|
Alzar orders them to grab the chain and pull it and try to break the bars. They chuckle at him but he orders them to to do and they do. With all four of them puling, the chain bursts free. One says they had better find weapons. As the group moves out, Alzar hears a sound and orders them back into the cell. They argue for a second, and then do so. Then a kobold enters the room and Alzar orders it to give him some water, you don’t want dry meat. It gets upset and grabs the spear to poke at him and moves to the cell. Alzar charges out and captures it. Then one of them smashes its head in with a stool and it dies.
Alzar takes its spear and the female fighter takes its sword, in her hands a short sword. The only other thing of use in here is a lamp which the group takes. The two curtains are hiding two exits. One forward and the other right. The go forward. |
As Alzar moves ahead, he runs into a human male and pulls back. He moves forward and Alzar signals the party to move in. Attack ensues and in two rounds they have dispatched their opponent. One takes his chainmail and another his sword, human sized. They continue forward
The corridor widens and turns left into a small chamber that continues in a corridor on the far side. There is a curtain Alzar peeks behind and sees two men drinking at a table, with weapons and armor on. The woman pushes forward with chain mail and a weapon and orders a charge and they run in. One starts intoning and the priest yells to shut up their priest. He blinds the woman as she enters and the battle begins. She stumbles and falls, and the warrior brings his weapon down and slays her. The rest of Alzar’s group move in and melee with the priest while he engages the fighter. After a few rounds, he has finished off the fighter with his spear and they captured the priest and tied him up and gagged him. Alzar orders a search. A cabinet reveals everybody’s equipment, armor, weapons and everything else. Alzar finds 100 gp On the bodies. They move to the entrance on the other side, and there is a portcullis here. Alzar pulls it p, abut is hit by a trap for 5 damage in doing so 46/51 hp |
They head forward. The room they enter is a slick limestone cave with a large white statue of an oddly shaped toad like creature. It is on the ground and ready to spring into action. It’s eyes glint in the torch and lamplight. Also in the room are some furniture and other accoutrements. In one of the trunk are black robes and red medallions. The priest reaches down and informs Alzar that this is a cult dedicated to a frost deity. Alzar begins to search while the priest defaces the idol/statue. Alzar manages to turn up a flask with a magical liquid in it of unknown origin.
Flask – magical liquid |
As they move around the room they reveal a passage to the right, which they take. After just a short distance the passage forks. The left is gated and the right has a cold breeze blowing from it. The gate is unable to be moved or picked or lifted, so they go right.
It curves back to the left for a bit and then opens up. The curtain reveals a decent sized room with a brazier in the middle. Small grey humanoids are asking for dinner from a talker human. Alzar orders a charge and leads it, flinging aside the curtain. He takes 3 damage from charging in and two of the small grey manthings move at Alzar. He swings and misses and takes 4 more damage from their clubs. Then he attack again and connects. One drops and the other trips over its body and Alzar dispatches it. The man is engaging the priest, and Alzar rushes over and finishes him off. There is a ladder here, which they take 50 gp found |
A sandy passage is revealed at the bottom of the ladder. They move to the right, the only direction this passage has. Alzar moves forward and overhears discussion of attacking a nearby village tomorrow, under cover of winter and storms. Alzar sides with the priest who wants to destroy this outpost rather than the elf who just wants to leave. In order to do this, you will charge the people inside and take them out. Alzar takes off his armor. Now that he has his things back, it’s time for a surprise.
You move it to attack. There is a wolf in its cage, and it pushes forward, warning the people about the attack. Alzar casts sleep and drops both people before the wolf is released. 100 XP |
The next room has a bed, desk and table, some chests and chairs, and large curtain, which swings back to reveal a large area portcullised off. A search finds a lever, which Alzar throws. He blinds the great white ape in here with Continual Light and then kills it easily.
75 XP It guarded a sort of treasury of the complex. In here is a chest with the Master’s plans for invading the local village. You find a secret door in here that opens into a long hallway that leads outside. After escaping the place, you agree not to head back in, and instead the elf and priest will warn the village about the attack. With the missing plans, it is unlikely to happen at all, but if it does… End of M1. Blizzard Pass |
The flask is a potion of Fire Giant Strength.
After escaping from that crazy pass, Alzar manages to climb down and keep going down the other side. The path on this side is much nicer and the creatures on this side of the mountain more hospitable. Three days pass before Alzar even comes across a creature that tries to stop him. It was a trio of bandits who were fleeing the frigid mountain pass for nicer air, and Alzar enslept them (caution, enslept is not a real word) and slew them, and took their horses. Just a pair of large centipedes stand between Alzar and his arrival in the valley. He gives the brew to Garinda, who distills it and has it spread among the land. Although winter has begun, the plants do recover, and the curse has been lifted from the land. End of The Forest Oracle |
The Forest Oracle has been called the worst module in AD&D. I thought it would be fun to play through it. I left out some of the crap and annoying stuff. Here are some epically bad examples:
It is established at the lake that you have to remove a creature from the lake in order to waken them, but you can awaken the forester just by slapping him awake. The distraught nymph fails to shake her man to waken him. Here is where you encounter the 7 brigands: “A group of seven men approaches. They are following the road east, and are making good time, neither tarrying nor running. Their faces are expressionless. One is dressed as a cleric of some sort, and another is dressed as a traveling drummer. The others could be peasants or serfs going from one location to another for the harvest season. Each carries some sort of weapon. It is plain that they are not soldiers by their haphazard way of walking. They do not seem to be joking loudly or singing as they advance.” Later on the brigands will break and charge you. AFTER THEY CHARGE YOU, you roll a d6 to see if they are surprised by you?!? In mid-charge they might forget what they are doing and start milling around? Here is the weak wererat scene: “The tavern closes at 10 p.m. Bolo sends all the customers off to their rooms. The lights go out, and the tavern becomes still. An attempt to rob the party will occur during the night whether any of the party is on watch or not. Any party member on watch has to save vs. Sleep directed at him. If he is successful, the spell will be cast on each party member coming on watch until one is successfully put to sleep. At that time, four wererats (AC 6; MV 12"; HD 3+1; hp 16 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 [sword]; SA Surprise on 1-4; SD Hit only by silver or +1 or better magic weapons) enter the room and rob the party. The party members should each roll 1d6. Anyone rolling a 1 awakens, and knows he is being robbed. He may pretend he is asleep or call for help. If he calls out, the wererats flee through a secret door located directly across from the hall door. This door stays hidden unless the party sees the rats exit. They may try to locate the door on a normal search. When the party finds the door, they may wish to pursue the wererats. They may check for the door several times if they wish. If they do not find the door or if none of the party awakens while the wererats are robbing them, they find large rat-like tracks on the floor. Bolo will realize they belong to the wererats staying at the inn. The wererats are armed with swords. A clever gang, they have been staying at the inn off and on for three months. They rent room #8, and use that as their base of operations. They have disguised their activities so well Bolo hasn't discovered the connection between when they stay and when the robberies occur. The wererats always seem to have plenty of money to pay for their lodging, however.” Why are the non-mage wererats able to cast sleep over and over? Why are your only options to call for help or pretend to be asleep if you make your roll? You know, as opposed to attacking or casting a spell? (And why does Bolo, who was a former thief before settling down, not know about a simple secret door in his inn, or that people are stealing from his customers?) It’s just downright silly There are others too. Why do a high powered group of druids need your help to handle a small camp of goblins and dire wolves? In the module ( I removed this) you are found by gypsies (who laid the curse) and who need your help to face an Ogre. If you refuse, the gypies mages are powerful enough to cast charms and other magic to force you. To fight one ogre. (Who has a flesh golem guard who only attacks gypsies). So, now you to can enjoy what some have called the worst AD&D module of all time. (There are others. Why does the forester, who is a level 3 fighter who is proficient with an axe only own a bow or a sword? Why does he only have 2 hit dice? Why doesn’t the recalcitrant nymph pour the antidote potion into the lake herself? |
This sounds like a grippingly-crappy adventure!
SI |
Back to The Eye of the Serpent, already in progress.
Now, Alzar wants to continue to the main city. He needs to get a real library. He gathers his wagons and accoutrements and three days later sets out on a nice day to travel. We have a problem. See, I wrote up the rest of Eye of the Serpent and spent several hours running it. Then I had a major BSOD problem with my laptop and it’s lost. I’m very, VERY frustrated, but hopefully I can push through and continue the dynasty. It’s a major blow to know I lost ALL of that work though. (I wrote great stuff about the beauty of the area, and the stairs that lead to the mires and how the mires formed and all of that. Sigh. Waste of time. That PISSES me off to no freakin’ end). Basically, Alzar spent the rest of the module moving through a sward of green, then onto a final plateau of mires, and thence through a small dungeon, and down the river and into the Eye of the Serpent. |
Quote:
It really is!;) |
I’ma just do a quick recap:
Fought a variety of monsters – crustaceans with tentacles in a cave behind a waterfall, enemy plants, slavers in the mines, a large flying creature I made up myself which was REALLY cool, (We also missed a classic Alzar rant against the mage who created this monster. It had the body of an eagle or hawk, and the head of a snake, and it’s talons were also snake heads. Alzar gave his rant against stupid mages who don’t really understand the nature and level of power just mucking about with silly things like that). and other stuff. He engaged a Mist Mephit who told him about a bullywug camp and moved to avoid it in the mires. He busted a small slave issue in the tunnel that led from the mires to the ground where the river continued and sprung Marilla, who had been captured. Healed again The Eye of the Serpent saw him kill a 5th level cleric on the island itself, and then penetrate deep into the underground where he freed a low level Gen (a weaker version of a genie normally in service to others), encountered a Duergar Mentalist, who hurt him badly, and eliminated a small Duergar camp down there. Then he returned to the tunnel met back with Marilla, who is heading toward the city. (One key encounter, in addition to the Gen and the Mentalist was with a Necrophidus, a construct, which shows you can make them here. Alzar made one. This was Old Homie night, with him running into a Mist Mephit (his own familiar, Dryshik) and one of his old constructs). Here is the stuff he grabbed from various folks: +1 spear, +2 vs giants, +3 vs orcs and ogres +1 short bow Electrum Amulet – 120 gp Silver Bangle – 25 gp Gold Buckle – 85 gp Gold and Malachite Headband – 220 gp Gold and Turquoise Ring – 70 gp Onyx Statuette of Snake – 250 gp Copper Belt and Stones – 60 gp Violet Garnet Earrings - 120 gp, pair 3000 ep 750 gp 1500 sp 10 Citrines – 50 gp each Star Sapphire, 2000 gp (He placed this, after finding it, into the missing eye socket of a statue, and it was the right gem, but nothing happened) Book - Tribal History of this Duergar Clan He also gained 1350 XP form fighting as a wizard in many places End, sadly, of Eye of the Serpent. |
Hate BSOD's. Hope you manage to get that fixed on the laptop without having to actually replace the whole thing. My desktop had a MB crash earlier this year while playing a game. Reverted to a different one and then built a new computer with new video card and all that.
Wish I had the desire to play that game that I was playing that blew my computer up. Really enjoyed it but not feeling like replaying all that I had done. Tell |
Thanks, I'm sur I'll just ignore it and keep my laptop as wis, just move my external HD to it and save on it so I won;t lose anything else.
|
Let’s finish up Puppets, which frankly, we’ve barely started. I just used it as a framing story for the trio of Eye of the Serpent/Forest Oracle/Blizzard Pass modules. Sometimes on these modules I keep them virtually as is (I kept many adventures in the In Search of Adventure campaign as is, as well as Temple of Elemental Evil – I just made that one harder, and so forth.) But sometimes I change things around to fit them in geographically (like Gates of Firestorm Peak moved to the Underdeep.) I may make a random cleric part of the Temple of Elemental Earth (as I did in the Slavers series) in order to tie stories together.
So Puppets will have fewer changes than the other three, whereas Ghost of Lion’s Castle had very little (I am not doling out as much Magic to Alzar as these modules sometimes want me too). Anyway, please remember the Air Gen that Alzar rescued from the Necrophidus that was guarding it and the Duergar Mentalist who was summoning up Mephits and Gen to stir up problems. It just might come into play later… Now Alzar has returned to Marilla, and they are moving out to Arjuna, city of roughly 40k and their final destination. He is riding the laboratory wagon, Marilla has her horse, they have a pair of extra steeds, and there are a few rescued slaves coming with them as well. |
One day after their travel to Arjuna has resumed, they are traveling down the road when horses from behind can be made out. As the riders approach, Alzar can make out three horsemen. The center one is armored in full plate, the left is a woman in a bright orange robe and the other is a chainmail and shield on his back They have not drawn any weapons. The man in the plate armor in the center pushes his horse up to talk with Alzar.
Alzar orders the caravan to stop while he meets with the man in full armor. He rides up to Alzar on top of his wagon and demands that Alzar immediately step down from the wagon. The female in robes and with a staff has moved about 100 yards away and the other gentleman is with her. Alzar politely refuses and asks what is going on. The man barks out that in just a few seconds, the mage will be casting a Lightning Bolt at the wagon. Alzar looks, she is just the right distance away. Reluctantly, he drops from the wagon and she hurls a lightning bolt and destroys his laboratory. Meanwhile, Alzar has grown very angry indeed and demands answers. |
The man (a paladin) uses Detect Evil on Alzar and it comes back positive. He refuses to tell Alzar anything and begins to move away. Marilla has moved over and is trying to calm everything down, although she is clearly distressed as well. Marilla asks what cause they had to destroy Alzar’s wagon. The paladin pauses a brief moment, and clearly addresses just Marilla.
