Nightmare KeepOfficial Game Adventure

by Rick Swan

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9341 ISBN 1-56076-147-4

Nightmare KeepOfficial Game Adventure

by Rick Swan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.Prologue: Flies and Lizards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Chapter 1: Squirrels and Wasps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Chapter 2: Goldfish and Turtles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Chapter 3: Leeches and Butterflies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Chapter 4: Spiders and Worms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52New Magic: Rod of Immobile Insects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62New Monster: Lichling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Tables

Sensory Phenomena, Physical Encounters, Monster Summary . . . . . . . inside coversVeilstone Peaks map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . outside gatefoldWolover�s Keep map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . color mapsheetStronghold Levels 1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . color mapsheet

Credits

Design: Rick Swan Typesetting: Tracey ZamagneEditing: Allen Varney Cover Art: BromCartography: Dennis Kauth Interior Art: Valerie Valusek,Keylining: Paul Hanchette Ierry Dykstra

TSR, Inc.POB 756Lake GenevaWI 53147 USA

TSR Ltd.120 Church End, Cherry Hinton

Cambridge CB1 3LBUnited Kingdom

Welcome to Nightmare Keep, one ofthe most demanding adventures yourplayers will ever experience. Thechallenges awaiting within thesepages are intended for only the mostskilled, courageous, and resourcefulheroes of the Forgotten Realms. Novi-ces are advised to turn back now.

The following information isfor the DM only. Familiarize your-self with the entire module before be-ginning play.

PLAYERCHARACTERS

The adventure is designed forabout four to six player characters(PCs) of level 18-20, with a total ofabout 80-90 levels for the entireparty. The party should contain a bal-ance of classes, with warriors andwizards as optimum choices. Ideally,most PCs should have magical armor,a magical weapon, and fairly power-ful magical items.

SETTINGThe adventure is set in a remote

mountainous region of the ForgottenRealms, informally known as the Veil-stone Peaks. On the boxed campaignset�s maps, the Veilstone Peaks regionis northwest of Cormyr, about 50miles west of the Farsea Marshes.Though useful, the campaign set isnot necessary for play.

Maps and PlayingAids

The cover panel of the modulecover shows the Veilstone Peaks re-gion; the numbered areas are de-tailed in the Prologue and Chapter 1.All other maps, including those per-taining to Wolover�s Keep and the vastlabyrinth beneath (where the bulk ofthe adventure takes place), are in-c luded on the enc losed co lormapsheet.

The inside panels of the module

cover contain reference material, in-cluding the Sensory Phenomena andPhysical Encounter Tables (explainedin Chapter 3) and a summary of statis-tics for most of the monsters in theadventure. After the PCs completeChapter 1 and the Veilstone Peaksmap is no longer needed, unfold themodule cover and use it as a refereescreen, giving easy access to the ma-terial inside.

RUNNING THEADVENTURE

OrganizationThe adventure begins with the

events in the Prologue, where the PCslearn of a supernatural threat that ap-parently originates in Wolover�sKeep, a centuries-old castle in the des-olate Veilstone Peaks.

The four chapters following thePrologue contain the bulk of the ad-

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venture�s events and encounters. ThePCs most likely experience the chap-ters in order. Chapter 1 details theparty�s investigations of the VeilstonePeaks communities and WoloverKeep. Chapters 2-4 describe the laby-rinth beneath the keep, with its manytraps and minions.

Each chapter begins with an over-view providing background informa-tion, including physical descriptions,playing notes, and other pertinent in-formation. To help you track the par-ty�s progress, each overview detailsthe chapter�s major goals and discov-eries.

Boxed text should be paraphrasedor read directly to the players.

TimeKeep track of the passage of time on

a piece of scrap paper. Since much ofthe adventure takes place under-ground, it may be difficult for the PCsto keep track of days and nights.Though it�s seldom important toknow the precise hour of the day, youshould know when a day has passedfor the purpose of recovering lost hitpoints, relearning spells, and so on.

Game BalanceJudging this adventure can be chal-

lenging, since it is meant for an excep-tionally formidable group of playercharacters. Here are some tips forkeeping high-level PCs under control:

● If the party is having too easy atime, you may increase (1) the fre-quency of Sensory Phenomena andPhysical Encounters, (2) the num-ber of monsters, and (3) the lethal-ity of traps.

● Only allow Intelligence checkswhere indicated in the text. Other-wise, make the players rely ontheir own ingenuity to solve puz-zles and make decisions.

● Be prudent when adjudicatinghigh-level spells. In particular, payattention to wish spells, avoiding

any result that significantly unbal-ances the game. (See The CompleteWizard�s Manual for tips on judg-ing wishes). Also, be conservativeregarding the quality of informa-tion revealed by divination spells.It�s possible, for instance, that themost likely response to communeis �I don�t know.�

DM�sBACKGROUND

In centuries past, a female wizardnamed Icelia held a position as one ofthe Witches of Rashemen, a group ofpowerful spellcasters whofunctioned as the true leaders of theirland. Though the Witches wieldedconsiderable power in Rashemen,Icelia�s ambitions extended far be-yond the boundaries of her home-land; she longed for nothing less thandomination of the entire world.When her colleagues learned of Ice-lia�s schemes, they expelled her fromthe ranks of the Witches and exiledher from Rashemen. Undeterred, Ice-lia abandoned her mortal existenceand consummated her lust for powerby becoming a lich.

Icelia knew that other liches beforeher had tried and failed to establishenduring kingdoms, and she was de-termined not to repeat their mis-takes. Icelia concluded that theineptitude and cowardice of thesewould-be conquerors� minions led totheir downfall. If Icelia�s dreams ofconquest were to bear fruit, shewould need the support of an armyfar more formidable than the ineffec-tual hordes commanded by thosewho came before her.

As Icelia searched for a suitable lo-cation to establish a base, she stum-bled upon a keep in the desolateregion of the Veilstone Peaks. Thekeep belonged to Amry Wolover, awizard of impressive talent who wasengaged in agricultural experimentsmeant to benefit the poor farmers ofthe surrounding villages. Icelia mur-

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dered Wolover, assimilated his knowl-edge, then constructed an elaboratestronghold beneath the mountainswhere she would create an army ofminions from the flesh of her ownbody.

Years passed, and Icelia evolved intoa demilich of staggering power. Sheeventually transformed her originalbody into an immense incubating huskto spawn her minions: a multitude ofinsectile �lichlings� that she wouldsome day lead on a conquest of theworld of the living. She also retrievedthe spirit of Zhorach, a loyal aide fromher days as a Witch of Rashemen, andreincarnated him as a ghost. Zhorachnow serves as the guardian of herskull, which is disguised as a spectralvessel drifting endlessly on a lake deepin her stronghold.

Like all developing creatures, thelichlings need nourishment to grow.But instead of organic food alone, thesupernatural lichlings also require adiet of emotions. Specifically, theyfeed on the fear generated by livingvictims, along with the emotionaltrauma of victims suffering physicaldamage; the lichlings transform thisfear and trauma into nourishing en-ergy.

To generate that fear, Icelia deviseda deadly labyrinth filled with lethaltraps and vicious minions. Lured bypromises of great fortune, treasurehunters entered the labyrinth andmet ghastly fates. The enchantedwalls and surfaces of the labyrinthabsorbed the fear and trauma gener-ated by the doomed intruders, magi-ca l ly d i spers ing the negat iveemotions throughout the strongholdto nourish the hungry lichlings.

For centuries, Icelia has beenspawning infant lichlings and luring asteady supply of human intrudersinto the keep to feed them. The lichl-ings continue to thrive and grow, andsoon they will mature. When thattime arrives, Icelia�s dreams of con-quest seem almost certain to cometrue.

SPECIALUNDERWATERRULES

Some encounters in this adventuremay occur underwater. The follow-ing rules adapted from the Player�sHandbook and the Dungeon Master�sGuide, may prove helpful. (For moredetail, see the �Underwater Combat�section of Chapter 9 in the DMG.)

Drowning: The base amount oftime a character can hold his or herbreath, in rounds, is equal to 1/3 of the

Constitution score, rounded up. Thisassumes that the character had thechance to take a deep breath beforesubmerging. If the character did nothave the chance to take a deepbreath, the base time is cut in half(rounded up). Regardless of any appli-cable penalties, any character canhold his or her breath for at least oneround.

When the base time expires, a sub-merged character must make a Con-stitution check once per round, witheach check after the first taking a cu-mulative +2 penalty to the roll (for

instance, there is a +2 penalty for thesecond round, a +4 penalty for thethird round, and so on). A characterwho fails a check has drowned.

Fighting in water: Submergedsurface dwellers suffer a -4 penaltyto their attacks. This penalty is cut inhalf if the character has a proficiencyin Swimming. A character not im-mersed in water who tries hit an im-mersed opponent also suffers a -4attack penalty.

These penalties don�t apply to crea-tures native to an aquatic environ-ment.

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The adventure begins on a secludedhillside surrounded by tall trees,about 50 miles west of the FarseaMarshes (area 1 on the VeilstonePeaks map).

On a chilly autumn afternoon, thePCs have gathered at the request ofKing Azoun IV, the King of Cormyrand an old friend and ally of the PCs(or of the PCs� relatives or compan-ions). A message delivered throughdiscreet diplomatic channels sum-moned the PCs here to learn about �amenace that threatens not only Cor-myr, but the entirety of the Realms.�

The PCs were asked to come alone,leaving their retainers and body-guards at home, and to bring what-ever weapons and gear they feltwould be necessary for a dangerousmission. Details would be providedby an emissary of the King namedBalko Verdemeer, described as ashort plump man with bushy whiteeyebrows and a bald head. Balko is tomeet the PCs exactly at noon. It isnow 10 minutes before the desig-nated hour.

If the PCs suspect the King�s sum-mons, assume that they have usedtheir own resources to verify the au-thenticity of the request and thetrustworthiness of Balko.

An ominous day. A cold windblows through the trees, scatteringbrown autumn leaves.

You, the mightiest warriors andmost powerful mages in all the land,were summoned here by a crypticmessage from the King of Cormyr.You�re all impatient, for you have du-ties elsewhere that require your at-tention. Yet you know that the Kingwould not bother you with anythingless than an emergency.

Your thoughts are interrupted bythe sounds of galloping hooves fromthe east. Eight black stallions ap-proach, huge and strong. Theycarry armored warriors who beargleaming shields emblazoned with

the sign of the purple dragon, theroyal emblem of the King of Cor-myr. The lead rider is a short,plump, bald man with bushy whiteeyebrows.

He lifts his hand, and the horsesstop. The bald man dismounts.�Good day, my friends,� he says, �Ibring greetings from my king.� Hiswords are friendly, but his tonesounds grim.

THE THINGIN THE BOX

The bald man is Balko Verdemeer,the emissary of Azoun IV, the King ofCormyr. (Use Generic Elite Villagerstatistics from the Monster SummaryTable, found on the inside cover ofthe module). The other seven war-riors are his aides and bodyguards(use Generic Exceptional Villager sta-tistics).

Balko approaches the PCs and in-troduces himself. His aides dismountand stand guard near their horses,their darting eyes alert for intruders.

�My King apologizes for any incon-venience this meeting has causedyou,� says Balko, as he sits gentlyon a tree stump. �But he felt thatonly the strongest and bravestwarriors of the Realms could standagainst this threat. He chose ac-cordingly.

�As for the nature of the threat,�continues Balko, �words fail me.Best to see for yourself.� He snapshis fingers, and an aide brings overa small wooden box. Balko care-fully opens the lid, glances inside,and shudders. Hands trembling, hepresents the open box to you.�Look,� he says.

Lying on a silken cushion in thebottom of the box are the dried re-mains of a bizarre creature. It�sabout six inches long. It looks like a

large black cockroach with skinnyhuman arms and legs, a pair of rag-ged gauzy wings, and a grinninghuman skull for a face. Its mouth islined with hooked fangs. It�s gro-tesque, but not exactly the �horrorincarnate� you heard about.

The remains are those of a newmonster, a lichling (see page 63). ThePCs may examine the creature if theywish; its bony corpse is dried and coolto the touch, its skull is chalky. Thecorpse smells faintly of rotten meat.Spells such as legend lore reveal onlythat the creature is of supernaturalorigin.

Some PCs may wonder why Balkoseems so intimidated by the lichling.

Balko tells you, �We found these re-mains four months ago, next to thecorpses of a Cormyr explorer andhis horse in the foothills of the Veil-stone Peaks. Both the explorer andthe horse were completely muti-lated.

�We looked around for signs ofsimilar creatures, but we foundnothing. Some of Cormyr�s bestscholars and wizards have lookedat this thing. They say the creaturewas insect-like, as though wecouldn�t already tell that; but theycouldn�t discover its origin. Butthey said this: If more things likethis exist, and they breed like nor-mal insects, there may be dozensor even hundreds of them matur-ing somewhere. Can you imaginethe damage that swarms of thesethings could cause?

�And that is why the King calledyou. He asks you to find this crea-ture�s origin and whether thereare others like it. And if so, hewants you to destroy them.�

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DeadlyDemonstration

Though the PCs are probably sympa-thetic to Balko�s dilemma, they maywell wonder why they�re needed for ajob that appears to be trivial. Balkosays, �If you wonder why we need he-roes with your reputation,� and here hemotions to another aide, �watch this.�

The aide brings a canvas bag andanother small box. Balko kneels onthe ground, indicating for the partyto do the same. The aide removes ahandful of kindling from the bag,along with a large glass jar filled withbuzzing flies. The aide lights a smallfire, then inverts the jar of flies, hold-ing it high over the flames so thatblack smoke drifts through the holesin the wooden lid. One by one, theflies succumb to the smoke, droppinglistlessly.

When all flies have succumbed tothe smoke, the aide extinguishes thefire, then opens the jar and dumpsthe flies on the ground. The fliescrawl aimlessly over the blades ofgrass, too debilitated from the smoketo fly away. The aide opens the boxand dumps a pair of small green liz-ards next to the crawling flies. Thelizards cock their heads at the PCs,then notice the flies. Tongues flicking,the hungry lizards begin to stalk thehelpless insects. While the lizards en-joy their meal, the aide gently placesthe lichling remains on the groundnearby.

�Watch the creature,� says Balko tothe party.

As the lizards gulp down theflies, the remains of the creaturetwitch slightly. The creature is stillfor a moment, then begins to rockviolently, as if reacting to electricshocks.

Balko never looks away from thetwitching corpse. He says, �Wethink that, in the same way plantsfeed on sunlight and we feed on

meat and drink, this thing feeds onfear. You can see, this corpse is re-sponding to the fear that the fliesgive off while they�re being eatenby the lizards.�

He turns to you with fear in hiseyes. �We don�t know what thismeans. Except this: That creatureis an evil, unholy thing.�

Let the PCs ask questions or exam-ine the lichling. As the lizards feedand the husk twitches, Balko con-tinues with his story.

�As I say, we looked around theVeilstone Peaks, and we found anopening in the earth near an aban-doned keep. There were clawmarks near the opening thatlooked like the creature�s work.

�The keep itself�Wolover�s Keep,they call it�has a bad history. It�sone of those ruins that�s supposed tobe haunted and filled with treasure.It brings the usual treasure hunterswho go down under the keep andare never seen again.

�Now, there are a hundred ruinslike that all over the Realms. We hadno great interest in this one. Butwhen we found that it might be thisthing�s lair, we hired one of Cormyr�smost renowned mercenaries, a mannamed Lenzmin Tier. Ever hear ofhim? He�s the one with a magical bat-tle axe called Stonesplitter.�

Pause to let the players ask ques-tions. Balko answers them as best hecan, but he knows little more. Makesure the PCs understand the roster oftheir predecessors: Lenzmen Tier;Hakem and Kharla; and the Sons ofStone.

Balko says, �If you discover the ori-gin of the creatures and destroytheir nests, the King has autho-rized me to deed each of you a par-cel of prime Cormyran farmlandwith a guaranteed annual profit of25,000 gold. The King�s agricul-tural council will administer thefarms, free of charge.

�Also, Lenzmin Tier�s family hasoffered a reward of 10,000 goldpieces for his rescue or the returnof his copper bracelet, a familyheirloom. Kharla and Hakem�sheirs will pay a reward of 12,000gold to find out what happened tothem. And the King is also inter-ested in what happened to theSons of the Stone. If you can findout, he will present each of youwith a Silver Shield of Cormyr.

�And there is a personal favor Iask of you. It was a group of mymen who conducted the search inthe Veilstone Peaks for clues aboutthe creature. During the search,

The PCs have never heard of Tier. Ifyou wish, you can allow Intelligencechecks to those with appropriatebackgrounds or lore proficiencies.Those who succeed dimly recall leg-ends of Stonesplitter, an axe thatcould tunnel through solid rock.

Balko continues. �So Tier went intothe keep. That was three monthsago. We haven�t heard from himsince.

�Next we hired two of the King�s

most trusted wizards, a sister andbrother named Kharla and Hakem.Let me tell you, they had powerfulmagic. They entered the keep twomonths ago. They haven�t re-turned.

�At that point the King orderedthe Sons of Stone to storm thekeep. You know them: the most ex-perienced and skillful soldiers inthe King�s army. More than a hun-dred soldiers entered the keep amonth ago. Not a single soldier hasreturned.�

Balko�s steely eyes meet yours.�Now, do you want to talk terms?�

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one of them, a seasoned veterannamed Cord Shoddar, desertedfrom the group. He said he hadjust had a vision about the locationof a fabulous treasure. The othermen couldn�t find Shoddar. If youcapture this traitor or bring evi-dence of his death, I will rewardyou each with an amethyst amuletengraved with the visage of anowl, my personal emblem.�

A Silver Shield of Cormyr functionsas a large shield +1, +4 versus mis-siles. Balko�s amulets are worth 2,000gp apiece.

Questioning BalkoAt this point, Balko answers ques-

tions as described below; all his infor-mation is accurate. If the PCs don�task the right questions, Balko offersany of the following information youfeel they should have.

Can we keep the creature�scorpse? That�s fine with Balko. (Theremains are of no particular use tothe party.)

Where did you find the crea-ture�s corpse? How did it die?Using a stick, Balko draws a crudemap of the Veilstone Peaks region inthe dirt. Draw a rough sketch on apiece of scrap paper of the area rep-resented by the Veilstone Peaks Map.�It was here,� says Balko, indicating alocation in the foothills near a groveof trees. Make an �X� on the sketchmap indicating the approximate loca-tion of area 16.

�We don�t know how the creaturedied. It was dead when we found it.�(The lichling accidentally escaped fromthe labyrinth beneath Wolover�s Keepthrough a network of undergroundpassages. Unaccustomed to the surfaceworld and far removed from its natu-ral surroundings, the lichling diedwithin an hour after killing the Cor-myran explorer and his horse.)

Can we examine the bodies oft h e C o r m y r e x p l o r e r a n d h i s

mount? Balko mumbles somethingabout the impropriety of disturbingthe rest of the dead, but indicates anarea near the location where thecreature was discovered. �They areburied in a shallow grave.�

What can you tell us about thekeep? Who built it? How long hasit been standing? �The keep wasbuilt centuries ago by a mage namedAmry Wolover who used at as a labora-tory for agricultural research. Wedon�t know the exact nature of the re-search, except that it was supposed toincrease the productivity of thefarmers in the impoverished VeilstonePeaks villages. In any case, there wereno known results from the experi-ments. There are no records of whathappened to Wolover.�

Is the keep really haunted? �Thepeasants in the region think so, butthen they always do. No one has evercome back with a first-hand account.�

Is there treasure in the keep?�As far as we know, this is only a ru-mor. However, as far as the King isconcerned, any treasure you find isyours to keep.�

Where was Wolover from? �Hewas originally from Bedford.� He indi-cates an area in the foothills. Make an�X� on the sketch map indicating theapproximate location of area 12.

Have any investigations beenc o n d u c t e d i n t h e V e i l s t o n ePeaks villages? �The people arehard-working and honest, but theyare also ignorant and superstitious.We felt there was nothing to begained from such investigations. Youare welcome to ask around if youwish.�

Why all the secrecy? �The Kingwants to keep the discovery of thecreature and the investigation quiet,so as not to instigate a panic. That�swhy we asked you to meet us here,and not in a city where your pres-ence might raise questions.�

May we recruit volunteers orhire retainers to go with us?�The King feels that a small party

8

would attract the least attention andminimize rumors. However, the sizeof your party is up to you.�

Neither Balko nor any of his aidesaccompanies the PCs. �Pressing en-gagements elsewhere,� says Balkotersely. In fact, they�re afraid to getclose to the keep. The party cannotrecruit volunteers from the VeilstonePeak villages for the same reason.

How can we recognize Lenz-min Tier? Kharla and Hakem?The Sons of Stone? Your traitor-ous aide? �Tier is a stocky humanwho wears an eye patch and carriesan axe that glows green in the dark.The copper bracelet he wears is en-graved with stars.

�Kharla and Hakem are in theirmid-thirties and have fair skin,shoulder-length black hair, and wearred velvet robes.

�The Sons of Stone wear silverchest plates with an onyx embeddedin the center.

�My aide, Cord Shoddar, is about 40years old, has short blonde hair, andcarries a shield bearing the emblemof the purple dragon.�

DEPARTUREIf the PCs hesitate to accept the mis-

sion, Balko says, �If the rewardmeans nothing to you, then considerthis request a personal favor to theKing. And should you refuse this re-quest, the King may be predisposed ifyou need his assistance in the future.�

If the PCs accept the mission, Balkothanks them �on behalf of the Kingand the good people of the Realms.�Balko says that he will rendezvouswith them at this location in twoweeks� time; if the PCs have not yetcompleted the mission, Balko and hisaides will return here every threedays thereafter.

If the PCs have no further ques-tions, Balko and his aides mount theirhorses, wish the PCs luck, and rideeast towards Cormyr.

Proceed to Chapter 1.

About the VillagesThe villages of the Veilstone Peaks

are among the most destitute in theregion, thanks to their limited naturalresources and isolation from majortrade routes. Although linked bytrails, the villages tend to keep tothemselves. Communication betweenvillages, as well as with the rest of theoutside world, is limited.

A typical village is little more than acollection of crude single-roomhomes of wood and stone with a fewmodest shops and storehouses.Though unsophisticated, the villagersare honest, friendly, and hard-working, struggling to make a livingfrom their small farms.

All villagers are human (use typicalvillager statistics). With the exceptionof Garnerr (area 9 on the VeilstonePeaks map), each village is run by aconstable or sheriff elected by the cit-izens (use exceptional villager statis-tics for the constable).

Though most villagers are sympa-

DM's OVERVIEWThis chapter details the party�s in-

vestigations in the villages of the Veil-stone Peaks and the exploration ofWolover�s Keep. Use the VeilstonePeaks Map on the module cover andthe Wolover�s Keep Map on the colorinsert map for reference.

GoalsIn this chapter, the PCs should ac-

complish the following:� hear rumors and legends associ-

ated with Wolover�s Keep.� learn information about Amry Wo-

lover and his experiments.� discover the body of Cord Shoddar

(area 2 of Level 2 of the keep).� find a rusted black key in the cloak-

room of Wolover�s Keep that willhelp unlock the treasure roomdoor in Chapter 3.

� find the gate in the basement ofWolover�s Keep that leads to thesubterranean labyrinth.

Give the PCs a reasonable chance toattain these goals, but don�t rewardpoor playing or bad choices.

Climate and TerrainThe air in the Veilstone Peaks re-

gion is cool and dry. Daytime temper-atures range from the high 60s to themid-40s. Nighttime temperaturesplunge to the high 30s.

Most of the region is flat and empty,with a few areas of empty hills andsparse pasture land, and modestwoodlands of oak and birch. Becauseit is late autumn, most of the trees arebarren, their brown and scarletleaves scattered by gentle winds. Forthe most part, the rocky soil is unsuit-able for vegetation.

The mountains of the VeilstonePeaks rise 1,000-2,000 feet above sealevel. The peaks are solid rock, theirfaces smooth and sheer; normalmovement rates are halved.

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thetic to the party�s mission, none ofthem agree to accompany them to thekeep at any price.

Village EncountersEach village encounter includes the

following information:Size: The population of the village.Goods: All goods listed on the

Equipment Lists in Chapter 6 of thePlayer�s Handbook that are the indi-cated value or less are available forpurchase. For instance, if the valuelimit is 1 gp, soft boots (price 1 gp) arefor sale, but riding boots (price 3 gp)are not. No magical items are availa-ble in any of the villages.

Information Level: This indi-cates the quality of the information inthe village concerning Wolover�sKeep and the legends associated withit. Because of the general openness ofthe people, assume that the party hasno trouble finding talkative villagers.

Though willing to engage in smalltalk and idle gossip, most of the vil-lagers have nothing useful to sayabout the keep; they respond to suchinquiries with a shrug of the shoul-ders, or a slighting comment such as�Never heard of it� or �I don�t get outof town all that much.� If the PCsbrought the lichling remains (fromthe Prologue), the villagers are bothrepulsed and fascinated, but none ofthem can identify the creature orknow anything about it.

However, for every hour the PCsspend in a village, they encounter avillager with (more or less) useful in-formation about the keep. To deter-mine the information known by thevillager, consult the Keep Rumor Ta-ble below, and roll as follows:

Information Level A = 1d6Information Level B = 1d10Information Level C = 1d20If you wish, choose specific infor-

mation instead of rolling randomly.

Keep Rumor Table1-2: Villager claims to know some-

thing useful, �but I have to work sohard to make money to buy food, mymemory�s gone all cloudy.� If theparty gives a bribe of at least 1 gp (orthe equivalent in goods), roll again onthis table, treating any roll below 7 as7.

3-4: Says the keep is a dangerousplace, but has no specifics. �I�ve justheard it�s supposed to be bad.� He sayshe�ll pray for their safety.

5: �It�s haunted. It�s filled withghosts and evil spirits. They hate theliving.�

6: �Somewhere inside is supposedto be a king�s fortune in gold andjewels.�

7: �The man that built it�I don�tknow his name�experimented withpoison. Some of the poison seepedinto the ground and permanentlycontaminated the ground around thekeep.�

8: �The keep belonged to a wizardby the name of Wolover. He livedthere over a hundred years ago, Iheard. He was experimenting on in-sects, I think.�

9: �Wolover was a great wizard, buthe was also a great farmer�at least,that�s what I hear.�

10: �I don�t know who built thekeep or why, but I know this: Every-body who goes near it never comesback.�

11: �Of course the keep�s haunted.But it�s not the only haunted placearound here. You ought to check outGarnerr. That�s where undead walkthe forests.� If asked, the villagergives directions to Garnerr.

12: �The keep was built by a magenamed Wolover, hundreds of yearsago. He was a farmer who tried tofind ways to get rid of bad insects andmake crops grow faster. Don�t knowif he ever came up with anything.�

13: �I had a friend of a friend whowent up there once�can�t rememberhis name. Anyway, he said that youcould hear a humming noise coming

from the top floor. Sounds like ghoststo me!�

14: �My great-grandfather told meabout how a couple of hundred yearsago, there was a big earthquake thatshook the earth for a hundred miles.It knocked down trees and openedbig cracks in the ground. He said itwas caused by the ghosts in WoloverKeep.� (Actually, it was caused by Ice-lia, as she hollowed out areas deep be-neath the Veilstone Peaks to createher labyrinth. The villager�s sense oftime is much exaggerated; this hap-pened less than a century ago.)

15: �Up until the day he died, my fa-ther claimed that he saw a ghost upnear the keep. He said it looked like agiant cockroach with a human skullfor a head. The thing just cackled athim, then disappeared.� (If the PCsshow this villager the lichling corpsefrom the Prologue, the villager shud-ders and says it looks exactly like theghost his father described.)

16: �Many have gone to the keeplooking for treasure, but none havereturned. The greedy fools deservedtheir fates. Don�t you think that if thekeep held treasure that someonewould have found it a long time ago? Idon�t think there�s anything in there.�

17- 18: If the PCs ask the right ques-tions, the villager answers as follows,and also supplies directions to the in-dicated villages.

What do you know about un-d e a d w a l k i n g t h e s t r e e t s o fGarnerr?: (The PCs may have heardabout this in response 11 above.) �It�strue. Every day at dawn in the forestnorth of the village.�

Where can we find out aboutAmry Wolover?: �In Bedford. Hishometown. I think he�s still got rela-tives there.�

Where�s the best place to buygoods?: �Terrinton has the best se-lection in the area.�

Where�s the best place to buyweapons?: �There�s a weaponsmithin Anster named Eveneye. Just askaround.�

1 0

Where�s the best place to heargossip?: �I�d try Redronde. The bestgossips this side of Cormyr live there.�

19-20: If the PCs ask about any ofthe areas listed below, the villager an-swers as follows.

Area 11�Lilac Pond: �That�s apoison pond. Drink one drop, andyou�ll fall where you stand.�

Area 14�Roster of the Dead:�That was started years ago, by thepeople of Bedford, I think, as a memo-rial to all the people who ventured in-to the Veilstone Peaks and neverreturned.�

Area 13�Zone A or Area 15�Zone B : �For ages, people havetalked about experiencing visions ofwealth when they went up the moun-tains. The ones that followed the vi-sions never came back. I don�t thinkthere�s any treasure up there�atleast, no one�s ever found any, to myknowledge.�

The Chosen PCAt various points in this and subse-

quent chapters, a single player-character referred to as the �ChosenPC� will experience a specific phe-nomenon as described in the text.Pick a player, or roll randomly, to de-termine the Chosen PC. Select a newChosen PC whenever a new ChosenPC phenomenon is indicated.

The Chosen PC should be a charac-ter who has exhibited greedy tenden-cies in the past, or a character whoyou believe has an exceptional inter-est in treasure. If none of the PCs fitthis description, choose any PCwhom you wish to take a more activerole in the adventure.

ENCOUNTERKEY�VEILSTONEPEAKS MAP1. Meeting Place

Here in this hilly area, the party metBalko Verdemeer in the Prologue.

2. TrailBecause there is little interaction

among the communities, the trails inthe Veilstone Peaks regions are sel-dom traveled. However, at your op-tion, the party may encounter 1d4villagers (use generic villager statis-tics). They may be hunters, familieson an outing, or religions pilgrimscommuning with nature, as you pre-fer.

The villagers have InformationLevel A. If asked, the villagers give di-rections to their home village (thenearest village, or a village of yourchoice).

3. TerrintonPopulation: 1,400 Goods: 50 gpInformation Level: B

Thanks to their relatively fertilefarmlands that produce dependableharvests of apples, grapes, and otherfruits, Terrinton is the most prosper-ous village in the area, with the wid-est variety of goods for sale. However,they have no weapons for sale otherthan those priced at 10 gp or less onthe Equipment Lists in Chapter 6 ofthe Player�s Handbook. If the PCs askany merchant where to purchaseweapons, they are directed to the vil-lage of Anster. �Ask for the weapon-smith, Eveneye.�

4. MelcherPopulation: 870 Goods: 10 gpInformation Level: C

This village is strangely calm. Mostof the streets are empty, and the fewvillagers in evidence look drawn andsullen. Black candles burn on thedoorsteps of many of the homes. Ifthe PCs ask a villager what�s going on,he explains that the residents aregrieving the loss of their beloved ad-ministrator, a skilled diviner namedXamine (ZAM-min). �Insects de-stroyed our crops this year,� sniffs the

11

villager. �We faced starvation. Xaminewent to Wolover Keep to search forthe treasure. He was going to use thetreasure to buy food for us. He leftthirty days ago and has not returned.�

If the PCs offer to search forXamine, the villagers gratefully ac-cept. The villagers describe Xamineas a 50-year-old male who wears aneye patch over his left eye and a sil-ver medallion around his neck; themedallion is shaped like an eagle�shead. The villagers have no other in-formation about Xamine, except thatabout three months ago, Xamine heldseveral private meetings with astocky human who carried an axethat glowed green in the dark. (ThePCs may recognize the description ofLenzmin Tier from the Prologue.)The villagers don�t know what themeetings were about.

Just for offering to search forXamine, the villagers give the party aplate of black cookies made fromherbs and powdered minerals. Ac-cording to the villagers, the cookiescancel the effects of any poison.There are six cookies; eating a cookiehas the same effect as a neutralizepoison spell. Xamine prepared thecookies before he left and gave themto the villagers as a gift. If the PCs lo-cate Xamine, or return with his me-dallion, the villagers promise themsamples of other magical cookies.

As will be seen in Chapter 3,Xamine is dead. (He was conferringwith Tier about strategies for enter-ing the keep. Both men had misinfor-mation that led them wrong.) If thePCs return Xamine�s medallion toMelcher, the villagers make good ontheir promise and give them six greencookies, each of which functions as adose of potion of extra-healing. Thesecookies were also prepared byXamine.

5. Fishing BoysIf the PCs enter the area on the map

enclosed by the dotted line, they en-counter two boys (use typical villager

statistics) with fishing poles slung where s t reams o f sewage runover their shoulders. The boys� through the streets and the rancid airnames are Garf and Terrett; they live reeks of rotting garbage. There isin Hetchit. The affable boys ask the nothing of particular interest here.PCs their names, their homes, and However, the villagers aren�t particu-why they�re in the area, speculating larly good at bartering; for any availa-that such impressive-looking charac- ble item, they accept half the price onters must be on a very important mis- the Equipment Lists in Chapter 6 ofsion. the Player�s Handbook.

The boys have no particularly use-ful information for the party (theyare of Information Level A), but if theparty asks them anything about fish-ing, the boys tell them that the bestplace to fish in the area is Doff�s Lake.�Whatever you do, stay away from Li-lac Pond�it�s poisonous. You can gethurt just from breathing the air.� Ifasked, the boys offer directions toHetchit, Doff's Lake, and Lilac Pond.

7. Doff's LakeThis clear lake is thick with game

fish: pike, bream, loach, and innu-merable minnows. Any PC fishing inthe pond does so as if he or she hasFishing proficiency. A PC who actu-ally has Fishing proficiency catchestwice as many fish as normally al-lowed (see Chapter 5 in the Player�sHandbook).

6. HetchitPopulation: 610 Goods: 10 gpInformation Level: A

Hetchit is a small, dirty village

8. AnsterPopulation: 870Information Level: B

Goods: 5 gp

A wooden fence surrounds thispoor but neatly kept village. Chick-ens, goats, and other farm animalsroam freely in the streets.

