship between Zhen-til Keep and New Phlan. Of course,the message is far more sinister thanthis. The message requests the deathof the messengers (i.e., the playercharacters). Cadorna is sending themstraight into a trap.

The AssignmentThis mission begins by having the

characters summoned before theTown Council. This in itself is different.Before, the characters had toapproach the council on their own orlearned of missions by postings. Nowthey are obviously important (or atleast so they should feel)! Of course,Cadorna has arranged the appoint-ment.

At the council chambers, the char-acters are given their mission. Theyare praised for being brave, valiant,and competent adventurers. The mis-sion they are about to undertake isdangerous. Because of their greatskill, they have been chosen to carrryimportant papers to the emissaries ofZhentil Keep. The characters get verylittle choice about accepting or refus-ing the mission. It is assumed they willgo. The council is willing to give themeach 30 gold pieces in travellingexpenses, a map showing the locationof the outpost of Zhentil Keep (andvery little between it and Phlan), and apacket of papers. This packet issealed with a wax seal. “It is essentialthe emissaries believe our good faith,therefore this seal must remain unbro-ken. Finally, be warned, there may bethose wanting to stop your mission.The cruel master of Old Phlan hasagents everywhere. Be wary and do

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not fail us!” With these words, theCouncil dismisses the characters.

The Papers: The characters aregiven a large bundle of papers in asealed envelope. If the charactersopen the envelope, they find thepapers are long-winded epistles filledwith flowery diplomatic language. thatmanages to say a lot without sayinganything. They are tedious reading. Itwill take about one day to read every-thing in the packet. What is of realimportance is a small paragraph justbefore the usual ending platitudes.This reads:

Lastly, to demonstrate desires andcompetence, we request that youshall slay these messengers whohave come bearing these papers.Thereupon send their heads backto us as proof of your actions.

Of course, once the envelope isopened, the characters will have to

things that honest folk won’t touch.”

2. “They’re the scum of all thenorth. Why Cormyr’s said to pay abounty on their hides!”

3. “You lookin’ for slaves? I canmake you a better deal than thoseguys.”

From these few clues, the playercharacters should get the clear ideathat they are visiting a group not notedfor their kindness and hospitality.

Getting to the OutpostThere are no special encounters on

the way the Outpost. The normal ran-dom encounters will occur.

The OutpostThe outpost appears to be a fairly

sizeable, well-built stockade set on aknoll overlooking. the surroundingcountryside. Fighters observe that the

reseal it. How good a job is done post has been carefully sited for thedepends on the Dexterity of the char-acter doing the job, the time taken,

best view. All surrounding brush and

and the materials available. It would trees for 300 yards has been cleared

be safer, obviously, to wait until on theand any ravines and gullies approach-

road to the outpost to open the enve-ing the stockade have been filled withloose dirt. The limestone stockade is

DM should assign bonuses to thebasic Dexterity roll for ingeniousideas, expensive materials, and extratime spent on the job.

lope, but sealing wax is not in verygood supply in the wilderness. The

place looks pretty formidable for a bor-der outpost.

Getting into the outpost is not too

surrounded by a dry moat. Guardscan be seen on the walls. All-in-all, the

difficult. As the characters approach,the guards on the battlements overthe gate spot them. Six guards watchthe approach of the characters. If theparty stops outside the gate and obvi-ously delays (sets up camp, etc.) atroop of 15 horsemen will ride out togreet them (one 6th level fighter, two3rd level fighters, one 4th level mage,one 3rd level cleric of Bane, and ten 0-level soldiers). They inquire, not toopolitely, as to the business of the char-acters and insist on escorting thecharacters into the stockade. Theyoffer polite, seemingly concerned rea-sons for doing so—the region is notsafe after dark, their commanderwould be honored to exercise his hos-

Information About the Out-post

Canny characters, before they setout, will seek to gain some informationabout the outpost and its occupants.Good places to check into this are atthe various taverns and inns abouttown where travellers meet. Given afew hours and a couple of gold pieces’worth of drinks, the adventurers canhear the following opinions:

1. “Oh, the Zhentarians! They’re areal wicked bunch. Called the BlackNetwork by some. Deal in all sorts of

pitality for strangers, etc. Their truereason is that they are suspicious ofany possibility the characters mightbe advance scouts for some army,particularly that of Tyranthraxus. Theyhave noted his operations with grow-ing concern since he may threatentheir own ambitions over the landsaround the Moonsea.

If the characters refuse the invita-tion, the request will become an order.The guard wilt bring the characters inby force, if necessary. If a battledevelops, the riders get reinforce-ments in 2-5 rounds. At first this will beanother squadron of cavalry, 24strong led by a 4th level fighter. If nec-essary, all but ten of the outpost’s gar-rison will arrive on the scene to defeatthe player characters. The garrison iscompetent, trained and well-commanded. It is not likely they aregoing to fight foolishly. If the charac-

ters start a fight and then surrender(due to overwhelming odds), theZhentarians will take them to sell asslaves. It is a gloomy end to theiradventures.

Inside the OutpostIf the characters enter the outpost

without a fight and explain their busi-ness, they are taken before the garri-son commander and his advisors. Allproper formalities are observed as isdue to emmisaries of a possible ally.Once the characters turn over thepacket, the commander orders theofficer of the watch to show them suit-able quarters and give them a tour ofthe outpost.

If the characers enter freely but donot reveal their mission, they areassigned simple quarters and fourguards (all 2nd level fighters). Theseguards are not so much to stop the

characters by force but to sound thealarm if the characters attempt any-thing they should not. Obviously, theyalso prevent the characters from look-ing around too much (i.e., at all). Thatevening the characters have dinnerwith the commandant. In the mornihgthey are allowed to depart.

If the characters are brought intothe outpost by force, things are muchdifferent for them. Their gear (andclothing) are stripped from them andthey are cast into the dungeon (asmall, foul-smelling cell) under one ofthe guardhouse towers. They are leftto languish there for a few days. Afterthis, they are brought out, shackledand manacled and given over to apassing caravan. They are now slavesbound for the gloomy recesses ofZhentil Keep.

The TourIf the characters are shown about

the outpost, they get a very limitedand selective tour. The officer of thewatch freely shows them into one ofthe barracks near the front gate. Thisis occupied by 50 men with all theirgear. He will point out the other bar-racks, but will not let the charactersget too close to them (particularlythose at the back of the camp). Most ofthese barracks are empty or virtuallyso. The commandant wants to portraythe image that the outpost is muchmore strongly manned than it actuallyis. Men come and go from the otherbarracks, but no one stays there atnight. Likewise the characters are notallowed to closely inspect the stables,lest they are able to get a count on thenumber of horses. (This informationwould also give a good estimate of thestrength of the garrison.) In general,the characters are given a fairly per-functory tour.

Once the tour is over, the officershows them to their quarters on one ofthe guardtowers. The room has onlyone entrance and four guards areposted outside. The characters arenot allowed to leave the room. If theyinsist, the guards will first restrainthem, then sound the alarm. Ten moreguardsmen will arrive in 1-3 rounds

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and every four rounds thereafter untilthere are either 40 guards present orthere are no guards remaining in theoutpost.

DinnerThat evening the characters are

invited to dine with the commandant.It is assumed they will attend, andsince they are on a diplomatic mis-sion, they should attend. The dinnerwill be as formal and fancy as can bemanaged at such a lonely outpost.The commandant and his advisors willbe polite and cordial, although theyare by no means good friends. Neitherthe commandant nor his advisorshave finished the papers, so they donot know what they are supposed todo to the player characters yet. Thathappens later in the night. Instead thecommandant asks questions of thecharcters, gently probing for whatthey know of New Phlan, its defenses,Tyranthraxus and his armies. Inreturn, the characters can ask ques-tions of him about Tyranthraxus andthe Pool of Radiance. While he knowsa fair amount about Tyranthraxus, hereveals as little as possible, insteadgiving mysterious answers couched inphrases like “I’ve heard it said...” and“Mind you, I’ve never really seen thefellow, but...” Things that he will sug-gest are that Tyranthraxus might notbe of this world, that he is anextremely formidable and dangerousopponent and that the he is associ-ated with fire—either he breathesflame or is able to cast lots of fire-based spells. There is no doubt thatTyranthraxus is an extremely ancientbeing. To prove his point, the com-mandant cites a legend of the North-ern Tribes about a being of flame,Tirantikus, who came out of the Tortur-ed Lands. There is a good chance,according to the commandant, thatTyranthraxus and Tirantikus could beone and the same.

If the characters bring up the sub-ject of the Pool of Radiance, the com-mandant does not make anyconnection between this and Tyran-thraxus (unless the player charactersspell it out for him). He has heard a

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few legends of the place, but nothingmore. First, he tells the tale of Dirg,Warrior of the Snow People. It is an oldstory of the Northmen he heard whileserving at the Citadel of the Ravenacross the Dragonspine Mountains.Dirg was, has he puts it, the usual bar-barian hero—the type able to snapfive men’s backs with his bare hands,wrestle and tame the cloud horses,pierce a man with a javelin from milesaway, and other equally preposterousthings. The story goes that Dirg, whilewandering with his men in the snowywastes, found a pool of unfrozenwater. The water was so hot it boiledthe skin from his pet Jezma, a little liz-ard that wandered too close. Angered,he thrust his spear into the pool androiled the waters. This disturbed ademon of fire who rose out to do battlewith Dirg. The demon leapt from manto man, consuming them but could notdefeat Dirg, but neither could Dirg finda weapon strong enough to withstandthe creature’s heat. After battling foran entire day, Dirg finally called uponhis totem god for aid. With this magi-cal power, Dirg was able to trap theflaming demon in a triangle of power,where it supposedly is even to thisday. Beyond this colorful tale he canonly say that the Northlands are filledwith many undiscovered wonders.

If the commandant does see theconnection between Tyranthraxusand the Pool of Radiance, he sudden-ly becomes uncommunicative. Hedoesn’t know anything and he cannothelp the characters—or so he says.Actually, the player characters havejust supplied him (and his masters)with a very useful peice of information.He is not going to give away informa-tion to a potential enemy at this point.

After dinner, the player charactersare escorted back to their quarters.

The AttackIt is not until well after dinner that

the commandant and his advisorsread Cardona’s request for the deathof the characters. Without muchdebate, they agree to do the task.Being intensely lawful evil, they havefew moral convictions to get in their

way. Sometime after midnight, thefour guards, accompanied by three4th level fighters and one 3rd levelmagic user, enter the player charac-ters’ chambers. Their goal is to dis-patch the characters one by one. Thelatter four will do the deed while theguards remain on watch. The firstattack against each character auto-matically hits, doing double damage;also, all saving throws fail. When thePCs fight back, the would-be assas-sins fight for two rounds, and if theyare not winning handily, then attemptto flee. First, they did not expect hav-ing to deal with a dangerous oppo-nent. Second, the commandantwanted the whole job done quietly,since one can never be too surewhose spies might be in his camp.After all, he figures, there is no point intaking unecessary chances.

