Fast sim

Two rounds later, the bugbears are in a nice fighting retreat and Alzar’s side have suffered very little when the whoosing sound of a Fireball is heard and smashes among the group. Everyone is hit save for Tolvar, who has gone invisible and snuck away. One of the bugbears is hit and dies. Everyone takes 18 or save for half.

Alzar notes the spellcaster coming in from behind a door to assist the bugbears. Joining him are a paur of bugbear shaman, and one casts Cause Light Wounds on Alzar for 8 damage.

Alzar is down to:

22/51

He casts Continual Light at the mage but he makes the save. Alzar mentally orders Gilded Ears to come in from her position outside the ruins and behind the mage to help. Alzar orders himself and Fahd to charge the spellcasters, as the others stay behind, wounded, to deal with the bugbear remnants.

Magic Missiles stab out from the mage and hit Alzar three times for 15 damage. He casts Vampiric Touch on a shaman who is guarding the mage and deals 14 and drains it. The shaman casts Cure Light Wounds on itself and heals 10. Fahd misses.

21/51
13/31 – Fahd

Alzar wins init because of his ring and casts one of his last spells. Using the Pearl of Power to recall the Continual Light he again tries to blind the mage. This time is works and he is blinded. A shaman drops Silence on Alzar and he makes the save and is okay. The other casts Cause Light Wounds on him for 8. Fahd hits the wounded shaman for 5 damage. The mage roars and orders a retreat.

The bugbears in the back are all defeated and now the party moves to support Alzar. He orders fire concentrated on the blinded mage, who is being led by the shaman. Alzar just knows Hold Undead, Detect Magic and Charm Person. Gilded Ears pops up from behind them and nips at the mage to slow them down. A stone from the sling of seeking hits him for 4 damage. But the mage is assisted by the shamen through a corridor. Alzar pursues and grabs a magic jelly bean. This corridor is broken and open to the sky but there is just one way for about twenty feet. He flings his grey one and it breaks into a grey ooze in front of them and forces them to stop and deal with it. That gives him and his group time to close.

In one turn they have killed the blinded mage. Alzar absorbs another Cause Light Wounds. But that;s it. The shamen have been killed.

13/51

200 XP for each person

Alzar orders a search of this floor while the items from their corpses are put in a central courtyard where a lot of the battle took place. The find two staircases going up, and some heading down. They find various items in rooms, and bring them out. Then a shout is heard and Alzar’s senses are triggered. He runs left and sees a skeleton bugbear has been animated. He controls it and it joins the group. Behind it is a old guard tower and six more human skeletons are moving out. They are also controlled.

Gained: 7 skeletons, one of a bugbear

Chests are brought out and picked by a certain thief - the items are added to the magic pile. Then they head up. The small rooms above are easily seen – there is little still there, so its’ quick. Up here is a workshop, bedroom, and study chambers for the mage they just killed. A few storages rooms there too, and everyone, even skeletons, spends the next bit bringing everything back down. After an hour, everything on the ground level or upper floor is in the courtyard. Alzar orders the skeletons to guard the way down, and casts Detect Magic.

Here are the things they found:

Telvar’s Spellbook
8 potions
2 blocks of Incense of Meditation
Priest Scroll – Spiritual Hammer, Prayer, Detect Lie, Tongues
Horn
Ring
Leather Armor



10 gems – 50 gp each
1150 gp

They gather the magic and gold and secure them, and then Alzar checks.

. He wants to move on, led by skeletons. The stairs down lead into a round room with nothing in it. A quick check shows a secret door which swings open to reveal a long dark corridor, which a Continual Light stone helps to illuminate. After a bit it ends with nothing there. A check reveals a secret door which is switched open.

This room looks like an old storage chamber for furniture. A few pieces are old and decayed and still here. There is a door to the right, and a hallway to the left. The door is locked and unable to be picked. Alzar tosses a vial of acid to Volcifar who opens the door. Led by a skeleton Alzar senses a dark presence move into the room as they open it. A wraith. Alzar immediately tries to control is but fails his 16 or higher check.



The wraith moves out cautiously and Alzar casts Hold Undead at it after making a quick Necrology check. He can only work the spell on an undead of 5 or fewer HD because he is just level 5, but that should just count the Wraith. The Wraith fails its save and is paralyzed for six rounds. Alzar grabs his proficient staff and starts hitting it. In a few turns, the formless Wraith dissipates and disappears.


160 XP for each person

Alzar has just killed the big bad of the area. The wraith was assembling an undead army, and comes up here at day to check on things.

The rest of the level has 6 skeletons, 4 zombies, 6 ghouls which Alzar controls. There is also something he has never encountered before. 6 Stirgeghouls. A ghoulish combination of the stirge. It’s a lot more deadly, because it paralyzes its victim (like a ghoul) when it hits, and then sticks on to drain their blood to satiate itself.

The basement level includes storage, a temple, and more, old abandoned cells, and two stairs down to another level.

They head down one, and keep Gilded Ears and the Stirgeghouls and skeletons there by the other stair.

This level is damp and clammy, and the walls glisten from moisture. There is a regular air current here, with stagnant and foul air that create drafts. There are strange noises – like whistling and such caused by the air, and things it knocks around.

There is a door in the hallway as they head down the one way, and Alzar has to push hard to force it open against the wind. As he does, a door slams shut in the distance. They arrive at a natural cavern that has been dug out in various places, with little in the way of ornamentation. A green slime on the floor is quickly killed by a bit of oil from an oil flask and a light.

A carved door is on the far side. Leaning against a wall is a staff with a carved dragon head. The paint has eaten away. Alzar knows dragons well enough to recognize the species as a blue dragon. They take it with them.


Staff Gained

The door opens and the other they opened slams shut. A another natural cavern is beyond it and off of it head three tunnels. Standing in the middle of the room is a 5 foot tall stone creature that moves slightly as a zombie enters the chamber. The zombie shambles and it smashes and destroys it. Alzar tries and fails to recognize the creature (it is a Stone Guardian) but it is clearly a construct of some sort.

He orders his people, wounded, to spread out and to use magic weapons on it. He orders a screen of undead to keep them safe and has them whirl in missiles. Only missile weapons such as the +1 crossbow and +2 sling are hitting it. A few magic weapons are thrown in as well, and in a short time, it dies, but Alzar lost 3 zombies.

100 XP each

There is a portcullis to the south that is down, and a statue in a room to the west and a small passage to the east that was covered by rockfalls. The statue room is largely empty, and the rockfalls are unable to be crossed. That leaves the portcullis. With several undead working together, they manage to life the portcullis and the thief slips through and throws the lever and it rises.


There are some double doors after a corridor bend and another door to the far left in an alcove. All are locked. A quick lockpick opens the double doors and into another friendly sight. This room features not one, or two, but three Spectators. One is about the size of a fist and is quite young. Alzar warmly greets them and they talk to him as well. They are guarding this book. They are in year 95 of their 101 year service and their child came to visit for a while. There are some items in the room they are not guarding, and Alzar takes them:

+1 tulwar
160 gp
Priest Scroll – Commune, Cure Critical Wounds

Alzar grabs those and takes a quick look at the book. It’s obviously magical, but he can’t determine what. So he leaves it here for now and says goodbye to the Spectators.

The next door is locked and trapped, so it was sprung, but the pick is too durable, so another vial of acid eats the lock. A very long corridor follows and it snakes for a bit. They take a door on the right and it leaves down to three consecutive chambers. This was the wraith’s lair. There are a variety of objects here they will come back to later:

+1 Shield, +3 Shield
+2 Battleaxe
Ring

Necklace of Black Pearls, 4000 gp
1500 gp

They return to the corridor and it ends at a door. It is picked and behind it is a small band of undead. Alzar controls the 7 skeletons and 6 zombies and has them search the rest of this section of the lair, where the undead haunt. Nothing else is here except for a locked door

There is a room behind a locked door and its odd. There is no rush of air like normal. There is a soft light that grows in intensity nd the faint scent of oranges. Alzar makes his save, but Fahd does not and moves to the door on the other side. Alzar orders everyone else to stay back. Fahd opens a door and back here is a study with a glowing screen between the two rooms. He steps through it. There is a bed, desk, a few accoutrements and a skeleton in the back.

Alzar has an undead step through the screen and nothing happens. He follows and things are good. It appears that Fahd has been charmed. One charm breaks another, so Alzar casts it and it works. They cancel each other and Fahd is back to normal. He felt like he was friends with a old, long gone mage. He opens a drawer in the desk and reveals three metal items – pitcher, platter, and mug. He orders the platter to make beef, the pitcher wine and the mug beer. He knows how the items work from being charmed. Alzar understand that, he was taught a language by being charmed in an unusual way.

The skeleton is the mage? It is. There is an odd look to it. It is chained to the wall. There is also a rack of 100 books back here too. The skeleton has its tongue and eyes and moves slightly. Alzar is unable to control it at all. It won’t talk, and Alzar can’t control or speak with it in any way. It makes no aggressive moves, and it’s chained. Alzar has the metal items taken and also grabs the bookcase of books, carried by various undead.

100 Books from Bone Hill Study

Metal Platter (Beef, Lamb, Turkey, Pheasant) for four people once/day; Mug (Beer, Ale, Mead) six/day; Pitcher (Water, Tea, Wine), three/day.

This section of the dungeon heads up the basement where Alzar’s undead await him. They stay the night and in the morning, various Detect spells are cast, as well as Identify and such.

Telvar’s Spellbook – Will be a while before this is up and ready to be read:

1st Level – Cloud Ladder, Charm Person, Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Read Magic, Identify, Sleep, Shocking Grasp
2nd Level – Darkness, 15’ Radius; ESP, Flying Fist, Invisibility, Levitate, Detect Invisibility, Magic Mouth, Wizard Lock
3rd Level – Dispel Magic, Fire Ball, Fly, Protection from Normal Missiles, Feign Death, Monster Summoning I, Leomund;s Tiny Hut, Scintillating Sphere
4th – Rary;s Mnemonic Enhancer, Wizard Eye

While there are a few rare spells, they are either evocation which Alzar can’t use or not that useful (Cloud Ladder).



( I changed a few items around. This adventure, for example, gives out a Ring of Air Elemental Command, a Crystal Ball with Hypnosis, or a potent Mirror of Opposition. I also kept the party from getting the 10 magical items in the gnoll camp or on their people. The book the Spectators are guarding is a Libram of Gainful Conjuration. The skeleton-mage, if talked to, can be freed with a Remove Curse from his state, and his god will give the free-r a Limited Wish. That stuff is really sick good.)

So even without all of the stuff I pulled, this still amped up Alzar’s power considerably for a variety of reasons.



End of L1 The Secret of Bone Hill


Pashtun has leveled up, Alzar lets his new mage friend get some good spells from his books, he trades magic to a henchman and more, coming up next on NPCs R Us section of this report, with them in detail.

They spend a few days in Phraya gathering items, healing, and resting. As Alzar looks over his new books, something strikes him as odd…

Whatever it is that book, it must be odd indeed ...

Sh... don't encourage him. Maybe I'll be able to catch up since I was back o page 3 and we're now on page 7

SI

So very, very odd.

Some of the items and weapons we've used so far in this dynasty in Haemedh include:



Pesh-kabz - a dagger or knife with a bend and a sharp end. Designed to penetrate mail and other armor. (in real life it's from the Persia-Afghan area, and sometimes is called a Khyber Knife).




Gada - The Gada is a great two handed war club/mace with a rounded end that resembles both, and doles out a lot of damage when it smashes people. (in real life, the Gada is an Indian weapon).







Shamshir - One handed, heavily curved sword, with almost no tapering at all, until the very end. (in real life, it's a Persian weapon)





Khopesh - Sometimes called a sickle sword, this sword has a hook in it that is quite useful for hooking, breaking, and pulling shields. Only the part that is curved out is sharpened, almost like an axe. (In real life, this is an Egyptian/Canaanite weapon)

Sometimes the curve was light:




And it could be heavier, hookier -




Trombash - Next up we have the Trombash, a throwing stick that is very common in Hamedh. One end has a tiny curve to it, and is flattened. It usually has been carved and weighted in order to help hunt and fight. (In real life, it moved across Africa, but appears to be from Sudan - the name is sometimes used of these nasty throwing knives that evolved from the trombash outside of Sudan. )

An actual 200 year ole trombash:




Yataghan - Roughly the same size as a short sword, is a blade with a a gentle outward curve (inside of the inward curve of blades like a shamshir or scimitar) which helps it to chop. (In real life, this is a Turkish weapon).






Tulwar - Often called a Talwar, this longer one handed weapon does not have the severity of curve such as a shamshir or scimitar would have, in order to also be used as a piercing weapon too. It's heavily used on horseback. (In real life, this is a Mughal weapon).

Other weapons we might see include:


Khanda - double edged straight sword, and both edges are sharpened, but one is weighted for chopping and has a sharper, length long edge. It has a closed hilt (in real life, this is an old Indian sword)






Khanjar - This short, thick dagger is so heavily curved that it resembles a heavy J and it's scabbard usually looks like an L.. (In real life, from Oman)






Katar - This blade is has an H shaped grip which is held by the fist, and then used to punch. Because it is used simply by punching - a natural skill, it is easier to learn than many blades and weapons. (in real life, this is from India)





Parashu - This highly ornate battle axe has a weighted handle and ball by the wielder, which balances the end with a heavier blade in order to hew better in battle, and it carves better through plated armor. (Ya more Indian weapons)






Kartika - This ceremonial chopping knife is a crescent chopping weapon, often used in flaying, torture, or religious ceremonies. (In real life it's a Buddhist knife).






Haladie - This is a two sided (and sometimes three sided) long dagger or short short sword that can be used and twirled and allows the wielder to parry and strike from two angles. (in real life, some are from India, and others Sudan)


This is the Sudanese one with two sides:




The 3 sided one is likely Indian:

Wouldn't you like to know what actually happened to Alzar? It's couldn't have just been a random coincidence that brought him so low, right? How could he have had his experience reset, without his abilities and denuded of his items, but yet retain his memory and be otherwise healthy?

What happened to Alzar?


The next uber-campaign, set in the Sand Mire of Hamedh, will reveal much, but will bring further questions...

Nice tease!

Next is the Sand Mire Campaign in Full Fury. Here is my extremely loose outline of it, subject to changes and adaptations:


L1. The Secret of Bone Hill – Prequel, designed to move into the campaign.

UK6. All that Glitters… - An unusual dungeon turns into a way to enter and introduction to the Sand Mire

I3. Pharaoh – Just the beginning. The I3-I5 Supermodule series, Desert of Desolation, is the early framework of the campaign.

I9. Day of Al’Akbar – Introduction of City of Khaibar – Just early part of module

X3. Curse of Xanathon

College of Wizardry

X12. Skarda’s Mirror

The Gathering Darkness

Bastion of Faith

Temple, Tower, and Tomb

I3 Finish

I9 Finish

I4. Oasis of the White Palm

I5. Lost Tomb of Martek

Rod of Seven Parts Begins

Reunion

UK7. Dark Clouds Gather – An interlude in the nearby mountains.

X4. Master of the Desert Nomads - Which leads to…

X5. Temple of Death – The finale of the major plotline

Rod of Seven Parts Ends



Still looking for places to put X6. Quagmire, C4. To Find a King, C5. The Bane of Llwelleyn and I8 Ravager of Time. Rary the Traitor? I really want to run I8, but the others I can take or leave as needed. Again, this is just an early outline. I may also add to it things like Needle, X11 and X13, and others. I also just picked up Mystery of the Snow Pearl, one of the final solo modules, and maybe I could run that.

I expect this to be Hamedh's version of the Isle of Dread campaign we did back on Thorasia.

If you'll recall, that was one:

U1. The Secret of Saltmarsh
X1. The Isle of Dread begins
UK1. Beyond the Crystal Cave
A1. Slave Pits of the Undercity
X1. Continues
UK2. The Sentinel
UK3. The Gauntlet
X1. Redux
A2. Secret of the Slaver's Stockade
XSOLO. Lathan's Gold Begins
M2 SOlO. Maze of the Riddling Minotaur
XSOlO Continues
A3. Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords
A4. In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords
XSOLO Continues
X8. Drums on Fire Mountain
C1. The Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan
I1. Dwellers in the Forbidden City
S2. White Plume Mountain
X7. The War Rafts of Kron


This one should prove equally extensive. I hope. :)

Alzar's Minions and NPCs:

Pashtun, level 4 fighter, Neutral

HP: 38
THAC0: 18
XP: 10415 (level 5 at 16000)
26 Years Old

Str: 14
Dex: 13
Con: 17
Int: 11
Wis: 10
Cha: 12

AC: 0

Proficiencies – Swords generally, specializes in Scimitar, can use Recurve Bow and Pike.