“We had been following that wagon for a bit. It is the home of avampire. We lost track of it for over a year, but here it is, ready and moving just a week or so away from before. We have to destroy all of its homes.” “You think the wagon I bought more than a year ago is the home of a vampire? Are you just insane?” The paladin darts a nasty look at Alzar. “Oh sure, if the mage is evil, he certainly can’t tell the truth or make sense. I could say that 2 plus 2 was four and you’d disbelieve me. You destroyed a wagon, you never hailed yourself, gave the person a chance to explain, and now it’s just convenient for you to focus on the fact that I happen to not be a worshipper of your idiot gods rather than own your own evil actions today.” The paladin moves closer to Alzar and draws his sword. “Enough,” Marilla demands. Alzar refuses to draw any weapon or prepare any spell. “Will you cut down a defenseless man? Are defenseless wagons too much for you after all?” The other two begin to gallop up. “Why are you with this evil man?!?!” He demands of Marilla. “First of all, I did not know he was evil per se, although I take you at your word that he is. Your temple and abilities are known to me. Secondly, he has rescued slaves twice, freed a local valley from a curse, and destroyed a major threat by taking care of a growing army of goblins and dire wolves. So really, who has done more to help this area in the last year? You or him?” The paladin pauses briefly, and then sheathes his sword and moves off. Marilla turns to Alzar and asks why he did those things if he is, in fact, an evil person. “Oh, I am selfish to the core, never forget. But I see no need to turn that against others necessarily. Why hurt others when it brings me nothing? No power? My word and trust are how you truly advance yourself in the long run. I help others to help myself. “ Alzar and the group gather some of the items that were not destroyed and move on. |
Two days later, while walking through the woods, the afternoon sun is streaming down through the leafy canopy and then six halflings crawl out of the bush. They are holding throwing sticks, trombashes, but not in an en garde position, just relaxed. Then another comes down a branch with a short bow in his hand, and above the caravan. He tells the wagons to stop where they are and prepare to be searched.
“I’m getting tired of people who want to search my wagons or blow them up! I am going to sever the head of the next person who searches, destroys, attacks or prevents me from continuing down what is supposed to be an open road!” The Halflings begin to look nervous. The one above is uncertain. Alzar presses. “What is it this time? Last time someone thought I was harboring a vampire. It is a mummy? Do you think I have His Highness Hendrick IV in here?” (He just names some random person from Thorasia, knowing they don’t know who that is, in order to push the point.) |
One of the Halflings in front sheepishly adds, “Orcs.”
“Do I look like an orc? Do these people look like they are harboring orcs?” The Halflings begin to melt away from their perches. Trombashes are returned to belts and the leader’s short bow is slung back over his shoulder. He bounds down the tree to the ground. He tells the caravan that more than a dozen orcs have been roaming the area recently. So? He looks a bit taken aback by the question. They have allied with kobolds, goblins and some other goblinoids. It’s quite the little force. Alzar agrees to help the Halflings hunt for their enemy. Marilla and the others will wait by the wagons and continue for a few days down the road and then hold up. Meanwhile, Alzar gallops off with a horse as his needed items . One of the Halflings is a ranger, and she follows orc paths that were made just yesterday. After a few hours of following them, they arrive a few miles away from an orc camp. As it is drawing the end of the day, they decide to wait until the next day to strike – too many bad guys at night. |
The following day Alzar and his crew prepare to attack the orc camp. In the camp are 8 kobolds, 7 goblins, and 7 orcs. They will be doing a hit and run. Alzar takes point and casts Sleep. 3 kobolds fall asleep and suddenly they realize an attack in ongoing. They are very coordinated. Three kobolds are put on sleep detail and they wake up those sleeping. Soon enough the goblins are throwing darts at Alzar and two visible Halflings while the orcs move into position. That’s smart. Goblinoids usually don’t know how to fight magic very well. One of Alzar’s best weapons is gone.
He follows with Continual Light to the face of a charging orc. Four more halflings appear to the right and left and start beaming in weapons against the orcs. This slows them down. The spell works and an orc, blinded, trips and tumbles. Soon, the Halfling weapons have finished three orcs as Alzar takes 7 damage from darts. He orders the two Halflings beside him to retreat after they took some hits. His staff is out and smash-kills a wounded orc. The goblins stop the missile weapons at Alzar the moment before the orcs arrive to prevent any friendly fire, and then move to the Halflings. The kobolds have four hanging back checking for ambushes to the rear and flank while the others are converging on the right flank. Alzar orders the Halflings under duress to leave. He smashes another orc and takes 7 damage from two attacks. Within a round he turns and flees under the arrows of the halfling leader . They killed 4 orcs, 1 goblin, 1 kobold Alzar took 14 damage. 37/51 hp Alzar gained 75 XP |
They retreat to a designated spot to decide on the next plan. They are very well organized. It would not be too unusual to have an orc, goblin or kobold leader who was good and seasoned at tactics who could guide them as they just were. What is unusual is that some leader has not only done that, but unified them as well. That’s interesting.
They move twice more and establish camp for the night. All is quiet. The following morning, scouts reveal that the orc encampment was moved. It is now in a much more defensible location, where they have their backs to a large hilly cliff face. Normally that would be suicide (no exit in case of being attacked and needing to retreat) But there is a ravine right behind them. A rope ladder heads down, plus its’ just 15 feet or so down from their scamp spot. They can scramble down. Without the heavy hitting nature of his Sleep spell, Alzar can’t see how the 8 of them are going to push their foes easily. He grabs his armor and spear and they will use him as a tank to finish off some while they try to keep too many away. Two and a half hours later they arrive at the camp. Alzar flings a poisoned silver head spear at a goblin on guard. It spears him in half. Alzar roars and moves in slowly, with his magic spear ready. The halflings are currently not to be seen. A group coalesces to hit Alzar, while others start preparing for an attack on the side. Alzar’s spear is up and he attacks an orc (+3 vs orcs). He hits and smashes the orc for 1d6+4 damage. It dies. He takes 5 damage from two attacks. They win init and hit again for 3 damage once (goblin hit). He kills another orc. The rest are goblins and kobolds on him. Trombashes fly out from the woods and slay a kobold. The halflings have been spotted and a small unit moves to intercept while they return missile fire. Alzar hits and kills a kobold. They miss. A halfling is slain after being hit three times. The others pull back a bit. They win init. Alzar takes 8 and moves back after spearing a goblin and killing it. They melt away from his retreating form as others move back to gather up wounded and dead. Dead: 6 orcs, 3 goblins, 3 kobolds; 1 halfling Alzar – 24/51 |
Suddenly, Alzar orders a shift and throws the magic spear. It misses a goblin. The leader gallops in on a small pony firing in arrow after arrow, hitting with the magic short bow Alzar lent him, while trombashes snake in for a dead goblin. Alzar rushes in on the east flank.
They move to gather their scattered forces and converge in the center of their camp, just above the ravine. Alzar’s axe hews the body in half of a kobold. They slay a wounded goblin but mostly miss. The leader drops the bow and draws his magic sword. The goblins win init and attack the leader and hhis twice for 11 damage. Alzar takes a dart for 2. Leader: 23/34 Alzar, 22/51 Alzar’s axe is out. He misses once but hits an orc for 5 damage and it is still alive until the leader gallops at him and stabs him as he rushes by. Another kobold is finished. The enemy begins to retreat, moving themselves down the rope ladder and moving to the ravine. Alzar and the leader move to it, Alxar dropping his axe along the way and unholstering his crossbow. Alzar stabs a goblin for death and the leader unmounts and drops down the ladder as well. Others have run up from the woods while their foes retreat. They manage to kill everybody but one orc, one kobold and two goblins. Those four manage to make it away. The ravine had a crevasse that runs along the hill before moving into it – a cave system. |
The gather up and bandage the wounded.
The camp has nothing in it beside the typical bedrolls, clothes, tools, food, and such. The halflings and Alzar agree that this likely ends the raids and disturbances in the area for now, so the following day they begin to move back to the road and catch up with the caravan. As they do, a crashing noise hits up ahead and Alzar explores. Here is a large, brilliant colored yellow tomcat. It talks to Alzar and says that it is hungry. Alzar grabs some food and tosses it to the cat instead of moving to it. The cat thanks him. He was turned into a cat by an evil wizard a few months ago. Alzar is not sure he believes the cat, which has a very strange way of constructing its sentences. But the cat wants to come along, and Alzar agrees. His name is Karat. The journey to the road is almost over when fire blackened arrows leap out of the brush and lance at Alzar’s group. He orders everyone to the road and to prepare for battle. His magic spear is out and he moves to the lead. Suddenly a powerful flame erupts in front of him and brush catches on fire. Alzar’s horse is started and pulls up. He fails his riding proficiency, falls, and take 3 damage. As he does so, Karat, scared, leaps away and into the brush. |
The halflings have their missile weapons at the ready and prepare to attack what is in the place ahead. Soon enough, a small humanoid made of fire, about 18 inches tall, moves into view. This is a fire Gen. A small, weak, very simple version of an efreet. They have the intelligence of a clever child, and the emotions to match. They are usually controlled by more powerful other planar masters, such as efreet or fire lords. It’s very rare to see one off the Elemental Plane of Fire. Now Alzar has seen two Gen in a few weeks, one Air and one Fire. That’s quite odd. It is unlikely a coincidence.
The Fire Gen lights some other trees on fire. While their attention is directed above at the gen, out come four hobgoblins, a trio of goblins, two orcs, and a bugbear. More united goblinoids. It might be the clever Fire gen that has united them. Alzar’s spear is launched and stabs a hobgoblin for six damage. The halflings see his shot and combine their aim. A trombash slides in and finishes it. The goblins move in to melee, and the others are using polearms to reach over the smaller goblins. They smash and slay another halfling and hit the leader for 8 damage. Alzar’s axe is up and he carves and kills an orc. One orc left. The halflings mostly miss. Meanwhile, they hit Alzar with a pike for 5 damage. The fire gen moves down the branches of the trees to the ground. 17/51 Alzar gets two attacks and attacks the bugbear twice, hitting both times and killing it. Two goblins are offed. The rest stab mightily at the halflings and the leader takes 8 damage. They win init. The Gen shoots out fire and kills a 3rd halfling. The leader is stabbed twice and dies. They miss Alzar. He roars and tells the halflings to retreat. His axe bites and finishes the other orc. Left – one kobold, 3 hobgoblins, Fire Gen. |
They keep initiative. They converge on Alzar and hit once for 4 damage while the Gen ignites him for 4 as well. Alzar slays a hobgoblin with one attack and misses with the other. He wins init back and slays a kobold (with a meaningless critical hit for double damage!). His other attack missed. They win init and the Fire Gen orders a retreat. Alzar stabs out with an attack of opportunity and misses again. They move back into the woods, while the Fire Gen sets fires to cover their retreat.
Meanwhile, seeing the fire, smoke, and fire gen, Marilla has moved into the at a full gallop. She casts Hold Person on a hobgoblins and stuns it as it breaks away. She grabs a sling stone and flings it at the other one. Alzar’s silver spear and her bullet both wing into it and hit it and it drops. All that is left is the Gen, who slips away and escapes. Marilla moves in and Raises Dead on the halfling leader. She’ll spend the next few days raising dead and healing folks, including Alzar. Meanwhile, these foes have nothing on them either. The halflings, now seeing the seriousness of their foe, are going to relocate to a new section of the forest, and they thank Alzar for their help. Alzar even casts Detect Magic on everything using his Rod, and nottttthhhhing.. Karat the cat returns about an hour after the battle. |
Two days later, the caravan gets restarted after healing and raising. About a half day into the journey, they crest a small hill’s ridge. On the other side is an older woman dressed in normal, but dirty, clothes. She looks up after a moment and hails the caravan. She introduces herself as Ruby. She has lost her cat, a gold yellow color that is quite large. Karat has disappeared.
Alzar goes and looks and finds the cat in the wagon. He talks to Karat, and he tells him that Ruby is his mother. Alzar grabs Karat and they head out to Ruby. Karat and Ruby head off together, but not before she gives Alzar a brilliantly colored gold flecked Ruby, worth 1000 gp and looking like no other gem Alzar has ever seen before. (In reality, this Ruby is a gemstone from a gold dragon. Karat was really young dragon, on his first excursion, found by Alzar and refusing to reveal itself, instead appearing as a cat. Ruby, was his mother. The gem is an actually gem from her coat, and blessed with good luck. For the next week, Alzar gets +1 to his saves and to his hit roll. Then the luck fades, but the gem will still hold its value) Gold Flecked Ruby – 1000 gp |
Three days later the caravan leaves the woods behind and as they do, something falls onto the roofs of the caravan wagons from the last tree. They are tiny, blacked garbed men, no bigger than a children’s doll or toy. Alzar shouts to the group and they move to intercept. There are five of these little creatures that are attacking with sharp little needle knives. Alzar smashes one with his axe. Instead of dying, it shatters into a bunch of pieces, as if made of glass or porcelain. Marilla kills one, and then they take some damage back.
Three turns later they have all been killed, and Marilla heals the damage. Alzar takes the bodies of the five creatures. As they move he retreats to a wagon and spends some time investigating them. They are, in fact, children’s toys. These were dolls that were somehow animated. Were they a wizard’s construct, or just an animated spell? Luckily they didn’t hit – no armor when he normally travels. |
Eight hours later, the walls of Arjuna can be seen. Alzar and Marilla agree to push on and finish traveling. They have arrived at Arjuna about two hours after evening. As they wait in line to enter the city, a bureaucrat walks down the line, offering to sell new people to the city passes to get in. Marilla whispers to Alzar that this is all a scam. Nothing is needed to enter. Alzar agrees to buy a pass, and while the man is getting his wares, Alzar tries to stab him with a poisoned knife. Unfortunately, he misses, and the man casts invisible. Alzar is immune to low level illusions due to his intelligence, and he sees the man and stabs again.
