last update 9/4/98 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, + + and other terms used in this module are the property of + + TSR, Inc. However, this does not mean that TSR in any + + way endorses or authorizes their use, and any such items + + contained within these stories should not be considered + + representative of TSR in any way, shape, or form. + + The NPCs contained in this module, as well as certain + + of the new monsters, spells, and magic items, are of my + + own creation. Copying, distribution, etc. is fine as + + long as money isn't involved. + + + + Thomas Miller + + tmiller@cimmeria.oit.gatech.edu + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ************************************************************************** THE CRYPT OF THE UNDEAD KING (an AD&D 2nd edition adventure for 6-8 characters, levels 15 up) 1991/1992/1994/1995 Thomas Miller TABLE OF CONTENTS 0. Prologue 1.1 Background 1.2 DM's Notes 1.3 The Keep 1.4 The Dungeon 2.1 The Inner Sanctum 3.0 Epilogue 4.0 Maps 5.0 Appendices 0. PROLOGUE The shepherd was almost asleep when he heard the sounds. Strange sounds, too, he thought as he rose from his bed. The sheep were moving around in their pens and making all kinds of noise, but there were other noises out there. Some kind of moaning or groaning could be heard above the sheep's bleats. Damned kids, thought the man as he grabbed his staff and headed for the door. They were always here and there, playing pranks on their elders. Well, he would show them! He opened the door and headed for the pens, staff raised in anger. Any unruly children out here had better be able to run fast, thought the shepherd as he entered the pens. A sheep ran by him and out into the open, before he could stop it. Then it occured to him that there was no light out here. The lantern was always lit, but it must have run out of oil. Or maybe those damned, no-good kids put it out! The moon was out, in full, though, so momentarily he could make out vague details of things. It was then that his heart froze in sheer terror, and he dropped his staff. There were things crawling around his pens! They seemed to be dead men, risen fresh from their graves. Rotting faces and stinking limbs were everywhere. They were in the process of eating his flock, and dead sheep and remnants were all over the place. Blood flowed freely at every turn. The shepherd was no coward, but things such as this were beyond his experience. He turned and ran, sprinting for his house, the wooden staff forgotten. He was wondering what the monsters were and where they came from, when he tripped and fell just short of his front steps. Pushing himself up quickly, the man rose - only to meet face-to-face with a shadowy form. The thing reached out with a black-cloaked arm and closed icy fingers around the shepherd's throat. He gurgled in fear and pain, but went limp within moments, dead. The dark figure surveyed the situation, and the town ahead, where a few lights glowed even at this hour. Slowly, meticulously, the mob of undead turned and shuffled in that direction... 1.1 BACKGROUND Recently, in the Greyhawk area, there has been an unusually high rate of undead sightings. Sometimes it is just skeletons, sometimes far worse things. In all cases, these undead are malicious and homicidal, and the death toll from this problem is growing large indeed. Worse still, all graveyards and burial grounds in the area seem to be spawning more of the undead monsters, as if they were somehow able to spread their particular condition to other corpses. The concentration of undead seems higher to the southeast of the city, about at the juncture of the Cairn Hills and the marshes to the south of them. However, some particularly bold specimens have been found as far as the suburbs of Greyhawk. While the clergy of the area have so far been able to control this influx of undead, though not without many fatalities in some cases, there is much worry as to the origin and motivation of these enterprising undead. Realizing this, the Free City has sent three expeditions to that area to find and eliminate the source of the problem. Only one of these has yielded any useful information - a few guardsmen were able to limp back to the city, beaten and terrified. They spoke of ferocious undead who sprouted from the ground like weeds, and who kept on fighting when they should have fallen long ago. Realizing the inability of standard city soldiers to stem the problem, the city council has now decided to hire freelance adventuring groups to try and pinpoint the exact cause of the large quantities of roaming undead. The last of the city expeditions left just over a week ago, and notices have been posted all over Greyhawk and surrounding areas: _______________________________________________________________________ | | | | | ATTENTION! ATTENTION! | | | | | | ALL YE OF NOBLE HEART AND SKILLED SWORD! THE FREE CITY OF | | GREYHAWK'S RULING OFFICIALS HAVE DECLARED A REWARD OF | | | | ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND GOLD CROWNS | | | | FOR THE PERSON OR PERSONS WHO PROVE THEMSELVES ABLE TO | | LOCATE AND DESTROY THE SOURCE OF THE UN-DEAD WHO HAVE BEEN | | PLAGUING THE CITY AND SURROUNDING AREAS. | | ALL QUALIFIED APPLICANTS CAN REPORT TO CITY HALL FOR | | FURTHER INFORMATION. | | | | | |_______________________________________________________________________| If the party goes to the Greyhawk city hall, they will find a long line of characters similar to themselves. After a wait of about an hour, during which most of those ahead in the line depart with a sour expression on their faces, the party is at the head of the line. A wizard-type in purple robes looks them over, then says "How many?". Then they will be admitted, past several checkpoints, into the city council chamber. They are seated before the council (which is comprised mostly of politicians but definitely has a few warriors, mages, priests, and thieves as well) and questioned for another hour as to their skills, abilities, etc. After the council has decided that the party is indeed powerful enough to undertake this quest, they will provide some more information, gained from the few soldiers who made it back, reports from outlying areas, and a bit of scrying magic: - the undead are coming from a keep just south of the Cairn Hills - there are many many more undead there - hundreds of them... - they are led by "Xusia" (pronounced ZOO-SHA), whatever that is - some of the small towns near the hills have been found, devoid of all life and useful items (weapons, livestock, tools, most supplies, etc.) No bodies were present in any of these locations, just signs of battle and a lot of blood The council informs the party that they have already approved two other parties previously; one left yesterday and the other left today, so this party can leave tomorrow. The reward will be given to any surviving party members if they are successful, to be split among themselves. If the characters so wish, they may take some or all of their reward in the form of land fiefs near the city, or material goods or supplies, or whatever is reasonable. The council can go so far as to set the characters (if they survive) up as nobles in the area, with various and useful benefits (free admission to certain guildhalls, prestige among the upper class, etc. - most definitely a better deal than outright cash). This should be enough to go on. For expediency's sake, one of the upper ranking members of the Mages' Guild will teleport the party to the area nearby the keep. Of course, if the characters have their own means of transportation, they are welcome to use that instead. 1.2 DM's NOTES Following is a brief synopsis of the situation: Millennia ago, before the Sueloise came eastward across Oerik and pushed the civilized peoples to the fringes of the continent, the world was a much different place. Among the many unusual things to be found at the time was a devilish cult of necromancers. These fiends were known as the Black Wizards, and comprised one of the most powerful groups of individuals who have ever walked the lands of Oerth. They are responsible for many of the necromantic spells that are commonplace today, and a number that have not yet been unearthed. Anyhow, over the course of many centuries, their numbers slowly dwindled due to internal and external causes. The most powerful and cunning of these Black Wizards was one Xusia, and as his companions grew weaker and died, he became stronger and more influential. When his deeds reached the point where they could no longer go unnoticed, many adventurers sought him, and the Black Wizards in general, out with the intent to slay them. Over the course of several decades, the wizards were killed off, sometimes one by one and other times in greater numbers. At the climax of this great hunt, only Xusia remained alive. He was now infamous for terminating the careers of many adventurers, and became hunted by a number of powerful individuals. When all of these teamed up to find him, even one as powerful as Xusia could not remain anonymous. He retreated into one of his lairs and prepared himself, and when the great confrontation came, he utilized all of his many resources and minions to give the invading forces of good the battle of their lives. Suffice to say that it was a long and drawn-out fight, with more casualties than survivors. When the dust had cleared, Xusia and all of his allies were seemingly slain, and the good-aligned group collapsed his stronghold in upon itself, burying forever all traces of the evil archmage. Seemingly is the key word here. Xusia had expended almost all of his vast arcane power to gather his forces for that battle, but as a last precaution he had created a clone of himself to fight the battle for him, and placed his real body in suspended animation in another of his strongholds located in a distant land. For some unknown reason (probably related to the extremely high levels of magic being employed in the battle) the stasis of the body did not break at the designated time, and so it was that Xusia slept through the destruction of his clone, the aftermath of that battle, and almost six thousand years besides. Eventually, over the course of all this time, the spell slowly wore off and the body began to awaken. Somewhat weak from the prolonged period of inactivity, Xusia spent years regaining his powers and expanding his stronghold (all of the others had long since been excavated or collapsed, but this particular place remained functional due to his very presence). That was about thirteen years ago. In that time, he has discovered a means of creating undead efficiently and en masse. This is his scepter of death which he started in his first life, and has finished in his second. This item, which ranks as an artifact, has many great and evil powers. However, Xusia himself has taken a more sinister turn as well. Due to the combination of his unusually long stasis, the necromantic content of most of his magic, and the great amount of personal power that he has invested in his scepter, his original body is no more. He now occupies a shell that is not unlike that of a lich, but is at the same time something else entirely. It may not be possible for him to die permanently. His stronghold, a fortress/dungeon deep beneath what is now the Cairn Hills, was conveniently stocked with plenty of magic items, weapons, spell books, dead bodies, and other useful things. Xusia has been excavating the tombs within the cairns around him and re-animating the corpses as undead under his control. He then sends them to graveyards and burial grounds to procure fresh bodies to be transformed. Also, he has access to hundreds, even thousands, of older bodies within the depths of his fortress. Almost all of this has been facilitated greatly by his completion of the Scepter of Death. Its full powers are detailed later in this module. Xusia is planning to unleash a full-scale invasion on the lands nearby, starting with the small towns (he is already in this phase of his plan) and adding the victims of his assaults to his undead army's ranks. The party may find out some or all of this information in the course of the adventure. Let's hope so - they will need all the help they can get. 1.3 THE KEEP _______________________________________________________________________ | | | You see a small keep perched atop a slight hill. A 20' wide path | | leads up to the keep from the wasted plains surrounding it. This | | path ends at some rusty double doors in the west side of the keep. | | The keep itself is about 25' high, and its ancient stone is a dull | | grey in color, all embellishments having worn away ages ago. | | You become alarmed as you notice large numbers of various undead | | wandering around in the vicinity of the keep. These creatures seem | | to be patrolling the area, yet they also seem oblivious to your | | party's presence. This is probably because you are a good distance | | away and hiding behind a clump of dead bushes. Almost all types of | | undead are visible, and they easily number in the hundreds. Many | | of them wear garments and armor similar to those commonly found on | | adventurers for hire. After looking things over, it seems to be | | obvious that a battle with all of these monsters could be costly as | | well as causing you to lose the advantage of surprise. | |_______________________________________________________________________| There are a total of 477 undead roaming the grounds, specifically: 132 skeletons (hp 8 each) 99 zombies (hp 16 each) 75 ghouls (hp 24 each) 69 ghasts (hp 25 each) 47 wights (hp 35 each) 28 wraiths (hp 43 each) 18 mummies (hp 54 each) 9 ghosts (hp 80 