Cush – Introduction

July 5, 2012March 13, 2021 / jstater / 9 Comments

Okay, I haven’t officially published the last piece of the Hellcrawl (about 1 more week and it’s live), but I’ve already moved on to … Cush! The next hexcrawl project is Cush and Pwenet, pieces of an Africa-themed chunk of Nod. I’m quite excited about this one – probably a good bit of art to commission (which means I’m losing money on this baby), but there isn’t much Africa-themed RPG stuff out there, and it’s a pretty rich vein to mine for adventure. Anyhow – what follows is a quick look at the different geographical regions to be covered and the full Map J12 – the eastern half will be covered in NOD 16, the western half in NOD 18, and NOD 17 will cover the city-state of Ixum. Enjoy!

Click to enlarge – or don’t, it’s up to you

HISTORY
During the Pandiluvian Age, the jungle portions of Map J12 were under water, while the Jamba Highlands constituted a chain of islands the connected to the large archipelago of the modern Wyvern Coast. The savanna of Pwenet was a land of salt marshes and grassland. The so-called elder things built small fortresses in these shallow waters to protect their larger cities in the depths. These fortresses were built with a cyclopean, luminous green stones that were fitted without mortar. Although they were hunted for sport, some mermaids established themselves in sea caves and placid island lagoons.

When the waters receeded, the swampy grasslands became a savanna and the Cush basin became a dismal, tropical swamp. It was here that the lizard men, former servants of the elder things, established themselves in walled city-states, often surrounding the citadels of their former masters. Humans from the highlands were enslaved and put to work building defenses, for the lizard kings were constantly at war with one another, their society on its inevitable march to savagery.

As the waters continued to recede and Cush became a rain forest. The savage lizard men were eventually defeated by the more numerous and clever humans and driven into the coastal swamps or into the underworld. Freed from slavery, the humans established themselves in the homes of their former masters and took up where they left off. But unlike the lizard kings, who spent centuries locked in a stalemate, one human city-state, Kolos, soon brought the others to ruin.

Kolos was ruled by an exiled Atlantean who became fascinated with the alien gods of the lizard men, especially the one they called Mictlantecuhtli. Mictlantecuhtli called out to the Atlantean from the Abyss and bound him to his service with dark, unspeakable pacts. In time, the Atlantean, now known as Kolos, would destroy his city-state in a bid for godhood.

With Kolos fallen and soon swallowed by the jungles, its tributary port, Zinj, assumed the mantle of leadership in the region. But Zinj was tiny compared to the Kolos, and its interest lied in sea trade, not the fetid jungles. Except for a brief period as a subject of the zebra-striped people of the Zebrides, Zinj has remained an independent kingdom for centuries, even briefly lording it over the purple kings of Ophir after they lost their key trade partner in the invoked destruction of the Nabu.

The tribesmen of the savanna land called Pwenet also flourished during the Silver Age. They built villages and towns of adobe and kept massive herds of cattle. They even swept over the Nabu empire and held it for a few decades before decadence and in-fighting aided the Nabu in reclaiming their sovereignty.

GEOGRAPHY
Map J12 is dominated by a hot, steamy jungle in the west and the rolling grasslands of Pwenet in the east. These two regions are divided by the Jamba Highlands, a small mountain range that feeds the Jamba River. The Adze Marsh runs for many miles along the Jamba River.

A powerful necromantic kingdom called Kolos once dominated Cush and made war with the Nabu Empire to the north. While the fall of the Nabu Empire is well documented, the disappearance of Kolos is far more mysterious, and many adventurers have entered the jungles intent on finding that lost city-state and plundering its vaults. To date, none have succeeded in returning to civilization with their lives, let alone any riches.

Map J12 has no city-states of its own. The nearest city-states are Zinj (Map I12) and Ophir (Map J11), both coastal ports. It does have a multitude of villages and supports many sentient cultures, including human tribesmen, pygmys, lizardmen and gnolls.

Adze Marsh & Jamba River
The Adze Marsh, named for one of its more dangerous inhabitants is a vast wetland composed of flat lands, lagoons and copses of trees. The area floods in the Spring, hiding much of the flat land and making the entire swamp a virtual lake.

Cush
The jungle of Cush consists of a gently sloping plain between the Tonaduhna and Jamba Rivers. It is a traditional rain forest. The trees are thick and grow close enough together to blot out the sun. Beneath the canopy live a myriad of insects and reptilian carnivores as well as pygmy deer, elephant, and the dreaded leopard. Cush is valued for its exotic hardwoods (teak, mahogany, ebony and darkwood), orchids and fauna.

AMAZONS: The amazons of Cush are related to their more northern cousins. Like their cousins, they live in a matriarchical society. Unlike their cousins, they allow their menfolk to live in their villages and work as craftsmen, farmers and fishermen. Men and amazons live in separate halves of the village.

The amazons of Cush wear little or no armor, with the heaviest armored warriors (the nobility and their elites) wearing leather armor cured from the hides of mystical beasts (5% chance of dragonhide leather armor). Cushite amazon warriors carry spears, throwing irons and shields.

BERSERKERS: The berserkers of the jungle are cannibals. They appear as normal humans, but with teeth sharpened to points and hungry, feral looks in their eyes. The cannibals of Cush live in small hunting groups of 10 to 20 warriors led by a 3rd to 6th level chief and two 2nd level sub-chiefs. They wear no armor, but 50% of the berserkers carry a shield. Cannibals are armed with nets, battle axes, hand axes or short swords.

GHOULS: The ancient city-state of Kolos fell in a cataclysm of dark sorcery, tainting the surrounding land with necromantic energies. Over the next few months the peasants and knights of Kolos, deprived of their city-state, perished. Those who survived did so on the flesh of their fallen neighbors, and thus became ghouls. These ghouls, known for their dull black skin and pot bellies, still haunt the ruins of the jungle basin. They are extremely aggressive (as they’ve been starving for centuries) and are quite resistant to turning (turn as 4 HD undead). About 1% of ruins contain a ghoul able to summon a vrock demon (25% chance of success).

TRIBESMEN: The tribesmen of Cush know the secret of working iron and mine and smelt surface deposits from sacred out-croppings guarded by traps and summoned cacodaemons. Their witchdoctors are expert brewers of poison, so most warriors go into combat with poisoned darts (poison I) fired from blowguns.

The tribesmen are also privy, it is said, to the location of ancient gold mines secreted deep in the jungle and guarded by forgotten curses and fell magical beasts.

Each tribe consists of 3d10 x 10 warriors and additional non-combatants equal to 5 times the number of warriors. For every ten warriors in the tribe there is one “Big Man” with 1d4 character levels, usually in the fighter class. The tribe is ruled by a 6th to 10th level chief and witchdoctor (usually an adept, but 10% chance of being a 4th to 7th level druid or cleric). The chief is accompanied by 1d6+6 2nd level fighter bodyguards.

All tribesmen have a very fluid fighting style, giving them a base AC of 11. Tribesmen typically wield spears and blowguns, but might also carry hand axes, short swords, daggers and short bows. Leader types might carry battle axes or long swords.

VEGEPYGMIES: These strange plant beings are approximately 3 feet in height with rust-colored skin. They are primitive in nature with a chittering language incompre-hensible to non-plant men. Vegepygmies are usually encountered in small hunting bands. Vegepygmy tribes number from 1d4 x 30.
Vegepygmy warriors usually carry spears and throwing darts covered with a rust-colored mold. The mold deals no extra damage, but does begin to grow on the flesh of those hit by the darts who fail a saving throw. After the first day, the mold begins dealing 1 point of constitution damage each day as it produces enzymes which begin liquifying the host’s body. When the host is reduced to 0 constitution, he is little more than a pile of mush, upon which several “infant” mold men begin to grow. Once the mold begins to grow, it can only be destroyed with fire or a remove disease spell.

Jamba Highlands
The Jamba Highlands are a group of snow-capped mountains and their foothills that rise above the jungle of Cush and the grasslands of Pwenet. The tribesmen believe they are the abode of their gods. This belief is bolstered by the strange, white gorillas that seem to guard the passes that lead through the mountains.

The highlands feature a plethora of simians and avians. Old stories claim that the mountains are rich in precious stones and metals, but they are far enough away from civilization that nobody has made a serious attempt to mine them.

Pwenet Grasslands
Pwenet is a land of rolling hills with scattered copses of aromatic trees and a few rocky outcroppings. Large herds of ruminants travel from watering hole to watering hole while being stalked by giant centaurs, lions and even more fantastic predators. Pwenet is said to hold both a fountain of youth and the source of the River Ish, thus making it a popular destination for explorers.

A few merchant-adventurers from Ibis travel to Pwenet once a year to trade manufactured goods for aromatic resins, ivory, darkwood and wild animals. Otherwise, the region is untouched by the people of Lemuria and the Motherlands.

Though not the most numerous, the giant centaurs of Pwenet are the region’s most prominent folk of the hills. Pwenet is also home to many tribes of gnolls and humans. The largest tribes, human and gnoll both, provide most of the region’s drama as chiefs and witch-doctors jockey for power and recognition.

Oft told tales tell of when the tribes of Pwenet united under Jobo the Great and conquered the cities of Nabu. The people of Pwenet believe that history is a cycle and that they will once again conquer the outside world when a great leader united them.

CENTAURS: The centaurs of Pwenet look like a cross between humans and giraffes rather than humans and horses. Pwenet’s centaurs are larger and stronger than normal centaurs, but also more calm and level-headed. They carry large shields and pikes.

DWARFS: The dwarfs of Pwenet are only distantly related to the dwarfs of Antilia and Thule. They have pitch-black skin and eyes and small beards of wiry, black hair. Like other dwarfs, they dwell under-ground in burrows protected by all manner of traps. The natives of Pwenet call them the utu.

The utu have different abilities than other dwarves. Their eyes allow them to see in the brightest light and blackest darkness, including magical darkness. Their skin is as hard as granite and provides them a natural armor class of 14. Utu characters have a +1 bonus to constitution and a -1 penalty to intelligence. The utu carry shields and swords made of darkwood studded with shards of jade.

Utu dwarves worship Khnum, the divine potter, creator of the universe. Khnum’s clerics are curious about the universe and spend most of their time recording their observations on clay tablets. Where other dwarfs are expert at the forge, the utu are experts working with wood and clay. Their pottery is valued by the people of Ibis.

The utu are learned in the art of conjuring spirits, from whom they obtain most of their knowledge. All non-player character utu clerics can use the spell contact other plane once per month, when the stars are aligned.

Once every century a lucky cleric is able to make contact with Khnum himself to deliver a great prophecy to all the peoples of Pwenet. On these occaisions the dwarves sound their drums and blow long horns made from hollowed darkwood trees to call all the tribes to hear the prophecy. All the great chiefs of Pwenet heed this call and travel to the appointed place with their retinues, sworn by tradition to observe a full week of peace while the ceremonial dances are performed, lineages are recited and finally the prophecy is pronounced. The coming of the current princess of the Quiet Folk, avatar of the great earth mother, was pronounced at the last convocation, and the next prophecy is due to come in the very near future.

Nabu – Echoes and Bones

June 4, 2010March 13, 2021 / jstater

4146 Village of Echoes: The adventurers stumble upon a small, abandoned village. The village is surrounded by a picket of sharpened stakes and tangled thorn bushes. It also has a wooden gate that has been left open. Keen eyes might note a partial human skeleton buried in the ground in front of the gate.

Although the adventurers cannot see anyone, the village is inhabited by echoes. The echoes are all that remains of the villagers after being cursed. Some years before, a dying wizard came before the gates of the village, begging for assistance. The greedy villagers lifted not one finger to help the man and so he cursed them with his dying breath. They were shunted into a space between dimensions, their only anchor to the material world being their voices, which could only echo the voices of others.

The only way to communicate with the villagers now is through the use of drums and call-response style songs. The call-response songs are the only way the cursed villagers can answer questions. Using this method, curious adventurers may learn of the village’s curse.

The curse can only be broken by carrying the wizard’s bones into the village and throwing them a great feast. Unfortunately, the skeleton is not complete. The skull is in the possession of Bonolo [7744]. The skeleton’s right arm was carried away by a lion, and now resides two hexes to the southwest [3947]. A locate object spell will lead adventurers to these bones.

Once the curse is broken, the villagers will return to the material world none the worse for wear. Unfortunately, they are as greedy as ever, and their rescuers will be hailed by a chorus of complaints: “Where are our animals? What will we eat?” While it may be possible to hire some of the villagers as bearers or even men-at-arms, they will prove to be quarrelsome and disloyal.

4426 Boiling Springs: Amidst the sandy dunes there is a small meadow of dry grasses, in the midst of which there are boiling hot springs. The springs themselves are surrounded by a caldera of sorts composed of mineral deposits. Shamans from the surrounding area trek to this place to gather minerals, and there is a 1 in 6 chance that a druid and his acolytes are present. Not far away from the springs is a half-finished shrine built of large sandstone blocks. The shrine was meant to be dedicated to Selchis, but was never finished. Various rare earths can be taken from the site by an alchemist, and water from the springs has medicinal qualities (+1 save vs. disease).

4447 Castle of Bones: A small limestone castle lies in this hex, abandoned save for a terrible multitude of bleached bones. The walls of the castle rise 30 feet from the ground and are crenelated. Each corner of the walls boasts a square tower 40 feet tall. The northeast tower has collapsed and the others will soon join it. Presently, they show the signs of a terrible fire. Two fifty foot tall towers flank the castle gate, which is shut by a portcullis of rusty wrought iron. Through the portcullis, one can see that the courtyard beyond is covered with humanoid bones, with some “drifts” being 3 or 4 feet deep. The castle’s keep is fifty feet tall with a base 80 feet square. Within the keep there is a fairly common layout; great hall and kitchen on the ground floor, barracks and storage on the second floor, living chambers on the third and an armory and treasure room on the top level. All of these rooms are similarly piled with bones, which seem to catch on clothes and get under feet while one passes through. The castle holds no treasure. The bones are an illusion created ages ago by a godling in revenge for the blasphemies committed by the inhabitants, who long ago left the morbid place to rot.

4648 Abbey of Melkarth: Adrubal, a patriarch of Melkarth has constructed an abbey in this hex. The abbey consists of a 30-ft tall central keep flanked by four lower structures lined with pillars. The abbey is constructed of limestone clad in reddish marble. The main doors, looking east, are wood clad in bronze bas-relief. The keep has a dozen arrow slits facing in each direction. The smaller structures of the abbey comprise an eating hall, kitchen, living chambers (small cells stacked atop one another and accessible by ladders for the brothers, a larger chamber for the abbot) and a training room. All of these structures are connected by narrow passages. The central keep houses the great idol of Melkarth. While the exterior of the keep is square, the interior is octagonal. In the middle of the room there is a 25-ft tall idol of Melkarth. Each corner in the room has a bronze brazier, with incense kept burning throughout the day. Ladders lead up to wooden platforms that allow the brothers to use the aforementioned arrow slits. The abbey is surrounded by walled gardens (cooking and medicinal) and several quince trees.

Below the keep and accessible from the living quarters, is what the brothers call the Well of Souls. The well is located in a natural, limestone cavern clad in coral. In the middle of the cavern there is a natural well that contains cloudy, reddish water. The floor of the cavern has been worked to create an octagonal pool with steps leading to the central well. The brothers have also carved out storage and meditation alcoves around the pool area. Non-lawful creatures stepping into the pool with cause it to freeze over; a saving throw (with a penalty based on how deep one goes) is required to avoid being frozen in place and suffering 1d6 damage each round until freed.

The abbey’s treasure, located behind a secret door in one of the aforementioned alcoves, consists of 10800 cp, 10920 sp, a sardonyx worth 500 gp, a gnomish cloak (10 gp, +1 to hide) and a cursed scroll that kills its reader with a rotting disease in 2d4 turns. Adrubal keeps a stuffed crocodile (90 gp), a papyrus scroll on art & music (30 lb) and a masterwork longspear (100 gp, +1 to hit) in his living quarters. He wears a copper toe ring set with a citrine (500 gp) and an ivory locket (40 gp) and carries a pale yellow potion of fire resistance with an earthy taste in a conical bottle and a masterwork heavy flail (150 gp). The brothers have ring armor, shields, maces and pellet bows (fire stones, like slings, same damage but short bow range).

Acolytes (20): HD 1; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 9; Save 16; CL/XP 2/30; Special: Turn undead.
Adrubal, Cleric Lvl 10: HP 69; AC 4 [15]; Save 5; Special: Spells (5th), +1 to hit with heavy flail; Heavy flail, chainmail, potion of fire resistance.