The party may inquire about theavailability of weapons in this village;they might have learned about anoted Anster weaponsmith as a resultof a roll on the Keep Rumor Table orby inquiring in Terrinton. They aredirected to a shack on the outskirts oftown. This is the home of Eveneye(use exceptional villager statistics), animmensely overweight man about 60years old, with thin lips and squintyeyes. Eveneye proudly says that eachof his weapons is hand-made fromoak and is more effective than con-ventional weapons.

It takes the weaponsmith two fulldays to make any one weapon. He canmake any of the following at the givenprice (non-negotiable); each does thelisted amount of damage. The PCs canorder as many weapons as they like,but they must pay in advance.

1 2

Eveneye�s WeaponsWeapon Price DamageEveneye�s club 10 gp 1d6+1Eveneye�s mace 15 gp 1d6+2Eveneye�s javelin 15 gp 1d6+2

9. GarnerrPopulation: 1210 Goods: 30 gpInformation Level: A

Among the area�s larger villages,Garnerr is surrounded by forests ofoak trees, which the villagers use tomanufacture a variety of simpleproducts, including carts (30 gp), fur-niture (tables for 5 gp, chairs for 2gp), and small chests (2 gp).

The PCs may ask a villager aboutundead that supposedly lurk in theforest north of town; the party mayhave heard such rumors as a result ofa roll on the Keep Rumor Table. Thevillager becomes anxious. �You�veheard right,� he whispers. �At sun-rise, watch the woods just north of�King� Jenzen�s house. A zombie willcome out!� No one has a good descrip-tion of the zombie, and no one will gonear the area where the zombie alleg-edly appears.

If the PCs go to �King� Jenzen�shome�a modest wooden structurenorth of town, about 50 yards southof a thickly wooded area�he wel-comes them graciously. A pig-facedman of about 40 years with beadyeyes and a thin moustache (use excep-tional villager statistics), Jenzen is aself-proclaimed king; unlike other ad-ministrators in the Veilstone Peaksvillages, the rule of Garnerr is passedfrom father to son. However, Garnerris essentially self-ruling, since Jenzenremains in a drunken stupor most ofthe time.

Jenzen listens passively to what-ever the party has to say, more inter-ested in savoring the wine in his silvergoblet than engaging in conversation.Jenzen is attended by his aide, a 50-year-old priest named Lynce. Thepriest wears dark peasant clothes,

and he remains silent throughout theparty�s audience with Jenzen.

Lynce: 2nd-level priest; AL NG; AC10; MV 12; hp 7; THAC0 20; #AT 1;Dmg 1d4 (staff). Spells: 1st Level: 2.

If asked about the keep, Jenzensays he knows nothing about it. �It�ssupposed to be haunted. But whoknows? Or cares?� If asked aboutsightings of undead in the area, Jen-zen shrugs and says such reports areabsurd. Lynce has nothing to add.The party learns nothing useful atthis time.

If the PCs investigate the king�sgrounds at dawn, they notice thatshortly after the sun rises, Jenzenpokes his head out the north windowof his home and aims a silver rod to-wards the forest. If the PCs approachand ask what he�s doing, Jenzen tellsthem it�s none of their business.

If the PCs continue to watch, theynotice a robed figure appearing onthe edge of the forest. Jenzen aims hisrod at the figure. A beam of lightflares from the rod and strikes the fig-ure, who clutches his chest and col-lapses. Satisfied, Jenzen disappearsinto his home. If the PCs later ap-proach Jenzen, he again refuses todiscuss his actions.

If the PCs take no actions, but re-turn the following morning, thisscene plays out as described, as itdoes every morning.

If the PCs investigate the woodswithin 10 rounds after the figure col-lapses, they see that the figure hasrisen from the ground and is trying tosneak away; the PCs can easily inter-cept him. If more than 10 roundselapse, the figure loses himself in thewoods and eludes capture. (The PCscan also easily intercept the figure be-fore the king blasts him with the lightbeam.)

A hood conceals the figure�s face; ifthe party uncovers him, he is re-vealed to be Lynce. With the slightestcoercion from the party, Lynce con-

13

fesses that he plays out this ruse withthe unknowing Jenzen every morn-ing.

�About five years ago,� he explains,�the king got it into his head that he�dlost the respect of the villagers. He de-cided the best way to earn their re-spect was to make them fearful, andthe best way to make them fearfulwas to execute one of them at ran-dom each morning.

�I couldn�t talk him out of it, so Iconstructed a phony magical weaponfor him that blasts beams of harmlesslight. Every morning, I appear in thewoods, and Jenzen thinks I�m one ofthe villagers�he�s always too drunkto know the difference. He shoots meand I pretend to die. Afterwards, Isneak back to the house.� Lynce addsthat a real villager must have ob-served him rising one day, which ishow the rumors of undead walking inthe woods got started.

Lynce begs the party not to revealthe truth to Jenzen. �It�s a harmlessruse. You�ve got nothing to gain by ex-posing me.� If the party promises notto tell Jenzen, Lynce tells them any-thing he knows. �I�m a student of his-tory. I know more than most people.�If the PCs swear not to expose Lynce,and if they ask the right questions,Lynce furnishes the following infor-mation:

� Amry Wolover was a wizard of un-paralleled skill engaged in agricul-tural research that he hopedwould lift the entire VeilstonePeaks region out of poverty. �Hewas a good man with a good heart.�

� One of Wolover�s pet projects wasfinding a way to control pests. �Hewas working on two methods. Onewas to create a powerful poisonthat would kill insects and otherpests. The other was to develop aspecies of predator insects that fedon insects harmful to the crops.Neither method worked.�

� No one knows what happened toWolover. �He never left his keep.

Perhaps he�s still there.�

If the PCs betray Lynce to Jenzen (ifthey go back on their word, or refuseto make the promise in the firstplace), Jenzen rejects their explana-tion; nothing can convince him thatthe trusted Lynce is disguising him-self. Before the party leaves, thevengeful Lynce tries to cast destroywater and putrefy food and drink ontheir supplies. If the party protests,Lynce denies responsibility and Jen-zen defends him.

10. RedrondePopulation: 840 Goods: 10 gpInformation Level: See below

Sparse grain fields surround thisvillage of small but well-constructedwooden shacks. All villagers in Re-dronde have been mobilized to con-struct an intricate network ofirrigation ditches to expand the vil-lage�s agricultural prospects, a pro-ject they are struggling to completebefore winter. The hard work has puteveryone in a bad mood.

If the PCs interview the villagers,roll 1d6 once per hour on the KeepRumor Table (Information Level A);this information is given grudgingly,as if the villagers can barely toleratethe intrusion of the PCs. However, ifthe PCs volunteer to pitch in, the vil-lagers� attitude changes dramatically.For every hour the party spends dig-ging the ditches alongside the vil-lagers, roll 1d10 and add 10 to theresult when consulting the Keep Ru-mor Table. The now-friendly villagersare more willing to share theirchoicest bits of information and gos-sip.

11. Lilac LakeThis is a still lake of slightly yel-

lowed water that emits a powerfularoma of lilacs, noticeable from as faras 100 yards distant, growingstronger as the party nears. A 60' ring

of blackened earth surrounds thelake. The black earth appears to havebeen scorched by fire.

Centuries ago, Amry Woloverdumped the results of a failed experi-ment in the lake, an attempt to createa chemical that would kill farm pests.The lake was permanently pollutedby the magical chemical.

Any PC who comes within 20 yardsof the lake must save vs. poison or fallunconscious, succumbing to thefumes. The character immediatelysuffers 2d4 damage, plus 1d4 damageeach round thereafter until movedout of the black earth area. If the wa-ter contacts any PC�s skin, the PCmust save vs. poison or die; a success-ful save still means 3d6 damage.

12. BedfordPopulation: 580Information Level: C

Goods: 5 gp

This is a village of stone huts built inthe foothills of the Veilstone Peaks.The villagers farm small plots of pota-toes and peas in the rocky soil.

If the PCs ask about living relativesof Amry Wolover, villagers directthem to a home about a mile west oftown. �That�s Arlin Wolover�s place.You can�t miss it. Just look for thebirds.�

The villagers� directions lead theparty to a small stone hut built againstthe side of a barren hill. The tall treessurrounding the hut at first glanceappear to be lush with brown leaves,but closer inspection reveals that thetree limbs are covered with hundredsof tiny brown birds. A successful In-telligence check identifies the birds ascanaries. The canaries eye the partyimpassively. If the PCs disturb the ca-naries, they flutter away, only to re-turn to the trees moments later.

A smiling old man, at least 80 yearsold (use typical villager statistics),waves at the party from the doorway.Wisps of white hair cover his head. Apair of canaries perch on his shoul-der. �Visitors!� he exclaims. �Or per-

14

haps you�re shoppers? Can I interestyou in a fine . . . canary?�

The man introduces himself asArlin Wolover, then asks the party�snames and homelands, acceptingwhatever information they care to of-fer. He welcomes them inside his clut-tered home, filled with perches andbird cages. Canaries are everywhere,and the room reeks of droppings.

Arlin is honest, friendly, and wel-comes the company of the PCs, con-versing with them freely regardlessof whether they buy a canary (5 cpeach). If the PCs asks the right ques-tions, he supplies the following infor-mation:

� He is indeed the descendant ofAmry Wolover. �The last one, as faras I know. And if I don�t hurry upand find me a wife, there won�t beany more.�

� Amry was a great wizard and agreat farmer. Arlin doesn�t knowmuch about Amry�s agricultural re-search, except that some of itsought a way to increase the birth-rate of animals. �That�s where all ofthese canaries came from. Amry�scousin, Laudan, who built thisplace, loved canaries. Amry gavehim a mated pair of birds that weretreated with some kind of specialformula. The birds bred like crazy.In fact, all of these birds descendedfrom that original pair.� Arlinshows the PCs a canary nest thatcontains about 50 tiny eggs. �Theylay that many every few weeks.�The eggs and canaries radiateslight magic.

� If pressed, Arlin admits the canar-ies aren�t worth much. They don�tsing, they�re too scrawny to eat,and they usually don�t live longer afew months. �Which I suppose is agood thing. Otherwise, I�d be over-run with them.�

� Amry built Wolover Keep as a placeto conduct his research in private.�I don�t know what happened tohim, but it had to be something

bad. The place is crawling withghosts now�at least that�s what Ihear.�

� Rumors have spread for decadesabout the treasure supposedly hid-den in the keep, but nobody hasever found any. �That�s why Bed-ford is as small as it is. Everybodywent looking for treasure, andnone of �em ever came back.� Hedescribes a mountain cliff that liststhe names of hundreds of treasurehunters who never returned, in-scribed in the cliff by their families.If the PCs ask, Amry gives themgeneral directions to area 14.

13. Zone AShortly after the party enters this

area, the Chosen PC sees what ap-pears to be the glitter of gold in a pileof stones about 20 yards distant. Ifthe party investigates, they see nosigns of the gold.

The gold was an illusion generatedby the supernatural forces within thearea, created as a lure to draw thegreedy closer to the keep. This illu-sion attracted Cord Shoddar, Balko�straitorous aide (see Prologue).

14. Roster of theDead

The face of a stone cliff has been in-scribed with hundreds of names.From the condition of the inscrip-tions, some appear to have beencarved decades ago; others areclearly recent. Residents from the vil-lage of Bedford have been carvingthese names for generations as a me-morial to those who went into theVeilstone Peaks in search of treasureand never returned.

None of the names has particularsignificance to the party. However, ifa PC studies the roster for two con-secutive rounds, he notices that hisown name is listed. If he looks away,or summons a companion to look, hecan no longer find his name. Only onePC experiences this phenomenon, not

necessarily the Chosen PC. The phe-nomenon is a result of the supernatu-ral forces permeating the area.

15. Zone BShortly after the party enters this

area, the Chosen PC collapses to theground and lapses into unconscious-ness (no saving throw). He can be re-vived by a slap from a companion,water in the face, or similar stimuli.

While unconscious, the Chosen PCexperiences a vivid vision of an im-mense golden door studded withblack diamonds. Three keyholes arecentered the door. The door swingsopen to reveal mountains of dia-monds, emeralds, and other preciousgems. (As with the Area 13 illusion,this vision is intended to draw thegreedy closer to the keep.)

16. Burial MoundNear a grove of leafless trees is a

mound of earth. This covers the re-mains of the soldier and his mountdiscovered by Balko Verdemeer�s men(see the Prologue). The remains are ahuman corpse and a horse corpse;both bodies have been clawed andshredded, as if attacked by a viciousanimal. There is nothing of interestburied with the bodies.

A few yards from the grave is an 8inch-diameter hole in the side of agranite hill. This is where the lichlingemerged that attacked the horse andrider. If the PCs examine the hole,they see claw marks defacing its cir-cumference. The PCs cannot deter-mine what type of creature made theclaw marks.

If the PCs can enter the hole (per-haps by consuming a potion of dimi-nution), they discover an intricatetunnel network that winds deep intothe earth. Following the tunnel sys-tem proves futile; the empty tunnelstwist and turn for dozens of miles.(The lichling found its way to the sur-face world by traveling through thistunnel system from the stronghold

15

Wolover used these fields to test hisvarious magical pesticides and fertil-izers. Though the fields aren�t poison-ous, the earth is so contaminated thatno plants can grow here.

18. Wolover's Keep

below the keep.)

17. Empty FieldsThese sprawling acres of tilled soil

are primarily notable for their utterlack of vegetation; not a single bladeof grass nor the tiniest weed growshere. Some areas smell faintly of lilac,some of cinnamon, and some of alco-hol.

An icy wind chills you as you stareat the old stone tower before you.It looks empty, dark, and grim as acrypt. Its windows are shattered.The tarnished copper door isclosed.

Though the keep once comprisednumerous buildings, only the centraltower remains somewhat intact; therest of the keep consists of crumbledwalls filled with rubble and debris.Behind the keep is a well shaft 500�deep, once the keep�s main water sup-ply, now dry and useless.

The black granite tower is about150� in diameter and many storiestall, but only the first four levels areaccessible (see below); the rest are ru-ined. There are 4�×4� broken win-dows on all but the first floor. PCsable to climb walls can scale the sideof the keep and enter any window.Otherwise, the party may open thecopper door, the only ground en-trance to the tower. (See #1 on thekey below.)

When the PCs enter the keep, con-tinue with the Wolover�s Keep MapKey.

ENCOUNTERKEY�WOLOVER�SKEEP

General InformationAmry Wolover built the keep sev-

eral centuries ago to serve as both hishome and a laboratory in which toconduct his magical research. Thetower is made entirely out of granite,except for the interior wooden doors.The doors are splintered and rotten.Those not already ajar are unlockedand easily opened.

All objects of value are long gone,taken by looters or rendered uselessby the ravages of time. Hundreds ofwould-be treasure hunters have beendrawn to the keep over the ages, mostof whom have disappeared throughthe gate in the basement (see below),never to return. A close examinationof the floor throughout the tower re-veals numerous scuff marks, made bythe boots of previous intruders.

The air is cool, damp, and musty.There are no light sources, natural orotherwise. Except where indicated,the tower is as silent as a tomb.

LEVEL 1This level contains Wolover�s living

quarters. Within a few rounds afterthe party has entered this level, theyhear intermittent scratching soundscoming from above, as if clawed crea-tures were trying to dig through theceiling. (A pair of giant squirrels ismaking the sounds. See the Level 2section for details.)

1. Copper DoorThe tarnished copper door is fea-

tureless, except for a single thick ring,about a foot on diameter, on the rightside. Any PC who succeeds in aStrength check pulls open the door;any two PCs working together can pullopen the door automatically. The cop-

per hinges squeak loudly as the dooropens. Musty air drifts out from inside,stale and cold. The interior is pitchblack.

2. Entry WayThis room is empty, except for a

pair of 1�-tall ivory statues in the up-per corners of the north wall. Thestatues resemble tiny humans withbloated bellies, leathery wings, andspindly arms ending in long claws.The statues beat their wings, wavetheir arms, and clack their teethwhen the party enters; however, theydon�t move from their corners.

Originally, Wolover constructedthese statues to attack any unauthor-ized visitors, but over the centuriestheir enchantments have waned. Nowincapable of conducting attacks, theycan do nothing but clack and wave.

3. Cloak RoomThree empty iron hooks extend

from the wall that Wolover used tohang his coats. A filthy, ragged gar-ment lies crumpled in the southwestcorner. This is a cloth waistcoat, rot-ted and torn. A pattern of small cir-cles covers the garment; Woloverfavored this pattern.

A small black key is in the leftpocket; the iron key is covered withrust. The key doesn�t fit any lock inthe keep; it�s one of three keys neededto unlock the treasure room door inChapter 3. (Every treasure huntertakes this key, but it returns here af-ter the hunter meets the customarydoom. Icelia has made this enchant-ment undetectable.)

4. Wood RoomWolover used this room to store

cords of wood to fuel his furnace(Area 5), but now nothing remainsbut a small pile of moldy sawdust.

5. FurnaceThis is a spherical iron furnace, fu-

16

eled by wood, that Wolover used toheat the tower during the coldmonths of winter. An exhaust tubeleads though a screened hole in thewest wall to expel smoke. Three thickiron rods, now covered with rust, ex-tend upward through the tower. Therods were enchanted to conductheat, but the magic no longer func-tions. If the party starts a fire in thefurnace, this level warms up, but theupper levels don�t.

6. StudyUsed by Wolover as a study, most of

this room has been destroyed bylooters and the passage of time.Against the south wall are what origi-nally were chairs, tables, and book-shelves; they�re now little more thanpiles of sawdust and rotten planks.

Against the west wall, Wolover�slarge oaken desk has survived more orless intact. But all the drawers havebeen pulled out and demolished, theircontents�pencil stubs, broken glass, afew buttons, some rotted and indeci-pherable parchments�scattered onthe floor. Likewise, a large bookshelfnext to the desk has been toppled, thecontents�books, parchments, notes�piled in the northwest corner; the pilenow resembles a mound of blacksludge, interspersed with planks of rot-ten wood and a few illegible scraps ofparchment that haven�t completely rot-ted away.

If the party disturbs the debris pile,they arouse a nest of immature mega-locentipedes, who scramble from thedebris and try to bite random PCs.The young megalocentipedes, eachabout a foot long, fight to the deathbut will not leave this room.

Young megalocentipedes (6): Intnon; AL N; AC 7; MV 15; 2 hp each;THAC0 20; #AT 1; Dmg nil; SA poi-son (bitten victim must save vs. poi-son or suffer 1d6 acid damage); SZT; ML 5; XP 35.

Two rounds after the PCs disturbthe young megalocentipedes, themother megalocentipede who wasscrounging for food in the library(area 7) scuttles through the northdoor of the study and attacks the PCsfor threatening her babies. The mega-locentipede fights to the death, pur-suing anywhere in the keep.

Adult megalocentipede: Int ani-mal; AL N; AC 5; MV 18; HD 3; hp21; THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg 1d3; SApoison (bitten victim must save vs.poison, failure means death, suc-cess means 2d4 acid damage); SZ M;ML 10; XP 175.

If the PCs defeat the centipedes andsearch the debris pile, they may dis-cover several interesting documents,each specially treated by Wolover towithstand the passage of time. Ittakes 10 rounds of searching to locateeach document:

� Some general notes about an ex-periments involving the acceler-ated growth of farm animals.Though the details are vague, theexperiments apparently were fail-ures.

� Notes about a project to developpredator insects to feed on insectsharmful to agricultural crops. Be-low these notes is a diagram for theconstruction of a rod that the notessay will �disperse swarms of all in-sect life. Keep near hatchery foremergencies.� The rod, about twofeet long, appears to be made ofgold with a white pearl on the end.The party can�t manufacture sucha device from these sketchy notes.

� A scrawled note with the word IM-PORTANT written in large lettersacross the top. Underneath is writ-ten SUBSTANCE 2C/XA NEGATESSUBSTANCE S3/A. (These sub-stances are experimental materi-als, stored elsewhere in the keep.Substance S3/A is a highly poison-ous experimental fertilizer and

pesticide combination. Substance2C/XA negates the effects of the S3/A poison.)

7. LibraryIf the party didn�t disturb the debris

pile in area 6, the megalocentipedelurking in this room attacks as soon asthe PCs enter (see area 6 for details).

Wooden bookshelves once lined thewalls of this immense room fromfloor to ceiling, but all have been top-pled and smashed. The remains ofhundreds of books are strewn on thefloor, their pages crumbled to dust.

If the PCs look through the mess,they find a few reasonably intactleather covers that indicate the typeof books kept here. Typical titles in-clude The Gentleman Farmer, Mod-ern Alchemical Fertilizer Techniques,Merk�s Guide to Animal Husbandry,and Chickens: From the Egg to theDinner Table.

8. Personal QuartersScattered about this room are the

broken and rotten remains of a smallnight stand, a featherbed and severalcotton blankets, and a wooden chest.There is nothing of interest.

9. ClosetThere are several iron hooks im-

bedded in the wall, all empty. Severalfilthy shirts and pairs of torn cottontrousers are strewn on the floor, allemblazoned with small circles.

10. LavatoryThis room contains a broken

wooden table, a cracked ceramicchamber pot, a rusty metal wash ba-sin, and nothing of interest.

11. KitchenBroken cups, plates, and goblets fill

the floor, along with an assortment ofdented pots and kettles. A woodencupboard has been tipped and

17

smashed. Splintered shelves danglefrom the walls. There is nothing hereof interest.

12. PantryThis storage area for food and

spices is as thoroughly devastatedand uninteresting as the kitchen.

13. TrapdoorIn the middle of the floor is a 5 foot-

square trapdoor with a rusted ironring in the center. If any PC lifts thering, the door opens easily; a strongaroma of oranges wafts from below.Springs attached to either side of thedoor from below automatically closethe door if no one holds or props itopen. Minor magic has kept the trap-door functional over the decades.

The trapdoor leads to a granitestairway. If the PCs take the stairs,proceed to the Basement section, be-low.

14. StairwayThis stairway leads up. If the PCs

take the stairs, continue with theLevel 2 section.

LEVEL 2This level contains the laboratory

where Wolover conducted much of hisresearch. As soon as the party entersthis level, they hear a faint buzzingsound coming from above. The buzz-ing persists as long as the party re-mains on this level. (An immenseswarm of wasps is the source of thebuzzing. See the Level 4 section). ThePCs no longer hear scratching; thesquirrels in area 3 have stopped mov-ing.

1. StairwayThese stairs lead down to Level 1.

At the top of the stairs is a dark stain,resulting from streams of liquid seep-ing from the doorway above. Closeexamination reveals the liquid to be

dried blood. (The source of the bloodis the body in area 2.)

2. Wash RoomAgainst the north wall stands a

wooden table containing a rustymetal wash basin, an empty glasspitcher, and a few soiled cotton rags.Sprawled on the floor is the corpse ofa man lying in a pool of dried blood,which has seeped through the eastdoor and trickled down the stairs.The corpse is torn and shredded, as ifattacked by a large animal. If the PCslisten near the west door, they hearnothing.

The corpse is a man, about 40, withlong blonde hair. He still clutches ashield bearing the emblem of a purpledragon. This is Cord Shoddar, themissing aide of Balko Verdemeer,whom the PCs learned about in thePrologue. When the squirrel in area 3attacked him, he tried to flee, butdropped before he could get to thestairway. The squirrels lost interest in

him and didn�t pursue.On the body are a short sword, a

dagger +1, and a bag containing 21gp, 40 sp, and a turquoise chunkworth 30 gp.

3. LaboratoryThis large room is where Wolover

performed many of his experiments.Clinging to the east wall, almost nearthe ceiling, is a gray squirrel, nearly10' long. (A second squirrel lurks inroom 8.)

These were once normal squirrelsthat came through the west windowin search of food. The creatures madea nest in room 8. After they nibbledon the contaminated bones in the dis-section room (see area 4), the magicalchemicals retained in the bonescaused the squirrels to grow. Theyeventually swelled to their currentsize, becoming extremely vicious inthe process.

Modified gray squirrels (2): Int

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animal; AL CN; AC 6; MV 15; HD7 +2; hp 51 each; THAC0 13; #AT3; Dmg 2d4/2d8/2d6; SA + 1 attackbonus due to extreme viciousness;SZ L; ML 12; XP 650.

As soon as a PC enters this room(whether by door or window), thesquirrel on the wall drops and at-tacks, slashing and snapping at ran-dom PCs. Two rounds later, thesquirrel from room 8 joins its com-panion the attack. The squirrels fightto the death, pursuing the party any-where in the keep.

The laboratory floor is littered withsmashed flasks, bottles, and tubes. Allthe glass is dark green; the opaqueglass prevented chemicals from be-coming inert as a result of exposureto light. Various colored powders,herbs, and salts surround toppledmetal shelves near the west wall. Twolarge marble tables are discoloredwith light stains that smell vaguely ofvinegar, sulfur, and charcoal. Three

iron rods rise from the floor in thesouthwest corner and extend to theceiling. These rods extend from thefurnace on Level 1; the heating rodsare no longer functional.

There is nothing of interest here.

4. Dissection RoomHere Wolover dissected experimen-

tal animals. The room contains ametal table splattered with darkstains (an Intelligence check identifiesthem as blood stains); a shelf contain-ing a few metal probes and clamps (anIntelligence check identifies them asdissection tools; anything usable as aweapon is long gone); and a toppledmetal barrel, its contents spilled onthe floor.

In the barrel are bloodstained rags,broken probes, and a few gnawedbones. An Intelligence check identi-fies these as chicken and frog bones.However, the bones are several timesthe size of normal bones.

These are bones from experimentalanimals that Wolover treated to growlarger than normal. The bones retaintraces of chemical residue, but notenough to affect the PCs; chewing onthese bones caused the transforma-tion of the squirrels in area 3.

5. First Aid RoomUsed to store Wolover�s first aid

supplies and other materials, thisroom is a jumble of debris: broken ta-bles, shattered green glass, andshredded cotton toweling. A marbletable like the one in area 3 standsagainst the east wall.

The debris includes blunt scissors,medicine droppers, chunks of soap,and small burlap bags. One bag, la-beled 2C/XA, contains four small yel-low pellets that smell like fresh oats.

This is an antidote for the S3/A lilacpoison, described in area 6. A pelletconsumed within five rounds afterexposure to S3/A poison�presumingthe victim is still alive�negates all ef-fects of the poison, and all hit points

lost as a result of exposure to the poi-son are immediately recovered. Also,eating a pellet immunizes a characteragainst all effects from S3/A poisonfor the following 1d4 turns.

6. Storage RoomThis room was used to store experi-

mental fertilizers and insecticides.The rusted metal shelves now lie use-less on the floor, surrounded by frag-ments of broken jars and flasks. Theliquid contents of the flasks have allevaporated, and the solid contents,which lie scattered about the floor,are now inert dust.

A toppled metal barrel in the eastcorner contains a violet residue in thebottom. The residue has the textureof cotton and smells vaguely of vine-gar. The material is derived from rainclouds, which were magically treatedto permanently solidify. Wolover in-fused the material with fertilizers,which he believed would not only fa-cilitate plant growth, but would alsoprotect the plants from drought. Theexperiment was a failure. Iceliaadapted this material for a section ofthe second level of her stronghold;see Chapter 3.

Many glass fragments still bear la-bels, all seemingly random combina-tions of letters and numbers thatWolover used to identify the contests.One of the fragments bears the labelS3/A; it smells faintly of lilacs. ThePCs feel slightly dizzy but otherwisesuffer no ill effects from smelling thelilac fragment.

(The S3/A designation stands for apowerful poison; a derivative of the li-lac poison that caused the pollution ofLilac Lake�see area 11 of the Veil-stone Peaks Map. The 2C/XA pellets inroom 5 act as an antidote for this poi-son.)

7. StairwayThis stairway leads up to Level 3.

8. Nest RoomAnother former storage room, this

area was demolished by the two giantsquirrels (see area 3), who have beenusing it as a lair. Amid the brokengreen glass and twisted metal shelv-ing is a pile of rags and debris, thesquirrels� nest. The nest contains 14cp, 9 sp, 5 gp, and a ring of warmth,brought here from the outside worldby the squirrels.

LEVEL 3On this level Wolover conducted

many experiments in horticulture. Assoon as the PCs enter this level, theynotice that the buzzing sound comingfrom above is much louder. The buzz-ing persists as long as the party re-mains on this level. (An immenseswarm of wasps is the source of thebuzzing. See the Level 4 section.)

1. StairwayThese stairs lead down to Level 2.

The stairs leading to Level 4 are im-passable, blocked with rubble and de-bris.

2. LaboratorySeveral long tables stretch across

the room, filled with rows of clayflowerpots. The pots contain onlyblack earth; some of the pots smellfaintly of lilac, sulphur, and cinnamon(results of experimental pesticide andfertilizer treatments). A huge metalbox of earth stands near the south-east corner. A collection of larger potsis located near three iron rods risingfrom the floor in the southwest cor-ner. The pots were used to grow smalltrees, but now contain only blackearth; the rods extend from the fur-nace on Level 1 and are no longerfunctional.

Against the north wall is a 10' diam-eter glass lens, about 2� thick. A widecrack extends the length of the lens.The lens was once enchanted to pro-

19

duce artificial sunlight to nourish theplants. It no longer functions.

There are three 4� X 6� cabinetsnear the west wall (2a, 2b, and 2c),each made of rusted iron. All are en-chanted with wizard lock. If wizardlock is negated, a cabinets opens eas-ily. Otherwise, 25 points of damagebreaks a cabinet open; assume thecabinets are AC 0.

Cabinet 2a: This cabinet containsa red velvet robe covered with smallcircles. Given to Wolover by his wife(before she died from pneumonia), ithas only sentimental value.

Cabinet 2b: This contains severalflasks of Wolover�s favorite raspberrywine.

Cabinet 2c: The seams of this cabi-net have been sealed with wax tomake it airtight. The sides of the cabi-net are icy cold.

The cabinet contains a sentientbrown mold that Wolover acciden-tally created, a hybrid of variouschemically treated fungi. Wolovermagically drained the air from thiscabinet and sealed the mold insideuntil he could figure out what do itwith it. The inert mold has been hereever since.

If the cabinet is opened, the freshair invigorates the mold, and it slith-ers out, seeking warm-blooded vic-tims.

Animated brown mold: Int ani-mal; AL N; AC 9; MV 6; HD not ap-plicable; THAC0 17 ; #AT notapplicable; Dmg see below; SA ab-sorbs heat; SD killed by direct sun-light, ultraviolet light, cone of coldcold wand, and disintegrate (onlyother spells that affect it are plant-affecting magic and cold spells; icestorm and wall of ice cause it to godormant for 5d6 turns); ring ofwarmth causes complete protec-tion against its attacks; SZ M; MLnot applicable; XP 420.

The mold resembles a patch ofwooly brown carpet about 5� long, 3�

wide, and about an inch thick. Tend-rils on its underside let it scurry alongthe floor. It can squeeze throughsmall openings, such as the space be-neath a door. It pursues the PCs re-lentlessly, attacking until destroyed.The mold drains 4d8 damage perround from all warm-blooded victimswithin 5�; it has greater speed and abetter chance of attacking victimsthan normal brown mold. Unlike nor-mal brown mold, torches, fireballs,and similar sources of fire do notcause it to grow in size.

3. Barrel RoomThis room contains several large

iron barrels. About half of them arefilled with old dirt, the others withdried manure (used as a natural fertil-izer). There is nothing of interesthere.

4. Storage RoomUsed to store lab equipment, this

room is now a jumble of brokenshelves, shattered green glass, and afew assorted gardening tools, includ-ing trowels, hoes, and spades, none ofthem suitable as weapons. There isnothing of interest here.

5. StairwayThese stairs lead down to Level 2

and up to Level 4.

LEVEL 4On this level Wolover bred his ex-

perimental insects and other re-search animals. The wasps (in area 2)were supposed to feed on insects thatate agricultural crops, but Wolovernever succeeded in this goal. How-ever, his efforts to increase their ratesof reproduction were a resoundingsuccess: Centuries after Wolover�sdisappearance, the wasps continue tothrive and multiply and have nowtaken over this entire level.

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1. StairwayThese stairs lead up from Level 3.

As the party climbs the stairs fromLevel 3, the sound of buzzing growsever louder.

The stairway ends at a closed door.If the PCs carefully open the door acrack, they can peek inside withoutangering the wasps inside (see area2).

2. Wasp RoomHundreds of thousands of red

wasps fill this room, covering everysquare foot of the floor and walls, andswarming in thick clouds near theceiling. Clusters of cellulose nestscrowd the corners of the room, re-sembling broad towers of pear-s h a p e d h o n e y c o m b s m a d e o finnumerable tiny cells. Charactersmust shout to be heard over the roarof the buzzing.

Three iron rods covered withcrawling wasps rise from the floor inthe southwest corner and extend tothe ceiling. These rods extend fromthe furnace on Level 1; the heatingrods are no longer functional. Nearthe west wall about 3� from the flooris a metal cabinet (similar to the metalcabinets in Level 3). The cabinet isalso crawling with wasps.

If the PCs don�t enter the room,there is no danger. However, if thePCs wish to explore the room, theyhave to deal with the wasps.

The wasps are about two incheslong, with powerful jaws and needle-like stingers. They are more viciousand somewhat hardier than normalwasps.

Combat Notes: The wasps attackonly when angered. Any violent dis-turbance angers them, such as an in-truder stomping his way through theroom, or an attack such as a hurledstone or a fireball spell.

The wasps attack as a swarm. Theyattack every character in the room,biting and stinging every section ofexposed skin, even working their way

inside openings in clothing. Victims ofthe wasp swarm are attacked auto-matically, suffering 3d6 damage eachround. Also, victims are so disori-ented that they suffer a -2 attackpenalty and have movement rates re-duced by 2/3.

The angry swarm pursues victimsdown the stairway (area 1) and any-where in the keep, if the victims arefoolish enough to leave the dooropen. If the door is closed (this takesone round), a few angry wasps mayslip through, but not enough to doany significant damage.