This time Alzar connects and the man writhes in pain. Then he finishes casting a spell to grow wings, and Alzar sees him lift up. Alzar tries to cast Continual Light as his eyes, and he makes his save and is over the walls before Alzar can do anything else. Ah well, it was worth trying. About thirty minutes later, Alzar’s wagons, a few others from the escaped slaves, the escapees themselves and Marilla enter Arjuna. Marilla leaves Alzar for her temple and they part ways. The slaves all have family here, so they move off and well, taking their wagons, food, weapons that Alzar let them keep (for money) and other things with them. Alzar makes for the largest inn in the area with the best reputation. Their best rooms have been rented, but he gets a good one from the Golden Wyvern. |
Alzar has gained a level, and is now level 4 Path Mage.
However, he has lost his laboratory and traded the 350 books he found in the library at the Lion Castle. What does he have: 500 pp 3186 gp 3250 sp 6000 cp 3450 ep +1 Pesh-kabz, Khopesh, Short Bow, Dagger Bracers of Protection: +1 +1 female, smaller, human scale mail Spear, +1, +2 vs Giants, +3 vs Orcs, Ogres Wizard Scroll – Web Potion of Levitation, Fire Giant Strength Wand of Frost – 9 charges Silver Knife, Spear Crossbow, 50 bolts Flask of Sleep Water Vials of Poison 2 Divining Rods Focus - Signet Ring Pearl Necklace – 750 gp Silver Clasp – 50 gp Electrum Amulet – 120 gp Silver Bangle – 25 gp Gold Buckle – 85 gp Gold and Malachite Headband – 220 gp Gold and Turquoise Ring – 70 gp Onyx Statuette of Snake – 250 gp Copper Belt and Stones – 60 gp Violet Garnet Earrings - 120 gp, pair Silver Ring, Bracelet, Necklace set – worth 750 gp as a set Gem - 150 gp; 10 Citrines – 50 gp each ; Star Sapphire, 2000 gp; 10 diamonds - (200 gp each) Gold Flecked Ruby – 1000 gp Book - Tribal History of this Duergar Clan |
Spellbook
Level 1: Comprehend Languages Craft Divining Rod Detect Magic Identify Read Magic Sleep Level 2: Continual Light Locate Object Level 3: Lesser Rhabdomancy These are his items of value. He needs to find a place to get a library and workshop ,each work 4000 gp. To be safe, they should be 5000, in case he increases his experience on the road. First of all, he trades in his coins for pure gold. After conversions, he has 7721 gold. Then he finds some places in Arjuna that will purchase gems and items of value. After selling all non gems, he has 9910. Then he sells some of the armor and weapons he managed to grab for wagons and adds another 250 gp to his list. He converts all of the normal gems too, and lands at 14446. He heads out to do a bit of shopping. |
Arjuna is the largest city in the area and the central port of trade and commerce. There are several major bookstores and stores for alchemy and other supplies. It has a variety of specialty stores that meet Alzar’s demands.
Within three days, he has acquired enough supplies for a new laboratory, valued at 5000. He pays a few scribes a bit of change in order to track down the right books. That takes about two weeks to manage, and he spends 5250 for a 5000 gp library. After two weeks, he has, roughly, 4000 gp left. In the meantime, he contacts a small wizards guild. He checks to see what magic items are available for trade or purchase (a very small amount indeed). He moves his magic armor and sword for several scrolls of value. Scroll of Charm Person, Cantrip, Spectral Hand, Wizard Mark, Find Familiar and Skeletal Hands Skeletal Hands summons a pair of hands for 4 rounds per level of Alzar. The levitate can move about. They can be used to open doors or chest, and simple movements. They cannot pick locks, use spell components, etc. They can fetch either 5 lbs each hand or 20 lbs for both combined. They have to stay within 10 feet plus 10 feet per level. They can attack each round for 1d3 damage at half casters level Thac0. Each one had AC 5, hp4, and movement 6. Spell component is two skeletal hands of a humanoid, and they are not destroyed unless the hands are. (Why trade for so many spells for just three minor items? They are all lower level spells and most of them are very, very common. Three – Find Familiar, Wizard Mark and Cantrip are in a universal school that every mage can use, no matter what. So they are really common. Charm and Spectral Hand are quite common too. That leaves the rarer Skeletal hands as the only real acquisition.) Wizard Mark leaves Alzar’s mark behind, Spectral Hand creates a hand that touch spells can be cast through and Charm Person and Cantrip work as normal. Alzar learns them all. He will now normally know: Charm Person, Sleep, Detect/Identify/Comprehend as needed Skeletal Hands, Continual Light, Locate Object |
Three weeks have passed. Alzar has met an unusual magic-user today. She is a Shi’ar. She sends her gen (an earth gen) to go search for any spell. It might work, It might not. It can get any spell she has seen or knows, including cleric ones or ones higher than a level she could normally get. When it returns, she must cast that spell within a half hour, or lose it. Then she can send her Gen to get another spell. Gen can take a long time to search things up, and their chance to get a spell reduces by each search they have gone on that day. Gens are basically like a very powerful familiar.
Genies are not affected by the difficulty in moving from one plane to another. They are able to come to this plane, Hamedh, easily. Alzar does not know why they have an exception, but genies have a powerful presence here. Shi’ar have developed powerful relationships with the genies on this plane, as well as those elsewhere. Sometimes a Gen goes rogue. No one knows why. Alzar has run into two already. |
Alzar takes a day to cast Find Familiar. (Materials cost 1000 gp)
It takes much longer than normal to work (on Thorasia, it would take 2d6 hours, here it takes about a day) After an exhausting ritual, Alzar hears a noise. It has worked. What sort of familiar has Alzar attracted with his spell? (10% of an extra-planar familiar. Nope. Just a normal one). Gilded Ears, Jackal Familiar AC: 5, HP: 14 THAC0: 20, Damage: 1d3, bite 18 inches tall, 26 long from tail to nose – 11 pounds Alzar gains enhancing hearing and eyesight when within 1 mile of Gilded Ears. +1 to surprise roles for Alzar as well. Save to take no damage when touching Alzar, fail to take half from spells. She gains 1 hp every time Alzar levels. If Gilded Ears dies, System Shock roll to die, lose 1 point of Con if successful. This is an ally with a powerful set of benefits and disadvantages. Alzar is used to battle familiars (Lastion, the ghoul) or flying ones (Dryshik, and to a lesser degree, Megala). Gilded Ears is much less intelligent than Dryshik, although still a lot smarter than a normal Jackal. Alzar may see out of her eyes. The benefits with a non-magical familiar are bonuses to surprise, seeing out of eyes, and getting bonuses sot one or more senses. Gilded Ears is not really a powerful attacker, and is a bit big for a stealthy spy. She is neither a slippery bat, hawk, eagle or owl, nor a small mouse or ferret. However, she is healthier than most familiars, and is harder to hit. |
Alzar has 2800 gp after three weeks stay, finding the components for Gilded Ears, and other expenses.
He comes back to the Golden Wyvern and sees a sign that was just posted. There have been a rash of burglaries for the last month from homes. Alzar heads inside and talks with the innkeeper. He has a few flyers for the local information and he gives one to Alzar. Apparently, there is a 1000 gp reward offered to the person who can stop it. Right now, Alzar could use the spending cash. He heads to the local town guard and meets with a bureaucrat in charge of everything. He gets some basic information and then heads out to investigate. Alzar spends the day collecting information about the robberies that occurred. They are too high profile to likely be the thieves guild. All of the attacks have occurred in the Green Garden district of Arjuna. Alzar purchases a map of the town from a local store and then finds all of the places that robberies have taken place and looks around . Are there similar places or shops around the targets? Perhaps they are all near a bakery or a blacksmith? Are they all within a radius of two blocks or so, or maybe they are all just outside of a sewer grate? None of those are the case. The map is not getting very far, but Alzar does note something very important. Every burglary took place against one of two places. Either in one of the inns in the Green Garden district or against a mage in there. No other stores or people were targeted. All four inns have been hit at least twice. Well, if the targets are mages and travelers, why not combine them both? Alzar grabs a wagon and some nice animals and rides to one of the local inns in that Green Garden area. It is the Roaring Stag Inn. He checks into the nicest suite they have, splashes around some serious coinage, and then retires for the night after offering to sell some spells to people. |
That night, he lays out a few choice targets – the Scroll of Web spell, and the potion of Levitation. Maybe someone will want to grab these? One is on a table by the window and fireplace. The other on a bedstool by the locked door. That covers all three entrances to the room.
He heads to bed for the night, but will stay secretly awake all night long. Meanwhile, Gilded Ears is outside of the inn, watching the window and that side of the inn. Perhaps we’ll see something there… Shortly before midnight Alzar hears a gentle scratching from the chimney. Alzar waits, and then just opens an eye, under the covers . There in the chimney is a tiny female humanoid, about 1 foot tall, attired in a jellaba, and holding a picket basket. She takes a quick glance around the room and makes a few gestures up and moves a foot into the room. Another set of scampering can be heard, and then a man in a flowing black cape, one foot talk emerges as well. He pushes into the room, and then motions up and pushes out into Alzar’s room. Finally, a third figure falls, and this one is three feet tall, and is a king’s fool, or jester, and holding a nasty looking dagger. Alzar mentally alerts Gilded Ears to move to get a line of sight on the chimney. Hopefully, they can follow these people back home. They move and take the Scroll and Potion and then retreat back out of the chimney. Alzar is not completely sure, but they remind him of the animated dolls they fought as they exited the forest. |
They pop back out of the chimney with his things, and slide over to the next room. They return from it about five minutes later with some jewelry. All loaded up, they leave the inn, and climb down the side. Alzar has his familiar follow them from a distance. Meanwhile he takes off as well, having been mostly ready to go and just hiding under clothes.
They go through some difficult places and tight, but Gilded Ears is able to follow and she keeps up easily at first. Clearly, only human intervention is expected. Then they go on top of some roofs and move and she is unable to follow and loses track. Alzar arrives on the scene about five minutes later. He grabs his Diving Rod and casts Locate Object, and targets his potion. The Rod detects it and he makes his proficiency check. It’s about five blocks away and not moving. He follows the Rod and arrives at a large tower right in the heart of the Green Garden district. It’s four stories tall, and made of mortared stone. The windows are more like slits, and just 3 feet by 1 foot in size. No way in there. Alzar circles the tower. There are two doorways, one to the back and one to the north, behind a few hedges. Alzar backs off and spends a few hours just watching the Tower from a block away, with Gilded Ears on the other side. Dawn breaks, and he moves off to get some breakfast, keeping his familiar on guard. While at a nearby food vendor, he asks who lives in the tower. Apparently it’s a lady named Buthaynah, who is considered to have some serious power. That’s nice. |
Alzar leaves, rests for a few hours, studies Locate Object again, and reruns around 11 am.
He knocks on her door. (As he does, he finishes writing a message on a paper and ties it around his familiar, and orders her to the local constabulary.) After about five minutes, she answers the front door. Alzar introduces himself as a travelling wizard and was hoping to trade spells with her. After talking for a few minutes by her door, she casts ESP and Alzar willingly agrees to fail his saves. Yes, he wants to meet with her, yes he wants to trade spells with her. She lets him in and they sit down and talk shop. He mentions that he was dispatched from another plane of existence without his skills ,items, or spellbook, so he has had to rebuild what he has so far. Since he has such a small amount of spells, he opens his book first. Are there any that she wants? Perhaps Skeletal Hands? (He doubts she wants Create Divining Rod or Lesser Rhabdomancy). She looks it over, but is not really impressed. Then Alzar moves to another subject. “So, let me ask you a question. I have been a Necromancer before. I know my stuff. I have seen a lot of ways of imbuing things with life with and unlife alike. I have never, in my travels, seen or heard of animating small dolls and puppets. How do you do it?” Buthaynah is taken aback for a second, and she begins to give a halfhearted denial. “No, don’t insult me by denying what we both know is true. You have an amazing talent. Did you come up with the formula yourself?” As she starts to be complimented, she looks like she might warm up. “They are truly beautiful. Are they a spell or a ritual to make one?” She is finally convinced and moves on. About a year ago she was dismissed from a college of Magic about 200 miles away. She was making unapproved experiments in sorcery. She hit the road and ended here in Arjuna. She needed money desperately when a thief was dying from breaking into a noble’s house. She grabbed him and grabbed a puppet of a jester from a nearby market. Then she modified a spell she had discovered in the college’s old tomes. She put the soul of the thief into the jester’s body, creating a servant that had the skills of a thief. She created more of these but from dolls that had normal souls in them, much like an animate dead spell imbues a body with the soul, or life spirit, of the deceased. She just moves it to this body using a different spell. “That’s very clever. I would love to trade for that spell.” “I won’t. It’s my own spell, and it’s too valuable to trade away.” “I understand that.” “Thank you,” “Now, I would like to offer you another trade.” “Yes?” “I have a potion of levitation and a scroll of Web. I would like to trade them too you for gold, jewelry, or gems to their cost.” “That’s…” “Yes, it;’s what you took from me earlier this evening.” “Im not mad,” Alzar hastily adds as she starts up. “I just want their full value, or for you to return them. There is a reward out for your discovery of the thefts, and I need money too, as a mage who has just arrived.” “Or I could just kill you.” “True. But are you sure that you will? Are you sure that you can keep me from fleeing? By the way, while we chatted here, I had my familiar take a note to the local police. It is waiting just outside, patiently. Should you attack me, I can just order it there with my last breath even if you would win. Which you might not. Besides, we’ve been all chummy up until now, I see no reason to make this unfriendly.” Buthaynah ponders for a moment. “Alright, stay here.” She gathers his items and returns them. “Here.” Alzar checks the make sure they are his items. “I have a Web for trade too if you need that spell…” he says with a smile. She chuckles and casts Web on the ceiling. “I don’t want to turn you in, but I need money too. This is not blackmail of course, but I would like something because I’ve been so friendly.” “Can I trust you? What prevents you from coming back and demanding more, or going and turning me in?” “Why would I? You are one of my people?” (Secret rolls ensue) She pulls out a gold pouch and dumps it on the table. “I believe there is around 400 gold here. That’s all I will offer. It’s the gold I made from the jewelry sold from my last three day’s take.” “That will be enough.” Alzar collects the gold. Contacts are more important than 600 gold. |
Alzar returns to the bureaucrat and lets him know that he could not turn in the thief or thieves. They cover their tracks really well and it is just hard to track. Sorry.
