Need some campaign ideas

[Whiskeyjack]

My group is coming up to an end to their current quest in the campaign. One of the options they have is to investigate further the cave of a long dead changeling that they found in the Northern Wilderness. Inside they found several crystal items, including a ring, campfire star, staff, and doorway. I've changed the staff and doorway slightly from the official info. The staff is normally a simple 2' rod until extended, and the doorway is linked to another in the Old Kingdom mountains. I'm including the journal they found, linked to the Prestida kingdom and family. I've made some changes there as well.

If they choose to investigate, the Mind Mage will be able to activate the doorway, leading the group into the Old Kingdom mountains. At this point I'm still a bit unsure of which direction to take them there. I may have the tunnel collapse after they leave, stranding them, have it occupied by a monster tribe (orc, troll etc) or maybe just leaving it abandoned. The doorway will be in what was once a part of the main castle of Prestida. I'll have to reread the adventure to see if there was anything left or if it was mostly destroyed. I may also work them down towards the Tombs of Gersedi, just because I love that adventure and would like to have a group go through it again since it's been 25 years.

Anyone have any ideas that would work in this part of the world for a group consisting of Wolfen, a Kankoran, an Elf and a Human?

Journal of
Maelmar Prestida

I have constructed a rather comfortable dwelling here in the mountains of the North. My good friend and cousin Adan helped immensely, using his magic to carve out much of the rock. Even with the harshness of the Northern winter raging outside, I am comfortable and warm in here. My workspace has allowed me to delve deeper into my mystic studies without interruption, while my crystal doorway allows me to return home to Prestida at a moments notice.

I have just returned from a wonderful winter solstice celebration in Prestida. Delegates from the Gnomish Kingdom of Astardoff were in attendance. We have successfully entered into a trade agreement with the small folk. Both of our kingdoms should benefit greatly from this arrangement. Queen Kessalena and her family are wonderful people, dedicated to providing for their people. I hope to discuss some of their interesting magic forms with their foremost mages in the near future. I believe some of their magics may hold some answers to the questions I seek.

I have walked among the Wolfen for several years disguised as one of their own, learning their language, customs and traditions. Theirs is a society based on combat, but they carry a deep honour within the very fabric of their being. Their strange kin, known as Coyles, are quite a different breed. While they are also very prone to combat, they lack the honour and discipline of the Wolfen. They prefer to vastly outnumber their enemies and will not hesitate to take advantage of an opportunity to stab an enemy in the back. They are very cowed by the wolfen though. I suspect they have tried in the past to best their larger cousins, to very unfavourable results. The last of the trio of canines are the diminutive Kankoran. Though dwarfed by their larger brethren, the wolfen greatly respect these fierce warriors, both for their prowess in battle, as well as for the great amount of woodlore that they possess. I have myself witnessed several occasions where a group of these enigmatic people have seemed to literally melt into the underbrush! The canines are truly fascinating. I am working up the courage to attempt to approach them as a different race, perhaps an elf, to see what their reaction is. Hopefully it is not to skewer me through with a spear!

I have finally had a breakthrough with the local Wolfen tribes. I assumed the form of an elf and approached a small nomadic village that had set up nearby. They were very curious with my appearance. It seems there is no record of beings such as elves ever being encountered by their people. They were very accepting of me, and seemed in awe of my ability to speak their language. During my visit a wandering tusker charged into the village. As the warriors grabbed for their weapons I used a simple flame gout spell to drive the beast away. This sent the wolfen howling in amazement! I had never witnessed magic being used among their people but wasn’t aware that it is actually completely unknown to them. I thought that my time with them may have been over, but after the initial shock they have become quite curious about how a being can create flame from nothing. Long into the night I regaled them with stories of the various magics of the world, as well as my homeland of Prestida.
I have begun mentoring a small group of young pups who show potential in the mystic arts. I believe I may have at least two future mages of considerable talent. Grim and Estrid both seem finely attuned to mystic energies and are progressing faster than I had anticipated. I feel invigorated with a new purpose in my life, guiding a race out of the darkness of barbarism into the light of civilization!

Today has been an incredible day, filled with dread, fear, trepidation and elation. What a day! It began when I was with my students for their morning studies. A large whooshing sound came from the far side of the village as an enormous Ice Dragon swooped down and landed. She calmly asked for the “outsider” to come forth. It seems word of my teachings had spread to many of the neighbouring tribes. I warily approached the great wyrm. Her scales were faded to pure white, so great was her age. She bid me to climb on her back and I dared not refuse. I expected a great rush of wind as she took to the air, but instead there was a brief feeling of nausea, and we stood in a large cavern. She had teleported us instead. The rest of the day was spent in what can only be called an interrogation. It seems that Cadrineth has been a protector of the Wolfen tribes in this area for many centuries. The Wolfen believe she is a god, a title we both know she does not live up to, despite her awesome power. While she doesn’t correct them, and readily accepts their gifts, she is very fond of them, and will allow no harm to come to them. During our hours together, I could feel her psychic probes testing my answers. Luckily, I thought the best path was to be honest and transparent with her. By the time she returned me to the village I believe that we had arrived at a common understanding and I dare say, it may be the start of a true friendship.

The last few years have been so busy that I have scarce had the time to keep up on my journal. I have recently sent Grim and Estrid off to find others that they may begin to teach in the mystic arts. Both of my star pupils have greatly exceeded my wildest dreams. Even the rest of my students, though not as advanced, have progressed into fledgling mages in their own right, and will continue to grow over the years.
My time in Prestida has been limited, but I have brought a few close friends back with me to assist with my students. The Wolfen were delighted to see more “elves” joining me on my visits.
I am honoured to call Cadrineth among my closest friends. She has spent many an evening around the nightly fire, sharing stories of times long past and has even taught me a few spells that I was completely unaware existed. Her visits have grown less frequent since the summer began. I fear that her time is nearing an end. She often drifts off, lost in thought. Whether she thinks of times past, or of the end of her life I cannot say. Every time she leaves the village, a few of her scales remain behind. The wolfen bury them out of respect. Strangely enough, even though they worship her as a god, they also seem to know that her time is nearing its end, thus they must also know that she is mortal. A curious aspect of these curious people.

I met with Cadrineth for what I am positive is the last time. She appeared in high spirits, but the conversation was very heavy. She has tasked me to continue my work here with the Wolfen. She would have me teach them, guide them, and help bring them to prominence in the world. She fears the great elf and dwarf kingdoms that are growing in the South will not have the stamina to last through the ages. Like dragons, their lifespans are too long, as are their memories. This simple fact, she believes, will undo all that they build. The Wolfen are her hope for the future of our world. I am honoured and humbled by the request. I have accepted the task, and will do what I can to aid the Wolfen in becoming a just society.

Yesterday, tragedy struck. My uncle, King Kurodane Prestida, was killed during a riding accident. His body immediately changed back into his natural form of a Changeling. Already, the people cry conspiracy! Even though the Prestida line has ruled them in peace for over four thousand years, they cannot comprehend that Changelings could do such a thing. The only possible option is that the true king was murdered and replaced by a Changeling imposter. And if he was replaced, who else in the family was also replaced? I fear that the end has arrived for not only our family, but for our kingdom as well. I will leave for Prestida immediately through the crystal doorway to try and rescue those of my family that I can and return here to the Northern wilderness. Perhaps together, we can realize Cadrineth’s vision and unite the Wolfen into the greatest kingdom in the world.

[kiralon]

The wolfen and kankoran are rare in Timorese parts and are thought of as monsters.

You could run the island at the edge of the world campaign
Or the palce of magic, or even the ogre adventure.

Otherwise have the group find a magic sword sticking out of a rock and have it form a glowing bright white crown over the persons head when he draws/touches it (I'd do this to the player with the best alignment, preferably the wolfen for a laugh).
or
Have them find an obviously magical sword that is say +2 strike/parry +2 Damage and x2 damage vs undead, but is aged and not easily identified until a thin abused tavernboy or farmboy (preferably an orphan, as its always an orphan) touches the sword and the sword is restored to its former magnificence, the white glowing crown appears above his head while touching the sword and the bells in the Old Palace in Old Timiro ring and are heard throughout the land. Does that mean the Tavernboy has the true blood of kings? (Well with the way a lot of princes were in real life finding a tavernboy with royal blood isn't much of a shock really but . . .)
Who was his mother?
Who was his father?
does he have siblings?
Is he a halfwit ?
Will the current king like the situation
Will others who don't like the current king do something treasonous
who knows

[The Oh So Amazing Nate]

You can use this to make a Pb Fantasy adv.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=147124&hilit=handy+dandy

Though personally I prefer the BTS version for its simplicity
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=39719&hilit=handy+dandy

[Hotrod]

It would help if I knew a bit more about the capabilities, backgrounds, and motivations of the player characters. Race by itself isn't a character trait.

[filo_clarke]

JAQUAN: (Hunting group 2D4, colony 10-50, +40 eggs): “What began as the occasional spider web has now quickly blossomed into gossamer curtains and sheets of webbing. You see evidence that the webs have been hacked and burned away from the trail, but the forest around you has web upon web. All around you, you smell dust and decay. Here and there, you see hanging objects that could be bodies; too many of them seem to be humanoid in shape. Everywhere you look, you see gleams that seem to be glittering eyes staring back at you. Eerily, you notice that you can no longer hear the normal sounds of the forest – only the gentle sighing of a mournful wind. Ahead is a mound of webbing with a decrepit wagon-wheel jutting from one side. The crumbling one-horse wagon is entirely entombed in the sticky blanket and is only recognizable because of its wheel.”
TREASURE: (Lair)
The Jaquan’s hollow is a decrepit, crumbling single-horse wagon. It is completely enshrouded in webbing, and is in such poor shape that the webbing may be all that is keeping it together. Strewn about the wagon are a pair of skeletons, one belonging to a small pony, or donkey. The other is an adult human or elf, its clothes have been stripped and used as building materials by the spiders. Both skeletons have been cocooned in webbing. Inside the wagon you find:
-A pink and white ornamental water jug (5gp), taller then a man’s knee, is filled to the brim with tiny ceramic treasures, and a wooden egg-like shape. The egg-shaped object is a set of nested dolls depicting various magical beasts (10gp). You discover a flock of orange and yellow clay birds the size of walnuts (92 birds, 2cp each), several pairs of clay or bone dice (5 pairs of clay dice, 2cp each; 8 pairs of bone dice, 6cp each). Some small terracotta wolves and bears dyed blue or orange (15 bears, 18cp each; 12 wolves, 11cp each). And an exquisite statue of a long graceful female elf, hands on her hips, nearly nude save for painted golden arm bands and a complicated array of molded neck and hip chains (47gp). Below these are a palm sized sphinx of gold and amber clay (14sp), several terracotta models of one- and two-storey homes with painted-on windows (15 buildings, 2sp each), a granite and mortar pestle (4gp), and a single medium sized orange-red gemstons (carnelian, 36 gp)
-A pair of fine elven thinblades rest point to hilt in a wooden carrying tube (5gp), which is decorated with paintings showing a typical elven duel. The rapiers are nearly identical, with the same fencing scene etched into their gleaming steel basket handguards. The only difference is that one has a small malachite pommel jewel, and the other has tigereye. Elven Thinblade: 2D4 damage, +1 Strike, +2 Parry, +2 Initiative, 3 lbs. (65gp each)

[filo_clarke]

The Missing Elves
The hills and ridges rise into the distance, fading into deep greens and then purples. The taller peaks are lost in the clouds most of the morning but the sky clears toward midday. High peaks tower above the nearer hills and mountains, rising to very great heights. Snow covers their sides and shines in the sun, looking almost metallic. [Travelers have a 15% chance of perceiving: For a moment it looks like a great armored serpent lying on the heights.] Then the clouds close in again and only the nearer and lower mountains can be seen.

