www.worldofatlas.com
By Lichhunter Hal
1. Introduction
1
2. Rauxes (in CY Year 585)
2
3. Chapter 1 : In Advance of the Storm
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*Event 1 : Food Riot
4
*Event 2 : Child of the Streets
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*Event 3 : Ambush
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*Event 4 : Storm Signals
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*Event 5 : Now We Feast
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*Event 6 : Zag & Ragtur Bring Their Own Dinner
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4. Chapter 2 : The Rage of the Storm
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5. Chapter 3 : Fire, Foes, Flee
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*Chapter 3A
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*Scaling the Wall
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*Chapter 3B
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*Chapter 3C
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*Area 1 : Drainage Pool
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*Area 2 : Plague Waters
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*Area 3 : Dreams Come True
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6. Concluding the Adventure
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This
adventure
is
my This son, Zorathar, has
embellishment of one of my adventured for centuries to favorite campaigns from a gain the power necessary to great Dungeon Master we claim the Kingdom of the will call Silk after one of his Aerdi, his birthright, by favorite player characters. force. It
involves
the
Great
Kingdom’s transformation (For more history of Satan in a Dungeons and into the Grand Empire as Dragons context, check out the madness of Overking Dragon Magazine #28 and the article called The Ivid is replaced by the Politics of Hell written by jackbooted discipline and Alexander Van Thorn.) heavy handed law of the Use WG8 – The Fate of son of the original Lord of Istus for a map of Rauxes. It’s available for $4.99 at Hell, Satan, and Yalranda, drivethrurpg at the time I the only Overqueen of the write this. Aerdi, who did not die at 40 as history records, but was kidnapped by Satan and
forced to have a son.
Here’s the link: http://www.drivethrurpg. com/product/17363/WG 8-Fate-of-Istus-1e-2e?it=1
1 – Need imperial pass to leave the city. Imperial passes are nearly impossible to come by. Cost is 2500 Gold Ivids on the black market. 2 – Walls are 25 feet tall, rimmed with gargoyles, and protected by a guards and wards spell. Treat as certain death for first level characters. (This detail is a modification to a general concept in the original text of Ivid the Undying made by Lichhunter Hal) 3 – Sewers connect to the Under City which have a few tunnels that extend far enough out of the city to be beyond the walls. These tunnels dump waste into creeks and streams bound for the FlanmiImeda river system. The portcullises that protect the sewers from outside intruders have been cut through with acid by thieves and smugglers and no workers have come to repair the damage given the city’s state of utter chaos.
beyond the meager social circles the adventurers are acquainted with. Overking Ivid is insane. He has abolished the worship of all the known gods for some possible figure of his own imagination, Baalzy. He makes new laws and decrees daily. Many of which are demeaning to the populace, dangerous to the populace, or impossible to follow. The Town Guard enforces these laws with a zombie-like obedience, many speculate that some of the Guard are zombies reanimated by Ivid or Baalzy or whoever is actually controlling the throne. Ivid’s madness has caused society to breakdown to the point where basic needs are not being met. People are starving, sick, and without hope. In a healthier town, the populace would be ripe for revolt, but fear and malnutrition grip everyone that has been unable to flee the capital of the once Great Kingdom of the Aerdi. The party is trapped in this hellscape as well. It takes a fortune to buy a pass to leave the city, scaling the walls leads to certain death as the mangled unburied bodies of those who have tried attest, and finding a wizard with the necessary transportation magic is far
The party is hunkered down in the disreputable tavern called the Dark Dragon to wait for a miracle before they die of starvation. Each day is a battle for food, supplies, and sanity. The adventure begins on one of these hopeless days.
This well thought out map provided through the Creative Commons by Tim Hartin of Paratime Design shows the layout of the Dark Dragon. Most likely, several encounters will take place here during the adventure. The characters are trapped adventurers staying at the abandoned Dark Dragon Tavern scavenging for food and a means of escaping the city. Sparse detail is given on the inhabitants because this can be a good way for the DM to introduce new characters into the adventure as it progresses either due to new players or the death of a party member.