If the attackers escape the playercharacters or the battle is loud (fire-balls going off, lightning bolts crack-ling through the air) the rest of thecompound is alerted. The other sol-diers have no idea what is really hap-pening. They think the compounditself is being attacked and the com-mandant, standing near the centralkeep isn’t going to tell them otherwise.In the confusion, the player charac-ters can slip away to reach the maingate. This gate is barred. It will takethe effort of all survivng player charac-ters (regardless of numbers) to get thegate open in 6-10 rounds. During thattime there is a 75% chance the char-acters will be seen by 2-20 guards-men. Seeing the characters at thegate, the guards will assume the char-acters have betrayed the keep andattack. At the same time, 6-10 guardswill. be summoned, arriving in 2-5rounds. No more than half the remain-ing guard force will arrive at the scenein any case. The guardsmen will chainany characters they capture. Thecharacters will be treated as prisoners(see above). Alternatively, the charac-ters can get out by climbing over thewall or hiding until the commotion diesdown and then sneaking out at theirleisure. If the characters capture oneof their attackers, they can learn a lit-

tle about the reason for the attack.These men know the commandantwas carrying out some orders hereceived that very day and they weresupposed to bring back the heads oftheir victims. The commandant knowsthe full nature of the message and willreveal it if forced.

Once the characters have escaped,they can either leave or remain in thearea. If they remain, mounted patrolsof ten guardsmen led by a 4th levelfighter will be searching for them.These patrols are only trying to harrythe characters, not overpower them.However, if the player characters cap-ture any of the riders, they can learnthe reason why they are being hunted.The word has leaked out of the com-mandant’s office by now.

Garrison of the OutpostThe garrison of the post is a finite

group. They are not endlesslyreplaced. Instead they can only bereplaced at the rate of one man everyother day from local recruits (banditsand the like). However, green recruitsarrive every 5-7 weeks in groups of 10-40 men. The garrison is never greaterthan its starting strength. If a leader is

lost, alI lower ranks are promoted intitle accordingly although the promo-tion does not confer any extra levels.

Commandant: 9th level humanfighter, +2 sword, 2 javelins of light-ning, +1 dagger, +2 plate mail, +1shield, ring of fire resistance, 3 potionsof extra-healing.

Advisors:

6th level human magic user—wandof cold, robe of displacement, ring ofprotection +3, dagger +2/+3 vs.regenerating creatures, potion of clair-audience, scroll with 4 spells random-ly selected

7th level cleric of Bane —mace +2/+4 vs. undead, +2 banded mail,scroll of protection from magic, potionof healing.

6th Ievel dwarven fighter— +1sword; +1 chain mail, potion of hero-ism, ring of telekinesis, gauntlets ofogre power.

6th level human fighter— +1 sword,crossbow of speed, 20 +2 quarrels,bronze horn of Valhalla.

Troops:

Ten 4th level sergeants— +1swords, +1 chain mail.

Ten 3rd level aides—no magicitems, AC 5.

Thirty 2nd level coporals—no magicitems, AC 6.

One hundred 0-level guardsmen—no magic items.

One 4th level magic user —masterof the magics, net of entrapment, brac-ers of defense AC 6.

One 3rd level apprentice magicuser—potion of delusion (a failedattempt at potion creation).

Three 1st level lackeys (all magic-users)—no magic items.

One 5th level cleric of Bane (clericalcorps)— staff of striking, banded armor+2, 2 pieces of incense of meditation.

Two 3rd level clerics of Bane (cleri-cal corps)—two potions of healing,one scroll with remove curse (clerical).

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This encounter has no connectionto the fight to retake Phlan, other thanthe Thri-Kreen have acquired a sub-stantial amount of treasure that thePCs could use either directly or indi-rectly against the hordes of Old Phlan.

The Thri-Kreen mounds can easilybe seen within two hexes of #3 on thereferee’s map of the area. lf the PCsare not inclined to investigate, or nev-er go near the area, the DM could useother means to entice the adventur-ers. For example, rumors of a new“insect cult” in the area could springup, or the relative of a wealthy NPCcould disappear in the area, and theparty would be hired to investigate. Itshouldn’t be too hard to figure out away to get the characters involved.

Area Descript ion Low (15-foot-high) dirt mounds rise

above the level grasslands. The smallmounds have one opening, while thetwo largest mounds have two open-ings each (all openings are irregular,crudely dug out). The mounds wereobviously built by the thri-kreen (obvi-ous, that is, to anyone with previousexperience with them) and are crudelyexcavated on the inside as well. Theinteriors of the mounds containdebris, scattered bones (some largeenough to be human), and an easy-to-spot, five-foot-wide hole leading down(to the underground level).

The corridors and large chamberare crudely excavated. The corridorsare six feet high and four feet wide.(These narrow corridors mean thePCs must walk in single file; Weaponssuch as long swords, broad swords,etc., suffer a -4 penalty to both attackroll and damage. No missile weaponscan be used in the corridors. Shortswords, daggers, maces, hammers,etc., suffer no penalties. Theserestrictions do not apply in the largechamber.)

The large room has a central pillarof unexcavated material. A crudegolden statue of a preying mantis(worth 10,000 gp) is in an alcove duginto the pillar. A large pile of human

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bones and equipment is in the far cor-ner of the room, on the other side ofthe pillar from the chamber’sentrances. (In the pile: ring of protec-tion +2, short sword +3, dagger +2,shield +2, 7,000 gp, four gems, twojewels, and about ten regular swordsand shields, plus one set each ofhuman-sized leather, chain, and platemail.

Living here are 13 thri-kreen (one ineach of the small mounds, two in thelargest mounds, two always in thelarge underground chamber serving.as guards for the statue, plus Grap,the chieftain/high priest, who isalways in the large undergroundchamber).

Thri-kreen (13): AC 5: MV 18” ; MD6 + 3; hp variable, depending on dierolls; #AT 5 or 1; Dmg 1d4(x4)/1d4 + 1

or by weapon type + 2; THAC0 13; SAsee below; SD dodge missiles on 9 orbetter on 1d20; AL CN

The thri-kreen have two specializedweapons unique to their race. One is apolearm that has blades on bothends—treat one end as a glaive, andthe other a throwing spear (damage 3-8). The other is carved crystalline“throwing wedge” that has a range of9”, does 3-6 damage, and will returnto the thrower if it misses. Each thri-kreen has ten throwing wedges andone polearm.

lf the thri-kreen aren’t expecting thePCs (that is, if they’re surprised), thenfive are out hunting and will return in1-4 rounds once the fighting starts;five are above ground in mounds, andthree (the ones noted above) arealways in the large chamber.

If the thri-kreen aren’t surprised,

then there’s one in each mound aboveground, with the others in the largechamber, clinging to the ceiling. Whenthe party enters the large chamber, allfive attack with surprise, each landingon a different PC. Each attacked PChas a 75% chance of being knockeddown and having to spend the nextround getting up.

Whenever a fight starts, all thri-kreen (except the three that stay in thelarge underground chamber) reachthe fight in 1-4 rounds, coming from allpossible directions (this means theparty should be attacked from boththe rear and the front, as well as thesides, if there is room).

If the PCs cast offensive damagespells underground (such as fireball,lightning bolt, etc.), there is a 20%chance of the entire ceiling caving infrom the caster to the target. Each PC(and monster) in the area will suffer5d6 points of damage, and that sec-tion of the corridor wilt be impassible.

Anyone caught in a cave-in but stillalive can crawl out in ten rounds. Thistime is reduced by one round for eachperson on the outside helping clearthe area.

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ln a tavern in Phlan, the PCs canhear a rumor: “Orcs have been raid-ing throughout the forest and hills tothe northeast of Phlan. They’ve deci-mated all the human settlements formiles. It’s said they have vast trea-sures from their looting.”

In addition to the rumors, there areother ways to interest the PCs in thisencounter:

When the PCs are within two hexesof #4 on the area map, they have a25% chance, per hex entered, ofbeing ambushed (automatic surprise)by a group of 21-40 orcs. When 60%of the orcs are dead, the rest flee inthe direction of #4.

Anywhere within five hexes of Area#4, the orc camp, the adventurers havea 20% chance, per hex entered, of find-ing a ravaged village. If the party investi-gates, they will find the village iscompletely destroyed and still smoking.As they wander through, they will hear alow moan coming from one building.There, they will find an old man neardeath. The man tells them, “Yesterday,a huge band of orcs, maybe 100 ormore, came and pillaged our village,killing all who fought and carrying awaythe rest. They came from the (indicatesdirection of the orc camp). Please, I begyou, rescue those who still live andavenge those who have died!” Unlessimmediate action is taken, the old mandies right after his speech. If he ishealed by the party, he stays in the vil-lage to bury the dead and salvage whathe can.

The Orcs

hordes:

“Regular” orcs (300): AC 6; MV 9” ;HD 1; hp variable; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8;THAC0 19; AL LE

1; hp 8; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8; THAC0 19;AL LE

Orc Guards (30): AC 4; MV 9” ; HD2; hp 11; #AT 1; Dmg 2-7; THAC0 16;AL LE

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Orc Subchiefs (2): AC 2; MV 9”;HD 3; hp 15; #AT 1; Dmg 4-9; THAC0 total). Each guardhouse has an arque-16; AL LE

rounds). Three of the orcs man thearquebus while the other 7 wield

HD 9; hp 53; #AT 1; Dmg 2d8; THAC0 heavy crossbows (Dmg 2-5 pts, fires12; SA throws boulders for 2d8 dam- once per 2 rounds).age; AL CE If the adventurers have eluded

detection, the rest of the orcs will beThere are also 45 slaves (men, unprepared for battle, milling about in

women, and children) kept in the slave- the compound, doing day-to-day orcpen. (See accompanying map.) things. One patrol of 50 regular orcs

are away from the compound, but theyThe orcs have an excellent perime- will arrive 10 rounds after the fighting

ter warning system. Unless the PCs starts.enter the area within 200 yards of the If the adventurers have beencamp invisible or otherwise hidden, detected (which is much more likely),

100 regular orcs are circling aroundthe PCs, and will attack from behindfour rounds after the assault begins.

chance for surprise. Half of this surprise force will useWhether the PCs are detected or short bows (1-4 damage, 2 shots per

not, there are always ten regular orcs round); the rest will use short swords.

If the PCs try to escape, they will haveto fight through this force.

In the compound, 40 regular orcsare in the open and charge the party.Eighty more regular orcs, plus all thebig orcs, guard orcs, subchiefs, andGorg, are hiding in the undergroundtunnels. Every time 20 regular orcsare killed in the compound, 20 regularorcs come up from the tunnels toreplace them. The orcs’ undergroundtunnels are very extensive, so the orcreinforcements can appear just aboutanywhere they could gain a tacticaladvantage. Any orcs in guardhousesaway from the fight will join the fray.The big orcs, orc guards, subchiefs,and Gorg do not enter the fray untilthere are only 20 regular orcs left inthe compound, including theguradhouse orcs. Gorg will continueto send the orcs into battle, using

them as a screen while he lobs boul-ders from a safe distance. Gorg willtarget magic-users first, then clerics.

The SlavesFive rounds after the fight begins (or

as soon as 30 orcs have died), the orcsstart to kill slaves, one every otherround (the PCs hear screams comingfrom the direction of the slave pens).Ten orcs are standing around the pens,firing crossbows into the slaves. If thePCs attack them, the orcs will stop kill-ing helpless slaves and defend them-selves). If the PCs do not try to rescuethe slaves, worsen their alignments byone level (good to neutral or neutral toevil). If this seems too drastic, feel freeto come up with another suitable pun-ishment. But the PCs shouldn’t let theslaves be mercilessly slaughtered and

get away with it.

When all the orcs are dead exceptfor the reserve force, and the reserveforce is down to 40 orcs, the orcs willbreak off the fight (this includes Gorg,if he’s still alive). They leave a rear-guard of ten orcs to hold the PCs offwhile the rest escape. The survivorswill track the adventurers and attacktheir camp that night, when only a fewPCs are up. They fight to the death inthis final attack.