A swarm remains angry for half anhour after the disturbance ends or af-ter all victims have been killed orleave the area�for instance, if thePCs trap the wasps in this room, with-draw down stairway 1, and close thedoor behind them. When the halfhour has passed, the wasps calmdown and do not attack until dis-turbed again.

Because of the staggering numberof wasps, damage inflicted on theswarm does not significantly affect itsability to attack. At your discretion,exceptionally formidable assaultsagainst the swarm�such as a succes-sion of cloudkill spells�may reducetheir numbers so much that eachswarm inflicts 1d6 or even 1d2 dam-age.

The PCs can minimize or avoidwasp attacks by the following meth-ods:

� Smoke or fire scatters the wasps,but doesn�t completely deter them.If the party fills the room withthick smoke, or if a PC carries atorch and waves it around, the an-gry swarm inflicts only 1d6 dam-age per round. Note that filling theroom with smoke or waving atorch angers the wasps, causingthem to attack.

� A PC who wears protective cloth-ing that completely covers thebody suffers only 1d6 damage perround from the angry swarm (the

� A PC can paralyze the entireswarm by using the rod of immo-bile insects (see below and the ap-pendix on page 62).

wasps can enter the smallest open-ings in the clothing). Only a totallyairtight covering provides com-plete protection.

� Spells such as repel insects offerprotection.

� A PC who enters the room care-fully and slowly can avoid angeringthe wasps, even though each stepmay crunch dozens of wasps. Forevery five rounds in the room, thePC must make a Dexterity check. Ifa check fails, the character stum-bles and angers the wasps, andthey attack. Because of the cloudsof wasps in the air, airborne char-acters must also make Dexteritychecks to avoid angering theswarm.

Exploring the area: The tworooms on the east side of this level (2aand 2b) used to hold spare cages andother supplies, but now contain onlywasp nests, scraps of rotten wood,and small tangles of wire.

The room on the south side (2c) wasused to breed other experimentalcreatures. Among the shards of bro-ken fish tanks and scraps of shatteredcages, the PCs find small bones andtiny husks. An Intelligence checkidentifies the remains as those of fish,leeches, butterflies, and worms.

Aside from the wasp nests, the onlyother objects in the main part of room2 are dilapidated wire cages along thenorth and south walls (originally usedto house the wasps) and a metal cabi-net secured on the west wall about 3�from the floor. The 6� X 4� cabinet ismade of rusty iron. It is also protectedby a firetrap spell. Unless the firetrapis removed or negated, it explodes assoon as the cabinet is touched (thewasps can�t trigger the firetrap). Allthose within 5� of the cabinet suffer1d4 +20 damage (save vs. spells forhalf damage). The wasps suffer insig-

21

nificant damage, but the explosionsanger them, and the swarm immedi-ately attacks.

The cabinet opens easily. Inside area bag of a dozen 2C/XA pellets (seearea 5, Level 2 for details), a flask ofraspberry wine, and a 2� long rodmade of gold with a white pearl onthe end.

The rod i s a rod o f immob i l einsects, which the party may havelearned about in the study (area 6,Level 1). The rod has 13 charges. (Seethe �New Magical Item� appendix fordetails about the rod.)

3. StairwayThis stairway originally led to the

upper levels of the tower but is now aheap of collapsed planks and saw-dust. The upper levels are inaccessi-ble and contain only rubble anddebris.

BASEMENTAs the PCs descend the stairs into

the basement, the odor of oranges be-comes more intense. Shattered bar-rels, empty crates, and toppledshelves lie against the walls; Woloveronce used this whole area for storage.Icelia had other ideas.

Nearly the entire floor of the base-ment is filled with a circular pool oforange mist. Any PC who touches themist pool instantly loses conscious-ness and disappears (no savingthrow). PCs entering this gate con-tinue the adventure in Chapter 2.

DM's OVERVIEWThis chapter details the first level of

Icelia�s stronghold. Consult theStronghold Level 1 map on the colormapsheet.

GoalsIn this chapter, the PCs should learn

the fate of (most of) the Sons of theStone, and they find the mist pool atthe bottom of the lake that leads toLevel 2 of the stronghold.

Physical FeaturesThe encounters of this chapter take

place in an immense cavern of jaggedblack granite filled with a deep lake.The temperature is about 65 degreesFahrenheit. The humid air smells likea mixture of alcohol and sea water.Patches of fluorescent fungi cover thewalls, illuminating the cavern in softgreen light.

ARRIVALRead the following after the PCs

have disappeared into the orangemist in the Basement section of Chap-ter 1.

The smells of sea water and alco-hol fill your nostrils as you gradu-ally regain consciousness. You aresprawled on your backs at one endof a narrow granite bridge span-ning an immense cavern. The ceil-ing is about 20 feet overhead.There are glowing patches ofgreen fungus on the cave walls.

When your eyes adjust to thelight, you see a golden door at theopposite end of the bridge, stud-ded with what look like blackgems.

You hear splashing water be-neath the bridge. When you lookover the edge, you see the surfaceof a lake 200 feet below. Hundreds,

22

maybe thousands, of human skele-tons are floating in the water. Yousee flecks of gold among the bones.

Suddenly the ghostly image of agiant bat swoops from beneath thebridge, hovers briefly in front ofyou, then silently flies away.

The party has regained conscious-ness at the left side of the granitebridge (see map). All their equipmentis still with them. They have been un-conscious for only a few minutes (aside effect of the teleport).

What happens next depends on theparty�s actions:

� If the PCs try to cross the bridge,see area 1 below.

� If the PCs try to climb the walls, seearea 3.

� Any PC who tries to explore the ca-vern by flying or otherwise movingin the air is attacked by the threeghost bats that constantly circlethe cavern.

Ghost bats (3): Int low; AL NE; AC 1;MV Fl 24 (B); HD 10; hp 65 each;THAC0 11; #AT 1; Dmg 3d8 (bite);SA piercing screech causes suchpain that victims who fail to savevs. paralysis seek to cover theirears rather than fight (screech iseffective to a 30� radius around thebat); SD can only be struck by + 1or better weapons; immune tocharm, sleep, cold, electricity, anddeath spells; SZ G; ML 14; XP 3,000.

The ghost bats resemble translu-cent mobats; they have 30� wingspansand black, empty eyes, They attackwith their paralyzing screech, thenwith their huge fangs. They cannotbe turned by clerics.

The ghosts bats always remain air-borne, and don�t attack PCs who areon the bridge, climbing the walls, orin the lake. The ghost bats fight untildestroyed, or until all airborne PCsreturn to the bridge, enter the lake,or cling to a wall; a PC who leaves thesafety of such an area is attackedagain. Otherwise, the ghost bats re-main a safe distance from the party.

� A PC who jumps off the bridge suf-fers 12d6 damage from the fall.The surface of the lake is thickwith bones; striking the bones ac-counts for most of the damage. Al-ternately, a PC could secure a ropeto the bridge and rappel down tothe lake; there are enough jaggededges on the bridge to secure arope. If the rope doesn�t quitereach the surface and the PC has tofall the rest of the way, the PC suf-fers 1d6 damage for each 10� fallen(maximum 12d6). Once a PC entersthe lake, see area 4, below.

ENCOUNTERKEY�LEVEL 1

1. BridgeThe 240�-long bridge is made of 12

granite slabs joined end to end; eachis 20' X 10� X 10�. Above each slab is a

granite piston that extends 200� intothe ceiling. The bottom of each pis-ton, which is set flush with the ceil-ing, is about the same length andwidth as the slab below it (20� × 10�).The slab bridge and the pistons arepermanently enchanted with wall offorce.

As soon as any PC sets foot on theActivation Slab (see map), the partyhears groaning and grinding comingfrom the ceiling above. One roundlater, the pistons become active. Thepiston system remains active until allPCs are either dead or teleportedfrom the cavern via the orange mist(4p).

Active pistons shoot from the ceil-ing and slam the corresponding slabsbelow. A piston shoots from the ceil-ing, slams the slab below, then with-draws back into the ceiling, all withinthe space of a few seconds. Charac-ters slammed by a piston suffer 6d6damage; items must save vs. crushingblow. The slabs suffer no damagefrom the pistons.

Some, but not all, of the pistonsslam in every round. As shown on themap, the pistons are labeled P1-P8. Todetermine which pistons slam in thecurrent round, roll 1d8; all pistonswith that number or less slam on thatround. For instance, if 3 is rolled,then pistons P1, P2, and P3 slam.

Note that four slabs are designatedas Safe. The pistons corresponding tothese slabs are broken; therefore,PCs in these areas are never struck bypistons. Also note that the ArrivalArea is not safe, as it corresponds tothe P5 piston; PCs who linger here af-ter the pistons are activated risk get-ting squashed.

After the pistons are activated, runthe encounter as follows:

1. At the beginning of each round,ask the players how far each PCwants to go, and note their positions.(For ease of play, use graph paper or asketch map to keep track of PC posi-tions.)

2. Roll 1d8; the pistons slam.3. Any PC beneath a slamming pis-

ton gets to make a Dexterity check. Ifthe check fails, the slow-moving char-

23

acter is slammed for 6d6 damage. Ifthe check succeeds, the charactermust immediately take one of the fol-lowing actions:

� Stay put (and be slammed by thepiston).

� Dive into either of the adjacentslabs. Because the pistons slam sofast, the PC can�t tell if a piston isslamming into an adjacent slab,and must take a chance. (For in-stance, assume a die roll of 3. A PCon the P2 slab who dives onto theP4 slab is not slammed, but a PCwho dives onto the P3 slab is.)

� Jump off the bridge, taking 12d6damage from the fall. Flying PCs, ofcourse, don�t suffer this damage;but if still airborne in the nextround, they are attacked by theghost bats.

� Try to grab the edge of the slab andhang over the side. This requiresanother Dexterity check; failuremeans the PC falls into the lake(12d6 damage). Because the pistonis slightly smaller than the slab, aPC hanging on the side takes nodamage from a slamming piston. Inthe round after the piston hasslammed, the character may climbback onto the slab with a success-ful Strength check; failure means afall into the lake (12d6 damage). Al-ternately, the PC can try to swinghand over hand along the edges ofthe bridge to a Safe slab. Movingh a n d o v e r h a n d r e q u i r e s aStrength check per 20� traveled;failure means a fall into the lake.

Repeat this sequence until the PCshave all died, made their way to themost eastern Safe slab, or fallen in thelake.

2. Golden DoorThis 10� × 10� door is identical to

the door previously seen in the Cho-sen PC�s vision (Chapter 1, encounter15), except that this door has no key-holes. The door is made of black iron,coated with a thin layer of fool�s goldthat can easily be scraped away. A

close examination reveals the gems tobe made of glass.

There are two fool�s gold handles,one on each side of the door; only theleft one is functional. A PC who grabsthe right handle suffers 6d6 electricaldamage (save vs. spells for half dam-age). The left handle opens the door ifthe PC succeeds in a Strength check;two PCs working together can openthe door automatically.

The door is a fake; behind it is noth-ing but solid black granite. Two thingsoccur immediately when the door isopened:

A. A cacophony of agonized shrieksfills the chamber, representing allthose who have died here before. Thesounds persist for five rounds. ThePCs experience no ill effects from thesounds�physically; however, theirfear goes to feed the lichlings else-where in the stronghold.

B. The entire bridge flips upsidedown. Those on the bridge may makea Dexterity check to grab the edge ofthe bridge. Success means the PC isdangling from the bridge (with theoptions described above); a failedcheck means the PC plummets intothe lake to suffer 12d6 damage.

The slamming pistons continue asbefore. One round after the bridgeflips, the door slams shut. One roundafter that, the bridge flips back overto its original position (same game ef-fects as above).

3. WallsThe jagged walls have plenty of

handholds, making climbing rela-tively easy. If a PC tries to climb downa wall, use the rules in the �Climbing�section of Chapter 14 in the Player�sHandbook.

Alternately, have the PC make aDexterity check (with a -2 bonus ifthe PC is a thief and a - 1 bonus if thePC has the Mountaineering profi-ciency). Make only one check if thePC is climbing down to the lake; makethree checks if the PC tries to climball the way around the cavern toreach the door. If a check fails, the PCfalls to the lake and suffers 12d6 dam-

age; decrease or increase damage de-pending on how close the PC was tothe lake when the check failed.

4. LakeThe surface of the lake is roughly

circular, about 150' in diameter. Thelake smells like a mixture of alcoholand sea water. After clearing awaythe bones, PCs on the surface of thelake can stare down through schoolsof goldfish (4b) and a tangle of sea-weed (4g) to see a pool of orange mistat the bottom (4p); the mist pool ap-pears to be similar to the one encoun-tered in the basement of Wolover�sKeep.

The enchanted water has severalmagical properties: (1) it never evapo-rates; (2) it is breathable both bywater-breathers and air-breathers;and (3) it is quite buoyant � even ar-mored PCs can float in it.

For convenience, assume that nor-mal characters can swim underwaterat half their normal movement rate,and proficient swimmers can swim attheir normal movement rate; de-crease these swimming rates forheavily encumbered PCs. In all otherrespects, the lake water is similar tonormal water. Refer to the SpecialUnderwater Rules in the Introduc-tion for combat penalties.

4a. Surface: Thousands of skele-tons bob on the surface of the lake;these are the remains of explorersand treasure hunters from ages pastwho never got though this level of thestronghold. The magical water helpspreserve the bones. There are noweapons or treasure on the corpses,only pieces of rusted and useless ar-mor. All valuables have been transfer-red to the treasure room in Chapter3.

If the PCs spend 15 minutes exam-ine the bobbing corpses, they findone wearing a silver-colored breast-plate with an onyx imbedded in thecenter; this is one of the Sons of theStone, most of whom were killed bythe pistons or falls from the bridge. Ifthey continue to search, the PCs findmore Sons corpses. There are 92 in

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the lake.Small goldfish, about 4� long, dart

among the corpses, scattering at theapproach of the PCs. These are car-nivorous fish who nibble on the re-mains of the dead. The fish steer clearof the PCs, as they only feed on deador helpless victims. If the PCs wish toexamine a fish, they�re reasonablyeasy to capture or kill. Individually,the fish are harmless.

4b. Goldfish schools: Severalschools of goldfish, each containinghundreds of fish, swim in this area,dispersing at the approach of the PCs.The fish do not attack; if the PCs dis-turb them, they swim through the 4cpassage and join their companions inthe hatchery (4d).

4c. Passage: This is a narrow, eas-ily traversed passage leading to thegoldfish hatchery (4d).

4d. Hatchery: Countless thou-sands of carnivorous goldfish swim inthis alcove. Millions of tiny black gold-fish eggs line the bottom. Unlike else-where in the lake, the goldfishaggressively attack any PC who en-ters the hatchery. The goldfish attackas a massive school, nipping and snap-ping with their sharp teeth. Treat theswarm as a 10 HD monster with AC 6;each successful attack causes 2d6damage. If a PC inflicts 50 hit points ofdamage against the school, it tempo-rarily withdraws, only to attack again1d4 rounds later. The goldfish willnot leave this area.

4e. Passage: Connecting areas 4dand 4h, this passage is similar to 4c.

4f. Narrow passage: This pas-sage is only about 4� in diameter, andis lined with jagged rocks. Any PCswimming through this passage mustsucceed in a Dexterity check or suffer1d6 damage from sharp scrapes.

49 . Seaweed outcroppings :The lake narrows here to a diameterof about 50�. Long fronds of greenseaweed float lazily in this area. Twostrangleweeds are attached to boththe east and west outcropping (for atotal of four). Each strangleweed hasfour exceptionally long fronds (for atotal of 16), which are concealed inthe seaweed. The fronds are long

enough to reach anywhere in area 49.

Strangleweed (4): Int animal; AL N;AC 6; MV Nil; HD 4; hp 30 each;THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg see below;SA crushing; SZ L; ML 9; XP 270.

The fronds continually attack anyPC in area 4g until he leaves the areaor until all fronds have been de-stroyed. A hit by the strangleweedmeans that the victim is entwined bya frond with 4d4 Strength points. Avictim can try to escape once perround if his Strength exceeds thecombined Strength of the frondsgrabbing him. I f the v ic t im i sstronger, each point of Strength in hisfavor gives a 10% chance to escape.For example, if the PC�s Strength ex-ceeds the combined Strength of thefronds by 3 points, the PC has a 30%chance to escape.

If the fronds are stronger than thevictim, the victim can�t escape aloneand suffers crushing damage everyround equal to 1 hit point per point ofStrength difference. For example, ifthe fronds� Strength exceeds the vic-tim�s Strength by 3 points, the victimsuffers 3 hit points of damage perround. Entwined victims suffer an ad-ditional -2 attack penalty.

In 1d4 rounds after a victim is en-twined, a school of carnivorous gold-fish arrives; the school attacks thevictim and is dispersed as describedin 4d above. The fish do not attackPCs who are not trapped.

4h. Rocky area: Aside from the

broad rock ledges�which pose noproblem for the party�there is noth-ing of interest here.

4i. Opening: This opening leadingto 4j is only about 10� in diameter.

4j. Guarded area: As soon as a PCenters this area of clear water, a mon-strous creature bolts from area 4kand attacks. The creature resemblesa giant turtle with blazing red eyesand shards of flesh hanging from itsbony frame. Its shell is black andcracked.

Zombie dragon turtle: Int low; ALNE; AC 0; MV 3, SW 9; HD 14; hp100; THAC0 7; #AT 3; Dmg 2d6/2d6/4d8; SA breath weapon (see be-low); SD immune to sleep, charm,hold, death magic, poisons, andcold-based spells; cannot be turnedby cleric; SZ G; ML 17; XP 13,000.

The zombie dragon turtle attackswith its teeth and claws, supplement-ing these assaults with its steambreath weapon (60� × 40� × 40� cloudcausing 20d6 damage; save vs. breathweapon for half damage; breathweapon is fully functional under-water). The creature fights to thedeath; because of its size, it can onlypursue into areas 4k, 4L, and 4n (it�stoo big to swim through the 4i open-ing). If the PCs elude the creature, itwithdraws into 4k, attacking again ifthe PCs re-enter area 4j.

4k. Turtle�s lair: This small ca-vern, serving as the zombie dragonturtle�s lair, contains rocks, weeds,

and nothing of interest.4L. Passage: Connecting areas 4j

and 4n, this passage is about 30� in di-ameter.

4m. Narrow passage: This nar-row passage is similar to 4f (samechance of damage).

4n. Turtle�s lair: This cavern issimilar to area 4k. A second zombiedragon turtle lurks here (use area 4jstatistics). This creature does not at-tack unless the party enters this area.However, once the PCs enter 4k, it at-tacks as described in 4j. Because of itssize, it can only pursue into areas 4j,4k, and 4L; it�s too big to swimthrough the 4i opening. If the PCselude the creature, it withdraws into4n, attacking again if the PCs enter4n.

4o. Crystal barrier: A barrier ofclear crystal blocks access to the or-ange pool (area 4p); the barrier is 90%undetectable by normal vision. Thecrystal is enchanted with wall offorce. Unless the party is able tobreach this barrier, the only access tothe orange pool is passage 4m.

4p. Orange pool: Fingers of mistrise from this orange pool lining thebottom of the lake. Because of the na-ture of the enchantment, the mistypool is not dispersed by the water.The pool resembles the one in thebasement of Wolover�s Keep. Any PCwho comes within 3� of the pool in-stantly loses consciousness and disap-p e a r s ( n o s a v i n g t h r o w ) a n dcontinues the adventure in Chapter 3.

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DM's OVERVIEWThis chapter details the second

level of Icelia�s stronghold. Use theStronghold Level 2 map on the insertcolor map for reference.

GoalsIn this chapter, the PCs can accom-

plish the following:● learn the fate of Xamine (area 1).● meet Jharold the Chosen, an arro-

gant member of the Sons of theStone, and negotiate for informa-tion (area 7g).

● liberate the trapped spirits of twodeceased explorers and learn theirsecrets (area 20).

● locate the three keys necessary tounlock the golden door to the trea-sure room. Two of the three keysare in areas 8p and 31. To get the vi-olet key from area 8p, the partymust first obtain the spectre violinsin area 5 and the violet key cube inroom 7m. To get the ivory key fromarea 31, the PCs must first recover

the crystal eyes from area 20 andtake them to area 30. The third keyis the rusted black key in the cloakroom of Wolover�s Keep (see Chap-ter 1). The door to the treasureroom is in area 33.

� learn the fates of Hakem andKharla (area 33).

� learn the fate of Lenzmin Tier(area 35).

� gain access to the third level of thestronghold, either by negotiatingwith Kharla (area 33) or enteringthe treasure room (area 34).

Physical FeaturesExcept where otherwise noted, all

passages and rooms are made ofblack granite, ceilings are about 8�from the floors, and all areas are com-pletely dark; the PCs must providetheir own illumination. The tempera-ture is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit.The air is musty and dry.

Doors: All doors are 6� × 6�. Thereare two types of doors.

Golden doors: One type, repre-

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sented by the golden door in area 2 ofthe last chapter, appears to be madeof gold but is actually made of blackiron coated with a thin layer of fool�sgold (which is easily scraped away).These doors are studded with whatappear to be black diamonds but areactually made of glass.

There are two fool's-gold handleson each door, one on each side; onlythe left one is functional. A PC whograbs the right handle suffers 6d6magically-generated electrical dam-age (save vs. spells for half damage).The left handle opens the door if a PCsucceeds in a Strength check; two PCsworking together can open the doorautomatically. The doors close auto-matically when released. The oppo-site side of a door has no handles andcan be pushed open by one PC with asuccessful Strength check, or by twoPCs working together.

Mist doors: The second type of doordoesn�t look like a door at all. Instead,it appears to be a curtain of opaqueblack mist.

Mist doors emit a faint odor of mint,

detectable from a distance of 5�.Sounds and odors pass easily throughmist doors. Passage through the mistdoor is one way only, indicated by thedirection of the arrow (see map). Acharacter who sticks a hand, head, orany other part of the body in the mistis instantly transported to the oppo-site side. The opposite side of a mistdoor�that is, the side opposite thatindicated by the arrow�acts as a wallof force to prevent passage.

Lichling holes: These are 8�-diameter holes the lichlings use togain closer proximity to doomed in-truders and feed directly on theirfresh emotions. The lichlings also popfrom the holes to scavenge treasurefrom dead intruders.

PCs able to enter a hole (perhapsusing a potion of diminution) discov-er an intricate tunnel network thatwinds deep into the earth. Followingthe tunnel system proves futile; theempty tunnels twist and turn fordozens of miles. All tunnels lead tothe lichling incubation chamber; seeChapter 4, area 13.

Lichling fluid: The black liquidfound in the streams and pools in areas11, 12, and other locations in the laby-rinth is lichling fluid. Lichling fluid is athick, brackish smelling substance thatpromotes the development of matur-ing lichlings; as far as the PCs are con-cerned, the lichling fluid has no specialproperties. The lichling fluid is gener-ated in area 3 of Chapter 4.

Sensory Phenomenaand PhysicalEncounters

In this chapter and the next, thecharacters experience two specialcategories of encounters, called Sen-sory Phenomena and Physical En-counters. All Sensory Phenomenaand Physical Encounters are listed onthis module�s inside covers.

When the party enters an areamarked with an �X� on the map,roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-2, roll for aSensory Phenomenon (or chooseone). On a roll of 3, roll for or choose

a Physical Encounter. No encounteroccurs on a roll of 4-6. Feel free tomodify or substitute encounters asappropriate to the party�s current sit-uation and environment.

Sensory Phenomena: As indi-cated on the Sensory Phenomena Ta-ble, each Phenomenon has twostages. Each Phenomenon is experi-enced by one randomly chosen PC.Different PCs may experience differ-ent stages of a given phenomenon.

The first time a particular phenome-non occurs, the victim experiencesStage A; on the second and all subse-quent occurrences, the victim experi-ences Stage B. To help keep track of thephenomena stages, check the appropri-ate box when a phenomenon occurs.

Physical Encounters: The entireparty experiences these, and they arenot divided into stages. There is no lim-it to the number of times a given Physi-cal Encounter can occur.

Some of the Physical Encounters areencounters with monsters. Should arandom roll indicate a monster thatisn�t appropriate to the current envi-ronment (for instance, if a roll indicatesan air-breathing monster and the partyis in an aquatic environment), choose adifferent monster or roll again. Mon-sters scuttle from the shadows or oth-er hiding place of your choice and fightto the death.

Spending the NightSince it�s unlikely the party can ex-

plore the entire stronghold in a singleday, they may spend the night in anylocation that seems safe to them. Ifthe party makes camp for the night,check twice for Sensory Phenomenaand Physical Encounters.

If the PCs become hopelessly lost inthe stronghold, feel free to run the�Benevolent Spirit� Sensory Phenom-enon at any time.

IncentiveIf the PCs drag their feet, neglect

their goal, or lose momentum for anyother reason, feel free to run any orall the following encounters as often

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as necessary:1. The labyrinth experiences a brief

series of mild tremors, implying thatthe labyrinth is about to collapse. Thewalls may crack and rubble may fallfrom the ceiling, but the party suffersno damage.

2. The image of Wolover appears be-fore the party (as in the �Wolover�sSpirit� encounter on the Sensory Phe-nomena Table) and implores them tohurry, saying that, �The time of reck-oning draws near. The spawn of Iceliagrow stronger with each passing hour.You have to stop them at the source!�

3. As the party ventures deeper in-to the labyrinth, increase the numberof encounters with lichlings (use thestatistics on p. 64) to lead the PCs tobelieve that they�re coming closer tothe source of the lichlings.

ARRIVALRead the following after the PCs

have disappeared into the orangemist at the end of Chapter 2:

You wake up to the odor of rottenmeat. You are lying on your backin a pile of sharp lumps. A dimglow from the ceiling above showsthat the lumps are dozens ofcorpses, with blackened and twist-ed bones.

The room is about 70� square,each wall containing three goldendoors studded with black gems. Acorpse grasps the right handle ofthe door in the northwest corner.The corpse has an eye patch overits left eye and a silver medallionaround his neck.

The party has regained conscious-ness in area 1 of the Level 2 map. Alltheir equipment is still with them.They have only been unconscious fora few minutes. All PCs and their gearare completely dry, thanks to the en-chantment of the orange mist thatbrought them here.

Continue with area 1 in the En-counter key.

ENCOUNTERKEY�LEVEL 2

1. Arrival RoomThe room is dimly lighted by sev-

eral glass tiles in the ceiling that arepermanently enchanted with contin-ual light. There are dozens of bodiespiled here, the remains of intruderswho never got past this room. If thePCs search the piles, they find a fewskeletons wearing tarnished silverchest plates imbedded with onyxstones; these are more remains of theSons of the Stone (there are sevenSons bodies in all). Except for thecorpse grasping the door (see below),there are no weapons, treasureitems, or anything else of interest onthese bodies. All items of value havebeen transferred to the treasureroom, area 34.

The corpse grasping the right han-dle of door 1a is Xamine of Melcher,whom the PCs may have learnedabout in Chapter 1. Xamine diedwhen he grasped the wrong handleof door 1a. His medallion is worth 100gp. If the PCs search Xamine�s raggedclothing, they find the parchmentshown in Figure 1.

Before he entered the keep, Xamineused his great divining skills to deter-mine that three keys were needed tounlock the treasure room. He wrotethe types of required keys on thispiece of parchment: VIOLET, IVORY,and OLD. Two small rips have de-faced the parchment. Though the PCscan probably deduce that the firstword actually means VIOLET, theymay misinterpret the bottom word tomean GOLD, COLD, or some otherword, when in fact, this third word isintact; �old� refers to the black keyfound in the cloak room of Wolover�sKeep.

All nine doors in this room are iden-tical in appearance. Door 1g is slightlyajar.

Doors 1b-1f and 1j-1L lead no-where; there is nothing behind thembut solid granite.

Doors 1g-1i conceal a series of 1�-diameter granite tubes connected toan immense tank of water (area 2d). Ifany of these doors is opened, all three(1g-1i) disappear, and water begins topour in. The water pours with suchforce that the entire room is com-pletely filled in five rounds. Oncefilled, the water remains until door 1ais opened (see below), or one full dayhas passed, at which time the watermagically withdraws through thegranite tubes into the tank, and doors1g-1i magically reappear.

The right handles of all the goldendoors in this room cause 6d6 electri-cal damage, as described in the Physi-cal Features section at the beginningof this chapter. If the PCs grasp theright handles of any of the doorswhile water is present in the room, allPCs within 10� of the door suffer 6d6electrical damage (save for half dam-age).

If a PC opens door 1a, the waterempties into area 2 (Xamine had theright idea, but the wrong handle). Un-less they take precautions, such ashanging tight to one of the phonydoors� left handles, the water sweepsthe PCs into room 2, along with thecorpses; PCs swept along by the wa-ter suffer 2d4 damage.

When the water has all drained intoroom 2, doors 1g-1i magically reap-pear.

2. Drain andRecycling System

A gently sloping incline (2a) leads toa funnel-like room with several 1�-diameter holes in the bottom (2b). Wa-ter draining from room 1 enters theseholes and is magically returned to aholding tank (2d) via a series of gran-ite pipes (2c). All corpses swept intothis room from the water in room 1disappear when they touch the drain,instantly teleporting back to room 1.Only corpses are affected in this way.

A stairway (2e) leads up from thefunnel to a golden door.

3. Mosaic RoomA dark corridor ends at a black vel-

vet curtain, supported between twoblack granite pillars. Beyond the cur-tain is a rectangular room. Its floor ismarked with three mosaic diagrams(3a, 3b, and 3c) made of tiny ceramicchips. As shown on the map, each dia-gram appears to show a section of acorridor, one branch leading to a key.The diagrams are intended to trickthe unwary; if the PCs enter the cor-responding arches and follow thecorridors as diagrammed, they areled into deadly traps instead of find-ing the keys.

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Three arches (3d, 3e, and 3f) open inthe north wall. Diagram 3a and arch3d are made of black marble. Diagram3b and arch 3e are made of opaquegreen glass. Diagram 3c and arch 3fare made of a violet substance thatfeels like dried sponge. All diagramsand arches are icy cold to the touch.

Above the arches is a messagespelled out in a patchwork mosaic ofblack marble, opaque green glass,and a violet sponge-like substance.The message reads: THREE KEYSFOR THE GOLD, TWO STRINGS TOBREAK THE CUBE, ONE CUBE TOTRAP THE MIST.

(The first phrase means that threekeys are necessary to unlock thegolden door leading to the treasurechamber. The second phrase indi-cates that two violin strings�available in room 5�are necessary toshatter the case enclosing the violetcube, found in room 7m. The thirdphrase means that the violet cube isnecessary to solidify the mist key inroom 8p. Icelia created these clues tolure hardy adventurers farther intothe labyrinth.)

A PC who steps through any of thearches hears a faint, echoed cackleand feels the caress of an icy wind.The cackle and the wind are gone in amoment.

4. Corridors ofShadows

These areas have been perma-nently enchanted to negate all formsof natural and magical light. Whileexploring these areas, torches burnbut generate no illumination. Contin-ual light, dancing lights, and otherlight-related spells do not function,nor does infravision. Spells such asmagic missile that require the casterto see a target are useless. PCs suffera -4 penalty to attacks and savingthrows, and their ACs are 4 worsethan normal (minimum 10).

So powerful is the enchantment ofthe Corridor of Shadows that noteven a wish negates the darknesscompletely; treat a wish as a light

spell, with a duration of one hour perlevel of the caster, when used to ne-gate the darkness. (For more aboutadventuring in darkness, see the�Darkness� section of Chapter 12 inthe Dungeon Master�s Guide).

The party must feel along the wallsto determine where passages turnand end. Provide vivid descriptions ofthe various areas in terms of sound,smell, and touch. Walls are rough tothe touch. Golden doors have cool,smooth surfaces and dome-like pro-trusions (the fake diamonds). Scut-tling insects crunch beneath theparty�s feet. The air smells of mintnear a mist door.

Sensory Phenomena occur normal-ly in this area; phenomena with a vis-ual element are perceived by thevictim as described in the SensoryPhenomena Table, hovering in a fieldof darkness.

As the party explores area 4, theyhear faint sounds of eerie, discordantviolin music coming from the north.The music becomes louder as theymove towards area 5.

4a. Slime trap: The odor of rottenmeat rises from below as the PCs de-scend this stairway. The 13th and fi-nal step is exceptionally slippery. AnyPC stepping on the 13th step mustmake a Dexterity check; those whosucceed catch themselves beforethey fall. Others fall into a pit of slimebelow and immediately begin to sink;the slime has the consistency ofquicksand. It takes 10 rounds for afallen PC to sink below the surface.

The walls here are too slick for asinking PC to climb, but a PC with aring of water walking or boots of levi-tation, or who has access to similaritems or spells, can avoid sinking.

Assume that the distance from thetwelfth stair to a sinking PC is 6�; acompanion on this stair could extenda pole or throw a rope to the sinkingPC. To grab the pole or rope, a sink-ing PC must make a Dexterity checkwith a +4 penalty (due to the dark-ness). Note that a PC attempting a res-cue who steps on the 13th stair alsorisks falling in the slime pool. A PCwho sinks is never seen again.

29

4b. Slanting passage: A networkof filmy spider webs blocks the pas-sage. The webs can be cleared awayeasily. PCs feel tiny spiders scuttleover their flesh; the spiders areharmless.

4c. Web sheet: Like area 4b, a net-work of spider webs blocks the pas-sage. However, this web is actually aliving web.

Living web: Int semi; AL N; AC 9; MV6; HD 6; hp 45; THAC0 15; #AT 2;Dmg 3d4/3d4 (lighting bolts at 60�range, save vs. spells for half dam-age); SD absorb electrical energy,permanently gaining 1 HD per 8points of energy absorbed; blowsfrom edged weapons divide them in-to two webs, each with half the orig-inal�s remaining hit points; bluntweapons cause half damage; im-mune to fire, water, heat, and coldattacks; SZ M; ML 10; XP 2,000.

The living web waits for a PC totouch it, causing the victim 1d4 elec-trical damage. The web then ad-vances towards the party, makingtwo lightning bolt attacks per round(normal attack rolls). The web fightsto the death and pursues if necessary,although it will not enter area 4d.

4d. Slimy passage: As the pas-sage continues to descend, the wallsbecome slimy and cold, and the airreeks of dead fish. Farther north, thepassage becomes deeper with rancidwater, a few inches at first, graduallybecoming waist deep.