If more detail is wanted, feel free to roll on the Rogues Gallery table for adventurer stats for more description. There are 6 to 12 adventurers in the inn at any given time. http://www.drivethrurpg.com /product/17024/The-RoguesGallery-1e?it=1 This tavern is location 86 on the map of Rauxes found in the Fate of Istus source material. The Dark Dragon was an unsavory tavern in a city of unsavory people so pretty much the worst of the worst could be found here. The inn itself is out of food stores but does contain plenty of food storage items in the pantry and behind the bar in the form of barrels, kegs, and casks.
There is plenty of firewood and a decent store of water, but there is absolutely nothing to eat. Rules amongst the adventurers surviving at the tavern are few. The most notable intolerance is cannibalism. This primary rule doesn’t sit with two half-orcs staying at the Dark Dragon. They violated the policy to anyone’s knowledge as of yet, but they don’t seem to be as hungry as the other adventurers on a daily basis. The characters in the party are each in desperate need of food. Their starved conditions reduce their constitutions by 2 and AC by 2. The condition also increases their “to hit roll” by +2 and their “damage roll” by +2.
While out scavenging for food one day, they hear of a caravan of food that has entered the city from the surrounding farmlands and go to the city gate to investigate. The muddy, pothole-ridden Tinkers Street intersects with Castle Way near open lots overgrown with grass and reeds. A five wagon caravan of fresh produce along with a string of livestock (four cows, 6 goats, and seven sheep). Is guarded by a contingent of 40 men and women of the Town Guard. The Guardsmen wear brigandine armor, steel caps, and carry shields emblazoned with the crowned sun of the Great Kingdom. Their spears keep a throng of peasants away from the carts, many of them women holding children begging for food and milk. The Captain of the Town Guard bellows out to the crowd, “These are royal supplies. Death to any who touch the King’s Feast.” The cart makes slow progress up the street.
In the distance, dark clouds gather in the sky. The distant rumble of thunder accompanies the strobing effect of lightning charged within them. This is going to be a big one and it has everyone on edge. Daily scavenging for food might be halted for a while. Tension grips the electrified air. Give each character a minute of action before reading the next part of this event. It’s up to the DM’s discretion if they are able to devise a plan that will secure some food or get them belted by the butt of a spear (more likely). If they draw weapons and attack, the guards will respond in kind.
1. (40) Town Guard (F2, AC6, HP 16, THACO 19, spear, broadsword, light mace.) 2. (1) Guard Captain (F5, AC5, HP 40, THACO 15, spear +1, shield +1, broadsword +1, light mace +1, potion of hill giant strength)
3. (200) Starving Peasants (O-level, AC10, HP 2 (Starving), THACO 18, fists (d3 non-lethal +2 for starving) and thrown rocks (d3 lethal damage) A sack on the middle wagon levitates up from the wagon bed. The sack opens and a tomato emerges. It levitates for a second, also, until it rushes out and hits one of the guardsmen in the back of the head. The guardsman turns around, “Hey!� The entire sack of tomatoes follows striking him in the chest knocking him over. The tomatoes spill from the sack and the peasants leap for them. Many snarf down the red fruits ignoring the mud caked all over them. The guards attack those who eat the tomatoes. The crowd rushes the wagons where the guards leave openings. A full scale food riot erupts! The instigator of the food riot is an imp who was board and wanted to cause trouble. Once the food riot begins, the imp flies invisible away to sit and watch the carnage while eating the rest of the tomatoes in the sack. The imp has no interest in
engaging with the player characters and will fly away completely if threatened. The noise of the riot brings 50 new peasants each round. They join the riot desperately searching for food. On round one the guards use the butts of their spears. As they become overwhelmed, the switch to the business end of their spears and start killing. They are 2nd level fighters and get two attacks around against peasants. Each free guard kills one peasant a round with their two attacks. 4 peasants attack each guard each round. They succeed in one non-lethal hit doing 1d3 +2 to each guard each round. The guard captain drinks his potion of hill giant strength and kills 5 peasants a round. He takes no damage as the bodies pile around his feet in a mountain of gore. He barks orders. At the end of round 3, he yells for the guardsmen to rally to him. There they form a shield wall and no longer take any damage.