Then Alzar secretly casts Charm Person on the man. It works. Alzar tells his new friend that the thieves might be from the guild after all. They could be stealing in a new way in order to throw off attention. “That’s what I would do if I were in the guild.” End of WG11. Puppets |
Obviously, Alzar ended that in a very unorthodox way. You were supposed to blow the cover off the mage’s thefts, she would flee to another town, and you would explore the tower and destroy a few things and grab a suit of +1 leather armor that she forgot to take with her. But Alzar went another way, and you cannot argue with that.
This ends our mini-campaign, based around Puppets, Eye, Forest Oracle and Blizzard Pass. Now I have Alzar at the largest city in the area, and I intend to use it as a base for a bit. (There are not a lot of modules that take place in a city. Most are in small towns or the wilderness. I’ll make some changes to shift things this way.) Because he has his workshop and library, he is able to get all of his class bonuses, including the extra spells, and he can control undead/extraplanar folks again. However, there are two class differences that he now notices. 1). On Hamedh, Alzar will be at -2 level for controlling other planar creatures, because he is not from Hamedh. So he counts as a level 2 to control right now, rather than a level 4. 2). When identifying an item with his class ability, if he would successfully ID an item that has not Thorasian correspondent, then he fails. |
HHQ2. Wizard’s Challenge
 This is one of a series of adventures designed for one DM and a single player. They are Fighters, Thieves, etc challenges. Then there is a second set of challenges later. This seems the right time for WC. |
Five days after Alzar has met with Buthaynah, he receives a message from her, so he returns to her. She has received an unusual visitor today, and Alzar is the only mage she is on friendly terms with in the city, so she called him.
A person called Surrisk, the Ghost Prince arrived to talk with her. He tried to trade her knowledge in order to join forces with the Dead King. He wouldn’t say who that Dead King was, but he was very insistent that she join forces with him. Surrisk, the Ghost Prince, was able to move into her Tower without any problem and penetrate her defenses. That worries her. She is thinking about leaving. Alzar and her will begin investigating Surrisk, and the names Ghost Prince and Dead King. Alzar begins by rattling her about every little detail of the Ghost Prince. After a necrology check, he does not recognize the name or the description for any undead he is familiar with. Alright, time to do some research in local libraries. |
Two days later, Alzar finds the name Surrisk. He used to live right here in Arjuna, and was a minor apprentice for the then guildmaster of the small wizard’s guild here, named Behrang. Behrang left behind a lot of information, and it seems he was not liked that much, but quite powerful. He had an obsession with living forever.
So, Alzar’s quick guess is that Behrang is an undead sorcerer, which means a lich most likely (could be mummy, vampire, or something else that is specific to Hamedh). Surrisk is his undead servant. That’s the best guess right now. The following day, Alzar hears of a local Frost Mage who was slain in her quarters near the wizards guild. Are they connected? Was Surrisk, Behrang or something similar responsible? |
Alzar heads out immediately to investigate. She lived in a modest house, and Alzar arrives just as another wizard does as well. He nods to Alzar, and Alzar recognizes him as another of the small guild here. He tells Alzar he is going to bury her, and Alzar spends a quick moment investigating her body. She is dead outside of the kitchen. He sees nothing magical, just some claws that killed her.
Alzar moves into the kitchen. It seems like she used it as a lab too. She was making ink when slain. It looks like ink for scrolls. There are some basic tools and spell components As a Frost Mage, some of the items reflect her specialty, such as a polar bear pelt on the wall and a set of melted frozen snowflakes for spell components. The storage next to it holds mage chemicals of various, but non-dangerous, uses. The kitchen opens onto the library, and here a battle took place. It looks like some of the books were burned just a couple of hours ago. Alzar makes his spellcraft proficiency and notes that the burn marks are identical to a Burning Hands spell, because they are in a straight line. Most books survived. Did the Frost Mage use a fire spell, or was it used on her? The next room is a large reception room. The flagstone floor is nice and smooth. There is a green gelatinous substance in here. Green Slime? He heads back to her kitchen, sets a fire in the fireplace, and pulls out the burning logs and returns. He sets the Slime on fire before it can reach him and it dies. |
All that is left is a small lounge and bedroom. The lounge has nothing and the bedroom looks normal. Now that he has taken a look around, time to be nosy. He grabs all of her items from the bedroom and moves them to the reception room. He moves to the border between the library and the reception room, grabs his Rod, and casts Detect Magic. Is anything magical? Yes, there is a jar of beans on the counter that he takes to look at later. It looks like other mages cleaned out her other magic stuff
Magic Jelly Beans |
So Alzar begins to open up chests and drawers to find stuff. In a chest from her bedroom are pair of letters from Surrisk telling her to meet him at a nearby crypt and that she should join his master, or else be punished. She obviously did not listen. Alzar notes the location of the crypt and heads out.
Two hours pass before he has found the right crypt in a graveyard on the other side of the city. It looks easy enough to open, but the door won’t budge. After exploring, the earth is weak in one place so Alzar forces his way into the crypt by digging in the ground for twenty minutes and breaking through. He arrives in a corridor that heads to the door and the entrance on the other side. He reruns and opens the door to give him an exit if needed and then moves in. Expecting danger, he casts Skeletal Hands to explore in front of him. It doesn’t keep him from taking 5 damage from a spear trap that triggered from below and pierced his foot. 47/51 |
Some of these rooms have been converted into a home, but it was abandoned long ago. The first room looks like a kitchen and eating area from a crypt. Then there is a living and sleeping area put into another crypt just off the room. The Skeletal Hands are opening doors and moving things. That is the entirety of the crypt. That doesn’t feel right, so Alzar begins to search. Soon, he finds a secret door that enters into a laboratory.
This place was used to make magical items about a decade ago. There are some various items of interest in here. Alzar will collect them and take them with him and detect magic later 5 blank scroll pages, ready to be used Many bottles of scroll ink Wand, crafted ready to be enchanted Proficient Staff 2 Rubies, 500 gp each |
Alzar searches more and finds another secret door that leads to a library from this room. Four books are pulled out on benches, and the rest are on the walls. He reviews the bench books and discovers some interesting items:
A blank spellbook Surrisk’s notes on undead, necromancy, and a spell Undead Familiar Two reference books on necromancy Beyond this room is Surrisk;s bedroom. It’s mostly empty, with discarded clothes in a corner and only a few papers in the desk. One is a message from Behrang, and telling him where to meet him in three days. Hmm, it leads to a nearby tower. Alzar sends a wagon here and spends a day unloading items from the crypt to his wagons. +1000 gp to library and laboratory (now worth 6000 gp each) – plus the various items Alzar likes. He ids the Proficient Staff and discovers a magical item in the bedroom. The staff can be used as if the wielder knows how to use staffs, even if they normally cannot. (It can hit creature sonly hit by magical weapons too, as a result). Boots of Varied Tracks is the other item. It leaves behind wolf, bear, rabbit or deer tracks when Alzar walks, whichever he wants at the time. |
A day later, Alzar arrives at the tower to check it out – it’s actually not in town, but a few hours outside of it. It has about ten levels, but it’s pretty small.
The door to the tower opens easily and Alzar cautiously moves in. He is in the grand entrance that takes up the whole level. There is a shaft that runs up the entire tower, and it looks like wizards would fly or levitate up or down. A thin narrow winding stairway on the side is there for others. Alzar spends some time thinking and listening, but hears and sees nothing. He moves to the second level. This looks like it was once a meeting room, with chairs and tables now since destroyed. The third level has a quiet par of fire beetles nesting in a corner. The rooms here are lit by Continual Light spells, so Alzar does not need any lightning. He ignores the beetles and moves up to the 4th floor an old research room. The place is lined with missing and destroyed equipment and books. A rat moves out and Alzar flings a knife at it and kills it. He leans down to collect the knife and sees the rat was using a spellbook as a home. Alzar leaves it for now and notes it. Next is the library. There are just five books on the shelves, Alzar skips them for now. |
On the next floor is a storeroom, and Alzar senses an undead creature. He moves and sees a skeleton, and he tries to control it. He fails. It is stronger than a normal skeleton. Alzar’s staff is out and he attacks the skeleton. He misses, and the skeleton begins to run away. As it moves, Alzar begins to hear something upstairs.
In a moment, the sound gets louder and then a creature floats down in front of him. It is a beautiful form of undead Alzar is unfamiliar with. He wears a virtually insubstantial green robe and Alzar can tell he will be unable to control this beautiful creature. Alzar holds up his hands to parlay and says he does not want to kill the creature, just talk. He stops and looks at Alzar. He opens his mouth and tells Alzar that he needs to join the master, the Death King. Alzar guesses a lich, and he nods. Behrang? Another nod. “What happens if I join?” “You will become as powerful as me.” “What powers do you have?” He becomes corporeal and grabs a few items and moves them, then turns. “I still study and learn and grow and can cast magic. I just don’t have to sleep and am much more powerful.” Alzar nods. This is power. After magicks to extend his life ran out, Alzar always suspected he would turn to lichdom. This might be more powerful than that in some respects. It is very tempting. But this is not on his own time, his own will, or his own power. So he refuses. He is not ready yet, he tells Sussick. The creature tells Alzar that every mage must submit or die. “I heard.” |
Alzar casts Continual Light as he casts Magic Missile. Sussick goes first and three darts fly into Alzar for 12 damage. Continual Light hits the undead foe. He makes his save and is not blinded.
39/51 Alzar grabs the proficient staff and swings. He connects for 4 damage. It casts dispel magic on the Continual Light in the room to even the odds. However, Alzar surprises it and smashes for 2 more damage, due to blind-fighting. You don’t expect a mage to have blind-fighting. It casts Spook but Alzar makes his save. It wrests initiative from Alzar and goes first. It summons a Flaming Sphere to attack Alzar. It hits for 7 damage. Alzar misses. 32/51 The sphere hits for 4 and the creature goes insubstantial this turn. Alzar misses badly (much better AC). It tries to paralyze touch Alzar and hits his left leg. That limb is paralyzed for 3 rounds. Alzar’s AC is lowered by 2. Alzar hits for 5 damage. It punches him for 4 damage and he misses. Alzar wins back init, and it paralyzes his right arm for 5 rounds, making him -2 to hit, Most undead are immune to cold, so Alzar’s Wand of Frost is unlikely to be of value. Web likely won’t work on his while insubstantial. All undead are immune to charm and sleep. He has used Continual Light already. That’s most of his magic. His items aren’t going to better his ability to hit. Just have to swing and hope. So he does and misses. It goes substantial again and wins init. He casts Chill Touch and hits Alzar, who fails his save and takes 3 damage and loses a pint of strength (which drops his damage by one). Alzar casts Web from his scroll and encapsulates the wraith.-y looking foe. Alzar wins init, swings, and hits for 4 damage. It spends a turn phasing again, in order to escape from the Web. Alzar keeps init, slashes and hits the incorporeal foe with his magic staff and adds another 3 damage. It paralyzes and misses. It wins init and they all miss two turns in a row Alzar misses, and it hits for 4 damage. 21/51 Alzar gains init, misses for the 5th or 6th time in a row, and it missed back. Alzar swings and finally connects for a damage. It attacks and tries to paralyze him, and hits a leg again, for 6 rounds, -2to Alzar’s AC. Alzar loses init, and it this for 4 damage. Alzar manages to connect again, smashes it for 6 damage, and it fades, screams, and dies. 5000 XP for killing it |
With that dead, Alzar is free to finish exploring the final tower. In here, he finds:
Three books of magical history One book on history of tower and residents Spellbook destroyed by rat, just one spell left – Levitate Scroll of Create Spectral Wizard Ring of Cantrips Crucible of Melting Dusty Rose Ioun Stone - +1 AC Lens of Speed Reading Alzar takes the whole damaged spellbook, in case someday he gets his Spellbookmend spell back. The Crucible of Melting is a laboratory aid. On speaking a command word, it heats up and melts all metal inside of it instantly for three turns (about a half hour), and then cools down. The Ring of Cantrips will enable Alzar to cast Cantrip 5x daily. The Lens will let Alzar read and triple normal spell. The Ghost Prince was a Spectral Wizard, and he had a spell to use on one of the wizards here made by the lich. That could be a powerful tool for Alzar years down the road. It may end up being the best thing he found here. |
Spellbooks:
Evocation Tome of Beginners – All common 1st level evocation spells Standard Spellbook – Feather Fall, Hypnosis, Sleep, Spook, Magic Mouth, Shatter, Dispel Magic Sussick’s Spellbook: Magic Missile, Chill Touch, Spook, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Detect Undead, Cantrip, Wall of Fog, Find Familiar, Light, Tensor’s Floating Disc, Continual Light, Flaming Sphere, Death Armor, Hold Person, Levitate, Locate Object, Spectral Hand, Bind, Dispel Magic, Hold Undead, Item, Dig, Undead Familiar Spellbook destroyed by rat, just one spell left – Levitate (remnants owned) Death Armor is cool. It surrounds Alzar for 1 round per level with a nasty energy shield. Any creature that hits him with their body must save vs death magic or take 2d6 damage from it. This includes attacks with natural parts of their body like nails, teeth and such. Alzar still takes any damage they would do, but it zarks them. Animals will tend to stop hitting him once they take damage. It requires 300 gp unguent to be used up to cast the spell. Alzar learns: Death Armor, Hold Person, Dispel Magic, Hold Undead, Chill Touch, Detect Undead, Hypnosis, and Dig. |
Alzar’s new Spellbook:
1st Level: Cantrip Charm Person Chill Touch Comprehend Languages Create Divining Rod Detect Magic Detect Undead Find Familiar Hypnosis Identify Read Magic Sleep Wizard Mark 2nd level: Continual Light Death Armor Hold Person Locate Object Skeletal Hands Spectral Hand 3rd Level: Dispel Magic Hold Undead Lesser Rhabdomancy 4th Level: Dig End of Wizard’s Challenge Yay. What's next for our wizard friend? |
Wizard’s Challenge II
 The sequel begins! This is technically for a solo-mage between 4 and 6th level. Alzar clocks in at 4th plus he has some HP and stuff from his warrior days, so it seems totally doable. I was going to run this back to back with the first one initially, but after reviewing it, I think we can handle it. Here we go! |
As Alzar returns from the concluding battle and bringing back objects from that exploration, he stops at an inn in a town outside of Arjuna. That night a local mage drops into the inn and talks with Alzar. It seems that another associated wizard of theirs was killed, and they suspect by the spectral wizard or his master. Perhaps, since Alzar already handled them and investigated one such death that another is warranted.