He wields +1 scimitar, bow, and arrows. He gets +2 to hit with Scimitar due to magic and specialization, so his THAC0 rises when he uses it to 16. He wears Bracers of Protection +1. With armor, he is at AC 1 (includes +1 shield, +2 chainmail)

He also knows riding, riding specialization, swimming, survival, fire-building, healing, tracking, and weather knowledge.

Locinda
Lawful Neutral, 3rd level Fighter
HP – 31
THAC0 – 17
STR: 17, DEX: 14, CON: 13, INT: 14, WIS: 9, CHA: 8
AC: 2
XP: 9580 (level 5 at 16000)
25 years old

Weapons – Khanda, Javelin, Pesh-kabz, Gada

Proficiencies – Riding, Charioteering, Hunting, Mountaineering, Running, Rope Use, Swimming, Weather Sense

Fights with +1 shield, +1 chainmail, +1 khanda (1d8, 1d10+1 vs giants) too

Alzar and Locinda agreed to a new deal. He gives her the occasional magic item to keep, and that will count as pay. He begins by giving her a +1 chainmail and +1 shield.

Volcifar
Lawful Evil, 3rd level Thief
HP – 19
THAC0 – 19
STR: 14, DEX: 17, CON: 13, INT: 16, WIS: 10, CHA:11
AC: 6
XP: 5870 (Level 5 at 10000)
29 years old

Weapons – Dagger, Sling, Yataghan

Proficiencies – Appraising, Disguise, Forgery, Locksmithing, Reading/Writing, Riding, Set Snares, Swimming, Tracking

Pick Pockets – 30
Open Locks – 50
Find/Remove Traps – 85
Move Silently – 35
Hide in Shadows – 35
Detect Noise – 15
Climb Walls – 65
Read Languages - 0

Fights with Dagger of Venom or +2 Sling of Seeking. Also wears Ring of Protection +1 and Ring of Spell Storing – Dispel Magic and Mask Alignment. This Ring, unlike others, cannot be charged with any spell other than Dispel Magic and Mask Alignment (reverse of Know Alignment).

Gold - 500

Alzar and Volcifar agree to similar deal to Locinda, but he gets more coinage and less magic items. Alzar gave him 500 gold for that adventure.

Tolvar
Neutral, 3rd level Conjurer
HP – 10
THAC0 – 20
STR: 13, DEX: 14, CON: 10, INT: 16, WIS: 14, CHA:10
AC: 6
XP: 9820 (level 4 at 10000)
20 years old

Proficiencies: Dagger; Alchemy, Brewing, Cooking, Reading/Writing, Riding, Swimming. Speaks four languages.

Fights with dagger, bracers of Defense AC:7 and Ring of Protection +1



Spellbook:

Level 1:

Burning Hands
Cantrip
Charm Person
Detect Magic
Find Familiar
Identify
Read Magic
Sleep

Level 2:

Continual Light
Detect Invisible
Invisibility
Melf’s Acid Arrow


Level 3:

Dispel Magic


Tolvar is coming with Alzar to continue to be tutored as well as for protection. He can leave at any time, but he has already gained a lot of spells from Alzar, and he always wanted to adventure, so this suits him just fine. As a conjurer, Tolvar specializes in conjuration/summoning magic . This means he can memorize one extra conjuration spell a day from each level, and his cannot learn or cast spells from evocation or greater divination schools. He usually memorizes Cantrip, Sleep, Burning Hands, Invisible and Melf’s Acid Arrow.

Gilded Ears, Jackal Familiar
AC: 5, HP: 16
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.



Fahd
Neutral, 4th level Fighter, Myrmidon Kit
HP – 31
THAC0 – 16
STR: 16, DEX: 13, CON: 15, INT: 12, WIS: 11, CHA: 9
AC: 3
XP : 12750
41 years old

Fights with Shield, +1 chainmail, +1 khanda (1d8, 1d10+1 vs giants)
Gold - 300

Fahd heads back for now, 300 gp richer for the week. But he’s here to hire again if Alzar needs him, but he’s not interested in permanent travelling – he’s too old, and he has a wife.


And of course, Alzar himself:

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...&postcount=262

Alzar is looking over the trash from the gnoll camp they took to review later and he sees something odd. It looks like a map, created recently, but seriously abused. It shows an area further to the south thick with woods and wet mires. Then very tall mountains right beside them. A manmade tunnel cuts through the mountain, and on the other side is a shrine with a lot of riches marked, and an area called the Sand Mire.

A thick wet forest, a tunnel, a Sand Mire and a shrine, with the potential for treasure? Why not?

Most of the men Alzar hired from Arjuna are returning on a trip scheduled for a week from now, so he will not be able to hire any help here to go with him and escort his wagons and people. But the party of five (Alzar, Pashtun, Locinda, Tolvar, Volcifar) is able to handle much of it themselves. In the seven wagons, they easily have room for everybody and their things. Alzar purchases some extra steeds, including a group of camels. He is taking with him his Ghoulstirges, Coffer Corpses, and a group of skeletons now with armor and weapons from the gnoll camp.

UK6. All That Glitters…




The next to last module of the solid UK series is this entry. A bit by the numbers as a typical treasure hunt sort of plot line, it is ideally suited for 5-8 characters levels 5-7 totaling around 40 levels. It is going to be the entrance or rabbit hole into the next campaign. Much like U1 Secret of Saltmarsh led to the Isle of Dread campaign. I enjoy taking one or more modules and changing modifying them and making them work together.

L1. Secret of Bone Hill was used to get Alzar to Phraya, where he got enough power to break away from the low level modules we were doing. These are the campaigns we have done –

In Search of Adventure – Athaly Campaign to kick things off

Moved to Fort Amber and other places, en route did T1, N1 and a few others, followed by X2 on arrival.

Isle of Dread Mega-Campaign. Which we just considered

That led to the Temple of Elemental Evil mega adventure

Against the Giants - Then Alzar returned to adventuring to face three separate Giant locations nearby, and clean them out when they became too big. G3 led to the…

Underdark Campaign. Beginning with D1 and D2, and then led to Alzar in the Underdark with modules like Ghost Tower of Inverness, Gates of Firestorm Peak, and Tomb of the Lizard King. Cumulated with D3 and then Q1 and slayed Lolth in The Abyss

Then a few modules afterward like Treasures of Greyhawk, Fate of Istus, and Tomb of Horrors.


Arjuni Campaign - The Hamedhi campaign jumpstarted with BSOLO Ghost of Lion’s Castle, and that led to the mini-Puppets, Eye of the Serpent, Forest Oracle, Blizzard Pass mini campaign to get Alzar to Arjuna. After that we had everything from B1’s In Search of the Unknown to Wizard Challenge 1 and 2, and Midnight on Dagger Alley, L2 Assassin’s Knot and even UK4 When a Star Falls.

Sand Mire Campaign – L1 The Bone Hill got Alzar out of Arjuna and UK6 is used to get him to the right place for the next campaign. Get ready to hold onto your butts!

The forested area is about eight days journey from Phraya. Then they will be in the area for about three days before they hit the manmade tunnel. The journey begins…


On the third day out of Phraya, they stay at an inn/tavern/general store on the road and rest up. That night someone in the inn gets really sick and dies, but it has nothing to do with Alzar and his group so they set out on Day 4. About two hours into the day, they take a side path and the going slows down somewhat as they leave the main thoroughfare and move to the forested woods nestled in the high mountains.


Later that day they hear a large skittering in front of them, and soon two giant spiders are seen moving. One is chasing the other in some sort of bizarre mating ritual.

The next day, day 5, sees heavy cloud cover, and they fear a downpour, but it just sprinkles on and off all day instead. They are slowed a bit more by mud. Evening arrives and that night, as Locinda is duty, a loud noise off to the west is heard. In a few moments, several shapes move out of the darkness and into the camp. She has alerted people and they begin to emerge as a group of large nocturnal lizards out hunting arrive. Alzar does not recognize them, but Locinda does and tells everyone to watch out for their spit, it’s acid.

Battle ensues. One is blinded by a Continual Light and that really ignites the night. There are five of them attacking. Another is hit by an Acid Arrow but takes no damage- it is immune to acid damage. The fighters are carving into the third quite nicely as a few bites are taken here and there. In a minute all five are dead and no one has taken more than 7 damage.

100 XP for each

The rest of the night passes quietly and they move out the next day. Day 6 is overcast but no longer wet and they begin to make up time. Slowed down by the mud, it will now take them an extra day to get there. Night 6 sees a large animal fly over camp with giant wings, but it flew away and did not return.

On Day 7, the nearby terrain is beginning to look more like a forest and less like bush and brush. The trees are gradually thickening and growing in scale.

Day 9 arrives and their relatively quiet journey hits an end at a large forested area, much like a rain forest, with thick growth, and damp air.

They move into the woods and arrive at a small village at Kett’s Rapids. The locals here speak their own tongue, but they have someone who can speak Arjuna in their people. They are quite friendly and give food, water and fire graciously. They tell of some hostile people living deeper in the woods called the Atemi. Their territory begins around Two Falls and moves up deep into the place where Alzar wants to go.

Alzar’s group stays the night at Kett’s Rapids. The day brings a misty pall over the woods and they move out. One question Alzar has regards movement of the wagons, and the locals tell him that a path along the river is easily strong and wide enough to get the wagons across. They don’t know about the tunnel, that is too deep in Atemi territory, but the river is good to get them there.


This place is hot and humid, with a dense wood teeming with wildlife of all kinds and trees growing to a height of 100 feet or more and forming a thick green canopy that resemble a jungle in places. The local area matches the map Alzar found precisely.

On both sides of the river lush vegetation stretches skywards forming an arch over the water and giving a green tinge to the sunlight In places the greenery is broken by brilliant splashes of color.

Hours pass and they reach a bend in the river where Witch Tooth Water is marked on his map. The two branches in the river each cascade down and create Twin Falls, the beginning of the Atemi territory. As Alzar looks around a flash of light catches his eye like sunlight glinting off metal. Gilded Ears inspects it and it is a jeweled dagger sticking in a tree.

The Dagger is over a crudely drawn map on the bark that resembles the map he has, and the word seems like in the same handwriting. A Magic Mouth speaks as they near it and tells some apprentice where a hidden passage in the rock is nearby. It’s too far away to take the wagons, so Alzar skips it an takes the dagger and they continue up the river

Jeweled Dagger – 1500 gp

As the day begins to unwind, their noise alerts a pair of tigers who come out of the brush to investigate. They see an opportunity for food with a camel, ox, or horse and move in. A Continual Light spell and some missiles force them to reconsider and they leave.

About a half hour later they call it a night and spend the night in the stars, here in Atemi territory, but a good first day. As night begins to rise and the next day begin, several small humans can be seen just sitting and waiting and watching. They do not greet the last person on watch – Tolvar, nor do they make any menacing moves. There are four, no, six of them, four in front and two to the right across the river.

Alzar comes out from his wagon and gets a heads up on the situation. He moves out to talk with them and they refuse to answer him, but they stand up and move to block their way, calmly stretched across the path. Alzar goes to Tolvar, and together they cast Sleep and drop all six, even the other two on the other side of the river. They tie them up and gag them and leave out.

The second day sees the river get bigger and the ground get wetter. A few places had some lighter rapids, but the river here is slower and deeper. A few crocodiles chomp idly as they continue, carefully, down the river.

After half the day has passed, the trees to the left begin to peter out and a small bog is here, growing in size. Gilded Ears alerts Alzar to an unusual sound, and there a crocodile being eaten by a large seven-headed hydra.




Alzar spends a quick second planning a way to attack the Hydra. It suddenly stiffens and smells his party and turns, and charges. It will close in one round. One head dies from some missile damage from the party while Alzar orders the party to form behind him. An Acid Arrow kills a second head and it is here.

Alzar wins init and swings with his staff. He is the only one in melee. He is attacked 5 times by the hydras head and hit twice for 13 damage. They slay a third head (extra damage does not roll over).


38/51

Alzar wins init automatically due to his Ring and casts Vampiric Touch on a head and kills it. The head dies, and Alzar heals 12 damage. The Hydra attacks three times and hits once for 8 damage. The party misses completely., but Tolvar has nipped in for a Burning Hands spell and kills the 5th head.

The Hydra begins to retreat Alzar smashes it for 4 damage and a sling stone hits the 6th head and it falls dead. They kill it as it flees.

160 XP for everyone

43/51 for Alzar

They check its lair but there is nothing here but bones. Alzar even casts Detect Magic to make sure and it fails. They continue on.

That night they rest and they have closed to the entrance to the supposed tunnel area. Alzar orders a double watch tonight, in case the Atemi return. Since the group is staying away from the main Atemi settlements they choose to leave them be.

A few hour pass. The valley they were travelling along has ended as a mass of hardened lava stone. A waterfall drops from a gully above about 450 feet or so. The black lava stone leads up and the map indicates that this natural ramp leads to the tunnels.

Less than an hour later they reach the top of the ramp. It looks like the entrance to the tunnel has been closed by rockfall a long time ago, but a natural cave, quite large, opens to the right. Warm air wafts out of the tunnel. As Alzar looks it seems like it is not natural after all, but roughly hewn on a large scale. Standing in the middle is a large black giant cradling a huge boulder and flanking by two large russet dogs. It is a fire giant and a pair of hell hounds.

As Alzar enters, the giant grins broadly and calls out, welcoming friends to his places. Alzar accepts and is greeted warmly. There is more than enough space for the wagons and people to come in as well. He introduces himself as Vanck and admits he has been away from his homeland for quite some time. He is desperate for news from home and asks how long it has been since Alzar was home. Thinking of Thorasia, he says years. The giant nods in sadness and then rises and offers food. Alzar thanks him but asks about the tunnel to the back. Ah yes, there is a door back here. The giant heads over and swings it open. Alzar thanks the giant and leaves, his hell hounds still growling quietly.

After a short passage the door opens to a long passage. To the left it is caved in, so they head down the right, under the mountains. The passageway is 50’ wide, more than big enough for all of their things, and they move down it. Roughly five minutes later, the passage hits a set of stairs that descend down. The Stairs are evenly cut and wide and shallow, so they are navigable but it takes three hours even with the aid of the undead to do it. At the bottom is a small corridor, and as they enter it, a vision hits them of how this area works

Built by the great mage, Kahoatep, this is a network of fast-passage built more than a thousand years ago called the Wind walker’s Passage. Apparently, the passage caved in above was just an entrance, not the actual passage, which is here. There are two long passageways that cut into the mountain, perfectly straight. You enter a rock-like ring that will turn you into a gaseous vapor form with your things. You are then blown down the passageway to the end where you enter another obsidian rock like thing and re-form. One passageway goes in each direction.

It appears that the entrance now caved in came in at the back entrance, and they have entered at the first of eight maintenance areas. The access stairs from above open a door and in here is living quarters and recreation area for maintenance staff. Time has taken its toll and it looks relatively disused. A few tiles from the ceiling have fallen and the area looks beat up. A door on the far end of the room is locked and opens easily enough.

This is an odd room. A soft white light pulsates ahead, bathing the room in a soft amber glow. This room is a 20’ diameter room with two corridors off to the right and left. In the center of the room is a glass rod that extends from floor to ceiling, and encased in it is an unnatural looking dull white gem glowing. The walls are pure white and show no signs of decay or time, and the white light from the gem is bright indeed.

Clearly this is a part of the magic that enables the passages. Perhaps it helps keep the wind pushing people or maybe it helps to keep things clean or repaired, hence the lack of time. (In reality, it has a Protection From Evil, 10’ radius on it and that keeps the summoned creatures in the right places cleaning their part of the Wind Walkers’ Passage.)

They head right and enter one of the large passages, This is the passage that heads away from the forest and towards the Sand Mire. A howling wind roars down the corridor and sweeps back hair, and flaps clothes. The tunnel is straight and stretches as far as the eye can see. Across from the entrance is another one on the far side. Alzar heads over and there is a small set of stairs that leads up to a door. The door is locked and easily picked.

This is a summoning and control room. There are summoning circles on the ground, still in order and unbroken. An impressive hexagonal room with walls of polished rock greet them. Something has been summoned, but Alzar quickly recognizes this is not a circle of entrapment, which would have something inside, but one of binding. Somewhere there is a creature bound to this room and this circle and thus bound to Hamedh. Without knowing what or how, Alzar has no desire to mess with it and free or upset or anger things. Instead, he will keep on searching and investigating.

They head back and take the other path from the spherical rod room. This is the southern passage that would normally head back toward the forest from the Sand Mire. This large rough tunnel some damage to the walls that the north one does not. Unlike it, there is not a brisk wind racing down the tunnel to let people move from one end to the other in a couple of hours. They head into the stairs and corridor leading off the main tunnel here too and again, there is a summoning room here. The circle has been broken and a corpse is on the circle. Someone tried to break it and was killed by whatever was bound here. A quick search turns up:

Silver Incense Burner – 600 gp
Magical Dagger
Magical Flail
Potion
2 tubes of Dust of Appearance
Pouch of Gems – 250 gp total value
Set of thieves tool, decayed rope, etc

It looks like the major two passageways are divided into sections. Each section is fed by a maintenance room, which is where they entered. Something damaged them down in the south tunnel at least. These sections are divided by huge grates that cross the tunnel, and keep anything from getting from one section to the other except in gaseous form. He decides to head back to the station right by this last maintenance area that is behind them.