The food carts are left wide open as the starving people take all the goods, free all the livestock, and try to run away with their stolen bounty. On round ten, a company of the Imperial Guard arrives and horseback and slaughters all peasants still rioting. Players need 10 calories per pound of personal weight to remove the starving condition. It takes a round to secure a sack
and investigate what is in it. Characters can carry up to three of the items unless otherwise noted. Have characters roll a 20-sided die and consult table 1 when they try to grab a sack. If they roll a livestock result this means they’ve had the good fortune of one of the livestock breaking free from its rope and being accessible to them without too much interference.
Roll 1
Contents Ripped grain sack
Calories per item 100 calories a handful
Total number of items 20 handfuls
2
(Handfuls only) Celery
10 calories a stalk
20
3
Tomatoes
20 calories a tomato
20
4
Lettuce
50 calories a head
10
5
Turnips
30 calories a turnip
20
6
Onion
40 calories an onion
20
7
Carrots
20 calories a carrot
50
8
Cabbage
100 calories a head
10
9
Figs
40 calories a fig
40
10
Jar of Honey
20 calories a spoonful
100
11
Sack of Grain
100 calories a bowl
20
12
Apples
100 calories an apple
20
13
Potatoes
200 calories a potato
20
14
Beer cask2
200 calories a horn
50
15
Wine cask2
150 calories a glass
100
16
Goat
500 calories per pound
200
17
Sheep
1200 calories per pound
200
18
Cow
1200 calories per pound
2000
19
Spices1
50 GP a pound
2
20
Salt1
100 GP a pound
2
1. Food can be bought on the black market with these items at the rate of 100 calories a gold piece equivalent. These items carry the same value even outside the city. 2. Requires both hands to carry. Heavy. If the players are still at the scene when the Imperial Guard arrives, they can either run away dropping all but one of their items or be cut down. Stats aren’t needed here. Assume a charging knight on horseback both hits and does enough damage to kill the character. If they attempt to climb a roof and do some kind of ambush scheme, assume they are spotted and riddled with crossbow bolts. Their lives extinguished as just another cold statistic to the Tinkers Street Massacre. Award the party 200 experience points a player if they survive the riot.
The back alleys stink of dung, urine, vomit, and the rotting dead. Disease must lurk in all the mud puddles, piles of garbage, and mounds of corpses. The slats of shuttered windows and peepholes on doors open when you pass and slam shut if you look their way. A five year old Rhenee girl carrying a ragdoll, its button eyes and nose long gone. All that remains of the doll’s face is the red stitching of the mouth upturned into a creepy featureless smile. She stands in a puddle and stares at the party. If they stop and look at her she holds out the doll with both hands to give it to them. The girl is mute. Her eyes go wide when she wants something and her eyes narrow when she doesn’t. That is the only way she communicates. Choices
If the players take the main street back to the tavern. They will be spotted by a patrol of 8 guardsmen who will attack on sight.
1. Preemptive strike on the girl -- she dies instantly, the doll falls into the puddle which fills with her blood, whoever gathers the doll will be unable to
get rid of it and it will act as a curse spell (-1 to hit and save) upon the character until a remove curse is cast. 2. The party takes the doll from the girl leaving her in tears – whoever possesses the doll suffers a curse spell like in 1, but is able to discard the doll to remove the spell. 3. The party ultimately leaves her alone neither helping nor hurting the poor girl – nothing happens to the party related to this adventure. 4. The party gives her food or money. She takes the food or coins and runs off with her doll. The party gains the attention of the goddess, Istus, and activate a few precognitive visions located throughout the adventure. 5. Party sews buttons on the dolls face to make it whole again or some other act of kindness – Party gains the attention of the goddess, Istus, and her visions and is blessed with divine power (+1 to hit and +1 to
damage) for the rest of the adventure. 6. The party both gives both food or coin and fixes the doll or some other act of kindness – Party gains the attention of Istus and her visions, is blessed by divine power (+1 to hit and _1 to damage) for the rest of the adventure, and each party member finds a golden spindle in their pocket. The power of the golden thimble is detailed at the end of this module in new Magic Items. The party receives 100XP * the number that most accurately describes their interaction with the girl. 100XP to 600XP.