The lower zone forest is mostly made up of two types of very tall handsome coniferous trees (mountain pine, valley fir), with deciduous trees in the valleys (mountain maple, copper aspen). Most places the pines and firs are tall and under them is a thick carpet of mosses topped by ferns and rhododendrons, over which grow small shade-loving trees (wild bay, whitebud). Vines (bear grape, spinybower) tangle it all together. Where there is a gap in the trees bright flowers grow. Especially obvious is gapflower, a tall plant with a spike of stark white flowers; but also meadowbells, butterfly drops, elfsmantle and the like.

Deer and elk graze in the forest, in small wary groups. Squirrels, chipmunks and porcupines live in the trees; ground squirrels, gophers and hares, various mice and packrats live on or in the ground. Mountain lions and wolves stalk the deer and elk; coyotes, foxes, badgers, weasels and wolverines hunt the smaller herbivores. Raccoons and bears eat both plants and animals.

Small songbirds such as sparrows, wrens and warblers eat insects among the leaves. Kingfishers and swallows take insects out of the air, woodpeckers out of wood. Jays, ravens, and crows eat a broader diet, from robbing nests to scavenging. Eagles, owls and hawks prey on other birds, or specialized prey, like fish. Vultures (or condors) scavenge.

Even the lower reaches of the mountain are too cool for most reptiles and amphibians so this area has only two types of harmless snakes, box turtles, a skink (looks like a lizard) that lives in the leaf litter and five kinds of frogs.
The streams have trout-like fish, as well as smaller ones.

Insects are abundant starting almost as the snow melts off: mosquitoes and biting flies are especially noticeable. Also: flies of various sorts, colorful butterflies, drab but common moths, dragonflies and damselflies, beetles, crickets, and insect larvae in the slow areas of the streams. Worms, grubs and numerous spiders can be found in the earth. In the streams are small crayfish and tiny shrimp.

Climbing through this zone is easy in places and difficult in others. Well-used paths lead a traveler comfortably across the level areas, to unavoidable steep grades. A path may go up along the edge of a fast-moving stream, taking advantage of the channel cut by a small river. (A larger river can cut a deep gorge, which may be impassible.) The stream may be high with spring snowmelt. There are some steep inclines where a path could go very steeply up a rocky exposed slope; if it is on a trail, then it should be difficult but possible for horses. It rains every day or every other day, generally about the same time—mid-afternoon for example. Sometimes the rain continues all evening.

ELVEN CITY IN THE TREES
- This part of the forest is dominated by great, tall trees with trunks as much as twenty feet in diameter. The trees’ long limbs begin only three feet off the ground and stretch out in lengths of twenty to forty feet, often meeting and intertwining with limbs from other trees. The limbs themselves are sturdy and thick, with an average diameter of two and a half feet. This part of the forest is very thick. The trees here are truly ancient – it seems no woodsman’s axe has ever come near them – but they are strong, healthy, and sturdy. This would be a paradise for the elves. Just as you think that, you see something fall from a tree and crash to the ground ahead of you. [If the adventurers investigate:] When you approach, you see that it is a piece of shattered lumber, old and weathered, but definitely worked wood. It must have been part of a structure. As you look up, you can see the sagging remains of a bridge in the tree top. Despite its current decrepit state, you can clearly see its elven architecture. [The GM may give a 50% chance for gathering the following information, if desired]: Examining the piece before you makes that even clearer; given its size and thickness, and the holes bored near one end, this chunk must have been part of the walkway of an elven town. Why would the elves abandon an area this perfect?
o The structure, high up in the trees, is an interconnected series of small shell keeps. Each only two –stories tall, built into the sides of the trees, using the living wood itself (as though it had been grown this way).
o The detail in woodwork is still incredible, and beautiful, considering the dilapidated state the keeps are in. There are five keeps total, forming an interconnected pentagram, with arched wooden bridges forming the (somewhat intact) crosspieces.
o Each of the five keeps are similar, with a lower room, and an upper room, connected by a spiral staircase in the back of the room. The main entrance to the tower is growing from the outside of the massive trees, but the center of the rooms are contained within their trunks.
o Tower One: Lower room: With a small patio connected to the two cross-bridges, the entrance to this room is sealed with a wooden door, carved with interconnected leaf patterns of Elvish make. The interior room is 20’x20’ and round, conforming to the interior dimensions of the huge tree. It is quickly apparent that this was once a small temple, as the center of the room contains a stone font, carved to look like it is being overtaken by ivy, and holding a silver bowl in its depression, filled with clear, fresh water (holy water). At the rear of the temple is an altar carved or grown out of the tree, with a disintegrating altar cloth of the Church of Light on it. There is a privacy screen made of intricately carved beech wood, behind which hang some mouldering remains of priestly vestments. At the back of the room is likewise a spiral staircase that ascends to another level, grown from the tree, but as beautiful and perfect as any artisan craft you have ever seen. Upper room: There is a stone tub, large enough for a human-sized bather, made of white marble, and carved like the font below. On its rim are four small silver depressions, suitable in size for votive candles (if candles are inserted and lit, the tub fills with warm water, as long as they burn). Next to the tub is a skinny door, currently hanging ajar on only one hinge, leading to a seat with a hole in its center (a privy) that drops to the forest floor below. On the interior wall is a small stone fireplace, with a large log at its center. Close inspection reveals that the log is made of stone and is part of the fireplace, but will light ablaze with the word “acba”. On the opposite wall is a small balcony, looking out over the overgrown tree branches and loamy bridges, but what must once have overlooked the four other towers, and their connecting bridges.
o Tower Two: Lower room: The small patio outside this tower is the part that disintegrated and fell to the forest floor below. The wood has rotten in places, and is unsafe to travel without climbing gear. The door is ajar, and topples over if disturbed, showing the interior of the room. A 20’x20’ space, dominated by a circular table grown from the living tree itself, and surrounded by thirteen high-backed chairs, rooted in place by the floor. A cabinet at the back of the chamber, carved into the tree stands open, revealing wooden bowls, cups, and utensils, rotten by age and weather. A spiral staircase ascends to a room above. Upper room: This room is a kitchen. A stone fireplace with its corresponding stone log sits against the inner wall, with an iron cooking pot hanging from a hook in its face. A long, curving, wooden table runs much of the circumference of the room, and still shows traces of the cooking activities of this place, with pans, bowls, mortars and pestles, and various rusted and useless kitchen utensils. Midway around the table is a hole cut into the tree, onto which a winch is attached, like a well-bucket might have been raised and lowered from here (in fact there used to be a well at the base of the tree.) Only one thing remains that is salvageable – a clay bottle of cider vinegar (or maybe centuries-old cooking wine?). On the outer wall is a balcony overlooking the branches of the trees, and the overgrown bridges.
o Tower Three: The veranda outside this tower is sturdy but well worn. There is no veranda on the upper floor, only a series of small windows, indicating perhaps more than two levels to the building. The door is swollen shut in its frame, and must be bashed open (with much noise), revealing a work room of some kind. Two wooden tubs rise from the living floor, currently empty; they have plugs in their bases, allowing them to drain out of the tree. Washboards, rusted red sit on each of their rims. Pegs for clothes, and hanging rods for linens dot the walls and ceiling. A stone fireplace in the far wall with its large rusted iron pot completes the image of this place’s role in domestic cleaning. At the back of the room is a spiral staircase upwards. Upper room: The spiral staircase continues up to a third level above, but this circular chamber contains five beds, five side tables, five wardrobes, and five foot-chests. Windows, five in total line the wall of the room, and used to hold glass on pivoting frames, now all they hold are the warped wood rails that used to glide them open and shut. The linens on the beds have clearly been home to multiple small animals during cold winter months, and the smell in the room is proof enough. Animal droppings are everywhere, staining the floor, the beds and furnishings, and the mouldering linens. A small privy is set into one of the walls, its door bent open with the moisture here. There is little of value in the room, except for one curiosity still left in a bedside table: On a wooden candlestick, in the depression where the candle once stood, is a small golden ring bearing the sigil for the sun in Elvish (Ring of Illumination: 3x/day globe of daylight as 6th level caster). In the center of the room is a stone brazier, containing one of the stone-cast logs for a magical fire. Third Floor: Much like the second floor, the third floor is home to five beds and other furnishings, only this time, the room is open on one side to the elements, with a large scorch mark in the floor. A gaping hole in the wall is testament to a tremendous bolt of lightning that struck here some time ago. Clever characters might notice that the lightning bolt is placed where the magical brazier and fire-log would be downstairs, and may have been the victims of a ley line storm. Nothing of value remains.
o Tower Four: The door to this room is made of wood, but banded in steel (now rusted and pockmarked), the door is locked, and the lock is likewise rusted solid. Within the room is an armory. Several racks along the walls contain weapons, armor, shields, and ammunition. Much of the contents are rusted beyond utility, with leather scabbards rotten into worthless piles of dust. Arrows and bows are bent with moisture, and shields crumble with age. One set of armor and weapons stands out above the rest, however. A suit of fine chain mail, a sword in a chain scabbard, and a gleaming metal shield all rest upon a wooden garment mannequin. These gleam like the day they were first forged, and show the fine workmanship of Elven military blacksmithing (They bear a blueshine enchantment, so that they never rust, no other enhancements, though it is Elven steel with mithril accents). Upper room: The spiral staircase leads to another bedchamber, this time for only one. There is a large mouldering bed, a writing desk, dresser drawers, cabinet and bedside table. The contents of each are in poor condition, due to age and neglect, and it would appear as if much of the clothes have been taken already, leaving the drawers sparse and bare. Still, on the desk sits a small testament to the purpose of this place: a small glass sphere, the size of a large marble (Dwarf Sensing Sphere). In the corner is a privy, next to a stone fireplace.
o Tower Five: Unlike the previous doors of this complex, this one is carved not with the interlacing leaf pattern common to Elven architecture, but with runes, wards, and power symbols. The door is stained black, with faded yellow accents to the magical script. Inside the room are the fading remains of a silk carpet of beautiful make. The 20’ bottom level is clearly a living chamber, with a bed in the corner, bureau, dresser, cracked and stained mirror, and a privy to one side. The staircase leading up isn’t spiral, but rather follows the curvature of the wall, leading to an upper level. Upper room: What nature has not destroyed is still in evidence here. The center of the room is dominated by a long table, nearly bisecting the room, with its supports made of wood, but the top is made of several pieces of polished granite. Upon which rests a balance and weights made of brass, several bowls of different metals (brass, silver, copper, steel, iron), a stone mortar and pestle, and many, many glass flasks, beakers and bottles (all empty). On one wall is a magical fireplace and log, over which hangs a very large cauldron. Beside that is a gruesome sight – what appears to be the remains of a dwarf (mostly skeleton, with beard and hair still clinging) perched on a rack to hold it in an upright position (like a high-school science dummy). If a sense magic is performed on the room, a small dweomer is found at the back drawer of one of the writing desks. Inside is a silver fountain pen, gilded with gold fittings (Pen of Excellence: 1. Any kind of ink can be used with the pen, 2. Can write at twice normal speed, 3. Draw accurate pictures of anything he sees with the perfection of the finest artist, 3. If the user has a sample of another person’s handwriting, he can create a perfect forgery of that handwriting.)

