Adventure (Seed) - The Pool of the Beregyna

The Pool of the Beregyna

Since the Battle of the Opicum the Rovers of the Barrens have retreated to their most secure fields and distant hunting grounds. Some places are long disused and have not seen a Rover in generations. It was with some surprise that they rediscovered the Beregyna inhabiting the streams and pools of their old abandoned lands.

The Beregyna, water spirits always in the form of beautiful women, are more wild and dangerous than Rover legends speak of. No longer do the simple ceremonies and symbolic sacrifices taught from shaman to shaman down the years appease the Beregyna; they demand lives not reeds shaped as men and women. Their pools and homes along riverbanks have become deadly places where Rovers are lured to their deaths in a watery embrace.

The Vodianoi, the male appearing water spirits are rarely seen and never at the river's edge, but they too take the lives of any who come near to their lairs found only in deep waters of pools and lakes.

Of old the Rover shamans used to worship Beregyna and Vodianoi, but the ancient rites are forgotten and the Rovers now hate and fear these ancient spirits, so much so that they would welcome and reward any who could rid the waters of them.

Adventure (Seed) - At One Stride Comes the Dark

 

At One Stride Comes the Dark

There are terrible things beneath the streets of Old Blackmoor. A world exists deeper than the catacombs where the dead reside. The bowels of the earth do not hold this realm though it can be reached all too easily. The great ruined towers of Blackmoor where past generations built upon the foundations of races and beings older than humanity reach down into these dark realms. Tunnels, stairs, pits beslimed with horrific use, descend past the corridors of burial chambers and tombs, down and down till the stone gives way to textures that are smooth and warm with the fires of the oerth and not of this oerth; some passages constrict the body first into a crouch, then a crawl, then to a twisting and wriggling as if a great wyrm had shaped the passage to no bigger than its flesh could fit. Deeper still, whether narrowing tunnel or broad stairs with steps wide and steeper than the breadth a man could lift foot to tread, the passage twists; it twists the souls of men, twists their bodies inside out, twists their minds until each step is a scream, a nightmare that eats at them, gnaws their bones, crawls among their fears, deeper, deeper into the dark.

And when no more can be born to those who have not turned away or lost themselves, body, mind and soul along this narrow twisting way, those who have survived, they step into the darkness, a wall, a pool, a great suffocating cloud deep in the earth and out onto a plain of silver grass and starlight. The land of Evening beyond the deep passages of Old Blackmoor.  A dark road cuts through the silver grass and the guardians of thought line the way. Their bodies seem no more than thin pedestals of black rock; armless with wide eyes and skulls stretched above. But as you approach their bodies seem filled with stars, their eyes filled with light, their bodies glow softly in the semi-darkness. 

Adventure (Seed) - The Sorceress of the Hool Marsh

The Sorceress of the Hool Marsh

There is a monstrous evil at the heart of Hool Marsh that warps the bodies and minds of those who abide in the secluded fishing village Midland Wold. Something is terribly wrong and the residents are shunned and abhorred by their neighbors. That there is some power hidden among the misty fens and the deep mires within the marsh cannot be doubted. 

It is said that the villagers of Midland Wold venture forth on moonless nights or send forth their less repugnant fellows to buy or steal women, for their own have often degenerated past the ability to birth any but abominations.

The sorceress of the Hool is the daughter of one such captive and her beauty is said to be more powerful than her enchantments. She has brought a new force and vitality to the people of the Wold and the fen mists rise and spread, encroaching on cleaner lands of the Keoland coast as far north as Saltmarsh and even Seaton, polluting the waters, warping the plants, crops and trees, corrupting the people.

The Council of Saltmarsh is gathering their folk for a raid but it will take time. Now they call for those who would adventure into the subverted village and find out what Shadow lurks over Saltmarsh, and what can be done to defeat it or drive it forth. Great danger is promised but so is great reward and the gratitude of the people of Saltmarsh and the surrounding lands.

Adventure (Seed) - The Dream Barracks of the Brain Assassins

I've recently started delving into Frog God Games Tome of Adventure Design and I'm experimenting with the location generator. The Tome is a fantastic resource either as a series of random generators or a detailed list of plot types, adventure ideas, potential monsters, items or simply a list of useful descriptions.

The location generator gives me a bit of a Small World flashback so the creation of adventure seeds from the Tome seems a bit tongue in cheek and if I had any skill at humor I'd use it here.


Adventure (Seed) - The Dream Barracks of the Brain Assassins

The Mind Flayer culture is dark and mysterious. Their language is strange and unoerthly, their society seems fragmented as they are found frequently in enclaves or individually among other societies but with no cities or nation of their own.

One legend says that they came down from Luna ages ago and their true home is there. Other speak of other planes or the Outer Void where terrible creatures of evil and madness dwell and that Mind Flayers are some combination of these beings with humanity.

Whatever the truth is Mind Flayers are a power within the Flanaess  and the Brain Assassins are a power among the Mind Flayers.

