Four more for Western Venatia …

1108. A large, abandoned monastery overlooks the river here. Once occupied by an order dedicated to Ceres, the place was eventually infiltrated by chaos cultists who invoked an elder god in a terrible ritual. The god destroyed what was left of the order and then struck its worshipers blind, dumb and mad and sent them out into the world to their fate. Being dedicated to Ceres, the nuns were known for their exquisite, light ales. The brew vats are now filled with a mouldy ooze and five ooze mephits. Other oozes haunt the surrounding hills and the rest of the ruins.

| Ooze Mephit: HD 3; AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 claw (1d3); Move 12 (Fly 18, Swim 12); Save 14; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Harmed by magic weapons, breath weapon, acid arrow, stinking cloud, summoning.

1412. The remains of a shattered tablet rest on the beach, partially obscured by the dark grey sands. If pieced back together, they contains remnants of the spell Conjure Elemental – not enough that the spell can be cast or copied into a spellbook, but enough that they will aid a magic-user in researching the spell.

1422. A massive catapult has sunk into the swamp here. Vegetation now clings to the device, which is rotted and shows signs of fire damage. A noisy, little bird has built a nest atop the crossbar, and will raise a ruckus if anyone approaches, attracting a wandering monster on a roll of 1-2 on 1d6. A sliding panel on the catapult conceals a bone scroll case. The case contains a map that shows secret entrances into the citadel of Blackpoort and three old gold pieces dating back to the Antigoon monarchy.

1431. A falling star has created a crater here recently. The crater is still warm towards the center, and one can find bits of meteoric iron and glass strewn about the site. Buried in the center of the crater at a depth of 10 feet there is a large, glowing cannister. The cannister is 10 ft in length and 4 ft in diameter, and is the last resting place of an alien high priest of chaos. Anyone touching the cannister with their bare flesh will watch their hand wither and drop off, but this touch is the only way to open the cannister. Inside are the mummified remains of a slug-like creature with a single pseudopod and five long, supple “horns” growing from its head. It has seven eye buds and a lamprey-like mouth on the end of a long proboscis. The mummy rests on a styrofoam “bed” and is swaddled in a tapestry covered with alien scenes of a bleak world with a green sun and rust red seas. At its feet is a brazen head that looks like a cross between a rotweiler and a crustacean. The head, if spoken to in the alien tongue, can recite chapter and verse of the Hymns of Nibiru, called by humans “the Living Planet”. For unknown reasons, the cannister has attracted the attention of hundreds of small, lethal giant centipedes. There is a 1 in 6 chance each round of encountering 1d6 of the little devils while in the crater.

A few more glimpses into the wilds of Western Venatia.

On a side note, the Mystery Men! voting is underway. A few of the races are looking to be slaughters, while a couple are neck and neck. I can’t wait to see which heroes make the final cut for illustration.

1246. On moonless nights (beginning or end of a Nodian month), this hex becomes inundated with hundreds of jellyfish, from tiny creatures barely the size of a gold piece to monstrously large entities. They float near the surface, swaying in time to an unheard tune and converging on anything foolish enough to wander into the midst of their reverie. Assume encounters here with 2d10 monstrous jellyfish.

| Monstrous Jellyfish: HD 2d6; AC 8 [11]; Atk 1 sting (2d6); Move 3; Save 16; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Paralysis.

1314. Amid the rugged splendor of the moors there are the charred remains of an ancient abbey. Little remains but the burnt out shell of the cloister and the weed-ridden medicinal gardens, which are home to several violet fungi who let out their terrifying screams whenever they detect creatures moving toward the abbey. The abbey’s courtyard has a well grown slimy with the passage of years. At the bottom of the well sleep the so-called “Beast of Bracken Abbey”, a troll-like creature covered in bubbling pustules of slime. The beast has large, yellow eyes and iron-hard talons, and can expel a killer slime from its mouth every 1d4 rounds. The color of killer slime* is rolled randomly:

1-2 Purple
3-4 Red
5-6 Yellow

Treasure: Covered in non-toxic encrustations of slime you find 2,300 sp, 980 gp and two soapstone busts worth 100 gp each, one bust depicts Apollo Helios, the other Diana. When both busts are displayed in the same room at an equal height they create a Bless effect through the entire room.

| Beast of Bracken Abbey: HD 10; AC 2 [17]; Atk 2 claws (1d4) and bite (1d6); Move 12; Save 5; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: Belch slime.