4e. Rancid pool: This 5�-deeppool of rancid water reeks of deadfish. The walls enclosing it are slimyand cold. A PC in the pool must suc-ceed in a Constitution check everyfive rounds or suffer 1d2 damagefrom breathing the sickening air; allattacks take a -1 penalty in this areadue to nausea.

A PC wading across the pool feelstiny fish-like creatures brushingagainst any areas of bare skin. Thesecreatures are small leeches, less thanhalf an inch long, especially enchant-ed to survive indefinitely in the ran-cid water. The pool is filled with

leeches. A PC without airtight protec-tion who spends five or more roundsin the water has a 90% chance ofpicking up dozens of tiny leeches; theleeches are small enough to worktheir way beneath folds of clothes.When they attach themselves, theleeches secrete an anesthetizing sali-va so they can�t be felt; PCs aren�tlikely to notice the leeches until theyenter a lighted area.

Assume a leech-infested PC suffers1d6 damage per hour of infestation.Leeches can easily be pulled off, butan infested PC must examine his orher entire body to spot them all.

A giant leech also lurks here. It at-tacks a random PC within 1d4 + 1rounds after the character enters thewater. The leech drops off its victimof its own accord as soon as the vic-tim leaves the water.

Giant leech: Int non; AL N; AC 9;MV 3, SW 3; HD 4; hp 30; THAC017; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4; SA successfulhit means the leech has attached tovictim; drains blood every roundthereafter, causing 4 hp damage;victim has only a 1% chance of de-tecting the attack if it occurs in thewater; bite and blood drain not feltuntil victim loses half its hit points;SZ M; ML 7; XP 270.

Two granite mounds rise from thepool, as shown on the map. PCs ableto locate the mounds in the darknesscan use them to traverse the pond.PCs on the mound are not attackedby leeches.

4f. Clacking corridor: The soundsof clacking teeth fill this corridor.Chattering skulls are imbedded in thewalls from ceiling to floor, runningthe length of the corridor betweenthe golden doors on either end. AnyPC touching a wall or brushing upagainst it is nipped by the skulls for1d4 damage. Damaging the skulls hasno effect, since they magically regen-erate as soon as they�re harmed.

As the party makes its way throughthis passage, indicate the direction ofthe clacks so the PCs have a chance of

avoiding contact with the skulls. Forinstance, if the PCs approach a sec-tion of the corridor where clacks canbe heard from the left and front, butnot the right, they should figure outthat the corridor turns right.

4g. Spear room: When this dooris opened, a spear shoots out, flying amaximum of 30�. The spear is magi-cally guided toward the nearest livingbeing, striking with a THAC0 of 12 ifthe target fails a Dexterity check. Thespear is made from solidifiedshadows, inflicting 2d10 damage anddraining 1d4 Strength from the vic-tim; lost Strength returns in 2d4turns. When the door is closed andre-opened, another spear fires.

4h. Roach room: From the oppo-site side of the door leading to the thisroom, the PCs hear the sounds of tinyclawed feet, scuttling and scratching.All interior surfaces of this room arecovered with tiny roaches. Thoughthey crunch underfoot and crawl upthe arms of PCs who touch a wall, theroaches are harmless.

An iron ring is centered in the floorof this room. Any PC making aStrength check can lift the ring to re-veal a trapdoor, leading to a stairwaywinding down.

4i. Trapdoor: This is identical toroom 4h, except there are no roach-es. Instead, a quartet of shadowswaits beneath the trap door. If thePCs approach this room from the tun-nel below, the shadows wait in theroom above.

Shadows (4): Int low; AL CE; AC 7;MV 12; HD 3+3; hp 30 each;THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 + 1; SAsuccessful attacks drain one pointof Strength from victim, lostStrength returns in 2d4 turns (vic-tims reduced to 0 Strength becomeshadows); SD 90% undetectable inall but brightest of surroundings;immune to sleep, charm, hold, andcold-based attacks; SZ M; ML spe-cial; XP 650.

The shadows attack as soon as thetrapdoor is opened, using their chill-ing touch against the closest PCs (one

30

shadow per PC). The shadows attackrelentlessly, fighting to the death andpursuing as necessary.

4j. Bony floor: Human bones lit-ter the floor here, the remains of thevictims of the lurker above that clingsto the ceiling of this large room.

Lurker above: Int non; AL N; AC 6;MV Fl 9 (B); HD 10; hp 70; THAC010; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6; SA constric-tion causes automatic 1d6 damageper round and suffocation within1d4 + 1 rounds, regardless of dam-age suffered by victim; prey canfight only with short weapons inhand when lurker attacked; SD op-ponents suffer -4 penalty to sur-prise rolls; SZ H; ML 11; XP 1,400.

The lurker above falls on and con-stricts around the first PC who entersthe room. The lurker fights to thedeath. Among the remains on thefloor are a cloth bag containing 45 gp,a flask containing two doses of a po-tion of healing, and a short sword+1. These items, belonging to a re-

cently killed intruder, haven�t yetbeen taken to the treasure room.

4k. Tunnel: This is a 4�-diametertunnel, with rough walls of blackgranite. PCs crawl through the tun-nel at 1/3 their normal movement rate.The tunnel system absorbs light justlike the rest of the Corridors ofShadows.

4 L . C o l l a p s i n g c a v e r n : Oneround after a PC enters this area, thewalls begin to shake. Small chunks ofgranite begin to rain from the ceiling.One round later, the ceiling collapses,filling the cavern with granite chunks.All PCs in the room when the ceilingcollapses suffer 3d6 damage (there isenough space between the chunks sothat PCs don�t risk suffocation). A PCcan dig free of the rubble in 1d4 turns;the time is halved if a companion as-sists the buried character.

4m. Stairway: The tunnel widensto 10�, ending in a stairway leadingupward to a golden door.

4n. Collapsing cavern: This isidentical to area 4l.

40. Ooze lair: This area serves as

the lair of a gray ochre ooze, a bizarreblend of a gray ooze and an ochrejelly.

Gray ochre ooze: Int animal; AL N;AC 8; MV 4; HD 7; hp 50; THAC015; #AT 1; Dmg 1d10 + 2; SA secre-tions that dissolve flesh and cor-rode metal (chain mail corrodes inone round, plate mail in two; notethat weapons striking the creaturemay corrode and break); SD im-mune to all spells (as per grayooze), immune to fire- and cold-based attacks; lightning and blowsfrom weapons cause full damage;SZ L; ML 10; XP 975.

When the party passes the en-trance to its lair, the gelatinous crea-ture oozes out. It resembles a 10�-longgray amoeba that creeps and slidesalong cavern floors; it can�t climbwalls or ceilings.

The creature tries to devour thePCs, pursuing to any part of the ca-vern system (areas 4k-4n). The crea-ture locates its prey by movementand vibrations, and therefore it is notsignificantly affected by the dark-ness. If the PCs destroy the ooze, theymay discover 74 sp, 45 gp, a goldbracelet (worth 590 gp), and a dia-mond ring (worth 1,200 gp) con-cealed in its lair.

5. Music RoomRead the following when the party

enters this room:

Beyond the golden door is a 60�-square room of black granite, lit bynine immense chandeliers hangingfrom the 40�-tall ceiling. Eight ofthe chandeliers are made of blueglass; the ninth is made of redglass. The chandeliers cast pools ofdim light on a polished granitefloor.

Against the north wall are twoblack granite thrones. A ghostlyimage of an old man sits in each

throne. The images have glowingblue eyes, shimmering silverbeards, and violins propped be-neath their chins. The imagespluck the violins to produce eerie,discordant tones. The violins ap-pear to be real.

The old men are spectres, minionsof Icelia. The blue glass of the chande-liers is identical to the blue glass ofthe key box in 7m. The blue chande-liers are labeled 5a-5h on the map.

When the party enters the room orotherwise makes their presenceknown, the spectres stop playing andcall out to them. The spectres speakin unison.

�Come forward,� they say, theirvoices like death rattles. �We know ofyour quest. Many have come beforeyou, and all have failed. But these use-less deaths must end. Allow us tohelp; we will be happy to answeryour questions. And when your ques-tions have been answered, we askonly that you grant us the honor ofhearing our music.� The spectresurge the party to come close, claimingthat they can�t hear from such a dis-tance.

If the PCs leave or decline to comefurther into the room, the spectresresume their playing. If the PCs takeany hostile actions, the spectres at-tack as described below. Otherwise,if the PCs come at least 30� into theroom, the spectres entertain theirquestions. The spectres have no ac-tual interest in the party�s welfare;they are feigning cooperation inhopes of catching the PCs off-guard.At your discretion, the spectres� re-sponses can be blatant lies (�Only onekey is necessary to open the goldendoor�) or empty advice (�The secretsof the stronghold have baffled thebest minds in the Realms. We adviseyou to proceed with caution�).

Once the party appears to relax, thespectres abruptly rise and cry, �Nowhear our song!� Each spectre plucks a

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single tone, and the blue chandeliersvibrate. A moment later, chandelier5a crashes to the ground; any PC oc-cupying the 5a section of the map suf-fers 2d6 damage. T h e b l u echandeliers continue to crash, oneper round, until all eight have fallen.The chandeliers fall in order (5b, 5c,and so on). All PCs occupying thespace below a falling chandelier suf-fer 4d6 damage (a successful Dexter-ity check reduces the damage by ½;the spectres are unaffected by fallingchandeliers.

After the first chandelier falls, thespectres tuck their violins in theirbelts, then spring from their thrones,hands extended, toward the nearestPC. The spectres intend to kill all PCswith their chilling touches and en-ergy draining ability.

Spectres (2): Int high; AL LE; AC 2;MV 15, Fl 30 (B); HD 7 +3; hp 55each; THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8;SA successful attacks drain two lifeenergy levels from victim; SD + 1or better weapon to hit; immune tosleep, charm, hold, and cold-basedattacks; immune to all poisons andparalyzation attacks; SZ M; ML 15;XP 3,000.

The spectres fight to the death. Toobtain a spectre�s violin, the spectremust be destroyed.

If the PCs destroy the red chande-lier (it is AC 3; 30 points of damageshatter it), the room becomes com-pletely dark. The spectres see nor-mally in the darkness of the room; thePCs are affected as in the Corridors ofShadows.

The spectres will not leave thisroom. If all the PCs withdraw, thespectres return to their thrones andresume playing. All fallen chandeliersmagically repair themselves and re-attach to the ceiling. If the party en-ters again, the spectres immediatelyplay the notes causing the chande-liers to fall; the chandeliers fall in theorder described above, and the spec-

tres attack.The violins can be used to shatter

the glass key box. See area 7m for de-tails.

6.Archway/Teleporter

An archway of black marble arcsover the golden door leading to thisroom. The archway is similar to theone in area 3. A strong odor of or-anges seeps from beneath the door.

The interior of the empty room isseveral degrees cooler than the outercorridor. Wisps of orange mist risefrom the floor. Any PC stepping insideis automatically teleported to room 3.

7. Corridors of GlassThe surfaces of the rooms and cor-

ridors of this section (including the 7ctunnel system) are made of jaggedgreen glass. The glass floors, coveredwith rough bumps and angular pro-jections, make travel difficult, reduc-ing normal movement rates by ¼.Green glass stalactites and stalag-mites, averaging 3-4� long and a footin diameter, sprout from the floorsand ceilings. (Unlike the Corridors ofShadows, light sources and spellsfunction normally in the Corridors ofGlass.)

Interspersed among the glass sta-lactites are what appear to be several6� limestone stalactites. The glass sta-lactites pose no threat, but the othersare actually piercers.

Piercers (8): Int non; AL N; AC 3; MV1; HD 4; hp 30 each; THAC0 17;#AT 1; Dmg 4d6; SA can only attackonce (if attack fails, it must resumeits position on ceiling to attackagain); inflicts 1 point of acid dam-age when touched; SD victims have- 7 penalty on surprise roll; SZ M;ML 9; XP 420.

A PC is safe from the piercerswithin 3� of a wall. Any PC who care-fully observes the phony stalactitesfor two consecutive rounds deter-mines that they are living creatures

(the PC notices their eyes or detects aslight movement). Otherwise, thepiercers drop and attack any PC whomoves more than 3� from the wall. If apiercer misses its target, it tries tocrawl back up the wall to the ceilingto position itself for another attack.

Translucent glass plates block thepassage at various points in the corri-dors (see map). Only about an inchthick, the plates are easy to break (AC10; 6 points of damage shatters themcompletely). A PC who shatters aplate instantly experiences a SensoryPhenomenon (roll or choose); if morethan one PC damages a plate at thesame time, randomly choose one ofthe PCs as the victim of the phenome-non. A shattered plate magically re-pairs itself in 10 rounds.

7a. Spear room: When this dooris opened, a barrage of magical glassspears shoots out, striking all PCs be-tween the door and the west wallwho fail Dexterity checks. PCs struckby the spears take 4d6 damage. Whenthe door is closed and re-opened, an-other spear barrage fires.

7b. Stalactite room: The ceilingof this room is about 20� high. Six-footgreen glass stalactites cover the ceil-ing. The stalactites are harmless.

An iron ring is centered in the floor.Any PC making a Strength check canlift the ring to reveal a trapdoor and astairway winding down.

7c. Tunnel: This is a 4�-diametertunnel made of rough green glass.PCs crawl through the tunnel at 1/3their normal movement rate.

7d. Blocked passage: A pile ofbroken glass completely blocks thissection of the passage. It takes one PC20 rounds to remove enough glass sothe party can proceed; two PCs canunblock the passage in 10 rounds,and so on.

A lichling is buried beneath theglass. After the party spends fiverounds removing glass, the lichlingsquirms free and attacks, lunging to-wards the nearest PC, snarling andripping with its long claws. It fights tothe death.

Lichling: Int animal; AL CE; AC 1;

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MV 3, Fl 24 (B); HD 2 +2; hp 15;THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 (bite);SD can only be struck by +1 orbetter magical weapons; immuneto charm, s leep, enfeeblement,polymorph, cold, electricity, fear,insanity, and death spells; SZ S; ML19; XP 270. (See page 63 for moreabout the lichling.)

7e. Stalactite room: This is iden-tical to room 7b, except that a human-oid with the head of cockroach liesmotionless on the floor, a glass stalac-tite piercing its chest. The creaturehas black antennae, a pair of bulbousgolden eyeballs, and long claws. Itwears a tattered scarlet robe.

The creature is a dead lichling ser-vitor, a former human intruder mur-dered by Icelia, then transformed toattend to the needs of the lichlingsand guard the stronghold. The servi-tor was guarding this room when astalactite fell from the ceiling andkilled it.

If any PC comes within a foot of thecorpse, it reflexively swipes at the PCwith one claw. A PC must succeed in aDexterity check to dodge the claw;failure means 2d6 damage. Thecorpse attacks only once.

7f. Smooth glass: The glass floorof this area is perfectly smooth andlighter green than the glass walls. Infact, the floor glass is significantlythinner than the walls or the glasselsewhere in the Corridor of Glass.Any PC who steps on the smooth glassfeels it crack slightly. There is a 20%chance that the entire floor shattersfrom the weight of any PC. Thischance is cumulative; if two PCs arecrossing at the same time, there is a40% chance that the floor shatters. Ifthree are crossing, the chance in-creases to 60%; if five or more arecrossing, the floor definitely shatters.

PCs on the floor when it shattersfall 20� below into a pit of glass spikes,suffering 4d6 damage. The shatteredfloor magically becomes intact againin one hour.

7g. Noisy door: When the partycomes within 90� of the door to thisroom, a magic mouth is activated; a

mouth opens on the south side of thedoor and bellows, �By order of theKing of Cormyr, I demand that youopen this door and help me!�

The magic mouth was cast byJharold the Chosen, who�s trapped in-side the room. The magic mouth wasordered to activate at the approach ofany living human or demi-human.

If the party opens the door, they dis-cover a middle-aged man lying on thefloor, trapped beneath a pile of glassshards that completely covers hisbody from the waist down. The manhas beady brown eyes, a long thinnose, and an arrogant sneer. Hewears a filthy silver tunic with anonyx secured to the center; he smellsfoul. The man eyes the party with amixture of curiosity and contempt.�Don�t just stand there!� he barks.�Get me out of here!�

Jharold the Chosen: 12th-level hu-man mage; AL NG; AC 10; MV 6 (re-duced due to crippled leg); hp 17(maximum of 40; reduced due toinjuries); THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg

1d4 (dagger). Spells (number perlevel): 4/4/4/4/4/1.

Jharold was one of the com-manders of the Sons of the Stone bat-talion that King Azoun IV ordered toinvestigate Wolover�s Keep. He wasamong the handful of survivors to en-ter the labyrinth, and the only Son tomake it past the arrival room (area 1).A few days ago, his investigation ofthis room activated a trap that causedan avalanche of glass shards, buryinghim from the waist down. He hasbeen unable to free himself, but hehas subsisted on a bag of food he wascarrying with him.

Egocentric and pompous, Jharoldbelieves that the gods specificallychose him to liberate the treasurefrom the labyrinth. That�s why he�sgotten this far when all the otherSons have died. (In fact, the gods havelittle interest in Jharold�he�s gottenthis far mostly by pure luck.)

Jharold refuses to speak with theparty until they free him. If the partydoes not cooperate, Jharold angrily

tells them to leave him alone. �Thegods will send others.� If the PCsleave, Jharold continues to struggle.If the PCs return to this area after anhour has passed, they discoverJharold�s dead body; his strugglescaused another avalanche that killedhim.

If the party agrees to help, it takesthem only a few minutes to moveaway enough glass to free Jharold. Hestaggers to his feet, brushing awayglass from his tunic. Bruises and smallcuts cover his body, and his right legis severely sprained, but otherwisehe�s in remarkably good shape. �Thegods protect their favorites,� hesniffs. (Again, he was just lucky.)

Jharold accepts any medical aid theparty offers. He asks their names andhomelands, though he�s not particu-larly interested, and he accepts what-ever they care to share.

Jharold proudly introduces himselfand says he helped lead the Sons ofStone on an investigation of Wolover�sKeep, but shortly thereafter, he re-ceived a vision of vast treasure, �a vi-

3 3

sion from the gods.� He brushes aspeck of glass from his staff. �I as-sume you�ve come for the treasure aswell, correct?� If the party says they-'ve come for other reasons�such asfinding the source of the lichlings�Jharold smiles sarcastically; obvious-ly, he doesn�t believe them.

�You had the same vision I had,� hesays. �Don�t bother to deny it. A visionof a golden door that opens withthree keys.� (Like the Chosen PC,Jharold experienced the vision de-scribed in The Veilstone Peaks en-counter 15 in Chapter 1.) �But you�rewasting your efforts. By the time youfind the door, the treasure will al-ready be mine. The gods will see tothat.� If the PCs ask what makes himso sure, he puffs himself up and pro-claims, �I am Jharold the Chosen! I amthe gods� favorite!�

Jharold thanks them for rescuinghim, then orders them to leave. �Ihave treasure to find.� If the PCs offerto accompany Jharold, he laughs. �Idon�t need the likes of you. The godswill give me all the help I require.� Ifthe PCs try to take Jharold captive, heuses hold person and charm personon the �unlucky and ignorant� PCs be-fore reluctantly surrendering. Hewon�t assist them in any way, and hetries to escape at the earliest opportu-nity (with the results described be-low).

If the party takes no hostile actions,Jharold makes an offer before theypart company.

�It occurs to me that the gods mayhave brought us together for rea-sons beyond my rescue,� Jharoldsays. �We are all honorable folk,and we all seek the same thing.Perhaps the gods meant us to ex-change information.�

�I have three questions that trou-ble me about this labyrinth,� hecontinues. �If you answer themhonestly, I will provide you withthree pieces of information I havelearned that you may not know:

�First, I know the name of the en-tity who built this labyrinth.

�Second, I know how to success-fully traverse the room of the redglass skull.

�Third, I know a word uttered tome in a vision by an old man wear-ing a robe covered with small cir-cles.

�For each question of mine youanswer, I will tell you one of thesethings. You may choose whichpiece of information you wish forme to reveal. What do you say?�

If the party declines, Jharoldshrugs and leaves; the encounter isover. If the party agrees, Jharold asksthem his first question: �How do I re-turn safely to the Mosaic Room (area3)?� If the PCs answer honestly�thatis, if they give him precise directionsto area 3�Jharold gives them which-ever of the three pieces of informa-tion they like (the information is listedbelow), then proceeds to the nextquestion.

If the PCs don�t know the answer,choose not to answer, or tell an obvi-ous lie, Jharold doesn�t give them anyinformation; he proceeds to his nextquestion. Assume that Jharold is agood enough judge of character to tellwhen he�s being lied to; if you judgethat the PCs give an exceptionally sin-cere or creative lie, Jharold believesthem.

Jharold�s other questions:

� �What lies beyond the black arch inthe Mosaic Room?� Jharold wasafraid to go in. He accepts any gen-eral information about the Corri-dor of Shadows, such as how thoseareas absorb light or any detailsabout any of the rooms.

� �Is one of the keys needed to openthe treasure door gold in color?�Jharold believes he saw a gold keyin a dream, but his memory isfuzzy. Though the party may be-

lieve a gold key is necessary �as ar e s u l t o f misunderstandingXamine�s note in area 1�in fact, itisn�t.

Jharold�s information:

� �The name of the entity who builtthis labyrinth is Icelia.� Jharoldheard the name whispered to himin a dream; he has no details.

� �To cross the room of the glassskull, toss gems or any metal ob-jects in his pool until the dooropens.� If the PCs haven�t yet beento this room, Jharold tells themhow to get there.

� The word uttered in a vision by anold man wearing a robe coveredwith small circles was �heart.�Jharold has no idea of the signifi-cance of this word, nor can heidentify the old man. In fact, theword was spoken by the spirit ofAmry Wolover.

After the party has had the chanceto answer all three questions, Jharoldbids them farewell and the encounteris over; Jharold has no other informa-tion useful to the party. If asked,Jharold refuses to accompany thePCs.

After Jharold and the PCs part com-pany, the PCs never see him again�alive, that is. Place Jharold�s body in aroom the PCs haven�t yet exploredbut are likely to get to later; for in-stance, Jharold might be killed by theglass skeletons in area 7i or by the gasin area 8j.

7h. Spear room: This is identicalto room 7a.

7i. Glass pit: A long stairway leadsdown to this circular room, which isabout 80� in diameter. Sharp shardsof broken green glass fill the room toa depth of about 3�; the ceiling rises30� from the surface of the glass. AnyPC who studies the pit from the door-way for two consecutive rounds no-tices slight movements among theglass shards.

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Two rounds after any PC enters thisroom, six figures rise from the pit, re-sembling 9'-tall skeletons made ofsparkling glass fragments. The crea-tures wield long glass swords whichappear to be fused to their hands.Two glass wings sprout from theirspines.

Immediately after they rise fromthe pit, the creatures open their jawsand emit bone chilling screeches thatsound like fingernails scraping slate.They beat their glassy wings and be-gin to soar in the air, zooming towardthe party with their swords slashing.

Flying glass skeletons (6): Int non;AL N; AC 3; MV 12, Fl 15 (C); HD 7;hp 55 each; THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg1d10; SD immune to all sleep,charm, and hold spells; immune tofear and cold-based attacks; edgedor piercing weapons do only halfdamage; explode when reduced to0 hp (see text); regenerates in 2d4(2d4) rounds (see text); SZ L; ML15; XP 1,400.

The glass skeletons remain air-borne for the duration of the battle,making diving attacks at random PCs.They fight to the death, but will notleave this room. A skeleton reducedto 0 hp explodes in a shower of frag-ments; all PCs within 10� of an explod-ing skeleton suffer 2d6 damage(intact skeletons are unaffected bythe explosion).

PCs wading through the glass pitmust move at 1/3 of their normalmovement rate; falling or beingknocked down into the glass resultsin 1d4 damage.

7j. Stalactite Room: This is thesame as room 7b, except that ten lich-lings cling to the stalactites, immobileand in plain sight.

The lichlings are semi-dormant. Ifthe PCs move through the room slow-ly and quietly, the lichlings do not at-tack. However, if the PCs don�tspecifically state that they�re takingprecautions to be quiet, or if they at-tack the lichlings, all lichlings instant-ly come to life, soaring at the partywith their jaws snapping.

The lichlings attack random PCsand fight to the death, pursuing asnecessary. However, the lichlingscan�t pass through a closed goldendoor or closed trap door.

Lichling (10): Int Animal; AL CE; AC1; MV 3, Fl 24 (B); HD 2 +2; hp 13each; THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6;SA fangs cause 1 hp/rd bleedingless unless removed; SD immune tocharm, sleep, enfablement, poly-morph, cold, electricity, fear, in-sanity, and death spells, + 1 orbetter weapon to hit; SZ S; ML 19;XP 270. (See page 63 for moreabout the lichling.)

7k. Needle trap: The space be-tween the dotted lines on the map islittered with tiny glass needles. Assoon as any PC steps into the space,two panels magically appear (on thedotted lines), completely sealing thearea. The panels are 5� thick andmade of opaque red glass. Tworounds later, volleys of tiny glass nee-dles fire from the panels towards thetrapped PCs. All those caught in thevolley of needles automatically suffer1d4 damage per round.

The magical needles pass throughall types of armor, shields, andmagically-generated protection; theyare unaffected by any spell short of awish. The needle volley continues un-til either of the panels is shattered;each panel is AC 3 and has 25 hp.While the needles are firing, PCsmake all attacks at a -2 penalty.When a panel is shattered, both pan-els disappear, and the needle volleystops. When 10 minutes elapse, thetrap resets and triggers again if a PCsteps in the space between the dottedlines.

7L. Hovering skull: Foot-longgreen glass stalactites cover the ceil-ing of this room. A 5�-diameter glassskull hovers about 3� off the groundnear the south wall of the room. Justnorth of the skull is a pool of clear wa-ter, about 20� deep. The bottom of thepool is filled with swords, daggers,shields, and a variety of other weap-ons and armor pieces, all made of

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clear glass; there are also numerousgems, coins, and jewelry pieces in thebottom of the pool, also made of clearglass.

The golden door on the south sideof the room shown on the mapdoesn�t exist when the party entersthe room. The party�s actions maycreate it, as described below. Note al-so that if the party approaches area7L from the corridor south of area7L, they see only a blank wall insteadof a door.

The enchantment of the pool issuch that all inanimate objects thattouch the water�both magical andnormal objects�are instantly andpermanently turned to glass! Glassweapons are useless, and gems andother precious objects turned to glasslose all value. Flesh is unharmed bythe water; for instance, should a PCstick a gloved hand in the water, theglove turns to glass, but the hand isunharmed.

As soon as the PCs enter this room,the skull babbles in a high, scratchyvoice, �Pay me! Pay me for enteringmy room!� The babbling continuesuntil the PCs place 1,000 gp or itsequivalent in weapons, gems, or oth-er items in the pool (thus perma-nently turning them to glass), atwhich point the golden door on thesouth wall appears; it functions as anormal golden door. The door stays inplace for five rounds, then vanishesagain; it takes another 1,000 gp worthof items placed in the pool to make itreappear.

The skull can�t defend itself, andthe PCs can attack it if they like. Ittakes 30 hit points of damage to de-stroy the skull (it is AC 3). If the skullis destroyed, glass stalactites rainfrom the ceiling, striking all PCs in theroom for an automatic 4d6 damageper round (Successful Dexteritychecks reduce damage by ½). Therain of stalactites stops in five rounds,at which time the skull reappearswith all hit points intact.

7m. Violet cube room: In eachcorner of this room stands a squarechamber, 6� × 6� × 10�, made of trans-lucent blue glass. Inside each cham-

ber stands a humanoid made of thesame translucent blue glass. Theseare glass golems (labeled G1-G4 on themapsheet). As soon as any PC entersthe room, all the golems pound on thesides of their chambers, but are un-able to free themselves.

In the center of the room is a cubeof translucent blue glass, about 3�square; the cube is fused to the greenglass of the floor. Clearly visible insidethe blue cube is a small block ofopaque violet glass. The violet cube isabout 6� square and has a key-shapedimpression on the top. (The violetcube is needed to solidify the mist keyin room 8p).

If the PCs have been to room 6, theyrecognize the translucent blue glassin this room; it is identical to the glassmaking up the blue chandeliers inroom 6.

The blue glass cube, the violet cube,and the glass golem chambers (that is,all glass objects except the golems)are permanently enchanted with wallof force. However, all the blue glassobjects�the golem chambers, the go-lems themselves, and the blue cubeencasing the violet block�can beshattered by plucking the properstrings on the spectre violins (fromroom 6).

The PCs must determine the resultsof plucking the strings by trial and er-ror. Each violin has five strings; forconvenience, assume the strings arenumbered 1-5. The enchantment ofthe violins is such that no more thanone string can be plucked on each perround; therefore, a total of twostrings can be plucked in the sameround, one from each violin. A PCwho plucks a string must announcethe number of the string beingplucked.

Plucking specific strings producethe following results:

� If string 5 is plucked on either vio-lin, all four of the golem chambersshatter, releasing the glass golems.The glass golems attack as de-scribed below.

� If a PC plucks string 1 on one of theviolins, and a second PC plucks

string 4 on the other violin, theblue cube shatters; the PCs mustpluck these strings at the sametime (that is, they must pluck themin the same round). Any PC maythen remove and take the violetcube.

● On the same round, if a PC plucksstring 1 on one of the violins, and asecond PC plucks string 1 on theother violin, golem G1 is instantlyreduced to 0 hp and explodes, in-flicting 3d6 damage to all PCs with-in a 20� radius; other golems aren�taffected by the explosion. This re-sult also occurs if golem G1 is stillin its chamber.

● Likewise, plucking string 2 on bothviolins in the same round destroysgolem G2, string 3 on both violinsdestroys golem G3, and string 4 onboth violins destroys golem G4.

● Plucking any other string or anycombination of strings has no re-sult.

Glass golems (4): Int non; AL N; AC3; MV 6; HD 14; hp 85 each; THAC07; #AT 2 or 1; Dmg 2d8/2d8; SAspew glass needles (see text); SD af-fected only by + 1 or better magi-cal weapons; magical electricalattacks slow it for 3 rounds, all oth-er spells are ignored; if reduced to0 hp, explodes in shower of glass,inflicting 3d6 damage to all within20� radius (save vs. spells for halfdamage); SZ L; ML 20; XP 10,000.

Once released, the golems attack allPCs in the room, smashing victimswith their powerful fists. Every fiverounds, a released golem automati-cally spews a shower of tiny glassneedles at the nearest target within20� (make a normal attack roll); if theattack succeeds, the victim suffers3d8 damage. If no target is withinrange, the golem spews needlesharmlessly into the air. The golemsfight to the death, but will not leavethis room.

If all PCs withdraw from the room,all golems that haven�t exploded re-turn to their corners; their blue glass

36

chambers reappear, imprisoningthem again. These golems immedi-ately recover all lost hit points. Ex-ploded golems remain shattered anddo not revive.

7n. Archway/teleporter: Exceptthat the archway is made of opaquegreen glass, this is identical to room 6.

8. Corridors of MistThe surfaces of the rooms and pas-

sages of this section are made of a vio-let cloud-like substance that smellsvaguely of vinegar. The substance hasthe texture of cotton. The PCs mayhave discovered the source of thissubstance, one of Wolover�s failed ex-periments, in Chapter 1. Icelia adapt-ed tha t mater ia l for her ownpurposes.

Characters walking through thesepassages move at half their normalmovement rate, sinking slightly withevery step as if walking throughsnow. Falling on these surfaces fromany height is like falling into feathersand causes no damage.

Climbing walls made of the cloudsubstance is quite easy; a climbingcharacter can punch or kick as manyhandholds and footholds as desired.(The PCs must discover this tech-nique for themselves.) Thieves, aswells as PCs proficient in Mountain-eering, can climb these walls at halftheir normal movement rate; othersclimb at 1/3 their normal rate. Becausethe walls are so easy to climb, thechance of falling is greatly reduced.Thieves and PCs proficient in Climb-ing or Mountaineering must make aDexterity check for every 20 roundsspent climbing a wall; others mustcheck every 10 rounds. Failing acheck means the PC falls. Though fall-ing PCs suffer no damage, they mayend up in an area where they risksinking.

As described in the text, variousfloor surfaces in the Corridors of Misthave the texture of quicksand, andPCs risk sinking in them. When a PCsteps or falls into one of these areas,execute the �Sinking Routine�:

� The victim makes a Dexteritycheck with a penalty to find asolid handhold. A Strength checkwith a + 6 penalty pulls the victimfree; otherwise, two charactersworking together can pull the vic-tim free as described below. Thepenalties reflect the powerful pullof the quicksand-like cloud.

� A failed Dexterity check means thevictim sinks 2� per round. A com-panion can pull the victim freewith a Strength check at a + 6 pen-alty; two companions working to-gether combine their Strengthscores and make a single successfulStrength check with a + 6 penaltyto pull him free. For example, ifone PC�s Strength is 11 and a sec-ond PC�s Strength is 12, theirStrength total is 23. With the + 6penalty to the roll, they must roll a17 or less to pull the victim free.Two PCs whose Strengths total 26or more succeed automatically.

� A victim who sinks below the sur-face can still be rescued if compan-ions feel around to find him. Todetermine when a submerged PCsuffocates, see the Drowning sec-tion of the Special UnderwaterRules in the Introduction. If notrescued, the victim suffocates,sinks, and is never seen again.

8a. Pit Trap: Though this appearsto be an empty room, the floor con-ceals a magical pit trap. The floor re-acts to the pressure of any weightheavier than five pounds. One roundafter such weight touches the floor,the entire floor disappears. All thosein the room who succeed in a Dexteri-ty check at a + 4 penalty jump to thesafety of the doorway in the room;those who fail drop 10�, landing on asurface of dark, sticky mist. The fallcauses no damage, but those landingin the mist are stuck tight.

For every round stuck in the mist, avictim suffers 3d6 damage from itscontact poison (save vs. poison forhalf damage). Water or any other liq-uid applied negates the stickiness andfrees the victim; otherwise, nothingshort of a limited wish can free a

trapped victim.The floor reappears one hour after

the trap is triggered.8b. Trapdoor: An iron ring is cen-

tered in the floor. Any PC making aStrength check can lift the ring to re-veal a trapdoor, leading to a stairwaywinding down.