Their leader, C'Reln, is said to be incredibly old and if his body dies he is reborn from a hidden chamber within a fortress called the "Dream barracks" whose location is known only to the leaders of the Brain Assassins.

The Brain Assassins operate mainly among other Mind Flayer's and Drow whose society is most openly populated by the creatures. There is a guildhouse of sorts in the major Drow cities, Erelhei-Cinlu, Urlisindatu, and other less known enclaves. A secret guildhouse is rumored to be in Rel Astra, Highport and even the City of Greyhawk.

The "Dream Barracks" is in actuality a place within the mind of each Mind Flayer. These creatures have something of a shared consciousness but it requires the use of a powerful magic item to activate among them. Those who belong to the Brain Assassins bear upon them a fragment of such an item allowing them to share consciousness with each other within a certain radius, said to be mere yards by some, but evidence points to  perhaps a mile. 

The Lost Library of Q'Sh - 3

The Lost Library of Q'Sh - 3

5). The hallway is very wide and has an arched ceiling that peaks 15ft overhead. It is extraordinarily dusty inside and the ceiling is choked with spiderwebs. When either set of doors (north or south) is opened the dust will be stirred and a small whirlwind will begin to dance in front of the open door. It will spin faster and faster and the dust will begin to form into the shape of a man. If disturbed the forming figure will give a loud moan of anguish and fly apart leaving a pile of dust behind, but if it is left alone it will become the figure of a tall robed man holding a book. He will hold out this book to the characters so that they can see the cover. On it is the sigil of a snake swarming around a set of runes. There are runes also inscribed along the body of the snake but in a different language. If Comprehend Languages is cast upon the book it will reveal dozens of names though one stands out as if embossed (Zuel). The runes upon the snake remain undecipherable. The names around the snake will begin to shift and push against the snake's encircling body and the snake's body will begin to constrict. The figure of the robed man will let out a scream and both man and book will explode in a cloud of dust. If the figure of the man is touched at any point during this process he will collapse in a pile of dust, though the book itself can be touched by the caster of the Comprehend Languages spell.

Empty sconces where torches once rested alternate left and right down the hall every 20ft and if the 1st sconce (where the secret door is marked) is turned to the left a grinding sound will be heard, a small vibration will run through the floor and the walls, while dust shakes from the ceiling. The 10ft section of wall which holds the sconce will recede about an inch and stop. It is jammed shut. The movable wall will take magic or picks and sledge hammers to take apart. It is an actual thick section of stone wall formed of stone slabs weighing a couple of hundred pounds each and expertly fitted together (damn that dwarven craftmanship) so knocking it apart will probably involve a good deal of time, a slight chance of stones falling on the character and a great deal of noise).

Once the obstruction is cleared a half-dozen skeletons will burst from the dark interior of the room; each armed with sword and shield. The leader still wears a rusty shirt of chain (he is AC4) while the others wear the scraps of rotted leather armor they wore in life but are now of no additional protection. They bear longsword and shield (giving the other 5 skeletons AC6) and do the damage of their weapon unlike their more generic brethren. They will fight to their destruction.

If the thick cobwebs of the hall are searched or set afire (the webs will ignite but they burn sluggishly taking 2 combat rounds for a 10ft section to burn through) a mummified body will drop to the ground (with the chance of falling on anyone standing directly under it. As the first 10ft section is burned a body will drop from the entangling webs (or if the webs are cut away or the body found within and pulled from them). 2 more bodies can be found among the cobwebs and will be found when half the spiderwebs are burnt or removed.

The first body is that of a dwarf wearing a chain shirt and helm. He carries a battleaxe clenched tightly in one withered fist. He has a pouch at his belt contain 30gp.

The second body is that of a man wearing robes and carrying a staff. He has a medallion made of silver with a small red gem at its center worth (10gp) and a scroll tube in his belt containing what appears to be the spell for Burning Hands but if cast will cause the scroll to burst into flame and engulf the caster for 1d12 Dmg.

The third body is that of an elf wearing a fine shirt of chain and carrying a longsword. His body will be the last discovered.

If all three bodies are discovered or when any attempt is made to open the northern doors or turn the sconce in the hall to trigger the secret door a huge spider construct will drop from the ceiling. It will immediately animate the 3 bodies who will rise and attack the characters. This creature radiates magic and is not undead. It is made from the hollowed out body of a giant spider.

Giant Spider Construct - 12hp, 2HD, AC6, 1 Attack (Bite for 1d10) Arrows cause no damage. Stabbing/Thrusting weapons cause 1HP damage. Slashing/Chopping/Blunt weapons cause double damage. Can animate and control up to 3 corpses.

Body 1 (dwarf)- 8hp, 1HD, AC5, 1 Attack (1d8 by weapon or 1d3 weaponless). Arrows cause no damage. Stabbing/Thrusting weapons cause 1HP damage

Body 2 (man) - 4HP, 1HD, AC 10, 1 Attack (1d6 by weapon or 1d3 weaponless). Arrows cause no damage. Stabbing/Thrusting weapons cause 1HP damage.