The alleyway cuts between the back of two tenement buildings for housing poor laborers in Rauxes. Countless laundry lines extend from window to window across the street. Few clothes are hung out now looking like lonely white and brown flags in a lackluster parade of triumph. Up ahead, a haphazard barricade
of crates and barrels has been set up blocking the alleyway. A group of desperate, starving men emerge from backdoors of the tenements on both sides of the street. Behind the party, a barrel crashes down from a rooftop spilling gallons of oil in the street. An archer on the roof above lights a flaming arrow and shoots it into the pond of oil. It ignites in a wall of heat and flame. The men draw makeshift weapons of butcher knives, chair legs, and fireplace pokers and attack like berserkers. (8) Berserkers on the ground – (F1, HP 6, AC 10, makeshift weapons (d4 + 2 damage), THACO (20) Their +2 to hit for starvation cancels out their -2 to hit due to the improvised weapons.) (2) Archers above – (T2, HP 8, AC 6 (leather armor and +2 from dexterity), short bow, short sword, and club (10 arrows each)). The archers fire indiscriminately into the crow, 50% at a berserker and 50% at a player. They have no 36intention of leaving the starving berserkers
alive once the players are dead. They want all the food for themselves. If one side starts winning over the other, they will concentrate their fire on the winning side. Both of the archers are initiates of the now defunct Rauxes Thieves Guild. Stairwells in each tenement building lead up to the roofs where the archers are firing from. The stairwells are the only entrance and exit though the archers might want to try and climb walls to escape. There is one archer on the roof of a tenement on each side of the street. If the archers escape, the DM has the option to say that the pair is then recruited by the Midnight Darkness and may appear later in the campaign. If so, then Starkhill and Reeds are suitable names for the two wannabe assassins.
As the party nears the relative safety of the Dark Dragon Tavern, they see deep dark thunderclouds on the eastern horizon.
Several fathers board up the windows of their ramshackle houses in advance of the storm. They have a bucket of blue paint with which they paint a lightning bolt symbol on the door. A smattering of houses throughout the city have these same markings.
either by bashed in door or window or a slide down the chimney, they will be hit with a shocking grasp spell as if cast by an arch-mage – ZAP!
If the party approaches one of them, they quickly pack up their tools and paint and head inside. They bolt the door.
Back at the Dark Dragon, the rest of the adventurers eye the party with either admiration or envy given how forthcoming they are with their food. If a PC eats 10 calories per pound of weight, they are no longer considered starving and suffer no penalties.
If a player decides to knock in the door, he will find the father ready to defend his wife and children with a light crossbow and a hammer (treat as a club). Father (O-level human, HP4, AC8 (leather apron), THACO (20)). If the father is asked why he painted the storm signal on the door, he says, “To protect my family from people like you.” There is no treasure in the home. They do have a bowl of produce centered inside a pentagram in the middle of the common room. 5 unlit blue candles are set on the tips of the pentagram star. Note: During the storm coming at night, if the party tries to break into this house or any house with a storm signal,
Vision from Istus – any character receiving visions from Istus based on how they treated the child in Event 2 will notice a spider weaving a web in the corner of the wall. One of them becomes hypnotized by the movement and goes into a trance (highest wisdom roll on a d20 spots the spider first). The PC’s eyes roll back into their head revealing only the whites of their eyes. “Eat well, my friends. You will need your strength this night.” Those characters that eat 10 calories per pound of character weight remove the penalties for starvation. They also heal all wounds and regain all spells as
if having slept for the night. Istus provides. The additional benefits are true even if they did not help the Child of the Streets as long as they did not kill the girl and become permanently cursed. Those PCs removing starvation gain 200XP. Those PCs sharing food with others gain an additional 200XP. Any character not removing starvation, but agreeing to help others, gains a stupidity bonus of absolutely nothing. Istus isn’t an all good deity. J)
Winds outside begin to gust. Thunder rumbles in the distance. The heavy shake of chain mail sounds on the front porch as Zig and Ratgur barrel through the front doors each carrying a large sack over their shoulder. They make a beeline through the common area to the steps leading up to their rooms. Have the party dice a wisdom roll on a d20. The highest roller is first to see the bag on Zig
move and a small tear reveal the terrified young eyes of some child.