[filo_clarke]

GNOME-SIZED TROUBLES
- Inspecting the base of the trees close to the ground, in one large tree, you are surprised to see a small wooden door set with a pewter handle. The door is three feet in height and two feet across. It is painted brown and carved with a pattern of small faces, each fixed in a different expression. The door knob itself looks like an angry little face with a protruding tongue. [The door is locked. There is no magic upon it, nor is it set with any traps. There is only a 25% base chance to open the lock.] The door opens into a small room carved into the living tree. The room is twelve feet in diameter, and twenty feet in height. Two small circular windows are carved into the tree near the ceiling, letting in a small amount of sunlight. The floor of the room is covered in pine needles and leaves, and a few, tiny potato bugs and beetles are trundling across the floor. There is no furniture, only a pile of animal skins in the corner. [Beneath the animals skins are five silver pieces. There is no evidence as to who may have carved the little room or built the door.]

- The ground surrounding the path here is completely blanketed with a vibrant, blue clover, the bright full blooms almost glowing in the gloom of the woods. Hovering and darting above the clover are tiny white butterflies. There is a rustling among the clover and a small green viper courses his way through the plants. Suddenly you catch a glimpse of something gleaming dully among the greenery. [If the adventurers investigate:] Searching through the clover, you discover a small pewter skeleton key, the top of which is carved to resemble a squat little face with a protruding tongue. Your search startles the little viper, which slithers quickly from the clover bed and across the path. It slips back into the clover on the other side of the path and disappears from sight.

- Here the trees are spaced more widely apart and more sunlight reaches the forest floor. Some of the trees seem ancient, reaching heights of a hundred feet or more. Many of their trunks have a diameter of ten to twelve feet. The trees’ great, twisted roots have grown over the trail in many places, at times rising four feet above the ground before delving back into the loamy earth. Dozens of tiny red mushrooms sprout from the soft wood of the roots. You come to a place in the trail where it seems two of the enormous trees have grown toward each other, their great roots intertwining and forming a latticework wall that completely bars the path. The roots grown in a way that suggests a ladder, and seem easy to climb despite the slippery nature of the moss and the mushrooms growing on them. [The roots are indeed easy to climb, and go up about eight feet. If any of the party climb them, they will find a small ‘nest’ of twigs and leaves tucked up against the trunk of one great tree. It is about the right size for a creature two feet tall. It contains a dirty suit of clothes in a very small size, a tiny pair of shoes, and a small locked iron box. (If any of the party has the skeleton key, it will fit into the keyhole and can be used to unlock the box.) Within the box are five silver pieces and a small glass vial with no stopper.]

- As you approach a clearing, you assume you are entering a normal area, filled with ordinary undergrowth. When you enter it, though, you can see that it is far different. This area is filled with trees, but they are all tiny and stunted. You recognize them as the same types that are in the forest around you, but none are over two feet in height. They are well-grown, but tiny. They look as if someone took normal trees and somehow reduced them to one-tenth or less of their proper height. [If the adventurers examine the small trees more closely:] As you bend down to look at them, you notice tiny insects flittering among them – or do you? The details are nearly impossible to make out, but it almost seems that the specks you see are minute birds, rather than insects. This section of the forest has been shrunken down to miniscule size! Within are the animals, insects, and flora of the forest, including one very upset Gnome Druid! Suddenly, something within the diminutive forest catches your eye. A light, bright like a tiny sun or bright star is shining through the trees (Globe of Daylight, 72’ area). If someone reaches for the light, or tries to step on the tiny forest, the enchantment takes hold and they are immediately shrunken down to miniature size and deposited safely within the woods. Those who reached for the light are very near the Druid who alerted them. Those that simply went anywhere might end up “miles” away. The forest has been enchanted by an angry female Leprechaun that tried to reduce the size of a Stone Henge within the forest by casting a spell of Reduce Self 6” on the stones themselves, during the Spring Equinox. What she didn’t realize is that the magic would be magnified to affect the whole forest, and would feed on the stone circle to keep it going permanently. The Leprechaun was trying to have a bit of fun with the Druid, Kalgan but has fled the area of the stones after realizing what she has done. She could theoretically break the spell, if she returned to the stones, or if she were killed.

[filo_clarke]

LORD OF THE RATS: A column of smoke, thin and almost impossibly long, rises up to the heights of the mountains. You see no signs of a fire, but the scent of one has found its way to your nostrils. Ahead, on the side of the road, sits an Orc, apparently a farmer. In his hands is a shredded blue dress, the size of a child and he clutches it to his chest, sobbing. Behind him are the smoldering ruins of a farmhouse. His home was attacked by “big rats” almost the size of dogs. He grabbed his axe and tried to chase them off, when they burst in through the windows and door, but his blows didn’t dissuade the creatures in any way. Then, it happened! His wife was bitten by one of the rats, and she immediately turned into one of them! His two sons and his young daughter were soon to follow. He used a flaming torch to keep the creatures from taking him as well, but the fire spread and now his home is in ruins, and his family is gone! They took off into the woods towards the “Old Trail”. It was a path used by travellers up until a few years ago, and there is still an old inn along the road, a few miles away.
Here the trail follows a dry creek bed. Under your feet the gravel feels harsh after miles of soft forest litter. The stones are rather pretty; some might be small agates, bits of marble or crystals of quartz. Then the gravel ends and you walk on sand. It has been disturbed by many footprints, suggesting that it has been weeks or months since the stream’s water smoothed it. The footprints are not human, but are humanoid [Ratlings] but there are a number of them [six in total]. Then you see it. Over the dry creek bed is a dilapidated wooden bridge. Off the trail, into the woods a few paces stand the remains of a building. For centuries, the crudely built Waywatcher Roadhouse stood on a low promontory overlooking a mountain trail. Nicknamed Parasite Point by seasoned travelers, the inn and its small stables survived by being the only decent shelter and warm bath within several days walk. The roof appears to have collapsed a few years ago, and it wasn’t worth the owner’s effort and coin to repair. The inn was abandoned, and it has since fallen to ruin. All the buildings are now surrounded and filled by pine forest. The mountain spring that provided water for the inn and its brewery, while now only a trickle, is still a source of clean drinking water from which travelers stop to fill their water-skins. And the old bridge marks the location where the spring’s waters must have run like a cool, clear river. Adventure Hooks: A band of Ratlings and a clever Wererat Priestess have begun using the Waywatcher as a seasonal lair. The wererat is infected with Lycanthropy, but is only a carrier, and she has deliberately infected the ratlings under her command (which he maintains with Domination/Compulsion). They have begun to prowl the woods on the nights of the full moon looking for prey, and will soon move into the outskirts of the Town of a Dozen Fracts to satisfy their wild hunger. The Wererat has placed the four members of the Orc family under his spell, transformed them into Ratlings and infected them with Lycanthropy, they are currently dominated and in a trance.
TREASURE:
Ratling #1: Inside the pocket [or belt pouch] you grasp what feels like a bunch of coins. When you open your fist you see a dozen silver pieces, two gold pieces, and a tarnished ring. The ring is heavy and looks to be made out of platinum [platinum-plated iron, 6 gp]. [Total 9.2 gp]
Ratling #2: Inside a leather pouch stitched with Orc folk sayings and homely wisdom [1 gp], you discover about a half pound of finely ground salt [3 gp]. A single gold coin, crusted with old salt, lies at the bottom of the pouch. [Perhaps it was placed there because of a folk superstition that money prevents salt from clumping.] [Total 5 gp]
Ratling #3: In a pouch you discover a pair of blue and yellow earrings [6 gp] designed to be used in pierced ears and held in place by a long wire back. The earrings are mushroom shaped, and decorated in spiraling bands of blue glass and yellow faience [a glazed ceramic material, primarily made of quartz]. [Total 6 gp]
Ratling #4: In a pocket is a pewter disk, about half again the size of a silver coin, is pressed with the portrait of a female Orc, her hair wild about her face, like a living frame. Flowers and leaves adorn the image, and on the back of the disk is a trefoil [6 sp].
Ratling #5: A shiny object at the bottom of a bag attracts your attention: it is a child’s wooden whistle and although it is polished till it gleams and produces a pleasant ‘peep peep,’ it cannot be worth more than a few coppers [3 cp]. Next to the whistle lies a canvas-wrapped bundle which contains a pretty painted child’s doll, a golden-haired princess with genuine velvet and lace clothing and tiny white leather boots [50 gp]. [Total 50.03 gp]
TREASURE (Lair)
Inside a rotten sack is a cabbage-sized package wrapped in old and tatty parchment. Opening the package reveals a death mask [250 gp]: this is a wooden mask designed to be placed over the face of a corpse which is to be laid in a sarcophagus. The base is wood, studded with a dozen semi-precious pieces of lapis lazuli and agate. Death masks usually indicate something of the character of the person for whom it is intended to be used. This one has a rodent cast to it, with high cheekbones and slanted eyes. The eyebrows are represented as having been plucked and the lips rouged. The lower side of the mask, which rests against the skin, is covered with glyphs of an unknown sort but which presumably have a religious purpose. Covered by the death mask is a skull made from leaded glass [500 gp]. The skull seems to be human in shape and the glass is flawless and quite exquisite. The very faintest of inscriptions on the bottom rear of the skull bears the name “Annalisa”. Searching further through the sack reveals a canvas bag which holds a cache of thumb-sized ceramic pots sealed with corks. There are five such pots and each one contains a compound of ground herbs which is both fragrant and also is a powerful stimulant to male stamina [40 gp each]. The canvas bag also has a secret compartment sewn into its bottom which contains a single small green stone [spinel, 50 gp]. [Total 1,000 gp]

[Whiskeyjack]

It would help if I knew a bit more about the capabilities, backgrounds, and motivations of the player characters. Race by itself isn't a character trait.

You're suppossed to follow along with my campaign post Hotrod.
The group is part of the Wolfen Military. They are become a special acquisition unit, finding information, artifacts and magics that can aid the Wolfen Empire.
The group consists of a Kankoran Ranger, Wolfen Fire Warlock, Mind Mage and Mercenary, Elven Air Warlock and Human Were-Shaman.
The players are all 12-16 except for my buddy, so real political intrigue is a bit above them. I'm focusing more on combat, problem solving and getting them to play in character/role play.

[The Oh So Amazing Nate]

filo_clarke
Are your adventure ideas (which are GREAT by the way) related to one another and interconnected?

Is Jaquan just an encounter that the players happen upon or is it the start to something and you didn't post the rest of it?

What happened to the missing elves and caused their city to fall to ruin? Were they attacked by the spiders from the Jaquan adventure? Were they shrunk down with the gnome druid and therefore unable to return to and care for their home?