each) (If the party is dumb enough to try this at nighttime, add 5 vampires...) As stated, a land approach could well be suicidal. Should the party try to get away with it, the undead will attempt to surround them and tear them to bits. The ghosts will use their magic jar ability as often as possible to possess characters and use their bodies to destroy the other characters. In addition, any such fiasco (or an air-based attack on the massed undead) will draw the attention of Skorvus, the lich in the keep. There are at least two reasonable methods for getting into the keep: 1) Flying by some means to the roof of the keep and entering from above, or 2) Teleporting somehow into the interior of the keep The first option will likely attract the attention of the undead on the plains, but they will not enter the keep or hinder the characters unless attacked. Either option will eventually pit the party against the lich, Skorvus. In any case, the undead here and in the keep are simply the upper area guards. The true challenges lie below, in the dungeons... Following is a key for the rooms in the keep. (0) These doors are 2" thick bronze, and wizard locked at 18th level. Upon the doors is the symbol of Xusia - a pale white skull with horns, fangs, and glowing red eyes. This symbol has a powerful enchantment cast upon it, and will cause all those below 8 levels or hit dice to flee in terror and never come back. For reference, the keep walls are ten-foot thick granite, and the foundation of the place extends out about twenty feet and down about fifty. (1) This room has a spiral staircase going up, two sets of stairs going down (to the same place though), and a guardian, Skorvus, a lich and one of Xusia's lieutenants. If any commotion was caused by the party with the undead outside (almost a certainty) then Skorvus will not be surprised, will get initiative for the first round of combat, and will have certain spells already cast upon his person (corpse). The lich's instructions are to observe and monitor the undead near the keep and to ward off any would-be invaders. Should he find that intruders are evil-minded, he is authorized to take them to Xusia for possible recruitment (or conversion into undead slaves...). Note that he has not memorized any escape spells; this is due to one of his faults - a great ego. Skorvus has not even considered that he might be bested by anyone who invades the keep, and has not prepared accordingly. Besides, he does not often get company... SKORVUS: ac -3, hd 18, hp 123, thaco 3, dam 1-10 chill + paralysis; immune to charm, sleep, enfeeblement, polymorph, cold, electricity, insanity, death; spells: feather fall, jump*, magic missile x2, shocking grasp, spider climb blur*, detect invisibility*, darkness 15' radius, mirror image*, web dispel magic, slow, non-detection*, fly*, lightning bolt Evard's tentacles, fire shield, stoneskin*, improved invisibility cone of cold, conjure elemental, feeblemind, sending, wall of force death fog, flesh to stone, eyebite, anti-magic shell finger of death, Mordenkainen's sword symbol (of fear) Bigby's crushing hand (these are the pertinent/combat spells that he has memorized on this day) Skorvus' attack plan is as follows: He has already cast certain spells (*) upon himself. Thus, he can now jump and fly at his leisure. He is able to detect invisibility, is protected by non-detection, and has 8 blurred mirror images (-4 to hit them, +4 on saves) in existence. And, he has cast stoneskin on himself, which protects him from the first several attacks that hit him. He will first cast a death fog on the entire room (since he is immune to it) which will cover 32 10x10 squares of space...this is more than enough to get the whole room and much of the area outside the doors. The second round, he will cast a cone of cold for 18d4 + 18 damage, which may bounce around the chamber (but he is also unaffected by cold, so he doesn't care). The third round, he will cast a feeblemind upon the most powerful wizard in the party. Following rounds he will cast, in order, Bigby's crushing hand, symbol, finger of death, flesh to stone, eyebite (the sleep option), lightning bolt. Either the party or Skorvus should be dead by this time... If hurt seriously, the lich may cast a wall of force, an anti-magic shell, a fire shield, or improved invisibility to help protect himself. Also, it is important to note that Xusia is constantly in rapport with his minions and he will KNOW when (if) Skorvus is slain. Skorvus wears a ring worth 6000 gp, and carries a wand of lightning on his person. His other few treasures are found in room 2. (2) This is the living quarters of Skorvus. The room contains a moldy bed and dresser. All robes, cloaks, et al rot upon examination. A bookcase full of similarly fragile books leans against another wall. There is a hatch to the roof, located in the ceiling. It is locked, bolted, and wizard locked from this side by Skorvus. In a chest, under some rotting robes and dead bugs, are a pouch of seeds of Ostoxanbanoi, an eye of the marid, and a staff of Ta'bid as well as thirteen black diamonds worth 5000 gp apiece. This chest has explosive runes (acid) engraved into the carvings decorating its ornate exterior; these have been cast at the 18th level of ability. There is also a sheaf of papers written in a strange script (Old Oerdian); these documents detail past and future towns targeted for attack, with estimated population, defenses, etc. (3) This is a roof, with the hatch secured as previously described. (4) This double-staircased chamber converges on a black, curved section of wall. After one round of inspection, rumbling will be heard and felt, and within one more round, the section of wall slides away, revealing a forty foot diameter circular chamber, also carved from black stone. (5) This round chamber is actually an elevator. If all of the characters step inside, the wall will slide shut and the chamber will begin to sink slowly into the ground. The elevator room is powered by an immense anti- gravity spell set up by Xusia. Attempts to slow or halt the descent of the room may result in the room dropping rather than floating the five hundred feet to the bottom of the shaft below, in the process causing 50d10 points of damage to all inside it at the time. The room reaches bottom after two rounds, at which time it stops very gently, without even a bump. The entire door section then slides away to reveal a short hallway leading up to a gigantic stone arch. This hallway has a thirty foot high ceiling, which along with the walls seems to be constructed from bones and skulls. Not all of them are recognizable as far as what species they came from, however, all races that the characters know of are represented here. 1.4 THE DUNGEON (1) This huge (15' high, 20' wide) stone arch is constructed of a black stone not like any ever seen on this world. A hazy, opaque mist is floating within the arch, blocking both view and entry. This arch is the subject of a long-lost spell, SEAL. The description for this spell can be found at the end of the module, but the basic gist of it is this: any character who passes through the arch will find him/herself in the area that is Xusia's lair, and will not be able to escape through any means, physical or magical, without the leave of Xusia (or his destruction). A scrying or commune spell will reveal the basic nature of the arch and the risk that one undertakes by going through it. There is, however, something to spur the party on. After gazing at the mists for any more than ten seconds, they might notice some of the mist congealing in front of the arch. Within thirty more seconds, this random mist will have become a roughly humanoid, twenty-foot tall mist golem, which will attack the party. MIST GOLEM: ac special, hd 21, hp 80, thac0 3, dam choking, sa engulfs, sd immune to physical attacks and most magic, size L, al neutral. This golem can only be affected by wind or air, as follows: a gust of wind will cause it 3-30 points of damage and stun it for one round. The attacks of an air elemental or djinni will cause it normal damage. Other spells or creatures of similar nature will inflict similar damage to the golem, at the DM's discretion. Such attacks or effects may move trapped persons out of the golem's mists - also at the DM's discretion. Each time the golem hits (for it only attacks two people per round), it engulfs the target, blocking all air flow. In two rounds, such a victim will be unconscious from lack of air, and in four rounds, he will be dead. One with a necklace of adaption or similar item can survive within the golem, but cannot escape and may die of starvation instead. The golem can easily have six people engulfed and choking simultaneously. It will attack the nearest people first, and invisibility or mirror images will not fool it for a moment. Note that the golem's form mutates as it gets more victims - it goes from being a rough humanoid to a large, spread-out cloud of dense gas. This is how it can suffocate several people at the same time while still being immune to physical attack. Also note that engulfed characters cannot move through the arch (the permeability of its mists is linked to the state of the golem). Should the mist golem manage to kill the entire party, it will toss all the bodies through the arch, to be put to use by Xusia. If the party is able to dissipate the golem somehow, perhaps they may be inspired to go ahead through the arch anyway. If they flee into the elevator room, then they will be cornered in there. The elevator will not move unless all characters go through the arch, and then it will close and rise back to the surface. Nothing that the party does will be able to move this device back up to the keep. Also note that a new mist golem will form every hour until there is nobody left in the hallway leading to the arch. If the party chooses to enter the mists, read them this: ______________________________________________________________________ | As you enter the mists, your skin tingles and you feel somewhat | | queasy. Black spots dance in front of your eyes as you see many | | visions flash before them. These brief and hazy images depict | | stony tombs, dusty crypts, and dark graveyards. You smell a smell | | not unlike that of freshly unearthed corpses...Then you realize | | that you have emerged from the mists and are in a huge chamber. | | You are immediately impressed with the size of the place. The | | ceiling stretches perhaps fifty feet above your heads. There is a | | wall behind your backs, and four huge tunnels branch away from you | | in different directions. The central room that you are in is semi- | | circular, with an approximate radius of a hundred feet. You hear | | faint cries of despair from the passages. | |______________________________________________________________________| (2) About twenty feet in front of the party is a statue on a pedestal. It is a fairly detailed impression of a king, except that the figure is skeletal, and the stately robes are torn and rotted. The lich-king is holding in its hands an open book, facing the party, and graven into this part of the statue are some words of interest; they will appear to each viewer in his or her or its native language : There are three keys for one door. Each is under the protection of a fearsome guardian. If you would face me, then you will need to find all three of these keys...if you can. Otherwise, you can die and become additions to my army. So many others have before you. You shall soon regret whatever folly led you down here. Your puny weapons and magic items will become new additions to my extensive collection of such toys. There is no escape for you, only death... and undeath. XUSIA Lord of the Un-dead Future ruler of the world If the party for some reason should see fit to vandalize the statue, it will simply vanish. There are four huge tunnels leading out of here (areas 3, 16, 22, 27). All are fifty feet in diameter and semicircular. They are composed of a dull black stone of some kind, and the air is somewhat chilly as well (about 60 degrees F...). The smell of decay is present everywhere. The big tunnels all go on for about two hundred feet before ending in large bronze doors, except for the rightmost (area 27), which ends in the door that requires the three keys. All of the tunnels, and the rooms down here (unless otherwise noted) have 30' high ceilings and slightly moldy walls. (3) This particular tunnel ends with a fifteen foot high bronze door. It is eight feet wide. Upon the door is inscribed, in a long-lost and sinister-looking script, "Beyond lies the final resting place of the clan of House Deakus. There has never been a more malicious family - in life or in death. The family that slays together, stays together." The door can be opened without any trouble. (4) In this room are several bodies: elderly human mage, left leg and arm gone, has broken wand of frost tall elven fighter/thief, head missing, many cuts and bruises, has a dagger +1 and a quiver of broken arrows gnomish illusionist, flattened like a pancake, several crushed potions are in a backpack dwarven fighter, plate mail is crushed into body, broken battleaxe in hands, bent shield +2 nearby ogre magi, chest is excavated, still intact are his boots of elvenkind lizard man warrior, chopped in three, has huge sword snapped in half human priest, imbedded in the west wall inside a crater, robe +4 is shredded beyond repair, mace +2 lies on floor nearby human fighter, back snapped like a twig, no items There are signs of battle but no undead bodies (they got dragged away for recycling). This party was the first of the two who ventured here, and they were