The half-orcs go upstairs and eat the children if no one intervenes. If they are stopped, Zig draws his +1 flametongue longsword and Ratgur drinks a potion of heroism and breaks out his battle-axe and wooden round shield. Both have 17 strength (+1 to hit and damage). Zig F3 (HP 24 +3 Con bonus), AC5 (chainmail), THACO 18 (+2 to hit and +2 damage due to strength and flametongue), and Ratgur F2 (HP 14 (24 heroism +2 Con Bonus), AC4, THACO 19, +3 to hit and +1 to damage due to strength and heroism). Zig and Ratgur fight to the death. If incapacitated due to a sleep spell or some such, they can be pacified into not eating the children as long as the party shares leftover food with them. Zig and Ratgur could be powerful allies during Chapter 2, but the designer’s thought is that Zig and Ratgur die here.
If the party shared their food with others, a few of the other patrons will join the fight. 1.
, Dwarven C1 (Clangeddin), (HP10, AC5 (ring and shield), Spell – Create Water (already cast for the day). THAC0 20. Battle-axe and shield bash. Gest has scrolls of CLW (3) and Cure Disease (the latter he won’t share because he hopes to use it as a bribe to leave the city if any of the east gate guards get sick, but he might die in the fight and an opportunistic party member might capitalize upon that). The CLW he will be happy to cast on a party if he is not badly injured.
2. Leaf – HE Fighter F3 (HP 15, AC5 Brigandine Armor with +2 dex bonus), THACO 18, rapier) 3. Suel – Human (pure Sueloise, platinum blond hair, neat beard, handsome, secret member of Scarlet Brotherhood), T2 (HP 9, AC 4 (leather plus +4 dex bonus), THACO 20 , Fights two handed with a shortsword and dagger (-2 to hit with off hand).
Note from Lich: If the party did not share their food, they could die here. Let them have it. Don’t pull punches. The campaign could start up again with the new characters watching the fight and deciding to rescue the children and avenge their previous characters once their old characters die. Award each party member 500XP if they defeat Zig and Ratgur and rescue the children.
Chapter two could wind up very short or very long depending on how quickly the party gets what is going on. It’s hard to tell if the sun is down or the storm is just that virulent given how dark it is outside. Sheets of rain spray the walls of the tavern as sustained winds drive the raindrops nearly horizontal in their descent. Those adventurers staying upstairs in private rooms come down to the common area complaining of how the winds tore off the shutters, smashed the windows, and let buckets of rain pour inside. Leaks in the tavern roof confirm their stories.
Jokes and sarcasm lighten the mood at first as the relative safety of the common room and its boarded-up windows doors provide a calming influence. That changes when a loud boom can be heard at the door followed by another and another as the door starts to give. On the fifth boom, the hinges break and the door falls flat on the floor as wind, rain, and a troop of nine town guardsmen rush into the common room. One of your fellow adventurers holds his hands up and asks, “What’s going on?” The guardsmen coldly cut him down with their broadswords and move to attack the rest of you. (9) Town Guard (F2, AC6, HP 16, THACO 19, spear, broadsword, light mace.) During the battle, have characters roll under wisdom each round (no need to roll again after succeeding once) to notice that the eyes of the guard are unnaturally blue and the Crowned Sun of the Great Kingdom is no longer on their shields. In its stead is a blue
dragon coiled around a sword on a black field. Reveal this info with notes individually or after all characters have made their wisdom rolls if you want to wait for the group to learn the information before revealing it. Keep track of the rounds it takes to vanquish the guard. A new batch of nine will attack in 10 rounds. If the first combat is not over by then treat the reinforcements will join the battle. The second batch and all subsequent batches after that will be accompanied by a blue dragonborn commander. Rushing through the front door to the Dark Dragon is another patrol of Town Guard, but with them is a hulking creature covered in blue scales with yellow serpentine eyes wearing brigandine armor, carrying dragonsword shield, and armed with a trident with tines that crackle like a Tesla coil. It opens its mouth to bark a command, but instead of words a bolt of lightning flashes from its mouth slamming into one of you. Roll a fortitude save (name character). Dragonborn Commander – (F3, HP 29, AC3 (brigandine,
shield, +3 natural armor), THACO 15 (18 (00) strength, +3 to hit +6 to damage), trident +1, shield, and mace +1). SA – Lightning Breath 2d6, Fort save for half.)
Two avenues of escape: A) Flee out into the storm. B) Flee down into the cellar.