Sure. Alzar spends the night in the town and then takes his things (wagons and all) to the location of the suddenly dead wizard. About one day’s trip from Arjuna lies the sleepy hamlet of Watershead. There was one known wizard here, an older gentleman called Yaghoub. Yaghoub was a local Naturalist Mage, a Hamedhi specialization that deals with natural and magical animals and plants. He was over 90 years old and quite skilled. Yaghoub was a jolly old sort who endeared himself to the locals, and loved to research the area. He regularly packed up expeditions to places in the nearby badlands. Yaghoub seems to have been killed off about two weeks ago, so the Death King is an obvious candidate. |
After arriving, Alzar unloads and unpacks. Along with Gilded Ears, he moves to the local tower that was the home of Yaghoub. It is hundreds and hundreds of years old, but Yaghoub restored it a few decades ago and then moved in. It’s a smaller home, and Alzar expected a bigger tower as the home of a supposedly powerful mage. It’s just two floors.
Alzar spends the night in the village, and he is told that a few days ago, a local force of guardsman were attacked while on patrol about a half mile from the town. That’s not too unusual, but are the events connected? Perhaps, and perhaps not. Alzar wants information before heading into a wizard’s tower. He heads to the 3rd floor of the inn and meets with one of the survivors of the attack who is here convalescing. Alzar talks with him about what he fought. Apparently it was a large, magical creature, and it broke the fine steel blade the soldier was using when it tried to hit it. It killed more than half their number in moments, and the rest retreated. The beast was humanoid in form, had pointed sword-like arms; one of which slashed him, and a dark grey skin, with four legs, and bright yellow hair and eyes. That’s not like any creature Alzar is familiar with. Related or not, that is not helpful information at this time. |
In morning, he moves to the tower. There is a door on the front, outside of the round tower, and the small outhouse looking building connects to the main tower. He moves in and checks the door. It is locked, and a spellcraft check shows that it is Wizard Locked. That will need something like Dispel Magic or Knock to open. Alzar memorized Detect Magic today and his Rod is out. He casts it and moves around. There are some magical runes on the door but he cannot read them. He needs Read Magic
He spends the rest of the day doing research and interviewing folks. The next day he memorizes Read Magic, and Detect Magic, plus Sleep and Hypnotism for his first level spells (and Hold Person, Skeletal Hands and Locate Object for his 2nd level magic). He casts Read Magic and the runes are revealed to him. They have a command listed, and Alzar speaks it. He triggers the Wizard Lock and opens the door. A day later, but it works. |
actual tower and he is at an antechamber This room has two doors leading from it and takes out about a fourth of the layout of the tower. In here are mining equipment and excavation tools, as well as samples of local animals and plants. It’s just a work and storage room mostly. Alzar pulls out a Continually Lit stone and lights the room up.
He has the hands open the door on the left and this reveals a bed chamber, the same size at the other room. There is just a single nice bed, chest, and rugs. Clothes hang on various hooks to the side. The hands move to the chest and pull it open – it was unlocked and untrapped. In here are clothes and a bottle of greenish liquid. They pull out the bottle and bring it to him and he secures it for later inspection. The hands move to the other door off the anteroom. Back here is a room that takes up much of the rest of the floor. A central circular staircase goes up. There are continual light spells here and Alzar returns his stone to its location. This is where Yaghoub did a lot of his living. There is a large comfortable sofa and two reclining chairs, plus a table and some chairs. The furniture in here is much wealthier and more comfortable than the relatively Spartan things so far. On the table are a bowl with some vegetables and fruit, with a fork beside it ready to eat. It is a couple of weeks old, and quite rotten. |
There is a door here to the kitchen. It’s quite simple. Just roots, plants, and herbs. Nothing animal at all. Perhaps after studying them, Yaghoub gave up eating animals? The plants are mostly spoiled. Alzar walks the length of the floor and there is no place for a secret location. So up the stairs they go, led by the Skeletal Hands.
They arrive in a library. There are two large bookcases that cover the walls. This room takes up half of the floorplan on the upper level here. A large fireplace and comfortable chair and sitting area are here as well. There are several hundred books in the library. Alzar’s quick look shows topics on weather, plant life, and animals. Just what you’d expect from a Naturalist. One door leads away to the rear, and the hands open it up. A horrible smell comes from the room of death and decay. Alzar moves it and recognizes the corpse on the floor as likely belonging to Yaghoub. This must have been his study. There are two small book cases along the walls here and a door on the other side. Alzar leans down. The old man here must have been dead for quite some time. His face is one of sheer terror. Next to him is an open book, and on his disk are papers and books. Alzar lifts up the open book to read the shine first. Nothing. Alzar closes the book and secures it. On the hand of the mage is a ring. He grabs it. There is nothing else on the body. |
He moves to the desk. There are various papers, plus the journal of Yaghoub. The tomes on the shelves are about ruins and the local area. Alzar has the hands open the last doors and in here is a chamber that takes up the rest of the Tower, and it has various relics Yaghoub uncovered. Six chests are unlocked, and the Hands trigger a few poison needle traps that Alzar misses. Nicely done, Skeletal Hands!
One chest has about 250 coins of various types from centuries ago all stamped with the same logo - a raven on a skull. Another has several old weapons with that logo on them. The third, fourth and fifth have pieces of pottery or glass or shard of metal from that era, respectively. Finally, the last chest has some items of value from the era, including a ruby pin with the icon of the logo (Raven on Skull) Also in the room is a ebony staff with a crystal griffin on top. Alzar has all of the thins brought together in one room to detect what is magical. He casts Detect Magic and these things react to his Rod – the potion he took, the staff, the ruby pin, the ring and the book. |
Alzar moves to the desk and looks over the papers. One is Yaghoub’s journal. For 41 years, he has been exploring the nearby badlands and finding relics from an old kingdom. There seems to be some ruins beneath the sand dust about a day’s journey away, and there should be more elsewhere. He mentions that a few days before he died he found this potent tome in a tomb that he has explored before but though was empty. He chalked it up to senility, but sine the book was magical and open and looked at when he died in his study with no signs of struggle, it seems very suspicious.
Alzar takes the items that viewed as magical and Yaghoub’s Journal for now for later perusing. He hires some local porters to move the two libraries to his third wagon. The Naturalist library is valued at 5000 gp and this one at 3500 gp for the ruins and local history. That is important stuff. He finds some keys and locks up the relic room and heads out. The first place Alzar goes is to a local temple. He finds the head and inquires about raiding Yaghoub from the dead (this goes outside of the story). Due to the length of his death, he cannot be simply Raised from the Dead. He can be Resurrected, but that is an expensive spell. The cost to do so, ingredients alone, is about 5000 gp in incense, ointments, and rare spices that are consumed by the spell. Plus, it would require a local patriarch. Luckily, Arjuna is big enough to warrant one. Alzar cannot pay for it right now, so he thanks the priest. Alzar notes that the tower was quite small. Clearly Yaghoub has secured most of his valuables elsewhere, like his spellbooks. |
Something killed him. The book was obviously a trap to get him out of the way. But who would want to do so? Were his explorations getting too close to something interesting? If so, Alzar would like to know what or where or who was in danger of being exposed.
With the journal in hand, Alzar knows where in the badlands to look for the place Yaghoub found the book that likely killed up. However, one thing seems quite sure. The death of Yaghoub and the Frost Mage seem unconnected. Just two deaths around the same time in the same city-area. He spends the night in town and memorizes, the following day, the same spells as before but swaps Read Magic for Identify and IDs the staff. Yaghoub’s Staff – Counts as a Staff of Striking, with 14 charges. When held, acts as a Ring of Protection from Fire. That’s not a bad item to come across. |
Every fifteen minutes he travels, Alzar leaves behind marker in these changeless badlands. They have few large rocks, trees, hills or monuments that can be used to check your location and insure you’re heading in the right direction. After five and a half hours, Alzar arrives at the ruins that he believes Yaghoub mentions several times in his journal.
While unloading his horse, (he left the wagons in the town), a form moves out from the ruins around him. Another follows. Two Large Scorpions about 4 feet big are skittering out. Alzar gallops a way a bit from them and then jumps off his horse and tosses on his armor. He orders his familiar to the left to keep her out of harm. Meanwhile he moves up and flings his silver spear at one and misses. They get closer and closer. His axe is in hand and he approaches. Melee range is reached. Each one has three attacks – two pincers, and one tail. The tail attack is poisonous. To hit Alzar in his mage robes ,they will need a 16. He needs an 6 to hew them with his axe. Their pincers do 1d4 damage each and the stinger just does a damage if it hits , but Alzar has to save vs poison. Alzar loses init and they pincer him twice for 3 damage but otherwise miss. He hacks one for 6 damage. He wins initiative and gets to attack twice. He kills the injured one and his the other. It misses him, and wins init, pincers him for 3 damage, and he hews it and slays the beast. He doesn’t want to play with a poisonous creature. He has no idea how deadly the poison on a Hamedhi scorpion might be. Five minutes later he has field dressed the scorpions, and taken their stingers and poison sacs. (Poison Use proficiency). He grabs his horse and unpacks his armor and sets it on the horse, and leaves the steed behind. 45/51 hp |
There are several ruins here, mostly buried by age and sand with rock. The ruins have a pyramidal shape ,but have been blasted by time , and now merely suggest it. According to Yaghoub’s journal, this is one of the areas that was the center of the ancient empire that he studied.
Alzar suddenly hears the sound of a chittering scorpion, much larger than the ones he dispatched. It is coming from the right, away from the ruins a bit. He is moving towards the sound, and away from the ruins. After fifteen minutes, he fails to find the source of the sound. He returns, and hears it again, this time from the other direction, to the left. He heads over again, and looks, but sees nothing and after a few minutes of watching, he moves on. He won’t be distracted that easily, and he plunges ahead. Soon he encounters a few coins on the ground from the same empire as the ones that were in Yaghoub’s old tower. He bends down and sees a few more just at the edge of his eyesight to the left. He has Gilded Eyes head over and she sees another pair a loooong distance from that spot, and even further away. Nope, he’s not that gullible. |
Alzar moves on toward the ruins. He has arrived at the large square that once marked a pyramid. It seems like the stone was cracked and perhaps an earthquake occurred to bring this place down. He arrives at the southern edge of the structure and there is a stone floor here, still standing and working after all of these years. Sand has blown over it, and it takes a few minutes to clear away the sand that blocks a natural entranceway.
After moving things around, Alzar moves to the only exit, a doorway in the north wall. This is a long main hall, and it looks like it could have been an entrance hall. There is a stone throne, worn by still a throne at the end of the hall. There is a doorway to the right and down the left. The wall to the immediate right is destroyed and in rubble. The symbol of the empire is carved in stone and the throne in a few places. There are old pictures carved into the walls that still stand that depict the ancient nation. Alzar moves left and passes out of the main hall and into an unknown chamber. Doorways are to the left and right, as well as behind him. The exterior is in front. The rocks from the upper floors are still lingering here and the light is bad. Alzar’s lit up stone is withdrawn and there are crumbled remnants of old metal pieces from furniture barely recognizable in the dust. He heads left. |
This room has suffered a major cave in. In order to help inspect the rocks, Alzar casts Skeletal Hands. A quick check with them reveals an old skeleton here that was covered by rocks. On its neck is a amulet with the symbol of the empire emblazoned on it. Alzar grabs it. He moves to the other room and this is once the northern entrance to the pyramid. The staircase up is shattered. He hears a scraping, and in a few minutes, a long creature emerges. A carrion crawler. This can be dangerous with just himself here. A creature with 8 attacks that can paralyze you is death to a lot of creatures. Alzar backs away and orders in the hands. They cannot be paralyzed, and the tentacles of the crawler deal no damage. Thus, the crawler cannot damage them. After a few rounds and they hit twice, the crawler views this combat as bad luck and moves away, retreating back out of the ruins into the badlands.
Alzar explores this room briefly, and then heads back and moves into the area that was smashed. Back here were the crypts that Yaghoub found the book, and like he said, they are empty. A recent tremor may have knocked someone else free, because he finds a large piece of pottery worth 500 gp from that era. Rare Pottery – 500 gp |
The final doorway leads to the last spot on the northeast corner of the pyramid. The place is thick with chunks of debris. As Alzar enters the room, he notices something odd and circular in the far corner. Before he can inspect it, a creature erupts from behind the ruins and moves in.