As they move out, a few minutes pass and an odd sound can be made out. It’s like a cat crossed with a drake. But there is nothing to be seen and scouting reveals nothing. Then Alzar makes out a hellcat moving into view invisible. He alerts everyone and casts Continual Light to target, not its eyes, but just its body. It works and everyone can see the hellcat’s location about 80 feet away. The hellcat snarls and starts racing to them. A few skeletons are in front in the dungeon, and Alzar silently order them to close ranks while fighters and folks get ready.



Magical weapons are required to hit it, and it carves a skeleton dead with bites and claws and the other weapons miss. Alzar orders the other two to retreat and an Acid Arrow smashes it for 8 damage this turn and 8 next turn. Melee has been joined and the cat is hit twice for 11 damage.

The Hellcat snarls and hits Locinda for 7 damage. Then it takes another 10 from two more hits, even as Alzar misses. The Hellcat has taken 37 damage so far. Then Alzar wins init (Ring) connects with his staff for 5 damage and kills the kitty.

Everyone shares 225 XP.

The cat’s body becomes visible as it dies, and they double check it, but it is fully dead.

Locinda – 18/24

After twenty minutes, they reach the terminus, where people would embark and disembark on their journey. The path here from outside collapsed. To the left is a small corridor, at the size of a rod room’s corridor in the maintenance room. Off to the right in front is a corridor and another corridor can be seen to the far left. They hit the first corridor and it opens to another pulsating white room with a rod in the center and a glowing stone. There are some stairs to the left and the north corridor with its powerful winds are forward. They move to the stars, and up at the top can be seen a quivering Gelatinous Cube.

Missile weapons kill it before it can begin to move down the stars. There is nothing in this one of value (they often have magical items, or gems, or that sort of thing. This just has some shards of glass.)

The northern tunnel is bracing past them. They head up and into another summoning room, this time with a very different circle on the bottom. It is a circle of containment, and there is something here. There are winds coming from this room and out into the corridor below via a small grate. They are coming from the circle. Something in this room is providing the wind.

Also there is a scorched skeleton to the left and as they enter, a Magic Mouth goes off, and tells them to beware plunder for fear of dying like he did. He has been dead for some time. A quick search of the body turns up:


Wizard Scroll with 3 spells, sealed
Ring
Wand

Alzar chooses not to mess with the large and potent circle here. This is why the winds are still working in the north tunnel.

As they walk back down, they notice the tunnel behind the first one, and there is another rod room back here. So basically two rod room passages back to back. But the north passage heads to the terminus, and there is a hall of departure here. Alzar decides to head to the hall. There is a black gate and they head in. Overhead light bathes this room. Filling the center is a large black circle that acts as a gate to transform things that go into it either into misty form or from it. A bright blue flame burns on a cup beside the object.

To their right is a door, and the room narrows at the back and here is a corridor there. They walk into the back corridor and this is the original entrance, now collapsed, and another terminus room is to the right. Their noise attracts attention, and in a minute horde of demons, Nupperibo, led by a bearded devil come around but as Alzar moves to the front, the bearded devil looks at him and his eyes widen.

He shouts and calls off the Nupperibo.



They retreat and he calls out to Alzar in a lower-planes language. Alzar, with both Sage Knowledge and Netherworld Knowledge talks with him in a gruff accent and weak word choice.

“You have been marked. Why?” It asks.

“Marked by who?”

“A demon lord. One of them has marked you, but why? What did you do to deserve such special attention from the lords of the demons?”

“And I killed Zuggtmoy on my home plane, years ago. Then I killed Lolth on my plane as well, chased her to the Abyss, and slew her in her own sanctum. ”

“This could be Lolth’s mark, she works that way. You killed both?”

“I did.”

“You make many dangerous enemies. Allies of both would work against you.”

“I did not know I was marked. Can you tell me how or by who?”

“No. But the mark is clear to those who can see. Enemy of demons and slayer of lords is friend of devils. We will not kill you or these pawns with you. Perhaps you will kill more demons as our blood war continues.”

“Why are you here?”

“We are guarding a shadow demon. It has information we want, but was not willing to give it. We have many such prisons on this plane. It is easy to hide things here until they are convinced to give you what you want.”

Alzar gets information on the local area. There are about 100 lemures, 50 nupperibo, two bearded devils and two spined devils in the Wind Walker’s Passages on both ends. The shadow demon is right here, in a room to the left. The rod rooms have protection against evil spells in them that keep the demons and devils from passing through them.

(You are expected to fight all of the devils, but why?)

The only area left in the terminus that they did not see is the summoning room here on the south tunnel. They check it out. As expected, it was destroyed by an earthquake of some sort. Rocks fell from the walls and ceiling and broke the circle. Perhaps this is why the wind in the south tunnel is no longer there.

The bearded devil comes with them as they decide to take Kahoatep’s transportation system and everyone passes through the gate in the northern terminus. Everything, including wagons, undead, and animals turns into mist and is flung down the passage. Warm breeze whips them at a fantastic rate. Suddenly, a brightly colored grille comes into front, and separates them into little pieces, which reform on the other side and keep moving down the Passage. Pleasant sensations sweep through them as they speed down the passage with colors flashing in them and electrifying their senses. Then they arrive in the other terminus on the far side of the passage, and solidify. It felt like no time at all, but two hours passed as they zoomed down the passage.


The devil shouts as he arrives and more devils appear. He tells them of Alzar’s feats and they agree to leave him be after a short run down of the layout here in the far terminus.

The room is identical to the one they left, save that a collapse of the tunnel happened here too. It cut off the back of this chamber and the rear passage is gone. They head through the middle of the doorway to the left and it has a door to the left and they arrive in the other terminus room for the south passage. Here is where you would turn to mist and head back the way they came, but this tunnel is no longer working. One of the rod rooms here is broken, and the devils move through it easily now. They take the white gem from it


White gem, enchantment lost - 600 gp


To the north is a summoning room still working as expected. The southern summoning room is a gate to the hells. The devils come through it, after building it. They built the gate in the room over a broken summoning circle on there.

The only way to leave is the emergency exit. They push it open and half to rest the night. It takes one full day of digging to widen the shaft to allow the passage of their things, but they arrive on the other end of the Wind Walkers Passage.



They have arrived at the Sand Mire

Where the mountains meet the Sand Mire they are cut by deep canyons when join and branch in bewildering patterns. These canyons vary in width from a few feet to hundreds or even more. Their presence can make major mountaineering feats very difficult indeed. One would need to make numerous ascents and descents to travel just a few miles up the mountains.

The Sand Mire itself is composed of fine sand which makes movement very difficult if not used to the unyielding nature of the desert. Every desert is different, and Alzar has been in several. Here, the whipping wind across the valleys and peaks whips up sand and makes long range sight difficult at best. But the rocks pouring above give the ability to make out landmarks and maneuver without getting lost.

The Sad Mire’s unusual consistency comes from its origin. Almost 1000 years ago, the desert was a fertile, but harsh land, that featured a large civilization in several places. But a cataclysm struck, and the land fell dry and harsh, and winds were no longer broken by trees. Ever since the Sand Mire formed, it has been a stain in the land.

They are standing at the head of a valley which is enclosed on three sides by steep rocky walls which have been torn, fissured, and worn into fantastic shapes and angles. The valley turns south and west, and they begin to follow it as it curves. A few miles later, the valley opens up into the Sand Mire and there is a dotted peak from the rock in front of them, like fingers reaching through the ground.

Three miles pass, and Pashtun grabs Alzar and points out a small cloud to the right. Something is following them. Alzar calls a break and people stop to rest. Approaching across the sand is a line of grey clad riders, mounted on two-legged lizard-ish beasts. They halt about 50’ away but one continues up and Alzar moves down. An older woman, small, speaks after smiling and giving a friendly greeting. Alzar cannot speak the language, but Locinda steps down. She can.

The women is from a tribe of people called the Hek. She is welcoming Alzar and his group back to her village. Despite smelling badly, Alzar agrees to follow them, and the old woman shouts an order and takes the lead.

Hours and miles pass, and late afternoon, they arrive at a camp nestled in the natural embrace of a local ridge. There are many Hek tribes, Pashtun greets the Hek warmly and tells them (with his whisper voice) that his great grandfather was a Hek. They greet him, but also gently deride him as not-Hek. The camp has a variety of tents, at least thirty around, with many quite large. The tents are made of animal fur of various sorts. There is a small cave that leads to their water cistern and storage.


That night, the Hek have a large feast, with various desert plants cooked for dinner, along with eggs of a desert raptor. After dinner, they tell Alzar about their people, after a local rhabdomere casts Tongues to enable conversation. There are many Hek tribes across the desert, and they are just one of many. They have little water, and their water supply has diminished greatly over the last ten years, and they camp outside one of the last natural springs in this area of the Sand Mire.

Alzar asks about a nearby shrine. Yes, the shrine of the Hek. To the north is a shrine, the Shrine of Aumata-Perion which is set in the back of a mountain, behind a small village. It is the holy place for all of the Hek tribes. They go there to pray for rain and water. The shrine also has a water spring, and it is neutral and all Hek tribes may get water from there. Otherwise they have to fight or barter for water from other tribes. Water is currency with the Hek. The Shrine still has priests there and working.

Normally Alzar and his party would be welcomed in a guest tent, but since they have wagons, Alzar will stay there. He still has a watch, just in case, and they stay the night. The next day arrives and they agree to head to the Shrine of Aumata-Perion and it’s about half day away. They leave the wagons behind to make the trip more quickly, and Alzar leaves behind Gilded Ears and the undead as guards, just to make sure nothing happens.

A great spire lifts over the northern part of this section of the Sand Mire. It is locally called the Pinnacle of Power, as it is both very sharp and tall, as well as where the shrine is located. After ten hours, they have arrived at the gates of the shrine. Beside the stark towering pinnacle a crumbling stone wall seals the mouth of this narrow valley. Four rough steps lead up to the ancient gateway, and behind its battlements, dusty figures stand motionless, staring out across the wasteland. As Alzar’s group approaches, a gate swings slowly open, and swirling dust and sand dance through and then settle again as the door is open.


This wall is old and neglected through centuries of need of maintenance. The people on the battlements aren’t undead or anything, just dummies to give the impression that they are guarded. They look like recent additions.


They head up the stairs and into the small village. Once-fine buildings line the side of this desolate street. There are a few doors banging in the wind, and nothing but empty shells remain. Alzar’s group picks their way through them and follow the narrow valley to the nadir point, even passing a graveyard as they do. There are 30 graves here. Soon, zombies come out of the sandy graves and emerge to attack. Alzar controls them all. 30 zombies. They are all of Hek people. He has the zombies making a 6 member wide formation, five people deep, and move up the shrine portico and into the shrine proper, carved into the rock.

Two large wooden doors are here, locked. Volcifar manages to pick the lock and they open, but there is a Glyph of Warding here and it shoots and kills a zombie - 29 left. The noise alerts the defenders of the shrine and out slide 2 ghasts and 8 ghouls. Alzar controls them easily and adds them to his force.

They have arrived in an entrance hall, and the ghouls reveal two secret doors here. The ghouls and ghasts were given free run of a four room complex to the left so Alzar heads that way past the secret door. They arrive in the ghoul guardroom, and then head north into a pair of rooms, doored together. One is the kitchen, and the other a storage room with a door on the other side. But they take him off a secret door form the kitchen deep to an Opened Crypt, and there are two more ghouls back here Alzar controls.

There is a concealed door to the east. They warn Alzar and then open it and move in. This octagonal room is dominated by a stone statue of a large piranha-headed man, shrouded by serpentine forms. More snakes. They drop to the ground with a series of dull thuds and slither out. There are 8 snakes. Alzar orders the undead to head in there and destroy the snakes. As they do, the head priest, Kegen, storms out from behind the statue and babbles at the undead killing his snakes.

Alzar orders the ghouls to close in on him while zombies take the snakes. He turns and flees through a concealed door on the other size and runs into a sealed crypt. There are 8 ghouls and 2 ghasts in here too. Alzar controls the ghouls but fails on the ghasts. They flank Kegen and attack, but they are outnumbered. Kegen casts Hold Person on Alzar but it fails. It takes very little time for him and his ghasts to go under. To the back of this statue/snake room is a large snake pit and zombies kill them and a secret door forward reveals another set of crypts, one with 20 animal skeletons and another with a drelb, a lightning extraplanar creature. The undead have issues with it, but finish it eventually.

The last crypt here reveals four mummies, and they come out all at once. They are immune to normal attacks and the undead Alzar is now controlling will do nothing. Alzar orders his people to assemble and attack.

They concentrate on the first mummy as the undead clear out. A few hits (Ac3 on the mummy) drop it down 9 points, while they (THAC0 13) hit Alzar three times for 18 damage. Vampiric Touch won’t work on undead like mummies, so he stabs with his staff and misses. They hit twice for 12 damage, and his group hits just once for 6 damage.

21/51

Then Alzar misses, is hit twice for 8 damage, and then they hit and kill the wounded mummy.

13/51

Alzar runs away from the battle and the mummies concentrate on Pashtun and hit him twice for 10 damage (they deal 1d12 damage each hit). A mummy are cracked twice by Pashtun (specialization) for 11 and once by Volcifar for 4. All three hit Pashtun for 14 damage and he pulls out two. The others hit twice for 13 damage.


15/38 – Pashtun

Alzar’s group wins init and he hits with a thrown magic weapon for 4 damage and his group hacks and slays the wounded mummy. Both miss Locinda. Tolvar casts Burning Hands to expedite things for 11 damage on the 3rd mummy. They keep init and hit the damaged mummy. The mummy hits once for 3 damage on Locinda. Then the mummies win back init, hit once for 9, and then the injured mummy is slain. Locinda backs off and Volcifar takes 8 before the last mummy is killed.


8/16 – Volcifar
12/24 - Locinda


880 XP for each person

Alzar heads back with his controlled undead to explore the area. They enter a vestry, Kegen’s bedroom, and then the family room, where his wives and children are. They live in behind the undead and the family moves to engage. One wife suddenly blasts Alzar in the head for 8 damage from a Mind Blast. She is a Mentalist. Alzar reaches forward and casts Vampiric Touch on a child for 11 damage and gains it back. While others are attacking, the Mentalist animates a shadow to attack the undead. Alzar orders the Mentalist to be taken out now. An Acid Arrow smashes her for 6 damage. (and 6 next round). The undead are cleaning out the other family members. Missile weapons miss her and Alzar can’t get to her so he casts Continual Light at her eyes. It works, but she is fine, her psychic sight keeps her from being blinded.

16/51 Alzar


She uses her psychic power to dominate Pashtun, who stops fighting and just stands there. Alzar casts Sleep but no one is affected who is still alive. A sling stone smashes into her for 5 damage from a Sling of Seeking. Alzar uses his staff to spit out a Spark spell at her and she takes 14 damage. She falls dead. The others are killed easily. The complex has been cleared of all opposition.


200 XP for everyone

They begin to search the bodies, stores, vestry, bedroom, family room and such, and move everything through the worship room (with a turned off skeleton warrior here), and into the back room with the statue. Meanwhile, Alzar and Volcifar move to the crypts, with a few undead dorks to open things up. However, as Alzar orders a zombie to open up the crypt in the last room (where the drelb and mummies were), a curse on the crypt goes off. Whoever opens the crypt is affected. The zombie is opening it, and normally would be hit by magical protection, but this curse goes to the one commanding it and Alzar is now cursed.

Alzar is at +5 to be hit by weapons until the curse is lifted.

After taking the items from the crypts to the central room (quick when you have so many undead), they find these magical items:


Decanter of Endless Water
Stone
Scroll - Protection from Undead, Possession
+2 Plate Mail
Staff
Shamshir
Clerical Scroll – Create Food and Water, Cure Serious Wounds, Neutralize Poison
Trombash


And these non-magical ones:

Gold Circlet set with Fire Opal – 1500 gp ; Gold Bracelets – 150gp set ; Silver Holy Symbol - 50 gp; Silver Censer – 25 gp; 5x Silver Incense Burners – 25 gp each; Crystal Bowl – 25 gp ; Silver Thurible – 50 gp;; Carved Ivory Box – 100 gp ; Electrum Scroll Case -250 gp ; Gold Plated Skull – 50 gp ; Gold Ring with Star Ruby – 1500 gp ; Jeweled Ivory Box – 5000 gp; Carved Jade Scroll Case – 1000 gp ; Jeweled Platinum Amulet – 12000 gp ; Jade Statuette of Panther-Headed Man – 2500 gp ; Silver Brooch with Gems – 3000 gp ; Gem Encrusted Gold Chalice – 4000 gp ; Platinum Box – 5000 gp ;

10 Prayer and Religious Books from Shrine of Aumata-Perion ;

164 gems – total value – 19000 gp

1000 pp
4000 gp

14 Blocks of Blue Incense; 22 blocks of Red Incense.


(Blue incense was burning on the terminal that sent you and red on the one that received you in the Passage.)