Treasure: Hidden under the floorboards of the chief’s hut (check as iffor a secret door to find it) is a treasurechest containing the following: 30,000sp, 12,000 gp, 25 gems, 15 jewels, a

spell storing, necklace ofstrangulation, a staff of the serpent,plate mail +1, leather +1, and bracersof defense, AC 6.

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When the PCs are within threehexes (#5 on the area map), they havea 50% chance per hex of runningacross a deserted campsite (4-6 daysold). Tracks lead from the site in thedirection of #5. If the PCs follow the

campsite, more recent (two days oldor so) than the first. Again, tracks leadin the direction of #5. If the PCs con-tinue to follow the tracks, they will findthe nomad camp fairly easily.

The NomadsA tribe of 100 nomads (50 men, 35

women, 15 kids) plus a headman, his

user. Stats are as follows (stats are notgiven for the kids, who do not fight):

Headman: AC 2, MV 12” ; HD 6; hp45; #AT 1; Dmg 3-10; THAC0 16; ALLN; +2 long sword, +1 shield, +2scale mail

Magic-User: AC 2; MV 12”; HD 5;hp 20; Dmg 3-6; THAC0 20; AL LN;+2 dagger; bracers of defense, AC 2;wand of magic missiles, 50 chargesleftSpells:1st level: magic missile(x2), sleep(x2)2d level: invisibility(x2)3d level: fireball

Guards (5): AC 4; MV 12” ; HD 4; hp30; Dmg 2-9; THAC0 18; AL LN; +1long sword

Nomad Men and Women (95): AC6; MV 12” ; HD 1; hp 6; Dmg 1-6;THAC0 20; AL LN

The nomads are initially disposed tobe friendly to the PCs. They will notinitiate any hostilities and are actuallyeager to aid the PCs. Any attacks bythe PCs wipe out this goodwill andcause the entire tribe (except the chil-dren, who run away) to fight to thedeath.

If the PCs approach at night, theyhave a good chance of tripping thestring of warning bells (thieves getstandard chance to detect). Any alarm

causes the camp to awaken—in addi-tion to the ten men on sentry duty, themen and women in the tents take tworounds to arm and get out into thecamp.

At night, there are ten men on sen-try duty (five in the forest, five alongthe river). The central tent holds theheadman, his 5 guards (outside thetent), five women, and five kids. Eachother tent holds four men, three wom-en, and one kid.

During the day, all but ten men andten women are in the camp, doingchores, playing, cooking, watchingkids, etc. The 20 missing folk are inthe forest hunting and gathering food.(If a fight starts, the 20 nomads in theforest reach the camp in five rounds.)

Regardless of when the PCsapproach the camp, when they reachthe camp, read the following (unlessthe PCs attack immediately, in whichcase skip all text and go directly tocombat):

“A crowd of scruffy-lookingnomads gathers as hidden sentriesgive word of your approach. Thereare about equal numbers of menand women in the group. All thenomads hold their swords at theready, watching you warily. Morenomads are appearing from out oftents in the camp. You can see chil-dren peering out of the tent open-ings, only to be pushed back insideby their mothers. The nomads waitfor you to make the first move.”

What happens next is up to theplayers. If they attack, the nomads willfight back, and to the death. If theyrun, the nomads will double theirwatch the next 24 hours, but will notchase the adventurers. If the charac-ters offer a gift, greet the nomad chiefin a friendly manner, or do anythingelse that is remotely civilized, read thefollowing:

“The biggest, meanest, dirtiestnomad pushes his way to the frontof the crowd. Five other nomads

stand around him as if to protecthim. The biggest nomad, appar-ently the chief or headman,acknowledges you with a nod andinvites you to a feast to be held inyour honor tonight. Do youaccept?”

If the characters refuse, then thenomads ask the PCs to leave the vil-lage. If the PCs refuse, then thenomads attack (they have initiative onthe first round).

If the characters accept thenomads’ invitation, then read the fol-lowing:

“You are treated as honoredguests for the rest of the day (or allthe next day, if the initial meetingwas at night). There are contests ofstrength and skill held in your hon-or. As night falls, the nomads builda huge campfire in the center of thecamp. The whole tribe gathers forthe feast. After the feast there isdancing and wild celebrations. Dur-ing the festivities, the headman (histongue loosened somewhat bydrink) tells you of the dangers of theregion you are in. To the northeasthe warns of the pyramid of evil,long avoided by all sensible men.Far to the west is said to be a lair ofinsect-men, worshipers of a goldenidol of their god. Many have set outin search of this idol, but none haveever returned. The areas to thesouthwest, the headman claims,are inhabited by evil men—buccaneers, marauders, and sol-diers of an evil empire far to thewest.

“The headman seems veryuneasy as he continues to speak.He practically begs you to stay for afew more days, rather than leave inthe morning as you planned. Hetells you that he is worried aboutreports from his scouts that there isevidence of a large band of koboldsin the vicinity and he is worriedabout the safety of his people. He

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would greatly appreciate it if youwould stay until the danger from thekobolds is over. He tells you to thinkabout it overnight.

for your generous aid. One of thetents in the camp is given to you asyour residence during your stay."

“The next morning, the head-man comes to you and asks foryour decision. What will it be?”

If the player’s answer is “no,” then:

"The headman disappointedlysends you on your way, wishing yougood luck in your travels."

The PCs are now out of this encoun-ter and may continue on their way.

If the player’s answer is “yes,” then:

“The headman is profuselygrateful and promises you a reward

CombatThe night following the feast, a

group of 150 kobolds attacks thecamp. None of the PCs will be onwatch (ten nomads are on watch). Theyelling of the sentries automaticallywakes the PCs (and the othernomads).

The horde of kobolds is undisciplin-ed, disorganized, and desperate.They only have one tactic, the“Kobold Wave.” Once they’ve lost 100troops, the remainder will break andrun.

Kobolds (150): AC 7, MV 6”, HD1/2; hp variable; Dmg 1-4 or by weapontype; THAC0 20; AL LE

There are three kobold “leaders”among the 150, with AC 6, 4 hp, anddoing 1-6 points of damage.

If the kobolds turn and run, thenomads will pursue if they have lostless than 20% of their number, andthe headman is still alive. Once thedecision to pursue is made, thenomads will hunt them to the lastkobold. The PCs will be expected tojoin in the pursuit. If the losses aregreater than that, the nomads will letthe kobolds go, and prepare to breakcamp and move in a matter of hours.

Treasure: lf the PCs were the differ-ence in the nomads’ defeat of thekobolds, the headman gratefully givesthe PCs a +2 sword and 5,000 gp.The PCs are also allowed to take allthe kobolds’ treasure (3,000 gp). If thePCs were helpful but not crucial to thenomad victory, they get the kobolds’treasure and an additional 2,000 gp. Ifthe nomads suffered more than 20%casualties, this is the most they willget. If the headman is killed in the bat-tle, the characters will only get thekobolds’ treasure, and nothing else.

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When the party gets within twohexes of #6 on the area map, theycome upon a ravaged village:

“As you enter a clearing in theswampland, you stumble upon theremains of a village. It looks to havebeen decimated in the last week orso. Looking around, you comeupon tracks of clawed feet that leadfarther into the swamp. Do you wishto follow the tracks?”

Obviously, if the PCs decline, thenthe encounter is over.

But if they want to investigate fur-ther, they can follow the tracks to #6on the area map, where they see thefollowing:

“Before you lie the crumbledwalls of an ancient keep, appar-ently deserted for centuries. Themoat is overgrown, filled in withplants. Beyond the walls you canmake out the partial outlines of sev-eral buildings in various stages ofcollapse. Climbing over a brokensection of wall, you see an almostentirely collapsed central keep sur-rounded by several other dilapi-dated buildings. Large sections ofthe courtyard have reverted toswamp.”

The LizardmenThere are, all told, 30 lizardmen, 20

lizardwomen, and 10 giant lizards.Their statistics are as follows:

Lizardmen and Lizardwomen (50):AC 5; MV 6”//12” ; HD 2 + 1; hp varia-ble; #AT 3; Dmg 1-2/1-2/1 -8; THAC016;AL N

Giant Lizards (10): AC 5; MV 15” ;HD 3 + 1; hp variable; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8;THAC0 16; AL N

Area DescriptionWhen the PCs enter the compound,

they see no lizard folk.All buildings in the compound will

collapse if an area-effect damage-causing spell (firebalI, lightning bolt,etc.) is cast in the compound. Thisinflicts 4-24 points of damage to allbeings inside the collapsed building.

first PC through the door. If the PCssearch the building, they find 1 gem, 1jewel, and 1,000 gp in treasure.

Storeroom: The walls of this build-ing are still pretty much intact, but theceiling is entirely collapsed. The interi-or of the building is full of rubble thatmust be tossed aside and clamberedover to get around. When the first PCwalks in the door (which is missing),two lizard men and one giant lizardattack him, leaping from cover (50%chance of complete surprise).

Stables: The fence outside thebuilding is almost entirely fallen down.The building is mainly intact, but thesoutheastern corner has collapsed.There is debris and rubble through-out, but the PCs can walk easily. Twolizard men are in here, spying on thePCs. If the PCs enter, the lizard menjump out a window in the northern walland run for the hidden tunnel entrancein the marshy area to the north.

Servant Quarters: This L-shapedbuilding is fairly intact, but some partsof the walls and ceiling have col-lapsed. The PCs can walk around eas-ily, but there are piles of rubblethroughtout the interior. Three giantlizards leap out of the rubble at the

Central Keep: This was once athree-story building. The ceiling andwalls have collapsed everywhere butin a few places. Large piles of rubblecover the interior floor. Progress is dif-ficult (movement is halved) and thePCs’ attacks are at a -3 penalty dueto the unsure footing inside the keep.Hidden in the rubble are three con-

Sauros Island Overview of Lizard Men Compound

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cealed entrances to tunnels that leadto the subterranean lairs beneath thecompound. As the PCs enter thebuilding, they can barely make out theremains of a staircase leading belowground (the main entrance to the keepis in the center of the southern wall;the stairway is to the right, in the mid-dle of the eastern wall). Just as thePCs spot this, they are attacked by liz-ard men and giant lizards.

At the Xs marked on the enclosedmap are two lizard men apiece (20lizardmen all told). When the first twoadventurers enter the keep, these liz-ard men pop up and toss javelins (1-6points of damage). They automaticallysurprise the PCs. Each lizardman hasten javelins. The lizardmen are in 50%cover (AC 0, +4 to saving throws).They don’t charge the PCs, they justtoss javelins. As soon as the attackstarts, one giant lizard charges out ofeach hidden tunnel entrance andengages the PCs in melee. The lizard-men retreat down the tunnelentrances when half their number aredead. The giant lizards fight to thedeath.

Once all the monsters are clearedfrom the keep, the party will have notrouble finding all four entrances tothe subterranean lair (the stairs andthe three concealed tunnelentrances).

Subterranean Lair: The pools ofwater are 20 feet deep. They all haveside tunnels that connect to all the oth-er pools. The “dry” tunnels drawn onthe map are all 5 feet wide (the stand-ard combat penalties for narrow corri-dors apply).

The “dry” tunnels drawn on themap are only dry relative to the swampand the pools of water in the lair. Thetunnel walls and floors are oozy andslimey and nasty. Movement is halfnormal because of the poor footing.Neither the attack penalties nor themovement penalty affect the lizardmen or giant lizards (they love slime).