8c. Tunnel: This is a 4�-diametertunnel with walls of the violet cloudsubstance. PCs crawling through thetunnel do so at 1/3 their normal move-ment rate.

When the party descends into thispassage from either stairway (the 7bor 8j stairway), they see a humanoidcreature crawling towards them. Ifthe party entered the passage fromstairway 7b, the creature is advanc-ing from the bottom of stairway 8j; ifthe party entered the passage fromstairway 8j, the creature is advancingfrom the bottom of stairway 7b. Thecreature has gray, leathery skin. Ahateful light burns in its eyes. This is ajuju zombie, a former treasurehunter who was transformed by Ice-lia.

Ju-ju zombie: Int low; AL NE; AC 6;MV 9 (crawling rate 3); HD 3 + 12;hp 32; THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 3d4;S A a r m e d w i t h n e c k l a c e o fmissiles; SD can climb walls as athief (92%); strikes as a 6 HD mon-ster; only harmed by +1 or bettermagical weapons (only edged orcleaving weapons inflict normaldamage, blunt and piercing weap-ons cause half damage); immune toall mind affecting spells, electricity,magic missiles, poisons, cold-basedspells; immune to sleep, charm,hold, and death magic spells; SZ M;ML special; XP 975.

The ju-ju zombie wears a necklaceof missiles with 5 missile globes (one10 dice and four 4 Dice fireballs). Assoon as the zombie sees the party, ituses its necklace to cast fireballs atthem, once per round. It continues tocrawl towards them and blast fire-balls until all 5 missiles have been ex-pended; it then attacks with its claws.The zombie fights to the death and

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pursues relentlessly; the zombie isable to open the golden doors andtrap doors. However, if the PCs eludethe zombie for 10 consecutiverounds, it returns to area 8b.

8d. Blocked passage: Pebble-sized chunks of violet cloud sub-stance completely block both ends ofthis passage section. Trapped be-tween the blockages is a cloud of col-orless poison gas that smells likesulphur and cinnamon.

A PC who digs through the cloudchunks for 15 rounds clears a passagelarge enough for the party to pro-ceed. After digging for two rounds,the PC smells an odor of sulphur andcinnamon seeping from the oppositeside of the passage. The fumes aren�tstrong enough to cause damage atthis point. However, if the PC con-tinues to dig, the fumes becomestronger. After five more rounds ofdigging, the gas cloud comes billow-ing through, subjecting all PCs in thetunnel to its noxious fumes.

PCs who save vs. poison are unaf-fected by the gas. Those who fail aredebilitated for the next 4d6 hours.During that time, all abilities are re-duced by half; apply all appropriateadjustments to attacks, damage, ar-mor class, and so on from the low-ered ability scores. Also, victims�normal movement rates are halved,and they cannot heal by normal ormagical means. Neutralize poisonneutralizes all gas effects.

One hour after the gas seepsthrough either blockage, it dissipatesinto the walls; both the broken block-age and the gas cloud magically reap-pear one hour later. Note that if oneblockage is destroyed and the gas dis-sipates, the party can dig through theother blockage with no risk, provid-ing they do so within an hour.

8e. Trapdoor: If the PCs listen atthe mist door on the east wall, theycan hear the faint cries of whatsounds like an agonized woman. Thesource of the cries is the groaningspirit in area 8h. Otherwise, thisroom is identical to room 8b.

8f. Cloud chamber: This dome-shaped chamber is about 100' in di-

ameter and has an 80� ceiling. Thedome is made of the violet cloud ma-terial, as is a pathway that leads to sixdoorways. The remainder of the flooris covered with clumps of whitecloud-like material that looks like cot-ton. Wisps of greenish clouds driftnear the ceiling.

Any PC who steps or falls in thewhite clouds immediately begins tosink; execute the Sinking Routine(above).

The odor of burning sugar seepsfrom the mist door and the goldendoor leading to area 8g; PCs also hearwhat sound like the cries of an ago-nized woman coming from behind allthe east doors. The source of the criesis the groaning spirit in area 8h. Theodor of lilacs seeps from the door-ways leading to areas 8j and 8k.

Five rounds after the first PC enters8f, the green clouds near the ceilingbegin to rumble and darken. Fiverounds later, greenish rain begins tofall. All characters exposed to the rainfor a total of three or more roundsmust make a Constitution check. PCswho fail become nauseated, and theirheads throb; they make all attackswith a -1 penalty for the rest of theday. PCs able to keep themselves com-pletely dry (such as a warrior holdinga shield overhead, or a wizard usingfabricate to create an umbrella) areimmune to the effects of the rain. Therain persists for an hour after the lastPC has left area 8f; the rain resumesfive rounds after any PC enters thisarea again.

8g. Brown mist: This passage isthick with a dense brownish fog thatsmells like burnt sugar. The fogcauses no damage, but obscures allsight, normal and ultravision, to 2�.The magical fog is confined to area 8gand cannot be dissipated by anymeans short of a wish.

The agonized cries grow louder asthe party nears area 8h.

8h. Banshee lair: When the partycomes within 20� of the opening tothis room, a luminous phantasm re-sembling a withered crone with wildand unkempt hair and a dress of tat-tered rags comes shrieking out of the

mist, her long claws raking the airand her jaws snapping.

This groaning spirit was in life anelf assistant of Icelia. When the elfrefused to obey a direct order, Iceliakilled her, later transforming her intoa groaning spirit. The spirit is eter-nally bound to the stronghold,charged with destroying all in-truders.

Groaning spirit: Int exceptional;AL CE; AC 0; MV 15; HD 7; hp 50;THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8(touch); SA wail once per day (allthose within 30� must save vs.death magic or die immediately);any creature who sees her mustsave vs. spells or flee in fear (flee interror for 10 rounds, 50% likely todrop any items carried in theirhands); SD invulnerable to weap-ons of less than + 1 enchantment;immune to charm, sleep, and holdspells, and to cold-based and elec-trical attacks; killed by dispel evil;MR 50%; SZ M; ML 13; XP 4,000.

The spirit attacks the party firstwith her wail, following with touchattacks directed at any wail survi-vors. After making a few touch at-tacks, she retreats to area 8j, hopingto lure the PCs inside this poisonousarea (she is immune to the lilac poi-son). If she loses half her hit points,she tries to flee to area 8f, then westinto the labyrinth. If cornered, shefights to the death; otherwise, she re-treats to a distant region of thestronghold. At your option, thegroaning spirit may wait a day to re-cover her wail attack, then track theparty and ambush them at an oppor-tune moment.

8i. Soggy section: This section ofthe corridor is filled with the samebrown mist as in area 8g. The sectionbetween the dotted lines is indistin-guishable from the floor elsewhere inthis corridor, but actually containsseveral patches of soggy material. Forevery round spent in the area, eachPC has a cumulative 20% chance ofsinking; execute the Sinking Routinefor each sinking PC.

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8j. Lilac mist: A thin yellow mistthat reeks of lilacs hangs in the air ofthis corridor. The magical mist is con-fined to area 8j and cannot be dissi-pated by any means short of a wish.Any PC who spends one round ex-posed to the poisonous mist mustsave vs. poison or die; a successfulsave still means 3d6 damage.

The poison is derived from the S3/Achemical that the party may havelearned about in Chapter 1. A 2C/XApellet, available in Chapter 1, negatesthe effects of the mist.

8k. Phony mist corridor: Themist in this corridor looks and smellslike the lilac mist in area 8j. However,it is actually the result of a permanentillusion and is harmless. The illusorymist is confined to this corridor.

One round after any PC has crossedany of the servitor locations indicatedon the map, black clawed handsemerge from the floor at all four ser-vitor locations. Humanoid creatureswith the heads of cockroaches bear-ing black antennae and bulbous gold-en eyeballs begin pulling themselvesup through the floor.

The creatures are lichling servitors,former human intruders murderedby Icelia, then transformed to attendto the needs of the lichlings and guardthe stronghold. The servitors wereconcealed in the floor of this passage,ready to destroy any trespassers.

Lichling servitors (4): Int semi; ALCE; AC 2; MV 12; HD 6; hp 45;THAC0 15; #AT 2; Dmg 2d6/2d6(claws); SD can only be struck by+ 1 or better magical weapons; im-mune to poison, charm, sleep, en-feeblement, polymorph, fear, cold,electricity, insanity, and deathspells; SZ L; ML 15; XP 975.

It takes a full round for the servi-tors to pull themselves from the floor.During this time they can be attackedbut are unable to defend themselves.Once free, the servitors shamble to-wards the party, intent on destroyingrandom PCs. The servitors fight tothe death, pursuing as necessary; theservitors are able to easily open gold-

en doors. If the party eludes the servi-tors for 10 consecutive rounds, thesurviving servitors return to area 8kand again conceal themselves in thefloor.

8L. Pudding lair: If the partycomes within 10� of this chamber, twomassive black blobs ooze from thechamber opening, hovering a fewinches from the ground. The crea-tures resemble undulating clusters ofbubbling blisters and wet cotton.

The creatures are a magicallyblended combination of black pud-dings and the cloud-like material ofthe Corridors of Mists; the creatureshave all the properties of normalblack puddings, with an increased ar-mor class and magic resistance, alongwith the ability to fly.

Modified black puddings (2): Intanimal; AC -1; MV 12, Fl 12 (C);HD 10; hp 68 each; THAC0 11; #AT1; Dmg 3d8; SA dissolves metal(chain mail dissolves in one round,plate mail in two; each magical�plus� increases the time requiredto dissolve the metal by oneround); SD immune to acid, cold,and poison; lightning bolts andblows from weapons divides inhalf, each with statistics of originalpudding; fire and magic missilescause normal damage; MR 50%; SZL; ML 17; XP 6,000.

The creatures, intending to devourthe party, pursue the PCs anywherein the passages leading from 8L. If theparty retreats through any of thedoorways, the creatures withdrawinto 8L; the creatures then seepthrough the cracks in the north endof their lair (8m) and hide among thedark clouds on the floor of area 8p.Likewise, if a creature loses half ormore of its hit points, it retreats into8L and seeps through the 8m cracksto hide in the 8p cloud floor.

8m. Cracks: This passage leads toa dead end with several inch-widecracks in the wall. Beyond the cracksis a short tunnel that leads to thecloud floor of 8p.

8n. Spongy area: Several small

black lumps litter the floor; the lumpsfeel like greasy cotton. The clumpsare flakes from the bodies of the pud-ding creatures in 8L. Otherwise, thisis identical to area 8i.

8o. Archway/teleporter: Exceptthat the archway is made of a violetsubstance that feels l ike driedsponge, this is identical to room 6.

8p. Cloud chamber: This dome-shaped room is identical to 8f, exceptthat the floor is composed entirely ofdark gray cloud-like clumps, and theclouds near the ceiling are black. Theonly door is on the east side of thedome, centered in the wall about 70�from the floor.

Just above the door, a shimmeringimage of a 10�-long key hovers in theair. The key appears to be made of vi-olet mist. PCs who can�t fly or teleportmust climb the walls to reach thedoor and the key.

The entire floor is similar to theSpongy Areas (area 8i and 8n): Forevery round spent on a particularsection of the floor, a PC has a 20% cu-mulative chance of sinking (requiringthe Sinking Routine). If the puddingcreatures retreated here (from area8L), they lurk beneath the spaces ofthe cloud clumps, about 10' down,near the room�s center.

Three rounds after the first PC en-ters 8p, the black clouds near the ceil-ing begin to rumble and crackle withstatic electricity. Three rounds later,lightning begins to crack; for everyround thereafter, roll 1d6:

1-4�No bolt hits a character.5�A bolt singes a random charac-

ter, causing 2d6 damage (save vs.spells for half damage).

6�A bolt directly hits a randomcharacter, causing 6d6 damage (savevs. spells for half damage). The light-ning storm persists for an hour afterthe last PC has left area 8p. The stormbegins again three rounds after anyPC re-enters area 8p.

As soon as the lightning storm be-gins, the modified black puddingsseep from the floor (assuming theymade it here from 8L). If the partyhasn�t yet encountered the puddings,assume the creatures have been wait-

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ing here all along. The creatures un-dulate through the air, attackingrandom PCs. The creatures fight tothe death; if the PCs leave this room,the creatures withdraw through thefloor and return to area 8L. (Note thatthe lightning may strike a pudding in-stead of a PC; if so, the pudding splitsin two.)

The violet key is merely an image ofa key and has no physical propertiesof any kind. Nothing but the violetcube from area 7a can transform theimage into an actual physical key.Such is the nature of the enchant-ment that the mist key even resiststhe power of a wish; at your discre-tion, a wish might change the mistkey to a real key for a limited time�say, an hour or less�after which itchanges back to mist and instantly re-turns to this area.

If a PC brings the violet cube within5� of the key image, the image beginsto shrink and darken in color. Tworounds later, the key image is sweptinto the cube as if drawn by a power-ful suction; the cube disappears, andthe PC holds a 6� key made of violetcrystal. This is one of the keys neces-sary to unlock the golden door in area33.

9. Mosaic RoomThis room is similar to area 3. As in

area 3, each mosaic diagram appearsto show a section of a corridor lead-ing to a key, but is actually intended totrick the unwary. Diagram 9a andarch 9c are made of black granite. Di-agram 9b and arch 9d are made ofivory. The diagrams and arches areicy cold to the touch. Above the arch-es is a message spelled out in a patch-work mosaic of ivory and blackgranite. The message reads: THREEKEYS FOR THE GOLD, TWO EYESFOR THE IVORY.

(As before, the first phrase meansthat three keys are necessary to un-lock the golden door leading to thetreasure chamber. The second phrasemeans that the PCs must take twocrystal eyes�available in area 20�toarea 30. From area 30, the party can

gain access to area 31 where the ivorykey is located.)

If the PC pass beneath arch 8d, theyhear a desperate whisper in theirheads saying, �Bring me my eyes . . . �

10. StairwayThis granite stairway winds deep

into the earth. Mid-way on the stairssprawls the corpse of a human male(10a). The corpse has been savagelymutilated, as if rent by powerfulclaws. The corpse clutches a shortsword in its hand, which the PCs maytake if they like. There is nothing elseof interest on the corpse. The corpseis that of a human treasure hunter,killed by the lichlings described be-low.

About 20� west of the bottom of thestairs, two lichlings are dragging a 3�-long gold rod imbedded with bits ofemerald. The lichlings are draggingthe rod to the nearest lichling hole(10b). If the PCs don�t draw attentionto themselves, and if they don�t attackthe lichlings, the monsters drag therod into hole 10b and vanish; eventu-ally the rod is deposited in the trea-sure room (area 34). However, if thePCs make their presence known, or ifthey attack the lichlings, the lichlingsdrop the rod and soar towards theparty, attacking random PCs withtheir fangs. The lichlings fight to thedeath and pursue if necessary.

Though the now-deceased treasurehunter mistakenly believed the rodwould bring him good luck, it has nomagical properties. The rod is worth5,000 gp.

11. Grave ChamberThe sounds of hissing steam andbubbling water echo in this vastblack cave. It�s dimly lit by patchesof glowing fungi on the chamberwalls. The air reeks with the odorof rotten meat.

A waterfall of thick black liquidfalls over a ledge on the north wall.

It splashes into a dark stream thatwinds around the chamber andends in a small pool. Wisps of va-por rise from the bubbling stream.Rivulets lead from the stream to anopen grave centered in the cham-ber. It looks like there is writing en-graved on the black tombstone.

The black liquid in the waterfall(11a), the stream (11b), the groundpool (11c), and the pool on top of theledge (11d) is lichling fluid. Icelia usesthis liquid for various purposes inbreeding new lichlings. Not inciden-tally, it also serves to terrorize trea-sure hunters.

The fluid is extremely hot, scaldinganyone who barely touches it (1d4damage) and severely burning any-one immersed in it (3d6 hit points ofdamage per round). The pools andstream are waist-deep; the stream is5� wide. Fluid in the ground pool (11c)seeps into the earth, preventing thepool from overflowing.

The grave (11e) is 6� deep. A steepstairway of black granite leads to thebottom. To all but the Chosen PC, thegrave appears to be empty, and theheadstone is blank. However, theChosen PC sees an ivory key at thebottom of the grave and his or herown name inscribed in the head-stone. The key and the name are illu-sions; t h e C h o s e n P C c a n n o tdisbelieve these powerful illusions.

If any PC other than the Chosen PCenters the grave, there is no effect.The Chosen PC, entering the grave,falls unconscious upon reaching thebottom (no saving throw). Scaldinglichling fluid immediately begins torise from the bottom of the grave, fill-ing the grave at the rate of one footper round; the Chosen PC (and any-one else in the grave) suffers 3d6damage per round from immersion inthe lichling fluid.

The Chosen PC doesn�t float in therising lichling fluid, remaining in-stead on the bottom of the grave. The

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Chosen PC continues to suffer 3d6damage per round until rescued bycompanions. Note that the Chosen PCalso risks drowning in the lichling flu-id. (See the Special Underwater Rulesin the Introduction.)

The lichling fluid stops when itreaches the top of the grave. The lich-ling fluid remains in the grave for afull day, or until the Chosen PC is res-cued, whereupon the fluid recedesinto the ground.

A gentle granite slope leads to thepool at the top of the ledge (11d). Ifthe PCs investigate the ledge, they seea 5� high and 12� wide opening in thenorth wall (11f). A stream of lichlingfluid pours from this opening into theledge pool.

12. Stream PassageThis winding passage, reeking of

rotting meat, slopes upward to thenorth. It is bisected by a 3�-wide, 3�-deep stream of steaming lichling flu-id. See area 11 for damage from thefluid.

After the party moves about 20�north of the waterfall pool (11d), aghostly image of a bald-headed manshimmers into view in front of them;the image doesn�t appear if the partyhas already been to area 15. The im-age has pleading blue eyes and a curlyblonde beard, and wears a long robecovered with small circles. The imagebeckons the party to head north, thenvanishes. (This is an image of AmryWolover). The party experiences thisvision only once.

13. GeyserCentered in this 40�-diameter ca-

vern is a 10� pit, surrounded by awide ring of sticky granite that isslightly warm to the touch. The airover the pit ripples with heat.

The pit is actually a lichling fluidgeyser that erupts every hour. Oncethe party enters the cavern, roll 1d20;this indicates the number of minutesbefore the next eruption. One roundof rumbling precedes an eruption. An

eruption sprays a blast of scaldinglichling fluid from the pit. All PCswithin 10' of the pit suffer 3d6 dam-age; all those more than 10' from thepit but still inside the cavern suffer2d6 damage.

If the geyser doesn�t erupt, a PCwithin 3� of the edge of the geyserhas a 5% chance of slipping and fall-ing in, suffering 6d6 damage fromlanding in the hot surface of packeddried fluid 80� below.

14. Husk AlcoveThis small alcove is empty, except

for a 6�-long object on the floor thatlooks like a black cockroach shell,cracked and chipped. Two armbones, each about 3� long, extendfrom the shell. One of the bones isbroken off in the center; the otherends in a bony hand with five bonyfingers. The arm, hand, and fingerbones resemble those of a miniaturehuman.

These are the remains of a defec-tive lichling that crawled here fromarea 17 and died.

15. Image Pool

The passage opens into a large ca-vern filled with a bubbling pool ofblack fluid and a powerful odor ofrotting meat. Streams of the liquidtrickle from cracks in the westwall and empty into the pool.

Without warning, the pool startsto boil. A whirlpool widens overthe surface, going faster andfaster.

The black liquid is lichling fluid. Ifthe party leaves the cavern, thewhirlpool subsides, and the surfacebecomes calm in five rounds.

Otherwise, if the party remains inthe cavern for two rounds, a hazy im-age rises from the whirlpool and hov-ers in mid-air�the ghostly figure of abald-headed man with pleading blueeyes and a curly blonde beard. Theman wears a long robe covered with

small circles. This is an image ofAmry Wolover.

The image opens its mouth tospeak, and the party hears a voice intheir heads, as soft as an autumnwind. �Come to the heart . . . come tothe heart . . .� The image then disap-pears, and the pool is suddenly calm.If the PCs return to this area, the poolremains still; they will not experiencethe image a second time.

The lichling fluid pool is about 10'deep and contains nothing of inter-est. (See area 11 for damage resultingfrom contact with the fluid.) Thecracks in the north wall lead to tinypassage that wind for miles into theearth.

Both passages leading from the ca-vern slant down from the pool.

16. The Thing on theShore

The air in this cavern smells like asickening combination of sour milkand rotten meat. A mixture of lichlingfluid (from the stream leading fromthe pool in area 15) and milky liquidwith yellowish lumps (from thestream pouring down from the poolin area 17) fills the oblong pool cen-tered in the cavern. A 5�-wide streamof the lichling fluid and milky liquidmixture flows east.

The 3�-deep pool emits the foulodor of rotten meat and sour milk,but causes no damage. The area 17liquid cools the lichling fluid from ar-ea 15, while the lichling fluid dilutesthe area 17 liquid, making it less nox-ious. There is nothing of interest inthe pool; the lumps are masses of or-ganic tissue.

A small black object can be seen onthe north shore of the pool, movingslowly towards area 17. Closer exam-ination reveals the object to be a 6�cockroach shell with a pair of raggedgauzy wings and a single 3�-long armbone, ending in a bony hand with fivefingers; the bones resemble those of atiny human. The object drags itselfalong the floor with its hand, at amovement rate of 1. This is a defec-

41

tive lichling, still alive, that acciden-tally crawled here from area 17 andis now trying to find its way back.

If the party follows the thing, it leadsthem to area 17; the lichling crawls in-to the pool and disappears. If the PCsdisturb it in any way, it flutters into theair, then makes a beeline towards thenearest PC, flying with a rate of 3. Un-less the thing is swatted out of the airor destroyed, it grabs and claws thetargeted PC; the targeted victim suffers1d2 damage per round. The lichling at-tacks until destroyed. Ripping it free ofits targeted victim (which any PC cando) automatically pulls its arm off andkills it; otherwise, assume it is AC 3 andhas 3 hp.

17. Dead Pool

The odor of sour milk and rotteneggs in this cavern is so strong itmakes your eyes water. In the ca-vern is a pool of milky liquid thickwith yellowish lumps. There aremounds of black shells piled in thepool and along its shores. Tinybones and wings protrude fromthe piles. A few of the bones andwings are twitching.

Streams of the milky liquid, thickwith yellow lumps and an occa-sional black shell, come fromcracks in the north wall and spillinto the pool.

The cracks in the north wall lead tosmall passages that wind for miles in-to the earth, ending in the modifiedbrain of Icelia�s husk (see area 13,Chapter 4). Defective lichlings,spawned in the brain area, are dis-charged into the passages and depos-i ted in th i s pool , where theyeventually rot away.

The yellow lumps are masses of or-ganic tissue, discharged in area 12 ofChapter 4 along with the defectivelichlings. The mounds of black shellsare piles of defective lichlings, eachabout 6� long. There are all kinds ofdefects: Some have only bony arms,others have only legs. Some are limb-

less, having only tiny human-likeskulls with long fangs. A few onlyhave a pair of ragged gauzy wings.Most are dead, though a few still re-tain a slight spark of life, causing theirwings and limbs to twitch.

Every PC who enters this cavernmust make a Constitution check; fail-ure means violent nausea from thestench, 1d4 damage, and a fall to theground, where the character cannotact for the next 2d4 rounds.

The pool is about 10� deep; PCs im-mersed in the pool suffer 1d6 damageper round of exposure to the foul,corrosive liquid.

The first PC who comes within 3� ofa defective pile notices the shellstwitching more violently, rockingback and forth, and vibrating theirwings. If the PC doesn�t immediatelymove away from the pile, a horde ofdefective lichlings swoops from thepile and swarms over the PC. Themindless defectives attack for threerounds. They inflict damage on thetargeted PC as follows: round 1�3d6points; round 2�2d6 (about a thirdfall harmlessly to the ground); round3�1d6 (another third fall). Afterthree rounds, the defectives fallaway, lifeless and without energy.

If the victim remains still and doesnot defend against the defectives,halve the damage. Similarly, if the vic-tim remains still and one or morecompanions try to fight off the in-sects, halve the damage again. How-ever, i f the victim moves, thedefectives become more agitated andincrease their assault; attempts to at-tack the defectives have no significanteffect on the damage they inflict. Thedefectives are vulnerable to the rodof immobile insects from Chapter 1.

Only one PC is attacked by the de-fectives, regardless of any subse-quent actions the party takes.

18. Green StreamAs the passage winds east, the

stream becomes dark green and lessmalodorous. The party notices thinstreams of green water seeping fromcracks along the northern walls of

the passage. Continuing east, the wa-ter contains fewer and fewer tracesof lichling fluid (from area 15) andyellow lumps (from area 17).

The green liquid smells like sea wa-ter and is undrinkable. The green wa-ter comes from sources deep insidethe earth; its color comes from vari-ous minerals and salts.

If the PCs haven�t yet been to area15, they experience the vision of Wo-lover (see area 15) when they reachthe intersection of areas 18 and 19;the vision beckons them west (to-wards area 15). The PCs experiencethis vision only once.

19. Sticky StairwayAt the south end of this passage is a

sticky stairway rising up to a mistdoorway. The stairway is similar tothe one in area 10, save that there aretwo bodies at the foot of the stairswith four lichlings atop them. Thelichlings attack with ferocious speed,gaining a -1 bonus to Initiative rolls.

Lichling (4): Int animal; AL CE; AC1; MV 3; Fl 24 (B); HD 2 + 2; hp 15;THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 (bite);SD can only be struck by +1 orbetter magical weapons; immuneto charm, s leep, enfeeblement,polymorph, cold, electricity, fear;insanity, and death spells; SZ S; ML19; XP 270. (See page 63 for moreabout the lichling.)

The bodies are of two treasurehunters whose luck got them quitefar, but not far enough. One, clad innow rent chainmail, carries a scimi-tar +3 which constantly glows abright emerald green when un-sheathed (equivilent to torch light).His companion, a female mage, wearsa ring of jumping and she carries abeaker of plentiful potions in herbackpack. There is nothing else of in-terest here.

20. Battle RoomIf the PCs listen on the west side of

the mist door leading to this room,

42

they hear the sounds of loud rum-bling, as of boulders striking theground, interspersed with hisses andlow grunts. If the PCs enter the room,read the following.

The packed earth floor of this hugegranite cavern is lit by the softgreen glow of fungus covering thewalls. Thick granite stalagmitesrise from the floor; long stalactitesdrip from the ceiling. There isbrown sand in front of a wideopening on the east wall of the ca-vern. Two small pits open in thefloor near a pair of mist doors inthe north wall.

In the center of the room you seetwo huge serpentine monsterslocked in combat, writhing on thefloor in a tangle of coils.

One creature looks like a 40�-long violet worm with a long sting-er on the end of its tail. The wormlashes its tail at its opponent�a 50'slug with shiny gray skin. The slugretaliates by spewing a stream ofsizzling liquid at the worm. Thewounds on both creatures disap-pear a moment after they are in-flicted.

On the back of each creature,you can just barely see a cloudy hu-manoid figure. The surfaces of thefigures crackle with blue sparks. Asingle eyeball made of bright bluecrystal is centered in the head ofeach figure. The figures kick theirmounts, urging them to attacktheir opponents.

The cavern ceiling rises about 150�.The stalactites and stalagmites aresolid granite, averaging 10� wide and30� long. The pits (20a) are lichling flu-id geysers, exactly like the one de-scribed in area 13. The geysers eruptsimultaneously every 20 minutes;when the party enters the cavern,roll 1d20 to determine the number ofminutes until the next eruption. Thesand pit (20b) is only a few feet deep;characters do not sink in the sand,

but their movement rate is halvedwhen moving through it.

The cloudy one-eyed figures arewraiths, loyal minions of Icelia. Theirmounts are a purple worm and a gi-ant slug.

Wraiths (2): Int very; AL LE; AC 4;MV 12, Fl 24 (B); HD 5 + 3; hp 41each; THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6;SA successful attacks drain a levelof experience from victim, includ-ing hit points and all abilities asso-ciated with that level (spells, etc.);lost experience must be earnedagain or magically restored; SD im-mune to all weapons except silver(half damage) or + 1 or better (fulldamage); immune to sleep, charm,hold, death, and cold-based spells;SZ M; ML 15; XP 3,000.

Purple worm (Lorris Larr): Int non;AL N; AC 6; MV 9; HD 15; hp 110;THAC0 5; #AT 1 and 1; Dmg 2d12(bite) and 2d4 (tail stinger); SA poi-son (victim hit by stinger must savevs. poison or die); swallow whole(if attack roll exceeds requiredscore to hit by 4, victim is swallow-ed and dies in six rounds, com-pletely digested in 12 turns;swallowed victim can attack fromthe inside; interior of worm is AC9, but each round, digestive juicescause a cumulative -1 penalty todamage that a swallowed victimcan cause worm); SZ G; ML 12; XP13,000.

Giant slug (Culhane Ohna): Int non;AL N; AC 8; MV 6; HD 12; hp 93;THAC0 9; #AT 1; Dmg 1d12; SAspits acid once per round (inflicts4d8 damage, save vs. breath weap-on for half damage; equipmentmust save vs. acid or be destroyed;first spit has 10% chance of hitting,subsequent spits have a 90% basechance of hitting at 10 yards, witha -10% penalty per additional 10yards; if spit misses, the acid hits10� away from the target in a ran-dom direction); SD not harmed byblunt weapons or spells that causecrushing or impact damage; SZ G;

ML 12; XP 15,000.

The worm and the slug originallywere two human explorers namedCulhane Ohna and Lorris Larr, luredto the keep by the promise of trea-sure. Icelia transformed them intothese grotesque creatures, cursingthem to fight each other for all eterni-ty, goaded on by the wraiths. While inthese forms, Culhane and Lorris haveno memories of their former lives.

The emotional trauma of the em-battled creatures feeds the lichlings.The wounds they inflict on each oth-er instantly regenerate. However,damage inflicted on the worm andthe slug by other sources (such as thelichling fluid geysers�which theyavoid�and the PCs) is taken normal-ly. When either creature is reduced to0 hp, it transforms as described be-low.

The slug and the worm direct theirattacks against each other and notagainst the wraiths. However, whenthe party enters the cavern, the crea-tures immediately become aware oftheir presence. The worm and theslug then cease attacking each other,and squirm towards the party. Goad-ed by the wraiths, the worm and theslug attack the party relentlessly, us-ing stinger and acid breath attackswhenever possible. They also try toback PCs against the cavern wall tomake them easier to bite or swallow.

The slug and the worm don�t gonear the mist doors. Not only are theytoo big to go through, they avoid go-ing near the lichling fluid geysers. Butthey pursue through the 20c opening,which leads to a dead end.

If a mount is reduced to 0 hp, itswraith rider continues to attack, tak-ing to the air and trying to strike withits energy drain. The wraiths are im-mune to the lichling fluid geysers andpursue anywhere in the cavern,though they will not pursue througha mist door.

The wraiths are subject to all vul-nerabilities of normal wraiths. How-ever, if a wraith is reduced to 0 hp, ittransforms into a small puddle ofblack mist, its crystal eye suspended

44

in the center. The mist smells like ran-cid meat but is harmless. If a PC re-moves the crystal eye (Strength checkto pry it free of the mist), the mist dis-sipates and the wraith is permanentlydestroyed. Otherwise, if the eye is un-disturbed, the wraith completely re-generates an hour later. (The crystaleyes are required by the spirit in area31 to take the party to area 33).

When the worm or the slug is re-duced to 0 hp, it transforms into ashimmering image of a normal-sizedhuman, sprawling helplessly on theground and moaning in pain. The im-ages represent the spirits of Culhaneand Lorris. The slug becomes an im-age of a young man with a long noseand a plump belly (Culhane); theworm becomes an image of a youngman with a lean body and long fin-gers (Lorris). The images can speakbut can take no other actions, includ-ing movement. Unless the PCs dispelthe images (see below), they revertback to their creature forms in onehour, all hit points intact, and resumeattacking; if no PCs are present, theyattack each other as described above.They resume these attacks even iftheir wraith riders have been de-stroyed.

If the PCs approach the Culhane im-age and speak to him, the image re-sponds only with incoherent mutters,along the lines of �must feed thebugs� and �the bugs are our broth-ers.�

The PCs find the Lorris image to bemore lucid, smiling weakly at theirapproach and speaking in a soft whis-per. Lorris identifies himself and ex-plains that he and his partner arefrom the village of Garnerr (see Chap-ter 1). The two entered Wolover�sKeep about 50 years ago in search oftreasure. They were intercepted andkilled by the wraiths. �The power ofIcelia transformed us into abomina-tions. We were cursed to fight eachother until the end of time.�

Lorris knows nothing about the lo-cation of the keys or the treasureroom, but can supply the followinginformation. If the PCs don�t ask theright questions, Lorris offers any in-

formation you feel the PCs shouldhave.

� Icelia is responsible for the laby-rinth. All of its minions are her ser-vants. �Icelia was a lich. She issomething else now.� He doesn�tknow what.

� The insect creatures are Icelia�sspawns. �They feed on trauma andfear, like a man feeds on bread andmeat.� Lorris doesn�t know any-thing else about the lichlings.

� The PCs are not Lorris�s firstwould-be liberators. �Recently, ahuman carrying a green glowingaxe came here and tried to free us,but he lacked the magic to do so.He was brave and kind.� Lorris hasno further details, since he trans-formed back into the purple wormbefore the human left. �He may bedead now, so far as I know.� Lorrisis describing Lenzmin Tier.

When the PCs complete their ques-tions, Lorris begs them to �releaseour spirits and end our torment.� Re-leasing the spirits requires removecurse or wish (one spell per image). Ifa spirit is released in this manner, itdisappears in a flash of soft light andis never seen again. (At the end of theadventure, award extra XP to the PCwho freed the spirit.) If not freed, theimage eventually reverts to its crea-ture form as described above.

21. Sloping PassageThis passage slopes down in a

northwesterly direction. The passagesmells vaguely of sea water (carriedfrom the stream in area 18).