And it is the spitting image of the beast that attacked the town guard a few days ago. With hands that end in spears or swords and four legs it bounds over the uneven ground quite quickly to get to Alzar. It has not made any threatening moves though, so Alzar just waits. It stops about fifteen feet away. It’s golden hair looks odd against the coal grey skin. Instead of speaking, it communicates with Alzar telepathically. It wants Alzar to leave the ruins. Alzar tells it that he is investigating the death of Yaghoub, and he died from a book that he collected right here. The creature admits that he placed the book there to kill the mage. He was getting too close. Hundreds of years ago, he was tasked with guarding this pyramid during the reign of its first and only sultan. After he left and his state fell, the creature was left guarding it by himself. He keeps away those that he can. He was summoned from Earth to do this. Wait? Summoned from Earth? Yes, he was once one of the proud race of Dao, but he has been here so long that this is his whole life and being. He left them behind long ago, but still considers himself one of them. |
Alzar asks if he was put here by the sultan himself. The creature suddenly gets massively angry at Alzar! How dare you insult me by asking that! The creature roars and moves in to attack.
Alzar barley has time to react. Yaghoub’s Staff is out and blocking. Alzar doubts he has any spell that will affect this tasked genie. It won’t slow down to Sleep, Hypnosis, Charm, and his Skeletal Hands have been dismissed. This can only be defeated by items or fighting. Alzar needs a 16 to hit his foe. The creature just needs a 9 to cleave him with his sword arm – he attacks twice. The genie wins initiative and hits Alzar twice for 13 damage. Those are heavy hitting hands! Alzar swings with his staff and misses. The creature keeps init and swings and hits again for 5. Alzar misses. 27/51 When a Staff of Striking hits, it expends one charge to do 3 extra damage. Alzar is going to use the charges a lot of deal even more. He just has to hit. He wins init, misses, and then takes 6 damage from a sword/hand thrust. 21/51 He keeps int and finally hits, doing 3 damage from the staff, one from strength, and adds 9 damage from three charges. The genie took 13 damage. It stabs out and hits twice for 1d8 +1d8. 4 damage. 17/51 Alzar loses init, gets hit for 5 damage, and then hits again and puts another three charges into the staff for 15 damage. It decides to flee and leaps to the circular spot at the corner and then moves down and disappears. 12/51 |
Alzar rushes over to that spot and looks down. There is a stairwell here that heads down about ten feet. Alzar grabs his stone, tosses it down the corridor, and leaps down instead of taking the staircase. He makes the landing.
Down at the base is a long corridor with a shimmering magical screen at the end and something beyond it. The tasked genie is not here. Alzar moves up quickly. He reaches the magical barrier in a few seconds and sees movement behind. Alzar grabs a rock and tosses it at the barrier and it is destroyed with electrical damage. He grabs one of his bolts and pushes it at the barrier, but it passes right through. Alzar keeps pushing and he moves right through the barrier. Odd. The task genie sees him come through and is surprised as well. It roars and spins. Alzar is wounded and unsure if he will kill it. He draws his Wand of Frost and puts in three charges for a Cone of Cold. The wand spits out the Cone and deals 23 cold damage to creatures in front, save for half. The genie makes its save, takes 12 damage, and dies anyway. Alzar – used up 6 charges in Yaghoub’s Staff and three in Wand of Frost |
He looks around. There is just a small chamber back here, with a resting area that the tasked genie apparently used regularly. After a search, Alzar finds a hidden niche here that springs open. Inside is a large and ancient tome. A spellbook.
Alzar also finds a second Amulet, a Ring, a Jellaba, and a few non-magical items. Ruby Necklace – 750 gp 43 gold coins from the empire Alzar suspects that anyone who could force a genie to serve them is very powerful, and that means the spellbook is likely trapped with all sorts of bad stuff. He will wait until later and cast a bunch of Dispel Magics at it over the course of weeks, and then pop it open. That alone will take level 5 when he can learn 3rd level Magic, although he is getting close to that level. 2500XP for the adventure and kill |
Other magic items:
Ring of Protection +1 Ring of Chameleon Power – This enables Alzar a 90% chance to blend into his natural environment Scarab of Venom – Twice per day Alzar can place this scarab on a weapon and it will coat that weapon with a poison that will deal 3d4 damage to the next creature hit if they fail a save. It takes a round to prepare the weapon. (I actually weakened this, it really does 3d4 without a save and you save to die from the poison flat out.) 2 Amulets of Neconolis (one allowed Alzar ot pass through the screen, and the genie had one on him too) Rock Jellaba – When worn, gives immunity to petrification, and Alzar can cast the Statue spell upon himself (without needing a system shock roil and keeping the form as long as he wants) once per day. Potion of Neutralize Poison Neconilis’s Book of Horrors – When opened and read, bad things happen. Reader rolls a save vs spells. Make it, and you suffer the effects of the 2nd level Fear spell, even if you are normally immune to fear effects. Lasts for 20 rounds. If you fail, make a system shock roll. If you succeed, than you are paralyzed for fear for 1d6 hours. If you fail, make a Constitution check. If you make this, you are in a coma for 1d3 days. Fail it, and you die. Alzar dons the Jellaba, and he rolls. It works with the Bracers he always has. He then adds the Ioun Stone, which orbits his head and grants him an AC bonus. It works, but this skin turns a lovely shade of bright green. He then puts on the Ring of Chameleon Nature, and his skin goes back to its normal color. All four items are currently working together. He keeps it there for now. End of Wizard’s Challenge II |
Alzars stuff:
4200 gp +1 Pesh-kabz, Short Bow, Dagger Bracers of Protection: +1 Spear, +1, +2 vs Giants, +3 vs Orcs, Ogres Potion of Levitation, Fire Giant Strength, Neutralize Poison Wand of Frost – 6 charges Yaghoub’s Staff – Striking – 8 charges, Ring of Fire Protection when held Ring of Protection +1, Chameleon Nature; Cantrips Rock Jellaba Scarab of Venom Scroll of Create Spectral Wizard Crucible of Melting Dusty Rose Ioun Stone - +1 AC Lens of Speed Reading 2 Amulets of Neconolis Silver Knife, Spear Crossbow, 50 bolts Flask of Sleep Water Multiple Vials of Poison 2 Divining Rods Focus - Signet Ring Ruby Necklace – 750 gp Rare Pottery – 500 gp Relics from Neconolis – 1000 gp total Gold Flecked Ruby – 1000 gp Book - Tribal History of this Duergar Clan Book – Yaghoub’s Journal For example, he doesn’t have to be wearing his Venom Scarab to use it, it provides no benefits when worn. His library has gotten too big for the wagon, so Alzar has to pick up a bigger wagon. Here is what is in the Neconolis Spellbook when he manages to decode it muuuuch later: 1st level – Alarm, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Friends, Jump, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Read Magic, Spook 2nd Level – Deafness, Detect Good, Ghoul Touch, Magic Mouth, Whispering Sound, Wizard Lock 3rd Level – Bewilder, Explosive Runes, Hold Undead, Non-Detection, Secret Page 4th Level – Curse, Emotion, Enchant Weapon 5th Level – Animate Dead, Summon Shadow 6th Level – Summon Least Yugoloth |
Alzar returns to the town and spends a few days there, identifying items, moving things around and more. He heads back to Arjuna to spend some time correcting a mistake. This was the third time he has encountered geniekind-here on Hamedh. They are not weakens in their travels, unlike the difficulty that others have in getting here.
After meeting with a local Shi’ar, Alzar begins instructions on genies. They have a massive influence on Hamedhi culture and magic. Therefore, it is only right to learn more about them. After studying for three months, Alzar has gained the Genie Lore proficiency. This enables him to know about genies, gen, tasked genies, other versions of geniekind, and he also knows about genie etiquette, genie bribery, and such. While he spends these three months learning (and paying the Shi’ar 500 gp), Alzar also spends time looking over the books he recently acquired. As he does, he spends some more time with Yaghoub’s Journal, and discovers something quite intriguing. |
B1. In Search of the Unknown
 Let’s hit a classic now. There have been some less appealing adventures we did, such as Forest Oracle and the solos weren’t exactly tripping goodness and daises everywhere. Puppets and Eye of the Serpent weren’t bad, but they didn’t exactly rock the block. Of the group of five adventures, Eye of the Serpent was the best. Then we added the Wizard’s Challenges, and they were nice, get your feet wet adventures. Now, let’s move to the sexy B1, coming to ya from straight out of 1978. There are several reasons why this is a good first adventure for a lot of groups. First of all, it has pages and pages of notes on how to be a good DM. Second of all, many of its room descriptions later on are blank in terms of monsters and traps and treasure and such, giving you the opportunity to roll on some charts or just make it up yourself. This is an absolute classic. |
The journal talks about a discovery Yaghoub made about 16 years ago when searching the badlands for more relics from the Empire of Neconolis. Two famous icons from about a hundred years ago ruled the badlands. One was a powerful warrior and the other a powerful mage. The two united several tribes. When a large nasty weather system moved in, they ordered the construction and widening of natural cave systems and created an underground complex for their men and themselves in order to ride out the storms.
It worked, but a few years later, the relationship severed. They fought against each other, and the caves were partly abandoned and the men were lost to legend. Yaghoub found the entrance to the caves deep in the badlands, where they begin to turn into actual desert, about four days ride from Watershead. After finishing up his training in Arjuna, Alzar leaves behind many of the extra books in his house he rents in the city. He takes just 5000 gp library with him, and the same with his lab. Watershead is much as he remembered it. Quiet and bustling. Alzar secured the body of Yaghoub, and someday would like to Reanimate it, but he does not have the gold right now. Meanwhile, he prepares for a long journey. He has purchased several camels to take with him, and loaded them down with water and food. There is only one oasis between here and there (which we will actually pull out of Wizard’s Challenge II since I didn’t use it there, and run it here. I do this stuff a lot) On the first day out, Alzar encounters a large group of jackals. They come close, curious about Gilded Ears. After a half hour of sniffing and such they leave. |
The next day, about three hours from the oasis, Alzar notices something in the distance. At first, it is moving perpendicular to him, but then it turns. After a few minutes, he can make out galloping creatures and soon see that this is a small herd of desert centaurs, smaller and hardier than their forest friends. In a few minutes they arrive at the caravan and Alzar halts to get down and talk with them. They do not know the dialect he speaks, just a language common among desert folk. Then one comes over and casts a spell to allow communication.
They have just come from the Oasis that Alzar is heading too to refresh. They tell him that unfortunately a local poisonous serpent, the Heway, has made the place its home and has begun to poison the water. Normally they would just kill one with ranged weapons – their throwing sticks (trombash). But it has gone deep underwater, and they suspect there must be a small cave down there for it to breathe and survive. They were unable to gather the water and are moving off. Alzar tells them that he suspects he might be able to track down this creature and kill it. As it is getting late, the herd agrees to make camp here tonight and two will go off and escort him to the oasis. If he can find the Heway, but needs help killing it, they can assist. A few hours later, near twilight, Alzar’s caravan arrives at the oasis. It is about 75 to 80 feet across. Hyena howls can be heard in the night. No creatures are at the oasis right now, but there are some older footsteps, as if no one has used it yet. |
Alzar steps to the water and inspects it. He grabs his tools from the lab to test it and uses poison use proficiency. He can verify that the water has been moderately poisoned, but he is not familiar with the source. It is not a touch poison, and will only worked if ingested. Because of its dilution, it is not lethal, but it can cause cramps and tremors for a few hours. It looks like soon it could cause paralysis for a few hours if it continues to increase in volume in the oasis water (Find out more about Desert Centaurs and the Heway in the Al-Qadim Monstrous Compendium!)
The desert centaurs warn him that the snake creature can stun someone for a few minutes, allowing it to be easy prey. Forewarned, Alzar grabs some items to protect his eyes, mouth and nose, and dives into the poisoned water. The oasis drops off sharply after about ten feet and there is a deeper bottom than one might otherwise suspect. He dives a few times and locates an underwater passage. He holds his breath and makes a swimming proficiency check and dives into the chamber. It takes some time. However, even with the proficiency check successful, he is unable to keep air in his lungs for long enough and after two minute begins to take damage. He emerges on the other side having taken 10 damage. (He should have had the Deep Diving Proficiency, or a spell or item such as his old reliable Necklace of Adaptation or Water Breathing magic.) 41/51 |
Alzar emerges into an underground chamber, He grabs a continually lit stone and pulls it out to give him light, it is very dark down here. There are several fungi and the air here is fresh. There is a tunnel that emerges here and moves forward. After gathering himself, Alzar moves forward.
The tunnel narrows more and more until a tight squeeze is needed for Alzar to push through. A large serpent would fit in through here easily. Alzar is worried about being attacks or engazed (not a real word, engazed, but handy for what it does), and opens the holes from this side. After fifteen minutes, Alzar moves into the area. It is a rounded chamber, made by an earthquake. Alzar hears a hissing a freezes. He closes his eyes and moves toward the sound, with blind-fighting proficiency leading him. The hissing continues and the scale-against-rock sound is heard as it moves toward him. He pulls out the +1 pesh-kabz – he could not fit larger weapons in the swim. The snake moves toward him and it attacks. It gets a free shot because Alzar is fighting blind. But then battle as normal ensues.  |
It stabs out with its mouth and hits Alzar for two damage. That was not an attack he was expecting. He makes his poison use proficiency check. This creature has no fangs to ejects poison. His knife scrapes the scales but fails to connect. It attacks and misses.