4838 Roasting Crater: The ground rises here to form the walls of a great crater one-half mile in diameter. The floor of the crater is solid glass and capable of roasting people alive during the day (3d6 damage per round).

5350 Abbey of Medusa: A small rise of jagged stone there stands a small fortress. Built of sandstone, the fortress is inhabited by a convent of twelve nuns dedicated to the worship of Medusa. The nuns draw their members from the ranks of women wronged by men. They are normal humans from many walks of life, but fight as berserkers against men using sickle-swords and daggers. The nuns are led by Mother Betresh and her adepts, Henna and Maia.

The fortress is twenty feet tall and consists of two stories. The roof is vaulted and made of stone. The roof has a cistern for collecting water (connected to the kitchen via a clay pipe) and a chimney (also to the kitchen) blocked by an iron grate. To enter the fortress, one must first negotiate the jagged outcropping it is built upon. One must climb 15’ to get to the entry, and risks falling and cutting themselves to do so. There is a small ledge before the entryway, which is flanked by two statues of women in Egyptian garb, facing away from the door. The door itself is constructed of iron and always kept locked. A sliding panel on the door allows the nuns to spy on their visitors.

The bottom floor of the temple consists of a small entry hall decorated with very fine statuary, much of it weathered and cracked from age and the elements. From the entry hall there are three wooden doors heading north, east and west.

The north door leads to a dining hall for the nuns. It features a long table set with earthenware bowls, spoons and goblets. There are twenty chairs along the table, including a chair carved from marble and set with precious stones of green and yellow (1,000 gp total, gems worth 200 gp if removed) at the head of the table. Bas-reliefs of dancing women along the walls are designed to hold candles. A door in the eastern wall leads to the kitchen.

The eastern door from the entry chamber leads to a storage room. It is piled high with bolts of green cloth (used to make robes), barrels of hard cheese, jars of pickled olives and fish and three amphorae of white wine (worth 10 gp each). There are hundreds of mushrooms and strips of fungus hung in nets to dry and a dozen baskets that appear to be used to collect them. A door in the northern wall of the storage chamber leads to the kitchen.

The kitchen consists of a couple tables, a fireplace and a wash basin (connected to the cistern on the roof). A cauldron hangs in the fireplace and bowls, plates and knives are scattered on the tables. A few stools allow the nuns to sit while working.

The western door in the entry hall leads to a stairwell. The stairs are made of stone with wrought iron railings. They spiral up to the second floor. Along the western wall several stone masks representing faces twisted in horror, misery or agony hang on hooks on the wall. Removing a mask will reveal wire tied to the back, allowing them to be worn over the face (though without the benefit of seeing). In each corner of this room there are sculptures of warriors in archaic armor shielding their eyes. It is readily apparent to anyone who examines them that their upraised arms can be rotated. The statue in the northwest corner is a trigger that causes the stairwell to sink into the ground, leaving a hole in the ceiling but allowing access to the caverns beneath the nunnery. The other three statues have glyphs of warding carved into their horrified faces. The northeast statue has a blast glyph that deals 7d4 points of acid damage. The southwest and southeast statues have spell glyphs; blindness and cause disease respectively. All glyphs were cast by a 7th level evil cleric.

When ascending the stairs to the second story, one finds themselves in a chapel dedicated to Medusa. The chapel contains a small marble altar supported by statues of two small children and a headless idol of Medusa herself. Chains on one wall suggest that sacrifices are performed here; the chisels and hammers on the wall, all of ornate design, reinforce this suggestion. A single door to the east allows access to a hallway. The hallways allows access to several living cells to the south. To the north, a door gives access to the abbess’ study (filled with religious objects and a writing desk, in which there is a map showing an entrance to the underground queendom of the medusas beneath the Carnelian Coast), which in turn allows access to her simple living chamber (bed, wardrobe, Egyptian-style plate armor and a gorgon-visaged helm on a stand, three maces on a rack, the first silver, the second masterwork, the third carrying a +2 enchantment and the ability to cast flesh to stone once per day when the command word “Justice” is uttered). A locked chest trapped with a poisoned needle (permanent paralysis) contains the nuns’ treasure: 997 gp, delicate electrum clasp in shape of a coiled basilisk (2,000 gp), etched crystal ring (1,500 gp) and brass dinnerware (60 gp).

The caverns beneath the nunnery are not extensive. The nuns believe that the outcropping and its little underworld were created when drops of blood from Medusa’s severed head touched the ground here in ancient times. The stairwell leads to a cramped cavern decorated with carvings of dancing priestesses. A small chute leads downward from this room, large enough to allow a fully armored human to crawl their way through. Those trying to crawl through the chute without first disarming its trap (by rotating all of the eyes of the dancing priestesses to make them look closed) are likely to be impaled by iron spears set with springs. The spears fire and then pull back, meaning that each person moving through the chute will suffer 1d6 attacks from a 3 HD “creature”.

At the bottom of the chute there is a larger cavern with a vaulted roof. A fountain in the shape of Neptunus spits water into a carved basin in the center of the room. The statue’s head is turned to face east while his trident points to the west. The entire room is quite damp, and hundreds of edible mushrooms are being cultivated on the floor and walls. There are three exits from the cavern, all of them low, narrow passages cut from the stone.

The water in the fountain has one magical property: If applied to the eyes of the masks (from the stairwell above), they become transparent, allowing the wearer to see but still be impervious to gaze attacks. When the water dries, the effect ends (assume it lasts 2 turns in the damp caves). Only the water from this fountain has this effect.

The eastern passage winds its way in a curve to the western passage. The western passage is blocked by an iron portcullis that is locked down and thus cannot be lifted. Ten feet into the eastern passage, adventurers will come upon an alcove filled with bas-relief sculpture showing a beautiful woman surrounded by courtiers. After another 10’ there is a second alcove filled with a sculpture of Neptunus embracing the woman. A third alcove ten feet further on shows, again in bas-relief, the goddess Athena hovering over the woman who now bears the face of a medusa. At this point, anyone wearing a mask who does not express sympathy with Medusa (by word or tear) will be cursed, their face taking on the appearance of the mask they wear and giving them an effective charisma of 5.

The western portcullis is 10 feet away from the third alcove and contains a lever on one wall that releases the lock and allows the portcullis to be lifted.

The northern passage leads to a vertical shaft. The shaft is set with iron rungs and descends twenty feet into the earth. When adventurers are half-way down the shaft they will trip the trap therein unless they are lucky enough to skip the iron rung that triggers the trap. The trap causes spring-loaded blocks of stone to fire, trapping those already in the shaft against the opposite wall of the shaft. The bludgeoning deals 1d6 damage and the pressure forces them to hold their breath until the trap can be disarmed. A secret door in the floor of the passageway allows access to a gear that winds the springs back. Turning the gear requires strength saving throws, made once each round. Tally the amount by which each save is beaten; when a total of 20 is reached, the stone blocks recede and allow those trapped to breath and continue downward.

The vertical shaft ends in a large cavern filled with statuary. It is home to a greater medusa called Caelia (40 hp). Caelia’s treasure consists of 1,500 gp, a delicate crystal sculpture of a cat (80 gp), a masterwork short sword with a pommel bearing the visage of a boar (90 gp, +1 to hit), a delicate brass bracelet (8 gp), a lotus-shaped clasp of ebony (10 gp) and a massive, ostentatious gold ring (500 gp).

Betresh, Cleric Lvl 7: HP 39; AC 1 [18]; Save 8; Special: Spells (3rd), petrifying gaze (1/day), snake poison (paralysis for 1d6 rounds), immune to medusa gaze, command earth creatures; Plate mail, mace (petrifies), holy symbol.
Henna & Maia, Cleric Lvl 2: HP 15; AC 3 [16]; Save 13; Special: Command earth creatures.
Caelia, Greater Medusa: HD 8; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 snakes (1d4 + paralyze), 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12; Save 8; CL/XP 10/1400; Special: Petrify, poison, poisonous blood (1d6 strength).

5826 Dry Seabed: This hex and all of those adjacent to it were at the bottom of an ancient sea. Walking into this area, adventurers (especially dwarves and gnomes) will recognize that they are heading down a gentle slope. The temperature will grow hotter as they descend to [Hex 5826]. The entire area is home to hundreds of giant crab exoskeletons (2 in 6 chance to encounter 1d4 per day in the Dead Sea, per hour in this hex).

At the center of the Dead Sea an irregular block of greenish-grey stone rises from the sands. The crab exoskeletons will not approach within 20’ of this stone.
There is a portal in the stone that heads downward into the sands. The passage will lead downward at a 20-degree slope for about 200 feet and then turn right, continuing along the same slope. The passage will continue its descent in 200’ increments until they have descended 300’ into the earth (10 sections).

At this point, the passage will enter a flat gallery. The air here is cold and dead and clammy; the walls and floor are damp and a bit slimy. The walls are lined with ten sarcophagi (give on each side) carved in monstrous, hideous shapes, like a combination of fish and men with bulging eyes and wide, toothy mouths. Each sarcophagus holds an alien mummy. The sarcophagi can be opened with a total 24 points of strength. If opened, the mummies will not attack unless attacked. The mummies (50 hp) attack with giant swords (2d6 damage) that can infect their targets with mummy rot.

At the end of the 100’ long gallery there is a stairway spiraling 30’ downward. At three points along the stairway the steps are trapped to generate walls of force 6’ behind the intruders. These walls are invisible and make no sound, and will likely not be noticed unless the party is large enough that some members are cut off by the walls.

At the bottom of the stairway there is a small antechamber and a large door. The adamantine door bears the image of Tsathoggua in bas-relief and a symbol of death inscribed by a 12th level high priest. The door can be moved with 60 points of strength. If the door is touched, the mummies in the chamber above will awaken and shamble toward the intruders.

Beyond the door there is a domed chamber. The floor and walls are covered by a layer of brown mold. In the center of the chamber there is a large crystal vessel containing a black, viscous liquid. Approaching within 5 ft of the vessel will activate magic mouths on the wall that will warn the intruders away in several archaic languages (those of the fish men, serpent men, dragons and yithians). The crystal vessel is secured with molten adamantine. Several explosive runes (6d6 damage) have been worked into the adamantine. Inside the vessel there is a black pudding. As soon as it is released, it will begin consuming everything in its path and growing.

6143 Animal Trail: Even a non-ranger can pick out an obvious trail here used by migrating herd animals. It moves from east to west, meandering slightly, across the hex. Umbrella thorn trees proliferate along the trail.

6244 Fomu Village: The Fomu are a tribe of 50 families who herd goats with large, double sets of horns and grow emmer wheat with the help of six giant cisterns and a network of irrigation canals. The cisterns, constructed of limestone blocks, are connected by a wall of earth 40 feet tall and 20 feet thick with gates to the east and west. The Dawn Gate is constructed of granite and decorated with brass nails. The Dusk Gate is decorated with iron nails. A road of adobe bricks joins the two gates, which are approximately 1 mile apart. The road is lined with grass huts, an adobe granary, a limestone temple dedicated to Nomkhumbulwane, goddess of farming, rain, rainbows and beer. The temple is five feet above the ground and consists of a large chamber containing the goddesses idol, carved from green marble and decorated with ostrich feathers and painted gourds. Just beyond the temple there is a long limestone building inhabited by the temple’s eight brewer-acolytes. The remainder of the building houses six large, wooden vats used for brewing beer. The largest hut in the village belongs to Hudarr, an elf ranger and village chieftain. Aside from the priests and chief, the village also boasts a chariot maker (the warriors ride two to an ass-drawn chariot, one man driving, the other hurling bronze-tipped javelins) and a bowyer who crafts pellet bows (short bows that cast stones for 1d4 damage) made of goat horns and the aforementioned javelins.

The village treasure, kept in locked wooden chests in Hudarr’s hut, consists of 9,600 cp, 1,900 sp, 5,200 ep, 50 gp, 20 pp, a terracotta figurine of a charioteer (4 gp) and 6 porcelain dishes (180 gp).

Hudarr, Elf Ranger Lvl 9: HP 55; AC 4 [15]; Save 7; Special: Ranger abilities; Ring armor, shield, 6 javelins, spear, gold disk earrings (40 gp), gauntlets of ogre strength.

6247 Elephant Graveyard: A depression in the grasslands obscures an elephant graveyard. Those poking about for a few hours can collect 1d12 tusks worth 200 gp each. Living beneath the graveyard in narrow tunnels dug into the black soil are a tribe of barrow wights that look like tribesmen with flaky, gray skin and clawed hands and feet that are attached backwards. The wights feed on the dying elephants, but never disturb their bones or tusks. The wight tunnels can be entered through several holes obscured by piles of bones. The tunnels seem to weave randomly, but often end in small, man-made caverns. These caverns invariably hold one or more large, terracotta vessels that are either turned over or burst apart. The bottom of these vessels contain treasure amounting to 1,800 cp, 400 sp, 500 ep, 10 gp and a potion of water breathing that is thick and opaque, with blue, red and yellow swirls. The potion tastes like lime juice and is kept in a crystal vial. Encounters in the tunnels occur on the roll of 1-3 on 1d6 and always involve 2d6 wights, with a total of 20 wights living beneath the graveyard.

Wight: HD 3; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 claw (1 hp + level drain); Move 9; Save 14; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Drain 1 level with hit, hit only by silver or magical weapons.

6449 Stone Fort: Atop a rocky hill there is a simple fort built of stacked stones. A single watchtower built of stone rises from the midst of this encampment. The inhabitants are a tribe of 46 intelligent skeletons. They are harassed every night by 30 hell hounds. The skeletons are not chaotic, but they are not particularly friendly either. They know the secret of creating more of their kind, and will likely find visiting adventurers of more value as their own kind than as potential foes.

Most of the skeletons (31) conform to the normal statistics for skeletons. These warriors wear scraps of armor and carry spears, shields and short bows. There are also eight exploding bones, two blazing bones and one black skeleton (54 hp) the others call “The Black Prince”.

The skeletons do not know where they came from or why they are here; many consider their lives as something akin to a nightmare and seriously doubt the reality of the situation. Until they wake up, they spend their days strengthening their defenses and their nights fighting off the hounds of hell.

Skeletons (31): HD 1; AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6+1); Move 12; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
Exploding Bones (8): HD 2; AC 8 [11]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 12; Save 16; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Explode for 1d6 damage when killed.
Blazing Bones (2): HD 8; AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 weapon (2d6); Move 9; Save 8; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Immune cold & fire, half damage from piercing weapons, heat aura (as heat metal, 20’ radius).
Black Skeleton: HD 6 (48 hp); AC 0 [19]; Atk 2 claws (1d4) or 2 weapons (1d8); Move 15; Save 11; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Only harmed by magic weapons, frightful, half damage from slashing and piercing weapons, strength damage.
Hell Hounds (30): HD 4; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 bite (1d6); Move 12; Save 13; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Breathe fire (8 hp).

6543 Dromo’s Village: Dromo is an elf thief who rules a village of 30 bandits and their families. The village was originally built as a prison. It is surrounded by earthworks 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. The village is entered through a stone tunnel in the wall that is barred by two steel grates. Within the village, the earthen walls are studded from top to bottom by thousands of wooden spikes that stick a mere two inches beyond the surface of the wall.

The wall encloses approximately 3 acres of land. Within, there are four long houses with flat roofs. The houses are constructed of adobe brick and have barred doors and no windows. These prison barracks are now occupied by the bandits and their wives and children. Each one is equipped with several straw mattresses and a smattering of stools and small tables. Fire pits are located just outside the front doors, and all are topped by tripods and cauldrons.

In the middle of the barracks there is a squat, square tower constructed of adobe bricks and topped by a stone cupola that holds as many as four crossbowmen at a time. The ground floor of the tower is a mess hall with a 15-ft high vaulted ceiling, an long, uneven table, two benches and a tall chair that has seen better days. This is where Dromo and his sergeant, Kabil, take their meals, served by the prettier wives of the ville with wooden trenchers and pewter goblets (2 gp). An iron cage hangs suspended from the ceiling. A brick staircase leads both up and down.

Below the ground floor there has been dug a crude dungeon, held up by thick timbers of mouldering wood and a scattering of flagstones. The little cells are iron boxes.