When the adventurers enter a tun-nel, they are attacked by the remain-ing giant lizards (however many areleft of the original ten). The lizardscome from both ends of the tunnel, so

the foremost and rearmost charactersin the battle order will be engaged inmelee with one giant lizard each. Noother characters or lizards get intocombat until someone dies.

If any of the characters are inclinedto enter the pools to fight the remain-ing lizardmen, let them. Any characterfighting while swimming is at -4 to hitand damage, and their AC goes up by4, too. The lizardmen will press anyadvantage like this, staying to fighteven if more than two charactersshow up.

Swimming in or across the pools willbecome necessary sooner or later—the pools block the underground tun-nels at two points on the map. Also,the lizardmen have all their treasure atthe bottom of various pools. The poolsare all 20 to 30 feet deep. There areconnecting tunnels at the bottom ofeach pool, but their entrances are

very well hidden (treat as secretdoors), and the tunnels themselvesare completely underwater. So thelizardmen can use them to get frompool to pool with ease, but the adven-turers should not be able to even findthem, much less take advantage ofthem.

The lizardmen will use the tunnelsto escape combat situations wherethey are outnumbered, as well as flee-ing from powerful magic (like lightningbolts). Throughout the battle, thelizardmen will use their superiormaneuverability and knowledge of thearea to dictate the pace of battle.

Treasure: There is at least sometreasure at the bottom of each pool,though not everything listed will be ineach pool:

1,000 sp, 1,000 gp, one gem, twojewels (35% chance), sword +2 (5%

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chance), wand of fire (5% chance),shield +2 (10% chance), five arrows+2 (15% chance), ring of shootingstars (5% chance).

Alternate Lizardman Adven-ture

If the characters have already beento Sorcerer’s Island, and if they havealready rescued the lizardmen heldcaptive there, they might be in thisarea for an entirely different reason:They were invited!

When the freed lizardmen left theadventurers at Yarash’s pyramid inSorcerer’s Island, they pledged theirtribe’s help to the party. They gave thePCs directions to their tribal home(this overgrown keep), and the ritualpassword to keep from being attackedon sight.

The password is the lizardman wordfor “special friend” (exactly what theword is is not important—make upsomething if you must). If the charac-ters say it loudly as they approach thekeep, the lizardmen who were set upto ambush the party will instead scurryunseen down the hidden tunnels tothe underground, taking their giant liz-ards with them. By the time the char-acters get to the keep, the groundlevel will be deserted.

If the adventurers wait until they areattacked to shout out the password,their attackers will stop immediately,then talk confusedly among them-selves (in lizardman) for two rounds. Ifthe characters take advantage of theconfusion to press the attack, then thefight will be on in earnest as describedabove, with no chance for a negoti-ated settlement. If the party waits thediscussion out, one lizardman willstay with the party (telling them in adifficult-to-understand common tostay where they are) while the rest dis-appear down the tunnels.

In either case, within a matter ofminutes, the characters will find them-selves surrounded by some veryformal-acting lizardmen andwomen—about 50. One older lizard-man will step forward, accompaniedby two others the PCs should recog-

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nize as two of the lizardmen they res-cued from Sorcerer’s Island.

The tribal chief will welcome thecharacters and invite them to a greatfeast in their honor. The details of thethree-day celebration are left up to theDM, but by the end of it all, the PCs willhave gained the following:

Four intricately carved woodstatues of lizardmen in various poses,worth 2,000 gp each because of theirworkmanship and rarity;

A sword +2;Seven gems, worth a total of 8,400

gp; And for each member of the party

that participated in the rescue at Sor-cerer’s Island (including any NPCsthat were there), a large bronzemedallion showing a lizardman in cer-emonial robes, arms outstretched.This medallion, the characters are

told, is a sign of everlasting friendshipbetween the wearer and all lizardmeneverywhere. No lizardman will attacksomeone wearing this medallion,except in self-defense. Anyone wear-ing this medallion, along with anycompanions, is guaranteed safe pas-sage through lizardman territory, andone night’s hospitality with any tribeencountered. A special dweomer isplaced on the medallion by the lizard-man shaman who makes it so that anyduplicates that are made will beinstantly recognized as such by anylizardman, provoking an attack at +2on all die rolls. Also, the benefits of themedallion apply only to the persongiven the medallion originally and hisrightful heirs. If the medallion is eversold or stolen, its magic is lost, andany lizardman seeing it will react to itas if it was a copy.

It shouldn’t be too hard to interest The KoboldsHere are the stats on the inhabitantsof the Kobold Kingdom:

Kobolds (300): AC 7; MV 6”; HD1/2; hp variable; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 or byweapon type; THAC0 20; AL LE

King’s Guards (20): AC 6; MV 6”;HD 1; hp 7; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6 or byweapon type; THAC0 19; AL LE

Kobold King: AC 5; MV 9”; HD1 + 1; hp 11; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 or byweapon type; THAC0 18; AL LE

Area DescriptionThe entire complex is carved from

rock. The walls, floors, and ceilingsare rough and irregular. The corridorsand small rooms (#6-9, 11, 12, 14-16,19, & 20) have 4-foot-high ceilings,

Room 2: 30 kobolds attack herewhen the PCs pass the secret door tothis room (after the characters havedealt with the kobolds in room 19).They will retreat into room 2 when onlyten of them are left, and run to the farback wall. When the adventurersreach the opening with room 3, the 20kobolds in room 3 charge in andattack. (When only five of the room 2and room 3 kobolds are left, theyretreat to room 3 and fight to thedeath. Room 2 is a barracks; there are30 pallets of straw on the floor. A

with the following effects on human- search uncovers 35 gp.

spring out of as the PCs pass by.

Room 1: 20 kobolds here wait forthe PCs to pass by, then jump out thetwo secret doors. Ten attack the frontof the party and ten attack the back.The survivors will flee toward room 5when there are only five kobolds left.

sized characters (halflings anddwarves suffer no penalties): Move- Room 3: There are 30 kobolds here.ment is cut in half, AC goes up by 2 If they don’t rush into room 2 to help(e.g., from AC 4 to AC 6), and attack the kobolds in there (see room 2 forand damage rolls suffer -2 penalties. details), they help in the defense ofRooms 1-4, 10, 13, 17, & 18 have 10- room 5 if the PCs enter it. When thefoot-high ceilings. Room 5 has a 25- characters reach room 5, the ballistaefoot-high ceiling. in rooms 20 all fire (see room 20

The corridors and rooms are filthy— description), and the kobolds in roomtrash, bones, and dirt cover the floors 3 (if they’re still alive) charge throughand piles of refuse fill every corner of one of the room 20s that adjoins roomevery room. Every door in the com- 3 and attack the PCs in room 5. Thereplex is a secret door, and they are dis- are pallets here for 50 kobolds. Acovered with the usual checks, search reveals 100 gp.including elven special ability.

Rooms 4 and 17: Each room hasEntrance Hall: There are ten four ballista (big crossbows, 2-12

kobolds waiting for whoever breaks in damage, fires once per 3 rounds, firesand falls into the corridor. When he as a 4-HD monster (THAC0 15)),does, the kobolds attack. As men- manned by five kobolds apiece. Thetioned earlier, they get one round of ballistae are set up, one per hex, in thefree attacks (fortunately, only four of hexes behind the secret doors intothem can get at him at one time), then room 5. There are 15 other kobolds inthe door-breaker and one other char- each room. The kobolds in both roomsacter can fight the kobolds in the corri- wait until the adventurers get into thedor (with appropriate penalties if they center of room 5, then they kick openare man-sized). When only three the secret doors and fire the ballistaekobolds are left, they run away to at the PCs. The ballistae crews thenroom 5. If the PCs give chase, note (in frantically reload the ballistae, whilethe room descriptions below) all the the 15 other kobolds in each roomrooms along that corridor that kobolds stand in front to guard the ballistae

from attack. Then, after three rounds,

the characters in this mission.First, travelers met in taverns in

Phlan tell of “Marauding bands ofkobolds waylaying caravans that passsouth of the Dragonspine Mountains.Most attacks occur in the hills to thewest of the Barren River.”

In addition, the PCs might see anotice somewhere in Phlan of theTown Council’s offer of a 10,000 gpreward for any adventurers who endthe depredations of the kobold bandssouth of the Dragonspine Mountains,to the west of the Barren River.

Outisde the KingdomIf the adventurers come within two

hexes of #7 on the area map, they areattacked by a band of 30 kobolds. Thekobolds are ambushing patrols sentout from the main lair—they have a50% chance of surprising the party.After half of the kobolds are killed, therest flee in the direction of #7. Thishappens in every hex within two of #7that the party enters.

When the characters reach #7, readthe following:

“Looking toward the hills nestledat the foot of the DragonspineMountains, you notice a group ofkobolds fleeing into openings in therock. The openings fade from viewafter the kobolds pass through. Doyou want to follow?”

Obviously, if the characters decidenot to follow, that’s it for this encoun-ter. Except that they’ll be ambushedby groups of 30 kobolds in every hexwithin two they enter as they leave thearea.

If they want to proceed, they firstmust find the secret doors the koboldsused as an entrance. Once found,they must be forced open. The doorsare designed to require a great deal ofeffort to open, then give suddenly. Theresult is that whoever pushes on thedoor to open it will tumble in to the cor-ridor as the door gives way, giving thekobolds on the other side a freeattack.

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the ballistae are ready to fire, so the15 guards move aside and the ballis-tae blast away again at the PCs. (Thekobolds aren’t particularly carefulabout who they hit with the ballistaebolts, so if a ballista misses its attack,give it every chance to skewer akobold.) This continues for as long asthe PCs are in view and the ballistaecrews and guards are alive. If the PCsget into room 4 or 17 through the backentrance (through room 3 or 18,respectively), the kobolds will hearthem coming, turn the ballistaearound, and fire when the PCs comethrough the doorway. The guardsengage the party after the first roundof ballistae fire. Once again, the crewsfire as long as they are alive and thePCs are in view. Rooms 4 and 17 alsoserve as barracks for 50 kobolds—pallets, refuse, the works. A searchwill turn up 150 gp in each room.

Room 5: The adventurers see noth-ing when they first enter. There are100 kobolds with the king and hisguards in the southern half of theroom, but they are too far away for thePCs to see.

After the PCs get 30 feet or so intothe room, the secret doors to rooms20 (all ten of them) crash open and theten ballistae in those rooms fire. Afterthis, all the kobolds left alive fromrooms 2, 3, and 18 pour through therooms 20 (while the crews are reload-ing) and engage the adventurers. Atthe same time, 75 of the 100 koboldswith the king charge into melee (inwaves of 25). As with the ballistae inrooms 4 and 17, the ones in rooms 20keep firing as long as the crews arealive and the PCs are in view.

As the adventurers continue towade through the kobolds, they will

slowly retreat across room 5, hopingto draw the PCs toward the center.Once there, the secret doors fromrooms 4 and 17 will open, and thecharacters will get to deal with moreballistae fire. The Kobold King will notparticipate in the battle, but will directthe troops from a safe place. If thingsstart to get too hot in room 5, the kingwill retreat, hiding in room 12 with fiveof his guards, leaving the other 15 inroom 10 to attack the PCs and fight tothe death, if necessary.

If the king is not killed, and the PCsget away (whether they get the trea-sure or not), the king will round up 100kobolds from the nearby hills andattack the PCs at night, fighting to thedeath.