I'm not real clear on the following sentences from the Gnome Sized Problems adventure, "Those who reached for the light are very near the Druid who alerted them. Those that simply went anywhere might end up “miles” away. " Are you saying that crossing the barrier to the enchantment (without reaching for the light) will teleport them to a random spot within the shrunken forest or do you mean mils away from the druid?

In Lord of the Rats I kind of get the impression that the pc's are supposed to help the Orc farmer and rescue his family. Does that sound about right?

[filo_clarke]

filo_clarke
Are your adventure ideas (which are GREAT by the way) related to one another and interconnected?

Is Jaquan just an encounter that the players happen upon or is it the start to something and you didn't post the rest of it?

What happened to the missing elves and caused their city to fall to ruin? Were they attacked by the spiders from the Jaquan adventure? Were they shrunk down with the gnome druid and therefore unable to return to and care for their home?

I'm not real clear on the following sentences from the Gnome Sized Problems adventure, "Those who reached for the light are very near the Druid who alerted them. Those that simply went anywhere might end up “miles” away. " Are you saying that crossing the barrier to the enchantment (without reaching for the light) will teleport them to a random spot within the shrunken forest or do you mean mils away from the druid?

In Lord of the Rats I kind of get the impression that the pc's are supposed to help the Orc farmer and rescue his family. Does that sound about right?

Originally these were part of a group of semi-interconnected adventures I made for use within the Island at the Edge of the World campaign. They can be connected or independent, as you might prefer.

The abandoned Elven city has been empty for quite some time (decades) and no real hint as to what happened to them exists. This was just some "fantasy flavour" for the overall campaign, as the group travel higher into the mountainous forests.

As for the forest teleportation, if a PC deliberately reaches for the light, they end up dear the Druid. If they just step into the miniaturized forest, they end up at a random spot (though probably close to the Leprechaun, for story's sake).

I have several more of these mini-scenarios, but they are longer than those I posted above, and I wasn't sure if Whiskeyjack (great name, btw) was interested in them. Some of them are fully fleshed-out versions of the random encounters from the campaign book, so I don't think I can post them here. I can post some more of my original ideas, if the original poster wants.

[Whiskeyjack]

The adventure ideas were much more than I was looking for filo. I thought I'd get a few skeleton ideas or HLS, you provided almost complete adventures halfway to being published.
Did you have a way to cure the lycanthropy and save the farmers family written int the adventure?

[Hotrod]

Hook: The players receive a magic pigeon from their boss back home. A terrible curse has afflicted (INSERT CITY BACK HOME THAT THEY LIKE HERE), twisting the bodies of the local people, turning them into crazed demons! A frantic search for a cure in the Library at Bletherad yielded hints that the cure may be found in a secret valley in the southern mountains of the Old Kingdom.

Line: There are a few possibilities here for the party, all of which involve a dungeon crawl. The Place of Magic is one (and indeed, the curse that afflicts the Wolfen city is the same as the one afflicting the poor souls there). The Tombs of Gersidi may contain the cure (this isn't canon, but you can make it up or bill it as a cure for vampirism that would also work on the demon-transforming curse), or you could steer this into the Tombs of the Prestidia Kings, the Valley at the Top of the World, wherever you like.

Sinker: Ever play the original Mario Brothers? "Thank you, Mario, but our princess is in another castle." You can drag this one on for a while. Perhaps one dungeon has a treatment, but not the full cure. Perhaps another has something that will prevent, but not reverse the curse. Perhaps (as is canon) the actual cure can't be moved, because it's a magic circle, but must be recreated, so now the party has to get a summoner to come down, interpret the circle, and then travel to the Wolfen Empire (or someone in the party has to switch OCCs). Maybe this becomes a scavenger hunt in which the party needs to assemble parts that have been split up.

Optional twist: The party might find out that one of the magic dwarf artifacts they've already recovered was what triggered the awful curse back home in the first place. This could lead to some interesting discussions about unintended consequences and the danger of pursuing magic and treasures long-buried.

[filo_clarke]

Did you have a way to cure the lycanthropy and save the farmers family written int the adventure?

I think a "Remove Curse" ought to do it. Of course the PCs will have to find a way to restrain the family of lycanthropes long enough to enact it (either by Priest, Wizard or Scroll). In the alternative, destroying the funeral mask in the treasure trove might break the curse afflicting everyone. Or smashing the glass skull, or performing a remove curse on it might break the spell. Lots of options.

[filo_clarke]

CAVE IN A CLEARING: There seems to be a small clearing in the woods at the foot of the hills that are directly to the north. As you enter the clearing you notice that much of the space seems to be taken up by a deep hole in the ground. This hole is at least twenty feet across and drops to a floor about twenty feet below the ground’s surface. The pit seems to be natural and is lined with rock. As you look down into it you can tell that the shadow in the northwest corner of the cavity is an opening deeper into the earth. The first and best clue for this is the amount of cool moist air that is rising out of the gap; it smells damp and inviting.

The inner opening is roughly 8 feet in diameter. Peering into this opening, it is difficult to see anything at first. As your eyes adjust to the darkness you see that the natural passageway before you leads down at a 30- to 45-degree angle. The floor of the passageway is of damp earth and is strewn with half-buried rocks. The center of the ceiling flattens and lowers to a mere four to five feet in places as the passage spreads out to over fifteen feet wide. Where you stand and also just inside the opening you can see signs of animal passage. A loud skittering from the darkness alerts you to the approach of something large and alarmed. Characters are -4 Strike/Parry/Dodge because of the confined passage, unless they are under 4 feet in height, or have Prone Fighting. A den of gruunor has been disturbed by the approach of the players. 4 of the creatures make their way to attack!
TREASURE:
The hollow that the creatures are using as a nest appears to have once been a hiding spot for some plucky adventurers. Poking out from the detritus of the creature’s living space are a few items of note. A barrel [oak, 2 gp] contains a walking cane of fine wood, with a handle in the form of a horse[2 gp], an elegant umbrella made of orange silk [5gp] and a fine steel short sword in a black leather sheath embellished with white-painted dragons [5 gp]. The sword hilt is a riot of color, with seven gems in as many shades [malachite, lapis lazuli, carnelian, moonstone, citrine, tigereye and obsidian; short sword 225 gp]. Plain linen [1 yard, 4 gp] is wrapped around a hand-high crystal vase, which is delicately beautiful [148 gp]. A large leather-bound book is wedged beside it. The book is a work of art with fine leather covers highlighted in gold leaf, but it has been heavily used. It is a classic work on the physics of magic [+10% to Lore: Magic, 100 gp]. A large silver bowl with decorative designs cut out along the rim [46 gp] holds a pile of two-tined silver forks [18; 5 gp each], a pair of fine, white calfskin gloves for small hands [5 gp], and a small stuffed toy dog—very worn—with jeweled eyes and a gem on its collar [obsidian eyes, red-brown garnet on the collar; stuffed dog, 120 gp]. You have to tug to get the bowl and book out, but under them you find a soft pouch [5 sp] containing a butterfly, cut of green quartz [40 gp]; a silver and gold holy symbol [to a god who protects travelers; 50 gp]; an onyx medallion [142 gp] and coins [23 gp, 57 sp, 122 cp]. Tucked away under more detritus, you find a long jewelled scabbard [175 gp], of a suitable size for a longsword but without the weapon. The scabbard is studded with hundreds of tiny rhinestones to create the image of thirteen swans swimming on a lake. Inside the scabbard are 17 tiny ingots of pure platinum rattling around, each one about the size of a coin [17 gp each]; together with a roll of parchment which extends from one end of the scabbard. It is a very thinly wrapped piece of parchment which, when carefully unrolled, reveals what seems to be a dungeon map [The map point to a location close at hand. Its level of accuracy is at your discretion. In either case, it will sell for 150 gp to suitable adventurers or speculators].

The air cools and becomes damper as you descend into the bowels of the earth. At this point the passageway begins to decline sharply at an angle between 45 and 60 degrees. The floor has become slicker because of the water dripping off the ceiling. The passage has widened but become shorter, so that normal-sized men have to crawl on hands and knees or slide under the low ceiling. A damp coolness permeates everything. When you listen, a steady drip, drip, drip can be heard from almost every direction. The walls of this corridor are uneven, rounded as if worn away by water thousands of years ago; there are no tool marks on the walls or floor. In front of you out of the darkness rises a stalagmite, its base about five feet in diameter, tapering to a point eight feet from the floor. The minerals that make it up seem to appear in bands of color; reddish brown, dark grey, milky white, dirty yellow, and others, sometimes repeating colors as the rings approach the apex. You can see that this is one of the sources of the dripping sound as there are droplets steadily hitting the tip of the formation. Here and there short stalagmites and stalactites make the obstacle course even more difficult. The passageway narrows down to about 4 feet here. Directly in front of you, you see a drop-off and the passage seems to end. As you look over the lip of the drop you can see the bottom about 40 feet below, and from there it seems that a passageway continues in the direction you have been going. There are plenty of small stalagmites and a column at the top of the drop to which you could anchor a rope. The sides of the drop vary from four to five feet apart, and they are both wet with water seeping from the walls. With care the bottom can be reached, entering the chamber from one of the far walls.

From the side of this chamber, about 30 feet above the cavern floor, a steady stream of water flows. It pours down over a series of stepped rock shelves that are irregularly spaced but relatively close together, with only a foot to a foot and a half difference in height from one to the next. The cascade empties into a pool at the side of the cavern which is 3 feet deep and 15 feet across. The water must flow out through the wall of the cavern lower down because the pool does not seem to be getting bigger or deeper. The pool is home to some albino cave fish and crayfish. [Once per day, per character, the pool heals those who enter or drink from it.] The rock shelves look a lot like a circular stairway leading up to the opening where the water enters the room. Upon entering this room you smell rotting flesh and hear the scurrying of tiny claws upon stone. As you take in the view before you, you see a bloody mass lying in the center of the chamber. A closer look shows it to be the remains of a wild boar. Off to the side you hear the scolding squeak of rats trying to warn you away from their dinner. This turns your attention to them and you see that one in the front has a bloody piece of ripped flesh at its feet. Trails of blood crossed with red paw prints mark the stones around you. The rats do not flee but flit from shadow to shadow. Turning your attention back to the hog, it is clear that it is dead. Immediately above it is an opening a great deal like an inverted well that stretches off above you into the blackness. The creature must have fallen in here all the way from the chamber above. Looking about, you realize there are other bones present, including some that are obviously humanoid (actually Orc). [Amid the shredded clothing on the rotting corpse, you find four silver pieces and a belt buckle, crafted from silver with gold trim [8 gp]. It has a solid flat face carved to represent the night sky. There are five stars etched into it to form an L shape, with the moon floating above.]

Ascending the well, it is a 40 foot shaft cut through solid stone in a perfectly circular manner. At the top is a broken winch and bucket, aged to the point of disintegration, leaving only the iron fittings behind if disturbed. The well is surrounded by a low (2.5 feet) curtain wall carved from the stone, and decorated with Dwarven runes. The chamber around the well is 40 feet in diameter, and has only three entrances/exits; The first is a large corridor (20’x20’ tall/wide) stretching to the North. The second and third are large steel doors to the east and west. Lying close to the base of the well you see a sword. It has a broad curved blade of dark metal and a sinuous hand-guard. The bones of a hand still cling to the hilt; the rest of the wielder’s body is missing. The hand holding the sword was clearly severed by a strong blow combined with fiery scorch marke, and fell against the wall to lie there. Upon careful inspection, you see the sword is a short, badly made scimitar of a type frequently used by Orcs. The blade is nicked and slightly rusty but otherwise useable. [Most of the finger bones fall free if the adventurers move the scimitar; only the index finger needs to be actively removed, old sinew holding it in a curved position and in place.]