The second story of the tower is an armory filled with seven crossbows, 250 quarrels, two dozen spears and eight short swords. It also contains 60 weeks of iron rations, a barrel of salt (30 lb) and a barrel of pickled fish (20 lb). A straw mattress here is used by Kabil and contains his treasure of 200 cp, 600 sp and 40 gp. Kabil wears a mail shirt and carries a shield and masterwork broadsword.

The third floor, also reached by brick stairs, is Dromo’s chamber. It contains a feather mattress, an iron strongbox (locked and trapped with a poisoned needle), a long bench and a wooden chest that contains a change of clothes, a spare set of thieves’ picks and tools, a jar of soot (used to blacken one’s face and weapons), an oilskin cloak (8 gp) and charts of the coast from Ophir to Kirikersa (23 gp). Dromo’s longbox contains 760 sp, 120 ep, a stone tablet on medicine written in hieroglyphics (380 gp), a rose quartz (65 gp) and a platinum belt (1,200 gp).

Some distance away from the barracks and tower there is a prison graveyard marked by a boundary of white stones (chalk) that bar chaotic beings from entering. The graveyard is hallowed and the bandits avoid it, choosing to bury their own dead on the savanna well away from their village. In the middle of the graveyard there is an old shrine built of clay and straw in the shape of a beehive. Inside the shrine there is a mahogany idol (now cracked from the heat, for it has not been anointed with oil for decades) of Anubis, along with a bronze brazier and a stone case that holds a scroll of Anubian proverbs.

Bandits (30): HD 1 (5 hp); AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
Kabil, Sergeant: HD 3 (16 hp); AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 12; Save 15; CL/XP 3/60; Special: None.
Dromo, Elf Thief Lvl 5: HP 11; AC 3 [16]; Save 10; Special: Back stab for triple damage; Leather armor, shield, scimitar, longbow, 12 arrows, 3 silver arrows.

6548 Wasp Lair: A hive of 30 giant wasps dwells here inside a tower of dried mud. The tower is 60 feet tall with a diameter of 30 feet. It can be entered from a single opening near the top, which leads to a spiral tunnel that branches many times into tiny cells. At the bottom of the tower there is a 10’ diameter chamber in which dwells the queen and is kept the hive’s treasure, 700 cp, 2,000 sp and 2,300 ep. Wasp encounters occur in this hex on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6, and are usually followed up each day until the intruders have traveled 21 miles.

Giant Wasps (30): HD 4 (24 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 sting (1d4 + poison), bite (1d8); Move 1 (Fly 20); Save 13; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Paralyzing poison, larva.

6646 Brick Road: A narrow road of adobe bricks built three to four feet above the level of the savanna cuts across this hex from southeast to northwest. At every mile a diamond-shaped limestone brick is set into the road and decorated with a religious saying in the triangular alphabet of Pwenet. The road is built between the villages in [6543] and [7149].

6728 Magic Gateway: A band of twelve druids, led by an archdruid named Ganur, maintain and protect a magic gateway. The gateway is constructed three miles east of the River of Death . It consists of deep, glassy pool in the midst of a garden. The garden and pool are surrounded by a sandstone wall 20 feet tall and 5 feet wide. The exterior of the wall is studded with shards of yellow glass. Planted around the inside perimeter of the wall are dozens of tangle weeds. The remainder of the garden consists of aromatic trees (acacia, myrrh), brilliantly colored bulbs, and wild roses, all planted with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Small cells constructed in the inner wall serve as living quarters for the brotherhood of druids that protects and nurtures this place. The brotherhood are all men. They are completely shaven, from head to toe, and wear wide-brimmed leather hats and simple loin cloths. Each brother bears a ruby stud in his nose and carries a staff or myrrh which maximizes the effects of their spells.

The pool itself is surrounded by hallucinatory terrain depicting tall, thick reeds of papyrus. These reeds seem to thwart all attempts at cutting through them until one disbelieves in the illusion. At that point, the reeds seem to part, allowing access to the pool. The pool is completely natural, and should one dive into it, they would not be able to find a bottom. The water in the pool is cool and clear. If one drinks from the pool, they will swoon and awaken to find themselves on the jungle planet of Venus.

Druid , Lvl 6 (12): HD 6d6+6; AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 staff (1d4); Move 12; Save 9; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Spells (3rd), change into lions.
Ganur, Druid Lvl 12: HP 56; AC 7 [12]; Save 4; Special: Spells (6th), druid abilities; Papyrus scroll (wall of wind), ring of freedom of movement, staff, leather armor.

Wyvern Coast – Shameful Sons, Feeding Frenzies and Demonic Springs

April 27, 2010March 13, 2021 / jstater / 4 Comments

Twenty-seven more sites to explore in the southwest part of the Wyvern Coast map.

0132 Makronissos: Although King Philostos was a noble triton, his unruly sons were a shame to the entire kingdom. As each came of age, the king dutifully granted them leave to construct a fortress and attract whatever followers would have them. Naturally, Philostomes, the eldest, chose to stay by his father’s side, and it is he who now wisely rules Nimos in [0631]. His brother Mathian is the quarrelsome lord of Makronissos, while the youngest, Sthenelaus, lusty rascal that he is, rules Fleves in [0231]. The three rarely have anything to do with one another, though Mathian and Sthenelaus delight in outdoing their older brother and foiling the plans of the other.

Prince Mathian’s fortress is a three-story shell keep constructed from marble blocks on a trefoil pattern, the courtyards topped by onion-shaped domes of glassy-steel. The keep is surrounded by the homes of his fighting-men and women. These homes are constructed of marble blocks, resembling the courtyard homes of the ancient Romans. Makronissos is home to 99 triton warriors, 82 females and 110 young. Prince Mathian, in a fit of madness, constructed a basalt temple to Oceanus, Titan of the Sea. The temple is overseen by Marta with the help of four assistants. The household is overseen by Erigone, Mathian’s wife and a sorceress in her own right. Mathian’s nine household knights, who ride sea horses into battle, can be identified by the deep crimson kelp they wear as sashes. All of the howling warriors of Makronissos carry tridents and shields. They glory in battle. Prince Mathian himself rides in a bronze chariot pulled by seven sea cats. The treasury of Makronissos lies in a pit beneath a heavy stone slab that takes six tritons to lift. It contains 20,000 sp, 29,000 gp, 500 pp and five amphorae of fine wine.

Prince Mathian, Triton Fighting-Man Lvl 9: HP 52; AC 4 [15]; Save 8; Special: Magic resistance 90%; Shield, trident.
Marta, Triton Cleric Lvl 10: HP 40; AC 5 [14]; Save 5; Special: Cleric spells (5th), banish undead, magic resistance 90%; Shield, trident, holy symbol (gold conch).
Assistant Clerics, Lvl 3: HD 3d6+3; AC 5 [14]; Save 12; Special: Cleric spells (1st), banish undead, magic resistance 90%; Shield, trident (silver conch).
Erigone, Triton Magic-User Lvl 8: HP 19; AC 6 [13]; Save 8; Special: Magic-user spells (4th), magic resistance 90%; Silver dagger, grimoire.
Household Knights: HD 6; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 trident (1d8+1); Move 1 (Swim 18); Save 11; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Magic resistance 90%.

0134 Expensive Rubble: A large mound of marble blocks rests here, the remnants of construction by the tritons in [0233] and [0631].

0231 Fleves: Fleves is the stronghold of Sthenelaus, brother and rival of Mathian [0132] and Philostomes [0631]. Sthenelaus is wild and unruly, with a massive appetite for war, women and song. His cadre of retainers are nine devotees of Bacchus. Fleves itself is a coral feasting hall capable of holding Sthenelaus, his retainers, his court druid, Helle, and magician, Talthybios, and his 292 followers (93 males, 94 females and 105 young). The hall’s ceiling is covered in beaten bronze and hangs 40 feet above the floor. The tables, benches and chairs are the remnants of a century’s worth of shipwrecks. The walls are lined with trophies and weapons – the warriors of Fleves prefer barbed spears, bucklers and hoplite-style helms. The tables are always loaded down with the harvest of the sea, including stoppered stone crocks of wine. At one end of the hall is a massive marble idol of Bacchus. Heaped around the statue is the treasure of Fleves: 10,000 sp, 5,500 ep, 17,000 gp, 1,020 pp, an aquamarine (450 gp) and a jasper (6 gp). The idol is guarded by Helle’s four assistants at all time. The feast hall is surrounded by a thick forrest of kelp prowled by twelve sea cats trained to ignore the tritons of Fleves, but to attack anyone else on sight. Sthenelaus goes into battle in a chariot drawn by six hippocampi. His maenads ride hippocampi as well, their green hair tied into long braids, their arms bearing ritual scarification.

Sthenelaus, Triton Fighting-Man (Barbarian) Lvl 9: HP 50; AC 4 [15]; Save 8; Special: Magic resistance 90%; Buckler, helm, barbed spear.
Maenads, Triton Fighting-Women (Barbarians) Lvl 6: HD 6d6+12; AC 4 [15]; Save 11; Special: Magic resistance 90%; Barbed spear, net.
Helles, Triton Cleric (Druid) Lvl 11: HP 41; AC 4 [15]; Save 4; Special: Cleric (Druid) spells (5th), magic resistance 90%; Barbed spear, shield, helm, holy symbol (gold vines, worn around neck).
Helles’ Assistants (4), Triton Clerics (Druids) Lvl 3: HD 3d6+3; AC 4 [15]; Save 12; Special: Cleric (Druid) spells (1st), magic resistance 90%; Barbed spear, shield, helm, holy symbol (silver vines, worn around neck).
Talthybios, Triton Magic-User Lvl 8: HP 18; AC 5 [14]; Save 8; Special: Magic-user spells (4th), magic resistance 90%; Silver dagger, grimoire.

0233 Tomb of King Philostos: As mentioned in [0132], King Philostos is dead, killed three centuries ago in battle with the sahuagin. In his honor, his sons, putting aside their rivalry, constructed a fabulous tomb for their father. The tomb is built of marble and stands 20-ft wide, 20-ft deep and 20-ft tall. Atop the tomb is a 20-ft tall bronze statue of Philostos. The tomb is surrounded by false columns carved onto 5-ft thick walls. The interior of the tomb is dry, and actually cannot be entered by water under any means. At the center of the tomb chamber is a gold-plated sarcophagus suspended from the ceiling by bronze chains over a pit of charcoal. The walls are covered in bright mosaics depicting the life, death, funeral and ascension of King Philostos.

A captive fire elemental called Horogule guards the tomb. He dwells in the fire pit, but copper piping allows him to move rapidly throughout the tomb chamber. His access to the chamber can be closed by depressing the right eye of the images of Philostos in the chamber murals. He is depicted four times, once on each wall. By depressing the right eyes on the images, the fire pit and pipes are sealed, trapping the fire elemental. There are two clues to this course of action; the first is a charred skeleton by one wall reaching toward the image of Philostos. The other is that the bas-relief of Philostos on his sarcophagus has his right hand over his right eye and his left hand grasping a trident that is impaling a fire-breathing dragon.

The tomb treasure is concealed in four floor spaces. Above each of these spaces there is a trap in the form of a crescent axe that falls from the ceiling, splitting would-be thieves in two (attacks as a 6 HD monster, 2d6 damage). The floor spaces contain 10,000 sp, 5,100 gp and a bronze figurine of Neptunus (500 gp).

Horogule: HD 16 (43 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 strike (3d6); Move 12; Save 3; CL/XP 17/3400; Special: Ignite materials.

0631 Nimos: Nimos is the stronghold of Philostomes, the eldest and favored son of King Philostos. Nimos now rules Nimos and its 118 triton warriors, 93 females and 108 young. He is advised by his aged mother, Diomede, a priestess of Amphitrite. Philostomes is philosopher, poet and warrior. His army is well drilled and schooled in the concepts of chivalry. His personal guard consists of eight knightly warriors led by Aristonike, a chaste paladin and Philostomes’ ideal of beauty. Nimos is a marble citadel atop a sea mount. It is built in the ancient Greek style, and within its thick walls there is a fortified palace, a temple of Neptunus and Amphitrite and stables for the prince’s twenty hippocampi. Beneath the sea mount there is a dungeon protected by roving sea cats and cunning traps. The dungeon’s only resident is the undying eye of a wicked sea titan, killed a milennia ago by King Philostos. A vault in the citadel holds 21,000 sp, 5,500 ep, 27,500 gp, 500 pp, a spinel (7,000 gp), a zircon (10 gp)

Philostomes, Triton Fighting-Man (Bard) Lvl 9: HP 45; AC 2 [17]; Save 8; Special: Magic resistance 90%; Helm, scale armor, shield, trident, silver dagger, golden horn, gauntlets of dexterity.
Aristonike, Triton Fighting-Woman (Paladin) Lvl 8: HP 34; AC 2 [17]; Save 9; Special: Magic resistance 90%; Helm, scale armor, shield, trident, holy symbol (silver conch), potion of healing.
Knights of Nimos, Triton Fighting-Men Lvl 6: HP 6d6+12; AC 3 [16]; Save 11; Special: Magic resistance 90%; Helm, scale armor, shield, trident.
Diomede, Triton Cleric (Druid) Lvl 11: HP 44; AC 4 [15]; Save 4; Special: Cleric (Druid) spells (Lvl 5th), magic resistance 90%; Helm, shield, trident, holy symbol (gold image of Amphitrite).
Diomede’s Priestesses, Triton Cleric (Druid) Lvl 4: HD 4d6+4; AC 4 [15]; Save 10; Special: Cleric (Druid) spells (2nd), magic resistance 90%; Helm, shield, trident, holy symbol (silver image of Amphitrite).

0640 Eador: Eador is a lair of 345 gnome artisans, 114 gnomewives and 64 gnomelings. They dwell in burrows beneath the roots of a large, gnarled oak tree. The gnomes of Eador produce delicate images in stained glass for trade, most of their contact coming via traders from Ophir or clerics interested in decorating their monasteries. Their work can be seen hanging from the branches of their tree and also lodged between gnarled roots, illuminating some of the burrows beneath. The gnome-king of Eador is Kermid. Kermid’s honor guard is composed of six level 3 fighting-gnomes. The community is also served by a cantankerous druid named Thumbar and his three level 2 assistants. The gnomes keep a flock of sixteen giant ravens as guard animals and messengers. Deep in their burrows, the gnomes keep 2,000 sp, 10,100 gp, 110 pp a matching pair of electrum clasps, each set with 11 tiny topazs (35 gp) and 1,000 gp worth of stained glass.

Gnome: HD 1d6; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 9; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: Simple illusions, +4 AC vs. giant creatures.
Kermid, Fighting-Gnome Lvl 5: HP 28; AC 2 [17]; Save 12; Light mace, platemail.
Honor Guard, Fighting-Gnome Lvl 3: HD 3d6+6; AC 3 [16]; Save 14; Hand axe, chainmail, shield, crossbow.
Thumbar, Gnome Cleric (Druid) Lvl 6: HP 30; AC 6 [13]; Save 9; Special: Cleric (druid) spells (3rd); Club, leather armor, shield, holy symbol (wreath of oak leaves).
Thumbar’s Assistants, Lvl 2: HD 2d6+2; AC 6 [13]; Save 15; Special: Cleric (druid) spells (1st); Club, leather armor, shield.
Giant Raven: HD 3; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 bite (1d8); Move 2 (Fly 30); Save 14; CL/XP 4/240; Special: None.

0745 Morix: Morix is a relatively new dwarf stronghold built into the mountains. It is inhabited by 360 dwarfs with 135 females and 55 dwarflings. The dwarfs mine tin (about 20,000 gp worth a month), trading it to Ophir for iron and gold. Morix is ruled by King Okolast and Queen Maiu. Okolasts housecarls are six level 3 fighter/clerics. He is assisted in times of battle by two level 2 sergeants. The entrance to Morix is located 60 feet above the ground in the side of a mountain, with supplies being lowered and raised via pulleys and stout ropes. The dwarfs also maintain two escape tunnels that emerge well away from the entrance and can only be opened from the inside. The halls of Morix are patrolled by seven brown bears. Okolast’s main hall has a vaulted ceiling supported by massive pillars engrave with the name of every dwarf from his clan lost when they were forced to quit the Bleeding Mountains across the sea. His throne is cast from bronze and decorated with goblin skulls. The dwarfs of Morix maintain a dozen forges and a multiple shrines to Volcanus, whom they call Weyland. Their heavily trapped vaults contain 10,000 cp, 10,500 ep, 2,500 gp, 1,100 pp, a cymophane worth 40 gp and jewelry worth 30 gp. They generally have 60 tin ingots (5 lb each, worth 15 gp each) on hand and 15 barrels (60 gp each) of slightly sour wine (as dwarfs prefer it that way).

