BANDITS

OF THE

TRANYM

AN ADVENTURE FOR 4-6 4TH-LEVEL HEROES

Table of Contents
Adventure Synopsis ........................... 2
Scaling the Adventure ....................... 2
Character Hooks ................................ 3
Part I: The Gnoll Bandits ................. 3
Thornbury ........................................... 4
Timeline .............................................. 8
Ambush the Ambushers .................... 8
The Tranym Forest ............................. 10
The Gnoll Fort .................................... 12
Gnollish Morale ................................. 15

Part II: The Upper Level .................. 20

Lower Level Caves ......................... 25
Lower Level Guards ....................... 29
Guards of the Lower Levels ............. 32
Combatting an Osyluth ..................... 39
Conclusion ......................................... 41
Return to Thornbury .......................... 41
Continuing Threads ........................... 40
Appendix - New Creatures ................ 42
Slave Controller Template ................. 43
Master Controller .............................. 44

Credits
Design

Playtesting

Rhys Hess

Jenkintown Area Gamers, Richard Arras,

John Crimmins, Robert Fanelli, David
Snyderman

Editing
John Todd

Illustration
Todd Morasch

Creative Director
Jim Butler

Typesetting

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owned by Wizards of the
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System License version 1.0. A
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found at www.wizards.com.
2001 Bastion Press, Inc. All
Rights Reserved. Made in the
U.S.A.

Josh Gilchrist

Adventure Background

Scaling the Adventure

The trade road through the Tranym forest

has always been dangerous, but lately
entire small caravans have been disappearing. Only a few broken wagons and
slaughtered animals have been found at
the scene of each attack.
A band of unusually well organized
gnoll raiders have established themselves
in an ancient earthen fort nearby. They
are responsible for the attacks, killing or
taking captive every member of several
caravans in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, beneath the gnoll fort, a
renegade devil strives to keep its location
secret (from the hunters it feels sure to be
on its trail) while raising money to gain
power in its new land of exile.
The small hamlet of Thornbury is close
to where the attacks have taken place. A
detachment of soldiers of the local lord is
guarding the construction work on a keep
located just outside the hamlet. Their
captain has strict orders not to leave the
site until the keep has been completed.
This adventure can be located on the
borders of a holding or small kingdom. A
trade route that requires at least two days
of travel through wilderness connecting
to another land is also required.

Here are some suggestions for using the

adventure with groups of different power levels. (Keep in mind that besides scaling the
encounters, all the treasures need to be modified as well.)
For 3rd level characters, remove the normal gnolls and Tathos from part I. In part II,
halve the number of warriors and arbalesters
in any rooms that contain more than one. Subtract one level from Nallis. Use the weakened form of Kenelkek as suggested in the
sidebar accompanying its description. Subtract 2,000 gp from the total reward.
For 2nd level characters, in addition to the
changes above, in part I convert all gnoll
warriors to gnolls, subtract one level from
scouts, doublehand leaders and the gnoll commander. In part II, remove all warriors (except from 22), and assume Jessia is away
gathering material for item creation (she is
not present at the final battle). Remove 5,500
gp from the reward set for 4th level characters.
For 5th level characters, promote all gnolls
to gnoll warriors and add one level to the
doublehand leaders, Jebadoh and the gnoll
commander for part I. For part II, promote
the arbalesters to match the warriors, but let
them use the point blank shot and Weapon
Focus (light crossbow) feats in place of
Cleave and Weapon Focus (longsword). Add
one level to Thok and Nallis. Add 4,500 gp to
the total reward.
For 6th level characters, in addition to the
above, add one level to the doublehand scouts,
and one additional level to doublehand leaders, Jebadoh and the gnoll commander. In part
II, assume Lakul has his cone of cold ability
available for use. Also, add one level to Jessia
and the warriors, and add an additional level
to Thok and Nallis. Make Ibnib more active
in support of Kenelkek, especially in warning
about intruders. Add 10,000 gp to the reward
set for 4th level characters.

Adventure Synopsis
This adventure is designed for four to six
4th level player characters. A party of four
4th level characters should reach 5th level
by the end of part I, and will probably
gain another level in part II. (Making
some modifications to the encounters
allow it to be run for characters ranging
from 2nd to 6th level.)
The first part of the adventure requires
locating the gnoll fort and defeating the
raiders who have been attacking the

caravans. This requires following one of

the chains of evidence that leads to the
base. It may be possible to unmask the
traitor Pinshot who is supplying information to the gnolls, or free the gnomish
trader Hrandeth. Regardless, an encounter with a wererat is also likely, and this
may lead to the same location.
The second part of the adventure
involves investigating deeper beneath the
fort. Although those living under the fort
make efforts not to advertise their presence, careful questioning of prisoners or a
thorough search of the stables should lead
the heroes to them. A sudden confrontation with a Devil, the assistance (or
hindrance) of wererats, or a curious
search of the caves harking back to the
original inhabitants of the fortification
may lead to such an investigation.

Character Hooks
The escaped drover: As the party arrives
in Thornbury, an exhausted drover runs
into the hamlet with a wild story. He was
driving a wagon and says he was at-

tacked by dozens of dog-headed creatures

taller than him, a dozen miles north of
the hamlet. (This is the third caravan
attacked in the last six weeks, and the
sixth in the last four months.) The party
may decide to investigate on their own; if
not, Captain Destrani, unhappy with
having unattached adventurers (i.e.
troublemakers) about, strongly suggests
they make themselves useful or leave.
Free the imprisoned gnome: Relatives
of the gnomish trader Hrandeth of Clan
Alazzar talk to the PCs. They were
contacted about paying a ransom for his
release; unfortunately, all of the clans
ready capital went into buying merchandise for Hrandeths latest venture, so they
cannot raise the required sum in time.
The PCs are offered a 500 gp award for
the return of the trader. The group arrives
in Thornbury at the same time as the
drover runs into the hamlet.
The ambush: For heroes who like nonstop action, have them come upon the
wagons of trader Meredith Murt (see
below) just as they are attacked by a
dozen gnolls. After the battle, they should
be able to follow fleeing gnolls back to the
fort.

Part 1: The Gnoll Bandits

When the characters arrive in Thornbury,
read or paraphrase the following information. If using the ambush hook instead,
refer to the description of the caravan
ambush on page 9.

As curious villagers gather round, he

babbles to anyone who listens that he
was a drover for the cloth merchants
Pulus and Rund. He breathlessly explains that the three merchant wagons
were ten miles north of town when dozens of dog-headed humanoids, each
taller than him, surged out of the woods
in attack. He saved himself by jumping
off his wagon and running as fast as he
could into the woods. He ran as long as
he could, finally collapsing into some
bushes. After spending the night in the

Screams are suddenly heard from

the north, the direction of the road that
leads out of the hamlet. A man staggers into view around a bend in the road.
His clothing is badly torn, and he is
sweat-soaked and covered in dried
blood from numerous scratches.

forest, he stumbled around until he

came across the road, and followed it
down into the hamlet.
Among the onlookers is a scarred,
middle-aged man dressed in full
chainmail, accompanied by two young
men in chain shirts. The older man turns
to one of his companions, ordering him
to organize a mounted patrol to find any
other survivors, cautioning him that they
must return by sundown.

trading caravans that pass through.

Frederick became mayor as owner of the
most prosperous business in town. He has
no idea what to do about the bandit
attacks, and only advises the characters
to Get on out there and look around.
Youre sure to turn up something.
One alternative to playing all of the
NPC encounters in an adventure yourself is to let your players help you out.
Give a short description of an NPC to
each player before the adventure begins. If the characters meet this NPC,
let the player run him or her. If the NPC
has knowledge that the players shouldnt
know too soon, pass a note with the information to the player when it comes
out in conversation.
While this is a good way to involve
the players in a different way in an adventure, it should not be forced on anyone who feels uncomfortable assuming
a role on short notice.

The scarred man is Captain Destrani

(see below). Further investigation can be
done either inside or outside the hamlet.

Thornbury
Thornbury is a good place to start to pick
up clues regarding the recent attacks.
Investigation and encounters may lead
either to the spy who has been passing
the bandits information, or to the
wererats who live near the bandits.
Thornbury (hamlet): Conventional;
AL LN; 120 gp limit; Assets 720 gp;
Population 120; Mixed (human 95,
halfling 11, elf 6, dwarf 4, gnome 2, halfelf 1, half-orc 1).
Authority Figure: Frederick Manos,
mayor and proprietor of The Laughing
Plowboy Inn and Tavern.
Important Characters: Katrina
Smallwood, moneychanger; Vintus
Broadleaf, proprietor of Thornbury
General Supplies; Brother Clarence, male
human Clr2.
Others: Brd1 (1); Clr1 (2); Ftr1 (1);
Rgr1 (1); Wiz1 (1); Militia, War2 (1),
War1 (5); Exp3 (1); Exp1 (3); Com9 (1);
Com5 (1); Com3 (3); Com1 (95).

Frederick Manos
NG male human Exp5, mayor, and
proprietor of The Laughing Plowboy Inn
and Tavern. Thornbury and his inn
garner a large economic benefit from the

In the inn and around town, it is

possible to pick up rumors with a successful Gather Information skill check, or
through good roleplaying (this is a chance
for the players to interact with the locals
and draw out information in extended
conversation).

Efran Winter
LN male human drover, Com2.
He survived the attack on the caravan of
Pulus and Rund by leaping off his seat as
soon as the attack happened, and running away without looking back. He stays
in town a couple of days to recover, then
sets off on foot for his home. He has
nothing to add to the account he gives
after running into town.

DC (Gather Info.)
6
8

8
10
10
12

14
14

20

22

Rumor Heard in Thornbury

Nah, it cant be orcs or goblins or such-like doing the attacks. If that

were true, they wouldve burnt half the hamlet down by now.
Why, the Deerlake farm was burnt out ten months back. Shame about
the family all being slaughtered like that. No, there havent been any
attacks on locals since then, despite the caravan raids. (Ruins of the
Deerlake Farm.)
How come that guard captain aint done nothing bout the raids?
Hes gotta be on the take. (Captain Athenos Destrani.)
I seen a pigeon flying out of the moneychangers house. It had some
thing tied to its leg. (Katrina Smallwood, the local moneychanger.)
That peddler, Pinshot, left town right before those last two attacks. I
never trusted him anyways. (Peddler Thomas Pinshot.)
Broadleafs been receiving visitors at his store late at night. I dont know
whats up, but it figures a halfling would be into something shady.
(Vintus Broadleaf, runs Thornbury General Supplies.)
A lotta strangers passing through recently. One young lass, she been
here several times before. (The wererat Din.)
No sense going north of town anymore for hunting. There isnt any large
game, and something is even taking the small animals. Everything was
gone out of my trap lines the last two times, leaving me with nothing.
(Reference to deliberate over-hunting by gnolls.)
That brass cock Vintus gots mounted above his door. One day its fightin
spurs were gleaming like gold, but I looked more close-like tother day,
and they were as tarnished as the rest of that old bird. Me eyes must be
goin. (Vintus Broadleaf, runs Thornbury General Supplies.)
Aint much to look at, but those mounds near the old Deerlake place
was once inhabited. My pappy told me he and a friend found caves
under there, even graves. But something they couldnt see attacked
them, drove em crazy for a while. They figured they was lucky to escape alive. (Only available if the party already has some general knowledge about the gnoll fort, or on a successful bardic lore check.)

Vintus Broadleaf
Proprietor of Thornbury General Supplies, Vintus likes to tell people, Im just
as pugnacious as the cock above my
door. His store stocks general adventuring supplies (subject to the town limit of
120 gp) and general caravaneering goods.
In a pinch, he performs crude repairs on
wagons or animal harnesses with the aid
of a human employee. He has been
dealing with the wererats living near the
gnoll fort, and fencing some of their
stolen goods. He meets a wererat once

every tenday (although he may suspect

differently, he has no proof his visitors are
other than human). He signals that the
meeting is OK by sliding two plugs of
gold over the spurs on the brass cock
mounted over the door of his business.
(He does this from a second floor window, since the cock is nine feet off the
ground.)
If confronted about his shady dealings,
he is combative, even daring the party to
call in Captain Destrani. If threatened in
any way, he refuses to help the party,
and intimidation checks are useless unless

backed up by a magical enchantment.

Vintus is quite capable of recognizing a
spell being cast, and if it is unsuccessful,
he quickly lodges a complaint of unlawful
magical usage with the captain. If confronted on a day for a scheduled meeting,
he removes the gold plugs from the brass
cock, even with the danger someone
might notice him doing so.
If approached more diplomatically, or
if the party somehow stumbles on his
usage of the cock as a signal, he is reasonable. He admits he has been buying
goods from a customer whos a bit shy,
but theres nothing illegal about that! He
agrees to arrange a meeting with his
customer for 10 gp (plus 1 gp for every
point by which a bluff or Diplomacy skill
check fails DC16). If the characters know
about the signal, he does this for nothing.
If the PCs talk to him early enough in
the day, he lets them in the shop while he
waits for his contact Din (see below) to
show up. Otherwise, the heroes must
wait another tenday. Vintus is extremely
loyal to those he does business with, and
if he feels the PCs are about to restrain
Din he hurls a thunderstone to help her
make an escape.

Katrina Smallwood
LN female human, Exp3.
Katrinas main business is with passing
caravans; converting their foreign money
to match those of the land their journeys
take them to next. Occasionally, she
converts artwork or gems into hard
currency. She maintains informal contact
with moneychangers in nearby cities via
carrier pigeons, passing on rumors and
information on current exchange rates for
their mutual benefit.
If confronted by the PCs, she is hesitant to speak, for fear they might rob her.
An Intimidate skill check (DC10), a
Diplomacy skill check (DC13), or the

threat that Captain Destrani will be

brought in, convinces her to speak freely
and explain exactly why she uses her
pigeons.

Thomas Pinshot
NE male human Com5; HD 5d4; hp 14; Init +0; Spd 30
ft.; AC 10 (touch 10, flat-footed 10); SV Fort +1,
Ref +1, Will +1; Str 11, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 10,
Wis 10, Cha 10. Skills: Bluff +2, Jump +2, Listen
+2, Profession (Merchant) +4, Spot +2.

A peddler and tinker, he has a regular

run between the hamlet and local farms.
It is often more convenient for the farmers
to buy from Pinshot directly rather than
go into Thornbury. He is also able to
perform basic repairs to tools.
The more lucrative (and secretive) part
of his business is supplying information to
the gnoll bandits. He notes what caravans
arrived in town or anything else of interest on a scroll, and then later drops it at
one of several points along the northern
trade road. A gnoll scout checks the drop
places twice a day. His payments are left
at one of the drops, based on the usefulness of the information he has supplied.
Since the gnolls fear it might be discovered, a slave controller does not enthrall
him (see the new monster descriptions at
the end of the adventure). Pinshot is only
concerned about himself, and readily tells
everything he knows about his contacts
with the gnolls if confronted. He first
blusters and demands the heroes to
promise to let him go in exchange for
what he has to say, but quickly backs
down in the face of any real threat.
If the adventurers unmask him, they
should receive 600 Story XP.

Captain Athenos Destrani

LN male human Ftr8.
Commander of a detachment of twodozen troops guarding the construction
of a keep. Tensions have been rising
lately, and the keep is intended to main-

tain control of this region. Since the

bandits have not been bothering the
hamlet, he feels it is up to the merchants
to provide for their own protection. His
orders require him to maintain a strong
guard on the construction site at all times.
He is willing to launch occasional
mounted patrols along the trade road, but
not too deeply. The trade road north of
the hamlet is disputed territory, and an
incursion by armed troops could provoke
a border skirmish.
Destrani recognizes the creatures
described by the drover as gnolls, but
snorts at his description of dozens of
attackers. He finds the identification
problematic, since he knows gnolls as
undisciplined fighters. How have they
managed to leave only one survivor from
their last six attacks, and why havent
they attacked any outlying farms?
Destrani has no time for stray adventurers rattling around Thornbury. If the
PCs stay in the hamlet for more than a
couple of days, he bluntly orders them to
make themselves useful by solving the
bandit attacks, or to take themselves
elsewhere.
He does not arrest anyone without
some proof of his or her misdeeds, and
honestly tries to determine the guilt of
anyone he arrests. He has a cleric who
can cast a zone of truth spell, and regards
the refusal to answer questions as proof
of a guilty intent.