The Eastern Door: The steel door is nearly ten feet tall and five feet across, with a high arched top. It is unlocked. The ancient door groans deeply as you push it aside, the rusted hinges popping and grinding from untold days of disuse. Dust covers everything in this chamber. The lack of footprints in the dust indicates you are the first to venture into this room for a very long time. The contents seem almost surreal. Though the wooden objects are warped and swollen, and everything is draped with curtains of cobwebs, it still appears as if the previous occupant will be returning for a night’s rest. A dressing table, with its warped and cracked surface, sits along the wall across from the door, its chair pulled out slightly. A hairbrush and hand mirror await their owner’s next grooming. [If picked up, the bristles will begin falling out of the brush, and the mirror’s reflective surface is crazed with age.] Three overstuffed beds, along the wall to your right, lie with their tattered sheets turned down for the night. [If the characters sit or lie on any of the beds, the mattress crumbles beneath them and a multitude of insects erupt out of the mattress to hide from the commotion.] A large armoire sits opposite the beds, one door hanging open to show the tattered, rotting remains of once-fine gowns, robes and like garments. [Once a room for three priestesses, inside the closet is a secret alcove, containing a small brooch, with a Flawless Bloodstone that has been cut into the shape of a flower, the gem contains a single spell, See Wards, that can be cast 3-times per day [See Wards: 60’, 32 mins, See wards, see how many are active, estimate level of power] (5,000 gp)] Carved into the inside of the armoire’s door is a word of unknown origin, written in Dwarven: Gothmog. [This is the name of the Baalrog elsewhere in the temple.] At the far end of the room is a window with the shade drawn. If the shade is raised, the window looks out onto a peaceful, sunlit garden, despite its location deep underground. [The window is actually a magically animated painting set into a frame that looks like a window with a curtain.]

The Western Door: A large, red-colored wooden door comes into your view, surrounded by a black wooden frame decorated with large painted rocks embedded in it as if they were gemstones. The door is crenellated upon its upper edge making it look like the top of a palace wall. It is made up of three large wooden planks which seem to be connected on the opposite side by a cross board or two. There is a rusty, heavy metal slide lock in the locked position, on the left side of the door about chest height to an average human. [The slide lock is rusted closed, but has no lock.] Within the room, a soft greenish glow comes from the walls, which gives it an eerie feel. There is a faint smell of spinach in this area and the air is damp and stagnant. The walls glisten in the light as droplets of moisture like tiny beads of sweat gather upon the walls and floor. As you look into the room, you are astonished to see the entire floor of the room is done in mosaic tile, depicting the sun, clouds and birds on the wing. When you look up, you see that the ceiling has also been done in mosaic, but with a forest motif. It is damp and uncomfortable here. Hosts of centipedes scurry away from you on the floor as you approach. [The glow and smell come from a phosphorescent moss that is growing here on this rock. The moss can be useful as a light source or as food for an herbivorous pet if you are so inclined, but any creature eating the moss will glow faintly for one hour afterwards.] Dripping sounds come from somewhere in front of you. They are faint at first, but grow stronger as you move along. Something seems to be dripping incessantly and plopping into an unseen pool. The floor at the center of the room is slick with water and moss. You must walk carefully. You see a 2-foot circle of wetness on the ceiling and from its center water drips, ever so slowly. As you pass through the center of the room you notice a five-foot wide section that seems to be made of white marble, and not decorated with mosaic. This area completely rings the corridor on the walls, floor and ceiling. [Any character passing through this area must make a Save vs Magic 15+. If it is failed, the character is Cleansed, as per the spell.] At the far end of the room is a throne carved into the white marble of the wall. On the throne’s wooden seat is a neatly carved hole, descending into darkness. The wooden seat could be removed, allowing a human-sized person access to the cess-pit below. [The Leita-Hammer, a holy relic, was tossed here when the elves attacked, during the Great War. Since it has the abilities to both heal and to purify water, it is sitting at the bottom of an immaculately clean cistern, about 20 feet down.]

The Northern Corridor: Strange veins of an unknown mineral wind their way through the stone walls of the dungeon. [The mineral is known as chimestone and acts as a natural telegraph that transmits the sound of an object striking the exposed mineral along the entire vein. Dwarves use these veins as a natural communication method over long distances, by tapping out a kind of Morse code.] Glowing brass braziers hang from chains down the length of the hallway providing a dim golden glow. You smell a faint smell of rotting meat, and as you move down the corridor the smell becomes stronger. You see a rat up ahead scurry out of the light and down the passage ahead of you. About 10 yards down the passage [around the next turn] the smell becomes overpowering. You enter an octagonal chamber 30 feet across with four exits, the one you entered from, two hallways, and a steel door. From here you can see a heap of bodies – several large Orc carcasses and several smaller bodies belonging to a mixed party of adventures. All the creatures here died either directly by violence or by blood loss. Since then something has been feeding upon them, several somethings, actually. A rat raises up on its haunches on the body of what was once a human female wearing some type of robe and no armor. A broken wand lies in what is left of her hand. The eyes are missing and much of the torso is gone, and hers is probably among the more intact of the bodies. The rat bares its teeth and screeches at you, then runs down the far side of the pile and disappears into the darkness. At the center of the room is a pile of Dwarven gold pieces, piled neatly in a pyramid shape, roughly 200 gp in total.

West Hallway: The dust here is thick and undisturbed. As you walk across it, you feel that yours are the first feet to do so in centuries. With the motion the dust rises in clouds into the air. Here a stairwell rises up from the level on which you stand. The stairs look worn, even ancient, as do the walls which rise along the sides. Mortar crumbles from between some of the stones and there are a few cracks almost big enough to put your finger into. There is not a noticeable breeze here and you are unsure if this is a way out or if it just leads to another section of the dungeon. An old iron torch sconce sits empty and rusting at about head level on your right and, judging by the webs crisscrossing the metalwork, a spider is using it for a home. You notice a tiny movement there; a fly is struggling in the web and a small black spider moves rapidly forward to attack. For a second you feel a sense of kinship with the fly in the spider’s trap! Then your hand strays to your weapon, and you remind yourself that you might not be the hunter here. A tiny stream of water trickles down the stairs and drains away into a crack near your feet. You hear an ominous “thud” from above, and suddenly the rivulet turns deep crimson. As you approach the top of the stairs, the air is still with a putrid smell. The ceiling is cracked and motion from the staircase causes little streams water to sprinkle down from above. At the top of the stairs is the Divination Chamber of a large temple. This 40 x 40 foot domed room is lit from the four corners by four magical brass lamps, hanging by chains. The lamps shed a pleasant, if dim golden glow about the room. Near the top of the stairs is a blood stain of undetermined origin, mixing with the water from the ceiling. Pages of unholy scripture, written in blood over the pages of a hold dwarven book litter the floor (the language is Demon-gogian). Large chunks of stone have fallen from the ceiling and make foot travel in the poorly-illuminated room treacherous. At the center of the room is a circular altar 10 feet in diameter but only four feet high, covered in a blood-stained altar cloth, atop of which is a single votive light, ever burning. The altar is carved from the same stone as the floor of the chamber (a deep grey granite) and bears prayers and blessings to Belimar, the dwarven God. In front of the votive candle is a depression in the disintegrating fabric. Underneath in the stone altar itself, is a carved slot for what appears to be a smallish hammer, the kind used by a blacksmith, but no hammer is present. [Hidden beneath the altar cloth, on the opposite side of the stone altar, is a cleverly concealed hidden compartment, containing a ritual goblet, censer, and bell, each made of pure silver (value: 200 gp each) [The room contains a single magical effect: Everyone inside the room no longer requires food or drink for as long as they remain within. ]

North Door: There is a peephole cut into the door with some kind of crude drill. Looking through the peephole is pointless, as it seems to be blocked by something. The door you are trying to open does not even budge. The door is not locked, but it seems to be barred from the inside. Often if a door is barred near the center, the top or bottom may move in a little bit when forced, but here the door seems to be blocked along its entire length. If the door is opened: Now that you have opened the door a little way you can see that there are the many pieces of furniture and boxes set against the door. They are piled precariously and if they can be toppled by something the door would open more easily. If the furniture is toppled: The room is 20 feet long x 30 feet wide, with a 20 foot ceiling. The body of a woman, long dead, leans against the wall in the corner. Her hands clutch at a piece of brittle parchment. Laid out as if for a state funeral are the bodies of two other adventurers, now only skeletons. Their clothes are moldy rags and their equipment has rusted badly.

The parchment reads: In Western; "We are now too weak to fight our way out. We can still hear the beast in the hall occasionally anyway; none of us are willing to face it again. The others have asked that I write our names here so that we may be remembered by anyone brave and powerful enough to slay our tormenter and claim its hoard. We are Talric of the Sword, Inarra the Enchantress, and Trax the Mighty. Srandal, Faruth, Carbin, and our Orc troops all fell in the first onslaught of the beast before we even knew. How can anything so big move so quietly?"

East Hallway: Part of the entrance to the hallway is blocked by a ballista of Dwarven manufacture. It is ancient and in unknown condition, but there is a small barrel of 6 javelins attached to its side. On the wall of the stone hallway you see a stick figure drawn with a chalky substance. The figure is of a winged and taloned creature with a stick figure of a man in his mouth. Under the rough picture is an arrow pointing forward and to the left. Every few feet, someone has placed a small, white stone on the floor. This goes on for about 100 feet, after which you see no more of the stones. At the 100 foot mark, where the stones end, you come to a .T. intersection and see a steel-headed javelin, longer than a man is tall, standing out of the end wall. The head is deeply embedded into the stone, nearly the length of a foot. The back of the javelin is fletched with two-inch-high wooden fletches. There is a groove in the back end of the javelin. It seems to have come from straight up the leg of the .T, from whence you just came.