Dwarf: HD 1; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 6; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: Detect attributes of stonework.
Okolast, Dwarf Fighter/Cleric Lvl 5: HP 24; AC 1 [18]; Save 10; Special: Cleric spells (2nd); Platemail, shield, military pick, dagger.
Housecarls, Dwarf Fighter/Clerics Lvl 3: HD 3d6+6; AC 1 [18]; Save 14; Platemail, shield, hand axe, dagger, crossbow.
Sergeants, Dwarf Fighting-Men Lvl 2: HD 2d6+4; AC 3 [16]; Save 15; Chainmail, shield, hand axe, dagger, crossbow.
Brown Bear: HD 4+1; AC 7 [12]; Atk 2 claws (1d3), 1 bite (1d6); Move 9; Save 13; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Hug (+1d8 damage if hits with both claws).

0833 Exiled Merrow: A band of ten exiled merrows have taken residence in a dilapidated keep choked with barnacles. The merrows have no mermaids in their harem and are taking their humiliation out on anything that passes by. They are lead by an especially large and stupid male called Kthuk. The merrows are armed with thick spears and nets. Their treasure consists of 500 ep, 400 gp, a rose quartz (165 gp) and a silver statuette of entwined mermaids (7,000 gp).

Kthuk: HD 6 (26 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d10+3); Move 9 (Swim 9); Save 11; CL/XP 6/400; Special: None.

0930 Feeding Frenzy: A merchant galley recently slipped under the waves, victim of a tusked whale. It carried with it over 100 chained slave rowers, whose corpses are now at the center of a feeding frenzy of thirty lacedons and twenty sharks. The lacedons look like water-logged corpses with feral faces. From the tattered clothing they wear, it is obvious that most are former corsairs and sailors. At the center of the lacedons is a female with stringy, black hair, grey skin and wearing the remnants of a silk gown. Bards may be able to identify her as Ivada, Lady of Comiar in the territory of Ophir, lost at sea six months ago. Her return in a more civilized state could be worth a 200 gp reward from her father, as she was his last heir. Amidst the ship’s wreckage one could salvage 75 gp worth of cedar lumber, hides and skins worth 250 gp, an amphorae of spiced wine (40 gp), 60 gold ingots (1 lb each, 100 gp each) and a collection of marble statuary (2,500 gp) intended for the home of a wealthy merchant of Antigoon.

Lacedon: HD 2; AC 6 [13]; Atk 2 claws (1d3), 1 bite (1d4); Move 9; Save 16; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Immunities, paralyzing touch.
Shark: HD 5; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 bite (1d6+2); Move 0 (Swim 24); Save 12; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Feeding frenzy.

0933 Zorix: Zorix is a small, rocky island with several sandy beaches. The center of the island is dominated by a craggy upland, from which flow two streams marked by many waterfalls. One flows to the northern shore of the island, the other to the western shore. The upland has many caves, and most show signs of visitation. One has seen more visitation than the others, and contains a crude, blood-stained stone altar and many black candle nubs. Just beyond the altar the cave floor drops away suddenly; thirty feet below is a grotto. The grotto is filled with icy, cold water. The ceiling is marked with dozens of reddish-orange stalagtites and the floor of the lagoon with similar stalagmites. Hidden among the stalagtites are a dozen piercers. The waters of the lagoon hide a submerged, 20-ft long tunnel that emerges in a large vault. This vault measures forty feet in circumference. The periphery is submerged in icy water, while the center rises above the water in a 20-ft tall black pillar. This pillar is actually Zorix, a massive, demonic roper, believed by cultists from Ophir to be the spawn of Baalzebul and one of his avatars on Nod. They are correct in this assumption, and any aggression committed on Zorix will be noted by the Lord of Flies. A century of offerings to Zorix now lie in the water around his dais and amount to 20,000 cp, 5,500 ep, 1,200 gp, 510 pp, a bronze kyton (100 gp) that once held blood wine.

Piercers: HD 1; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 slam (1d6); Move 3 (Climb 3); Save 17; CL/XP 2/30; Special: A piercer scores 2d6 damage on the roll of a natural 20 to hit, the piercer’s belly is coated with acid that deals 1d6 damage to exposed flesh.
Zorix: HD 12 (51 hp); AC 0 [19]; Atk 1 tentacle (weakness), 1 bite (2d10); Move 3; Save 3; CL/XP 17/3500; Special: Tentacles grab and cause weakness (save or lose half strength points), smite good once per day (+12 damage to good creature), cleric spells (one per level, up to 9th), immune to poison, half damage from acid, fire and lightning, magic resistance 25%, only harmed by magic weapons.

[Because the 12-year-old in me still likes piercers and wants desperately for them to finally work!]

0936 Tomb of Clever Eksirossa: Eksirossa was, in her day, the greatest thief to have ever pilfered a vault in Ophir, a city-state noted for its thieves. Her tomb was constructed to her special design by a band of duergar who took her right hand and the jewels on her fingers as payment. The tomb is constructed in a cave overlooking the sea. The cave is filled with twenty feet of water at high tide and about 5 feet of water at low tide. The cave’s ceiling is 35 feet above the floor, thus 15 feet above the water surface at high tide and 30 feet above the water’s surface at low tide. Hanging from the ceiling by a thick, iron chain is a bronze sphere 13 feet in diameter. The sphere is hollow, the skin being 3’ thick. The ball has three obvious, circular portals. None of these portals are trapped, per se, but all are dangerous.

The first two portals are located on the upper surface of the globe. Either requires a master thief to overcome its locks. When one is opened, it reveals inky darkness within the globe. This is a portable hole that sends anyone entering into a cramped, empty space several miles away. This space contains a coffer corpse and a treasure of 500 silver-plated lead coins (worth about 1 gp, but weigh 1,000 lb).

Coffer Corpse: HD 2+2 (16 hp); AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 fist (1d6); Move 9; Save 16; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Only harmed by magic weapons (though weapons appear to do damage), false death (if “killed” with normal weapons, will fall and then rise again, causing fear), choking (those hit by fist must save or be choked for 1d6 damage per round).

The second portal is much as the first, but leads to a slick tunnel-slide into a cavern filled almost entirely with bubbling magma. In the center of the cavern there is, atop a basalt dais, a pile of gold coins. Suspended from the ceiling of the magma cavern and leading from the entrance to the dais are nine rings suspended from chains. The second, fourth, sixth and ninth rings wil collapse if any weight is placed on them, the others will hold up to 200 pounds before collapsing. The pile of treasure on the dais is a treacherous treasure. The coinage on its surface amounts to 1,100 gp and 500 ep, all of its ancient and counterfeit and bearing very rude messages in a variety of languages.

Treacherous Treasure: HD 7 (31 hp), AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 slam (3d6); Move 6; Save 9; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Surprise foes 40% of the time.

The final portal is located on the bottom of the sphere. It is also a portable hole leading into the center of the sphere. Moving up through the hole actually entails coming in from one side. The interior of the sphere is 10 feet in diameter. The center of the sphere is taken up by a circular cage with steel bars from top to bottom. Inside this space is the skeletal corpse of Eksirossa, identifiable by her missing hand and her broad grin, which reveals a mouth full of gold teeth (10 gp worth). The door of the cage has a very complex lock that requires two successful rolls to open. A failure on the first attempt results in the portable hole detaching and falling into the sea below and trapping the would-be thief inside the sphere. A failure on the second roll results in the sphere detaching from the ceiling and plunging into the water below, causing 5d6 points of damage to anyone inside (or beneath it). Eksirossa’s corpse is wearing a single glove of dexterity, a +1 dagger that glows when within 30 feet of precious metals or gems, and her personal burglar’s tools, crafted by masterful hands and giving thieves a +1 bonus to all thievery rolls.

1034 Delec: Delec is a village of 300 loutish copper miners living in adobe huts. The village has few females, for few women can be persuaded to live among the miners. Delec is surrounded by a stone wall, three stout watch towers and a moat filled by a stream. It is ruled by Lord Shemel, a pompous twit every bit as unpleasant as his subjects. The village knows no crime, primarily because Shemel and many of the miners are actually members of the Brotherhood of the Purple Hood, a clan of assassins that has existed since the times of the Purple Kings. Despite Shemel’s buffonish act, he is the shrewdest and most dangerous man on the Wyvern Coast after Zargo, whose rule he plans to usurp. Delec is defended by 60 men-at-arms in chainmail and toting pole axes, short swords and crossbows. The men-at-arms are commanded by seven sergeants, all assassins under Shemel’s ultimate command. Shemel’s treasure is 1,000 copper ingots (1 lb each, 1 gp each), 20,000 cp, 1,000 sp, 500 ep and 2,800 gp.

Sergeants, Assassins Lvl 3: HD 3d6; AC 7 [12]; Save 13; Special: Death attack (save or die, otherwise double damage), surprise on 1-2 on 1d6; Leather tunic (backed with steel plates), short sword, dagger, crossbow.
Lord Shemel, Assassin Lvl 7: HP 24; AC 6 [13]; Save 9; Special: Death attack (save or die, otherwise triple damage), surprise on 1-2 on 1d6; Leather tunic (backed with steel plates), spring-loaded cane (treat as javelin), silver dagger, poisoned dagger (save or die).

1036 Zonay: Zonay is a village of 100 pious goatherds living in timber huts surrounded by a thicket and moat. Zonay is governed by Difer, a reeve of Prince Zargo recently arrived from Ophir. Zonay is protected by ten men-at-arms (chainmail and shield, battle axe and crossbows) commanded by Sergeant Phaus. A stream rushes by the village and fills its moat. The goats of Zonay were known to produce the finest cheese on the Wyvern Coast, and thus were highly valued by Prince Zargo. Unfortunately, the arrival of Difer has changed this. For untold ages the people of Zonay paid heed to a kilmoulis named Kolong who tended their herds and produced their excellent cheese. In return, they were careful to ever speak his name reverently and leave nothing but dishes of perfume for his meals. Alas, Difer thought these the acts of fools, and has now brought the wrath of Kolong down on the village, for their milk is curdled and sour and their goats growing thin. A party of adventurers capable of rectifying this situation might attract the patronage of Prince Zargo.

1226 Noromina (West): Noromina island is ringed by reefs. It is dotted with a few small farmsteads that mostly raise sheep and garlic. A remote temple of Melkarth was constructed on the island by cultists several centuries ago. It has a caretaker named Grono and hosts athletic games every seven years in honor of Melkarth. At this time, dozens of adventurers, athletes, aristocrats and merchants crowd onto the island, pitching simple tents and grand pavilions and enjoying competitions that include races, swimming, javelin throws, archery and wrestling. Hidden behind a loose stone in the temple are 1,000 sp and an ivory idol of Melkarth worth 105 gp. The shephards have stout locks on their doors and have holy symbols painted on their doors and each wall of their home, for the other end of their island is plagued by vampires.

Grono, Gnome Cleric Lvl 4: HP 20; AC 4 [15]; Save 11; Special: Cleric spells (2nd), banish undead, hear noise on 1-2 on 1d6, communicate with burrowing animals; Chainmail (rarely worn, slightly rusty), light hammer (1d4 damage), holy symbol of Melkarth.

1326 Noromina (East): This side of the Noromina island is mountainous and inhabited by bestial vampire spawn called kalikantzaros. The kalikantzaros look like smallish humans with bestial features (tusks, hairy bodies). They fear the sound of bells. They only come up from their subterranean abodes at night in the dead of winter.

Kalikantzaros: HD 4; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 bite (1d6 + level drain); Move 12; Save 13; CL/XP 7/600; Special: See this blog post.

1336 Vignos: Vignos is a sprawling village of timber huts overlooking the sea. The landward side is protected by an earthen rampart and several watch towers. Vignos is inhabited by 500 dour, xenophobic fishermen ruled by Lord Jerig, himself a paranoid with an intense hatred of elves. The villagers get their water from a large reservoir located in the hills beyond their village. Vignos is defended by 100 men-at-arms (leather armor, long bows, spears) and twelve sergeants under the command of Jerig himself. An old woman named Ronia has a vast knowledge of the Wyvern Coast, and will happily hire on to guide adventurers. Jerig’s coffers contain 20,000 cp, 1,000 ep, 2,500 gp, 20 pp, a garnet (70 gp), a silver ring decorated with scaled dolphins (80 gp) and a painted terracotta wine pitcher (115 gp). Vignos has over 100 fishing boats (worth 30 gp each)

Jerig: HD 3 (19 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8+1); Move 9; Save 14; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Gives soldiers a +1 boost to morale.
Ronia: HD 2 (9 hp); AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12; Save 16; CL/XP 2/30; Special: While under her guidance, the chance of surprise and random monster encounters are rolled on 1d8.

1837 Sabre-Tooth Tribe: A tribe of 63 cavemen, 61 cavewomen and 37 cavechildren dwell in a deep, winding complex of limestone caves. The cavemen wield flint knives in combat. They are led by a prudish, tempermental chieftain called Yog along with four sub-chiefs. They worship sabre-tooth tigers under the guidance of a shaman called Jothag. Yog is always accompanied by his six bodyguards. The sabre-tooth people have persisted in these hills since the days when the Wyvern Coast was an archipelago of tiny islands. They are extraordinarily long-lived, with the elders of the tribe reaching well over 300 years of age.

Caveman: HD 1; AC 8 [11]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
Bodyguards, Fighting-Man (Barbarians) Lvl 3: HD 3d6+9; AC 8 [11]; Save 14; Flint knife, tiger hide.
Sub-Chiefs, Fighting-Man (Barbarian) Lvl 4: HD 4d6+12; AC 7 [12]; Save 13; Flint knife, wyvern hide.
Yog, Fighting-Man (Barbarian) Lvl 5: HP 31; AC 7 [12]; Save 11; Flint knife, wyvern hide.
Jothag, Cleric (Druid) Lvl 3: HP 9; AC 9 [10]; Save 12; Special: Cleric (druid) spells (1st); Gnarled acacia-wood staff, tiger tooth necklace holy symbol.

1946 Magnolia Grove: A large magnolia grove, a hold over from the days when the savanna was a swamp, covers several acres here. The grove offers shade, but the presence of dozens of castaway spears stuck in the ground suggests danger. This danger comes in two forms. The first are the nine dusky-skinned dryads that inhabit and protect the grove. They are particularly adoring of human hunters, and often lure them into their trees, only to cast them away centuries later. Moreover, living in the branches of the magnolias are a species of pseudo-dragon with white scales. The pseudo-dragons feed on the magnolia nectar with long, curled, pink tongues. At any given time, there will be 2d6 of these pseudo-dragons observing intruders and prepared to attack if they show any inclination to harm the trees.

Dryads HD 2; AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 wooden dagger (1d4); Move 12; Save 16; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Charm person (-2 save).
Pseudo-Dragon: HD 2; AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 bite (1d3), 1 tail sting (1d3 + poison); Move 6 (Fly 25); Save 16; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Magic resistance 25%, poison (25% lethal, otherwise catalepsy for 1d4 days), invisibility (80% effective).

2028 Absalon: Absalon is the name of an island ringed by high cliffs. The cliffs are dotted with dozens of sea caves, one such cave leading to the surface via steps carved into the stone. The walls of this cavern are decorated with images of bearded men dressed as fish. The surface of the island is green and lush. It is composed of verdant meadows with trickling streams and copses of tall pine trees. In the midst of this paradise there is a large granite upland covered by a sparkling town of white walls and tall, white buildings. A single gate permits access to the town, which is peopled entirely by children. The children of Absalon range in age from infancy to twelve years of age. The children perform the roles of adults – tending the miniature, dun cattle that graze in the meadows, making pottery, woodworking, etc. The recognized leader of the children is a boy named Lodeses. Lodeses is wise for his age, but still a child and in over his head trying to lead the 2,000 young citizens of Absalon. Nonetheless, he and his peers are expert slingers; they wear leather armor and carry slings, javelins and knotty pine clubs into battle. They are determined to defend their village, especially the domed church that sits in the center of town.