Body 3 - (elf) - 6hp, 1HD, AC5, 1 Attack (1d8 by weapon or 1d3 weaponless). Arrows cause no damage. Stabbing/Thrusting weapons cause 1HP damage.

The northern doors are similar to the southern except that these have pull rings in them. They are also warped shut and require a combined strength of 30 to open them but doing so will trigger the Giant Spider Construct to release its three animated corpses (if not already released) and attack.

Adventure (Seed) - The Abbey of Grobund - Perrenland

Adventure (Seed) - The Abbey of Grobund - Perrenland

(This idea is a conversion work based on 'The Evil Abbey' from module X4 Master of the Desert Nomads.)

The  Abbey of Grobund is a half-ruined ancient abbey devoted to Pelor in his aspect as the Sun and as a healer. Anyone with sickness or injury is welcome and many who come to the abbey choose to remain or at least are never heard from again.

The abbey is located in the Yatil Mountains west of the Mounds of Dawn along the narrow and dangerous pathway that links the Backlunish west with Perrinland and the Flanaess.

What is unknown to travellers is that the abbey and the monks have become corrupted by a terrible disease spread to them by the Wives of Incabulous (a powerful cult most prominent in the Gnatmarsh). Why one of the Wives was travelling through the pass is unknown but she left her mark upon the once good and peaceful monks.

During the day the monks are normal with no memory of their transformation which occurs with the setting of the sun and the strength which Pelor's light gives them. Once it is fully dark they transform into semi-vampiric monstrosities with a bestial thick hide, clawed hands and the fangs of a viper.

The Abbess Somaruga is only herself for two hours at mid-day when the sun is at its height otherwise she has been completely subsumed by the evil of Incabulous and bears a tattoo marking her as a Sub-Wife of the cult. Like the others she has no memory of her evil transformation during this time and if she is made aware of the tattoo (which is on her rear hip out of her sight) she will immediatly transform to her monstrous self. During the other hours of daylight she is in her human form but her consciousness is pure evil. 

Somaruga is careful to allow prominent vistors to pass unmolested as well as all guard patrols and merchant caravan which might be noted or missed, but the cult feeds upon the sick and injured which come to them for healing. Most are consumed though their bodies are turned to undead.  A few are converted and join as monks and monstrosities while a rare one or two are given hidden diseases and acts as carriers to spread the touch of Incabulous wherever they go.

Adventure (Seed) - Rovers Across the Border

Adventure - Rovers Across the Border

A Knight of Tenh clashing with a raiding party of Rovers of the Barrens.

As winter of 579cy comes to the north the Rovers drive south and raid the warmer lands before retiing to their winter enclaves that are hidden among the Barrens.  Scouts are sent out weeks earlier to find the weakest most unpatrolled spots along the borders before they ride in force and raid and rampage in lightning quick attacks. Many an expedition has been sent by Furyondy, Tenh and the Pale anf even the Horned Society to find these encampments but those few expeditions who return have never been successful.

It was hoped that after the Battle of the Opicm River the Rovers' depredations would be halted, and for a few years they were while the surviving warriors and the remnant clans withdrew to their furthest and most secure hunting grounds. But under the leadership of the young chieftain of Wardogs, Bohadan Opensky, all the surviving clans are united for the first time since the days of the great khans. While great numbers of Rover warriors perished the children and young mothers of the clan survived as well as those too old to have joined in the great battle. With each passing season young women and men join the hunt and seek to bloody their swords and spears and prove their worthiness on raids.

It may take a generation to refill the saddles of all the dead but more children have been born to the tribes than ever before and the day will come when the Rovers will blacken the steppes and fields with their numbers once again. For now, as 579cy comes to an end, small raiding parties of Rovers are once again appearing in the southern lands and the scouts and border guards of many nations are the first to encounter them.

Adventure (Seed) - Listener to the Sphynx

Listener to the Sphynx

In the Dry Steppes the old wastelands hold many mysteries. Its borders are not a place for men or even those who walk as men, but amid its wind-swept desolation can be found the ruins of man. Old  tales tell of the lost towns and cities in that terrible place, but only the statues and obelisks of that ancient land can be found jutting from the surface of the cold and barren tundra.

A cult of wild-monks, driven mad by the dark and malevolent desolation all around them speak with the statues of man, God and monster and they listen for a reply which is more than the moaning of the wind. These mad men speak of a vast necropolis, of a terrible otherworldly music that floats on the wind, of the things whose shape twists the mind and the bodies which must be gathered and burned by touch since none can see such things and live. 

It is said that the heart of the Dry Steppes was saved by the power of the last Bakluni God-King and that the hordes of nomad barbarians dwell in this place. If any of the wild-mad monks can be talked to it will be found in what high regard they have for these suppossed nomadic tribesmen and a hint at a greater organization and purpose behind them.