39/51 It wins init and attacks. It misses. Alzar does as well. It adds another damage, and Alzar misses. Alzar regains init and slashes for 4 damage with his magical weapon. It misses. He misses badly, and it follows with a slash on his arm for 2 more damage. Alzar stabs it for 5 damage, and it misses. It wins init finally and stabs him for nothing as he just dances out of the way. He misses. He wins init and they both miss. It regains initiative and hits for 2 damage and he misses. He regains init and stabs out for 4 more damage and it dies. 34/51 Alzar gains 150 XP The creature has no poison glands in its mouth, just oozes it from its skin. He searches down here and finds a few old bodies buried in the earthquake. Most have nothing, and he casts Detect Magic to see if any of the minor weapons, helmet, coins or anything glow. As his Divining Rod passes over that direction, he sees an amulet glowing. Amulet of Neconilis He returns with the head of the Heway and gives it to the centaurs as a sign he has slain the creature. They tell him it should take 2-3 days for the water to purify. In the meantime, he makes camp there for the evening. (And that basically ends Wizard’s Challenge II’s Oasis encounter. I swapped an odd energy draining skeleton for the cool Heway and added desert centaurs as a fun desert encounter.) |
Alzar decides to press on because he has no immediate need of water. The next two days are quiet, and he arrives at the location mentioned in Yaghoub’s Journal. In front of him in a narrow crevice that is big enough for a few people beside each other, but nothing more. Alzar drops his camels and leaves behind Gilded Ears to be a spy to make sure nothing comes across his stuff and he unloads items for his venture, including a pair of oil flasks, five vials of metal eating acid, two stones with Continual Light on them and other objects. His spells today are: Detect Magic, Sleep, Hypnosis, Charm Person, Skeletal Hands, Continual Light and Hold Person. He cautiously moves into the complex. (He heads in as a mage, but has warrior weapons in case they are needed, but is leaving behind the heavy armor).
The entrance is wet and musty. Wind buffets this area regularly, and the rock has blackened with dust and sand over the years. After a short walk, Alzar cuts down some old scraggy vines to make sure nothing is beyond them and moves through. He’d rather cut them down than push past them, just in case something is on the other side, or they are dangerous. Soon enough the corridor is carved straight, and Alzar needs light – out comes a stone. He sees alcoves ahead on the corridor. They look to have once been guardposts. After passing by two pairs, suddenly he hears shouting from the final pair. They scream out dangers, warnings, and tell him to leave. Alzar fails his spellcraft proficiency check, and is not sure where they come from (it’s a few Magic Mouth spells). |
The corridor rises a few steps, and at the top are five bodies. The corridor splits and heads right and left, and forward there are some doors and it continues for a while and opens up. Alzar leans down to look at the bodies. It looks like an adventuring party came in here a while, and smell badly. There are two guards too it seems. The first is a human who might have been a warrior, stripped of his armor and items, but with a broken sword and shield by him. A human speared by a sword wearing a red jellaba is here, and has also been searched clean. A dwarf has a helmet, nice but badly dented where it smashed his head, also stripped, and two humans of unknown profession finish the menagerie.
Ten feet in front of him are two doors that flank the corridor. He opens the left one. This appears to be a small kitchen, with a variety of pots and pans about. As Alzar moves in to inspect it, a pair of large centipedes move out of the cupboard and towards Alzar, who was making enough noise to alert them. His staff is out and he smashes out dead as it arrives. The other pecks him for 2 damage, wins init, misses, and he misses. Then he regains initiative, hits and kills it too. 20 XP 49/51 hp |
A quick search reveals nothing too interesting here. As expected, the other door on the right opens into a small dining room. The rooms here are frugal so far, the tribe may not have had a lot of money. The furniture, while usable, is clearly made by a non-specialist, but just someone who hammered a chair or table together. There are no dishes or anything in here, just a few tables and chairs, and a banner on a wall. Alzar moves to a door on the far side. He hears noise on the other side and opens it after preparing himself. Here are three goblins, who leap up as he opens the door and move to attack. He would have been happy to talk with them, but he is just as happy to kill them also.
His staff thwacks the head of one for death. He is crit hit back by a curved dagger he cannot identify (Khukuri) and takes 6 damage. The other misses. He keeps init, and they all miss. They win init, and miss, and he slays a second. The other tries to run around him, but he slays it with an attack of opportunity. 30 XP 43/51 The goblins have nothing on them. This place appears to be a lounge. The furniture appears to be makeshift, but there is an odd object here. A large, very attractive marble statue appears to be secured to the ground. It would be worth thousands of GP but Alzar has no way to secure it. It could not have been made by the same people that made the furniture, so perhaps they procured it from another culture. A search of the room turns up a bag of 25 gp tied under a reclining chair. 25 gp |
Alzar returns to the corridor. It branches left and right just after the two doors. He heads right and it turns 90’ to go back in the direction he was originally facing. It ends at a door. Alzar tries it, but it is locked. He grabs a vial of acid and melts the lock.
The door swings open to reveal a different sort of room. The walls are made of better quality material, and the furniture is swank. It’s old, and has lost a lot of value. It’s also from different eras and styles, and very eclectic, as if collected from various places. There is an intricate stone carving on the wall across from him that stretches more than 50 feet. It’s of a wizard casting spells from a hilltop onto a faceless enemy below. Looking around, this might have been one of the rooms the wizard used. There are two doors leading from this room, both on the wall Alzar entered. He moves to a desk at first. There are several drawers in here, and he uses a weapon to pry them open. Two swing freely open, and nothing in is there. The third will not open, it Is locked. He skips it and moves to a bed, with a beautifully done metalwork headboard. It has to weigh hundreds of pounds, but it has not aged at all. He slides to the door on the left and opens it. This room is a large closet and storage room. There are some old, decaying garments in here, as well as various other accoutrements. Alzar finds four books and pulls them out. He returns to the desk and sets them down. The other door is opened and in here is a hug treasure pile! But Alzar is immune to low level illusions. He can tell that really, it’s a grey ooze creature behind a delicate glass container. Reach to get the treasure and ou would easily break the glass and out pops the ooze. Nasty little trap that. He moves back to the books and has these tomes: Book – History of the Badlands Tribes (20 gp) Book – Encyclopedia of Local Plants (50 gp) Book – Diary of the Wizard, Zelligar Book – Meteorological Phenomena of Hamedh (75 gp) |
Alzar moves to the drawer on the desk. He tries to force it open with a +1 pesh-kabz. He does and it springs open. A needle follows and pricks him. He fails his save and drifts off to sleep. Luckily, he wakes up after ten minutes and nothing happened.
Inside the drawer are a bunch of papers about the complex, such as inventories and pricing and other sundry things. In addition to that, there is a paperweight with the symbol of Zellimar on it, and finally a small block of incense. Alzar pulls it out and makes his ID item throw. It’s magical Incense of some sort, but not any he is familiar with. Magical Incense, block of 20 hours (It’s Incense of Enlightenment. When burned while studying spells, it allows the spells memorized to be cast at maximum efficiency). He heads back out and drops off the books, papers, gold, and incense before heading back out. He’s so close to the entrance, he might as well. He returns and takes the left at the passage. It bends too, in the same direction as the other passage, and passes by a large space on the right, about fifty feet long. He circles around the space on the top side at the corridor continues, and there are no entrances into that. A large space with no entrances is often a sign of a secret door, so he searches. As he searches, he must make enough noise for a creature to wander over and find him. He hears movement in the corridor behind him, and after a pause, out crawls a large unknown spider. He grabs his staff. The creature is just two feet long. He tosses a knife at it and misses. It pulls up and spits a web at him and hits his arm and that will slow him down a bit. Make it harder for him to win initiative. It wins and tries to bite him and misses. He cracks it for 3 damage. It misses, and he does. It misses and he does. It bites him for 3 damage ad he makes a poison save. He misses. He gains init and misses, and it misses too. It regains, init, misses, and he misses. It misses, and he connects again and finishes it. 40/51 25 XP |
Indeed, after fifteen minutes he finds a small latch which opens the door. This appears to be a modest wizard workroom, with a door on the left side. Alzar smiles widely. The furniture in here is quite well made, and of stone, except for some wooden cabinets in the right wall. The equipment in here tends to be broken, missing, not of high quality or serviceable at best. Alzar believes that can salvage about 500 gp of value from this room. The cabinets open to reveal 40 small earthen jars, stoppered with wax seals, and with no identifying marks on any of them. They could be anything from potions to poisons to lab components. Alzar remembers a page on items in the lab from the library. They were just components for research, like sand or blood. He can grab them later.
500 gp – Lab Components He heads to the door and opens it. This room is a magical enchantment chamber and an extension of the workroom he was just in. Some of the objects in here are weird, a coffin, a torture rack, and several tables with a stopped flask on it. Alzar cannot tell if the flask is or is not magical, so he adds it to the magic pile for later. There is a fireplace in here as well, as some vats and casks and such –all empty. Nothing of value in here. He heads back out to the corridor. Left there is a door to a triangular room. Alzar opens it and in here are a bunch of barrels and storage. Also in here are a quartet of very surprised looking orcs that were trying to decide what to eat. He casts Sleep and drops them all and slays them 100 XP 12 gp |
He then moves to the room and starts looking at barrels. One has pickles, another edible seeds, and a third nuts, and a fourth dried berries, and so on. There is nothing in here beyond these foodstuffs.
The corridor winds back or continues forward over here on the left. Alzar moves back first of all, to make sure nothing was back there. After a few minutes, he runs into the corridor that comes from the entrance that spilt off the left. It continues. There is a corridor that winds in on itself in a giant twisting motion, getting closer and closer to the center. Alzar slows as he nears the center, preparing himself for a rap or opponent. He arrives and sees a pile of dead bones, with a large centipede shaped carrion crawler here that shakes itself and gets up. It probably hides here in this area, and then moves out to hunt and brings back the paralyzed foes to snack. This thing is deadly. Alzar casts Continual Light at the multi-faceted red eyes it has. It fails its save, and it is blinded. Alzar backs up. He throws in a knife and hits it for 2 damage. Then it seems to gather its wits and moves with some degree of accuracy for a blinded opponent. Crawlers must have good senses. He backs up around a turn and grabs his spear. This is not a battle for the weak of heart. He spears it for 5 damage with its magic as it closes. Alzar’s axe is out and battle begins. He wins init, carves it for 6 damage, and it dies. Whew. No XP Back here on the ruins of the skeletons are some broken items and a few things of wealth. One is a gigantic metal gada, or mace, that weighs a lot. There is a warm blue unnatural sheen to it. Alzar tries to ID it but fails (only works 20% of the time at level 4). He grabs it and secures it. There’s a bit of coinage as well, but not a lot. +1 Gada 21 sp 13 ep The only other thing in this corner of the area is a meeting room, with benches and such, but nothing else. |
He returns and takes the corridor passage forward and within thirty feet arrives at a large set of double door while the corridor bends to the left. Alzar opens the double doors and reveals his favorite room in any dungeon, castle, keep or tower. The library.
The room is covered with dust and there are three bookshelves with three tables and various chairs around the room. Continual Light spells in the corners of the room provide light. Alzar moves along the old books and sees titles that are not particularly powerful, but they do serve to add to his collection. It’s a general library after not, not a magic user one. All told there are about 300 books worth about 1000 gp total. 1000 gp library of 300 general purpose books The corridor branch ends at a door, which is locked. After trying various ways to open it, Alzar uses his 2nd Vial of Acid to open the lock. It opens in a corridor that goes right and left. Alzar heads right first. The corridor ends after thirty feet. Suspicious. He spends thirty minute searching every inch and nook three times but finds nothing. He heads back left. After a few minutes, he arrives at a winding corridor that has three doors, and then ends. The first door opens into a small room and it has in it blackish soot and material to use to supply a forge or smith. A quick search turns up: Four electrum plates, 40 gp each |
Those are used to be forged into something valuable. The next door opens up into a….surprise surprise, blacksmith. There is a large fire pit that dominates the center of the smithy, and various tools around. The room is quite large and warmer than any other place Alzar has been, even with the fire unburned. Perhaps that is why four goblins are here making it their home, and they rise. Alzar casts Hypnotism as some weapons are thrown. They pin him twice with javelins for 4 damage and he orders them to drop their weapons from the spell. Three fail their save and one makes it. Alzar’s staff flies up and he smashes the one who is still fighting just as it stabs with his spear. Both hit. Alzar takes 3, it takes 5 and dies. Alzar then forces the other three to tie up and leaves them here.
37/51 40 XP A quick search turns up a few potential items for the magic pile for later, that were used as smithing, but still in good condition, including a of hammers for the forge and a nice, pristine looking pair of tongs. Alzar also finds some ingots of iron and copper, and leaves them. The final door in the corridor is a tiny chamber, with a round hole in the ground. Heading down is a pair of ropes and ladders. It looks like there is another level below this one. |
Alzar returns and tortures a goblin until it squeals. The pathway that led right from the entrance leads into a large section of the complex. They don’t know a lot about what is down. He kills one, and the others faint. He kills them too – not wanting to leave an enemy to his rear, in case they are rescued.
He moves back to the entrance, taking several items with him as he does, like the gada, the flask, the two hammers, and the tongs, and a few others here and there that grab his attention. He leaves them in the wagons and returns, taking the right passage. It bends to the right after twenty feet, and then after forty it splits off to the left, and continues forward. Alzar goes forward. He wants to explore this section of the place in the back. After several minutes, the corridor takes a 90’ turn to the left and moves off that way for some time. Eventually it ends with two doors on the left, right where he wants them to be. He hopes he is on the far edge of the dungeon. The first door opens into a corridor, and he goes to the other. This opens into a room. This is a tastefully decorated room for a woman of refined taste. There are hangings and trappings, and a four post bed with many drapes. The table to the left as he walks in has a mirror and several beauty items including a silver comb and brush. Alzar searches the room. The lace and frills have decayed and the colors have faded on most of the items in the room, except for a few of value Silver Comb and Brush set – 100 gp Ornate Perfume Bottle – 50 gp |
He head back to the other door. The corridor beyond it moves forward, with a door on the left and it bending shortly thereafter to the left. Alzar grabs the door, but it is locked too. The door is weaker, and so he forces it open and it crashes with a loud bang. This is a furniture storage room, with old wooden furniture and wood chips on the ground in places. Bugs have gotten in here and eaten a lot of the items in here. Large termites emerge from the items, and Alzar shakes them away with his staff. A few moments later as he is finishing up a search, a few creatures fly into the room from the opening the insects made long ago. They must have heard the noise from the crashing and three Stirges have arrived to see what the ruckus is about.