The domed church consists of a large, central chamber 30 feet in diameter surrounded by a dozen small rooms used for storage. Seven statues of fish-garbed men, like those in the sea cave, stand against the walls of the church, their hands extended in peace. In the center of the room there is a squat dais upon which rests a large vessel carved from malachite and used to burn incense and offerings of meat. A secret catch on the dais shifts this vessel and reveals a narrow set of stairs that leads to a grotto deep benath Absalon. It is here that the people of Absalon, upon reaching their thirteenth year, descend to undergo a monstrous transformation into a hybrid of fish and man. These bizarre creatures welcome these visitors. Young women are mated with, their children eventually being placed at night in the church to be found and raised by the children of Absalon. The fish people, who call themselves oannes, have pallid, scaled skin, lipless mouths and curled beards (on the men) and large, fishy eyes. They are exceptionally bright scholars and philosophers for many years. But they never stop growing, and eventually turn feral and are forced into the sea, where they complete their transformation into tusked whales.

Child Soldiers of Absalon: HD 1d4; AC 8 [11]; Atk 1 weapon (1d4); Move 9; Save 18; CL/XP A/5; Special: None.
Oannes: HD 6; AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 bite (1d4) or 1 weapon (1d8); Move 12; Save 11; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Spells (change self, dispel magic, ESP, levitate, magic missile, shield, all once per day each), create small, simple object once per day.

2247 Strange Statue: Half-buried in the soil is a bronze statue (60 gp) of a tall, bald woman with two hands at the end of each arm, each hand holding a dagger. The statues eyes are formed of bone chips and the woman’s face bears an inhumanly wide grin. The statue attracts weird parasites that dwell on the astral plane. These parasites will attach themselves to the astral body of any magic-user present and feed off his magical energies, creating a cumulative 1% chance per day of failure when he tries to cast spells. They can only be removed by casting remove curse while on the astral plane.

2429 Lionweres: A pride of seven lionweres, consisting of one male, four females and two cubs, dwells in a cave. The females hunt during the night, taking the form of beautiful, tawny-haired maidens to get close to their prey. If doing poorly in a fight, their yowls will draw the attention of the male, who will arrive in 1d4 rounds to either save them or take revenge. The lionweres have hidden in their caves a gold ring worth 100 gp, a platinum oil lamp worth 950 gp, trade (1,000 gp), 1,000 sp, 400 gp, 500 ep, 20 pp and a hematite worth 35 gp.

Lionwere (females): HD 6 (24 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 bite (1d8) or weapon (1d8); Move 15; Save 11; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Weakness gaze, hit by silver or magic weapons only.
Lionwere (males): HD 6 (36 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 bite (1d10) or weapon (1d10); Move 15; Save 11; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Weakness gaze, hit by silver or magic weapons only.

2839 Ivory Tower of Kinyoth: Rising above the highlands is a 75-ft tall tower of ivory and limestone. This is the tower of Kinyoth the tower hag. Kinyoth is the undisputed master of this hex and the hexes surrounding it. She stands 9-ft tall. She has steel grey skin, black claws and weathered, black teeth, pale yellow eyes and limp, black hair that falls beyond her shoulders.

The tower has five levels. The first level is approximately 20-ft in diameter. The walls of this level are slick, rippled ivory and seem to sweat a yellowish ichor. The first level is a dumping ground of the magical detritus of several centuries – ruined scrolls, broken vials, magical cabinets, scorched wands, etc. Lurking among the ruined items are ten barics. Winding stairs lead to level two.

Baric: HD 5; AC 6 [13]; Atk 2 claw (1d4) and 1 bite (1d10); Move 15; Save 12; CL/XP 5/240; Special: None.

Level two looks much like level one. It is furnished with a multitude of torture devices and has seven sets of manacles attached to the walls and two iron cages hanging from the vaulted ceiling. Three prisoners currently occupy this chamber: An ogre called Tundrun that has been shrank to the size of a halfling, a young woman named Marya in an iron cage who appears to be suffering from leprosy, and a naked, scarred man named Lhumler with wild eyes who is chained to one wall. Lhumler was once a paladin, but successive bouts of torture and rape have reduced him to a mere fighting-man. The room is guarded by two headless screamers.

Headless Screamer: HD 4; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 claw (1d6) or 1 thrown head (1d8); Move 15; Save 13; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Throw and retrieve head, scream, immune to cold.
Lhumler, Fighting-Man Lvl 6: HP 7 (39 normally); AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 fist (1d2); Move 9 (due to a limp); Save 11.
Marya: HD 1d4 (1 hp); AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 fist (1d2); Move 12; Save 18; CL/XP A/5; Special: Leprosy (treat as mummy rot).
Tundrun: HD 4+1 (21 hp); AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 fist (1d4); Move 6; Save 13; CL/XP 4/120; Special: None.

The third level is a dank library lit by candles made from the fat of virgins. A large, wooden chair sits in the middle of the room, and chained to the outer walls are six large tomes (30 lb each) containing magical lore (1d4 spells each). The books are guarded by six inaeds.

Innaed: HD 3; AC 0 [20]; Atk none; Move 0 (Fly 18); Save 13; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Invisible, spells, immune to all weapons or normal weapons (depending on state).

Above the library is a laboratory of sorts, stocked with vessels containing preserved animals and body parts, a large wooden storage cabinet with a grisly harvest of human feet and shelves filled with all manner of humanoid bones, organized by type and size.

The top level contains Kinyoth’s personal lair and treasury. It is a round room without light and furnished with a greasy, straw mattress atop four large, wooden chests. The chests are locked and trapped with acid, poison or green slime. They contain 10,000 cp, 11,000 sp, 14,400 gp, 1,100 pp, five blocks of ambergris wrapped in waxed paper (100 gp), a rhodochrosite worth 950 gp and a cursed (-1) staff tipped with steel spheres grasped in demonic talons. Curled up along the wall is a 20-ft long gnasher lizard called Phac. Kinyoth is currently attempting to construct a gate deep beneath her tower that would allow the amphorons of Yothri easy access to Nod.

Kinyoth: HD 16 (71 hp); AC 0 [19]; Atk 2 claws (2d6); Move 12; Save 3; CL/XP 26/5900; Special: Spit, claws, tower, spells, only harmed by silver or magic weapons, immune to mind effects, magic resistance 70%.
Phac: HD 9 (47 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 bite (2d6); Move 12; Save 6; CL/XP 2000; Special: Behead, swallow.

3029 Dagul: Dagul is a village of 100 peasant farmers living in stone huts. The village is surrounded by an earthen rampart and there is a tall, stone watch tower in the center of the village. Lady Hunnsa, the village reeve live in a house connected to the watchtower. Dagul is defended by 10 stout men-at-arms under the command of Sergeant Foriz. The village is known for its sheep, who produce incredibly soft, white wool favored by weavers throughout the Tepid Sea region. Hunnsa keeps 1,000 sp, 1,200 gp and a rose quartz (125 gp) in a locked chest trapped with a poison needle.

Hunnsa: HD 3; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 long sword (1d8+1); Move 12; Save 14; CL/XP 3/60; Special: None.
Men-at-Arms: HD 2; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 pole-axe (1d10); Move 12; Save 16; CL/XP 2/30; Special: None.
Foriz, Fighting-Man Lvl 4: HP 21; AC 3 [16]; Save 13; Chainmail, shield, pole-axe, short sword.

3247 High and Dry: Embedded in the ground and choked with savanna grasses, is the long and petrified skeleton of a basilosaurus, a primitive, toothy whale.

3538 Village of the Dead: Behind a thicket lies a small village of adobe huts with thatched roofs. From afar, one might see people in the village going about their business with a slow, deliberate manner. Closer examination will reveal the villagers to be brain-eating zombies. At the first sign of life, the twenty remaining villagers will swarm. Scattered about the village is 2,000 sp, 500 ep, 600 gp and a piece of polished coral worth 95 gp.

Brain-Eating Zombie: HD 3; AC 8 [11]; Atk 1 strike (1d8); Move 6; Save 14; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Absorb spells.

3546 Demonic Springs: In the midst of the savanna you find boiling, bubbling springs. The springs form a deep pool, the banks of which are caked in rare earths and polychromatic mineral deposits. Within the springs lies a demon called Otstatho the Everburning. Otstatho’s skin gives off a tremendous amount of heat (the source of the pool’s boiling), so it commonly remains beneath the surface of the water. Should Otstatho emerge from the water, it would appear to be large, translucent grey amoeba. Otstatho is capable of telepathic communication, and will hammer into people’s heads the things it has heard other poor adventurers scream as it engulfed and roasted them alive. On an attack roll of a natural ‘20’, Otstatho will engulf its foe, inflicting 2d6 points of burning damage each round.

Otstatho the Everburning: HD 10 (48 hp); AC 7 [12]; Atk 2 cilia (1d8); Move 9 (Swim 9); Save 5; CL/XP 13/2300; Special: Telepathy, drain magic from items (2d6 rounds), destroys wood by touch, engulf, immune to fire damage.

3927 Sabres Unsheathed: Two sabre-tooth tigers, brothers, hunt here in a pass through the highlands.

Sabre-Tooth Tiger: HD 7 (33, 32 hp), AC 6 [13]; Atk 2 claws (1d4+1), 1 bite (2d6); Move 12 (Swim 6); Save 10; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Rear claws rake for 2 extra claw attacks if first two claw attacks hit.

New Monsters
The following monsters are open game content.

Baric
Barics are 6-legged, rat-like animals notable for their duck-like bills filled with needle-like teeth. They usually grow to be 3 feet long, but some males have grown as long as 7 feet. Barics run in packs in wild forests. Barics can be trained as guard animals or trackers, but it is very difficult and dangerous to do so.

Baric: HD 5; AC 6 [13]; Atk 2 claw (1d4) and 1 bite (1d10); Move 15; Save 12; CL/XP 5/240; Special: None.

Gnasher Lizard
Gnasher lizards are 10 to 20-foot long reptiles with stone-colored scales and gaping mouths filled with a double row of dagger-like teeth. They are carnivorous and territorial, usually dwelling near sources of water in woodlands and highlands. They are solitary creatures, except during their mating season in spring and early summer. If a gnasher lizard rolls a natural ‘20’ for its bite attack, it will sever the head of its target. Bite victims who are not beheaded must make a saving throw to avoid being gulped down whole, where they will suffer 2d6 points of damage each round from the beasts digestive juices.

Gnasher Lizard: HD 9; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 bite (2d6); Move 12; Save 6; CL/XP 12/2000; Special: Behead, swallow whole.

Hag, Tower
Tower hags are 9’ tall crones with grey skin and black teeth and nails. They are usually allied to otherworldly creatures of chaos and evil, and work to help them enter our world. Every tower hag lives in a towering fortress made of ivory. To create such a tower, the hag must obtain the first adult tooth from a child. This tooth, wrenched from the mouth, is mixed with the hag’s stony saliva and planted into the ground. The tower immediately sprouts from where the tooth was planted, expanding to full size (50 feet in diameter) within one round. Any equipment or items in the tower are teleported from its old location to its new one. Most tower hags carry half a dozen teeth with them at all times. Each tower is similar in design, being fi ve storeys tall. The bottom two storeys are always prisons and traps; the middle two laboratories and libraries and the topmost storey the hag’s personal lair and treasury. Battlements ring the top of the tower, standing 75 feet off the ground.

A tower hag’s spittle is thick and congeals to form a substance as hard as stone. In combat, they can spit at an opponent as a ranged touch attack, inflicting 2d6 points of damage and sticking them to the ground until they make a successful strength roll. Tower hags can also extend their iron claws, increasing their damage to 2d10, but also exposing them to a sundering attack. Finally, they can summon a new tower by spitting a tooth at an opponent or group of opponents. Anyone within 50 feet of the tower suffer 4d6 damage as they are struck by it and must succeed at a saving throw. Those who fail are carried to the top. If the hag is within the area of the tower’s growth, she always ends up atop the tower.

Tower hags can cast the following spells: Animate dead, astral spell, cacodaemon, bestow curse, death spell, detect invisibility, gate, invisibility, monster summoning V, protection from good 10′ radius, (un)holy word and wizard eye.

Tower Hag: HD 16; AC 0 [19]; Atk 2 claws (2d6); Move 12; Save 3; CL/XP 26/5900; Special: Spit, claws, tower, spells, only harmed by silver or magic weapons, immune to mind effects, magic resistance 70%.

Headless Screamer
Headless screamers arise from the corpses of the beheaded. They are cruel and chaotic beings who delight in tormenting the living. Headless screamers look something like zombies with a noticeable red slash across its neck. They can throw their heads with alarming accuracy, and in fact do not need to throw their own head, for the headless screamer’s intelligence and animating force are in the body. Many of these creatures keep four or five heads handy. Thrown heads have a range increment of 20’. The thrown head will snap its jaws, dealing 1d8 points of damage to anyone hit and then latching on if the target fails a saving throw. A latched head inflicts 1d4 points of bite damage each round until removed. Headless screamers can telekinetically retrieve these heads and still move or attack each round. Headless screamers can also emit a shrill shriek from the air hole in their necks. Anyone hearing this must succeed at a saving throw or suffer a -1 penalty to hit, damage and save for 1 hour.

Headless Screamer: HD 4; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 claw (1d6) or 1 thrown head (1d8); Move 15; Save 13; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Throw and retrieve head, scream, immune to cold.

Wyvern Coast – Crocs, Cogs and Cliffside Tombs

April 22, 2010March 13, 2021 / jstater / 1 Comment

The following are set encounters from this map. The Wyvern Coast was first described in this post.

0146 Azer Adventurer: Merikh, and azer, and six clockwork brass beetles are searching for an artifact forged by Volcanus, god of the forge. Merikh wears a helm that hums when within 100 feet of powerful magic items.

Merikh: HD 6 (29 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6+1); Move 12; Save 16; CL/XP 6/400; Special: +1 heat damage, immune to fire.
Beetle Automatons (6): HD 4 (18 hp each); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 blade (1d6+1); Move 15; Save 13; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Half damage from fire, heat metal (themselves).

0242 Crocodile Keep: The remains of a flooded shell keep sit just off the coast and protected by surrounding rocks from the pounding surf. The bottom level of the keep is completely flooded, and the upper level, though relatively dry, has a weakened floor that presents a hazard to even halflings attempting to walk upon it. At the bottom of the courtyard there is a jade globe decorated with images of writhing reptiles. The jade globe gives out a low pulse that can be heard underwater for many miles. This pulse attracts salt water crocodilians, and at least thirty of the creatures dwell in and around the keep.

Crocodile: HD 4; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 bite (1d8); Move 9 (Swim 12); Save 13; CL/XP 4/120; Special: None.

0341 Sanvuska: A freak storm and a drunken captain recently ran a merchant cog ashore here. The cog, the Sanvuska, was carrying 250 gp worth of hides and skins, 2,000 gp worth of tea and a magical trident (see below) from the Mu-Pan Empire to Antigoon. The Sanvuska is captained by Yulner, a short man with a wiry build, black whiskers and suspicious eyes. Yulner is a given to drunken revels, and his cruelty knows no bounds. He has been working his men into a frenzy trying to get underway before his ship is discovered by bandits. Unfortunately, it has already been discovered by an intellect devourer called Tharsarh. Tharsarh has been systematically picking off the crewmen for the past week, having originally killed and merged with a sailor who wandered too far from camp. Only twelve remain to man the cog, and they are on the verge of mutiny. Only the force of Yulner’s will, and the strong hand of his first mate, Khavit, have kept them in line so far.

Yulner, Fighting-Man, Lvl 7: HP 32; AC 6 [13]; Save 10; leather doublet, buckler, hand axe, long sword.
Khavit, Beastman (Half-Orc) Fighting-Man, Lvl 4: HP 28; AC 7 [12]; Save 13; shield, battle axe.
Tharsarh: HD 6 (21 hp); AC 3 [16]; Atk 4 claws (1d4); Move 15; Save 11; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Sensitive to light, mind blast, spell immunity, surprise on 1-3 on 1d6, only harmed by magic weapons (1 point of damage per hit).

Umvai: This +1 trident appears to be made of gold. The grip is wrapped in black leather. The trident’s name, which activates it, is burned into the grip in the pictographs of the Mu-Pan Empire. Upon uttering the command word, the trident enables its wielder to fly (per the spell) for 10 minutes.

0442 Cliffside Tomb: Caryatid columns guard a tomb carved into the side of a cliff. The original inhabitant has dried up and blown away, his treasure stolen by something that tunneled in from below.

Caryatid Columns (2): HD 5 (32 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 sword (2d4); Move 9; Save 8; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Immune to normal weapons, normal damage from magic weapons, 25% chance of weapon snap.