What relics of the ancient Baklunish past might be found in this vestige of the green and pleasant land which existed before the culmination of the war with the Suel? What power the God-King and his Magi possessed to protect their own land and yet destroy, utterly, the home of the Suel Imperium? And so twin expedition are said to be prepossed to seek the heart of both the Dry Steppes and the Sea of Dust. What answers can be found except perhaps those whispered from dead statues which have already driven mad the wild-monks of the Dry Steppes.

The Lost Library of Q'Sh -2

The Lost Library of Q'Sh -2

3). This massively long portico is littered with debris.

Presently it is home to a small band of goblins who are camped close to the main door. There are 12 of them with a 13th, an archer, standing guard by the doors at location 2). Of the twelve the leader is a small but solid goblin armed with a spiked mace, armored in a fresh shirt of padded leather and bearing a medium shield. He is AC5 and 7HP and fights as a 1HD monster. In combat he kicks his more cowardly fellows forward but trusts his other companions to follow where he leads so he is usually in the middle of the small group, neither rushing into combat nor lingering behind.

2 Goblins have shortbows, short swords and leather armor. They are AC7 and 3HP each. and fight as 1-1 creatures. Each has 20 arrows in their quivers and will move one to each side of their compatriots and try for flanking shots against their enemies. If they run out of arrows they will draw their shortswords and attack.

9 Goblins have either a mace or shortsword. With either small or medium shields. They are 4HP, AC6 and fight as 1-1 creatures.

All goblins wear small helms.

The leader carries the spending money for his group. A pouch with 27gp, 52sp, 39cp. The inside of his helm has a cloth lining containing 5pp and 3 small gems worth 25gp, 20gp and 10gp.

The portico is a long marble porch with pillars and a screen made of rusted iron lattice that allows people to peak out but makes it difficult to see in. The shortwall around the portico is 4ft high with the lattice running another 15feet to the overhanging roof.

The eastern side of the porch is the goblins latrine and the west is where they cook their meals and sleep. A large iron pot is simmering over a fire when first found and inside is some nameless though edible stew. Three large wooden barrels are breached nearby. one is an almost empty barrel of water, one is full and the third is a three quarters empty barrel of a thick ale. A pint of which is mildly intoxicating, 5 pints will make an average imbiber fairly drunk and 10 pints will render them disgustingly bloto. There are 35 pints worth left in the barrel. A wooden bucket is floating in the barrel of ale.

A dozen and a half piles of animal skins and ragged cloth make up the goblins' bedding. The chief sleeps on an overturned wooden bench with a thick bearskin and a lumpy pillow. All the bedding is indescribably filthy and rank. If the common bedding is searched 3 daggers, 18gp, 72 sp and an empty ivory scroll tube (worth 10gp) will be found.

The chief's bedding has beneath it a large two-handed sword and a man-sized shirt of chainmail. In the pillow is a fine cloak with a gold ruby-set pin. The pin radiates magic faintly and allows the wearer to speak with roses (and only roses) once a day if they know the command word. To the right buyer it is worth 200gp.

The doors to Location 6). have been smashed open and only fragmens of wood still dangle from the hinges.

The doors to location five are 10feet wide and 15feet high. They are unlocked but slightly warped. They open outward and it takes a combined strength of 30 to open them. Unfortunately the pull rings that were set in the door are missing and some means of grasping the door will need to be devised (which shouldn't be hard as a stout rope nailed to them with iron spikes should do the job).

3.1). This secret door defies natural detection and a search of the wall will reveal it with a -4 modifier to the attempt (it is really well-made). There is no latch or mechanism to open it from this side of the door. It is constructed of 1ft thick stone blocks, about half the thickness of the outer wall and opens by being raised into the ceiling by a counterweight that is released from location 8).

4). There is a mosaic here of an old man in robes holding a book with raised text. If three of the letters of the text are pressed simultaneously a latch will click and the door can be opened outward. Inside is a long hall. There are 2 sconces on each wall set about 10ft apart with the stubs of burned out torches and a stairway leading down to dungeon level 1.

Adventure (Seed) - The Hunt for Delos Quinn

The Hunt for Delos Quinn

The Duke of Geoff sends his bailiffs after the notorious thief and highwayman Delos Quinn.

Ganiff Breithem leads his men through the Dim Forest in pursuit of Delos Quinn who escaped from the cells beneath Heartstone Keep the day before his execution. The party consists of two local foresters as trackers and half a dozen armed baliffs. The foresters are father and son, the father an experienced woodsmen and archer while his son is still learning the trade. Ganiff's men are veterans of both melee and brawl, but none, not even Ganiff himself, are well versed in the use of the bow.

Delos on the otherhand is not a woodsman but knows his way around the crossbow, which three of his compatriots have provided for him. The four have set an ambush just within the entrance to a small glade where the ground rises and a spring near the top feeds a small waterfall and pond.

Unbeknowest to them all a band of Gnolls has set up camp in a small valley only a half-mile distant and have prepared an ambush of their own for Quinn and his companions, but are not expecting the arrival of Ganiff. As the net of gnollish attackers closes around Quinn the party led by Ganiff enounters the surrounding gnolls but from behind. Quinn circled by gnolls. Gnolls surprised by Ganiff. Fun ensues.