Din
CN female wererat Rog1 (for full statistics, see wererat description below in part
II).
She has been sent into Thornbury to fence
a stolen item to Vintus. Overly bold, she
cant resist the opportunity to make a few
thefts of her own, including one of the
PCs as a target if they walk around town
on days zero or one (see Timeline, below).

She attempts to pick their pocket. Make a

check for her against a DC of 20 (using
her pick pocket skill of +10). If she succeeds, she has lifted a small pouch of
money from the character. If the character succeeds at an opposed check using
his or her Spot skill, the theft is noticed,
whether or not it was successful. If the
theft goes unnoticed immediately, it is not
detected until the next time the character
attempts to use money, or when retiring
to bed that night. In this situation, allow a
Wisdom check (DC 11) to remember the
attractive young woman who bumped
into the character during the day.
If caught in the act, she plays on the
heroes sympathy, breaking down in
tears, Please, Im on my own, this is the
only way I have to survive. Dont turn me
in, I never take but a pittance, and then
only from those who can well afford it.
If this story is seen through (for instance,
she has 31 gp worth of coin on her, and a
ring worth 150 gp she is in town to fence
to Vintus), she offers information on the
bandits in return for her freedom.
She witnessed an attack on a caravan
about a month ago (this was the caravan
of the gnome Hrandeth). It was gnolls,
striking from ambush. I dont see how
they could have known to wait right
there without some advance word. And
before you ask, I couldnt draw attention
to myself by telling anyone about this. If
someone in the party succeeds in an
Intimidate skill check (DC 18) or a Diplomacy skill check (DC 20), she adds I was
curious about the gnolls, and followed
them after the attack. They used a path
leading to a burnt-out farm; they must
have a hold not too much further into the
woods. They have to be getting information from someone in Thornbury, maybe
someone who travels a lot. (If introduced to the party by Vintus, she grudgingly reveals the initial information, and

the second part with a successful Diplomacy check.)

Din does not voluntarily reveal she is a
wererat, or reveal the presence of the
wererat nest. Even if magically compelled, the existence of the nest is something she would not tell even a close
friend, although clever questioning may
bring it out. If it appears she is about to be
turned over to the authorities, or the PCs
themselves attempt to restrain her, she
changes to hybrid wererat form, catching
the PCs flat-footed if they dont already
suspect she may have this ability. She
receives a +6 circumstance bonus the first
round to break any grapple, and attempts
to flee into the nearby woods, where she
uses her skills to lose any pursuers.

Timeline

Day 3

A messenger, carrying private

dispatches from the next town to the
north, arrives reporting the destruction of the caravan.
Day 6
If the heroes have made no
progress by this point, Captain
Destrani throws them out of
Thornbury.

Ambush the
Ambushers
The day after the PCs arrive in town,
trader Meredith Murts (LN human male
Exp3) caravan arrives in Thornbury. He
stays through the night to rest his hirelings and animals, and to see if anyone in
the hamlet is interested in his wares (he is
carrying miscellaneous tools in his two

Day 38 Spice merchant Hrandeths

caravan attacked.
Day 19 Nameless tinkers wagon attacked.
Day 1
Caravan of cloth merchants
Pulus and Rund attacked.
Day 0
PCs arrive in Thornbury. Escaped drover arrives in the hamlet.
Din attempts to pick pocket
one of the heroes
if they are in
town. Din meets
with Vintus that
night.
Day 1
Peddler Pinshot
arrives in Thornbury
mid-morning. Trader
Meredith Murts caravan arrives in the early afternoon.
Pinshot leaves town in the late afternoon, headed north on the trade
road. Din leaves soon thereafter, although she takes to the woods.
Day 2
Murt leaves Thornbury early in
the morning. His caravan is ambushed about five hours later.

wagons).
Late that afternoon, the peddler
Pinshot departs from the hamlet, to leave
a message at one of his drops that a
caravan is headed north the next day.
Clever players may suspect the caravan
will be attacked, and resolve to do something about it. When the heroes leave
Thornbury, refer to the overland map on
page 10.
Murt is aware of the reputation this
stretch of road is garnering, and has
resolved to start early the next day and
push through well north before night
falls. He is not too receptive to the idea of
the heroes accompanying his caravan in
hopes it is attacked. If he is given a gift,
he agrees to the idea. The minimum he
accepts is 20 gp, plus 5 gp per point by
which a Diplomacy skill check (DC 16) is
failed. An Intimidate skill check (DC 14)
convinces him to allow the PCs to come
along without cost.
Murt has three caravan guards, as
well as two drovers for the wagons and
mules. The guards, who are on foot, fight
valiantly until they are reduced to less
than 50% of their hit points, at which
point they flee. If intimidation gained the
PCs a place in the caravan, the guards
attempt to flee as soon as the ambush is
triggered.

of where the last ambush occurred (if the

heroes are waiting in the forest for the
ambush to happen this may leave them
badly out of place). Only the doublehand
scout is actually watching the road, from
high up in a tree. When the caravan has
reached the right position (slightly north
of area D on the map), he calls out to the
others to attack. The hand led by the
leader attacks the lead wagon. The other
hand attacks the rear wagon. Their initial
javelin throws target the wagons near
side mules, so that they cannot be driven
off.
The Druid Jebadoh and an ogre are
waiting nearby to help move the prisoners and loot once the attack is over. They
may join the battle, or simply return to
the fort once they realize the ambush has
failed.
If the PCs have concealed themselves
in the wagons, have them roll initiative
normally when they decide to act. Allow
the party to act first in this round to
simulate surprise.
Read or paraphrase the following
description when the ambush occurs.
(This description can also be used if you
chose the character hook allowing the
PCs to come upon the ambush by
chance.)

Meredith Murt, male human Exp3: hp 13.

Drover, human Com1 (2): hp 2, 3.
Caravan Guard War3 (3): CR2; Medium-sized human;
HD 3d8+3; hp 16, 18, 19; Init +0; Spd 20 ft.; AC 14
(touch 10, flat-footed 14); Atks +4 melee (1d8+1/
19-20, longsword); AL N; SV Fort +4, Ref +1, Will
+1; Str 12, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 10, Char
10.
Skills: Listen +2, Spot +2, Climb 1, Hide 2. Feats:
Cleave, Power Attack, Skill Focus (handle animal).
Possessions: chain shirt, longsword, 2d6 sp.

(Refer to gnoll stats on page 13)

A Doublehand of gnolls are waiting
along the road about a quarter-mile north

The day is quiet, save for the creak

of the wagons and the whisper of
mules harnesses. Sunlight passing
through the forest canopy dapples the
road ahead.
Suddenly, a single yell rings out from
above. Within moments, it is echoed by
a dozen more near at hand. A group of
gnolls charge out of the woods, throwing javelins at the lead wagon. Another
group attacks the rear wagon. The lead
wagon almost immediately stops, one
of the mules sagging in the traces.

If the PCs have somehow prevented

Pinshot from leaving any messages, the
gnolls wont have time to set up an
ambush of the caravan.
In this case, a gnoll scout notices the
passing caravan, and a night assault is
planned after the caravan master makes
camp. Within a few miles of where the
last caravan was attacked, the gnolls then
attempt a night assault. A doublehand
performs the attack. The scout from the
doublehand only searches long enough to
find the campsite, without approaching it
closely. The gnolls attack headlong in the
middle of the night, charging straight for
the reported camp, relying on their
Darkvision.

The Tranym Forest

This section describes significant features
of the forest around the Gnoll Fort. The
forest is normally quiet near Thornbury.
Other than the site based encounters
detailed below (A and F), the only wandering encounters worthy of adventurers
attention would be with gnolls or
wererats, as detailed in the next section.
Moving cross-country through the forest
is done at a speed of less than two miles
per hour.

A. Gnoll Fort.
An ancient barbarian fortification, reduced to little more than brush covered
embankments, has been renovated by the
gnolls as their base. See the next section
for a complete description of the fortification and its inhabitants.

B. R
uins of Deerlak
ar
m.
Ruins
Deerlakee FFar
arm.
This farm was attacked and burnt down
when the gnolls arrived in this area some
ten months back.
Charred foundations are all that remains of two buildings. The broken
brickwork chimney at the end of one

foundation implies it must have been a

farmhouse. The larger one was probably a barn. Green vines twine about
the blackened timbers, indicating the fire
happened at least a season ago.
The farm was too close to where the
gnolls wished to establish their base,
besides providing the most direct access
to the fort. What looks like just a rather
wide animal trail leads from the west side
of the Deerlake farm to the gnoll fort. A
wagon can move along the trail easily.
Buried in the ground between the
ruins of the main house and the barn is a
sack of coins, the Deerlakes hoard,
(Search skill check (DC 18) to find)
containing 3 gp, and 21 sp.

C1/C2. Pathways to Deerlake Farm.

These two farm paths are used to
move loot and supplies from the ambushed caravans to the fort (including
items that need to be fenced. The Druid

10

Jebadoh (see description of the Gnoll Fort)

uses his abilities to keep these paths
looking like they have not been used in
months. Someone with the Track feat
who makes a Wilderness Lore skill check
(DC 18), or anyone who succeeds at a
Search skill check (DC 24) notes faint
traces of recent wagon tracks. The tracks
lead beyond the farm, toward the fort.

D. E1 to E3.
A gnoll scout moves between these
locations twice during each day. E1 to E3
are the drops where the peddler Thomas
Pinshot leaves his messages. Otherwise,
the scout is in area D, up in a tree observing the trade road.
If the heroes set out from town north
along the trade road, they should easily
find the site of the recent ambush (very
close to area D).
If the PCs spend much time in this
area, the gnoll scout eventually stumbles
upon them. Make an opposed Spot check
against the gnolls Hide in Cover skill
check (the scout starts with a Hide in
Cover bonus of +5, increased to +10 if the
gnoll is already stationary) to see if the
adventurers note him. On spotting them,
the scout immediately returns to the fort,
and a defensive ambush is set up within
30 minutes. This ambush is only triggered
if the adventurers continue to work their
way closer to the fort.
Such an ambush consists of a
doublehand, split into two parts. One
hand, including the doublehand leader,
forms a blocking force. They step from
cover throwing javelins, and entice the
heroes to charge by shouting at them. The
second hand (including the scout) is
hidden at right angles to and in front of
the blockers, ready to strike by surprise
anyone foolish enough to charge the first
hand. (To simulate surprise, on the round
the second hand strikes, their initiative is
automatically set to one more than the

next highest rolled initiative so they act

first that round. They maintain this
initiative value on subsequent rounds.)
The gnoll ambushers have a modified
Hide in Cover modifier of +2 (-6 base, -2
six or more, +5 still, +5 in brush) that is
opposed by any player characters Spot
check to see if they are noticed. If the PCs
are trying to move silently and in cover,
oppose their rolls with the best Spot or
Listen abilities among the gnolls, Spot +1
(-2 for staying low), Listen +2.

F. Spiders.
A section of forest roughly a quarter-mile
across is infested with web-spinning
spiders.
Creatures (8) (EL 4): Two monstrous
spiders that lair here have recently reproduced, spawning numerous young.
Throughout this area, individual strands
of web are strung between trees at various heights, from ankle high up to the
forest canopy. Every ten minutes the
party has a 50% chance to stumble into
one of these. If a web entangles anyone,
25% of the time a tiny spider attacks 1d4
rounds later, by silently dropping via a
single strand onto the victim. There are
many tiny spiders found away from the
central region.
Toward the center of the area is a
large sheet web, 60 feet across, anchored
to various trees. Any disturbance of this
web causes the medium-sized spiders to
attack. They first cast webs from the
treetops, trying to entangle as many as
possible, then glide down to melee. Six
tiny spiders join in the attack.
Monstrous Spider, Medium-size (2): CR 1; MediumSize Vermin (5 ft. diameter); HD 2d8+2; hp 11,
13; Init +3; Spd 30 ft., climb 20 ft.; AC 14 (touch
13, flat footed 11); Atk +4 melee (1d6 and poison, bite); SA Poison, web; SQ Vermin; AL N; SV
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +0; Str 11, Dex 17, Con 12,
Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2.
Skills: Climb +12, Hide +10, Jump +0, Spot + 7. Feats:
Weapon Finesse (bite).

11

Monstrous Spider, Tiny (6): CR ; Tiny Vermin (2 ft.

diameter); HD 1/2d8; hp 1, 3, 1, 4, 2, 2; Init +3;
Spd 30 ft., climb 20 ft.; AC 15 (touch 15, flat footed
12); Atk +5 melee (1d3-4 and poison, bite); SA
Poison, web; SQ Vermin; AL N; SV Fort +2, Ref
+3, Will +0; Str 3, Dex 17, Con 10, Int -, Wis 10,
Cha 2.
Skills: Climb +8, Hide +18, Jump -4, Spot + 7. Feats:
Weapon Finesse (bite).

Creature (EL 4): If the party approaches within a half-mile of this area
during the day, they encounter the female
pixie Liset. She is aware the spiders have
reproduced, and has decided something
needs to be done about them. The arrival
of adventurers is a happy coincidence.
Appearing 12 feet in front of you,
hovering in the air on delicate gossamer wings, is a two-foot-tall female humanoid, wearing a red dress with
matching cap and boots with toes that
curl upwards. Her long, slender ears
seem quite normal on her frame; she
holds a dainty bow in one hand. She
calls out in a high-pitched, warbling
voice, Come quick-quick. Beek be
missing, maybe spiders get. Big ones
help be gotten, special reward be given.
Assuming the PCs make no immediate
hostile move, she turns invisible, and calls
from half-a-dozen feet further ahead,
Follow me. She continues to talk to the
heroes as she leads them to the main
spider nest, occasionally allowing a
glimpse of herself. If pressed for specifics,
she is vague, Oh, Beek always getting in
trouble. Or Big ones have no difficulty
with spiders, not many. She regales the
party with tales of the local wildlife, of
sparrows raising their young, or how a
mouse just escaped from a fox. She does,
however, try to get an answer from each
player character on what that person
thinks would be a suitable reward for
aiding her.

Beek is entirely made up, but Liset is

not evil at heart. If the heroes should run
into trouble against the spiders, she aids
them to the best of her ability. After the
two medium-sized spiders are defeated,
she ponders Hmm, Beek not here after
all. Still, big ones deserve their reward. If
the party has patiently listened to her up
to now, and havent expressed an interest
in too extravagant a reward, she leads
them on a 20-minute walk to a hollow
tree, where she has hidden a non-magical
mithril chain shirt. Before leaving, she
warns the party, Bad dog faces on other
side of man road.
If the party is very greedy in its expectations, or otherwise upsets her, she leads
them on a 30-minute ramble through the
heaviest concentrations of brambles and
poison ivy she can find before abandoning them.
Liset, Female Pixie: CR 4; Small Fey (2 ft. tall); HD
1d6; hp 4; Init +4; Spd 20 ft., fly 60 ft.; AC 16
(touch 15, flat footed 12); Atk +5 melee (1d4-2,
dagger) or +6 ranged (1d6, shortbow); SA Spelllike abilities; SQ SR 16, natural invisibility; AL
NG; SV Fort +0, Ref +6, Will +4; Str 7, Dex 18,
Con 11, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 16.
Skills: Bluff +7, Concentration +4, Escape Artist +8,
Heal +6, Hide +12, Listen +8, Move Silently +8,
Ride +8, Search +9, Sense Motive +6, Spot +8.
Feats: Dodge, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot,
Weapon Finesse (dagger), Weapon Focus
(shortbow).
Spell-like Abilities: Once per day: confusion (touch), dancing lights, detect chaos, detect good, detect evil, detect law, detect thoughts, dispel magic, entangle, permanent image, polymorph self; Cast as 8th level sorcerer, save DC 13 + spell level.
Possessions: dagger, short bow, twenty regular arrows, two sleep arrows (Fort DC 15); hp 4.