defeated by the skeletal warriors in room 5. Xusia ordered his undead to take all of their items but to leave their bodies here as a demoralizer for others (he has quite enough adventurer bodies already). The second party, incidentally, made it all the way to Xusia'a inner sanctum (detailed later) before perishing. A single door leads to room 5. The occupants of that room will emerge before the party opens the door, and pour forth to attack. The door is 25' high and forged of old iron; it opens outward (toward the party). (5) This room is the lair of six skeletal giants (storm giants that is) who will try their best to stomp the characters into the ground. STORM GIANT SKELETONS: ac -2 (plate +3), hd 19+, hp 152 each, thaco 3, dam var + 12 + var, sd half damage from edged weapons, standard undead immunities, turn as Special undead due to amulets. The giants are armed as follows: #1: Gigantic two-handed sword +2, laced with poison +4 4d10+12+2+P #2: Gigantic battle axe +3, of sharpness 4d8+12+3 #3: Gigantic two-handed sword +2, of wounding 4d10+12+2 #4: Gigantic polearm +1, laced with poison +4 12d6+12+1+P #5: Gigantic mace +5 4d6+4+12+5 #6: Gigantic hammer +3 4d6+12+3 These giant skeletons are an example of one of the more useful powers of Xusia's scepter - the ability to convert miscellaneous dead monsters into undead under his control (the battle in which he defeated the six giants is a story unto itself). The party is welcome to take the giants' magical armor and weapons, but they are far too big to be of any use, except maybe to giants. The amulets versus turning are evil, and should be destroyed by any good-aligned priest (for 2000 xp apiece). A door leads to room 6. (6) This spherical room has no walkway, so the characters will have to just slide down the sloped surface of the wall/floor. Floating in the center of the chamber (which is a hundred feet in diameter) is a ten-foot diameter white sphere. If touched, it will explode and release a gas which will have a different effect on each party member (roll randomly): 1: poison, of extreme potency (-4 on saves), save still takes 3d10 hp 2: sleep, save at -4, lasts for 20-80 rounds 3: permanent insanity, save at -3, roll a confusion roll each round 4: paralyzation, save at -3, lasts 10-40 rounds 5: withering, save at -3, affects a random limb, requires a Heal to cure 6: weakness, save at -4 or lose 10 Strength points for 30 rounds A door in the ceiling leads to area 7. (7) This hallway has one end at the hatch down to area 6. The other end is forty feet away, and is an iron alloyed, magnetic wall of great power. This strange wall will snatch anyone clad in metallic armor as soon as they enter through the hatch, and pull them down the corridor to slam into the wall with great force, equal to triple the weight of any metal they are wearing or carrying. Thus, a character in plate mail would almost certainly be pulled to the wall without hope of resisting; one in chain would also be pulled, but with less force; someone carrying a sword might have the weapon torn from his/her grasp. Hitting the wall inflicts damage equal to 1d10 hp per 100 lbs. of metal carried. Any metallic items will be stuck onto the far wall. Metallic items within pockets or backpacks or sacks will either rip a hole in the containers or drag the character to the wall, depending on the strength of the container... One round after the room is entered, the wall right next to the hatch will sprout many three-foot long steel spikes and begin to slide toward the magnetic wall. It moves twenty feet per round, so within one minute and fifty seconds, anybody still pinned to the wall will be fatally speared and killed. Real time is suggested here - start a timer when the wall starts to move. The wall moves with 800 lbs. of force, which means that anyone who can heft 800 lbs. can stall it if a suitable anchor is found. Various magical means may work as well. The spikes are spaced about six inches apart, and cover the 10' x 10' wall; each one can be bent with a successful bend bars/lift gates roll. There is a secret door in the ceiling right above the magnetic wall, which leads to room 8. (8) This is just a hallway. (9) This room is accessed via the hallway. After all party members are inside the room, the door will shut and become flush with the wall all around it. The room is shaped like a cylinder, of ten foot radius and forty feet high. Twenty feet up is an iron grate blocking further ascension. This grate has inch-thick bars and is securely mounted in the wall around it. There are square gaps between the bars (three inches on a side). The grate can be bent by a successful bend bars/lift gates roll with a penalty of -25% applied. There are four rotted bodies on the floor here and another clinging to the grate. None have anything interesting, though. As soon as the entry door is gone, millions of tiny holes in the wall will begin to exude water. The water will rise rather rapidly (ten feet per minute) so in two rounds it will pass the grate level and some of the party may be drowned. Note that it is not possible to attempt to bend the grate unless the character doing so is somehow anchored so he can exert leverage on the grate. There may be other ways to avoid drowning as well. Also, there is a drain in the floor, which is closed right now. It would require a normal (unpenalized) bend bars/lift gates roll to tear this away and drain out all the water, but the drain is not readily visible since it is closed. The drain holes are very tiny and lead nowhere significant; even if the drain is uprooted, a narrow pipe leads down into porous ground (not a viable escape route). Any truly persistent characters who use gaseous form or such means of moving into the drains will find that they cannot advance further than about three hundred feet in any direction (an effect of the SEAL spell). The water will only rise to a thirty foot level. There is an open tunnel in the ceiling, with rungs leading up to room 10. (10) The rungs go up and over a stone lip which is at one end of this passage. There is a pit trap about twenty feet out from the lip; it is only 50' deep and filled with poisoned spikes (damage is 5d10+6d4+poison). The poison is contact poison, save at -3 or die, otherwise take 2d10 hp. Even the slightest pressure on the hallway floor will trigger this trap. Lying on the floor of the pit is a ring of mammal control, covered with grime so as to be unnoticable unless someone searches the floor. There are also three mangled skeletons in rotted clothes impaled on some of the spikes. One was a human fighter, one a human mage, and one an elven thief. Xusia does not often clear the victims from this pit since it is a lot of trouble. A door at the end of the passage has explosive runes on its doorknob. These runes will do 4d6+6 damage to anyone who uses the doorknob to try to open the door. A safe way to get by is to tap out the hinge pins and simply not use the knob at all. Behind the door is a fork, leading to areas 11 and 14. (11) This tunnel appears to shrink into a point, rather like a cone on its side. If the characters walk toward the "end", however, the tunnel will always appear to be "normal" sized. This is because the tunnel shrinks anything that goes through it. It is two hundred feet long and each ten feet traversed will shrink things by one-twentieth of their full size. At the far end of the tunnel, a six foot character will be about three inches tall though he may not notice this fact. There is a "normal" sized door at the end of the tunnel, leading to area 12. The effect will reverse if the tunnel is traversed the other way, so the party will return to normal. It should be obvious to anyone who looks back and sees the gigantic walls behind them that something is afoot here... (12) This room contains a skeletal cat. Yes, a cat. A kitten to be exact. It is a one hit dice monster, but since it was put here before the shrinking corridor was created, it is at twenty times normal stats as far as the party is concerned. GIANT SKELETAL KITTY: ac 0, hd 20, hp 160, thac0 3, dam 20-40/20-40/20-60, size L (16' or so at the shoulder), cannot be turned. The chamber is littered with the skeletons of many adventurers, birds, squirrels, snakes, and a singular cockroach husk too. These are all the previous victims of the kitten and their bones are pretty well crunched up. They are all, of course, giant-sized with respect to the adventurers. There is nothing of value here. One door in a corner leads to area 13. (13) This cavernous room contains six cockroaches, which are now bigger than the characters, just like the kitten. GIANT COCKROACHES: ac -2, hd 10, hp 80, thaco 7, dam 3-30, size L (5' long) There is one item of interest in here - a large (10' long) golden key. It will not be affected by a return trip through the hallway of area 11. (14) This is the right fork from area 10. It ends in a door which has a magic mouth with fangs, which will utter, in Common, "Use the golden key to open me or burn". The entire end of the passage (the last thirty foot turn) has extremely charred walls, floor, and ceiling. Above the mouth is a single word engraved into the stone: DEAKUS. If one of the characters tries to open the door in any way without this insulated key (found in area 13), the mouth will breathe a great gout of flame down the thirty foot length of the last turn of the corridor. This blast does 10-100 points of damage (no save is possible unless one is at the end of the last turn, where it is possible to leap aside). The flame will only happen once, then the door can be broken down by the party. It is locked and leads to area 15, the crypt of the Deakuses. (15) This large circular room has six vault doors plus the entry door, all equidistant around the circumference of the room. In the center of the place is a pedestal with an graven plate, which lists the occupants of this crypt as they were in life: ______________________________________________________________________ | | | CLAN DEAKUS | | | | ...may they rot in Hell... | | | | Clespus, founder of the clan and ruthless tyrant (7399-7481) | | Vern, bitchy wife of Clespus (7403-7466) | | Hissar Sul, second king of the clan and noted anti-hero (7423-7507) | | Ramses, brother of Sul and court executioner (7428-7497) | | Beekus, bastard son of Sul, avid cannibal (7443-7464) | | Grokkin, distant cousin of Sul and murderer of babies (7417-7477) | |______________________________________________________________________| ______________________________________________________________________ | As you finish reading this inscription, you hear long-sealed doors | |open, and a number of rotting creatures emerge from the different | |vaults and encircle your party. | |______________________________________________________________________| About the time that the party finishes reading this, the various vaults will open as the Deakus family comes forth to claim new victims. All attempts to turn undead are made at -4 in here due to the evil nature of the place. Clespus is now a vampire (ac 1, hd 8+3, hp 67, thac0 13, sa charm, energy drain; sd need magic weapon to hit, regeneration, gaseous form) Vern is of course a banshee (ac 0, hd 7, hp 56, thac0 13, sa sight causes fear, wail; sd need magic weapon to hit, mr 50%, immune to cold, elec- trical, etc; turns as special undead) Hissar Sul is now a death knight (ac -6, hd 15, hp 120, thac0 1, dam 1-8 (+3 str)(+2 spec)(+2 sword); attacks 5/2 with his sword+2; standard undead immunities, need +3 weapon to hit, mr 75%, can't be turned) Ramses is a mummy (ac 3, hd 6+3, hp 51, thac0 13, sa rot, sd need magical weapon to hit) Beekus and Grokkin are ghosts (ac 0/8, hd 10, hp 80, thac0 11, sa magic jar, ages 10-40 years by touch, 10 years & flee by sight; sd need magic weapons to hit, must be ethereal to use spells against ghost) The vaults contain no treasures, just a lot of old rotted junk and remains of dead bodies. Around Hissar Sul's neck is the first key needed to open the door in area 27, a small dusty key made of mithril. (16) Back to the central chamber at the beginning of the dungeon; this is the second large tunnel from left. It goes for two hundred feet before ending in a large wooden door. Engraved on the door in the same script as seen in area 3, is this message: "Beyond this door lies Skales, the undead golem, mindless guardian of the second key". This door is not locked. (17) This cavern tapers to a narrow tunnel after the far end. The main body of the room, though, is the rather large cavern. Its ceiling is about fifty feet high, and that and the walls and floor are a sickly shade of brownish green slime. This slime entirely covers all of these surfaces, except the first ten feet inside the door and the narrow tunnel entrance (area 18). Should any character come in contact with this slime (even a boot or weapon will suffice), the fungus-like stuff will spread over his body within three segments, coating the unfortunate one totally. The stuff is highly corrosive and does 9 hp per segment to the victim. A cure disease or any sort of similar healing spell will not remove the slime. A cold spell or effect that does more than 30 hp of damage at one time will render the slime non- acidic for four rounds (it can then be carefully scraped off if the scraper is soon discarded). A fire spell or effect which does more than 30 hp of damage at one time will burn the slime off entirely. Either of these two options will cause equal (full) damage to the afflicted person as well. Electrical or corrosive attacks will not affect the slime. Damage caused by the slime must be cured magically, as natural healing will not occur for these wounds. Keep in