0733 Thirsty Vial: Any fishing in this hex will produce a fish with a magical vial in its belly. The vial is made of glass and stoppered with a bit of cork. The interior of the vial is completely etched in glyphs of a magical sort. The vial is a powerful protective device. If a person fills it with his or her own blood, they cannot be killed (hit points cannot go below 1) so long as the vial remains full. Filling the vial inflicts 1 point of constitution damage, which is healed the next day after a normal rest. The blood is slowly absorbed by the magical glyphs, disappearing in 24 hours. The vial can then be refilled at the same price, though the holder of the vial will discover that the time it takes the vial to consume the blood is shortened by 1d6 hours. The quickening of the blood consumption is cumulative, until finally, it must be filled hourly. Such is the price when one attempts to cheat Death.

0941 Escaped Slaves: A canyon here is inhabited by 150 female berserkers – escaped slaves. They worship a golden idol of Astarte that longs for her mate, a golden idol of Adonis (see Map J10). The warrior women are commanded by Ulara and Yosh.

Ulara, Barbarian Lvl 5: HP 50; AC 5 [14]; Save 12; Leather, +1 shield (+3 vs missiles), bastard sword, sling.
Yosh, Ranger Lvl 3: HP 22; AC 5 [14]; Save 14; Ring armor, shield, short sword, dagger, 3 javelins.

1038 Razed Village: A dragon man lair here was razed by a stegacentipede, now long gone. The dragon men have fled with their treasures, leaving their brass domes empty and their dead baking in the sun. There is a 1 in 6 chance per hour spent in the ruin that 1d6 wyverns will arrive having smelled the carrion.

1127 Scarlet Hall: Scarlet Hall is a three-level keep constructed of limestone sank beneath the waves here over a century ago. The walls of the keep are now worn and pitted, and the entire construction will probably fall down in the near future. The keep is now inhabited by a gang of seven were-sharks who hunt the coral reefs and sometimes venture onto land to attack the villagers. The gang is led by a bull called Mahel and his mate, Thana. The were-sharks have stockpiled a treasure horde consisting of 3,500 gp and a small moss agate (110 gp). Mahel was once a sailor, and he sometimes poses as a sailor to gain access to a ship, his gang following along and waiting for him to steer the ship into a reef or rocks. Thana hails from [1226]. She sometimes sneaks onto the island to give food to her aging mother.

Were-Shark: HD 6; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 bite (1d10); Move 12; Save 11; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Lycanthropy, vulnerable to silver weapons, blood sends them into a frenzy (+2 to hit).
Thana: HD 6 (34 hp); AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 bite (1d10); Move 12; Save 11; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Lycanthropy, vulnerable to silver weapons, blood sends them into a frenzy (+2 to hit).
Mahel: HD 6 (43 hp); AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 bite (1d10); Move 12; Save 11; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Lycanthropy, vulnerable to silver weapons, blood sends them into a frenzy (+2 to hit).

1137 Vulchlings: Five vulchlings live in a shallow cave 50 feet above the desert floor. A narrow passage with a metal ladder leads straight down 100 feet, ending at a steel trapdoor. The trapdoor leads to a small chamber filled with crates containing 7 weeks of iron rations in tins.

1236 Ophir, City of Slaves: The city-state of Ophir is nestled in a valley of woodlands and rich pastures. It is surrounded by villas worked by slaves that grow wheat, grapes (slightly bitter, but good enough for spiced wines) and olives. The cultivated lands are separated by rocky highlands (good for grazing goats) and thicks stands of cedar. Ophir has a population in excess of 6,000, with most of them earning their living from the sea or in the slave markets. The city-state is ruled by Prince Zargo, an heir of the ancient Purple Kings. Ophir’s architecture blends elements of classical Greece and medieval Morocco.

1642 Labyrinth: This is a true labyrinth with 30-foot walls of blue glass and floors of blue marble tile. The passages are 20-feet wide and the center is 40-foot in diameter. In the center are 20 statues of warriors created by the gaze of an amphisbaena basilisk which lairs among the statues. Its treasure is 4,000 sp, 115 gp, 3 pp, a pearl medallion (40 gp), a pearl pendant (40 gp) and a jade torc (30 gp). It lies scattered about the central chamber.

Amphisbaena Basilisk: HD 9 (62 hp); AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 bite (1d8); Move 9; Save 6; CL/XP 13/2300; Special: All-around vision, half damage from cold, petrifying gaze, split.

1749 Toad Hollow: A depression in the savanna holds a large (200-ft diameter) pond. A gang of twenty thugtoads lives in mud-burrows dug into the banks of the pond. The toads carry shields woven from the grasses that choke the banks of the pond, and they carry flint-tipped spears. The banks of the pond are trapped with holes that can break legs if one is not careful. The thugtoads worship a large froghemoth who dwells in the center of the pond, bringing it fresh kills of the animals that come to drink from the pond, hoping to keep it in a torpor that it will not devour them. The leader of the thugtoads is called Tudeggy (2 HD, 12 hp, CL 3/60). He considers himself a “high priest”, but has no magical powers. He does, however, carry a military pick made from the bronze beak of a stymphalian bird; the thugtoads displaced the cranes many years ago as the masters of the pond, carrying their “tadpole-hemoth” with them.

Thugtoad: HD 1; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 4 (Swim 15); Save 17; CL/XP 2/30; Special: Camouflage, hop.
Froghemoth: HD 16; AC 3 [16], tentacles 1 [18], tongue 5 [14]; Atk 1 tongue (5d10) or 4 tentacles (1d8); Move 3 (Swim 9); Save 3; CL/XP 19/4100; Special: Swallow whole, immune to fire.

1931 Seath’s Fortress: A sandstone keep overlooks the sea here. It is surrounded by fifteen simple cottages. The keep is ruled by Seath, an elf warlord. The village is populated by human herdsmen. Lord Seath is likable and trusting. His armorial is a scorpion gules on a field sable. Seath commands fifteen elves, a lawful sergeant named Herval and a chaplain named Alabras. Herval is like a stereotypical British sergeant-major, while Alabras has a dark, unpleasant sense of humor. Seath’s treasure consists of 13,500 sp, 200 gp, a fire opal (100 gp), 2 ounces of sandalwood oil (5 gp), a copper necklace set with hyacinths (340 gp), an ivory holy symbol of Mercurius (60 gp), an ivory armband (60 gp), a bronze mirror (1 gp), a glass coffer (7 gp), astrological charts worth 12 gp and a tooth from a bronze dragon (100 gp).

Elf: HD 1+1; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 sword (1d8) or 2 arrows (1d6); Move 12; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
Herval: HD 3 (19 hp); AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 9; Save 14; CL/XP 3/60; Special: None.
Alabras, Elf Cleric (Druid) Lvl 3: HP 20; AC 8 [11]; Save 12; Special: Druid spells (2nd),; +1 oak quarterstaff, leather armor, white hooded robe, mistletoe.
Seath, Elf Fighter/Mage Lvl 8: HP 36; AC 2 [17]; Save 8; Special: Magic-user spells (4th); Longsword, longbow, elven chain, shield, grimoire, scroll of fireball.

2035 Halob: Halob is a village nestled against a tall cliff. The village is surrounded by a thicket and a dry moat. The village is inhabited by 100 iron miners and their families living in small, timber houses. The miners of Halob are renowned for the high level of literacy in the village. Halob is ruled by a mayor named Eocar, who is advised by a small group of selectmen. Eocar is the most cunning man in a village of cunning men, and is not to be trusted. The village is protected by twenty men-at-arms (chainmail, shield, spear, sling) and two sergeants-at-arms. The villagers mine a long seam of iron that cuts directly into the cliff behind their village. The miners make no attempt to smelt the iron here, selling it instead to merchant caravans from Ophir in exchange for manufactured goods and the odd luxury.

2041 Dancing Lights: The narrow, limestone canyons in this hex are like a maze. Local legends tell of a great army of the Purple Kings that was lost in this maze while on its way to sack the rebellious miners in [2042]. The canyons, with their wavy walls of purple and grey, their sharp peaks and their tiny, winding caves, are haunted by will-o-the-wisps. Travelers by night will see 1d4+2 of these lights, often visible as a soft glow from around a corner. The will-o-the-wisps are accompanied by the echoing voices of desperate men.

Will-o-the-Wisp: HD 9; AC -8 [27]; Atk 1 shock (2d6); Move 18; Save 6; CL/XP 10/1400; Special: None.

2145 Gnoblins: A band of 30 gnoblins (gnoll-goblin hybrids) are trashing a merchant caravan here. Twenty men-at-arms and thirty gnoblins lie dead. One fat merchant has been skewered with a spear and pinned to the ground by his shoulder. If questioned within a minute of discovery, he will inform the adventurers that thirty people were forced to flee into the desert without food and with very little water, including his niece. He has a small painting of his niece in a locket around his neck (5 gp), and she is quite beautiful. The dead bodies attract wandering monsters on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6. The caravan was transporting one hundred bolts of purple cloth (2 lb each, worth 50 gp each).

Gnoblin: HD 1d6 hp; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12; Save 18; CL/XP 1/15; Special: Groups of 10+ cause confusion with their chattering voices.

2331 Khlai: Khlai is a village of 300 dour hunters and their families nestled in a vale with a cool, rushing stream and a variety of grasses and scrub. The village is surrounded by a wooden palisade (12’ tall) and consists of approximately 100 longhouses constructed of red brick. The village is defended by 60 men-at-arms (leather armor, spear, long bow) and six sergeants-at-arms under the command of Sampin, lord of Khlai. Sampin has in his employ an alchemist by the name of Alende, a high-born woman of distant Ibis who found a life on the Wyvern Coast preferable to a wizard’s dungeon. The village is known to be haunted by a vampire called Arlotho, who is believed to dwell in the surrounding hills. Arlotho is a distant ancestor of Sampin, and is in league with his descedant, his tomb being located beneath the lord’s manor. Sampin’s treasury contains 500 gp worth of hides and skins, 500 gp worth of frankincense, 1,000 sp and 400 gp. Arlotho’s crypt contains 2,700 gp and a golden medallion depicting the lord’s armorial (3,700) studded with amethysts.

Sampin: HD 3 (12 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 12; Save 14; CL/XP 3/60; Special: None.
Alende: HD 1d4 (3 hp); AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 dagger (1d4); Move 12; Save 18; CL/XP A/5; Special: Brew acids and poisons.
Arlotho: HD 7 (29 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 bite (1d10 + drain 2 levels); Move 12 (Fly 18); Save 9; CL/XP 10/1400; Special: Regenerate 3 hp/rd, only hit by magic weapons, gaseous form, change into giant bat, summon swarm of bats or 3d6 wolves, charm (save at -2), weaknesses.

2533 Box Canyon: There is a box canyon here that can only be entered via a narrow gorge. The land here is exceedingly dry and devoid of plant life. The box canyon contains a shrine to elemental earth. The shrine is a perfectly square, unworked block of stone. In the center of the block of stone there is a mace +2/+5 vs. air elementals that can (once per month) summon 1d6 small earth elementals who will faithfully serve their summoner for 1 week. The shrine’s guardian is a crumbler called Lok. Lok has a contingent of twenty dwarven defenders under his command. There is a 1 in 6 chance that pilgrims are visiting the shrine when the adventurers arrive. These pilgrims will do their best to defend the shrine if it is disturbed.

1. 1d6 Druids (4 HD)
2. 3d6 Dwarfs
3. 2d6 Dwelvers
4. 1d6 Janni
5. 1d3 Nymphs (Oreads)
6. 1d3 Stone Giants
7. 3d6 Svirfneblin
8. 1d4 Xorn

There is an equal chance that the shrine is under attack from rival elementals. If this is the case, assume that there are 6d6 hit dice worth of air, fire or water elementals, with half of those hit dice possessed by their leader, a djinn, efreet or marid.

Lok, Crumbler: HD 10 (60 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 thrown rock (2d6) or fist (2d6); Move 0; Save 17; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: Immunities.
Dwarf Defender: HD 5; AC 0 [19]; Atk 1 weapon (1d10); Move 6; Save 12; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Cannot be surprised, cannot be back attacked, adjacent creatures enjoy +1 bonus to AC.

2539 Basswood Grove: A large grove of basswoods surround the banks of a clear spring. The grove is inhabited by a hive of giant honeybees. The hive houses 90 workers, five soldiers, five non-combative drones and one non-combative queen. The bees do not tolerate visitors other than druids, who sometimes come to collect honey.

Honeybee Worker: HD 3; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 sting (1d4); Move 12 (Fly 36); Save 14; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Poison (additional 1d6 damage unless save is made).
Honeybee Soldier: HD 4; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 sting (1d6); Move 15 (Fly 36); Save 13; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Poison (additional 1d6 damage unless save is made).

2847 Baboon Rock: A rocky outcropping rises from the grasslands like the bow of a great ship. At its peak it towers forty feet above the surrounding grasslands. The outcropping is inhabited by a vicious tribe of rock baboons led by an alpha male who wields a bone club that once the femur of an evil high priest. It now acts as a +1 club that causes light wounds on an attack roll of ‘20’.

Baboon: HD 1 (6 hp); AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 bite (1d4); Move 12; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
Baboon, Alpha Male: HD 2 (8 hp); AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 bite (1d6); Move 12; Save 16; CL/XP 2/30; Special: None.

2927 Shephard’s Spring: A bubbling spring, surrounded by tall reeds, exists in this hex. The spring was once a shephard who was killed and turned into a spring by a weeping goddess. For those who camp near the spring, healing is accelerated. The reeds can be turned into pipes capable of charming fairy women.

3035 Beldor’s Bedazzling Belfry: Atop a tiny cairn lies a crystalized skull. The skull belonged to Beldor, a man famed in his time as a poet and musician. Beldor foolishly courted the youngest bride of the archimage Baloc (see [5708]) and thus came to his ruination. If held, the skull will fill one’s mind with the most extravagant imagery and inspiring songs. The holder of the skull will feel more confident and amorous, and will enjoy a blessing (as the spell) on all of his endeavors, though he will also find it impossible to concentrate. He will be surprised more often, find it more difficult to locate hidden things, and spell-casting will be all but impossible.

3127 Yem’s Pavilion: A large tent of intricately woven rugs and tapestries sits in a small oasis here. Inside the tent are braziers burning incense, expensive golden objects d’art and a plush couch. Upon the couch rests a priestess, the vessel of Astarte. The priestess, Yem, is a virgin sworn to divine service. The tent is Astarte’s temple and a pilgrimage for her servants. There is a 1 in 6 chance that when the adventurers arrive it is being visited by a lawful cleric. Upon approaching, intruders who do not properly intone the seven hymns of Astarte are confronted by a flock of erinyes. Anyone harming or otherwise molesting Yem or the cult items in the tent will be attacked by the erinyes and will discover what it means for Yem to be the vessel of a goddess. Yem is willing to cast spells for good adventurers at no cost and neutral adventurers at cost plus the condition that they accept a mark of justice that keeps them from breaking the law in any settlement.

As a vessel of Astarte, Yem can be filled with the goddess’ essence, gaining the abilities of a planetar. Yem’s +1 mace is lawful, radiates protection from evil in a 10-foot radius and can apply a mark of justice on a willing person once per day.

Yem, Cleric Lvl 6: HP 21; AC 8 [11]; Save 9; Special: Cleric spells (3rd), banish undead; +1 mace, holy symbol.

Mark of Justic (Cleric 5): You draw an indelible mark on the subject and state some behavior on the part of the subject that will activate the mark. When activated, the mark curses the subject. The spell takes 10 minutes to cast and involves writing on the target. The mark of justice cannot be dispelled, but it can be removed.

3232 Dragon Men: There is a dragon man village here consisting of 200 males, 140 females, 300 young and 400 eggs. The village is composed of twenty brass domes surrounding a large broodery. The females and young live in the broodery, while the males live in the domes. The domes are surrounded by a 10-ft high stone wall. There is a natural spring that has been turned into a pond in the center of the village.

The village is led by a haggard old chieftain called Spadda. Besides his normal warriors, he also has ten warlocks that wear chainmail and wield battle axes and short bows. The normal warriors have leather armor, spears, shields, short bows and barbed arrows.

The females of the village care for the young and hunt in the surrounding countryside for game. They are experts at the use of lasso and net, since they need to eat their prey alive. Dragon men do not need to eat or drink as much as humans, and so have little trouble surviving on the meager pickings of the Wyvern Coast.

The village has three smiths who work in bronze and iron. The village’s priest, Garros, worships Apophis, the dragon god of chaos. His mace is made of bronze and resembles a serpent coiled around a rod.