The Gnoll Fort

All that is left aboveground of an ancient
settlement is an oval embankment. The
raiders have cleared away the undergrowth and built new structures. Most of
the raiders are gnolls. Slave controllers

12

(see description at end of module) dominate the leaders, serving the interests of
the real master located under the fort (see
part II).
The dominated leaders have forced the
gnolls to practice basic hygiene, follow a
semblance of military discipline, and even
do manual labor. The gnolls are formed
into two doublehands; a gnoll commander, a druid, and an ogre round out
the forces. The complement of the fort is
as follows:

First Doublehand (EL 8)

Gnolls (4): hp 14, 11, 11, 11
Gnoll Warriors (6): hp 23, 21, 20, 15, 21, 29
Gnoll Controlled Scout (1): hp 28
Gnoll Controlled Doublehand Leader (1): hp 33

Second Doublehand (EL 8)

Gnolls (4): hp 16, 10, 9, 13
Gnoll Warriors (6): hp 24, 24, 22, 17, 17, 21
Gnoll Controlled Scout (1): hp 32
Gnoll Controlled Doublehand Leader (1): hp 31
Gnoll: CR1; Medium-sized Humanoid (7 ft. 6 in. tall);
HD 2d8+2; Init +0; Spd 20 ft.; AC 17 (touch 10, flatfooted 17); Atk +3 melee (1d8+2/X3, battleaxe) or
+1 ranged (1d6+2, javelin); SQ Darkvision 60 ft.;
AL CE; SV Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +0; Str 15, Dex 10,
Con 13, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 8.
Skills: Listen +3, Spot +3, Climb -4, Hide 6. Feats: Power
Attack.
Possessions: Scale armor, large shield, battleaxe, javelin, 2d6 sp.
Gnoll Warrior War2: CR2; Medium-sized Humanoid
(7 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 2d8+2 plus 2d8+2; Init +0; Spd
20 ft.; AC 17 (touch 10, flat-footed 17); Atk +5
melee (1d8+2/X3, battleaxe) or +3 ranged (1d6+2,
javelin); SQ Darkvision 60 ft.; AL CE; SV Fort +7,
Ref +0, Will +0; Str 15, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 8, Wis
11, Cha 8.
Skills: Listen +3, Spot +3, Climb -2, Hide -6. Feats: Cleave,
Power Attack.
Possessions: Scale armor, large shield, battleaxe, javelin, 4d6 sp.
Gnoll Controlled Scout Rgr2: CR3; Medium-sized
Humanoid (7 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 2d8+2 plus 2d10+2;
Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 15 (touch 11, flat-footed 14);
Atk +3 melee (1d8+2/19-20, longsword) +3 melee
(1d4+1/19-20, dagger) or +5 ranged (1d6/X3,
shortbow); SA Favored Enemy: Human +1, TwoWeapon Fighting; SQ Darkvision 60 ft.; AL CE;

SV Fort +7, Ref +1, Will 1; Str 15, Dex 14 (12),

Con 13, Int 11 (9), Wis 11 (9), Cha 8.
Skills: Listen +2, Spot +2, Climb +6, Hide +5, Wilderness Lore +4. Feats: Power Attack, Track, Weapon
Focus (Shortbow).
Possessions: Studded leather, longsword, dagger,
shortbow, 20 arrows.
Gnoll Controlled Doublehand Leader Ftr2: CR3; Medium-sized Humanoid (7 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 2d8+2
plus 2d10+2; Init -1; Spd 20 ft.; AC 16 (touch 9, flatfooted 16); Atk +7 melee (1d8+2, battleaxe) or +3
ranged (1d6+2, javelin); SQ Darkvision 60 ft.; AL
CE; SV Fort +7, Ref -1, Will -1; Str 15, Dex 10 (8),
Con 13, Int 12 (10), Wis 11 (9), Cha 8.
Skills: Listen +2, Spot +3, Climb +0, Hide 7. Feats:
Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack,
Weapon Focus (battleaxe).
Possessions: Scale armor, large shield, masterwork
battleaxe, javelin.
Ogre, Controlled: CR 2; Large giant (9 ft. tall); HD
4d8+8; hp 27; Init 2; Spd 30 ft.; AC15 (touch 8,
flat-footed 15); Atk +8 melee (2d6+7, huge
greatclub); Face/Reach 5 ft. by 5ft./10 ft.; AL CE;
SV Fort +6, Ref -1, Will +0; Str 21, Dex 8 (6), Con
15, Int 6 (4), Wis 10 (8), Cha 7.
Skills: Climb +4, Listen +1, Spot +1. Feats: Weapon Focus (greatclub).
Possessions: Hide armor, huge greatclub.
Jebadoh, Male Controlled Human Drd3: CR3; Mediumsized Humanoid (5ft. 9 in. tall); HD 3d8; hp 18;
Init -1; Spd 30ft.; AC 11 (touch 9, flat-footed 11);
Atk +4 melee (1d6+1/18-20, scimitar); SQ Nature
sense, Trackless step, Woodland stride; AL NE;
SV Fort +3, Ref +0, Will +4; Str 12, Dex 11 (9), Con
11, Int 10 (8), Wis 14 (12), Cha 10.
Skills: Climb +1, Concentration +4, Handle Animal +2,
Hide 1, Listen +1, Spot +1, Wilderness Lore +7.
Feats: Dodge, Scribe Scroll, Track.
Possessions: Leather, scimitar, scrolls (caster level 3):
Cure Light Wounds, Barkskin.
Spells: (4/3/2; base DC = 11 + spell level): 0-cure minor
wounds, detect magic, flare, resistance; 1st-entangle,
pass without trace (X2); 2nd-resist elements, summon
swarm.
Tathos, Wolf Companion: CR2; Large Animal; HD
5d8+15; hp 37; Init +2; Spd 50ft.; AC 12 (touch 10,
flat-footed 11); Atk +5 melee (1d8+3, bite); Face/
Reach 5 ft. by 10 ft./5 ft.; SA Trip; SQ Scent; AL N;
SV Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2; Str 17, Dex 13, Con 16,
Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6.
Skills: Hide +1, Listen +6, Move Silently +2, Spot +4,
Wilderness Lore +1 ( +5 if tracking by scent).
Brindlenak, Gnoll Controlled Commander Rgr4: CR5;

13

Medium-sized Humanoid (7 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 2d8+4

plus 4d10+8; hp 51; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 15 (touch
11, flat-footed 14); Atk +5 melee (1d8+2/19-20,
longsword) +5 melee (1d4+1/19-20, dagger) or +7
ranged (1d6+2/X3, shortbow); SA Favored Enemy:
Human +1, Two-Weapon Fighting; SQ
Darkvision 60 ft.; AL CE; SV Fort +9, Ref +2, Will
+1; Str 15, Dex 15 (13), Con 14, Int 13 (11), Wis 12
(10), Cha 8.
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +5, Climb +9, Hide +8, Wilderness Lore +6. Feats: Power Attack, Track, Weapon
Focus (shortbow).
Possessions: Masterwork studded leather, longsword,
dagger, mighty composite shortbow ( +2 Str bonus), 20 arrows.

During the day, besides the gnoll scout

that is normally found near the trade
road (see above), another scout periodically makes a pass through the forest
outside the walls of the fort. This patrol
takes about half an hour, and occurs
about once every two hours. Also during
the day, work parties of a hand (5 gnolls)
in size randomly leave the fort to gather
wood or collect water. Since the gnolls
could be in different places at different
times of the day, be sure to keep track of
the total number based on the list above.
Since their main enemies are
humans, the dangers
are assumed worst in
the daytime; the forest
patrol is not undertaken
at night.
At dusk, a
doublehand leaves the
fort to do some hunting.
Besides adding to the
cookpot, this helps keep
large game away from the
fort, which discourages human
hunters from visiting the area.
The hunting party stays out for
about three hours.
The remaining gnolls that are not on duty
amuse themselves by gambling in the
barracks. When the hunting party returns
the main meal of the day is cooked. If any
working party fails to return, a half hour

after it should have come back a

doublehand is sent to investigate.
Most of the gnolls sleep from several
hours after midnight to the middle of the
next morning. All guard posts are
changed every four hours. If the PCs
manage to whittle the garrison down to
less than a dozen individuals, the leaders
abandon the fort, taking the treasure in
area 12 with them. They judge the remaining force too depleted to both ambush caravans and defend the fort, and
go off on a recruiting expedition among
the local gnoll tribes that takes about a
month.
The underground leader is anxious to
add more mages to his force. Any opponents who cast spells and are dressed in
armor lighter than a chain shirt are
assumed to be mages, and the gnoll
leaders order that they should be taken
alive (attacks are made to subdue rather
than kill). If any player character mage
(or apparent mage) is so captured, they
appear in part II of the adventure as a
controlled servant, unless rescued.
The leaders try to
keep the non-controlled gnolls ignorant
of underground activities,
but they are aware the
leaders have dealings with
humans, and suspect
humans must be living
beneath the fort. (Any
individual gnoll or gnoll
warrior that is captured has a
25% chance of speaking Common.)
The humans underneath the fort make
no efforts to aid the gnolls. It is deemed
more important to keep hidden than to
help bandits, who can be replaced.
The dirt embankments around the fort,
averaging eight feet high, are steep but
not difficult to climb. An individual can

14

walk up one at half speed with a successful Climb skill check (DC 5). Attempting
to move at normal speed up an embankment is harder (DC 10). Failure indicates
the individual has lost their footing and
fallen to the bottom of the embankment.
The garrison wont actually try to defend
the top of an embankment. Instead, they
form up inside, attacking anyone who
makes it over the top. Individual defenders would be posted on roofs or on the
north side of the compound to keep an
eye on the attackers.
The wererats who also live here (see
part II) are familiar with the gnolls
pattern of patrols, and only emerge at
night. On any given night, one or two
emerge to look around for a couple of
hours. Din is curious; if she has returned
from Thornbury, she follows the PCs
around if they are active at night. She
may attempt to steal something from
them if the opportunity is right.
All the buildings in the fort are made
of wood. Doors are wooden unless otherwise noted. Ceilings are eight feet high
(ten feet in the stables). The basic Listen
skill check to notice loud noises, such as
the sound of combat, is DC 0. Add +5 if a
closed door is in the way, +1 per ten feet
of distance. Trying to Listen directly
through a wooden wall adds +10 to the
difficulty. The gnolls, because of their
Darkvision, do not bother with lamps.
The buildings do not have any windows.
The heroes need to emphasize stealth,
or whittle down the gnolls by attacking
groups away from the fort. It is otherwise
likely that any combat inside the fort
alerts all the gnolls, bringing overwhelming force against the PCs.

1. Main Gate
The gate has a gnoll guard day and night.
When not in use, it is blocked by two
chevaux-de-frise (wooden logs with sharpened stakes attached at right angles to the
trunk in all directions to form a moveable
barrier).
A curving embankment of earth
blocks the clearing ahead. Above the
eight-foot tall barrier, the tops of three
buildings can be seen. Two logs fitted
with sharpened stakes block a 15 foot
wide opening in the earthwork. A gnoll
paces back and forth just inside. The
earthen embankment tracks its way up
a small hill on the far side, making an
obvious circle around the buildings.

2. Sally Gate
A smaller opening blocked by one chevaux-de-frise, not wide enough to admit a
horse wagon. One gnoll guard is always
on duty.

Wooden Doors: 1 in. thick; hardness 5; hp 15; AC 5;

break DC 18.
Wooden Walls: 4 in. thick; hardness 5; hp 40; AC 5;
break DC 24; Climb DC 21.

15

Gnollish Morale
Low-level gnolls (normal gnolls and
warriors) fight until their side is reduced
to 25% or fewer effective individuals
left from the original total, at which point
they flee. If their leaders are downed,
this occurs at 50%. Any individual gnoll
tries to flee when it reaches 20% or
less of its original hit points.
Controlled individuals do whatever
they feel is in their masters best interest. If this means fighting against overwhelming odds, or leading a retreat, this
is what they do (however, note the effect of strongly acting against their natural inclination in the description of the
slave controller at the end of the module).

3. Upper Observation Post

A gnoll guard is on duty during the day
only. The post is high enough to give a
good view in nearly all directions. At this
location, the forts embankment crosses
on top of the hill that extends off to the
north. The stables are built into the
embankment, so it is possible to take a

five-foot step up from the hilltop to the

roof of the stables.

4. TTrrash Pit
Ashes from the cooking fire, gnawed
bones, and miscellaneous clutter fill this
pit. Anyone succeeding at a healing skill
check (DC 15) recognizes some of the
bones as human, the remnants of those

Map 2: The Gnoll Fort

16

7. Doublehand Leader Quarters

killed in the caravan ambushes, or who

died working below. Searching the pit
reveals nothing of value.

A simple bed and a chest are all the

furnishings in this room. The chest contains a spare set of scale armor.

A 20 feet wide pit pierces the

ground. It is filled to within five feet of
the rim with bones, ashes, fragments
of wood, and less readily identifiable
bric-a-brac.

A crudely made bed is pushed

against the far wall of this small room.
At the foot of the bed is a chest.

5. Latrine

8. Doublehand Leader Quarters

A filled-in hole nearby marks the former

location of the latrine.

Similar to the above, except the chest

contains a short bow and 20 arrows.

9. Cell

The smell wafting from inside indicates this is a latrine. The only furnishing is a wooden board with two circular
openings serving as a seat.

This cell is completely empty. The door is

unlocked.

10. Cell

6. Barracks
The normal gnolls, warriors, and scouts
all sleep here. Besides the doors, the only
opening is in the roof above the firepit in
the northern part of the chamber. A stack
of firewood is piled neatly against one
wall. The gnolls sleeping pelts cover the
floor. Sleeping hand members, or those
off duty, are normally found here. If an
alarm is raised, the gnolls ready for five
rounds before they begin exiting the
southern door, two per round. They do
not have time to don armor, but have
their shields and weapons.
An effluvium mixed of wood smoke
and too many creatures kept in one
place for too long assaults your nostrils
as you enter. The large open room
stretches back 30 feet. Two doors are
in the far wall. An opening near the
back of the room breaks the roof directly above a fire pit. Torn and dirty
furs cover a dirt floor.

The gnome merchant Hrandeth of Clan

Alazzar is in this locked cell. The door,
which is solid, is heavier than the other
doors in the compound. The key is in area
11. The players receive 200 Story XP for
freeing him.
A figure sits huddled in a corner of
the small room. Hesitantly, a bearded
face is raised to stare at you. The
gnomes mouth opens in disbelief, and
he slowly pulls himself to his feet.
Strong Wooden Door: 2 in. thick; hardness 5; hp 20;
AC 5; break DC 23; open lock DC 18.

Hrandeth. LN male gnome, Exp 5; hp

25. He is anxious to leave, and very
grateful to the adventurers. Much as he
would like to, he is unable to pay any
reward to the PCs without his shipment
of spices (see 23). If the PCs recover the
shipment, and give it to him (he needs a
loan of 25 gp to arrange its transportation), six weeks later he returns the 25 gp
with the 500 gp reward previously promised to the heroes. If no reward was
promised, he still sends 300 gp for his
rescue. Although not able to fight, he has
learned a few things that might be useful.