22. Small PoolThis is a 10�-deep pool of opaque

green water, similar to the water inarea 18. A bulky black figure issprawled next to the west shore. Thecreature has clawed feet, thick scales,four eyes, and huge mandibles. Clos-er inspection shows it to be coveredwith deep slashes; one mandiblehangs limply from its jaws and an arm

is grotesquely twisted.This is a dead umber hulk from ar-

ea 23, killed by a band of undead ma-rine scrags when it ventured tooclose to the pool. The scrags current-ly lurk in area 25.

23. Rough PassageThis rough passage appears to have

been made by clawing and scoopingaway huge chunks of rock. In fact,the passage was made by five umberhulks. The hulks investigated the poolin area 22 and were attacked by aband of undead marine scrags (whowithdrew to area 25). One of thehulks was killed; the other fourcarved a new passage to the eastwhere they now wait near the area-24 cracks for passers-by to ambushand eat.

Unless the PCs have already dealtwith the hulks in area 24, the hulkslurch from the darkness, attacking ifthe PCs enter the east passage of area23 (no surprise modifier for thehulks). The hulks attack with theirclaws and jaws, using their confusiongaze if possible.

Umber hulks (4): Int 10; AL CE; AC2; MV 6, Burrow 1d6 (soft earth,solid stone); HD 8 + 8; hp 60 each;THAC0 11; #AT 3; Dmg 3d4/3d4/1d10; SA looking into creature�seyes causes confusion as per spellunless victim saves vs. spells; oppo-nents have a - 5 on their surpriserolls if creature springs from crackin wall; SD infravision to 90�; SZ L;ML 13; XP 4,000.

If the battle is going against thehulks�for instance, if they lose halftheir hit points�or if the PCs retreat,the hulks try to cause a cave-in of theeast passage of area 23 (25% chanceof success per round per hulk). If thecave-in succeeds, each character inthis passage suffers 6d6 damage. Ittakes a PC buried in rubble an hour todig free; an unburied PC who helpscan cut this time in half. The hulks digtheir way to freedom, causing cave-ins behind them so PCs can�t follow.

24. Cracked PassageLong cracks line the north wall of

this passage. The cracks were createdby four umber hulks, who lurk be-hind the wall in the east passage of ar-ea 23, waiting for passing victims (seearea 23 for hulk statistics). Unless theparty has already dealt with the hulksin area 23, the hulks burst throughthe cracks and attack as the partypasses by.

The hulks fight as described in area23; they pursue the party to any areawest of area 24, but will not go east(toward area 25). If the PCs elude thehulks for 15 rounds, the hulks give upand dig themselves a new passage,causing cave-ins behind them so theycan�t be followed. If the battle goesagainst the hulks�for instance, ifthey each lose half or more of theirhit points�they try to cause a cave-inas described in area 23.

25. Green Pool

The descending passage opens intoa vast cavern with shiny granitewalls. A pool of murky green wa-ter fills the cavern; a ball of bonestied tightly with what look likedark vines floats on the pool�s sur-face. You smell the odor of sea wa-ter, but you don�t hear anything.

A 3�-wide granite pathway crossesthe pool, which is about 15� deep.Slimy patches of algae cover much ofthe pathway, which contains a 10� gap(25a). Except for a small ledge nearthe west opening (25b), the perimeterof the pool is only a few inches wideand is too narrow to walk on; thepathway is the only way to traversethe cavern on foot. A 5�-wide under-water passage (25c) links this poolwith the smaller pool in area 22. Sev-eral smaller passages carry excesswater deep into the earth, maintain-ing the level of the pool at a relativelyconstant level.

Six marine scrags lurk beneath the

45

surface. Icelia�s enchantments havegiven the scrags the immunities ofzombies; they otherwise resemblenormal marine scrags. (For the pur-poses of regeneration, assume thepool has the properties of salt water.)The scrags are 8� tall, with pot belliesand rows of needle-like teeth. Shardsof rotting green scaly hide hang fromtheir dark bones.

Modified marine scrags (8): Intlow; AL CE; AC 2; MV 3, SW 12; HD6 + 12; hp 60 each; THAC0 13; #AT3; Dmg 1d4/1d4/1d8+8; SD begin-ning three rounds after it is firstwounded, regenerates 3 hp/roundwhen immersed in salt water;scrags reduced to 0 hp stand upand fight as soon as they have posi-tive hp (1 or more); a natural attackroll of 20 severs the scrag�s limb;severed limbs continue to fightwith normal chances to hit, rejoin-ing body at end of battle; only fireand acid cause permanent damageto scrags (destroying its regenera-tive abilities); immune to sleep,charm, hold, death magic, poisons,cold-based spells, and holy water;cannot be turned; SZ L; ML 16; XP2,000.

The bobbing ball (25d) is a collec-tion of hollow bones bound togetherwith tough aquatic vines that grow onthe bottom of the pool. A long vinetied to a heavy stone prevents the ballfrom moving out of position. Thebone ball is intended to distract in-truders, giving the scrags a betterchance to ambush them.

Dark slime lines the bottom of thepool. The slime is comprised of tissuelumps from area 17, rotting vegeta-tion, and chunks of putrefied hidefrom the scrags. Each scrag carries ahandful of slime that it can throw 10�.If a scrag hits a surfaced PC with thisslime or rubs it into the face of a sub-merged PC (make a normal attack rollin either case), the PC must succeed ina Constitution check or suffer ex-treme nausea, making all attacks at a-2 penalty for the next hour. Scragsare unaffected by their slime.

The scrags hope that one or moreof the PCs will enter the water to ex-amine the bone ball or to swim thepathway gap (25a). If so, the scrags at-tack each PC in the water (one scragper PC), first with their slime ball andthen with their claws and teeth. Atthe same time, the remaining scragssurface and try to pull all PCs on thepathway into the water; PCs on thebridge must make a Dexterity checkwith a + 4 penalty (due to the algae onthe bridge and the strength of thescrags) or fall in.

Scrags who fail to push their vic-tims either join the attack against anyother fallen PCs, or submerge, surfac-ing again in a few rounds to make an-other pushing attempt at PCs still onthe pathway.

If it appears to the scrags that noneof the PCs will voluntarily enter thewater, the scrags surface and try topush in all PCs on the pathway. Thescrags then continue to attack as de-scribed above. When the opportunitypresents itself, the scrags scoop newhandfuls of slime from the bottom ofthe pool to attack PCs who haven�t yetbeen successfully slimed.

The scrags fight to the death withany PCs in the water. They make noattempt to move onto the pathway, al-though they can freely swim under it.If a PC flees from the pool throughthe underwater passage (25c), thescrags pursue; otherwise, the scragswill not leave area 25.

26. TeleporterAn arch of black granite rises over

the golden door leading to this room.A strong odor of oranges emanatesfrom beneath the door. Inside is apool of orange mist. Any PC steppinginside is automatically teleported toarea 9.

27. Hovering KeyAn ivory key appears to be hover-

ing in the center of this black graniteroom. The walls contain flecks of pol-ished ivory. A soft halo of white lightsurrounds the key. A white stain is

46

centered on the floor beneath thekey.

The key is actually an illusory im-age with no substance; staves andother physical objects pass harm-lessly through it. However, if any liv-ing object, such as a PC�s hand,touches the image, the image van-ishes and a 10� × 10� granite piston setflush in the ceiling slams to the floor.The piston immediately withdrawsback into the ceiling. All PCs slammedby the piston suffer 6d8 damage (Dex-terity check for half damage). The im-age reappears 10 rounds later,resetting the trap.

The white stain on the floor is fromcrushed bones that have been pound-ed flat, the remains of a long-ago in-truder who triggered the piston trap.

28. Big DoorThis golden door resembles the oth-

er doors found elsewhere in thestronghold, except that it is about50% larger. The door is actually akiller mimic, who attacks the first PCwho touches it. The mimic fights tothe death and pursues if necessary.

Killer mimic: Int semi; AL NE; AC 7;MV 3; HD 10; hp 74; THAC0 11;#AT 1; Dmg 3d4 (smash); SA glue(any creature or item touchingcreature is stuck fast; alcoholweakens the glue in three rounds,or victim can break free with suc-cessful Strength check at +2 pen-alty); SD immune to acid; SZ L; ML;13; XP 3,000.

29.Archway/Teleporter

An ivory arch arcs over the goldendoor leading to this room. Except forflecks of ivory imbedded in the blackwalls, this room is identical to area 6. APC stepping into the orange mist is im-mediately teleported to area 9.

30. Butterfly RoomRead the following if the party en-

ters this room.

The walls of this room are ivory.They�re lined with tall white trees.The tree limbs are thin but reachalmost to the ceiling. Hundreds ofwhite butterflies perch in thebranches, beating their wingsslowly and steadily.

Against the south wall sits theghostly image of a young man, sur-rounded by a clutter of ivory frag-ments and broken bones. Theimage is bright blue, except fortwo black holes opening in hishead where his eyes should be.The image is writing on a piece ofghostly parchment with a ghostlyfeather pen. �My eyes,� he moansin a thin squeaky voice. �Bring memy eyes . . .�

The trees are solid ivory. The but-terflies appear to be normal whitebutterflies, but have the heads of tinyhumans, contorted in misery and de-spair. (The butterflies were human in-truders lured into the keep whomIcelia killed; she cursed their spiritsand resurrected them in this form.) Itis impossible to communicate withthe butterflies. If attacked, the butter-flies do not defend themselves. Awish or remove curse ends the curseof a single butterfly; it vanishes in aflash of soft light and is never seenagain.

The image represents the spirit ofHurcol Nirimor, a human scholar whomade his way into the strongholdabout 20 years ago. Hurcol planned tokeep a diary of his experiences, laterto be used as a basis for a series ofbooks about the supernatural. Iceliakilled him, then resurrected him inthis form, plucking the eyes from hishead and turning them to crystal.(The wraiths in area 20 now havethem.) Hurcol has no memory of hisoriginal life. Since he�s only an image,Hurcol cannot attack or be attacked.

If the PCs speak to Hurcol or other-wise make their presence known,Hurcol gropes the air in front of him.

�Interview subjects!� he exclaims.�Would you mind answering a fewquestions?� If the PCs decline, Hurcolsays he understands. �I respect yourprivacy.� He continues with hisscrawls and mumbles about his losteyes. If the PCs agree to the inter-view, Hurcol asks them disjointedquestions. (�Who are you?� � �Haveany pets?� � �Do you have a favoritesong?� � �What day is it?�). If the PCsexamine his ghostly parchments, theysee only the scrawls of a child.

Hurcol has no useful informationfor the party; if they ask him a ques-tion, he says, �Let me look into thatfor you,� then grabs a random pair ofbroken bones or ivory fragmentsfrom the pile around him and putsthem in his head where his eyesshould be. The objects fall throughhis head and clatter to the floor. �Sor-ry,� he mutters, then continues his in-terview.

If the PCs give Hurcol the blue crys-tal eyes (from area 20), he acceptsthem and puts them in his head. Theeyes stay in place. Hurcol blinks andlooks around. �Much better,� he says,then turns to the party. �Now, let�s trythis again. What is it you wanted toknow?� Hurcol still has no useful in-formation (other than described be-low), answering the party�s questionswith a shrug and a sheepish �Couldn�ttell you.�

However, if the PCs ask for help inlocating the treasure room or the ivo-ry key, and they�ve given him his eyes,Hurcol nods affirmatively. �Yes, I canhelp you,� he says. �That one I canhelp you with.� He steps past the par-ty and walks to the center of theroom. �The key!� he shouts. �Take usto the key!�

All the butterflies instantly stopbeating their wings. The entire roombegins to sink into the ground, slowlyat first, then faster and faster, as if theroom were plunging in free fall downan empty shaft.

Hurcol seems oblivious to the freefall. �Now where were we?� he asks

47

the party, then proceeds with hisinane interview questions, still re-cording the answers in meaninglessscrawls. If the PCs ask what�s happen-ing, Hurcol says matter-of-factly,�We�re going to the key. Isn�t thatwhat you wanted?�

Hurcol continues with his interviewas the room falls. Each PC must makea Dexterity check to avoid fallingfrom the rapid descent, but suffersno damage in any case. After tenrounds of descent, the room slows.Five rounds later, the room stopsmoving, settling gently as if on a bedof feathers.

�We�re here,� says Hurcol. �Goodluck.� The image of Hurcol shimmersand fades. A moment later, it�s gone.

31. Ivory DeathThe descending room (from area

30) lands in the area indicated by thedotted lines. After the image of Hur-col disappears, the walls of the de-scending room also shimmer andfade; the ivory trees and butterfliesremain.

After the walls of the descendingroom vanish, the PCs see an immensecavern with sheer ivory walls. The40� ceiling is enchanted with perma-nent continual light, bathing the ca-vern in a dim glow. Before themlooms an ivory statue of a head, near-ly 30� in diameter (31a). The head re-sembles a human skull covered withwithered and rotting flesh. Shanks oflong matted hair, also rendered in ivo-ry, extend from the scalp. Intense pin-points of red light shine from theblack eye sockets. Imbedded in thecenter of the forehead, in plain view,is an ivory key. (The ivory statue rep-resents the head of Icelia.)

Dozens of spindly ivory trees, theirbranches filled with white butterflieswhose wings beat in a slow, steadyrhythm, sprout from the ivory floorthroughout the room. The butterfliesand trees resemble those in area 30.Shallow dish-like indentations openin two sections of the cavern floor(31b and 31c). There is no exit from

the cavern in sight. smashing attacks.If the PCs attack the head in any

way, or come within 10' of it, the lightin its eyes flares brightly and its jawsslowly widen. The head spews a blastof poison gas in a cone 50� wide and100� long, reeking of decay anddeath; all those in the cone�s area ofeffect suffer 3d6 damage (save vs.poison for half damage).

Immediately after the stench at-tack, the ground near 31b and 31c be-gins to rumble. A moment later, two20�-diameter i v o r y f i s t s b u r s tthrough the 31b and 31c indenta-tions. Each hand has 12 fingers thatend in snarling reptilian heads withrazor-sharp fangs.

Butterflies: A butterfly swarmsurrounds each PC; it cannot be evad-ed. A swarm does no damage but is sodistracting that the PC attacks at a -2 penalty. A swarm can be dispersedif the PC spends a round doing noth-ing but fending it off with smoke orfire. A swarm also disperses if it suf-fers 25 hp damage; assume theswarm is AC 7. A dispersed swarmleaves the PC alone for 1d4 rounds,then returns; if a PC disperses thesame swarm a second time, theswarm no longer returns.

Head statue: The head statuecan�t move, but it can swivel to makespecial gas attacks. Each gas attack isa cone 50� wide and 100' long; notethat PCs are safe from the gases atthe far ends of the cavern. The headcan emit any of the following spews,one per round:

1. Poison gas. (Described above.)2. Fear gas. Any PC exposed to this

colorless, odorless gas must save vs.breath weapon or fall trembling tothe ground, unable to act for 2d4rounds.

Ivory hydra hands (2): Int semi;AL CE; AC 1; MV 9; HD 12, 8 hp perhead; THAC0 9; #AT 12 or 1; Dmg1d10 (bite from each head) or 4d10(smash victims in 10' radius); SZ G;ML 10; XP 2,000.

The hydra hands lurch towards theparty, the reptilian heads hissing andsnapping. As the hands lurch, all thebutterflies flutter from the trees andmove towards the party in thickcloud-like swarms.

Once the hydra hands burs tthrough the floor, the hands, the but-terflies, and the ivory head attack theparty as described below. The handsand the head fight until destroyed, oruntil the PCs escape the chamber, asdescribed below.

Hydra hands: The hydra handsare connected to long, flexible ivoryarms extending from the floor. Thehydra hands can reach anywhere inthe chamber. Every round, a handcan either make biting attacks againstPCs (up to four heads can attack a sin-gle foe), or it can form the heads intoa fist and smash all PCs within a 10'radius. Make a normal attack rollagainst each potential victim. Eachsmashed victim suffers 4d10 damage;items must save vs. crushing blow.

Each arm is AC 1 and has 70 hp. Ifthe PCs sever a hand�s arm, the handcontinues to move and attack, but itcan no longer form a fist and make

3. Silencing gas. Any character ex-posed to this gray, odorless gas mustsave vs. spells or lose the ability tospeak for 2d4 rounds.

The head statue is AC 1. If it suffers120 hp damage, it crumbles into dust,leaving the intact ivory key behind.Destroying the head also reveals agolden door that was hidden behindit. The door opens to a winding ivorystaircase that descends deeper intothe earth.

32. Mosaic RoomThis room is similar to area 9. How-

ever, there is only one diagram andone arch, both made of iron platedwith fool�s gold. The diagram and thearch are icy cold to the touch.

Above the arch is a message spelledout in a mosaic of gold-plated iron. Themessage reads: THREE KEYS FOR THEGOLD. As before, the phrase meansthat three keys are necessary to unlockthe golden door leading to the treasurechamber (area 33).

33. Key Room

Beyond the door lies an immenseroom brightly lit with shining gold-en globes suspended from the ceil-ing. Centered in the room is asquare pit, filled to the top withthousands upon thousands of glis-tening gold keys. A soiled red cloththe size of a handkerchief extendsfrom the key mound in the centerof the pit.

A 30�-square golden door sitsflush in the north wall. You seesparkling black gems in the door.The center of the door containsthree keyholes.

The globes, keys, and door are allmade of iron covered with a thin lay-er of fool�s gold. The globes are per-manently enchanted with continuallight. The door is identical to the doorpreviously experienced as a vision bythe Chosen PC (Veilstone Peaks en-counter 15, Chapter 1).

So powerful is the magic that en-chants the huge golden door that noteven a wish can open it. At your op-tion, a wish might allow a PC insidethe door without opening it, but notethat the PCs can�t open the door frominside, either. However, if the violetkey (from area 8p), the ivory key(from area 31), and the old key (area3, Level 1 of the Wolover�s Keep map)are inserted in the keyholes (each keyfits in any keyhole), proceed immedi-ately to the area 34 encounter.

Aside from minor variations in col-or and size, the 99,999 keys in the pitare identical. All fit in the keyholes inthe huge golden door, but none ofthem open it.

The red cloth is part of a velvetrobe. The robe surrounds the skele-tal remains of a human male. Theseare the remains of Hakem, whomBalko told the party about in the pro-logue. When Hakem and his sisterKharla reached this area, the treach-erous Kharla stabbed him in the backand dumped his body in the key pit,

48

so that she could keep the treasurefor herself.

If the party doesn�t have the keysneeded to open the treasure door, letthem experiment for a while with al-ternate methods of opening it (all ofthem fail). When they�re on the vergeof giving up, proceed to the �ClawedIntruders� section.

Clawed Intruders

Your attention is drawn to a lowhumming coming from the westwall. The humming increases in in-tensity, becoming so loud that itseems to drill into your brain, as aten-by-ten section of the wall be-gins to glow. As the hummingbuilds to a painful crescendo,streams of white light flare fromthe glowing square, and the hum-ming stops.

The wall section is gone. Stand-ing in the opening is a woman withthe head of a cockroach. She hastwitching black antennae, a pair ofbulbous golden eyeballs, andwisps of long black hair growingfrom her shiny scalp. She wears atattered scarlet robe and carries aglowing silver rod in her clawedhand. Eight other humanoids, justas hideous, cower behind her.

The woman steps through theopening. The other creatures fol-low her closely. �You seek trea-sure?� she asks in a raspy voice. �Ibring you a gift far more valuablethan gold and gems.�

The creatures are mindless lichlingservitors (see area 8k for details). Thefemale is Kharla, another servitor.

Lichling servitors (9): Int semi; ALCE; AC 2; MV 12; HD 6; hp 45;THAC0 15; #AT 2; Dmg 2d6/2d6(claws); SD can only be struck by+ 1 or better magical weapons; im-mune to poison, charm, sleep, en-feeblement, polymorph, fear, cold,electricity, insanity, and death

spells; vulnerable to rod of immo-bile insects from Chapter 1; SZ L;ML 15; XP 975.

Kharla originally entered thestronghold with her brother Hakem,in search of riches. She killed himwhen they found the treasure room.Impressed with Kharla�s treachery,Icelia murdered her, then resur-rected her to serve as a commanderof the lichling servitors. Icelia al-lowed Kharla to retain her intelli-gence, though Kharla has no memoryof her former life.

In exchange for a promise of a king-dom of human slaves to rule�apromise Icelia has no intention ofkeeping�Kharla now willingly servesIcelia. Her principal duty is findingexceptionally able humans who canbe transformed into new servitors.

Kharla has the same statistics as theother servitors. Also, Kharla has awand of lightning with 12 charges.Kharla opened the section of wall bytouching it with a small copper ringshe wears on the claw of her righthand. The wall section remains openfor 15 minutes.

Before the PCs can act against theservitors, Kharla hurls a glass spherethat shatters and fills the room with agray mist. All PCs in the room mustsave vs. poison at a -7 penalty orlapse into unconsciousness for anhour. The servitors attack PCs whodon�t succumb to the gas; if consciousPCs don�t surrender, the servitorsfight to the death. Unconscious andcaptured PCs are taken to the cavernnorth of the treasure room; proceedto area 36.

34. Treasure RoomWhen the proper keys are inserted

in the keyholes of the golden door (inarea 33), the door disappears, reveal-ing a vast circular chamber filledwith staggering amounts of treasure:pearls, opals, and sapphires as nu-merous as grains of sand on a beach;a sparkling ocean of diamonds, emer-

49

alds, and rubies; glistening drifts ofgold and silver coins.

A moment after the door disap-pears, it is replaced with the ghostlyimage of a human skull covered withwithered and rotting flesh andshanks of long matted hair. Intensepinpoints of red light shine from theblack eye sockets. (This is an image ofIcelia, similar to the ivory statue in ar-ea 31). The image cackles loudly, itsvoice like nails scraping on slate.Opening its jaws wide, it inhalessharply. Every PC, regardless of hislocation, is swept into the jaws of theimage as if pulled by a powerful vac-uum. The PCs can do nothing to resistthe vacuum; they crash into a pile ofgold coins, each suffering 1d6 dam-age from the impact.

When all the PCs have been drawninto the treasure room, the imagevanishes, and the door reappears, ef-fectively trapping them inside. The5�-thick door is made of iron, perma-nently enchanted with wall of force.The room is made of black granite.

The chamber is pitch black. PCswho examine the treasure find thatmost of it has been fused together inimmense clumps. Icelia did this toprevent theft. Tampering with thefused treasure in any way causes it tocrumble into near worthless dust.

Diligent searching reveals manyloose gems and coins that the PCsmay take. All gems listed in the�Gems� section of Appendix 1 in theDungeon Master�s Guide are in amplesupply. Determine how much trea-sure is available to the party accord-ing to your own campaign�sstandards, up to about 50,000 gp val-ue per PC.

The PCs also discover several skele-tal remains among the treasure piles.These are adventurers who weretrapped in the treasure room anddied here. If the PCs examine thenorth side of the room, they discoveran 8�-diameter hole that appears tohave been crudely hacked into thewall . The hole opens to an 8�-diameter, roughly chiseled passagethat winds into the earth.

35. Dying AllySprawled against the north wall of

this cavern is a stocky human clutch-ing a green-glowing battle axe andwearing a copper bracelet. His eyesare glassy, his lips are cracked, andhis skin is bright yellow. Thin streamsof yellow liquid trickle from smallcracks in the cavern wall. The humanstruggles to rise when he sees theparty, then collapses back to theground. He smiles weakly. �Good tosee you,� he gasps. �Looks like you gothere just in time.�

Lenzmin Tier (13th-level humanfighter): AL LG; AC 5; MV nil (dueto illness); hp 5 (normally 90 hp, re-duced due to illness); THAC0 nil(normally 8) #AT nil (normally 1);Dmg nil (normally by weapon); ALLG. Carries Stonesplitter (see text).

Tier introduces himself. If the PCsspeak, he interrupts them. �Hear meout,� he says. �I may not last muchlonger.� Tier says he entered thestronghold at the King of Cormyr�s re-quest, and through perseverance�and a great deal of luck� found thekeys needed to unlock the treasureroom door. �I had a bit of help,� he ad-mits, saying that he consulted with anold diviner friend before he arrivedat the keep. �His name is Xamine.Lives in a little town called Melcher.He used his divining skills to figureout which keys I needed.� (If the PCsvisited Melcher in Chapter 1, theymay have heard about Tier�s meetingswith Xamine.)

Once Tier opened the treasuredoor, he was trapped inside like thePCs. Using his axe, Stonesplitter, hehacked open an escape passage. �But Iwent the wrong way. A yellow liquidsprayed through these cracks in thewall and doused me with poison. I ha-ven�t been able to go on.�

Tier was sprayed by a stream fromthe poison pool in area 37. There isn�tenough of the lilac liquid left in thiscavern to harm the PCs. Tier has kepthimself alive through various potionshe�d carried with him, but now he�s

near death.Tier explains that the promise of

treasure is only a ruse to lure peopleinto this stronghold, which was cre-ated by an evil force of enormousmagnitude. �Her name is Icelia. Shemust be stopped, or all the Realmswill be hers.�

Tier gags and chokes, struggling tocatch his breath. When he resumesbreathing normally, the party canquestion him. He has no informationother than that listed below. If thePCs don�t ask the right questions, Tieroffers any of the information that youfeel the PCs should have.

�Who is Icelia?�: �An evil wizardwho was later reborn as a lich. Shehas since become something far morepowerful than a lich, and far moredangerous.� Tier has no details.

�What do you know of herplan?�: �She is creating her own ar-my to conquer the world, an army ofinsectile monstrosities, spawnedfrom her body.� If asked, Tier de-scribes the physical appearance ofthe lichlings; PCs who have seen thelichlings elsewhere recognize Tier�sdescription. �This labyrinth was builtfor Icelia�s spawns. They feed on thefear and emotional trauma of in-truders trying to navigate safely pastits traps and minions.� Tier has nomore details.

�How do we stop Icelia?�: Tierdoesn�t know, but he knows where tofind her. �She is somewhere to theeast.�

�How did you learn all this in-formation?�: �A man appeared tome in a vision. He didn�t say his name,but he had blue eyes, a curly blondebeard, and wore a long robe coveredwith small circles.� The image saidthat in his former life, he was a wiz-ard engaged in magical research tobenefit the poverty-stricken farmersof his homeland. �But Icelia killed himand corrupted his ideas for her ownpurposes.� (The image was that ofAmry Wolover.)

�If you had the keys to thetreasure room door, how werewe able to find them?�: �Perhapsthe keys vanish when the door opens,

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reappearing in their original loca-tions for other intruders to find.�(Good guess�he�s right.)

Stonesplitter: When the partycompletes its questions, Tier givesthem his axe. �This is Stonesplitter. Itnow belongs to you. Use it to cut apath due east, then continue in thatdirection until you find a way to de-stroy Icelia.�

Stonesplitter acts as both a vorpalbattle axe and a spade of colossal ex-cavation, except that it can cut andscoop away sections of solid rock.Tier also gives them his remainingfood (two days� rations for one per-son) and his copper bracelet (value 5gp).

Tier is too weak to accompany theparty. However, if the PCs use magicalor other methods to return Tier to atleast half of his original hit points, hefeels well enough to accompany themfor the rest of their journey, if theyask. Such are his injuries, though,that he can�t walk faster than MV 3. IfTier accompanies the party, he keepsStonesplitter for himself. If the PCsdon�t take Tier with them and returnto this area within an hour, they dis-cover that Tier has died.

If the party uses Stonesplitter to cuta tunnel to the east, or if Tier goeswith them and shows them the way,they enter area 39.

36. TransformationCavern

Events here depend on whether theparty has experienced the �ClawedIntruders� section above.

If the party hasn�t experienced�Clawed Intruders�: The partymost likely has entered this area be-cause they didn�t follow Tier�s direc-tions (see area 35). As soon as theparty enters area 36, they encounterKharla and her eight lichling servitors(see the �Clawed Intruders� sectionfor details). Kharla tries to knock outthe PCs with her glass globe (as de-tailed in �Clawed Intruders�), afterwhich the encounter plays out as de-

scribed below.If the party has experienced

�Clawed Intruders�: The partyawakens in the bottom of a bowl-shaped pit about 15� deep and 20� indiameter (36a); small projections ofjagged rock line the sides of the pit.All PCs have their hands tightlybound behind them with thick vines.All their weapons, armor, and otherpossessions are gone.

The pit is centered in a black gran-ite cavern, illuminated by patches offluorescent fungus clinging to thewalls. The cavern ceiling is 30� high;stalactites and stalagmites, about 5�thick and 10� long, sprout from theceiling and floor.

Kharla and seven of her lichling ser-vitors stand near the perimeter of thepit, staring down at the party. Theeighth servitor stands near the northwall beside a 3�-wide granite boulderthat�s been plugged into a hole in thewall (36b). A tiny stream of yellowishfluid leaks from the boulder, drippinginto a gutter (36c) that leads to the pit.

All of the party�s possessions arepiled near the west wall (36d). Thepassage in the south wall (36e) leadsback to the key room (area 33); it endsat a solid granite wall, enchanted withwall of force (unless the PCs can ne-gate the wall of force and break theirway in, only the touch of Kharla�s cop-per ring can re-open the magical en-try to area 33).

As soon as the PCs regain con-sciousness, Kharla peers into the pitand speaks to them. �You have beenchosen for a great honor. In a shortwhile, you will join the select ranks ofthose who serve the children of Icelia.But first, we must rid you of your re-pulsive flesh.� Kharla motions to theservitor by the granite plug (36b). Theservitor pulls out the boulder, andthick streams of milky fluid with yel-low lumps pour from the hole, flowdown the gutter, and plop wetly intothe party�s pit (36a). When the firstgush of fluid splashes into the pit,each PC must make a Constitutioncheck; failure means violent nauseafrom the stench, losing 1d4 hit pointsand the slippery liquid causes a PC to

fall to the ground. During the next2d4 rounds the character can take noaction. (The party should recognizethis fluid as similar to that in area 17).

The fluid fills the pit at a rate of 1'per round. The PCs cannot float orswim in the thick fluid; once sub-merged in the fluid, they risk drown-ing (refer to the Special UnderwaterRules in the Introduction). Kharla in-tends all PCs to drown in the pit. DeadPCs are left in the pit for 24 hours, atwhich time Icelia will transform thempermanently into NPC lichling servi-tors. In two days� time, the fluid grad-ually seeps into tiny cracks in thebottom of the pit, emptying it.

If they wish, the PCs can speak withKharla while the pit fills. If asked toidentify Icelia, Kharla says only, �Themaster and mother of us all.� If askedabout Hakem, she says, �He was tooweak to serve, fit only for lichlingfood.� If asked about the lichlings, sheidentifies them as �the developingchildren of Icelia�soon to be yourbrothers.� To all other questions, sheanswers, �This is not for children toknow.�

There are three ways the PCs canbreak free of the vines binding them:

● Snap them with a Strength check.● Untie them with a Dexterity check

at a +4 penalty; a PC back-to-backwith a companion takes only a + 2penalty on attempts to untie thecompanion�s bonds.

● Scrape the vines against the sharpprojections on the walls of the pit.The projections cut the bonds in1d4 + 1 rounds of scraping.

As soon as Kharla realizes that anyof the PCs have freed themselves (forinstance, if a PC begins to climb out ofthe pit, or attacks a servitor with amissile weapon), she and the servitorsattack all freed PCs, leaving thebound PCs to drown in the pit. Kharlaattacks with her wand of lightning;the servitors swarm at the PCs, slash-ing with their claws and snappingwith their teeth. Kharla does not ne-gotiate, and she and the servitorsfight to the death. Kharla and the ser-

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vitors pursue the PCs relentlessly,though they do not go near the mistpool (area 40).

All the servitors, including Kharla,can be affected by the rod of immo-bile insects from Chapter 1.

A group of PCs whose Strengthscores total 20 can replace the boul-der plug in the hole (36b) and stop theflow of fluid. As long as the servitorsare engaged in battle, they don�t both-er to pull the plug again.

37. Yellow PoolThis cavern reeks of lilac, emitted

from a large pool of yellow liquid.Any PC who touches the liquid mustsave vs. poison or die (save for 3d6damage).

The poison is derived from the S3/Achemical that the party may havelearned about in Chapter 1; a 2C/XApellet�available in Chapter 1�negates the effects of the liquid. Lich-ling servitors are immune to theliquid�s effects.

38. BlockageThe passage is blocked by large

chunks of black granite caused by acollapsing ceiling. One PC workingfor an hour can clear away enoughchunks to create a man-sized holethrough the blockage.

39. CavernThis huge cavern is filled with thick

stalactites and stalagmites. It holdsnothing of interest.

40. Mist PoolWhen the party comes within 20� of

this cavern, they smell the sweet aro-ma of oranges.

A pool of orange mist fills the floorof the cavern. Any PC touching themist is instantly teleported to area 1of Chapter 4.

DM�s OVERVIEWThis chapter details the third and

final level of Icelia�s stronghold, thetransformed husk of what was onceIcelia�s body. Use the StrongholdLevel 3 map on the insert color mapfor reference. The PCs begin thischapter in area 1.

GoalsIn this chapter, the PCs can accom-

plish the following:

l locate the spirit of Amry Woloverand learn his secrets (area 11).

l find the spawning ground of thelichlings (area 12).

l face Icelia and Zhorach in a finalshowdown (area 13).

General FeaturesIcelia has transformed her body in-

to an immense husk, magically adapt-ed to generate and incubate herlichlings. The PCs travel through Ice-

lia�s transformed body in this part ofthe adventure, making their waythrough a maze of ducts and modi-fied organs. The players aren�t likelyto be aware of the exact nature oftheir characters� surroundings, atleast at first. Allow them the fun offiguring it out for themselves.

The husk is suspended horizontallyin an immense cavern miles beneaththe surface of the earth. Thick websof iron strands, generated by Iceliaand permanently enchanted withwall of force, connect the husk to thecavern walls. The strands are onlyinches apart and instantly regenerateif destroyed.

Except where specified otherwise,the interior of the husk, including allducts, organs, and fluids, is about 45degrees Fahrenheit�uncomfortablycold, but not damaging.

All ducts, organs, and other areasof the husk generate their owngreenish light. The light is very dim,equivalent to the light produced bysmall candles.