mind that in the process of "rescuing" a companion, other party members may come into contact with the slime too. The only safe way to cross this room is to fly or levitate across to the narrow part. (18) This is a narrow (less than three feet wide) passage cut from the surrounding rock. It winds eastward from area 17 for a while, sloping gradually downward until it ends in the door to area 19. This door is locked and has a poison needle trap of great ingenuity (-35% on any rolls by a thief, either to open the lock or find or disarm the trap; warn the thief that the lock is very complex). The poison on this needle is one of the deadliest known toxins (-5 on saving throw, victim takes 4-40 hp of damage even if he saves). The door will take three knock spells to open, using magical means; otherwise, a combined Strength of 100 points is required to bash it in. (19) This is a round corridor, ten feet in diameter and two hundred feet long. It is remarkable in that the floor/walls/ceiling are all one piece of material, and this material is glass, and "outside" the glass corridor on all sides bubbles a green material. This is acid, though they may not figure that out. If anyone is daring enough to walk out across the glass floor, there is a percentage chance equal to their weight in pounds, divided by four, minus their dexterity, that they will crack the glass as they walk over it. This guarantees an acid spray which will hit the character for 5d6 hp of damage. The crack will grow bigger after the first round; the second round will see the spray block the whole passage so that anyone wanting to get through must take damage; the third round, the acid will spray the entire corridor inflicting 10d6 hp of damage; the fourth round, the glass corridor will shatter, and any still inside will die instantly. Even if the party has made it into area 20, they will probably be trapped in the area 20/21 rooms unless they have some means of swimming through acid. It is possible that by trapping themselves, a party will meet Xusia directly, for the lich will come to repair the glass tunnel within a month or so... There is a thick glass door at the end of the corridor, and it is closed. It will only open if magic is used (a Knock spell will do it); there is no way to physically open the door, though it can be shattered. There are no hinges, knobs, or locks. If the door breaks, the corridor will still be unbroken, as they are two separate pieces. (20) This is the room on the far side of the hatch. Should the corridor in area 19 AND the glass door be shattered, a wall of force will pop up in the space where the glass door used to be, and another will pop up on the other exit of this room, which goes to area 21. (21) This is the domain of an undead golem. This unique creature was one of Skorvus' most successful experiments and wears around its neck a small iron key, the second of the three needed to open the door in area 27. ______________________________________________________________________ | You see a vaguely humanoid shape, about twelve feet tall, lumbering | |toward you. It has four arms, and its body appears to be made up of | |chunks of bone, with rotting strips of flesh dangling freely. Dirty | |rags can be seen here and there, covered with blood. The monster | |grins at you, showing yellow fangs and wriggling worms, as it prepares| |to attack. | |______________________________________________________________________| UNDEAD GOLEM: ac -5, hd 15, hp 120, thac0 5, #att 4, dam/att 4x4d10+sp, sa see below, breathe rot cloud; sd need +3 weapons to damage, standard undead immunities, takes half damage from edged, can't be turned; size L. The golem's powerful arms do 4d10 hp of damage upon a hit, and each also inflicts a harmful effect: 1> drains two life energy levels from victim, no save 2> paralyzes victim, save at -4 3> ages victim 20-80 years, save for half 4> withers a limb into a useless stick (determine limb randomly), no save In addition, the golem can breathe once per three rounds. This is a cone of nauseous greenish-brown gas, going out 40' with a terminal width of 40'. All caught within are infected with a terrible body rot, which causes 2-20 points of damage per round, and causes victims to be at -4 to hit. A save is possible only if a victim has a chance to get clear of the cloud. This rot requires a cure disease before any damage caused by it can be cured by spells or time. (22) Back to the central chamber, this is the third large tunnel from left. It ends in a huge wooden door after two hundred feet. Inscribed in the door in the same script as in area 3 is "Beyond this door resides Valdek, last member of the race Draco Mega Necro, the undead dragon". The door is, of course, not locked. (23) This huge chamber is dusty beyond belief and smells even more like the grave than the rest of this level. It is also very cold, so that anyone who is not well-covered by their clothing will suffer 1 hp of cold damage each ten rounds. One corner contains a door to area 24. The floor here is loose dirt, and when the party is about halfway across the chamber, the occupants of the room will claw their way up from the ground and surround the party. 21 WIGHTS: ac 5, hd 4+3, hp 35 each, thac0 15, dam 1-6 + level drain, sd standard undead immunities. (24) This passage is unusually thin, being perhaps three feet wide and seven feet high. Thus, only one character can stand abreast in the marching order. After about forty feet of winding through the tunnel, the lead character will come face to face with a greater vampire lord, who will first charm and then drain him or her of levels while using the unfortunate victim as a shield against the rest of the party. This vampire is called Thargin. GREATER VAMPIRE: ac -3, hd 12+3, hp 99, thac0 9, dam 1d12/1d12 + drains 3 levels upon a hit, sa charm at -4; sd gaseous form, regenerates 3 hp/round, need +3 weapon to damage, resistant to sunlight, turns as Special undead. He wears a ring of telekinesis and will use it as needed. At the same time that this creature attacks the front of the party, twelve additional wights will charge the rear of the party (stats as above). The passage leads to a door to area 25, the lair of the vampire. This door is solid iron, with small holes, so that the vampire can go through it while adventurers will have to force it open (treat it as a magically locked door for this purpose). (25) This room is a lavishly decorated living chamber, the home of the vampire in (24). This vampire, one Thargin, is another of Xusia's many servants. He stays in here reading and generally living it up, only having to do work when intruders approach. If sorely pressed, he will become gaseous and retreat here to heal himself and grab a couple of his magical items. There is a large post bed here, with very old and antiquated sheets and drapes. To one side is a huge dresser, to another side is a stone washbasin full of cold unholy water. Among the various clothes in the dresser is a cloak of the bat and a robe of stars, and on top of it are several dusty books concerning the history of the current continent. One of these tomes has several chapters which discuss the Black Wizards and Xusia. These pages will reveal some of the DM's introduction (see start of module) up until the point where Xusia was supposedly slain. Also on top of the dresser are a pile of gems and rings (gems 12x1000 gp, 3x5000 gp; rings 3x4000 gp). If Thargin comes here, pursued by characters, he will drink some of the unholy water (which will heal all of his damage) and pick up his wand of petrification. He will then wait for the fools to break down the door so he can start stoning them. The wand has 7 charges left. Even if Thargin is slain, he will simply turn into mist and dissipate, for such is the way with greater vampires. Below the bed is a coffin buried in unholy earth, into which his mist form will flow. Should the party locate this coffin, they will be able to destroy him, and will find in his coffin an unholy flail +4, with the power to command undead as a 12th level evil priest. This item is evil and merits destruction by good-aligned persons. A single barred door leads to area 26, where the dragon Valdek makes its home (Thargin often goes in there to have meaningful conversations with the dracolich.) (26) This rocky passage leads to an enormous cave. ______________________________________________________________________ | You smell the reek of rotting corpses as you enter this cave, and | |the cold air bites you to the bone. Even your torches and lanterns | |flicker, and their light does not extend further than ten feet from | |you. Those of you with infravision can see nothing in the huge room | |ahead. You hear a faint rustling and rattling, as if bones were | |being dragged across the cavern floor. | |______________________________________________________________________| Valdek will definitely not be surprised by the party, as he tends to be aware of all living things in his immediate vicinity. Speaking of this, the chamber is a huge cavern, of highly irregular shape but over 200' wide at the entry end and perhaps 500' or more in length. The monster is even now moving toward the party from the depths of the place... ______________________________________________________________________ | You cannot see anything in the pitch dark area in front of you, but | |something is moving toward you from the black void beyond. Something | |very large, for the ground is trembling slightly and the noises are | |getting louder. You sense an overpowering aura of evil in front of | |you, and chills run down your spines and your hair stands on end. | |______________________________________________________________________| If the characters don't find a powerful light source quickly, they are going to be in even more trouble. With the current bad lighting, the characters will incur a -4 penalty to hit the dragon. Any light they can generate would help them immensely. The dragon, Valdek, will speak a brief statement before attacking. ______________________________________________________________________ | "Greetingsss, young mortalsss. I am Valdek, the master of shadowsss| |and the keeper of secretsss, last of the great death dragonsss. You | |may surrender now and see the massster, and it will be lesss painful | |for you that way. You have about two secondsss to make your decision.| |______________________________________________________________________| VALDEK: ac -12, hd 24, hp 192, thac0 -7, dam 1d10/1d10/6d6+12 each, sa breath weapon for 24d12+12 life drain; sd immune to sleep, charm, fear, cold, lightning, polymorph, petrification, insanity, death magic, etc.; sees invisible out to 120', fear aura (save at -4 or be at -2 to hit and damage); alignment neutral evil, size G (160' long + 140' tail) In addition, a touch from Valdek drains 1 level each time, so his claw/ claw/bite attacks are more deadly. He does not fly. He will first engage in melee with the nearest character, and resort to his breath weapon on the second round of combat if pressed. Valdek's breath is a black cone, 200' long and 100' wide at its end, that is freezing cold and drains the strength of its victims in the form of hit points. He can use this attack three times per day, and victims may save vs. dragon breath for half damage. Certain holy spells and items might (at the DM's discretion) offer further resistance to the breath weapon. Should the party decide to surrender, Valdek will bid them remove all of their weapons and armor and clothing and place it on top of his treasure heap. Then they will be told to back away to the far side of the room, all in one place, and shortly Xusia will appear. He will take them with him to his sanctum, where they will shortly be transformed into vampires (or perhaps minor liches) under his control. If they decide to change their minds after surrendering their possessions, they will most likely die (if a naked group of adventurers can defeat Valdek and/or Xusia, they don't need to be in this module!). Far to one side is a heap of his treasure: 17000 pp, 96000 gp, 371000 cp, 91 gems @total 45000 gp, 31 jewelry @total 56000 gp, a helm of death, a set of three marbles of the magus (giant scorpion, carrion crawler, rust monster), a cloak of steel (ac0), a dagger+4, a flask of curses, a mace+4 of crushing, a wand of elemental change (13 charges), and the Book of Yesh. Also present is a small adamantine key, identical in most respects to the other two found on this level. This is the third key needed to open the door at area 27. (27) This is the fourth large tunnel (the rightmost) from area 2, the large central chamber. It goes southward for two hundred feet, then curves westward and goes a bit further. The passage ends in a door. On the door is a large magic mouth, and two beady red eyes above it. Below this mouth are three key holes side by side. When the characters are within fifty feet, the mouth will boom, "HAVE YOU THE THREE KEYS FOR THE DOOR?". If they say yes, and they do in fact have all three, then the mouth will say, "YOU MAY PASS." However, if they say they have them and don't actually have all three, the mouth will say, "BEGONE." If they don't have them all, and admit it, the mouth will then say, "YOU MUST HAVE ALL THREE KEYS TO PASS." If anyone comes any closer, the mouth will say, "DO NOT APPROACH, IF YOU WOULD LIVE TO PASS BY ME." This warning will be given at the forty foot (from the mouth) mark. If any character moves closer, the mouth will spew forth a gout of fire, which will cover the whole passage out to fifty feet. This great blast of flames will inflict 20d6+20 hp of damage on all within range, save for half damage. The fire breath will be repeated once at the thirty foot mark, once at the twenty foot mark, and will be constant if anyone makes it closer than that. The door can not be opened except using the three keys; all three must be inserted and turned simultaneously. At this point, the large metallic door will swing outward with the creak of unoiled hinges. Beyond lies Xusia's inner sanctum, detailed in the second part of this adventure. 