As Alzar and company finish grabbing their items they rest here for the night and begin to move off the morning. He doesn’t know how the Hek will react to him having a bunch of undead, so he leaves them here for now.

After an hour through the sandy haze, the ground begins to slightly tremble. Then it increases and it is coming from everywhere. Soon hundreds of Hek on hundreds of their steeds arrive from all directions and stop. One steps forward and introduces himself as Tazo, leader of the council of the Hek. Alzar’s party has defiled the Shrine and the water there could end. The life of Alzar and his company is forfeit. They have come to kill him.

He tells them that they can have endess water, beyond their dreams or what they ever had before. Not believing him, Alzar pulls out the Decanter and triggers it. A flow of water begins to come from the decanter and the Hek are very impressed. Tazo demands the decanter and the commands to control it. Alzar asks what will happen. Him and his group will be allowed to leave, but they must leave the Sand Mire completely by the end of the next day the way they came.

Alzar points out that if they attack him and his group, he can just destroy the decanter and then they will be without water and in a bad situation without the object and with their temple defiled. Both of them have something on the other. They agree to take the decanter and the command words and re-establish good order with Alzar and his group. They can use the nearby Hek village as a base if they want and will still be welcome in the Sand Mire.


It is agreed and Alzar and company trade the decanter and return the village as the Hek army from several tribes begins to disperse.

A few years ago, a mage came through the Wind Passage and ganged up with a Hek tribe and assaulted the Shrine of Aumata-Perion. Ultimately they lost. The dummies on the wall, perhaps after the attack they were added. It appears that Alzar’s map was written by the mage and then collected and wrapped around something and sent when trading and eventually wound up near Phraya.

XP for everyone – 1565 +10% for anyone with a high base stat. Locinda and Volcifar level up. He put 10 each into find/remove traps, move silently, and hide in shadows.

These are the magic items they identified only at the end of the campaign.

+2 Dagger
+1 Flail
Potion of Invisibility, 6 doses
Wizard Scroll - Fly, Protection from Evil, 10’ Radius, Elonia’s Glamer.
Ring of Free Action
Wand of Wonder, 67 charges
Honing Stone
Staff of Healing, 24 charges, (1 charge for Cure Blindness, Disease, 2 for Cure Serious, Neutralize Poison)
+1 Shamshir
+2 Trombash of Returning


The staff can only be used by a priest or cleric. The Honing Stone has 6 charges, when you rub a weapon against it there is a random chance the weapon will increase or decrease by +1 in effectiveness. Each use uses a charge. The better the enchantment, the more likely the weapon is to lose a +1.



This module was fun, but we missed out on a lot. Alzar’s path to keep the wagons by the river skipped much of the Atemi interactions. The Passage skipped the devil encounters. The final shrine was sped up by controlling most of the undead. I modified the plot in a few places. Because he didn’t fight the shadow demon or devils he missed out on some sweet items (including a really nice magical Cloak).

Yet, the ideas are interesting and fresh, and UK modules tend to be about the place and getting to know the area, not about a big dungeon delve. I intend to run UK7 too and finish off the series.

End of UK6. All That Glitters…

Beginning of

I3. Pharaoh



Published in 1982, this module was written by the Hickmans in the late 70s, and self-published among smaller groups. It was later brought into a three module super campaign bound together as the Desert of Desolation. The Desert of Desolation uber-three campaign book was ranked the 6th best module in that 2004 Dungeon magazine article I keep referring to. Combining Pharaoh, Oasis of the White Palm and Lost Tomb of Martek into an even tighter story, the result is pretty solid.

We’ll be using it as the major framework for the Sand Mire campaign, with the X4-X5 storyline as additional background, and I8 Day of Al-Akbar providing the home base as well.

The result of the combination of these six modules, along with material from UK6 All that Glitters is going to be the basis for the ongoing campaign. We’ll be spicing things up with other modules and X4 and X5 are also very highly received modules that will flesh out the campaign world of Hamedh in lovely style!

We’ll be moving into Pharaoh, and then sort of backing out. You’ll see!

After a couple of days recuperating at the local Hek village, Alzar and his troop are continuing to convalesce, healing, detecting, casting various spells, and so forth.

That night, shortly after midnight, a powerful howl can be heard across the sand. Soon enough six others follow. Alzar’s familiar Gilded Ears, moves up to the edge of the light and spies a running pack of some animal moving towards their camp – on the edge of the Hek village.

After a few moments, Alzar’s group is up and facing the pack. There are 7 dog-ish, monkey-ish creatures coming at them, called Debbi. (From the Al-Qadim Monstrous Compendium)



They are trying a quick raid for food and then back into the night.

As Alzar begins to order a defense, the animals pause just a hundred paces away or so. Then they begin to….stamp their feet in rhythm?

A few seconds later, a pulse of fear rifles through the defenders. Volcifar and Tolvar begin to pull back, having failed their saves, but Pashtun and Locinda move forward. Alzar also made his. An eldritch chill can be felt in the air, a crackle and hum from the creatures, their ugly monkey-dog faces snarling with fear-energy.

An arrow from Pashtun’s recurve bow glances off a Debbi for a bit of damage (2), but does little else. The pack responds by four peeling off and chasing the retreating feared people and three more moving in against the three humans defending.

Battle begins.

Alzar’s side wins init, and Alzar wants to see how tough these are. He casts Vampiric Touch, hits one for 9 damage,, and it dies. He doesn’t heal, but now he knows. Pashtun and Locinda miss, as to the claws and fangs of their two foes.

They win init and move back while the other four get near Volcifar and Tolvar. Alzar tosses his spear and hits the wounded one for 4 damage. Meanwhile Pashtun’s bow hits again for 2 more and it falls.

With two of their number down, the other five choose to leave, and begin to flee back into the darkness. Alzar orders Gilded Ears to follow.

The Hek arrive a few minutes later, and begin to carve up the two dead Debbi. Not only can they be cooked and eaten, but their skins and fur can be turned into a talisman to cause fear.

Alzar’s party follows Gilded Ears out after securing light. The fear effect has ended.

About 25 minutes later, they arrive at a small outcropping of rock that reaches out around 200 to 300 paces. Gilded Ears is here on guard, and there is apparently a small cave here that the Debbi went into.

They begin to head into battle positions, and suddenly one Debbi pops out and begins to stamp again. The three that won their saves before are still immune to the effect, and the other two will roll – Volcifar fails again, but Tolvar is fine for an hour now.

Tolvar casts Magic Missile at it, and it falls, dead.

They move cautiously into the cave, and there are around 15 Debbi in a medium size chamber. Some are pups. The Debbi begin to flee down a small breach to the rear, and a few move in front to give them time to flee.

Alzar’s party engages a trio of sacrificial Debbi. In one round, the four of them killed the Debbi, but Alzar took 5 damage from a bite.

Alzar – 46/51

The three are dead, and the room is secured.

They get 65 XP times 6 dead Debbi, so 440 XP total, divided by five people. 84 XP each.

They search the room, and carve the four dead Debbi here as per the Hek tribe’s advice. Also in the chamber are the various remains of their food, mostly bones and such. A quick Detect Magic spell finds that one item that appeared to be a normal bone is actually a cylindrical bone scroll case.

Alzar has Volcifar look at it for a while to inspect it for traps, but it appears fine. He cracks it open.

The Bone Scroll Case contains two scrolls, and a handful of five odd cubes – all glowing magical.

The first scroll is a spell scroll. The second is a letter written in the local language. Alzar cannot translate it. The cubes and scroll are put away. There are a handful of coins here, a few coppers and bronzes and a solitary silver – they don’t even total one gold piece in value. Alzar leaves them here.

They head back after a few hours.

After grabbing a bit more sleep, the group wakens, and spends the next day curing the six hides they found. The villagers will keep the two slain at the edge of the village, and the other four Alzar secures with his wagons.

A local Hek leader can read the scroll he found, and does so, translating it for him.


Letter written to the Khaibar College of Wizardry

As expected, the task set before me has been mostly completed. The book I found from the ancient sage of Martek years ago has finally been decoded, and I have begun its decryption.

Although not fully complete, the work thus far has proved unfortunate. As we expected, the prophecy of Martek appears to be fully accurate, moreover, it appears to be completed soon. The land has been rent asunder by an event from Martek’s time, and the Sand Mire continues its de-evolution.

Martek’s Sphere of Power appears to be the only way to arrest the curse, and it will need to be secured and used to end the continuing destruction of our home, such as it is. We’ll need to equip a party from the College to investigate a few hidden tombs and ruins that I suspect could have the Sphere.

Meanwhile, I’ll be continuing to finish with the book. If you have further questions before my next missive, I’ll be in Bralizzar. I’ll send my next update once I’ve finished. Otherwise, just use the transport cubes to send me the items I need.


Aman Al-Raqib

(I had to write the letter myself. Come on now!)

After memorizing it, Alzar casts Read Magic on the spell scroll, and it comes back as a unique spell, without a name. Apparently it has to be cast, and then the five cubes will activate. They are basically teleport cubes. Cast the spell, and then place the five cubes on any object, and they will teleport, cube and object, to Aman Al-Raqib, who created the spell and scroll and cubes.

Alzar inquires as to Bralizzar’s location, and the village elder tells him a little about it. It is located in The Dustwall. Various regions of the Sand Mire have their own names, and it’s a village there, near some sharp mountains and peaks. Most of the Sand Mire is thusly caged in. Land entrances are on the other side of the Mire.

The Dustwall is three days journey away. Bralizzar is the largest of the Hek villages, and the furthest away. It’s larger than others because it’s a trading village for points deeper into the Sand Mire. The Dustwall is almost like an isthmus of sand connecting two large points of rock, and the only way into the rest of the territory is to go through the Dustwall generally and Bralizzar specifically. It’s not only the trade center from one region to another, but the defensive point as well.

Alzar decides to head for Bralizzar. He hires two locals to guide them, and a few of their lizard-bird steeds to give himself and Pashtun better steeds in the desert than their slower camels. They’ll use the two camels to help rotate goods and such. Since himself and Pashtun have advanced riding proficiencies, these two giant striders will not prove overly difficult to master.

Giant striders are large beasts that derive sustenance from warmth, such as jungles and deserts and are immune to fire. (The Hamedhi ones don’t breathe fireballs and aren’t evil little buggers)

Alzar and his party set off the next day.

All three days are quiet, and they arrive at the Dustwall in mid-afternoon.

The terrain has gotten quite sharp here and Bralizzar lays ahead. They begin to approach the south entrance, and there is a gate here, defended. They are stopped by the guards, and the two Hek that escorted them here move off back home. Meanwhile Alzar and his party explain that they are travelers and looking to buy and sell from the city’s vendors. They are each given a bronze medallion and told to wear it at all times. It shows they have a right to enter the city, but that they are temporary visitors. Each of the members puts it around their head and then move on into Bralizzar.


They pass by the gate and enter. Bralizzar looks very old, and some of the buildings on the edge are crumbling. Meanwhile in the middle is a major road and through fare, and a variety of buildings there. Houses, a variety of kiosks selling various wares, and multiple people of all sorts are here. Clearly this is not just a Hek city. In fact, the Hek appear to be in the minority here.

They pass by vendors selling baskets and foods, mounts and other wares, and all hocking and bidding in a bazaar. Various languages are spoken here, and there is obviously a Sand Mire common tongue that most people can speak, distinct from the Arjuni language Alzar knows. No one else in the party can speak it either, for that matter.

Alzar speaks Arjuni to a few people, just to see, and eventually he finds some merchants that are buying goods from local traders that speak the tongue. He gets a quick lay of the land from them. There are three taverns here, the Swayback Camel, a low class establishment, the House of Mirth for mid-fare, and the Inn of the Golden Palm for the higher class place. They choose the Golden Palm and arrive just before dinner time.

Alzar introduces himself to the innkeeper, a 50 year old woman named Tekuna Chand. The Inn of the Golden Palm was a temple in a former life, but has since been repurposed. It’s on the main street of the town. They check in, pay for food and a night’s stay, and begin to unpack. She speaks most of the local languages, including Arjuni.

They unpack and get a more detailed explanation of the area. There’s one main operating temple to Anu, and a major stop for the Sandvoyagers, a guild of merchants and soldiers who caravan together to make travel in the Sand Mire less dangerous. This is the easternmost point on the caravan route.

He asks about Aman Al-Raqib, and is pointed to the local sage’s house, just four or five doors down. He heads out while the others get ready for dinner.

Alzar knocks on the door. A chime sounds and a few moments later, a giant man, too large to fit into the door, answers, and opens it gently, blocking entry. He asks, and Alzar introduces himself and asks to meet with Aman Al-Raqib, if he is home. The man refuses entry this late, but after Alzar produces the bone scroll case with the missing information, the half-giant moves away and let’s Alzar into a waiting area.

After a few moments, Aman Al-Raqib arrives, and introduces himself, and they head to a nearby study and office.

“Welcome to Bralizzar, my friend!”

Alzar produces the bone scroll case with the various items, and Aman places them on the table. Aman and Alzar spend a few minutes with introductions. Aman is a sage and a high level magic-user of some repute, who is a member of the college of wizardry over at Khaibar.

Aman answers some of Alzar’s questions, those that he can. He uncovered a tome penned by Martek, an ancient sage and mage of great repute, and he gives Alzar a basic background of information of what has been happening in the Sand Mire.

996 years ago, the Pharaoh Amun-Re was at the height of his power. He had unified the entire area, including all of the various nations, city states, and more, into one great kingdom centered at Khaibar, the capital city at roughly the center of the region.

Amun-Re was terrible and evil, and wrought the kingdom from the blood and tears of many. He was enabled by fanatical priests, soldiers, fantastic creatures that fought by his side, but most importantly, by an Efreet whose services he had secured. In fact, it was no ordinary Efreet, but one of the Efreet Nobles that Amun-Re commanded.

Martek rallied a powerful rebellion against Amun-Re after he found his Sphere of Power, an artifact said to have tremendous powers. Using the Sphere, Martek drove Amun-Re’s noble Efreet to imprisonment, because even with the artifact, he was unable to kill it. Denuded of his most powerful weapon, Amun-Re was brought down a few months later, and left a death curse that began to blacken the land.

As the death curse began, several powerful and evil magicks were released by powerful but vile mages and monsters that sought to enter the power vacuum left behind by Amun-Re’s passing. Martek was felled, but not before finishing the book Aman is reading. The stress to the various incantations and artifacts rendered the land asunder. Most of the waters dried up, and the land begun to turn infertile. Only one river, coming from a magical fountain in a far off city continued to pour.

Meanwhile, Khaibar, suddenly denuded of many of its people and power was the subject of a large scale attack, in force, by a far-flung enemy, who left off with a huge number of gems, the treasury, and two artifacts, the Cup and Talisman of Al-Akbar. Items never seen from again. With the loss of those artifacts, Khaibar fell into a long hard sleep from which it is only slowly emerging.

Then the Dragon of Shade appeared. Rending the territory mostly west of Khaibar, the Dragon pushed an already falling area even further to the brink and beyond. It scourged the area for years before leaving and never being heard from again.

Today the Sand Mire continues to push and threaten. More and more wells are drying up, the river from the magical foundation long since was stopped. The Mire is full of ruins, tombs, pyramids, and more – the remnants of a civilization long since transformed. The Mire did not yield its secrets easily. Undead from the death of the previous civilizations cling to the sands, and numerous monsters of various sorts have entered the area. The entire ecosystem has morphed into something newer and nastier. Bandits are the easiest of the concerns here in the Sand Mire.

The major threats right now are the growing Mire problems, and the growing strife on the western side of the Sand Mire. Locked in battles against each other in a shifting miasma of alliances, the various tribes of locals out there have begun to unite under a leader calling himself or herself The Master. The Master’s tribes are still growing and swelling, but there are there, and becoming a greater nuisance.

The book penned by Martek tells of a ceremony that must be re-done every 1000 yards in order to keep the noble efreet contained. That was 996 years ago, so soon, it must be redone.

In fact, Aman has just finished deciphering and reading most of the book this past week. There are five mystical gemstones that must be gathered and used along with a ceremony mentioned in the book.

Alzar asks about some other things, like the teleport cubes. They are used by the College to send Aman supplies. They’ll fill up a crate or barrel of something, and then send it on over. Alzar is also interested in learning more of the history of Bralizzar.