Spadda, Barbarian Lvl 5: HP 23; AC 4 [15]; Save 12; Two-handed axe, crown of command (3/day).
Garos, Cleric Lvl 3: HP 20; AC 4 [15]; Save 12; Special: Cleric spells (2nd); +2 mace, shield, sacrificial knife, unholy symbol.

3239 Gnoblin Village: This hex contains a gnoblin (a hybrid of gnolls and goblins) lair. The lair consists of twenty-four shallow pits (burrows) covered by woven grass mats. The pits grant access to burrows which connect to a central chamber of sacrifice. The gnoblins live very separate lives in their burrows. Six large burrows house five males that form very loose bonds of brotherhood with their burrow mates. Each of the eighteen smaller burrows shelter one female and her 1d4 young.

Murder within the family is common among gnoblins, so tensions are always high and the gnoblins are always on the lookout for a third party upon whom they can focus their aggression. Each burrow holds about 30 gp. There is a 1 in 6 chance that a burrow holds a cache of 1d6 gems or 1d3 small pieces of jewelry. Most of the tribe’s treasure comes from raids on merchant caravans.

The sacrificial chamber in the center of the lair is 6 feet high and 20 feet in diameter. A fire pit 15 feet deep has been dug in the center. Sacrificial victims are lowered into the pit and then killed by dropping lit torches and hot ash on their heads. The roasted remains are then shared in an orgy of greed and violence. Sacrifices are presided over by nursing females who wear headdresses of bone and feather and dance and chant to Demogorgon, their demonic god. There is a 1 in 6 chance that adventurers will interrupt one of these ceremonies, and a further 1 in 6 chance that the chanting will summon a vrock to the tribe’s defense. In the case of a sacrifice, there will be no more than three sacrificial victims present, usually merchants, men-at-arms or unlucky hunters.

Gnoblin: HD 1d6 hp; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12; Save 18; CL/XP 1/15; Special: Groups of 10+ cause confusion.

3336 Giant Brothers: Three hill giant brothers lair here, grazing their herd of giant goats. The eldest brother is Hama (72 hp). His younger brothers are Golth (38 hp, lame after fighting off a wyvern) and Lot (40 hp). Hama’s bag contains a vial of holy water, pieces of plate armor, a mace, two torches, an hourglass, a two-handed sword, six iron spikes and 11 gp. Golth’s bag contains a bronze breastplate emblazoned with a two-headed phoenix, a staff, heavy crossbow, two sets of burglars’ tools and a silver flute (10 gp). Lot’s bag contains a spear, longbow, pole arm, pack of matches, a theatrical disguise kit, studded leather and a simple breastplate. The brothers’ herd consists of 30 giant goats who respond to their shouts and clicks. The giants are visited every year by a trader from Ophir who exchanges wool for tobacco and other necessities. They live in a cave higher in the mountains with their mother Lilit. The giants keep a treasure of 4,880 gp, two banded agates (75 gp), a rhodochrosite (300 gp) and an amethyst (3,000 gp) in their lair.

Hill Giants: HD 8+2; AC 0 [19]; Atk 2 slams (2d6) or 1 weapon (1d8+6); Move 15; Save 3; CL/XP 16/3200; Special: Rock catching, shape earth, spells, track by scent.
Lilit, Druid Lvl 8: HD 13 (70 hp); AC 0 [19]; Save 3; CL/XP 16/3200; Spells 4th; Special: Rock catching, shape earth, track by scent.
Giant Goat (30): HD 3; AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 gore (2d6); Move 18; Save 14; CL/XP 3/60; Special: +4 damage on charge.

3344 Winding Halls of the Scarab Lords: A wide swathe of the savanna here is barren, and one might find odd lumps of glass embedded in the ground. A dozen secret doors throughout the area lead to wide, curving passages beneath the ground. These passages run downward, eventually coming to a central, conical chamber 100 yards tall and 300 yards in diameter at the base. This subterranean hall is lit by radium globes embedded in the walls, which feel like stone but are unworked and uncommonly smooth. This chamber is guarded by three large beetlors. A large, bronze trapdoor in the center of the chamber leads to a six level dungeon inhabited by many strange, alien creatures that were brought to this world by visitors from beyond the sublunary sphere. These creatures include rust monsters, coeurl, barics and doppelgangers. The main inhabitants of this realm, however, are a kingdom of beetlors, once servants to an alien people. The beetlors are ruled by a queen called Cleo’optera, but are now bitterly divided into warring clans, each led by a daughter of the queen, and each looking to gain advantage against its rivals. Alien devices and the wealth of the heavens is here to be plundered.

Beetlor: HD 8+1; AC 1 [18]; Atk 2 claw (3d4) and 1 bite (1d10); Move 6 (Burrow 30; Save 8; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Confusion.

3429 Canyon of Crawlers: Traversing this hex from west to east involves walking through a dry canyon with towering limestone walls pocked with holes. Moving from north to south is virtually impossible, for there is no bridge across the canyon, which spans 90 feet. During the day, the canyon is safe enough; no monsters will be encountered here unless they have the power of flight. At night, hundreds of old crawlers (disembodied hands) will swarm from the canyon walls. These horrible creations seek to strip unfortunately travelers of all their possessions, stowing their prizes deep in their burrows within the canyon walls. On a given night, each traveler moving through the valley will be accosted by 1d6 old crawlers. They do not seek to harm, merely to steal, but they will put up a fight if their would-be victims resist. Of course, regardless of the old crawler’s intentions, its touch is highly dangerous to the living. Should one manage to dig into the canyon walls, they would discover 60 gp worth of treasure for every hand that attacked them.

Old Crawler: HD 2; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 rotting grip (1d8); Move 6 (Scramble 12); Save 11; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Possible spell casting, good saving throws, continuous damage.

3535 Buried Library: In this hex there is, half-buried in the sands, a stepped roof, maybe four feet in height, supported by columns (though one can only just make out the capitals). One could dig their way to the entrance with several days of work, or they might find a secret trapdoor in the roof. The building is rectangular, approximately thirty feet wide and seventy feet long. A square marble desk rests in the middle of this space. The walls are lined with marble shelves that hold polished slices of agate. Any character that speaks the ancient language of the derro, will be able to translate these slcies and discover that they hold the secret to the location of hundreds of derro cave cities. Most of these cities have long been abandoned, the city-states they were assigned to destroy having fallen millenia ago. The slices also tell about the super science of the derro and describe their more unsavory appetites and hobbies.

Approximately five minutes after the site is entered, the floor in the center of the desks will slowly, almost noiselessly, descend, revealing a shaft 600 feet deep. Soon after, everyone inside the library begins to suffer terrible internal torment (1d6 damage each turn, saving throw for half damage, all of it nonlethal). After three turns, the floor re-ascends with a troop of 20 derro. The derro attempt to capture any intruders not laid low by the tormenting power of their air loom. They are armed with catch poles, nets, ray guns (green beam, 1d6 damage, 10 shots) and thin, barbed blades (1d6 damage). Anyone captured and forced down the elevator may never be heard from again.

Derro (20): HD 3; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 weapon; Move 12; Save 14; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Magic resistance 30%.

3746 Gnoll Lair: This gnoll lair has a population of 200 males, 120 females and 80 young. The gnolls live in small, round wattle-and-daub huts. In the center of the village is a mud brick temple dedicated to Demogorgon and a longhouse for the chieftain and his retinue. The lair is surrounded by a 3-foot deep moat and a 5-foot tall wall of thickets and sharpened sticks. A pack of twelve hyenas patrol the lair.

The males spend their time idle. They sometimes rouse themselves to eat, cuff a female or play at combat. The females oversee the human slaves in their tasks of grinding grain, baking bread, weaving baskets, preparing feasts and doing repair work. Three females, marked by their iron jewelry, do the smith work for the village. The eldest of these females is a sorcerer.

The house of Demogorgon is tended by a shaman called Jibbo. Jibbo is assisted by two blind human slaves who wear iron collars around their necks and feet and bear the scars of frequent lashings. It is their wailing that provides music for the house of Demogorgon. Demogorgon’s alter is a slab of rough-cut marble upon which rests a large, curved sword used for cermonial beheadings. Behind the altar there is a crude idol consisting of a wooden post topped by a painted giant hyena skull. Grasses, feathers and iron ornaments hang from the skull. The temple is guarded by two skeletal lions (3 HD skeletons).

The chieftain of the village is Yabba. Yabba is followed by a pack of eight bodyguards wearing leather armor and carrying spears and hide shields. Their longhouse contains 12 animal pelts (50 gp each) and a wooden chest containing 40 gp and 100 sp, mostly in the form of Ophirian shekels and Ibisian scruples.

Hyena (12): HD 1; AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 bite (1d3); Move 16; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
Gnoll Bodyguards: HD 3 (14 hp); AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 bite (2d4) or 1 weapon (1d10); Move 9; Save 14; CL/XP 3/60; Special: None.
Gnoll Mage-Smith Lvl 2: HP 7; AC 7 [12]; Save 14; Special: Magic-user spells (1st); Hammer, iron jewelry (5 gp).
Jibbo, Gnoll Cleric Lvl 3: HP 12; AC 4 [15]; Save 12; Special: Cleric spells (2nd), control undead; Mace, leather armor, shield, unholy symbol, potion of poison.
Yabba, Gnoll Fighting-Man (Barbarian) Lvl 6: HP 36; AC 5 [14]; Save 11; +1 sickle-sword, shield.

3836 Per-Bael: This ancient fortress has walls of pock-marked, limestone blocks. It is inhabited by a tribe of sahitim who call it Per-Bael, the “House of Bael”. The fortress is square in shape and measures 200 feet long and 80 feet wide. The walls of the fortress are 20 feet tall. Half of the fortress is taken up by a paved courtyard with a deep well (some say it reaches into a demi-plane of sweet water) and a garden. The sahitim grow tiger nut root, mandrake and figs and keep several bee hives made of fired clay.

The people of Per-Bael cultivate the mandrake to turn it into several goods: A powerful sleep draught, philtres of love and homonculi, which they keep in silver cages and train to be familiars. Some Ophirian traders lead caravans to the city in the winter months to trade manufactured goods (especially weapons) for these items.

Per-Bael houses 35 sahitim, their 100 wives and 40 children. The men expect the women to tend to the children, cultivate the garden and fix the meals, while they busy themselves with the arts of war and the hunt. The men keep a pack of six hell hounds for hunting.

The fortress proper consists of a ground floor with a great hall, kitchens, storage, barracks and a shrine (formerly dedicated to Lilith, now re-dedicated to Bael). The second story is used for living quarters and a library. The walls that surround the fortress and courtyard are five-feet thick and have crenelations to protect archers. The sahitim often have meat (sometimes the limbs and torsos of humanoids) skewered on pikes atop the walls, drying it like prosciutto.

The shrine measures 15 ft x 15 ft, with a 20-foot tall vaulted ceiling. The walls are carved with intertwining serpents and fig vines. There is a long, red marble altar here and four brass censors burning an acrid incense that causes non-sahitim to become drowsy (-1 to hit and saves unless a saving throw is passed). A window in the upper portion of one wall connects the shrine to the living chambers of Dramat, the high priest and lord of Per-Bael. His wife can often be found in the chamber, praying to Bael and casting auguries with bits of charred bone.

Dramat is a cleric, fighting-man and magic-user. Dramat has three wives, Gorissa, Sheboth and Haratti each an apprentice to her husband and one of his personal guards. Dramat possesses a crystal skull, the chief treasure of Per-Bael, that empowers his cleric spells, augments his summonings and allows him to commune with the infernal powers once per month. His two sickle-swords, when clanged together, create a blast of fire that inflicts 2d6 damage to all within 10 feet of Dramat once per day. Dramat is always accompanied by Zeb, his imp familiar, and a retinue of six fossil skeletons.

The lands that surround Per-Bael are desolate, but not uninhabited. Wandering the wastes, but never too far away, is another tribe of sahitim who were displaced from Per-Bael a hundred years ago and still scheme to take it back. This tribe of wanderers worships Lilith and is ruled by Ailo, a malcarna who claims to be Lilith’s daughter.

The wanderers, called the Lilitu, number 66 male and female warriors and 20 children. Females rule the Lilitu with an iron fist. They include Kora, Alula, Lamash, Labarta and Scorpia.

The Lilitu attack Per-Bael once every two or three years. Five of their warriors ride achaierai. These mounted warriors operate hand cannons responsible for the condition of Per-Bael’s walls. The hand cannons are cast from bronze and look like grimacing demons. Others have longbows and swords.

The Lilitu wander the hexes that surround Per-Bael, surviving by raiding and hunting. They dwell in tents of thick, reddish cloth and cook their stews in bronze cauldrons and can sometimes be found playing a game involving a “ball” composed of three shrunken heads tied together by their hair.

Hell Hound (6): HD 4 (20 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 bite (1d6); Move 12; Save 13; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Breathe fire (8 hp).
Fossil Skeleton (6): HD 2 (10 hp); AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 strike (1d6); Move 9; Save 16; CL/XP 2/30; Special: None.
Gorissa, Sahitim Fighting-Woman Lvl 3: HP 19; AC 6 [13]; Save 14; Special: Two-Weapon Fighting; Sickle-swords (2), scale armor.
Sheboth, Sahitim Cleric Lvl 3: HP 23; AC 4 [15]; Save 12; Special: Cleric spells (1st); +1 mace, scale armor, unholy symbol.
Harati, Sahitim Magic-User Lvl 3: HP 17; AC 8 [11]; Save 13; Special: Magic-user spells (2nd); Wavy dagger, grimoire.
Dramat, Sahitim Cleric/Fighter/Mage Lvl 5: HP 34; AC 5 [14]; Save 10; Special: Cleric spells (3rd), magic-user spells (3rd); +1 sickle-swords* (2), +1 leather armor, ring of protection +1, grimoire, unholy symbol, crystal skull.
Zeb the Imp: HD 2 (3 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 sting (1d4 + poison); Move 12 (Fly 16); Save 16; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Poison tail, polymorph, regenerate 1, immune to fire.
Ailo, Malcarna: HD 5 (30 hp); AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 tail (1d8), 3 weapons (1d8); Move 12; Save 12; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Magic resistance 25%, only hit by magic or silver weapons.
Kora, Alula & Lamash, Sahitim Fighting-Women (Rangers) Lvl 2: HP 12; AC 5 [14]; Save 15; Sickle-sword, longbow.
Labarta, Sahitim Cleric Lvl 2: HP 12; AC 6 [13]; Save 12; Special: Cleric spells (1st); Mace, leather armor, unholy symbol.
Scorpia, Sahitim Cleric-Fighter Lvl 4: HP 14; AC 8 [11]; Save 12; Special: Cleric spells (2nd); Sickle-sword, leather armor, unholy symbol, potion of healing.
Achaierai: HD 6; AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 claws (1d6), 1 bite (2d6); Move 12; Save 11; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Magic resistance 25%, breath of confusion, immune to fire.

NEW MONSTERS
The following monsters are open game content.

Amphisbaena Basilisk
An amphisbaena basilisk is a basilisk with a head and forelimbs on both ends of its body. It cannot be flanked, back attacked or surprised. Amphisbaena basilisks get two bite attacks and can make two gaze attacks each round (see normal basilisk for effect). An amphisbaena basilisk can survive being cut in half. Each half will attack as a normal basilisk with half the creature’s total hit points each. They will reattach to one another in 1 to 2 days.

Amphisbaena Basilisk: HD 9+1; AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 bite (1d8); Move 9; Save 6; CL/XP 13/2300; Special: All-around vision, half damage from cold, petrifying gaze, split.

Beetlor
Beetlors are subterranean, insectoid predators. They have shiny, orange carapaces and yellowish underbellies. Their claws are harder than steel, allowing them to burrow through stone. Sentient creatures that look into a beetlor’s multi-faceted eyes must pass a saving throw or be confused (as the spell) for 3d4 rounds. Beetlors have their own language.

Beetlor: HD 8+1; AC 1 [18]; Atk 2 claw (3d4) and 1 bite (1d10); Move 6 (Burrow 30; Save 8; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Confusion.

Caryatid Column
Caryatid columns are lesser stone golems that look like stone pillars in the shape of a human female carrying a sword. When activated, a caryatid column takes on a fleshy appearance. Its sword becomes steel. When its task is complete or the construct is killed, it returns to its normal position and once again becomes stone. Caryatid columns suffer half damage from normal weapons, but suffer full damage from magical weapons (without damage bonuses). Any weapon that hits the column has a 25% chance of snapping (reduced by 5% for each “plus” of a magic weapon).