Room 6: This room has no furnish-ings of any kind. The ten kobolds herecharge when the PCs get within fivehexes.

Room 7: This is a storeroom withlots of stuff, but nothing of value. The20 kobolds in here charge when thePCs get within five hexes of the doorto this room.

Room 8: Another storeroom, with100 week’s worth of iron rations andseveral normal swords. The 20kobolds here charge when the PCsenter room 7.

Room 9: Armory. There are 100each normal short swords and wood-en shields.

Room 10: Empty room (unlessoccupied by retreating kobolds fromother areas).

Room 11: The kobold treasury.There are 20 kobolds here who attackas soon as the PCs open the door.They fight to the death. The floor isheaped with gold, silver, gems, jewels,and the occasional odd magic item toa depth of about one foot. There are50,000 sp, 10,000 gp, 50 gems, 35jewels, a silver sword, and a long bow+2 with five +2 arrows.

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Room 12: This is where the king andfive guards hide out if the battle goesagainst the kobolds. No furnishingshere except six quivering kobolds.

Room 13: 30 kobolds will charge theadventurers when they get within fivehexes of the door to this room. This isa torture chamber; gruesome imple-ments adorn the walls, and racks andbenches of spikes are at the back ofthe room.

Room 14: A filthy prison cell. A fewskeletons litter the floor, but there areno living inhabitants.

Room 15: Same as room 14.

Room 16: From the pallets and pilesof trash, this room appears to be theliving quarters for about 30 kobolds.

Room 17: See room 4.

Room 18: The 60 kobolds in herecharge into room 5 (through rooms 20)when the ballistae in rooms 20 fire.Thirty of them attack the PCs, whilethe other 30 stand in front of the ballis-tae to guard them while the crewsreload.

Room 19: These 30 kobolds chargeout (15 per secret door) when thekobolds from room 2 attack the adven-turers. This is a guard room with a fewtables and about 15 chairs.

Room 20: Each of these one-spacerooms contains a ballista and a crewof five kobolds. Ballistae crews reloadand fire until the PCs are gone or thecrews are dead.

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Stumbling In he believes is in the hobgoblin’s

When the adventurers are withinhorde. This bottle is reputed to bestow

two hexes of #8 on the area map, ingreat powers upon its possessor.

each hex they enter they are attackedDomo wants to get the PCs to invade

by a group of 25 hobgoblins. The hob-the hobgoblin lair to aid him in his

goblins attack until there are only 10quest to acquire the bottle. If the PCs

left; the survivors flee in the directioncast detect magic on Domo, he says

of #8. When the PCs are within onethat his magical items were gifts from

space of #8, they are attacked by 50his father.

hobgoblins, who attack until only 20Domo will insist on going with the

are left. Again, the survivors fleePCs, since he can show them the

toward #8. When the adventurersexact location to which his parents

reach #8, they see about ten hobgob-were taken. If the adventurers refuse,

lins running into a door in a hillsideor find a way to elude him, he follows

(the door is the secret door to the hall-the group surreptitiously and joins the

way between rooms 1 and 2). Theparty the next day, far from Phlan,

door fades from view after the hob-begging the PCs to take him with

goblins pass through it. The PCs canthem. If the PCs refuse, they should

locate the door by secret door checkssuffer alignment penalties for leavinga little boy alone in the wilderness.

(after two rounds of checking, theyautomatically find it, since they knowwhere it is).

Domo

Besides, Domo just follows the partyagain and keeps doing it until theyagree to take him in or until they reachthe hobgoblin lair.

As the adventurers are walkingdown the streets of New Phlan, a dis-traught young boy approaches themand begs them to rescue his parents,who were captured when a caravanwas attacked near the eastern edge ofthe Dragonspine Mountains. The boyand a caravan guard escaped theambush on a horse and the boy is nowlooking for brave adventurers to res-cue his mother and father. He tells thePCs that his father is a rich merchantfrom the lands of Damara, far to theeast of Phlan. His father will gladly payany fee to be returned to Phlan safely,the boy says.

When the adventurers enter intocombat, Domo hides. If the party isreally in trouble (more than half of thecharacters are dead or unconsciousand the remaining characters’ total hitpoints are less than the total hit pointsof the bad guys), Domo will pop out,blowing his cover to save the party. Hewill cast ice storms, fireballs, and therest of his offensive arsenal to wipeout the bad guys without further dam-aging the party.

If this happens, Domo will revert tohis normal appearance (a 45-year-oldmagic-user in sparkling gray robes)and explain as follows:

The boy is actually a polymophedneutral magic-user:

9th level, AC 0 (bracers AC2 andring of protection +2), hp 32, #AT 1,Dmg 4-7 (dagger +3), Spells: magicmissile, charm person, protection fromevil, invisibiliity, fireball, haste, lightningbolt, ice storm, minor globe of invulner-ability, teleport. He also wears a ring of

“I am sorry to have deceivedyou. My name really is Domo, but Iam actually a magic-user of somerepute. I was looking for a hardyband of adventurers to aid me inending the hobgoblin menace. Ifwe join forces we stand a goodchance of defeating them and gain-

There are two ways for the PCs to spell storing (teleport, cone of cold,enter this mission: Stumbling upon fireball, sleep, and charm person).the lair, or being coaxed here by a The man’s name is Domo, which isyoung boy named Domo. what the “boy” gives as his name.

Domo is after the magical bottle that

ing an abundance of riches. All Iask in return for my considerablemagical powers is one magical itemof my choosing. You get to keep allthe rest of everything we earn,including a 20,000 gold piecereward that the Town Council justoffered for those who end the dep-redations of the hobgoblin horde.”

If Domo does not need to save theparty in the above fashion, he retainshis little boy identity until the partygets into room 13 in the hobgoblin lair.Once there, he will grab the bottle andcast the teleport spell in his ring in thefollowing round. He and the bottle dis-appear forever from the PCs’ livesunless the PCs manage to kill him orknock him unconscious in the oneround of actions they get before heteleports away.

The HobgoblinsHere are the stats for the inhabit-

ants of the Hobgoblin Kingdom:

Hobgoblins (210): AC 5; MV 9” ; HD1 + 1; hp variable; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 orby weapons type; THAC0 18; AL LE

Subchiefs (2): AC 3; MV 9” ; HD 3;hp 16; #AT 1; Dmg 3-10 or by weapontype +2; THAC0 16; AL LE

Hobgoblin Chief: AC 2; MV 9”; HD4; hp 22; #AT 1; Dmg 5-12 or by weap-on type +4; THAC0 15; AL LE

Hobgoblin Females (300): AC 10;hp 3; do not fight

Hobgoblin Children (600): AC 10;hp 1; do not fight

Area DescriptionAs indicated on the map, there are

several secret entrances to thehobgob kingdom. The only one theadventurers know about at the start ofthe encounter is the one they saw thehobgoblins using (the one betweenrooms 1 and 2). If they explore the hill

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before entering, they have the usualchances of discovering the othersecret doors.

The corridors and rooms are allroughly hewn from the rock of the hill.The corridors are 10 feet wide andhigh. Most of the rooms are also 10feet high. Rooms 12, 22, and 29 have25-foot-high ceilings.

Room 1: Guardroom. It containsfive hobgoblins on guard duty. Theyrush out into the corridor when thePCs are past their secret door so as toattack the party from the rear. If theadventurers discover the secret doorbefore the hobgoblins rush out, thehobgoblins defend in the room andthe hobgoblins in room 2 attack therear of the party (likewise, if the PCsdiscover the door to room 2 and attackthat room first, the hobgoblins in room1 attack the rear of the party as thePCs go after the hobgoblins in room2). This room is furnished with twocrude tables with four chairs aroundeach table. A pile of broken chairs anddebris in the southwest corner hidesthe hobgoblins’ cache of 50 gp andone gem.

Room 2: Same as room 1, exceptthe pile of trash is in the southeast cor-ner and it contains no treasure.

Room 3: Barracks for the guards.There are five more hobgoblins here.They are sleeping, but they will wakeup and fight to the death when theadventurers enter. They do not attackunless the PCs open their door. Thereare ten wooden cots in the room, a potof disgusting-smelling stuff is bub-bling over a small fire at the far end ofthe room, and a pile of debris in thenortheast corner hides 250 gp and twogems.

Room 4: These are the barracks forthe guards in room 2. It is the same asroom 3, except that the pile is in thesoutheast corner, holds 350 gp and nogems, and is booby-trapped. The trap(if not detected and disarmed) firesthree crossbow bolts into the victim(attack as 5-HD monsters (THAC0

15), Dmg 2-5).

Room 5: Barracks for 50 hobgob-lins. Ten are here, lounging around.The cots for the hobgoblins are strewnall over the room. Piles of trash reachthe ceiling in all corners of the room.There are 1,000 gp, six gems, and twojewels scattered throughout the piles.These hobgoblins do not leave theroom—they fight to the death to pro-tect the stairs that lead down to thelower level. The stairs are just crudelyhacked out of the stone. Each PC hasa 10% chance of falling when hedescends the stairs— 1-6 points ofdamage. Hobgoblins in any part of thelower level cannot be surprised in anyencounter if a PC has slipped downthe stairs.

Room 6: Barracks for 15 hobgob-lins. Fifteen straw sleeping pallets are

spread around the room. Three hob-goblins are asleep on their pallets.They wake up if the characters openthe door, but the PCs get initiative onthe first round. Searching the palletsreveals 20 gp per pallet.

Room 7: Mess hall. There are lots oftables and chairs here (10 tables, 60chairs). There are 15 hobgoblins eat-ing. They attack the PCs if the partyenters the room. When eight aredead, the rest try to flee out the secretdoor to the outside, then re-enter thelair through the exterior secret door toroom 9. If they make it, add them tothe hobgoblins in room 9 (and thosehobgoblins will be alerted.

Room 8: Guard room. Three hob-goblins wait in here. As the partypasses this room, the hobgoblinscrash through the door, take one look

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at the party, then shriek in terror and them killed): Into room 10, down therun away. (If the PCs don’t kill them, stairs, and then along the corridoradd them to the hobgoblins in room toward room 31. When they reach the30.) If the PCs open the door, the hob- space between the secret doors togoblins fight to the death. This room rooms 25 and 31, all the hobgoblinlinscontains a table and four chairs. The in both rooms charge out and attacktable has a secret compartment that the PCs. The hobgoblin the party isholds a dagger +1 and a scroll of pro- following cowers in the corridor untiltection from evil. the fight is over. Assuming the PCs

win, the hobgoblin springs up andRoom 9: See room 6. leads them onward. He leads them

toward room 22 (when the PCs passRoom 10: Guard room. Three hob- the doors to rooms 24 and 23, the hob-

goblin guards flee in terror down the goblins in there rush out and attack).stone stairs if the adventurers break When they get to room 22, the non-into this room. They yell and scream combatants flee in panic. The hob-to alert the lower level. One of the hob- goblin then leads the PCs to one of thegoblins falls on the stairs and breaks secret doors leading to room 14.his neck. See room 5 for PCs’ When the PCs get within 2 spaces, thechances of falling and effects. There doors fly open and the ballistae openis one table and five chairs. fire (see the room 14 description). The

hobgoblin falls to the ground as soonRoom 11: Guard room. 11 hobgob- as he sees the doors open and he

lins are here. They fight until only four doesn’t get hit by the ballistae bolts orare left, then the four flee down the by the hobgoblins that rush the PCs.stairs, all four tripping and falling After the PCs explore room 14 anddown the stairs. Two get up and run find nothing of value, the hobgoblininto the lower level; the other two diedfrom the fall. See room 5 for stair

says:

effects. Searching the hobgoblins’ "Me sorry. King must havebodies uncovers 35 gp per hobgoblin. moved treasure. Me lead you to his

other hiding place. Come, come."Room 12: This large room is a train-

ing area for hobgoblin martial arts.There are broken swords and shat-

If the player still wants the PCs to

tered helmets strewn about the floor.follow the hobgoblin, he leads theminto the nearest secret door for room

Five badly chewed-up hacking postsare set in the floor. There are five hob-

26, then goes to the other secret door

goblins practicing here. Four of themleading out of the room. Once there,

fight to the death. When there is onlyhe pulls a concealed lever that causes

one left, read the following:all the PCs (and the stuff in room 26—see its description) to fall into a 20-

“The last hobgoblinlin throwsfoot-deep pit. Each character. suffers2-12 damage from the fall, plus 1-4

down his sword and quails in terror points’ from stuff falling on him. Theat your feet. If you promise to spare hobgoblin laughs at the edge of thehis life, he says he will lead you to pit.the hobgoblin king’s vast treasure. The crash attracts the attention ofDo you agree?” any remaining hobgoblins in rooms

If the adventurers turn the hobgob-22,25,21,27, and 29. These hobgob-lins rush to room 26 and attack the

lin down, the the hobgoblin tries to adventurers as they try to climb out ofrun to room 9 and hide out there.