This was a sprawling city of around 10000 people about a thousand years ago. It was connected to the Windward Tunnels over by the mountain range that Alzar forged a new path through, A well traveled road, with several forts and towers as well as inns were along the route. After the collapse, the city of Bralizzar was abandoned and remained such for quite some time. A little more than a hundred years ago, the Hek arrived and began to resettle it. They turned it onto a desert waystation of some means. And slowly, over time, others arriving, and now it’s a thriving and growing town of around 1250 or so (around 750 of those actual residents, the rest visiting) at any given point in time.

Bralizzar has to put law first in order to survive. Crimes are treated very seriously, and people coming in with goods from the west gate are required to show trading paper sot enter, to remove the ability to fence raided goods from caravans and merchants.

More than an hour has passed, and Alzar agrees to head back to the tavern for now. They can talk more of stuff in the morning. Aman Al-Raqib stands and shows him to the door.

Alzar returns to a repast of warm food and warmer lighting. After a half-hour or so, Alzar decides that he needs to learn the local language in order to make their way deeper into the Sand Mire.

So he hires a teacher, and after 9 weeks, he has learned the Sand Mire Common tongue. He also pays someone at the temple to remove his curse.

Meanwhile, they have learned a lot about the local area. The western side of Bralizzar includes a narrow route known as Northknife Pass. Northknife Pass becomes rather dangerous after leaving behind the sphere of safety around Bralizzar.

Aman Al-Raqib has entreated Alzar to find and uncover the five gems. He doesn’t know where they are just yet, so he asks Alzar to head to the city of Khaibar, and talk with the College there and connect with them. Alzar can deliver his final missive on this project, having finished the book’s decoding. There’s just too many places that they could be. Plus, there’s time, we have four years to find the gems, the ritual, and more.

Their route from Bralizzar will take them through the Northknife Pass to the full on Sand Mire, and then west and a bit south until they hit Khaibar 11 days later.


They head out the following morning, turning in the Copper Medallions as they do. Alzar rented an apartment in the city, and paying a teacher, providing food, lodgings, and more costs them 1300 GP for the 9 weeks. (That includes the two steeds and guides they picked up from the Hek)


Before leaving they got information on a lot of nearby landmarks once they hit the Sand Mire proper after leaving the Northknife Pass.

They head out and spend a couple of hours leaving behind the sphere of influence of the local town, and their 12 airlancers (They ride Pegasus and help guard the local areas).

Rising abruptly from the wide valley within which Bralizzar lies, the Dustwall forms a formidable barrier to either side as they move along the Pass. Sheer peaks head up on both sides thousands of feet and are virtually unclimbable. The Pass cuts through this barrier. It will continue in switchbacks.

A few more hours pass, and they arrive at a small stream in the pass, with a bit of a ford required to pass it. At the ford it’s about 30 feet wide and not too terribly deep. It takes them an extra half hour to cross, but they do so safely.

After a short while, a solid rock wall of 300 feet high and in front, and suddenly, 8 men appear from the rock wall with arrows and such, and two arrive on the ground to secure items. They bark orders to Alzar’s men to surrender.

Alzar and Tolvar quickly discuss range, and agreeing that they are inside of it, they both cast Sleep and the 8 archers all fall asleep on the ridge above. The two nearby begin to flee and are ridden down and killed by the warriors. They move up and slit the throats of the sleeping bandits. They add some food, ammunitions, and other minor accoutrements to their party, but a Detect Magic spell finds nothing of value among their things.

50 XP for everyone and 22 gp

They continue for a few hours and arrive at Resurrection Spring. Set 50 feet from the path is this bubbling spring. It’s the last water before the Sand Mire, and they stop, drink down some water from the day’s journey and resupply. They ,move to the place they intend to camp, about 200 yards down the path.

Here is a circle of tethering posts standing near a side trail just beneath the summit of the pass. A small cave entrance is here, and it’s been widened into a larger cave to use as a place to stay. They begin to tether their animals, feed and water them, and more.

As they begin to cook dinner, they see a group of figures down-hill to the north coming towards them. Humanoid. It’s a group of travelers coming back from the Sand Mire, and they are moving to stay in the same place as Alzar’s group. They each share stories, and guard duty as well. The desert right now is windy, dry, and marked with shifting sands.

They break camp, refill their waterskins from Resurrection Spring, and head out into the Sand Mire.

As they leave Northknife Pass, they can see the pyramid tomb of Amun-Re far off. They are going to be using a main Sandvoyager Trail with a variety of posts along the route.

A few hours into the second day out they come across a large flock of desert kites (scavenger birds sort of like vultures) and they head off the trail to investigate. There are a few dead giant scorpions here, killed with weapons by a party that moved further from the road. They head back.

There are a variety of landmarks near-ish them, such as the Sunken City of Pazar, the lost town of Terbakar which used to be the first city in the area from Bralizzar. They can almost make out the Oasis of the White Palm off to the north as well. Ruins dot the landscape in small and large quantities.

Night falls, they encamp and the first day in the Sand Mire passes uneventfully. That night is so cold though that some of the animals almost get frostbitten, and they have to get out and warm them up.

As dawn breaks, they move out. An hour after starting, strong gusts arrive, and they have lost the next marker in the shifting sands. Alzar and Pahtun meet for a bit and agree on the right direction to follow, and wind up correct, a half mile later the marker appears.

They come across a party of six local Dervishes, on a quest to return a holy item to a forgotten reliquary. Out here Alzar has heard of an actual dervish class that some locals take, separate from others. These six and his party stop for a moment and have lunch together. They were just at the Oasis of Akhir, to the south., but on their route. It was clear of any enemy and such. That oasis is where they’ll stop and get more water.

As the day ends, they stop and pack it in, taking more care to keep the animals warm from the beginning.

Day four arrives, and the sky is covered in clouds, and the day is not as parching hot as the others. But as they continue, one of the camels suddenly panics for no known treason and runs off to the north, breaking its tether.

After a hundred feet or so, it hits a sinkhole in the sand and begins to fall in, crying for aid. Alzar and Pashtun race to it, using expert riding to bring it in. They fail to do so, but Alzar manages to cut most of the luggage free and secure it with Gilded Ears (not heavy enough to cause the sinkhole to collapse).

They lose half of their food to the sinkhole, and will have to rely more on Alzar’s magic items from the Bone Hill that produce food daily. He prefers to use that only when needed. It will be now.

Nothing else happens, and they never find out what happened to the camel (it was a psionic predator under the sands that fed on it after it fell into the sinkhole).

Tonight they find the Oasis of Akhir empty as they were informed by the dervishes, and they set up camp, taking care. Protecting water is vital since many predators will attack. They set up a double guard, but nothing strikes. They even find some food with the local plants to add to their quickly diminishing stockpile, as well as the load up of water.

In two days they should pass through the Gates of Sule, two twin pillars of stone that flank the road to Khaibar.

That day is relatively quiet until mid afternoon, when a dust devil hits. They head for cover and a column of yellow-grey sand can be seen from about 5 miles away. It begins to move towards Alzar’s group and they have everyone huddle down. It will pass within 1 or 2 miles. As it does, smaller dust devils break off, and some come towards the party and are a few hundred yards away, but ultimately it dies down.

After the storm leaves, there are predators that move out, seeing what was disturbed or killed. Several are scavengers, looking for dead animals, and they leave the party, quite alive, alone.

They are only delayed by an hour and a half and continue on the journey, since the Dust Devil revealed more signposts than they thought were there for the Sandvoyagers.

The next day passes uneventfully, at as it ends, they reach the Gates of Sule.

In the night though, a band of beetles crack across the night, and come after Gilded Ears, on guard duty with Alzar. Gilded Ears is even faster and scurries away, and Alzar’s Vampiric Touch kills one and the others move off.

25 XP for Alzar



The next day, a group of Pegasus Airlancers from Khaibar arrive in the sky to fight against a wyvern, and they slay it. It falls to the ground fall away. They fly around the path to keep it free for travels, and a Sandvoyager Caravan passes them headed to Bralizzar.


As they get closer and closer to the city, things are safer and safer.


End of I3, Pyramid for now.

So as I mentioned before, I sort of smashed together all of the various details of many different supplements to crate the backstory for this. I made the Efreet in Desert of Desolation a noble one to make it more powerful (and you can find out more about Noble Efreet in the Al-Qadim MC). I included some of College of Wizardry in there and snuck in a reference or two for Bastion of Faith. I smashed Al’Akbar and Desert of Desolation together hard core. It’s like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I’ve made some changes to the basic plotline as well. For example, in Desert, the time of the ceremony is right now, so you have to do it right now, and Aman won’t take no for an answer and forces you to begin the quest for the gemstones, and knows where they are. I made him a member of the College of Wizardry in order to fit that adventure/supplement into my campaign in Khaibar.

Beginning of I9. The Day of Al’Akbar




This is going to be our major place of rest. Our home base for most of the upcoming uber-campaign. In Day, there is a city called Khaibar. It’s so important, that the adventure comes with a huge map of the city. I mean huge. It’s so important to the module, that the city takes up almost the entire module.

Now here’s the thing. This is a hard module based on level and type of enemies faced. So I won’t be doing the module, just introducing Khaibar from it, and then doing the actual adventure later.

The module, and Desert, include a lot of random encounters, and I’ll mix them up from both to suit the story and area. The ones in Day are a lot nastier for the surrounding area. I’ll begin the storyline with the encounter in the desert later in the campaign. For now, we are using this as a base of operations, much like we used Tangaroa on the Isle of Dread or Arjuna.

Published in 1986, I really like the story because of how it’s a fun higher level version of an old-school adventure that creates a town or city for you to build around, or use as you have need. It does have a bit of a ham-jam opening to force you to do stuff, but the DM certainly doesn’t have to do any of that crap.

About a mile from the city of Khaibar Alzar and crew begin to smell the salty sebkhas of a long-decayed sewer and water management setting. Everything in the region appears to be in a state of long-decline and decay. The sun is setting and a great walled city rises up above the final hamada. A city that used to be home for almost a 50,000 is now down to 12,500 on a good day. But it’s the only major city here in the Sand Mire, and it still stands, even after raids, and conditions, both strong and weak. Ebb and flow.

The city of Khaibar is a ghost of its former self. It’s darker, danker, smellier, and dirtier. It has a small army of what are mostly brigands led by a local named Al’Farzikh, and a thieves guild. The only major force of note is the Airlancers and a handful of high quality guardsman that are supported by the Sandvoyagers and their profit, rather than Khaibar proper.

They could enter the city via the sewers if they wanted. But instead, Alzar and party make their way to the city gate of Khaibar on the south side. We can leave the sewers for later….


Goods and services come in from this gate via caravans and such, and the brigands/army/guard here on watch require a bribe of 10gp each to allow Alzar’s party access to the city.

After paying they enter. The edges of the city are mostly abandoned, clearly a theme among inhabited areas in the Sand Mire.

Welcome to the seedy city of Khaibar. No central ruler, led by brigands, guilds, merchants, and whorehouses. It is what remains of a once mighty empire 996 years ago, clinging to a vestige of life.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other things around. Outside the city walls is the College of Wizardry, and there are others in here trying to fight the good fight, such as some local temples known as the Bastion of Faith.

Right by the gate is Farah’s Funeral House, and then the Prison. Multiple inns and taverns line the road. They head into one of the better looking ones, The Drowsing Djinni Fonduk. (A Fonduk is a sort of hostel for merchants).

The tavernkeeper is Walid of the Green Fez who greets them and a barmaid, Yasminah, comes over and takes their orders. They have dates and chaksukah stew in-between meals right now that Alzar’s party agrees too. The water is fresher than usual and cheap too, and the food isn’t that bad considering.

They set up some rooms for the night here and then Alzar moves on while they eat.

A few doors down is the Golden Crescent Bakery, and Alzar fails his save and is forced to enter the shop. He does so and there are delicious smells and aromas, and delightful cakes. He is forced to buy and eat a cake at a very high price (10 silver). He makes the save afterwards, and won’t be forced to buy more and more. Two brownies are serving the cakes here.

Alzar inquires about them, and after making sure their owner isn’t here they tell their story. They were enslaved by an evil spellcaster to make her cakes and money. They were captured in a forest far from here, and then a witch from Khaibar, arriving for some spell ingredients, saw the baked goods and released they were magical. Seeing the commercial potential, she geas’ed them and brought them back. They have been making these cakes for 7 months now. Alzar makes his spellcraft roll and knows that only a wish can break a geas. He tells them he can’t cast the spell necessary to free them.

Of course another way to break a geas is simply to kill the witch.

Alzar spends some time looking at baked goods, and she arrives around a half-hour later. He watches her closely for a bit before he retires, and he eats some cakes and drinks some goats milk to wash them down to cover his presence.

Alzar returns to the tavern and speaks to the local party. He tells them about his plan to kill the witch. She doesn’t look that powerful. After questioning, the brownies mentioned she read the geas spell off a scroll, he’s not that sure she can cast 5th level magic.

If they have the advantage, they can win, he thinks.

They move closer to the shop, and he rings things in.

After waiting the right moment, with everyone in position, he nods to the brownies, and they duck.

His troupe attacks first, but the spells take some time, and Alzar and Tolvar are casting quickly, Alzar Vampiric Touch and Tolvar Melf’s Acid Arrow. She hears and begins to cast a spell, and she is a bit quicker, and her Invisibility spell checks in. Alzar can see through it, finishes, and Vampiric Touches her. She takes 11 damage. Tolvar can’t get his spell through. Volcifar uses Dispel Magic from his Ring of Spell Storing and dispels the Invisibility. Attacks by Pashtun and Locinda miss.


The next turn, she wins init again and casts Evard’s Black Tentacles right behind Alzar and Pashtun and Locinda and in front of Volcifar and Tolvar. It’s a perfect placement and numerous tentacles strike out and attack. Alzar takes 11, and Tolvar 4 and Volcifar 4.

41/51 – Alzar
6/10 – Tolvar
15/19 – Volcifar

After taking the damage, Tolvar finishes the Acid Arrow this time and hits her for 5 damage. Alzar casts Dispel Magic to destroy the Tentacles. Locinda and Pashtun both carve into the mage for 7 more damage. She just has an AC of 8.

Next turn Alzar’s team wins init.

She makes her save when he casts Continual Light on her eyes. But Tolvar’s Magic Missile finishes her off and she dies.

1050 XP for everyone

A cast of Detect Magic finds the cloak and two wands on her glowing, and nothing else in the shop, her room behind it, or on her.

The brownies are freed. They do a search to find good stuff quickly.

100 gp
9500 in gems sewn into cloak

Over the next few days they will find these magical items:

Cloak of Protection +2
Buckler Wand
Wand of Salt, 22 charges

The Wand of Salt produces powerful cramps and thirst pangs in any who are struck by the beam. – 2d6 damage, save vs half each round until a full round is spend drinking water. You can also use it to defoliate a 50x50 foot square section of land. Both uses take one charge. Made of saltsteel, a magically hardened salt, and overlaid with sand. It’s use is considered evil.

Buckler Wand? Can lengthen and essentially become a +1 dagger, or can turn into a spiked bucker +1 which can be used by wizards, and can even be used while casting a spell if, say, the user is a wizard/fighter and can access both. As a duel class, Alzar can use the spiked buckler and cast a spell too, when he levels up high enough to use those abilities again.

She had the wand poisoned as well, in case she needed to stab someone with it.

Crescent Witch Spellbook: To be decoded later:

1st – Run, Burning Hands, Charm Person, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Identify, Charm Person, Shocking Grasp
2nd – Invisibility, Stinking Cloud, Darkness 15’ Radius, Baltar’s Lightening, Knock
3rd – Genie Contract, Protection from Good, 10’ Radius, Lightning Bolt, Dispel Magic
4th – Evard’s Black Tentacles, Unburn

Unburn will reverse the damage that fire did to something. It has a large radius, unburns for up to a day using the rules of fire, and restores things permanently. It’s a funky lil’ spell that Alzar might be interested in someday. It will also undo rust and tarnish as well.

Alzar won’t open it until he’s done a lot of Dispel Magics on it.

The town guard, such as they are, arrive on the scene about an hour after the battle is over, the items secure, and Alzar’s party is back eating. The brownies have fled back home using faerie travel.


They spend the night at their Fonduk quietly, and Volcifar heads out to explore and find the local thieves guild and “check in.” Most guilds don’t like solo thieves in their city. He hasn’t been to Khaibar, but it’s probable they follow the same rules.

I'm going to pause a moment and adding a little place to use as a guideline for the ongoing Sand Mire campaign. I'll come back and edit it as things change - one stop shop!