1333. Lonely Castle Carnifex stands brooding by the river, its black willows sipping at the lazy waters and its grey spires, showing no light or warmth, staring out over the endless woodlands. The castle is the home of a band of huntsprites, the executioners of the fairy court. The sprites look like slim humanoids with black butterfly wings and wearing simple white shifts. They arm themselves with longbows and short swords that give out a shrill ring when drawn from their scabbards. The sprites do not brook intrusion into their sanctum, and truthfully the place is so bleak and unwelcoming that few would want to spend more than a few minutes exploring its empty hall and the corridors and chambers that surround it. Each sprite’s sword is +1 in the hands of an elf, dwarf or gnome, but -1 in the hands of folk without fey blood in their veins.

| Huntsprite (3): HD 8 (39, 35, 26 hp); AC 1 [18]; Atk 2 +1 sword (1d6+1) or 2 +3 longbow (1d8+3); Move 15 (Fly 30); Save 8; CL/XP 13/2300; Special: Perfect shot, spells, magic resistance 45%.

1410. Blackmere Lake is known for its sudden, violent storms. One hundred years ago the wedding barge of the daughter of Argrave, Lord Mayor of Blackpoort, went down in such a storm with its passengers, crew and treasures. The barge still rests at the bottom of the lake, haunted by a wedding party that dances, sings and feasts on the living for all eternity.

The party guests and crew are now a collection of thirty wraiths. The guests and their servants appear as ghostly men and women dressed in medieval finery (long shoes tipped with bells, long turbans, doublets, etc.). When living creatures are spotted, the guests call out to them to join the party. Servants seat them before a ghostly feast and pour luminescent wine in golden goblets. It is then, when they are surrounded, that the wraiths turn on their guests and devour their life force. Unlike most wraiths, their depredations do not create spawn.

Should one manage to destroy or disable all of the wraiths, they will find that the barge holds a great treasure of wedding presents.

Treasure: 1,390 sp, 6,450 gp, a bronze statue of a satyr worth 20 gp, a silver statuette of Juno worth 125 gp, an amber brooch worth 100 gp, a brass waist chain worth 300 gp, a piece of polished coral worth 145 gp, a pearl worth 400 gp, an olivine worth 900 gp, a sapphire worth 4,000 gp and a silver decanter of endless water and a potion of extra healing.

* The killer slime is a monster that will appear in November in PARS FORTUNA. Of course, it will also appear in the free download of NOD #6 in December.

A few more encounters for Western Venatia. You’ll have to use the tags at the bottom to navigate to the other Venatia entries because, frankly, I’m pooped!

1206. A massive carcharadon patrols these waters, always watchful for a foundering cog or lazy galley slung low in the water.

| Carcharadon: HD 8 (40 hp); AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 bite (1d8+4); Move (Swim 24); Save 8; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Feeding frenzy.

1209. On a lonely hill overlooking a quiet meadow of purple cone flowers and alyssum there are the remains of a villa. The villa belonged to Calyn, a well-respected soldier of Nomo, adopted human son of a noble elf family. All that remains of the villa is a cobbled court-yard and a single stone wall. The wall carries the faded remains of a fine mosaic showing children at play and stately men and women watching them and drinking from black, horn-shaped cups. In the center of the courtyard there is a fountain carved from rugged limestone with fittings of green copper. Should one sit on the side of the fountain and ask a question, the fountain will respond by singing an ancient legend (per the spell Legend Lore) in a fine tenor.

1219. An old chimae lives in a cave overlooking a boulder-stewn plain. The chimae has the body of a giant goat, the head of a lion and a serpent tail and answers to the name Chalos. Chalos often comes to the river to hunt.

Treasure: 1,890 sp, 1,500 gp, brass collar worth 300 gp and hepatizon and turquoise pendant worth 1,000 gp.

| Lion Chimae: HD 9 (34 hp); AC 3 [17]; Atk 1 bite (1d10) and 1 stinger (1d6); Move 12 (Climb 9); Save 6; CL/XP 10/1400; Special: Poison sting causes paralysis.

1222. By the side of the imperial road you spot a fawn sitting next to a gnarled, old stump. From the way its swaying, the fawn looks as though its been injured. A close inspection reveals that the creature is, in fact, a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing, a sort of wilderness mimic.

| Wolf-in-Sheep’s Clothing: HD 9 (35 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 3 tentacles (1d4); Move 1; Save 6; CL/XP 10/1400; Special: Grab, surprise on 1-4 on d6.

1239. One might stumble across the body of a wolf, freshly killed, it seems, with a hand axe that still sticks in the creature’s side. If the axe is removed, the wolf’s skin leaps from the body and glides into the woods. For one week thereafter, the adventurer’s hear the howls and footfalls of a wolf pack, but encounter no random monsters in the woods.