17

A few times I heard two humans

talking outside my cell, although I have
only actually seen gnolls bringing me my
food.
When I was first brought to the fort
after the ambush, I saw a wagon with my
belongings enter a large building just
north of here. My apprentice, my nephew
Obvim, was forced to go in there along
with several human employees. I have no
idea what happened to any of them
since.
The gnoll leader, Brindlenak, questioned me several times. I was forced to
give him the name of a relative that could
be contacted to arrange a ransom, although I knew it was unlikely to be paid.
He seemed very anxious to know if any
members of my group practiced magic.

11. Brindlenak and Jebadoh.

There are no openings other than the
doors. When not otherwise about their
duties, the gnoll leader Brindlenak and
the Druid Jebadoh are found here. If the
Druid is here, his animal companion
Tathos is resting next to the door, effectively preventing an unnoticed entry. An
oil lamp is lit on the table. If all three are
here, the encounter level is 6. In the chest
is clothing, and the key to the cells at 9
and 10.
Two beds, a chest, a table with an
oil lamp and a chair are in the room.
The furnishings are crudely made, but
functional. A door pierces the opposite
wall.
If Brindlenak is freed of his slave
controller, he is totally confused by the
faint memories of the last six months, and
unable to answer any questions. Around
his neck on a thong is the key to the
strongroom at 12.
Jebadoh appeared voluntarily at the
fortification. A druid, he believes in direct

action to curtail the spread of civilization

into wilderness areas. He saw the bandits
as a force that could be directed to that
end, not realizing what he was getting
into. Freed of his controller, he still maintains his beliefs, and does not willingly
aid the party, not that the faint memories
he retains would be of much help.

12. Strongroom
Pay for the garrison is stored here. The
door is locked (Open Lock DC 20). A
small chest is in the room. The door is also
trapped.
A chest sits against the far wall.
Thunderstone Trap: CR1; A thunderstone rests above
the door, ready to fall and break if the door is
opened; Fortitude save avoids (DC 15); Search
(DC 20); Disable Device (DC 12).

The chest is unlocked, and contains

600 gp, 1600 sp, and a spare
thunderstone.
Levering open the chests lid reveals
two sacks. Undoing the tie binding the
neck of one, mingled gold and silver
coins are visible inside.

13. Stables
The controlled ogre normally sleeps just
within the door. The effect of the slave
controller reduces the ogres intelligence
to such a low-level that he is used only for
simple tasks of manual labor.
The interior forms one large room,
four wooden posts helping to support
the roof. To the left of the entrance,
half a dozen mules are tethered. To the
right are piled crates, bales, and barrels. Further back are two caravan wagons. In the far corner on the left is a
pile of what appears to be animal feed.
Along the west wall are six mules,
tethered to a rope stretching north to

18

south. In the southeast corner are piled

boxes of supplies (mostly dried provisions) and low-grade items captured from
caravans, such as bales of cotton and
crates of unrefined ore. Besides the difficulty of transporting the items out of
here, someone without knowledge of the
markets where these are desired could
only sell them for about 150 gp. (Such
knowledge, and the time taken to transport them there, would triple the net
proceeds.)
To the northwest is feed for the mules.
To the northeast are two wagons. The
mostly human servitors of the master (see
part II) take one or two wagons to the
nearest large town north of here about
once a week. They purchase supplies,
fence stolen goods, and if they have
seized an extra wagon, they sell both the
wagon and the mules pulling it.

The panel can be found on a Search skill

check (DC 22). There are scuff marks in
the dirt floor next to the wall here, some
of which are partly cut off by the wall.
Someone with the Track feat may notice
this (Wilderness Lore skill check DC 16),
or they may be seen with a Search skill
check (DC 20).
The true mastermind of the bandits
has built a lair under the gnoll fort. This
leader, a devil, is using the proceeds of
the raids to fund its own magical research, the better to protect itself against
its enemies. A small band of wererats has
also established a home here, stealing
from the bandits. Their depredations have
not yet been discovered. Burials from the
long-vanished inhabitants of the fort, as
well as survivors of an ancient battle are
also present.

13a. Hidden Entry

A secret panel in the wall leads to the
tunnels of the true master of the bandits.

19

Part II: Upper Level

to steal as much as possible, including

everything in area 23.

Besides the entry tunnel to the lower level,

a wererat lair has been tunneled into the
soft dirt of the hill that forms the northern
side of the fort. The doors and walls of
areas 21 and 22 are of wood, and have
the same characteristics as the fort buildings in part I. There is no permanent
lighting; the human guards carry oil
lamps when moving around.

16. Listening Post

14. TTunnel
unnel
Connecting through the secret door at
13a, this tunnel slopes downward, going
down about 12 feet by the time the landing is reached. At the other end of the
landing, the tunnel continues, dropping
another 12 feet until it ends at a cave.
A tunnel cuts through the dirt of the
hill above, heading directly away from
you and sloping sharply downward.
Wooden supports have been placed every five feet. To your left, the wall is of
wood, not dirt, for about 20 feet. Two
doors are inset in the wall.

15. Secret Entry to Storeroom

This is the entry the wererats use to pilfer
goods from the bandits. They are most
active after a raid, when newly captured
items are stored here that they can steal
before everything is properly catalogued.
Sometimes, the gnolls even blame each
other for stealing such items!
A cavity has been hollowed in the
dirt, just large enough to fit a human.
There is no floor; a few crude wooden
rungs lead downward to a three-foot
wide tunnel heading east.
If the PCs assault the underground
levels without detecting them, the
wererats take advantage of the confusion

A wererat, in hybrid form, is stationed

here to try to hear what is going on in the
adjacent tunnel, 14. The short tunnel
connecting to this post goes up eight feet
right at 16 (requiring another crude
ladder), reaching the same level as the
bandit tunnel. Deliberately, there is no
actual connection with that tunnel.
The party may be able to detect this
hollow, or the portion of the wererat
tunnel connecting 15 and 18 that goes
under the bandits tunnel, while in corridor 14. This requires a successful Search
skill check (DC 22). An elf does not
automatically get a chance to detect the
hollow just by walking by, since it is not
actually a secret door.
Creature (EL 4): If the wererat detects
the party coming from 15, he tries to
retreat to area 18.
Male Wererat Rog1: CR4; Medium-sized Shapechanger; AL N; three alternate forms, human
form not shown.
Hybrid Form: HD 1d6+1; hp 7; Init +4; Spd 30 ft.; AC
17 (touch 14, flat-footed 13); Atk +4 melee (1d6/
18-20, rapier) +2 melee (1d4 bite); SA Curse of
Lycanthropy, Multi-attack, Sneak Attack +1d6;
SQ Damage Reduction 15/silver, Rat Empathy,
Scent; SV Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +4; Str 10, Dex 19,
Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.
Skills: Balance +6, Bluff +4, Climb +14, Disable Device
+4, Hide in Cover +12, Listen +10, Move Silently
+11, Open Lock +9, Search +10, Spot +10. Feats:
Blind-fight, Dodge, Improved Control Shape,
Multi-attack, Weapon Finesse (Bite), Weapon Finesse (Rapier).
Possessions: Rapier, 15 gp.
Dire Rat Form: As hybrid form except for these
changes. Small-size; Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.; AC
18 (touch 15, flat-footed 14); Atk +4 melee (1d4
bite); Skills: Hide in Cover +16.

17. Wererat Tunnel

These narrow tunnels connect the main
wererat lair with an exit to the outside
and the underground bandit level.

20

A narrow three-foot by three-foot

tunnel snakes off ahead of you. Crude
wooden boards run along the tunnels
roof, braced by wooden posts every few
feet.
Any combat in the tunnels is severely
limited. Large weapons are unusable, as
are medium weapons that are not useful
for thrusting. A rapier or halfspear would
be useful in these conditions, but such
weapons still receive a 2 circumstance
penalty to hit. Small weapons receive a
similar penalty. Tiny weapons can be
used without penalty.

18. Common Chamber

The wererats gather here when they have
nothing else that they need to do. A
roughly circular chamber has been hollowed out. The roots of a large tree
provide most of the support to the walls
and ceiling, aided by timber cross bracing.
Creatures (EL 8): Urt, Din, and a male
wererat in hybrid form, are usually found
here.
A few roots and vertical braces block
the middle of the room. In the northeast
corner are piled games (decks of cards,
a tarot deck, and a chess set). On the
south wall, someone has set up a target,
now badly torn and cut by the knives that
have been thrown at it.
An oil lamp is normally kept burning
here; it is extinguished as soon as any
intruders are detected.
Tactics: If intruders are noted coming
down either of the tunnels connecting to
this room, Urt tries to meet them in one of
the trapped sections of the tunnels. At
first, he tries to negotiate with them,
offering information about the bandits.
He is familiar with the number of gnolls,

their patrol schedule, and the upper level.

He has not been in the bandits section of
the lower level, and stays away from the
graves there since he can sense a deadly
presence.
If the PCs insist on advancing, or
attack him, he yells out to trigger the
traps (see 18a below), relying on his
abilities to prevent his own entrapment. If
outmatched by a foe he is fighting in one
of the tunnels, he retreats into 18, allowing other wererats to flank and sneakattack his opponent. If setting off traps
blocks both tunnels, it only takes the
wererats about two hours to dig a new
exit to the surface.
If the PCs successfully negotiate with
the wererats without attacking them,
they should receive experience for a CR7
encounter.
Male Wererat Rog1: For stats, see 16; hp 7.
Urt, Male Wererat Leader Rog4: CR7; Medium-sized
Shape-changer; AL N; three alternate forms.
Human Form: HD 4d6+4; hp 23; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC
14 (touch 12, flat-footed 14); Atks +5 melee
(1d6+1/18-20, rapier), +2 melee (1d4/19-20, dagger); SA Sneak Attack +2d6, Two-Weapon Fighting; SQ Evasion, Rat Empathy, Uncanny Dodge;
SV Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +4; Str 12, Dex 15, Con
12, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 12.
Skills: Balance +5, Bluff +4, Climb +13, Disable Device
+10, Gather Information +8, Hide in Cover +13,
Listen +11, Move Silently +12, Open Lock +11,
Search +12, Sense Motive +4, Spot +11. Feats:
Ambidexterity, Blind-fighting, Improved Control Shape, Two Weapon Fighting.
Possessions: Masterwork rapier with silver inlay, dagger, masterwork thieves tools, 30 gp.
Hybrid Form: HD 4d6+8; hp 27; Init +5; Spd 30 ft.; AC
18 (touch 15, flat-footed 18); Atk +9 melee
(1d6+1/18-20, rapier) +4 melee (1d4/19-20, dagger) +6 melee (1d4 bite); SA Curse of Lycanthropy,
Multi-attack, Sneak Attack +2d6; SQ Damage
Reduction 15/silver, Evasion, Rat Empathy,
Scent, Uncanny Dodge; SV Fort +6, Ref +9, Will
+4; Str 12, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 12.
Skills: Balance +8, Bluff +4, Climb +17, Disable Device
+10, Gather Information +8, Hide in Cover +16,
Listen +15, Move Silently +15, Open Lock +14,
Search +16, Sense Motive +4, Spot +15. Feats:
Ambidexterity, Blind-fighting, Improved Control Shape, Multi-attack, Two Weapon Fighting,
Weapon Finesse (Bite), Weapon Finesse (Ra-

21

pier).
Dire Rat Form: As hybrid form except for these
changes. Small-size; Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.; AC
19 (touch 16, flat-footed 19); Atk +9 melee (1d4
bite); Skills: Hide in Cover +20.

Urt, besides wishing to enrich himself,

is honestly concerned with the other
wererats here. The three 1st level rogues
are cousins. Mem and the youngsters are
his family. These are natural
lycanthropes, an exception to the rules,
and are not forced to be LE in alignment.
If any wererats are missing, Urt goes
outside and attempts to find out what
happened to them. If the adventurers are
holding them, he tries to sneak into their
camp and free them. If that fails, he tries
to negotiate a release, offering information and a ransom. If a wererat has been
turned over to Captain Destrani, assume
that the first night after Urt learns of it a
successful escape is engineered (the
prison facilities are still extremely crude).
Dins personality is described in the
section on Thornbury, in part I.
Din, Female Wererat Rog1: CR4; Medium-sized
Shape-changer; AL CN; three alternate forms.
Human Form: HD 1d6+1; hp 7; Init +3; Spd 30 ft.; AC
15 (touch 13, flat-footed 12); Atk +0 melee (1d6/
18-20, rapier); SA Sneak Attack +1d6; SQ Rat Empathy; SV Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +5; Str 10, Dex 16,
Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 13.
Skills: Balance +5, Bluff +5, Climb +13, Disable Device
+5, Gather Information +3, Hide in Cover +11,
Listen +5, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +7, Pick
Pocket +10, Search +7, Sense Motive +3, Spot +7,
Tumble +5. Feats: Improved Control Shape, Run,
Skill Focus (pick pocket) (All skill focus feats in
this module use a variant rule to add +3 to a
skill rather than +2).
Possessions: Rapier, 31 gp.
Hybrid Form: HD 1d6+2; hp 8; Init +6; Spd 30 ft.; AC
19 (touch 16, flat-footed 13); Atk +6 melee (1d6/
18-20, rapier) +4 melee (1d4 bite); SA Curse of
Lycanthropy, Multi-attack, Sneak Attack +1d6;
SQ Damage Reduction 15/silver, Rat Empathy,
Scent; SV Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +5; Str 10, Dex 22,
Con 14, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 13.
Skills: Balance +8, Bluff +5, Climb +16, Disable Device
+5, Gather Information +3, Hide in Cover +14,
Listen +9, Move Silently +13, Open Lock +11,

Pick Pocket +13, Search +11, Sense Motive +3,

Spot +11, Tumble +8. Feats: Improved Control
Shape, Multi-attack, Run, Skill Focus (Pick
Pocket), Weapon Finesse (Bite), Weapon Finesse
(Rapier).
Dire Rat Form: As hybrid form except for these
changes. Small-size; Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.; AC
20 (touch 17, flat-footed 14); Atk +7 melee (1d4
bite); Skills: Hide in Cover +18.

18a. Tunnel Traps

A manual trigger pulls a rope attached to
the tunnel supports, and knocks them
down in the shaded area, causing the dirt
roof to collapse.
One of the boards that, moments before, was over your head forming part
of the roof falls, nearly hitting you. A
torrent of dirt follows it, threatening to
bury you. You choke on dust, and
struggle against the dirt threatening to
bury you
Collapsing Roof Trap. CR2. The collapse itself causes
no damage. Characters in the bury zone on a
successful Reflex save (DC 15) are assumed to
have created a clear pocket around themselves
when the roof collapsed, and begin to dig themselves out as noted in the rules; Search DC 20;
Disable Device DC 16.

19. Storeroom
Various items crowd this chamber.
This small room is jammed with baskets, shovels, buckets, crates, a bundle
of animal pelts, and a small chest.
The baskets and shovels are used to
extend the wererat tunneling and dispose
of the dirt. The crates of dried rations and
wolf pelts were stolen from the bandits.
The pelts are worth 100 gp total. The
buckets are for bodily waste disposal, and
smell like it.
Wooden Chest: 2 in. thick; hardness 5; hp 20; break
DC 23; open lock (DC 20). Inside is a golden
hand mirror with ten small inset garnets (worth
1,300 gp), 1,100 gp, and 300 sp.

22

Opening the chest, a golden hand

mirror lies half sunken in mostly golden
coins almost filling the chest.
Hidden Stash: Search DC 22. Hidden in the dirt wall
of the storeroom is a small bag. Inside are gems:
deep blue spinel (400 gp), golden yellow topaz
(500 gp), black pearl (600 gp), and a blue star
sapphire (1,400 gp).