Sand Mire Info Post:


Party –

Alzar – Main Guy

Pashtun – Warrior from deserts near Arjuna
Volcifar – Thief who joined the party in Phraya
Tolvar – Conjurer who joined the party in Phraya
Locinda – Half/orc warrior who joined the party in Phraya

Gilded Ears – Jackal familiar of Alzar
Aegis - Stone Golem made of onyx, controlled by Alzar


Major Characters in Sand Mire –



Historical –

Amun-Re – Pharaoh who united the area, whose reign ended with a death curse that began the Sand Mire, 996 years ago
Martek – Ancient Sage/Mage who fought against Amun-Re, and who’s book tells of how to keep the noble Efreet of Amun-Re imprisoned.
Kalitharius -Ancient and powerful Efreet of the nobility that served Amun-Re, and was imprisoned by Martek.
Lyzandred the Mad – The most powerful of the people to try and carve an empire after the immediate fall of Amun-Re.
Dargeshaad – The second most successful of people to try and carve an empire, fought against ancient version of College of Wizardry
Daffyd – Ancient prophet that inspired the Bastion of Faith, servant of Khshathra, God of the Perfect Society
Kahabros - Self-styled Lord of Evil and fought against Daffyd, servant-cleric of Hextor.
Dragon of Shades – Massive desolation one of the contributing factors to creation of Sand Mire
Queen Aneksi – Long dead and long forgotten -queen who ruled hundreds of years before Amun-Re a smaller nation
St. Hosadus - Holy man in Sind-theology who helped to forge the small nation by fighting against the evil remnants of Amun-Re's kingdom, before leaving.

Current –

Aman Al-Rafiq – Sage/scholar in Bralizzar, guild wizard with College of Wizardry
Japheth Arcane – Founder and guildmaster of College of Wizardry.
Dhakiy Dreschul – Transmuter, guild wizard in College, Alzar’s sponsor
Dirganun - Regent in College, in charge of archeology and missions

Sheikh Alzar – Sheikh of Kasbah of Ber-Gathy
Xanaphon – High Priest of Temple of Nabilah in Ber-Gathy
Skarda – Wizard whose mirror is used to turn people into energy

Master – Currently building power bases in western part of Sand Mire, bringing nomad tribes together

Nadia – Wife of Retameron, wizard, associate with College, lives in Khaibar
Retameron – Solider, husband of Nadia, lives in Khaibar
Walid of the Green Fez – Proprietor of Drowsing Djinni Fonduk in Khaibar
Ibrahim of Ul’Tabarzin - Proprietor of Ibrahim;s Mint Tea Parlor in Khaibar
Al’Farzikh – “Sultan” of Khaibar, leader of the local brigands and such
Vahtak Bey – Guildmaster of Thieves Guild in Khaibar

Kassim Arslan - Sheikh of the Oasis of the White Palm


Major Places:


Bralizzar – Small but well-run outpost on border of Hek territory, far east of Sand Mire
Khaibar – Former capital of Amun-Re’s kingdom, now dilapidated city
Ber-Gathy – Small, but growing, outpost along the Oued Khaud north of Khaibar
Great Erg of Arir – Name of desert around Khaibar.
Ak’Ridar – Village in the caldera of a volcano, with a lot of trade and an oasis
Oasis of the White Palm - One of the major encampments on the eastern part of the north Sand Mire.
Sind - Small nation in the north-west of the Sand Mire, home of the Master

Minor Places:

College of Wizardry – Home of the Arcane Order of Enchantment and Exposition, outside of Khaibar
Bastion of Faith – Military-minded temple of Khshathra, western edge of Khaibar
Pyramid of the Illustrious One – Burial place of Aneksi
Gates of Sule – Two major pillars of rock pushed together in the sand
Sunken City of Pazar – Eastern part of Sand Mire, just a few days south-ish of Bralizzar.
City of the Dead – Number of mastabas near the Nairotan settlement.
Prama - Village a few days north of Kasbah of Ber-Gathy
Magden - Small Village in Sind, on the far side of the Great Pass.


Outside the Sand Mire Proper:


Shalfey, Elder Sage of the Tower of the Heavens

He locals hear of the magic battle and death of the witch, so they aren’t looking to hassle with Alzar and his group, certainly not yet. Volcifar comes back after a couple of hours having met with a lower level official in the guild and checking in. a thief named Vahtak Bey runs the guild here. He finds out that there have been some disturbances recently near an old tower in the southeast corner of the city.

Alzar and company find out more about the surrounding area. Nearby Khaibar, the Sand Mire is called the Great Erg of Arir. (Erg is a great sandy desert). They purchase a map of the area from Walid of the Green Fez, who always keeps a few in stock for travelers.

The merchant’s trail of the Sandvoyagers passes through Khaibar, and then heads north to the Sidi-Hakeim Oasis and Bir-Muktar Oasis before arriving at the Kasbah of Ber-Gathy. It also heads west to the points closer to the land currently controlled by the Master and his growing horde of tribes.

North there there is a small, barely noticeable stream called the Oued Khalid, where most of the locals get their water. It’s dirty and unfiltered, and fun by a underground spring. The Oued Khalid runs by the Kasbah and heads back towards the city of Khaibar, passing almost three miles away. Underground tunnels were built to connect it to the city proper.

Another Kasbah is to the south, but it’s been abandoned, where Ber-Gathry, about four days away, is still inhabited.

Behind Khaibar is Mount Djebilat, and to the south is the Bab-el Djebel Oasis on the Sandvoyager’s trail to points further south.

They begin to move out and explore the city more….

Let me give you current Alzar!

Alzar on Hamedh
7th level Fighter (Myrmidon), 5th level Path Mage (Fivefold Mage)

Lawful Evil
Human

Str: 17
Dex: 12
Con: 10
Wis: 15
Int: 21
Cha: 17

Hit Points: 51
THACO: 14 as Fighter, 19 as Mage
AC: 10
Total XP: 27125 (Level 6 at 40000)
Age 56, Body - 22

Race Abilities:

None Taken

Class Abilities (Cannot use as Fivefold Mage without losing XP gain):

Specialization
Leadership (Alzar can command the tactics, strategy, logistics and more that a large force requires)
3 attacks every 2 rounds


Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

Myrmidon Bonus:

Tactical History 14
Fire-Building 16

Riding 11
Swimming 12
Reading/Writing 15
Survival 14
Blind Fighting
Etiquette 13
Endurance
Heraldry 14
Hunting 10
Fishing 14
Weather Knowledge 10
Orienteering 15

As a Necromancer/Fivefold Mage

Necrology 17
Netherworld Knowledge 14
Herbalism 14
Alchemy 15
Poison Use 11
Ancient Languages 10
Spellcraft 12
Ancient History – 14
Bookbinding – 16
Papermaking - 16
Sage Knowledge: Outer Planes, Inner Planes – 13
Divining: 15
Genie Lore: 16
Riding, Specialization: 10

Languages – Thorasian - Typic, Sis’sharr, UnderTypic, Kuo-Toa; Hamedhi – Arjuni, Sand Mire Common,


Traits:

Empathy
Fast Healer
Precise Memory
Obscure Knowledge


Weapon Proficiencies:

Bonus Kit Specialization:

Battle Axe

Battle Axe
One Handed Weapon Style x2 (-2 AC when using one weapon in combat)
Crossbow
Battle Axe Weapon Mastery
Spear
Dagger

Total with normal battle axe - +3 to hit, +3 to damage, -2 to AC. An additional +1 with the axe and +1 damage for strength


Staff – Can only use this as a Necromancer, +1


Class Ability:

1). Alzar can control undead as an evil Priest of the same level, and this ability extends to extra planar beings which are considered undead with the same hit dice for this purpose.
2). One Extra Spell/Level is Gained, must be Path.
3). Fivefold Mages reduce the spell level by one when researching spells in The Path.
4). Chance to Learn spell in The Path increased by +15%
5). Saving Throw of Targets when targeted by spells from The Path at -1.
6). No more than one spell per level can be from the group: Abjuration, Alteration, Alchemy and Geometry barring a highly unusual and temporary circumstance.
7). Fivefold Mage must invest a focus item as the method through which magic is cast. (Alzar’s Father’s Ring)
8). Must have a lab and library and workbench with 1,000 gp value per level, and an upkeep of 50 gp/level/month
9). They can store spells like an Artificer, but cannot begin to do so until level 6
10). Fivefold Mages have a chance to identify a magical item by spending a turn peering at it closely and examining it - chance is their level times 5.
11). Fivefold Mages never suffer from a negative reaction penalty due to controlling or animating undead.


Immune to starvation

Stuff:

4200 gp
1195 pp


Gems: Topaz – 100 gp ; Ruby – 500gpx2; 10 gems – 50 gp each; 9500 generic gems;



Jewelry: Random jewelry worth 28100; Emerald Headband – 300 gp ; Ivory Earrings – 120 gp ; Ruby Necklace – 750 gp ; Gold Armbands, 500 gp ; Ruby Pendant – 900 gp ; Silver Belt Buckle – 100 gp ; Ivory and Jet Ram’s Head Amulet – 550 gp ; Pair of Diamond Earrings – 2000 gp ; Platinum Belt – 1500 gp ; Emerald Bead Necklace – 500 gp ; Necklace of Black Pearls, 4000 gp ;


Objet d’arts: 4 Gold Rods, 85 gp each ; 4 Silver Plates, 100 gp each ; Silver Comb and Brush set – 100 gp
Ornate Perfume Bottle – 50 gp ; Rare Pottery – 500 gp ; Relics from Neconolis – 1000 gp total ; Rock Crystal Bottle Stopper – 75 gp ; Silver Dagger with Ivory Handle – 250 go ; Gold Studded Leather Armor – 500 gp ; Coral Carved Horse Statuette – 550 gp ; Gem-laced elephant bridle – 1550 gp ; Jeweled Dagger – 1500 gp ; Silver Incense Burner – 600 gp ;




Books and Library:

6000 gp library, generally
History of the Badlands Tribes (20 gp)
Encyclopedia of Local Plants (50 gp)
Diary of the Wizard, Zelligar
Meteorological Phenomena of Hamedh (75 gp)
Tribal History of this Duergar Clan
Yaghoub’s Journal
Three books of magical history
Illustrated Bestiary (250 gp)
Book on history of tower and residents
11 books on the nature of demi-humans – 250 gp
Creation of the Shade
100 Books from Bone Hill Study
Neconilis’s Book of Horrors
Deed worth 950 gp
Surrisk’s notes on undead, necromancy, and a spell Undead Familiar
1000 gp library of 300 general purpose books from Dungeon in Desert


Laboratory:

6000 gp lab generally
500 gp equipment from Dungeon in Desert


Magic Items:

Proficient Staff
Staff – 10 charges, Dancing Lights, Light for 1 charge, Lightning Bolt, 4d12 damage, 2 charges, Spark – 2d10, 1 charge – 30’ away
Staff of Healing, 24 charges, (1 charge for Cure Blindness, Disease, 2 for Cure Serious, Neutralize Poison)
+1 Pesh-kabz, Short Bow, Daggerx2, Gada, Club, Heavy Crossbow, Yataghan, Sling, Tulwar, Shamshir,
+2 Battleaxe, Flail
+2 Trombash of Returning ; Spear, +1, +2 vs Giants, +3 vs Orcs, Ogres ;
+1 Shield, +3 Shield
+2 Chainmail, +2 Leather Armor, Plate Mail,

Potion of Levitation, Neutralize Poison, Diminution, White Dragon Control, Poison, Infravision, Invisibilityx7, Invulnerability; Gaseous Formx2, Vampire Control, Growth, Sweet Water, Speed, Extra Healingx2, Polymorph Self
Keoghtom's Ointment – 3 applications left
Wizard Spell Scroll: Create Spectral Wizard, Summon Shadow, Erase, Dispel Magic, Fire Shield, Strength, Dimension Door, Fly, Protection from Evil, 10’ Radius, Elonia’s Glamer.
Cleric Spell Scroll: Prayer, Commune, Cure Critical Wounds, Spiritual Hammer, Prayer, Detect Lie, Tongues, Create Food and Water, Cure Serious Wounds, Neutralize Poison,
Scroll - Protection from Undead, Possession

Wand of Frost –2 charges; Wand of Salt, 22 charges;
Wand of Metal and Mineral Detection – 43 charges ; Wand of Wonder, 67 charges ;
Buckler Wand

Medallion of Defense
Amulet of Neconilis x3
Ring of Protection +1, Chameleon Nature; Cantrips; Quick Action; Warmth; Coolness; Free Action ;
Helmet of Underwater Action
Rock Jellaba
Scarab of Venom
Bracers of Defense: AC 7
Dusty Rose Ioun Stone - +1 AC
Magic Jelly Beans – 1 Grey, 2 Green, 2 Orange, 3 Yellow (G Cube), 2 White (Crystal Ooze), 2 Black
Boots of Varied Tracks; Sandals of Speed
Cloak of Protection +2; Cloak of Poisonousness (Cursed)
Girdle of Ogre Strength

2 Tubes of Dust of Appearance
Incense of Enlightenment; 2 Blocks of Incense of Meditation;

Folding Boat

Crucible of Melting ; Lens of Speed Reading ; Honing Stone 6 charges;
Pearl of Power, 2nd level

Bronze Horn of Valhalla, summons 2d4 Neutral Evil, level 2 fighters, AC4, 15 hp, spear or sword. Can only be blown by N, NE, LE, or CE Priest or Warrior.

Metal Platter (Beef, Lamb, Turkey, Pheasant) for four people once/day; Mug (Beer, Ale, Mead) six/day; Pitcher (Water, Tea, Wine), three/day.


Unusual Items:

Brass Dragon Skin; Gold Flecked Ruby from Gold Dragon – 1000 gp; Strands from a Memory Web ; 4 Debbi Hides; Various Nasnas Parts;

Silver Knife, Spear
Crossbow, 50 bolts
Flask of Sleep Water
Multiple Vials of Poison
Destroyed and burned out Ioun stone

2 Divining Rods
Focus - Signet Ring


5 blank scroll pages, ready to be used
Many bottles of scroll ink
Wand, crafted ready to be enchanted

Alzar’s Spellbook:


1st Level:

Cantrip
Charm Person
Chill Touch
Comprehend Languages
Create Divining Rod
Detect Magic
Detect Undead
Emrikol’s Question
Find Familiar
Hypnosis
Identify
Protection from Good
Read Magic
Sleep
Wizard Mark


2nd level:

Baltar’s Lightening
Continual Light
Death Armor
Ghoul Touch
Hold Person (Hamedhi)
Knock
Locate Object
Skeletal Hands
Spectral Hand
Unpickable Lock
Wizard Lock


3rd Level:

Bewilder
Dispel Magic
Genie Contract
Hold Undead
Lesser Rhabdomancy
Vampiric Touch


4th Level:

Charm Monster
Dig
Rary’s Mnemonic Enhancer

5th

Animate Dead
Conjure Water Elemental
Greater Rhabdomancy
Summon Shadow



Other Spellbooks:
A blank spellbook

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

Piyarz’s Book – Detect Magic, Find Familiar, Light, Magic Missile, Read Magic, Sleep, Baltar’s Lightening, Magic Mouth, Locate Object, Tongues, Rary;s Mnemonic Enhancer

Lurg’s Book – Detect Illusion, Detect Magic, Emrikol’s Question, Identify, Phantasmal Force, Read Magic, Wizard Mark, Non-Detection, Illusionary Script

Porro’s Book – Change Self, Color Spray, Dancing Lights, Find Familiar, Detect Magic, Identify, Light, Read Magic, Wizard Mark, Hypnotic Pattern, Misdirection, Knock

Cipolla’s Book – Detect Magic, Read Magic, Sand Jambiya, Tensor’s Floating Disk, Wall of Fog, Invisibility, Ventriloquism


Spellbook destroyed by rat, just one spell left – Levitate (remnants of book were procured and owned)

Neconolis Spellbook:

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


Spellbooks not Decoded:


Telvar’s Spellbook – Will be a while before this is up and ready to be read:

1st Level – Cloud Ladder, Charm Person, Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Read Magic, Identify, Sleep, Shocking Grasp
2nd Level – Darkness, 15’ Radius; ESP, Flying Fist, Invisibility, Levitate, Detect Invisibility, Magic Mouth, Wizard Lock
3rd Level – Dispel Magic, Fire Ball, Fly, Protection from Normal Missiles, Feign Death, Monster Summoning I, Leomund;s Tiny Hut, Scintillating Sphere
4th – Rary;s Mnemonic Enhancer, Wizard Eye

Crescent Witch Spellbook: To be decoded later:

1st – Run, Burning Hands, Charm Person, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Identify, Charm Person, Shocking Grasp
2nd – Invisibility, Stinking Cloud, Darkness 15’ Radius, Baltar’s Lightening, Knock
3rd – Genie Contract, Protection from Good, 10’ Radius, Lightning Bolt, Dispel Magic
4th – Evard’s Black Tentacles, Unburn


Alzar’s Others:


Undead:
3 Coffer Corpses
6 Ghoulstirges
Multiple Ghouls, Zombies, Skeletons

X12. Skarda’s Mirror






I’ve decided to swap this module up now for what I was expecting the next one to be. I think it makes more sense to run Skarda’s Mirror as opposed to anything else just yet. I’m making incredible changes the beginning in order to facilitate running it later.