2.1 THE INNER SANCTUM What has come before: The party agreed to aid the city of Greyhawk with the undead problem, in return for a large sum of gold. They found the old fortress above ground, and defeated its guardian to descend into the depths of the dungeon of the lich, Xusia. The characters overcame various monsters and traps throughout the dungeon level, and the three keys needed to open the final door were recovered. Now they have opened this inner door, and are about to enter Xusia's deepest domain. __________________________________________________________________________ | | | Strangely enough, you see nothing at all beyond the door you have just | | opened. An empty blackness is visible, but no floor, walls, or ceiling | | can be discerned. The dark void is very cold though, and as a chill | | seeps into your bones you begin to wonder if this is some kind of trick | | to throw you off the path. | |__________________________________________________________________________| The blackness masks a teleportation zone, which will of course radiate a powerful magic aura if detected for. The characters must walk into the dark area, and they will then seem to disappear. They have in fact been magically transported to area 1. Note that this inner sanctum does not lie within the area of Xusia's SEAL spell. This is because several of his lieutenants are frequently going back and forth between here and the surface world, and the conditions of the SEAL spell cannot accomodate this. The previous dungeon was basically static, a place to get rid of the majority of those who would interfere with Xusia's plans. The dungeon they are entering now is dynamic, constantly traveled by those in Xusia's service, and the center of all of his operations. (1) This large, roughly diamond-shaped room has eight equally spaced alcoves around its perimeter. Each contains a suit of full plate mail with a sword, battleaxe, polearm, or spiked mace. All have large shields as well. These suits will animate and attack intruders; they are equivalent to skilled fighters of flesh and blood but have no material bodies. SPECTRAL WARRIORS: ac 0, mv 9", hd F12, hp 111 each, sa double weapon spec. for +1/+2, thac0 5, dam by weapon +9 (str 18/00); sd typical immunities of undead, immune to anything that wouldn't damage a suit of finely crafted plate armor, though a dispel evil will destroy them; size M (6.5'), al NE There are three illusionary walls to the west, north, and east. These lead to areas 5, 9, and 2 respectively (the entrance was in the southern wall). The illusionary walls will not fade if touched or walked through. (2) This 50' long, 20' wide, 20' high corridor ends in a large locked metal door, leading to area 3. It is extremely hot in this hallway, such that unprotected (by spell or magical item) characters will take 1 hp of heat damage per round (2 if in metal armor), break out in a sweat, and be very uncomfortable. (3) This rough, cavernous chamber is about 40' by 40' with a 30' ceiling. An opening to the north leads to area 4. The way is barred, through the center of the room, by a 15' wide lava stream coming from one wall and exiting through the opposite. The lava flows in a channel below foot level. Should anyone for some reason become immersed in this river, they will take 50 hp/segment of heat damage. This counts as exceptional heat for rings, etc. of fire resistance. This room is twice as hot as area 2, i.e. 2 or 4 hp/round if unprotected. (4) This huge cavern is roughly 120' in diameter, with a ceiling averaging 50' in height. The center 60' diameter section is a lake of fire (under which is a direct gate to the elemental plane of fire). This whole place is just as hot as area 3. If the party stays in here for longer than one round, a monstrous form rises from the lake of fire. This is Vishanti, a fire elemental lord of great power. Xusia sometimes confers with him (it?) or deals for something. Vishanti's reactions to the party will depend on what they do; he will not attack unless provoked, but he regenerates 10 hp per round while in the lake. Keep in mind that he is floating _in_ the lake, if the party tries to melee him. VISHANTI: ac -6, mv 18", hd 24, hp 181, thac0 -3, #att 2, dam 2x6-48 +6, sa flammable objects hit must save at -4 or burn, sd +3 or better weapon needed to hit, size H (20'), int Exceptional, al Neutral He will not under any circumstances leave his lake or help the party against Xusia. (5) This corridor is similar to area 2, but is very cold instead (1 hp of cold damage per round if unprotected). It leads to an icy door to area 6. (6) This squarish antechamber exits north to area 7. The ceiling is 20' high and all surfaces are coated with ice. The cold temperature in here will inflict 2 hp of damage per round. Also, characters may slip and fall at the DM's discretion. (7) This large room is of a similar temperature to area 6. It contains an evil ice para-elemental lord imprisoned here by Xusia. He uses the elemental's powers from time to time when extreme cold is required. Unlike the occupant of area 4, this one is vicious and chaotic, and will attack the party for no reason at all. The party should attack and save at a -3 penalty due to the slippery ground here. FROSTY: ac -4, mv 12", hd 18, hp 123, thac0 3, #att 2, dam 4-40 + slow for 2 rounds due to cold, sd need +3 weapon to hit, size H (16'), int High, al Chaotic Evil (8) If the elemental is slain, the observant character may notice a dull glint of metal from the ice floor. There is a ring imbedded in the ice about three inches down. This is a ring of frost resistance (detailed in the appendix.) (9) This 20' wide corridor extends 80' to area 10. (10) This room is the lair of a grossly overweight pit fiend (hp 91) who lost a contest with Xusia and must serve him for 99 years. The brute sits in a large chair made of bones, and is charged with guarding the passages to areas 11 and 12. The former is a narrow corridor to the west, while the latter is a wide corridor to the east. The ceiling here is 60' high, to permit flying on the part of the devil. The monster has the broadsword, Foefriend, stashed behind his chair. PIT FIEND: ac -3, mv 6" or 15", hd 13, thaco 7, #att 2, dam 5-8/7-12, sa {pyrotechnics, wall of fire, detect invisibility, polymorph self, hold person, gate in another devil 70%} 1/turn, symbol of pain (save or be at -4 to hit, -2 dex for 2-20 rounds), fear aura 20' radius, sd need +2 weapon to hit, regenerates 2 hp/round, mr 65%, size L (12'), al Lawful Evil There are signs of a recent great battle in this chamber. A number of chunks are missing from various walls, and the floor. Burn marks have been made in several places, and two small craters in the floor have obviously been filled in only recently. To one side is a pile of junk, formerly magical armaments and items, all ruined now. Several broken arrows and melee weapons, a snapped staff, a crushed helm, a suit of full plate riddled with punctures, a cloven shield, a charred pair of boots, a melted lump of metal and organic matter - all this and more can be found in this pile. The second party sent here by Greyhawk got to this room, greatly weakened from previous encounters, and engaged the guardians (two major devils and a trio of minor ones). During the battle, the pair of golems from area 12 arrived, and the party was doing fairly well despite this. Then, Xusia showed up...the sole survivor of the battle is now in area 16d. The undead repair crews have been rather lax, thus most of the rubble is still in here. (11) This narrow corridor turns south and ends after about 40'. In the last 30' of the passage are eight large portraits, mounted on the walls to the left and right. Each depicts some undead lord or evil hero, doing various evil things. The paintings are of exceptional quality...and retain the life force of their subjects. Each one is treated as a ghost, in that it may attempt to possess a character. If it fails, it is powerless for one day, and the character will sense that some foreboding presence is gone. If it succeeds, the character possessed will attack his comrades when the party goes back into area 10. Note that possessed characters will work together to combat the unaffected ones. (12) This is a large, circular guardroom. It has exits to the west, north, and east; they lead to areas 13, 17, and 22, respectively. Since this room is a major intersection, and room 13 is very important, Xusia has placed powerful guardians here. Two iron golems bar the path, and they answer only to Xusia. One of the golems has a gigantic +4 sword, the other uses its bare hands in combat. Both will attack any unfamiliar beings who enter this area (e.g. adventurers). Though Xusia and his companions in area 17 are aware of the intruders by now, they will not begin preparing for a confrontation until a party enters this room. The golems appear to be damaged in various places, as if they were recently in a great battle. (13) This is a laboratory. It is quite extensive and contains many items, including: 4 dissection pallets (iron golem shell, unfinished; empty; large human warrior, mostly dissected; beholder, slightly dissected), tool cabinet with many drawers full of tools, cabinet with many drawers full of various spell and other components, a bookshelf full of various anatomical journals and evil notes, a table with a row of glass tanks (10 of them: human brain; unknown brain; empty; gray ooze; platypus; water; various eyes; nilbog; halfling; empty), a row of large labelled vats with taps (10 of them: strong acid; weak acid; water; vinegar; quicklime; seawater; unholy water; alcohol; brine; oil), a table covered with jars of pickled organs (87 of them; one in ten is recognizable), a worktable covered with bones, body parts, and various material components, an oven (no fire lit, and empty), a cabinet (contains a variety of beakers, vials, bowls, stirring utensils, and a singular fork), a huge glass tank containing a dead demon in brine, a pentagram set into one corner of the room, a large cauldron containing bubbling green liquid, over a fire with no visible source, a rack full of various surgical knives and blades. A single door leads to room 14. It is not locked. (14) This is a library/study. It contains one wall of books, several pieces of very old (and slightly rotted) furniture, and a large oval mirror to one side. The written works on the shelves cover a wide variety of topics (e.g. undead, magic, other planes, world history etc.) and any one of them will take a month to read and understand. All are written in one strange, forgotten language or another (e.g. demon, drow, titan, Sueloise, Old Aerdian, etc.). This in one of the most extensive libraries on Oerth, and Xusia has placed powerful enchantments upon it to ensure that it stays that way. No open flame can exist in here - torches, lanterns, etc will simply die. Other vandalism will be answered promptly by Xusia himself, for he will be magically warned of offensive activities in here. Any individual who takes more than one book from this room will be afflicted with terrible wracking pains upon leaving the study. These will not cease until the extra books are back in place. The mirror is mounted on legs with hinges, and is a powerful magical item (see "Lusan's Mirror" description for details.) Behind one volume on the bookshelf, labelled "The Unseen Among Us", is a small (one inch in diameter) tube carved from the stone of the wall. This goes about forty feet in the northwest direction and leads to areas 15 and 16, if the party can figure out a way to get through it. (15) This octagonal chamber is about 40' from tip to tip. To one side is a monstrous gray ooze (15 HD, 113 hp, thac0 5) which will fight any intruders until they are eaten or it is slain. This specially grown monster is about 24' long and some 16" thick. A 10'x10'x10' (for the ceiling is only a mere 10' high here) section of wall blocks the (non-obvious) exit to area 16. (16) This room contains six alcoves (marked on the map as A-F inclusive). Each alcove is a 10' cube. These are receptacles for various defeated enemies that Xusia for some reason has not gotten around to converting into undead. They are held here by the STASIS spell (see appendix III), which will be broken by the use of a dispel magic or similar means. The cells contain: [A] Halfling body (actually a polymorphed form of an ancient gold dragon). This creature proved to be too much of a challenge for Xusia to turn into an undead, and he was lucky to get it into stasis before it caused him more trouble. The dragon will take about ten rounds after being freed to regain its memory, and then it will most likely assist the party against the arch-lich and his minions. GOLD DRAGON: age 12, ac -12, hd 24, hp 143, thac0 -7, dam 1-10/1-10/ 36 + 12 each, bw cone of fire or cloud of chlorine gas for 24d12+12, spells (mage 22222221; priest 2222; at 23rd level of use), mr 70%, water breathing, immune to fire, gas, etc., size G (170' + 140' tail) [B] Human, about 5'10", slightly overweight. This is Rindall Trofilane, a high-ranking noble from Greyhawk (who has been replaced with a doppleganger in the city council). He remembers nothing - he went to sleep one night and never woke up. If he is returned intact