20. Living Quarters

Three wererat youngsters and their
mother are in this room.
The faint odor of wet fur is noticeable. Three small hybrid wererats, the
tallest still only half the size of any others you have seen, cower, visibly shaking, in the furthest part of the room.
Creatures (EL 6): Mem, the mate of
Urt and mother of the three children
here, is content to let Urt lead the group
while she concentrates on raising their
youngsters.
Blankets and green boughs hide the
dirt floor. It is surprisingly clean, since the
cover is changed frequently. To one side
sits a cooking pot (a few times a week the
pot is carried outside to properly cook a
meal), cutlery, and a neat stack of
wooden plates, cups, and spoons. A
bucket of clean water is to the side.
Wererat Children, 2 Male, 1 Female (3): They can
make no effective attack, and PCs gain no experience for slaying them; hp 3, 4, 5.

Tactics. Mem shuttles between here

and area 18 if there is an attack, to keep
current on what is happening. If the PCs
are forcing their way into 18 from one of
the tunnels, she attempts to escape with
the youngsters through the other tunnel.
If things go very badly, she stays in here
and defends her children to the death.

Shape-changer; AL N; three alternate forms.

Human Form: HD 3d6; hp 19; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 13
(touch 11, flat-footed 13); Atk +3 melee (1d6+1/
18-20, rapier); SA Sneak Attack +2d6; SQ Evasion, Rat Empathy, Uncanny Dodge; SV Fort +4,
Ref +4, Will +5; Str 11, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 9, Wis
12, Cha 11.
Skills: Balance +4, Bluff +0, Climb +11, Disable Device
+5, Gather Information +3, Hide in Cover +8,
Listen +10, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +7,
Search +9, Sense Motive +4, Spot +13. Feats: Alertness, Blind-fighting, Improved Control Shape,
Toughness.
Possessions: Rapier, 25 gp.
Hybrid Form: HD 3d6+3; hp 22; Init +4; Spd 30 ft.; AC
17 (touch 14, flat-footed 17); Atk +7 melee
(1d6+1/18-20, rapier) +5 melee (1d4 bite); SA
Curse of Lycanthropy, Multi-attack, Sneak Attack +2d6; SQ Damage Reduction 15/silver, Evasion, Rat Empathy, Scent, Uncanny Dodge; SV
Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +5; Str 11, Dex 19, Con 12,
Int 9, Wis 12, Cha 11.
Skills: Balance +7, Bluff +0, Climb +14, Disable Device
+5, Gather Information +3, Hide in Cover +11,
Listen +14, Move Silently +13, Open Lock +10,
Search +13, Sense Motive +4, Spot +16. Feats:
Alertness, Blind-fighting, Improved Control
Shape, Multi-attack, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
(Bite), Weapon Finesse (Rapier).
Dire Rat Form: As hybrid form except for these
changes. Small-size; Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.; AC
18 (touch 15, flat-footed 18); Atks +8 melee (1d4
bite); Skills: Hide in Cover +18.

21. W
er
er
at Lair Exit
Wer
erer
era
The horizontal tunnel ends here. A
vertical tunnel goes upward 18 feet, a
wooden ladder firmly attached to the
wall. At the top, a wooden cover hides an
exit to the forest. It comes up in a small
grouping of bushes. If PCs in the forest
have some reason to be suspicious of
these bushes (they have noted activity), a
Search skill check (DC 12) reveals the
exit.

22. Upper Guar

d R
oom.
Guard
Room.
A single guard is on duty here at all
times.

Mem, Wererat Rog3: CR6; Female Medium-sized

23

This simply appointed room, lit by

an oil lamp, contains only a desk with
two drawers and a chair.

Creature (EL 2): If given the opportunity,

the guard runs down the ramp to the
door at 31, banging on it to give warning.
Then he defends the door to give the
others a little more time to prepare.

23. Storeroom
The more valuable items taken from
caravans are stored here.
Crates, bolts of cloth, and two small
chests, as well as a small pile of gleaming metal ingots, are piled against the
far wall.

Warrior, War3: For stats, see area 33 ; hp 17.

A lit lamp is on the desk. One of the

drawers in the desk has a false bottom
(Search skill check (DC 15) to find). Inside
is a key to one of the locks for the door at
31.

The two chests contain spices from the

gnome trader Hrandeths caravan. A
successful Profession (herbalist) or Craft
(cooking) skill check (DC 12) identifies the

24

spices. All are used to flavor food, or to

protect it from spoilage. The spices are
worth 950 gp.

at hand, piled along the rough eastern

wall, is a five-foot high pile of rock chips.
The cave opens out to the west, gradually sloping downward. A line of stones
marks the western edge of the path connecting the ramp up and the iron door.

You open one of the small chests. A

pleasant smell emanates from the open
chest, bringing to mind some of the better meals you have had. Half a dozen
tightly sealed oilcloth bags are inside.
Undoing the leather binding on the neck
of one reveals an inner bag. Inside this
is a fine powder; with the bag open, the
pleasant smell is much stronger.

The air is damp and cool. A slight

breeze flows toward the northern tunnel
opening.

25. Ancient Graves

The bolts of cloth are worth 350 gp,

the pile of five electrum ingots 100 gp.
The three crates contain fittings for
wagons, doors, and harnesses, worth 300
gp. Knowledge of the right markets, and
taking the time to transport them there,
would net two to three times these values.

The original builders of the earthen

fortification on the surface performed
burials here many hundreds of years ago.
Dozens of individuals were interred here.
The dual action of water and time has
exposed some of the skeletons. The garrison has been using this section of the cave
as a convenient dumping ground for their
trash.
The ground sloping down to the
western wall is covered in trash and offal. At several places along the western wall, poking up from the sediment
making up the cave floor, are blackened
bones. A black, leaf shaped stone is also
visible. South of here, the cave narrows,
and the roof angles closer to the floor.

Lower Level Caves

Some natural caves were encountered
while the lower level was being excavated. Located here are burials from the
original inhabitants, as well as the leavings from a long ago battle. There is no
natural or artificial lighting in these caves.

24. Burial Cave

The passage to the north connects to the
upper level. To the south is the locked
door to the guards area. To the east are
piled rock chips from mining. A line of
rocks marks the west edge of the safe
path. Any further to the west and intruders would be subject to attack by guardian shadows (see next entry). When
originally creating these levels, the miners
followed the almost-choked natural
passage that led from the caves to the
surface.
This is a natural cavern. Twenty
feet ahead, an iron door is visible. Near

Creatures (EL 5): The graves are not

without guardians. Any character that
succeeds in a Scry skill check (DC 15) has
the feeling he or she is being watched. If
the graves are disturbed, their guardians
attack.
Guardian Shadows (2): See the end of the adventure
for their full statistics; hp 17, 22. The shadows
are confined to this cave, and cannot enter the
cave at 26, or go east of the line of stones bisecting the cave.

The inhabitants of this level are aware

of the shadows and know their limitations, which is why the stones are in
place. They have assumed (correctly) that
nothing of value is to be found in the

25

graves. If the graves are fully searched,

which requires some six hours of digging,
the adventurers find only a collection of
semi-precious stones from necklaces, bone
hafts of tools from which the copper
heads have corroded away, and obsidian
knives. The three-dozen semi-precious
stones that may be found are worth 100
gp in all.
A heavy rain on the surface quickly
results in rivulets of water collecting at
the west end of the cave, flowing into 26,
where the water forms a shallow pool to
the southwest before it is absorbed by the
ground.

26. Shaman Burial

A single body is here. The ceiling averages
only four and a half feet above the floor
in the northern part of the cave.

One of the symbols on the wall is an

ancient symbol for a forgotten druidic
god. A knowledge (religion) skill check
(DC 16) identifies it. If any characters are
present who are druids, they are led by
the guardian shadow to the middle of the
western wall. Under a rock is Quaals
Feather Token (Tree). This item can also
be found on a Search skill check (DC 16).
If the grave is disturbed, or the shadow is
attacked, it fights.
Guardian Shadow: See the end of the adventure for
full statistics; hp 24.

The western wall of the cave is covered in drawings rendered in blacks and
reds. Most depict animals, and the human hunters of them, although a few
are stylized geometric figures. A cairn
of stones formed into a rectangular pile
lies next to the wall.

Creature (EL 3): The cairn marks the

burial of a shaman of the tribe that once
lived above. The guardian shadow here is
aware of the desecration that is occurring
at 24 (the dumping of trash), and appeals
to the characters to try to get them to do
what it cannot. It leads them south to the
opening at 27, since the path leads toward the desecrators. Read the following
if the characters approach the cairn,
adding the portion in bold if their instantaneous reaction is not to attack the
shadow when it appears.
As you peer at the cairn, you sense
something is not right. Then you realize
one of the shadows is not cast by any

object, in fact, it seems to be moving of

its own volition.
The shadow moves a short distance to the south, and then returns
to the cairn. It repeats this several
times, then halts, eight feet from the
cairn, as if waiting for something.

Due to the low ceiling, large weapons

suffer a 2 circumstance penalty to hit. A
party that interacts with the shadow
without fighting, following its instructions without attacking it, should receive
the same experience for this encounter as
if they had defeated it.
If the grave is opened, from the disarrangement of the bones within the PCs
know it was desecrated once long ago,
and covered again. A few semi-precious
stones worth 15 gp are the only treasures
left. Opening the grave could cause a
problem for any character that worships
a druidic god.

27. TTunnel
unnel Entr
ance
Entrance
The roof continues to drop closer to the
floor in the southern part of the cave, in
places dipping below three feet. A narrow tunnel twists out of sight to the
south. Its entry is partially blocked by
fallen rock. If not brought here by the
shadow from the 26, a Spot skill check
(DC 16) is needed to find this entrance. A
Search automatically uncovers it. (The

26

description assumes the party has followed the shadow.)

spell. Time within the sphere has ceased

to flow, and the sphere itself is immune to
physical and magical damage.

The shadow is difficult to pick out

as you follow it over the rubble-strewn
floor. The ceiling gradually approaches
the floor as you walk south. After about
20 feet, where it appears that you may
need to proceed on hands and knees,
the shadow stops. For a moment, you
are confused, since the cave appears
to end in a wall. Then you realize that
obscured behind several large rocks is
the opening of a passage that continues south. When you glance back to
where the shadow was, it is now gone.

A solid bubble stands almost completely uncovered, just about blocking

the passage. Its surface is shiny, reflecting all light that falls upon it.

28. Tunnel Fork

The twisty tunnel forks here. The description assumes travel from the north.
The tunnel branches here. To your
left, one fork continues roughly southeast. To your right is a passage to the
southwest, barely wide enough for a human to fit through.
Creature (EL 3): A wight is hiding in
the southwest branch, and charges by
surprise the first living being reaching the
fork (requires an opposed roll of the
wights Hide check versus a Spot check).
Wight: CR 3; Medium-Size Undead (5 ft. tall); HD
4d12; hp 26; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 15 (touch 11,
flat footed 14); Atk +3 melee (1d4+1 and energy
drain, slam); SA Energy drain, create spawn; SQ
Undead; AL LE; SV Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +5; Str
12, Dex 12, Con -, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 15.
Skills: Climb +5, Hide +8, Listen +8, Move Silently
+16, Search +7, Spot +8. Feats: Blind-Fight.

The wight has been here for centuries,

and will not pursue beyond the immediate area.

29. Imprisonment Sphere

A sphere of temporal stasis is here, created by the casting of the imprisonment

Use of detect magic finds a strong aura

being emanated by the object. If a
Spellcraft skill check (DC 24) is made in
conjunction with this spell, the aura is
recognized as from the Transmutation
school (imprisonment is from the Abjuration school, but the result resembles the
effect of the Transmutation temporal stasis
spell).
Creature (EL 8): Dispel magic is
unlikely to succeed at ending the temporal stasis, since a Dispel check must be
made against a DC of 29. However, the
age and nature of the spell that created
the sphere is such that it can be cancelled
with a simple key, touching the sphere
with the bare flesh of an intelligent
creature. After touching the sphere, it
takes three rounds for the spell to fully
fade away. The first round, the PCs can
make out a shadowy shape inside the
sphere. The second round, they can
clearly see what is inside, although the
bubble is still faintly visible. The third
round the creature appears to be free,
although it is still unmoving and neither
magical nor physical damage yet affects
it. The fourth round it actually is free.
This gives the heroes time to prepare (or
run away).
Inside the sphere is a destrachan,
which attacks. The PCs are considered to
have surprise on the Destrachan. The
creature cannot fit through the narrowed
passage that leads back to 28, although
using its sonic abilities it can widen the
passage enough with a few minutes
work. If left alone, within a half hour it

27

will have climbed the tunnel at 24 far

enough to reach a point where the rock
walls change to dirt. It then uses its sonic
ability to burrow into the dirt, off to
search for a larger cave complex. Since
the tunnel it digs collapses behind it, it
cannot be followed.
Destrachan: CR 8; Large Aberration (9 ft. long); HD
8d8+24; hp 61; Init +5; Spd 30 ft.; AC 16 (touch
10, flat footed 15); Atk +9/+9 melee (1d6+4, claw);
SA Destructive harmonics, reverberating harmonics; SQ Blindsight, protection from sonics;
Face/Reach 5 ft. by 10 ft./5 ft.; AL NE; SV Fort
+5, Ref +3, Will +10; Str 18, Dex 12, Con 16, Int
12, Wis 18, Cha 12.
Skills: Hide +7, Intuit Direction +10, Listen +25, Move
Silently +10. Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative.

30. Imprisonment Sphere

A sphere of temporal stasis is here, created
by the casting of the imprisonment spell.
The same general considerations apply as
at 29, above.
A solid bubble sticks out of the wall,
as the tunnel widens to nearly ten feet.
Its surface is shiny, reflecting all light
that falls upon it.
Creature (EL 9): Inside is the ogre
mage Lakul. He had the misfortune to
anger a powerful wizard who favored
the imprisonment spell. He summoned
the Destrachan in the other sphere using
a minor artifact, no longer in his possession, so it is just as likely to attack him as
anyone else.
Lakul instantly recognizes what has
happened, and that an unknown amount
of time has passed since he was imprisoned. He is still weakened from his last
combat, and is willing to talk to find out
something of the time in which he has
appeared. If he senses those he is talking
to are weak or fearful, he demands
information, otherwise he dissembles and
acts quite calmly. He is ready to defend
himself if attacked.

Since Lakul is injured, and has expended some of his spells and abilities,
PCs should get only half experience if
they manage to defeat him (which lowers
the encounter level by two). If the heroes
were to encounter him fully rested, they
would get full experience.
Tactics: If forced into combat, Lakul
concentrates on any individuals who
appear to be rogues and are in position to
flank him. He next engages fighting types,
relying on his spell resistance to handle
any spells. His darkness ability is used to
block the sight of those in the back ranks.
Lakul, Male Ogre Mage / Wiz3: CR 11; Large Giant (9
ft. 8in. tall); HD 5d8+15 plus 3d4+9; hp 59 (currently at 38); Init +4; Spd 30 ft., fly 40 ft.; AC 18
(touch 9, flat footed 18); Atk +8 melee (2d8+7/
19-20, greatsword); SA Spell-like abilities; SQ Regeneration 2, SR 18; Face/Reach 5 ft. by 5ft./10
ft.; AL LE; SV Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +6; Str 21, Dex
10, Con 17, Int 15 (17), Wis 14, Cha 17.
Skills: Concentration +9, Listen +8, Spellcraft +8, Spot
+8. Feats: Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Scribe Scroll.
Spell-like Abilities: At will: darkness, invisibility; Once
per day: charm person, cone of cold*, gaseous
form*, polymorph self*, sleep; Cast as 9th level
sorcerer, save DC 13 + spell level.
Possessions: Greatsword, masterwork large chain shirt,
potion of hiding, scroll of slow, scarlet and blue
ioun stone (already figured in), 20 gp.
Spells Prepared (4/3/2; base DC = 13 + spell level): 0detect magic (X2), detect poison, ray of frost; 1st-comprehend languages, shield*, true strike; 2nd-bulls
strength*, see invisibility.
Spellbook: 0-all spells; 1st-alarm, burning hands, comprehend languages, hypnotism, identify, shield, summon
monster I, true strike; 2nd-bulls strength, detect
thoughts, see invisibility, melfs acid arrow, misdirection, summon monster II.
Spells and spell-like abilities marked with an asterisk (*) have already been used and are unavailable without rest.