With the exception of the ducts, or-

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gans, valves, and capillary bundles(all described below), the entire huskis made of petrified tissue with AC-1. Networks of tiny capillaries filledwith a magical freezing gas extendfrom the cavern walls and permeateall petrified tissue, making the tissueice cold to the touch. Should a PCdamage the tissue�for instance, bydigging through it�the damage auto-matically ruptures the capillaries andsprays a mist of freezing gas, causing2d6 damage (save vs. breath weaponfor half damage). PCs continue tosuffer this damage every round theyattack the tissue. Damaged husk tis-sue completely repairs itself in oneround; ducts, organs, and capillarybundles also heal in this way.

Map FeaturesAll of these features are designated

on the Stronghold Level 3 Map.Ducts: The PCs travel in the husk

mainly through ducts, which resem-ble 10�-diameter gray tunnels. Cov-ered with small bumps and ridges,

ducts have the texture of alligatorhide and emit a slight odor of rotteneggs. The ducts continuously expandand contract as if breathing; the con-tractions are very slight and don�t in-terfere with the party�s actions.

The ducts are AC 0. Damaging aduct exposes the petrified tissue be-hind it (see above). Damaged ductsmagically repair themselves in oneround.

Though the ducts have occasionalslopes and inclines, for the most partthey lie on a horizontal plane, allow-ing PCs to use their normal move-ment rates.

There are four types of ducts, eachdesignated by the substance it con-tains. The substances are confined tothe ducts; they are not transmitted toadjacent ducts and organs by valves(see below).

The duct types:1. Lilac ducts: Translucent yellow

mist that smells like lilacs fills theseducts. Any PC who comes in contactwith the mist must save vs. poison ordie; a save still means 3d6 damage.The poison is derived from the S3/Achemical that the party may havelearned about in Chapter 1; a 2C/XApellet (available in Chapter 1) negatesthe effects of the mist.

2. Clear water ducts: Crystal clearwater that smells like a mixture of seawater and alcohol fills these ducts. Ithas the same properties as the waterdescribed in area 4 of Chapter 2. (PCscan breathe this fluid as easily as air).

3. Lichling fluid ducts: These ductsare filled with lichling fluid, a thick,brackish smelling liquid that pro-motes the development of maturinglichlings. The fluid is extremely hotand severely burns anyone immersedin it (3d6 damage per round).

4. Stench ducts: Wisps of gray mistfloat lazily in these ducts. The mistreeks of rotten meat, but is harmless.

Organs: Like ducts, all organs areAC 0; damaging them exposes petri-fied tissue (see above). Damaged or-gans magically repair themselves inone round. Organs not discussed inthe text have withered away and dis-solved.

Valves: Valves are passageways be-tween ducts and organs. They resem-ble puckered circles of black leather,5� in diameter. A character whotouches a valve is instantly trans-ported to the opposite side. Like themist doors in Chapter 3, passagethrough a valve is one-way only, indi-cated by the direction of the arrow(see map). The opposite side of avalve�that is, the side opposite theone indicated by the arrow�acts as awall of force to prevent passage in theother direction.

Though valves are opaque, theytransmit sounds and odors, whichcan provide helpful clues to the PCsabout the opposite side. For instance,a valve leading to a lilac duct emits alilac odor. A valve leading to a lichlingfluid duct is warm to the touch andexudes a coppery odor.

Capillary bundles: These arebundles of tiny ducts. Each duct isabout an inch in diameter, and the en-tire bundle is about 10� in diameter.The capillary bundles deliver fluids,gasses, and other nutrients generatedby the various organs to the brain ar-ea (area 13) to stimulate the produc-tion of lichling buds. As seen on themap, these bundles penetrate andflow outside the body. Destroying acapillary bundle or interfering withits flow has no significant effect onthe delivery of nutrients to the brain,since the bundles can magically re-pair and unclog themselves in oneround.

Constricting ducts: The weightof the party occasionally triggersspasms in sections of the ducts. Forevery 50� of duct travelled, roll 1d6.On a roll of 1, the party feels the wallsof the duct begin to spasm and quiver.If the PCs stop moving for two con-secutive rounds, the quivering sub-sides, and the encounter is over.Otherwise, a 10�-section of the ducttightly contracts (choose any random10�-section of the duct occupied by atleast one PC). All PCs within this sec-tion are tightly squeezed for the next1d4 rounds, as though crushed by aconstrictor snake.

A trapped PC can try once per

53

round to squirm free of the contract-ing section with a Strength check at a+ 2 penalty. Failure means 2d4 dam-age on that round. Because the endsof the contracting section pinchthemselves shut, PCs not caught inthe section can do little to assist theirtrapped companions; damage inflict-ed on the contracting section of theduct is instantly negated. At the endof the contraction�s duration, the ductexpands to its normal diameter.

Cracked ducts: These crack-laced duct sections are significantlyweaker than adjacent sections. PCswalking carefully through these sec-tions (moving at ¼ or less of their nor-mal movement rates) can make thetrip across these sections safely. A PCmoving at more than ¼ normal move-ment rate must make a Dexteritycheck; if the check fails, the PC chipsoff a section of the duct, breakingopen a tiny capillary that spraysfreezing gas (2d6 damage; save vs.dragon breath for half damage) in a10� radius.

Blockages: These are web-like ob-structions of thick tissue that blockthe party�s progress. To clear a block-age, the PCs must inflict 50 hp dam-age on it; the blockage is AC 0.

S e n s o r y P h e n o m e n a a n dPhysical Encounters: When theparty enters an area marked with an�X� on the map, roll 1d8. On a roll of1-3, roll for or choose a Sensory Phe-nomenon. On a roll of 4-6, roll for orchoose a Physical Encounter. No en-counter occurs on a roll of 7-8. Feelfree to modify or substitute encount-ers as appropriate to the party�s cur-rent situation.

When a Physical Encounter indi-cates a monster attack, the monstermay charge from a valve, approachthe party from behind, or appear inany other manner you like. Monsterspursue into other ducts, but not intoorgans.

ENCOUNTERKEY-LEVEL 3

1. Modified GallBladder

If the PCs have just arrived herefrom the orange circle in area 40 ofChapter 3, read the following:

When you wake up, the first thingyou notice is the smell�a sourcombination of alcohol, sea water,and rotting meat. Shivering fromthe cold air, you realize that you�resitting chest-deep in a pile of peb-bles. But the pebbles crush likecrackers when you move.

You take a closer look�the �peb-bles� are actually the dried re-mains of tiny green worms, andthe floor of this chamber is filledwith them.

The party is inside the right lobe(1a) of a pear-shaped organ withspongy pink walls. The organ wasformerly an immense gall bladder.However, instead of storing digestivefluids, the organ now serves as recep-tacle for dead green worms manufac-tured in the modified intestine (area5b). The dead worms are suckedthrough a duct (area 6) and depositedhere, where they eventually decom-pose and are absorbed into the organwalls. The dead worms smell awfulbut are harmless.

Except for their sizes, lobes 1a and1c are identical. A 10�-long passage ofspongy tissue connects them (1b). Assoon as the first PC enters the pas-sage, the passage begins to close, as ifit were a Constricting Duct (see the�Map Features� section above).

2. Warm ZonePortions of the ducts within the dot-

ted line are about 15 degrees warmerthan elsewhere in the husk. Theducts become warmer still as they

near area 3.

3. Modified KidneyThis organ was formerly an im-

mense kidney. However, instead of fil-t e r i n g b l o o d , t h e o r g a n n o wgenerates lichling fluid, transportedvia capillary bundles to the modifiedbrain (area 12). The fluid also seepsthrough small cracks in the husk tofill pools and streams elsewhere inthe labyrinth (such as areas 11 and 12in Chapter 3).

PCs touching the valve leading tothis organ are instantly transportedto a ledge of spongy red tissue (3a) in-side a purplish bean-shaped chamber.The chamber is swelteringly hot andreeks of decaying meat. Steaminglichling fluid fills the chamber to adepth of 10�. Immersion in the fluidcauses 3d6 damage per round.

Four islands of spongy red tissuefloat in the fluid (3c). A PC can jumpbetween two islands with a success-ful Dexterity check; a failed checkmeans a fall into the hot lichling fluid(3d6 damage). Ledge 3b leads out ofthe organ.

Streams of lichling fluid pour stead-ily from purple spigots growing fromthe chamber walls (3d). The spigots,made from pulsating purple muscletissue, magically generate the lichlingfluid. A capillary bundle opens on theeast wall near the surface of the lichl-ing fluid pool; the bundle carries thefluid to area 12. A valve is also open inthe north wall, and a spongy tissueledge extends beneath it.

At the bottom of the pool is a largervalve (3e) leading to a 30�-diameterchamber of fire, the home of a fire el-emental that keeps the lichling fluidhot. Only the elemental can use thevalve leading to its chamber (whichcontains nothing of interest to theparty).

Fire elemental: Int low; AL N; AC 2;MV 12; HD 16; hp 120; THAC0 5;#AT 1; Dmg 3d8; SA any flammableobject struck by the elementalmust save vs. magical fire at -2 orimmediately begin to burn; SD +2

54

or better weapon to hit; immune toall heat and fire-based attacks; SZH; ML 17; XP 10,000.

Within two rounds after the partyenters the organ, the fire elementalbursts through the surface of the lich-ling fluid pool to attack the intruders.The elemental can walk effortlesslyon the surface of the pool and�unlike normal elementals�will not bediminished or extinguished by con-tact with the lichling fluid. Any PC hitwhile on a tissue island must succeedin a Dexterity check or fall into thelichling fluid. The elemental attacksas long as a living PC remains in itschamber. The elemental will not leavethe kidney.

4. Tickle ZonePCs in the portions of the ducts

within the dotted line feel a ticklingsensation on their flesh, as if hun-dreds of tiny invisible hairs arebrushing against them. There, is noapparent source of the tickling,which persists as long as the PCs re-main within this area. The PCs sufferno penalties from the tickling.

5. Modified IntestineThis organ was formerly an im-

mense intestine. However, instead offunctioning as a digestive organ, itnow serves primarily to generate tinygreen worms, which are taken to ar-ea 1 where they are absorbed andused to help nourish the newly-spawned lichlings in area 12.

The valves leading to this organemit a strong odor of rotting fish. Theentire interior of the organ reekswith the same odor, emanating fromthe green worms magically generatedby the organ�s walls (see below).

5a: The pinkish walls of this sectionof the organ are spongy and wet.Thin pink tendrils grow thickly onthe walls, each about a foot long. Thetendrils grope wetly at the passingPCs, but do them no harm.

A carpet of writhing worms coversthe floor to a depth of about a foot.

The worms are light green in color,slimy, and resemble tiny eyelesssnakes. Each is less than half an inchlong. The worms are harmless, but aPC who falls into the worm carpetmust make a Constitution check orsuffer extreme nausea for the next2d6 rounds, making all attacks at a-1 penalty during that time.

5b. This section is physically identi-cal to section 5a. Six lichling servitorscan be seen through the opening ofthis section, sitting in the carpet ofworms covering the floor. Optionally,these servitors can include trans-formed NPCs that the PCs met else-where in the dungeon, such asJharold the Chosen (Level 2, area 7g).

Lichling servitors (6): Int semi; ALCE; AC 2; MV 12; HD 6; hp 45;THAC0 15; #AT 2; Dmg 2d6/2d6(claws); SD can only be struck by+1 or better magical weapons; im-mune to poison, charm, sleep, en-feeblement, polymorph, fear, cold,electricity, insanity, and deathspells; SZ L; ML 15; XP 975.

If the PCs specifically state thatthey are moving past the opening toarea 5b quietly and slowly, the servi-tors don�t notice them. However, ifany PC speaks in a voice louder thana whisper, if the party moves rapidlythrough the worm carpet, or if theparty takes any other action to drawattention, the servitors rise andcharge the party.

The snarling servitors attack sav-agely with their claws and teeth; theservitors aren�t required to makeConstitution checks if they fall in theworm carpet. The servitors pursueinto area 5a or 5c; however, they willnot leave the organ, nor will they en-ter area 5d or 5e.

A valve opening near the floor ofthe south wall produces a steady suc-tion to draw out dead worms. Thedead worms are taken by a duct (area6) to the modified gall bladder (area1c) where they eventually decom-pose.

5c: This section is identical to sec-tion 5a, except that the worm carpet

is 3� deep, reducing PC movementrates by half.

5d: This section is identical to 5a,except that the tendrils average 5�long. The tendrils lash at the PCs likelong whips, inflicting 1d4 damage perround. A PC hacking the tendrils witha blade weapon reduces the damageby half (minimum 1 hp per round).The tendrils do not attack PCs hold-ing torches or wielding other fire-producing objects.

5e: The walls of this section arepink, smooth, and narrow, averagingabout 4� in diameter. There are noworms on the floor, and the tendrilsfrom the walls are only about half aninch long.

6. Worm DuctThis is the same as a normal Stench

Duct, except the floor is strewn withgreen worm corpses (as in area 1). Agentle suction draws the wormssteadily from area 5b.

A 20�-long green tube worm (a dis-tant cousin of the giant centipede andthe tunnel worm) lies coiled on thefloor, buried beneath the worm car-pet.

Tube worm: Int animal; AL N; AC 4;MV 6; HD 9 + 3; hp 70; THAC0 11;#AT 1; Dmg 2d4; SA lunging (seebelow); SZ G; ML 12; XP 1,400.

Two rounds after the party entersthis section, a random PC feels a thicksnake-like creature wrap around hisor her legs; the worm then surfacesand lunges at the PC, striking with a+2 bonus to its attack. If the strikesucceeds, the victim is seized in theworm�s mandibles; if the strike fails,it continues to strike at its chosen vic-tim with normal attacks. A seized vic-tim takes no damage until the wormchews through the victim�s armor(one round for chain mail or worsearmor, two rounds for armor strong-er than chain mail). Thereafter theworm inflicts an automatic 2d8 dam-age per round. Until the worm is re-duced to 0 hp, it will not release itsvictim.

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If the servitors from 5b pursuedthe party here, the giant worm andthe servitors do not attack each other.The worm will not pursue the partyfrom this section.

7. Screaming ZonePCs in the portions of the ducts

within the dotted line telepathicallyhear echoing human screams. Theanguished screams persist as long asthe PCs remain within this area andgrow louder as the PCs near area 8.The PCs suffer no penalties from thescreams.

8. Modified StomachThis organ was formerly an im-

mense stomach. However, instead offunctioning as a digestive organ, itnow channels fear from the agonizedspirits trapped inside to feed the lichl-ings. The spirits come from intruderswho died in the stronghold. Icelia�smagic transferred the spirits here toendlessly contain and tap their linger-ing emotions. A capillary bundletransmits their emotions to the brain(area 12).

The valves leading to this organemit ear-piercing screams and astrong odor of sour milk. A PC whotouches a valve is instantly trans-ported to a pool of thick fluid about 3�deep, which fills the entire floor ofthe huge bag-shaped organ. The pul-sating yellow walls ooze milky fluidthat splashes heavily into the pool.

The air reeks of sour milk. Theodor is so powerful that each PCmust make a Constitution check orbecome violently nauseated for 1d4rounds, taking 1d2 damage perround of sickness.

Dozens of shrieking ghostly humanimages soar through the air over thepool; their screams are so loud thatPCs must shout to hear one another.The PCs cannot communicate withthe spirits, nor can they do anythingabout the spirits� plight.

Eight muck-men (distant cousins ofmud-men) dwell on the bottom of thepool. Their abilities mimic those of

normal mud-men, though theirbodies consist of yellowish organicmatter and tissue.

Muck-men (8): Int non; AL CE; AC 8;MV 3; HD 5; hp 39 each; THAC0 15;#AT 1; Dmg special (see below); SAmuck-throwing, suffocation (seebelow); SD harmed only by +1 orbetter weapons; vulnerable to allspells that cause damage to livingcreatures; dispel magic and dig actas fireballs cast at same level of thecaster; SZ M; ML not applicable(see text); XP 650.

The muck-men look like stocky hu-manoids made from yellow muck im-bedded with reddish chunks oftissue. Their eyes are pools of blackshadow. The muck-men attack thePCs by hurling muck. (PCs are consid-ered AC 10, modified by Dexterity,for these attacks.) The muck hardenson impact and slows the victim�smovement rate by 1 if it hits. Whilehurling muck, the muck-men con-tinue to advance. When within 10', a

muck-man hurls himself at a victim. Ahit means the muck-man�s death, butslows the victim�s movement by 4; ifthe muck-man misses, it must spendthe next round re-forming before itcan attack again. A muck-man cannotbe attacked while re-forming.

A victim reduced to a movementrate of 0 begins to suffocate, suffer-ing 1d8 damage per round until acompanion takes one round to clearthe victim�s nose and mouth. A vic-tim�s movement can be restored at arate of 1 per five rounds of scrapingoff muck. Muck-men will not leavethe organ to pursue the PCs.

Five rounds after the muck-men ap-pear, the spirits begin to swarm overthe PCs, wailing like sirens. So distract-ing are these actions, which persist aslong as the party remains in the organ,that the PCs make all attacks at a -2penalty. The PCs can do nothing to de-ter the spirits. The muck-men are unaf-fected by the shrieking spirits.

A passage opening on the northwall of the organ is blocked by thickchunks of yellowish muck. Beyond

this passage is the only valve that ex-its from the organ. To clear the pas-sage, the PCs must inflict 40 hpdamage on it; the blockage is AC 5.

9. Modified PancreasThis organ was formerly an immense

pancreas. However, instead of produc-ing digestive juices, it now producesthe poisonous yellow mist filling the li-lac ducts. The interior of the organ iscompletely filled with mist, producedby hundreds of tiny spigots coveringthe spongy yellow walls.

The valves leading to this organ emitan exceptionally powerful aroma of li-lac. A PC transported inside the organsuffers the effects of a lilac duct. How-ever, the poison is so concentrated inthe organ that the 2C/XA pellets haveno effect on it; nothing less than thepower of a wish can negate the effectsof exposure to the deadly mist.

10. Heartbeat ZonePCs in the portions of the ducts

within the dotted line hear in theirheads the faint echoed sounds of aslowly beating heart. The sounds per-sist as long as the PCs remain withinthis area and grow louder as the PCsnear area 11. The PCs suffer no pen-alties from the sounds.

11. Modified HeartThis organ was formerly an im-

mense heart. However, instead ofpumping blood, it now serves primar-ily as a prison for the spirit of AmryWolover. The valves leading to this or-gan emit a faint coppery odor. All ar-eas of the heart pulsate in a slow,even beat, matching the rhythm ofthe faint heartbeats the party contin-uously hears in their heads while ex-ploring the organ. Neither the soundsnor the pulsations have any signifi-cant effect on the party�s abilities tomove or take any other actions.

11a: This pinkish sac secretes a wa-tery fluid from small pores in its slickwalls. The humid air smells like rot-ten meat. The PCs� heads throb while

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moving through this section, andtheir breathing is labored, but theysuffer no ill effects.

11b: A thick layer of greasy fatcoats the walls and floor of this cham-ber. The party sinks in the floor fat toa depth of 6�, reducing their move-ment rates by half. Before exiting thischamber, they hear a soft voice intheir heads saying, �I can feel younear . . . come closer . . . �

The PCs may have heard the samevoice earlier, telling them to �come tothe heart.� This is the voice of AmryWolover.

11c: Like area 11b, this 10�-longpassage is covered with fat. As soonas the first PC enters the passage, theentire passage constricts like a Con-stricting duct (see the Map Featuressection).

11d: Webs of fibrous muscle tissuecompletely fill this chamber, reduc-ing movement rates by 2/3. Three 2�-diameter spiders cling to the ceiling,hidden behind a thick net of tissue.Two rounds after the first PC entersthe chamber, the spiders scuttle to-wards the party. The spider havepink bodies, clusters of white eyes,and long fangs dripping yellowishvenom.

Heart spiders (3): Int animal; AL N;AC 7; MV 6 (on normal surfaces) or18 (on fibrous tissue webs, as in ar-ea 11d); HD 2; hp 14 each; THAC019; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4; SA poison(save vs. poison or suffer 3d8 dam-age from venom); SZ S; ML 8; XP270.

The spiders attack aggressively,fighting to the death. The spiderspursue to area 11b, but will not enterother areas of the organ.

11e: The walls of this duct arecrusty and dry. The PCs suffer no illeffects from moving through theduct.

11f: This is identical to area 11d,except that there are no spiders.

11g: This passage is similar to the11c passage, except that it is tightlyclenched shut. The slightest pres-sure, such as the touch of a PC�s

hand, causes it to open. The Con-stricting duct effect does not occur inthis passage.

11h: As in 11b, a thick layer ofgreasy fat coats the walls of thischamber. The fat layer covering thefloor is translucent. Suspended in thefloor fat is the ghostly image of abald-headed man with pleading blueeyes and a curly blonde beard; hewears a long robe covered with smallcircles. The image is immobile,trapped in the fat like an insect fro-zen in an amber block. A capillarybundle leads from the head of the im-age to the north wall.

The image represents the spirit ofAmry Wolover. The image cannot act,aside from communicating with thePCs.

The eyes of the image flicker andglow, dancing over the bodies of theparty. The party hears a soft voice intheir heads.

�I had nearly given up hope,� saysthe voice. �but someone has heardmy cries at last. I am the spirit ofAmry Wolover�at one time, a wizardof some renown. But I fear that I maybe forever remembered as the manresponsible for the end of the world.�

Amry continues to speak in a slow,even tones that the PCs hear in theirheads. If the PCs interrupt, he asksthem to wait and ask their questionslater: �It is important that you knowthis first.�

�Nearly 300 years ago, I built a keepin the Veilstone Peaks where I couldconduct my experiments undis-turbed. My expertise was in the fieldof agriculture. I hoped that from myresearch, the poor farmers of myhomeland would some day flourishand prosper. But the research wasfrustrating and slow. And I becamecareless.� Wolover explains that afailed experiment accidentally poi-soned a lake near the keep (LilacLake, which the PCs may have inves-tigated in Chapter 1). �I feared thepoisoned lake would eventually con-taminate all of the ground water,making the surrounding communi-ties uninhabitable.� Despite his bestefforts, Wolover was unable to purify

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the lake.�Shortly thereafter,� he continues,

�I was visited by a creature namedIcelia, an unholy monstrosity who of-fered to decontaminate the lake in ex-change for permission to enter mymind and sample my thoughts. Indesperation, I agreed. It was a gravemistake.�

With Wolover�s defenses relaxed,Icelia not only entered Wolover�smind, but took control of it. Iceliakilled him, destroyed his body, andenslaved his spirit. She ignored herpromise to decontaminate the lake.(The lake remains poisoned, but theground water was never contami-nated as Wolover feared.) With herown powerful magic supplementedby Wolover�s arcane knowledge, Ice-lia transformed her body into an im-mense husk, designed to generateand incubate a multitude of spawns.Wolover tells the PCs that they arestanding inside the heart of her huskat this very moment.

�Her lichling spawns are being gen-erated from corrupted cells in thebrain cavity of the husk,� Woloversays. �There are thousands of matur-ing lichlings already, nourished bythe fear and trauma of doomed in-truders who were lured into Icelia�sstronghold by the promise of trea-sure.

�The lichlings grow stronger everyday. See for yourselves what Iceliahas planned when her spawn havefully matured.�

Wolover instructs the PCs to placetheir hands on the floor over his im-age. PCs who touch the floor as di-rected lapse into unconsciousness (nosaving throw) and experience a vividdream, the end of one image dissolv-ing into the beginning of the next:

� An 80�-tall insectile creature re-sembling a black cockroach withspindly human arms and legs, apair of ragged gauzy wings, and agrinning skull for a face, stalksthrough a village. Terrified hu-mans scatter at its approach. Spellscast at it bounce off its shell as iteasily destroys the village.

� An army of the insectile creaturesstomp through a forest, trees snap-ping like twigs beneath their feet.There are thousands of creaturesin the army.

The dream fades, and the PCs re-gain consciousness. �If Icelia�s spawnmature, the world as we know it isdoomed,� says Wolover.

Wolover answers the PCs� questionsas described below. If the PCs don�task the right questions, Wolover of-fers any of the following informationyou feel the PCs should have.

What else do you know aboutIcelia?: Wolover knows all the infor-mation in �DM�s Background� in theIntroduction.

How long will it take the lich-lings to mature?: Wolover has de-t e c t e d a recent increase insupernatural activity in the husk; hesuspects the time of maturation isnear.

How can we stop Icelia?: �To de-stroy Icelia, you must destroy herskull.� Wolover doesn�t know exactlyhow to reach her skull, nor is he surehow to destroy it.

Where can we find Icelia?: �Isense her skull in a misty sea to thenorth. You are close to it now.�

W h a t i s t h e p u r p o s e o f t h etube that connects your head tothe wall?: �The tube extracts magi-cal energies from my spirit, deliver-ing them to the remnants of Icelia�scorrupted brain in order to stimulatethe production of new lichlings. Simi-lar tubes throughout the husk deliverother fluids and gasses to the brain.�Wolover explains that destroying thetube is futile, as it is enchanted to in-stantly regenerate.

When the PCs have finished theirquestions, Wolover bids them goodluck. If the PCs wish to release Wo-lover�s spirit, they can do so by cast-ing remove curse or wish. If the spiritis released, it whispers its thanks andthen it disappears in a flash of softlight and is never seen again.

12. Modified BrainFormerly an immense brain, this

organ serves now as the birthplace ofnew lichlings. The organ emits a nau-seating blend of sour milk, lilacs, or-anges, and rotten eggs, detectable byPCs outside the southern valve.

PCs touching the valve are instantlytransported to a ledge of spongy redtissue (12a). The stench is so powerfulinside the organ that every PC whoenters must make a Constitutioncheck; failure means violent nauseafrom the stench, taking 2d4 damage,and a fall to the ground. The ill PCcannot act for the next 2d4 rounds.

A bridge of spongy tissue leadsfrom the ledge to a circle of orangemist near the north wall (12b). AnyPC who touches the mist is instantlytransported to area 13.

The bridge crosses a pool of thickfluid with yellowish lumps; the lumpsare masses of tissue. The PCs mayhave seen a similar pool in area 17 inChapter 3. The pool is about 10� deep;PCs immersed in the pool suffer anautomatic 2d4 points of poison dam-age per round of exposure to the foulliquid (no saving throw).

The walls of the cavern are matri-ces of shiny black bubbles, each nomore than an inch in diameter. Thebubble walls crackle with bluishwebs of static electricity. A PC whotouches a wall suffers 3d6 points ofelectrical damage (save vs. spells forhalf damage).

About 5% of the bubbles have tinyskulls, gauzy wings, or bony armsprotruding from them. Occasionally,a few of these bubbles fall from thewall and plop into the fluid pool be-low, sinking out of sight. Every fewminutes, a 6" lichling pulls itself freeof a bubble, swoops towards the mistcircle (12a), and disappears.

The bubbles are modified braincells. Each produces a bud that gener-ates a new lichling. The walls are en-riched by capillary bundles thatdeliver fluids and gasses from the or-gans elsewhere in the husk. The bub-bles plopping into the fluid aredefective lichlings, which are sucked

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away by tubes in the bottom of thepool to be deposited in a dead pool�area 17 in Chapter 3�where theyeventually rot away. The flying crea-tures are freshly spawned lichlingsthat are heading to area 13.

Neither the new spawns nor the de-fects attack the PCs in this chamber.Attacks directed against the bubblematrices are futile, since the bubblesinstantly regenerate.

Two thick red stalks (12c) extendfrom the north wall, writhing likehuge serpents. The stalks end in bulg-ing black eyeballs with fiery red pu-pils. The eyestalks recoil when theparty enters the chamber, hoveringmotionless like cobras.

Eyestalks (2): Int semi; AL N; AC 1;MV 12; HD 9; hp 70 each; THAC011; #AT 1; Dmg 6d4 (electric bolt;save vs. spells for half damage) or2d10 (butting attack); SD immuneto cold-, heat-, and electricity-based attacks; SZ G; ML 17; XP3,000.

Two rounds after the party entersthe chamber, the eyestalks attack.Once per round, each eyestalk canblast electric bolts (6d4; save vs. spellsfor half damage) or make butting at-tacks by swinging their eyes likeclubs (2d10). A PC on the tissue bridgewho is butted must make a Dexteritycheck or fall into the fluid pool. Bothattacks require normal attack rolls.Either attack can be directed againstany PC in the chamber; however, thestalks don�t attack PCs who are sub-merged in the fluid pool.

The stalks are AC 1, HD 9, and have70 hp. Severing the stalks doesn�t de-ter their attacks; the severed stalksfly in the air at a movement rate of Fl12 (C) and continue their attacks asbefore. The eyes continue to attack aslong as a living PC remains in thechamber.

Light attacks no longer blind theseeyes, but they do have other effects.Continual light, color spray and oth-er �blinding� spells�if successfullycast directly on the eyes and not thestalks�cancel the eyes� electrical

bolt attacks for 1d3 rounds.

13. THE SEA ANDTHE SKULL

Read the following aloud after thePCs have disappeared into the orangemist in the modified brain (area 12).The PCs awaken together in the Ar-rival Area indicated on the map.

The blood pounds in your templesas your head clears and you openyour eyes. You are sprawled onyour back on a beach of bone meal,staring upward into a black void.

An icy wind stings you like a bar-rage of tiny needles, and you smellthe salty air of the ocean. To theeast, wisps of gray mist rise from adark sea, its rolling waves lappinggently against the ivory shore.Chipped cylindrical bones, the sizeof huge logs, litter the shore, alongwith many other bones that looklike oversized finger joints, humanribs, and teeth. Large black fan-shaped objects stick up from thesand; these look like the shreddedwings of giant insects.

Sheer cliffs of black rock enclosethe cove west of the seashore, ex-tending as high as you can see.Shiny curtains of black specks cov-er every square inch of the cliffs.The curtains ripple slightly, andyou realize the curtains are alive.They�re made of thousands uponthousands of motionless insects.

Near the far west wall are the re-mains of an immense cockroach-like creature nearly 80� long. It�slying on its back in the sand, sur-rounded by piles of shatteredbones and shredded wings. Thecorpse is not much more than ablack shell and two tattered wings.Two enormously long human armbones and a pair of bent and twist-ed human leg bones extend fromthe corpse�s shell. The creature hasa human skull for a head.

An image appears like a mirageon the surface of the mist seaabout 30 yards from the shore. Aghostly humanoid stands on thebow of a gleaming ship made of hu-man bones. The ship has tatteredsails of black gauze. As the shipnears the shore, pinpoints of lightflare in the ghost�s eye sockets, andit raises a fist to the sky. �Icelia!� itcries, �fresh food for your chil-dren!�

From high above comes a rumbleof thunder. The ghost cries to theinsects on the cliffs behind you,�Prepare to feed!�

This gigantic cavern is the main in-cubation chamber for the lichlings(the insectile creatures clinging to thegranite cliffs). The cliffs function asimmense storage batteries for thefear, emotional trauma, and othernegative emotions drawn here fromelsewhere in the stronghold. Most ofthe lichlings are dormant while theyfeed on the stored emotions from thecliffs.

Periodically, a freshly spawned lich-ling from the brain chamber (area 12)appears in mid-air (transferred fromthe orange mist in area 12), then flut-ters to a cliff wall where it stops mov-ing and begins to feed. Occasionally, alichling detaches from the wall, soarsin a lazy circle, then vanishes into oneof dozens of small holes in the cliff;these holes lead to lichling tubes,which take the lichlings to various lo-cations in the stronghold, enablingthem to feast directly on the freshemotions of new intruders who aresuccumbing to the stronghold�s dead-ly traps and minions.

If the PCs come within 20� of a cliff,waves of discomfort and panic washover them, though they suffer no illeffects. Those who come within 10� ofa cliff are immediately overwhelmedwith anguish. They drop to theground and shiver for the next 10rounds (no saving throw), and they

cannot act during that time.The dormant lichlings do not de-

fend themselves if attacked. How-ever, make it clear to the players thatthere are hundreds of thousands oflichlings here, and destroying themall is impossible. The cliffs extend fora mile in the air!

The 80� creature is the dried-outcorpse of a fully-mature lichling. ThePCs recognize the corpse as identicalto the creatures shown to them inWolover�s dream in area 11. Unable tothrive, the creature died. The debrissurrounding the corpse, as well as thebones floating near the shore, are allthat�s left of other dead mature lichl-ings.

The sea is icy cold but is otherwisecomparable to normal sea water. Thewater averages about 50� deep andcontains nothing of interest to theparty. PCs immersed in the icy watermust make Constitution checks.Those who fail suffer 1d4 damage perfive rounds of immersion; those whosucceed suffer 1 point of damage per10 rounds of immersion. The graymist smells faintly like rotten fish butcauses no ill effects.

If the PCs attack the bone ship priorto Round 6 of the battle described be-low, the ship sinks beneath the sur-face of the water. The PCs cannotlocate it or harm it. The ship resur-faces on Round 6 of the battle.

The boat is actually the poly-morphed skull of Icelia. The ghostlyhumanoid is Zhorach.

Zhorach (ghost): Int 14; AL CE; AC 0(prime material plane) or 8 (ethere-al plane); MV 9; HD 10; hp 60;THAC0 11; #AT 1; Dmg age 10d4years; SA magic jar attack; SDwhen ghost is ethereal, only at-tacks from the ethereal plane hit it;when semi-materialized, is hit onlyby silver weapons (half damage) ormagical weapons (full damage); SZM; ML 18; XP 7,000.

Zhorach asked Icelia for the plea-

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sure of helping to destroy the party;the overhead thunder indicated Ice-lia�s agreement. Zhorach will not ne-gotiate with the PCs.

The Battle of theMisty Sea

The battle begins immediately afterZhorach reaches the shore. The bat-tle plays out as described below; feelfree to have its events occur sooneror later, if you wish.

PCs who have had previous experi-ence with liches may notice some dif-ferences with Icelia; unlike manyother liches, she and all her creaturesfight to the death. She feels she hastoo much at stake here to retreat.

If necessary, creatures pursue intothe sea. All creatures can move on thesurface of the water or along the seafloor at their normal movement rates.

The battle continues until Icelia�sskull is on the verge of being de-stroyed (for instance, it has lost 2/3 ofits hit points). At that point, proceedto the �Orange Circle� section, below.