to the city, and his evil twin deposed, he may prove to be a valuable ally to the party. [C] Strange horse-like creature, with a number of wounds visible. This was a ki-rin which chanced upon one of Xusia's operations, but was killed. Xusia was unable to convert it into an undead minion, so he preserved it until he could find a use for its body. If brought out of stasis, it is considered to have been dead for one day (the soul went on to its home plane, but cannot return to this one for a number of years). Any attempts to bring it back to life may incur the favor of some good-aligned extraplanar being, though, at the DM's option. [D] Human, about 6'4", well-muscled and very rough looking. A bastard sword is at his side in a sheath, and a small pouch is strapped to his belt on the other side. Gripped in one hand is a small blue sphere. This is Hawk, a high-level ranger who invaded Xusia's lair with his companions (the second party sent by Greyhawk). All of his companions were slain in various battles, and he was about to detonate his magical orb in an attempt to stop Xusia. Before he could finish the chant and hurl the orb, Xusia and his allies managed to place Hawk in stasis, effectively pulling the wires on the bomb only mere seconds before detonation. If Hawk is freed, he will definitely help the party in any way possible against Xusia and company. HAWK: ac -6/-2, R 15, hp 102 (21), thac0 4+, #att 2, dam 2-8+5+, uses priest spells 3/3/2 at 8th level of use, hides in shadows and moves silently at 99%, tracking Items: Heating stone, stone of ages, staff of lengthening, earring of truth, weatherproof tent, headband of Silesh, indestructible boots & gloves, bastard sword (Frost Brand), leather +4, ring +6, White Orb [E] Small bird. This is actually a polymorphed type VI demon, who was only recently captured by the lich. The demon refused to serve as an assistant and so was placed in stasis. If revived, it will flee to Hades at the first opportunity. [F] This cell contains a young human male, a child of about three years. This is a titan (hp 131) who has been cursed by Xusia to remain in this form, without memory and unable to talk anyway. If the child is freed, he will exhibit the hit points, saves, magic resistance, et al of his titan form, and will radiate good and magic if detected for, but beyond that, a party will have to go to some trouble to find out just what he is and undo his curse. (17) This is the conference hall of Xusia and his lieutenants. They all happen to be in here right now, so when the party enters this room, a great battle will surely ensue. A single doorway leads to areas 18-21 (the living quarters of most of the occupants of this room). The room is somewhat lavishly furnished, and the occupants sit around a large table in the middle of the room. An illusionary planet hovers above the table, as they are in the process of discussing strategies. When the party enters, the illusion will die out, leaving the room in darkness. Those in here will not be surprised by the party's arrival; rather, they will be fully prepared for combat. Present are: Xusia (arch-lich, mage) ac -6; hd Ma 31; hp 172, thac0 -11, d/a 3-30 +paralysis, need +4 weapon to hit, fails all saves only on a "1", immune to charm, sleep, polymorph, enfeeblement, cold, electricity, insanity, death; 55 mage spells <7/7/7/7/7/6/5/5/4>; NEW SPELLS: (1) Fire Darts (6) Flesh to Wood, Sandstorm (7) Dehydration, Life Leech (8) Blizzard, Eridor's Ebon Bolt, Pyromania, Symmetry (9) Blaze of Glory, Seal, Soul Suck, Tsunami * he may or may not use some of these; see Appendix for more spell information ITEMS: Ring of Multiple Wishes (4), Ring of Fire Resistance, Rod of Death, Black Robe of the Archmagi Terrorek (lich, priest) ac -3; hd Pr 20; hp 86, thac0 10, typical lich powers, 61 priest spells <12/12/11/11/8/5/2>; sd robes prevent turning NEW SPELLS: (5) Finger Snakes (7) Plague ITEMS: Boots of Silence, Unholy Robes ac2, Ring +5, rod of elemental command Strabonius (human anti-paladin) ac -7; hd APa 18; hp 135; thac0 3 or -4; #att 2; d/a 1-10+5+5, detect good w/in 60', +2 on all saves, immune to disease, lay on hands to cure evil or harm good...36 hp, cure or cause disease 4/week, prot. from good 10', uses priest spells 3/3/3/1 at 9th level of ability ITEMS: dagger of assassination, Red armor of Kalispathon, invisible shield+4, unholy 2-H sword +5, ring of recall, potion of infravision Von Drek (vampire warrior) ac -2; hd Wa 13; hp 98; thac0 8 or 0; #att 1 or 2; d/a 1-10+ed or 1-8+2+3, charm, need +1 to hit, regen 3 hp/round, gas or bat forms, immune to poison, charm/sleep/hold, immune to paralysis, half from cold and electricity, can spider climb ITEMS: spectral blade, cloak of protection +3 Gorgorax (nycadaemon) ac -4; mv 12" or 36", hd 12+36; hp 106, thac0 7, #att 2, dam 9-16/9-16, sa command 3/day, dispel magic 2/day, dimension door 3/day, gaseous form 1/day, 4 mirror images 2/day, reverse gravity 2/day, wind walk 3/day, word of recall 1/day; {comprehend languages, detect invisibility, enlarge or shrink, fear by touch, invisibility 10' radius, polymorph self, project image, read magic, telepathy} 1/round; infravision, sd need +2 weapon to hit, immune to poison, silver, paralysis, poison; half damage from fire, cold, acid; regenerates 3 hp/round mr 100% vs. 1st level spells @11th level of ability; size L (8'+), al Neutral Evil 4 stone golems, spaced around the perimeter of the hall (hp 60 each) -the golems aren't lieutenants, just cannon fodder TACTICS: This bunch has had much time to prepare for the party's arrival. They will be fully prepared for combat... ROUND 1 : Xusia will greet the party with a Pyromania spell, while Terrorek will send a blade barrier of finger snakes at them after Xusia's spell. Strabonius will prepare for melee, while Von Drek will turn into a bat and fly above the party, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. Gorgorax, already having made 4 mirror images of himself, will advance, perhaps using his telepathy power to read characters' minds. The four golems will ring the party, but stay at a distance of 30'. Note that the room will be dark, except when spells light it up; Strabonius has already consumed his potion of infravision. ROUND 2 : Xusia will send Evard's Black Tentacles at the party (he generates at least 32 tentacles...), and Terrorek will Transmute Rock to Mud under their feet, simultaneously. Von Drek may or may not attack, depending on circumstances. Strabonius and the golems will wait for anyone who escapes the mud and/or the Evard's Tentacles. Gorgorax will use his reverse gravity power on some character if circumstances permit. FURTHER ROUNDS : Xusia and Terrorek will try to stay back and use their spells, while the others provide melee support. The golems will be used first, as they are expendable. If Xusia is physically attacked, he will use his Rod of Death to smite offenders and hopefully turn them into undead (he is by no means afraid to engage in melee combat). The evil ones, in general, will flee or escape if things get bad, but they should be powerful enough to give as much as they get. Strabonius and Xusia will almost certainly escape; if Xusia leaves, the entire complex will collapse within an hour's time. (18) This is the first chamber found along a long hallway. It is the lair of Von Drek, the vampire. The chamber is furnished with dark, Gothic things - portraits of gloomy castles, dank swamps, foggy plains, etc. The huge, engraved hardwood coffin is padded with silken cushions inside, and contains no soil (Von Drek keeps himself meticulously clean for a vampire). A large barrel of unholy water leans against a wall. An antique dresser holds a variety of dark-shaded clothes and robes. There is a bookshelf, with a series of history books detailing Oerth's progress in the last few millenia. Other tomes discuss both ancient and modern politics and theology; an entire section is devoted just to military history. The vampire lord has a keen interest in these topics. Another wooden item, this one a rack, contains various weapons and warfare-related things. A shortsword +2, of quickness rests in its sheath in this rack, alongside a pair of +2 daggers. A normal, but expensively ornamented longsword hangs here also (value 4000 gp), next to a rapier +4 and a whip +3. A suit of chain mail +2 and a medium shield +1 are propped up as well. On one wall hangs a trophy case, which contains various medallions and decorative insignia, things that Von Drek has collected over the centuries. One of the medals is actually a medallion of ESP (the vampire does not care to wear it, since it gives him headaches). (19) This is the next chamber, the quarters of Strabonius. He is one of Xusia's few living minions, because even Xusia has use for living agents to roam the lands without incident, and Strabonius is as evil-minded as he is competent. To one side is a gleaming suit of full plate - plate of the deep. Nearby is a longsword of rusting in a thick leather sheath. On a wall hang two quivers; one is an everfull quiver, the other contains 9 screaming arrows, 6 flare arrows, and an arrow of summoning. Both of these quivers were taken from Hawk (cf 16d) when he was incapacitated. A matching king-size bed, dresser, and nightstand are in here; all of these items are of hardwood stained a deep crimson...the anti-paladin's wardrobe is simple and efficient, mostly suited for travel or combat. Since he isn't undead, Strabonius needs light to see; a pillar in here has been enchanted with a variable continual light spell, allowing it to be dim or bright as desired. A steel basin in one corner is kept filled by a decanter of endless water. A heating stone keeps the room continually warm, for it is somewhat cold in this dungeon. In another corner is a round well. This actually leads down to a deep underground pit, full of nameless slimes and oozes. Strabonius has developed a nasty habit of bringing captured women and girls to his room. They always disappear shortly afterwards, never to be seen again... A few pictures ornament the wall; all depict violent and bloody things, such as sacrifices and massacres. (20) This room is the chamber of Terrorek, Xusia's second-in-command. A wooden table has an opened book - a divine tome of stellar bodies - which Terrorek has been reading recently. A massive bookshelf contains more tomes on such subjects - the lich priest's interest lies with other worlds and planes. A shabby bed and a broken-down dresser are the only furniture in this chamber; Terrorek doesn't much care about his living accomodations. One of the books in his collection is a book of infinite spells, though, and another is actually a collection of scrolls with priest spells. (21) This is Xusia's living quarters. There is a spell on the entrance such that any entry will immediately alert Xusia. Beyond the door, there is a lavish chamber with many decorations. A large desk is covered with papers and scrolls, with some odd paperweights (small skull, a half- sphere of diamond, a crystal egg, etc.). Several couches and old chairs are scattered about, and a walk-in closet holds many robes on wall pegs. There is no bed (Xusia never rests or pretends to). Three bookcases and two large chests hold the lich's other possessions. Among the papers on the desk are a journal (which incinerates itself upon examination - Xusia has several copies in other places) of his deeds and plans, a spell book containing the spells he has currently memorized (only a fraction of the total number he knows), a large map of Oerth (with several large red "X"s marked; one is Greyhawk City, another a possible tarrasque lair, etc.). Also on the desk are a quill of dictation and some ancient Sueloise scrolls. In one drawer is a short rod with a shriveled hand at one end - a Bigby's Talisman. In one chest is a pouch of holding, containing two Tears of the Gods (black, blue) and six perfect rubies (5000 gp value each). Also in this chest are a folded robe of teeth, a girdle of femininity/masculinity, a scroll with a terrible curse (leprosy; only curable by a Heal spell from a priest of 18th level or higher), and a scarab of death. A tube contains scrolls with some of the new spells in the Appendix (DMs choice). The second chest is locked with three locks, each containing a poison needle trap (poison is powerful, -4 on saves) and explosive runes as well, cast by Xusia himself. It is lined with glass, even inside the lid, and contains powerful acid. Under a false bottom (beneath the glass layer) is a cylindrical niche, which contains the Dreaded Staff of Count Astoc and the sword Ithalmar. The chest is bolted to the floor. Xusia has hidden these relics for fear that they might be used against his plans, if left in the world. One area of this room has a painting stand, with a nearby stack of blank canvas sheets. On the stand is a cheap-looking paintbrush - actually a Brush of Creation. This powerful artifact has not been left unprotected, however - Xusia has placed a Pushpop spell on it (see appendices), which will cause it to teleport itself far away if touched by anyone other than Xusia himself. A sword of Yol is sheathed and hangs over the desk, on a peg. The wall is decorated by many paintings, some done by the lich himself (without the magical brush, of course). (22) This is a long hallway, 20' wide by 20' high and about 100' long. It leads westward into the crypts, area 23. (23) A pair of 20' high (and 10' wide each) bronze doors open into the crypts. This huge area is essentially a cylinder, 50' in radius, and the bottom of the cylinder is about 500' down. A ramp winds around the outer perimeter of the room (about 10' wide), going both upwards and downwards (about 500' either way). There are various chambers spaced around this peripheral ramp...about 3000 in all, since the total room height is about 1000'. These side rooms are the lairs of all the various undead that Xusia created or converted. Some of the rooms are mere 10'x 10'x 10' areas, with one or perhaps two minor undead; others are deeper and contain powerful undead or families. There are a LOT of undead here; the number can be suited to fit the campaign and party, but Xusia has cleaned out three small towns already and at least six graveyards, plus he had a sizable number of corpses already. A typical assortment for the room might be about ten times the numbers found guarding the keep where Skorvus was found, plus perhaps fifty vampires (with a good half of them being spell-casters), two dozen liches (ranging from 11th to 18th level in ability), and several death knights, undead anti-paladins, etc. These undead may have treasures of their own, as appropriate, but getting such loot will probably not be a feasible thing. This is one of those rooms that you retreat from and try to seal forever. Perhaps Hawk (cf room 16d) could use his orb here, or the party may have an item that could help, but a battle proper will surely prove fatal for the party. The occupants of this room are currently doing nothing useful, for the most part. A few of the lesser undead are hauling cargo along at various points on the ramp (cargo being rotting meat and kegs of dirty water and such things). If a party stays here for long, it will surely come to the attention of some of the undead, though. When it is time to attack a new town or farm, Xusia usually uses his spell of mass teleportation to open a gateway from here to the target site, allowing the undead a pathway to assault the living. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES: An Arch-Lich is like a normal lich except: 1) armor class is -6 due to semi-material, shady form 2) a +4 or greater (!) weapon is needed to injure it 3) all levels count as hit dice when figuring hit points 4) ditto for thac0 derivation 5) touch does 3-30 of chilling damage rather than 1-10 3.0 EPILOGUE It is certain that Xusia will find some way to escape, should a party be able to best his allies. Whether he teleports away, or appears to die (remember his tendency to use clones) but doesn't, or whatever, he will end up in some other, smaller lair. In this place, he will rest and regain his strength, making new plans and rebuilding his forces. The most probable location of this minor lair is in the Riftcanyon, within the region of that crevasse with the densest monster population. It has no physical entrance or exit, since it is just a pocket within the earth. Xusia knows this location well, and can teleport there without error. The hideaway contains copies of all his spellbooks, his more useful tomes and reference books, and his journals. A number of magical items are also stashed there. Once in this place, Xusia will take no less than one whole year to develop new plots and schemes. After that, the world had best beware, for he will not sit around idly for long... 4.0 MAPS Unfortunately, I can't translate my maps to ascii, so a little improvisation is required here. I've designed a "room flowchart" to show which rooms lead to which - you'll have to take that and run with it. I did design this dungeon to radiate outward, so no rooms should really border on any others. Hopefully a map won't be too hard to construct from the room descriptions and this diagram: Keep 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 | 4 - 5 --> Dungeon 1 Dungeon 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-s-8-9-10-11-12-13 | | | 14-15 | -16-17-18-19-20-21 | -22-23-24-25-26 | -27 --> Innser Sanctum Inner Sanctum 1-2-3-4 | -5-6-7-8 | -9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16 | -17-18-19-20-21 | -22-23 "s" = secret door "i" = illusionary door ************************************************************************** APPENDICES ************************************************************************** APPENDIX I : NEW MONSTERS Mist Golem Storm Giant Skeletons Giant Skeletal Kitty Giant Cockroaches Death Knight Undead Golem Greater Vampire Undead Dragon --------------------------- Spectral Warrior Fire Elemental Lord Ice Para-Elemental Lord Pit Fiend Titan Arch-Lich Nycadaemon --> All new monsters' descriptions appear in the text, within their encounter area APPENDIX II : NEW MAGIC ITEMS Seeds of Ostoxanbanoi Eye of the Marid Staff of Ta'Bid Wand of Petrification Helm of Death Marbles of the Magus Cloak of Steel Mace of Crushing Rod of Elemental Command Book of Yesh --------------------------- Dagger of Assassination Screaming Arrows Flare Arrows Arrows of Summoning Sword of Rusting Ring of Frost Resistance Foefriend Red Armor of Kalispathon Invisible Shield Boots of Silence Heating Stone Quill of Dictation Stone of Ages Staff of Lengthening Weatherproof Tent Earring of Truth Everfull Quiver Headband of Silesh Indestructible Boots Indestructible Gloves White Orb Tears of the Gods Bigby's Talisman Sword of Yol Divine Tome of Stellar Bodies Spectral Blade Wand of Elemental Change Plate of the Deep Brush of Creation Dreaded Staff of Count Astoc Ithalmar (the Redeemer) Lusan's Mirror Rod of Death Unholy Robes Ring of Recall Seeds of Ostoxanbanoi This is a bag with about 30 small white pebbles inside. When these are placed in the ground and left there overnight, they will grow into skeletons which will serve the planter until the fall of the next night. Eye of the Marid This is a copper amulet bearing an aquamarine stone. It has in it part of the power of a marid, which is a greater water elemental. The wearer cannot drown or be harmed by water or creatures of the water. Water will reject his body and creatures of the element will shy away from him. It has no other notable effects, and the powers wear off in a year and a day. Staff of Ta'bid This four foot long staff of ancient, petrified wood is a very powerful item. It has fifty charges, which may be expended at a variable rate, as needed. Each use of a charge dismisses one level worth of extra-planar being to its plane of origin if the bearer can strike that being with it and if the being fails its save. Extra charges can be expended to lower the save, at -1 per extra charge. Wand of Petrification This appears as a typical wand. Each time a charge is used (once/round at most), a black beam shoots forth at the target creature. This creature must make its save or be turned to stone. This effect is permanent unless undone. Helm of Death This item radiates a strong aura of magic and evil. If donned, it produces numerous metal spikes on the inside, which penetrate the victim's skull, killing him instantly. Marbles of the Magus Each of these marbles will become a creature when a command word is uttered. Such creatures will serve the possessor in any way possible. The type of creature produced will be from the level I-III monster tables, determined randomly. All creatures produced will serve their creator faithfully for 2-5 days, and then leave to lead their own lives. Cloak of Steel This cloak will provide its wearer with the protection of armor; roll percentile dice to determine the cloak's ac: Die Roll AC 01-20 7 21-40 6 41-55 5 56-70 4 71-80 3 81-90 2 91-95 1 96-00 0 Mace of Crushing This mace is a normal +4 weapon, but on an unmodified "to hit" roll of 20, the victim's head is crushed like an egg, rendering him dead if such damage will kill him. This weapon could be considered the blunt equivalent of a vorpal sword. Rod of Elemental Command This powerful item confers numerous powers upon its wielder, at various charge costs (the rod has 50 charges initially): NO CHARGES: wielder's head is always surrounded by a bubble of fresh air water breathing fire resistance stone tell ONE CHARGE: fly, 3 hours gust of wind water walking part water wall of fire dig wall of stone TWO CHARGES: summon elemental (maximum of one of each type in any one week period; 16 HD variety) THREE CHARGES: plane travel (one way) to an elemental plane only There exist versions of this rod attuned to the para-elemental planes. The rod cannot be recharged. Book of Yesh This is a treatise on the myriad ways of necromancy. It has chapters which contain valuable information on the various sorts of undead, the negative material plane, assorted gods of death, the different necromantic mage and priest spells, undead dragons et al, the lichdom process, etc etc. The exact details and value of this item may vary from campaign to campaign. The book is bound in black leather and bears a skull emblem on the front. Dagger of Assassination This is a dagger of +3 to +5 enchantment, but on a natural "to hit" roll of 20, it causes a critical hit, killing the victim if it is susceptible to edged weapon damage. Only a thief can use the assassination power of the weapon. Screaming Arrows These arrows have no magical bonus, but upon being fired, they will emit a wail of considerable volume for the next 2-5 rounds. Flare Arrows These arrows have no magical bonus, but upon being fired, they will burn as a powerful torch for one round. Arrows of Summoning These arrows are useless as weapons, but upon lodging in an inanimate object they will become some random monster. The course of action taken thereafter by the creature may vary, depending on the circumstances and its alignment. Sword of Rusting This +1 weapon inflicts damage upon any ferrous metal that it contacts, causing such items to save vs acid at -3 or be thoroughly rusted and ruined. Items with magical bonuses get a saving throw modifier equal to their bonus. Ring of Frost Resistance Rings of this sort are identical to rings of fire resistance, except that they provide immunity/protection from cold-based attacks. All numerical quantities are the same. Foefriend This cursed broadsword is +5 to hit and damage, and does double damage on every hit. However, every third foe slain by the sword will be brought back to life completely healed and rejuvenated one round after its demise. There will be no sign that the slain enemy was restored by the sword. Red Armor of Kalispathon This +3 plate mail renders its wearer immune to all fire and heat damage. Once per day, the wearer can immolate as a type VI demon (such creatures do 6-48 points of heat damage to all within ten feet). The armor is a bright red in color, and includes a great helm and gauntlets. Invisible Shield Shields of this sort are totally invisible. They can be of any size and type, and any magical bonus. Boots of Silence These powerful boots render the wearer's footsteps totally inaudible. Heating Stone Upon command, this round stone will give off heat equal to a large campfire but without light or flames. It will not ignite other materials, though it will burn anyone who touches it for 2-12 hp of damage. Quill of Dictation This quill will write whatever it is told to, all by itself. Stone of Ages This ordinary-looking rock becomes warmer in direct proportion to the age of any nonliving object it touches. Staff of Lengthening This staff is normally 6' long. By expending one charge (it has 1-100), its length can be doubled or halved. This can be done many times, until it is either about 1" long or 96' long. It is made of magical wood and is almost unbreakable, and has a +2 combat bonus. Weatherproof Tent This 10'x20' tent is totally immune to all natural weather effects (cold, wind, rain, hail, snow, etc.). Earring of Truth The wearer of this earring cannot hear lies; he will simply see a liar's lips move, with no sound. Everfull Quiver This quiver will always have arrows inside, replenishing its supply via powerful magic. The arrows will always be normal flight arrows, and nothing else will fit into the quiver. Headband of Silesh This cloth band, when worn around the head, allows the wearer to hear all sounds within 20' of himself (e.g. an approaching thief). Indestructible Boots and Gloves These normal-seeming cloth garments are made from heavy, worn leather. They cannot be harmed by anything less than the direct action of a demigod. Thus, dangerous substances can be walked upon or handled safely by one wearing these items. White Orb This holy item appears as a small (4" diameter) translucent sphere of white crystal. It sheds light in a five-foot radius at all times. When presented to an undead creature (or creatures), the orb causes them a great deal of pain (-3 on attacks, damage rolls, and saves) as long as they view it. Better yet, the orb can also be used a single time in an explosive fashion, similar to that of certain magical staves. If so commanded, the item will begin to glow brightly and pulsate; one round later, it will explode in a great blast of positive energy. This release of holy energies causes the effects of an earthquake and a power word, stun simultaneously. In addition, all beings within a fifty-foot radius are inflicted with 18d8 hit points of damage. Undead creatures take an additional 18 points of damage from the searing light. The being who activated the orb's self-destruction must save vs. death to avoid being incinerated; a successful save indicates transferral to the plane of the Seven Heavens. Tears of the Gods These strange crystals are very rare. They glow with an unearthly light and are as hard as diamonds. If one is retained for a fortnight by any individual, it will disappear and the character will be endowed with an additional level, with all of the advantages thereof. This level gain is permanent, and may extend beyond natural level limits due to race (thus, tears of the _gods_). Bigby's Talisman This potent item is a rod about one foot long, with