Development: Lakul is too big to fit

through the passage leading back to 28,
so the party can successfully flee if necessary. He rests as soon as possible to regain
his abilities, then changes to gaseous form
and seeks the surface, anxious to find his
place in the current time.

28

Wooden Doors: 1 in. thick; hardness 5; hp 15; AC 5;

break DC 18.
Masonry Wall: 2 ft. thick; hardness 8; hp 180; AC 5;
break DC 35; Climb DC 20.

31. Entry Door

This door has two locks, and is barred
besides.
An iron door six feet across blocks
your way. The door is featureless aside
from two keyholes.
Iron Door: 4 in. thick; hardness 10; hp 120;
AC 5; break DC 32.

Lower Level
Guards
All doors, unless noted otherwise, are of
wood. The walls between rooms are two
feet of stone masonry. Ceilings are ten
feet high. Light is provided by torches
with Continual Flame cast on them. The
basic Listen skill check to notice loud
noises, such as combat, is DC 0. Add +5
per closed door in the way, +1 per ten
feet of distance. Trying to Listen directly
through a masonry wall is almost impossible, adding +20 to the difficulty. Note
there are small wall channels to allow the
imp Ibnib to pass from 46 to 47 to 48 to
50. In between these, only add +1 per
closed door.
It is likely that if combat occurs anywhere on this level it quickly alerts all of
the guards.

The locks are very well made

(each requires an open lock skill
check (DC 30)). Unless at least
one lock is opened in another
way, it requires two knock
spells to proceed. The original
intent was to require a key to
open this door from both an outside guard and an inside guard. The
plan was later abandoned, but the
hidden key at 22 was forgotten. The
corridor inside the door slopes downward, going down ten feet by the time the
first corner is reached.
Development. If the heroes are patient, the guard in the upper guardroom
(22) is changed once every six hours.
When this happens, the four guards from
the lower guardroom (33), plus Thok (see
area 36) and the replacement guard are
present when the door opens. Once the
replacement guard is out of sight, the
door is normally closed and re-locked.
The relieved guard is expected to return
within two minutes; if not, Thok realizes
something is wrong.

32. Guard Post

A single guard stands here, watching to
the north.
Creature (EL 1): The guard has been
instructed to first pull a lever at the
corner, then run to the lower guardroom

29

(33) and alert the others there if the door

at the north end of the corridor is forced.
Arbalester, Com1/War2: See statistics
for 33, below; hp 10.
The lever dumps the oil tank at 41,
which coats the floor of the ramped
corridor to the north, starting ten feet in
from the door, making it very slippery.
Characters can move down the ramp at
half speed if a balance skill check is made
(DC 10, full speed movement requires DC
15). If failed, a character cannot move.
Failing by five or more means the character tumbles to the bottom of the ramp. A
drain at the base of the ramp conveniently collects the oil for re-use.

33. Lo
wer Guar
d R
oom
Low
Guard
Room
Guards watch the main entrance here.
The door to the corridor is left open.
Half a dozen chairs and a table with
an interrupted card game on it occupy
the center of the room.
Creatures (EL 5): If alerted by the
guard outside, the guards here form a
double rank at the base of the ramp,
firing their crossbows upward. If enemies
close in, the front rank of warriors engages them in melee while the rear rank
of arbalesters continues to fire their
crossbows. One arbalester is sent to warn
Thok.
Arbalesters, Com1/War2 (2): CR1; Medium-sized Humanoid (5 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 1d4 plus 2d8; hp 11,
13; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.; AC 14 (touch 10, flat-footed
14); Atk +3 melee (1d8+1/19-20, longsword) or
+3 ranged (1d8+1/19-20, light crossbow); AL N;
SV Fort +3, Ref +0, Will 1; Str 12, Dex 12 (10),
Con 11, Int 10 (8), Wis 10 (8), Cha 10.
Skills: Listen +1, Spot +1, Climb 2, Hide 2. Feats:
Point Blank Shot (already figured into above
data).
Possessions: Chain shirt, longsword, light crossbow.
Warriors, War3 (2): CR2; Medium-sized Humanoid
(5 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 3d8+3; hp 17, 19; Init +0; Spd
20 ft.; AC 15 (touch 10, flat-footed 15); Atk +5
melee (1d8+1/19-20, longsword) or +3 ranged
(1d8/19-20, light crossbow); AL N; SV Fort +4,
Ref +1, Will +0; Str 13, Dex 12 (10), Con 12, Int 10

(8), Wis 10 (8), Cha 10.

Skills: Listen +3, Spot +3, Climb 1, Hide 4. Feats:
Cleave, Power Attack, Weapon Focus
(longsword).
Possessions: Breastplate, longsword, light crossbow.

Besides the table and chairs, racks for

crossbows are along the south wall.

34. Mining Storeroom

A wheelbarrow is to the left, while
shovels, hammers, and picks line the
walls.
Besides the supplies, a cover inset in
the floor in the southwest corner allows
access to the oil drained from the ramp.

35. Slave Quarters

Those who are captured and judged
otherwise useless are put to work as
slaves. When not needed to perform some
task they are kept in this overcrowded
room. The door is barred from the outside
(otherwise, it has the normal characteristics of wooden doors on this level). In the
ceiling in the western side of the room is
the opening to a tunnel. Read the following if the party enters through the door.
As the door opens, seven ragged individuals meekly cast their gazes to the
floor. Realizing you are not their normal guards, they lift their eyes to stare
wonderingly at your faces. A young
gnome pushes to the front, and opens
his mouth
Read the following if the party enters
through the tunnel opening in the ceiling.

30

Light is visible ahead. Moving a little

forward, you look down into a well-lit
room. In the narrow slice you can see,
two ragged individuals are sitting listlessly on the floor. They are neither
armed nor armored.

Slaves (6): Hp 3, 2, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Obvim: N male gnome, Exp1; hp 5. He is the nephew
of the gnome Hrandeth. The others have grown
apathetic, resigned to their fate, but Obvim retained hope that somehow he would be rescued,
and covertly kept his eye on his captors. He is
quite willing to share what he knows with the
heroes.

On his capture: The gnoll attack took

us completely by surprise. By the time the
fighting was over, only five of us survived. When they took us back to their
fort, most of the gnolls were sent into
their barracks. A few of the leaders
stayed with us. They separated my uncle
Hrandeth from us; I dont know what
happened to him. We were forced into
the stables, and then humans took us
down here. They separated out the two
who had been guards for the caravan;
when I saw them later, they seemed to
recognize me, but ignored my pleas for
help.
On an attempt at escape: One of the
slaves who was here when I arrived, the
female halfling Lyra, noticed a crack in
the ceiling of this room. She realized there
was an opening behind it, and using a
stolen tool, she widened it enough we
could all fit through. She told us to wait
while she checked out where the passage
went. Not too long afterward, she returned. She had been horribly transformed, her skin pale and hardened, her
hands made into claws. She killed two of
us before our screams brought the guards.
That was the only time I was ever
glad to see our captors. They destroyed
what had been Lyra, and the two fallen
men when they rose again. They stuck
around a little bit, then when nothing
came out of the hole, that bastard half-orc
Thok laughed. If anything else comes
along well know soon enough, he said,
and they left, barring the door. By the
gods, after that we were too frightened to
do any more investigations. (Reference to
wight at 28)

On entry at 46: I only saw someone

use that door at the north end of the hall
a few times. They would pull on the three
handles near the floor, and then pull the
lever. I dont know whats in there; I
never saw anything brought out.

36. Barracks
Off-duty guards are generally found here.
Beds line the north and south walls
of this barracks. A mechanical device
sits on a table at the east end, while a
tall wooden cabinet is in the middle of
the southern wall. There are two doors,
in the middle of the north and west
walls.
Creatures (EL 6): Thok is the leader of
the guards. He was originally told he was
being recruited as a mercenary, but at the
first camp, he was drugged and given
over to a slave controller. Raised among a
human barbarian tribe, he has spent
enough time around more civilized folk
to learn something of war tactics.
Arbalester, Com1/War2: For stats, see 33; hp 13.
Warriors, War3 (2): For stats, see 33; hp 17, 15.
Thok, male half-orc Bbn4/Ftr1: CR 5; Medium-sized
Humanoid (5 ft. 10 in. tall); HD 4d12+8 plus
1d10+2; hp 56; Spd 40 ft.; AC 14 (touch 10, flatfooted 14); Atk +9 melee (1d12+6/X3, greataxe)
or +5 ranged (1d8/19-20, light crossbow); AL N;
SV Fort +8, Ref +1, Will +0; SQ Rage 2/day, Uncanny Dodge; Str 19, Dex 13 (11), Con 14, Int 8
(6), Wis 10 (8), Cha 8.
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +2, Climb +1, Hide +1. Feats:
Blind-fight, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack.
Rage: While enraged, which lasts seven rounds, note
the following changes: hp 66; AC 12 (touch 8,
flat-footed 12); Atk +11 melee (1d12+9/X3,
greataxe); SV Fort +10, Will +2; Str 23, Con 18.
Possessions: Masterwork chain shirt, greataxe, light
crossbow, potion cure light wounds, keys to
door at 31, and a note that reads, 1, 1, 3.

Tactics: If Thok becomes aware of an

attack, he tells the guards to form up at
the east end of the hallway north of the
barracks, so that their missile fire can rake
attackers coming from the west, and has
them notify Nallis (see 37). Thok then

31

Guards of the Lower

Levels

37. TTrr aining

Weapons training is conducted here.
An archery target, a rack of wooden
swords, a bed, chair and table, and
oddly, a wheelbarrow, are scattered
about. A ragged opening is in the southern wall.

There are eight arbalesters, five warriors, Thok, Nallis, and Bindlebin. All
low-level guards react to sounds of
fighting or an alarm by running to the
source of the trouble (but Bindlebin stays
in his room). Only Nallis has enough experience to gather as many troops as
possible before launching a counterattack. Mark guards who respond to an
alarm so that they are not encountered
twice.
All of these guards have slave controllers. Any of the guards who are freed
of their slave controllers are confused,
with only faint memories of this level,
and unable to aid the party with either
combat assistance or travel advice.

Creatures (EL 4): Nallis is in charge of

weapons training. Due to the lack of
skilled fighters captured, she has had to
improvise, training some of the captured
drovers in the basics of handling crossbows. She has previously overseen training with the crossbow in the main northsouth corridor, but since the slaves are
not currently needed for other tasks, she
has two slaves cutting a new passageway
in the southern extension that is dedicated to this purpose when finished.

heads toward any sound of combat, to

see what is happening and take a direct
hand.
If freed of his slave controller, Thok is
visibly shaken. He considers himself to
have been subjected to frightful wizardry,
and wants nothing more than to get as
far from here as fast as possible. He
believes his possessions have been tainted,
and insists the PCs take it all, stripping off
his clothing and everything. (The most
memorable result of this adventure to the
citizens of Thornbury could well be the
screaming, naked half-orc who ran
through their hamlet.)
The note on Thok gives the combination to the trap at 46 (he is colorblind, so
he counts circles out from the wall). A
slave controller worsens ones memory. A
mechanical clock sits on a table at the east
end of the room, used to track when
shifts begin or end. The clock is worth 250
gp, and weighs 30 lb. Nothing is hidden
in the beds. The cabinet contains spare
changes of clothes.

Tactics: If alarmed, Nallis tells the

guard to watch the slaves while she exits

Slaves (2): hp 3, 4.
Arbalester, Com1/War2: For stats, see 33; hp 13.
Nallis, female human Ftr4: CR 4; Medium-sized Humanoid (5 ft. 4 in. tall); HD 4d10+8; hp 35; Spd 20
ft.; AC 19 (touch 10, flat-footed 19); Atk +8 melee (1d10+5/17-20, Azaks Slicer) or +4 ranged
(1d8/19-20, light crossbow); AL LG; SV Fort +6,
Ref +1, Will +1; Str 14, Dex 12 (10), Con 14, Int 11
(9), Wis 12 (10), Cha 11.
Skills: Climb -6, Hide 9, Listen +2, Spot +2. Feats:
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword),
Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bastard sword), Weapon Specialization
(bastard sword).
Possessions: Azaks Slicer, half-plate, metal shield,
keys to door at 31.
Azaks Slicer, +1 keen bastard sword: When the leader
of an orcish tribe, Azak attacked a caravan containing several dwarven families, but he did
not slay everyone at once. Instead, careful questioning revealed among the dwarves a smith
and a mage. Azak set them to making arms and
armor for himself and his followers, in return
for the continued safety of their loved ones. The
best weapon produced, Azaks personal arm,
was this bastard sword. Although he was killed
several years later in a battle with a band of
knights, the sword has retained his name as it
was passed from hand to hand since then.

32

the room to see what is happening. More

cautious than Thok, she tries to gather as
many guards together as possible and
maximize the use of their missile fire (at
which they are best) by engaging at the
longest possible range, and then retreating into other rooms rather than
meleeing. The first time Nallis has to
engage any character directly in hand-tohand combat, she receives a Will save
(DC 16) since this is against her normal
actions (see the description of the slave
controller at the end of the adventure).
Nallis was the leader of the guards for
the first caravan that was attacked. If
freed of the slave controller, she retains
enough faint memories to be incensed at
what she has been forced to do, and
insists on accompanying the party. She
also insists that any other guards that are
encountered not be killed, so that they
can be freed of their involuntary servitude. If treated fairly, and allowed to
keep her equipment, she bestows her
magical sword upon them after the end
of the adventure in gratitude for her
rescue. She knows a little useful information about the master of this level.
Theres a trick to getting through that
door at the north end of the corridor, but
I cant quite remember what. Through the
door is the master. Something horrible,
not human, but all I can recall is a sarcastic voice, although Im not sure if it is the
masters. Theres a woman there, too, a
mage I think.
The desk contains a key to Bindlebins
room, 45.

38. Common R
oom
Room

Creatures (EL 3): Two guards are

eating a meal they have prepared, in poor
position to resist an attack if surprised.
Arbalester, Com1/War2: For stats, see 33; hp 15.
Warrior, War3: For stats, see 33; hp 19.

39. Kitchen
All meals are prepared here.
The iron door to an oven has been
placed within a matrix of cut stone to
the southeast. Above the oven is an iron
grill. On the ceiling, an iron awning collects the fumes, funneling them to a narrow opening leading upward. A wooden
counter sits against the north wall,
shelves below.
The counter contains only the expected cookpots, plates, and eating
implements. A bucket of water sits in the
southwest corner. The fumes are funneled
outside, but through too small an opening
for any creature larger than fine to fit
inside.

40. Pantry
Tied bundles of wood, crates, and
casks almost fill this small room.
The crates contain food, and the casks
have fresh water. Several are empty,
waiting for the next trip to a nearby town
to be refilled.

41. Oil Storage

Oil reservoir for the trap described at 32.
It is reached by going up a short flight of
steps.
A two-foot-tall brass cask sits on
iron supports four feet off the ground.
Four fine tubes come from the bottom
of the cask, disappearing into the base
of the western wall. A horizontal iron
rod comes from the southern wall, attached to a vertical rod that is connected
to the bottom of the cask.

Guards gather here for meals.

Three plain tables and their associated chairs are here; two half-eaten
meals sit on one table. A single door is
in the eastern wall.

33

Although not possible to disable from

the other side of the wall, on this side it is
quite easy. A Disable Device skill check
(DC 11) or Search skill check (DC 16)
reveals a hole in the vertical rod; a pin is
attached to this rod by a fine chain.
Inserting the pin through the hole, and
into a matching hole in a fixed plate
behind, prevents the vertical rod from
moving. Pulling on the handle at 32 can
no longer trigger the release of oil.