If the adventurers agree, then thethe pit. Three hobgoblins get oneround of free attacks attacks as each

hobgoblin tries to lead them on the fol- adventurer climbs out. If the PClowing route (he’s going to try to get decides to draw his weapon and fight

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while still climbing out, each round hefights he has a 25% chance of slip-ping and falling to the bottom of thepit, suffering 1-8 points of damage.(PCs who fly or levitate or otherwiseavoid climbing out of the pit can landon the edge and attack the hobgoblinswith no penalty.) If the PCs just standon the bottom of the pit and pick offthe hobgoblins with missile weaponsor spells, the hobgoblins withdrawafter five of them die.

If the PCs don’t kill the hobgoblinwho lead them here with missiles orspells, he runs away, never to be seenagain, when he sees the PCs climbingout of the pit.

Room 13: The treasury. Five hob-goblin guards fight to the death andwill not leave this room. Found hereare 15,000 gp and 25,000 sp, 15gems, five jewels, a ring of feather fall-ing, a wand of secret door and traplocation, a horn of collapsing, a heavycrossbow of accuracy, and a portablehole.

Room 14: This room has ten hob-goblin guards. There are cots and pal-lets for 50 hobgoblins strewn aboutthe floor. Each pallet or cot has 25 gphidden in it. The five small rooms thatlead into this room each contain oneballista with a crew of three hobgob-lins. The secret doors leading to room22 are opened if the hobgoblins hear adisturbance in room 22 (but they waituntil the noncombatants are out of theroom before they pop the doors openand blast away at the PCs). After theballistae fire, the 10 hobgoblins inroom 14 charge the PCs in room 22(there are also some hobgoblin fight-ers in that room and they should beengaging the PCs also). The ballistaecrews reload and fire until the adven-turers get into melee range. Any bal-lista shot, after the first round of shots,that misses a party member has agood chance to hit a hobgoblin. Thesehobgoblins fight to the death.

The ballistae fire once every threerounds, doing 2-12 points of damage,and attack as a 4-HD monster (THAC015).

Room 15: Guard room. Three hob-goblins here attack when they hearthe PCs outside their door. The roomhas a table and six chairs. Each hob-goblin has 15 gp. The table has asecret compartment with five gems,two jewels, and five arrows +2.

Room 16: Same as room 15, butthere is no treasure in the table.

Room 17: Five hobgoblin guards.The guards will charge out if theadventurers pass their door, and willfight to the death. There is a table andfive chairs in the room.

Room 18: Ten hobgoblin guards,who will charge out if the adventurersgo past their door. Two tables, 12chairs, and five cots clutter the room.In the eastern-most hex of the room,there is a chest sitting against the

wall. It is trapped—when the lid isopened (unless the trap is detectedand disarmed), a long pole arm with ascythe-like blade swings out of thewall. If the character attempting toopen the chest is a human, elf, or oth-er human-sized being, the blade hitsand inflicts 2-12 points of damage.Dwarves, halflings, and other similarlysized characters will feel the bladeslice the air over their heads, justbarely missing them. The chest con-tains 150 gp, a ring of contrariness,and a shield -1, missile attractor.

Room 19: Same as room 17, buteach hobgoblin has 150 gp, if theadventurers bother to search.

Room 20: Hobgoblin nursery. Whenthe adventurers pass by the door, theyhear vague murmuring sounds com-ing from the other side (the PCs will

automatically detect this secret door ifthey walk by—the noises from insidetell the PCs where the door is, even ifthey can’t see it at first). When theykick in the door, a scene of bedlamgreets them. In this tiny room are fivehobgoblin females and 50 hobgoblintots. The babes are wailing, shrieking,hitting each other with rocks, climbingthe walls, dumping dishes of food, etc.And this is before they spot the char-acters. Then they get really upset. Thefemales scream and the tots starttossing food at the two lead charac-ters.

The best thing for the PCs to do is toleave quickly. If they wade in and startkilling, they should receive huge align-ment penalties for this slaughter ofdefenseless beings. Also, every hob-goblin in the lair is enraged at thisattack—add +2 to both their attackand damage rolls for the rest of theadventure.

If the adventurers leave the dooropen for more than one round, on eve-ry round after round 1, 1-3 hobgoblinsarrive and attack. Once the door isshut, no more hobgoblins appear, butthe party must deal with the ones thathave already shown up.

Room 21: This is a temple to Maglu-biyet, god of goblins andhobgoblins. In this room are ninehobgoblins and two hobgoblin clerics.The regular hobgoblins charge intomelee while the clerics stand backand cast spells.

Spells (both clerics have the samespells—5th level): curse, cause lightwounds (x2), hold person, silence 15’radius, spiritual hammer and prayer. Inthe first round of battle, the clericsboth cast prayer. Next round they bothcast curses on the PCs. Then bothcast cause light wounds on anymagic-users for two rounds. Thenthey both cast spiritual hammers. If thebattle lasts this long, the PCs may bedead, but just in case they aren’t, theclerics then melee.

In a niche in a wall, the characterssee a statue of Maglubiyet. It is madeof solid gold and is worth 10,000 gp.Lifting it out of its niche causes the 10’

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x 10’ part of the ceiling above the

removes the statue (and anyone elsein the affected area). This causes 5-20points of damage.

Room 22: There are 100 hobgoblinfemales and 250 hobgoblin kids livingin here. Pandemonium erupts whenthe PCs enter the room. Females andkids are screaming and running eve-rywhere. Charging through the chaostoward the PCs are 20 hobgoblinguards. Once the noncombatants areout of the room, the ballistae fromroom 14 open up on the PCs. (Thishappens on round three of thefighting—see also room 14 descrip-tion.) Each hobgoblin fighter has 25gp.

Room 23: This is a store room withfoodstuffs (nothing the PCs wouldthink of eating) and boxes all over theplace. There is nothing else of inter-est.

Room 24: Same as room 23, but thisstoreroom has two hobgoblins takinginventory. They run into the corners ofthe room when they see the PCs.They are unarmed and if the PCsattack, they both die of fright beforethey even get hit.

Room 25: This is the hobgoblins'smithy and armory. There are 23 hob-goblins in here, hammering newswords over the forges, trying on newpieces of armor, hanging weapons onthe walls, etc. When the charactersenter, the hobgoblins attack. Five ofthe hobgoblins are armed with red-hotswords (each hit inflicts 2-6 points ofburn damage in addition to normalsword damage). When 18 of the hob-goblins are dead, the rest try to fleeout one of the secret doors (the onefarthest from the party).

Room 26: This is another store-room, but it is trapped. (See also thedescription of room 12, which tellsabout the hobgoblin who might leadthe PCs here. The trap is detailed inthat text.) If the adventurers enter the

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room, the other secret door opensonce everyone is in the room, and ahobgoblin grins evilly and yanks downthe hidden trap trigger (there is a trig-ger next to each door). The samething happens to the party as outlinedin the text for room 12.

Room 27: Storeroom. See room 24.

Room 28: Guard room. Five hob-goblins are here, as well as a tableand five chairs. The hobgoblins willenter the hall and attack if they hearthe PCs pass their room. Each hob-goblin has 10 gp.

Room 29: Another communal livingarea, with 190 female hobgoblins, 300hobgoblins kids, and 15 hobgoblinguards. See the room 22 descriptionfor what happens, except there are nobaltistae.

Room 30: The royal suite, contain-ing the chief, two subchiefs, fiveguards, ten females, and 50 kids. The

Anyone trying to help him out mustfirst make a Constitution check (1d20roll against Constitution score, a rollequal to or lower than Con score indi-cates success, above Con score isfailure). Failure means the charactersuccumbs to nausea induced by thecontents of the pit and cannot helpanyone out of the pit or take anyactions for three rounds. A successfulCon check means he can try to helpone person in the pit get out. Roll aStrength Check (1d20 vs. Str score);success means that he pulls one per-son out of the pit, but failure by 3 ormore points (for example, a characterwith a Strength of 12 rolls a 15 or high-er) means that the rescuer, instead ofpulling someone out of the pit, hasbeen pulled in himself and needs to berescued.

lf all the characters are in the pit,females and kids scream and run each character can try to climb out onaround, getting in the way. Any char- his own, by making a successful Stracter who strikes a female or kid Check.enrages the hobgoblins—they attack If the party doesn’t escape the pit inthat character with +4 bonuses to five rounds, a group of 15 hobgoblinstheir attack and damage rolls, and attacks.they attack the rest of the party with Anyone who fell in the pit suffers a+2 bonuses. The guards, subchiefs, -10 modifier to Charisma until heand the chief all attack. The room con- washes off. He can wash off back intains several beds, a table, and ten town, or in any stream the partychairs. Hidden in the beds and table comes to. No NPC will get within 10’ ofare the following: 20,000 sp, 10,000 a befouled character unless it’s a mat-gp, 1,000 pp, 1,000 ep, 25 gems, and ter of life and death (the NPC’s, not theten jewels.

The chief has a sword +3, the sub-dirty character’s). Player charactersshould be encouraged to stay away

(or PCs) who pushes through the doorstumbles into the pit. No matter whatarmor he has on, he floats on thesemi-solid mass in the pit. He cannotget out by himself.

chiefs have swords +2, and each from the offensive party member asguard has a sword +1. The king also well.has a ring of regeneration. Theguards, subchiefs, and chief all fightto the death while the females andkids get away.