Published in 1987, it’s not exactly an earth-shattering module, but hopefully it will work.

Three days later they head out to check out the tower Volcifar heard about.

They get some info first. This tower is the home of Retameron and his wife Nadia. They are an old adventuring couple, fighter and mage, from way back ,now in their mid-40s. She is a minor associate with the Wizard’s College. Neither have been seen for months.

A strange beast has been using the Tower as a home and over the last few days, has struck at locals, and there have been two deaths.

Alzar added Dispel Magic back into Volcifar’s Ring of Spell Storing, and the group has prepared. A local sage was hired to do some additional research. One of the many fallen artifacts of the ancient kingdom was a mirror that was used by many people, and recently Skarda. Skarda found it decades ago, and used it to absorb many peasants, and soldiers alike. The legends tell that the mirror absorbs the life essence of people, and uses it to strengthen the user, Skarda. About five years ago, Retameron and Nadia found and took down Skarda and ended the scourge, but the Mirror was not heard from since. Could it be in their Tower?

The tower is a ordinary stonework design, but it’s well defended, with battlements, windows only high up, and a wall that surrounds it. A good home for a fighter, likely. There is a gate in the wall, and it’s wide open and a stables can be seen inside.

They choose to head right on in, but cautiously, with various folks scouting and being careful. They knock, and there are no answers. The door is big double doors. They are not locked, and are pushed open.

They arrive at an antechamber with doors front, right and left, and on the floor off the small room is a large triangular piece of mirror-glass. Meanwhile the doors to the front are torn of their hinges and evince signs of recent use. Untouched dust piled in front of the other two suggests they have not been used much recently.

They slow down an investigate the mirror-glass. As they do, Locinda turns to make sure the other areas are covered and her back is turned to the mirror. Suddenly a baboon like creature appears in the mirror, crystallizes in the air, slashes at her back, hit her for 7 damage, and then falls back into the mirror and disappears.


Alzar orders the mirror broken immediately. If this is Skarda’s Mirror, it broke way too easily. It must have been something else. There is nothing else here, and they push into the forward room

Locinda – 24/31

There is a large stairwell leading up here, and is very broad and gentle. There are doors to the right and left, closed. They head right and open into a hallway and then forward into a wine cellar. Delicately balanced on a rack of wines is a large squarish piece of mirror-glass.

From the door, Alzar grabs his crossbow and in two shots has broken the mirror. Again, a search turns up nothing, and wines here don’t appear to be that valuable.

They explore other rooms on the floor, to the left is a waiting room with tapestries draped on the walls and a comfortable sofa and chairs. And a mirror –glass on the wall, quite large, is again, broken from range. As they do that, they hear a roar, and from a room off the hallway comes that baboon-looking creature and it arrives to hit the party, swings and misses on Volcifar, and then puffs away.

They break the mirror of a common hall as well, the final room here on this floor is a dry goods storage room, where they have large amounts of cloth, leathers, seasoned incense, and grains and such. Propped on a wooden chair with a broken leg is a medium-sized chunk of mirror glass, turned to face the doorway and close to it. As they open the door, the creature appears in the glass, appears behind the party, and attacks Volcifar, carving him for 4 damage, and again disappears back to the mirror, and then somewhere else.

They move into the room after breaking the glass and under some leathers a growling noise can be heard. Setting up positions, out from the leathers leaps a baboon-like creature, howling for their throats.

It wins init and strikes Alzar in the front once with a bite for 3 damage. The group doles out 17 back from a few weapons and it dies.

They check it out and it’s actually just a rock baboon. Not their real foe.

Alzar – 48/51
Volcifar – 15/19

Nothing else is here and they move up to the second level.

There is no mirror on the first or second floor stairs. The stairs continue up, but they get off here at a hallway that walks all the way around the floor, with 8 doors leading to rooms off it. They appear to be a bunch of bunkrooms for soldiers, and then a pair of officers bedrooms, and then a mess for them. They weren’t used in quite some time save for guests or something. There are mirrors in each of them, all broken, and all too far from the door to allow for another ambush until they reach the eighth room.

In the last room, a kitchen, the mirror is just inside the door, facing the party, and again, and ambush appears and hits Volcifar for another 5 damage before disappearing. Alzar had switched the party order, but knowing who the wounded person was, it attacked the same again on the left flank. Now Alzar moves Volcifar to the middle.

Volcifar – 10/19


They head upstairs, and again, there are no mirrors in the stairs. They arrive on a floor with an identical layout as before, a hallway that wraps around the floor, this time with 6 doors. There are two that have food storage, and the glasses are broken, and agan, the creature pops from a mirror in another room and races down, this time prepared, they hit it with a Magic Missile from Tolvar and it takes 8 damage. They miss with weapons and it hits Pashtun twice in the rear for 7 damage before disappearing.

Pashtun – 31/38

Most of the rest of the floor are servants quarters and a planning room. The final is a military office that has a chair with a mirror on it, again really clos,e and the creature pops and does its ambush again. Volcifar is in the middle and it chooses not to appear in the middle of the group and enable a lot of attacks, and instead goes after Pashtun again in the rear, and hits once for 3 more damage

Pashtun -28/38

There is nothing of note in any of these rooms, and they head up to the 4th floor, and again, the stairs seem to continue upwards. This time we have eight doors in the wrap-around-me hallway of happiness and ambushing.

Alzar gets Tolvar to ready his Melf’s Acid Arrow spell and prepare in case of another appearance of their foe. The find another antechamber, and beyond it another kitchen, with a meals for the higher quality residents on the top of the tower. There are tables, a nice set of cooking areas, and a large mirror that they break from long range, no problem.

There is a horde of rats that are here, and they flee as the party pushes into the kitchen. They scurry back under wherever they were before. The next room is a cook’s quarter’s and there is a shard of glass, close by, and the baboon-like creature appears, and then is hit by Melf’s Acid Arrow as it arrives at the rear to strike at Pashtun, and hits once for 5 damage this turn and 6 the next. Meanwhile Pashtun takes 4 from some claws. As expected, it pops back out.

Pashtun – 24/38

There is some more food storage on the floor, and servants quarters. But the mirrors are finished from range.

They head up the stairs to the final floor.

They arrive at a defensive corridor that is the last defense for the tower. Bars are set across the area, but the rear one is smashed. No glass here. A hallway opens up, and they take a door that appears to be a scribe’s bedchamber. After destroying the glass here, there are various tools of the trade here, long since unused. A body, dead for at least a week, is here, the first sign of anyone non-baboon being here recently. There is nothing found after searching.

The next door is the chamber of one appears to have been a head servant, like a headmistress, and another body of an older woman is in here. There mirror here was already broken on their arrival, and besides the body, in shards. Nothing of note here either.

Next are two guest quarters, and another attack-and-fade occurs after the creature Alzar has named the Mirror Monkey arrives, and then misses, and disappears. There is blood in one of the two quarters, but no bodies.

At the rear hall is a broken door, that leads to another room which has racks of more expensive looking wine, and a mirror, destroyed from the hallway. There are apelike footprints in the dust of this room from around the mirror, and nothing else of note.

They pass a few hatches to the roof but skip them for now. They find a large bedroom that was likely Retameron and Nadia’s. It has expensive effects and a large mirror on the bed, and the Mirror Monkey shows up, but quicker now they break from range before it can leave the mirror. It takes 4 damage from the breaking mirror.


That forces the creature out of the Mirror and they begin combat against it.

The creature, (A Mirror Fiend actually) moves to attack Pashtun on the right, already wounded, and wins initiative and hits for 5 damage. Alzar uses Vampiric Touch on it for 14 damage and is fully healed. Only Locinda hits the creature for 3 damage from her +1 khanda.


Pashtun 19/38

After taking a lot more damage than it dealt out, it chooses to disappear again.

A door from the bedroom heads to a small treasury, with one gold coin in the corner and a mirror-glass here as well. They break it from range and there apparently used to be chests and such in here, but were all taken out a few months ago.

Back to the hallway, the next door leads to a practice chamber for a fighter. It’s probably Retameron;s, and it has no furniture, just a few targets, weapons on racks, and a few practice dummies. The mirror in here is on the ceiling, and they destroy it.

The final room on the floor is a chamber where Nadia apparently conducted her magical experiments and trains apprentices. There are rock-slab tables, with a variety of laboratory equipment for Nadia, as well as multiple books cases with books piling high. There are some metal storage jars on shelves and the room is the largest in the tower.

There is a glass mirror on the eastmost table. As they begin to fire weapons at it, a quartet of Stirges flies down to attack the party.

Missiles weapons already in hand kill two before they arrive, and they stab out and one attaches to Tolvar for 4 damage and begins to suck his blood.

They kill the one sucking his blood next turn, and the other flies up as the Mirror Fiend pops out of the final mirror behind Volcifar, his original and ongoing target, and stabs him with claws on his hands for 5 more damage.

Volcifar – 5/19

For the next round, they lose initiative and the Fiend nails Volcifar twice for 9 damage and kills him. They stabs the fiend for 12 damage off Pashtun’s critically hitting magical scimitar. The others miss the fiend.

The next round they wrest initiative away, and Alzar’s staff cracks it for 3 damage and Pashtun adds another 6 damage and it dies. They launch missile weapons at the final Stirge, trying to fly away, and kill it.

Each character still alive gets 1250 XP (Volcifar gets none, since he’s dead.)

They break the final mirror. Alzar casts Detect Magic and uses it to detect things on this level, but nothing glows. There isn’t so much as a potion here. It looks like this place was already looted and raided.

They head up to the roof to see if there is anything up there, but there isn’t, just a few battlements. Did they miss Skarda’s Mirror? They spend a few hours making sure that there is no mirror lost. The only thing they found of note was a few maps, two of which appear to be treasure maps.

The Mirror wasn’t in the tower.

They return to the streets of Khaibar. Nearby is a temple led by Achmed Raisul, the Temple of the Great Holy One. They bring the body of Volcifar to the temple and the cleric meets with them, the one true faith, that is tolerated by the powers that be because many of the local people still believe in it.

Achmed brings them inside and is escorted by a pair of lower level clerics. He already knows the Raise Dead spell, and will use it for 1000 gp to cover expenses, and to assist the church. They pay, and the spell is cast.

Volcifar has to survive a Resurrection Check, and he does. His Constitution permanently drops by one.

They get some light healing from the lower level clerics free of charge, since they just paid a lot of money to the temple, and they are mostly healed. Alzar wants to check out the tower in more detail later, and perhaps they missed Skarda’s Mirror or too see about the books and equipment to ad those to his collection.

The night falls and they spend it with Walid of the Green Fez and his establishment.

Tolvar has leveled up during the day’s events. He now has 13 hit points and gains another 2nd level spell.

In the morning, they break fast, and decide to move back out to the two for another inspection. The morning is just begun and they move into the streets.

A wagon is moving ahead of them, with something covered by a large fur. A pair of soldiers are in the back of the wagon. Suddenly, the fur is pulled down by the soldiers as the party nears, revealing a beautiful, 2 and a half foot large mirror, with dark unknown wood, and a darker cast about it. As the party sees the mirror, they are pulled into it, as are all of the people on the street around them!


The wagon rolls on silently, after the soldiers cover Skarda’s Mirror back over….

They arrive on a platform in an odd looking place. The area is carved of glass, and is about a mile long, 2/3rds of a mile wide, and about 1/2 a mile deep. Bright reflective glass and walls can be seen everywhere. They are inside this cube…

As are lots of others. About 50 or 60 soldiers are milling here, weapons ready. They shout for Alzar, his party, and the local peasants picked off the street to surrender.

Behind them is a golden glass wall. Alzar gently backs into it to see if it will transport him back but it doesn’t. It’s currently inert. There could be a lot of reasons – maybe it needs to recharge after every use, or can only be opened from the outside or needs a certain object or command word to work, or only works for the owner, Skarda, or perhaps even it opens up at certain times of the day, or every four hours or something. But now, it’s not working.

They shout out again, and the party is looking to Alzar for an answer. The area seems to be divided into different districts, and far away is a ziggurat with a palace of onyx on top. He does a quick mental assessment of his spells and items. Is there a way out? The platform is detecting magic, and everything they have magical is glowing. Alzar doubts those are the only detection magic up for grabs. Clearly, they are prepared. Lacking an obvious answer, such as teleport, he agrees, and they surrender.

A short while later they are brought into a jail cell, at the bottom of a prison in some farflung area inside the mirror. All of the buildings are made of glass, and there is actually a glass quarry here that digs into the glass earth and finds various colors, and onyx as well.

Alzar and Tolvar are bound, with heavy iron gauntlets clamped to their hands and locked, so they cannot cast spells. Meanwhile everyone is locked with shackles. They spend a few hours getting their bearings an rising from unconscious. Alzar has his people spend some time getting their bearings before making any decisions.

Volcifar has some picks secured in various places, not all of which were found. As he begins to pick the locks, an earthquake hits and the rock tumbles for a bit. A fellow prisoner, Ashgarth, from next door spies them through a crack caused by the earthquake and begins to talk.

He tells them more about Mirror World, and most of the people here in the place are slaves kept in the Slaves Quarters that they just call Hell. He was a slave after being drug though the Mirror about a decade ago, and has been leaders of a relatively weak resistance.

They have allies in the various guards. He tells Alzar that they need a command word to activate the mirror to head out. He gives Alzar’s group some information about the area and underground stuff they were looking for.

Volcifar picks the locks and opens everyone else’s. There are two guards outside the door and down a corridor. The door itself is locked by an actual lock, not a bar, and Volcifar picks that too. Afterwards, they head out and Volcifar begins working on nearby locks in the corridor, as the others move to protect him from the guards.

One hears and moves out, but is killed by Alzar and Pashtun, and they grab his keys and the other hears it, and shouts for help before being killed as well.

In a few minutes, Volcifar and Tolvar’s keys have opened various jails, including Nadia and Retameron, as well as the person who gave them the info they needed. They continue and opened the door to the place where people’s things are kept, and in here are various weapons, items, spellbooks, armor, and more, from everyone from Nadia and Retameron to Alzar and Pashtun.


There are about 10 prisoners or so let go, including many that have been released. A group of 9 guards moves in to intercept them.

There are waaayyy too many combatants to run this with dice, I’ll hit it up over at random.org and quick sim it.


After a few rounds:

Alzar 44/51
Locinda 22/31

The rest of the damage was taken by prisoners released, Ashgarth or Retameron. The guards were killed or fleeing.

The next room is a records room of all prisoners and such that are kept. They grab them quickly and destroy them. And then they are out.

The group flees the dungeon and heads to Hell, aka the Slave’s Quarters. A few hours later, and everyone arrives.

Nadia and Retameron are new here as well, they arrived months ago and were tossed in jail. So this is their first outing. After some cleaning and getting ready, (the Mirror World has various wells around it with Create Water spells cast on them) , they all meet with various leaders of the rebellion, including Ashgarth, who apparently is 3rd in command of the whole thing.

One of their major contacts in the guard, Zira, arrives. She has the command words to use the mirror’s portal back to the real world. She is in Skarda’s elite guard. She comes with bad news:

“Two problems. Big ones.

First ,Skarda’s gone off into the real world, and taken a few guards with him. Rumor has it that he’s about to launch a major plan. At least half of his soldiers are massing outside of the portal right now, in preparation. They expect that sometimes in the next few hours they’ll be jumping back to the real world.

Second, and this is actually worse, something just happened in the quarry, not long after Skarda left. There was a quake and the bottom of the mirror glass pit split wide open, there was a churning liquid in the gap. A lot of workers fell in and drowned. Then it began to rise, still filling up the quarry.”

The leaders digest the new information. They need to strike now, and bring the mass of slaves against the soldiers. They send out criers to talk about the rising water and the depths of the miner, and use pre-existing contacts to rile up their citizens.

In a half hour, a group of roughly 100 locals have already created a small mob, with leaders and the party and friends in various areas. A group of 20 1st level soldiers is dispatched to break them up, led by a 5th level fighter.

Again, too big to roll. Random.org.

We try to keep up with stuff like numbers for later. None of us want to use up spells or potions or anything prior to the bigger battles that will happen later, so the peasants, locals and fighters take most of the attack. But they still advance after taking out the soldiers, and 19 slaves died.

More flocked o the battle and suddenly 100 is 200 and 300 and more. The swell of the crowd is growing.

Another group of 20 soldiers arrives and are blasted. Alzar is using his knowledge of battle and tactics to help drive home wins. Another earthquake occurs, slightly stronger than the previous one.