Whichever avenue the party chooses, any other NPC Vision: After the second wave, adventurers left alive will choose those PCs obtaining visions from the opposite. Istus due to Event 2 will see the crashing surf of the ocean on a (Note: this is just a way to keep beach. The waves bring in bodies the action party-centric. Those of the dead. One after the other. DMs wishing to keep up with the The bodies are the lifeless corpses additional bookkeeping of NPCs of the PCs. can have as many adventurers join the PCs as they see fit. They will Wave after wave of guards led by probably need Zig’s sword a dragonborn commander will though. Give them a vision of continue to assault the tavern Zig’s evilness to give them until everyone in the place is justification of killing him if they captured or killed. Those have not done so already. Zig captured will most likely be eats children. He deserves to die. impaled on a spear along the city’s Even a paladin is justified in roads. (That’s how I would run it. challenging him to a fight to the Note: the thimble can resurrect death.) them giving them a second chance at escape.) Some DMs may wish to have them imprisoned with some other chance of escape. Details of that scenario will be up to the Fleeing out into the storm. There individual DM to construct. No are two ways out of the city if the details of such an event are party chooses this option. provided within this document. Finding the sewer tunnels through a storm drain or climbing the wall and battling gargoyles at the top. With Zig’s sword, they have a slim chance to escape over the wall.
creature with red sclera, green irises, and serpentine pupils blocking the way down a sewer tunnel where a portcullis’s middle has rusted away revealing a makeshift archway. A golden light from the tunnel behind the portcullis. The light is so bright that nothing else can be seen The winds outside come from the beyond. east at hurricane force. 6 inches of rainwater covers the streets. 2. When a character looks at the Storm drains open up as torrents town wall he sees himself battling of rain form waterfalls along their four gargoyles with a flaming edges as the water cascades down sword as his fellow players cling to the side of the wall like spiders into the sewer tunnels below. waiting for the outcome of the Fires so big that even the rains battle. can’t extinguish them can be seen The leap down into the storm throughout the city. drain is about 15 feet into a 5’ Targeted bolts of lightning strike deep river of water flowing down into the Overking’s Castle on the a tunnel to the east. If characters western edge of the city. The go this way, skip to the Sewer silhouettes of massive flying Section of this adventure. creatures can be seen circling the castle in the strobing light. The castle, too, is on fire, much like the rest of the city. Characters that go to the wall The black shadow of the city walls soon realize that the conditions loom large to the south. A are too difficult for a thief to formidable deterrent to a climbers climb the wall. Anyone trying to levitate will be blown down the escape. street to the east like a kite slamming into a turned over wagon cart (taking 2d6 damage). Vision from Istus If they attempt to stay in the city, they will eventually be found by the guard in whatever place they try to hide. There are agents of the coup who have magical swords that can detect enemies. No one can hide from them forever.
1. When a character with visions One way that a player could scale looks at a storm drain they get a the wall is with spider climb. The vision of a black-scaled humanoid character must roll under their
strength to successfully scale the Hissing and yelling come from face of the wall up to the top. At room 19 as 4 ghouls try to escape the top, 4 gargoyles await. the rising sewer waters by climbing up into the cellar. Gargoyles (HP20, AC5, THACO 16, 4 claws (damage 1- There is only one ghoul currently 4)) in the room, but the other ghouls are wedging their way up the The Gargoyles can’t fly in the chute. A new ghoul arrives each high winds. Only one gargoyle round until all 4 ghouls are in the The ghouls attack can attack the character at a time cellar. due to the lack of flying. Maybe immediately and fight to the They will chase the PCs won’t die if the dice roll death. adventurers out into the street if their way. need be. Once the four gargoyles are defeated, no more will come as Ghouls – (HD2 HP9, AC6, 3 long as the PCs don’t try and run attacks, each attack forces a save along the wall. A PC with a rope versus paralysis. Elves are can lower it down for others to immune.) climb up with a successful strength roll. If a character fails The chute down to the sewer is a their strength roll, they can be 15-foot slide that will deposit lifted by two adventurers pulling characters into the sewers. Go to the Chapter 3C: Sewer Section to up the rope. complete the adventure. PCs managing to escape the city this way should be awarded 1000XP a piece.
If characters choose to rush down into the cellar, they will see the place has been thoroughly ransacked. All the doors are open, shelves have been knocked over, barrels and kegs have been smashed.