Room 31: Pit of unspeakable vile-ness. This is where the hobgoblinsthrow all their trash, rotten food (and ithas to be awfully rotten for a hobgob-lin to throw it away), as well as empty-ing the contents of all their chamberpots. The pit is 20 feet deep. The PC

What follows is 16 random encounter charts for use in Ruins of Adventure. Use the Chart listed below that cor-responds with the terrain or area the characters are in:

Chart 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ForestChart 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GrasslandsChart 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . River & Coast AreasChart 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Low HillsChart 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MountainsChart 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Human Town AreasChart 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unorganized Human Town AreasChart 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organized Inhuman Town AreasChart 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Outside Town AreasChart 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SpecialsChart 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evil Specials IIChart 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HumansChart 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . InhumansChart 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Random MonstersChart 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Swamp

8 1

1) Elves (MM 2, AC 6, HD 1 + 1, Damage 1-6 + 1 ‘bow’, # appearing 2-24)2) Refer to Chart 103) Refer to Chart 114) Refer to Chart 12 (Humans)5) Refer to Chart 13 (Inhumans)6) Elves (same as #1)7) Wild Boar (MM 1, AC 7, HD 3 +3, Damage 3-12, # appearing 1-1 2)8) Refer to Chart 14 (Castle)9) Ogre (MM 1, AC 5, HD 4 + 1, Damage 1-10, # appearing 2-20)

10) Stirge (MM 1, AC 8, HD 1 + 1, Damage 1-3, # appearing 3-24)11) Bandit (MM 1, AC Variable, HD 1-6 points, Damage variable.) These should be weighted to the size and

level of the adventuring party. If the party is strong, a weak group of bandits would never face them; there-fore the stronger the party, the stronger the group of bandits should be.

12) Hill Giant (MM 1, AC 4, HD 8 + 1-2, Damage 2-16, # appearing 1-10)13) Phase Spider (MM 1, AC 7, HD 5 +5, Damage 1-6, # appearing 1-4)14) Snake (constricter) (MM 1, AC 5, HD 6 + 1, Damage 1-4/2-8, # appearing 1-2)15) Refer to Chart 13 (Inhumans)16) Black bears (MM 1, AC 7, HD 3 + 3, Damage 1-3/1-3/1-6, # appearing 1-3)17) Jackal (MM 1, AC 7, HD 1-4 points, Damage 1-2, # appearing 2-24)18) Pilgrim (under attack): roll again to determine attacker.

19) Refer to Chart 15 (Random Monster)20) Leopard (MM 1, AC 6, HD 3 + 2, Damage 1-3/1-3/1 -6, # appearing 1-6)

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1) Refer to Chart 102) Refer to Chart 113) Refer to Chart 124) Refer to Chart 135) Refer to Chart 146) Refer to Chart 157) Pilgrim (under attack)8) Wolves (MM 1, AC 7, HD 2 +2, Damage 2-5, # appearing 2-20)9) Ghouls (MM 1, AC 6, HD 2, Damage 1-3/1-3/1-6, # appearing 2-24)

10) Dinosaur (pick one with HD similar to that of the adventurers)11) War Dogs (MM 1, AC 6, HD 2 +2, Damage 2-8, # appearing 2-24)12) Bandit (same as above)13) Snake (constrictor) (same as above)14) Young intelligent dragon (Suggestion: The dragon wants something (picked at random) from the adven-

turers. The dragon’s size should be based on the party’s average HD.)15) Displacer Beast (MM 1, AC 4, HD 6, Damage 2-8/2-8, # appearing 2-5)16) Lions (MM 1, AC 5/6, HD 6 +2, Damage 1-4/1-4/1-12, # appearing 2-8)17) Tigers (MM 1, AC 6, HD 5 +5, Damage 2-5/2-5/1-10, # appearing 1-4)18) Apes (MM 1, AC 6, HD 5, Damage 1-4/1-4/1 -8, # appearing 2-8)19) Mastodon (MM 1, HD 12, AC 6, Damage 2-16/2-16/2-12/2-12/2-12, only two attacks per enemy, # appear-

ing 1-12)20) Refer to Chart 10

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1)2)3)

5)6)

8)9)

11)12)

14)15)

17)18)

20)

Refer to Chart 10Refer to Chart 11Refer to Chart 12Refer to Chart 13Refer to Chart 14Refer to Chart 15Pilgrim (under attack)Giant Otter (MM 1, AC 5, HD 5; Damage 3-18, # appearing 2-5)Marine Troll (MM 2, AC 3, HD 5 +5, Damage 2-5/2-5/3-12, # appearing 1-6) Lizardman (MM 1, AC 5, HD 2 + 1, Damage 1-2/1-2/1-8, # appearing 10-40)Nymph (MM 1, AC 9, HD 3, Damage through a magical attack, # appearing 1-4)Giant Squid (MM 1, AC 7/3, HD 12, Damage 1-6(x8)/5-20, # appearing 1)Merchant: Use this as a catalyst for an opportunity to sidetrack the party. The merchant could be underattack, or he could hire the PCs to track down bandits, or as guards.Pirates (same as bandits, but from the water)Island: An unexplored, unCharted island. A good place for that “special” encounter the DM’s been work-ing on.Aquatic Ogre (MM 2, AC 4, HD 4 +4, Damage 1-6/1-6/2-8, # appearing 2-24)Giant Turtle (MM 1, AC 0/5, HD 10, Damage 6-24, # appearing 1-4)Dinosaur (same as above)Sunken Ship: The ship is visible, but it should be mostly underwater. The idea is to provide a quick mon-ster encounter (roll again from this table) tied to a rich treasure of magic and gold.Aquatic Elves (MM 1, helpful to the group and used to provide hints)

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1)2)3)4)5)6)7)8)

9)

10)11)12)13)14)15)16)17)18)

19)20)

Refer to Chart 10Refer to Chart 11Refer to Chart 12Refer to Chart 13Refer to Chart 14Refer to Chart 15Pilgrim (under attack).Dwarves (MM 1, AC 4, HD 1, Damage 1-8, # appearing 2-24): It should be noted that dwarves, like elves,could easily be beneficial to the party, especially if there was a dwarf in the group. On the other hand, theyreally like gold and could want more than their share.Orcs (MM 1, AC 6, HD 1, Damage 1-8, # appearing 2-24): As the party gets more powerful, increase thenumber of orcs encountered substantially.Ogre (MM 1, AC 5, HD 4 + 1, Damage 1-10, # appearing 2-20)Dire Wolves (MM 1, AC 6, HD 4 +4, Damage 2-8, # appearing 3-12)Hill Giant (MM 1, AC 4, HD 8 + 1-2, Damage 2-16, # appearing 1-10)Zombies (MM 1, AC 8, HD 2, Damage 1-8, # appearing 3-24)Ruins: Ruins always have random monsters of higher level than the PCs and very little treasure.Fire Giant (MM 1, AC 3, HD 11 +2-5, Damage 5-30, # appearing 1-8)Lions (See earlier Chart)Dinosaur (See earlier Chart)Cave Men (MM 1, AC 8(7), HD 2(1), Damage 1-6 + 2, # appearing Special): Cave men should be a steadilyincreasing threat. They should come in numbers and strength large enough to cause the PCs real trouble.These cave men should come more and more often until the PCs wipe out a nest of 50 of them in the lowhills to the north of Phlan.Merchants (See earlier Chart)Refer to Chart 15

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1)2)3)4)5)6)7)

8-11)12)13)14)15)16)17)18)19)20)

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Refer to Chart 10Refer to Chart 11Refer to Chart 12Refer to Chart 13Refer to Chart 14Refer to Chart 15Pilgrim (under attack)Dwarves: The dwarves rule part of these hills and don’t take kindly to strangers.Minotaur (MM 1, AC 6, HD 6 +3, Damage 2-8, # appearing 1-8)Ruins (See earlier Chart)Tiger (See earlier Chart)Gorilla (See “Ape” on earlier Chart)Character PartyOgre (See earlier Chart)Bandit (See earlier Chart)Hill Giant (See earlier Chart)Refer to Chart 11

1)2)3)4)5)6)7)

8)9)

10)11)12)13)14)15)16)17)

18)

19)

20)

Refer to Chart 10Refer to Chart 11Refer to Chart 12Refer to Chart 13Meet Anton: See. “Stock Non-Player Characters,” p.6. (If rolled a second time, go instead to Chart 12)Meet Banyun: See “Stock Non-Player Characters,” p.6. (If rolled a second time, go instead to Chart 12)Meet Mendacant: See “Stock Non-Player Characters,” p.6. (If rolled a second time, go instead to Chart13)Meet Doral: See “Stock Non-Player Characters,” p.6. (If rolled a second time, go instead to Chart 13)Meet Eartha: See “Stock Non-Player Characters,” p.6. (If rolled a second time, go instead to Chart 13)Random band of human fightersRandom band of human thievesRandom character partyRandom merchantBard: Will provide clues for goldRandom Assassin: Sent by persons unknown to do in the most powerful PC.Random clericRumor Monger: The job of a rumor monger is to spread interesting rumors—always at a price. The moremoney given, the better the information. The information can be clues, reports of the actions of the PCsthemselves, or anything else.Town guards: Town guards always want to be bribed to leave the adventurers alone. If the bribe isn’t there,the PCs spend a hard night in jail. The bribes start at 100 gp, and increase by 100 gp every time the guardsare encountered.Attacking inhuman band: The PCs are attacked by a band of inhumans from the nearest such group intheir area. These inhumans always have more hit dice than the group.Single powerful inhuman raider: A single evil fighter of power offers a challenge to a random member ofthe group. If the challenge isn’t taken, the weakest member of the party is attacked. If the challenge is tak-en, then the fight in on.

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1-3) Refer to Chart 104) Orc band: These always appear in groups slightly less than the hit dice of the party5) Goblin band: Same as orc bands6) Hobgoblin band: These always appear in groups slightly more than the hit dice of the party7) Useful ruins: Useful ruins are ruins that have some magic item the characters can use. These

ruins are guarded by a single monster powerful enough to give the PCs problems (DM’s option).8) Undead band: Pick a random batch of undead to throw at the party.9) Kobold band: They attack with missiles first and then run at first sign of trouble.

10) Ogre band: See earlier Chart, but there are more of them in this encounter.11) Good human adventurers: Provide healing and good advice.

12-16) Refer to Chart 1117) Ruins (See earlier Chart)18) Gnoll band: Attack much like kobolds, above19) Human Fighter Band20) Refer to Chart 15

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1-10) Band of inhumans controlling that area: All of the nonhuman town areas are controlled by patrol-ling bands of inhumans. These patrols appear to attack the adventurers. When the PCs get too bigto attack the patrols snipe at them with missile weapons while hiding.

11-15) Refer to Chart 1116) Ruins (See earlier Chart)17) Undead band (See earlier Chart)18) Useful ruins (See earlier Chart)19) Evil cleric band: There are always exactly the same number of clerics as PCs. The highest cleric

has 2 more HD than the highest PC. The lowest cleric has 1 less HD than the lowest PC. Theseclerics exist only to destroy the PCs. They even go so far as to carry off any bodies that fall during abattle.

20) Evil magic-user band: These average higher levels than the PCs. They always exist only todestroy the PCs. They will, however, have magic items useful to the party if defeated.