Adventure (Seed) - The Smiling Dead

The Smiling Dead

Yohan Fustyvant of the Yeomanry was a hedge wizard all his life but a devotee of the duplicitous Syrul during his last few months. While most other half-amateur practioners in the mystical arts were often as dangerous as they were ineffectual, Fustyvant became a master of the dental craft. His own teeth were his pride and joy.

During his life he collected lore on herbs and potions that would fight tooth decay, alleviate pain, and leave breath minty and fresh. His extractions were truly painless and his animated wooden dentures never left splinters, bit the user's tongue or seized control of the wearer's body for nefarious purposes.

As the years passed he became renowned, sought after and exceedingly wealthy, but he could not protect himself from the wear and diminishment of time, nor could he master the greatest of dental magic and regrow teeth, not even his own. He turned, in the end, to the toothy grin of Syrul, and as with all pacts made with the eternal trickster, his own desires became his undoing.

While searching for elusive herbs along the borders of the High Crags he came upon an ancient shrine so old it seemed to predate the Suel Imperium. The deity depicted was of strong physical characteristics and had the best sculpted teeth Yohan had ever seen. Among the overgrown and half-ruined shrine he found an amulet with the grinning face of the unknown deity (Syrul) which he kept as a token and a talisman, not realizing he had peeked the interest of a malivolent and duplicitous God.

In desperation in his declining years he began to pray to the carved toothy  features on the amulet and one day he received an answer, The talisman spoke and offered him the answer to his prayers if Yohan would show his devotion. Each day he sacrificed and each day his teeth became a little fuller, a bit more white and shiny. Unfortunately they just wouldn't stop. He begged Syrul, made greater and greater sacrifices but each day now he gnawed and gnawed to wear down his teeth, took to the file and in the end extracted them with his own hands, only to find the process of regrowth begin again. In pain and torment and shame he took his own life at the lost and half-ruined shrine.

Yohan Fustyvant's teeth are now forever strong and sharp. In undeath he gnaws at the living, infecting all those he slays with his toothy curse. His ghoulish progeny can be recognized by their perfect teeth which shine with a pearly light in the dark of tomb, catacomb or grave.

Adventure - The Black Pyramid of Skalesh

The Black Pyramid of Skalesh

In the Littlemark the Border Companies scout the mountains of the Barrier Peaks for incursions of humanoid tribes as their compatriots keep watch on the northern border with Ket and spar with the Kettish Horse Guards along their side of the border. Avar Toth is an experienced scout among the Bisselite rangers who watch the mountain passes. For more than a week he has tracked a strange band of goblins who raided into Bissel and then suddenly retreated back through a fresh pathway that had recently been opened after an avalanche of stone brought down previously unpassable cliffs. What he found has turned him back toward human lands to warn of what he has seen.

Within the well-named Barrier Peaks he found a mountain carved into the shape of a pyramid, carved from black stone and swarming with a community of strange goblins. These are the Kazpek goblins; strangely civilized, unusually strong and squat of build. These goblins bred with the decadent remnants of a dwarven kingdom and the black pyramid, once a vast dwarven fortress lost so long ago that even the memory of its name has been forgotten.

Deep within the pyramid is the body of their God-Priest Skalesh, last of the line of Dwarven Kings, a monstrous combination of dwarf, goblin and daemon and his porgeny who he consumes to fuel his existence stretched further than any mortal should be allowed. 
His pyramid-mountain sinks its dark roots into the UnderOerth and their he has warred with the Drow, the Kuo-Toa, the Deep Gnomes for centuries but he controls little more of the UnderOerth than he does of the upper realm. Now, after the great avalanche and collapse of the barrier cliffs, he has a way open toward the human lands of Bissel and then the Flanaess. His eye is toward extending his domain and his scouts are but the tip of a spear pointed east into the heart of Bissel.

The Lost Library of Q'Sh Part 1

The Lost Library of Q'Sh Part 1

References as to whom or what Q'Sh was are uninformative but the Library of Q'Sh is mentioned in several journals and histories as a minor location of sagacious lore among the Suel of the late Imperiuum. Until recently its location was unknown but several traders in Verbobonc have recently acquired items which bear the name and markings of Q'Sh.

A group of gnome miners exploring the eastern Kron Hills area in search of a famous but abandoned mine have come under attack by marauding goblin wolf-riders and their guild has both mounted a rescue mission and a placed a reward for the head of any goblins brought back to their guild house at the border outpost Laghevel. They have the intention of eventually seeing the area made safe for mining.

Hunters returning to the border fort report tracking goblins to a lightly wooded region where they were surprised to find the entrance to some large building cut into the side of one of the hills.

Note: The actions of creatures at location 2). will probably occur before characters reach location 1).

Location 1).