They rummage through some meager defenses and take a gate. Soon they have most of the slaves rallied and a makeshift army of thousands moving towards the platform, where a few hundred guards wait. They have ordered defensive cordons, and Alzar tells the leaders to use their numbers in flanks, but to use fake flank on one side and a pure flank on the other. That way no matter what they prepare for, they are forced to take the flanking attacks seriously.

Using numbers and desperation, the slaves are winning, but hewn down in large numbers. I less than 30 minutes, they have pushed the defenders back until a handful are left. The party and allies lead the way to the Mirror and the slaves finish up the remaining defender. Zira gives the command word, and it opens, and they move out…


They emerge in a real world, in a large chamber somewhere where there is wealth. There are about 50 or 60 soldiers and Skarda fighting some locals. Skarda sees Alzar and crew emerge and casts teleport and flees.

They move into the group and begin to carve up the soldiers. About 10 peel off to handle the uber-party.

Again, with Alzar, Pashtun, Volcifar, Locinda, Tolvar, Nadia, Zira, Retameron, and a few others from the other side already through the portal, it’s just too many dice too quickly.

The high level fighters – Pashtun, Alzar, Retameron, and Zira flank off as others use missile weapons. Volcifar’s Sling of Seeking cracks into the head of one and drops it. They can have these guys easily enough. Nadia casts Burning Hands and drops three more.

The fighting in front is getting fierce and the group hits a few fighters for some light damage, although Alzar took 12 with his weaker AC.

Alzar 32/51


The guards are dropped in the next round from weapons and blades of various sorts.

The remaining group is trapped between fighters up front and Alzar and company up back. They are fully surrounded and flanked. This is an obvious answer. Alzar uses Vampiric Touch to kill one and heal up 10 damage. Another 5 guards fall before them and a handful of others. A few pricks of folks like Zira and Nadia ensue, but nothing too major.

Alzar 42/51


The guards push back and hack into some folks. Alzar and several others are pecked a bit. Then his group slays 6 more guards and the front folks took out more.


Alzar – 37/51
Pashtun – 32/38
Locinda – 16/31


There are only a few left. They are overpowered by the guards in front.

The people in front are apparently the bandit/guards here in Khaibar. Apparently Skarda’s plan was to use his mirror as a way to sneak an army past security and soldiers. Smart actually. Alzar wishes he had found a Mirror that absorbed people and stuff, he would have done the same thing likely.

They round the bend as Skarda arrives at the head of 12 more soldiers that have followed him. He is shouting obscenities at the party and is massively angry.

The only ones here, not cleaning up the squad in front of the mirror are Alzar and party, plus Nadia and Retameron.

The mages get ready to cast spells at Skarda. An Acid Arrow hits him for 3 damage this turn, and a Lightning Bolt from Nadia is on target when something deflects it and it dissipates. Skarda smiles and casts his own Lightning Bolt and hits Alzar for 10d6 damage, save for half. Let’s get some dice. 33 damage, and…Alzar fails the save and is dropped to 4/51. Alzar follows by drinking an Extra Healing pot and is back to 24/51.

The fighters are flanked off by the guards that moved forward, and Skarda is untouched by them. Minor battles ensue

Skarda wins init next round and casts one of his most devastating spells – Ring of Disintegration, right at Alzar. It’s another 10d6 spell, save vs half, and if he fails, even if he survives, a limb is sliced off. Let’s get some more dice. 29 damage. For the save roll, Alzar’s d20 tumbles and hits the save, and he takes 15 damage.

9/51

Skarda took 4 more from the Acid Arrow. Magic Missiles smash him for 6 and Nadia casts Flame Arrow and hits him for 7d6, save for half. It’s 22 damage, and he makes his save too. He still falls and dies.


Skarda is no more.

Seeing their leader fall, the guards, begin to pull back. Fighters are now joined by the successful folks from the battle in front of the Mirror and 25 people or so are now attacking the remaining warriors.

Alzar heads over to Skarda, and casts Detect Magic. He takes anything that glows, and a quick search
finds little else beyond the glowy magic things.

Wand of Fear 4 charges left
Ring of Beauty – (+2 Charisma to racial max)
Crystal Ball with Clairaudience
Potion of Resistance


And that’s it. No gold or gems or anything else. He dressed very ordinary. He used the gold and items he captured to fund the army, supplies, and such for years. Didn’t keep a lot for himself.

A few minutes later, the Mirror breaks and everything and everyone and every item in side of it pops out right where the Mirror was.

That enables Alzar and his group to slip away from the Palace here in Khaibar without causing too many scenes. One of the local leaders here runs the darker corners of the city from here.

Nadia and Retameron return to their tower and home to reestablish themselves. Zira, a mercenary, signs with the local Sandvoyagers.

Everybody gets 1500 XP from the guards and Skarda.

End of X12. Skarda’s Mirror

Not exactly a winning combination. The module lacks a lot of fleshing out. For example, there is no map or description of the ziggurat and palace in Mirror World. It says that if the party goes that way, just use another palace map you might have. There is an entire chapter on how to bring the party back to the main plotline in case the attempts to force them into the mirror, surrender, and so forth don’t work out; all in addition to the ham-fisted “you are a prisoner” plotline which does virtually nothing in this context. The final battle with Skarda includes this advice “…and the characters are propelled into their climatic battle. Make it a big, splashy one. If you have to fudge matters to keep Skarda alive for awhile – for instance, letting him automatically make his saving throws so that he’s not immediately annihilated – do so….ultimately, invariably, Skarda will be killed; it could be that he’ll drag some of the characters to death with him.”

In other words, it doesn’t matter if you have to kill some characters off to give them a nice fight, feel free to cheat this thing on up! BOO!

Not that impressive a place, sorry.

Begin of College of Wizardry





This is a supplement, which gives you a strong college and history, spells, quests, allies, enemies, and more. It’s one of my favorite from the eras, and we’ll add it here easily enough.

Just a day has passed since they went into the Tower and began looking for Skarda’s Mirror. After arriving in the sultan’s palace, it’s time to stay out of sight for a bit, just in case. They head out of Khaibar by the west gate and enter the desert. Two hours later they travel up rocks, and reach the College of Wizardry, overlooking the city proper from an outcropping.

As they close, the college beckons, and it is rife with carvings, images, statues and more going back a long time. The building has been restored and parts of it are newer and some much much older. They pull in and are greeted. Alzar asks to speak with Dirganun, the regent in charge of archeological digs, and supervising Aman Al-Raqib. He Is bearing the message to him.

After introductions are secured, and various spells cast to verify the veracity of Alzar (Detect Lie) they let his party in, and he is brought upstairs, while the others wait in a nice meeting room.

After a half hour or son, Dirganun enters, and his appearance is…odd. He his head is a darkened black back and hidden away. On his hand is a floating eye that peers at Alzar. The hovering eye, the lightness cowl, it’s an odd look for him.

Alzar introduces himself and produces the letter that Aman asked him to deliver. It is accepted and read. Dirganun thanks Alzar and asks for Alzar to wait and meet with the headmaster here at the Arcane Order of Enchantment and Exposition. He does.

A few minutes later, Alzar is taken to meet with Japheth Arcane, founder and headmaster of the Arcane Order. They meet and talk for a while. Japheth purchased the old ruins here a few decades ago, restored them, and then opened the college.

Alzar explains a bit of his heritage, how he came from another prime material plane called Thorasia, and arrived here more than two and a half years ago. On his home, there were wizard guilds, but he had never heard of a full blown college for teaching wizardry. He asks for a tour. Japheth Arcane agrees, as a thanks for ferrying the message to them.

They pass by a variety of things – spellcasting chambers, classrooms, a grand library, kitchen and mess, stables, and a lot more. They don’t get too personal, but there appear to be at least 30 or 40 wizards that live here (it’s more, actually).

Japheth tells a little of the history of the Order. He was raised in Khaibar, and it was a dirty, filthy town. Apprenticed early on to a local mage, the ruins over the city were always in his mind. He always wanted to restore them, and his home as well. After going out on his own and adventuring for a while, he came back, bought the ruins with the money he founds, paid for locals to rebuild it where necessary, and then brought in friends and allies to help open a College for anyone on Hamedh that wants to stay here.

Alzar inquires about spell trading, something that happened quite frequently in the wizard guilds back on Thorasia. That’s not really something most of the wizards here are interested in, but in case Alzar has an unusual spell that intrigues the locals, they won’t need much from him. Japheth passes Alzar off to Regent Wym ,in charge of the library and syllabus.

Regent Mogen Wym, a stern, overly truthful man meets with Alzar to consider if any of the spells Alzar has in his spellbook are worth acquiring. “Probably not, but prudence demands we at least look.”

While Alzar certainly has a few more unusual spells in his spellbook, like Emrakol’s Question or Death Armor, none strike their fancy. Alzar tells him about some spells in the other books he has decoded already. Nothing.

Alzar mentions that on his home plane of Thorasia, he had created a bunch of spells, including quite a few that dealt with books, scrolls, and such. Those proved to be really valuable. That tweaks Wym’s interest, mildly. “You don’t have any of those now?”

“No, when I arrived on this plane, I came with none of my possession, and my level of Magic was rolled back to years ago.”

“That’s…I’ve never heard of anything like that. Tell me everything.”

Alzar tells Wym his story, about building a portal, the portal apparently breaking and sending him here, and waking up around 30 months ago here with the altered state.

“Now you just need to get back home? Well we might be able to facilitate that. We could use some planar travel spells to send you back to Thorasia, and then you could come back here with the spells that you mention, if possible. We’d have to research it, but it could be done.”

Wym reveals his hand is wearing a Ring of Truth. No one can lie to him, and he can’t lie to anyone else. He mentions that they’d want all four of the spells he made – Bookcopy, Bookmend, Scrollmend, and Spellbookmend, and in the end, he’d get his freedom back. Not a bad trade. Alzar agrees to consider it.

They finish and head to dinner, in the mess hall, with various initiates and apprentices. Nadia is an initiate here, but is more of an associate.

Alzar’s party arrives for food as well, and they discuss their next plan. They could head back to Khaibar and explore the streets more. They also have a pair of treasure maps they could check out.

Alzar is really enjoying this place. He has never felt so invited anywhere like this before. He decides to head to Japheth Arcane’s table and ask about how one could join. Normally a person has to be a child to come through the ranks, but occasionally, someone older joins. They have to get permission and sponsoring by a current guild wizard or Regent.

But most older mages don’t have the mental fluidity necessary for the esoteric arts and the way they are taught here. But since Alzar helped both Nadia and Aman, they will bring out a device. Japheth orders one of the guild wizards here to grab the Criterion Needle. He explains it to Alzar.

This is a magical item that pricks the finger of a person. If their intelligence is below a certain threshold, they won’t feel it. If they have the minimum intelligence necessary to be a mage, then it’s a small prick. The smarter they are, the more it hurts. It doesn’t do any permanent damage though, and the pain fades quickly enough.

A few moments later, the Needle has arrived, and everybody has moved from their tables to check out Alzar’s test and see how it goes. Japheth grabs the Needle, Alzar’s finger, and then the two connect….


And Alzar fails his saving throw and passes out from the pain...

An hour later Alzar returns to consciousness, the pain all gone. Several wizards are looking over him, applying cold items and such. Japheth looks at him with a new respect, and Regent Wym is here as well. Prior to today, Japheth was the highest testing person here, ever. Only three for four students ever came through and tested as well as him in decades. And no one has ever tested higher. For Alzar to have felt that much pain…

That’s just unheard of.

Alzar smiles back. He is the recipient of a healthy adventuring lifestyle.

While the Ring of Truth is worn, Japheth asks more about Alzar’s desire to become a member of the College. After verifying it’s genuine, he spends some time telling about the doctrine of the College, and what a person has to give up. It would require 6 months as an Initiate in training, and then after that, depending on if he has re-mastered 4th level spells, he would be a Wizard in training for another year. Then he would have to pass a test, and if he did, he would swear an oath that required:

1) To give 10% of his earnings, including magical, from any sales, adventuring, gems, and other objects acquired.
2) To teach a class here at the College (if a guild wizard)
3) To mentor apprentices and/or initiates (if a guild wizard)
4) To never intentionally hurt the College
5) To dedicate at least the next 10 years of his life to the College.
6) To be assigned to help with various tasks, quests, researches, and projects as needed.

In exchange he would get:

1) To use the Grand Library and other antiquarian elements
2) To use the laboratories
3) To use the apprentices as needed for various projects
4) To be given a full room to himself and quarters for the duration of his stay

The only issue for Alzar is time. But he’s been here on Hamedh for so long now, that after thinking for a few minutes, he agrees to the ideas, in practice. Obviously nothing has been sworn in yet.

So the first thing he’ll need to do is secure the backing of a current guild wizard.

And Japheth has an idea.

“While you were zonked we had a missive arrive from the Kasbah of Ber-Gathy. Apparently, things have begun to fall apart there, and you can head out and re-connect with Aman, who can fill you in on the state of affairs and what could be done about them.”


Alzar agrees to head on out, and a few wizards grab some teleport other spells and in an hour or so, they arrive at the outskirts of Ber-Gathy after giving him a heads up about some basic information.

Begin X3. Curse of Xanathon




I know what you are thinking. Douglas Niles, early 80s (1983), maybe this is a hidden classic. It’s not. But it’s better than a certain mirror. We’ll run this from Ber-Gathy and substitute the town in the module for that place from Day of Al’Akbar’s map, but totally unfleshed there. Everything comes together!

Because of its proximity to Khaibar, Ber-Gathy is traveled by the Sandvoyagers to and from points north. The town is a small one that exists more as a requirement than as a luxury. For a few generations, a local Sheikh has ruled the Kasbah, and the current one, Alzar, was pretty highly regarded until a while ago.

Yes that right. The Sheikh’s name is Alzar too. How annoying that’s going to be!

The Kasbah has a small but powerful army, that is quite loyal, and a mix of people there are well. Sort of like a smaller Bralizzar.

However in the last few weeks, a few, increasingly bizarre decrees from Sheikh Alzar have brought mage Alzar to the scene to investigate, as they have made some problems.

The first was that all taxes must be paid in alcohol, passed a little more than a week ago. The most recent, just two days ago, was that all steeds, from camels to the rare horse, or many others, must be ridden backwards, with the rider facing the tail, rather than the head.

Things are getting a little strange in Ber-Gathy. Alzar has arrived to investigate. Unlike a lot of other towns in the area, Ber-Gathy is the largest it’s ever been. It’s grown into an area around 1000 or so, and there are areas inside with locals from various places, from the nomad tribes out west to a few Hek from east, and even some centaurs from the Desert Centaurs up north.

As they enter the gated and guarded city, they are arriving in the Old Town district.

Here’s the town map of Ber-Gathy!



(We are moving it from a coastal city to a desert one, and changing some of the particulars to match the Hamedhi setting generally, and the Sand Mire specifically. Just imagine that a square is 10 feet instead of 50, same set-up, just smaller)

As an important artery on the Sandvoyagers route, as well as near the Oued Khaud, a small river of life in the Great Erg of Arir out here in the desert, Ber-Gathy is in a prime location for doing stuff. (Want to see a map of the area? Can’t find one of the locality around Khaibar from the I9 supplement, sorry.) (it's on page 53 of this pdf if you care) http://archmagev.com/1st_Ed/1st%20ed...Al%27Akbar.pdf

Anyway, due to the strategic value of the area, Ber-Gathy has a very professional, but small, army that works under Sheikh Alzar. Alzar’s second-in-command is Marzuq, who runs the local military force out of the barracks here. He’s young, competent, and ambitious, coming off the Sand Mire more than five years ago and rising through the ranks quickly.

There are a few districts of Ber-Gathy. They are in old town right now, the oldest part of the Kasbah. This is no where the poorer folks live and relax, with a dilapidated tavern. There are a handful of warehouses used for storage by the Sandvoyagers and local merchants by both gates south and north.

Beyond those are some newer buildings that are the middle and upper class places for housing, taverns, and stores. There’s also a full blown market, open, with a lot of stalls, much like Bralizzar had. In addition to the barracks, and a modest palace/headquarters for Sheikh Alzar, there are also a trio of temples here to three different local deities. One is to the Goddess Nabilah, who is worshipped more in the west by the nomads than anywhere else.

A bard here is playing a baglama, a special stringed instrument on the streets.

There are about 25-30 local desert centaurs here in the city limits, trading, and acting as a sort of help for their people. They have a part-stables/-part-tavern that they run and can usually be found at by the north gate.

They party decides to check into a tavern in the middle of the Kasbah, The Inn of the Evening Star. There are a few shops here along the route, like a masons and goat’s milk. In fact, the nearby hills and river provide a nice area to raise goats, and there are goatherds about with their shepherds.

They arrive at the Evening Star and easily obtain a place to call home for a few days, as well as a few meals. The people here are talking about the last two orders passed by the Sheikh. There is no alcohol available at all, since it was used to pay the taxes.