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1-6)

7-10)

11)12)13)14)15)16)17)18)

19-20)

Tong the orc chieftain and his band: Tong, the orc chieftain, first appears with two or three orcs andis easily defeated by the adventurers. But give Tong every chance to escape, vowing revenge.From then on, Tong appears with more and more orcs. When numbers don’t do it, he appears withstronger and stronger orcs, creatures that have more and more magic armor and/or weapons. Eve-ry time Tong is defeated, he runs away swearing vengence next time.Jurin the human bandit chieftain and his band: Jurin is a classier, stronger version of Tong. He getsdefeated, and comes back stronger, but with more and more humans. Jurin’s early bands have afew fighters. Then he gets some archers. Then he gets better armored fighters; then some clerics,then some magic-users; then his group attacks with protection spells already up and running. Jurinhimself always escapes with a cavalier message warning of good sport to come from him next time.Ruins (See earlier Chart)Lawful Character Party (See earlier Chart)Refer to Chart 15Random orc band (See earlier Chart)Random goblin band (See earlier Chart)Evil Cleric band (See earlier Chart)Evil magic-user band (See earlier Chart)Refer to Chart 10Refer to Chart 11

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1)2)3)4)

5)6)

7)

8)9)

10)

11)

12)

13)

14)

15)

16)

17)

18)

19)20)

Lawful Cleric (HD 10; hp 57; AC 2; Damage 1-6 +4)Lawful Magic User (HD 10; hp 41; AC 3; Damage spells; already has several protective spells up and running)Lawful Fighter (HD 10; hp 81; AC 1; Damage 1-10 + 2)Thieves Guild Protection: The local Thieves Guild offers the party “protection” from their activities for 30days; the price depends on the alignment of the party and the negotiations (roleplay it out).Blessing of the Bard: Turan the Bard: HD 6; hp 37; AC 5; Damage 1-6A visit from your faerie god mother: A tired old woman comes to the leader of the party and says that he orshe looks like her son or daughter. Then her hands glow and all of the characters feel wonderful. For thenext five battle encounters, the party’s armor class is raised by 2; they will be unable to detect this change.The raising of karma: The group meets a beggar asking for a bit of gold to help fill his stomach. If the partygives gold, the beggar tells them a generic pass word good for several places in the inhuman areas. It theydon’t pay up, he gives the “curse of the beggars;” for the next ten encounters, there are 2 hit dice more ofwhatever faces the party than there should be.Authur the Paladin: HD 5; hp 21; damage 1-8; AC 1Merchant (See earlier Chart)The young prince: the city is filled with deposed royalty and each and every one of these fools wants to winback a portion of the city. Every prince is capable of getting the PCs past the first level of guards in the spe-cial encounters placed about the city, but they always die right after that in the attack of the second ring oftraps and guards, leaving the players high and dry. In this encounter, a prince tries to talk the players intogoing with him to a randomly-selected section of the inhuman portion of the city.The Challenge: A single inhuman warrior comes up to the adventurers and challenges one of them to per-sonnal combat. The fight is to the death and the winner takes the equipment of the loser. If the PCs allattack, the challenger simply runs. There should be a 10% chance of magical treasure with every fight.The list of monsters should include: orcs, ogres, humans of various types, goblins, and hobgoblins.The ambush: Two crossbowmen for every PC fire at them (using the party hit die average to determinetheir level) and then the ambushers run away.The hole in the ground: The earth shifts at the feet of the adventurers, and a hole opens up revealing a tun-nel. The tunnel leads to a small underground complex, stocked with generic monsters and treasure. ThePCs can adventure in this area or they can ignore it.The Wild Hunt! The sound of dogs baying can be heard in the distance and then the “wild hunt” sweepsover the party. All those that make their magical saving throws aren’t affected, but those that don’t areforced to join the haunting “wild hunt”! The hunt will take those failing party members to some randomarea of the town or wilderness. It is possible for the nonaffected members to come along if they so desire.No one knows what brings the wild hunt, but the only sure way to avoid it is to be behind doors when thehaunting comes. If the party is inside they hear the dogs, but aren’t forced to make a saving throw.The High Lord Jonnel: HD 8; hp 51; damage 1-6 +2; AC 3. Jonnel is haughty and arrogant, and will tryand pick a fight with the party, accusing them of getting in his way and demanding some sort of repaymentfor his inconvenience.Magic for magic’s sake: Pick a random spell from all the lists, and it hits the party, as if a 6th level spellcaster threw it.A trap: the inhumans have trapped this area recently and the party has sprung the trap. The charactersstill get the regular chance to defuse it through the proper use of thieves or dwarves.A Raid of Evils: The PCs hear the sound of battle a short way off, and can check it out or leave it alone. Ifthey investigate, they discover a raid by inhumans on some pilgrims; but the inhumans attack the charac-ters as soon as they appear.Refer to Chart 15Refer to Chart 12

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1)2)3)45)6)7)

8)9)

10)11)12)

13)14)15)

16)

17)

18)

19)

20)

Another challenge from a powerful inhumanAnother raid from an inhuman bandA castle of evil, newly set upThe black knight (AC 1, HD 10, hasted, Damage 1-10 +3)The red knight (AC 0, HD 12, hasted, Damage 1-10 +4)The white knight (AC -1, HD 15, Damage 1-10 +6, only fights neutrals and evils)The princess with a problem: This encounter is designed to get the PCs to go to Sokal Keep, Kuto’s Well,or Kovel Mansion if they haven’t been there already, by having a beautiful princess hire them to go to one ofthem and retrieve a particular item or clear out the block, or something.Orc chief’s raid: Another Tong specialGoblin chief’s raid: Wherever the PCs are, they face lots of goblins (about 8-to-1 in favor of the goblins).Hobgoblin chief’s raid: Surprising and outnumberng the characters wherever they are.Kobold chief’s raid: Constantly raining missiles fall from dodging kobolds.The unhelpful dwarf: This dwarf offers to help the party, then gets them lost, or gives them bad informa-tion, or something equally stupid.The evil elven warlock: Leads the party into an evil trap.A night of monsters: Random monsters attack the party until two party members are killed.The doppleganger attack: The dopplegangers are designed to replace PCs that fall in battle. These dop-plegangers then start attracting large numbers of other dopplegangers in a series of constant attacks onthe party.The ambush: No matter where the PCs are, they are pinned down by a hail of crossbow quarrels flying inon them. Then they are offered the choice of surrendering or dying. There are as many crossbowmen asthere are hit dice in the PC party.The evil characters: These bad guys always have the same hit dice as the characters and always want allthe gold they can get.The evil wizard’s challenge: These bad guys always have lots more hit dice than the PCs and always wantall the magic items then can get.The evil fighter’s challenge: This guy has twice as many armored men as the PCs and offers them achoice of fighting him in single combat or being all destroyed. He has 5 more hit dice than the strongestparty member. If the adventurers win the battle, they get the knight’s armor and the rest leave.Tricks & Traps: Use selection from Dungeon Masters Guide

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NOTE: The characters referred to in this table are “stock characters” common to many fantasy settings. Formore details on them, see the list of NPCs on p. 6.

1)2)3)4)5)6)7)8)9)

10)11)12)13)1 4 )15)16)17)18)19)20)

The bard Wren appears to give adviceThe evil cleric Sentar appears to give bad adviceThe good low-level magic user appears to try and helpThe evil fighter attacksThe middle level thief tries to pick a pocketThe Rumor Monger appears with newsThe old beggar woman comes to curse or cureThe young warrior wants to join the bandThe powerful evil wizard wants to join the bandThe higher level thief tries to take a magic itemThe lovely young merchant’s daughter has a problemThe young female thief needs a rescueA ghostly king appears to warn the PCs not to carry magic for two daysThe bardess Tabat wishes to join the group for 3 adventuresThe young illusionist wishes to join the group for his pick of magic itemsThe unconsious knight is foundThe dead wizard is foundThe assassin makes his attempt on the groupThe beggar trades gold for cluesThe tired old cleric asks for help

93

NOTE: Many of the characters listed on this table are “stock characters” common to many fantasy settings.For more details on each one, see the NPC listings on p. 6.

1) The dwarven fighter with a problem2) The dwarven cleric needs help3) The gnomish illusionist wishes to join the band4) The gnomish fumbling fighter wishes to join the band5) The half elf bard wishes to join for three adventures6) The evil half elf fighter attacks the group7) The crazed elf has a map to a wonderful treasure8) The dragon appears and wants help9) The half-orc assassin attacks

10) The female elf princess says trick or treat11) The dwarven goldsmith has a quest12) The evil dwarf cleric leads the group into a trap13) The ogre black knight makes a challenge14) The kobolds make a raid15) The evil gnomish illusionist attacks16) The halfling thief joins the group to steal from them17) The young halfling warrior wants to join the band18) The begging halfling trades maps for coins19) The half-orc cleric attacks20) The old dwarf trades magic weapons for completed quests

94

1)2)3)4)5)6)7)8)9)

10)11)12)13)14)15)16)17)18)19)20)

Dinosaur (MM 2, Ankisaurus, AC 7, HD 2, Damage 1-4, # appearing 1-10)Korred (MM 2, AC 5, HD 6 + 1, Damage 1-2 +4, # appearing 1-4)Giant Mantis (MM 2, AC 3, HD 10, Damage 2-12)Quickling (MM 2, AC -3, HD 1 1/2, Damage 1-4 (X 3), # appearing 4-16)Skeletal Dragon (Zombie Monster, AC 6, HD 6, Damage 4-16, appearing 1-6)Thri-Kreen (MM 2, AC 5, HD 6 +3, Damage 1-4 (X 4), # appearing 2-12)Anhkheg (MM 1, AC 2, HD 3-8, Damage 3-18, # appearing 1-6)Bombardier Beetle (MM 1 ,AC 4, MD 2 +2, Damage 2-12, # appearing 3-12)Dinosaur (Iguanadon, MM 1, AC 4, HD 6, Damage 1-3/1-3/2-8; # appearing 3-18)Displacer Beasts (MM 1, AC 4, HD 6, Damage 2-8/2-8, # appearing 2-5)Ghoul (MM 1, AC 6, HD 2, Damage 1-3/1-3/1-6, # appearing 2-24)Hippogriffs (MM 1, AC 5, HD 3 +3, Damage 1-6/1-6/1-10, # appearing 2-16)Minotaur (MM 1, AC 6, HD 6 +3, Damage 2-8, # appearing 1-8)Ogre (MM 1, AC 5, HD 4 + 1, Damage 1-10, # appearing 2-20)Spectre (MM 1, AC 2, HD 7 +3, Damage 1-8 plus energy drain, # appearing 1-6)Wights (MM 1, AC 5, HD 4 +3, Damage 1-4 plus energy drain, # appearing 2-16)Troll (MM 1, AC 4, HD 6 +6, Damage 5-8/5-8/2-12, # appearing 1-12)Vampire (MM 1, AC 1, HD 8 +3, Damage 5-10 plus 2 levels of energy drain, # appearing 1-4)Zombie (MM 1, AC 8, HD 2, Damage 1-8, # appearing 3-24)Flightless Bird (MM 1, AC 7, HD 1-3, Damage 2-8, # appearing 2-20)

95

1) Refer to Chart 102) Refer to Chart 113) Refer to Chart 124) Refer to Chart 135) Refer to Chart 146) Refer to Chart 37) Pilgrim (under attack)8) Lizard men (MM 1, AC 5(4), HD 2 + 1, Damage 1-2/1-2/1 -8, # appearing 2-24)9) Large Scorpion (MM 1, AC 3, HD 5 +5, Damage 1-10/1-10/1-4, # appearing 1-4)

10) Dinosaur: (DM should pick one based on the hit dice of the party.11) Giant Poisonous Frog (MM 1, AC 8, HD 1, Damage 1, # appearing 2-12)12) Werewolf (MM 1, AC 5, HD 4 +3, Damage 2-8, # appearing 3-18)13) Doppleganger (See earlier Chart)14) Marsh gas explodes: PCs must save versus breath weapon for 5d6 damage from gas; successful save

means half damage.15) Mummy (MM 1, AC-3, HD 6 +3, Damage 1-12, # appearing 2-8)16) Quickling (See earlier Chart)17) Wight (See earlier Chart)18) Vampire (See earlier Chart)19) Spectre (See earlier Chart)20) Troll (See earlier Chart)

96