South T Junction: After a short 30 foot stretch of hallway, you have come to a white door. This door is made of white, wooden vertical slats, fastened by heavy brass bands. These bands are attached to the door by large steel rivets appearing every three inches along the band. The door is approximately seven feet tall, four feet wide, and arched at the top. The door is ajar and a small amount of light can be seen shining through the small opening. As you approach, you can see small dust particles floating through the radiant beam of light. They swirl around in chaotic fashion, indicating a slight airflow through the opening. Where other rooms or passages have smelled unpleasant, this one reeks of just about every foul thing one can associate with food. The large door hangs open, allowing a panoply of awful odors to fill the air in this corridor. The sound of skittering also fills the air—some desperate scavengers, no doubt. At the sound of larger creatures coming in, several rats scatter to the darker corners or hide under furniture. Huge fireplaces dominate this room, carved or shaped out of the dungeon’s stone walls themselves. Their own walls have been stained black by the output of innumerable cooking fires, caked-on grease giving off an oily sheen. The stains appear to go right up into the ceiling, passing out of sight. Elsewhere the room is full of food preparation tools and rotting food. Spoiled fruits covered with maggots sit on tables while chunks of meat lie on the floor, gnawed by rats or covered with parasitic worms or both. Rusted or blood-caked cutlery and cooking pots lie scattered about. The food brought into this room appears to be recent, and in fact is primarily trail rations and dried fruit from an adventuring party. The foul odor is some meat from a deer, and some rotting fruits gathered in the woods sometime in the past week or two. At the far end of the kitchen is a stone door, ten feet across, leading to the forest outside. It has been opened and closed within the last week or two, but currently sits ajar, allowing light from the sun to illuminate the room. Another door to the south [at the back of a kitchen] opens to show a room filled with barrels and boxes. Shelves have been built floor to ceiling near the door. On these shelves are rough boxes and baskets. These hold wooden bowls of several sizes, and spoons, both large, wooden spoons and some in pewter, as well as more than a dozen metal forks [pewter, tin or iron]. Closed boxes hold pieces of cloth. There are squares and rectangles, almost all of them hemmed, the sizes for napkins and placemats. A few are large enough to cover a small table. They are clean but show signs of long use. On the floor behind the shelves are many tightly closed small barrels. Inside you find powders [flour, sugar], grains [oats, rice], dried fruit [apples, prunes], pickled meats [pork, beef], salted meats [fish, pork] and nuts [whole almonds and walnuts]. Most containers are less than half full. Behind them are larger barrels. One very sticky one apparently held honey. The other six are ale tubs, but only one has any ale left. At the very back of the room empty containers are jumbled together.

North T Junction: On the floor of the hallway is a trail of giant-sized clawed footprints which end abruptly halfway down the corridor. The walls, roof and floor of the passage have been part natural, part worked out of solid stone. An odd, lightly-colored seam starts close to the roof. It is narrower than a fingerwidth and unlike the dark, hard stone around it. More or less straight, it is angled slightly downward compared to the path. The odd layer’s position slowly descends to eye level, then waist height. It contains pebbles in sand or sandstone. At intervals you can see imprints on the pebbles characteristic of clams and snails. [These are fossils, although the term fossil was not used until the 1800’s.] The pebble layer drops to knee height. Some way beyond that it drops down and crosses the passage and you walk on a shallow sandy surface. And then it is gone and the hall is solid stone again.At the end of the 70 foot hallway, you stand before a set of double doors made of stone; both the doors and their sideposts are ornately engraved with a tree and vine motif showing rich succulent fruits. The carvings seem to promise wonders of plenty and peace beyond these portals. Hanging above the doors is a plaque bearing an inscription in ancient Dwarven. “Herein the heroes of the world await their day in paradise.” The doors are not locked, but when you try to open them something seems to have fallen against the door on the other side; they can only be opened a fingerlength, due to the blockage that lies against them. The light you carry does not illuminate much of the room through the narrow opening. You see a fine marble floor covered with a layer of dust but you cannot see into the room far enough to tell what is in there. The door itself seems to be inset in a very thick portion of wall that makes seeing beyond it difficult.

Pushing the door aside: You step into a great hall that is lined on both sides with ten great statues of Dwarven men and women dressed and armed in the styles of ages past. Looking down you see what was blocking the door. Behind the door lies a gargantuan sculpture that has broken into three massive sections, one of which had rolled up against the door and blocked your entry. The head of this statue is sitting upright and is staring down the length of the hall. [After the group moves about twenty feet into the hall:] The great doors groan and slam shut behind you with a resounding thunderclap. The stone head, which is now looking directly at you, blinks its eyes and utters something in an ancient tongue. [“We are the guardians of this heroes’ passage. Be ye bringers of mischief, or bringers of peace?”] If anyone understands the language being spoken and answers “peace,” then the head will ask, “What seek ye?” The original statue was a worker or tradesman, and is clearly not part of the heroic motif of the nine other statues. It was also clearly destroyed deliberately.

[If they answer anything other than something like, “knowledge,” “wisdom,” “the way,” etc., or if they do not understand the language being spoken, then the head will close its eyes and the Baalrog attacks!] You hear the grating noise of stone upon stone but in the shadows of the echoing chamber you cannot tell where the noise came from. The door seems solidly closed. From behind one of the statues, a hideous demon emerges, and makes its intention to kill known.

[If the heroes give the proper type of answer:] The doors behind you creak open and you also hear another set of doors open at the far end of the hall. Walking into the next chamber, you find that it is almost as vast as the hall behind you. Here, lining shelf upon shelf you see hundreds of books and scrolls from ancient times. The majority of the books are worm infested, and the pages crumble to dust in your fingers. Some contain text that is unrecognizable, and still others contain maps and drawings of creatures of distant lands or times. The delicate nature of the books means that taking them is almost impossible, and reading them is hazardous. Each book or scroll should provide +1D4% to skills like History, Lore Demons & Monsters, Gemology, Blacksmithing, etc. They are a trove of Dwarven lore. Only one book is Magical in nature, and is a treatise on the worship of Belimar through the ages (not a Canon, per se, but a history of religious service) it is enchanted so that the book always appears in the reader’s native tongue. [Anything written in the book after the fact will likewise be enchanted thusly]. In the back of the book is a thick series of blank pages, containing a cut out section of what appears to be a space for a workman’s hammer – currently missing.

[filo_clarke]

EARLY MORNING MIST: The light of the morning sun scarcely warms you at all, though it is quite bright. Brilliant purple flashes catch your eye from a small pond nearby. [If the party investigates:] The sun shines on the tiny shells of the snails living in the water and the color gleams in the light. From where you are standing, you can see many different levels of mountain paths; higher paths may be traced down to lower by those with very keen eyes. In this early morning light, the mist is still prevalent in the slightly damp atmosphere. The mist that formed on the upper levels is now quickly flowing down the different levels of the hills, almost like honey running down a stack of oat cakes. For a moment it almost seems that you are standing on an island, surrounded by an ocean of mist. Upon the colorful line of the morning horizon you spot some jagged mountain peaks. The sun rising behind you has tipped them with gold and they seem to touch the pure blueness of beautiful sky in the distance.

Most of the ground around you is overflowing with vegetation of different shapes and sizes. Many plants thrive here, from the smallest herb to the most gigantic evergreen tree you have ever seen. Moving deeper into the overgrowth, you notice a strange change in the type of vegetation in the area. Dark and bright green leaves and vines run rampant all over the mountainside. Just about everything else is invisible, covered by the vines. In some places they seem to rise up bizarrely, giving the impression of huge mounds of ivy. It is most likely that there are trees under those massive vine wigs, but you cannot see from here whether or not that is true. Something rustles in the copious underbrush and twenty feet [6m] of greenery move at once. [If the adventurers investigate:] As you get closer you realize that there is a large elk trapped within the vine mass, and is partially digested! THE PCs HAVEN ENTERED AN AREA OVERGROWN WITH TANGLE VINES!!!
TREASURE:
You find and open a small iron box [1 gp] to find a pack of tarot cards, made from thin sheets of ivory [49 gp]. The cards are nicely painted and most of them feature illustrations of people with the heads of dogs or jackals. Looking carefully, you notice that the card known as ‘Death’ is missing. [Total 50 gp]
Corroded steel Javelin
Corroded battle axe with a rotten handle
Corroded berdiche with a rotten handle
Corroded throwing iron
Large Sledge Hammer (3D6+5, PS 20 or -2S/P) with a head formed of stone, with iron and gold inlay, this finely wrought dwarven weapon does:
Double Damage to Evil (6D6+10), Demon & Deevil Slayer (12D6+20 to evil Demons & Deevils), 48,000 gp

The massive networks of vines and creepers on the mountainside do little to hide the fact that it was terra-formed at some point. They hang like leafy curtains over the edges of each terrace, giving the mountain an oddly hairy look. Underfoot the ground is soft and loamy. In places you can see food plants competing for sunlight against the rampantly growing vines, evidence that someone used this area for cultivation in the past. When you look around you can see similar titanic staircases cut into neighboring slopes, though they are mostly overgrown as well. Further on you see more evidence of intentional stonework in the mountainside. Wide swathes of gray and brown stone devoid of green shrubbery show where rockslides or floods scoured the mountain clean. At some point in the past someone cut huge chunks of stone out of the side of this hill. Pale white veins run through the dark gray stone in a crazed manner with no discernible pattern. You can see numerous roads carved directly into the mountainside as well as dozens of square holes at regular intervals around the wall of the quarry. Things are not all regular and systematic however, as there are several places where great jagged stones have come out of the wall. Some of them lie across the road, while others have tumbled down into the deep chasm in the middle of the quarry and left fragments everywhere. The mountainside has been cut back substantially. Then the sky closes in, as the mist on the upper ranges reaches your elevation. The mist is thick at this elevation. The chilly moisture hangs in the air, permeating everything from the thick moss to the clothing that you wear, causing a heavy, damp saturation. It would be difficult to light a fire in this mist, let alone keep it going. In fact, there is such a shortage of wood or other combustibles in this area that it might not be possible to have a fire at all.

Up ahead, towards the hillside, you see a humanoid skeleton, completely stripped of biological material (goblin) but still clutching a short-spear. Brush damp with dew dangles from a massive stony overhang on the cliff’s side. Creeper vines of epic length stretch right over the edge of the outcropping, giving a sort of wispy look to a gaping black hole in the mountainside. Huge gray stone boulders lie around the cave mouth and further down the mountainside. Some evidently rolled from high above, as they are cracked into numerous pieces and lie at some distance from the cave. Almost all of the stone is slick with accumulated dew at this hour of the day. The cave looms imposingly, a massive cavity in the teeth of the mountains.

You enter a huge vaulted cavern. As you examine the area you take a deep breath of fresh clean air and feel invigorated by the sense of openness. A faint breeze filters down from above. On the far side of this space is a wall that rises to a ledge fifteen feet from the chamber floor. The shadows from the light create areas of deep darkness but also give rise to a sense of wonder as you view the myriad shapes that make up a rise to the left. Along that wall is a craggy, uneven collection of crevices, hand holds, and ledges that rise irregularly to the level of the shelf. The climb should not be too difficult for anyone who has both hands free, and is unencumbered. There is a low rumble coming from somewhere in the back of the cave, and climbing the wall only serves to enhance the noise.

At the top of the wall, you enter a chamber, and your light glimmers all across the walls. Some sort of tiny crystals are catching the light and reflecting it back. When you take a closer look, you see the sides of the chamber are covered with little groups of crystalline spikes. They look almost like brittle flowers, or frosty clusters of icy thorns. [They are extremely fragile; even brushing against them will crumble the more slender stems. It is easy to break off groups, but very difficult indeed to keep them whole.]

To your left lies an outcropping of rock and upon it is growing what appears to be a crystalline tree. The structure looks amazingly like a small tree or bush that has been caught in a sleet storm. It shimmers and glistens in the light like fine crystal and needle-like projections extend from its ‘branches’ like icicles on a frozen tree. It looks amazingly delicate and sharp. [This structure is actually a mixture of calcium and aragonite that forms naturally. Despite its appearance like crystal or quartz it is of no value. Anyone who touches it with a bare hand will have a one-in-three chance of pricking a finger enough to draw blood. This causes no damage but will hurt. If the formation is touched with a mailed hand, it has a one-in-six chance of being broken.]