Slaves work in two-hour shifts at all

hours to keep the air flowing.

44. Pumps
Part of the air circulation system. Add the
text in bold in the description only if the
treadmill is still turning.
An elaborate machine of wood,
brass, and two leather bellows occupies almost the entire room. You could
just squeeze through to the north to
reach the door in the eastern wall. The
bellows are rhythmically opening and
closing. First, one closes with a thud,
then the other one.

42. Privy
A horizontal stone slab is to your
right, a hollow in it forming a seat. The
fact that the bottom is missing from the
seat, as well as the smell, instantly indicates its function.

Air is circulated throughout the complex using the pumps here. The actual
circulation is through piping connecting
to every room; the piping is so small only
a fine creature could fit into one. Long
pipes connect to the surface, on the hill
that forms the north edge of the gnoll
fort, to bring in fresh air. The surface
intake of the pipes could be found with a
Search skill check (DC 18). If they are
plugged, it takes Bindlebin an hour to
figure out what happened. Shortly thereafter, a gnoll doublehand investigates.

The slaves have the unenviable job of

cleaning out the waste that accumulates
here.

43. TTrr eadmill

This is part of the air circulation system.

Two slaves turn to gape at you as you

enter, as does a young guard. The slaves
are standing on a wooden wheel, its top
only slightly above the level of the floor.
As the slaves goggle, they are no longer
turning the wheel. A slight background
thud-thud noise on this level, which you
hadnt consciously noticed up to now, suddenly becomes apparent, since it has
stopped along with the wheel.

45. Workshop
Read the text in bold only if Bindlebin
realizes someone is coming through his
door.

Creature (EL 1): The guard has orders

to stay here and keep the treadmill turning, no matter what happens.
Slaves: Hp 2, 4.
Arbalester, Com1/War2: For stats, see 33; hp 13.

The treadmill powers the air circulation system in the room next door (44).

34

A table holds several stones roughly

worked into the rectangular shape of
the blocks making up the walls. Another
holds a tangle of metal piping, plates and
springs. Besides the bed and desk, of
more immediate interest is the ballista
pointed your way on the other side of
the room, and the gnome who stands
beside it. Cant leave a gnome be
to work on his inventions? he
yells, Then help me try one out.

Creature and Trap (EL 5): Bindlebin

has overseen the construction work down
here, including the design of all of the
traps. He has installed an alarm on the
door to inform him if anyone tampers
with the lock, as well as placed the
ballista to handle anyone who actually
opens the door. The bolt loaded in the
ballista has been modified to carry a flask
of alchemists fire. If the ballista trap is
disabled, he manually triggers the device,
although due to his changes the bolt only
attacks with a +5 bonus.
Door Alarm: A short chain connects the lock to a bell
mounted on the door. Any attempt to manipulate the lock, including using the proper key,
causes the bell to sound; Search (DC 24); Disable Device (DC 24).
Ballista Trap: CR3; Ranged +10 (3d6+1d6fire and
splash 1 point, 1d6 fire the second round/X3,
bolt); Search DC20; Disable Device DC20; The
rope that triggers the trap is attached to an eyelet next to the door, then to the bottom of the
door itself, so it can only be detected after the
door has started to open. Opening the door all
the way, or entering the room, triggers the trap.
Bindlebin, Male Gnome Exp5: CR 4; Small Humanoid (3 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 5d6+5; hp 24; Init +1; Spd
20 ft.; AC 12 (touch 12, flat footed 11); Atks melee +3 (1d6/19-20, shortsword); SQ gnome abilities; AL LN; SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +4; Str 11,
Dex 15 (13), Con 12, Int 15 (13), Wis 13 (11), Cha
10.
Skills: Knowledge (Architecture) +5, Knowledge (Mechanics) +9, Listen +4, Profession (Inventor) +11,
Profession (Mining Engineer) +11, Spot +2. Feats:
Skill Focus (invention), Skill Focus (mining).
Possessions: shortsword.

Development: Bindlebin knows he is

no fighter, and even if he realizes there
are intruders present, he stays in his
room. Sometimes slaves are set to work
here at reshaping the stones that make up
the walls. Bindlebin also fiddles with his
mechanical inventions, which explains
the parts on one of the tables.
He was originally kidnapped from a
nearby town. Freed of his slave controller,
his thickheaded obstinacy immediately
causes him to think of all the damage this
unexpected hiatus has done to his life.

You will have to excuse me, I must leave

at once. Why, several commissions must
be long overdue. My reputation could be
ruined! This wont prevent him from
noticing the plan laid out on the desk.
Fascinated by work that he can barely
remember, he searches the room to gather
any writings. Since I wrote them, all of
these are obviously mine. He grudgingly
allows the heroes to borrow them while
they are cleaning out this level. If the PCs
keep any of his possessions, he trails
along at the rear of the party, watching to
make sure they do not damage or try to
steal what is his. Bindlebin offers no
reward (or even thanks) for his rescue.
On the desk to the southeast is laid out
a plan of this level. It includes all of the
worked areas, including the northeast,
but not the natural caves and passages. In
the chest by the desk are plans of the
upper tunnel (and the two rooms off of it)
and the gnoll fort, and all the traps on
this level. Anyone with these plans gains
a +2 circumstance bonus to a Disable
Device check for any trap on this level.
The bits of metal plating, piping, springs
and so on scattered around are worth 30
gp. The plans would be of interest to the
right gnome or dwarf, bringing in as
much as 100 gp.

46. Entry Door

This door leads to the masters chambers.
A guard sits here. The description should
be read when the PCs examine the
mechanism north of the door.

35

In the northeast corner, attached to

the east wall, is an upright lever. Looking
south along this same wall, three rods stick
out a few inches into the corridor from
the base of the wall. Each rod has a handle
on its end. West of each rod, on the
corridors floor, three circles are painted.
From east to west, the circles are colored red, yellow, and blue.

The iron door also in the eastern wall

has no visible keyhole or other break in
its surface.

Iron Door: 4 in. thick; hardness 10; hp 120; AC 5;

break DC 32.

Creatures (EL 3): The guard here has

an extremely boring post, suffering a 2
circumstance penalty to all Spot and
Listen checks, since nothing ever happens. An imp is sleeping in a small opening through the wall near the ceiling.
Similar openings connect 47 to 48 to 50.
Only a tiny or smaller creature can fit
through these openings. The heroes notice
the opening on a successful Spot skill
check (DC 13), or automatically if this
section of wall is searched.
Arbalester, Com1/War2: For stats, see 33; hp 12.
Ibnib, imp: Tiny outsider; HD 3d8; hp 18; Init +3; Spd
20 ft., fly 50 ft (perfect); AC 18; Atk Sting +8
melee (1d4 + poison); SA spell-like abilities, poison; SQ DR 5/silver, SR 5, poison immunity,
fire resistance 20, see in darkness, polymorph,
regeneration 2; Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +4; Str 10,
Dex 17; Con 10, Int 10; Wis 12, Cha 10; Dodge,
Weapon Finesse (sting).

Tactics: The Arbalester yells as loudly

as possible if he sees anyone, or runs to
the source of the disturbance if he hears
anything.
Ibnib has no use for engaging in
combat, or even in aiding the troops on
his side. Instead, when he notices some-

thing interesting is going on, he turns

invisible and flies to investigate. He
remains invisible, and makes sarcastic
comments about party members, preferably when they are far away, or engaged
in melee, so he himself is not attacked.
Typical comments would follow the lines
of Ha! You couldnt hit the back end of
an ogre if he was bent over tying his
shoe. Or Wait until you face the master. Then youll be in REAL trouble.
He uses his suggestion ability if he is not
detected to suggest someone do something silly, such as for a heavily armored
fighter to use the tumbling ability in
combat to distract opponents. Ibnib is
smart enough not to follow the party into
any rooms where he could be trapped.
He defends himself only if necessary.
Ibnib came to this plane with the
master, but has become disillusioned by
the increasing paranoia of the master. He
figures its only a matter of time before he
ends up back on his home plane, and all
the fun ends. He has been playing on the
masters paranoia, suggesting that Ibnib
is the only one he can really rely on. Ibnib
has even suggested that the controlled
minions cannot be totally trusted, since
one can never tell when such magic
might fail. This has, incidentally, kept a
slave controller off Ibnibs neck.

36

The Master

Door Trap: CR4; Disable Device (DC 26); It is possible

to open the door with a Lower check (DC 18),
but this releases all of the gas in the reservoir
next door. A knock spell has the same effect.

The normal operation of the door is as

follows. The three handles attached to
the rods near the floor are pulled out
until they match up with the three colors
in the current code, which is red, red,
blue from north to south. There is an
arrow formed as part of each handle to
aid in lining it up with the center of each
circle. Then the lever is pulled, opening
the door.
Since Thok is color blind, he has to
count the circles from the wall, which he
does by placing his thumb on them one
by one. A Search skill check (DC 20)
reveals greasy thumbprints on the red
circle in the northernmost row, on the
red circle in the second row, and on all
three circles in the southernmost row.
The lever cannot be pulled until all
three rods have been moved from their
neutral position next to the wall. If the
code has not been entered correctly, the
lever releases a spurt of highly corrosive
gas from the reservoir next door. It then
flows through a series of small nozzles
along the eastern wall, at the ceiling. The
gas fills the corridor for a distance of 30
feet. The first round it does 2d6 acidic
damage (Fortitude save DC 16 for half).
The second round it does another 2d6
(save for half). The third round it does
only 1d6 as it starts to clear (again, save
for half). The reservoir contains enough
gas for five uses. If the gas is released all
at once, it remains at full strength in the
corridor for eight rounds, then at half
strength for two more rounds.

47. Gas R
eser
voir
Reser
eservoir
Mechanism controlling the trap.

Areas 47 to 52 are the sections set

aside for the master, the Osyluth devil
Kenelkek. Paranoid in the extreme despite the success it has achieved, it is
fearful to leave. It does not attempt to
help its guards. Even if all of its guards
are defeated, two days would pass before it gathered enough courage to leave
this portion of the complex.
While characters are in 47, 48, or
49, there is a chance to overhear the
Devils conversation from 50, due to a
flaw in a magic item it is wearing. There
is a 5% chance per round this happens.
Characters may overhear, in a low,
rasping, strangely accented Common,
fragments of comments to Jessia,
continue heating and see what
or plans on what to do if the heroes have
been detected, stand in the corner,
ready to or the Devil talking to itself, Have to watch out, never safe
The voice seems to originate next to
the person hearing it.

To your left, a large brass tank sits

atop a complicated mass of gearing.
Rods and tubes from the mechanism
stretch to and through the wall behind
you. A single door is in the eastern wall,
in the southeast corner.
Moving dials that are part of the
mechanism can change the code required
for the door. This is done about once a
month. To protect it from corrosion, the
interior of the tank is lined in gold, and
the valves are plated with platinum. If
the mechanism is dismantled, and
something is done with the gas, the value
of the precious metal used is 250 gp.

37

48. Entry.

drawing your gaze away from the tables

crowded with alchemical equipment. It
stands hunched over, the back of its neck
touching the ceiling. Flames seem to lick
about its reddish skin, and its bat like
wings could easily touch both walls if
outstretched.

Nothing is visible in this short corridor.

One door is in the middle of the left
wall. Ten feet ahead, at the other end
of the room, is a second door.
The imp Ibnib (see 46) has secreted a
few gems in the opening in the wall
connecting 47 and 48. The opening is at
the top of the wall, nine feet off the
ground. Inside are three gems, a garnet
(200 gp), an amethyst (90 gp), and a fire
opal (1100 gp).

Creatures (EL 7): Jessia the mage, her

familiar, and the Osyluth Devil Kenelkek.

49. Bedroom.
Jessias room.
A bed, desk, chair, and chest are in
this room.
The chest just contains a few spare
changes of clothing. The desk contains
Jessias spell book (see next entry).

50. Laboratory.
Where the master oversees the work
Jessia performs. Read the first description
if the party surprises the pair here. Read
the section in bold if they are prepared for
the party.
A human woman dressed in robes
and a skeletal fiend lean over a table in
the middle of the room. The creature is
little more than whitish skin stretched
tightly over bones. A tail sprouts from
its back, the bulbous end suspended
above its head, almost touching the ceiling. It uncomfortably reminds you of the
tail of a scorpion. The table in the rooms
center, as well as those in the northeast
and southeast corners, are crowded with
glassware, stoneware, and other less
identifiable items.
A massive Humanoid creature stands
in the middle of the room, irresistibly

Jessia, Female Human Wiz5: CR 5; Medium-sized

Humanoid (5 ft. 4 in.); HD 5d4+5; hp 25; Init +0;
Spd 30 ft.; AC 10 (touch 10, flat-footed 10); Atk
+2 melee (1d4/19-20, dagger); AL NE; SV Fort
+4, Ref +3, Will +3; Str 10, Dex 13 (11), Con 12,
Int 15 (13), Wis 11 (9), Cha 9.
Skills: Concentration +5, Listen -1, Spellcraft +9, Spot
-1. Feats: Brew Potion, Craft Wondrous Item,
Great Fortitude, Scribe Scroll, Toughness.
Possessions: Dagger, potion: cure light wounds, scroll:
blindness/deafness, alchemists fire (X3).
Spells Prepared (4/4/2/1; base DC = 11 + spell level):
0-arcane mark, daze, detect magic (X2); 1st-identify,
magic missile (X2), shield; 2nd-endurance, summon
monster II; 3rd-summon monster III.
Spellbook: 0-all spells; 1st-endure elements, erase, feather
fall, identify, magic missile, shield, sleep, summon monster I, ventriloquism; 2nd-blindness/deafness, endurance, minor image, obscure object, see invisibility,
summon monster II; 3rd-blink, nondetection, slow,
summon monster III.
Niki, Female Weasel Familiar: CR 1; tiny magical
beast (1 ft long); HD 5d4; hp 12; Init +2; Spd 20 ft,
Climb 20 ft.; AC 17 (touch 14, flat-footed 15);
Atk +6 melee (1d3-4, bite); SQ Deliver Touch
Spells, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Speak
with Master; AL NE; SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +5;
Str 3, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 5.
Skills: Balance +10, Climb +11, Hide +13, Move Silently +9, Spot +4. Feats: Weapon Finesse (bite).
Kenelkek the Master, Osyluth: Large outsider; HD
5d8+10; hp 37; Init +4; Spd. 40 ft.; AC 17; Atk Bite
+9 melee and 2 claws +4 melee (bite 1d8+5; claws
1d4+2); Reach 10ft.; SA spell-like abilities, fear
aura, poison; SQ DR 10/+1, SR 22, baatezu qualities, know alignment; Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +6;
Str 21, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14;
Concentration +8, Hide +3, Listen +11, Move
Silently +8, Search +8, Sense Motive +10, Spot
+12; Alertness, Improved Initiative.
Possessions: Potion: cure serious wounds, amulet of proof
against detection and location.
Amulet of Proof against Detection and Location
(Flawed): As the normal amulet, except it is
caster level five, and has a flaw. A failed at-

38

Combatting an Osyluth
If the party does not have any magical weapons, this combat can be very
tough due to the damage resistance and
high spell resistance of an Osyluth. In
this case, assume prolonged residence
on this plane has weakened it, reducing
its resistances to 5/ +1 and SR12.

tempt to add protection from overhearing the

voice of the wearer actually means that
every time the wearer
speaks there is a 20% chance
the words spoken can also
easily be heard
somewhere else
randomly
within 35 ft.,
as in the ventriloquism
spell. The base
price for creating this item is
29,200 gp, including the
ability to cast
nondetection
and ventriloquism. This
makes the creation
cost
14,600 gp and
1,168 XP. Due
to the mistake
in the way that
the second spell
was added, the market value would be
only half the base
price.