The stairs are marble and very worn. Several have been cracked into fragments and all are slick with a green fungal slime. Movement on the stairs is at 1/2 speed and anyone running on the stairs must make a fumble roll as do those initiating combat.

Combat on the stairs is at -2 to hit and combatants must roll a d20 at the start of each combat round in which they are attacking (before any attack roll can be a made) to see if they lose their balance.

(a natural roll of 5 or less is a critical fumble and any item held in hand or hands will be dropped while 1d4 damage is taken and the combatant will tumble down the stairs with the possibility of tumbling into someone below them who then must roll to see if they fall as well whether they were attacking, defending or not. These fumble rolls are taken separately so that a combatant may have to roll more than once to see if they lose their balance or are knocked over by someone else losing their balance).

(a natural roll of 10 or less results in a combatant losing their footing and falling to their knees or back on their butt and suffering 1hp damage as well as giving any attacker a +2 to their to hit roll. Any attack they were attempting to make will be negated).

The green slime upon the stairs is a living organism but is harmless. It may be consumed and is both tasty and nutritious.  8 ounces of slime is = to one day's rations. It consumes vegetable matter and can double in size once a week if fed 4 times its starting weight daily, but it needs to be stored in a cold and damp environment or it will dry out and die in a day. 5 gallons of slime can be collected from the front stairs.

 2). These are massive wooden doors each 15ft wide and 15ft tall bound in brass, but heavily battered. The righthand door is wedged in place and must be broken, burnt or somehow dismantled to remove it. It will not open. Any force strong enough to break the hinges free and move the warped wooden portal will tear it apart in an explosion of splintered fragments and heavy bands of brass (50gp worth of brass can be removed from these doors).

The lefthand door is split across its center and the lower half  (about 4ft up from the bottom) is partially open; enough for a man to slip inside. Sheltered in the doorway is a 3hp goblin archer. He bears a shortbow, leather armor and shortword. He has 16 arrows in his quiver and will fire at maximum range toward anyone approaching the stairs. He is normally AC6 but with the partial cover of the splintered doorway he is AC2.

When he runs out of arrows or when characters begin to ascend the stiars the goblin archer will withdraw and the goblins at location 3), will begin to fan out along the top of the stairs. 

Adventure Idea - Ankhegs in Istivin

Ankhegs in Istivin

During the invasion of Geoff by the Giants and their allies the Earl of Sterich sent many troops to aid the Geoffites and only a minimum of guardsmen were left behind to man the walls of the capital. It was during this time that an infestation of Ankhegs occured. These large beasts first appeared amid the outlying farms but soon dozens were tunneling into Istivin itself. A large bounty was placed on Ankhegs and many adventurers turned aside from their pursuits to aid those of Istivin and pocket some gold.

They Earl has created a small reaction force that reponds to the latest appearances and depredations of these monsters but what is really needed is for a group to follow the tunnels and destroy the lair of these creatures and whatever nest or nests that is producing them. For this the earl is willing to reward the adventurers handsomely as well as giving them a base of operations within the city and whatever aid he can spare now and in future endeavors. Current aid will only cover resonable requests and minimal expenditure. Future aid has the promise of much greater reward. 

When the Ankegs appear they grab what food they can, human, humanoid or animal, drag it back into their burrow and collapse it behind them. A recent incursion beneath the tavern Saucy Sue, a popular place for offduty guardsmen and adventurers, was able to kill all the attacking Ankhegs and leave open the entrance to their tunnels. A guard has been kept on the opening in the cellar of the tavern and some adventurers have remained in the upper-rooms of the half-ruined tavern for the free accomodations.

Adventure Idea - Winter in Verbobonc 579cy

Winter in Verbobonc 579cy

A patrol of Verbobonc Lancers caught in a summoned storm of cold and ice within the Kron Hills. 

Somewhere in the Kron Hills something or someone has turned the winter into a savage beast that is punishing the lands of the Kron Hills and southern Verbobonc. The mage-advisor to the viscount,  Istarnus, has searched within his crystal of farseeing and found the vision of an icy cave with the shadowed figure of someone who radiates a dark power silhouted at its entrance. He cannot pinpoint its source except to say that this is where the cold and ice is worst.

A double patrol of lancers was dispatched with the Ekbirite mage Feraydoon, a friend and allie of the viscount, aiding them. Even with Feraydoon's Horn of the Desert they barely survived the fierce blizzards called down upon them.

Istarnus has, with the help of the Verbobonc mages' guild, created powerful amulets of unmelting ice that should protect the wearers from the worst of the summoned cold. The viscount will provide these amulets and a suitable reward to any adventurers willing to brave this unknown power and bring it to an end.

Adventure Idea - Death of a Dryad

Adventure Idea - Death of a Dryad

The rangers of the Gnarley Forest have come upon a scene of horror where a once living grove has been stricken and one of its dryad inhabitants slain in a manner none have encountered before. Half-a-dozen other dryads from the grove are missing along with the Druidess Delphine.