a small hand at one end (about the size of a halfling's). The talisman can cast each of the various Bigby's hand spells once/day, at the level of ability of the wielder. Only mages can use this item. Sword of Yol This +4 longsword is unusual only in that it carries an enchantment to allow mages (only mages, and only single-classed mages) to use it. In the hands of any other class, it is but a normal sword. The mage will of course have to use a proficiency slot for the sword, but it will only be useful with this sword. Divine Tome of Stellar Bodies This arcane work plots the location and significance of every major star in the sky. It adds three proficiency levels to an astrologer's skill level and is worth quite a bit to astrologers and star-gazers. Spectral Blade This weapon appears as a metallic handle with a faint, flickering semi- material "blade". It is +3 "to hit" and damage (as a longsword), and any successful hit will lower the victim's Constitution by 2 points. This loss will gradually weaken an opponent, and when his ability score reaches zero, he is dead. Lost points will be recovered within one day. Wand of Elemental Change This wand can alter a 10' cube of one element into its opposite, by expending one charge. For these purposes, opposite pairs are earth/air and fire/water. The wand will also affect para-elements, e.g. magma/ice and smoke/ooze, though it is doubtful that the wand user will think to use it in this way. The wand will affect elementals as follows: 75% chance to dissipate the elemental, or 25% chance to convert it into the opposite element (this will drive the monster insane, and it will attack the nearest creature immediately). Plate of the Deep This bluish full plate mail suit carries a +4 enchantment (conferring base ac -3). Additionally, it has great powers when immersed in water. The armor will never rust or incur damage from a water-based source. The wearer may move underwater as if he was in air, and is protected by a water breathing effect. All items inside the suit remain dry underwater. Neither suit nor wearer are subject to the cold or high pressure found at great depths. Also, the wearer may see out to a distance of 50 feet, even in the murkiest water. Finally, anything the armor wearer says to a denizen of the water will be heard by said creature in its native language, and vice versa; thus, the wearer can communicate with all creatures of the water, provided he is indeed underwater. Brush of Creation This normal-looking paintbrush is incredibly powerful. Quite simply, whatever it paints becomes real. The painter must have some proficiency at this, of course. Paintings must be done on some surface (wall, canvas, etc.) and can take from ten minutes to ten hours to ten days, depending on the subject matter and complexity. A character can only paint something he knows about, otherwise the creation will most definitely turn out wrong, if at all. Much of the same advice applicable to the use of wish spells holds for this item as well; greedy characters will seldom benefit from this item, as some terrible cursed effects may manifest themselves. For example, one who paints a mighty army but happens to neglect facial details may find that an army of undead has been created. Dreaded Staff of Count Astoc This +5 wooden staff has glowing runes all along its sides. It is a holy relic of surpassing power. Upon touching any undead, the staff emits a bright burst of holy flame, doing 6d12 hp damage to the offender. Also, once every two rounds, the staff can fire a cone of similar holy fire, 50' long and 10' in radius at the end, which inflicts 4d12 damage to any undead or demons who are caught within its blazing path. Any successful hit upon a demon will inflict 4x normal damage. Finally, once per month the staff may banish a demon to its home plane for a year and a day. Legends say that this item has been hidden away by the demons, for fear of it being used against them. Ithalmar, Fist of Vinusa (the Redeemer) This +4 holy sword may not be held by any creature not aligned good. Its power is very great, for any evil person or creature slain by this weapon will be reincarnated the next round as a good-aligned version of its old self. The body, mind, class, level, etc. will be the same as before, but the being's basic alignment will have changed to good. It will have memories of its old life, but all traces of evil will be utterly gone. The sole limitation of this power is that affected creatures must be from the Prime Material plane. Thus, demons, devils, et al are unaffected by this redemption power. It will affect evil characters, undead, etc. of course; for example, an arch-lich might find itself transformed into an arch-mage, while a death knight might become a paladin. Obviously, this weapon is muchly feared by evil forces everywhere. Lusan's Mirror This is a gigantic oval mirror (10' on long axis by 6' on short axis) set in an adamantite frame, with two side legs to allow swivelling movement. Upon command, the mirror will display any location commanded, even if it is upon another plane. Note that while this item can easily be used to intrude in the affairs of powerful beings, it may well draw their attention to the user, for better or for worse. Rod of Death This unique item was created by the arch-lich Xusia over a period of decades. It has three properties of note. First, when touched to any living (non-undead, non-construct) being, that being must save vs. death at -5 or be instantly slain. Even with a successful save, the being still suffers 5-50 hp of life energy loss. Second, when the rod is touched to any dead being (including remains and fragments), the creature is brought back to life (!) as an undead, of a type roughly appropriate to its original power level in life. Extremely good and/or powerful beings may get a save versus this effect; if successful, the rod will never work on that being's body. Third, the undead-creating effect is contagious! Undead created by the rod can touch other dead bodies and cause them to be converted into undead. Obviously, there is potential for great mayhem with this item... Unholy Robes These evil garments reek of death and decay. They provide protection equal to various types of armor (ranging from ac7 to ac0), and also have the useful property of protecting the wearer from all clerical turning, should he/she/it be undead. Ring of Recall This powerful ring will teleport its wearer to a predetermined location once per day, if desired. The idea is to have a safe place in mind, in case of a battle which is going badly. Up to 500 coins (50 lbs.) of non- living matter (e.g. possessions) may be transported with the ring bearer. APPENDIX III : NEW SPELLS NOTE: I last worked on this module in 1995, and this is one of the sections I never completely finished. For most of the spells I only have an idea or two about what they are and how they work. You can, however, adapt them to your campaign as you see fit. Mage Priest (1) FIRE DARTS (5) FINGER SNAKES (6) SANDSTORM TRANSMUTE FLESH TO WOOD (7) DEHYDRATE (7) PLAGUE LIFE LEECH (8) BLIZZARD ERIDOR'S EBON BOLT MASS TELEPORT PYROMANIA SYMMETRY (9) BLAZE OF GLORY SEAL SOUL SUCK TSUNAMI Finger Snakes (P,5) - like sticks to snakes, but bigger snakes and ten of them; they're venomous too Plague (P,7) - mass disease over widespread area - capable of laying waste to an entire kingdome over a span of time, each victim must make his/her own saving throw which makes this a deadly spell to use against populated areas Fire Darts (M,1) - basically magic missiles, but made of fire Sandstorm (M,6) - blocks sight and scours flesh or anything else within it Transmute Flesh to Wood (M,6) - save or petrified; there might be a reverse of this one, don't know what it would be for Dehydrate (M,7) - sucks moisture from living things, wilting them; probably a high-damage spell unless the victim saves Life Leech (M,7) - drains levels, may be redundant with other more recent TSR spells Blizzard (M,8) - basically a more powerful ice storm, with more severe effects and longer duration and wider area Eridor's Ebon Bolt (M,8) - drains strength and constitution, maybe of a number of foes? Mass Teleport (M,8) - literally that, allows group teleports Pyromania (M,8) - opposite of blizzard, a firestorm of severe damage and wide area Blaze of Glory (M,9) - suicidal spell which inflicts numerous and damaging effects in a wide area Tsunami (M,9) - huge tidal wave, must be cast in water near a shore Life Leech Level: 7 Range: Touch Components: V,S,M Duration: Instantaneous Casting Time: 1 round Area of Effect: Creature touched Saving Throw: None When this spell is cast, the mage drains years from the victim's mind and body and adds them to his own. This spell affects one creature, who must be touched for the spell to take place. There is no specific target, so if the mage accidentally touches the wrong person, they will suffer the effects. The victim loses 10-40 years when touched, effective immediately after contact, and this may have detrimental effects on his or her ability scores. At the same time, the spell caster gains these years, and any effects of age will be reversed of he or she becomes sufficiently young. This spell is permanent, though potions of longevity could be quaffed to reduce the aging. Undead are not subject to this spell. The material components for the spell are a pinch of dust and a bit of ectoplasm from a ghost's body. Symmetry Level: 8 Range: 1"/level Components: V,S Duration: 1 round/level Casting Time:5 segments Area of Effect: one creature Saving Throw: Special This spell is cast upon a single creature within the caster's range. It links the caster and the recipient, in such a way that any harmful effects experienced by the caster will be duplicated for the victim. Thus, if the spell was successfully cast upon a fighter, and the mage soon after took a fireball for 57 hp of damage, then the fighter would also suffer 57 hp of fire damage. This applies to attacks from anyone, not just the spell's recipient. The damage is taken after the caster attempts his saving throw, if necessary - the victim receives EXACTLY the effects experienced by the caster. Thus, if the above mage was wearing a ring of fire resistance and took only half damage, then the fighter would take half damage as well. The subject of the spell gets a saving throw, but a penalty will apply which is equal to the difference between the caster's level and the victim's level (should the victim be of higher level, he would get a bonus). Seal Level: 9 Range: see below Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: One fortnight Area of Effect: 80000 cu. ft./level Saving Throw: n/a This spell is as simple as it is powerful. It is cast over a specified area, up to the limit stated above, and takes forty days to cast. During this time, the caster must not be disturbed, as extreme concentration is required for a successful result. Once the spell is cast, the affected area is sealed from entry or exit by physical or magical means, except for the entrance (that is, should the caster desire one). Any being, mortal or immortal, living or dead, good or evil, may enter the sealed area via the single specified portal. However, once they do so, the area entered, be it a castle, dungeon, or whatever, can only be exited by one of three means, detailed later. The caster can always move freely into and out of the spell area. This spell is proof against a passwall, dimension door, teleport spell, planar travel items (e.g. amulet of the planes, cubic gate, well of many worlds, et al), physical movement, and similar methods of travel. Such methods will not work to get into or out of the area. A carefully-worded wish might work, or it might not. This depends on the relative power levels of the caster of the Seal, and the caster of the Wish. Any attempts to escape physically will simply rebound back upon whoever tries. Spells cast in hopes of escape will cause a backlash to the caster, causing him or her 2-12 hp of energy damage and using up the spell energy. The portal used to gain access to the Sealed area will vanish after it is passed through. If the caster chooses to have no portal, then he, she, or it will be the only one who can freely move into and out of the spell's area. There are three ways possible to bypass the seal. First, the caster may dispel it at will (not likely, since the spell is so difficult to cast in the first place). Second, if the caster dies, the seal will be weakened, so that "escape" spells have a chance of working equal to a base 60% - seal-caster's former level + spellcaster's level + "escape" spell level. Third, a mage of higher level than whoever cast the Seal may attempt to dispel the Seal with a dispel magic, and the success rate for such efforts will be 50% +/- 5% per level difference. The material components for the casting of this spell are a large block of iron, a small block of adamantite, 50,000 gp worth of gem dust made from only the highest quality gems, and a pint of blood from a creature capable of planar travel. All are used in the course of the incantation. CREDITS: A lot of the "new" spells are based on ideas from the _Tome of Mighty Magic_, a small black book that I found at a small store. It is also circulating on the net nowadays, I think. Most of the "new" magic items are based on those in ICE's Middle Earth _Creatures & Treasures_ softcover books. Most of the new monsters are of my own creation. The name "Xusia" came from an old movie, _The Sword and the Sorceror_, in which it represented a lich-like being whom I think of whenever I think of Xusia. **************************************************************************