Alzar stabs his staff at one and misses. They bite and one hits for 4 damage and attaches itself. Alzar hits and connects with that one and kill sit and the others miss. They win init and one hits for 2 damage. Alzar smashes it dead. Then they each miss for two turns before Alzar connects for 4 damage – just enough to kill it. 75 XP 31/51 hp |
The corridor to the left bends back after a short distance and a door faces that direction, telling Alzar there is not a hidden place there like he was suspecting. The stonework around the door is getting much better quality in the carving. The door opens to a trophy room that rocks items like Brass Dragon skin, skeletons, teeth of a basilisk, and body parts he does not recognize as belonging to Hamedhi exclusive creatures.
As he leaves the room to continue down the corridor,, a snake comes around the far end, and it’s just a small cobra. Nothing major, and Alzar kills it easily from distance. The corridor bends right and it pushes into a much larger chamber and ends. Another branch heads off to the right, and there are two doors on this corridor. Pillars have been carved into the sides of the wall and a fresco in the ceiling of a fighter on a hill holding a powerful sword and looking like he is going to cleave an unseen foe. The first door opens into a bedroom/work chamber of probably the captain of the guard or whatever passed for him. In here are a few tables and nice bed. There is also a sleeping goblin on the bed. Alzar carefully grabs his magical spear, and tosses it and kills the goblin. A quick search reveals nothing on the corpse, but a table leg rings hollow when tapped. Alzar breaks it and discovers: Topaz – 100 gp |
He returns to the corridor and takes the other door. This room has a stairwell that heads down and nothing else. There’s not even the usual dust. Alzar returns and moves to the large chamber at the end and it opens into a small throne room, with a stone throne carved out of the rock itself. It looks like this was recently used as a makeshift bedroom, because old pallets are laying about and straw has been brought in for sleeping. Old draperies that once hung were torn down and used as blankets and wrapping. There is no sign of any recent presence though.
Alzar takes the right bend on the corridor. The quality of rock work drops as it goes, and in a few feet after it returns to the normal carving he expected, it meets up with the left path from the corridor coming down. There is a locked door on the left which Alzar uses his third vial of acid on – just two left. Beyond this door is a corridor that turns to the right after ten feet. He turns and it heads straight for a bit before bending to the left out of sight. He takes the bend and it ends at a door a short distance beyond that. Alzar opens the door and he is at the end of another corridor, that heads back to the left. It opens into a large room, with a door on the left. Alzar senses something that tweaks his necromantic senses and opens the door. Inside is a small bed chamber rand work space with religious decorations for perhaps a priest. There are also a trio of skeletons standing by a corner that activate when he opens the door and move toward him. He rolls to control them successfully and….does! The first undead on Hamedh to bow to his mastery! He searches the room and the desk has paperwork, but the paper used here was poorer than that of the mage, and it has faded and worn out with time. There is a locked chest at the base of the bed. He searches the rest of the room and unconvers nothing. He uses a vial of acid on the lock and has just one left. He opens it with his staff and a dart flies and misses him. He sees a scarlet cloth in here and grabs it. He opens it and it was protecting a golden medallion. He pockets it. Golden Medallion (It’s actually a Medallion of Defense, on command it will grow into a +2 shield, and then shrink again when the command is stated a 2nd time) |
Leading the skeletons first, he moves into the large chamber. This oddly shaped chamber has a door on the back wall he entered and many different colored pools on the ground – 14 in all. Mosaic tiles are imprinted on the floor in an array of alternating patterns, scintillating the seven colors of the rainbow over and over again in pattern.
Each of the pools has something different in it. Well, one pool is empty. Each pool has something different, and Alzar is sure some are good and some bad. One could be poison and other water and a third lava and a fourth forget-me-not potion, and so forth. It’s basic dungeon design 101when designed by idiots. He has no desire to spend a bunch of time tossing in coins and testing liquids to find the right one to heal him or whatever. Not right now at least. Alzar has a skeleton open the door, and it opens into a large barracks, and inside are 7 goblins that are in various states of battle. Some have weapons in hand, others armor, and some nothing. The goblins move to the skeletons. Alzar summons Skeletal Hands to assist. Meanwhile his skeletons clash with the goblins. They carve two dead that were unarmored. The others dodge away and one hits a skeleton for 3 damage. Alzar’s group win init. His knife barely misses a goblin. The skeletons kill a 3rd goblin while they finish getting weapons. They stab and slay a skeleton, They win init and mostly miss. One hits for one damage with a spear (half damage from piercing weapons). The skeletal hans and two skeletons take out a 4th goblin dn wound a 5th. They keep init. They kill the barely wounded skeleton after a crti hit, and the skeleton and hands finish of the wounded goblin. Two gobs left. Alzar arrives. His group wins back init, and Alzar stabs out with a staff and misses. His minions scrap and slay a the goblin and the last one misses and is killed the next round. 70 XP Alzar searches with his skeleton and pair of hands. They find in the barracks: 72 gp |
A door on the other side opens to a corridor that heads left and right. Left winds up at a small chapel and worship area, with an old alter but little else. The other heads into a corridor that ends after passing four doors. The first opens into an old armory. Most of the weapons here have been taken over the years, but a few broken or poor ones (clubs) remain. The next door opens into a guest chamber, and the third does as well. Both are empty of anything beside basic furniture- bed, table, chair, stool or bench, and an empty chest. The final room is a utility room with some basic storage. A quick search turns up nothing, but makes enough noise and a large beetle of some unknown sort flies into the room form the corridor and dies to the skeletons and hands in one round.
Alzar returns to the corridor and has finished this floor of the complex. He heads to the stairs and moves down. The Skeletal Hands have run their course by the time he is down there. He arrives in an access room, with a cart, and stones laying about, with other mining equipment here. The rock is roughly hewn, and looks like it has not been finished at all. He heads to the only exit, a doorway in the south. It opens into a corridor with a door to the right, and the roughly turns into natural cave, and there are two natural passages that lead off. The door is unlocked, but jammed. Alzar forces it loudly open. This room looks like an unfinished museum, with frescoes and the beginnings of statues and display cases made of rock. Nothing is in here though. He heads back out and has the skeleton lead and they take the closer of the two passageways. It curls back on its and tightens in a few places. Soon enough it widens a bit again and a chamber is off to the side. The chambers on this floor are devoid of furniture or special objects, and just normal caves. Alzar moves into this cave, but as he does, a loud piercing scream rings out and down the passages. There is a patch of shrieker mushrooms here. He pulls off a flask of oil, douses the area, and lights it and kills the mushrooms. Meanwhile, all of the creature son this level have heard and all of them are moving on his position. His skeleton moves to the back while he uncorks the other flask and pours it along the ground on one passageway. He lights a torch and puts it right above the oil, easily able to be knocked into it and set fire to a patch of about seven wide ground. |
Soon creatures converge. Down the passageway he was travelling comes a giant spider, much larger than the one he fought upstairs. His spear misses it, and it wins init and damages the skeleton for 5 damage. Alzar’s axe is out and he smashes for 8 damage on the spider. He wins inti, misses, and hits for 7 and the skeleton misses. It hits and finishes off the skeleton. Alzar kills it the next turn.
Then four orcs come in from the other side. They see the oil and hold up. Alzar lights it up as the orcs ready some trombashes to throw at him. Two manages to snake over, and he takes 3 damage from one. 28/51 Alzar retreats and heads the other way, and the orcs cannot follow him. They turn around. Alzar passes a webbed chamber and checks. This was the room the spider was in. Nothing else here. He pushes forward to put some distance between the orcs and him, the fire should die down quickly enough. Then his passage ends at a large chamber, and on the other side is another passage. He moves to it, and as he does, the orcs emerge on the other side. Uh oh! He throws a spear and misses and grabs the axe. They throw their sticks at him and he takes 2 damage from a hit. 26/51 Melee range has been reached and battle begins. Alzar wins inti and kills an orc outright with his axe. He is hit twice for 8 damage. Then they win init, miss, and Alzar kills two more orcs. The fourth runs, and Alzar kills it with his attack of opportunity. 18/51 hp Alzar searches the bodies and finds: 18 gp 3 pp 18 ep 22 sp |
Then he retreats and checks the floors – nothing else is here to kill him. A search begins of the various rooms. The webbed one has earrings carved beautifully from ivory. The mushroom room is empty, as is this large chamber. The orcs passed by two rooms to get to him. One has a pair of statues in it, they look to be petrified people – one is a mage, and the other a warrior. Perhaps these are the two men of legend! They were facing each other and in fighting stances. There is nothing else in the room though. The final chamber was the bed of the orcs in the complex – upstairs and the ones down here too. They had found various items in the place and brought them to their room – lots of weapons, armor, and more. Alzar casts Detect Magic with his Divining Rod to see if any of it glows, and he does, in addition to some other items:
Scroll of Protection Against Magic 4 Gold Rods, 85 gp each 4 Silver Plates, 100 gp each Emerald Headband – 300 gp Ivory Earrings – 120 gp And with that, Alzar has fully explored the complex created by the two men who conquered the area around 100 years ago. He heads back to the pools, and discovery shows one is acid, one is just a pool with fish, another is clear normal drinking water, another heals, another has boiling hot water, etc. He heals up from the adventure, carts out the lab equipment and books ot the wagons, fends off a Stirge attack against his camels, and then heads back to Watershead. XP Gained: 625 (After XP bonus) Alzar needs just 1875 to level up to level 5. End of B1. In Search of the Unknown |
Alzar heads back to Arjuna and spends a week unloading objects into his local establishment and making some deals. One of which is this:
He trades his +1 gada for a spell scroll and a potion. Potion of Extra-Healing Spell Scroll – Genie Contract This is a 3rd level spell, common here, that is cast when drawing up a contract with a genie to have both sides forced to keep the terms. Otherwise, one or the other could not agree, and bad things happen. One commonly told tale involves an efreet, who was forced to serve a wealthy sultan for an extended period of time. As part of their deal, the efreet could not be told to do the same thing more than once, or else the efreet would be free. After working for him for a while and being given a lot of tasks, the efreet polymorphed herself into a human slave, and then went to the Sultan for orders. The Sultan commanded the slave to do something he had already commanded the efreet to do, and freed from her bondage, she revealed herself and absconded with his firstborn son to the City of Brass. So you want a Genie Contract generally. It can be cast by either party - Genie or other. Alzar has learned it. It is technically an enchantment/charm spell, but here on Hamedh is in universal (the small number of spells that are tools everybody needs like Read Magic, Detect Magic, Identify, Wizard Mark, etc). It’s very common. |
L2. The Assassin’s Knot
 This is the first module we are doing in the Hamedhi campaign that made the top 30 chart. Published in 1983, it clocked in at #29 on the list of top 30 modules written in 2004. It’s a fun little adventure that takes place on an island. The first of those, L1. The Secret of Bone Hill is pretty solid too, and I thought about running it. I still might, but the presence of a lot of undead might make Alzar a bit too powerful if he runs into and controls a lot of undead. While this module takes place in two small towns on an island in a random location, I can easily convert it to the local city of Arjuna. Just make a few changes about NPCs and plot lines, and we are surprisingly good to go. You might think that an island based adventure might be a bit too hard to work here, but this one translates rather nicely I think. |
Four days later, Alzar awakens to a new day and heads to the local tavern to have breakfast. As he does, he sees a purple ribbon hanging from every house in the streets. He arrives at the inn and there is a somber atmosphere. The representative from this district has been killed! She was a local noble and was slain just last night. Appointed by the mayor to serve on an advisory council, she was murdered most foul.
One of the normal patrons of this establishment are a pair of local barhops, who go from bar to bar at night in various places. They are telling the story of last night. At a pub just across the corner from where the woman was killed! She was found with three suspicious items. One was a small red ruby near her body. The second was a red leather button in her hand. The last was a golden tanbur string under her bed. What really interests the crowd though is what these barhops claimed to have seen. Last night in the Pub, the saw an old man with long white hair, wearing a blue robe stop in at the pub. His robe has the holy symbol of his deity, with a variety of small rubies in the eyes of a local creature. Then a short time later, a local tavern owner stopped by to make some purchases. He was wearing a distinctive red vest with ornate red buttons. Finally, a travelling troubadour stopped by for a short performance on his beautiful tanbur. A tanbu with unusual golden strings. This information shakes the crowd. Who killed the noblewoman? |
Alzar steps into the same bureaucrat’s office a few hours later. He discusses the incident with the local official in charge of private investigations. Due to some training as a rhabdomere, his expertise is sought. No rhabdomeres live in Arjuna, they prefer much smaller than this one.
He identifies the three individuals in question – the old man is the head of a local temple, Farshid, the performer is a popular local man called Singh, and finally the man who made the purchases owns a tavern in the city. He is called Zarrin. All three work and live in the district by the south gate. This district has a bit of a reputation. The official asks Alzar who his initial suspicion is. “Well, I doubt someone would break in, take the time to gather the items of two others to plant, and then be clumsy enough to leave behind their own sign. So I think it was none of them, but we’ll see.” Alzar heads out to begin his investigation. |
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:07 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin Version 3.6.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.