Ahead, you hear the sound of rushing water. As you approach the noise rises in a crescendo that is almost deafening and requires members of your party to shout in order to be heard. The air is filled with a cool and refreshing mist, and smells clear and clean. When you get to the source of the noise you discover an underground river that bursts from the wall five feet to your left and disappears down a tunnel to your right about 10 feet past the path that you have been following. The river is about fifteen feet across. Spanning this underground river is a bridge of stone that appears to have been worn from the rock rather than built by hands. It is about a foot thick at the center, approximately two and a half feet wide and lies only an arms-length over the rushing water. The bridge is wet with moisture, making the rock slippery, and the air is thick with the spray of the waters.

Across the bridge, glistening blades of reddish brown stone protrude from the walls, ceiling, and floor. They are shaped variously as disks and like short broad- bladed weapons. They are irregular in size and shape and appear to have grown naturally rather than being carved. The stones are sharp and very strong and must be moved around rather than through. The patches of these ‘blade-stones’ Vary from a couple feet across to the size of a small flower garden. [There are 2-12 patches that the GM should place randomly. If someone falls or is pushed onto a patch they will encounter 1-4 blades that each do 1-6 points of damage. Similarly an explosion or someone with giant strength hitting the sides could cause the roof blades to fall.]

The cavern narrows down like an inverted funnel to a tunnel opening at the far end. The tunnel only leads a short way, before opening out into a large chamber. This area is filled with ‘death coral’. It is a sharp, treacherous formation of rock that covers the floor, growing up like menacing bushes of stone spines. It looks much like colonies of sea coral, with growth built upon other growth to produce large masses of dangerous lance-like points. Navigating through here will be hazardous and a misstep could mean a fall onto the sharp rocks. [If a character falls, he or she will take 2d4 points of damage from the death coral.] At the end of this chamber you realize that something has been digging here. There is a cavity carved into one wall that is about five feet high, four feet wide, and six feet deep. A crudely-made pick-ax with a cracked handle lies nearby. Additionally, there are two irregular holes dug into the cavern floor, each about six feet by eight feet at the top and five feet deep. You see no one in the area and you didn't hear any digging as you approached this area. [Upon closer examination:] You see nothing of interest in the excavations. It all appears to be rock and dirt. There are some tracks in the bottoms of the two holes.

Ahead of you lies a cliff, and the path you are following skirts around the drop. As you approach the edge, you notice a rope tied around an outcropping of stone nearby. It is dirty and badly frayed where it passes over the lip. [If it is pulled up:] The rope is about 40’ long past the frayed spot. The end that was hanging loose is unraveling. At the bottom of a long drop lies a pile of bones.

It is a single, small body [Goblin], which must have been here for many years because nothing is left but the skeleton. Close examination shows the skull is broken, though it probably didn’t happen when it hit the sand where it is now lying. Looking up, you can see a knobby rock outcropping that is a more likely culprit. Looking at the skeleton again, you notice that one of the legs is lying under the body at an unusual angle. The thigh bone has been broken in half and twisted around. It would have been very painful, if the poor wretch had been alive to feel it. Along the wall, roughly 6 ½ feet high, are some blackish marks about 18 inches long. Close examination shows them to be soot.

As you continue in the lower chamber, a single broken arrow lies before you. It is definitely not an Orc or Goblin arrow; it is better made than that. It would require closer examination, though, to determine its source. The tip has a dark stain on it; it seems to have been bloodied. Looking around, at the edge of the light you see another arrow of similar design. There are no other signs of the archer or the targets. As you survey this area a glint of metal catches your eye as it reflects back your light. It appears to be a long sword of competent construction, its blade nicked and stained brown. Additionally, you find a broken bow nearby and the dust and dirt are very disturbed as if a battle may have taken place. There is a partial imprint of a large clawed foot (human shaped), but the prints are obscured by the drag marks of two man-sized objects that were drawn after it. A little way farther on there are 7 arrows scattered in the dust of cavern floor that may have fallen from a quiver. The dust gives way to rock then and no more marks can be seen. Just as you seem to have lost the trail, you find something terrifying; here there are meticulously-detailed statues of two fighters whose swords are in their scabbards, but their hands are raised before their eyes as if to ward off an attack. There is also a wizard with a raised staff in one hand and the other up before his face with the palm out. A statue of a female in armor shows her with her sword half-drawn from her scabbard and looking to her left. Behind a rock crouches a stone Gnome with a short sword in his hand. The faces all show surprise and they look like they were carved to show a state of shock and fear. Oddly, they show no tool marks at all. It is almost as if they were just created from stone all at once.

The shadows cast here are long and irregular. Somewhere a pebble clatters softly across the stone floor. Ahead the cavern roof dips to nearly meet the floor. The acrid stench of serpents assails your nostrils and you have the urge to cover your nose. The floor ahead of you drops suddenly and forms a ledge that is down about two feet. There are no steps, just a ledge and then another 4 foot drop. As you look into the room you see a twisting, intertwining, slithering mass of snakes. There appear to be hundreds upon hundreds of them in various shapes, colors and sizes. The movement is eerily silent until one serpent raises its head, spreads its jaws and hisses at you very loudly. These, however, are not the real threat, as the chamber is the lair of a Gorgon!
TREASURE: You see four items of note: A giant-skull, a long wooden box, a burlap sack, and a pile of green fabric.
-Stuffed into what appears to be the skull of a Jotan (stone giant) [20 gp], you find a small cache of peculiar treasures: a crudely carved wooden bracelet [250 gp] set with a massive piece of amber, which is sized for a giant, the head of a human-sized warhammer (3D4) [70 gp] made of steel with gold accents and a small piece of jade set into one side, a sack of coins mixed with smooth river pebbles [9 gp, 70 sp, 300 cp] and a buckler (50 sdc, 2D4) [20 gp] with a tooled bronze rim. A bloody giant’s head is painted on the front of the buckler, and the inside surface is spattered with dried blood. Sitting next to the giant’s skull are three clay jugs of reddish wine, bound together with buckled leather straps [rare dwarven fungus-wine, 25 gp per jug]. Resting against the jugs are two heavy picks (3D4)[8 gp each] and a long-handled warhammer (3D6 as Lucern Hammer)[30 gp]. The hammer’s handle is made of dark wood banded with strips of iron, and a design of crossed mining picks is stamped on both sides of its head. A mosaic depicting the twisting tunnels of a dwarfhold is picked out in chips of obsidian on the flat top of the hammer’s head. [Total 500 gp]
-In a long wooden box is a heavy crossbow (4D6), plain and sleek. It is in good repair [50 gp]. Twenty bolts, carefully crafted and uniform, are in a simple leather carrying case [bolts, 2 gp; case, 5 gp]. Beside them is a white leather container about the width and length of a large man’s finger [5 sp]. Inside you find a number of hatpins[14]. Most are plain metal with extra-large round heads, although three have oval heads painted white [13 pins, 1 sp each]. One has a small polished golden stone mounted on the end [agate; pin, 2 gp]. Under the leather container is a piece of unbleached linen large enough for a Gnome to wear as a cloak [2 gp]. Underneath the linen, a tall silver goblet covered with raised decorations featuring wrestlers lies on its side [15 gp], and around it are loose coins [17 gp, 34 sp 7 cp]. [Total 98.27 gp]
-A dusty flour sack [5 cp] is stuffed to the point of ripping with treasure and food. A dozen fat potatoes overgrown with pale sprouts [4 cp] give the sack a rich, earthy scent. Tossing the potatoes aside, you discover a battered warhammer [8 gp] crusted with old blood and dried hair; its handle notched with nearly a hundred victory marks. A bronze discus [2 gp] decorated by a meander pattern notched into the metal shares the sack with the hammer. A steel closed helmet with a furious boar’s head faceplate [8 gp], though tarnished and dull, remains clearly valuable. A leather fetish bag decorated with colorful beads and feathers [2 sp] contains the true treasure. A single square cut peridot, the size of a finger joint, gleams within the leather bag [74 gp]. A few coins round out this collection [8 gp]. [Total 100.29 gp]
-The fabric is silk, and contains some items stashed within. Tucked into the voluminous sash of a folded green and grey silk dress [15 gp] is a palm sized wooden container [10 gp], decorated with a picture of dancing girls. Inside the container are a collection of four miniscule nesting compartments, each filled with a different medicinal herb or spell component (Ginger, Leek, Adrue, Thoughtwort) [25 gp total worth]. Also in the dress is a small pouch. The cracked leather pouch [2 sp] holds five candle stubs [each will burn for about an hour; 1 cp each], a small tinderbox [with flint and steel, 2 gp], 15 silver pieces, and one gold piece engraved with the markings of a far-away nation (Byzantium). Two potion vials of blown glass, and stoppered with metal plugs display their contents in faded labels glued to the side: Potion of Metamorphosis, Superior; Potion of Fly. Finally, a small wooden box with two metal catches opens to reveal a padded velvet interior [5 gp] glistening with gemstones of various types: 15 – Tiny Black Jasper slivers of average quality 2 gp each, 8 – Large Black Onyx of good quality 500 gp each, 2 – Bloodstones of excellent quality 500 gp each

[filo_clarke]

FLOODED FOREST:
The entire day has been dreary and overcast, making travel amongst the trees difficult, as the light isn’t low enough for night-vision, but isn’t bright enough to allow for clear sight of the ground at one’s feet. Ahead of you is a forest of small and large trees, with a forest floor that initially looks like ordinary leaf-covered ground. As you near, it is revealed to in fact be covered with water, which is in turn covered by millions of extremely tiny round green leaves [duckweed]. The result is a pleasant view of a green forest floor, dappled by patches of sunlight coming through the trees. Higher areas are littered with brown, dead leaves. Bees and small birds fly back and forth, sometimes high in the trees, but, where the branches make a low arch, close to the forest floor. The illusion of a solid forest is broken suddenly when a very large frog leaps from its resting spot, gulps down a tiny yellow bird in mid air, and falls with a massive splash into the leaf-covered water. Circles radiate out from the spot for several seconds.

The insects find you almost immediately. Huge flies with golden bodies and yellow wings land on your exposed skin. If they bite, they take a chunk of meat with it. They are not numerous but persistent. Smaller insects fly around you, hovering in the sunlight over the path so you disturb them as you walk. Some of the insects are mosquitoes, which land to feed on you, but most of the insects simply flap tiny wings in your face and fly at your eyes or into your nose or ears.

The swamp is not very large: from above, you can see across it to the other side. It is a spot of rich light greens in a darker green forest. The trail leads right down into it and it is obvious why: the eroding hills in this area in this area are steep, sheer, and crumbling. Other routes are more difficult or impassible. The trail descends quickly into the swamp. Tall trees obscure your view of the surrounding country. The swamp forest closes in. The trees shade you and the air is cooler and moister. The path underfoot becomes soggy and soft. A rich odor of pines and decay fills the air. The ground compresses under your feet and water fills your footprints.

The air is fragrant with the resins of pines and pungent oils from other plants. You splash through spots of shallow open water on the trail. Some of these areas are muddy with sticky brown mud. However, in most places the water lies over un-decayed plant litter, especially pine and spruce needles, so it is only wet, not muddy. The trees crowd together and beneath them are dozens of shrubs—broad-leafed and evergreen. Since it’s early summer, some shrubs are laden with pink or white flowers. The white flowers add a rich floral scent, almost overwhelming, to the air as you pass. The trail descends to bottom of the swampy valley and weaves between towering trees. You are soon wet and muddy to the knees. The mud has a rich smell of rot.