Huge tracks of some giantish creature can be seen in the soft earth but they disappear only a short distance from the blighted grove. Splintered trees litter the ground and all about the grove the wood and brush is as dead as if exposed to long and fridgid winter, and this only the beginning of summer.

The rangers have sought both druidic and elven help while they search for any sign of the missing dryeds, druidess or giantish invader.

Project - Ptolemides Part 3

Project - Ptolemides Part 3

9a). At both of these spots marked in the corridor there is a large pool of dried blood. Between these marked spots on the map and location 9b there are smears and drops of blood streaked across the stone floor in the direction of area 9b.

9b). This area is layered with debris; wood that has been splintered, cloth torn into strips, even vegetation such as roots and wild vines. The debris is spread across the room and several feet thick. At a point near the center of the room a man's foot and lower leg is half buried under this mess.

If anyone pulls at this foot it will resist slightly then pull away revealing a foot with a leg severed a few inches above the knee. If the leg is pulled free or if anyone searches or disturbs the debris 2 swarms of baby giant ticks will erupt from their layered nest and attack. There are a total of 5 baby tick swarms within this room. After the initial 2 that attack, another 1 will form and attack whenever anyone disturbs the debris or tries to search.

If the debris is searched carefully, a long, messy and disgusting job, they will discover the upper body of a man in chainmail, a severed hand with a gold ring with ruby chips worth 10gp, a chipped and dulled longsword that radiates magic, which is -1 to hit but +2 to damage, and 32gp, 15sp and a small bag containing 5 uncut diamonds which appear to be cloudy crystals but are worth 50gp each.

New Monster:

Tick, Giant (Baby Swarm)

No. Encountered: 1d6

Size: S

Movement: 25

Dexterity: 12

Armour Class: 9

Hit Dice: 5

No. Attacks: 1

Damage: 1d4

Saving Throw: 10

Morale: -

Experience Points: 50

Treasure Class: -

A swarm of baby giant ticks represents 40 of these little monsters. Each is about 3 inches long and has 1hp. Any damage to the swarm represents the actual number killed in the attack.

Special:

Fire will keep them at bay

Piercing weapons do only 1hp damage per attack

If reduced below 16 in number the swarm will dissolve and the surviving baby giant ticks attempt  to skitter away.

10). This circular niche off the west side of the corridor contains a fountain and a small pool that is about 2ft high and the diameter of the niche. The water pours from a pitcher in the hands of a statue of a voluptuous naked woman. The water is collected in the circular pool at the statues feet. Followers of Lunaqqua will receive a blessing following their first drink of this water. This blessing will give them a +1 advantage in all dice rolls for the next 6 game turns. Subsequent drinking at this fountain will be refreshing but does nothing but dispel thirst.

Anyone desecrating this fountain (which includes attempts to damage it) will receive a curse of lycanthropy unless a save versus magic succeeds.

An overturned wooden bucket is at the edge of the stone pool.

11a). The door to this room is ajar. It can be barred from inside the room but no crosspiece is in evidence. It can be locked but the key is nowhere to be found.

11b). Three long tables are set side by side toward the center of this area. On each table is a nude body, two men and one woman. An overturned metal tripod and metal basin is near the west-most of the tables and half-burnt coals, now long cooled, have spilled from it. (The coals can be gathered and will burn for an hour, giving off a good deal of heat but very little light). Under the coals is a dagger made from a chunk of obsidian and wrapped with leather. It radiates magic if detected.

New Item: This is a Dagger of Mordezzan. It is a +1 magic weapon, but its main use is in the creation of animated skeletons and the production of Skins of Mordezzan. The dagger can make incisions in dead flesh that when complete will animate up to 3 skeletons per day. These skeletons will be at the command of their creator, except they will take no actions against a follower of Mordezzan who wears a Skin or bears the symbol of Mordezzan. A follower of Mordezzan who is a cleric or necromancer may wrest the command of these skeletons if they are of higher level.

New Item: The Skin of Mordezzan is the specially prepared skin of a sacrificial victim. It radiates evil and is worn by a follower of Mordezzan granting him the same armour class as that of leather armour, provides +1 to saving throws, and protection against paralysis, cold based and charm spells and abilities. Arcane markings are placed on the victim's skin, then they are submerged in a vat of enchanted liquid, then a Dagger of Mordezzan is used to remove the skin. Anyone trying to wear a Skin of Mordezzan who is not a follower  must save versus poison of suffer 1d6 hp damage per combat round (save for half damage) and will suffer 1d6 hp damage per combat round until such a save is made even after the suit is removed. (Only 1 saving throw is necessary once the Skin is removed, but a save must be rolled each turn the Skin is worn.

A giant tick sits on top of the man's body on the center table. It has been poisoned while trying to drain the body. The tick is at half-hp and -1 to hit and damage. The bodies of 4 dead giant ticks are scattered around the floor north of the tables.

If anyone examines the bodies they will find arcane markings on the flesh that a necromancer will recognize as part of a ritual to animate the dead. Each body has bone deep incisions and it would take little effort to remove the skeletons from the surrounding flesh.