There is no official map to the sewers. The channels in the tunnels flow to the east. The sewers for the Overking’s Castle are an independent system from the city’s sewers and those flow to the west.
The rat swarm is a giant one and does 1 to 6 points of damage to every character in the chamber. The party enters a drainage pool Even if the PC reaches the ledge, either from the streets of Rauxes the rats will follow. or the Dark Dragon’s cesspit. The drain will create a whirlpool You swim in a pool of water and that sucks up the rat swarm and debris too deep for you to touch pulls it down into a large chamber the bottom. The pool fills up below. It will suck up any quickly as the rainwater pours characters left in the water that into the pool from several are not rescued by a rope or other contributory tunnels. It’s too means of pulling themselves out. dark to see without a light source. Zig’s sword, magic missiles, and Those with light see a lever in a shield bashes (if on the platform) wall and a larger tunnel to the east can damage the rat swarm. out which the water seems to be Rat swarm (HD6, HP24, AC8, flowing. ATT - Tiny Bites (1d6 of Sharp painful bites from creatures automatic damage a round), in the water with cause you to Special Defenses – not damaged bleed on your arms and legs. you by weapons besides shields and in the water. It’s a swarm of rats firebrands/torches.) scared and lashing out at the intruders in their midst. Characters in heavy armor must roll beneath their strength to remain afloat and not start The party sloshes along a 3-ft wide walkway next to a 7-foot drowning. wide channel in a 10-ft wide sewer A platform obscured by a foot of tunnel arched at the top 7-feet rising water lies beneath the lever. above the waterline. The water is a foot deep on the walkway and If the lever is pulled a drain in the five feet deep in the channel. floor is opened to drain water down into a drainage pool for The water moves quickly and times like these. The lack of city slows movement as the party tries maintenance has the drain closed to maintain its footing along the during this time of obvious need. walkway.
body. The two on the dead man’s neck being the most visible. He clutches to an empty potion flask in his hand. Residue within the vial can be identified to determine it was a healing potion that was drunk, but likely was no help to this man as the virulent disease caused by the plague shadow If the party investigates the body, overcame him. a sickly-green, translucent spirt floats up from the body and Rifling through his pockets and attacks. This is a plague shadow. pouches reveals another potion of extra-healing and bag of pearls New Monster : Plague Shadow (20) worth 50GP a piece. (HD 3+3, HP19, AC7, THACO18, ATT 1 Charisma The rest of the dead man’s Damage (1d4) and hit points equipment has washed away. (1d4) on a hit.) Treat as a typical shadow except the plague shadow attacks charisma and causes a swelling of lymph nodes that are reflected by the hit point loss. Those killed by a plague zombie The waters continue to rise and won’t turn into a plague shadow the walkway water is now waste Only four-feet of air themselves but will harbor a new deep. plague shadow within them that cresting in an arch is available for will attack the next person that the party to breath in. Up ahead approaches the body. The there is a portcullis that should be victorious plague shadow will blocking the passageway. continue on to search for another victim. Hit point damage from a As the party reaches the portcullis plague zombie heals normally. they see smoke rising from the Charisma damage heals at 1 point ends of the hollow steel bars per week as the black tumors making up the portcullis. Their slowly disappear. A cure disease skin burns a bit and each or restoration spell heals the character takes a point of damage each round they remain around charisma damage immediately. the portcullis. The corpse has tangerine-sized blue-black tumors all over its Beyond the walkway, there is no Ahead in the tunnel is a body beached on the shallow part of the sewer above the walkway. The swift-moving water tries to nudge the corpse along, but overflow water is not deep enough, yet, to loosen poor soul from its resting place.
longer a walkway built into the floor. The 8-foot deep water gushes down the tunnel in a steady torrent. Each player must make a strength on a d20 to remain afloat even if heavy armor isn’t worn. Those with heavy armor on sink if they don’t take it off before they jump the rapids of the sewer. If they foolishly try it, they can try to roll above their armor class to try to free themselves of it underwater. They have 3 free rounds to do it, but then take 1d6 damage a round as they start to drown. They die when their hit points reach zero. No negative hit point rules apply to drowning as they breathe in too much water.
spittle), two claws (1d4 + 1), immune to acid, Special Defenses – When a blackscale lizardman is bloodied (lost half its hit points) it starts to bleed acid out on every blow which forces weapons to save vs. acid and causes half the damage of each strike back on the attacker. Here in the sewer river the damage is only 1 point due to the water dissipation of the effect.