Round 1: Zhorach advances to-wards the nearest PC. Zhorach at-tacks the party�s most powerfulspellcaster (or other powerful PC, ifthere are no spellcasters) from theethereal plane with its magic jar spell.If the spell is successful, the victim�ssoul is trapped in a hollow fingerbone lying in the bone meal; the bonegives off a slight glow if used as a mag-ic jar receptacle. Regardless ofwhether the magic jar succeeds,Zhorach semi-materializes (in theform of a human male with longstringy hair) and continues to attackwith its touch. The semi-materializedghost is AC 0.

To adjudicate effects of the ghost�saging touch, see �Other Characteris-tics� in Chapter 2 of the Player�sHandbook.

Round 2: The mature lichlingcorpse shudders and pulls itself up onits arms and legs.

Animated lichling corpse: Intsemi; AL CE; AC 3; MV 9; HD 20; hp

150; THAC0 5; #AT 3; Dmg 2d10/2d10/4d6; SA spew bone frag-ments (see text); SD immune tocharm, sleep, enfeeblement, poly-morph, cold, electricity, fear, insan-ity, or death spells; SZ G; ML 20; XP12,000.

The animated corpse lumbers to-wards the party, striking at randomPCs with its razor-sharp claws andbiting them with its mandibles. Whenno victim is within claw or mandiblerange, it can spew a stream of razor-sharp bone fragments at any singletarget up to 100� away (make normalattack roll) to inflict 6d6 damage. Itcan make this attack once every otherround.

Round 4: The sea beneath thebone ship begins to boil. Fingers ofsteam embrace the ship as it glowswith a soft green light.

Round 6: The bone ship shattersto dust. In its place is a hovering skullcovered with withered and rottingflesh. Shanks of long matted hair ex-tend from the scalp. Intense pin-points of red light shine from theblack eye sockets.

This is the skull of Icelia. The visageis similar to that of the ivory head inarea 33 of Chapter 3. Eight of theskull�s teeth have been replaced withblack diamonds.

Immediately after it appears, theskull unleashes a howl that acts as adeath ray, affecting all PCs within a20�-radius of its mouth. Those whofail to save vs. spells are permanentlydead.

On the following round and everyround thereafter, the skull casts trapthe soul on one of the PCs within a20�-radius; the spell is directed atspellcasters first, then at all non-spellcasters. The targeted PC is al-lowed to save vs. spells; if the savingthrow fails, the victim�s body col-lapses and rots away in a singleround; the victim�s spirit is thentrapped inside one of the skull�s toothgems. (An amulet of life protectionprevails over the tooth gem, but thevictim�s body perishes regardless.)

When the skull has attempted trap

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the soul on all PCs, it then casts curseon the survivors (one PC per round,within a 20�-radius). A targeted PCwho fails to save vs. spells automati-cally fails all saving throws from thenon. The curse can be overcome withremove curse, but the victim perma-nently loses one point of Charismawhen the curse is removed.

The skull is AC -6 and has 50 hp. Itcan fly at a movement rate of Fl 12 (C).It is only affected by these spells: for-get (Icelia�s skull sinks away beneaththe sea without attacking), dispel evil(dmg 1d4 + 4), shatter (dmg 3d6), holyword (dmg 5d6), and power word, kill(destroys skull if cast by an etherealor astral wizard). The only weaponsinflicting full damage are vorpalswords, swords of sharpness, andswords +5 if wielded by fighters orrangers. Paladins wielding vorpal +4or better weapons inflict normaldamage. Any character wieldingStonesplitter inflicts normal damage.Any PC with a +4 or better weaponor a mace of disruption inflicts 1 pointof damage per strike. Other weaponsare useless.

The Orange CircleWhen Icelia�s skull senses its de-

struction is imminent, it opens itsjaws and speaks to the party in a men-acing hiss. �Destroy me,� it says, �and Ivow that my children will destroyyour world.� Beams of violet lightstream from the skull�s eyes andsweep over the cliffs. The dormantlichlings begin to stir, their wingsbeating in a slow, steady rhythm. Thelichlings don�t leave the cliffs, how-ever, and the battle continues as de-scribed above.

If Icelia�s skull is reduced to 0 hp orotherwise destroyed (as from powerword, kill), it crumbles to dust. Thosetrapped in the tooth gems must savevs. spells. Those who fail are lost for-ever. Those who succeed cause theirgem to glow faintly; true seeing re-veals a tiny figure trapped inside. Thesoul is freed by crushing the gem; anew body must be within 10 yardsfor the soul to enter or the spirit is

lost. If still active, both Zhorach andthe animated lichling corpse continuetheir attacks.

Immediately after the skull crum-bles, the battle proceeds as describedbelow. Round 1 is the first round fol-lowing the skull�s destruction. As be-fore, feel free to have events occursooner or later, if you wish.

Round 1: Thunder begins to rum-ble high overhead. Bright streaks ofviolet lightning rip the sky. The lich-lings beat their wings faster.

Round 2: A bolt of violet lightningstreaks from the sky and strikes anarea of the sea about 200� from theshore (13a). The area begins to gloworange.

The lightning bolt has activated agate leading to the basement of Wo-lover�s Keep. Though Icelia intendsthe lichlings to use the gate to teleportto the surface world, the PCs can alsouse it to return home. PCs unable tofly or employ similar magical meansto reach the orange circle may swimthe sea�keep in mind possible dam-age from exposure to the icy water�or they can use one of the dozens ofhollow bones floating near the shoreas a makeshift canoe; the tatteredwings make functional paddles. TwoPCs can ride one bone canoe; themovement rate of the canoe is equiva-lent to the movement rate of the slow-est paddling PC.

PCs who reach the orange circle areimmediately teleported to the base-ment of Wolover�s Keep�proceed tothe �Victory or Defeat� section below.

Round 3: Thousands of lichlingsdetach from the cliffs and assemble ina vast swarm that hovers near thecliff. The lichlings aren�t quite alertenough to attack the PCs, but the par-ty may attack them as described be-low.

Round 4 : The par ty hears apounding sound coming from behindthe lichling cliffs (area 13b), as ifsomething imprisoned behind thecliffs is trying to break through. Thepounding causes rocks to tumblefrom the sides of the cliff and dor-mant lichlings to fall lifelessly to theground. The pounding persists until

the special event described below oc-curs.

Round 5: The lichling swarm be-gins to flap towards the party. If theparty has divided into several groups,the swarm divides into an equivalentnumber of swarms. Assume that hun-dreds of lichlings are available to at-tack each PC. A lichling swarm has amovement rate of Fl 24 (B).

The lichling swarms attack all PCsthey can reach. For convenience, as-sume that each PC has a 75% chanceof suffering 3d6 damage per roundfrom random lichling attacks; a PCwho is actively defending has a 25%chance of suffering damage, and thentakes only 1d6 points per round.

Vary these percentages andamounts of damage to respond to theactions of the PCs; for instance, a fly-ing PC who takes evasive action haslittle or no chance of being attacked.A PC doing nothing but lying on thebeach is an easy target for the lich-lings and is likely to suffer more dam-age.

Impress on the players that thereare thousands upon thousands oflichlings, far too many for the PCs tosubdue. As lichlings in the swarmsare killed, new lichlings become ac-tive and detach themselves from thewall to join the attack. However,when a PC uses the rod of immobileinsects (from Chapter 1) on a lichlingswarm, the rest of the lichlings aretemporarily intimidated by this pow-erful weapon; the lichlings refrainfrom attacking the holder of the rodof immobile insects and all PCs withina 10�-radius of the rod for the next1d4 + 1 rounds, whereupon they re-sume their attacks.

The lichlings do not pursue the PCsinto the orange circle but instead hov-er near its perimeter. As per Icelia�sintentions, the lichlings will not in-vade the surface world until most oftheir number are active.

Special Event: At some dramaticmoment just before the PCs escapethrough the orange circle, an im-mense crack opens in the side of thecliff (area 13b). A gigantic bony handcovered with shards of rotting flesh

61

thrusts through the crack and beginsto make broad sweeps over the sur-face of the sea, its fingers grabbingand clawing. This is one arm of Ice-lia�s husk; the party moved throughthe husk earlier in this chapter.

The mindless arm attacks random-ly, splashing the surface of the sea,swatting lichling swarms, and claw-ing at PCs. Each round after it ap-pears, the arm makes a randomsweep of the area; it can reach any-where in area 13. Each PC has a 20%chance per round of being swatted orclawed by the arm. Swatted PCs suf-fer 3d10 damage, and a swatted PCriding a bone canoe is also knockedinto the sea. Since all damage to thearm instantly regenerates, attacksagainst it are useless.

VICTORY ORDEFEAT

If the PCs reach the orange circle,proceed to the �Victory� section. Ifthe PCs fail to destroy Icelia�s skull (inwhich case the orange circle won�tappear) and are defeated by Iceliaand her minions, proceed to the �De-feat� section.

DefeatNews of the party�s investigation of

Wolover�s Keep and their subsequentdisappearance quickly spreadsthroughout the realm. The numberof adventurers entering the keepdwindles dramatically. After all, if he-roes as powerful as the PCs met theirend in the keep, what chance dolesser mortals have?

With a shortage of new intruders tonourish her lichlings, Icelia is forcedto accelerate her plans. In 10 years,Icelia sends about a hundred maturelichlings into the surface world, anumber far short of the massive ar-my she originally envisioned. Theforces of Cormyr rally to battle thelichlings, eventually defeating themat the cost of many lives and the near-

devastation of the Veilstone Peaks re-gion. Following the invasion of thelichlings, Wolover�s Keep mysteri-ously explodes, collapsing in a heap ofrubble and debris.

VictoryAfter entering the orange circle,

the PCs lapse into unconsciousness. Amoment later, they awaken in a circu-lar room with granite walls. The air isheavy with the smell of oranges, andall is silent. Shattered barrels, emptycrates, and toppled shelves lie againstthe walls. Nearly the entire floor isfilled with a circular pool of orangemist. The PCs recognize this room asthe basement of Wolover�s Keep(from the end of Chapter 1).

Give the PCs a few moments to gettheir bearings. As they try to leavethe room, or as they decide the dan-ger is past, the bony hand of Icelia�shusk thrusts upward from the or-ange pool and makes a sweeping rakeof the room; each PC must make aDexterity check to avoid beingclawed or swatted against the wall(3d6 damage). The hand immediatelywithdraws, and the mist pool disap-pears, leaving only an empty granitefloor behind.

After the hand withdraws, theroom begins to shake. The PCs noticedust falling from the ceiling and gran-ite chips flaking from the walls,though the slight tremors aren�tstrong enough to impede the party�sactions. There is no apparent sourceof the tremors.

(The death throes of Icelia�s husk,far below, are causing the tremors.Her doom will shortly trigger an en-chantment, cast on the keep long ago.The PCs see the effects of that en-chantment shortly.)

The tremors persist as the PCsmake their way out of the keep andinto the night air. Stress that explora-tion of the keep at this point would bemost unwise! Gathered in foothillssurrounding the keep are a sizeablenumber of curious villagers carryingtorches and lanterns. As the party de-scends from the keep, the villagersmutter excitedly to one another.Looking over their shoulders, the PCssee that the keep is glowing in a dimviolet light.

A short plump man with a baldhead and bushy white eyebrowsrushes from the crowd to greet theparty. The PCs instantly recognizehim as Balko Verdemeer. Balko excit-edly congratulates the PCs on theirsuccess. He says that he and his aidescame to the keep a few hours agowhen they saw the violet aura. �Wetook it as a sign of your success. Ex-actly how did you cause it to shinelike that?�

Before the PCs can give more than abrief answer, one of Balko�s aidesshouts, �Take cover! The keep isbreaking up! � The villagers, Balko,and his aides scramble for safety. ThePCs can find cover under a tree orrock alcove; there are plenty in theimmediate area.

One round after the aide�s warning,the top of the keep explodes in ashower of rocks as the rest crumblesinto a mountain of dust. Any PC whodidn�t take cover has a 50% chance ofsuffering 1d2 damage from the rainof stones and debris. If the PCs searchthe area later, they find numerouslichling corpses amid the wreckage ofthe tower.

AftermathIn the days following the lichling

shower, Balko takes the PCs to Cor-myr, where the king arranges a feast

in their honor. Cormyran officials lis-ten with interest to the party�s story.All payments promised in the Pro-logue are made, and the PCs arehailed as heroes.

Cormyran court wizards suggestthat Icelia intended the lichlingshower as a final, desperate attack.But not only did the lichling showercause insignificant damage, localscholars theorize that the decompos-ing lichlings may act as a fertilizer toenrich the barren soil of the VeilstonePeaks.

stone Peak villages begin a new era ofprosperity.

This theory proves correct. Inyears to come, the farmlands in thisregion become some of the most fer-tile in all the Realms, and the Veil-

APPENDIX: NEWMAGICAL ITEM

Rod of ImmobileInsects

This is a 2�-long rod made of goldwith a white pearl on the end.

The rod operates by the mentalcommand of the user, discharging acloud of sparkling light that fills up toa 100�-diameter sphere. The center ofthe sphere may be up to 200� awayfrom the user. All insect life withinthe area of effect freezes in place for3d6 rounds, unable to attack or move(no saving throw). Flying insects arefrozen in place in mid-air.

The rod is effective against all typesof insect life, including giant insects,magically conjured insects, thri-kreen, and ankhegs. The lichlings andlichling servitors found in this adven-ture are also affected by the rod.

XP Value: 2,500.

62

Lichling FA2

Young MatureCLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any land Any landFREQUENCY: Very rare Very rareORGANIZATION: Solitary or horde SolitaryACTIVE TIME: Any AnyDIET: See below See belowINTELLIGENCE: Animal (1) Semi-(2)TREASURE:ALIGNMENT:

NilChaotic evil

NilChaotic evil

NO. APPEARING: 1 or 10-100 1ARMOR CLASS: 1 2MOVEMENT: 3, Fl 24 (B) 9, Fl 18 (C)HIT DICE: 2 + 2 20THAC0: 19 5NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 3DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d6 (bite)SPECIAL ATTACKS: NilSPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

2d10/2d10/4d6Bone spewSee below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: See belowSIZE: T (6� long)MORALE: Fearless (19)XP VALUE: 270

See belowG (80' long)Fearless (20)12,000

The lichling is a vicious, insect-like terror spawned from thebody of a demilich.

The lichling resembles a 6�-long black cockroach with spindlyhuman arms and legs, a pair of ragged gauzy wings, and a grin-ning human skull for a head. Razor-sharp hooked fangs line itsmouth. The chitinous body is greasy to the touch and smellsfaintly of rotten meat. Lichlings make no sounds except in an at-tack, when they clack their teeth and hiss like serpents.

Combat: A lichling attacks any living creature, soaring in astraight line toward the most vulnerable area of the victim�sbody, such as the neck or other area of exposed flesh. A hitmeans that the lichling has sunk its powerful fangs into the vic-tim, inflicting 1d6 damage. So powerful are the lichling�s jawsthat it can chew through a tree trunk.

Once it hits, the lichling inflicts an automatic 1d6 damage eachround thereafter until it lets go or is killed. If a lichling is killed, itremains attached to its victim; the victim suffers 1 point of dam-age per round, thanks to the deep wounds inflicted by the crea-ture and an anti-coagulant produced by the fangs.

Removing the corpse is a delicate procedure. A lichling corpsedoes not respond to fire or prodding. If the corpse is forcefullyremoved (which can be accomplished easily), the hooked fangsrip the victim�s neck, inflicting 2 hit points of damage. If the lichl-ing corpse is carefully detached (requiring a Dexterity check forthe character removing the corpse), the corpse is removed with-out inflicting any additional damage to the victim; if the checkfails, the victim suffers an additional 1 hit point of damage.

Lichlings can only be struck by + 1 or better magical weapons.They are immune to charm, sleep, enfeeblement, polymorph,cold, electricity, fear, insanity, and death spells.

Habitat/Society: Using arcane and complex magical proce-dures, certain demiliches are able to transform their originalbodies into immense incubating husks. Infant lichlings arespawned from the brain cells of the husks, nurtured by sub-stances generated within the husk. Following a period of 1d4decades of dormancy, the lichlings become fully active.

Active lichlings have no permanent lair. They sometimes travelin loosely organized hordes that number as many as 100 mem-bers.

Ecology: Active lichlings don�t consume organic food. Instead,they are nourished by the fear of their victims, along with theemotional trauma generated by victims suffering physical dam-age. In ways not fully understood, lichlings are able to assimilatefear and emotional trauma and transform it into nourishing en-ergy.

Though they are perfectly capable of inflicting damage andcausing victims to feel fear, lichlings can also assimilate fear andtrauma caused by other sources. For instance, lichlings some-times linger near battlefields to assimilate the fear and emotionaltrauma that combatants inflict on each other.

Lichlings show unwavering loyalty to the demilich whospawned them. If that demilich is destroyed, the lichlings may bepressed into service by an evil wizard or other powerful entity.

Mature LichlingA lichling matures in 100-1,000 years. The mature lichling resem-bles an 80�-long version of a young lichling, with long claws on itshands used to supplement its biting attacks. The mature lichlingcan also spew a stream of sharp bone fragments at any singletarget up to 100� away (make normal attack roll) to inflict 6d6damage; it can make this attack once every other round. Maturelichlings share the same diet and special defenses as young lichl-ings.

MONSTER SUMMARY TABLEThis table presents vital statistics for some of the monsters featured in this adventure.

Refer to the various AD&D® MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM volumes or this module for more detailed information.

Name AC HD/hp THAC0 #AT Dmg MV RemarksBanshee, see Groaning spiritBlack puddings, modified (2) - 1 10/68 11 1 3d8 12,Fl12 dissolves metal, immunitiesBrown mold, see MoldEyestalks (2) 1 9/70 11 1 6d4 or 2d10 12 immunitiesFire elemental 2 16/20 5 1 3d8 12 fire, +2 weapon to hit, immunitiesFlying glass skeletons,see SkeletonsGhost bats (3) 1 10/65 11 1 3d8 Fl24 screech, +1 weapons to hit, undead

immunitiesGiant slug, see SlugGolem, glass (4) 3 14/85 7 2 2d8/2d8 6 +1 weapons to hit, spell immunities,

or 1 explodesGray ochre ooze 8 7/50 15 1 1d10+2 4 corrodes metal, ooze immunitiesGray squirrels, modified 6 7+2/51 13 3 2d4/2d8/2d6 15 +1 THAC0

Groaning spirit 0 7/50 13 1 1d8 15 wail, fear, immunitiesHeart spiders (3)Ivory hydra hands (2)

7 2/14 19 1 1d4 6,18 on web 3d8 poison1 12/8 9 12 1d10 per head 9

per head or 1 4d10 smashJuju zombie 6 3+12/32 15 1 3d4 9,Crwl3 necklace of missiles, +1 weapon to hit,

immunitiesKiller mimic 7Leech, giant 9Lichling corpse, animated 3Lichling 1Lichling servitor 2Living web 9

10/74 11 1 3d4 3 glue, acid immunity4/30 17 1 1d4 3,Sw3 drains 4hp/round20/150 5 3 2d10/2d10/4d6 See Chap. 42+2/15 19 1 1d6 3,Fl24 See p. 646/45 15 2 2d6/2d6 12 +1 weapons to hit, undead immunities6/45 15 1 2d4 6 absorbs electricity, divides at edged blows,

immunities

Lurker above 6 10/70 10 1 1d6 Fl9(B) constriction, surprise penaltyMarine scrags, modified (8) 2 6+12/60 13 3 1d4/1d4/1d8+8 3,Sw12 3hp regen, undead immunities, not turnedMegalocentipede, young (6) 7 2hP 20 1 Nil 15 1d6 poisonMegalocentipede, adult 5 3/21 17 1 1d3 18 poisonMold, brown 9 N/A 17 N/A special 6 absorbs heat, spell immunitiesMuck men (8) 8 5/39 15 1 special 3 +1 weapons to hit, muck-throwing,

suffocation

Piercers (8)Purple wormShadows (4)

Skeletons, flying glass (6)Slug, giant

Spectres (2)

Spiders, see heart spidersStrangleweedTube wormUmber hulks (4)Wraiths (2)Zombie dragon turtle

3 4/30 17 1 4d6 1 one attack, acid, surprise6 15/110 5 1/1 2d12/2d4 9 poison, swallow whole7 3+3/20 17 1 1d4+1 12 Strength drain, undead immunities, 90%

undetectable3 7/55 13 1 1d10 12,Fl15 explode, undead immunities8 12/93 9 1 1d12 6 4d8 acid spit, no harm from blunt

weapons2 7+3/55 13 1 1d8 15,Fl30 energy drain, +1 weapons to hit, undead

immunities

6 4/30 17 1 special Nil crushes4 9+3/70 11 1 2d4 6 lunging2 8+8/60 11 3 3d4/3d4/1d10 6,Burrow 1d6 confusion, surprise bonus4 5+3/41 15 1 1d6 12,Fl24 energy drain, undead immunities0 14/100 7 3 2d6/2d6/4d8 3,Sw9 breath, undead immunities, not turned

VillagersTypical villager (0-level fighter): AC 10; MV 12; hp 4; THAC0 20; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 (dagger); AL LN.Use �Typical� statistics for laborers and other ordinary citizens.Exceptional villager (1st-level fighter): AC 8 (leather armor); MV 12; hp 9; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 (short sword); AL LN.Use �Exceptional� statistics for merchants, middle class citizens, and low-level officials.Elite villager (4th-level fighter): AC 5 (chain mail); MV 12; hp 30; THAC0 17; Dmg 1d8 (long sword); AL LN.The �Elite� statistics are for higher-level officials, bodyguards, and other noteworthy folk.

SENSORY PHENOMENA TABLESee Chapter 3 for instructions. Once you run a given phenomenon, mark the box beside it. When you roll an entry that has already been

run, use the next unmarked entry down. Roll 1d20 or choose:

1. BENEVOLENT SPIRITc Stage A: A shimmering image of a faceless human appearsbefore the victim. The image radiates a golden glow. The imagefades a moment after it appears.c Stage B: As Stage A, except the image beckons the victim tofollow it. The image vanishes in 1d4 rounds. The spirit leads thevictim in an advantageous direction of your choice.

2. MALEVOLENT SPIRITc Stage A: A shimmering image of a faceless human appearsbefore the victim. The image radiates a violet glow. The imagefades a moment after it appears.c Stage B: As Stage A, except the image beckons the victim tofollow it. The image vanishes in 1d4 rounds. The spirit leads thevictim into a trap of your choice.

3. WOLOVER�S SPIRITNote: This does not occur after the PCs visit area 11 of Chapter 4.

c Stage A: A hazy image of a bald man appears before the vic-tim. The man wears a long robe covered with small circles. Theimage opens its mouth to speak, but suddenly vanishes.c Stage B: As Stage A, except that the victim telepathicallyhears the image�s voice saying, �Come to the heart . . .�

4. ICELIA�S HEADc Stage A: An image of a floating head appears directly infront of the victim, blocking progress. The head resembles a hu-man skull covered with rotting flesh. Shanks of long matted hairextend from the scalp. The image cackles insanely at the victim;only the PC hears the cackles. If the PC touches the image, it van-ishes. Otherwise, it disappears in 2d4 rounds.c Stage B: Same as Stage A, except that a victim who touchesthe image suffers 1d10 cold damage and must save vs. paralyza-tion or be utterly unable to move for 2d4 rounds. If the victimdoesn�t touch the image, it disappears in 2d4 rounds.

5. CONSTRICTIONc Stage A: The victim feels tightly squeezed, as if in the coils ofa gigantic constrictor. The sensation persists for 1d4 rounds,during which time the PC cannot move.c Stage B: As Stage A, except that the sensation persists for2d4 rounds and the victim suffers 2d4 damage per round. If acompanion physically moves the victim 5� away from where thephenomenon began, the constriction immediately ends.

6. SCREAMc Stage A: The victim hears the bone-chilling scream of a manor woman, as if the person were dying in agony.c Stage B: As Stage A, except that the victim must save vs.spells or experience the effects of a fear spell (no saving throw),fleeing in a random direction at top speed for 10 rounds.

7. TINGLE AND FAINTc Stage A: The victim�s skin tingles, as if pricked by thousandsof tiny needles. A moment later, the victim collapses unconscious(no saving throw), but recovers if a companion rouses the PC.c Stage B: The victim feels the tingling and faints as in StageA. However, the slightest touch from a companion revives thevictim. For the next hour, the victim can move and act normally�while physical touching any companion. However, when not incontact with someone, the victim instantly falls unconscious.

8. FLASHES AND SHRIEKSc Stage A: The PC sees tiny bursts of light for the next 2d4rounds, making all attacks at a -1 penalty during that time.c Stage B: The light flashes are accompanied by distant,echoed shrieks of agony, persisting for 2d4 rounds. Attacks takea -2 penalty during this time.

9. MENACING HANDc Stage A: The victim sees a 5� long bony hand, its fingerscrackling with energy, hovering in the air. The hand moves to-

ward the victim with an MV of 3, passing effortlessly throughwalls and floors. The hand continues to follow until it touchesthe victim, and then it disappears; the hand causes no harm.c Stage B: As Stage A, except that if the victim eludes the handfor 10 rounds, it disappears. Otherwise, if the hand touches thevictim, the victim suffers 3d10 chilling (cold-based) damage.

10. EERIE RAINc Stage A: The victim feels warm drops of invisible, odorlessliquid rain steadily from an unseen source; no one but the victimis aware of the rain. The rain follows wherever the victim goes,and persists for 2d4 rounds.c Stage B: As Stage A, except that after the rain stops, the vic-tim exudes a carrion stench in a 10' radius. All PCs attack at a -2penalty within 10' of the victim; the victim does not suffer thesepenalties. If the victim is immersed in any type of liquid, thestench is washed off.

11. PHONY KEYc Stage A: The victim sees a gold key on the floor. No one elsecan see it. When the victim touches the key, it disappears.c Stage B: The victim sees a gold key on the floor. The key hasthe weight and appearance of a normal key, though none of theother PCs can see or feel it. While carrying the key, the victimfeels a painful skeletal throbbing, causing AC to drop by 2, halv-ing movement rates, and penalizing all attacks by -2. If the vic-tim discards the key, the ill effects end.

12. LILAC SMELLc Stage A: The victim smells a strong odor of lilacs for oneround. There is no apparent source of the smell.c Stage B: Same as Stage A, except that a PC who does not

immediately holds his or her breath for one round suffers 3d6points of poison damage.

13. FOUL TASTEc Stage A: The victim experiences the revolting taste of honeymixed with rotting fish for one round. There are no ill effects.c Stage B: As Stage A, except that the victim must make a Con-stitution check or become nauseated. For the next hour, the vic-tim makes all ability checks with a +1 penalty and attacks with a-1 penalty.

14. PUNGENT ODORc Stage A: The victim smells an odor of sour milk for oneround. There is no apparent source of the odor.c Stage B: As Stage A, except that a PC who does not immedi-ately hold his or her breath for one round doubles over with se-vere stomach cramps. The intense pain prevents the victim fromspeaking, moving, or acting for the next 2d4 rounds.

15. HAUNTED HANDSc Stage A: Both of the victim�s hands vanish for one round,then abruptly reappear. Anything the victim was carrying isdropped. The victim suffers no damage.c Stage B: The victim�s hands shake uncontrollably for thenext hour, changing (to the PC only) into violet mist. During thehour, the victim cannot hold a weapon or any other item. Spell-casters cannot cast spells with somatic components.

16. TICKLING INSECTSc Stage A: The victim feels a tickling all over, as of tiny crawl-ing creatures. There is no apparent source of the sensation,which lasts an hour.c Stage B: As Stage A, except that the victim (and only the vic-tim) sees the source of the tickling: dozens of ghostly white but-terflies with human heads, their faces contorted in pain. Thebutterflies cannot be brushed away (all objects harmlessly passthrough them), nor can they be magically dispersed. An hour af-ter their arrival, the butterflies flap away of their own accord,disappearing into mid-air.

SENSORY PHENOMENA TABLE17. HAUNTED LEGS

c Stage A: The victim�s feet stick tight to the groundfor 2d4 rounds.c Stage B: The victim (and only the victim) believes hisor her legs have transformed into violet mist. The victimimmediately collapses. The legs are useless for the nexthour; to move, the victim must crawl, fly, or be carried.

18. HAUNTED WEAPONc Stage A: One of the weapons the victim currentlyholds (roll randomly) abruptly disappears. One hour lat-er, the weapon reappears, undamaged, in the exact loca-tion where it originally vanished. (A victim who movesafter the weapon vanished must return to the originallocation in order to retrieve the weapon.)c Stage B: One of the victim�s weapons (roll randomly)abruptly lurches free from the victim�s hand and, hover-ing in mid-air, attacks the victim, hitting automatically formaximum damage. It then drops to the ground.

19. DEADLY PREMONITIONc Stage A: The victim faints for 1d4 rounds (no savingthrow) and cannot be revived during this time. While un-

conscious, the character experiences a vivid dream of hisor her own violent death�crushed by a collapsing wall,eaten alive, or any deadly fate of your choice. Uponawakening, the PC immediately experiences the effectsof a fear spell (no saving throw), and flees in a randomdirection for 10 rounds.c Stage B: As Stage A, except the victim has the violentdream about another PC (choose randomly). The dreammay seem to be a premonition of the immediate future,such as the next room of the labyrinth. When the victimawakens, there are no ill effects unless the victim relatesthe dream to the subject of the dream. If so, the subjectexperiences fear as described in Stage A (subject gains asaving throw vs. spell).

20. SEALED LIPSc Stage A: The victim feels sharp pains in the lips, as ifsomething were stitching the lips together. The victimcannot speak for the next 2d4 rounds. Spellcasters can-not cast spells with verbal components during this time.c Stage B: As Stage A, except the victim�s lips aresealed for a full hour.

PHYSICAL ENCOUNTERS TABLEc See Chapter 3 for instructions. Roll 1d12 or choose:

1. Dark fog: A magical gray fog rises around the party, per-sisting within a 50-200 (1d4x50) foot radius of the party�scurrent position for the next 1d4 hours. In the fog, missilecombat has a - 1 modifier at point blank range, a -2 modi-fier at short range, a -5 modifier at medium range, and isimpossible at long range. Movement rates are reduced by¼. Vision, including infravision, is restricted to 10 yards.

2. Crawling green fungus: The party discovers a smallpatch of green fungus crawling along the floor at a move-ment rate of 3. The fungus is harmless and edible (it tasteslike mushrooms). Assume the fungus is big enough to supplya meal�s worth of nourishment for each PC in the party.

3. Crawling blue fungus: This is identical to the �Crawl-ing green fungi� encounter above, except the fungus is blue.Though tasty, eating the blue fungus requires a Constitutioncheck; failure means the PC is nauseated and suffers a -1attack penalty for the next 24 hours.4. Disease mist: A cloud of pink mist blocks the party�sprogress. Undisturbed, the mist dissipates in 1d4 hours.Otherwise, any PC who comes within 3� of the mist mustsave vs. poison or feel feverish for the next 24 hours, mak-ing ability checks at a +2 penalty and attacking at a -2 pen-alty during that time.

5. Collapsing ceiling: A section of the passage extending3d10 ahead of the party has a weak ceiling, evidenced bythe shower of chunks continually falling from it. The ceilingchunks range in size from a few inches in diameter to about3�. Each PC entering this area has a 25% change per 5� ofceiling to be hit by a chunk large enough to do 2d4 points ofdamage. A PC can avoid damage with a Dexterity check.

6. Chilling wind: A magical wind whips the party, chillingthem to the bones. Each PC who fails to make a Constitutioncheck with a +2 penalty suffers 2d4 points of damage.

7. Dripping ceiling: A thick yellow liquid reeking of rot-ten meat drips from the ceiling for the next 30�. Each PCentering this area has a 25% chance per 10� of having a dropstrike him for 3d6 points of damage (save vs. poison for 1d6points of damage). A PC who holds a shield or similar protec-tion overhead avoids this damage. The pools of liquid on the

floor are easy to avoid, but any PC foolish enough to touchone must save vs. poison and suffer damage accordingly.

8. Ominous rumbling: Mild tremors shake the walls andfloors for 1d4 rounds. The tremors cause no significantdamage, and the party�s ability to move and take action isunaffected.

9. Undead hellhounds (2d4): Int low; AL LE; AC 4; MV12; HD 8; hp 55 each; THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg 1d10 (bite); SAbreath fire at victim up to 10 yards away for 2d10 dmg (savevs. spells for half damage; can breathe flames while biting; anatural roll of 20 on an attack roll means the hound has bothbitten and breathed fire on a victim); SD can see hidden orinvisible creatures 50% of the time; opponents have a -5penalty on surprise rolls; immune to fire, sleep, charm,hold, death magic, poisons, and cold-based spells; SZ M; ML13; XP 1,400.

These resemble slightly larger versions of normal hell-hounds, with rotting flesh stretched over black bones andwith stronger fire breath. They cannot be turned.

10. Spectres (1d4): Int high; AL LE; AC 2; MV 15, Fl 30 (B);HD 7+3; hp 56 each; THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8; SA suc-cessful attacks drain two levels from victim; SD +1 or bet-ter weapon to hit; immune to sleep, charm, hold, andcold-based attacks; immune to poison and paralyzation at-tacks; SZ M; ML 15; XP 3,000.

11. Shadows (3d4): Int low; AL CE; AC 7; MV 12; HD 3+3;hp 25 each; THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4+1; SA successfulattacks drain one point of Strength from victim, lostStrength returns in 2d4 turns (victims reduced to 0 Strengthbecome shadows); SD 90% undetectable in all but brightestof surroundings; immune to sleep, charm, hold, and cold-based attacks; SZ M; ML special; XP 650.

12. Wraiths (2d4): Int very; AL LE; AC 4; MV 12, Fl 24 (B);HD 5+3; hp 40 each; THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6; SA suc-cessful attacks drain a level of experience from victim, in-cluding hit points and all abilities associated with that level(spells, etc.); lost experience must be earned again or magi-cally restored; SD immune to all weapons except silver (halfdamage) or +1 or better (full damage); immune to sleep,charm, hold, death, and cold-based spells; SZ M; ML 15; XP3,000.