11b). A set of spikes on the east wall holds 7 human skins. These are completed Skins of Mordezzan. No trace of internal organs or bones are in evidence.

11c). The drained and dry body of a man in a dark blue robe is crumpled here. If searched it is revealed that he wears a Skin of Mordezzan beneath his robe, but it is damaged beyond repair showing many knife wounds in the back and head of the Skin and the man almost completely severed, hanging together only by the skin at the back of the neck.

12). The west wall of this room is lined with skeletons who stand motionless until someone approaches within 20ft, opens the northern doors or who attacks them from a distance. There are 9 skeletons lined up in two rows facing the west wall. In each of their hands is a human thigh-bone, one end spiked with nails, which they use like a spiked mace, damage 1d6. A stack of boxes three high is on the north wall and the south. Each box contains 2 skeletons. These will attack if the crate is open. These skeletons will obey the commands of anyone in a Skin of Mordezzan and will not attack anyone showing a symbol of Mordezzan.

12a). This door is shut but not locked. It can be barred from inside the room. The wooden crosspiece is on the floor near the door.

12b). This door is shut but not locked. It can be barred but no crosspiece is in evidence.

13). There is a large vat in the center of this room 5ft high and 10ft in diameter. The walls of this room are set with iron spikes and the bodies of 12 men are hanging upside down from the spikes. Each has been marked with arcane symbols and the sign of Mordezzan. Their bodies show lines of deep incisions head to toe.

An iron chain hangs from a pulley above the vat. Inside the vat is a thick, dark liquid that radiates magic if anyone detects such. The liquid is a primary ingredient in creating a Skin of Mordezzan, and a flask of it would be worth 5gp to an alchemist, Necromancer or seller of spell components. There is enough liquid in the vat to fill 1,000 flasks.

If anyone peers into the vat an Undead Minion of Mordezzan will reach out from the liquid and try to first grapple with the character then drag them into the vat. If this is successful the character will be attacked by 5 Undead Minions of Mordezzan

If the attempt to grapple the character fails, all 5 Minions will burst from the vat, pulling themselves over its edge and attack.

At the same time the Minions attack the bodies on the wall will begin to writhe and shake. In 2 combat rounds 5 of the bodies of the wall will have had their skeletons pull free of the flesh that surrounds them. They will drop to the floor and attack. 2 combat rounds after that 5 more will pull themselves free and 2 rounds later 5 more till a total of 15 skeletons have left their skins hanging on the walls. The empty skins are not yet enchanted and are merely dead flesh.

New Monster: Minion of Mordezzan Undead Type 3

No. Encountered: 1d6

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Size: M

Movement: 40

Dexterity: 10

Armour Class: 7

Hit Dice: 2

No. Attacks 3(Claw/Claw/Bite)

Damage: 1d3/1d3/1d6

Saving Throw: 15

Morale: 10

Experience Points: 41

Treasure Class: S,T

Minions of Mordezzan are similar to ghouls but lack the ability to paralyze their prey. At one time they were loyal members of the Mordazzen cult and wore sacred Skins of Mordezzan. Upon the death of the cultist this Skin bonds with their own flesh and they rise after a short time as an undead Minion of Mordazzen.

Special:

Immune to poison, paralysis, fear and cold-based attacks

Protection from evil holds them at bay

14). This chamber has walls covered in torn, blood spattered and shredded tapestry. 2 of these hangings have gold thread woven into them and are worth 25gp each, even in their mangled condition. In the south-west corner is a pile of broken wood made up mainly of chairs but some larger furniture of unknown type as well. Along the north wall there is a table, swept clear but covered in dried blood, as is the floor around the table. Against the east wall there is an overturned and smashed cabinet. Mixed in with the cabinet are torn books and scrolls and broken glass.

If the cabinet is searched there is a 50% chance that a hidden drawer at the bottom of a splintered shelf will be found. The drawer is locked and a thief can attempt to pick it. If the secret drawer is smashed open the two glass vials in will be smashed.

The drawer contains 2 potion vials and a small spell book.

Potion #1 is of Healing

Potion #2 is of Fire Resistance

The small book holds 3 spells; Animate Carrion, Extermination, and Skeleton Servant.

14a). A bench runs along the south wall of this alcove. Huddled against the east wall on the bench are two figures in blue robes. If approached closer than 10ft these 2 Undead Minions of Mordezzan will attack. If attacked from a distance they will also attack.

14b). This alcove at the south end of the main room is hidden from casual view by a torn tapestry. There are pegs running down the west wall and 5 dark blue robes are scattered beneath them on the floor.

Most noticeable is the Undead Minion of Mordezzan, stripped of its blue robe and nailed to the south wall with iron spikes. The creature is at only 5hp but is still animated and struggles to free itself.

15). This door is locked and barred shut from the east side of the door. A glyph has been carved into the wood of the door. If shown around the city above it will be found out that it is the mark of Ptolemides Thieve's Guild, but such questions will be noted and the Thieve's Guild will be informed.