Tactics: Jessia
turns herself invisible if possible before
the PCs enter the
room. If combat occurs, she casts her
summon monster spells while remaining
invisible. After that, she casts Endurance
and Shield on herself, then uses her other
offensive spells and alchemists fire flasks.
If she sees that her master is in trouble,

she makes a more direct attack to try to

draw attention away from the master.
The devil uses major image to create a
vision of its former overlord, the pit fiend
Astraquasiv, only slightly marred by the
fact that its 12-foot height makes it almost
too large to fit into the room. Any PCs
who remark on this fact receive a +2
circumstance bonus to their Will saves to
disbelieve the illusion. Afraid the heroes
are somehow unknowing agents of the
pit fiend, the devil tries to convince them
to leave, Be grateful for my
forbearance, mortals, and flee
while you are still able.
If forced into combat, he uses
his wall of ice ability to form a
hemisphere around some of the
party, temporarily dividing its
opponents before attacking the
others.
If the imp Ibnib is still alive he is
present as well, but he limits his contribution to more sarcastic remarks. (If
the imp somehow survives his
master, he leaves, searching for
a new master.)
Background: Kenelkek
came into possession of
the master controller
while on its home plane.
Intrigued by the possibilities, he kept it instead of reporting the find, and fled via a portal to
this plane. The imp Ibnib saw Kenelkek
leaving, and decided to leave with him.
Once on this plane, Kenelkek
realized others would come looking, especially its master,
Astraquasiv. It used the master
controller to gain a few servitors from

39

common humans it captured, and then

used them to gather more. Kenelkek
decided it needed both money and talent
to create more devices to make it secure.
The caravan raids supply the money.
Jessia supplies the talent (although the
Devil realized it could use more powerful
magical help). Despite the success it has
achieved, Kenelkek is increasingly certain
its old master is on the verge of locating
it. One sign of this paranoia is its refusal
to use its real name, instead insisting
even its totally controlled minions refer to
it as, the master.
Development: The death of Kenelkek
exiles it to its home plane. Six rounds
after the amulet of proof against detection
and location is removed from its corpse,
the body is drawn back to its home plane
by a powerful combination detection and
transportation spell. If Ibnib the imp is in
the room, he is drawn back as well. (It
seems that Kenelkeks master really was
looking for it.)
If Jessia is freed of her slave controller,
she sinks to the floor, mumbling to
herself. Faint memories of months working for a Devil have overwhelmed her. A
spell that cures insanity, or two months
of bed rest, is needed to restore her to
normal.
The equipment in this room counts as
a complete alchemical lab, if it is carefully packed and moved somewhere else.

51. Contr
ol R
oom
Control
Room

Development: This being eats by

absorbing nutrients through its skin, in
this case a meat broth. The PCs may
easily destroy it, automatically freeing
anyone who still has a slave controller.
Neutral or evil individuals or organizations would pay well for it alive, in excess
of 10,000 gp. However, if word gets
around of what the PCs are selling, an
equal number would be inclined to just
grab it. The heroes could use it themselves, although laws and attitudes would
nearly everywhere treat its use as equivalent to slavery.

52. Master
s R
oom
Masters
Room
This is where the master rests.
A large metal coffer, nine feet long,
sits against the opposite wall. A wooden
chest is against the south wall.
The coffer is the Osyluths first attempt
to block scrying. The Devil can just fit
inside; it is constructed of layers of lead,
silver, and iron. Although its immense
weight (approximately 400 lb.) makes it
hard to move, the metals in it are worth
500 gp.
The chest contains the proceeds of the
bandit raids and other thefts it undertook
before it formed the raiders. There is 900
pp and 1,000 gp. It also contains duplicate keys to all locks here and in the fort
above.

The master controller.

A spherical mass of flesh two feet
across sits half sunken in a tub of
brownish liquid. The smell coming off
it reminds you of cooked meat.
Creature (EL ): The master controller.
Master Controller, small aberration: For a full description of the master controller, see the description of new monsters at the end of the adventure; hp 8.

40

Half a dozen keys on a ring lie

neatly to one side of the chest. Beside
them are stacks of gold and silver coins.
They must be worth over 1,000 gold
pieces. Your breath catchesyou realize what you had at first assumed was
silver is, in fact, platinum. There are almost as many stacks of the platinum
coins as of the gold.

Conclusion
The heroes have defeated the evil threatening the northern trade route, coming
across a new method to rob someone of
their will along the way. The valuable
items and experience that were gained
were just part of the job.
Characters receive 20 Story XP for
every creature they freed from a slave
controller in part I (other than through
death). This is addition to the normal
experience for defeating enemies. They
receive 50 XP for every creature that they
freed from a slave controller in part II.

Return to Thornbury
Frederick Manos is overjoyed to see the
return of the heroes with proof of their
accomplishments. I knew they could do
it! he crows, and declares an impromptu
celebration, supplying the ale from his
inn. Everyone knows the importance of
trade to the hamlet; combined with free
spirits the knowledge soon loosens inhibitions, strangers coming up to slap the
characters on the back and congratulate
them.
Vintus Broadleaf is less happy, sensing
that his profitable access to somewhat less
than legitimate goods is at an end.
Katrina Smallwood is relieved the suspicious glances turned her way should soon
abate. And, Captain Destrani concludes
the heroes are not as useless as he first
thought. If his lord runs into a thorny
problem in the future, he might even
suggest their names.

Continuing Threads
Do not go out of your way to indicate
there is more to the gnoll fort than appears on the surface. Characters that miss

the entire underground portion of the

adventure are still congratulated by the
inhabitants of Thornbury, but about five
months later, a new group of human
bandits begin attacking caravans on the
trade road. Their base is located five miles
north of the previous one, the Devil
having learned the lesson of not working
the bandits from the same location of
what is supposed to be secret.
Nearly everyone freed by the party is
extremely grateful. If a player later picks
the Leadership feat, anyone who was
freed should be considered possible
followers or even cohorts.
There is the possibility of a continuing
relationship with the gnome trader
Hrandeth of Clan Alazzar, especially if
they rescued his nephew Obvim.
Hrandeth can handle the sale of unusual
non-magical items, anything from a
painting up to a ship. He is able to sell
such items for 50% more than the PCs
could get (not including his 10% commission). It takes at least eight weeks for such
goods to reach the gnome, be sold, and
the proceeds sent back, only two or three
weeks if the PCs deliver in person.
If the wererat Din survived, she may
show up again in the future, to bedevil or
aid the party at her whim.
If the heroes released the ogre mage
Lakul, and he escaped, he has no further
interest in them. However, Lakul quickly
makes new enemies; divination spells
may reveal the PCs as somehow associated with him. Unsavory types might
appear, requiring the answers to questions the heroes know nothing about.
Finally, it is possible that the Osyluth
Kenelkek was not acting independently.
It may have had attached to it a more
sophisticated version of the slave controller, actually following the commands of
some other, more powerful, individual.
That individual is unlikely to be pleased
at the disruption of their long laid plans.

41

The Osyluths lord, the pit fiend

Astraquasiv, may become curious about
what it was up to on this plane. Any
inquiries would quickly lead to the heroes

Appendix NEW CREATURES

Shadow, Guardian
Medium-sized Undead (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: 3d12 (19 hp)
Initiative: +2 (Dex)
Speed: 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)
AC: 13 ( +2 Dex, +1 deflection)
Attacks: Incorporeal touch +3
melee
Damage: Incorporeal touch
1d4 temporary Wis, confusion
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5
ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Wis
damage, confusion
Special Qualities: Undead,
incorporeal, +2
turn resistance
Saves: Fort +1,
Ref +3, Will +4
Abilities: Str -, Dex 14,
Con -, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 14
Skills: Hide +8, Intuit Direction +5,
Listen +7, Spot +7
Feat: Dodge
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-5), or
swarm (6-11)

Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: 4-9 HD (medium-size)
Guardian shadows are quite similar to
normal shadows, except they are created
voluntarily. A dying worshipper of a god
is brought to the location where the
shadow is to be bound. In attendance
with a cleric of the deity, he or she leaves
the shadow behind as the
worshippers spirit passes beyond, but
the worshipper gives up any possibility of resurrection.
The shadow is bound to the site of
death by the cleric, being not able
to leave the room or immediate
vicinity. Instructions are given at
this time, such as to attack
anyone not making the holy sign
of the deity, or to punish those
who attempt to defile a tomb.
A guardian shadow retains
some measure of intelligence, and can modify its
instructions to fit changing circumstances.
Normally, a terminally ill elderly
worshipper is used
to create the
shadow, but there
are tales of large
numbers of
healthy individuals
committing suicide
when a sacred site is
about to be overrun, to protect
in death what they could not in life.

Combat
Wisdom Damage (Su): The touch of a
guardian shadow deals 1d4 points of
temporary Wisdom damage to a living
foe. A creature reduced to Wisdom 0 dies,

42

although guardian shadows do not create

spawn.
Cause Confusion (Su): The touch also
causes an effect similar to the confusion
spell. The touched creature must make a
Will save (DC 16, save after reducing the
creatures Wisdom due to the touch) to
avoid this. The confusion lasts one round
per hit die of the shadow.
Undead: Immune to mind-influencing
effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning,
and disease. Not subject to critical hits,
subdual damage, ability damage, energy
drain, or death from massive damage.
Incorporeal: Can be harmed only by
other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better
magic weapons, or magic, with a 50%
chance to ignore any damage from a
corporeal source. Can pass through solid
objects at will, and its own attacks pass
through armor. Always moves silently.

Slave Controller
Template
A slave controller is a separate creature,
but when it joins with a host creature, it
is indistinguishable from the host for
almost all purposes.
Abilities: Dex, Int, and Wis all suffer a 2 circumstance penalty, which indirectly changes other
statistics, such as armor class or saving throws.
Saves: +2 resistance bonus to saves against enchantment spells or spell-like abilities. If the save is
failed, the creature is affected as normal.
Alignment: Special
Others: As base creature

A slave controller has the extraordinary ability to gain control of any creature with something approximating a
central nervous system. This includes
aberrations, animals, beasts, dragons,
feys, giants, humanoids, magical beasts,
monstrous humanoids, shapechangers,
and vermin. It can gain control of a
creature of up to seven hit dice or character levels, taking one hour per hit die or

level. Although it is possible to do this

while the creature sleeps, normally slave
controllers are applied to prisoners who
have no ability to resist.
It infiltrates tendrils into the victims
nervous system, literally preventing the
thinking of thoughts that would be
against the interests of the operator of the
master controller (see below). The controlled creature uses its abilities and
resources to best aid or fulfill the instructions of the controller, given its current
understanding of any situation.
However, whenever an ordered action
strongly goes against the normal inclination of the controlled creature it gains a
Will save (DC 16). If the save is made, the
creature stands motionless for three
rounds, although it may defend itself
normally. After three rounds, the slave
controller regains full direction. For
instance, almost any creature forced to
sacrifice itself to save its operator would
be entitled to a save.
The reductions in Dex, Int, and Will
reflect the interference of the slave controller in the creatures nervous system.
No creatures intelligence is reduced
below three by the presence of a slave
controller (if already below 3, it retains
that value).
Although detect magic does not indicate its presence, a slave controller may
be found using a relevant detect alignment
spell. The slave controllers alignment,
LN, mingles with that of the controlled
creature. If the controlled creatures
alignment is something other than LN a
detect alignment spell can spot this. The
first round such a spell is used on a
controlled creature, a Spellcraft skill
check (DC 20) is needed to see that the
alignment is actually a muddy combination of two alignments. Failure at the
check results in a detection of neutral
alignment. A second check (DC 15) may
be made on the second round of Concen-

43

tration on a subject. For instance, if

Detect Evil was cast on a CE orc with a
slave controller, on the first round a
successful Spellcraft skill check against
DC 20 would indicate it has an alignment
that is both evil and non-evil. A failure
would detect the orc as non-evil.
A slave controller must be brought into
the immediate presence (the same room)
of its master controller at least once every
two weeks to maintain full functionality.
Otherwise, there is a 5% cumulative
chance per week of it behaving abnormally, causing the creature to misinterpret instructions.
By itself, a slave controller has only
1d8 hit points and animal intelligence,
able to move three feet per round. When
it attaches to a creature (such as to the
neck of a humanoid), the controlled
creature attempts to hide it, perhaps with
long hair or a high collar. If a controlled
creature is searched, the slave controller is
discovered on a successful Search skill
check (DC 11). If the searcher has encountered this being before, discovery is
automatic.
A slave controller may automatically
be removed from an unresisting host with
a tiny slashing or piercing weapon, or a
successful strength check (DC 11). This
does 1d4 points to the controlled creature,
but otherwise completely frees it. The
formerly controlled creature retains only
very hazy memories of the time it was
dominated.

Master Controller
Small-sized Aberration (2 foot diameter sphere)
Hit Dice: 2d8 (9 hp)
Initiative: -5 (Dex)
Speed: 0 ft.
AC: 6 (-5 Dex, +1 size)
Attacks: Damage: Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./0 ft.
Saves: Fort +0, Ref 5, Will +2

Abilities: Str 10, Dex 1, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 10, Cha 3
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating:
Treasure: None
Alignment: Lawful neutral

It is uncertain where master controllers

come from, as they do not reproduce
themselves. Since it is obviously a created
creature, rumors persist it can be made
through a special magical procedure, or
even that it comes from the bud of yet
another creature.
The only real purpose of a master
controller is to create slave controllers. It
buds a new slave controller every day. It
can coordinate up to two-dozen existing
slave controllers; new ones budded in
excess of this simply die.
Creatures dominated by slave controllers follow orders and act in the best
interest of the operator of the master
controller. The operator of the master
controller, by simply touching it and
concentrating, can telepathically communicate with any controlled creature on the
same plane. The creature has no ability to
respond to the operator.
The operator of the master controller is
defined as the last creature to touch it
and concentrate on it for at least six
rounds. If a change of operators occurs,
creatures dominated by slave controllers
obey the new operator, but only after
being brought into the presence of the
master controller or contacted telepathically. Otherwise, controlled creatures
continue to work for the desires of the old
operator.
A creature dominated by a slave
controller must be brought into the
presence of the master controller at least
once every two weeks, or there is a 5%
cumulative chance per week the slave
controller begins acting abnormally,
causing the controlled creature to misinterpret instructions.

44

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

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concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and other visual
or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas,
likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities
or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other
trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as
Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and
which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f)
Trademark means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto,
designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its
products or the associated products contributed to the Open
Game License by the Contributor (g) Use, Used or
Using means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify,
translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open
Game Content. (h) You or Your means the licensee in
terms of this agreement.
2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game
Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game
Content may only be Used under and in terms of this
License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game
Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or
subtracted from this License except as described by the
License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to
any Open Game Content distributed using this License.

6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the

COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the
exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game
Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You
must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright
holders name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original
Open Game Content you Distribute.
7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product
Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, except
as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement
with the owner of each element of that Product Identity. You
agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any
Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a
work containing Open Game Content except as expressly
licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner
of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any
Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a
challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The
owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content
shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product
Identity.
8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You
must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are
distributing are Open Game Content.
9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents
may publish updated versions of this License. You may use
any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and
distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed
under any version of this License.
10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this
License with every copy of the Open Game Content You
Distribute.
11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or
advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any
Contributor unless You have written permission from the
Contributor to do so.
12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply
with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or
all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or
governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open
Game Material so affected.
13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if
You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such
breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All
sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be
unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the
extent necessary to make it enforceable.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the
Coast, Inc. Copyright 2001, Bastion Press, Inc.

3.Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content

You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.
4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to
use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual,
worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact
terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are
contributing original material as Open Game Content, You
represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation

Bastion Press Open

Gaming Content
All of the text of this adventure is considered Open
Content, and thus distributable according to the terms
detailed in the Open Gaming License. All artwork is
copyrighted by Bastion Press, Inc. and may not be
featured in OGL or d20 game products without prior
permission.

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