Those battling to stay afloat down the stream roll their strength. If they stay submerged for over 3 rounds, they start to drown as well.
The lizardman only seeks to kill and eat one of the party members. It will strike at random. If it strikes a character that is managing to keep their head above water, other party members that have their hair above water have a chance to see the attack (roll under wisdom to witness the assault). A strength roll will enable that observer to swim over and attack the lizardman. If no one sees, the victim has to battle the lizardman by themselves.
To make matters worse, a creature is hunting within these waters. It is a blackscale lizardman, the cruel experimentation of the Court Wizard of Rauxes, Karoolck. He combined black dragon blood with lizard eggs to create an intelligent race of humanoids, evil to the core, with acid for blood.
Each successful strike of the lizardman gives the party member a strength roll to free themselves for a moment. Once bloodied the lizardman will be more concerned with surviving than fighting, but the force of the waters are strong enough to force him out of the sewers the same way the players are going.
Blackscale Lizardman (HD It takes ten rounds of swimming 4+4, HP 24, AC2, THACO16, in the sewer river before the Attack (Bite (1d6 + 1d6 acid sewer empties into an open
channel outside the city walls. The channel is walled with stone bricks for 100 ft. before spilling The storm has ended. Water drips into the rapids of an overflowing from trees into puddles. Rivulets from the puddles cascade down creek . to the creek. A platoon of soldiers captained by 3 blue dragonborn fish other The party awakes slowly feeling escapees out of the sewer with each blow, bruise, and wound nets and impale them on boar deep into their muscles and bones. spears along the channel and creek. There are scores of dead Far across the city oerched the Overking’s Castle is a colossal and dying already skewered. dragon with a humanlike rider The players hauled up in a net and holding out a dark sword. See beaten nearly unconscious before front cover. The dragon rears its head back and lets loose a being impaled. lightning bolt of incredible As you begin to lose intensity ripping the sky with consciousness, you see golden thunder and casting the smell of arrows pierce through the rain ozone all the way to your position and darkness and strike into the outside the city. bluescaled creatures causing them From the city gate, a troop of to scream in pain. reinforcements emerges heading Riding large horses and wielding your way. lances are seven similar creatures scaled in gold. A sparkling silver A small sack lies few feet away. leader whose scales shine like You grab what you can and mithral leads the others in a prepare to run. charge into the ranks of your If the party looks in the sack, they captors. will realize it is a bag of holding. They attack with a righteous fury. Inside are 4 weeks of iron rations, You drift into blackness with the a barrel of fresh water, flights of chorus of the cries of the dying arrows, bandages, pots and pans, a tinderbox, 10 torches, a ringing in your ears. selection of weapons, 100 silver pieces, and an ivory compass. The compass points northwest
(Nyrond) whichever direction the 3. Once per day a character can will that something achievable is party is going. succeeded. A saving throw, a leap If a thief or ranger is in the party, across a narrow chasm, an arrow the others will have a vision of striking an opponent in high that person wearing a black scale winds from a long distance, armor that is form fitting. The finding the secret hideout of the vision ends with the corpse of the thieves guild, etc. (Note: if the blackscale lizardman lying players are using it to go too far amongst the dead soldiers by the off the page in an adventure, just say the visions of that are cloudy.) creek. There is room in the bag to hold the entire lizardman. A tanner can make the blackscaled hide suitable for a leather worker to make a special set of light armor (AC2, treat as leather). New Magic Items Golden Thimble of Istus – this magic item radiates divination magic. The powers of the thimble are listed below. 1. Spider Message – a wearer of the thimble can empower spiders to write a message in a web that can be read by another wearing a similar device. The range of the magic is 1000 miles. Some identifying name either title or moniker must be spoken aloud for the magic to work. High Priestess in Ekbir, Mayor of Greyhawk, Mordenkainen, or the Foe Hammer are examples. 2. Acts as a luckstone + 1.
4. One time only, the thimble can resurrect the owner of the thimble from the dead. This power destroys the thimble. The owner regains full hit points and spells and is under the effect of a divine power spell (+1 to hit and +1 to damage) until the next dawn.