Caryatid Column: HD 5; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 sword (2d4); Move 9; Save 8; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Weapon snapping.

Froghemoth
Froghemoths are alien creatures that resemble massive, rubbery toads with three eyes atop a retractable eye stalk, four tentacles, and a 10-ft long tongue. When hunting, the beast floats with only its eye stalk above the water and its tentacles thrust forward, sometimes very near the shore, to seize potential victims that walk by.

While the froghemoth’s body can withstand 16 dice of damage before dying, its tentacles require 20 points of damage to sever. Severed tentacles regenerate in 1d4+1 weeks. Creature’s struck by the tongue must succeed at a saving throw or be held fast and dragged into its mouth. Any creature that begins the froghemoth’s turn in its mouth will be swallowed whole, suffering 3d6 points of acid damage per round. They can attack the stomache with a small, sharp weapon, but will be unconscious after 2 rounds. The tongue has 20 hit points. If the tongue is severed the monster will flail with its tentacles (for double damage) for 1d4+1 rounds before retreating into the water.

Froghemoths are immune to normal fire, though especially large and hot ones will drive them away. Fire spells will not drive them away unless at least 10 points of damage are dealt. Electricity attacks deal only 1 point of damage per die and slow the creature for 1 round.

Froghemoth: HD 16; AC 3 [16], tentacles 1 [18], tongue 5 [14]; Atk 1 tongue (5d10) or 4 tentacles (1d8); Move 3 (Swim 9); Save 3; CL/XP 19/4100; Special: Swallow whole, immune to fire.

Intellect Devourer
These bizarre creatures resemble large ambulatory brains. They have four stout, thickly muscled legs ending in clawed feet. Intellect devourers dwell underground. They feed on the psychic energy of their prey. After killing their prey, an intellect devourer merges with the body and devours the brain. Their awareness extends into the ethereal and astral planes. They detest bright light and flee from it.

Intellect devourers are immune to most spells. Fireballs act only as bright light (see above), but inflict no damage on them. Lightning bolts inflict 1 point of damage per dice. Death spells only have a 25% chance of slaying them. Psychic powers work on them with no penalties.

Intellect Devourer: HD 6; AC 3 [16]; Atk 4 claw (1d4); Move 15; Save 11; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Sensitive to light, mind blast, spell immunity, surprise on 1-3 on 1d6, only harmed by magic weapons (1 point of damage per hit).

Planetar
Planetars are angels (less powerful than solars, more powerful than devas). Planetars can travel through the planes at will. They typically fight using +4 flaming two-handed swords. Planetars have opaline skin, glowing blue eyes and double wings. Planetars cast spells as level 9 clerics. Each planetar radiates protection from evil in a 40-ft radius. They can commune with the gods at need and remove blindness and deafness and cure disease and light wounds by touch. They automatically detect evil, illusion, invisibility, lies, magic and traps. Planetars can communicate telepathically and understand all languages. If killed anywhere but in the Empyrean Heaven, they will rematerialize there in four decades. Once per day a planetar can gate in one of the following types of creatures: 1d3 astral devas, 1d4 monadic devas or 1d6 movanic devas. Once per day they can summon: 1d4 couatl, 1d2 ki-rin or 1d2 androsphinx.

Planetar: HD 17 (144 hp); AC -8 [27]; Atk 3 weapons (1d10+4); Move 15 (Fly 48, Swim 24); Save 3; CL/XP 29/7100; Special: Spells, magic resistance 65%, regenerate 4 hp/rd, immune to cold, lightning, magic missiles, petrification, poison, surprise, life drain, mind effects and death magic, half damage from fire.

Sahitim
Sahitim are an ancient race of men that made a deal with chaotic forces, turning into a race of half-fiends. A sahitim appears as a lean, humanoid demon with blank eyes, golden orange skin and curved, black horns. Sahitim dress neatly and elegantly, sacrificing mobility and practicality for grandeur. They prefer light, elegant weapons and light armor. Most can speak common, the alignment tongues of chaos or evil and the language of evil dragons.

Sahitim sects consist of 50 to 100 warriors plus 40% noncombatants. Sects are led by fighting-men and clerics, and might include magic-users. Sects are accompanied by 1d3+1 hell hounds, 1d6+1 lemures or 1d6+1 dretches. Sahitim rulers are usually clerics. Sahitim lairs are iron fortresses built at remote sites.

Sahitim characters enjoy a +1 bonus to intelligence, wisdom and charisma, but suffer a -1 penalty to constitution. They can see in darkness to a range of 60 feet. Their ancient pact with dark forces gives them a +2 bonus to all saving throws. They suffer only half damage from acid, cold and fire attacks. All sahitim can cast protection from good as an innate power.

Sahitim: HD 1; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 scimitar (1d8) or 1 longbow (1d8); Move 12; Save 17; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Half damage from acid, cold and fire, protection from good.

Svirfneblin
The svirfneblin live deep beneath the earth, ever searching for precious stones and metals. They look like hairless gnomes with brownish skin and grey eyes. Svirfneblin are akin to earth elementals, and groups of them have a 10% chance per svirfneblin to summon a medium earth elemental. Svirfneblin warriors wear chainmail and are armed with daggers and picks. Many carry hollow-tipped darts filled with poison or acid. Svirfnebli are so stealthy that they surprise on a roll of 1-2 on 1d6, and they notice odd stonework as well as dwarfs. A svirfneblin’s innate toughness and resistance to magic gives them an improved saving throw value. All svirfneblin can cast the following spells once per day: blindness, blur and change self.

Svirfneblin: HD 3; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 9; Save 12; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Surprise on a 1-2 on d6, summon earth elemental.

Vulchling
Vulchlings are bird-like creatures with vaguely human facial features. They live in desolate places, swooping down on unsuspecting passers-bye from ledges or tall trees. A vulchling lair will contain 1d10-1 eggs. Vulchlings have been known to consort with harpies and vrocks.

Vulchling: HD 1; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 bite (1d4+1) or 2 claw (1d4); Move 6 (Fly 3); Save 18; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.

Art: The Arab and his Steed, 1872, Jean-Léon Gérôme

Wyvern Coast – Pwenet Plains

April 21, 2010March 13, 2021 / jstater

My little series on the Wyvern Coast now moves to the southwest quadrant of Map J11 (the northwest portion begins here). Part One introduced the Wyvern Coast and Tepid Sea. Part Five covers the basics on the savanna of Pwenet. Part Six and Seven will present more of the set encounters.

Pwenet
Pwenet is a land of rolling grasslands with scattered copses of aromatic trees and a few rocky outcroppings. Large herds of ruminants travel from watering hole to watering hole while being stalked by giant centaurs, lions and even more fantastic predators. Pwenet is said to hold both a fountain of youth and the source of the River Ish, thus making it a popular destination for explorers. A few merchant-adventurers from the city-states of Ibis and Ophir travel into Pwenet annually to trade manufactured goods for aromatic resins, ivory and wild animals. The region is otherwise untouched by the people of Lemuria and the Motherlands.

Although not the most numerous folk on the grasslands, the giant centaurs of Pwenet are the region’s most prominent. Pwenet is also home to tribes of gnolls and many human villages. The largest tribes, human and gnoll both, provide most of the region’s drama as chiefs and witch-doctors jockey for power and recognition. Oft told tales tell of when the human tribes of Pwenet united under Ouplu the Great and conquered the cities of Nabu. The people of Pwenet believe that history is a cycle and that they will once again conquer the outside world when united by a great leader.

Encounters on Pwenet (3d6)
3. Bulette (1d4)
4. Impundulu (1d6)
5. Giant Aardvark (1d4)
6. Giant Ostrich (2d6)
7. Hyena (6d6) or Giant Hyena (2d6)
8. Cheetah-were (2d6)
9. Cheetah (2d6)
10. Baboon (3d6)
11. Baboon-were (2d6)
12. Humanoid (see subtable)
13. Lion (2d6)
14. Lion-were (1d6)
15. Vampire Tree (1d6)
16. Rhinoceros (1d4)
17. Elephant (1d4)
18. Great Ghost (1d4)

Humanoid Encounters (1d6)
1. Abatwa (6d6)
2. Centaur, Giraffe (2d4)
3. Gnoll (3d6)
4. Trader (1d6) and Men-At-Arms (3d6)
5. Tribesman (6d6)
6. Utu Dwarf (6d6)

Random Battlefield Terrain (1d10)
1. Meadow – no penalties
2-5. Rocky Ground – may lose footing at top speed
6-10. Sand Dunes – half movement, may lose footing

Abatwa: The abatwa travel in force and are mounted on giant ants and armed with spears and short bows. They are humorless about their small size and bloody minded when they feel they have been insulted. Abatwa are led by a captain and there is a 1 in 6 chance that they are also accompanied by a shaman.

Abatwa: HD 1d4 hp; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 weapon (1d4); Move 6; Save 18; CL/XP A/5; Special: None.
Large Ant: HD 1; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 bite (1d4 + poison); Move 12; Save 17; CL/XP 2/30; Special: Poison 1d4 (save for 0 damage).
Abatwa Captain: HP 5d4; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d4+1); Move 6; Save 12; Special: +1 to moral checks, troops +1 to hit.
Abatwa Shaman: HD 4d4; AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 6; Save 13; Special: Cleric (druid) spells (3rd), shape change.

Centaur: The centaurs of Pwenet are a cross between a man and a giraffe rather than a man and horse. Their larger size gives them one more hit dice than a normal centaur. Centaurs are led by a huntsman and there is a 1 in 6 chance they are accompanied by a shaman.

Giraffe Centaur: HD 5; AC 5 [14]; Atk 2 kicks (1d6) and 1 weapon (1d10); Move 18; Save 13; CL/XP 6/400; Special: None.
Centaur Huntsman: HD 8; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 kicks (1d6) and 1 weapon (1d10); Move 21; Save 12; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Surprise on 2 on 1d6, track, double damage with missiles.
Centaur Shaman: HD 8; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 kicks (1d6) and 1 weapon (1d6); Move 18; Save 13; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: Shape change, cleric (druid) spells (3rd).

Gnolls: The savanna is thick with gnoll war parties. There is one 3 HD gnoll for every 15 gnolls encountered. The gnolls carry wicker shields, spears and javelins.

Gnoll: HD 2; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 bite (2d4) or 1 weapon (1d10); Move 9; Save 16; CL/XP 2/30; Special: None.
Gnoll Marauder: HD 5+5; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 bite (2d4) or 1 weapon (1d10); Move 12; Save 14; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Berserker state.

Trader: Traders from Ophir and Ibis visit Pwenet in search of rare herbs, animal skins and gum acacia, the dried sap of the acacia tree and a useful substance for alchemists and scribes. Each trader is accompanied by six men-at-arms and 10 bearers. The trader and men-at-arms are mounted on horses and have ring armor, shields, battle axes and light crossbows. The bearers are on foot and have slings and clubs. There is a 2 in 6 chance that the 10 bearers are replaced by 6 drovers riding pack camels.

Bearer: HD 1d6 hp; AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 weapon (1d4); Move 12; Save 18; CL/XP B/10; Special: None.
Man-at-Arms: HD 1; AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 12 (Mounted 18); Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
Trader: HD 3; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8+1); Move 9 (Mounted 18); Save 14; CL/XP 3/60; Special: +1 to damage.

Tribesman: The tribesmen of Pwenet carry shields and spears that are excellent as melee or missile weapons. Most encountered bands are hunting and are led by a huntsman. The group might also be a war party, in which case the leader will be a marauder.

Tribesman: HD 1; AC 8 [11]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 12; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
Huntsman: HD 5; AC 8 [11]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 15; Save 12; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Surprise on 1 on 1d6, track, double damage with missiles.
Marauder: HD 5+5; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 12; Save 12; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Berserker state.

Utu Dwarf: Utu have pitch-black skin and eyes and small beards of wiry, black hair. They are capable of seeing through both normal and magical darkness and their skin is as hard as granite (AC 14). They carry shields and swords made of wood studded with shards of jade. The utu worship Khnum, the divine potter and creator of the universe and the creatures who inhabit it. The utu are experts at working with wood and clay and well practiced in the art of conjuring spirits, from whom they gain most of the knowledge they record on their clay tablets. Utu are led by druids who cast both cleric and magic-user spells.

NPC utu clerics can contact other plane once per month when the stars are aligned. Once in a century an utu cleric will make contact with Khnum himself to deliver a great prophecy to the peoples of Pwenet. On these occasions the dwarfs sound their drums and blow long horns made from hollowed trees to call all the tribes to hear the prophecy. All the great chiefs of Pwenet heed this call and travel to the appointed place with their retinues, sworn by tradition to observe a full week of peace while the ceremonial dances are performed, lineages are recited and finally the prophecy is pronounced. The coming of the current princess of the Quiet Folk, avatar of the great earth mother, was pronounced at the last convocation, and the next prophecy is due to come in the very near future.

Utu Dwarf: HD 1; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6+1); Move 9; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: See through all darkness.
Utu Priest: HD 4; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 9; Save 13; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Shape change, cleric spells (3rd).

Wyvern Coast – Introduction

April 3, 2010March 13, 2021 / jstater

The first map grid I’m going to detail on this blog is J11, which contains the Wyvern Coast and the Nabu Desert. This first post will give an overview of the area.

Map J11 – History
During the Pandiluvian Age, what is now the Nabu Desert and Pwenet savanna was a shallow sea and the Wyvern Coast was a series of rocky islands. The elder things and fish men built their cities in this shallow sea, leaving the rocky islands to wyverns, chimera and a few primitive men.

When the waters receded, they left a great grassland dotted with trees and a range of highlands and mountains along the sea. The elder things and fish men retreated with the sea, with the ancient lizard kings and their human slaves filling the void. For centuries the lizard kings fought over the savanna and left the coast to monsters and primitive hill tribes. Finally, human slaves overthrew their reptilian masters and established themselves in the city-states they once built and labored in as slaves.

In the northern reaches of the savanna, the humans established a sorcerous empire under the command of a mysterious king called Nabu, who ruled from a city-state called Per-Nabu. The Nabu Empire made war against their neighbors and established colonies and tributary states along the Wyvern Coast, into the barbarian-infested woodlands of Venatia to the north, and into Pwenet, the southern reaches of the grasslands. Eventually, they came into contact with the rival empires of Kolos in the jungles of Cush and Irem far away in the west. These ancient superpowers clashed at sea and on the land, and eventually summoned up powers well beyond their control. Kolos became a lost city, its people scattered through the jungles. Irem and Nabu, on the other hand, were blasted by the gods (or so it is said), their domains becoming wastelands.

In the aftermath of the cataclysm that struck Nabu, its colonies either became independent city-states in their own right, or simply melted into the wilderness. Nabu’s northern forts in Venatia were overcome by the barbarians and destroyed, not to be colonized again until the great expansion of the Nomo Empire. Nabu’s port of Ibis on the Golden Sea became a powerful city-state and remains one to this day. The tributary ports on the Wyvern Coast rose to prominence for a short time, their rulers being called the “Purple Kings” due to the dies that help make their fortune. Nabu itself is now known as the City of Death on the aptly named River of Death, its vast treasures and terrible knowledge waiting to be discovered by courageous adventurers.

Geography
Map J11 is mostly hot and arid, with the coast, grasslands and high mountains being slightly more pleasant than the sun-baked hills and desert sands. The four geographic regions represented on the map are the Nabu Desert, the Pwenet Grasslands, the Tepid Sea and the Wyvern Hills.

The Wyvern Hills were once controlled by a dynasty that is now referred to as the “Purple Kings”. At the height of their power, these kings established many colonies on the Tepid Sea. In their later years they fell under the dominance of the Nabu Empire. When that empire was destroyed and its grasslands scorched, most of the Purple City-States were abandoned and fell into ruin. Only Ophir, the greatest of them, exists to this day.

The people of the coast and hills are a bronze-skinned mixture of Motherlander and Lemurian. The grasslands are home to pure-blooded, swarthy Lemurians.

Each day and night the Referee should dice for the chance of a dangerous encounter. Generally, there is a 1 in 6 chance of such an encounter, or a 1 in 8 chance if a ranger is present. There is an equal chance of becoming lost.

In the next couple of days I will show the northeast quadrant of Map J11, describe the Tepid Sea and Wyvern Coast, provide some random encounter tables and describe some major set encounters.