The lower branches of the tall trees slap you where they hang low over the path. The branches are covered with long sharp needles. They scrape your skin and sweep back to hit the next person in line. In places, you must choose between ducking down uncomfortably low under tree branches laden with spider webs, or detouring around the tree through wet, slippery, ankle-deep muck. Not all of it is hard going, however; there are little hills and for a few steps you climb on dry ground and dead leaves. From there, the flowering shrubs and swampy meadows are attractive. The trail winds to stay on this firm land as long as possible but soon descends again to slog over very wet ground again.

Ducking under a great fir, you straighten up to find yourselves in a more open area. Ahead is a flooded meadow is filled with bright green rushes and reeds putting on a spurt of new growth. Among the rushes and reeds, bright irises are in full bloom. There are two colors, deepest purple and a strong yellow. Each occurs in patches of several to a dozen blooms, bright against the green reeds. The sun is bright and the air slightly warm. Big black and yellow bees fly to the irises, their buzzes mingling into a consistent humming sound. Birds whistle from the trees. A trail splashes along the edge of the flowery meadow. There is standing water under the rushes. The trail turns under a big oak tree and leaves the meadow behind.

You hear a quiet but distinct cracking sound from the stand of grass and leaves beneath your left foot. [When the character lifts his or her foot:] When you lift your foot, you find it covered with light-coloured goo. Strands of the goo dangle from your foot, and some of those strands lead to shards of a light, slightly speckled shell.

The hanging moss and drooping tree branches part to reveal a small clearing next to a moving stream of clear water. You can actually hear the sound of the water moving as it swirls past a small statue of a Dwarf. Fashioned from dark marble, the figure is carved with an ornate suit of armor, sword and shield. Lichen and moss cling to its base, swayed by the motion of the water rippling past. Even a few golden fish dance beneath the sunlight-dappled surface as the birds sing a cheerful song above. This seems to be the only place in the mountain swamp where the choking torrents of green slime and brackish water do not touch, as if it’s protected by magic or another force – even the air smells fresher (Any food or drink placed against the statue will be purified). A short distance away, a watery grove of bent and misshapen trees pays homage like silent guardians to a broken and cracked circular tower. Its foundations stand in water, fractures giving evidence to how it has settled over time. Draping moss, creepers and vines curl through the stonework and in some places have sheared rock away from the wall, causing the tower to collapse. A foul smell lingers in the air, as if something dead is close at hand.

Suddenly, the crash of the thunder booms in the heavens above and shakes the earth and sky with a furious sound. Flashes of actinic white lightning slash across the dark clouds like sword blows against armor. The rain lashes down from the sky, driven by the stormy winds into a stinging torrential downpour, roiling the waters of the swamp and churning any solid ground into mud. All around the weeping willows and thin reedy trees sway in the fierce gusts and bend almost to the breaking point; the creaking of the bark under the pressure is an ominous sign.

As you step nearer to the ruins, the sound beneath your boots suddenly modulates from the “squishy” sound of the peat to something much more solid. It takes just a moment before you realize that you have stepped onto a piece of wood. [If the adventurers clear away the ground cover that is obscuring the wood:] When you peel back the layers of grass, moss, and vines, you see that several short planks of wood have been nailed together to form a set of double doors, each about three feet square, hinged to a wooden frame. Each of the doors bears a simple wooden handle. The entire frame has been set at a slight angle into the gently sloping sod. [If someone listens at the doors, make an appropriate check or die roll, then offer:] You hear the faintest sounds of scraping or scrabbling, but under these conditions you cannot be sure whether those sounds are coming from beyond the door or from somewhere behind or around you in the swamp. [If the adventurers open the door:] A musty smell of dead flesh and decaying plants wafts up at you from the hole beyond the door. A set of rotting wooden stairs [or substitute a ladder] leads down into the darkness.

Room#1: Guard Post: At the bottom of the stairs, a small pool of water splashes in from the opened door. It quickly escapes through a drain somewhere beneath the stairs. Powdered rust covers the ground around a metal door hanging akimbo in its frame, with darkness dominating the room beyond it. A faint but sharp metallic odor wafts out of that room, along with a mild breeze. No sounds are audible, though occasionally a bit of reddish powder moves in the draft. [Once some method of light is provided, the room’s contents are clearly visible.] The broken door’s other side is dominated by several large locks, though most are now rusting away. You enter onto a small platform raised some distance above the rest of the room’s floor. A ramp leads down from one side to the room proper. A low wall [3 feet high] runs across one section of the room, leaving a path from the ramp to a door in the opposite wall. The room is roughly square, though one corner has since collapsed into the room and scattered small rocks everywhere. What used to be some sort of furniture has been smashed in another corner, forming a pile of slowly decaying debris. A wide brownish splash of dried liquid dominates the far wall, as well as the metal door in that wall.

Room #2: Guard Barracks: The odors of rotting meat and ash hang heavy in the air, accompanied by the sounds of various scavengers. Even though the door to the next room is closed, buzzing and skittering are clearly audible. The door itself has some sort of marking, but the door is partially burnt and the marking illegible. The handle lies on the floor in several pieces, but the door itself easily swings open. Once the door is open the stench of rot is overpowering–several tables around the room are covered with steaks and other cuts of meat that have long since turned unhealthy colors. Thick black clouds of flies are kicked up when their pestilent feast is disturbed and some rats scamper across the floor to a hole in a corner. The bases of the walls are lined with various forms of slowly decaying bedding, all of which looks heavily abused. A wooden mug lies on its side on the floor, a large stain in front of it where the contents spilled. Empty racks line the walls next to the door. Another metal door lies at the opposite end of the room. The door opens to reveal a spiral staircase carved out of stone, leading upwards, into the above-ground remains of the crumbling tower.

Room #3: Crumbling Tower: The remains appear to once have been a circular tower, two stories tall with a wooden roof. Age and the swamp have taken their toll on the structure, and now all that remains above ground is a roughly circular stone floor surrounded by tumbled blocks and rotten wood. The center of the floor holds two circular staircases descending downwards into the darkness. There is no cover from the sky, and downwards is the only escape from the swamp.

Room #4: Mining Tunnel: The room is small, only ten feet wide and deep. The floor must be lower here, because water sloshes about your ankles as you move through this area. The water level was apparently waist high at one point, as you can see the watermark along the walls and upon the door itself. Thick moss grows in patches along the ceiling overhead, tingeing the stagnant-smelling water with an earthy scent. There is one door in this room, made of metal. Examining the door, you find the handle is thoroughly rusted, and the keyhole is filled with dried mud. [It will take two rounds to clear the mud from the lock if it is to be picked.] The room itself appears to have been built of quarried stone blocks, and is not human in construction. The spiral staircase seems to have pierced an older chamber from above, as the blocks of stone that make it are of a more recent construction.

Room #5: Collapsing Tunnel: The roof is low and irregular. Large sections sag down low enough that tall party members must duck their heads. The floor of the passage is littered by loose pieces of flat rock [mostly slate] that appear to have fallen from the ceiling. Most of the floor is covered in ankle-deep swamp water, but here and there is a slightly raised floor stone with a dry top. In one spot there is a dark puddle on the rocky floor and a drop of water falls periodically, splashing into the puddle. The air smells strongly of wet stone. The walls are generally smooth and unaffected by the steady deterioration of the roof.

Room #6: The passage is narrow and the roof is low. Roots of trees above dangle down into the pathway, pale and feathery. The stones underfoot are irregular, and still waterlogged. The floor seems to be built from poorly laid large blocks. Old timbers support the sides and roof of the passage. Most of them are intact and solid, but here and there one has slipped to tilt and provide no support for the roof. Often where a support timber has slipped, a pile of dirt has accumulated on the floor against the wall. Water has left much slime on the floor and it smells slightly sour. A tiny glow is visible under the shallow water – {An average sized gemstone (pure black onyx) with a glowing symbol on it, if the power word “Acba” is spoken it casts a 12” diameter light around itself for 1 hour.}

Room #7: Ancient Dwarven Passage: The passage here is supported and apparently reinforced on both sides by great blocks of stone. The stones are skillfully cut and fitted to hold snugly without mortar. In addition, the stone work is quite beautiful. Great care was employed in building the walls to fit different shades, shapes and sizes of rock together so that it makes a handsome mosaic. You start seeing patterns in the rock shapings—of bears in their dens, pool-filled caverns and great worms—and soon realize that the images are really there; it is not unlike imagining cloud-shapes. The elegant rockwork ends shortly, and a more usual natural rock formation reappears on both sides.

Room #8: Low Passage: The old timbers used to support the crumbling walls and ceiling have all but given way. The ceiling sags so low for a ten-foot stretch of hallway that humans must crawl on their bellies to make their way past (anything larger than a human will have to remove all its armor and bulky clothes to squeeze underneath). Unfortunately, the water in this section is still between six and twelve inches deep, meaning that at a few points their heads will be submerged below the inky black fetid water as they struggle under the collapsing roof. To make matters worse, any violent activity nearby will cause the final timbers to give way completely, and the ceiling will tumble into the hallway, blocking it off permanently. At the end of the hallway is an unusual door; made of metal, but circular and shaped like the cog of a giant machine, it sits in a grooved track-way, waiting to be rolled open like a huge wheel. The door is locked, but also magically sealed, so that only a Dwarf may open it. The stone wall to the left of the door bears an inscription in Eastern: [“We came here to find Dwarf magic. Fought off monsters. Built a guard tower. Spent months digging out the tunnel. Found the door. Can’t get through. Waste of an entire year.”]

Room #9: Vault room: Any written material passing through the doorframe becomes garbled and useless. The room is spherical, about 20 feet in diameter and carved out of plain slate. The room is dimly lit by glowing five ceramic globes suspended in the air by unknown means roughly ten feet off the bottom of the floor. At the center of the room, hovering in the air is a sword, a Cutlass to be precise. Directly below it, on the floor is a small ugly creature desperately trying to jump high enough to grab it (a Zavor, hungry for the magic aura). The door only stays open for 15 seconds, and then closes again, sealing the creature (and adventurers) inside the room until the weapon is retrieved. The interior of the room is under the effects of an Anti-Gravity spell, causing all creatures (except for the Zavor) to float helplessly in the air. If the sword is removed the Anti-Gravity field stops working and the five ceramic globes fall to the ground with a crash, destroying them.
TREASURE:
Stormbringer the Marauder (Greater Rune Cutlass)

Exit from the Swamp: Despite the slow progress of tramping through muck and mud, you presently reach the edge of the swamp and head up the path out of it. The trail turns gravelly and the land seems solid, no longer waterlogged. The smells are much less intense and the humidity drops noticeably. Overhead the trees thin and the sun beats on you. Bird songs are fewer and more distant. Now the flowers are small and hidden on the ground amid thin, pale green leaves. A few of the biting flies follow you for several dozen paces, but then they too are gone. Only the mud remains, drying out to a hard cake on your legs and everywhere it splattered. [Of course, someone might find a leech sucking on their leg later in the day.]